MESSAGE OF THE MONTH<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nAddressing Earth<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/N8M80X747244LU9DW4066Z2Q4H3R-1.jpg\")
The Voyager mission\u2019s Golden Record includes a diagram of pulsars (bottom left), indicating where Earth is in relation to the rest of the cosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\nI need to know the answer to a very important question; it\u2019s one that my children asked me the other day. The question was: what is the planet Earth\u2019s Universal address? For example, if someone from a distant planet wanted to send me a letter or a parcel in the post, what address would they need to put? I hope you can provide me with this important information, which needs to be 100 per cent accurate.<\/p>\n\n
David Mitchell, Southampton<\/strong><\/p>\n\nThat\u2019s a very interesting question, David! Your Universal, or cosmic, address would be your postal address, followed by: Earth, Solar System, Oort Cloud, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Cavity, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea Supercluster, the Universe. It\u2019s challenging to provide an accurate address, though, since it will depend on our own frame of reference on the Universe, which could be very different where you\u2019re sending the parcel; and in the time it takes to delilver, everything in the Universe will have moved! <\/em><\/strong>– Ed. <\/p>\n\n
\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/L0J0NA6BDCQS104TMI19Q8CL8HDZ-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nThe \u2018Message of the Month\u2019 writer will receive a bundle of two top titles courtesy of astronomy publisher Philip\u2019s: Nigel Henbest\u2019s Stargazing 2022 <\/em>and Robin Scagell\u2019s Guide to the Northern Constellations <\/em><\/p>\n\nWinner\u2019s details will be passed on to Octopus Publishing to fulfil the prize<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n\nShoot for the Moon<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/13A70XC6DZISHH12HL720I7YL7I5-2.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nI\u2019ve been meaning to send in my first attempt at catching a photograph of the Moon rising and I\u2019ve eventually got around to it. I turned 40 on 22 July and asked for a monocular and stand as a present.<\/p>\n\n
I got into stargazing, Moon watching and tracking the International Space Station (ISS) while I was shielding due to COVID-19 last year and again this year, and I thought I\u2019d pass the time with something new. For my birthday I received a 12×55 high definition monocular with a smartphone attachment. With a bit of beginner\u2019s luck I managed to capture the Moon rising with a tree and a wind turbine on the horizon (see picture, left). I\u2019ve got a lot more work to do with focusing and steadying the stand, but I can\u2019t believe the start I\u2019m off to!<\/p>\n\n
Stuart Wallace, Ballyclare<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n\nFit for the Sun<\/strong><\/h4>\n\nIn response to your reply to Colin Anderson in the September issue (\u2018Scope Doctor\u2019, page 19), in which he wanted to fit the whole disc of the Sun into his image: he asked if he could use a focal reducer and you laid out why this wouldn\u2019t work. I wanted to let Colin know that he could achieve what he wanted with his Newtonian, and fit the whole disc of the Sun into his image, by using a camera with a larger sensor to capture more of the light cover. He may already have a DSLR camera to hand which would do the job; a DSLR with a smaller APS-C size sensor would work, as his Hypercam 183C has a sensor size of 13.2mm x 8.8mm, while an APS-C sensor is 25.1mm x 16.7mm.<\/p>\n\n
Stuart Buchanan, via email<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n\nHazy view<\/strong><\/h4>\n\nOn the morning of 17 August, I looked out of the window in the early morning and the Sun had just risen above the horizon (it was shining through haze and was safe to look at). It appeared much larger than when high in the sky. Could it be that the \u2018Moon illusion\u2019 is not confined to the Moon?<\/p>\n\n
AJ Bills, Harrogate<\/strong><\/p>\n\nIt could well be the case the Sun appears larger when close to the horizon, as it\u2019s the way humans perceive the outside world that creates the optical illusion. However, please don\u2019t take any more risks with your eyesight: looking at the Sun even through cloud isn\u2019t safe. The sunlight may be less intense, but its UV light can still damage the photoreceptors at the back of your eyes. If you do any solar observing with the naked eye, you should always use eclipse glasses. <\/em><\/strong>– Ed.<\/p>\n\n
\n\nLunar puzzle<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6KHT79GEZ7WY1AL4APK3A40LMTYE-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nI took two photos last year, which have been puzzling me. They were taken from my back garden after I finished my night shift and the detail [EXIF data] attached to the photos says they were taken at 6.19am on the 12 November 2020. I vaguely remember something about an eclipse at that time, but I can\u2019t find any more info. The first photo is from my back garden and the second is an enlargement of the Moon. Do you have any idea what the grid is on the Moon? Thanks in advance for your help!<\/p>\n\n
Paul <\/strong>Mitchell, <\/strong>via <\/strong>email <\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe grid on the Moon is certainly unusual, Paul! It\u2019s hard to be definite without knowing the camera and software used, but it could be an unwanted artefact (noise) on the image from the camera sensor. The only eclipse in November 2020 was a penumbral lunar eclipse on the 30th, visible from the UK as the Moon set; it\u2019s possible that the time and date settings on your camera may need to be reset.<\/em><\/strong> – Ed.<\/p>\n\n
\n\nCORRECTION<\/h4>\n\n
\u2022 In the feature \u2018Late summer variables\u2019 (September 2021 issue, page 72), in the widerfield locator chart for R Scuti, the star near R Scuti was labelled wrongly as Beta Cygni. Beta Cygni was also mentioned in the caption. This should be Beta Scuti in both cases.<\/p>\n\n
\n\nSociety in Focus<\/h4>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/YK6H07SR80Y9ROMJ43VLD764Z664-1-1024x576.jpg\")
Dallas Campbell gives a Zoom talk to The Flamsteed in May 2020 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\nThe last day that members of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society met together for a main monthly lecture was on 9 March 2020 \u2013 though we didn\u2019t know it at the time. We had an inkling that travel restrictions might make it difficult for guest speakers to travel to our home at the Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG), so we explained to our members that night that we were looking at the possibility of moving talks online.<\/p>\n\n
Two weeks later, the UK was in lockdown, but we had already trialled Zoom with our members, who welcomed the opportunity to keep our talks going. Silver linings in this COVID-19 cloud are few and far between, but we found we could accommodate more of our members at<\/span> an online event than we could squeeze into our National Maritime Museum lecture theatre. The internet enabled us to bring speakers \u2018to Greenwich\u2019 who might not have been able to travel so far, even in \u2018normal\u2019 times. We\u2019ve welcomed a range of lecturers \u2013 from Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Prof Catherine Heymans, to science writers Dallas Campbell and Jo Marchant, while our \u2018history of astronomy\u2019 programme didn\u2019t skip a beat.<\/p>\n\nAlthough our usual observing sessions have been cancelled, as have various visits, we have run astrophotography workshops online and a three-part \u2018Introduction to astronomy\u2019 series.<\/p>\n\n
But, as of the time of writing, we are all eagerly awaiting a return to \u2018real world\u2019 events and being a more \u2018social\u2019 society. It will be good to be back in our usual space.<\/p>\n\n
Andy Sawers, former Chair of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society, 2016-21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
I need to know the answer to a very important question; it\u2019s one that my children asked me the other day. The question was: what is the planet Earth\u2019s Universal address? For example, if someone from a distant planet wanted to send me a letter or a parcel in the post, what address would they need to put? I hope you can provide me with this important information, which needs to be 100 per cent accurate.<\/p>\n\n
David Mitchell, Southampton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n That\u2019s a very interesting question, David! Your Universal, or cosmic, address would be your postal address, followed by: Earth, Solar System, Oort Cloud, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Cavity, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea Supercluster, the Universe. It\u2019s challenging to provide an accurate address, though, since it will depend on our own frame of reference on the Universe, which could be very different where you\u2019re sending the parcel; and in the time it takes to delilver, everything in the Universe will have moved! <\/em><\/strong>– Ed. <\/p>\n\n The \u2018Message of the Month\u2019 writer will receive a bundle of two top titles courtesy of astronomy publisher Philip\u2019s: Nigel Henbest\u2019s Stargazing 2022 <\/em>and Robin Scagell\u2019s Guide to the Northern Constellations <\/em><\/p>\n\n Winner\u2019s details will be passed on to Octopus Publishing to fulfil the prize<\/strong><\/p>\n\n I\u2019ve been meaning to send in my first attempt at catching a photograph of the Moon rising and I\u2019ve eventually got around to it. I turned 40 on 22 July and asked for a monocular and stand as a present.<\/p>\n\n I got into stargazing, Moon watching and tracking the International Space Station (ISS) while I was shielding due to COVID-19 last year and again this year, and I thought I\u2019d pass the time with something new. For my birthday I received a 12×55 high definition monocular with a smartphone attachment. With a bit of beginner\u2019s luck I managed to capture the Moon rising with a tree and a wind turbine on the horizon (see picture, left). I\u2019ve got a lot more work to do with focusing and steadying the stand, but I can\u2019t believe the start I\u2019m off to!<\/p>\n\n Stuart Wallace, Ballyclare<\/strong><\/p>\n\n In response to your reply to Colin Anderson in the September issue (\u2018Scope Doctor\u2019, page 19), in which he wanted to fit the whole disc of the Sun into his image: he asked if he could use a focal reducer and you laid out why this wouldn\u2019t work. I wanted to let Colin know that he could achieve what he wanted with his Newtonian, and fit the whole disc of the Sun into his image, by using a camera with a larger sensor to capture more of the light cover. He may already have a DSLR camera to hand which would do the job; a DSLR with a smaller APS-C size sensor would work, as his Hypercam 183C has a sensor size of 13.2mm x 8.8mm, while an APS-C sensor is 25.1mm x 16.7mm.<\/p>\n\n Stuart Buchanan, via email<\/strong><\/p>\n\n On the morning of 17 August, I looked out of the window in the early morning and the Sun had just risen above the horizon (it was shining through haze and was safe to look at). It appeared much larger than when high in the sky. Could it be that the \u2018Moon illusion\u2019 is not confined to the Moon?<\/p>\n\n AJ Bills, Harrogate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n It could well be the case the Sun appears larger when close to the horizon, as it\u2019s the way humans perceive the outside world that creates the optical illusion. However, please don\u2019t take any more risks with your eyesight: looking at the Sun even through cloud isn\u2019t safe. The sunlight may be less intense, but its UV light can still damage the photoreceptors at the back of your eyes. If you do any solar observing with the naked eye, you should always use eclipse glasses. <\/em><\/strong>– Ed.<\/p>\n\n I took two photos last year, which have been puzzling me. They were taken from my back garden after I finished my night shift and the detail [EXIF data] attached to the photos says they were taken at 6.19am on the 12 November 2020. I vaguely remember something about an eclipse at that time, but I can\u2019t find any more info. The first photo is from my back garden and the second is an enlargement of the Moon. Do you have any idea what the grid is on the Moon? Thanks in advance for your help!<\/p>\n\n Paul <\/strong>Mitchell, <\/strong>via <\/strong>email <\/strong><\/p>\n\n The grid on the Moon is certainly unusual, Paul! It\u2019s hard to be definite without knowing the camera and software used, but it could be an unwanted artefact (noise) on the image from the camera sensor. The only eclipse in November 2020 was a penumbral lunar eclipse on the 30th, visible from the UK as the Moon set; it\u2019s possible that the time and date settings on your camera may need to be reset.<\/em><\/strong> – Ed.<\/p>\n\n \u2022 In the feature \u2018Late summer variables\u2019 (September 2021 issue, page 72), in the widerfield locator chart for R Scuti, the star near R Scuti was labelled wrongly as Beta Cygni. Beta Cygni was also mentioned in the caption. This should be Beta Scuti in both cases.<\/p>\n\n The last day that members of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society met together for a main monthly lecture was on 9 March 2020 \u2013 though we didn\u2019t know it at the time. We had an inkling that travel restrictions might make it difficult for guest speakers to travel to our home at the Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG), so we explained to our members that night that we were looking at the possibility of moving talks online.<\/p>\n\n Two weeks later, the UK was in lockdown, but we had already trialled Zoom with our members, who welcomed the opportunity to keep our talks going. Silver linings in this COVID-19 cloud are few and far between, but we found we could accommodate more of our members at<\/span> an online event than we could squeeze into our National Maritime Museum lecture theatre. The internet enabled us to bring speakers \u2018to Greenwich\u2019 who might not have been able to travel so far, even in \u2018normal\u2019 times. We\u2019ve welcomed a range of lecturers \u2013 from Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Prof Catherine Heymans, to science writers Dallas Campbell and Jo Marchant, while our \u2018history of astronomy\u2019 programme didn\u2019t skip a beat.<\/p>\n\n Although our usual observing sessions have been cancelled, as have various visits, we have run astrophotography workshops online and a three-part \u2018Introduction to astronomy\u2019 series.<\/p>\n\n But, as of the time of writing, we are all eagerly awaiting a return to \u2018real world\u2019 events and being a more \u2018social\u2019 society. It will be good to be back in our usual space.<\/p>\n\n Andy Sawers, former Chair of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society, 2016-21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n\nShoot for the Moon<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n\nFit for the Sun<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
\n\nHazy view<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
\n\nLunar puzzle<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n\nCORRECTION<\/h4>\n\n
\n\nSociety in Focus<\/h4>\n\n
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