_Augustus_

Still not locked.....

No. GoTo scopes can't even find satellites. What scope?

Imaging stuff besides the Moon and planets requires thousands of $ for good results.

You can study asteroid occultations assuming you have a driven scope and CCD camera and know where to find the occulted star, but comet hunting, unless you're one of those guys in Japan with giant binoculars, is a no-go.

It used to be a celeb a week, now it's a celeb or two a day. I wonder who else will part with us in the final 56 hours of 2016....

#2....

It's in another dimension. Waiter, why does my soup lack memes?

Ritchey-Chretien is actually worse in terms of central obstruction - a typical Cass has around 35% central obstruction, RCs have 40-50% sometimes.

Ever heard of a Cassegrain?

Processed an older photo of the Moon:

UPDATE: They have just announced that she is in stable condition.

UPDATE: She is now one with the Force. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/23/carrie-fisher-suffers-heart-attack-on-plane-reports/ http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/12/27/carrie-fisher-best-known-as-princess-leia-in-star-wars-dead-at-60.html May the Force be with you, Ms. Fisher.

2016, we have 8 days left. Can you PLEASE stop? http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/12/24/astronaut-piers-sellers-dies-61 http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=50162

A Mak just shoves a longer focal length into a shorter package. It is not as versatile due to the long focal length. One would probably be better off using a standard reflector or refractor and having a Barlow lens that can flip in to lengthen the focal length when needed.

Maximum size would be less than 4". I own 2 telescopes bigger than that. No sense in launching such a little one into orbit. Project Blue is not a CubeSat. And in any case the program failed because of lack of funds.

Yup! Apollo 13.

So, they'll bump it up in 2024?

2016 has taken a lot of people, but this has hit me harder than most. RIP

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2114622-proxima-centauri-really-does-orbit-its-two-bright-neighbours/ I knew it!

Hmm, let's see. The Minotaur I is literally a Minuteman III without the warheads. The Minotaur I carries 580 kg to orbit. The Minuteman III carries 2 warheads. Each warhead is around 200-240 kg. Thus, the Minuteman III could technically make it to orbit. To the sun, though? Definitely no.

That's just awesome.

Tiny vacuums and valves?

The new administration is going to pour funds into it so EM-2 happens as originally planned in 2021, and then we'll probably see a new Constellation-style program with lunar landings (maybe Russia will provide the lander) and maybe a cislunar station too.

No. Their space budget is crippled at less than $1 billion a year. Angara flies less than once a year. It's a miracle Soyuz launches even work, let alone are safe. Nauka has been delayed for a decade. The Science and Power Modules might not fly until 2024. PTK-NP and the lunar lander are just PowerPoint slides. I think that the more likely scenario is that the new US administration is going to use SLS/Orion to go back to the Moon, and collaborate with/fund Russia for the lunar lander.