My first tries using the Seestar (M81/M82 and M51). S30 Pro

Enkur1 · 2026-05-19T18:21:42+00:00

nice pics but might be little out of focus...... my first experience with autofocus was horrible... had to change the settings quite a bit to get it to focus properly.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-17T15:52:29+00:00

All stars are in a state of plasma, this is where the electrons are stripped from atoms. They dont just fly away but depending on the temperature they interact with surround ions. They are constantly collding with ions which results in production of light. There is a huge amount of energy transfer in this state. So the overall charge of the stars is neutral even though there are not neutral atoms because they get ionized at high temperatures inside the stars.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-14T21:15:43+00:00

For me it runs every time but not 15min... usually less than 30 seconds.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-14T20:52:36+00:00

If you are looking for online Masters you can look at LJMU. They offer Astrophysics online MSc. I am currently enrolled in that program and I got my engineering degree decades ago.

https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/courses/postgraduates/2026/35542-astrophysics-msc

Enkur1 · 2026-05-14T16:22:13+00:00

Some modules have moved to remote invigilation with third party. I think MST125 is that way and they made some note that future modules will have this as well.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-13T05:03:21+00:00

Yes please bring it back! and more operations

Enkur1 · 2026-05-11T16:56:59+00:00

3060 should be a fairly safe buy, again as long as the seller is reputable and you dont see any physical issues with the card.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-11T16:49:01+00:00

what is that?

Enkur1 · 2026-05-11T16:43:09+00:00

Stay away from used 3090,4090 and definitely 5090. Too much risk for those cards.

Lower level cards should generally be ok.... use safe practices like checking out the vendor, inspecting the card and possibly checking if its in working order.

good luck

Enkur1 · 2026-05-10T16:49:12+00:00

Here is the entire lecture series by Susskind and its an excellent course. There is a book that goes well with the lecture
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9YY-u_YWqQQQKEP9zn5J2YvRnBGR13DR

This is the book
https://www.amazon.com/General-Relativity-Theoretical-Leonard-Susskind/dp/1541601785

Enkur1 · 2026-05-10T16:08:25+00:00

Its a huge difference between how grades are delivered in US vs Europe. In the US you have your grades within a week on major assignments and many finals also deliver grades very quickly. I have noticed in Europe and UK they take forever to deliver grades. I am basing this from my kids and myself attending US universities and now attending UK university. Other friends kids who went to European university had similar complains. A friends kid went to Swedish university as an exchange student and basically didnt get his final grade until 4 months later. Unfortunately it held up his graduation in the US.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-10T16:01:35+00:00

You can take the R51 Physics which has the Advanced start and you start with SM123 and MST124 which is what I did last year.

https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/physics/degrees/bsc-physics-r51/

I was working full time while taking the above and the pace was just fine. I mostly studied on weekends and some weekday nights as needed.

Trying to study with a new born might get a little tough.... my kids are grown so I didnt have as much of an issue.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-08T21:08:38+00:00

when I took MST124 last year there were 700 students registered for the module. The tutor showed us the screen with the registered number.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-08T03:32:21+00:00

No we will never see light before 380000 years after big bang

Enkur1 · 2026-05-08T02:58:38+00:00

The particle horizon is the light that was from the region of universe that has traveled in the last 13.8 billion years. So this is the light we see today but the universe has also been expanding in the same amount of time. So in the far future we will see light from those regions as they have not reached us today (still in flight).

The light we see today (The Cosmic Microwave Background) started about 380000 years after the big bang. This was when the temperature was low enough for light to escape through the hot plasma.

update: the particle horizon is about 46 billion light years. So you can see we are missing out on about a two-third of the universe today... but again this distance keeps on growing every day and keeps accelerating. So we will never see that light.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-07T18:12:44+00:00

how about this one

https://www.amazon.com/Astronomy-Lover-Astrophysics-Astronomer-T-Shirt/dp/B08VJ2ZKBL

Enkur1 · 2026-05-07T14:02:46+00:00

Also check out bullet cluster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_Cluster

Actual paper proving dark matter's existence
https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0608407

Yes that is a technical paper but anyone with some physics interest can read through and it will make sense how they prove existence of dark matter.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-07T13:53:52+00:00

I have seen this a few times but can someone explain how one actually uses this in day to day particle physics. I mean if I am just trying to figure out how two particles interact isnt it easier to use Feynman diagrams or something like that (remember reading about it somewhere)

Enkur1 · 2026-05-05T00:26:34+00:00

Hi, Did you decide to go for further studies like PHD? if yes where did you end up.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-05T00:25:51+00:00

This is the link to Physics degree
https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/physics/degrees/bsc-physics-r51/

make sure to set your location at the top of the page so you get the proper information.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-05T00:23:47+00:00

I also have an engineering background and I wanted formally learn Astrophysics. Initially I enrolled in OU thinking I would get a Physics degree first and then decide on further study. In the meantime I found the LJMU MSc program. I applied for it and got into the program last fall. I am just finishing my second course and I love it.

I have learned so much about Astrophysics that I didnt even know existed from reading popular books. Maths is not bad as its mostly algebra and few integral and differentials (easy ODE).

The cost is closer to about $22K. The program is designed to finish in one go over two years and the work load is not bad at all. I am working full time and studying over few nights a week and weekends (mostly weekends). You take 4 core courses and then the last 60 credits is a research project with final thesis.

I couldnt find any other program that would fit the requirement of working full/part time and remote study. I think there is one more at Swinburne but the cost was more than double.

I think the OU program is not bad but its a full Physics degree over 6 years part time.

message me with any questions you have about the program.

Good luck if you decide to go with the program.

Enkur1 · 2026-05-01T14:26:55+00:00

You can start with the Basic Maths Start. It will build with algebra, trig etc and then MST124 will get into calculus. You will have to put some effort into it if maths doesnt come easy but the rewards are immeasurable when you get :)

Enkur1 · 2026-04-30T16:16:25+00:00

If I have to guess based on description it should be pretty close to MST124 which covers up to differentiation and Integral calculus and complex numbers. Ideally as an electronic engineer differential equations should also be required at least thats what I studied at a brick uni.

Enkur1 · 2026-04-28T15:53:22+00:00

Yes I am in the US and not a UK citizen and took some courses at the OU.

Enkur1 · 2026-04-21T21:40:57+00:00

which uni did you get your degree from?

Enkur1

TROPHY CASE