cold and unsatisfied

No, your throwing arm cannot be classed as a firearm nor can any other body part of a natural person while still attached.

Almost any device that can deliver that rock or any other payload from a distance in a manner likely to cause injury can be defined as a firearm under the Firearms Acts, a measure that was deliberately introduced to keep it from becoming out of date when new technology is introduced. If injury is caused by a device of that kind for which there is no precedent the law is sufficiently sweeping to permit the courts to decide whether it is a firearm or not. Once the precedent is set it may become defined as a firearm forevermore.

Apart from getting into trouble personally we should keep in mind that if one of us, even unintentionally, caused a laser pointer to be classified as a firearm it could put dozens if not hundreds of our fellow astronomers through the inconvenience of having to give up (by destroying or surrendering) a useful tool. A 5mw laser pointer is more than adequate and quite safe, so let's not fall into the 'bigger is better' trap. A 50mw laser can cause temporary loss of vision at a distance and in the case of our hobby a user could quite innocently and by accident cause a passing driver or aircraft pilot to be temporarily blinded, which could lead to an accident. Play safe.

Guess I'll safer leave the 500kW laser cloud-buster packed away so...

Hi Fintan,

Have you tried M81 and M82? They should be far easier to find than the Sombrero and are nicely placed very close to the zenith a the moment (being close to the bowl of the Plough), so they are probably the easiest galaxies to spot from the suburbs. In fact they are visible even in the 66mm scope from Salthill under mag 3.5 skies. Trev

M81/82 look great in the same field! Even through my little 6" they appear nice and bright with a 26mm. Unfortunately, I have no bother finding anything since I have a GoTo mount (no offence lads!)

fguihen, as a fellow newbie I'm just wondering what you thought of Andromeda when you found it?

I'm in the same boat as yourself, got a 6" Scope but all I've been looking at is the moon & Saturn. I thought I found Andromeda but I'm not sure. By the sounds of it you saw it and obviously picked out detail, all I saw was a smudge /

I'm not working from a dark site so that might be a problem.

Sorry for not noticing your post earlier Turlock. The first time I saw Andromeda I was absolutely amazed. it doesnt look as impressive as Saturn, but the fact that its a galaxy, bigger than our own, and you are looking at billions of stars in one tiny patch of sky that looks soooo small, both helps you to realise the astronomical distances and sizes involved, and also it baffels you when you think too much about the masses and distances involved! its a catch 22 suituation! the more you look at it, the more detail you pick out. i first tried in my 25mm , then my 15 mm and my 6mm. the 15 mm shows it up best. think of how many earth like planets you may be looking at in that one patch of sky, the forces working within that galaxy! man, im getting awestruck just thinking about it! and we will collide with it in a few billion years! how exciting!!!

in a six incher, it will look like a piece of thin wet transparent tissue, very faint but taking up quite a bit of the sky in your eyepiece. once you find it once, you will be able to find it again and again. i generally find it with my binos, and then hop to it with the scope. hopefully il make it to whirlpool this year ( if i get a car) as id love to see it through a nice 14" or even a 20 " dob!!!!!! that would make my year!