• GBU_28@lemm.ee
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      5 days ago

      I think the horror would suggest they aren’t stars at all, and the unmoved telescope plays into that

      • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Could have been air whistling through furnace ducts. I’ve heard sounds like that which were only audible from one exact point in a room.

          • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            I know, it’s in cosmic horror, but it’s like figuring out an explanation for technobabble on Star Trek.

            • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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              5 days ago

              Yeah but we are on a cosmic horror comm.

              So it’s much more reasonable in this context to playfully brainstorm some eldritch mechanism by which the telescope is peering beyond the veil, and the “screaming stars” are not classical celestial objects in any way.

              Or I guess just vent noise, that’s great cosmic horror 🙄

      • JokeDeity@lemm.ee
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        5 days ago

        I mean, if it has anything to do with what the telescope sees then it still would change by the next night unless whatever it is moved in accordance.

    • SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net
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      5 days ago

      Whenever I drag out my 8 inch dobsonian and have people look at the moon (they don’t care for the nebulae or andromeda, not very exciting unless you are already into those things), the one thing that always surprises them is just how often you need to move the telescope to stay in sight.

      Having people watch the moon zip through the view is easily my favorite thing about sky watching.

      • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        True dat. Motor drives are awesome.

        This reminds me of one time at a camp on Maui when I looked up and saw a bright star near the half moon. We had been to this place multiple times so I knew the sky fairly wall and knew it wasn’t a star - had to be either Jupiter or Saturn, and it looked like the moon was getting closer. So I got out the little telescope I had brought along and sure enough, it was Saturn! After a while I watched the moon cover it and later it came out the other side. The people I was there with were fascinated. I kept having to jog the scope a little to keep it in view while we looked at it. I know these things are predicted way in advance but I hadn’t been aware of it - just happened to look up. It was one of my more memorable stargazing experiences.

  • Jack@lemmy.ca
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    5 days ago

    More likely to be local phenomena than stars, because non-polar stars won’t stay in view of a stationary telescope due to diurnal motion.

        • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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          5 days ago

          Absolutely. Having worked in emergency services, I struggle to watch it but always find it cathartic afterwards. I don’t normally drink much but you damn well know I open a bottle of scotch in solidarity

        • toynbee@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          I agree, but also I think JD should have been way more concerned about Cox rather than asking that and walking away with him.

    • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      My friends and I just finished a Call of Cthulhu adventure that involved a special telescope that did exactly this.