Spiky Stars?

What’s going on here?

If you’ve been following my blog, then you’ll know a bit about the gear I have. So what’s not correct about the below image?

In case you’re wondering, my telescope is a refractor (ie, a tube with lenses at each end) and cannot make those spikes you see on the stars. A reflector telescope has the secondary mirror suspended by a ‘spider’, and light bouncing off the back of the spider’s legs create the distinctive spikes.

So how did I create mine? I used a 3D-printed ‘X’ that clipped to the front of my telescope.

I’m undecided as to whether I like the spikes or not…

• Astro