Too bad the stars actually move (or more actually the earth rotates) so you need to constantly adjust the telescope
this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2025
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Cosmic Horror
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"cosmic horror... is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock... themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries... the sense that ordinary life is a thin shell over a reality that is so alien and abstract in comparison that merely contemplating it would damage the sanity of the ordinary person, insignificance and powerlessness at the cosmic scale..."
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I think the horror would suggest they aren't stars at all, and the unmoved telescope plays into that
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.
It's a fake story
🤫 Shhh! Don't spoil the fun.
That's what I'm saying, let it be unrealistic (I discuss this more.in another comment)
I know, it's in cosmic horror, but it's like figuring out an explanation for technobabble on Star Trek.
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 🙄
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.
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.
True dat. Motor drives are awesome.
This reminds me of one time at a camp on Maui when I looked up and saw a pretty bright star near the half moon. It was a place we'd been 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 to it. So I got out the little telescope I had brought along and sure enough, it was Saturn! After a while I got to watch the moon cover it and later on see it come out the other side. I told the people I was there with and they were fascinated. I kept having to jog the scope a little to keep it in view. 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.
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.
Sounds like the start of a cosmic horror story
That episode and that scene was amazing.
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
I agree, but also I think JD should have been way more concerned about Cox rather than asking that and walking away with him.
Yeah but it was made for me a bit more dramatic scene
My friends and I just finished a Call of Cthulhu adventure that involved a special telescope that did exactly this.
They know when you're watching...
/x/ material