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powerman228 t1_j8vb30v wrote

What's the deal with the forked diffraction spikes on the bright star? I don't think I've seen that in any other images.

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TheGreatestOutdoorz t1_j8vflok wrote

They are from two different diffraction effects. The shorter “rays” are from the secondary mirror in front of the main mirror, the longer ones are from the hexagonal shaped mirrors. Both produce what look like six point “stars”, but since four of the effects of each mirror are at the same angles, they overlap, making the eight point “star”

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HandsOfCobalt t1_j8xv4ih wrote

I think they were talking about the top and upper-right spikes being forked, not about the spikes being present.

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meowcat93 t1_j8x4ij9 wrote

I think it's because the image is a combination of images taken at slightly different angles, and the position of the diffraction spikes is dependent on the telescope roll angle.

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