Number Of Points Control

Click the control or press N to activate.

The Number of Points control, part of the Main Diffraction Spikes group, sets the number of Primary Spikes that emanate from the star. Odd numbers, though not possible optically, are provided for extra creative control.

Note that the most common Number Of Points used in astroimages is 4 due to many telescopes having 4 secondary mirror supports, though wide field imagery done with camera lenses often shows many more spikes due to the number of leaves in the lens aperture. Also, some of the largest professional telescopes in the world, such as the Gran Telescopio Canarias, make 6 points owing to their composite mirror designs.