Astronomy

[Jonathan]

2009 has been declared the International Year of Astronomy, since this autumn it's exactly 400 years since Galileo Galilei first aimed his telescope to the sky.

Today I went to an temporary exhibition in Stockholm dedicated to this great scientist. On display was one of only two remaining telescopes made by Galilei himself, which I thought was really cool

The exhibition also dealt with the history of optics and navigation. Besides Galilei, there was presentations on other prominent scientists such as Cassini, Huygens, Kepler and Newton - basically every 17th or 18th century astronomer outstanding enough to have had a NASA mission named after them

[inked]

And, conveniently, Jupiter with its Mediceaean (oops, Galileian) moons is very observable in the southern sky. Check out astronomy.com or skyandtelescope.com for a night sky map to locate from your area.

[Ingwe]

Sky and Telescope is amazing, been subscribing to their magazine since I was just 13 years old, knew of it since I was 8. A lot of people back then would have seen me to be a 'nerd' or 'geek' because of that, yet it doesn't take a nerd or geek to enjoy and be fascinated by the awesome beauty of the universe. I had someone tell me that "if you cannot be awe-struck by the visage of your nation's flag, then there's something wrong with you." Yet I cannot be easily-impressed with a flag that represents the killing of millions of native Americans, nor the recent debaucheries that have been committed in the name of God and this country, as if there were a God (not implying a tool for conversion to atheism exactly, just a part of the point), he'd not see a need for us to be defending him by sacrificing each other because of absolutism, totalitarianism, racism, etc. But that is neither here nor there. The point I'd make about the US flag is that it obviously does not compare with the fascination I have in the universe in general, including this Earth as small of a spec as it is.

There is much to explore out there, and astronomers and astronauts among other scientists are examining all these avenues of science so that we can further advance. Sure, science can wield a deadly power, but so can religion when the two are combined in such a way as to generate a yearning for increasing the death count in 'creative' ways. For the most part, science has done a great job. There is always going to be so much we don't know, and even a trillion years from now if humanity ever stood a chance of being around (let alone the next century), we'd still be beginning our incredible journey.

That is what is so spectacular about it all - there's no end to the journey. The galaxy alone is so utterly massive that for all practical purposes, the technology we currently have couldn't hope to allow us to explore it all in even a hundred million years. In trying to contemplate how far away some of these objects in the sky are, we wonder, how far away that star is, yet how bright it still shines even from that far away. Even though science tells us why, it is still hard to contemplate with the naked eye, and so it sparks something in some people - the heart of the explorer.

And I go to wonder, if it all came from a single Big Bang and something always comes from something else in reality, how could that itself not have come from something else before? And if so many questions can be asked and answered in one way or another about it, how could science seem so boring to some people? For me, thinking that any area of science can be totally dry and boring just does not compute. So when anyone implies or directly states that you're a science nerd, learn to take it as a compliment if you already haven't, and be proud that you have a great chance of accomplishing something better than you would be if everything was just drinking and sports (not that those things are bad, but there is so much more to living). Reading something that at first glance you may think is uninteresting may sometimes lead to finding new interests and expanding your horizons. Improvement only comes with change, for the universe doesn't slow down to wait for us to change.

It's sad that NASA's budget has been nearly annihilated. Hopefully one day, progress in those areas can come about again.

[inked]

Orionid meteor shower's tonight! Check it out!

[inked]

Great solar activities!

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

[inked]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100524...ienceastronomy

cool

[trolls' bane]

Originally Posted by inked

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100524...ienceastronomy

cool

Awesome! I should see if my astronomy program has it. It's a wonderful program, btw... Open source, and it lets you fly through space, visit distant stars or planets in real time, and is customizable. I love it! Haha.

[inked]

I got this one from blog where it was titled: Back atcha, universe!!

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030630.html

Probably too anthropic principle for some, eh?

[Earniel]

Well, it sure showed us! Although I think 'antropomorphic' is more suited in this situation.

I love NASA's astronomy pic of the day.

[Varnafindë]

Are you sure that's not Narnian?

[inked]

Looking for someone to hold responsible for the source of global warming (sic)?

Found her:

Spanish Woman Claims She Now Owns Sun

Updated: Friday, 26 Nov 2010, 2:16 PM EST
Published : Friday, 26 Nov 2010, 2:16 PM EST

(AFP) - After billions of years the Sun finally has an owner -- a woman from Spain's soggy region of Galicia said Friday she had registered the star at a local notary public as being her property.

Angeles Duran, 49, told the online edition of daily El Mundo she took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our solar system.

There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals, she added.

"There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first."

The document issued by the notary public declares Duran to be the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers."

Duran, who lives in the town of Salvaterra do Mino, said she now wants to slap a fee on everyone who uses the sun and give half of the proceeds to the Spanish government and 20 percent to the nation's pension fund.

She would dedicate another 10 percent to research, another 10 percent to ending world hunger -- and would keep the remaining 10 percent herself.

"It is time to start doing things the right way, if there is an idea for how to generate income and improve the economy and people's wellbeing, why not do it?" she asked.


Copyright 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpps/new...26-gc_10808147

So, for all those sunburns, wilted plants, melanoma and basal cell cancers, your lawyer will now have the Sun's owner to contact and sue.

And, if you think we may be headed for another Maunder Minimum, you know who to sue for crop failure, snow and ice traffic accidents, falls, and destruction of human construction due to weight.

Feel better, now?

[Earniel]

So, for all those sunburns, wilted plants, melanoma and basal cell cancers, your lawyer will now have the Sun's owner to contact and sue.

Eh, good point. I don't think she thought that through entirely.

[Varnafindë]

Perhaps she will decide that it's better to try to sell it

[Earniel]

Mind you, there have been stranger things for sale on Ebay...

[Insidious Rex]

Ra is not amused!

[inked]

A rare treat this solstice-time! That'd be December 21/22 for the astronomy non-buffs!

"The oddest celestial event? This year there's an easy winner. It's the millennium's first total lunar eclipse completely visible from all of North America and Hawaii. And whoa, beat the drums, it happens right on the solstice.

This was exactly the kind of spectacle that inspired the fun-loving Mayans to push their most annoying relatives off pyramids. (Does any scholar actually know how they selected people for sacrifices? "Annoying" seems logical.) These days, our own citizenry is much too overweight to engage in such energetic rituals. But if you're tempted, be sure to first check local ordinances before you perform even a single goat sacrifice."

See it all at: http://astronomy.com/en/Columnists/B...20eclipse.aspx

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by inked

(Does any scholar actually know how they selected people for sacrifices? "Annoying" seems logical.)

Thought so. Enemy warriors, I think I remember. I take it those ranked as 'annoying'. Probably after they already had run out of mother-in-laws...

[Earniel]

Soon (in the terms of space exploration) we're going to have our first interstellar space craft! Conventiently at 33, the first man-made object, Voyager One, is crossing the heliopause.

(We'll conveniently forget for a moment that it will take roughly another five years to actually make the crossing. It's still awesome.)

[Rían]

that's cool! Go Voyager!

[Jonathan]

Next, I want to see it make the jump into hyperspace