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Posts Tagged ‘Astronomy’

Recent astronomy articles can be found both online and in print magazines.  New photos of space objects result in articles.  When space agencies announce missions, people write.  Discussion abounds about everything.  Here are just a few.

Bumpy space dust, of all things, generated many recent astronomy articles.  Why is this important?  Scientists know that hydrogen is the universe’s basic building block.  But it takes the bonding of hydrogen to create larger molecules.  Because of the cold in space, hydrogen needs a little push.  It could be the bumpy surface of dust that helps in that process.  Imagine that.

The Death Star is one of the moons of Saturn.  It’s a huge crater that makes it look like the movie menace.  Recent astronomy articles focused on Cassini’s mission to this moon, called Mimas.  Some stunning images and a lot of new data resulted.  Folks loved to see this news.  This information will help shed light on the number of impact objects that pass through Saturn’s orbit.  We’ll learn a lot about how planets like Saturn clean debris from the solar system.

For years people have studied dark matter.  It contributes to the expansion of the universe, but scientists don’t really know how.  Dark matter was the subject of many recent astronomy articles in 2008.  The SuperNova Acceleration Probe was set to study dark matter.  Dark matter makes up about 70% of the matter in the universe, so learning about it is important.

A proto-sun is the name given to our sun before it officially became a star.  Many researchers, however wondered whether this proto-sun may have emitted useful heat or light or particles.  Recent astronomy articles answer this question with a resounding yes.  Scientists have used new techniques to discover that the protosun did indeed emit ultraviolet and other particles in an early form of the solar wind.  All of this helped life on Earth form.

Search engines like Google can help people keep up on recent astronomy articles.

If you have a young astronomer who would like to take the hobby to the next level, consider buying them a kid telescope.  We aren’t looking for a cheap plastic toy, but a beginner’s telescope designed specifically for novice star gazers.   Now it is important to select a telescope that allows for optimal viewing of celestial bodies while providing a clear magnified view of your selected celestial bodies.  A novice telescope that has these capabilities will provide for a more positive experience for your stargazer and heighten their interest in the night’s sky .

What Type of Kid Telescope Should You Consider?

With a less complex and simple, well-crafted design, the dobsonian telescope model is a top recommendation by some experts as one of the best children’s telescopes available in the better telescope shops.  Other experts believe that a more user-friendly reflecting telescope is a better choice for novices.  To make an educated selection, a good source of info is the telescope user reviews found at many online telescope websites.  But, whatever your choice, select the child telescope model that is tailored for new telescope users and one that can be set-up quickly and can be aligned and operates easily. While a  cannot offer custom or state of the art optics, ones from reputable manufacturers are generally quite satisfactory.  A word of warning though –  It is generally best to avoid “department store” telescopes.  These are generally of lower quality and designed for mass production at the expense of quality.

Why You Should Start with a Kid Telescope

The reasons we suggest that you start on a smaller scale is that you want to avoid the frustration of attempting to use an advance telescope without training and experience. A beginner telescope will afford you with a great number of opportunities to view the stars and planets while you learn the basics of stargazing.  Your  investment in a good quality child telescope can range from $200 – $2,500, but we would suggest that you look for telescopes in the $300 to $600 price range.

So, if your new astronomy student is ready to commence on their adventure to the stars, take a “right”  at the Sea of Tranquility and fly yourself into deep space by visiting the Crab Nebula. The whole experience is much easier than most think, thanks to the strong magnification , precision optics and simple operating controls of the new beginner telescopes .

Are you a stargazer? Stargazing has become an obsolete hobby, in most of our lives, since seeing the sky has become a rarity. I feel very nostalgic when I see the sky as me and my siblings used to fight over distributing and owning the brightest stars that are visible in the majestic night sky. If you have a chance to see the sky from your home, let it be even a small part of the sky, then, you have to buy the telescope, an amazing invention and bring it home.

A small reflector telescope would do, if you are buying it for home use. It is a tricky proposition to buy a telescope in any case. You should know the type of telescope that you need before going ahead with the purchase. If you do not know, ask an expert. Once you buy the telescope find a flat surface in your home from which maximum sky could be explored. If you have kids at home, they will enjoy looking through the eye pieces of the telescope. The enormous highly resolved moon is a fascinating experience for the kids.

So, I think, I have inspired you enough to go and buy a telescope right now. Before you rush to the shop for a buy, you should do some research and find the type of telescope that you want for your home. If you want to become a professional astronomer, then, you have to do a bit more research and talk to different experts in astronomy explaining them your needs and your future plans to become a professional. The experts might suggest you to buy a variety of eye pieces and filters that could provide greater magnification and protection to your eyes respectively. It is of utmost importance to take good care of your eyes along with enjoying the experience of seeing the deep sky objects much closer.

Telescope viewing brings the astronomical events and objects much closer to your eye. Falling stars (meteoroids) and eclipse with a diamond ring is a great feeling which you can cherish for long. Even if you do not want to buy a telescope you can go to the planetarium and observe the stars. May 10^th is international astronomy day and you can find a planetarium which conducts events to increase the interest in astronomy.

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in the late 1500′s.  In his early career he taught math at a university, the beginnings of his fame.  A baby step towards Galileo Galilei astronomy was when he demonstrated to students that different weight objects fell at the same speed, counter to Aristotle’s teachings. Aristotle was so popular that Galileo soon lost his teaching job, and so sought work in Padua.  It was there that his ideas about astronomy truly began.

He began to study Physics and invented a new measuring device, the compass.  He developed formula for the path projectiles took, and for falling bodies.  These became very important in astronomy, later.  But at the time Galileo claimed to have no interest in the subject other than that he believed the work of Copernicus rather than that of Aristotle and Ptolemy.  It was Copernicus who first described a solar system in which planets orbit the sun.  But in the work of Ptolemy and Aristotle the solar system circled the Earth.  As time went by Copernicus, and Galileo, were proven correct.

When the spyglass was invented in Holland, Galileo learned of it and made his own telescope which he turned to the sky.  He used it to see features on the moon such as mountains and craters.  He also learned that the milky way was made up of individual stars.  He also saw four large moons orbiting Jupiter.  After publishing this information, he was named the royal mathematician in the court at Florence.  No longer having to earn a living teaching, he could spend more time exploring.  It took him only 9 months to discover Saturn’s phases.  It was yet more proof that his trust in Copernicus was well founded.

Galileo’s original dispute was with Aristotle’s teachings.  Many scientists agreed with Galileo, and so published his findings.  But the powerful church was inclined to believe Aristotle’s theories which placed man at the center of creation.  A Florence priest denounced Galileo Galilei astronomy in 1614.  Galileo retorted that the bible has no bearing on science.  In 1616 the church censored Galileo’s books, and a cardinal instructed him to stop teaching that the Earth moves.  Galileo continued with other studies but in regard to the solar system, obeyed the order.  It is said that Galileo had one comment after signing an agreement that the Earth does not move.  “I would say here something that was heard from an ecclesiastic of the most eminent degree; “And yet … it moves.”

Near the end of the 16th century, a man named Galileo was born in Italy.  He eventually became a mathematics teacher despite having no degree, and it was here that his famous future was first hinted.  A baby step towards Galileo Galilei astronomy was when he demonstrated to students that different weight objects fell at the same speed, counter to Aristotle’s teachings. He wasn’t invited back to teach, and so moved to a position at the University of Padua.  His entry into astronomy would come to fruition there.

He began to study Physics and invented a new measuring device, the compass.  He developed formula for the path projectiles took, and for falling bodies.  These became very important in astronomy, later.  Galileo claimed he had no desire to explore astronomy except a passing support for the theories of Copernicus.  Copernicus’ theory was of a heliocentric solar system in which the planets circle the sun.  However most people held that Aristotle and Ptolemy were correct in their theory that all the planets, even the sun, orbited the Earth.  The model Copernicus proposed for the order of planets around the sun has been proven.  And today we know Copernicus was completely correct.

Galileo was the first to look at the night sky through a spyglass, thus using the first telescope.  With a magnification of 20, this telescope helped Galileo discover mountains and craters on the moon.  He also saw, for the first time, the individual stars that made up the Milky Way.  He also saw four large moons orbiting Jupiter.  He published his findings and became the court mathematician in Florence.  With time freed from teaching duties, he could really get to work.  In only 9 months he determined that other planets had phases.  This was another nail in the coffin for Ptolemy’s and Aristotle’s ideas about the solar system.

Galileo most disagreed with Aristotle.  Because so many agreed with Galileo his theories were widely published.  But Aristotle was popular with the church because an Earth centered solar system put man’s home, and thus man, at the center of things.  Galileo Galilei astronomy fell into disfavor and was denounced by the Church in 1614.  Galileo retorted that the bible has no bearing on science.  A cardinal demanded Galileo stop talking about a moving Earth.  Galileo complied, continuing his study of falling objects, comets, and methods to determine longitude at sea based on the phases of Jupiter’s moons.  It was upon signing a document stating the Earth is stationary Galileo uttered a famous quote.  “I would say here something that was heard from an ecclesiastic of the most eminent degree; “And yet … it moves.”