Why Blog?

Note: this is the second of my posts to my original blog, now restored in new WordPress glory.

Well, here I am again.

It was pointed out to me that Blogging is “In”. Sure, I saw the link to Time Magazine here. And, now PC Magazine has made it official with their article on Blogging in the new issue. Life on the cutting edge, eh?

So, I’m working on this script about Hubble Space Telescope science and I keep wondering how much people really know about this magnificent telescope and the things it is revealing to all of us. In January I was attending the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C. and had a chance to visit a new exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum. The exhibition, titled Explore the Universe, features the Kodak-built back-up mirror for the HST. I found it really impressive. For the first time I could measure my height against a mirror the one that is capturing the photons from so many interesting things in the cosmos! I mean, I always knew I could comfortably stand inside the telescope tube, but seeing a mirror built to fit in that tube finally made the connection. If you’re in Washington, D.C., you should check it out — admission is free!

Of course there ARE bigger ground-based mirrors. I remember visiting the 100-inch on Palomar Mountain a few years back. And many of the installations on Kitt Peak in Arizona. And the twin eyes of the Keck telescopes at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. They look incredibly huge and somehow delicate during a daytime visit, but at night, these (along with the orbiting telescopes like HST, Chandra, etc.) that we use to focus on “stuff” of the universe, are the heavy lifters of Big Astronomy.

Well, it’s time to get back to the script. Anything you wanna know about? Write me at: CCPBLog_@_hotmail._com

CCPetersen

P.S. take out the underscore lines in the address for it to work. Although I have the Hotmail Spam Filters set on high, I would like to keep the porno floggers and other scuzzbag spammers out as much as possible.