Category Archives: astronomy

astronomy groups and organizations, galileoscope, international year of astronomy

A Scope in Every Pot

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The Galileoscope Project

One of the most visible parts of the International Year of Astronomy is the Galileoscope. It’s a high-quality telescope that gives a viewer about the same view that astronomer Galileo Galilei had in 1609.  If that sounds a bit “meh” in these times of mega-scopes and super-GOTO mounts and the Web, consider this:  most kids (and adults, really) have never looked through any kind of telescope.  The most contact with the sky a lot of people have is maybe glancing up at the stars as they go outside to the car at night, or they search out something on the Web for the kids’ science fair project.

The Galileoscope.
The Galileoscope.

The Galileoscope gives everybody a chance to have the experience of looking through a telescope and seeing something in the sky that they have never seen before in just that way.  And, there’s a LOT to be said for that experience. It’s like the difference between seeing a picture of an apple and eating one. Or, the difference between reading a play in lit class or actually seeing and hearing it performed live.  Or, the difference between watching someone hug someone else or hugging someone yourself.

The scope (which you can see above) is easy to put together. The best part is, it only costs $15.00.  Now, you’ve probably seen (and heard) me and others with our mantra of “cheap scopes aren’t worth it.”  Well, there’s cheap and then there’s cheap. If you think of department store scopes with wobbly mounts and crappy lenses, then yeah, that’s cheap.  But, while this scope is inexpensive (money-cheap), it has been put together by folks (Rick Fienberg, former editor of Sky & Telescope, Steve Pompea, Hans Hansen and others) who were able to insist on really high-quality work — and it shows. It lets you look at the Moon and Jupiter and a number of other easily found objects. It lets a viewer have that “Galileo moment” that changed everything for astronomy.

There are already a number of educational packets put together to help teachers whose students are putting these together as class optics projects.  And, the best part is, they’re easy to use and they really DO give people a real experience at sky viewing.  And, since astronomy is one of those sciences that really hooks people — it’s a leg up into a real learning experience at any age.

So, check it out. You can buy as many as you want at $15.00 each — at that price you could buy some for yourself and your family and maybe get one or two to donate to local schools or children’s groups.  Give the gift of the sky to yourself and others! Let’s get a scope in every backyard, every schoolyard, and as many street corners as we can!

astronomy, chinese space missions, hubble space telescope, international year of astronomy, near-earth asteroids

Public Tells HST Where to Look

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and other News

Arp 274 is HSTs next imaging candidate, as chosen by public vote.
Arp 274 is HST's next imaging candidate, as chosen by public vote.

Well, our long  international wait is over. The public has spoken. Hubble Space Telescope will be looking at a pair of close-knit galaxies called Arp 274 because that’s what 50 percent of public voters on the YouDecide Hubble Site said they wanted.

I think everybody was intrigued by the idea of a gravitationally twisted set of galaxies. They are pretty cool looking, so HST’s image (which will be taken in during the International Year of Astronomy’s 100 Hours of Astronomy event April 2-5) should be pretty spectacular. Come back in a month or so for a picture that will knock your socks off!

Interacting galaxies are really quite fascinating. Not only do they swap stars and gas clouds (and maybe even central black holes), but they also play a role in spurring huge starburst knots, places where massive young stars are birthed by the hundreds. Then, in a few million or so years, those same massive young stars (that live fast because they’re so massive) star to die off in supernova explosions, lighting up the surrounding regions again.

Something Doesn’t Crash into Earth

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(Click on the player to get a larger view.)

Asteroid Whizzes Past earth (if you don’t see a player here)

Earlier today a small near-Earth asteroid called 2009 DD45 whizzed past our planet at a distance of about 72,000 kilometers (only twice the distance of most of our geostationary comsats). The rock was only about 35 meters across and was never on a collision course. But, amateur astronomers were able to capture images and movies of it, like the one shown above from Dave Herald of Canberra,  Australia (as seen on Spaceweather.com).

But Something Did Crash into the Moon

An artists concept of the final moment of Chang-es mission life. Courtesy Xinhua. (Click to embiggen.)
An artist's concept of the final moment of Chang-e's mission life. Courtesy Xinhua. (Click to embiggen.)

The Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry announced that its first lunar probe, called Chang’e, bit the lunar dust on March 1. This capped off a 16-month mission that included surface mapping and taking data for three-dimensional imagery of the Moon’s surface.

The Chinese have two more missions in the series planned and they hope to land a rover vehicle around the year 2012. The impact was part of the first phase end stage  and will help the Chinese plan their landing sequence for the second phase.

China is the latest country of several to join in on lunar exploration. The U.S. has a mission headed back to the Moon in May, and the Japanese have been exploring there lately, too.