Just how small we really are

Date 02-28-2013 22:10

Just thought I'd pass this on as a life long lover of the night skies.
For those noo-b's interested in Astronomy...
DO NOT buy a telescope!!!
Visual astronomy has little do do with magnification. It is all about the size of the lenses (or mirrors). So buy the best pair of large diameter binoculars you can afford.
Besides, a good pair can double as a hunting aid to. I use a pair of (Orion 16x80 binos purchased 25 years ago) for pre season scouting. Using both eyes makes those 16 power binos equal to or better than a 30X spotting scope.
I have looked through an 82 inch scope at Jupiter which was the 6th largest Optical Telescope in the world at the time In 2001, I had the remarkable opportunity to see Uranus with the Wm. Keck (Still the world's largest optical instrument) in Hawaii... My niece was running that scope back then. She now flies on the NASA SOFIA mission running those instruments on board a specially fitted 747.
Both of these experiences taught me that the view was not all that much better that a $2000.00 telescope. Trust me. A good pair of binos cannot be beat.
For anywhere between 100 to 400 bucks a decent pair of binos from these guys will show more (and not wind up on Craig's list or a garage sale) than any telescope costing Thousands.

http://www.telescope.com/Binoculars/Astronomy-Binoculars/pc/5/72.uts#
Besides, any serious astronomer will have a good pair of binos in his arsenal. So you might as well get them now because they are kinda like having a rifle with out a scope, ie. a necessary accessory to compliment the main tool to it's full potential.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 03-01-2013 03:55

Shawn ....as much as we talk ....well I could tell you butt loads of stuff you won't find on your clicker with Discovery channel in regards to astronomy and astrophysics ...oh no not another time consuming subject!!!!! :grin:

Actually astrophysics is an incredible scientific field ....the numbers literally stretch the mind beyond it's capacity. But it is fascinating!!! Magnatars, pulsars, short lived massive stars and the results of thier death. All that stuff I found so interesting I actually started to like math, dug into relativity and how it proves out time travel.....why is it still a theory??? Screw particle physics (quantum theory) ITS NUTSO!!!.....We have proved enough in actual experiments to vindicate it....oh wait...black holes...infinite mass infinite gravity......ummmm no we cannot EVER EVER EVER have infinite anything in physics. Ummm personal opinion HELLO God. Dark Matter BAH!!! you simply got your math wrong and you want to come up with a quick and dirty answer......on and on and on Ill shut up now.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 03-01-2013 13:02

They run back to back shows on the science channel sometimes and I just set the tv to that station and watch for hours. Just amazing stuff. I'm a math dummy and enjoy the physicists that explain it in dummy terms. "Think of the opening of a black hole as a waterfall" type of stuff. "A teaspoon full of Neutron star weighs 1 billion tons". Just crazy interesting stuff!

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 03-01-2013 13:12

Telescopes.....I managed to get Saturn all focused in with my son's low power scope and then trying to let my kids each take turns looking at the moons and rings...but if someone breathed on the telescope it would be pointing tens of thousands of miles off target and take me a while to get it inched back around and find it again. I found it very tiring trying this with 3 or 4 yo shivering kids, hours passed their bedtime, in the cold of the night, laying on our bellies on the frost covered lawn.

By 99205

Date 03-01-2013 19:37

NETFLIX has a good series on the universe --------> "How the Universe Works".
My granddaughter watch all 8 episodes, now she wants a telescope.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 03-02-2013 02:47 Edited 03-02-2013 02:52

I would pay good money to sit and listen to lectures by Michio Kaku or Brian Cox. Michio is very pragmatic and too the point but he does not beat you to death with his massive brain...he makes practical comparisons when talking massive objects/numbers that make it hit home quickly. Brian is probably one of the best in the world at presenting it in a way that relates to real world experience/language and terms...plus he has an excitement in his speech that is infectious...really gets you involved. I imagine his classes at Manchester are highly sought after. Even if he is a quantum guy...he has not abandoned his love of the BIG universe.

I wish I was intelligent enough to do that for a living....it takes a special kind of brain that can do x-games gymnastics with numbers at will. Unfortunately I will always be a dum spectator digesting new theory that I do not have the skill set to play out on the chalkboard.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 03-02-2013 06:00

I was trying to find Michio speaking somewhere near hear so i could take my kid but didn't find anything. Brian Cox is great to watch and listen to as well. Lots of shows with him.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 03-02-2013 03:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYSXBsGOVuc :grin:

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 03-02-2013 05:58

"cause there's bugger all down here on Earth" Bbwwwwaaahahaha!!!! Leave it to Monty Python! What a show that was!