Bad Call, Earth ?
First, an apology. I have been neglecting this blog for far too long. I will try to be better, I promise.
I was on Twitter at lunch time today, and the SETI Institute tweeted the following link to an article that, simply put, inspired me to write a post about it:
Oops, That Was a Bad Call, Earth
Now, with a title like that, how could I not read the article?!
Turns out, the article is about whether or not it’s the world’s dumbest idea to attempt to contact alien civilizations. The idea of there being life elsewhere in the universe is one of my most-favorite astronomy topics, if not my MOST favorite astronomy topic. In my opinion, it is both foolish and borderline-arrogant to think there is NOT life elsewhere in the universe. Moreover, there’s an awful lot of space and stars and planets out there, and it’s a bit depressing to think we’re all there is. Even if it’s not complicated life – human-like life – I suspect there is LIFE out there.
The article above suggests it might be a bad idea for us to start trying to contact whatever is hanging out in space. Perhaps they already know we’re here and they don’t care much about us, and the signals will piss them off and cause them to shoot their advanced-technology space weapons at us. Perhaps not. It’s an intriguing idea nonetheless.
Anyone have their own thoughts and opinions on this topic that they’d like to share?
5 Cool Stocking Stuffers for the Astronomy Enthusiast
Since it’s Christmas time, and I know I like to ask “Santa” to leave a few astronomy-related items under the tree, I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite small-ticket gifts with everyone. While I am doing this simply to share, and maybe give people a few ideas for their own wish lists or gift lists, I do have to disclose this: the following links are affiliate links. (There, got that out of the way, so the FTC can’t yell at me!)
5 Cool Astronomy Stocking Stuffers
1. An Orion Explorer II Eyepiece : I asked for this eyepiece last year and was lucky enough to find it in my stocking. It is a zoom eyepiece (7-21 mm), so you can put just the one eyepiece in and twist it to look more closely at your target. I love it because it means no more fumbling with several eyepieces for one object, and more time just enjoying the night sky. This one is also compatible with the telescope I have, which you can read more about here.
2. The DK Eyewitness Astronomy book : This was the first book I bought myself about astronomy, and it is absolutely indispensable . It contains all the information you could ever need to get started with star-gazing equipment, plus detailed information about the stars, planets, constellations, deep-sky objects, and more! There are also fantastic star charts in the back of the book, one for every month of the year and the approximate time the chart will be accurate.
3. A Celestron Green Laser Optical Kit : I gave this kit to my fiance last year for his birthday. The binoculars are a perfect size for traveling, and the green laser pointer comes in handy when he sees something that I do not.
4. A Celestron Astro Night Vision Flashlight : I have a red flashlight, and it really is one of those things you don’t realize you need until you find yourself without it. The red light protects your night vision while you consult your star charts or adjust your telescope or binoculars. I know I’m just an amateur, but I really believe every astronomer ought to have one!
5. The Sky and Telescope Binocular Highlights book : This is a book I gave as a companion gift to item #3. He carries this book around with him all the time! The star charts are easy to read, and it has loads of information about various objects in the night sky and how to find them using your binoculars.
I’d also recommend cleaning supplies for telescope lenses, or maybe a collimator, but I have little personal experience with those things, so I hesitate to recommend anything specific.
Feel free to add to my list! Leave a comment if you know about something astronomy “buffs” may enjoy for the holidays!
December Astronomy Events in the NY Area
There are a bunch of interesting astronomy events going on in the month of December if you live in and around the New York City region. To those of you who don’t live near New York, I suggest Googling “astronomy events” in your area and checking out the results!
Happy Star-Gazing!
12/1/2009 : Using Light to Reveal the Darkness 6:30 pm
A lecture at the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium about dark matter and dark energy.
12/4/2009 : Columbia University Public Outreach Program 7-9 pm
A lecture about 2012, followed by telescope observing sessions (weather permitting).
12/5/2009 : Winter Skies show and talk 4:30 pm
A planetarium show at the Western Connecticut State University planetarium, followed by the opportunity to use the 20-inch telescope in their dome to view Uranus, the autumn sky, and the Pleiades.
THIS IS A FREE PUBLIC EVENT!!!
12/7/2009 : Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon 7:30 pm
A lecture at the American Museum of Natural History that explores the possibility of life on one of Jupiter’s largest moons.
12/10/2009 : Public Observation Night at WCSU 5:30pm-8:30 pm
There is no show this night, but there is the opportunity to check out objects like Uranus, the Pleiades, and the Orion Nebula with the telescope in the dome. (Weather permitting)
THIS IS A FREE PUBLIC EVENT!!!
12/12/2009 : Second Saturday Stars at JJ McCarthy Observatory 7-9 pm
The lecture is expected to be “Recent Science and Discoveries with the Telescope.” The lecture will be followed by telescope observing, weather permitting.
12/13/2009 & 12/14/2009 : Geminid Meteor Shower
To me, this is the big one for the month of December! The Geminids are usually a good show because there are typically around 100 meteors per hour. This year there is a New Moon, which will make it even easier to see the shower. The radiant (place you should look if you want to see any meteors) for the shower is in Gemini, near the star Castor, which should be in the South. The radiant is supposed to be up in the sky by 9 pm. I’m keeping my fingers crossed the Geminids won’t turn out like the Leonids!
12/19/2009 : Winter Skies show and talk 4:30 pm
A planetarium show at the Western Connecticut State University planetarium, followed by the opportunity to use the 20-inch telescope in their dome to view Uranus, the Orion Nebula, and the Pleiades.
THIS IS A FREE PUBLIC EVENT!!!
12/29/2009 : Celestial Highlight: Planet Watching 6:30 pm
Planetarium show at the American Museum of Natural History, with Steve Beyer, where he will explain the locations of all the planets visible from Earth at the beginning of January and how to find them in the night sky.
Celestron NexStar 5SE Review
I researched what kind of telescope I should purchase for close to 6 months before I actually laid out the money for one. I had astronomy-grade binoculars, and for a while I tried to convince myself that I could see everything I was interested in with those. But the lure of viewing Saturn’s rings for myself was too appealing for me, so eventually I sucked it up and got serious about buying a telescope.
The one I settled on was Celestron’s NexStar 5SE. I bought it from Amazon, because Amazon had the best price (You can buy telescopes from Amazon, too, by following this affiliate link: Celestron NexStar 5 SE Telescope
First of all, I’ve got say that unless you have several thousand dollars to spend, you need to have the proper expectations about owning a telescope. What you see through the eyepiece will not resemble Hubble pictures you may have seen. Not even close. So consider yourself warned!
The Celestron NexStar 5SE is a fantastic telescope for amateurs. For the price I paid, I feel this scope has more than lived up to how it was marketed. It requires little to no skill to set it up. I assembled everything by myself, from the tripod to mounting the telescope tube. The tripod is really sturdy – I’ve never had trouble with it being level or with vibrations. The NexStar 5SE is a computerized telescope with “GoTo” technology, so all you have to do is press a button and the telescope will move itself to the object you want to see. As long as the scope is aligned properly (more on that in a minute), this is a great feature, especially if you aren’t super-familiar with the layout of the night sky.
The eyepiece that comes with this telescope is a 25X, and it’s pretty comfortable to use for long periods of time. The optics are great – I’ve rarely had problems focusing with this telescope/lens combination. I purchased additional lenses and some filters for my telescope at the same time I purchased the telescope, which I would highly recommend doing, particularly if you want to look at the Moon.
I’ve been able to view the Moon, Venus in its phases, Jupiter and up to 10 moons, Saturn, its rings, and Titan, Neptune, the Ring Nebula, several galaxies (particularly Andromeda), and of course, the Orion Nebula including the Trapezium. You can also get a great feel for the differences in star colors with the Celestron NexStar 5SE – I have looked at Betelgeuse, Vega, Spica, Antares, Mizar (a double star clearly through the telescope!), and Regulus extensively.
There are a few negatives with this telescope you should know about, though. First, it does not ship with a case. I had to buy a custom-made hard case that I inserted the packing from the original telescope box into to have a case for traveling with this telescope. Also, you probably will need to purchase the separate power tank for the telescope, because the battery life really sucks and you’ll need backup. Neither of those are negatives that have made me regret purchasing this telescope, though!
Here is the big negative: the StarAlign system and the tracking are not always accurate. You have the option to do 1-, 2-, or 3-star alignment, or a planetary alignment. This basically means you find an object in your eyepiece, center it, and then tell the telescope you’ve found and centered it. It’s not as scary as it sounds! The problem is that no matter how accurate my alignment, or how precise my GPS locator coordinates, the telescope always loses its alignment after I have viewed one object. So if I want to see Saturn, but then I decide I want to look at the Ring Nebula, the telescope will put me in the general vicinity of the Ring Nebula but I will have to do some work to get it in my eyepiece. I think this could be a problem with the tracking/time keeping, but I really don’t know. I’ve read other reviews complaining about this same problem. It’s a bit frustrating, but it really is the only negative on this telescope!
If you’re just starting out with the astronomy hobby, I think this is the perfect telescope to go with. Even with the tracking/alignment irritation, it’s very user-friendly and can show you loads of objects in the night sky within minutes. If you’ve been doing the astronomy thing for a while, I’d probably go with the slightly bigger version, perhaps the 8SE, because when it comes to telescopes, bigger is almost always better!
No Meteor Showers for You
That’s pretty much what I feel the powers-that-be in the heavens must be saying to me. EVERY METEOR SHOWER this year has been accompanied by me missing it because of cloudy skies. I will now play my tiny violin….
OK, I’m done.
Here is the science behind meteor showers (the abbreviated version):
There are tons of comets in our solar system. They all orbit the Sun, and some of them have tails that cross Earth’s path. When Earth travels through the remains of a comet’s tail, we get meteor showers. To be clear – you can see a meteor, or “shooting star” at any time. Shooting stars could be derived from a comet, but they do not have to be. The meteors you see during a meteor shower are primarily from a comet. Specifically, the meteors you see during this week’s Leonid shower are from the tail of the comet Tempel-Tuttle. If you’re interested in reading more about the Leonids, you can check out this informative article.
This year’s Leonid shower was predicted to be a really fantastic show, with at least 30-300 meteors to gaze at per hour. It would be have been awesome – had it not been for the cloudy skies.
Since I missed out on taking pictures this year, I am going to give you all the link to a pretty good Flickr stream of 2009 Leonid meteor pictures. Just click right here.
If anyone reading this was luckier than I was and caught part of the Leonid peak last night, I’d love to hear about what you saw. Living vicariously, in this case, is better than not living at all!
