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Science Forum Index » Astro - Amateur Forum » LESSONS IN OUTER SPACE (The Bay City Times)
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| Guest |
 Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:02 pm |
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A man who ''revolutionized amateur astronomy'' is scheduled to come Friday to the Delta College Planetarium in downtown Bay City to speak about the formation of the universe and how telescopes are used to view the cosmos.
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Just one of Today's Top 10 Consumer News Stories: http://www.ng2000.com/fw.php?tp=science;amateur-astronomy |
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| Chris L Peterson |
| Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:01 pm |
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On 19 Feb 2007 12:02:40 -0500, admin@ng2000.com wrote:
Quote: A man who ''revolutionized amateur astronomy'' is scheduled to come Friday to the Delta College Planetarium in downtown Bay City to speak about the formation of the universe and how telescopes are used to view the cosmos.
John Dobson's telescope design has certainly had a profound impact on
the equipment in use by amateurs. I think that saying he "revolutionized
amateur astronomy" is a little strong. That minor point aside, anyone
attending this lecture should know that when it comes to cosmology,
Dobson is thoroughly in the crank camp, however.
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com |
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| AstroApp |
| Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:38 pm |
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On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:01:47 GMT, Chris L Peterson
<clp@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:
Quote: On 19 Feb 2007 12:02:40 -0500, admin@ng2000.com wrote:
A man who ''revolutionized amateur astronomy''...
John Dobson's telescope design has certainly had a profound impact on
the equipment in use by amateurs. I think that saying he "revolutionized
amateur astronomy" is a little strong.
Chris,
At the time I assembled a 10 inch scope in the early 1970s -- an
unwieldy affair on a German equatorial mount with a 100 pound
counterweight that I was barely strong enough to lift and screw on to
the end of the polar bearing -- there were two people in my local
astronomy club who had large scopes: one fellow built a 12" GEM
telescope in a permanent arrangement at his house, and a close friend
of mine constructed a 14" f/6 on a *gargantuan* GEM: the thing weighed
hundreds of pounds and required a large cargo van to transport, and at
least 90 minutes to set up. He used it rarely but the views were
spectacular (once when he and I took it to Organ Pipe National
Monument, we were stopped in the middle of the night by the Border
Patrol, who insisted that they be allowed to look INTO the scope tube
to see if "aliens" were hiding in it. How times have changed!)
But the rest of the club members had little refractors, the lucky ones
owning Unitrons or the very first (good) Tascos, or perhaps
home-ground 6" f/8 mirrors on pipe mounts: that sort of thing. There
was also one rich guy who had a Questar...
It was a big deal to look at M13 in those days.
Now look at the 'scene'. 17 to 24 inch Dobs are EVERYWHERE, and
people are hunting down Hickson and Abell galaxy clusters. If this is
NOT a "revolution in amateur astronomy" I don't know exactly what
would constitute one!
AstroApp |
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| Ed |
| Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:06 pm |
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If you haven't yet had the chance to hear this gentleman speak you are
missing a treat.
He is knowlegable and entertaining. |
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| Llanzlan Klazmon the 15th |
| Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 12:13 am |
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"Ed" <ed1ward2@verizon.net> wrote in news:1171940784.378853.133890
@t69g2000cwt.googlegroups.com:
Quote: If you haven't yet had the chance to hear this gentleman speak you are
missing a treat.
He is knowlegable and entertaining.
Entertaining yes. A generally likeable fellow but also an outright crackpot
when it comes to cosmology.
Klamzon.
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