What if They Let YOU Run the Hubble?

It is probably the dream of any amateur astronomer to be able to be the boss of one of the great multi million dollar telescopes even if it was just for one hour or for a few shots.  Sure, we can have a lot of fun with our binoculars.  And as we improve our personal equipment set, we get better and better at pinpointing what we want to see in the sky. But there is only so far we can go within the constraints of a family budget in building the perfect telescopic operation.  Probably the next level then is to work together with...

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The Universe through a Childs Eyes

There is something about parenthood that gives us a sense of history and a deeply rooted desire to send on into the next generation the great things we have discovered about life.  And part of that is the desire to instill in our children the love of science, of learning and particularly the love of nature.   Your fascination with the universe and how to explore it as we so often do in the field of astronomy can be highly academic and dry as maybe it was if you took a course in astronomy.  But when you get out there in the field...

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The Glossary of Telescopes

When you enter into any new area of science, you almost always find yourself with a baffling new language of technical terms to learn before you can converse with the experts.  This is certainly true in astronomy both in terms of terms that refer to the cosmos and terms that describe the tools of the trade, the most prevalent being the telescope.  So to get us off of first base, lets define some of the key terms that pertain to telescopes to help you be able to talk to them more intelligently.   The first area of specialization...

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The Night Sky

No matter how far along you are in your sophistication as an amateur astronomer, there is always one fundamental moment that we all go back to.  That is that very first moment that we went out where you could really see the cosmos well and you took in the night sky.  For city dwellers, this is a revelation as profound as if we discovered aliens living among us.  Most of us have no idea the vast panorama of lights that dot a clear night sky when there are no city lights to interfere with the view. Sure we all love the enhanced...

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The WOW Hobby

Some people sometimes view hobbies as sometimes silly or frivolous pastimes.  And its true some hobbies are like that.  But it is healthy to have a hobby because it diversifies our interests and keeps us active and fun to be with.  But many hobbies are for the few that really get into that area of study.  Stamp collecting or rock climbing are valid hobbies.  But to be sure, these are not hobbies that just anybody will get into. Astronomy, by contract, that you could say everybody gets into at some point or another....

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The Amazing Hubble

In the history of modern astronomy, there is probably no one greater leap forward than the building and launch of the space telescope known as the Hubble.  While NASA has had many ups and downs, the launch and continued operation of the Hubble space telescope probably ranks next to the moon landings and the development of the Space Shuttle as one of the greatest space exploration accomplishments of the last hundred years. An amazing piece of astronomy trivia that few people know is that in truth, only about ten percent of the universe...

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Our Neighbors in Space

We have a special feeling toward the other planets that circle our sun.  Maybe its all the science fiction stories about visiting the moon, Mars and other planets.  But we love to think about those planets that make up what we call the solar system. that do what our planet does but do it very differently indeed.   The planets of our solar system have taken on personalities and mythical appeal in our literature and arts.  It is easy to find artists who render their vision of the planets that make up our society of planets...

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Telescopes 101

Buying the right telescope to take your love of astronomy to the next level is a big next step in the development of your passion for the stars.  In many ways, it is a big step from someone who is just fooling around with astronomy to a serious student of the science.  But you and I both know that there is still another big step after buying a telescope before you really know how to use it. So it is critically important that you get just the right telescope for where you are and what your star gazing preferences are.  To start...

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The Basics of Buying a Telescope

There is a moment in the life of any aspiring astronomer that it is time to buy that first telescope.  Its exciting to think about setting up your own viewing station whether that is on the deck of your home or having a powerful but mobile telescope set up to take to the remove countryside to really get a good shot at some breath taking star gazing. The last thing we would want to do is to take away any of the fun of your hobby of astronomy because the joy of what we do as star gazers is a big part of the appeal.  But unlike many...

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Pictures in the Sky

One of the earliest activities we engaged in when we first got into astronomy is the same one we like to show our children just as soon as their excitement about the night sky begins to surface.  That is the fun of finding constellations.  But finding constellations and using them to navigate the sky is a discipline that goes back virtually to the dawn of man.  In fact, we have cave pictures to show that the more primitive of human societies could see pictures in the sky and ascribe to them significance. Constellations also...

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Radio Astronomy

For most of us, the idea of astronomy is something we directly connect to stargazing, telescopes and seeing magnificent displays in the heavens.  And to be sure, that is the exciting area of astronomy that accounts for its huge popularity.  So to the uninitiated, the idea of radio astronomy seems strange.  There are two reasons for that.  First is that humans are far more visual than audio oriented.  And the second is that radio astronomy doesnt really involve listening to the cosmos except to the extent that scientists...

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Space, The Final Frontier

While it was just a TV show, that little speech at the beginning of the original Star Trek show really did do a good job of capturing our feelings about space.  It is those feelings that drive our love of astronomy and our desire to learn more and more about it.   The thing that is most exciting about studying the universe is also the most frustrating and that is that no matter how expert we get, we are always just getting started.  But if its any consolation, some of the most advanced minds in science and from history always...

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Shooting Stars

If you are a serious astronomy fanatic like a lot of us are, you can probably remember that one event in childhood that started you along this exciting hobby.  It might have been that first time you looked through a telescope.  But for many of us, it was that first time we saw a rain of fire from the sky that we eventually came to know as a meteoroid shower. At the time when you see the first one, its easy to remember the movie war of the worlds or some other fantastic image of aliens entering our atmosphere in droves to take over...

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The History of Astronomy

If you have a passion for star gazing, telescopes, the Hubble and the universe and this thing we call astronomy, you are far from alone.  Of course, we know that astronomy is a highly respected science that has produced some of the most amazing accomplishments of the twentieth century.  On top of that, it is a thriving area of fascination and one of the most exciting hobby areas going with thousands of astronomy clubs and tens of thousands of amateur astronomers watching the stars every night just like we do. But did you know that...

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Asteroids

There is a lot of exciting stuff going on in the stars above us that make astronomy so much fun.  The truth is the universe is a constantly changing, moving, some would say living thing because you just never know what you are going to see on any given night of stargazing. But of the many celestial phenomenons, there is probably none as exciting as that time you see your first asteroid on the move in the heavens.  To call asteroids the rock stars of astronomy is simultaneously a bad joke but an accurate depiction of how astronomy...

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Moon Fever

Of all of the celestial bodies that capture our attention and fascination as astronomers, none has a greater influence on life on planet Earth than its own satellite, the moon.  When you think about it, we regard the moon with such powerful significance that unlike the moons of other planets which we give names, we only refer to our one and only orbiting orb as THE moon.  It is not a moon.  To us, it is the one and only moon. The moon works its way into our way of thinking, our feelings about romance, our poetry and literature...

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How to Look Up

The beauty of astronomy is that anybody can do it.  From the tiniest baby to the most advanced astrophysicist, there is something for anyone who wants to enjoy astronomy.  In fact, it is a science that is so accessible that virtually anybody can do it virtually anywhere they are.  All they have to know how to do is to look up. It really is amazing when you think about it that just by looking up on any given night, you could see virtually hundreds of thousands of stars, star systems, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and maybe...

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Comets - Visitors From Beyond.

The one thing we love the most in the world of astronomy is a good mystery.  And if there was ever a mysterious and yet very powerful force of nature that we witness in the night skies, it is the coming of the mighty comet. The arrival of a comet within view of Earth is an event of international importance.  Witness the huge media attention that the Haley or Hale-Bopp have had when they have come within view The sight of these amazing space objects is simultaneously frightening and awe inspiring.   Above all, it is during...

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Bonding with the Universe.

As parents, we often worry about what our children are getting excited about.  We hope we can guide them to bond with healthy things like a love of learning, of family and of healthy social activities.  But we also worry they will bond with the wrong people like internet stalkers or the wrong crowd at school.  Wouldnt it be great if we could harness that tremendous energy and desire to latch onto something and bond with it and help our children bond with the universe through a love of astronomy? Kids love to get excited about...

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Beyond the Naked Eye

Its hard to say when in our lives each of us become aware of this thing called astronomy.  But it is safe to say that at some point on our lives, each and every one of us has that moment when we are suddenly stunned when we come face to face with the enormity of the universe that we see in the night sky.  For many of us who are city dwellers, we dont really notice that sky up there on a routine basis.  The lights of the city do a good job of disguising the amazing display that is above all of our heads all of the time. So it...

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Astronomy or Astrology

Have you ever finally just gave in to the temptation and read your horoscope in the newspaper on Sunday morning?  Sure, we all have. For most of us, its a curiosity, an amusement to see what they say our day will be like based on the sign of the zodiac that we were born under.  Sometimes we forget that this little diversion is actually part of an ancient science called astrology that has had a powerful effect on many cultures dating back to centuries before Christ. That is not to say that astrology is a dead art today.  It is...

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