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Astronomy fun facts...and mindwarps

Astronomy fun facts...and mindwarps

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by: TXtransplant Active Indicator LED Icon 13 OP 
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 12:35am  
I love astronomy....ever since I was a child playing with a cheapie, three tube boy scout pirate telescope back in the early 80s. Seeing the Sea of Tranquility on the moon; albeit poorly was pretty exciting.
 
Further, it always felt like what I thought the ocean would be like (as i didn't grow up near). Observing the edge of a body of water that was so hard to fathom of size; but space being even larger.
 
Simple yes but so interesting to think about:
 
The speed of light is finite whereas we know how long it takes optical light to travel an unencumbered distance.
 
Our closest star in the night sky (other than the sun), proxima centauri resides roughly 4.3 light years from earth. Meaning, what we see now is a twinkle from four and a third years ago.
 
Cassiopeia resides 16,308 light years away; the Andromeda galaxy is 2.5 million light years away. Both can be seen with the naked eye.
 
Summary....if you really want to look deep into our past....just look up after dark. Emoticon
 
Its just really interesting to wrap your head around....or at least it is for me.
 
4951
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DanStanton Active Indicator LED Icon 3
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 7:56am  
Growing up in northern Indiana, I was spoiled with a clear night sky. Cold winter night, awaiting a meteor shower, the Milky Way in all it's splendor, had a 4" reflector from Montgomery Wards. Looking at Mars, the moons of Jupiter... 4951
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AuthorMan Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 8:28am  
We are no more than ****-ants in a rain forest. 4951
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FoFa Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 8:34am  
Growing up in northern Indiana
 
@DanStanton: Did my teen years until I was 19 and joined the Army in Muncie, IN
4951
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mdizzle Active Indicator LED Icon 5
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 11:54am  
I love astronomy....
 
Its just really interesting to wrap your head around....or at least it is for me.
 
 
@TXtransplant: me too!  it just gets impossible to wrap your head around...or at least it is for me. Emoticon**looks over at the hubble deep field print hanging on my wall**
4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 12:17pm  
Our closest star in the night sky (other than the sun), proxima centauri resides roughly 4.3 light years from earth. Meaning, what we see now is a twinkle from four and a third years ago.
 
@TXtransplant: Polaris (the North Star) is 433.8 light years away.  If you go out and look at it tonight, you'll be seeing light that left it in 1582.  That's the year that Europe switched from the Julian to Gregorian calendar.  Also the year that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married.
4951
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ET Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 12:22pm  
Also the year that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married.

@shodan66:
 
Talk about May/September..... 4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 1:14pm  

- - - - - - - -
>> Also the year that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married.
 
@shodan66:
 
Talk about May/September.....
 
@ET: I have some pics on my phone from when I was at the church where he is interred earlier this year.  
@BooBear, do you still have pics from when you went to Stratford-Upon-Avon?  No? 4951
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BooBear Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 1:17pm  

- - - - - - - -
>>
- - - - - - - -
>> Also the year that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married.
 
@shodan66:
 
Talk about May/September.....
 
@ET: I have some pics on my phone from when I was at the church where he is interred earlier this year.  
@BooBear, do you still have pics from when you went to Stratford-Upon-Avon?  No?
 
@shodan66:
Why you gotta be a butthead?
4951
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486Justin Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 7 years ago   Sep 24, '16 3:30pm  
I love astronomy....ever since I was a child playing with a cheapie, three tube boy scout pirate telescope back in the early 80s. Seeing the Sea of Tranquility on the moon; albeit poorly was pretty exciting.
 
Further, it always felt like what I thought the ocean would be like (as i didn't grow up near). Observing the edge of a body of water that was so hard to fathom of size; but space being even larger.
 
Simple yes but so interesting to think about:
 
The speed of light is finite whereas we know how long it takes optical light to travel an unencumbered distance.
 
Our closest star in the night sky (other than the sun), proxima centauri resides roughly 4.3 light years from earth. Meaning, what we see now is a twinkle from four and a third years ago.
 
Cassiopeia resides 16,308 light years away; the Andromeda galaxy is 2.5 million light years away. Both can be seen with the naked eye.
 
Summary....if you really want to look deep into our past....just look up after dark. Emoticon
 
Its just really interesting to wrap your head around....or at least it is for me.
 
 
@TXtransplant: Suggestion 1:  Insperity Observatory, in Humble TX is open to the public first Friday of the month.  It has two professional grade reflector telescopes (24 inch)and astronomers on duty.  Do go there after dark and enjoy the experience!Suggestion 2:  North Houston Astronomical Society meets in Kingwood Lone Star College.  Consider joining them.  I would have, if I could stay up late nights to participate in their camps.  They have access to 'dark sites' in farmers fields etc.  OK, these are not dark sites used by the intelligence agencies, but sites away from light pollution.And a parting Note:  Al, a barber along Loop 494 in Porter was an avid astronomer.  He ground his own lenses, and made his own telescopes.  He had found Shoemaker-Levy, but was not sure and in any case was not a publicity seeker.  There's hidden gems all around us !!!!!
4951
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