Aravisian
06-04-2009, 03:58 AM
I often check APOD (Astronomy Picture of the day)
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090603.html
As an example...
Astronomy has been a lifelong passion for me.
I remember when I was a kid, my sister was sitting with me as I stargazed. She commented that looking at the stars, she felt so tiny and insignificant.
That struck me as odd. Because it made me feel the exact opposite.
Unlike the stars in the sky, I can exert some will of my own.
If a star is on a collision course, it must remain on the course lacking the ability to avert its own doom.
Yet, in spite of my tiny size and the fact I am not powered by a fusion reactor... I do have the ability.
Should a rampaging hippopotamus charge me, I have that option to hop out of the way. I can do so very easily what the mighty and powerful stars cannot do.
APOD often provides enlightening captions to their photos, along with excellent references for further reading.
I have to be careful so as not to slip into Uber Nerd mode and spend an entire day browsing through the extensive archives...
Anyone else on here an amateur Astronomer, star gazer or planet watcher?
-------------------------------------------
Been cloudy here lately. Not much opportunity for us stargazers. As usual- I was cursing the rain.
But tonight was clear. With no school tomorrow, I seized the opportunity to let my boy stay up late.
Perched up on the roof, I pointed out the constellations and the names of the more prominent stars.
He laughed when I named out Betelgeuse...
The mind of a child... I am not looking forward to his innocence fading away. So adept at pareidolia... He was very quick to catch on the constellations and pointed them back out to me later.
But the real stunner was when I explained that the stars are very very very far away.
He said, "Yeah but even when they are far away, they are always there. Just like you."
I really should know better than to stare upward at the sky at night. I suddenly got something in my eye, damnit.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090603.html
As an example...
Astronomy has been a lifelong passion for me.
I remember when I was a kid, my sister was sitting with me as I stargazed. She commented that looking at the stars, she felt so tiny and insignificant.
That struck me as odd. Because it made me feel the exact opposite.
Unlike the stars in the sky, I can exert some will of my own.
If a star is on a collision course, it must remain on the course lacking the ability to avert its own doom.
Yet, in spite of my tiny size and the fact I am not powered by a fusion reactor... I do have the ability.
Should a rampaging hippopotamus charge me, I have that option to hop out of the way. I can do so very easily what the mighty and powerful stars cannot do.
APOD often provides enlightening captions to their photos, along with excellent references for further reading.
I have to be careful so as not to slip into Uber Nerd mode and spend an entire day browsing through the extensive archives...
Anyone else on here an amateur Astronomer, star gazer or planet watcher?
-------------------------------------------
Been cloudy here lately. Not much opportunity for us stargazers. As usual- I was cursing the rain.
But tonight was clear. With no school tomorrow, I seized the opportunity to let my boy stay up late.
Perched up on the roof, I pointed out the constellations and the names of the more prominent stars.
He laughed when I named out Betelgeuse...
The mind of a child... I am not looking forward to his innocence fading away. So adept at pareidolia... He was very quick to catch on the constellations and pointed them back out to me later.
But the real stunner was when I explained that the stars are very very very far away.
He said, "Yeah but even when they are far away, they are always there. Just like you."
I really should know better than to stare upward at the sky at night. I suddenly got something in my eye, damnit.