Re: OT - Barcroft Observatory



"L.A. Purple" <zen@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:128f0j2d2vkif77@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It is hoped that Dr. Wong does not take offense at the "pretty pictures"
comment, since one of his "pretty pictures" has been desktop wallpaper on
one of my computers for quite some time now. I was just curious if there
was perhaps something more to his astronomical interest than simply the
photographic aspect. Although it cannot be overemphasized that I am but
a complete amateur when it comes to astronomy, some of the things which I
find fascinating are the stellar parallax and redshift issues, and the re-
sulting implications if further astronomical research should ever conclude
that the current interpretations thereof are somewhat less than adequate.
Of course, anything which challenges the current ruling paradigm is deemed
"heresy," and "heretics" are usually declared anathema and excommunicated.
But without "heretics" such as Copernicus and Galileo, where would science
be today? Consequently, I find some of the current "heresies" intriguing,
and I have a much greater respect for those who go to the trouble and ex-
pense of making their own observations, much as the eminent Dr. Wong does.

No offense taken. Which image are you using as wallpaper? I don't do any
scientific work, but there are other amateurs that do. One member of my club
does asteroid photometry:
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/rstephens/


.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: computational amateur astronomy?
    ... > I've been thinking about getting started in amateur astronomy. ... > re-make such classic calculations or do any other kind of computational ... I started myself with astronomical computing on personal computers around ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: computational amateur astronomy?
    ... One book for computers and the other for calculators. ... > I've been thinking about getting started in amateur astronomy. ... > classic calculations or do any other kind of computational astronomy. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: FAQ
    ... My Own Personal FAQ at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html ... Astronomical Calculations for the Amateur ... positions and related problems of spherical astronomy. ... lists all the names of the people who have given them money. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: the impoverished amateur
    ... There are many threads here about inexpensive equipment, ... >many threads about observing through the lowliest of scopes. ... Indeed this newsgroup is all about amateur astronomy. ... It is not necessary to spend huge amounts to get started in astronomy. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Already 4 years !
    ... bioastronomy and amateur astrophotography, and did recently a digression to ... readers, he opened new English pages devoted to amateur astronomy ... (astronomical optics, image processing, technical comments, software ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)