galileoscope

if you are looking for a fun and simple little telescope for yourself, or someone you know, i would like to recommend the galileoscope! this little refracting telescope has a 2-in diameter lens and is modeled after the first telescope galileo built 400 years ago to look at night sky objects for the first time! the only accessory you really need is a tripod to mount the telescope on, and i think any simple one will do.


the telescope at the top of the image below is a replica of one of galileo's original telescopes.


the cute little galileoscope is only $15 and will allow you to see great features on the moon, the phases of venus, the rings of saturn, the moons of jupiter, and much more! find out more here. enjoy!

42 meter diameter telescope

sometimes telescopes are named after famous scientists, or people who donate loads of money to build them, or an acronym relating to the type of science it will do, etc... as this sixty symbols episode on the diameter of telescopes illustrates, we are severely lacking in creative new telescope names, considering the big one they talk about is the ELT which stands for "extremely large telescope!"



so on twitter, a friend suggested that if we name the ELT something a bit more attention-grabbing for current times, maybe we could guarantee funding! he suggested OBAMA, and like any good scientific name, we have been trying to turn OBAMA into an acronym!! mine is OBAMA: Overwhelmingly Big Aperture Measures All!

NASA recently had a contest to name a new Mars rover. the winner was a 12-year-old girl from kansas who suggested possibly my favorite name for any tool of astronomy: curiosity.

can you think of any good names for telescopes or other universe explorers?

electromagnetic leaks from earth

how far do our electromagnetic (EM) signals reach in to outer space? lets estimate that we started transmitting EM signals with the first radios about 100 years ago... which means we have been sending weak signals in every direction for 100 years, and the first signals have reached a maximal distance of 100 light years away from earth! there are about 130 stars within a radius of 20 light years from us and probably several thousand stars within 100 light years.

a recent abstruse goose cartoon puts this into perspective for us earthlings, by showing what TV shows are currently being broadcast to stars at various distances from earth! (click image for larger view)


there are ~400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and hundreds of billions of galaxies in our universe... just remember that our synthetic radiation hasnt really traveled very far! (aka. to know who yoda is, closer than pollux a civilization must be!)

have a giraffe-themed art party!

yes, modern technology is loads of fun to play with, but nothing beats using your imagination to create art with your hands - especially with friends! a norwegian person has challenged the people of the world to create one million giraffes by 2011 using any technique possible, except on a computer. of course, you'll probably eventually capture your creation with a digital camera and upload the photo to the one million giraffes website, but thats not the point! the point is to take a break from digital media for a little while and create something with your hands!




i like this idea, and i might make a big dinner for some friends this weekend to celebrate the 4th of july, and then insist we make some giraffes ;)

mercury - sixty symbols

here's my latest contribution to the sixty symbols of physics and astronomy project: the closest planet to the sun... mercury!

US men's soccer team surprises all!

congratulations to the US men's national soccer team, who have made it into their first ever FIFA international tournament final!! the confederations cup is currently happening in south africa in preparation for next year's world cup! the US succeeded in pulling off one of the most incredible upsets in recent history by defeating the current european champions, spain, 2-0 in the semi-final wednesday night! as you can imagine - i'm thrilled!!

there has been some controversy about holding the world cup in south africa: doubt as to whether they could construct all the necessary stadiums, handle the massive number of people who will come to watch the games, manage the violence reported around the region, etc... but it seems at this point as though everything is coming together successfully!

the big picture has a nice series of photos from south africa over the recent weeks in honor of the confederations cup!




the final of the confederations cup will be played this sunday: the US against Brasil!!!

a quote for today

“the art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change, for happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up.”

- charles morgan

jupiter and the speed of light

in this sixty symbols video about jupiter, professor mike merrifield and i talk about how the first measurement of the speed of light were taken using jupiter's moons, how to remember the names of the galilean moons, the crashing of comet shoemaker-levy 9 into jupiter, and more!