Blog Comments

They are seamless today. If done with the latest tech, there is nobody who can verify anything. They are the tools of the greatest propaganda machine that ever existed.

I'm told that pictures of mars from a few years ago were edited to look more red than they really were, because people expect it to be red instead of a kind of dusty brown. It just makes me wonder if things like that can happen then what else have they edited over the years? I mean, it's not like there are many people who can verify these things.

Makes sense. Videos are easily edited and many have done it.

That's pretty good sky watching if you live in a city to see a constellation.. I think you said you live in London. Your telescope must be pretty good. Maybe there's a class in a local school/university you can take since you seem so interested. It may push you to another level.

Happy Birthday! Did you get to do one of those Lit net Get-to-know-you birthday questions or whatever it's called? Astronomy is cool hobby. Not that I practice it, but I know a few people who do. Actually one teaches astronomy at a local college as a side job and he sends me a lot of great pictures with what must be a huge telescope at the college.

I actually have a little update on "the round thing". I had a look out of my window about 2 hours earlier yesterday when it was higher in the sky. It looked a little whiter than before but this time I could see 4 dots instead of 3. According to my deck of flash cards Jupiter has 63+ moons and since it's so huge "the thing" being Jupiter makes a lot of sense. I can't zoom in enough to see any distinct features but I'm happy just to see it at all. To be honest I have wondered now and then whether other planets actually existed, having never been able to confirm that I've seen one myself. Kind of like the tooth fairy really. People tell you it exists but you can't prove it and then you find out the secret and you feel silly for believing it. I've only ever seen other planets in pictures or on TV and those aren't always accurate. I hear that pictures of mars are made a little redder than they actually are and that Pluto has never actually been photographed in any great detail so I began to wonder if the rest of space actually existed. Also I mentioned earlier that until recently I'd never been able to recognise a constellation so I couldn't be sure they existed. It's just very pleasing to confirm these things with my own eyes .

Actually right now is a really great time to be looking at Jupiter as it is very visible in the night sky. Jupiter is appearing in the West; probably the best way to find it is to follow the path that the three stars that make up Orion's belt make towards the right and you'll see a very very bright object in the sky, bigger than any of the other stars. That is Jupiter. If you look at it through your telescope, depending on the apeture size and magnification, you may be able to discern some colour, perhaps the red spot, but more likely you will be able to just faintly make out its moons. It is very beautiful. Based on your description, I think it is highly likely that you have spotted Jupiter. There is something quite astonishing about seeing a planet with your own eyes. Apparently Saturn may be visible right now too, though it is quite low on the horizon. Saturn is very obviously a planet because when you view it through a telescope you can see its rings.

I find this website handy for information about viewable planets: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essent...saturn-mercury

Also, there is an easy way to determine if the object you are seeing is a planet or a star without even using a telescope. The clue is in the old nursery rhyme twinkle twinkle little star - the stars 'twinkle' but planets do not. This is because the light from the planets is coming a much shorter distance, so is less affected by the aberration caused by the Earth's atmosphere. So if you look at the moon the light is very bright and clear, planets are generally quite bright and clear (and Mars has a noticeably red hue, though is not visible at the moment), and stars are twinkly.

Orion is generally visible during Autumn - winter - spring time but in summer is not visible (northern hemisphere) as it becomes a 'daytime' constellation. Just below Orion's belt there is a nebula which can be seen as a kind of smudge with the naked eye, but would be wonderful to take a look at through your telescope. In the northern hemisphere Ursa Major (the Great Bear / the Plough) is always visible and once you've spotted it you can't miss it. Casseopia is also very easy to spot, as it is shaped very like a letter 'W'. You might benefit from buying a cheap planisphere which helps you to get an understanding of the constellations which are viewable dependent upon the time of year. I have one something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Plan...ref=pd_sim_b_5 though I got mine from an astronomy supplies shop rather than the dreaded Amazon.

Ah, Rich, if you came by more often you would get used to it.

I'm in and out --more out lately--because i despise this new format and have YEY to figure out how to make a new blog entry but very glad I came online and discovered oyur birthday even though it's late. You are and continue to be a pesant memory for me when here. All the best--and no I can;t believe how fast the years are going by. Rich

Happy birthday. Your "red star" caught my eye along with the new telescope. In case you didn't know, there is a nebulae within the Orion constellation that is nearly visible to the unaided eye, so you should be able to see a bit more of the cloud with the telescope. The nebulae and star cluster is below his belt. Another red super giant is Antares in the constellation Scorpius. Scorpius is coming into "season" in July. Have fun.

I love the title of your blog, it's quite beautiful. And I love the stories of your family's celebrations. You all always put a lot of care into what you do for one another. Mainly you and your mother, of course. And your dad always hangs around so much I'm not sure why he ever left. Silly rabbit.

Anywho, that is a great gift. I look forward to more stories of your adventures in the skies.

Happy birthday! sounds like a nice day and what a great gift, I have wanted a telescope for a long time. 25 candles on the cake, wow it must have taken some effort to blow out.

Originally Posted by Bluebiird

Oddly enough I'm not actually germ phobic.

You could have fooled me.

I put my hands to my face or eyes quite a lot and I live under the assumption that germs transfer very quickly. At the party when I had an occasion to shake hands I worried about what I could transfer unknown germs to. Since I was using a pen and pad to write I felt it safe to assume that germs transferred from the handshake could easily transfer to the pen and pad.
I also worried about what germs there could be after lending it to my cousin to write. In that situation I figured it was best not to fuss until it was time to eat, where any germs I might have caught could easily enter my body, I sanitised my hands before touching anything on the buffet table but no one else seemed concerned. That's why I refused to even think of it once a certain time had passed. The thought of all those unclean hands touching things and people breathing on things made me feel quite sick.
Oddly enough my greatest concern about germs is catching things like the common cold, because they're so easy to pass on. Oddly enough I'm not actually germ phobic.

Lot of people carry the gel. I keep it on my desk at work. I don't mind shaking hands but I try not to put my hands in my mouth. As long as the germs stay on your hands they won't affect you. At least that's my perception. I also have gotten into the habit of washing my hands frequently. In the business world, it's hard not to shake hands.

This will probably sound strange considering I've already said that I hug my relatives but I don't actually like people touching me, especially since I've developed a slight concern regarding germs. The hands are one of the easiest places to collect germs and when you shake hands with people I'd say that doubles. You don't know where their hands have been and they don't know where yours have been and if you start wondering about that then you have to wonder how well they clean their hands.
I noticed very early on that the palms of my hands were more sensitive than other parts of skin that are usually exposed and as I got older that sensitivity seems to have increased to some degree. When I was very little I could happily hold grasshoppers and it didn't bother me but one day it suddenly tickled more than usual and it so surprised me that I dropped the grasshopper. That hadn't happened before. It was the same with a butterfly some years later.
Somehow for me shaking hands is more uncomfortable than hugging. But then again I don't just hug anyone. People have to have a considerable connection to me or have spent considerable time gaining my trust before I can hug them and even then my hugs only last a couple of seconds, except for mum and the dog.
Although, now my germ issues have come up, if I do have to shake someone's hand the first thing I think is how quickly can I clean my hands? or would it seem rude if I cleaned my hands now? I usually carry hand wipes or gel with me just in case.

I didn't hug as a teenager either. When I do now I'm still sort of tentative and I only initiate it with older people of the opposite sex like aunts. My impulse is to shake hands with male family members but a number of them will grab me into one of those masculine bear hugs...lol. Not that I'm against it or find it rude, but it's not me.

So happy you had a great time. And yes, with some of the things you've said about your family it would be wise not to give out the blog.

I'm glad you had a good time. I had a great time reading this. It was hilarious in places. You could be the next David Sedaris, who knows? Anyway, a very enjoyable read, and I'm glad it turned out better than you thought it might.

Ah a Londoner. My one trip to London I stayed at a hotel near a train station I think was called Victoria Station. I'm going by memory and it's been almost ten years. Actually it was December of 2003 when I was there. I remember it being walking (a good walk) distance to Buckingham Palace and to the Thames. Is that Central London? I remember walking south of the hotel to a more residential area where we had dinner (fish and chips and a few pints) at a really good pub. Would that be Greater London?

In New York City we have too have a discrepancy between the central and the outer boroughs as we call it. What everyone thinks of when they hear NYC is really Manhattan, and their are four other boroughs which are very different. No one would ever confuse Staten Island, where I live, with Manhattan.