ASTRONOMY IS LOOKING UP! And the Internet is an excellent place to look up astronomy. As you use this document I hope you will find exploring the Internet motivating and challenging, and that it will lead you to a treasure of data and information that will guide you to a deeper, more profound understanding of astronomy. That way when you reach the end of the "course," it will not be the end, but rather the beginning of your own personal journey through the cosmos. Or as the great poet, T. S. Eliot, wrote in his Four Quartets, "We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
Most astronomers are creatures of the night. They search for the essence of the universe by collecting as much light as possible from dim and distant objects. To an astronomer there are few things in life as exciting as catching a close up view of the Moon, or a look at Saturn through a telescope, or focusing an eye on a far away, dim galaxy.
There are two types of astronomy: recreational astronomy (amateur astronomy or stargazing) and professional astronomy. Amateurs/stargazers enjoy astronomy as a hobby, as a form of recreation and relaxation. There are millions of us all over the world, and we are outside most every clear night observing the wonders of the universe with our eyes, binoculars, or telescopes. Stargazers are often very passionate about their hobby. Recreational astronomers range from the most casual observers to the most advanced observers. We often form astronomy clubs.
Each of you will discover your own level of observing enjoyment. Remember, there's plenty of room in the universe for everyone. Perhaps many of you will become lifelong stargazers and amateur astronomers, and there's always room for amateurs to actually conduct astronomical research. Indeed, the opportunities for amateur astronomers to be involved in research increases every day. In the future, this website may be linked to a place where you can conduct your own research. For now you can see what we are up to at Educational Observatory. Stay tuned........
Spotty is
patiently waiting for the Sun to set so she can get some starshine.
Professional astronomy is a little different. Professional astronomers do astronomy more for the sake of science than for recreation, and they rely on large telescopes, spacecraft, physics, mathematics, chemistry, and computers. Most professional astronomers don't observe the sky directly very often. Instead, they create sensitive instruments attached to the telescope that do the "observing." After the instruments collect the desired data, astronomers use it to help explain how the universe works. Professionals propose hypotheses, collect more data, interpret it, and create theories. Like amateur astronomers, professional astronomers are often very passionate about their work. Professional astronomers also belong to astronomy clubs, but they are places where scientist/astronomers can share their research and theories. Perhaps some of you will become professional astronomers. Look at some of the offerings for astronomy jobs at the American Astronomical Society, Job Register.
Most amateur astronomers love to share their passion for astronomy with others. I share my passion and devotion to stargazing every time I drive my car. My license plate proudly proclaims that I am a STARGZR, but friends always remind me that the plate reads Stargeezer, so I must be getting older! Wouldn't that be a neat license plate to put on a Ford TAURUS, a SUBARU (Pleiades in Japanese), or a Saturn, etc. With the plate on an astronomical car, you would have an auto-matic pun.
Nearly every person I come into contact with, young or old, shares the same basic expression about astronomy. Once they discover I am a stargazer, their eyes express interest. Indeed, sometimes their eyes actually begin to sparkle and a great big, happy grin consumes their face. It's as if deep inside of every single person, there is a hidden astronomer trying to escape. And when they encounter someone who actually DOES astronomy, they want to share an emotional connection. Rarely, do I meet a person who doesn't have a story, memory, or anecdote about astronomy in their own lives. Most share with me a childhood memory of being outside at night with a grandparent, parent, or friend, scanning the sky for shooting stars (meteors) or a favorite constellation. I love to hear people's observations of the night sky, especially when they get excited. Sometimes the memory is of a first view of Saturn through a telescope or some other celestial jewel. Or perhaps it's a memory of seeing the night sky from a remote, dark location, high in the mountains where the stars seem to be almost touchable and the sky looks 3-dimensional. What are some of your special memories of the sky? Please feel free to share them with me, no matter what your age or interest level or no matter how insignificant your observations seem to you. Contact me at my e-mail address. I won't be able to answer all your mail, but I will enjoy your observations!
Keep this in mind: Of all the sciences, astronomy is about the only one where an amateur's work can be valuable to professional astronomers. Astronomy is one of the oldest human endeavors and it is considered to be the oldest science. Humans have always had an instinctive connection or link with the sky. It appears in our most ancient writings, literature, and art. We have always looked up at the sky for a variety of reasons. Virtually every culture or society, every human being that has ever lived on this planet shares something in common--the sky. Think about that for a moment. There are few things in our lives that have this kind of connection to the distant past. All of our ancestors, for however far back in time you wish to go, have had this connection with the sky. Why, by now, it's almost genetic after all this time. For thousands of years the Sun has been the main focus of almost every civilization by day. But by night the stars, planets, and Moon have provided guidance, protection, and prediction that the Sun would return in the morning. Though not in an astrological sense, our daily and nightly lives today are still controlled by the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars. All of us are intimately linked to the sky! The following Internet link may help you better understand the origins and development of our modern ideas about the cosmos.
Notes and Review Questions
for Lectures 5,6, and 7.
Virtually every culture's cosmology (the origin and development of the universe) has contributed to our modern scientific view of the universe. But how did we arrive at this so-called modern view of the cosmos? The answer is: By DOING science! A lot of people have a mistaken impression of science. How would you define science? Most people think of science as a noun. In fact, if you look in any dictionary, the word SCIENCE is defined as a noun; a person, place, or thing. But to me, the essence of science is not a thing, it's an ACTION. To me the word "science" is a powerful VERB, and it is just loaded with ACTION!! Real science is not something you passively read about in books, magazines, and newspapers, or see on a television or computer screen, although that is a part of science. The essence of science is a sensual activity that is sometimes just plain noisy and messy. To me science is not the actual collection of information and data itself that most people associate with "science." Instead, science is the process that scientists use to collect and interpret the information and data that forms the soul of science. Doing science is a hands-on activity that constantly "pushes the outside of our intellectual and physical envelope!" We humans are designed to DO science. We are naturally curious and we live to question, explore, discover, and explain. Science is an adventure every second of every day and night from before birth and continuing until death. All of us share in this moment to moment adventure as we create hypotheses, collect data, and make conclusions about the environment around us all at the speed of thought. Doing science is such a natural part of our being that we don't even notice that we are doing it. Science Methods, Misuse and Madness provides some more clues and information about the essence of science.