Radio Astronomy - The Alma Telescope K4576
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Radio Astronomy - The Alma Telescope K4576 - Video

The Made Easy Series (Creationism, Evolution, Astronomy, Science)
Potholer54 has made an excellent series of educational videos covering the origin of universe, the origin of life, evolution, and other topics. Check it out:...

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The Made Easy Series (Creationism, Evolution, Astronomy, Science) - Video

Astronomy Cast 331 - Arthur C. Clarke #39;s Ideas
In our previous episode, we introduced Arthur C. Clarke, the amazing man and science fiction writer. Today we #39;ll be discussing his legacy and ideas on space ...

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Astronomy Cast 331 - Arthur C. Clarke's Ideas - Video

John Dobson, a former Hindu monk and a self-taught stargazer who developed a powerful, inexpensive telescope that almost anyone could build and became one of amateur astronomys most influential evangelists, died Jan. 15 at a hospital in Burbank, Calif. He was 98.

The death was confirmed by Bob Alborzian, coordinator of the Burbank chapter of Sidewalk Astronomers, an international organization that Mr. Dobson helped found in 1968. Mr. Dobson had a stroke a few years ago.

Called the Johnny Appleseed of amateur astronomy, the lanky, ponytailed Mr. Dobson started building telescopes in the 1950s as a monk at the Vedanta Monastery in San Francisco. His passion for the hobby led to his expulsion, freeing him to become a roving ambassador for the simple joys of studying the night sky.

He created a hobby and a type of telescope that ensured that people could build their own and look farther across the universe than was possible for most people before his time, said Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

Mr. Dobson used cheap or salvaged materials such as glass from ship portholes and cardboard tubing to make his telescopes, the most radical feature of which is a simple, sturdy and highly effective wooden mount that allows users to easily point the scope at any spot in the sky. Over five decades, he taught thousands of people how to build one.

His design was eventually embraced by commercial manufacturers, who advertise the telescopes as Dobsonians. They remain one of the most popular telescopes on the market, said Dennis di Cicco, senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine.

Dobsonian telescopes have made important contributions to astronomy, including the discovery in 1995 of Comet Hale-Bopp, the most-distant comet ever discovered by amateurs. One of its namesakes, Tom Bopp, was using a Dobsonian.

Alborzian, who had known Mr. Dobson since 1968, said he once urged Mr. Dobson to patent his design. He refused. He said, These are gifts to humanity, Alborzian recalled. His goal was to open astronomy to the common man.

Mr. Dobson had his critics. He did not, for instance, subscribe to the Big Bang theory but favored the idea of a steady-state universe with no beginning and no end. Im not interested in just the stars, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2005. Im interested in the whole ball of wax.

Although the steady-state theory has been widely discredited, Mr. Dobson was an unwavering supporter, which caused many in the astronomy establishment to dismiss him.

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John Dobson, evangelist for amateur astronomy, dies at 98

Creates opportunity for AUTs Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research to establish a data correlation centre in Warkworth

Telecoms ICT services division Gen-i has donated a supercomputer to AUT University that will now be used to support student learning and boost important local and international research for radio astronomy.

The supercomputer had at one time been leased to Weta Digital for rendering work on feature film King Kong, but became surplus to Gen-is requirements a few years later.

Gen-i was then looking to either scrap or donate the equipment, which was worth around a quarter of a million dollars when new. While considering the options, a conversation with Professor Sergei Gulyaev, director of AUTs Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research (IRASR), led to the supercomputer finding a new home with the University.

Gen-i CEO Tim Miles says the donation to AUT was a fantastic outcome for Gen-i as well as for the University.

"We were faced with the reality that despite still being very viable equipment, this supercomputer was no longer of use to us," says Miles.

"Its always preferable that we donate rather than send equipment to be scrapped for parts, and in this case were absolutely delighted that this supercomputer will now be used to boost critical research projects as well as contribute to student learning."

Most of the high-powered equipment has now been moved to its new home in Warkworth, where AUT operates two radio telescopes at Telecoms Satellite Earth Station site. The remaining servers are located on AUTs City Campus where they will help students studying High Performance Computing at AUTs School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences.

Professor Sergei Gulyaev says the donation is a great example of collaboration between the University and industry.

"The supercomputer also opens up the opportunity for AUTs Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research to establish a data correlation centre in Warkworth. The centre would be used to gather data from several radio telescopes undertaking the same observations simultaneously from different countries," says Gulyaev.

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Donated supercomputer 'to supercharge NZ research'

Camille Saint-Sans (1835 1921) Saint-Sans [pronounced sah-soh] was one of the great Romantic composers. He had been a prodigy like Mozart, composing his first piano piece at four. Aged five, he played a Beethoven piece in his first concert. As a composer, his most popular work today is probably The Carnival of the Animals, which he refused to have publicly performed in his lifetime, as he felt people would consider him frivolous.

However Saint-Sans was also a very knowledgeable and prolific writer in such diverse disciplines as math, geology, botany and philosophy. It was almost predictable that astronomy would be among his interests. He was a member of the Astronomical Society of France, founded in 1887 by his friend Camille Flammarion (1842 1925). Although Saint-Sans had a telescope, he admitted that he wasn't a methodical observer, preferring simply to enjoy the beauty and serenity of the heavens.

Occasionally, Saint-Sans, probably in collaboration with Flammarion, organized concerts around astronomical events such as the summer solstice. I'm surprised that he never wrote any music inspired by astronomy.

Brian May (born 1947) More people have heard Brian May on guitar in the band Queen than know that he has a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London. Although he started music lessons when he was seven, he got interested in astronomy at an early age, too. He was inspired by astronomy popularizer Patrick Moore (1923-2012). May's 4-inch reflector was a telescope he and his father made long ago, as was his trademark guitar, the Red Special.

So would it be music or science? May played in a band, and he did a physics degree. He turned down a job at Jodrell Bank Observatory to stay at Imperial College because of the London music scene. The choice was finally made when the band Queen started becoming popular, and the PhD seemed to be running out of steam. It was decades later that Patrick Moore persuaded May to complete the PhD.

In addition to music and other interests, Brian May has co-authored two popular astronomy books and is a keen amateur observer.

By the way, Patrick Moore himself was a keen amateur musician. He said that he once played the piano to accompany Albert Einstein on his violin. Appropriately, the piece was from Saint-Sans's Carnival of the Animals.

Bernard Lovell (1913 2012) Bernard Lovell is one of the great names of radio astronomy. He founded the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England in 1945. Its iconic telescope later named the Lovell Telescope opened in 1957. It was then the largest steerable radio telescope in the world, though there are larger ones now.

Bernard Lovell and Jodrell Bank were pioneers in radio astronomy. The facility still contributes to developments in astronomy, including studying pulsars, quasars and gravitational lensing. It also did extensive Cold War tracking of satellites and spacecraft, sometimes being able to see areas of the sky which neither the Americans nor the Soviets could.

Lovell had already chosen science and used his abilities during World War II to develop effective radar. He then went on to radio astronomy. Yet he insisted that his real love was always organs and organ music. He was a church organist for forty years. In 2007 he said, I often wish that I had devoted my whole attention to music and become more of a professional musician. But it's unlikely that his contributions to music could possibly have equaled his contribution to science.

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Musical Astronomers