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Remember the whole thing about the television gimbal and its unique way of bending space? There is an actual experiement going on right now to find out if/how objects bend the space around them. You can find more at nasa.gov or http://einstein.stanford.edu/
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Speaking of Space News...
The Transit of Venus is coming up, and my mtoehr jsut foudn out the government is paying her to take a couple of teams of kids who won this masive competition to ENGLAND, FULLY PAID, TO ENGLAND, TO SEE THE TRANSIT, TO ENGLAND. *dies in envy*
Er, yeah, wanted to share.
Go ahead! Panic! Do it now and avoid the June rush! Fear death by water! -
My husband was reading this over my shoulder, and fully agrees with you. He also said some very bad words. *distant, indistinct cursing*
We can't see it from Hawaii; we would have to go to the US mainland, or as those contest winners know, England or Eastern Europe. *muttering: "England! I have to save for 3 years to go there!"*"Thus is Balance maintained." A Wizard of Earthsea
"Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance." Neal Stephenson, Snow CrashComment
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WHAT? I didn't understand that at all. Something about Venus. It's getting close, is it? Maybe I'll Look for it.Originally posted by Birdhead:
Speaking of Space News...
The Transit of Venus is coming up, and my mtoehr jsut foudn out the government is paying her to take a couple of teams of kids who won this masive competition to ENGLAND, FULLY PAID, TO ENGLAND, TO SEE THE TRANSIT, TO ENGLAND. *dies in envy*
Er, yeah, wanted to share.
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The transit of venus ius an astronomical event (venus passing in front of the Sun, IIRC) which is, for one reason or another, a big deal. Some because it happens rarely, but frequently enough (about once a hundred years, I think??? Or it happens once, then eight years, then once, then not for another 100 years, possibly.) that you can draw conclusions and stuff from it. Uhm, what else.... I think Captain Cook used it? But he did a lot of stuff, so not fully sure on this.
At any rate, it's not visible from here or, I now know, Hawaii. But the government is paying my Mum to go. To England.
was that clear enough for you???
Go ahead! Panic! Do it now and avoid the June rush! Fear death by water!Comment
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The trouble with solar transits is that you can't really just "see" them in the same you you can with things like eclipses. You need some specialist equipment, really."Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hadrin, in Isaac Asimov's FoundationComment
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Yup. Yup yup yup. Clear. Like a window into a roomful of glass. I wonder how's the view from over here?
Ahhh. Looks like I may be able to. Wish I had a digital camera.Comment
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If you want to observe the sun (and the Transit of Venus) without a lot of expensive equipment, go to your local Yellow Pages (or equivalent thereof) and look up "Welding Supplies". Call up some of the dealers and ask for a #14 welding lens or glass. If you can get it it is about the size of a playing card, silvery on one side, and almost completely opaque. It is, however, dark enough for you to look at the sun directly through it without damaging your eyes. DO NOT assume you can use 2 #7 glasses stacked for the same effect; it doesn't work that way. You MUST get a #14 or higher lens for it to work without risking your sight.
That being said, if you normally have good vision, you might be able to see Venus on the appropriate day passing like a tiny dot in front of the solar disk. You can also view large sunspots through the #14 lens.
If that doesn't work, go to your local astronomy club and ask nicely if they are planning to observe the transit. They will probably be thrilled to let you look through their telescope, if thye are setting up to see Venus that day."Thus is Balance maintained." A Wizard of Earthsea
"Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance." Neal Stephenson, Snow CrashComment
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