Telescope Advice

Beginners

There is a wide range of telescopes regardless of the level they have reached, but beginners will be a little overwhelmed at first. It will be best to decide what you want from the telescope and consider the circumstances in which you will be viewing. Do you have any experience? Will the sky be very dark? Will you have to carry it far? All will play a role in determining what you buy.

What is most important as you Progress?

Regardless of your circumstances the aperture should be the first thing considered. This is the part that has control over how much light is gathered and the power with which it revolves. This will determine how bright and sharp items are. The bigger the aperture, the better the experience will be. Don’t be confused as many are and think that magnification is the way to judge a telescope. All will magnify as much as you want – the eye piece is the important issue here. It is also important to remember that there are things that cannot be controlled. The movement of the Earth will determine the clarity in some cases and if a planet looks fuzzy this could well be the cause.

Photographs

Once you are sure what you are doing, you may want to photograph the amazing images you see. It will be astonishing to look back at what you saw the night or week before, but it will be best to learn the basics before embarking on more advanced facilities.

The Cost

In reality, you should be paying upward of around $300 for a telescope as anything cheaper may not help you get the results that you want. Work your way up the levels as you could have one that is far too advanced for what you need. You can always work your way up to top of the range.

Aurora

Beginners

A perfect example of auroras is the Northern Lights. They tend to occur at high altitude and are best seen at nights. The bright lights that dance around the sky can be seen from various locations although the North of Scotland is often accredited with being the place to go to see it.

Causes

The reason these stunning lights are seen in the night sky is clear. A solar wind disturbs the magnetosphere and the protons and electrons are pushed to the upper atmosphere. As a result, ionization sends out different shades of colored light and they are bright enough to be viewed by the naked eye.

Location and Date

There is an area called the auroral zone and it is here that most of these displays occur. They are most noticeable at night time when the sky is very dark and cloudless. It was as far back as the 1860s – 1880s that their exact location was determined, and to this day the position is released to allow people to know where to go to achieve the most impressive view.

Origin

It is Galileo who is credited with naming the Aurora Borealis back in 1619, and these are now known as the Northern Lights. The Aurora Australis is the southern version – here known as the Southern Lights – and there are many similarities between the two.

Viewing Auroras

If they are viewed from within the auroral oval, they may be above your head and can appear to be white or grey, but from a distance they will look slightly different and appear to be green and occasionally red as if the Sun was appearing in a new place. To have seen the ones considered to be the most outstanding we would have to go back to 1859. At one stage, it was claimed that it was possible to read by the light they gave off.

Satellites

Getting to know Satellites

A perfect example of a satellite is the Earth. It revolves around the sun and The Moon is also one as it works its way around the Earth, and any other entity that moves around another is classed as its satellite. They are considered to be natural satellites but there are also ones sent to space from Earth.

Man-Made Satellites

It is hard to determine how many man made satellites have been launched, but it is safe to say it is in the thousands. They are there for a variety of reasons. Some will be taking pictures and cataloguing how the universe works, while others are part of our everyday life. They send back signals that enable us to watch TV and use mobile phones and Satnav.

What Is the Importance?

The main advantage they have is that they can pan large areas at a time and are able to send back a clear view of what is happening. They are high in the sky – beyond the clouds even. They have revolutionised the way we live, as before they were used, the signals for TV. s was of poor quality. They were blocked by tall buildings and mountains meaning reception was poor. Long distance calls were not clear and the cost to set up the wires was high. A satellite both improves the service and cuts down the cost.

Make-Up

All have a power source and an antenna. The antenna is the part that picks up information, and the power source keeps it up there. The power can come either from a battery or solar power = the sun’s rays are turned into electricity.

History

The first – Sputnik 1 – was launched in 1957 by Russia and NASA quickly followed in 1958 with Explorer 1 but it was not until Explorer 6 went up the next year that pictures of Earth came back.

Weather

The song claims that there are “Four Seasons in One Day” and for some countries this is the case. Everyone talks about the weather as a safe and comfortable topic, but in reality, weather can be far from safe.

Global Warming

As the icebergs melt, rivers rise and countries have to deal with extremes that they have not had to deal with before. Parts of Asia are prone to flooding and areas of Africa are deprived of rain. Even Europe is seeing changes. It used to be quite warm or a bit wet, but now there are areas dealing with heatwaves and others suffering from flooding.

Effects of Bad Weather

Rocks can be affected and eventually crumble if they are surrounded by water that freezes or has a strong current that damages them. Tornados are also vehicles of mass destruction and tend to occur in areas where there is extremes of nature and can wipe out towns and vegetation. Even thunderstorms can be hazardous of they are strong enough. Torrential rain can make roads unsafe, lead to flooding and the lightening can kill at worst and damage buildings and landscape at best. Snow may look pretty, but can lead to people being isolated and another road killer when it turns to ice.

Good Weather

Even good weather can be a problem when it is in the extreme. Too much sun and not enough rain leads to crops dying and water supplies drying up. A severe hot spell where it does not normally occur can lead to dehydration, burning and at time heat exhaustion and death.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be anywhere where the weather is just right. The best we can hope for is a little of everything and the hope that we are prepared for the worse conditions when they arrive.