Jun 05

Earth Hour 2008 - An Astronomy Perspective

Astronomy No Comments »

Earth Hour 2008 has by all accounts been a huge success.

To quote a some the figures of the participating cities:

Toronto: Earth Hour was an astronomical success! At 8:50pm the electricity consumption in the city dropped by 264 Megawatts

Chicago: Nearly 500 golden arches were turned off at McDonald’s restaurants throughout the Chicago region.

Canberra: Canberra’s Parliamentary Triangle and CBD buildings plunged into darkness in an unprecedented spectacle for those who ventured up Mount Ainslie to take in the sights.

Philippines: A developing nation of 7107 isles. A people working together to make a difference in the growing fight against global warming.

What a fantastic result, and this is just a sample of the responses.

So what does this mean for astronomy all around the world ?

When the lights are switched off on the earth the night sky begins to be visible in all its glory.

With earth hour now past for another year, what can be done to keep up the momentum for the sake of the earth and for the night sky.

Here are a few thoughts:

  • Does every building really need architectural lighting 365 days a year. ?
  • Do security lights really need to be on all night long (perhaps motion sensors might be better?)
  • This is not to mention overused Air Conditioning and appliances on “Standby”.

So how does this affect our view of the night sky?

As the level of ambient lighting rises, the number of stars visible in the night sky reduces.

This is due to the effect of sky glow or light “Loom”, sometimes called light intrusion of for what it really is, light pollution.

It is actually lost energy in a large part, in that light directed other than where it is needed (this is usually on the ground) is wasted.

In larger cites the major constellations are not even recognizable much less the Galaxies and Nebulas.

As the Earth hour campaign says “I’m just one person, what can I do” the answer is “A lot”

  • By simply having a light on just in the room you are in and turning off your outside lights unless you are actually using them.
  • By taking Public transport where possible and using Alternative energy you are making a difference.
  • Lobby government and industry to limit their outdoor lighting output and ensure that lighting is designed with the night sky and the environment at the top of design criteria list.
  • Perhaps you could spend time outside with family and friends discovering the night sky. You will find far more wisdom in learning the mythology written in the constellations and a in the beauty of deep space that you will ever find on 90% of what is shown on the TV anyhow.

So switch off the lights and the TV, have a candle lit BBQ (with a natural bees wax candle of course) and invite the neighbors over so they turn their lights off too!

Discover the beauty and inspiration that can be found under the dark night sky, and have many “Earth Hours” each and every week.

At nightskysecrets.com we aim to reveal the delights to be found in the beauty of the night sky. Check us out at the links below and decide for yourself.

Ian Maclean - Author, Presenter and Science Show host

Homepage: http://www.nightskysecrets.com

Discover how you can uncover the hidden secrets of the night sky for yourself.

On my homepage http://www.nightskysecrets.com you will be able to download a f r e e copy of my Audio “Night Sky Secrets - Revealed” plus get a f r e e subscription to nightskysecrets, where you will be kept up to date with all the latest events you can see in the night sky and gain access to my blog page, often with maps, charts, photos and movies to compliment these articles and much more.

I hope you enjoyed my Article.

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May 11

Galaxies In The Outer Space World

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Galaxies are multifaceted in that they often encompass many different kinds of outer space matter, such as star systems, dust particles, and gases.

Each individual galaxy is filled with millions and trillions of bright, beautiful stars, and on each galaxy, these stars have their own distinct path, or orbit, to follow. When speaking of how large or small galaxies are, they are measured in light years, rather than acres or miles, and the average galaxy is often millions of light years across, most even larger.

Many scientists and astronomers have debated the existence of what is known as dark matter for years, and still have been able to reach a definitive conclusion as to whether it does actually exist or not. They do agree in believing that most space galaxies are gilled with massive black holes and other unknown rarities yet to be discovered. There are literally billions of different galaxies all floating around in space, and probably billions more that we do not know about, or do not have the technology to see yet. When you think about that, about how big galaxies are, and about how many there actually are in existence, can you imagine how big the whole of outer space must be? It blows your mind just to think about it.

When you talk to someone about galaxies, most of us often name the Milky Way, as it is the galaxy that we are the most familiar with. On clear nights, you can actually see the Milky Way galaxy when looking up at the night sky. We know that the Milky Way galaxy is extremely massive in size, and is made up of trillions and trillions of stars. One shocking fact about the Milky Way, to me anyway, is that when compared to the sun, it is literally huge. We consider the sun to be enormous, but if you were to place the sun and the Milky Way side by side for comparison, you would have to use a microscope to see the sun, if that helps you get a better mental image of just how massive the Milky Way is.

To help them keep better track of all of the galaxies existing in the universe, astronomers and scientists have classified them into three different groups. One of these three groups has been dubbed the spiral, given its name due to all of the galaxies in it being in a spiral shape. The stars surrounding the galaxies in the spiral group do not move around them in a certain path, as in many other galaxies, they instead gravitate in and out through the spirals.

Galaxies belonging to the field group are those galaxies that seem to float freely through space, alone in a huge world, not really touching or near other galaxies. There are not very many galaxies in this group, and perhaps it is the smallest of all three groups.

The last group is perhaps the largest of all three, the cluster group. Galaxies within the cluster group are all squeezed into the same teeny space, but travelling together, are massive in size. There are also galaxies that are referred to as super clusters, where there are many galaxies all in one, again packed tightly into the same space.

For more vital information about galaxies and related welcome to visit http://www.newsinastronomy.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Lindgren

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May 10

Hubble Telescope

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Telescopes are instruments used for viewing the objects at a distance.

They are mainly used for viewing the astronomical objects. They find application in non-astronomical areas also. The working is with the help of two lenses. These lenses will work in a co-ordinate manner to give the exact image in a magnified form. There are different types of telescopes greatly used for varied purposes. These telescopes vary in the structure and also the working. The basic types of telescopes that are available is the optical telescope and the radio telescope. There are still different types like, the Galileo telescope and the Hubble telescope.

Hubble telescope is quite a familiar term. It is used to orbit round the earth. The telescope is used to get a more clear view of the external atmosphere of the earth. This gives images that are not blurred. This makes it quite unique among the other types of telescopes. Because of this they have an important place in the astronomical area. The telescope has been serving the humanity with the clear images for a long time.

The Hubble telescope photographs have proved to be very useful to prove the mysteries that existed in the field of astronomy. It helped to prove many unsolved issues in the solar system. The pictures taken by the Hubble telescope was not that clear in the earlier stages. Now it has become clearer with the advent of the technology.

The distances between the stars were become more accurate after the Hubble started sending the pictures. The estimated calculation was replaced with a more proven data. The galaxies that were farther were viewed in a closer view with the help of the pictures from Hubble telescope.

The pictures taken by the telescope is first stored in an archive. Later it is being transmitted to the earth. This will help the users to use it in a clearer manner. The transmitted images are clearer and free of any issues. This can get a vivid picture of what all are happening in the world beyond the reach of human eyes.

The use of the telescope is open to anyone. There will be a ratio in the time available to the users. This can vary in a range also. There are no restrictions based on any barriers to use the telescope. This will help all types of users to view the astronomical objects at any time. The use is very simple and there will be instructions that can help a novice user to handle the vision properly.

The Hubble telescope finds great use in the scientific applications. They helped in proving various unsolved truths of the astronomy in a more reliable manner. The pictures are clearer and brighter than any other telescopes in the earth. There is no scattering of the light and there is no blurred image produced.

Steve Hill is a webmaster from Birmingham, he has interests in a number of websites including:

stuttering in children

types of telescopes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Hill

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May 07

What happens when galaxies collide?

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What happens when galaxies collide? How do you discover an asteroid? Why aren’t there any green stars? Can a galaxy die? All these questions answered in the small 8 minute video.

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