If you've heard the story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth you've almost certainly heard of the star which guided the three wise men to Jesus. Here is a great link about The Christmas Star.
Let me answer a question that you may have for me, "do you believe that story?"
The more I study, the deeper I get an understanding of the nearly infinitely larger macrocosmos and the seemingly equally infinite microcosmos the more I believe in God. Not just "a" god but the God written about in the Bible used by Christians and the older writings used in the Jewish religion. Oh, I believe that a lot of the stories in there are inadequate expressions of older generations who failed to completely understand, as we do, the fullness of their experience.
In every way that I examine our existence I see less likelihood that we "just happened". Intelligent design is the buzzword today for creation. I think more than anything my thoughts are affirmed in science which gives me faith. If you study quantum physics and master the understanding of the increasingly small and if you study the heavens and explore the increasingly large I believe it is impossible to not question how it all happened which ultimately leads to the question of why it all happened.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Cloudy Night Astronomy
So it's rainy, snowy, stormy, or just plain yucky outside but you're itching to get a glimpse of your favorite space object. What to do? You're in luck! Some guy invented the internet just for you.
You could do a little digging and find these resources on your own but since I've already done some of the work I thought it would speed up your enjoyment to share. Some of these sites have images that are very large and if you're on dial up they'll take a long time to download. Fortunately the developers of many of the sites used low res (low resolution small file size images) so you can enjoy a smaller version of the same photo.
I've tried to include only sites that give indepth information about the images you'll find or sites that provide good search engines. Otherwise how will you learn anything new?
http://www.seds.org/images/ is from Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) hosted by The University of Arizona. It includes a searchable and browsable database of a lot of images and all good quality with too short information - but the search engine makes up for some lack of info. The main site does provide a great amount of indepth information, too.
http://www.kopernik.org/spaceimages/index.asp The Kopernik Polish Cultural Society of Broome County was founded in 1973 to help commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Mikolaj Kopernik, a man known to the world as Copernicus - "the father of modern astronomy". The Kopernik Society undertook construction of the Kopernik Observatory in the fall of 1973. When the Observatory was opened to the public in June of 1974, the Kopernik Society donated the facility to the community to be operated by Roberson Museum and Science Center. Since that time hundreds of thousands of school children and families have seen the wonders of the universe through the Observatory's large telescopes.
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/ probably doesn't need much explanation. Some of the greatest deep space images of all time. The Hubble space telescope will soon be decomissioned but we have the images and you can access them any time from the dryness and comfort of your own home.
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/multimedia/index.html who could do space images and information better than NASA? You guessed it: nobody. Here is one of the most information packed collection of space images I've found. Enjoy!
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery.html the NSSDC photo library provided by NASA and FirstGov is very cool, too. It also provides, being a part of NASA, the same quality of images and information.
http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/app/gallery/search.asp great images from the Canadian Space Agency. Good information with each photo but a litte hard to use unless you know what you're looking for. The search engine is good but you'll need to know what to search for. Try typing in nebula or mars.
http://www.spacetoday.org/Weblinks/spacepix.html Space Today Online is very easy to read and provides very good basic language information. If you like Beginning Astronomy - Sky Watchers you'll love STO, too! "STO is a definitive news, information and education site on the World Wide Web dedicated to space science, astronomy and related subjects. By communicating the record of human activities in and about space, Space Today Online delivers on its commitment to a greater public understanding of and enthusiasm for human space research and travel."
You could do a little digging and find these resources on your own but since I've already done some of the work I thought it would speed up your enjoyment to share. Some of these sites have images that are very large and if you're on dial up they'll take a long time to download. Fortunately the developers of many of the sites used low res (low resolution small file size images) so you can enjoy a smaller version of the same photo.
I've tried to include only sites that give indepth information about the images you'll find or sites that provide good search engines. Otherwise how will you learn anything new?
http://www.seds.org/images/ is from Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) hosted by The University of Arizona. It includes a searchable and browsable database of a lot of images and all good quality with too short information - but the search engine makes up for some lack of info. The main site does provide a great amount of indepth information, too.
http://www.kopernik.org/spaceimages/index.asp The Kopernik Polish Cultural Society of Broome County was founded in 1973 to help commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Mikolaj Kopernik, a man known to the world as Copernicus - "the father of modern astronomy". The Kopernik Society undertook construction of the Kopernik Observatory in the fall of 1973. When the Observatory was opened to the public in June of 1974, the Kopernik Society donated the facility to the community to be operated by Roberson Museum and Science Center. Since that time hundreds of thousands of school children and families have seen the wonders of the universe through the Observatory's large telescopes.
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/ probably doesn't need much explanation. Some of the greatest deep space images of all time. The Hubble space telescope will soon be decomissioned but we have the images and you can access them any time from the dryness and comfort of your own home.
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/multimedia/index.html who could do space images and information better than NASA? You guessed it: nobody. Here is one of the most information packed collection of space images I've found. Enjoy!
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery.html the NSSDC photo library provided by NASA and FirstGov is very cool, too. It also provides, being a part of NASA, the same quality of images and information.
http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/app/gallery/search.asp great images from the Canadian Space Agency. Good information with each photo but a litte hard to use unless you know what you're looking for. The search engine is good but you'll need to know what to search for. Try typing in nebula or mars.
http://www.spacetoday.org/Weblinks/spacepix.html Space Today Online is very easy to read and provides very good basic language information. If you like Beginning Astronomy - Sky Watchers you'll love STO, too! "STO is a definitive news, information and education site on the World Wide Web dedicated to space science, astronomy and related subjects. By communicating the record of human activities in and about space, Space Today Online delivers on its commitment to a greater public understanding of and enthusiasm for human space research and travel."
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Watching Satellites
Did you know that you can see satellites with just your eyes? Incredible as it may seem this is one of the things that really got me interested in looking skyward. I was 20 years old when I realized that I saw my first satellite. After that I looked for them frequently. They look, to me, just like stars only they are moving ... some very quickly.
The next memorable experience of satellite watching was when my son was about 12. I told him we could see satellites just like on "Rocket Boys" and that got him excited. Within about 20 minutes he saw his first satellite flying over. Unlike me he's still not very interested in star watching or space exploration.
Do you want to see a satellite? It's really quite simple. I've noticed that the best time to view is either about 30 minutes after the sun sets or about 30 minutes before the sun rises. Obviously you need to have clear skies because satellites circle the earth high above the clouds. Most are orbiting at about 500 miles above the surface of the planet.
There are several internet sites that have information about spotting satellites. Here are some including my favorite one other than Starry Night software.
J-Track Satellite Tracking from NASAis my favorite free to use tacking software. It's pretty simple to use and gives you the exact time to walk out and look up. As long as you know where you live (go to this link and type in your address) you can be sitting inside playing a video game or reading about space exploration and walk out just in time to look up and see the satellite pass over.
Heavens Above is a site that I've used often but it provides great information about satellites and their locations. This site is more text based and a little harder to use than J-Track (above) but they have recently added more active graphics.
Most satellites are smaller than your family car. Some, such as the International Space Station or the one of the NASA Space Shuttles are much larger. Some satellites are orbiting in what is called a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite(GOES) which means it appears to you, if you are standing on the ground looking up, to be stationary. They orbit the earth high above and at a speed matching the rotation speed of the planet. They are also harder to see because they orbit the earth at about 22,000 miles high. The Shuttles orbit at about 140 miles and is very easy to spot when in orbit.
Polar Orbiting Earth Satellites (POES) go around the earth at about 1000 miles and move very quickly, about 1000 miles per hour. With any satellite the orbiting speed depends on the height of the orbit. The higher the orbit the slower it can move in relation to the surface.
The earth rotates from east to west at 1041 miles per hour. If you want to match the speed of the rotation of the earth and you are high above it you need to do some math to determine your "space speed". Physics are required and an understanding of centripetal force is key to determining the correct speed of orbit. That's a little too advance for this article but if you want a sneak preview just look at this link.
To end this article I recommend you plan on spending some time laying on your back or in a reclining chair on a clear night just after sunset and looking for "stars" that are moving. You'll know when you find a satellite. They don't flash, the don't change speed or direction and they move a little faster than most jetliners. Let me know what you see, we're all interested!
The next memorable experience of satellite watching was when my son was about 12. I told him we could see satellites just like on "Rocket Boys" and that got him excited. Within about 20 minutes he saw his first satellite flying over. Unlike me he's still not very interested in star watching or space exploration.
Do you want to see a satellite? It's really quite simple. I've noticed that the best time to view is either about 30 minutes after the sun sets or about 30 minutes before the sun rises. Obviously you need to have clear skies because satellites circle the earth high above the clouds. Most are orbiting at about 500 miles above the surface of the planet.
There are several internet sites that have information about spotting satellites. Here are some including my favorite one other than Starry Night software.
J-Track Satellite Tracking from NASAis my favorite free to use tacking software. It's pretty simple to use and gives you the exact time to walk out and look up. As long as you know where you live (go to this link and type in your address) you can be sitting inside playing a video game or reading about space exploration and walk out just in time to look up and see the satellite pass over.
Heavens Above is a site that I've used often but it provides great information about satellites and their locations. This site is more text based and a little harder to use than J-Track (above) but they have recently added more active graphics.
Most satellites are smaller than your family car. Some, such as the International Space Station or the one of the NASA Space Shuttles are much larger. Some satellites are orbiting in what is called a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite(GOES) which means it appears to you, if you are standing on the ground looking up, to be stationary. They orbit the earth high above and at a speed matching the rotation speed of the planet. They are also harder to see because they orbit the earth at about 22,000 miles high. The Shuttles orbit at about 140 miles and is very easy to spot when in orbit.
Polar Orbiting Earth Satellites (POES) go around the earth at about 1000 miles and move very quickly, about 1000 miles per hour. With any satellite the orbiting speed depends on the height of the orbit. The higher the orbit the slower it can move in relation to the surface.
The earth rotates from east to west at 1041 miles per hour. If you want to match the speed of the rotation of the earth and you are high above it you need to do some math to determine your "space speed". Physics are required and an understanding of centripetal force is key to determining the correct speed of orbit. That's a little too advance for this article but if you want a sneak preview just look at this link.
To end this article I recommend you plan on spending some time laying on your back or in a reclining chair on a clear night just after sunset and looking for "stars" that are moving. You'll know when you find a satellite. They don't flash, the don't change speed or direction and they move a little faster than most jetliners. Let me know what you see, we're all interested!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
List of Astronomy Clubs
Getting started in astronomy can find some easy and fun help. Learning from the experiences and experience of others is a great way to get rolling. Here is a list of several Astronomy Clubs throughout the world (mostly in the United States):
Saguaro Astronomy Club
The Saguaro Astronomy Club (SAC) was formed in 1977 to promote fellowship and the exchange of information among its members -- amateur astronomers. SAC members meet monthly for both general meetings and observing sessions, and regularly conducts and supports public programs on astronomy.
The Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC)
NOVAC is located in the state of Virginia, in the United States of America. Our members primarily reside in the counties near Washington D.C. Our primary purpose is providing enjoyment and education to the public (and ourselves!) through amateur astronomy. We strive to be a friendly club with a focus on observing, and we are one of the largest clubs in the United States with almost 1000 members.
Rockland Astronomy Club
Founded in 1958, Rockland Astronomy is one of the East Coast's premier astronomy club
and astronomy education organization. Providing an exciting array of activities
not available elsewhere. Rockland Astronomy will be your portal to the
wonders of the universe through our outstanding lectures, workshops, star parties,
planetarium shows, films, and much,much more.
The Society for Telescope, Astronomy and Radio
S*T*A*R is a registered non-profit educational amateur astronomy society located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Membership is open to anyone interested in any area of astronomy.
The Raleigh Astronomy Club
The Raleigh Astronomy Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and promoting amateur astronomy and is a member of the Astronomical League.
The Atlanta Astronomy Club
The AAC was founded in 1947 By Dr. William Calder, Chair of Astronomy at Agnes Scott College, to promote amateur astronomy and professional and amateur collaboration. It is one of the oldest and, with over 380 members, one of the largest clubs in the southeastern United States.
North Houston Astronomy Club
NHAC is a non-profit organization sponsored by Kingwood College, North Harris Montgomery Community College District. NHAC is dedicated to increasing the awareness and knowledge of the science of Astronomy.
The Huachuca Astronomy Club
The Huachuca Astronomy Club (or HAC) is Cochise County, Arizona's premier astronomy club. The pronunciation of the Native American word 'Huachuca', as best as I can do, is Waa-chew-Ka. The closest translation to English is 'Thunder Mountain'. With 'home base' at Cochise College in the heart of Sierra Vista, the Huachuca Astronomy Club also serves the communities of Hereford, Palominas, Fort Huachuca, Bisbee, historic Tombstone, Douglas, Huachuca City, Benson, Willcox, Sonoita (in Santa Cruz County), and other surrounding areas. Even Tucson is represented, by some who prefer the Huachuca Astronomy Club's smaller-town, friendlier atmosphere. (Tucson is approximately 60 miles NW from Sierra Vista.)
The Prairie Astronomy Club
The Prairie Astronomy Club was founded in 1961 as a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the study of Astronomy and related subjects for the benefit of its members and the general public. The club presently has over 80 members with a wide variety of interests ranging from simple naked-eye sky gazing to deep-sky objects, variable star observing, and the use of computers. The club holds monthly meetings open to the general public on THE LAST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH, unless the date conflicts with a major holiday. The meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. at the HYDE MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY located in HOLMES PARK in southeast LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc.
The AAC was founded September 1987 when Dr. Armen C. Tarjan (Charlie) contacted astronomy professor Howard L. Cohen and asked if Gainesville had an astronomy club. Professor Cohen responded, "Not any longer,* but do you want to start one!" The AAC flourished over the next eleven years and was incorporated as a not for profit organization under the laws of the State of Florida on the fifteenth day of the month of January 1999 at 17:08 Universal Time.
Santa Cruz Astronomy Club
The Santa Cruz Astronomy Club serves all communities in Santa Cruz County, California as well as many members from neighboring areas via our Newsletter the Observer. The emphasis of our club is Observational Astronomy, family participation and public enjoyment of the wonders of the starry night.
East Valley Astronomy Club
East Valley Astronomy Club (EVAC) is a group of more than 200 astronomy enthusiasts in the eastern part of Valley of the Sun. We started out in 1987 as a small band of amateur astronomers in the eastern suburbs of Phoenix, hence the name "East Valley Astronomy Club." We incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1996. Our membership now includes people from all over the valley, even a few from out of town. Our purpose is simple: to forge a network of friendly people with a common interest in star-gazing and astronomical science. We also promote public awareness and education of astronomy by sponsoring viewing sessions for both the general public and local area schools.
North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club
Two of the principal goals of the NSAAC are to promote a wider appreciation of astronomy and to help people choose the most appropriate telescope or binocular for their interest and budget. You do not need a telescope for stargazing, and you do not have need one to become a member of the NSAAC ! In fact, we recommend that you join us for a few observing sessions and look through the many varieties of telescopes owned by our members before making a purchase.
New Mexico Tech Astronomy Club
New Mexico Tech Astronomy Club is a student supported and run club that focuses primarily on public outreach. Outreach is available to anyone for free. The club runs the Etscorn Observatory at New Mexico Tech where most of our public outreach is conducted. Members can also use the facilities almost anytime. Club members are mostly Tech students but we also have members from all over New Mexico who participate in varying degrees. Occasionally the club goes on field trips and sometimes get special VIP tours at such places as the VLA and Chaco Canyon.
Castle Point Astronomy Club
The club is proud to possess various astronomical telescopes that are available to the members for loan, in order that they may have the opportunity to survey the skies at their leisure. This both enables those unable to afford their own telescope the opportunity to enjoy observation, and also enables those thinking of purchasing a telescope to get the feel of using one!
Amhurst Astronomy Organization
Founded 1993, AA is a Public-Service, Non-Profit Organization Supporting : Astronomy, Education, Members, Science, & The Public. AA Conducts 100+ Scheduled Programs & 600+ Individual Member Programs.
Saguaro Astronomy Club
The Saguaro Astronomy Club (SAC) was formed in 1977 to promote fellowship and the exchange of information among its members -- amateur astronomers. SAC members meet monthly for both general meetings and observing sessions, and regularly conducts and supports public programs on astronomy.
The Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC)
NOVAC is located in the state of Virginia, in the United States of America. Our members primarily reside in the counties near Washington D.C. Our primary purpose is providing enjoyment and education to the public (and ourselves!) through amateur astronomy. We strive to be a friendly club with a focus on observing, and we are one of the largest clubs in the United States with almost 1000 members.
Rockland Astronomy Club
Founded in 1958, Rockland Astronomy is one of the East Coast's premier astronomy club
and astronomy education organization. Providing an exciting array of activities
not available elsewhere. Rockland Astronomy will be your portal to the
wonders of the universe through our outstanding lectures, workshops, star parties,
planetarium shows, films, and much,much more.
The Society for Telescope, Astronomy and Radio
S*T*A*R is a registered non-profit educational amateur astronomy society located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Membership is open to anyone interested in any area of astronomy.
The Raleigh Astronomy Club
The Raleigh Astronomy Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and promoting amateur astronomy and is a member of the Astronomical League.
The Atlanta Astronomy Club
The AAC was founded in 1947 By Dr. William Calder, Chair of Astronomy at Agnes Scott College, to promote amateur astronomy and professional and amateur collaboration. It is one of the oldest and, with over 380 members, one of the largest clubs in the southeastern United States.
North Houston Astronomy Club
NHAC is a non-profit organization sponsored by Kingwood College, North Harris Montgomery Community College District. NHAC is dedicated to increasing the awareness and knowledge of the science of Astronomy.
The Huachuca Astronomy Club
The Huachuca Astronomy Club (or HAC) is Cochise County, Arizona's premier astronomy club. The pronunciation of the Native American word 'Huachuca', as best as I can do, is Waa-chew-Ka. The closest translation to English is 'Thunder Mountain'. With 'home base' at Cochise College in the heart of Sierra Vista, the Huachuca Astronomy Club also serves the communities of Hereford, Palominas, Fort Huachuca, Bisbee, historic Tombstone, Douglas, Huachuca City, Benson, Willcox, Sonoita (in Santa Cruz County), and other surrounding areas. Even Tucson is represented, by some who prefer the Huachuca Astronomy Club's smaller-town, friendlier atmosphere. (Tucson is approximately 60 miles NW from Sierra Vista.)
The Prairie Astronomy Club
The Prairie Astronomy Club was founded in 1961 as a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the study of Astronomy and related subjects for the benefit of its members and the general public. The club presently has over 80 members with a wide variety of interests ranging from simple naked-eye sky gazing to deep-sky objects, variable star observing, and the use of computers. The club holds monthly meetings open to the general public on THE LAST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH, unless the date conflicts with a major holiday. The meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. at the HYDE MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY located in HOLMES PARK in southeast LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc.
The AAC was founded September 1987 when Dr. Armen C. Tarjan (Charlie) contacted astronomy professor Howard L. Cohen and asked if Gainesville had an astronomy club. Professor Cohen responded, "Not any longer,* but do you want to start one!" The AAC flourished over the next eleven years and was incorporated as a not for profit organization under the laws of the State of Florida on the fifteenth day of the month of January 1999 at 17:08 Universal Time.
Santa Cruz Astronomy Club
The Santa Cruz Astronomy Club serves all communities in Santa Cruz County, California as well as many members from neighboring areas via our Newsletter the Observer. The emphasis of our club is Observational Astronomy, family participation and public enjoyment of the wonders of the starry night.
East Valley Astronomy Club
East Valley Astronomy Club (EVAC) is a group of more than 200 astronomy enthusiasts in the eastern part of Valley of the Sun. We started out in 1987 as a small band of amateur astronomers in the eastern suburbs of Phoenix, hence the name "East Valley Astronomy Club." We incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1996. Our membership now includes people from all over the valley, even a few from out of town. Our purpose is simple: to forge a network of friendly people with a common interest in star-gazing and astronomical science. We also promote public awareness and education of astronomy by sponsoring viewing sessions for both the general public and local area schools.
North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club
Two of the principal goals of the NSAAC are to promote a wider appreciation of astronomy and to help people choose the most appropriate telescope or binocular for their interest and budget. You do not need a telescope for stargazing, and you do not have need one to become a member of the NSAAC ! In fact, we recommend that you join us for a few observing sessions and look through the many varieties of telescopes owned by our members before making a purchase.
New Mexico Tech Astronomy Club
New Mexico Tech Astronomy Club is a student supported and run club that focuses primarily on public outreach. Outreach is available to anyone for free. The club runs the Etscorn Observatory at New Mexico Tech where most of our public outreach is conducted. Members can also use the facilities almost anytime. Club members are mostly Tech students but we also have members from all over New Mexico who participate in varying degrees. Occasionally the club goes on field trips and sometimes get special VIP tours at such places as the VLA and Chaco Canyon.
Castle Point Astronomy Club
The club is proud to possess various astronomical telescopes that are available to the members for loan, in order that they may have the opportunity to survey the skies at their leisure. This both enables those unable to afford their own telescope the opportunity to enjoy observation, and also enables those thinking of purchasing a telescope to get the feel of using one!
Amhurst Astronomy Organization
Founded 1993, AA is a Public-Service, Non-Profit Organization Supporting : Astronomy, Education, Members, Science, & The Public. AA Conducts 100+ Scheduled Programs & 600+ Individual Member Programs.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
How Do We Measure the Speed of Light?
You may have learned that the speed of light is 186,282 miles per second. (299,792,458 meters per second.) You may also know that Alpha Centauri is in the nearest stellar system which is also a part of our galaxy and it is about 4.35 light years away. But how do we know this?
Before it was proven by Thomas Young that light traveled in waves just like sound it was believed that light was composed of particles (Newton's idea) which traveled through the "ether". Now we know there is no ether as it was presented and light travels in waves. Recently scientists were able to greatly slow the speed of light by transmitting it through an optically dense substance called Bose-Einstein Condensate. The Condensate is made up of atoms of rubidium cooled to almost absolute zero. There is a lot more information about bosons and condensates but most of them are far above the basics of physics needed to be known to understand how to measure the speed of light.
Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity uses "c" to represent the constancy of the speed of light. It is now believed that light itself may be able to travel faster than the speed of light at least within light (not important for this discussion) and through experiments we have been able to slow down and even stop (freeze) light. But for all current and practical knowledge we believe that the speed of light through a non-vacuum is 3 x 10(8th) meters per second.
Galileo may have been the first scientist to try and measure the speed of light and he used a very rudimentary set of tools: two lanterns. He and an assistant separated themselves by about a mile Galileo would uncover his lamp allowing light to shine and as soon as his assistant saw the light from Galileo's lamp he would uncover his. Galileo judged this to be instantaneous. Well, he was almost right. It takes about 1700 billionths of a second for light to travel one mile.
Ole Roemer used the moons of Jupiter to prove that the speed of light could be measured (that it was not infinite). He noticed that when the orbits of Jupiter and Earth were closer he could see the moons of Jupiter much earlier than when Earth and Jupiter were at their farthest distance. In fact that amount of time turned out to be 16 minutes and 40 seconds though Roemer evidently held it to be 22 minutes and a few seconds. While Roemer did calculate the speed of light from these numbers he was actually of by 50%. Roemer calculated the speed of light to be 1.5 x 10(8th) meters per second - 1/2 slower than actual. The formula he used was to calculate the time it took for the light of Io to reach the surface of the earth in both the perigee and apogee of the orbits of Earth and Jupiter. Knowing the orbit of Earth to be 2 astronomical units he simply divided that time by the distance. He was wrong but he was on the right track. The year was 1675.
In 1849 we finally had the first non-space related measurement of the speed of light by a French physicist named Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau. Fizeau used a wheel with "teeth" cut into it along with a mirror and a lamp to accurately measure the speed of light. Separating himself and the light by about 8 kilometers he rotated the toothed wheel until it went fast enough to block out the light from the previous opening in the wheel which allowed the light to pass through. Since he knew the distance and the speed of the wheel he accurately measured the speed of light within a few meters per second.
Before it was proven by Thomas Young that light traveled in waves just like sound it was believed that light was composed of particles (Newton's idea) which traveled through the "ether". Now we know there is no ether as it was presented and light travels in waves. Recently scientists were able to greatly slow the speed of light by transmitting it through an optically dense substance called Bose-Einstein Condensate. The Condensate is made up of atoms of rubidium cooled to almost absolute zero. There is a lot more information about bosons and condensates but most of them are far above the basics of physics needed to be known to understand how to measure the speed of light.
Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity uses "c" to represent the constancy of the speed of light. It is now believed that light itself may be able to travel faster than the speed of light at least within light (not important for this discussion) and through experiments we have been able to slow down and even stop (freeze) light. But for all current and practical knowledge we believe that the speed of light through a non-vacuum is 3 x 10(8th) meters per second.
Galileo may have been the first scientist to try and measure the speed of light and he used a very rudimentary set of tools: two lanterns. He and an assistant separated themselves by about a mile Galileo would uncover his lamp allowing light to shine and as soon as his assistant saw the light from Galileo's lamp he would uncover his. Galileo judged this to be instantaneous. Well, he was almost right. It takes about 1700 billionths of a second for light to travel one mile.
Ole Roemer used the moons of Jupiter to prove that the speed of light could be measured (that it was not infinite). He noticed that when the orbits of Jupiter and Earth were closer he could see the moons of Jupiter much earlier than when Earth and Jupiter were at their farthest distance. In fact that amount of time turned out to be 16 minutes and 40 seconds though Roemer evidently held it to be 22 minutes and a few seconds. While Roemer did calculate the speed of light from these numbers he was actually of by 50%. Roemer calculated the speed of light to be 1.5 x 10(8th) meters per second - 1/2 slower than actual. The formula he used was to calculate the time it took for the light of Io to reach the surface of the earth in both the perigee and apogee of the orbits of Earth and Jupiter. Knowing the orbit of Earth to be 2 astronomical units he simply divided that time by the distance. He was wrong but he was on the right track. The year was 1675.
In 1849 we finally had the first non-space related measurement of the speed of light by a French physicist named Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau. Fizeau used a wheel with "teeth" cut into it along with a mirror and a lamp to accurately measure the speed of light. Separating himself and the light by about 8 kilometers he rotated the toothed wheel until it went fast enough to block out the light from the previous opening in the wheel which allowed the light to pass through. Since he knew the distance and the speed of the wheel he accurately measured the speed of light within a few meters per second.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
The ABC's of Backyard Astronomy
You're here because you're interested, like me, in learning about space exploration from your vantage point. I've been interested in viewing the night skies for over 35 years when my parents bought a 4" refractor scope for me for Christmas. Until recently, however, I never really took the time to go outside and look up with the intention of locating and identifying celestial objects.
About 8 months ago I purchased a 6" reflector scope for my wife mostly because we do spend a great deal of time outdoors and because it was only $200 brand new. She is also interested in the night skies and has been a great influence on my desire to locate and identify especially since I purchased a copy of Starry Night Astronomer for her on her birthday which just passed.
She almost immediately loaded it on her notebook and began exploring. Her simple first goal was to find "The Little Dipper". It's a fond childhood memory for her from her days spent with her grandmother in her home state of Alaska.
During our first few nights out with the purpose of looking skyward she taught me how to find the duck constellation Cygnus, the "W" which is Cassiopeia
As she began to show me the things she was learning and we started gazing skyward I became more interested as well. Dragging the 6" scope out and setting it up is sometimes a hassle and it has no azimuth adjustment or tracking guides whatsoever so it's really just a point and shoot. Any magnification over about 50x is very difficult to use because of this reason so I decided to bring out a little pair of 3x50 binoculars. Amazing. I mean it's very amazing at what you can see just through a small pair of binocs like that.
For the first time in my life I was able to locate and identify The Pleiades, also know as The Seven Sisters and Messier's 45th object M45. To the naked eye, at least to mine, this looked like a little blurry spot in my eyes just a little below and to the left of Mars. Then I got really interested and started finding all sorts of things. Oh if my dad had only lived long enough to have the Internet! It was really he who fed my interest as a child.
As I began to look at the Web for more information I realized that I was going to have to learn a bit of new terminology just so I could understand what I was reading. It seemed, at first, that even the most elementary websites used technical terms and presented data about a particular planet, star, galaxy or other point of interest in such a way that I felt lost. I would see the photo which I could understand but when it was accompanied by text like: Right Ascension 00 : 42.7 (h:m); Declination +41 : 16 (deg:m); Distance 2900 (kly); Visual Brightness 3.4 (mag); Apparent Dimension 178x63 (arc min), I was lost.
Since I'm a reasonably intelligent, grown man trying to decipher this information I realized that what we could use is at least one more website for amateur astronomers which explained the basics and how to understand what you're reading. Even though I searched for a good website like Introduction To Astronomy, or Astronomy 101, Basic Stargazing or Amateur Astronomers, I still couldn't find a place to teach me my ABC's and 123's! Even the simplest sites I found didn't have a good dictionary or explanation of the most basic terms.
So here we are! And, thanks to the folks at Blogger.com you who have come here with the same level of understanding and types of questions shared by thousands of other beginners can have a part of the discussion as well. I'll publish what I can, when I can but you don't need to be silent on your questions, answers and even discoveries. What we share together we learn together. So if I'm too elementary for you today come back in a few weeks or months and maybe I'll have a little more knowledge and skill and we can discover together.
AddMe.com, Search Engine Marketing
About 8 months ago I purchased a 6" reflector scope for my wife mostly because we do spend a great deal of time outdoors and because it was only $200 brand new. She is also interested in the night skies and has been a great influence on my desire to locate and identify especially since I purchased a copy of Starry Night Astronomer for her on her birthday which just passed.
She almost immediately loaded it on her notebook and began exploring. Her simple first goal was to find "The Little Dipper". It's a fond childhood memory for her from her days spent with her grandmother in her home state of Alaska.
During our first few nights out with the purpose of looking skyward she taught me how to find the duck constellation Cygnus, the "W" which is Cassiopeia
As she began to show me the things she was learning and we started gazing skyward I became more interested as well. Dragging the 6" scope out and setting it up is sometimes a hassle and it has no azimuth adjustment or tracking guides whatsoever so it's really just a point and shoot. Any magnification over about 50x is very difficult to use because of this reason so I decided to bring out a little pair of 3x50 binoculars. Amazing. I mean it's very amazing at what you can see just through a small pair of binocs like that.
For the first time in my life I was able to locate and identify The Pleiades, also know as The Seven Sisters and Messier's 45th object M45. To the naked eye, at least to mine, this looked like a little blurry spot in my eyes just a little below and to the left of Mars. Then I got really interested and started finding all sorts of things. Oh if my dad had only lived long enough to have the Internet! It was really he who fed my interest as a child.
As I began to look at the Web for more information I realized that I was going to have to learn a bit of new terminology just so I could understand what I was reading. It seemed, at first, that even the most elementary websites used technical terms and presented data about a particular planet, star, galaxy or other point of interest in such a way that I felt lost. I would see the photo which I could understand but when it was accompanied by text like: Right Ascension 00 : 42.7 (h:m); Declination +41 : 16 (deg:m); Distance 2900 (kly); Visual Brightness 3.4 (mag); Apparent Dimension 178x63 (arc min), I was lost.
Since I'm a reasonably intelligent, grown man trying to decipher this information I realized that what we could use is at least one more website for amateur astronomers which explained the basics and how to understand what you're reading. Even though I searched for a good website like Introduction To Astronomy, or Astronomy 101, Basic Stargazing or Amateur Astronomers, I still couldn't find a place to teach me my ABC's and 123's! Even the simplest sites I found didn't have a good dictionary or explanation of the most basic terms.
So here we are! And, thanks to the folks at Blogger.com you who have come here with the same level of understanding and types of questions shared by thousands of other beginners can have a part of the discussion as well. I'll publish what I can, when I can but you don't need to be silent on your questions, answers and even discoveries. What we share together we learn together. So if I'm too elementary for you today come back in a few weeks or months and maybe I'll have a little more knowledge and skill and we can discover together.
AddMe.com, Search Engine Marketing
Here's a great first telescope
Sometimes it's cost that keeps us from getting started on a new journey. Here's a scope anyone can afford. If you can't afford it now just do a little recycling and you'll afford it soon enough. It's great for learning about telescopes, too. Read the text below the image for a little basic learning about telescopes.
This is a 42x scope and for the beginning explorer or for the professional wanting a great little instrument to keep in your car or truck.
This is the "spec sheet" on this telescope. Spec is short for specifications. The spec sheet tells you about focal lengththe F#, eyepiece diameter, etc. So, since this may be your first look at a telescope technical data specification sheet take a look and then we'll examine each line indivually.
Design: Newtonian Reflector
Diameter: 80mm
Focal Length: 550mm
F/#: 7
Eyepiece: 13mm
Magnification: 42x
FOV: 10
Length: 14 inches
Weight: 5 lbs.
Newtonian Reflector - this tells us that this a telescope which makes use of lenses and mirrors instead of just lenses. In another posting I said my first telescope was a refractor scope. That scope used only two lenses, one small to look through called the eyepiece and the other larger called the objective lense. This telescope uses an eyepiece to look through but everything else is handled by curved mirrors. The refractor telescope was invented by a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey in 1608. It was Isaac Newton who used mirrors to perfect the image. Reflector scopes give a clearer image because of the way they handle the light. More on that elswhere. Another type of scope popularized recently may be the Dobsonian named after a still living American from California by the name of John Dobson. More on Dobson elsewhere.
Diameter 80mm - this tells use the diameter of the primary mirror in this case. In some cases is gives the diameter of the primary mirror or the objective lense. In any case this refers to the largest optical compenent of these telescopes which are, in actuality, called the arpeture. There are two mirrors in this telescope: the primary mirror which we mentioned already is at the "bottom" of the tube and the secondary mirror which is mounted on the "spider" in front of the eyepiece. The secondary mirror aims the image into the eyepiece. (80MM is nearly 3.15 inches. There are 25.4 millimeters in 1 inch.)
Focal Length - is both simple and mildly complex. In it's simplest form it is the distance from the optical device (lense or mirror) to the point where the image is in focus. Anyone who has used a simple magnifying glass has dealt with focal length. In that case it is the distance from your eye to the lense where the object you are viewing appears to be in focus. The focal length of this scope is given as 550mm. Using the numbers we learned above we can determine that length in inches by dividing 550 by the number of mm per inch. So 550 / 25.4 = 21.654 inches. (Anytime you want to convert mm to inches just divide the number of mm by 25.4 - to convert from inches to millimeters multiply the number of inches by 25.4)
F# - shouldn't frighten or puzzle you like it did me because I'll teach you the simple definition! In fact it just uses the two numbers above to calculate. Simply divide the focal length by the arpeture. For this little telescope that would be 550 / 80 = 6.875 and rounded up to the nearest whole number would be 7. This is also referred to as the F/Stop or a focal ratio. The focal ratio is a more important number when it comes to photography. Specifically because the lower the F# the more light (or the lighter the image) is apparent in the image.
Eyepiece 13mm - describes the part you actually look into. On this telescope it is the part sticking out of the side of the tube near the large opening at the top. The eyepiece has a great deal of control over the field of view (FOV described below) and magnification. The field of view is simply how much you can see. For example with your eyes wide open and nothing interfering (obstructing) your sight your field of view is about 165 degrees more or less. If you put your hands on the side of your face to block what you can see you narrow (decrease or diminish) your field of view to about 50 degrees. The smaller the opening in the eyepiece the higher the magnification and the smaller the field of view. Using a smaller opening eyepiece such as a 10mm would increase the magnification and decrease the field of view.
Magnification 42x - is how many times larger the object appears through the telescope compared to just looking at it with your naked eyes (naked eyes means no help from a magnifying device). It is written as a number followed by a small x which is the international mathematic symbol for times (as in multiplication).
FOV 10 - tells us that the field of view we learned about above is 10 degrees. That means that what you see through the telescope is about 10 degrees of what you see with your naked eyes. 10 degrees is equal to about one width of your fist held at arm's length (with your arm fully extended). The moon, for example, is about .5 degrees (one half [1/2] of a degree) across as seen with your naked eyes. This means with this telescope in it's default (the way it comes) setup you would be able to see all of the moon with plenty to spare through the viewer.
Length 14 inches - is usally the length of the tube.
Weight 5lbs - us how force is required to keep the telescope off the ground ... but that's a physics lesson in the waiting.
If this explanation is still too difficult for you please feel free to post your questions and I or some real professional will answer as quickly as possible.
This is a 42x scope and for the beginning explorer or for the professional wanting a great little instrument to keep in your car or truck.
This is the "spec sheet" on this telescope. Spec is short for specifications. The spec sheet tells you about focal lengththe F#, eyepiece diameter, etc. So, since this may be your first look at a telescope technical data specification sheet take a look and then we'll examine each line indivually.
Design: Newtonian Reflector
Diameter: 80mm
Focal Length: 550mm
F/#: 7
Eyepiece: 13mm
Magnification: 42x
FOV: 10
Length: 14 inches
Weight: 5 lbs.
Newtonian Reflector - this tells us that this a telescope which makes use of lenses and mirrors instead of just lenses. In another posting I said my first telescope was a refractor scope. That scope used only two lenses, one small to look through called the eyepiece and the other larger called the objective lense. This telescope uses an eyepiece to look through but everything else is handled by curved mirrors. The refractor telescope was invented by a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey in 1608. It was Isaac Newton who used mirrors to perfect the image. Reflector scopes give a clearer image because of the way they handle the light. More on that elswhere. Another type of scope popularized recently may be the Dobsonian named after a still living American from California by the name of John Dobson. More on Dobson elsewhere.
Diameter 80mm - this tells use the diameter of the primary mirror in this case. In some cases is gives the diameter of the primary mirror or the objective lense. In any case this refers to the largest optical compenent of these telescopes which are, in actuality, called the arpeture. There are two mirrors in this telescope: the primary mirror which we mentioned already is at the "bottom" of the tube and the secondary mirror which is mounted on the "spider" in front of the eyepiece. The secondary mirror aims the image into the eyepiece. (80MM is nearly 3.15 inches. There are 25.4 millimeters in 1 inch.)
Focal Length - is both simple and mildly complex. In it's simplest form it is the distance from the optical device (lense or mirror) to the point where the image is in focus. Anyone who has used a simple magnifying glass has dealt with focal length. In that case it is the distance from your eye to the lense where the object you are viewing appears to be in focus. The focal length of this scope is given as 550mm. Using the numbers we learned above we can determine that length in inches by dividing 550 by the number of mm per inch. So 550 / 25.4 = 21.654 inches. (Anytime you want to convert mm to inches just divide the number of mm by 25.4 - to convert from inches to millimeters multiply the number of inches by 25.4)
F# - shouldn't frighten or puzzle you like it did me because I'll teach you the simple definition! In fact it just uses the two numbers above to calculate. Simply divide the focal length by the arpeture. For this little telescope that would be 550 / 80 = 6.875 and rounded up to the nearest whole number would be 7. This is also referred to as the F/Stop or a focal ratio. The focal ratio is a more important number when it comes to photography. Specifically because the lower the F# the more light (or the lighter the image) is apparent in the image.
Eyepiece 13mm - describes the part you actually look into. On this telescope it is the part sticking out of the side of the tube near the large opening at the top. The eyepiece has a great deal of control over the field of view (FOV described below) and magnification. The field of view is simply how much you can see. For example with your eyes wide open and nothing interfering (obstructing) your sight your field of view is about 165 degrees more or less. If you put your hands on the side of your face to block what you can see you narrow (decrease or diminish) your field of view to about 50 degrees. The smaller the opening in the eyepiece the higher the magnification and the smaller the field of view. Using a smaller opening eyepiece such as a 10mm would increase the magnification and decrease the field of view.
Magnification 42x - is how many times larger the object appears through the telescope compared to just looking at it with your naked eyes (naked eyes means no help from a magnifying device). It is written as a number followed by a small x which is the international mathematic symbol for times (as in multiplication).
FOV 10 - tells us that the field of view we learned about above is 10 degrees. That means that what you see through the telescope is about 10 degrees of what you see with your naked eyes. 10 degrees is equal to about one width of your fist held at arm's length (with your arm fully extended). The moon, for example, is about .5 degrees (one half [1/2] of a degree) across as seen with your naked eyes. This means with this telescope in it's default (the way it comes) setup you would be able to see all of the moon with plenty to spare through the viewer.
Length 14 inches - is usally the length of the tube.
Weight 5lbs - us how force is required to keep the telescope off the ground ... but that's a physics lesson in the waiting.
If this explanation is still too difficult for you please feel free to post your questions and I or some real professional will answer as quickly as possible.
My First Astronomy Software - Should be yours, too!
This is the software I purchased on a lark for my wife's birthday. It is very simple to use and comes with a great DVD. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well:
| I love this software! From the first moment my wife loaded it on her notebook we started studying astronomy. Finally, after all these years, my parent's purchase of a 4" refractor scope back in 1971 paid off. Of course that scope is long gone, sold to a friend in 1979 who, I may add, never paid me! We absolutely love this software and it has made our journey into space much more enjoyable. We take it outside with us and have it available to identify everything we see. It even locates and names most man-made satellites! I know you will love and get great use from this software. This is the "entry level" version. Below I have linked more advanced versions. |
List of Messier Objects
Listing of Messier objects
M1 The Crab Nebula
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6 The Butterfly Cluster
M7 Ptolemy's Cluster
M8 The Lagoon Nebula
M9
M10
M11 The Wild Duck Cluster
M12
M13 The Great Hercules Globular Cluster
M14
M15
M16 part of the Eagle Nebula
M17 The Omega, Swan, or Horseshoe Nebula
M18
M19
M20 The Triffid Nebula
M21
M22
M23
M24 Milky Way Patch
M25
M26
M27 The Dumbell Nebula
M28
M29
M30
M31 The Andromeda Galaxy
M32 Satellite galaxy of Andromeda
M33 The Triangulum Galaxy
M34
M35
M36
M37
M38
M39
M40 Winecke 4
M41
M42 The Great Orion Nebula
M43 part of the Orion Nebula, de Mairan's Nebula
M44 Praesepe, The Beehive Cluster
M45 The Pleiades
M46
M47
M48
M49
M50
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy
M52
M53
M54
M55
M56
M57 The Ring Nebula
M58
M59
M60
M61
M62
M63 The Sunflower Galaxy
M64 The Blackeye Galaxy
M65 Little Dumbbell Nebula
M66 Little Dumbbell Nebula
M67
M68
M69
M70
M71
M72
M73
M74
M75
M76 The Little Dumbell, Cork, or Butterfly
M77
M78
M79
M80
M81 Bode's Galaxy or Bode's Nebula
M82 The Cigar Galaxy
M83
M84
M85
M86
M87 Virgo A
M88
M89
M90
M91
M92
M93
M94
M95
M96
M97 The Owl Nebula
M98
M99
M100
M101 The Pinwheel Galaxy
M102 The Pinwheel Galaxy
M103
M104 The Sombrero Galaxy
M105
M106
M107
M108
M109
M110 Satellite galaxy of Andromeda
M1 The Crab Nebula
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6 The Butterfly Cluster
M7 Ptolemy's Cluster
M8 The Lagoon Nebula
M9
M10
M11 The Wild Duck Cluster
M12
M13 The Great Hercules Globular Cluster
M14
M15
M16 part of the Eagle Nebula
M17 The Omega, Swan, or Horseshoe Nebula
M18
M19
M20 The Triffid Nebula
M21
M22
M23
M24 Milky Way Patch
M25
M26
M27 The Dumbell Nebula
M28
M29
M30
M31 The Andromeda Galaxy
M32 Satellite galaxy of Andromeda
M33 The Triangulum Galaxy
M34
M35
M36
M37
M38
M39
M40 Winecke 4
M41
M42 The Great Orion Nebula
M43 part of the Orion Nebula, de Mairan's Nebula
M44 Praesepe, The Beehive Cluster
M45 The Pleiades
M46
M47
M48
M49
M50
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy
M52
M53
M54
M55
M56
M57 The Ring Nebula
M58
M59
M60
M61
M62
M63 The Sunflower Galaxy
M64 The Blackeye Galaxy
M65 Little Dumbbell Nebula
M66 Little Dumbbell Nebula
M67
M68
M69
M70
M71
M72
M73
M74
M75
M76 The Little Dumbell, Cork, or Butterfly
M77
M78
M79
M80
M81 Bode's Galaxy or Bode's Nebula
M82 The Cigar Galaxy
M83
M84
M85
M86
M87 Virgo A
M88
M89
M90
M91
M92
M93
M94
M95
M96
M97 The Owl Nebula
M98
M99
M100
M101 The Pinwheel Galaxy
M102 The Pinwheel Galaxy
M103
M104 The Sombrero Galaxy
M105
M106
M107
M108
M109
M110 Satellite galaxy of Andromeda
Astronomy Definitions
These are the definitions I have needed. Some of the words I already knew but wondered if other beginning astronomers would know them. Some of the words I had heard but didn't know their meaning well enough to answer someone else with a definition should they ask me during the course of conversation.
Asteroid - is an object in space that is inside of our solar system and is smaller than a planet or a moon and orbits the sun.
Astronomy - the study of stars, planets, moons, asteriods: any object in space including man-made satellites.
Binoculars - is short for Binocular Telescopes meaning "two telescopes" but joined together so that they focus together and you can see through both at the same time. I love binoculars for night sky watching because they let you see more of the sky (called the "field of vision") and are simple to use - you really just point them at what you want to see and focus. Binoculars up to about 10x or 10 power (which means what you see through them seems ten times as big as seeing it with just your "naked" eyes) are good to use without a tripod and make it easy to find many objects unseen to you before.
Refractor - the oldest form of telescope. You look in an eyepiece at one end, through a tube and through a larger lens at the other end. You can make a refractor telescope by using a pair of reading glasses and a magnifying glass. It's that simple.
Messier - pronounced messy-ay was a French Astronomer. His first name was Charles. He lived from June 26, 1730 to April 12, 1817. In 1774 he published a list of 45 space objects which he numbered from M1 to M45. So when you see M44 you will soon know we are talking about The Beehive Cluster. If you are a member of the Ameteur Astronomers of America you can get a sort of "merite badge" for identifying several Messier Objects.
Meteor - when a "shooting star" leaves a streak of light in the sky we call that a meteor. A "shooting" star is called a meteoroid. If any part makes it to the ground without burning up in the sky it is called a meteorite.
Asteroid - is an object in space that is inside of our solar system and is smaller than a planet or a moon and orbits the sun.
Astronomy - the study of stars, planets, moons, asteriods: any object in space including man-made satellites.
Binoculars - is short for Binocular Telescopes meaning "two telescopes" but joined together so that they focus together and you can see through both at the same time. I love binoculars for night sky watching because they let you see more of the sky (called the "field of vision") and are simple to use - you really just point them at what you want to see and focus. Binoculars up to about 10x or 10 power (which means what you see through them seems ten times as big as seeing it with just your "naked" eyes) are good to use without a tripod and make it easy to find many objects unseen to you before.
Refractor - the oldest form of telescope. You look in an eyepiece at one end, through a tube and through a larger lens at the other end. You can make a refractor telescope by using a pair of reading glasses and a magnifying glass. It's that simple.
Messier - pronounced messy-ay was a French Astronomer. His first name was Charles. He lived from June 26, 1730 to April 12, 1817. In 1774 he published a list of 45 space objects which he numbered from M1 to M45. So when you see M44 you will soon know we are talking about The Beehive Cluster. If you are a member of the Ameteur Astronomers of America you can get a sort of "merite badge" for identifying several Messier Objects.
Meteor - when a "shooting star" leaves a streak of light in the sky we call that a meteor. A "shooting" star is called a meteoroid. If any part makes it to the ground without burning up in the sky it is called a meteorite.
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