09-06-2007 A magic kingdom (Article 89)

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Simon Kenny
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Location: Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland

09-06-2007 A magic kingdom (Article 89)

Post by Simon Kenny » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:01 am

A magic kingdom (Article 89)

I recall as a young boy whom loved fresh water fishing in the nearby canal, being told by an old hand “A hook in a tackle box will not catch a fish”. The same holds true for astronomy — your eyes being the hook and the wonders of the night sky the fish. Many beginners are put off by the mathematical complexity of astronomy, but as amateur Ben Mayer once said, “you have two choices, you can make space into a thing of mystery or into a vehicle of discovery”. Astronomy is not a science where you have to know the answers but rather one where you have to feel. Discovery comes every time you turn your gaze upwards, either in the form of a flash from a meteor, the beauty of a thin crescent moon or the faint blurred image of a far distant galaxy containing billions of suns. What motivates an amateur to spend 1000’s of hours at a telescope or absorbing the patterns of the night sky overhead as the Earth whirls beneath their feet? Its no different than for any sport or other activity — one just falls in love with the Universe.

If you look at the spring constellation of Hercules (1st image), along the right hand side of the Keystone, a star pattern made up of four stars in the shape of the stone that forms the apex of an arch, one finds a hazy ‘star’. This is known as M13, a globular cluster on the outskirts of our Galaxy, the MilkyWay. Now consider this is actually 100 light years (600 trillion miles) in diameter, containing about 300.000 stars --- imagine 300,000 suns just like our Sun. In binoculars this blur takes on some discernible form (2nd image) about half the apparent width of the full moon, but in a telescope (3rd iamge) it almost comes alive, its stars almost reaching out to you from its 23,500 light years distance. So in addition to viewing a constellation of antiquity, astronomy has also opened the door to a magic kingdom of sorts, one full of astonishing objects of vast diversity and beauty. Why not open that door on the next clear night and enter a magic kingdom for yourself.

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