Posts Tagged ‘planets’
ASRC featured on front page of the Salisbury Post
February 5th, 2011 | Author: Herb
The Astronomical Society of Rowan County would like to thank James Carli II and the Salisbury Post for featuring the ASRC in a wonderful Front Page story in the Saturday, February 5th 2011 edition of the Salisbury Post!
Astronomy club works on night moves at ‘star parties’
You don’t have to be Carl Sagan or Mr. Spock to appreciate the vastness of outer space. It’s big. Mind-blowingly big. And right here in Rowan County is a group of astronomy enthusiasts who enjoy exploring these vast reaches with zeal rivaling that of any Ivy League scientist or Starfleet officer….Read More
How big is that?
October 29th, 2009 | Author: Herb
Through the years I have let a lot of people look through my telescopes. And one of the questions most frequently asked when the target is a planet, like Jupiter, the Sun or the Moon, is “How big is that?”. Now seriously, if I say the diameter is about 800,000 miles, you will pretty much loose most people, I mean what do we have in our daily lives to compare that number too? Well I have found a neat web application that will let you compare the sizes of various objects in our solar system side by side. This is a great example of how the web can be used effectively in education; and a great example, and proof supporting the old saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. Check this out:
(Try selecting the Earth on the left and the Sun on the right, then click Compare in the middle. Now that’s an eye opener huh!)