Astronomy

« « Astronomy Today Views | Astronomy For Kids - Learn While Having Fun » »

Thursday, April 30th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Man had great fascination for observing celestial bodies from ancient period. Naked eye was one of the means by which the planetary positions were observed. This was a means which astronomers like Aryabhata, Bhaskara and Copernicus used before the invention of the telescope by Galileo. Pole star played an important mark by providing ancient astronomers the reference point they needed and this helped in the forecasting of eclipses keeping the relative positions of the stars in the calculations. Pole star in ancient Egypt was used in the construction of the pyramids by providing the perfect reference point in the night sky.

The telescope was invented in the 15^th century and this opened up a new horizon for the space exploration. When the concept of solar system was proposed as geocentric there was no evidence to contradict this, but when telescope came into picture the heliocentric view was established. The olden day telescopes used to be able to provide a clear view of only the planets that were neighboring earth like Venus and Mars. But today we are able to stretch to the outer limits of the solar system with the planets in the outer ring like Jupiter and Uranus observed with ease. In the near future we will be able to have a clear picture of the dwarf planet Pluto, and with the current pace at which technology is growing it is very near.

With new telescopes being available the scope of astronomy has widened greatly, gone are the days when an individual had to visit an observatory for using a telescope. The prices of telescopes have greatly fallen these days and amateur telescopes are available at a very affordable price. Most astronomers are amateurs and like to watch the nature in its truest form and there are affordable telescopes like the Meade Telescope that help amateur astronomers enjoy the beautiful night spectacle.

A telescope’s capability depends on several factors like the diameter of the aperture and the power of the lens that go a long way in the resolution, most telescope makers themselves provide detailed instructions on the assembling of telescopes or help in assembling them for the customers. On a clear night a good amateur telescope can traverse up to the Saturn rings which will be a great spectacle to watch for the user.

Get Social, Bookmark Us!!:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.