Advice for stirring your online community and fostering engagement
When you enter into any new area of science, you almost always find
yourself with a baffling new language of technical terms to learn before you can converse with the experts. This is certainly true in astronomy both in terms of terms that refer to the cosmos and terms that describe the tools of the trade, the most prevalent being the telescope. So to get us off of first base, let’s define some of the key terms that pertain to telescopes to help you be able to talk to them more intelligently. The first area of specialization in telescopes has to do with the types of telescopes people use. The three designs of telescopes that most people use are the Refractor, the Reflector and the Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. The refractor telescope uses a convex lens to focus the light on the eyepiece. The reflector telescope has a concave lens which means it bends in. It uses mirrors to focus the image that you eventually see. The Schmidt Cassegrain telescope uses an involved system of mirrors to capture the image you want to see. A binocular telescope uses a set of telescopes mounted and synchronized so your view of the sky is 3-D. Beyond the basic types, other terms refer to parts of the telescope or to the science behind how telescopes work. Collimation is a term for how well tuned the telescope is to give you a good clear image of what you are looking at. You want your telescope to have good collimation so you are not getting a false image of the celestial body. Aperture is a fancy word for how big the lens of your telescope is. But it’s an important word because the aperture of the lens is the key to how powerful your telescope is. Magnification has nothing to do with it, its all in the aperture.
228061 comments
Lonnie @ SpinTaxi
People say I’m rude; I say, “Truth’s got no manners.” -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkWaniyi @ SpinTaxi
A good satirical journalism analysis reveals that the real joke is reality. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkCónni @ SpinTaxi
Some of the best satirical journalism examples have been turned into TV shows—and they still seem too tame. - spintaxi.com
Comment LinkJóni @ SpinTaxi
What’s with self-checkout? I didn’t sign up to work here, I just want my chips! -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkChonnie @ SpinTaxi
I’d rather read satirical journalism analysis than another economic report. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkDaxie SpinTaxi
(White) I tapped my card—bar says, “Tap out, buddy.” -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkNanni @ SpinTaxi
(Seinfeld) What’s the deal with “no hassle”? It’s chaos! -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkDawnie @ SpinTaxi
(Seinfeld) I don’t get “fast track”—I’m still crawling! -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkCónia @ SpinTaxi
I don’t trust “organic”—sounds like a scam with dirt on it. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkChanie @ SpinTaxi
I don’t do “craft beer”—tastes like hipsters cried in it. -- spintaxi.com
Comment Link