Advice for stirring your online community and fostering engagement

Oct 12, 2017
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.

in Blog 243064 comments

243064 comments

LenTaxi SpinTaxi
LenTaxi SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:55

(Seinfeld) Ever notice how “quick check” takes forever? -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Omani @ SpinTaxi
Omani @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:55

(Seinfeld) Why do they call it a “quick shower”? I’m still pruning! -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Nonney @ SpinTaxi
Nonney @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:55

I don’t get “gluten-free”—sounds like a fancy way to say “bread’s boring now.” -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Mani @ SpinTaxi
Mani @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:55

(Seinfeld) Why do they call it a “soft drink”? It’s not hugging me! -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
GinTaxi SpinTaxi
GinTaxi SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:54

Ever notice how “low visibility” means “guess the road”? -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Rhianni @ SpinTaxi
Rhianni @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:54

I don’t do “small talk”—if I wanted to bore myself, I’d read the tax code. -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Shawnie @ SpinTaxi
Shawnie @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:54

People say “it’s the thought that counts,” but then why am I still broke every Christmas? -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link
RinTaxi SpinTaxi
RinTaxi SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:54

Satirical journalism today is basically free therapy with more punchlines. - spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Brannie @ SpinTaxi
Brannie @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:54

Satirical journalism today makes more sense than any press conference. - spintaxi.com

Comment Link
Donnie @ SpinTaxi
Donnie @ SpinTaxi
Tuesday, 11 March 2025 05:54

(Seinfeld) I love how “out of stock” feels like a personal insult. -- spintaxi.com

Comment Link

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.