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.
243067 comments
RinTaxi SpinTaxi
Satirical journalism today is basically free therapy with more punchlines. - spintaxi.com
Comment LinkBrannie @ SpinTaxi
Satirical journalism today makes more sense than any press conference. - spintaxi.com
Comment LinkDonnie @ SpinTaxi
(Seinfeld) I love how “out of stock” feels like a personal insult. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkDonnie @ SpinTaxi
Satirical journalism humor is the last respectable profession in media. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkAnni @ SpinTaxi
Satirical journalism news isn’t about lying—it’s about telling the truth with better delivery. - spintaxi.com
Comment LinkManiye @ SpinTaxi
Why do they call it a “smartwatch” when it keeps reminding me I’m late? -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkPani @ SpinTaxi
I don’t get “noise-canceling” headphones—my neighbor’s dog still wins. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkDinTaxi SpinTaxi
I tried yoga once—turns out I’m not flexible enough to hate myself that much. -- spintaxi.com
Comment LinkYani @ SpinTaxi
Satirical journalism news is what happens when comedians get tired of watching the world burn. - spintaxi.com
Comment LinkWrenTaxi SpinTaxi
A good satirical journalism analysis reveals that the real joke is reality. -- spintaxi.com
Comment Link