LucAstronomy.co.za
Your Pro Amateur Astronomy Site
• HOME |
|---|
The Galaxies Image Gallery NOW Complete! |
|---|
There's numerous reasons why people become astronomers... Many enjoy the beauty of the night sky, some enjoy technical astronomy, some do it for the camaraderie. Some are "armchair astronomers", doing most of their "observing" in the pages of Sky & Telescope, while others are active visual observers. Some hunt for comets, some for supernovae, and some love variable stars & double stars. Then there's the solar observers, the astro-photographers, and the telescope makers. The common thread between all astronomers is an attraction to the night sky and a desire to understand the universe. LucAstronomy.co.za is for all people interested in Astronomy - Amateur or Professional. Therefore, I invite you to come and experience the night sky and all the wonders the Southern Hemisphere Sky has to offer. I provide stargazing tours to families, small groups and individuals. I, Lucas Ferreira will be your "Night Sky" guide. Please follow the "Night Sky Tours" link, on the main menu for more information or click here > If you're planning to join the local astronomy club, GRASSA or require more information, please visit the "GRASSA Events & News" page. Here you will find up to the date information about current and future meetings and "Dark Sky" events. The Whole Family is Welcome! SALT & Sutherland About SALT
This design is based on the Hobby-Ebberly Telescope at the McDonald Observatory in Texas, which is one of the international partners in the project. However, this design has been altered in many ways to accommodate requirements specific to SALT and to take advantage of the opportunity to optimise aspects of the design where difficulties have been identified with the HET performance. This design allowed SALT to be built at less than a fifth of the cost of a conventional 10-metre telescope. About one third of the funding for SALT has come from the South African government, whereas, about 60% of the construction and development budget was spent within the country. The rest was funded by a consortium of international partners from South Africa, the United States, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. SALT will be able to record distant stars, galaxies and quasars a billion times too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Read More > About Sutherland
When you take the tar road from Cape Town , you turn off at Matjiesfontein, the famous English Karoo town with its splendid museum, then another 110 km and you reach Sutherland ..... not only famous for its Observatory but also for its pure , fresh air …... fresher than anywhere else in the world! Read More > |
The Southern African Large Telescope or SALT as it is known, is the single largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere and the largest in Africa. It has a 10-metre diameter mirror, comprised of 91 identical spherical hexagonal segments. The telescope is tilted at a fixed angle of 37 degrees from the zenith, so that it moves only in azimuth, rotating into position on air bearings and remaining stationary during each observation. Precise pointing and tracking are handled by the moving optical corrector assembly and instrument payload at the top of the telescope tube.
Gateway to the universe ....... that is what they call Sutherland. Land of snow and stars. The coldest place in the Republic of South Africa. The place where you find the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere....... a telescope so powerful that one could see a candle flame on the moon.
|
||
|
| |
Amateur Astronomy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Overview
The amateur astronomer is one who does not depend on the field of astronomy as a primary source of income or support, and does not have a professional degree or advanced academic training. Many amateurs are beginners, while others have a high degree in astronomy and often assist and work alongside professional astronomers.
Amateur astronomy is usually associated with viewing the night sky when most celestial objects and events are visible, but sometimes amateur astronomers also operate during the day for events such as sunspots and solar eclipses. Amateur astronomers often look at the sky using nothing more than their eyes, but common tools for amateur astronomy include telescopes and binoculars.
People have studied the sky throughout history in an amateur framework, without any formal method of funding. It is only within about the past century, however, that amateur astronomy has become an activity clearly distinguished from professional astronomy, and other related activities.
Amateur astronomy objectives
Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena. Common targets of amateur astronomers include the Moon, planets, stars, comets, meteor showers, and a variety of deep sky objects such as star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. Many amateurs like to specialise in observing particular objects, types of objects, or types of events which interest them. One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur astro photography, involves the taking of photos of the night sky.
Astro photography has become more popular for amateurs in recent times, as relatively sophisticated equipment, such as high quality CCD cameras, has become more affordable.
From Wikipedia
Webmaster: Lucas Ferreira
2010 Copyright © LucAstronomy.co.za
Last Update:
Monday, 2 Aug 2010 @ 22:00