Thanks, Jon. I WILL party on. I'm sure everyone in this group realizes that most adults don't know stars or constellations. I have one more REALLY good reason, then, why we need to teach kids constellations (whether by planisphere or ipod doesn't really matter). When the issue of light pollution comes up, who are the only people who care about it? It is those who know and love the night sky. If we can share our passion for the beauty of the night sky, whether by CCD imaging or naked eye, with enough people, then maybe, just maybe we stand a chance of getting decent dark sky laws passed. Or, better yet, people will start to realize without even needing laws, that light pollution is a bad deal for everyone. The imagers and gazers amongst us will surely agree that without future awareness, dark skies might go the way of homing pigeons. What say ye? Wayne A. Sumner Math/Physics/Astronomy/Engineering Boy's Tennis Coach Northridge High School Davis School District (801) 402-8610
03/01/11 7:38 AM >>> Joe Wrote: Personally, I'm more interested in seeing (and photographing) amazing objects in space than I am in memorizing constellations. If we lived in another part of the galaxy I'd still be interested in examining the same classes of objects but the constellations would be far different. Do beings on every inhabited planet have to bother memorizing the designs just because their ancestors did?
Hi Joe, I think learning the constellations is important for beginners... or anyone for that matter, because it helps to orient oneself in the night time sky. It helps to narrow down sections of the sky, and make it easier to find what one may be looking for, or at. I can glance up into the night time sky and in seconds orient myself and determine what I'm looking at, and where to go from there. Many people, not knowing the constellations are well... just lost. They only see bright, twinkling lights in the air. Besides.... its fun. Looking up into the summer sky and seeing the constellations is like seeing old friends once again. I think my favorite is actually an astrerism: The Summer Triangle, a combination of Cygnus the Swan, Aquila the Eagle and Vega... the Vegetarian. Okay... that last one was a joke. Party on Wayne! Jon _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com