As one who added the study of astronomy to my natural philosophy repertoire rather late in life, I found it a bit challenging to get the gist of just what I was looking at whenever I cast my eyes skyward (and if I’m honest, I very often still do). Not that there aren’t a number […]
On the day this article is published, it will be exactly one month until the day of the 2017 North American Solar Eclipse; an event that is expected to cause tens of millions of people to stop what they are doing and turn their eyes (properly protected, it is hoped) skyward to witness one of […]
My dear Galileo,
Each evening for weeks now I have carried my telescope to the top of a nearby hill and pointed its 70mm objective lens toward the clearly visible bright dot in the sky that I have learned to identify as Jupiter. Bringing it into focus, its 17.5x magnification – more than your early 8x model but less than your eventual 20x one – shows me clearly that what I am seeing is not a star but a planet; a planet with tiny illuminated dots seemingly nearby it.
My dear Galileo,
After many years of observing and investigating things on the Earth, I have taken it into my mind also now to begin looking at the heavens to learn what is to be seen there as well. As I am but a novice in this, I knew I must find a teacher. I hope you will not mind if I look to you and your discoveries as such.