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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1989)
People wonder about stars - Star-gazing is popular hobby, inspires sense ot awe By Mick Dyer Staff Reporter Since the beginning of time, people have fell an overwhelming compulsion to look at the multi tude of objects which fill the night sky. These objects were both the subject of curiosity and inspiration to generations of people all over the world And these objects that could be seen but not touched had a very real impact on people’s lives. From very early on, sky-watchers de tected patterns and repealing se quences in the night sky. During times when daily sur vival was uncertain, these patterns and sequences gave the universe a sense of order and removed some of the anxiety people had about how little control they had over their world. Subsequently, these patterns and sequences were in corporated into the mythological framework of cultures around the world My, how things have changed. Well, not really. The human race doesn’t have much more control over the planet than it did during prehistory. We’ve just developed a level of technology that fools us into be lieving so. And we still look to the heavens out of curiosity and for inspiration For whatever reason, star-gaz ing is a popular hobby. Don Taylor, associate professor of astronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said it is easy to get started. All you need is a clear sky and a star chart. He said star charts that can be adjusted to dis play a map of the evening sky depending on the date and time of night are available at some book stores. He also said he recommends Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines to provide information to supplement the star chart. These i r* Kife wWm % ‘One of the amaz ing things is that our eyes are sensi tive enough to see something several million light years away. It’s really kind of marvel ous —Taylor magazines are available at most li braries and some bookstores, he said. “The advantage to these maga zines is they also tell you when to look at the planets, what phase the moon is in, what you can expect to see,” Taylor said. "Plus, they have a lot of interesting things, if there is a comet coming by or an eclipse.” Taylor said there are three levels of star-gazing: naked-eye viewing, binocular viewing and telescope viewing \ Ic said each level has ad vantages and disadvantages. For instance, Taylor said naked eye viewing is a good way for be fpnners to learn star names and ocation, as well as constellations. Taylor said if you know where to look, you can even see our neigh inning gaia^y, nuuiumiud, on clear night. jj|| "One of the amazing things i.<B that our eyes are sensitive enough®, to see something several million® light years away,” Taylor said "It’.® really kind of marvelous.” A light year is an astronomicaHj unit of measure and equals the disaK lance light travels in a year, n® 5,880,000,tXX),000 miles. Of course, one of the disadvanB tages of naked-eye viewing is th®; lack of detail that can be seen wiling! the unaided eye, Taylor said Bgg| Taylor said with a pair of bin®, oculars, star gazers can see son® lunar features with some delai®§l! follow the four bright moons , Jupiter, see globular clusters anBr nebulae, as well as many moi® “Comets, when they're aroun<Br are often best seen with binoctflgjl lars,” Taylor said. With a small portable telescopM 'l aylor said the detail of what yt^gT" can see is amazing He said with® 60 mm lens, star-gazers can of|B| serve Jupiter’s moons and belHfe Saturn’s rings, the polar cap dBj Mars, many craters and other lunK features, the Orion nebula asfBto much more. m “For about the price of a reasoB..,^ able stereo system, you can gcB pretty nice telescope,” Taylor saj^TO “It’s amazing to see what you < see with them.” fjEj§B| l aylor said star gazing can b »■ arouse and satisfy our sense ol sjBjg| entific curiosity about the umverB But star-gazing also can inspirB sense of awe and wonder c WANT TO COMMUNICATE BETTER? LEARN ASSERTIVE SKILLS Would you like to communicate your thoughts and feelings more effectively with others? Our group will help you to become more direct and honest while respecting the rights of others. We will meet for 8 weeks on Tuesdays, October 3-November 21,1:15-3:15. 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