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the imagery of the time says more than i could ever write. we saw what determination, cooperation, ingenuity and the highest ethics can achieve. we aimed the lenses back to ourselves and saw our home from afar. our self-perception was forever changed.
now that i think about it, i can hardly believe the depth of the sense of wonder, enthusiasm and pride in our fellow humans that a child of 7 can have. little humans are sponges and they soak up the best and worst of what they see.
like'em? click on them, then!
my copy of the galileoscope arrived a few days ago. its short description from the official website reads:
'the galileoscope™ is a high-quality, low-cost telescope kit developed for the international year of astronomy 2009 by a team of leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators. no matter where you live, with this easy-to-assemble, 50-mm (2-inch) diameter, 25- to 50-power achromatic refractor, you can see the celestial wonders that galileo galilei first glimpsed 400 years ago and that still delight stargazers today. these include lunar craters and mountains, four moons circling jupiter, the phases of venus, saturn's rings, and countless stars invisible to the unaided eye.'
i haven't decided yet if it's safe enough to attach a dSLR to get a shot through it, but the morning was still blue and i got a few shots of the galileoscope itself as the sun began to rise over athens.
my copy of the galileoscope arrived a few days ago. its short description from the official website reads:
'the galileoscope™ is a high-quality, low-cost telescope kit developed for the international year of astronomy 2009 by a team of leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators. no matter where you live, with this easy-to-assemble, 50-mm (2-inch) diameter, 25- to 50-power achromatic refractor, you can see the celestial wonders that galileo galilei first glimpsed 400 years ago and that still delight stargazers today. these include lunar craters and mountains, four moons circling jupiter, the phases of venus, saturn's rings, and countless stars invisible to the unaided eye.'
this telescope is great for children -- these days, with such great computer-aided imagery everywhere, it's important for them to look deep into the sky, to directly see saturn, jupiter and the moon. i think it will help them understand that these are real places, places we've visited, physically or remotely, places we can go to again and again.
since i was thinking about the moon landings, i decided to start with something easy. yesterday morning i woke up slightly early and went up to the roof to see the moonrise. i was impressed with the clarity -- don't forget it's a $15 'scope.
i haven't decided yet if it's safe enough to attach a dSLR to get a shot through it, but the morning was still blue and i got a few shots of the galileoscope itself as the sun began to rise over athens.
