My passion for the cosmos was born during my last day at the Maccabiah Sport Games in July of 2017. I lay on my bed and switched on the TV with no preconceived thought of a channel in mind. I was perfectly content watching what National Geographic had to offer: The Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey by Neil deGrasse Tyson. The show surpassed my expectations in every way. Previously I had only taken a passing interest in astronomy, such as during our occasional visits to the game reserve. I was always taken aback by the striking beauty of the night sky, but this was as far as it went. I never cared to understand exactly what I was looking at, or to identify any of the planets. But now it was different. Now, I was enraptured not only by the beauty,
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It is a human characteristic to develop temporary passions and to spend inordinate amounts of time, money, and commitment on a short-lived infatuation, and then ditch it within a few weeks or even days. As soon as my intoxication with astronomy commenced, I immediately assumed that I required a telescope, even though I had not considered this matter entirely. I resolved to buy a telescope within the very next week, but that next week gave me the time I needed to revisit my far-fetched thoughts. I realised that this could perhaps be merely a brief fascination, and that in truth the acquisition of a telescope was a much more complicated task: specifications such as aperture, focal length, and focal ratio had to be taken into account. I was determined to buy a telescope with at least a 5 inch aperture from Celestron, Meade, or Orion. But, to this day, despite my deep desire for a telescope, I have still not completed this …show more content…
People assume that stars are the main focus on any astronomer’s agenda, and possibly the only objects that exist above us. However, stars are in fact the most tedious aspect of astronomy. There is an abundance of other astronomical phenomena such as supernovas, for example the vibrant hues of the impressive Crab Nebula. A supernova is the majestic explosion that occurs when a giant star reaches its final days, exploding and exhibiting an eternal fireworks show for all viewers in our galaxy. Nebulae are the finest form of art in the night sky. These dense gas clouds, such as my favourite, the Orion Nebula, showcase an assortment of colours twisted in a variety of puzzling shapes. There are also globular and open star clusters, which are giant groups of stars. The main difference comes down to the number of stars in each cluster, with a globular cluster containing tens of thousands of stars while open clusters contain merely hundreds to thousands of stars. My favourite, the Jewel Box open star cluster accommodates just over one hundred gems of the night sky.
Walt Whitman summarises my outlook on astronomy flawlessly in his poem, When I heard the learn'd astronomer. He teaches that the beauty of astronomy is imperfect when one only studies its scientific contexts, such as ‘the proofs, the figures’ and ‘the charts and diagrams’. The most splendid aspect of astronomy is the unguided observations where the viewer gazes reverentially ‘in perfect silence
It is a human characteristic to develop temporary passions and to spend inordinate amounts of time, money, and commitment on a short-lived infatuation, and then ditch it within a few weeks or even days. As soon as my intoxication with astronomy commenced, I immediately assumed that I required a telescope, even though I had not considered this matter entirely. I resolved to buy a telescope within the very next week, but that next week gave me the time I needed to revisit my far-fetched thoughts. I realised that this could perhaps be merely a brief fascination, and that in truth the acquisition of a telescope was a much more complicated task: specifications such as aperture, focal length, and focal ratio had to be taken into account. I was determined to buy a telescope with at least a 5 inch aperture from Celestron, Meade, or Orion. But, to this day, despite my deep desire for a telescope, I have still not completed this …show more content…
People assume that stars are the main focus on any astronomer’s agenda, and possibly the only objects that exist above us. However, stars are in fact the most tedious aspect of astronomy. There is an abundance of other astronomical phenomena such as supernovas, for example the vibrant hues of the impressive Crab Nebula. A supernova is the majestic explosion that occurs when a giant star reaches its final days, exploding and exhibiting an eternal fireworks show for all viewers in our galaxy. Nebulae are the finest form of art in the night sky. These dense gas clouds, such as my favourite, the Orion Nebula, showcase an assortment of colours twisted in a variety of puzzling shapes. There are also globular and open star clusters, which are giant groups of stars. The main difference comes down to the number of stars in each cluster, with a globular cluster containing tens of thousands of stars while open clusters contain merely hundreds to thousands of stars. My favourite, the Jewel Box open star cluster accommodates just over one hundred gems of the night sky.
Walt Whitman summarises my outlook on astronomy flawlessly in his poem, When I heard the learn'd astronomer. He teaches that the beauty of astronomy is imperfect when one only studies its scientific contexts, such as ‘the proofs, the figures’ and ‘the charts and diagrams’. The most splendid aspect of astronomy is the unguided observations where the viewer gazes reverentially ‘in perfect silence