Mon Apr 15, 2024 LEVIATHAN MIRROR
On April 13, 1842, the mirror for the Irish Leviathan was completed. It was six feet across, and was built by William Parsons in Ireland. It was a metal mirror, an alloy of copper and tin. Installed in the fifty-six-foot-long telescope tube, it became the Irish Leviathan, and for the next seventy years, it was the biggest telescope on earth. Parsons observed stars, the moon, and the planet Jupiter. Then the potato famine hit Ireland, and it was shut down. But in 1845, Leviathan was running again and Parsons observed M51, a large nebula in the constellation Canes Venatici. He called it the Whirlpool, describing it as a "spiral nebula". Parsons even saw individual stars in the Whirlpool, and thought that it was a distant galaxy, similar to our own Milky Way. He was right.
Tue Apr 16, 2024 HOW THE BEARS GOT THEIR TAILS
The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are in our northern sky tonight. Star charts depict these bears as having long tails, which bears don’t have. In an old myth, Zeus loved the maiden Callisto, but his wife, Hera, turned her into a bear. Now Callisto had a son named Arcus, who when he grew up, ran into his long-lost mother out in the forest. Fearing for his life, Arcus aimed an arrow at her, but Zeus kept him from killing her by turning him into a bear as well. To keep them safe, Zeus grabbed Arcus and Callisto by their short bear tails and dragged them up into the sky, where they became constellations. In the process, he stretched out their tails, which is why they’re so long. You may think that’s stretching a tale a bit, but these are the bear facts.
Wed Apr 17, 2024 NEW PLANETARIUM SHOW: BLACK HOLES
The constellation of Orion the Hunter is in our southwestern sky this evening. To the east of the three stars in Orion’s belt lies the faint constellation Monoceros the Unicorn, and it is here where we find a black hole, called, V616 Monocerotis. It’s about 3,000 light years away, or 18,000 trillion miles. We’ll point it out for you at the IRSC Hallstrom Planetarium in our newest program, “Black Holes.” This show is really out of sight, and it’s narrated by John de Lancie, who played the alien character known as “Q” on Star Trek. Who better than Q to discuss such cosmic mysteries? Join us at the Planetarium this weekend. Shows are on Friday night or on Saturday afternoon. For tickets to the black hole, call Indian River State College’s box office at 772) 462-4750.
Thu Apr 18, 2024 MAGNIFYING POWER
“What power is that telescope?" is a question that asks how much can the telescope magnify whatever it is you're looking at. But a telescope has a whole assortment of magnifying powers - all you have to do is change the eyepiece. The eyepiece does the magnifying. Most small telescopes should never be taken over 100 to 200 power - the image gets too dim and fuzzy. The telescope’s big lens or mirror has a different purpose. It is collecting as much light as possible. The wider the ‘scope’s mirror or lens, the more light it can gather, which yields a brighter image which can then be magnified more. A lens or mirror that’s four inches across works up to about 200 power, while a 6 inch ‘scope can be pushed to 300 power under good seeing conditions.
Fri Apr 19, 2024 NEW PLANETARIUM SHOW: BLACK HOLES
Orion the Hunter is in our southwest sky this evening. To the east of the three stars in Orion’s belt lies the faint constellation Monoceros the Unicorn, and it is here where we find a black hole, called, V616 Monocerotis. It’s about 3,000 light years away, or 18,000 trillion miles. We’ll point it out for you at the IRSC Hallstrom Planetarium in our newest program, “Black Holes.” It’s narrated by John de Lancie, who played the alien character known as “Q” on Star Trek. Who better than Q to discuss such cosmic mysteries? Join us at the Planetarium this weekend. Shows are on Friday night or on Saturday afternoon. For tickets to the black hole, call Indian River State College’s box office at 772) 462-4750. And also tonight the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will be on hand to let you view the moon through a telescope.
