Global Lunar Week – April 10 to 16, 2011

15 Replies to “Global Lunar Week – April 10 to 16, 2011”

1. Any true amateur astronomer wants to completely destroy the Moon not promote the sucker!

   As for most of the media and visual astronomy astronomical world that “Astronomers Without Borders” got it so wrong.

   It is “One People * TWO Sky.”, mostly as anything below about -55 degrees declination, not visible from continental US, is considered as “invisible” territory. You Just have too read all the UT stories catering to all the northern observers. Worst. Pick up, “Burnham’s Celestial Handbook” or the “Messier Catalogueor Marathon “, and the deliberate bias is clear for all to see

   Haven’t you ever wondered why there is “Sky and Telescope” and “Australian Sky and Telescope.?

   Sorry The dream will never come true while there remains such open prejudice and condescending attitudes between the hemispheres.

   1. “Sorry The dream will never come true while there remains such open prejudice and condescending attitudes between the hemispheres.”

      sally, the only problem between north and south seems to be you. i have a host of wonderful friends in the southern hemisphere and i’m sure other UT readers do, too. my mates smile and laugh when i get something wrong and i tease them equally when they get something wrong. we don’t think of ourselves as seperate – only as unique.

      i don’t know how many other readers are tired of your bitter attitude (and i honestly don’t care if it costs me the right to post on UT) but i certainly am. either take it out somewhere else or take a pill. it’s gotten old.

   2. @Tammy
      I think you have totally misread the validity in what I say and the real discord on this very point. For your remarks, and clearly not living in the southern hemisphere, you fail to see the angst that has existed for over 40 years or more. I’ve dealt with many amateur astronomers from beginners to the most advanced, and throughout Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America.

      Actually I can say without any hesitation this would be their main gripes!
      (The other two being weather clouds and the bright moon)

      This time forget what I say. Now let’s see how many in the southern hemisphere agree with me!

   3. I reread this. It is not very bitter at all. In fact it is one of the most factual things I have written.

      My first decent telescope was a C8 that I bought from the local telescope supplier. When delivered, the telescope was taken to a dark sky site and the telescope drive was connected for tracking. This took me and a friend of mine a hour or so to set up the fork mount for the polar alignment.
      When we looked through the telescope the stars were whizzing out of the field and half as much when the drive was disconnected. Neither of us could understand the problem.
      When we took it back to the telescope supplier he insisted we were doing something wrong, so we set up the telescope outside the shop.
      What we discovered was the motors for the telescope drive was for the northern hemisphere, and even the RA setting circles was back the front. Two weeks were to pass before the correct parts were air freighted out and the wrong parts were replaced.
      Celestron’s said they had made a unknowing mistake and forgot that the whole shipment of the telescopes were going to the southern hemisphere. The RA circles they had not considered as a serious problem, and admitted a design fault! Such was the problems between two separate hemispheres.

      Another was buying S&T, which regularly arrived one month late (few could afford the prohibitive airmail rates at the time.) Every second edition of S&T had a southern sky map, but of course one map for the northern sky every month. I even remember S&T in a letter asking the local astronomical societies about the usefulness of the southern sky maps, and that they were thinking of dropping the southern maps altogether! No one was amused, I tell you!
      It was also quite rare to see anything written on southern deep-sky objects. (Even the books were condescending I.e. A.E. Roy, who always had in his books “Of all the observers in both hemispheres of the sky, all agree that the northern hemisphere is best!” Yet when you looked in our winter sky, we see the centre of the Milky Way directly overhead!)
      We had one popular book; E.J. Hartung’s classic “Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes.” In 1968, it singularly cause a amateur revolution, because for once, it inspired us to look for more challenging southern objects.

      …so please. When you say I am being bitter here, you might reflect on experiences might be different between hemisphere.

      Note: Special request. Could you write an observational article on the difference between the divided hemispheres? We might all learn something interesting about various ‘issues’! (Yes, I know 90% of the world’s population lives north of the equator.)

      Note 2: I know about the work of Astronomers Without Borders and their program of Astronomy Without Barriers for People With Disabilities. I’ve even seen their tactile images of the moon and planets for vision impaired people and the excellent book “Touch the Stars”.

      1. I actually would love to live at the Southern part.

   4. I too think that destroying the Moon would end prejudice and condescending attitudes between the hemispheres! Right on HSBC!

      1. The Moon, for far too long, has played an irascible role in the dialog between high and low tides~ HSBC’s right! These torrid oceanic elongations must come to an end! Think of the fish… if nothing else! …..>}}}O>…..

   5. But I love the moon!
      Please don’t destroy the moon!

      I just got a 10 inch Dobsonioan sitting in my room to be tested with Saturn and the Moon. I am still thinking what the first light should be, the moon or Saturn I love them both.

   6. To the Hon. Salacious B. Crumb…
      Would it assuage your moral outrage if I told you that while living in the Northern Hemisphere I write for an astronomical blog out of Canberra, Australia? I specifically gear the observation comments and descriptions of southern sky objects (although I have not seen any of them except in maps of the sky and my computerized planetarium program) and astronomical events for southern residents.
      Reg. The Stargeezer

      PS: Do the folks at Lucasfilm know you are using their creative property, probably without compensaton?

      1. No, it doesn’t surprise me. I was earlier referring to the bad old days, but even now, some of these northerners slip into old habits.
         If you are writing on southern object, well good on you. I hope, however you are not leading to many astray to much, though! 😉

         As for the Moon, most deep-sky observers are afraid of turning into ghouls if they are exposed to moonlight — and that goes whatever hemisphere you are in.

         Note; What the address of you blog? Some of these guys here might like to know what they are missing out on!

      2. Where I live, at least I am happy to see the Moon. Because most of the times the times is cloudy and that object at least can be seen.

         But this time I also plan to see deep-sky objects, so the moon is blocking but after 02 AM it seems to go below the horizon.

      3. The amateur’s equivalent of the favourite twirl of “Dancing With the Moon.”
         Others think it is more like “Diana’s Curse”!
         Good luck!

      4. Mr. Crumb…..I write for the “Cheap Astronomer” blog out of Canberra. Look for “What’s Up With Vernon.?

         I started writing a weekly astronomy column for several local newspapers (here in the north) and later branched to “Cheap.” But there I focus totally on southern sky observations including tours of constellations. One of the last once focused on finding the southern polar region bemoaning the fact that the southerners don’t have a nice star marking the spot like the northerners do.

         Reg. The Stargeezer

2. Thanks for the link Tammy! Very interesting!

3. Hi Tammy,
   Thanks for sharing GAM2011 Lunar Week with UT readers.

   Cheers!
   Thilina Heenatigala
   GAM2011 Coordinator

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