Astronomy

1. Astronomy?

Well, astronomy has everything to do with chemistry. For instance, you could talk about how stars are responsible for converting hydrogen (the simplest element and also the most abundant in the universe), into all the other elements we see today. Our sun is made out of 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. The sun converts hydrogen into helium by compressing the hydrogen untill four hydrogens fuse into one helium atom billions of times. When the sun runs out of hydrogen, it will then compress the helium into carbon, then the carbon into nitrogen, then the nitrogen into oxygen, and larger stars keep this process going all the way up to iron. All the other heavier than iron elements are created through supernova explosions. All these elements are thrown out into space when a star dies, and this star debree is what made our planets and us. So, we are literally made from star dust. Also, we can tell the chemical make up of gases in space through spectroscopy, (the breaking down of light through a type of prism). We can tell which elements we are looking at by seeing their chemical finger print in the spectra. Different elements absorb different wavelengths of light, and so we can tell what elements we are looking at, just by observing the light from it.

2. What things would an astronomy hobbyist like to see in a website about astronomy and astronomy products?

Develop and market a good cloud filter. THAT would get all of us to go to that site! You asked! I like to know what will be out in the sky when I go so I like notice of events like passes of the ISS or iridium flares and stuff like that. I like to know if there are any comets visible --you know, the out of the ordinary stuff. On one group we were just told how some satelites were passing between uranus and us and how cool they looked going across the surface of uranus. Well in Advance notice though, because I like to go and get set up before dark and I dont get internet out in the field.

3. What are some high paying astronomy related jobs?

4. What type of jobs are there in the astronomy field?

Just about anywhere, from planetariums to prestigious universities. See link below.

5. What are the best universities for a degree in Astronomy?

Any professional astronomer will need a Ph.D. or at the very least a Master's. The master's is probably only going to get you a community college teaching job though. For your bachelors degree, pretty much any school will do, especially if it offers a Ph.D. program. You don't have top get the Ph.D. at the same school you get the bachelors, but the fact that the school even has a Ph.D. program in astronomy puts it a cut above the others. And when you are there you will find out from the other students and professors and counselors what the best graduate schools are. Cal Tech, MIT, and Harvard come to mind. I believe Yale, UCLA and UT Austin have good programs too. But I haven't kept up with it, so do your homework, which means don't just ask here.

6. What practical value did astronomy offer to ancient civilizations?

Much more important, it predicted growing seasons.

7. What's the difference between Astronomy and Astrophysics?

astronomy:The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy deals with the position, size, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources outside the Earth's atmosphere astrophyscis: The branch of astronomy that deals with the physical and chemical processes that occur in stars, galaxies, and interstellar space. Astrophysics deals with the structure and evolution of stars, the properties of interstellar space and its interactions with systems of stars, and with the structure and dynamics of clusters of stars such as galaxies.

8. Are astronomy groups changing with the rise of the Internet?

Lots of yahoo groups are kind of like that. I am a member of some of them.

9. What is the best combination of 2 astronomy binoculars?

A hand-held pair such as 10x50, and a tripod-mounted pair such as 15x70 or 20x80. Get the smaller pair first and get some experience learning the sky before investing in a larger pair. Personally, when doing binocular observing (under light-polluted skies) I will use a pair of 15x70 hand-held (not everyone can adaquately hand-hold binoculars of this size and magnification) along with a tripod-mounted pair of 25x100 binos. But you need a beefy mount/tripod for such a pair, which is an additional expense.

10. How many years to become an astronomy professor?

MIT might be your best bet plan on four years plus for undergrad.

11. What is the main difference between astro physics and astronomy?

I guess astrophysics is all done in the lab on paper or blackboard done to support the imperical data and explain it in terms of Newtonian and Relativistic equations. Astronomy also includes experimental field work. The Astrophysicist or physicist if you will. Einstein, postulates based on math and computations and seeing it in their head and comes up with gravity wells and says the light will shift position when it is close to a gravity well. The astronomer sees this for real during and eclipse and sets up experiements to try and prove it based on the data and as such the astronomer needs to interpret the data provided by the physicist. That means they BOTH need to know the same math. Einstein rarely looked throught a telescope and when he did he was probably more like a kid with a 6 cellestion seeing Jupiter for the first time. Clyde Tombough did the math, from the physics he knew about Neptune, Uranus and postulated where PLUTO might be and then he went out and took pictures through telescopes and used a blink microscope to try and find a star that moved and that would be PLUTO. So he applied both ASTRO PHYSICS and ASTRONOMY Astronomy is about NAMES of objects. Astro physics is about labels. X Y Z Astronomy gives these names Neptune, Pluto, Uranus The math is the sample. So ASTRONOMY is APPLIED astrophysics at times.

12. What are the requirements to study Astronomy?

If you actually want to be an astronomer (which is incredibly hard to make a living off of) I suggest you start to bulk up on advanced mathematics and physicas as you said..you current interest in it doesn't seem to show the appearence of someone who really wants to be an astronomer. Studying astronomy is a lot of hard work, observation, charting, calculating positions of bodies relative to each other and such through mathematics, and the study of the characteristics of physical law and such affecting such bodies.

13. What is the best college that i can major in cosmology/astronomy?

No accredited university will teach that...

14. What is typically covered in a college astronomy class?

Really easy class and pretty interesting. My class involved no math. However, if your taking the lab it does involve some. You should be fine.

15. What college is good for a graduate or maybe even a bachelors in astronomy?

Actually, Clemson has quite a few astronomy classes - I'm doing my PhD in astrophysics there. I didn't go there for undergrad, but they do seem to teach at least a few a year to undergrads. If you want to apply to grad school for astronomy, majoring in physics is the important thing - you don't need all that much of a background in astronomy, but spend your summers doing REU (research experience for undergraduate) programs. They are offered all over the country, will pay you and provide housing, and you might even get a publication of conference trip out of it. That will look great on grad applications. Good grad schools for astronomy: Harvard, CalTech, Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, U Chicago, U Hawaii, UT Austin, Columbia, U Arizona. A lot of it will depend on what exactly you want to do - stellar astronomy, galactic, extragalactic, theory, planetary, high energy, etc.

16. Can I work in astronomy if I graduate in mechanical or computer engineering?

Yes on both counts. My B.S is in computer engineering and I've been in the space industry for over 8 years. There are plenty of mechanical engineers in the space industry as well (same basic education as an aeronautical/aerospace engineer, but not as much focus on fluid dynamics and coordinate reference systems).

17. What is the best university in Europe for studying Astronomy?

Cambridge.

18. What textbook on astronomy should I buy?

I use Discovering the Cosmos by R.C. Bless for my college astronomy 101 course. It has a good deal of info on stars and the sun

19. Where can I go to college for Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology?

Princeton. Just look at some of it's past alumni. Even me! But if you don't want it to be in the USA, Cambridge University in UK is one of the top overseas seats of learning. You could also try the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. Practically all developed countries have first class facilities for study.

20. Is it illegal to use a green laser for astronomy purposes?

They are not illegal however it is very illegal to shine them into the cockpits of airplanes and hellicopters. That is a felony. DO NOT shine it in the eyes of a person or an animal. That could do permanent damage. Use it responsibly and you should be fine. If I were you I would not mount it permanently to the scope. Make it detachable. Be careful using it at star parties. Some clubs frown on them mainly because of people who are trying to do astrophotography. Those people need to leave their shutters open for long periods of time and even a quickie green laser can ruin a nice shot. Check with the people that you go out with first before using so that you dont ruffle feathers. Lasers are a great teaching tool but don't abuse them.