object(new): THE CAMERA

FILM vs DIGITAL
DYNAMIC RANGE - Film has a pretty big advantage with recording highlights compared with digital which struggles to do so as well.
COLOUR - Film records a greater amount of colour within exposure. 
EXPOSURE - When using a digital camera you're unable to use a double exposure. This, however, is not a problem for film and using a double exposure has become a popular trend.
SPEED - Digital cameras are considerably more quick within the photographic process. 
FUN - Digital cameras allow people to take image after image. If anything people end up with too many photgraphs and tend to struggle to narrow it down. From experience, you have a far greater appreciation for the select few photographs you have on the film as well as an appreciation for the photographic outcome.
COST - Film cameras are substantially cheaper compared to digital cameras. 

object(new): THE CAMERA

I decided to focus on the SLR (single lens reflex) camera in particular. These cameras are manual and contain a film which requires development rather then the DSLR (digital single lens reflex). 

When using an SLR camera much more attention seems to be payed to lighting, composition, balance etc as, unlike DSLRs, you only see the final photograph once its developed. From experience I'd say you gain a far greater appreciation of the image after development compared to immediate viewing of the photograph on a digital screen.

What really interests me is the different kinds of photographs you can capture when using different film types. I'd like to take a further look into film types and what it is exactly that makes them different to the others....

object(new): THE CAMERA

The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside where it is reproduced, upside-down, but with color and perspective preserved. The image can be projected onto paper, and can then be traced to produce a highly accurate representation.
Using mirrors, as in the 18th century overhead version (illustrated in the History section below), it is possible to project a right-side-up image. Another more portable type is a box with an angled mirror projecting onto tracing paper placed on the glass top, the image being upright as viewed from the back.

As a pinhole is made smaller, the image gets sharper, but the projected image becomes dimmer. With too small a pinhole the sharpness again becomes worse due to diffraction. Some practical camera obscuras use a lens rather than a pinhole because it allows a larger aperture, giving a usable brightness while maintaining focus.

object(new): THE CAMERA

 

diagram i found showing how the slr works

object(new): THE CAMERA

the history of the camera:

Pinhole Camera

Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), a great authority on optics in the Middle Ages who lived around 1000AD, invented the first pinhole camera, (also called the Camera Obscura and was able to explain why the images were upside down. The first casual reference to the optic laws that made pinhole cameras possible, was observed and noted by Aristotle around 330 BC, who questioned why the sun could make a circular image when it shined through a square hole.

The First Photograph

On a summer day in 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the first photographic image with a camera obscura. Prior to Niepce people just used the camera obscura for viewing or drawing purposes not for making photographs. Joseph Nicephore Niepce's heliographs or sun prints as they were called were the prototype for the modern photograph, by letting light draw the picture. Niepce placed an engraving onto a metal plate coated in bitumen, and then exposed it to light. The shadowy areas of the engraving blocked light, but the whiter areas permitted light to react with the chemicals on the plate. When Niepce placed the metal plate in a solvent, gradually an image, until then invisible, appeared. However, Niepce's photograph required eight hours of light exposure to create and after appearing would soon fade away.

Louis Daguerre

Fellow Frenchman, Louis Daguerre was also experimenting to find a way to capture an image, but it would take him another dozen years before Daguerre was able to reduce exposure time to less than 30 minutes and keep the image from disappearing afterwards.

The Birth of Modern Photography

Louis Daguerre was the inventor of the first practical process of photography. In 1829, he formed a partnership with Joseph Nicephore Niepce to improve the process Niepce had developed. In 1839 after several years of experimentation and Niepce's death, Daguerre developed a more convenient and effective method of photography, naming it after himself - the daguerreotype.
Daguerre's process 'fixed' the images onto a sheet of silver-plated copper. He polished the silver and coated it in iodine, creating a surface that was sensitive to light. Then, he put the plate in a camera and exposed it for a few minutes. After the image was painted by light, Daguerre bathed the plate in a solution of silver chloride. This process created a lasting image, one that would not change if exposed to light.
In 1839, Daguerre and Niepce's son sold the rights for the daguerreotype to the French government and published a booklet describing the process. The daguerreotype gained popularity quickly; by 1850, there were over seventy daguerreotype studios in New York City alone.

Negative to Postive Process

The inventor of the first negative from which multiple postive prints were made was Henry Fox Talbot, an English botanist and mathematician and a contemporary of Daguerre. Talbot sensitized paper to light with a silver salt solution. He then exposed the paper to light. The background became black, and the subject was rendered in gradations of grey. This was a negative image, and from the paper negative, Talbot made contact prints, reversing the light and shadows to create a detailed picture. In 1841, he perfected this paper-negative process and called it a calotype, Greek for beautiful picture.

Tintypes

Tintypes, patented in 1856 by Hamilton Smith, were another medium that heralded the birth of photography. A thin sheet of iron was used to provide a base for light-sensitive material, yielding a positive image.

Wet Plate Negatives

In 1851, Frederick Scoff Archer, an English sculptor, invented the wet plate negative. Using a viscous solution of collodion, he coated glass with light-sensitive silver salts. Because it was glass and not paper, this wet plate created a more stable and detailed negative. Photography advanced considerably when sensitized materials could be coated on plate glass. However, wet plates had to be developed quickly before the emulsion dried. In the field this meant carrying along a portable darkroom.

Dry Plate Negatives & Hand-held Cameras

In 1879, the dry plate was invented, a glass negative plate with a dried gelatin emulsion. Dry plates could be stored for a period of time. Photographers no longer needed portable darkrooms and could now hire technicians to develop their photographs. Dry processes absorbed light quickly so rapidly that the hand-held camera was now possible.

Flexible Roll Film

In 1889, George Eastman invented film with a base that was flexible, unbreakable, and could be rolled. Emulsions coated on a cellulose nitrate film base, such as Eastman's, made the mass-produced box camera a reality.

Color Photographs

In the early 1940s, commercially viable color films (except Kodachrome, introduced in 1935) were brought to the market. These films used the modern technology of dye-coupled colors in which a chemical process connects the three dye layers together to create an apparent color image.

from the website: http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm

activity: CYCLING

The High Wheel Tricycle While the men were risking their necks on the high wheels, ladies, confined to their long skirts and corsets, could take a spin around the park on an adult tricycle. These machines also afforded more dignity to gentlemen such as doctors and clergymen. Many mechanical innovations now associated with the automobile were originally invented for tricycles. Rack and pinion steering, the differential, and band brakes, to name a few!
The High Wheel Safety Improvements to the design began to be seen, many with the small wheel in the front to eliminate the tipping-forward problem. One model was promoted by its manufacturer by being ridden down the front steps of the capitol building in Washington, DC. These designs became known as high-wheel safety bicycles. Since the older high-wheel designs had been known simply as bicycles, they were now referred to as "ordinary bicycles" in comparison with the new-fangled designs, and then simply as "ordinaries."
The Hard-Tired Safety The further improvement of metallurgy sparked the next innovation, or rather return to previous design. With metal that was now strong enough to make a fine chain and sprocket small and light enough for a human being to power, the next design was a return to the original configuration of two same-size wheels, only now, instead of just one wheel circumference for every pedal turn, you could, through the gear ratios, have a speed the same as the huge high-wheel. The bicycles still had the hard rubber tires, and in the absence of the long, shock-absorbing spokes, the ride they provided was much more uncomfortable than any of the high-wheel designs. Many of these bicycles of 100 years ago had front and/or rear suspensions. These designs competed with each other, your choice being the high-wheel's comfort or the safety's safety, but the next innovation tolled the death of the high-wheel design.
The Pnuematic-Tired Safety The pnuematic tire was first applied to the bicycle by an Irish veterinarian who was trying to give his young son a more comfortable ride on his tricycle. This inventive young doctor's name was Dunlop. Sound familar? Now that comfort and safety could be had in the same package, and that package was getting cheaper as manufacturing methods improved, everyone clamored to ride the bicycle. This 1898 Yale uses a shaft drive to dispense with the dirty chain. The bicycle was what made the Gay Ninties gay. It was a practical investment for the working man as transportation, and gave him a much greater flexibility for leisure. Ladies, heretofore consigned to riding the heavy adult size tricycles that were only practical for taking a turn around the park, now could ride a much more versatile machine and still keep their legs covered with long skirts. The bicycle craze killed the bustle and the corset, instituted "common-sense dressing" for women and increased their mobility considerably. In 1896 Susan B. Anthony said that "the bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world." Bicycling was so popular in the 1880s and 1890s that cyclists formed the League of American Wheelman (still in existence and now called the League of American Bicyclists). The League lobbied for better roads, literally paving the road for the automobile.

activity: CYCLING

The Health Benefits of Cycling

Cycling for health and fitness

It is widely acknowledged that cycling is one of the best ways for people to achieve good health and fitness. People who cycle regularly live longer than those who do not and lead healthier lives. This simple fact means that cyclists cannot possibly be more vulnerable than the population at large to life-threatening injuries such as head injury.

Indeed, cycling regularly to work (and, by extension, to school and on other regular journeys) has been shown to be the most effective thing an individual can do to improve health and increase longevity, and this applies even to people who are already active in sport and other physical activities. Cyclists typically have a level of fitness equivalent to being 10 years younger. A UK parliamentary health committee has noted:

“If the Government were to achieve its target of trebling cycling in the period 2000-2010 … that might achieve more in the fight against obesity than any individual measure we recommend within this report.”

The health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks, perhaps by 20 to 1 according to one estimate. Safe though cycling is by comparison with other common activities, it has been shown that cycling becomes safer still the more people who do it - for a doubling in cycle use, risk decreases by a third.

However, the converse of the above is also true. If fewer people cycle, perhaps because they have been deterred by cycle helmet laws or the exaggerated claims sometimes made to promote helmet wearing, then the health loss to both individuals and society is considerable, whilst those who continue to cycle will be at greater risk. It is likely that few people who quit cycling recover the loss of health benefits through other activity.

Health benefits

Below are summarised some of the health benefits of cycling, for the individual and society as a whole. Many of the benefits are not unique to cycling but are a consequence of moderate physical activity. In several cases, however, cycling enables that benefit to be achieved more easily, more widely or more effectively.

This should not be regarded as an authoritative treatment of the subject. Those sources provide much more detailed information and full references.

Immune system

The immune system serves to protect the body from infections and diverse systemic diseases. Studies show that moderate activity, such as cycling, strengthens the immune system and thus contributes to a healthy life. It can also increase activity against tumour cells, assisting the prevention of related illnesses.

Muscles

Humans have several hundred muscles, which have to be used regularly in order to maintain fitness and health. A week of inactivity reduces the strength of the muscular system by up to 50% and can harm them long-term. This is particularly true for older people as aging causes muscles to shrink.
During cycling, most of the body's muscles are activated. The leg muscles are responsible for the pedalling movement; the abdomen and back muscles stabilise the body on the cycle and cushion external influences; and the shoulder-arm muscular system supports the body at the handlebars. All this trains and tightens up the muscular system, making it stronger and able to function efficiently.

The skeletal system

This is the body's supporting framework, held together by muscles, tendons and ligaments. Exercise and the accompanying strain on the skeletal system strengthens it and increases mobility. Cycling has a positive effect on bone density and strength. Moreover, a muscular system strengthened by cycling supports and protects the skeletal system.

Spinal diseases and back pains

Posture when cycling is optimum, and the cyclic movement of the legs stimulates muscles in the lower back, where slipped discs are most likely to occur. In this way the spine is strengthened and secured against external stresses. In particular cycling can stimulate the small muscles of the vertebrae which are difficult to affect through other exercise. This can help reduce the likelihood of back pains and other problems.

Joint protection

Cycling is especially good at protecting and feeding cartilages as the support given by the bicycle means that the forces that act as a result of body weight are significantly reduced. The circular movement of cycling assists the transport of energy and other metabolic produces to the cartilages, reducing the likelihood of arthrosis.

Balance and equilibrium

Physical activity serves as a regulator to relieve the stress that is common in current lifestyles. It produces the balance between exertion and relaxation which is so important for the body's inner equilibrium. Cycling is especially ideal for this process, countering stress in two ways: by satisfying the need for activity where people lack movement or exercise; and by balancing out increased strain, particularly mental and emotional.

Mental stress

Cycling has a considerable relaxing effect due to its uniform, cyclic movement which stablises the physical and emotional functions of the body. This counteracts anxiety, depression and other psychological problems. The exercise also controls hormonal balance.

Oxygen and circulation

Oxygen is vital for all biological organisms and the basic prerequisite for the respiratory processes of humans. Respiration is often impaired by adiposity and lack of exercise. Among other things, regular physical activity strengthens the respiratory muscles, which leads to improved ventilation of the lungs and thus has a positive effect on oxygen exchange. Enormous positive health effects can be achieved in energy uptake and processing, through moderate cycling.

Heart and cardiovascular diseases

The heart is one of the most important organisms for a healthy life but can be damaged by inactivity. Cycling is ideal for training the heart to be stronger which results in less stress of the heart. All the risk factors that lead to a heart attack are reduced and regular cycling reduces the likelihood of heart attack by more than 50%.

Body weight, adiposity and obesity

Cycling is ideal for targeting these problems as 70% of the body's weight is borne by the saddle, thus enabling people who could not otherwise move easily to exercise to increase their physical fitness and stimulate fat metabolism. Cycling also contributes to weight reduction by burning energy.

Body fat and hypercholesterol

Cycling can train the organism to use up fat reserves and also changes the cholesterol balance, favouring the protective kind over that which is threatening to health. As body weight reduces and cholesterol is optimised, a protective mechanism is enabled by continuing to cycle. Regular exercise during youth is a prevention factor against excessive body weight in adults.

Blood pressure

Moderate cycling can prevent, or at least reduce, high blood pressure and so help to avoid stroke or damage to the organs. Blood pressure is also reduced by a lower heart rate, which is a result of regular cycling.

Cancers

Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of colon, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers, and possibly lung and endometrial cancers too.

Stamina

Cycling is especially good for aerobic exercise as the strain on the body is less than in other endurance sports. Improved stamina reduces tiredness and fatigue and promotes a sense of well-being..

Beauty and attractiveness

Beauty and attractiveness are much linked to body shape and condition. Cycling can positively influence these by controlling body weight and muscular form. Skin also benefits from the metabolic processes that are stimulated. In addition, cycling affects physical feeling which influences the perception of others.

Physical workout

In addition to regular moderate exercise, the body benefits from more demanding activity from time to time, which improves fitness and provides greater diversion from everyday problems. Cycling can provide more intensive activity as easily as by pedalling faster or harder.

Quality of life

Physical activity has a direct effect on well-being and health. Cycling has numerous advantages that can directly affect quality of life, as it provides benefits both physically and emotionally. Regular exercise, taken as an integral part of daily life, is needed to permanently enhance the quality of life.

Secondary benefits

More cycling, especially as an alternative to motor vehicle travel, would bring substantial health benefits for society as a whole due to improved air quality, reduced noise and danger, and greater independence for children.

(from the website http://cyclehelmets.org/1015.html)

activity: CYCLING

activity: CYCLING

The bicycle, bike or cycle is a human-powered vehicle that is driven by foot pedals. It has a basic frame with two wheels attached to it, one after the other. Almost 1.4 billion people in the world use this vehicle, and is obviously one of the most popular and cost-effective vehicles in use today. Not only is it an important and popular means of transport, but also an effective recreational tool. It has several uses such as police and military applications, courier services and cycling sports as well as adult fitness equipment.

Introduced in the 19th century in Europe, bicycle has a host of innovators and inventors credited to its name. The bicycle is supposed to originate from the human-powered vehicle called Draisines. This was introduced to the people in Paris in 1818 by German Baron Karl von Drais. Kirkpatrick MacMillan made an upgrade to this vehicle by adding a mechanical crank drive that as used to drive the vehicle. Thus, the modern `bicycle` came into being.

The French inventors Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement designed a high-seated and big front-wheeled bicycle (ordinary bicycle, as it was formally called) that wasn`t much preferred as of its bad weight distribution. The dwarf ordinary bicycle mended these faults but the front oversized wheel remained a problem to be solved. J.K. Starley`s 1885 Rover was the first modern bicycle in its true sense with even wheels and a proper seat.

The modern bicycle has many parts. They may be jotted down as follows.

Frame - Every bicycle today has a `diamond` frame, where the front triangle consists of the head tube, top tube, down tube and seat tube. The rear triangle consists of the seat tube and chain stays as well as seat stays. The basic of bicycle frames is to have high strength yet low weight so as to optimize the energy of the rider to the fullest. Women`s bicycles generally have a step-through frame. This defines that the top tube is absent as it allows the rider (usually a woman) to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress.

Drivetrain - The pedals which rotate the arms of the mechanical crank and chain rings and the brackets, all are elements of the drivetrain. They are used for gears and other related functions in the bicycle.

Handlebars - The handlebars are one of the most important parts of a bicycle. Upright handlebars are used in normal bicycles while dropped handlebars are used in racing and mountaineering bicycles. The latter are used because they give aerodynamic steering and speed to the biker.

Saddles - The saddles are varying depending on the journey and preference of the rider. Cushioned ones are usually used for short journeys while narrower ones are meant to give more space for leg swings.

Brakes - Modern bicycle brakes are usually rim brakes that use friction pads to de-intensify speed. There are also internal hub brakes that have friction pads within the hubs that halt a speeding bicycle. Disc brakes are used on mountain, racing etc bicycles that need braking to be immediate and accurate.

Suspension - A bicycle has suspension to guard itself from the hard roads and also provide comfort to the rider who has to face the rough road.

Wheels - Wheels are necessary for a bicycle to run and reach its destination. Sizes, shapes and powerful wheels vary as per the rider`s needs and choice.

place: MOUNT KILIMANJARO

 

This dramatic image of Kilimanjaro was made from data acquired from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM and a Landsat 7 image (both in February 2000). The sky was added. This clearly shows the topography (shape and form) of the mountain, but the vertical scale has been expanded to twice its true height. The view represents a width across of 77 miles, from about 100 miles away.

place: MOUNT KILIMANJARO

KILIMANJARO SATELLITE IMAGES

Mount Kilimanjaro (Swahili meaning is 'shining mountain'), is the continent&s most famous mountain. It is Africa&s highest point above sea level, rising to 19,340 feet. Being so high, it has a permanent ice cap of glaciers on its southern and southwestern flanks, even though it is close to the equator. It is the only place in Africa where ice and snow persist year-round. The ice cap has diminished significantly in recent years, most likely due to global warming. Scientists estimate that by 2015 the glaciers will no longer exist.

It is the largest and highest free-standing mountain (not part of a range) in the world, but was not always so. Kilimanjaro is a volcano comprised of three peaks that merged together. The last eruption was perhaps more than 100,000 years ago but volcanic gases are still vented. Hot magma may be present less than 1,000 feet below the surface of the summit plain (Reusch Crater) It is surrounded by about 20 other volcanoes, mostly to the west. Most prominent is Mount Meru. Kilimanjaro&s slopes support a wide range of flora, from dense rain forests to unique afromontane communities. Its isolation has led to the evolution of many unique species of plants and animals. These are increasingly threatened by human encroachment of unprotected areas. Lower down, in the mountainÕs shadow, dry savanna grasslands of the plains support a range of African wildlife. 

 

This astonishing image of Kilimanjaro was taken February 2000 from the Landsat 7 satellite. The three main peaks of the mountain are to the right of the picture, whereas the complex of smaller volcanoes is evident to the west (left of picture). The prominent mountain to the center is Mount Meru. Arusha National Park (Tanzania) is visible to the south of Kilimanjaro, while Amboseli National Park (Kenya) protects the northern half. The colors result from computer enhancement of image data using shortwave infrared, infrared, and green wavelengths.

place: MOUNT KILIMANJARO

taking a different look at the mountain:
view from space

 

place: MOUNT KILIMANJARO

place: MOUNT KILIMANJARO

Elevation: 19,340 feet (5,895 meters)

Location: Tanzania, east Africa
First Ascent: Hans Meyer (Germany), Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo (Tanzania), and Ludwig Purtscheller (Austria) on October 5, 1889.

Fast Facts:

• The meaning and origin of the name Kilimanjaro is unknown. It is thought to be a combination of the Swahili word Kilima, meaning “mountain,” and the KiChagga word Njaro, loosely translated as “whiteness,” giving the name White Mountain. The name Kibo in KiChagga means “spotted” and refers to rocks seen on snowfields. The name Uhuru translates as “freedom,” a name given to commemorate Tanzanian independence from Great Britain in 1961.

• Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and fourth highest of the Seven Summits, is considered the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, rising 15,100 feet (4,600 meters) from base to summit.

• Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 19,340 feet (5,895 meters); Mawenzi 16,896 feet (5,149 meters); and Shira 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim.

• Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano that began forming a million years ago when lava spilled from the Rift Valley zone. The mountain was built by successive lava flows. Two of its three peaks—Mawenzi and Shira—are extinct while Kibo, the highest peak is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption was 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was only 200 years ago.

• Kilimanjaro has 2.2 square kilometers of glacial ice and is losing it quickly due to global warming. The glaciers have shrunk 82% since 1912 and declined 33% since 1989. It may be ice free within 20 years, dramatically affecting local drinking water, crop irrigation, and hydroelectric power.

• Kilimanjaro lies within the 756-square-kilometer Kilimanjaro National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of the few places on earth that encompasses every ecological life zone including tropical jungle, savannah, and desert to montane forests, subalpine plants, and the alpine zone above timberline.

• Kilimanjaro was first climbed on October 5, 1889 by German geologist Hans Meyer, Marangu scout Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo, and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller. After reaching the summit, Meyer later wrote that they gave “three ringing cheers, and in virtue of my right as its first discoverer christened this hitherto unknown—the loftiest spot in Africa and the German Empire—Kaiser Wilhelm’s Peak.”

• Kilimanjaro has five common routes to its highest summit: Marangu Route; Machame Route; Rongai Route; Lemosho Route; and Mweka Route. Machame and Lemosho routes are popular and scenic. Marangu is easiest and busy although the last ascent to the crater rim is difficult.

• Climbing Kilimanjaro is easy and requires no technical climbing or mountaineering experience. The biggest challenge and danger is the high altitude. Climbers die from improper acclimatization and altitude sickness rather than falls.

• Kilimanjaro is not a peak you can climb on your own. It is mandatory to climb with a licensed guide and have porters carry your equipment. This sustains the local economy and allows local people to reap the rewards of tourism.

• The fastest verified ascent time was by Italian Bruno Brunod in 2001. He climbed Uhuru Peak from Marangu Gate in 5 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds. The fastest round-trip time was by local guide Simon Mtuy who ran up and down on December 26, 2004 in 8 hours and 27 minutes.

• Mount Meru, a 14,980-foot volcanic cone, lies 45 miles west of Kilimanjaro. It is an active volcano; has a snowcap; lies in Arusha National Park; and is often climbed as a training peak for Kilimanjaro.

object: THE MOON

I managed to capture these images on a clear night using our telescope:

object: THE MOON

Nice map of the moon by NASA:

object: THE MOON

a video i found on galileo...

object: THE MOON

Galileo Galilei

The lunar crater Galilaei is named after Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), one of the most renowned scientists in world history.

Career

Galileo, the son of a Pisan musician, began his professional career as a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Pisa where he began profoundly original studies in mechanics, moving in 1592 to the University of Padua,. While there, in 1609, he heard news of the newly-invented telescope; which he was soon able to build and improve. Although expected primarily to prove valuable as a military instrument, Galileo soon turned it towards the heavens (as others undoubtedly also did), publishing his initial conclusions in the spring of 1610. Capitalizing on the renown his discoveries bought him, Galileo moved to Florence in the fall of 1610, where he served, for the rest of his life, as "Philosopher and Mathematician" to the Medici Grand Duke. Although Galileo’s fame continued to increase, he came into conflict with the authorities of the Roman Catholic church and died under house arrest at his home in Florence.

Lunar Contributions

-Although generally regarded as one of the founders of modern science in general, Galileo is also definitely the founder of modern lunar science in particular. Although Thomas Harriot is known to have preceded him in observing the Moon through a telescope; Galileo was probably the first to understand what he was seeing, and certainly the first to publish a description of what he saw. 

-Galileo very early recognized that the pattern of light and shadow seen when the Moon was examined with the telescope resulted from the play of sunlight over a rugged and variable topography, and he used his mathematical skills to estimate the height of the features that must be involved. 

-Galileo believed the Moon was basically an airless world, although he continued to search the limb for evidence of a thin atmosphere. 

-Galileo rejected Kepler’s view that the Moon was responsible tides on Earth. 

-Late in life Galileo demonstrated an awareness of the Moon’s librations – the small rocking motions that can be observed in the face pointed towards Earth. 

-Galileo is sometimes said to have invented the modern term "crater" (as applied to features on the Moon) and is frequently said to have thought the dark areas were "seas" (mare). In fact, he called the craters "spots", and although he said that he thought that if the Earth could be viewed from space the land would appear bright and the oceans (mare) dark, he did not conclude from that that the dark areas on the Moon were actually liquid water.

Drawings

 

object: THE MOON

 I came across this pretty amazing image of the moon: 

The galileo probe, on it's way to jupiter took this false colour image of the moon:

The false colors emphasize the maria and craters and other features. The credit reference gives color meanings in terms of composition. North is at the top. The Crater Tycho is near the south. It is not the biggest crater on the Moon, but it is very recognizable because of the rays that radiate from it.

object: THE MOON

activity: CYCLING

activity: CYCLING

 

handy little timeline i found on bicycles:

object: THE MOON

The moon in the news...

object: THE MOON

 

The Moon photographed by the crew of Apollo 17 in December 1972. Image: NASA

The Moon is the closest astronomical object to the Earth. With the Earth it forms what is almost a double planet as no other planet has a satellite which is as large in comparison to its own size.

The Moon has a diameter of 3476 km and orbits the Earth at a mean distance of 384,000 km. It orbits the Earth in 27.322 days and always keeps the same face pointed towards the Earth.

The Moon shines by reflecting the light from the Sun and shows the characteristic phases during each orbit of the Earth. Near New Moon, when the sunlit portion of the Moon is small, the phenomenon of 'the old Moon in the young Moon's arms' is often seen. This is caused by sunlight being reflected towards the Moon by the Earth and being reflected back again to the Earth. We are seeing Earthshine, the equivalent of moonlight on the Earth.

The orbital plane of the Moon is inclined to that of the Earth about the Sun and so eclipses are only seen when New Moon or Full Moon occur when the Moon is near to the crossing points of these planes.

The gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun are responsible for the tides.

The Moon has no atmosphere. Any early atmosphere that the Moon might have had has escaped from the Moon's feeble gravitational pull. This is only one sixth that at the surface of the Earth. Because of the lack of any atmosphere the temperature of the Moon's surface varies between -180°C and +110°C. The Moon offers little protection from the solar wind, cosmic rays or micrometeorites and so it is not surprising that there is no form of life on the Moon.

Man in the Moon

 

The Moon's surface is characterised by light mountainous regions interspersed with dark maria. The 'Man in the Moon' is formed from patches of these two types of terrain. The maria are vast impact basins which have been filled with basaltic rocks some 3000 million years ago. Much of the Moon's surface is covered with craters. These are the result of impacts by meteors. The largest are about 200 km in diameter, the smallest are only about a metre across. Most of these craters were formed between 3000 and 4000 million years ago.
Much of our knowledge of the structure of the lunar surface and the geology of the Moon comes from the landings of the Apollo series and the samples of lunar material brought back to Earth. Despite this we are still not sure how the Moon was formed. In recent years, the most widely-accepted theory is that the Earth was struck by a Mars-sized body early in its history. Part of the resulting debris then coalesced into the Moon.

Viewing the Moon

 

The Moon is probably the most satisfying object to look at through any telescope. The craters and mountains can be seen with even a small telescope. The best place to look is near the terminator, where the Sun is either rising or setting. Here the shadows cast by mountains and crater walls are longest and can give very dramatic views. After as short a time as an hour changes in the shadows can be seen as the sunlight reaches or leaves peaks near the terminator.

 

A composite of the south pole of the Moon taken by Clementine. © Naval Research Laboratory

  Recently two probes completed successful missions to map and determine the composition of the Moon. The Clementine probe mapped the surface over two months in 1994 and hinted at the presence of water ice in some of the permanently shadowed craters at the poles.
Lunar Prospector found strong evidence for up to 300 million tons of water ice deposits at both poles as well as mapping lunar magnetic fields and determining the abundances of many elements.

Transient lunar phenomena

 

Many amateur astronomers look for 'transient lunar phenomena' (TLPs). These are outbursts of some kind which give rise to short-lived colour or brightness changes in small areas. It is not clear how many of these are real or what causes them.

During the Clementine mission, observations of TLPs by amateur astronomers were followed up by direct imaging by the orbiting spaceprobe. On 23 April 1994, there were reports of an obscuration over the so-called Cobrahead feature on a region called the Aristarchus plateau. Clementine images taken on 3 March and again on 27 April do indeed show a change as part of the region is a slightly different colour.

Confirmation of this tentative discovery would be very significant as the Aristarchus region is one of the youngest regions of the Moon. The Cobrahead feature is a collapsed lava tube that came from a volcano that had its heyday billions of years ago. It is also a region where TLPs have been seen in the past. Perhaps pockets of gas seep up through the ground and, when caught by the bright rays of the lunar dawn, glow in reds and blues. Or perhaps heating effects cause sub-surface explosions.

object: THE MOON

 

diameter: 3476km

distance from earth: 384,400km

mass: 7.35e22kg

orbit: 26.332days

The brief...

SUMMER BRIEF - WHAT IS GOOD? - Research

'GOOD' depends on your perspective, ethics, creative preferences, likes and dislikes (amongst other things). It is a matter of opinion rather than a statement of fact. You need to decide what is ‘good’ & design something that communicates your opinion, supports your argument or delivers your point of view.
 

BRIEF
Identify, research and present your opinions of what is ‘good’.
 

TASKS
Select 1 object, 1 place, 1 activity, 1 opinion AND 1 concept that you think are good