7:41 BS 7.2
I’ve been AWOL for a few days & I was distracted by watching a whole pile of astronomy type programs presented by Brian Cox. I was passionate about astronomy in my teens & up to my 30’s especially about theories etc. I was not so much about observation which is not so typical in the world of amateur astronomy as that is almost all about observation. I used to spend loads of time in the library reading up on the latest theories & when I lived in Belfast, in my 20’s, I attended lectures at Queens University held by the IAA, Irish Astronomical Association, of which I was Vice President for a year. I used to be very active in the IAA writing articles in the IAA’s newsletter/magazine & even held a my own lecture once at Queens which was a bit of a disaster because I was SO nervous that I rushed through my prepared material at breakneck speed in half the time I was allotted & mixed up Jupiter & Saturn!
😳 NO!
😱 I could write articles on complex astrophysics puting them in laymen terms, rather like Brian Cox himself, but, NOT speak in public & that was the only lecture I gave! The members were very kind about it but, really it WAS a disaster!
😳 But, I’ve kind of lost touch a bit the last decade having moved back to my hometown which seems so far away from Belfast & Armagh where the main hub of astronomy in NI centres around. So, the last decade of space exportations have rather passed me by with little notice. In watching old Brian Cox programs I realise how much I’ve missed & my passion for astronomy has been re ignited! Two MASSIVE things have left me astounded, & still think about them:- 1. at the very end of The Cassini mission to Saturn, it was there for 13 years & it was around the start of that mission that I lost touch & interest in astronomy gradually while working full time in our family restaurant, Liquid water was discovered on one of its moons, Enceladus, that may harbour microbial life around hydrothermal vents similar to how life started here on Earth & 2. When the New Horizons mission, TOTALLY & COMPLETELY passed me by unnoticed THAT one, took one last look at Pluto as it left it was discovered that it has an atmosphere!
😱😱😱
So, I’ve been very distracted by a flurry of more reading, online, catching up on about a decade’s worth of things I missed in the world of astronomy!
A Very Good Morning to you all & have a Wonderful Day!
😉
I may be distracted for a while & not post as regularly but, I’ll try & remember to post now & then!
🙄