h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I just love the story about David Rittenhouse:

>..the sight of Venus on the solar disc affected him so much that he fainted next to his telescope. Thankfully he recovered enough to witness the total solar eclipse which occurred just five hours later!<

History doesn’t record just ‘how’ he was affected. Was it by the wondrous sight he had just witnessed, or had he not taken the proper precautions when looking at the solar disc through a telescope, and had just blinded himself. I suppose the fact that he was able to do it again a few hours later tells us it was the former. Or perhaps he was just going for the other eye.

DK

I get really nervous reading "sun" and "telescope" in the same sentence. Did you see that picture I linked to in the History of the Transit of Venus entry?
http://www.space.com/images/vt_harpers_illo_03.jpg

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!!!

Ye Gods!

No I hadn't seen that. It makes you think though.

At the last solar eclipse 200whatever, I spent some time trying to take a photograph using an old digi camera and some exposed 35mm film to cover the lens as a filter. Although I was careful to NOT look through the viewfinder, when I came indoors in the relative dark I could still see the orb image of the sun.

Panic stations! I thought I'd damaged my sight for life. It faded in a couple of hours but it was a few panic stricken minutes.

DK

1999.
That was in my last life, before I bought my first computer and discovered the Internet.
I was being ultra-careful trying to set up a mirror to reflect the image of the eclipse onto a piece of card for me to view it safely. I got it perfect and stood back to watch the reflected spectacle when the mirror slipped and crashed onto the patio, and shattered. I was it was a small mirror which came from a needlework box that my great Aunt had made for me as a wedding present, and not a lot had survived - I'd had it 25 years then.
I don't know if it gave me 7 years bad luck, within a couple of months I bought my first PC and a few months after that I found h2g2.

It's always a pity when something like that happens.

It doesb't sound like too much bad luck though.

DK

Not from my vantage point

I've been out early, looking for the Draconids, have written a new journal about it, and may change my stargazing time from now on!

Well someone saw it.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

I didn't. It seemed to be clear enough conditions at the time but I just couldn't make it out.

DK

Today is the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens' birthday.
A new Post column was published 2 days ago, I struggled to choose from what to write about for the 14th, there were so many anniversaries

Regulus to look for tomorrow

A34310800