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

The American Dennis Tito spent $20,000,000 to have a trip into space on board a Russian Rocket and thus become the first Space Tourist. I spent £260 2 years ago and have achieved the same thing and without all that tedious mucking about with training, an 8G launch, space sickness, re-entry and a hard landing in a ploughed field somewhere in the Urals.

My £260 bought me a telescope and a good one (Russian funnily enough) and with it I can see galaxys which are 10 million light years or more away, star clusters and nebulae (including the great Orion Nebula and the famous Ring Nebula), multiple stars and couloured stars (such as Betelgeuse near Ford Prefect's home planet). Closer to home I can visit the rings of Saturn, the gas bands and red spot of Jupiter, the pole caps and deserts of Mars and the cloud tops of Venus. The mountains and craters of the moon are on my doorstep and I can even see satellites and the Space Shuttle if I find our where and when to look.

All this for £260 - what a bargain !!!.

Nice one fella!

Although I would still rather actually go to space, having a telescope is probly the next best thing. Unfortunatley, i live in London and the light pollution here is quite terrible, and on most nights you are lucky to count a few dozen stars in the sky...

ho hum

purplejenny

Don't get me started on light pollution ...

There could be a whole generation of kids who never get the chance to see the stars splashed across the sky embedded in the milky way under a truly dark sky. Even rural areas are affected these days. And it's all such a waste of energy - why spend all that money on energy to light up the bottom of the clouds ? - direct it downwards and you could put half as powerful lamps in.