Weird astronomy: tales of unusual, bizarre, and other hard to explain observations PDF
Preview Weird astronomy: tales of unusual, bizarre, and other hard to explain observations
Astronomers’ Universe For other titles published in this series, go to www.springer.com/series/6960 wwwww David A. J. Seargent Weird Astronomy Tales of Unusual, Bizarre, and Other Hard to Explain Observations David A. J. Seargent 2261 The Entrance Australia ISBN 978-1-4419-6423-6 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6424-3 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6424-3 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2010935188 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or h ereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) For Meg wwwww Preface Astronomy has a recorded history longer than any other physical science. True, its juvenile years were spent as a co-joined twin of its more dubious sibling, astrology, and its musings were often not what we in this supposedly more enlightened epoch would term “scientific.” But we must always bear in mind that, for the ancients, astrological speculations were regarded with the same solemnity that we now reserve for the most profound of cosmo- logical investigations. Needless to say, such an ancient and venerable science has accrued around itself a rather mixed collection of interesting, sometimes puzzling, at times amusing, and on occasion down- right bizarre accounts and anecdotes, ranging from interesting lit- tle tidbits of human interest to genuinely puzzling and anomalous observations. Lying beyond the mainstream of their topic, astro- nomical textbooks seldom mention these, but it is precisely such anecdotes and stories that make astronomy a living and human endeavor, as well as giving it a lighter side. This “lighter side” – this fringe of anecdotes, oddities, factual trivia, and titillating tales – is what this book is all about. The title “Weird Astronomy” implies a wide range beyond the more or less staid mainstream of the topic. It is not necessarily “bad” astronomy. True, some examples of truly bad astronomy have been included here. But much “weird” astronomy is still “good” astronomy. It just does not fit well with what is official. A bright object near the Sun, a fast-moving blob of nebulosity in the night sky, a meteor that makes a “swishing” sound as it crosses the sky, lightning seen on the Moon or changing patterns on Mars, cell- like structures found in meteorites, or apparent signs of life on the Martian surface all make grist for the mill of this book. Then there are the tales of difficult observations, naked-eye sightings of Jupiter’s brighter moons, a quasar spied through a small backyard telescope, even an observation of sunspots made vii vviiiiii Preface by peering up through the eye of a tropical storm. Such tales and much more await you in this book. But we are not just collecting anecdotes here. There are activities for you, the reader, as well. Of course, we can’t replicate lightning-like events on the Moon, nor is it likely that you will encounter repeat performances of most of the transitory events mentioned in these pages. And, of course, nobody observes the planet Vulcan these days! Still, the way is open for you, the reader, to join in the fun and maybe even make some real contributions to science while so doing. Several “projects” have been included in these chapters which, it is hoped, will let you participate in at least some of the things about which you are reading. These projects are of varying degrees of complexity and will require different levels of experi- ence. Those that require more experience or observing skills are marked with an asterisk (*). Some of these, if seriously and care- fully pursued, may yield scientifically valuable data and, for these, basic directions are given for reporting your results to the inter- ested parties. In short then, if you are only interested in reading about the latest advances in planetary science, the most recent cosmological controversies, or the up-to-date count of extra-solar planets, you might want to stop right now. But if the odd, the interesting, the peculiar, and – yes – the slightly weird attract you, and if you experience the thrill of a lit- tle practical observing as well … read right on! About the Author David Seargent has a doctorate degree in philosophy from the University of Newcastle in Australia, is a former part-time teacher there, an amateur astronomer, and now a full-time writer. He has written several books and papers on comets, including one for Springer called Greatest Comets in History (2009). He was for- merly a contributing editor on comets to Sky and Space magazine and is currently the author of a regular comets’ column for Australian Sky & Telescope. Dr. Seargent formed the University Astronomical Society when a student at the University of Newcastle and later had the distinction of discovering a new comet, named for him, C/1978 T1 (Seargent) ix
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