Hello from a beginner

Lily · Post by **Lily** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:14 am

Yes Toolkit, I strongly agree with you about introducing astronomy to children. Do you use a binoculars with your son? Tell me what other things you do with him.

River, from my experience kids will do things themselves when there are no maids around

. And you have to tell them your expectation in a nice way - such as "Bennie is very good, he cleaned up after dinner. Do you think all of you can do that too?" That's why I don't have a maid at home ;).

Lily

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:45 am

Here's one for the kids:-

http://kids.nineplanets.org/

Erm... I don't have one for the maids...

Post by **zong** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:48 am

Yes, i'm totally for introducing astronomy to children! I was also hooked on this hobby from pri school! But in my opinion, schools are way too protective of their students now, which is another deterrent. Some schools require signing dunno how many forms and consent slips and at least dunno how much in advance just for one overnight observation, and need this teacher here need another teacher there.. In a way it gives the parents a peace of mind, but imo just get the adults in too, and everyone join the fun!

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:57 am

Zong,
It can be summed up in a typical worker's mentality of "Kiasu" (afraid of losing), "Kiasi" (afraid of dying), and "Kia dio cheng ji" (afraid of getting 'bullets' from reprimanding shots by superiors)... all made worse by the need for regiment and bureaucracy in big official organisations.

I agree that those red tapes are getting in the way a lot. While I understand the need to be meticulous with these things, it does condition us to be confined to the box as well... fearing to step out of the line to try new things, so as to avoid repercussions. It is all these fears and wanting to insure ourselves against all odds that 'mechanise' us to follow set instructions and never to question their effectiveness or flaws, let alone innovate!

Come to think of it... if Einstein had been told to stop day-dreaming about riding on a beam of light, or if Schrodinger was reprimanded for off-task thoughts on dead cats when he should be attending to his work on sub-atomic particles, then physics would not have its quantum leap as we know it today!

It is a timely reminder here that some important astronomy discoveries were actually made by amateur astronomers. So, let's get more people (adults and kids alike) to see stars!

toolkit · Post by **toolkit** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 10:34 am

Lily wrote:Yes Toolkit, I strongly agree with you about introducing astronomy to children. Do you use a binoculars with your son? Tell me what other things you do with him.
Lily

He is too small to hold my big bino. What I can show
him is to identify the brightest star like Arcturus. Ask him
to count the stars (good for his maths!). Identify the red stars
like Antares. Very simple stuff lah.
Maybe in about 1 years time, he can learn to identify
the constellations. How about your kids?
I think it is easier for small kids to view scopes because
it is mounted. The object is already within sights for small
kids and planets viewing have a "wow" factor.
Looking forward to coming to the Star (or should I say Planet)
party this Aug.

Lily · Post by **Lily** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:51 pm

Hi Toolkit,

Errr, must admit I know very little about stars :oops: so there's no way I can show my children which one is which. All I can do now is read to them but don't know what to say when they ask me to show them Jupiter in the sky

.

That's why I am looking forward to this coming star party

.

Regards,
Lily

Post by **weixing** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:53 am

Hi,

when they ask me to show them Jupiter in the sky

Jupiter is currently easy to recognize... go out when the sky is clear at around 8pm and look straight up over head... you'll see a very bright orange "star"... no other star come close in brightness... that's Jupiter...

Have a nice day.

Lily · Post by **Lily** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:45 pm

Thanks Weixing. I will try this evening. My area is pretty light polluted hope we can still see Jupiter since it's one of the brightest star in the night sky.

Post by **weixing** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:59 pm

Hi,

Thanks Weixing. I will try this evening. My area is pretty light polluted hope we can still see Jupiter since it's one of the brightest star in the night sky.

Don't worry... as long as the sky is not overcast, I think you should be able to see Jupiter anywhere in Singapore... err... except indoor, underground, day time, directly under strong lighting or no line of sight... hee hee hee

Have a nice day.

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:23 pm

Hi Lily,
Try this Java applet to help you find the planets and the moon:-
http://www.lightandmatter.com/area2planet.shtml

The program requires you to key in the latitude and longitude of Singapore, as it is not in their database (choose the "?" and then key in the co-ordinates).

As for the exact co-ordinates of Singapore, here is an interesting site:-
http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/tea ... rigin.html

The current co-ordinates of Singapore: 1° 22' 00 N (1.367°N), 103° 50' 00" E (103.833°E)... a specific point in Pierce Reservoir... chosen to simplify computations.