So last night I took my telescope out for the trick-or-treating kids to see Mars, and it was fun, kinda. Mars is too low in the sky, and the thick air was making it fuzzy. Plus, my ’scope isn’t designed to look at planets, so it was a bit too small to be really impressive. Still, a lot of kids thought it was pretty cool. I therefore consider that I accomplished my mission.
However, the ’scope is big, and I think I wrenched my neck taking it out, and it’s hard to type because looking down makes my neck ache. So instead of a long essay today, I’ll just say, changing the subject, that I had no idea that Wikipedia had a Moon hoax entry. It’s not bad, and is worth a read. They link to my site, which is cool, but I don’t remember ever calling myself a “battle-axe of Science”. I guess it’s better than a mace, or a codpiece.
November 1st, 2005 at 10:17 pm
I suffered the same fate. Out on a hunting trip with my buddies in the Chiricahua mountains at 8,600 feet and had a clear sky 3 nights in a row, but no one could stay up late enough to see mars up high. Oh well, had to settle for Andromeda and a couple of clusters.
Still a blast.
ba
November 1st, 2005 at 10:57 pm
“Battle Axe”
“Bad Astronomer”
It’s BA either way!
November 1st, 2005 at 11:01 pm
Hey,
I’ve got an idea. The Richard C. Hoagland drinking game!
You go out on his site. Your opponent and yourself take turns picking random “captain’s blog” pages.
Whenever you read the word “Hyper-dimentional” you must take a shot. The last person standing wins.
rod
P.S. Do not expect this to be a long game.
November 1st, 2005 at 11:57 pm
I thouhg you where the Balistic Assoult Missle of science…
Sounds more destroctive
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:54 am
Phil
Not only does wikipedia link to your site when it talks about the fake moon landing topic, but it has an entire article about you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Astronomer
November 2nd, 2005 at 6:56 am
I thought “Brother Battle-Axe of Science” was your Unitarian Jihad name.
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:41 am
Then who are the codpiece and mace of science, I wonder?
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:44 am
Codpiece of science?? You don’t want the Moral “Majority” after you! Then again, most of them are creationists or “Intelligent Design” followers.
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:45 am
To find the codpiece of science, just follow the smell.
November 2nd, 2005 at 8:52 am
Phil Plait…the spiked flail of the scientific process! The armored battering-ram of antiscience demolition! The pink lawn flamingo of debunkery and rationality….wait, that one’s no good…
November 2nd, 2005 at 8:58 am
B.A. hurt his neck moving the ’scope around so that he could point it at Mars, and it was still not very good for looking at Mars?!
Aw, shoot. Now I feel like I’ve curse him, rather than blessed him, by giving him that ’scope.
November 2nd, 2005 at 10:19 am
Funny, when I think of “BA” … the A-Team always comes to mind.
November 2nd, 2005 at 10:30 am
tracer, don’t fret– it was my own stupid fault. I should have had my wife help me move it. I plan on adding a handle near the center of mass, and also a detachable rolling cart to the bottom.
And I do plan on writing up a blog entry about you and the ’scope, but I want to have some images of objects taken through it first! That’s proving difficult, but I’m working on it.
November 2nd, 2005 at 10:34 am
Well… BA does have to pitty a lot of fools….
November 2nd, 2005 at 11:44 am
Is it called Bad Astronomy because it hurts to astronom? Seriously, I hope you didn’t hurt your neck too bad.
November 2nd, 2005 at 1:05 pm
Watch out for pesky nicknames. I had a friend in college who was quoted in a major metropolitan newspaper and they referred to him as “the voice of a generation.” He never got over the ribbing. And won’t talk to me to this day.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:15 pm
You’re not the only one who set up a telescope for trick or treaters. I think every “sidewalk astronomer” worth their salt has a tendency to do this at halloween time. It is a small nudge to help get youngsters interested in space. Every nudge counts!
And remember: codpieces can be very useful! Ever had to wear an athletic supporter? Those things can be lifesavers!
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:50 pm
show me some proof that there has ever been a man on the moon.
November 2nd, 2005 at 8:18 pm
ba, I’ve been waiting for five years for any credible evidence whatsoever to indicate they were faked. You first.
November 3rd, 2005 at 9:30 am
Hey ba, here’s a good starting place.
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/
November 3rd, 2005 at 3:50 pm
The Bad Astronomer Says:
ba, I’ve been waiting for five years for any credible evidence whatsoever to indicate they were faked. You first.
Well, Alan Shepherd is said to have played golf on the Moon, but as we all know, there are no golf courses there. Proof positive!
November 6th, 2005 at 11:29 am
Leon, you must have heard of “off-piste” skiing. Well, Al Shpherd played “off-fairway” golf. About as far off the fairway as any human has ever gone.
It’s a shame they didn’t have time to go and look for his golf ball (well, the one he hit - if I remember correctly, he took three balls with him, but failed to connect well with the first two; the third one went “miles and miles”).
November 7th, 2005 at 2:00 pm
I hadn’t actually heard of “off-piste” skiing, but it’s not surprising since I never got into skiing at all…
And that was definitely off-fairway golfing!!
Yeah, it would be neat to know just how far that golf ball traveled. It would be especially cool for Alan to be able to tell his buddies just how far his longest-ever drive was.