Comments on: Kicking it Old School

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:40:57 +0000

Check out flickr commons too!

http://www.flickr.com/search/commons/?ss=2&ct=6&w=all&q=scientist&m=text

By: Haelfix

Haelfix — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:21:09 +0000

I’d love to hear recordings from back then while an observation was going on. Hours upon hours of the same thing, ad nauseum. It takes a strong personality to overcome the tedium for the sake of science, and I bet the dialogue would have been entertaining.

A bored scientist is a candidate fifth force.

By: Tim Jones

Tim Jones — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:34:18 +0000

For more historical images of McDonald Observatory please see our web site at http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/gallery/gallery.php?t=3 These can be used for publication purposes with credit.

By: The Man Who Observes the Universe Smokes Viceroys | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:07:02 +0000

[...] of classic astronomical images, I did a tiny double-take at this great 1959 ad for Viceroy cigarettes — one of an impressive [...]

By: Gene Milone

Gene Milone — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:32:54 +0000

Great photo of Walter Baade. For the benefit of younger astronomers: the instrument he is using is the blink comparator, the premier device for detecting variable stars as well as objects with large proper motion.

By: Niteskygirl

Niteskygirl — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:42:01 +0000

forgot to add my site , click my name

By: Niteskygirl

Niteskygirl — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:40:33 +0000

The photo of the men around the computer system ..
As an astronomer I can honestly say ..
Amazing how we went from room sized chunks of computer machinery to laptop size isn’t it !!! I can’t imagine working on those monsters compared to small sized ‘ universe in your lap ‘ laptops .

WHAT A FASCINATING BLOG TO READ! Just discovered it , a reader of my astronomy blog sent this link to me , a keeper, I enjoy it .

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:23:23 +0000

This website has many great pictures. I can’t resist pointing out this one of Einstein’s blackboard, which I believe was taken shortly after his death in 1955:

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?q=einstein+source:life&imgurl=20f357cb0952a143

By: links for 2008-11-20 | Yostivanich.com

links for 2008-11-20 | Yostivanich.com — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:18:10 +0000

[...] Kicking it Old School | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine Some very cool images from the Life archive of astronomy during WWII. (tags: science space Astronomy photography) [...]

By: Julianne

Julianne — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:33:09 +0000

Robert — it’s always obvious in the telescope photos, because the lights are on!

By: Robert V Sobczak

Robert V Sobczak — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:06:57 +0000

Those were the days. You realize they are posing for those photos. We recently did an article in a natural sciences journal, and we had to stage a sampling event. It took dozens of takes to get it right. I’m sure those old time scientists were no different.

By: Julianne

Julianne — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:37:30 +0000

Neil — The story about the matches is true. For a while there was a class of objects known as “potassium flare stars”.

There’s a little story about it in Time here.

By: Neil B

Neil B — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:11:16 +0000

First, just a slight clarification that the telescope does automatically move along with the Earth’s rotation, just not perfectly enough for a good photo – hence the hand guiding and now CCD. As for pipes etc, I remember hearing that at one observatory the spectroscopy kept showing unexplained phosphorous lines in the stars. They found out later, it was from the astronomer lighting his pipe. I don’t think this is apocryphal despite it not being obvious how the match light made it into the spectrometer (cracks in the sides, who knows, and the match is fairly bright.)

By: symmetry breaking » Blog Archive » Gorgeous physics photos from the LIFE archives

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:42:01 +0000

[...] related news, Cosmic Variance has dug up photos of unsung astronomy hero Walter Baade and other astronomical [...]

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:09:44 +0000

I loved the picture with the big gear.

19th and early 20th Century technology is simply beautiful;
and besides, you can see how it works.

By: Jonathan Lubin

Jonathan Lubin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:43:56 +0000

Of course, it’s not a hundred years of photos from the pages of Life, which was founded as a photo-journal only in Nov. 1936.

By: Julianne

Julianne — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:14:43 +0000

Indeed — text is for the picture below!

I had to do hand guiding at Las Campanas, back in the day. The device was known as “El Gancho!” (said con gusto).

By: Tod R. Lauer

Tod R. Lauer — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:04:15 +0000

I believe that’s Walter Adams guiding the 100″, not Baade.

By: Yvette

Yvette — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:43:44 +0000

I was lucky enough to meet Frank Drake this summer through my REU program, he gave us students a tour around Lick Observatory. Really neat to see a place like that with a guy who’s seen so much!

By: Eugene

Eugene — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:27:24 +0000

Ah yes, God created the Universe. Baade doubled it.