Not for profit podcast. Astronomy, Deep Space Exploration and International Collaboration
You will have noticed that I’m not quite on schedule right now. Indeed have not been so for a few weeks. As a one man band I expect that to happen from time to time. Last week however was special. For the very first time, I became a dad. Both my wife Regine and my daughter – Amrita Christine May-Singh are well and healthy.
I have some projects underway for Astrotalkuk and will resume a more regular pattern in the coming weeks and months.
Chris Lord of Blackpool & District Astronomical Society continues the story of the telescope leading up to its use by Galileo for astronomical observations.
Ibn Sahl and Ibn al-Haythem were two scholars who during the 10th and 11th century developed the fundemental mathematical principles of refraction, reflection and dispersion and kick started the science of optics. Chris concludes this 2nd part at that point in history which marks the beginning of the telescope – Galileo’s profound astronomical discoveries in 1609.
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Hans Lipperhey’s patent application in the Netherlands for a telescope was formally denied on 2nd October 1608. Nonetheless, it is that individual, that place and that date which history associates with the invention of the telescope. Most of us are aware of the fundamental astronomical discoveries Galileo went on to make with it in the following year but could they have been made earlier?
Three thousand years ago, in what today is Iraq , the Nimrud lens now in the British Museum is clearly recognised as a lens. It probably could not have been used as part of an astronomical telescope but it is evidence that strongly indicates that lenses were in use long before Lipperhey and Galileo. The Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria is another illlustration of the advance understanding of optics in ancient times.
Chris Lord is an accomplished amateur astronomer and member of Blackpool & District Astronomical Society. He has recently completed a major piece of research in telescopes and optics to mark the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.
In this Episode, Chris talks about at the theory of vision, optics and the making and use of lenses during the almost two centuries from Euclid to Galileo.
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Just over a week ago, WordPress 2.6 was released. I updated and everything was working fine. I have run in to a problem when I attempted to upload episode 23. It turns out that the plugin I use for this – called Podpress, is not compatible with Worpress 2.6. For existing episodes its fine but I cannot upload anything new.
An updated version of the plugin should be available early next week. Rather than regress to WordPress version 2.51 I will wait a few days. So middle of next week if not before, it should be back to “normal”.