[Nfb-science] Taking an Astronomy Class

[Michael Whapples]

Ed's description of astronomy reflects more my experience of astronomy 
in my physics degree. It really seemed to focus on how we can calculate 
things from the limited properties we can observe and really could be 
done very non-visually (I think any pictures of stars, etc were only 
there for interest purposes not for any informational purpose). Any 
reference to a specific star/galaxy/etc normally was just form an 
example to have some figures to work from.

The few areas which may be visual, such as classification of galaxies, 
etc normally really didn't need much use of diagrams as it was more to 
do with describing features common to each classification rather than 
actually classifying anything (eg. exam questions tended to be "Describe 
the features of a...").

I will say that this theory side was my interest, a way of using most of 
the rest of my physics (some of which really seemed purely theoretical) 
and actually put it to use to calcuate/predict something real.

Michael Whapples
On 05/14/2010 03:19 AM, Ed Meskys wrote:
> I am 74 now and retired, but I used to teach physics and astronomy in a
> small college. I had grown up sighted, but became totally blind at the age
> of 35 in 1971. Astronomy as in the textbook and as I taught it said
> virtually nothing about the constellations. I covered how the distances to
> various classes of stars are measured....parallax, Cepheid variables, the
> motion of clusters, etc. Types of stars, their relationship to color,
> changes with time, birth and death. Described the planets, and how we
> figured it out.
>
> I used an excellent text, Exploration of the Universe by George Abell. I
> used it while sighted, and continued using it. RFB&D had it, but there were
> a number of errors in the narration...mistakes made by persons not
> understanding what they were reading. When I laughed at some of the errors
> to a friend teaching Physics at Brooklyn College, he immediately went to
> RFB&D in NY and volunteered. For decades he did two two hour sessions a
> week, and recorded many physics, astronomy, math, etc., for them.
> Unfortunately he is older than I and is in assisted living now.
>
> Even when I was sighted the constellations did not interest me, except as
> landmarks for finding a star of interest.
>
> Ed Meskys
>
>
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