“The universe is a lot bigger than the Earth and it’s a lot bigger than the solar system and it’s a lot bigger than our galaxy and we owe it to ourselves to notice it.” – John Dobson
For many, John Dobson has been an inspiration for amateur and professional astronomers around the globe. As the founder of the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers, John Dobson also created an apparatus known as The Dobsonian Telescope that allows for individuals to mount otherwise impossibly large telescopes than they could possibly afford. For instance, take Ron Buta, Ph.D., professor of astronomy at the University of Alabama. As the designated instructor for Astronomy 203 course this semester, Dr. Buta feels quite disheartened at how much light pollution hampers astronomical study. He states that:
“it breaks my heart to see how much light pollution has destroyed the view of the night sky. One would think that at the very least, in a class like AY 203, one might be able to teach students how to identify the constellations so they can find their way around the sky. Yet, this is virtually impossible from campus since only the brighter stars can be seen against the background glare of city lights.”
Furthermore, Dr. Buta thinks that students learn better when they can interact with something tangible. Certainly one can read and see pictures of about asteroids, planets and galaxies in a textbook , but there is something quite magical being able to see these objects through a telescope. I’m inclined to agree with him. There is something quite special looking through a telescope; I urge our readers to do so if you haven’t.
