Seeing Stars: Amateur Astronomers Aim Thousands of Eyes at the Universe

영어강의 : VOA

Articles 72

Views 625 Votes 0 2014.05.27 22:17:17

chanyi *.41.52.225 https://enjoyenglish.co.kr/Youtube_Voa/562308

Astronomer Gus Johnson likes the quiet and the dark. But weather conditions are working against him this night near his home in Maryland.

GUS JOHNSON: "Well, Jupiter went behind a cloud so we have the moon ... "

Johnson has been watching stars for 50 years. He remembers hundreds of star positions and he loves to share what he knows.

GUS JOHNSON: "That planet has a diameter 11 times that of the Earth."

In 1979, Johnson discovered a supernova, or exploding star. Scientists now believe his supernova is the newest and nearest black hole.

GUS JOHNSON: "That's the supernova right there. When I came to M100 [galaxy], there was this other little star that for some reason caught my attention. I don't know why. And later on, I checked the photograph, and it wasn't on the photograph. And that proved to be the Supernova SN 1979c."

Was he happy with the discovery?

GUS JOHNSON: "Yes, I was. And I am, and thankful too because so few people actually get to discover things."

Scientists believe that black holes are often created. But to see it happen is extremely rare. Kim Weaver is an astrophysicist. Last year, she and other scientists announced that Johnson's supernova was probably the birth of a black hole.

KIM WEAVER: "We want to watch how this system evolves and changes in its youthful stages from when it's first born to when it grows into a child and a teenager."

Some astronomers dismiss the work of what they call citizen scientists. But Weaver says these amateur astronomers do put thousands more eyes on the universe.

KIM WEAVER: "They don't have access to the large telescopes that professionals have access to. But what they can do is they have [the] freedom to be able to use smaller telescopes any time they want to look all over the sky."

Caroline Moore and her father are amateur astronomers.

CAROLINE MOORE: "This was the first telescope that I had ever got." The Moores made an observatory behind their home in New York State. Caroline made a major discovery two years ago, when she was only 14. She studied hundreds of images with a computer as part of a search team.

CAROLINE MOORE: "I discovered the least luminous supernova ever to be observed, which is a ... and I am the youngest person to discover a supernova so it kind of makes it a double interesting thing."

Back in Maryland, Gus Johnson observes fresh-fallen snow and an ice-covered lake. There is something almost sad about his intense love of the environment. Was he looking for a supernova that night long ago?

GUS JOHNSON: "Nope. It was entirely accidental. It's kind of the grand realities of existence. The earth and everything we know is such a minute part of the whole universe. Watching the creation of God ... that's pretty spectacular." I'm Christopher Cruise.

I want to

Trackback :

List

List of Articles

No.	Subject	Author	Views
'Walking Miracle' Inspires Others chanyi Views 727 Pat Rummerfield spends a week every month with patients in the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Maryland's Kennedy Krieger Institute. He works as a spokesman and raises money for the institute. He also provides moral support. ...
Wising Up About Wisdom Teeth chanyi Views 1241 Wisdom teeth are normally the last teeth to appear. This usually happens when people are in their late teen years or early twenties -- in other words, when they are older and wiser. Wisdom teeth are molars, or chewing teeth, at the back of ...
What You Can Do to Help Bees chanyi Views 526 Bee expert May Berenbaum knows that many people have an uneasy feeling about bees because they sting. MAY BERENBAUM: "But on the other hand, people all over the world have developed a dependency on the honey bee because it is really the wor...
How to Do It: Making Paper by Hand chanyi Views 562 The earliest process of making paper was done almost five thousand years ago in Egypt and the Nile Valley. In those days, paper was made from strips of the papyrus plant. Modern papermaking began in China about two thousand years ago. This ...
Teaching Children the Power of Music chanyi Views 590 Kid Pan Alley is a nonprofit organization that holds songwriting workshops for students across the United States. The organization recently visited a school in the Anacostia area of Washington. The children presented a concert with the help...
Entrance Exams Cause Problems at University of Liberia chanyi Views 495 From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. Entrance examinations have been causing problems at the University of Liberia in Monrovia. The exams help to decide whom the university will accept as a student. The trouble began aft...
How Stress Affects Mental Bandwidth chanyi Views 602 From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report. New research shows how a lack of money, food or even time can affect decision making and the ability to act. In the book, "Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much," Professors S...
Water Problems in a World of Insecurity chanyi Views 605 An American intelligence report says water-related problems will likely increase tensions around the world in the next ten years. These problems include water shortages, poor water quality and floods. The report says the problems will incre...
Stylist's Job Is to Make Food Look Pretty for the Camera chanyi Views 692 To Lisa Cherkasky, every detail makes a big difference. She is looking for just the right position for this topping on a salmon sandwich. Finally, everything seems picture perfect. Cherkasky is a food stylist. Her job is to make food look t...
Saving Money for College chanyi Views 851 This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, fromhttp://voaspecialenglish.com \|http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish How much does a college education cost? In the United States, the College Board releases yearly reports on prices at ...
Flying Car Moves Closer to Reality chanyi Views 831 You could fill the sky with all the ideas people have had for flying cars. "But at this point the Transition is the closest to actually getting to the marketplace." So says Carl Dietrich, head of Terrafugia. His company in Massachusetts is ...
Mobile Devices' Location Tracking Raises Privacy Concerns chanyi Views 705 This is the VOA Special English Technology Report, fromhttp://voaspecialenglish.com \|http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish American lawmakers have expanded an investigation into the use of location-tracking systems on mobile devices. This ...
Seeing Stars: Amateur Astronomers Aim Thousands of Eyes at the Universe chanyi Views 625 Astronomer Gus Johnson likes the quiet and the dark. But weather conditions are working against him this night near his home in Maryland. GUS JOHNSON: "Well, Jupiter went behind a cloud so we have the moon ... " Johnson has been watching st...
A Whole New World, Brought to Us by Gizmos and Gadgets chanyi Views 762 I'm Alex Villarreal with the VOA Special English Technology Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com \|http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish Today we tell about some of the top technology developments of the last ten years. The technologic...
Building Art Out of Legos chanyi Views 767 Legos are not just for children. They can become works of art in the hands of adults like Nathan Sawaya. NATHAN SAWAYA: I dont notice the time passing. I just, this is what I do and I enjoy it. So I can just work for hours without being int...

No.

Subject

Author

Views