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Solar system loosing protective shield

Solar system loosing protective shield

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Our Earth is one of the planets rotating around the sun but a little known fact is that the sun has protected our solar system through its internal spewing of a solar wind outward to form an invisible bubble called the heliosphere.  The sun is a gigantic fire hose spewing all kinds of particles in all directions.  At the point which the wind slows down to a stop is called the “termination shock”.   Where the stuff from the sun balances with the stuff from outside our galaxy is called the heliopause, just beyond the outer limits of our solar system.  Problem is this.  Over time, the wind jetting outward from the sun has coled a bit decreased in pressure and density.  This is sort of like blowing up a balloon but you can no longer push air into the balloon and it collapses a bit.  More bad stuff is getting in, past the shield.  So this bubble protects us from what?  Cosmic rays coming at us from all those other stars and black holes.  But wait, Earth seem to have a second protective barrier, Earth’s magnetic field. Wait again, some scientists think that more cosmic rays entering our atmosphere, due to the heliosphere break down, might make for more clouds and climate change.  Is it global warming created by man that is responsible for the North Pole ice fields to receed or the sun going through a cycle or unending diminishing of solar wind leading that allows cosmic rays to penetrate deeper into our skys?  Scientists have for the past 50 years been measuring and trying to understand this rather complicated process.  You might want to be aware of this development and look out for further research findings in the future in your news papers, magazines and scientific web sites.

Astronomy book by Ian Ridpath, (out of print)

Astronomy book by Ian Ridpath, (out of print)

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I then went to a used book store in Yorba Linda called Books Redux and purchased a wonderful astronomy book by Ian Ridpath. It was a American Nature Guide series called Astronomy and Gallery Books is the publisher. The cost was $4.00 and some change for the state tax. The book was copywrited 1990 but most astronomy books do not go out of date that quickly. The book is terrific. The explanations are concise and explained very well. The page material is almost cardboard thick. The binding is spiral so the book lays flat which is really neat for the star charts. The star charts are quite good, done by Wil Tirion. The printing is color and black and white and very good quality. I did find the star charts a bit hard to see with the star chart size being so small and resulting print size so small. I would carry a magnifying lens to view the star charts. The moon feature part of the book is simply terrific. I have not seen many books that offer both moon features and star charts under one cover. The instrument and observing chapter is a bit thin but the rest of the book is simply all there. The size is not that large, about 5″ and 7 1/2″, not shirt pocket but small enough to throw in the tripod bag. The weight is not back pack friendly, if you are looking for a book to take while camping out (Collins gem Stars should be considered instead, same authors as above). I do recommend this book to be used with your telescope. It is worth keeping an eye out for at book sales and garage sales. Also, check Internet sales.

I really recommend that this book be updated and released again with the same wonderful features.

Accessories for the telescope.

Accessories for the telescope.

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I went back to the Discovery Store to find they now had discounted the Meade accessories by 40%. I picked up a series 4000 9.7 Super Plossi lens for just under $30. I went back to the store later that day to pick up a 45 degree erecting prism, for $25.00, not for my scope but I wanted to try it. I got a telenegative Barlow Lens for $26.50, and a Series 4000 12.4mm Super Plossi lens. I already had a regular 12.4mm and 9.7mm but had read that the 4000 glass was superior. This 12.4 model 4000 lens cost $29.40.

The store manager was in the store for my second visit and I asked about the CCD camera deal for buying a new telescope. She told me I could have one if I were to drive to her Mission Viejo store. It would cost me one penny. I jumped in my truck and tore down the 57 to the 5 freeway and landed in that store within 45 minutes. They had the Deep Sky Imager Pro with AutoStar Suite waiting for me and the cost was one penny.

New telescope.

New telescope.

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My son and I were walking through the Brea Mall and I spotted the Discovery Store had a sale. We entered and found out that the store was closing down in a few months. The company was retreating to Internet sales only. By August the stores expected to close their doors. Immediately, I took a look at the Meade telescopes. I had always wanted a good telescope but could not afford one. They were marked down 30%. I jotted down the model numbers and prices. When I got home I went on the Internet. I found three telescopes that I wanted. My family talked me out of the $1,400 one, a Meade LX90 LNT. I looked at the ETX-125 PE and it was my next choice. I went to the store again and it was sold. I wrote an e-mail to one of the Orange County (California) Astronomers guru’s to ask for some advice and here is part of his reply:

“Big question on what telescope to buy…..
As a general rule one should not buy a telescope without knowing a lot about it., especially if you are interested in photography. The Orange County Astronomy has a beginner’s class to deal with these types of questions, unfortunately we have just completed the sessions regarding telescopes and that doesn’t help you if you must decide in the next few days…. first decision is whether you want to do photography and then what type of photography (in other words what kind of camera you will be using?)
If you want to do top quality photography with a CCD specialized camera, then you should probably go with a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
of no less than 8 inch aperture with a very stable mount…..cost $1800-$2000 and above without camera, or eyepieces. If you just want to take a picture using your digital camera or web camera then about any telescope with a motor drive can be used to take a picture of moon & planets. If you don’t want to take pictures then the Dobsonian type telescopes offer larger aperture for less money. Once this decision is made than you want to purchase the largest aperture telescope you can afford, store, lift and transport.

I wouldn’t purchase your first scope to take pictures (8inch or larger scope)……I would recommend spending a lot less money to get a 3-5 inch aperture Go-to-scope first…..if you stay interested then upgrade to a telescope to do good quality photography at a later time.

The Meade ETX -90 would be a good first choice…….the ETX-70 is a little small unless you plan on backpacking with it and want a lighter scope or the ETX-90 is more money than you wanted to spend. I would not recommend anything less than a 70 mm aperture (ETX-70).”

Good advice. I went back to the Brea store and purchased the ETX-90PE for $527.22. I was later to discover that this purchase gave me credit to help pay for some lenses in a few days.

 

 

Updated Tags: May 18, 2019