Re: [ATM] Read and Weep

[Ben McIlwain <cydeweys@gmail.com>]

Richard Ozer wrote:
> The quality of any kind of science reporting has reached an all time 
> low.  Here's one I found the other day
> related to the discovery of an exo-planet orbiting 55 Cancri.
> 
> "The new planet has nearly the same mass and age as our sun, is "easily 
> visible'' with binoculars, and is located in a so-called "habitable zone'',
> a band around the star where the temperature would permit liquid water 
> to pool on solid surfaces, Nasa said."

Holy moly, a planet the same mass as our Sun!  It really makes you
wonder if these writers have even a rudimentary understanding of science
(my guess: no).  Of course, any object as massive as our Sun would
undergo fusion at its core, thus being, by definition, a star, not a
planet.  Hrmmm.  But I digress.

Anyway, I'm hopefully close to done with final figuring on my first
telescope project, an 8"/f6.2 Newtonian.  It's past spherical and
seemingly very close to the ideal paraboloid.  I can't wait to finish.
Hopefully before Comet 17P/Holmes vanishes.
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