Sky and Telescope - May 2015 - 8

Letters

Mario Motta is correct in his admonition
to Peter Tyson (S&T: Jan. 2015, p. 6): Do
not "dumb it down." But, then again, you
wouldn't do that as the editor of the best
astronomy magazine going.
Do you realize that Sky & Telescope
is not just an astronomy magazine? We
learn geology, math, history, art, geography, and the biographies of many learned
scientists and people of history - and
surely I'm missing a few categories. In
reading more than 50 years of issues (all
still with me, to my wife's wonderment), I
have learned so much about this wonderful universe and planet that I feel I've
gotten an entire college education. I write
a small astronomy newsletter, and S&T is
invaluable to me in this endeavor. So keep
up the great work.
Al Schober
Ash Fork, Arizona

Grave Findings
I was pleased to read Jason Todoroﬀ 's letter about his search for Charles Messier's
ﬁnal resting place (S&T: Nov. 2014, p.
8), especially when he mentioned that
Wikipedia helped him locate it. I happen
to be the Wikipedian who contributed to
the Messier article about the grave and
how to ﬁnd it, and it was very satisfying
to know that such small eﬀorts (in my
case, very small) do make a diﬀerence. I
too was helped in my search by an earlier,
anonymous astronomy enthusiast. I've
posted the story of my own search in
a short video on YouTube (http://is.gd/
na8FPX), which includes a walk-through
to help fellow Sky & Telescope readers ﬁnd
the grave.
Robin Heisey
Toronto, Ontario

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8

May 2015 sky & telescope

If you stare "through" these two images of Jupiter from March 4th, 2014, you'll see a 3D
image of the planet appear. Once it does, explore the enhanced features you see.

Jupiter in Stereo
One can see a very ﬁne 3D image of Jupiter by staring "through" the two images
taken by Damian Peach in the December 2014 issue (p. 52 and above). The 3D
eﬀect arises from the change in viewing
angle created by the 17-minute delay
between the two images. The diﬀerence
is quite signiﬁcant, even after so little
time, because Jupiter's rotation is so fast
(roughly one rotation every 10 hours).
Keep up your great astronomy reporting. I've read (almost?) every issue since
August 1965!
Bill Fusﬁeld
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Editor's Note: To see the 3D image, hold the
page squarely in front of you, relax your eyes
to look "through" the page into the distance,
and let the two images of Jupiter merge. It
helps to be nearsighted or use reading glasses;
you can also place a thin partition between
the photos so that each eye sees only one.

new observers with their ﬁrst view of
the GRS in my 8-inch scope, a number
of them expressed disappointment and
wondered what all the fuss was about.
Years ago it was easy to see even in
small telescopes, and in larger apertures
you could often observe a distinct brickred color. In fact, while reviewing my old
observing logs recently, I encountered
numerous drawings and descriptions of
the Red Spot as observed with my humble
60-mm refractor. Perhaps most revealing
was an entry made on October 13, 1974,
that notes, "GRS easily seen at 35×!!"
My advice to fellow amateurs is to enjoy
what remains of this iconic feature. Its
glory days may be long gone, but it is still
a viable target. A light blue or yellow-green
eyepiece ﬁlter might help boost its contrast. Also be sure to better prepare new
observers for what they can actually see
- otherwise they might think you've been
staring into the eyepiece for a bit too long.
Frank Ridolfo
Bloomﬁeld, Connecticut

The Not-So-Great Red Spot
Some things in the sky never seem to
change. But other things, like the Great
Red Spot (GRS) of Jupiter, are not so
indelible. Regrettably, over the last few
decades, the GRS has shrunk in size
(S&T: July 2014, p. 16) and become pale
and diﬃcult to spot - especially in
small- to medium-size instruments. Last
year, while providing a young group of

A Really Giant Jupiter?
I always look forward to reading the
observing articles in Sky & Telescope. But
a minor typo in the article about Jupiter at
opposition (S&T: Feb. 2015, p. 52) produced
a mind-blowing "what if?" experience.
°
Imagine looking up and seeing Jupiter 45°
in diameter (as the article states), instead
of the real-life 45 arcseconds - heart-

DAMIAN PEACH

Staying the Course at S&T
http://is.gd/na8FPX http://is.gd/na8FPX
Sky and Telescope - May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - May 2015
