Mike Loffland
Web Guru (Astronomics)
Reged: 09/03/04
Posts: 2080
Loc: Norman, Oklahoma
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Bikini Bottom
By: Phil Harrington
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turtle86
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 662
Loc: Red Sox Nation
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Nice article. Until reading it, I always thought of the asterism in Capricorn as a smile or crescent. From now on, it's bikini bottom for me!
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Mike Lynch
member
Reged: 04/07/06
Posts: 52
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Phil,
Ah, yes... ANOTHER reason to gaze at the "heavenly bodies" the sky offers us. 
Just clear out the clouds and turn off that big loonie light up there!!
Mike Lynch
Frankfort KY USA
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Jim Rosenstock
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 3708
Loc: MD, south of the DC Nebula
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Hmmmmm...interesting re-naming of an old constellation, Phil. Bet it resulted in quite a few extra "hits" for your article! 
Now, where's that pesky Coppertone Dog constellation, when we really need him?? 
Jim
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spaceydee
Postmaster
Reged: 04/16/04
Posts: 16116
Loc: Where the Kittens Are
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I believe Jupiter is stil referred to as a gas giant, so I'm not sure I would call it an error.
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Dee
space-scientist
student violinist
Nexstar8i,SV80S,80/9D,FC100,94 Brandon,TMB92SS,GM8
8" f/7 Discovery,12.5" Portaball, PST
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Jim Rosenstock
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 3708
Loc: MD, south of the DC Nebula
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Quote:
I believe Jupiter is stil referred to as a gas giant, so I'm not sure I would call it an error.
Q: How many legs does a horse have, if you call his tail a leg?
A: Four. Calling his tail a leg does not make it a leg.
--A. Lincoln
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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless
Reged: 05/26/05
Posts: 13421
Loc: Oort Cloud
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These guys still refer to Jupiter as a gas giant, despite what Mr. Harrington sez... 
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A few telescopes of dubious value.
Understanding wife, two curious cats and one sadly departed.
"Semper ubi sub ubi"
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billyo
member
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 72
Loc: TEXAS
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Quote:
These guys still refer to Jupiter as a gas giant, despite what Mr. Harrington sez...
Jupiter is called a gas giant. To try to change its name seems a bit arrogant to me.
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Jim Rosenstock
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 3708
Loc: MD, south of the DC Nebula
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Quote:
Quote:
These guys still refer to Jupiter as a gas giant, despite what Mr. Harrington sez...
Jupiter is called a gas giant. To try to change its name seems a bit arrogant to me.
Perhaps we should turn this matter over to the IAU, since they did such a fine job with Pluto recently... 
Whatever. I think it was Phil's intention--as an aside--to note that the term "Gas Giant" is somewhat of a misnomer, not to initiate a crusade.
Errrr....and good article, BTW, Phil!
Jim
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 277
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Quote:
Jupiter is called a gas giant. To try to change its name seems a bit arrogant to me.
Arrogant? No, that's not my intention. Just trying to correct a common misconception. Most of Jupiter is metallic hydrogen, which is liquefied.
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Phil Harrington
Contributing editor, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
Binocular Universe
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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Man in a Tub
Not Retired!, But a little cranky!!!
Reged: 10/28/08
Posts: 2014
Loc: San Francisco, CA
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Refinements to one's understanding are always in order. That's science.
Perhaps this link to a Wikipedia article on Gas Giants might help.
Imagination is a wonderful thing. Bikini Bottom? Sure enough. Well, at least on paper. Light pollution is a drag. In Stephen O'Meara's Observing the Night Sky With Binoculars, he mentions that some amateurs think Capricornus looks like a B2 Stealth Bomber. That works for me too!
Now if the infernal fog would just go away, I've got those three Messier objects to catch. Neptune is also fun to watch because right now it's in retrograde. It's visible here in all of my binoculars.
I came close to posting in the Binocular Forum: "Hey, Where's Phil?" This article was little later than the preceding ones.
Clear Skies if you can get 'em!
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Todd
Brunton Eterna 15x51 ° Garrett Optical Signature Series 15x70
Nikon Action EX 12x50 ° Oberwerk 15x60 and 20x80 Standard
Orion Paragon Plus Mount and Paragon XHD Tripod
Garrett Optical Series 2000 Grip-Action Monopod
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timmbottoni
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 1242
Loc: W Chicago suburbs, IL USA
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Nice Article!
Thanks Phil
Timm
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WO Megrez 80FD, Celestron C8, WO SWAN 33mm, UWANs 4mm, 7mm, 16mm, WO SPLs 3mm, 6mm, 12.5mm, WO Zoom II 7.5-22.5, WO EZTouch, SV F50B2 Finder
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 277
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Quote:
I came close to posting in the Binocular Forum: "Hey, Where's Phil?" This article was little later than the preceding ones.
I believe the delay had to do with the site maintenance that was going on a week ago. It's nice to know that I was missed! 
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Phil Harrington
Contributing editor, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
Binocular Universe
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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