Frequently, when we are discussing astronomy with customers (it comes with the territory when you sell telescopes) the subject of Pluto comes up and the customer usually asks us: “So, what happened to Pluto? All of a sudden they decide it isn’t a planet? What do you think of that?!”. A lot of these folks […]
400 years ago today Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter. Thus beginning one of the most important events in science/astronomy history. Frankly, I don’t have the words to describe this event and its importance, especially when there are those who do it so much better. I am speaking of Phil Plaitt, the Bad Astronomer:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/01/07/the-galilean-revolution-400-years-later/
If you […]
To remind you that it was 400 years ago this day (8/25) that Galileo first presented his telescope to the merchants of Venice.
This was just his public presentation, mind you. It was not when he actually observed the heavens or wrote his famous publications.
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Galileo Thermometers are a classic and gorgeous way to keep track of the temperature.
The original concept behind the Galileo thermometer was originally conceived by (duh) Galileo. However, there is no evidence that he actually built one. But they still bear his name today.
The concept is simple, but the execution is difficult. Galileo thermometers work because […]
Spectrum Scientifics has recently been able to add three great new wood siege weapon models to our product line: A medieval catapult, a working wood trebuchet, and a wood siege tower!. All of these models are made of solid wood and are fully functional. They even include lumps of clay to toss!
First up is the […]
On or about October 2nd, 1608, Hans Lipperhey, a spectacle maker living in the Netherlands, announced his new invention: The telescope. Legends have abounded as to how it was developed: Hans was trying to inspect one lens with another, children were playing with his lenses and discovered the effect. In any case, Hans had developed […]
Today marks the 50th anniversery of the founding of NASA. NASA was born in reaction to the Soviet Union launching the world’s first satellite, Sputnik. Prior to NASA, the American space program was a mish-mash of various programs in various military branches and other public and private organizations.
NASA had its work cut out for […]
