For more images of the type seen in a medium-sized telescope,
see the thumbnail photos of Messier objects. The Messier
objects are among the most interesting and sought after, and
include nebulae, star clusters and galaxies. On a
given night, one might see a half-dozen Messier objects during each hour
of observation. It can take months for a dedicated amateur astronomer to see them all and few
actually achieve this accomplishment. At the
Messier page of
the Virtual Amateur Astronomer®, you can with a broad band connection
see spectacular images of all these objects in just a few hours!
Amateur observations are limited
by non-ideal viewing conditions created by haze, atmospheric
turbulence, and street lights. In contrast, the professor astronomer
has access to powerful telescopes,
modern electronic imaging processing by charged coupled devices, and, in the case of the Hubble Space
Telescope, a view of the Universe from above the atmosphere. The other webpages
of the Virtual Amateur Astronomer® present some of the finest images of astrophysical
objects found on the Internet. Given the beautiful colors and breath-taking details, there
is less motivation for one to use the old-fashion, 6-inch telescope when the technology
of the Internet can bring amazing astrophysical photos to your computer screen
with the click of the mouse. The only tool one needs is a broad-band connection.
The above is brought to you by Jupiter Scientific,
an organization devoted to the promotion of
science through books, the internet
and other means of communication.
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