[the_old_crowd] Astronomy Tower

[Shaun Hately]

On 26 Jun 2005 at 7:03, Catlady (Rita Prince Winston) wrote:

> I just had a thought! Why do the kids have to go to the top of the
> tallest tower to look at the stars, when they could look at the
> ceiling of the Great Hall without getting cold and wet?

Well, they do use telescopes - and telescopes really can't be used 
effectively astronomically speaking in heated environments - warm air 
'shimmers' (you can often see this on really hot days), and if you're 
using a telescope in a warm room to look at distant astronomical 
objects, the motion of the air within the room will have a distorting 
effect.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at ... | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia