Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...

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STAR HUSTLERS 243 The star “Philip Cary Plait”—a/k/a BD+48º 683—lurking not very obviously in a field of thousands of other stars. The image shown is 1 degree across, roughly twice the size of the full Moon on the sky. Image © 1995–2000 by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. The Digitized Sky Survey was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute under U.S. Government grant NAG W-2166. (The images of these surveys are based on photographic data obtained using the Oschin Schmidt Telescope on Palomar Mountain and the UK Schmidt Telescope. The plates were processed into compressed digital form with the permission of these institutions.) on the planet. In the end, I think they have the edge in the naming business. So if you really want to buy a star, I urge you not to throw your money at these companies. You could just go out and buy some nice graphics software and make your own star-naming certificate, then pick any one you want, even the brightest in the night sky, and it’s just as official.
244 BEAM ME UP And I have an even better idea. Most observatories and planetaria are strapped for cash. Instead of buying a star, you could give them a donation to sponsor educational programs. That way, instead of just having one star you’ve never seen named for you, you’ll be giving hundreds or thousands of people a chance to see all the stars in the sky. Remember—the stars are for everyone, and they’re free. Why not go to your local observatory and take a peek?
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Bad Astronomy PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
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Bad Astronomy PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
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CONTENTS Introduction 1 PART I Bad
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CONTENTS vii Recommended Reading 25
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2 BAD ASTRONOMY luminous, against a
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4 BAD ASTRONOMY who fully well knew
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6 BAD ASTRONOMY But if they cannot
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PART I PPPPPP Bad Astronomy Begins
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1 PPPPPP The Yolk’s on You: Egg B
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THE YOLK’S ON YOU 13 and they mak
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THE YOLK’S ON YOU 15 ished announ
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THE YOLK’S ON YOU 17 Of course it
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THE YOLK’S ON YOU 19 with the wea
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2 PPPPPP Flushed with Embarrassment
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FLUSHED WITH EMBARRASSMENT 23 much
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FLUSHED WITH EMBARRASSMENT 25 Equat
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FLUSHED WITH EMBARRASSMENT 27 still
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IDIOM’S DELIGHT 29 press my heigh
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IDIOM’S DELIGHT 31 friend about w
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IDIOM’S DELIGHT 33 Incidentally,
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IDIOM’S DELIGHT 35 So you might c
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38 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON and t
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40 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON body
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42 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON red l
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44 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON top o
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46 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON photo
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5 PPPPPP A Dash of Seasons: Why Sum
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50 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON Clear
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52 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON Equat
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54 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON Howev
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56 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON the S
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58 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON These
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60 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON the d
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62 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON That
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7 PPPPPP The Gravity of the Situati
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66 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON is co
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68 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON a poi
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70 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON you
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72 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON Moon,
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74 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON that
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76 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON galax
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78 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON that
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80 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON exact
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82 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON The P
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84 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON But n
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86 FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON of th
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88 SKIES AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGH
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100 SKIES AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIG
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13 PPPPPP Shadows in the Sky: Eclip
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16 PPPPPP When the Universe Throws
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PART IV PPPPPPP Artificial Intellig
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17 PPPPPP Appalled at Apollo: Uncov
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 157 My question
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 159 Admittedly,
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 161 These belts
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 163 solid-state
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 165 However, you
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 167 flow well be
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 169 One of the m
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 171 The shadows
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APPALLED AT APOLLO 173 they put tog
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WORLDS IN DERISION 175 Many people
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WORLDS IN DERISION 177 Today, we wo
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WORLDS IN DERISION 179 do now for t
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WORLDS IN DERISION 181 This premise
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WORLDS IN DERISION 183 Venus’ orb
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WORLDS IN DERISION 185 or mainstrea
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19 PPPPPP In the Beginning: Creatio
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IN THE BEGINNING 189 want to believ
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IN THE BEGINNING 191 squarely at th
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Page 206 and 207: IN THE BEGINNING 195 it’s natural
Page 208 and 209: ( a.) ( b.) ( c.) IN THE BEGINNING
Page 210 and 211: IN THE BEGINNING 199 their lives, e
Page 212 and 213: IN THE BEGINNING 201 ence isn’t l
Page 214 and 215: MISIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS 203 la
Page 216 and 217: MISIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS 205 In
Page 218 and 219: MISIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS 207 an
Page 220 and 221: MISIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS 209 Ne
Page 222 and 223: MISIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS 211 ni
Page 224 and 225: MARS IS IN THE SEVENTH HOUSE 213 Th
Page 226 and 227: MARS IS IN THE SEVENTH HOUSE 215 as
Page 228 and 229: MARS IS IN THE SEVENTH HOUSE 217 Mi
Page 230 and 231: MARS IS IN THE SEVENTH HOUSE 219 of
Page 232 and 233: PART V PPPPPP Beam Me Up We’ve tr
Page 234 and 235: 22 PPPPPP Hubble Trouble: Hubble Sp
Page 236 and 237: HUBBLE TROUBLE 225 The Hubble Space
Page 238 and 239: HUBBLE TROUBLE 227 A DROP IN THE BU
Page 240 and 241: HUBBLE TROUBLE 229 for space telesc
Page 242 and 243: HUBBLE TROUBLE 231 staking your sci
Page 244 and 245: HUBBLE TROUBLE 233 also used to say
Page 246 and 247: HUBBLE TROUBLE 235 can assure you t
Page 248 and 249: STAR HUSTLERS 237 That’s a tall o
Page 250 and 251: STAR HUSTLERS 239 the names aren’
Page 252 and 253: STAR HUSTLERS 241 I’ll note that
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Page 258 and 259: BAD ASTRONOMY GOES HOLLYWOOD 247 ar
Page 260 and 261: BAD ASTRONOMY GOES HOLLYWOOD 249 si
Page 262 and 263: BAD ASTRONOMY GOES HOLLYWOOD 251 it
Page 264 and 265: BAD ASTRONOMY GOES HOLLYWOOD 253 Tr
Page 266 and 267: BAD ASTRONOMY GOES HOLLYWOOD 255 In
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Page 271 and 272: 260 RECOMMENDED READING with the ma
Page 273 and 274: 262 RECOMMENDED READING One of the
Page 275 and 276: 264 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Vergano, for gi
Page 277 and 278: 266 INDEX “Astrology: Science or
Page 279 and 280: 268 INDEX earthquakes, 130, 182 pla
Page 281 and 282: 270 INDEX Islam, 58-59 “It’s Sp
Page 283 and 284: 272 INDEX neutrons, 34 in stars, 98
Page 285 and 286: 274 INDEX Sirius, 100, 107 size con
Page 287 and 288: 276 INDEX triangles, 148 true scien
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