Comment Re:But where are the potentional profits? (Score 1) 116
Where did it say that the ARM was a profit driven mission? If it is, why is the taxpayer subsidizing what a private company could do with its own money?
Where did it say that the ARM was a profit driven mission? If it is, why is the taxpayer subsidizing what a private company could do with its own money?
I don't want to excuse the "History" channel's many transgressions (and there are many) but they did air a well received documentary on the subject a couple of years back. Search the intertubes for "WHO REALLY DISCOVERED AMERICA". Most of the theories presented are speculative, though some are supported by circumstancial evidence. No aliens involved (this time).
I am late to the party here, but want to leave one last tidbit: read astronomy journal articles. Many you will not understand, many, you will understand the language, but not the math (especially articles, they omit many many steps since they are so short), but ultimately, you will understand some, and understand the data they took to arrive at a conclusion, and maybe even question the data, the measurement, or the data processing. Maybe even enough to contact the authors and ask for clarification, or suggest alternate methods. At this point, you are doing astronomy. One added bonus to being a college student: Awesome libraries that can access all these journals at no cost to you (except your tuition of course).
Some suggestions for more hands on stuff:
Kewl book: Exoplanet Observing For Amateurs, by Bruce Gary (free! courtesy of the author)
edX Courses: They actually teach from journal articles! Math is at the high school level.
Citizen Science projects:
Find Exoplanets
Dicover and measure KBOs
Age? Phooey on that. Upon completing my 2nd M.S. degree in my mid 50's, I got letters of recommendation for PhD school (which I chose not to pursue).
Not to worry! Jebediah Kerman has been launched in a special purpose rocket and is on his way for rendezvous!
It's an honest question. I've seen many of these on the web over the years but some of the (IMHO) better ones use the web in some clever way, use long contiguous panels, or feature odd page layouts (3099 panels anyone?). How well does xkcd translate to book form?
Not a bad idea, but there is no guarantee Orwell's books will stay on your phone. The US Constitution may fare no better.
Only through hard work and perseverance can one truly suffer.