Title:
Seeing Stars: Amateur Astronomers Aim Thousands of
Eyes at the Universe
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
Astronomer Gus Johnson likes the quiet and the dark.
But weather conditions are working against him this
night near his home in Maryland.
GUS JOHNSON: "Well, Jupiter went behind a cloud so
we have the moon ... "
Johnson has been watching stars for 50 years. He
remembers hundreds of star positions and he loves to
share what he knows.
GUS JOHNSON: "That planet has a diameter 11 times
that of the Earth."
In 1979, Johnson discovered a supernova, or
exploding star. Scientists now believe his supernova
is the newest and nearest black hole.
GUS JOHNSON: "That's the supernova right there. When
I came to M100 [galaxy], there was this other little
star that for some reason caught my attention. I
don't know why. And later on, I checked the
photograph, and it wasn't on the photograph. And
that proved to be the Supernova SN 1979c."
Was he happy with the discovery?
GUS JOHNSON: "Yes, I was. And I am, and thankful too
because so few people actually get to discover
things."
Scientists believe that black holes are often
created. But to see it happen is extremely rare. Kim
Weaver is an astrophysicist. Last year, she and
other scientists announced that Johnson's supernova
was probably the birth of a black hole.
KIM WEAVER: "We want to watch how this system
evolves and changes in its youthful stages from when
it's first born to when it grows into a child and a
teenager."
Some astronomers dismiss the work of what they call
citizen scientists. But Weaver says these amateur
astronomers do put thousands more eyes on the
universe.
KIM WEAVER: "They don't have access to the large
telescopes that professionals have access to. But
what they can do is they have [the] freedom to be
able to use smaller telescopes any time they want to
look all over the sky."
Caroline Moore and her father are amateur
astronomers.
CAROLINE MOORE: "This was the first telescope that I
had ever got." The Moores made an observatory behind
their home in New York State. Caroline made a major
discovery two years ago, when she was only 14. She
studied hundreds of images with a computer as part
of a search team.
CAROLINE MOORE: "I discovered the least luminous
supernova ever to be observed, which is a ... and I
am the youngest person to discover a supernova so it
kind of makes it a double interesting thing."
Back in Maryland, Gus Johnson observes fresh-fallen
snow and an ice-covered lake. There is something
almost sad about his intense love of the
environment. Was he looking for a supernova that
night long ago?
GUS JOHNSON: "Nope. It was entirely accidental. It's
kind of the grand realities of existence. The earth
and everything we know is such a minute part of the
whole universe. Watching the creation of God ...
that's pretty spectacular." I'm Christopher Cruise.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
To post a comment:
• Click "Comment using..." in
the window below
• Click your favorite service: Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail
• Login to the service
• Click "Add a comment..."
• Post your comment in the window
Students: Please post a
comment stating what you found interesting about this video. You are
welcome to include links to your English study blogs and any
other materials you think might be useful for learning
English.
Teachers: Please post your
thoughts about this video. You are welcome to include links to
your sites, blogs, and any other materials you think might
be useful for learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
