06-26-2015, 06:58 PM
Just a quick post to address some of Pahoated's usual misinformation.
"Optical telescopes require large focusing mirrors."
No they don't. Focusing is generally done by a combination of the secondary mirror and optics inside the instrument, all relatively small mirrors or detectors.
"The James Weber optical telescope is the next space based telescope [...]"
That'll be the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is an infrared telescope, not optical.
"There are trillions of objects to be observed and studied, an optical telescope can only focus on one thing at a time."
Yet our telescope managed to observe a million stars in one observation. The stars are at an effective focus of infinity. You do not need to focus a telescope on each star or galaxy.
"There is also a big transition going on. Just as astronomers replaced astrologers (for the most part), we are entering a time when astrophysicists and computer programmers are replacing astronomers."
This is just ridiculous and quite ignorant. These days astronomers = astrophysicists and vice versa. I'm an astronomer yet my higher degree is in astrophysics. Most astronomers have a physics background. As for computer programmers, do most have the skills to carry out individual astronomical research? I think not.
"If you see how UH Manoa is processing data from the Mauna Kea observatories, it is banks of computer programmers connected to a supercomputer."
I don't even know where to start with this one. Nearly all of the Mauna Kea observatories reduce data in-house or send the raw data elsewhere for reduction, certainly not UH. PT's claim is pure fantasy.
"Optical telescopes require large focusing mirrors."
No they don't. Focusing is generally done by a combination of the secondary mirror and optics inside the instrument, all relatively small mirrors or detectors.
"The James Weber optical telescope is the next space based telescope [...]"
That'll be the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is an infrared telescope, not optical.
"There are trillions of objects to be observed and studied, an optical telescope can only focus on one thing at a time."
Yet our telescope managed to observe a million stars in one observation. The stars are at an effective focus of infinity. You do not need to focus a telescope on each star or galaxy.
"There is also a big transition going on. Just as astronomers replaced astrologers (for the most part), we are entering a time when astrophysicists and computer programmers are replacing astronomers."
This is just ridiculous and quite ignorant. These days astronomers = astrophysicists and vice versa. I'm an astronomer yet my higher degree is in astrophysics. Most astronomers have a physics background. As for computer programmers, do most have the skills to carry out individual astronomical research? I think not.
"If you see how UH Manoa is processing data from the Mauna Kea observatories, it is banks of computer programmers connected to a supercomputer."
I don't even know where to start with this one. Nearly all of the Mauna Kea observatories reduce data in-house or send the raw data elsewhere for reduction, certainly not UH. PT's claim is pure fantasy.