PBS Film "Seeing In The Dark"

[herbhighstone]

Hello to all the folks --

I'd like to highly recommend a new Public Broadcasting System film by Timothy Ferris entitled "Seeing In The Dark." This film echoes various themes from Ferris's book with the same title that describes the present condition of amateur astromomy in the United States. Here we have a subject that is almost totally absent from the mainstream media, which makes this movie all the more valuable.

The film ranges widely in its subjects, from technology to biography, and even includes the beginning of a filmography of E.E. Barnard, a segment that was so well done that I'd love to see a full-length film bio of this great observer done with the same care and authenticity. Mr. Ferris? Are you listening? "Seeing In The Dark" displays some of the marvelous wide-field images that Barnard shot of the Milky Way. These astonishing photos would look just fine even today on any astronomer's wall, and they were made with impossibly primitive equipment way back in the 1890's.

Digital imaging and remotely-operated scopes are naturally given a lot of time. The heaviest emphasis is on the whining motors of go-to mounts and the display of digital images on video monitors. But the traditional, eyepiece observers also get a few moments. This was the first video that I've ever seen of Barbara Wilson, the legendary visual observer who has seen (and shown to others!) so many sky objects that are supposed to be impossible for the human eye to grasp.

Barbara, you may recall, was the observer who was once subjected to a vicious verbal rant from a cigarette-chomping oaf whose nicotine-soaked eyeballs couldn't take in what she was seeing. We need to remember that there are always a few bad apples in every barrel, and that includes amateur astronomy.

The film also shows a fantastic place called New Mexico Skies, where there is a whole field of domes with amateur, digitally-controlled telescopes that can transmit images just about anywhere. You just rent your dome, and you're off and running. Thus observers thousands of miles away can grab wonderful deep sky images from the extremely dark and clear New Mexico atmosphere. The film displayed a very fast setup of a new scope at this facility. It took only a few hours to install the scope and set up the digital modem to transmit images anywhere that the internet can reach. Simply unbelievable!

The only problem with this movie is that it is much too short. I'd love to see a whole series of similar programs. Timothy Ferris deserves our very best congratulations for spending so much of his time and money to make this film possible.

There is a "seeing in the dark" section in the web site pbs.org if you'd like further information.

Best wishes from Herbert Highstone

[Jim Fusco]

Thanks Herbert, This looks good. I had to hook up the old antenna, Direct TV isn't showing it tonight. The site is interesting they have a nice sky map http://63.69.52.110/sid2/starchart.a...6671#showchart
I notice S+T didn't show Uranus on theirs, but this map is nice.

Jim Fusco