WHAT TO BELIEVE

by Terence Dickinson
SkyNews Editor

I have always been fascinated with the difference between what I regard as "public astronomy," by which I mean the tidbits of celestial knowledge that one hears in coffee-shop or office water-cooler conversation, and the telescope/astronomy-laden talk commonly heard among backyard skywatchers. Not too surprisingly, there can be a world of difference.

For example, one water-cooler topic recently was the "Mars Spectacular" e-mail making the rounds in August. You probably know the one. It claimed that Mars would look as large as the Full Moon on August 27 at 12:30 a.m. "It will look like the Earth has two moons!" the message proclaimed. Nonsense, of course. It was a hoax.

Yet, in late August I had a few newspaper and radio station news people calling checking just in case it was true. I guess I've been immersed in astronomy too long, but how could any adult even think for a moment that the sky would suddenly have two moons--and that the ONLY way people are finding out about it is through spam e-mail and coffee shop conversations! (For details on how the hoax got started, see the excellent website www.snopes.com)

I suppose I could fly off the handle on a rant at this point about the state of critical thinking and lack of science literacy among the general public. But I won't. Furthermore, I shouldn't. The world is not going you-know-where in a handbasket. Here in this country, people are better educated than ever before, and, in my view at least, more civilized than ever before.

The fact is, knowledge of astronomy is nice to have, but it is not something one needs to know as an essential life skill, such as the ability to read well in at least one language, and the ability to managing your personal finances. I long ago accepted that most folks neither know much nor care much about astronomy. Many are interested and would like to know more about the cosmos but there are always other priorities.

With this in mind, I have always found particular fascination with polls conducted by reputable polling firms that include astronomy-related questions. One that caught my eye recently was a poll of 1000 adults in the United States showing that 57 percent say it is "somewhat" or "very likely" that life exists on other planets. The survey, conducted by the Rasmussen polling firm, found that 35 percent say life on other planets is not very likely, or not at all likely.

I wasn't at all surprised. I've been following this line of polling question for decades. The figures just mentioned are almost identical to earlier surveys conducted since the space age began 50 years ago. Thus, more than half of the population think we are not alone in the universe, and about one third say the reverse.

And it's not just in the USA. The figures are almost the same in the several similar surveys conducted in Canada on this subject since the 1960s. Perhaps predictably, younger adults are more likely to think life will be found on other planets than their elders. Seventy-three percent of adults under 30 say it's likely or very likely that life exists elsewhere in the universe. Among seniors, just 38% say it's likely or very likely that life exists on other planets. On this question, men and women think about the same. Across all age groups, there are few significant differences in the responses between men and women.

The survey was conducted during the June mission of the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station, a mission seen by those surveyed as so routine that few were paying any attention to it. Specifically, only 9% said that they were following stories of the mission on a daily basis, a significantly lower percentage than a generation ago. Even so, 72% still maintain a favorable opinion of the manned space program, only slightly less than a generation ago.

I think it's safe to assume that when asked a general question like, "Do you think it's likely that life exits on other planets?" as asked in this poll, most people automatically think of creatures more or less like humans rather than lower forms of life. Thus, what the poll tells us is that more than half of the adult population think we are not alone in the universe, and that creatures something like us are out there.

Celestial Observing Tips, September 2007

by Todd Carlson
SkyNews Assistant Editor

1) The Moon is beside Mars on September 5. Rising in the east after midnight, Mars appears as a moderately bright "star" to the right of the Moon. Mars will continue to increase in brightness as it approaches opposition in December. Most backyard astronomy telescopes won't show any detail on the small desert planet until late November. Keep in mind that two ride-on lawn mower-sized robotic spacecraft, Spirit and Opportunity, continue to explore Mars at this very moment.

2) On the morning of September 9, the thin crescent Moon is to the left of Venus close to the eastern horizon near 5:00 a.m. A viewing location with an unobstructed horizon offers the best opportunity for viewing the pair.

3) The Moon is beside Jupiter in the evening sky on September 18. Found low along the southwestern horizon, Jupiter is bright and easy to identify. When viewed with binoculars, up to four of the planet's moons are visible - appearing as tiny stars - on either side of the planet.

4) The first two weeks of September present the first opportunity to observe the Andromeda galaxy (M31) in the late evening sky. This is the most distant object visible to the unaided eye. Through binoculars, the galaxy appears as a distinct oval-shaped smudge, easily discerned from nearby stars (provide you are well away from light polluted skies). With a 6-inch or larger telescope, dust lanes and two companion galaxies, M32 and M110 can be seen. M31 is approximately 2.4 million light-years away.