One of the earliest known calamities of this category occurred at the Allegheny Observatory, in Pittsburgh, in 1872. (Webb is particularly enticing with 18 gold-plated mirrors arranged in a honeycomb shape, the instrument will be perhaps the most ornate telescope in space.) The history of astronomy research is sprinkled with shipping mishaps and sinister plots, driven by very earthly motivations. Telescopes are strange, elaborate, expensive objects, and they attract attention. But the concern is not entirely unfounded. All this secrecy is just one more precaution. There are many more realistic circumstances that could derail the mission than marauders at sea, but for a project that has been through so much-for a telescope that was initially supposed to launch in 2007, the year the first iPhone was released-pirates might as well happen too.Ī NASA spokesperson told me Webb will sail sometime in late July or mid-August, but did not respond to questions about specific measures, such as whether the U.S. The James Webb space telescope has taken far longer to develop than anyone anticipated after more than 20 years of work, it’s finally supposed to launch in late October. But the playful commentary carried a hint of unease. When Conselice tweeted about the meeting, other scientists responded with jokes about swashbucklers and st arrrs. “Why would you announce that you’re going to be shipping on a certain day something that is worth over $10 billion,” he explained to me, “that you could easily put in a boat” and sail away with? Christopher Conselice, an astrophysicist at the University of Manchester who attended the meeting, was at first baffled by the concern because, well, pirates, but it quickly clicked. Its departure date will be kept secret, someone said at the meeting, to protect against pirates who might want to capture the precious cargo and hold it for ransom. Webb, with a mirror as tall as a two-story building and a protective shield the size of a tennis court, is too large for a plane. Later this year, the telescope will travel by ship to a launch site in South America, passing through the Panama Canal to reach French Guiana. The topic came up at a recent meeting about NASA’s James Webb space telescope, named for a former administrator of the space agency. So, naturally, the people responsible for the telescope’s safety are now thinking about pirates. Name a problem, and this telescope-meant to be the most powerful of its kind, a worthy successor to the famous Hubble- has faced it: poor management, technical errors, budget overruns, schedule delays, and a pandemic. Invented in 1730 by John Haddley, it was widely used for many, many years before modernization took over.NASA’s new space telescope has had a rough go. The octant made it much easier to take sightings of the sun, moon, and stars from the deck of a ship via two small mirrors which allowed the user to see the moon/sun and horizon at the same time. It enabled pirates and sailors to navigate by using the sun and North-Star through the measuring of their altitude above the horizon, and was surprisingly accurate. The Astrolabe was invented at the end of the 15th century and was in use for the next 200 years or so. There was also a piece of string knowns as “gnomon” which was stretched between the upper and lower leaves in order to be used in taking measurements. The upper two leaves show the times of day, planetary hours, and the relative positions of the planets while the lower leaf shows latitude measurements for Europe. The Diptych Dial was invented in the 17th century and served as a kind of compendium for the calculating time and direction. This needle could then be used to steer by. Lodestone is a naturally magnetic rock which magnetized when a needle was pressed against it. The lodestone was used before the advent of the compass in order to aid navigation. Much of the time the ship’s compass would be mounted on pivoting rings called gimbals which left the needle free to move and allowed for surprising accuracy. When the compass came out of development navigation of the world’s oceans became much easier. Pirates also used telescopes to spot potential victims and enemy ships. Called the “bring ‘em near” this bit of kit allowed for the sighting of landmarks at a distance and helped the seamen to set a course in advance. The telescope revolutionized travel around the world after its invention in the 17th century. Take a look at the technology in use during the Golden Age of Pirates. Though they didn’t have GPS and iPhones, but they still had navigational tools which helped them to get about with ease and style.
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