newbie

[alecras2345]

Hi I don't seem to be getting notified of replies.   I am interested in learning facts about space, so I've been getting facts about the sun and earths moon from NASA website.  I also have a Patrick Moore book which has different figures and information than NASA, but the book is to much to read.  The NASA suite has quick facts but not enough, only a few facts.  Shall I ignore Patrick Moore's book and stick with NASA or what, I don't know what to Do for the best??

[Geoff Lister]

I have "The Observer's Book of Astronomy" authored by Patrick Moore, F.R.A.S., F.R.S.A., published in 1962, at the princely sum of 5 shillings (25p). Since this book was authored, NASA and many other equivalent organisations and individuals, have added to our knowledge of the universe, and our understanding of some of the fundamentals has changed. So, it is quite possible that there are a few aspects of your book that we now know to be wrong, but our history of astronomical discovery, with all its defects, is as important as our current state of knowledge.

So read the book for the background information, and visit the NASA website for the updates and the current state of our knowledge, including the wonderful HST images and the discoveries from the Cassini mission to Saturn.

Geoff

[brantuk]

For the first manned space flight to the moon, NASA didn't know much about the moon and where was a suitable place to land. So they asked Sir Patrick Moore about the moon and what he thought about where to land, because he was the leading authority in the world who had studied the moon more than any one else at that time. Indeed he was NASA's main consultant for the moon landings at the time. And as Geoff says above, that knowledge has developed a lot since the actual landings. So I would think both sources of information are going to be useful.