eCosmology

Do you think astronomy professors appreciate all the TIME we save them...?

By showing their students how to reduce orbital elements and a time to a state vector, and then go back the other way, with a couple of pages of equations and text? Doesn't that leave the teacher free to pursue other things while his students quickly apprehend the material he would otherwise have to spend six weeks or so pounding into their heads? When we show the kids how to generate an ephemeris for the sky position of an asteroid, that's helpful to the astronomy professor, right? And when, in a somewhat more lengthy answer, we reduce the determination of an orbit from three observations with the method Gauss to a "cookbook" procedure, the teacher should be overjoyed because of the time we've saved him. Yes? Is there any reason for why astronomy professors in general would be annoyed at us? oklatonola, here you go. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090212065710AA8O01g In one of my earlier accounts, my user name was "Dump the Liberals Into Jupiter."

Public Comments

1. ...cause we're taking their job?
2. Exactly where have you shown any one how generate an ephemeris for the sky position of any asteroid or planets with a few pages of equations. Please provide a link to where you have done this. How can you be so sure that the students even understand how to make the three observations to determine the orbit with a cookbook procedure. How are you sure the your students even understand what a vector is? Many don't understand this at all. The only reason I finally really understood what a vector is is because I was trying to figure it out when my dad was taking me to a physics class and he made left turn to cross the trolley tracks at slightly more than 20 mph so that may body swayed from inertial to try to keep going down Carrolton Ave in New Orleans. I had light bulb moment of understanding that velocity was a vector force and exactly what a vector is. Your assumption that every one understands this admittedly simple concept is arrogant. Why should any professor thank any arrogant smart aleck for saving them time when they are paid to teach students this and you aren't? Yes, professional astronomers DO appreciate the contributions of amateur astronomers.