Radio song

[cosmolinguist]

They're beautiful, aren't they?

Or is it just me?



Okay, maybe it is just me. Me and, probably, the people who work with them and extract amazing information about the universe from them. I don't have such intimate knowledge of radio telescopes and their usefulness, though I do have (thanks, largely, to Carl Sagan) an excited layperson's appreciation for those very things.

Even beyond what they mean, though, right now I'm just impressed at how these radio telescopes look. I do think they are beautiful, in that way that entirely functional things sometimes are. When no attention is paid to aesthetics, sometimes the functionality itself provides something pleasing to the eye.

In just a few seconds in a TV show mostly about something else that I find myself watching only because I love Ian Stewart, who's presenting it (as he's introducing himself at the beginning I am, for the second time in only a couple of hours, impressed at how Scottish people can say "Stewart" (or "Stuart" I suppose) in only one syllable), I was struck by these shots of radio telescopes, enough to catch them and put them here.



It's so easy to anthropomorphize the telescopes. Maybe it's the particular angle of these dishes that makes me believe they could be upturned faces, maybe it's the way the precise uniformity of their alignment reminds me of a military drill team.



I like this picture because they look so curious. While I know about perspective -- some cows are small, and some are far away -- I still say their small size against the big horizon makes them look childlike, in full possession of their sensawunda, and making me wonder what they're all looking at over there.

Comments

[sera-squeak.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I know what you mean. They all look like they're staring at the sky in anticipation.

I like the small far-away ones the best.

[cosmolinguist]

I love that anticipatory quality. Despite all I tell myself about the practicalities of efficiently catching and collecting the radio waves, I can't shake the feeling of anticipation when I look at them. I know I'm projecting. :) But I also know that's not all of it.

I love those small ones. :) I looked for a picture like that online and when I couldn't find one, that's when I decided I had to make some screenshots. It's just a great image. Well, I think so anyway.

[sera-squeak.livejournal.com]

Oooh, practicality means very little to me in relation to this sort of thing, it's all about the anthropomorphisation (if that's even a word!).

It's really easy to imagine them with faces...

I'll let you know about the butter-bound toast-crumbs soon, by the way! ;)

[cosmolinguist]

Since I have read so much about radio astronomy, the practicality always gets in the way. But it's not really in the way; it enhances my enchantment with these things to know that they are there in the service of something I find so interesting.

And yes, anthropomorphization (spelled my way or yours) is a word. :)

I'm v. interested in your butter/crumbs result! :)

[cosmolinguist]

Argh, I've just figured out why I want to anthropomorphize them! I knew there was some should-be-obvious thing that explains this phenomenon, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Now I have.

It's because they look like the Pixar lamp! I'm not sure whether this is a good thing or not. I think my brain is very silly indeed.

[lostpositive.livejournal.com]

I thought that as well :)

[cosmolinguist]

Good to know it's not just me, then. :)

[donttouchmyhat.livejournal.com]

HOLY CRAP THEY DO!



p.s. the VLA is reason #762 why New Mexico is cooler than Arizona.

[cosmolinguist]

I know! Crazy, isn't it? Well, I think it's crazy. I still can't decide if I like this connection or not. :)

If I ever get my US road trip that some of my friends have been promising me for a while, I would totally love to go see things like the VLA. Some of them live in Colorado so it wouldn't be that far away!

[donttouchmyhat.livejournal.com]

I think a short animation depicting their jumping lamplike delight at discovering an honest to god alien transmission would be awesome.

[cosmolinguist]

We have to write to Pixar suggesting it. :) It's just the sort of short they put before their movies...

[sera-squeak.livejournal.com]

They do, don't they?!! That does explain a lot, actually....

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

This reminding me of the old cable TV commercial where Ted Turner (of TBS...Turner Broadcasting System) is talking to his neighbor over the fence about "Do you like my new dish? I picked out the pattern myself!". The neighbor has a weird look on his face, and then the camera pans over to show a huge broadcasting satellite dish.

And yes, they are beautiful. I've often wished I lived within a short drive of a setup like that so I could visit it regularly.

[cosmolinguist]

This has definitely reminded me I want to go back to Jodrell Bank. I have been there, it was almost literally the first thing I did once I got to the UK, but that means I was jet-lagged and very nervous around Andrew, his mom, and his niece, no matter how nice they'd been about inviting me along on their planned outing for the day. :)

[shinydan.livejournal.com]

If you've never visited Jodrell Bank, about 10 miles south of Manchester, I can heartily recommend it. It's not quite as awe-inspiring as these arrays, but it's pretty damn cool. Not easy by public transport, though.

[cosmolinguist]

I posted this comment at exactly the time you posted yours. :) A return visit is definitely on my to-do list... but yes, I do think I'll have to find someone with a car and convince them this is a good idea, so it could be tricky.

[uglybuffy.livejournal.com]

I have a car*. I love Jodrell Bank! So does my bf. I have happy memories of staring at similar dishes when on holiday in Cornwall when I was 6.

*unless it involves the motorway

[cosmolinguist]

Oooh, I'll totally make you take me sometime, if you're not careful. :)

[uglybuffy.livejournal.com]

Slowly! On A roads!

[cosmolinguist]

I totally understand. :) As a not-allowed-to-ever-drive non-driver, I'm in awe that anyone can manage it at all!

[quuf.livejournal.com]

Takes a dish to know a dish!

(But seriously: they really are beautiful)

[cosmolinguist]

Ha, I bet you say that to all the girls!

[gillyg.livejournal.com]

We went to Goonhilly Downs in Cornwall last week and I just loved the wild bleakness of the setting and the huge dishes. Jodrell Bank is definitely on my to visit list!

[cosmolinguist]

It's on my list too, and it seems I'm not alone! Perhaps we should arrange a field trip. :)

[tomatorama.livejournal.com]

I think they are beautiful! I think i get that from my dad being into astonomy (he doesn't say they are beautiful or anything like that though) and a visit to Jodrell Bank when I was little that made a lasting impression on me.

I love this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamdroid/65402613/

[cosmolinguist]

No, "beautiful" is not a very dad word generally. :)

Those pictures are great!

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Ears of the Earth. Yes. Yes, they are beautiful.

[cosmolinguist]

Much better looking than my ears!