From mmd@star.ucl.ac.uk Tue Sep 21 15:02:35 2004 Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 11:59:10 +0000 (GMT) From: Michael Dworetsky To: Observatory Guides 2000 , Beth Argent , Clare Jenner , Clare Jenner , Daniel Stansall , e.argent@ucl.ac.uk, f.riddick@ucl.ac.uk, fiona.riddick , k.bower@ucl.ac.uk, morgan.robertson@ucl.ac.uk, Roger Wesson , Stuart Colley , Dan Stansall Subject: the FAQ for guides Dear Guides, Watching those trained thus far going through their paces, It has become evident that many of you are having difficulty answering quickly many of the Frequently Asked Questions off the top of your heads--or worse, giving unclear or wrong answers. And some of you are doing OK with at least some of the questions. I would like each person who is a guide to e-mail me with three questions (or more) they were asked during the tour, and which they had to answer. For example, one guide was asked "How far is the nearest star and what it ist name?" to which the answer given was 4.3 light years and Alpha Centauri. (Technically, the star Proxima Centauri, a dim red dwarf close to Alpha Cen in the southern sky is slightly closer, but in general that answer was OK for a tour giude). The problem arose when someone asked "How far is that in miles?" So working this out and memorizing it in advance is part of being a guide. (1 LY is slightly less than 10^13 km or 10 million million km; thus Alpha Cen is around 25 million million miles away). Another FAQ is needed to cover the question of buying a star name--different ways in which the question is asked require different ways of answering it, depending for example on whether or not they have already paid for the naming and the reason for it. You need to think fast on your feet!! I'll start compiling the FAQ from your replies. Happy guiding, Dr. Mike Dworetsky Director, University of London Observatory 553 Watford Way, Mill Hill, London NW7 2QS United Kingdom +(44) (0)20 8959 0421 [direct line +(44) (0)20 8238 8856] e-mail: mmd@star.ucl.ac.uk, mmd@ulo.ucl.ac.uk