Telescope
From Slackerpedia Galactica
Telescopes are devices carried by a lot of amateur astronomers to show off to others.
It follows the same rules as expensive cars:
- Brand X = better than generic brand (even if they are made at the same factory in China)
- Bigger = better
- The more power it requires = the better it is
- The higher the "X" Number on the side of the box = the better the scope (irregardless of aperture)
- No matter how much you spend, there will always be someone with a bigger and more expensive scope at the next star party you attend
- The most complicated component will fail at the exact worst time: the new wizbang drive gear will break on Saturday night, right after the hardware store has closed for the weekend
Telescopes are the leading cause of aperture fever in the developed world.
It is rumored that they can actually be used to take cool pictures of nebula and distant galaxies. This is a myth! Ask anyone who just bought his/her first telescope.
Telescopes can control the climate. The chance of cloudiness is in direct proportion to the ratio of your geographic distance to the nearest telescope and the inverse of the scope's age squared ( clouds=(d/age2) ). This is because of the incompletely understood hydromagnetism.
As some very wise people have said before it's all just glass & mirrors!
In addition, there is mystery to these instruments. Many speculate how they can be so heavy when they are made of mostly air?
