How astronomers and amateurs alike mistake celestial objects — a look at cosmic misidentifications
By
Phil Plait
Summary
A personal, humorous essay about how astronomers and stargazers can mistake one celestial object for another — from the author's college anecdote of mistaking a red light on a radio tower for Mars, to historical cases where astronomers confused everything from geese flying past the Moon to supernovae with other phenomena. The piece explores the human tendency to see what we expect to see, and how even professional astronomers have made comically wrong identifications throughout history.
Source
bskyHow astronomers and amateurs alike mistake celestial objects — a look at cosmic misidentificationsscientificamerican.comKey quotes
· 3 pulled'I think it's moving,' she told me. I dismissed this possibility, because it was Mars and could rise only so quickly.
Sometimes we mistake one kind of object with another to disastrous effect.
The human brain is wired to see patterns, even when none exist — and in astronomy, that can lead to some spectacularly wrong conclusions.
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