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  • (observatory roof clunking open)

  • - My biggest thing that I like to do is discover stuff.

  • And not necessarily things

  • that have already been discovered.

  • I really like to discover things

  • that haven't been discovered yet.

  • If you take an asteroid and you discover an asteroid,

  • for example,

  • even though there's half a million of 'em out there,

  • that's one you've found.

  • Nobody else in the world knew about that asteroid

  • before you saw it.

  • (ambient space music)

  • (rapid sproing)

  • (background space music)

  • What I've been doing here lately,

  • and for about 15, 16 years now,

  • I've been working with near-Earth objects.

  • My observations contribute to making sure

  • that we don't have something comin' up

  • that's gonna fall on our heads.

  • Kind of first got into it, probably 10, 12 years old.

  • I was beggin', beggin', beggin' to get a telescope,

  • but then, you know, we weren't a very rich family,

  • so it took a while to get it.

  • And one Christmas I got telescope.

  • Then, I started usin' it, then I got aperture fever.

  • You want bigger telescopes all the time.

  • So, I started learning how to build 'em.

  • (quick, perky music)

  • I learned how to work in a machine shop.

  • I can build things that I wanted to build.

  • And a lot of that was astronomy parts.

  • I kind of modified my life to fit this study,

  • this kind of life-long study.

  • (intensifying, perky music)

  • (clock ticking)

  • Sandlot is a very tiny little observatory.

  • It's only 10 foot by 10 foot wide.

  • The telescope I built,

  • over a period of about year and a half,

  • and it may not look very polished,

  • it works really well.

  • I'm good with that.

  • (ambient space music)

  • (rapid clicking)

  • (rapid clicking)

  • (rapid droning)

  • I don't have a degree in astronomy,

  • I have a passion for astronomy,

  • and I've done it for many, many years,

  • and I've contributed, I think,

  • to the scientific body of astronomy.

  • That's really kind of a, yeah,

  • from that standpoint, I am an astronomer.

  • (ambient space music)

(observatory roof clunking open)

Subtitles and vocabulary

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B1 US GreatBigStory astronomy beggin rapid asteroid ambient

This Backyard Astronomer Has Discovered 300 Asteroids and Counting

  • 758 32
    許大善 posted on 2019/11/03
Video vocabulary

Keywords

stuff

US /stʌf/

UK /stʌf/

  • noun
  • Generic description for things, materials, objects
  • verb
  • To push material inside something, with force
period

US /ˈpɪriəd/

UK /ˈpɪəriəd/

  • noun
  • Set amount of time during which events take place
  • A way to emphasize what you will say
  • A full stop (.), marking the end of a sentence
  • A menstrual cycle
  • A set time for a class to be held
necessarily

US /ˌnɛsɪˈsɛrəli, -ˈsɛr-/

UK /ˌnesəˈserəli/

  • adverb
  • As a necessary result; inevitably.
  • As a necessary result; inevitably.
  • In a way that is needed/required/is unavoidable
contribute

US /kənˈtrɪbjut/

UK /kən'trɪbju:t/

  • verb
  • To help to cause something to happen
  • To be a factor in causing something to happen
  • To donate, give (money) or help to something
  • To write articles for a magazine or newspaper
tiny

US /ˈtaɪni/

UK /'taɪnɪ/

  • adjective
  • Very, very small
passion

US /ˈpæʃən/

UK /'pæʃn/

  • other
  • Enthusiasm or eagerness for something.
  • A strong and barely controllable emotion.
  • Strong sexual desire or love.
  • The suffering of Jesus Christ in the period leading up to and including his crucifixion.
  • noun
  • Powerful, positive excitement and interest
  • Something for which one has a great love
  • A thing for which someone has a strong enthusiasm.
  • Strong sexual feelings toward someone
  • The suffering of Jesus Christ in the period leading up to and including his crucifixion.
  • other
  • A strong feeling of sexual love or desire.
  • A strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something.
scientific

US /ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk/

UK /ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk/

  • adjective
  • Concerning academic study of the physical world
  • Systematic and precise, following a methodology.
  • Based on or characterized by the methods and principles of science.
  • noun
  • Relating to or used in science.
  • other
  • Knowledge gained through systematic study and experimentation.
degree

US /dɪˈɡri/

UK /dɪˈgri:/

  • noun
  • A qualification awarded to students who successfully complete a course of study at a university or college.
  • Amount or extent of something
  • A unit of measurement of angles, one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of a full rotation.
  • The extent or intensity to which something is the case.
  • The highest power of a variable in a mathematical expression.
  • Unit for measuring temperature or angles
  • Qualification received after completing university
  • A unit of measurement of temperature.
fit

US /fɪt/

UK /fɪt/

  • noun
  • A sudden outburst of strong emotion, especially anger.
  • Sudden loss of body control; attack (of crying)
  • A sudden attack of illness, especially a convulsion or seizure.
  • The way something, especially a garment, fits.
  • adjective
  • Good looking; physically attractive
  • Having good physical health and strength
  • In good physical condition; healthy and strong.
  • Proper or acceptable; morally or socially correct
  • other
  • To be in good physical condition.
  • To be the correct size or shape.
  • verb
  • To install a machine, equipment etc.
  • To adjust or change to the right size or shape
  • To be the right size and shape that you want
  • other
  • To be in agreement or harmony with.
  • To put something into place; to prepare something for use.
  • To be of the right size or shape.
click

US /klɪk/

UK /klɪk/

  • verb
  • To work well with someone or something
  • To press a computer mouse
  • To make a short, slight, and sharp sound
  • other
  • To like each other immediately.
  • To suddenly understand something.
  • noun
  • The sound a computer mouse makes when you press it
  • A photograph.
  • A short, slight, and sharp sound
  • A single instance of a clicking sound or action.
  • other
  • To select something on a computer screen by pressing a button on a mouse.