Bad Astronomy

Buy the sky, help save a life

Alexander Thatte is a young boy in the UK, the son of two physicists at Oxford University. He has leukemia, and he needs a new, expensive treatment. To raise funds, friends at the Oxford physics department have put together SkyPhoto: you can buy a framed print from the venerable Palomar Sky Survey, and funds go toward Alexander’s treatment.

Skyphoto single frame option
The prints appear to look pretty nice, and they are semi-random: you can request a star field, a galaxy, or a nebula. There are added options too, like having them signed by Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell, who co-discovered pulsars in the 1960s. They are currently accepting checks (in UK pounds Sterling) only; you can download and print out the order form. They will ship overseas, however. There may be eBay auctions soon, so you can get them that way as well (and use PayPal if you’re set up for it). I’ll update this post when I find out more.

‘Tis the season, and this makes a pretty nice gift. Plus, you know you’re doing something good for someone, too.