January 2003 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

RE: [Utah-astronomy] Saturn
by Kim Hyatt 13 Jan '03

13 Jan '03

Chuck - I wasn't questioning anything. I, too have had some excellent observing in winter (I just don't do it as often any more - maybe I've become a bit of a wimp.) I believe all your statements are true. I just remember blanket statements from my high school physics and college astronomy classes that wintertime observing was generally more turbulent. I haven't found that this was necessarily true for me.

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Saturn
by Kim Hyatt 13 Jan '03

13 Jan '03

I think the notion that wintertime seeing is not as good as summertime comes from observers trying to observe near developed areas with buildings radiating their heat out to the universe, thus disturbing the atmosphere in the process. Kim A. Hyatt, AIA SL&A Architects 331 South Rio Grande, Suite 304 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 801.322.5550 x122

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Cannon
by RStmarie＠aol.com 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

There is that show on MTV. "Jack @#*" something or other. They'd pay good cash for that video! We could fund a whole new observatory!! Videos like Redneck Astronomy, or When Good Scientists Go Bad... something like that. Patrick could debate UFO's with someone on Jerry Springer! Ok, maybe we don't rate Jerry, but I love this Outlaw Physics.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Cannon
by RStmarie＠aol.com 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

The cannon episode sounds like great fun. Someone please video these trips! We could show them at the meetings.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Check out Crater Calculator
by RStmarie＠aol.com 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

The cannon? How'd it go?

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Check out Crater Calculator
by RStmarie＠aol.com 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

Here's yet another number cruncher for meteors. This would be a good calculator to run before a test drop, then compare the results! I love this idea. What fun. You'll notice, if you run the calculator that the bowling ball would make a bigger crater than Patrick would (just kidding). Maybe we could get a panel of material scientists together to do a little commentary. Just don't do anything for two weeks until I have free time and can come watch!! <A HREF="http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/tekton/crater.html">Click here: Crater</A> from the U of Arizona Tucson Bob St. Marie

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Bowling Balls vs. Iron and Rock
by Richard Tenney 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

Hi all, In all the discussion so far I guess I've made the assumption that the reason you are planning to use a bowling ball is for easy identification on the ground, but what about dropping an iron shot put at close to the same time to see if the impact is different? I confess to not having the physics background of some of you, but it seems to me we would want to get as close to the real thing (i.e., iron meteorite) as possible, no? Perhaps a chunk of rock that closely resembles the density of a stony meteorite as well...? Does a large sphere of hard rubber/plastic/resin (or whatever it is bowling balls are actually made of) impact the same way a smaller sphere of iron or igneous rock would? Would a bowling ball disintegrate on impact, or remain intact? Anyone have a clue? I guess it would help if I knew how bowling balls were made -- heck, maybe they are iron inside...? Wondering out loud... Rich __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com

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Salt Flats, meteorites, bowling balls, etc.
by Kim Hyatt 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

I think (hope) we can more or less put this thing to bed for a while. Brent Watson and I met with BLM representatives on Friday to discuss the "experiment" and the process for obtaining permission. Brent and I will submit a formal written proposal for our study and take things from there. While those with whom we met did not dismiss the idea outright, it appears that we have a bit of an uphill battle to convince BLM managers that there will be some real scientific benefit to this research. The review process may take up to three or four months, so don't expect to hear much more from us anytime soon. Assuming we do obtain BLM permission for this study, I'm afraid it would be too problematic to invite everyone who has expressed an interest to participate in the actual event. In other words, we will have to limit our party (as in group, not revelry!) to only a handful of people. We will share our results with anyone who is interested (attention Dave Bennett: possible SLAS presentation?) and I hope that will be satisfactory for those who won't be able to join us. Incidentally, Fox 13's report in Friday night's newscast took me by surprise - it sort of ignored the whole point of the concept (i.e. meteorite impact research) and suggested that safety might be an overwhelming obstacle. (We also did not represent ourselves as "scientists," just science enthusiasts.) Certainly safety is an issue, but it is not an unmanageable difficulty. We briefly discussed this with the BLM folks; they simply want to know how we will ensure public safety and this we plan to explain in our proposal. Thanks to all who have expressed their support. You'll eventually hear how things turn out. Kim A. Hyatt, AIA SL&A Architects 331 South Rio Grande, Suite 304 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 801.322.5550 x122

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Salt Flats on Fox 13 tonight
by Patrick Wiggins 11 Jan '03

11 Jan '03

I just took a call from a reporter at channel 13 saying they are going to air a piece on the bowling balls/Salt Flats thing tonight during their 9:00 news. It's to contain stuff they taped with Kim, Brent and me the other night (before BLM got involved) along with some stuff from BLM that was taped today after Kim met with them (BLM) today. Patrick

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"News"
by Patrick Wiggins 10 Jan '03

10 Jan '03

I just checked the list of folks subscribed to this list and noticed that there are now many (over 50) folks here that are not subscribed to my on line astronomy and space exploration newsletter "News". That's a big change from several months ago when there were only a couple. If any of those folks would like to subscribe (it's free, BTW) or receive a sample issue, just let me know. Clear skies! Patrick :-) Potential Bowling Ball Bomber

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