January 2004 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

RE: [Utah-astronomy] Re: NASA's purpose?
by Dale Hooper 27 Jan '04

27 Jan '04

On the manned side - I think one of the main dings against NASA from the Columbia accident board is there really wasn't any overall purpose or goal. According to Sean O'Keefe, et al - the new broad goal is exploration. Hopefully, (or at least my hope) that will mean a balance between unmanned and manned exploration. Patrick - your comments about private enterprise were echoed by Harrison Schmitt when he spoke at USU recently. But, do you really think that will happen in the near term? (i.e. before 2025). -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Mon 1/26/2004 10:14 PM To: Utah Astronomy Cc: Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: NASA's purpose? Chris Clark wrote: > > ...In other words, what do you > (we?) expect to "get" out of our collective spending on NASA's activities? How's about the laying of the foundation of future (and to some extent, current) private investment in space? IMHO we all owe NASA and the world's other space agencies a big thank you for getting us into space. But while government will always have a place "up there" it's private enterprise that will really push things up there in the future. Patrick _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Hubble humor
by Dale Hooper 27 Jan '04

27 Jan '04

I hope you will all forgive me for taking up more bandwidth about this. I certainly have no problem with what Chuck said and I think it was very succinctly covered by what Brent said. Was I offended by what Patrick posted - not in the least. I'm actually one that LOVES a political debate. Therein lies the rub. If something is pure politics - for me, its hard to resist jumping in and "getting into it". I belong to the OAS and consider it to be a great group of fellow amateur astronomers. But, do they all agree with me politically? I really doubt it. I really don't want to destroy friendships because of me trying to get in "equal time". With the limitations of email these types of exchanges tend to quickly devolve into flame wars. So I would just hope that we could stick to discussing issues, ideas (and - methods as Brent said), rather than discussing specific politicians and parties. However, clearly its up to the list administrator to set the boundaries. Now - back to the great stuff coming from Opportunity, etc. Clear skies, Dale. > -----Original Message----- > From: Richard Tenney [mailto:retenney@yahoo.com] > Sent: Monday, January 26, 2004 10:01 AM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Hubble humor > > > I wholly agree with Chuck on this one. Far too many > people view politics AS religion (for many, it's even > worse than a religious debate). I think we can and > should all agree to have some thick skin here and not > get our feathers ruffled too easily. > > -Rich > > > --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > Any administration, regardless of party affiliation, > > that prematurely shuts-down one of the single most > > effective observatories in history has made a huge > > mistake. And I can certainly sympathize with > > someone > > who is facing losing their job over such a decision. > > > > > > Politicians, supposedly through the influence of > > their > > constituents, make science policy concerning > > government dollars, and thus they become a fair > > topic > > of discussion in any science or astronomy forum. > > > > I would argue that the success of NASA's "new > > direction" hinging on ONE measly Hubble servicing > > mission is ridiculous, and the decision deserves to > > be > > reviewed and discussed. > > > > Inevitably, some people will take offense to ANY > > mention of politics, and especially if it casts a > > member of "their" party in a poor light. I would > > offer an olive branch to those of BOTH the left and > > the right, and make my claim that such political > > decisions CAN and MUST be discussed in forums such > > as > > this. It's OUR money being tossed around out there, > > folks. We should certainly have a say in how it's > > spent. Further, I would argue that threads > > concerning > > the fate of Hubble & the reasoning behind it has > > much > > more to do with the science of astronomy than manned > > & > > unmanned lunar and Martian exploration does. > > > > That said, there is such a thing as questionable > > taste > > & rude barbs, so it is imperative that any such > > discussions be kept at a factual & non-emotional > > level. > > I can see where Wayne and Dale are coming from in > > this > > instance, perhaps Patrick's original joke did cross > > the line, but the topic remains fair game. In > > Patrick's defense, he was passing-on insider > > thoughts > > from a member of the Hubble team itself- this shows > > the feelings of those at the very heart of the > > matter. > > > > If all our topics were without controversy, this > > list > > would last about three minutes and be as interesting > > as dry toast. > > > > Thanks for your time. > > > > C. > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. > > Try it! > > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > > > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > > Visit the Photo Gallery: > http://www.utahastronomy.com > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com > >

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Photographic film and the dodo bird?
by Patrick Wiggins 27 Jan '04

27 Jan '04

A recent piece in S&T talked about how one day digital imaging will take over and photographers will have to visit a specialty store to find photographic film. Looking at the following excerpt (entire piece at http://www.bertl.com/_ITchat/Volume_1_Issue_4.pdf ) which I found on the web I wonder if that day may come sooner than later. Patrick Eastman Kodak Turns Its Focus To The Digital Imaging Market Reacting to a rapidly-shrinking demand for its core product, traditional photography film, Eastman Kodak cut its shareholder dividend for the first time in its history, and announced a "historic shift" in its focus to digital imaging devices and products.

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Hubble humor
by Dale Hooper 26 Jan '04

26 Jan '04

Quite honestly - the Bush bashing on this list is getting a bit old. A bumper sticker like this indicates a lack of understanding of the situation post Columbia disaster. If your "friend" actually wants to accomplish something - the approach on savethehubble.org has more likelihood of success. -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Sat 1/24/2004 2:20 PM To: utah astronomy listserve Cc: Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Hubble humor A friend who works with Hubble tells me there's s joke going around which has them printing up bumper stickers that read FOUR LESS YEARS OF BUSH, FOUR MORE YEARS OF HUBBLE Patrick :-) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Re: Hubble humor
by Chuck Hards 26 Jan '04

26 Jan '04

Any administration, regardless of party affiliation, that prematurely shuts-down one of the single most effective observatories in history has made a huge mistake. And I can certainly sympathize with someone who is facing losing their job over such a decision. Politicians, supposedly through the influence of their constituents, make science policy concerning government dollars, and thus they become a fair topic of discussion in any science or astronomy forum. I would argue that the success of NASA's "new direction" hinging on ONE measly Hubble servicing mission is ridiculous, and the decision deserves to be reviewed and discussed. Inevitably, some people will take offense to ANY mention of politics, and especially if it casts a member of "their" party in a poor light. I would offer an olive branch to those of BOTH the left and the right, and make my claim that such political decisions CAN and MUST be discussed in forums such as this. It's OUR money being tossed around out there, folks. We should certainly have a say in how it's spent. Further, I would argue that threads concerning the fate of Hubble & the reasoning behind it has much more to do with the science of astronomy than manned & unmanned lunar and Martian exploration does. That said, there is such a thing as questionable taste & rude barbs, so it is imperative that any such discussions be kept at a factual & non-emotional level. I can see where Wayne and Dale are coming from in this instance, perhaps Patrick's original joke did cross the line, but the topic remains fair game. In Patrick's defense, he was passing-on insider thoughts from a member of the Hubble team itself- this shows the feelings of those at the very heart of the matter. If all our topics were without controversy, this list would last about three minutes and be as interesting as dry toast. Thanks for your time. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

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Opportunity landing site
by Chuck Hards 26 Jan '04

26 Jan '04

You know, looking at the photos, it sure reminds me of a Hawaiian lava field, more than anything else. This isn't the Mars of Viking, Pathfinder, or Spirit, thats for sure! C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

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Thanks Patrick
by Chuck Hards 25 Jan '04

25 Jan '04

Thanks again to Patrick for the "ringside" play-by-play last night! You're hired for Huygens too! C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

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Apogee Astro-Vue Binoculars
by Chuck Hards 25 Jan '04

25 Jan '04

When I first installed broadband LPR filters in a cheap pair of 7x50mm binoculars about 14 years ago, I knew that as cool as the views were, bigger would be better. Apogee has done it commercially now. They have a line of "Astro-Vue" binoculars that have internally-mounted nebula filters that can be "flicked" in-and-out of the optical train via an external thumbwheel. The entire line is currently on-sale. Offerings range from a 7x50mm, reg. $99.95, on-sale for $69.95, to a 20x100mm, reg. $399, on-sale for $299. See their ad in the March '04 S&T, page 108. As of now I haven't checked for them on their Website: www.apogeeinc.com Who will be the first to plunk-down the bucks? *** I did buy another pair of Orion filters (clearance priced at under $20 ea.) but haven't screwed-up enough courage yet to attempt an install on a pair of 70mm! C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

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NASA news release
by Patrick Wiggins 25 Jan '04

25 Jan '04

NEWS RELEASE: 2004-035January 25, 2004 NASA Hears From Opportunity Rover on Mars NASA's second Mars Exploration Rover successfully sent signals to Earth during its bouncy landing and after it came to rest on one of the three side petals of its four-sided lander. Mission engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., received the first signal from Opportunity on the ground at 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time Saturday via the NASA Deep Space Network, which was listening with antennas in California and Australia. "We're on Mars, everybody!" JPL's Rob Manning, manager for development of the landing system, announced to the cheering flight team. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said at a subsequent press briefing, "This was a tremendous testament to how NASA, when really focused on an objective, can put every ounce of effort, energy, emotion and talent to an important task.This team is the best in the world, no doubt about it." Opportunity landed in a region called Meridiani Planum, halfway around the planet from the Gusev Crater site where its twin rover, Spirit, landed three weeks ago. Earlier today, mission managers reported progress in understanding and dealing with communications and computer problems on Spirit. "In the last 48 hours, we've been on a roller coaster," said Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science. "We resurrected one rover and saw the birth of another." JPL's Pete Theisinger, project manager for the rovers, said, "We are two for two. Here we are tonight with Spirit on a path to recovery and with Opportunity on Mars." By initial estimates, Opportunity landed about 24 kilometers (15 miles) down range from the center of the target landing area.That is well within an outcropping of a mineral called gray hematite, which usually forms in the presence of water."We're going to have a good place to do science," said JPL's Richard Cook, deputy project manager for the rovers. Once it pushed itself upright by opening the petals of the lander, Opportunity was expected to be facing east. The main task for both rovers in coming months is to explore the areas around their landing sites for evidence in rocks and soils about whether those areas ever had environments that were watery and possibly suitable for sustaining life. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Additional information about the project is available from JPL at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov and from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., at http://athena.cornell.edu . -end-

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Pictures, pictures
by Patrick Wiggins 25 Jan '04

25 Jan '04

In case anyone is still out there, the first thumbnail image from the lander was displayed at 1:12 am, with that single shot being followed by a veritable torrent of imagery. These early pictures show a landscape very different from what the other lander has been showing us. Few rocks close in and one group of rocks in the near distance that looks to all the world like a broken up tiled patio (I hope we didn't do that on the way in... <grin>). The lander righted itself with the nose about 5 degrees high and about 1 degree tilt to the side. Patrick

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