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

Mars humor
by B. Bettilyon 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

Warning!!! If you are offended by the mention of President Bush in a humorous light, do not follow this link. It's a funny look at Mars exploration...At least it was funny to me. http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/barry8_20040208.htm Barney Bettilyon

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Re: stereo closeup from Mars
by Patrick Wiggins 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

Joe's stereo picture is now at http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/STEREO1B2.JPG . Patrick Joe Bauman wrote: > > Thanks, Patrick -- here it is. When I lightened it, it lost a little > definition in the upper parts, but overall it's easier to see. Best > wishes, JoeE

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BB drop
by Bruce Glad 08 Feb '04

08 Feb '04

How accurate of a simulation is this going to be will the object be traveling near the same speed at a meteorite would impact? -Bruce --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] BB and Mars "thingy" updates
by Kim Hyatt 08 Feb '04

08 Feb '04

Patrick, before you get too excited about bombing the desert, do you want to take measurements of the salt crust and make this a "scientific" endeavor? >From my experience I don't think the surface water will be gone until mid-summer. -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 5:29 PM To: utah astronomy listserve Subject: [Utah-astronomy] BB and Mars "thingy" updates Bowling Ball Drop I flew over the "approved" bowling ball drop zone today and am happy to report the designated area is very big and devoid of obstacles. It will be hard to miss. There's still a lot of snow out there and the ground that has no snow on it looks pretty muddy so chances are this is not going to happen for a few weeks, at least. After landing I spoke with a guy at the FAA who assured me they only needed to get involved "if something goes wrong." And then after getting home I called the land owner and reconfirmed we have permission (actually she said she really wants to see it happen). "Thingy" On Mars I just spoke with my contact at NASA. She had not heard of the object but said that she'd passed my query on to someone who works with the imaging team. More on that when I hear more. 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] Not like mushrooms -- more like succulents
by Josephine Grahn 08 Feb '04

08 Feb '04

Joe, It would help us if you could tell us which pictures you are referring to, and what camera they were from. Was it the microscopic camera? Jo Grahn At 03:02 PM 2/8/2004 -0600, you wrote: >OK, here's another fun train of thought. Now I don't want to be >branded a nut, but I am intrigued by the spherical things that are >all over parts of the Opportunity landing site. While NASA says there >are any number of natural processes that can explain them, I'm having >trouble imagining what those are -- other than hailstorms. These >things appear to be on more compact soil, not loose finer dust, and >usually not on rocks. They do not seem randomly distributed. >Sometimes they're in rows evenly spaced, and they usually aren't in a >big heap, the way you'd expect to find mineral balls -- you would >expect them to roll into a cavity and pile up there. I found iron >nodules in southern Utah that were not evenly distributed. > >In fact, these seem to be more on the crests than the little >depressions in the soil. What really got my interest going is that I >looked at a pair of views of a soil close-up, studying them in 3D. >These objects do not look round. Instead, they seem somewhat >elongated. The smaller objects seem more elongated than the big ones. >Also, they have seems and the seems run toward the ground. > >So here's my thought, which I would like people to take pot shots at >or tell me what you think. What if they are some Martian analog to >growing plants or fungus? What if they poke out of the soil in a sort >of elongated stem and then puff out into more of a ball shape as they >grow? > >It's possible that the seems of elongation is just a distortion >caused by some fault in the perspective of the 3D images, but I can't >tell that. > >I have put together a 3D version, cropping parts that were in too >much sunlight and making both of the views cover approximately the >same territory. I also brightened everything. > >Anyone who would like to see this, please drop me a note and I can >email the image to you individually. Chuck, I know you can view items >in 3D by free-base looking. Would you take a look at this and tell me >what you think? Everybody, is it even possible that these are some >kind of growing life form? Am I goofy for even suspecting that? > >Thanks all -- Joe > >_______________________________________________ >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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Found in Martian soil (what is it?)
by Patrick Wiggins 08 Feb '04

08 Feb '04

Ann House emailed me a picture she had been sent as a joke, seeming to show a "bug" on Mars. I chuckled, thinking it was like the PhotoShopped pictures seen here that show Wal Mart and McDonald's signs on Mars. But then, just for the heck of it, I had a look at the original image on the NASA/JPL web site. It was there too. Here are small (300 kB) http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040202a/MSPan_B1… and large (9 MB) http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040202a/MSPan_B1… versions of the picture in question. The "bug" is located about 2/3 of the way across (left to right) and not quite half way up the image. I've put a close up of the object (supplied by Ann) here http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/WHATISIT.JPG Ideas? Something that came from the lander? Note, BTW, that the "bug's antennae" are above the surface and cast shadows. Patrick

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Re: BB drop
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Feb '04

07 Feb '04

Jim Gibson <xajax99(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Is the purposes of the drop to approximate a meteorite impact signature > or are there other data you plan on collecting? Seems like one data > point wont tell you enough. Different folks with the project probably have different reasons. For me it's half wanting to simulate a meteor impact using several different objects on different occasions. As for the other half, being a skydiver I just like watching things fall. :-) Patrick

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Re: BB drop
by Kim Hyatt 07 Feb '04

07 Feb '04

Regarding the BLM, I haven't taken the time to prepare the kind of proposal they will be looking for. If anyone else can help, let me know. -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 4:51 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: BB drop Kim Hyatt wrote: > > I would kind of like to see the site before the drop, but after it's dried > out. Should not be a problem. Just keep an eye on the sky as there's a local flying club that lands small airplanes out there. > BTW, we are talking about a salt crust, aren't we? I don't think it's like the salt flats, but it is salty and very hard (when dry). Regarding the salt flats, any progress with the BLM? Even if we still do the Grantsville site I'd still like to see us use the salt flats one day. 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: BB drop
by Kim Hyatt 07 Feb '04

07 Feb '04

I would kind of like to see the site before the drop, but after it's dried out. BTW, we are talking about a salt crust, aren't we? -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 4:39 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: BB drop Hi Kim, Kim Hyatt wrote: > > Patrick, before you get too excited about bombing the desert, do you want to > take measurements of the salt crust and make this a "scientific" endeavor? > From my experience I don't think the surface water will be gone until > mid-summer. Right you are. As I mentioned last night, when I flew over the site yesterday there was still a lot of mud out there so the drop is not going to happen any time soon. As for taking measurements, I figured we'd do that after the drop. 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: Mars "thingy" updates
by Kim Hyatt 07 Feb '04

07 Feb '04

Patrick wrote: > >Where'd it go? Aren't there still winds on Mars? -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 2:38 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Mars "thingy" updates Paul Witte wrote: > > My friend just sent me this link from a conspiracy website: > > http://rense.com/general48/NASAA.HTM > > They are claiming the rover ran over the object in question as part of a "coverup". Note that he mentions that the picture has been removed from the NASA web site. Not so. I just checked and it is still there: 300 kB version http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040202a/MSPan_B1_ 2x-B009R1_br2.jpg 9 MB version http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040202a/MSPan_B1_ 2x-B009R1.jpg Of course (and I add this just to spice up the conversation) it does seem odd that the object does not seem to be visible in the roll off series: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040206a/F_HAZ_Lin earized_Egress_To_Wall_Anima_br.gif Where'd it go? 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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