September 2005 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

RE: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Hurricane relief
by Michael Carnes 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

>So it sounds like it would be a bit unfair to blame everything on the Feds and the Army corps of engineers. To my mind the real question in all of this is how they're going to rebuild the city. It's now pretty clear from climatologists, atmospheric scientists, oceanographers and most every other branch of science that sea levels will be rising--maybe by inches, maybe by feet. It seems to me the height of foolishness just to rebuild with an improved levee system. As horrific as this has been, once it leaves living memory it will lose urgency. Future taxpayers will again reach a point where they're not willing to pay, and the protective system will be underfunded and neglected--just as it was this time. So what's the answer? Do they truck in a few cubic miles of fill and raise the level of the city another 20 feet? Should they purchase a few thousand acres 20 miles inland and build there? Beats the heck out of me, but it's hard to think of a lesser endeavor being successful for more than another hundred years or so.

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Hurricane relief
by Lambert, Aaron 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

I think a lot of the problem was that nobody expected it to be as bad as it was. All the reports I heard said that if the storm hit land east of New Orleans (which it did) that the city would be OK. After the Storm went through, the pundits were saying that the city had really dodged a bullet. Then the levies began to burst. Up until that point, everyone I heard on the news said everything was expected to be OK. If the storm had hit land west of New Orleans, I think the local, state, and national relief centers would have been better prepared because they would have been expecting exactly what ended up happening. Aaron > -----Original Message----- > From: South Jordan Mom > Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 9:59 PM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Hurricane relief > > I didn't know there was so much poverty in that area, that's a bit > different then I guess. I've never been that poor so it's hard for me to > fathom being in a position of having no resources to get me out of a > dangerous situation. That is sad then that the govt. couldn't somehow > arrange to bus these people out of danger before the storm hit. > > Michael Carnes <MichaelCarnes(a)earthlink.net> wrote: We're sounding just a > bit mean-spirited about many of the folks who > were stuck in New Orleans. I too feel for the animals (I'm a > vegetarian, after all), but not everyone that got stuck there stayed > because they were idiots (some were, I'll grant you). One of every > six households in the city had no car. With or without a car, a > great many had no resources to afford a getaway--there is grinding, > numbing poverty in the region. Bus fare or a tank of gas are > luxuries. A great many shopkeepers can't afford insurance (try > getting covered in the inner city) and had every penny tied up in > their businesses. How else to protect what they had but to stay > nearby and stand guard. Even if those reasons don't withstand pure > intellectual scrutiny, people have paid much more than a fair price > for the mistake. > > I know we're not really mean, but we sound that way. > > _______________________________________________ > 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!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > 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: OT - Hurricane relief
by Chuck Hards 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

> > From: diveboss(a)xmission.com > Underwear??? New stuff right? ;) Guy, remember it's 90-degrees and 90% RH down there. They don't need that long-sleeve, buttoned flannel rear flap red union suit style that you prefer. But thanks for thinking of them. ;) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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New variable in M27
by Canopus56 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

The International Astronomical Union has issued a notice on a new variable star in M27, originally reported by the AAVSO on August 23, 2005. This one has dimmed from 13 down to 15-17 mags in the last week - so by now it's probably only a large aperature scope object. The nature of this new variable is unknown but is suspected to be a very long period (decades) cataclysmic variable - a drawf sucking accreted material off of a late stage main-sequence star. It may be useful to check your photos of M27 taken in the last few weeks for this rare variable outburst. AAVSO Alert 325 (8/23/2005) for 1955+22C VAR VUL 05 http://www.aavso.org/publications/alerts/alert325.shtml "CCD observers are urged to look for superhumps and possible WZ Sge-signature behavior to help confirm nature of this star." AAVSO Chart (f) photo http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/shrinkwrap.pl?path=/charts/VUL/VAR_VUL_05/VARV… IAUC 8591 (8/29/2005) http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/RecentIAUCs.html (registered ip addresses only) >From the AAVSO website on what a WZ Sge variable star is: "WZ Sge and SU UMa, like all cataclysmic variables, are close binary systems consisting of a late-type star that fills its inner Lagrangian surface (stability limit for two components) and transfers material onto an accretion disk formed around the companion white dwarf." "The period of time from one superoutburst to the next is called the 'supercycle'. The supercycle lengths of the known SU Uma stars are mostly around a few hundred days, but a few systems have much shorter or much longer supercycles. The short-supercycle systems have become known as ER Uma stars, while the long-supercycle systems are called WZ Sge stars. ER Uma stars typically spend a third to half their time in superoutburst, with a supercycle of only 20-50 days. When not in superoutburst these stars show frequent 'normal' oubursts - about one every 4 days. In contrast, WZ Sge stars have supercycles that last decades, while normal outbursts are few and far between. WZ Sge itself has had a superoutburst at intervals of about 33, 32, and 23 years, and it has never been seen to undergo a normal outburst. Other WZ Sge type stars include AL Com and EG Cnc which have superoutburst intervals of approximately 20 years." http://www.aavso.org/vstar/vsots/0901.shtml - Canopus56 ____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Spirit Briefing.
by David Dunn 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

It looks like the Mars Rover Briefing is scheduled for 11am MT today on NASA. I haven't seen anything on the list for about it for a while so I thought I would mention it. Dave

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Spirit Briefing.
by Dale Hooper 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

Don't they use RAD 750's? The RAD 750 is a Power PC and it's about the best/fastest radiation hardened processor you can find right now. They are about $250k a piece. Rad hard processors are always going to be one to two generations behind what you can get for a home PC. Clear skies, Dale. > -----Original Message----- > From: utah-astronomy-bounces+dale.hooper=sdl.usu.edu(a)mailman.xmission.com > [mailto:utah-astronomy- > bounces+dale.hooper=sdl.usu.edu(a)mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick > Wiggins > Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 1:31 PM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Spirit Briefing. > > David Dunn wrote: > > > It looks like the Mars Rover Briefing is scheduled for 11am MT today on > > NASA. > With my schedule, 11 was too early to get up so I taped it and am > watching the tape as I enter this. Neat stuff, especially the 360 > degree panorama Spirit shot from the top of Husband Hill. > > One comment that caught my attention, though, was that the computers > onboard the rovers are similar to home computers from about 15 years > ago. I knew the shuttle's computers use old technology but was > surprised to hear the rovers suffer from the same problem. > > > I haven't seen anything on the list for about it for a while... > I put it in News last week and included a reminder in this morning's > issue so hopefully most everyone got a heads up. > > Ok, back to the briefing. > > 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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New Image Posted - M33 Pinwheel Galaxy in Color
by Tyler Allred 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

Hi all. I finally got some imaging in last night. I decided to get color data to go with my previous postings from Wolf Creek. I went to Heber Valley and added RGB and Ha data to my earlier version of the Pinwheel Galaxy. I think it turned out pretty good..... it may be my personal favorite image in my collection. It is the perfect object for my Tak in Newt mode. Large size and low surface brightness are a good combination for a fast newt. Let me know what you think. I am always interested in getting feedback on my astro-images. I hope someone enjoys them. Here is the link to the Thumbnail version: http://www.utahastronomy.com/album16/Utah_Astronomy_M33_LHaRGB Click the image to see the larger version. Cheers, Tyler

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OT - Hurricane relief
by Kim Hyatt 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

Sorry for the lengthy post, but the information is important. I'm not trying to promote the local predominant denomination, but the following gave me pause: A good friend of mine is an emergency room doctor who has a special LDS "calling" responding to disaster situations for the LDS relief agency. Among the many emergencies to which he has responded, he was sent to Asia after the tsunami last December. I know he made at least two trips of two to three weeks each. After he returned the first time, I asked him about how best to make my own modest contribution, such as to which agency. His reply was very enlightening. He said that many agencies, even some of the better known agencies, are very inefficient and have high overheads, some as high as 40 percent or more; therefore, your donation dollar does not go very far. Furthermore, what actually arrives on site often is not needed or cannot be used ( parkas sent to Baghdad in summer, rice that cannot be cooked because of lack of water, that sort of thing) and that the waste is just incompetent. He told me that he used to resist donating to the LDS agency, but that after what he has seen time after time in the field, he has learned that the LDS Church consistently does a better job than anyone else. Where the LDS Church needs to coordinate with others, they often do so with other carefully selected agencies such as the Catholic Relief Agency and the American Red Cross. In other words, they don't just try to go it alone, either. With a low overhead of just four percent or so, It's hard to beat them. It's would be hard to do better. After that conversation, I determined to make all of my other donations for disaster relief through the LDS relief agencies. Kim

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Looking for Opinions
by Cynthia Blue 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

I'm just curious what the general thoughts are of those on the list. I'd appreciate some input... you all can reply onlist or privately to me if you like. Has the subject matter on the list moved away from Astronomy too much for your liking? Do you not read most of the emails from the list anymore? Would you prefer to snuff out the political/evolutionary/etc content, and just read about Astronomy? Thanks! Cynthia

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Hopping Lunar Penguin
by Dale Hooper 01 Sep '05

01 Sep '05

One of the articles referenced in Patrick's astronews today was about a hopping lunar robot referred to as a "Lunar Penguin" from Raytheon. Does anyone have any idea how it got the "penguin" nickname? Do real penguins hop? Clear skies, Dale.

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