August 2006 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Report (and pics) from Wolf Creek/SLAStrofest
by Richard Tenney 03 Aug '06

03 Aug '06

It was a fun weekend (especially sleeping in the "new" camper I recently got deeper into debt for) in spite of the hit-and-miss weather up at Wolf Creek. The company was great, the scopes were big and varied, including Utah's biggest, Steve Dodd's 33-inch marvel and Ron Vanderhule's 25-inch. Most of the observing happend after midnight, and we even got a break on the cloudier Saturday between 12:30 and 2:00 a.m. (no Joan, I still haven't determined wheter alpha Herculis is really green or not). Binoviewers abounded, and some of the views were spectacular. Some of us are also wondering if there's a new nova in M31, below/West of the nucleus); at least some of us don't remember seeing that bright dot there before (anyone else confirm this?). How does one go about reporting these things? Anyway, I've posted a few pics of Wolf Creek for those of you who haven't been up there to get an idea of how pretty the location is: http://jove.prohosting.com/uvaa/rich/wolf.htm (Many thanks to Lowell and Joan and Jo and others for planning a fun and worthwhile SLAS event!) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Science film screening
by Michael Carnes 03 Aug '06

03 Aug '06

And of course, there's the classic Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone) -----Original Message----- >From: Kim <kimharch(a)cut.net> >Sent: Aug 2, 2006 12:48 PM >To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Science film screening > >Although it appears that it may be too late to make a suggestion, I will >offer my first choice for a science fiction film for Patrick's shindig: >"Armageddon" with Bruce Willis. Don't laugh - from beginning to end the >"science" is non-existent, so it would make for a good discussion about why >the film is so bad. Patrick could even explain "space dementia." > > > >Kim > > > >_______________________________________________ >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] Science film screening
by Michael Carnes 03 Aug '06

03 Aug '06

No, I'm with Kim on this. I've got my official Boomer card and I think the original Star Trek is seen best as unintentional comedy. I don't think it was ever intended to carry the weight of seriousness that our generation seems to have put on it. The best of NextGen was considerably better in every way--story, writing, acting. Of course the worst of NextGen matches nicely with the original series. And "Voyager" was one of the worst things anybody ever wasted electricity on. Of course, I'm also the guy that thinks "2001" is a horrendously pretentious piece of claptrap.... > >Not to put words in his mouth, but surely Patrick, as a fellow >Boomer, would far prefer the least perfect (I can't bring myself to >say worst) episode of the original Star Trek to the best of NG!!! -- >Joe > >I also think it was by far the best episode of any of >>the Star Trek series. >> >>Kim >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net(a)mailman.xmission.com >>[mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com] On >>Behalf Of Michael Carnes >>Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 12:02 PM >>To: Utah Astronomy >>Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Science film screening >> >> >>And of course, there's the classic Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man" >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>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 > > >_______________________________________________ >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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News, 03 AUG 2006
by Patrick Wiggins 03 Aug '06

03 Aug '06

News, Thursday, 03 AUG 2006 Dedication / Star Parties This Weekend SLAS will host a public star party at the Harmons in Midvale tomorrow night starting at sunset. Saturday night's public star party at SPOC will be preceded by the official opening of the Refractor House and the dedication and naming of the refractor. Opening and dedication will begin at 7:45 pm. Star party to start at 8:30 pm. Opening and dedication will be held regardless of the weather. Star parties will be held weather permitting. http://slas.us/CALENDAR.ASP +++++ USU Tool Will Help Protect Astronauts It looks like a metallic cross and researchers joke that its purpose is to ward off space vampires. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C640199167%2C00.html +++++ Lowell Observatory, UA Optical Sciences to Complete Discovery Channel Telescope Primary Mirror (Submitted by SLAS member Richard Tenney) Lowell Observatory and the University of ArizonaÂ’s College of Optical Sciences have finalized a $3 million, three-year contract to complete the Discovery Channel Telescope primary mirror. http://www.lowell.edu/press_room/releases/recent_releases/DCT_UofA.html +++++ Wannabe Star Escapes Near-Death Experience Jupiter-sized body survives the explosion of its companion star unscathed. http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060731/full/060731-8.html +++++ Supernovae Make Dark Matter Bloat The invisible dark matter at the centre of galaxies is not as dense as we would expect - and now we know why. http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/mg19125633.900-supernovae-make-dar… +++++ NASA Exploration Systems Progress Report Marshall Center engineers recently completed a series of hot-fire tests that support development of keys to NASAÂ’s exploration goals to return to the moon and travel to Mars and beyond. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2006/H-06-273.html +++++ Extraterrestrial Fireworks NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of a cosmic explosion that is quite similar to fireworks on Earth. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2006/35/ +++++ Huygens Scientific Archive Data Set Released The unique data obtained by the six Huygens experiments are now being archived in the ESA Planetary Science Archive. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEM8TYIZBQE_0.html +++++ Watching Atlas's Waistline The Cassini spacecraft finds oddly-shaped Atlas gliding along the edge of the A ring. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=2220 +++++ Space Shuttle Moves to Launch Pad The Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived at its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center yesterday. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/aug/HQ_06287_Atlantis_roll_out.html +++++ Evolution Debate Not Settled by Election Evolution's victory in Kansas state school board election doesn't mean debate is over. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/02/ap/tech/mainD8J8JH080.shtml +++++ Rosetta Update http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=39767 +++++ Venus Express Update http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=39768 +++++ ************************************************** ************************************************** Images and Data From Cassini-Huygens At:s http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/latest/index.cfm http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-releases.cfm +++++ Information On The Mars Rovers At: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html +++++ SLAS 2006 Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/LOCAL.HTML +++++ SSA / UMNH 2006 Southern Utah Public Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/STARPARTIES.HTML +++++ ************************************************** News is being sent to you because of your affiliation with the Salt Lake Astronomical Society or because you are subscribed to the Utah Astronomy Listserve. To unsubscribe please send your request to paw at wirelessbeehive dot com. Check out my NASA Solar System Ambassador web site at: http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky and mirrored at http://utahastro.info/ For astronomy clubs in Utah see: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/UTAHCLUBS.HTML For the Utah Astronomy Listserve see: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy ************************************************** -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah & NE Nevada paw at wirelessbeehive dot com http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky http://utahastro.info/ 435.882.1209 801.918.9092

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Movie suggestions sought
by Patrick Wiggins 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

I've been asked to host another Science Movie Night at the downtown library for the Utah Museum of Natural History. It will be the evening of Tuesday, 3 October. They've tentatively scheduled October Skies. A fun flick but I did that one for them in 2003. Anyone have ideas for a movie? For those who are not familiar with the Science Movie Night concept see http://www.umnh.utah.edu/museum/PublicPrograms/scienceMovieNight.html . Patrick

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Science film screening
by Michael Carnes 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

Actually my favorite of all the space TV shows was "Babylon 5". It started out with a plan for a 5 year story arc. It went five years, told its story and then ended. People (or aliens) died, things changed, there were consequences. People still were jealous, venal, deceitful. On Star Trek, humanity somehow had gotten over all that. Yeah, right. Star Trek in all versions reminds me of one of those Oliver Sacks stories about people with no memory. I know if one of my friends was taken over by an alien life form and tried to kill me, I'd probably still be pissed off about it for a week or two. In Star Trek, you never even heard "Hey, remember when Chekov thought he was a Bluxtar". Of course I'm just angry they didn't make the Star Trek episodes I wanted them to make. The one about transporter hackers who'd beam a pint of water into Kirk's bladder during a key love scene. Or the one about the night crew on the bridge. Cigarette burns on the Captain's chair. Half a donut at the science station. I'm just bitter. > >"Pardon me, but would you happen to have any Grey >Poupon?" Excellent.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Movie suggestions sought
by Michael Carnes 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

>Starship Troopers. >Lots of guns and explosions. In my day job (making audio effects processing devices) I get out to Hollywood once in a while. I had a meeting with the chief sound designer for Starship Troopers while they were in the middle of the post-production process. He described it as "two hours of f*****g bug noises".

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] OT: More on evolution
by David Oreno 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

A more scientific Mormon view of (guided) evolution can be founf inEric N. Skousen's Book, Earth: In The Beginning There are a lot pros and cons to it, but at least it's not Abracadabra crap. --- Richard Tenney <retenney(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >Something else to think about is that many people >define themselves by their place within their faith. >If you present evidence contrary to elements of their >beliefs, it is perceived as a personal attack. Tread >lightly- from my own experience, I have not been >nearly sensitive enough in dealing with such people. David Oreno papamax(a)earthlink.net How's your nose?

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Science film screening
by Kim 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

Although it appears that it may be too late to make a suggestion, I will offer my first choice for a science fiction film for Patrick's shindig: "Armageddon" with Bruce Willis. Don't laugh - from beginning to end the "science" is non-existent, so it would make for a good discussion about why the film is so bad. Patrick could even explain "space dementia." Kim

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OT: More on evolution
by Richard Tenney 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

For those not interested in the subject of evolution, feel free to skip the rest of this and hit your delete buttons now. OT means off-topic, so you've had fair warning if you proceed. With Kansas back in today's news, I was reminded of a fascinating interview last week on NPR's Diane Rehm show, whose guest was Francis Collins, the longtime director of the Human Genome project, a leading researcher in medical genetics, and a self-professed Evangelical Christian. You can hear the archived program here: http://www.wamu.org/audio/dr/06/07/r2060725-10891.asx I've taken the trouble to transcribe one part of the interview that I found especially interesting, which follows: "The evidence for evolution is absolutely overwhelming. Those who would deny that should sit with me some day and go through the DNA evidence of our relatedness to other species. "If I look at our genome, and compare it with that of the chimpanzee, they are 98.8% the same. Now some might argue "well, God simply used some good ideas in a slightly different way over and over again in multiple acts of special creation", but the data doesn't support that. For instance, chimpanzees have two more chromosomes than humans do. When you look closely to see what's going on there, those two chromosomes have fused together to make one of ours, and when you look at the DNA sequence at that fusion point, it has a remarkable character; it has the type of sequence that one sees at what's called the telomere, the tip of the chromosome; no other chromosome has that in the middle. It's clearly the signature of two chromosomes having come together, and when you look at the chimp and you look at the human, it's inescapable to conclude that we are descended from a common primate ancestor. "We humans have pseudo-genes; genes that have lost their function. They've acquired some sort of major flaw, and in some instances those are genes which are located in the same place in the chimpanzee, or even in the dog or in the horse, yet in us they have stopped working. "What's going on? Would God have put those there just to confuse us or mislead us, when in fact we are completely different, special acts of creation? That sounds like a trickster god, not the God I worship. "So, I don't think by the study of DNA, or for that matter the fossil record, one can any longer deny the reality of evolution. But that's not a problem for me as a believer. If God decided to use that mechanism of creation, that's incredibly elegant; that's incredibly awe-inspiring." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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