September 2013 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Oreo 51
by D P Pierce 13 Sep '13

13 Sep '13

http://www.seattlepi.com/comics-and-games/fun/Bizarro/ Deloy

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Saturday at SPOC
by Joe Bauman 12 Sep '13

12 Sep '13

Hee hee! We're fair-weather friends. -- Joe ------------------------------ On Thu, Sep 12, 2013 7:22 PM MDT Chuck Hards wrote: >Well, I have to retract my statement. I've been going through my astro >stuff and I can't find much that I want to part with, at least at swap-meet >prices. So I may bring a few items, but not nearly as much as I originally >thought. > >Mostly, I am looking forward to Dale's pulled pork sandwich! >Is he going to actually cook the meat there? Rain will kill that >prospect. How many people can we cram into SPOC with the roofs and doors >closed? > >Joe, will you come if he cooks you a slab of liver? ;-) >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".

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Saturday at SPOC
by Chuck Hards 12 Sep '13

12 Sep '13

The weather forecast continues to deteriorate for the Star-b-que/swap meet/star party on Saturday. Harmons tomorrow night is looking even less likely. My wife and I are planning to drive out for the big feed and swap meet at SPOC, but we have to get up early on Sunday morning so can't stay for the star party even if there's a break in the weather. I'll have a number of ATM items for the swap meet, including focusers, optics & possibly a few mirror blanks. Maybe some other odds and ends if I can find the time to dig them out of storage. My disclaimer is that if it is actually raining when it's time to leave the house, I'm staying home. Just clouds, and I'll probably drive out and hope for at least a couple of hours of dry socializing. Somebody pray to the weather gods. Or go paint a pictograph of a shaman imploring the sun & stars to return. I watched an amazing lightning display over the mountains east of Farmington early this morning.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Saturday at SPOC
by Joe Bauman 12 Sep '13

12 Sep '13

Hi Patrick, I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. I wasn't speaking as v.p. -- just meant Cory and I might not make it. Thanks, Joe ------------------------------ On Thu, Sep 12, 2013 4:00 PM MDT Patrick Wiggins wrote: >Hi Joe, > >Isn't the dinner and swap meet going to happen regardless of the weather? > >patrick > > >On 12 Sep 2013, at 15:56, Joe Bauman wrote: > >> I think we're going to chicken out on the Star-B-Que, unless the weather improves dramatically over what's expected. -- Joe >> >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> >> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >> Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 11:34 AM >> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Saturday at SPOC >> >> >> The weather forecast continues to deteriorate for the Star-b-que/swap >> meet/star party on Saturday. Harmons tomorrow night is looking even less >> likely. >> >> My wife and I are planning to drive out for the big feed and swap meet at >> SPOC, but we have to get up early on Sunday morning so can't stay for the >> star party even if there's a break in the weather. >> >> I'll have a number of ATM items for the swap meet, including focusers, >> optics & possibly a few mirror blanks. Maybe some other odds and ends if I >> can find the time to dig them out of storage. My disclaimer is that if it >> is actually raining when it's time to leave the house, I'm staying home. >> Just clouds, and I'll probably drive out and hope for at least a couple of >> hours of dry socializing. >> >> Somebody pray to the weather gods. Or go paint a pictograph of a shaman >> imploring the sun & stars to return. >> >> I watched an amazing lightning display over the mountains east of >> Farmington early this morning. > >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".

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Fw: NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey Into Interstellar Space
by Joe Bauman 12 Sep '13

12 Sep '13

W00-HOO! Finally! -- Joe ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: JPL News <Jplnews(a)jpl.nasa.gov> To: Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 12:43 PM Subject: NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey Into Interstellar Space MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 PHONE 818-354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov Jia-Rui C. Cook/D.C. Agle 818-354-0850/818-393-9011 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. jccook(a)jpl.nasa.gov Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726 Headquarters, Washington dwayne.c.brown(a)nasa.gov NEWS RELEASE: 2013-277 Sept. 12, 2013 NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey Into Interstellar Space PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft officially is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) from our sun. New and unexpected data indicate Voyager 1 has been traveling for about one year through plasma, or ionized gas, present in the space between stars. Voyager is in a transitional region immediately outside the solar bubble, where some effects from our sun are still evident. A report on the analysis of this new data, an effort led by Don Gurnett and the plasma wave science team at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, is published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science. "Now that we have new, key data, we believe this is mankind's historic leap into interstellar space," said Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist based at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. "The Voyager team needed time to analyze those observations and make sense of them. But we can now answer the question we've all been asking -- 'Are we there yet?' Yes, we are." Voyager 1 first detected the increased pressure of interstellar space on the heliosphere, the bubble of charged particles surrounding the sun that reaches far beyond the outer planets, in 2004. Scientists then ramped up their search for evidence of the spacecraft's interstellar arrival, knowing the data analysis and interpretation could take months or years. Voyager 1 does not have a working plasma sensor, so scientists needed a different way to measure the spacecraft's plasma environment to make a definitive determination of its location. A coronal mass ejection, or a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields, that erupted from the sun in March 2012 provided scientists the data they needed. When this unexpected gift from the sun eventually arrived at Voyager 1's location 13 months later, in April 2013, the plasma around the spacecraft began to vibrate like a violin string. On April 9, Voyager 1's plasma wave instrument detected the movement. The pitch of the oscillations helped scientists determine the density of the plasma. The particular oscillations meant the spacecraft was bathed in plasma more than 40 times denser than what they had encountered in the outer layer of the heliosphere. Density of this sort is to be expected in interstellar space. The plasma wave science team reviewed its data and found an earlier, fainter set of oscillations in October and November 2012. Through extrapolation of measured plasma densities from both events, the team determined Voyager 1 first entered interstellar space in August 2012. "We literally jumped out of our seats when we saw these oscillations in our data -- they showed us the spacecraft was in an entirely new region, comparable to what was expected in interstellar space, and totally different than in the solar bubble," Gurnett said. "Clearly we had passed through the heliopause, which is the long-hypothesized boundary between the solar plasma and the interstellar plasma." The new plasma data suggested a timeframe consistent with abrupt, durable changes in the density of energetic particles that were first detected on Aug. 25, 2012. The Voyager team generally accepts this date as the date of interstellar arrival. The charged particle and plasma changes were what would have been expected during a crossing of the heliopause. "The team’s hard work to build durable spacecraft and carefully manage the Voyager spacecraft's limited resources paid off in another first for NASA and humanity," said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We expect the fields and particles science instruments on Voyager will continue to send back data through at least 2020. We can't wait to see what the Voyager instruments show us next about deep space." Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Both spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 2, launched before Voyager 1, is the longest continuously operated spacecraft. It is about 9.5 billion miles (15 billion kilometers) away from our sun. Voyager mission controllers still talk to or receive data from Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 every day, though the emitted signals are currently very dim, at about 23 watts -- the power of a refrigerator light bulb. By the time the signals get to Earth, they are a fraction of a billion-billionth of a watt. Data from Voyager 1's instruments are transmitted to Earth typically at 160 bits per second, and captured by 34- and 70-meter NASA Deep Space Network stations. Traveling at the speed of light, a signal from Voyager 1 takes about 17 hours to travel to Earth. After the data are transmitted to JPL and processed by the science teams, Voyager data are made publicly available. “Voyager has boldly gone where no probe has gone before, marking one of the most significant technological achievements in the annals of the history of science, and adding a new chapter in human scientific dreams and endeavors,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate administrator for science in Washington. “Perhaps some future deep space explorers will catch up with Voyager, our first interstellar envoy, and reflect on how this intrepid spacecraft helped enable their journey.” Scientists do not know when Voyager 1 will reach the undisturbed part of interstellar space where there is no influence from our sun. They also are not certain when Voyager 2 is expected to cross into interstellar space, but they believe it is not very far behind. JPL built and operates the twin Voyager spacecraft. The Voyagers Interstellar Mission is a part of NASA's Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.NASA's Deep Space Network, managed by JPL, is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The cost of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions -- including launch, mission operations and the spacecraft’s nuclear batteries, which were provided by the Department of Energy -- is about $988 million through September. For a sound file of the oscillations detected by Voyager in interstellar space, animations and other information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/voyager . For an image of the radio signal from Voyager 1 on Feb. 21 by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array, which links telescopes from Hawaii to St. Croix, visit: http://www.nrao.edu . -end-

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Two Pictographs
by jcarman6＠q.com 12 Sep '13

12 Sep '13

Okay, I looked at the second set of 4 pictures from Hell's Canyon (don't know why I didn't see them before - they were right next to the first set, but I didn't see them the first time). and looked at the "sinbad" pictograph. Admittedly, I see more similar ity between the Hell's Canyon humanoid and "sinbad" than I do with the 7 mile one, but they are very different overall (the "headdress" in particular). The six fingers are confusing. Did the "artist" just miscount? or did the individual actually have six fingers? (don't tell Von Danikin - it will be proof positive aliens visited Utah - course that might explain a lot lol ). There needs to be a lot more evidence to connect these various glyphs to the same culture. Rock art is a difficult medium - scratching the top layer of rock off to actually make an image. For me, the 7 mile set doesn't smack of a comet in the least. The Hell's Canyon one is suspicious. It might be, but again it is next to and below the humanoid's head - not above . It might be a flaming ball of fire (from a lighting strike) or maybe a bolide - not a comet at all. Carbon dating is the first step, to MAYBE make a connection to an astronomical event around the same time. Unfortunately, even after that, it will still mainly be theoretical. We as 20th/21st century, educated in a whole different fashion, beings need to be real careful when we look at rock art and not look at it as an ink blot test. Tho se ancient indians were very simple, eeking out a mini mal existence in a very difficult and tempermental land. We can't say, "oh it looks like XX to me." We have to ask the question "what did it look like to them? " As they had no written language and their tribal organization was minimal, what they saw and recorded as valuable, or important, may not be anything we can connect with. As for Von Dell Chamberlain - he was an expert on the Pawnee and other more established, traditional tribes back east. No doubt he tramped around these sites for his own experience and might have an opinion. There's a guy, named Nal Morris? or Morrison? talked to the club before, about rock art/ancient calendars and such - I have a notebook of his somewhere. All I remember is the "zipper" glyph. He makes a good argument for his position. He has spent years studying these glyphs. He might have an opinion about the Hell's Canyon one. It would be interesting to hear his take on it.

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Two Pictographs
by jcarman6＠q.com 11 Sep '13

11 Sep '13

I followed the link to your website and found four pictures. They were all of the same pictograph, with a close up of a horizontal, thick, wavy line (equal guess would have been a snake) and three long, thin, unconnected lines going horizontal next to a large humanoid (one guess a shaman, could have been a chief, or maybe the head of household) figure. My initial reaction was, if it was a comet, why wasn't it depicted above the humanoid - suggesting up in the sky. Joe's suggestion that it's rain coming out of the clouds, imho, has stronger validity, although I don't necessarily think that is what is is either. The three thin lines are between the humanoid and another picture. The images may not be connected at all. Why do you think is is a comet?

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Two pictographs of a three-tailed comet from Dead Horse Point area
by Joe Bauman 11 Sep '13

11 Sep '13

Quite interesting, Dave. I don't interpret them as comets, though. I visited and photographed a petroglyph of apparently the same personage at the Head of Sinbad in the San Rafael Swell and it seemed obvious that he was commanding a cloud to rain -- the streaks were rain. Or so I thought. Thanks, Joe ------------------------------ On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 3:07 PM MDT Dave Gary wrote: >Hey, speaking of comets, take a look at these photos I took a few years back when I was wandering around the Dead Horse Point area. The first set is from 7-Mile Wash, the second from Hell Roaring Canyon. Something different, but astronomy-related. I propose it’s two different depictions of the same shaman and the same comet, but from two different artists, either from the same group or two different groups. > >Also, notice the solitary big-horn-sheep pictograph from the Hell Roaring Canyon set appears to be pregnant. Was this the artist’s way of saying this was a spring-time comet? Something fun to think about (you can make up any story you like) and it has an astronomy plot. > > >http://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/sets > >Dave > >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".

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More clouds and rain
by Chuck Hards 11 Sep '13

11 Sep '13

Hey, I think I see something bright in the sky, that hurts when you look at it...no, never mind, it went away again.

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Two pictographs
by jcarman6＠q.com 11 Sep '13

11 Sep '13

I don't think that is a comet. Sorry.

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