April 2015 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Thanks Chuck! (solar filter)
by Wiggins Patrick 22 Apr '15

22 Apr '15

For those who may not have heard Chuck Hards recently donated a full aperture solar filter to SPOC for use on the 200mm Bogdan refractor. I got my first chance to see and use it a couple of days ago while teaching a refractor refresher. As one would expect of anything Chuck builds the look and workmanship are exquisite. How he does such great work with hand tools only is beyond me. The Sun was still up when the class was ending so we put the filter on the scope and had a look at the Sun. Wow! The detail was superb. Sunspots, of course, but even the granulation was easy to see. Great work Chuck. And thanks again! patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mizar (solved)
by John M. Craig 22 Apr '15

22 Apr '15

Joel, Fun to have you come view the sun with me yesterday! Let's figure out a time to bring your other kids. If you haven't looked at this article, it's very interesting: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/mizar-a-fresh-look-at-an-old-frien… Not only a Mizar A & B both spectroscopic doubles, but the quite distant Alcor is also a double. Hence the reference to the sextuple system by Dave Gary--the reluctant learner ;-) --in the late afternoon today. The article has an image of Mizar A shot with an interferometer that shows Mizar A' (or whatever its proper designation is) at different positions on different dates--the orbital period of the two spectral class A stars is only 20.5 days. At any rate, don't miss the article. John

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Rocky Mountain Star Stare
by John M. Craig 22 Apr '15

22 Apr '15

Hi Folks, I don't know if any of you have ever been to the Rocky Mountain Star Stare before (it's from June 10 - 14 this year). I've been several times over the last number of years. I've been trying to figure out if I could make it work this year and would be interested in perhaps carpooling with someone from Utah--I'd provide the car--at least that's the plan now. See rmss.org for info about the Star Stare. The general location is about an hour south and a little west of Pueblo and it's primitive camping--they provide porta-potties, but that's about the only amenity--although they do have a kind of barn-like building on the site as of last year (so you could be out of the weather and still communing with fellow astro-nuts if there's bad weather). The tiny town of Gardner is the nearest place for ice and showers and such. It's generally a pretty great star party: they have good day-time activities and usually really interesting talks (last year one of the principle investigators on the Horizons Pluto probe, for instance). The sky is dark and the seeing has been good. There's likely to be about 200 attendees or thereabouts. Remember the supernova in M51 some years back--I got to see it through a 30" Dob--very cool (and a very tall ladder). The fellow with that monster wasn't there this last year and the other really big Dob was moving around in the wind too much to be safe--it can be windy--and it can be dusty (especially by the latter part of it). Here's some difficulties I'm facing (assuming I can get off work): o I prefer not to drive that far by myself o Most likely, I will have to have access to the Internet to do some work while there So I'd need to spend at least some of the time in hotel/B&B or someplace that I could work (I may be able to work at a library in Wallsenburg--about 25-30 miles further south)--unless by some miracle, I can train someone else at work to do the tasks for me (and that I trust them not to screw it up worse than I might). If you might be interested, go ahead and reply directly to me: John jmcraig(a)xmission.com (I'm in Orem, BTW)

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wendover sun party
by John M. Craig 22 Apr '15

22 Apr '15

Patrick, In theory, I'd be happy to come with you (I have an 80mm Lunt I'd bring). The trouble is, I wouldn't really know if I could take the day off work until I knew the date, and it was somewhat closer. In theory, I'd be willing to lend the scope to you (not to anybody mind, but...), but that doesn't help much if you have to be re-aiming two scopes instead of one--although I have a Celestron CG4 that I normally mount it on and a teacher would was willing to follow directions could keep it pointed for you. (You'd be responsible for cleaning fingerprints off the eyelens ;-) At any rate, when you know more, I'd like to hear--in case I could get away. John

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Are we alone lecture
by Wiggins Patrick 22 Apr '15

22 Apr '15

Dan Werthimer at Cal Day: Are We Alone? SETI@home and the Search for ET https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-I5fb2qKwU&feature=youtu.be patrick

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Asteroid Threat Exercise at PDC Meeting
by Wiggins Patrick 21 Apr '15

21 Apr '15

Thought folks here might like to see this. patrick Asteroid Threat Exercise at PDC Meeting by David Morrison Over the 5 days of the Planetary Defense Conference in Frascati, the attendees participated in an imaginary impact scenario. The fictional asteroid 2015PDC followed an orbit carefully planned by Paul Chodas (JPL); Mark Boslough (Sandia) modeled the probable effects of impacts over land and sea, and Debbie Lewis (Axiom) stage-managed the exercise. The scientists attending the meeting provided regular strategy inputs to the “world leaders” on how to deal with the possibility of an impact on September 3, 2022. Many volunteered for role-playing to represent the reactions of political leaders and the public. The exercise began on Day 1 of the conference with the announcement, dated June 9, 2015, of discovery of 2015PDC (a fictitious asteroid with diameter between 150 and 450m) and its predicted close pass by Earth seven years in the future. On Day 2 it was announced that new observations had improved knowledge of the orbit and now predicted a 50% chance of impact, and by December 2016 (18 months after discovery) an impact was certain. Although the exact location could not be determined, the locus of possible impact points was defined by a “risk corridor” that stretched from the Pacific Ocean, across the South China Sea, and into the South Asian mainland. Cities lying close to this path included Manila, Hanoi, Dhaka, Delhi, and Tehran. Here the role-playing began, with the realization that the areas at risk were all in Asia, and that a majority of the world’s Moslems were living along the risk corridor, while most of the decision-making would likely be done in Europe and the United States. The only two nations along risk corridor with substantial space capabilities were China and India. By summer 2019 the risk corridor had shrunk to within the South China Sea. While there could be potential tsunami damage to the nations around this body of water, large population centers such as Dhaka and Delhi were spared. In spite of the reduced risk, the US, ESA, and Russia proposed to launch several kinetic impactor (KI) missions in the only available window in August 2019. This information precipitated the major crises of the exercise, since any KI effort that was not fully successful in moving the target area off the Earth could move it into the heavily populated parts of India and Bangladesh. Thus some nations wanted to take the hit and deal with the resulting tsunami, while others opted for the KI attempts. We faced the new threat of possible warfare between China and India. The adopted scenario did include the launch of several KI missions, but the deflection was only partially successful. The asteroid split, with one part missing the Earth, while a 100m fragment was still headed for the Ganges and Brahmaputra deltas, including the cities of Delhi and Dhaka. Having tried to deflect the asteroid, we were now dealing with a human-made threat rather than an “act of god”, with associated issues of liability and compensation. India unilaterally decided to attempt a last-minute nuclear strike on the asteroid, but this mission failed. The exercise concluded with asteroid impact near Dhaka on September 3, 2022. Was this a realistic simulation of an impact threat? The answer is yes, for the orbit of the asteroid and the limited windows for telescopic and radar observations. But the political leaders were being played by scientists with no prior expertise on the nations involved, so their assessments and decisions were strictly amateur. In any case, it was educational for the participants. We got a much better idea of how difficult it would be to measure size and physical properties, and how few opportunities there would be for spacecraft or radar observations, in the case where the asteroid picked us, not the other way around. And it illustrated that while we talk about defending the planet, in a real case individual nations will likely have conflicting priorities on how to deal with the threat.

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Fwd: NEO NEWS
by Wiggins Patrick 21 Apr '15

21 Apr '15

I thought folks here might like to see this. patrick Begin forwarded message: > From: "Morrison, David D. (ARC-D)" <david.morrison(a)nasa.gov> > Subject: NEO NEWS (21 April 2015) NASA ARM, OSIRIS-Rex, and Planetary Defense Conference > Date: 21 April 2015 at 17:51:07 MDT > > > > NEO NEWS (21 April 2015) NASA ARM, OSIRIS-Rex, and Planetary Defense Conference > > ==================================== > > Bolden Not Concerned About ARM Criticism > > Space News, April 15 2015, by Jeff Foust > [http://spacenews.com/31-space-symposium/#sthash.ivLIzIyJ.dpuf] > > NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said April 14 he is not concerned with recent criticism of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) by the agency’s own advisory group. > > The NASA Advisory Council, at an April 10 meeting in Washington, unanimously approved a finding that concluded that NASA should not carry out its current plans for ARM. Those plans involve landing a spacecraft on a near Earth asteroid, grabbing a boulder several meters across, and returning that boulder to orbit around the Moon in order to be visited by astronauts on an Orion spacecraft. > > The council instead suggested that NASA develop one of the key ARM technologies, solar electric propulsion, and use it to power a spacecraft on a round-trip flight to Mars. Other reasons for flying ARM, including asteroid science and planetary defense, “do not have value commensurate with their probable cost.” > > Bolden, in a brief interview after a panel session of space agency leaders here, said he had not received the formal text of the council’s finding, but did not anticipate NASA making a formal response to it. “It’s just a finding, so there’s no need for a response,” he said, as opposed to a recommendation that would require one. > > Asked if he was concerned about this latest criticism of ARM, two years after NASA first announced plans to carry out the mission, Bolden offered a succinct response: “Not really.” > > ================================= > > OSIRIS-REx Mission Progress > NASA Press Release, March 31 > > [http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-s-osiris-rex-mission-passes-criti… > > NASA's groundbreaking science mission to retrieve a sample from an ancient space rock has moved closer to fruition. The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has passed a critical milestone in its path towards launch and is officially authorized to transition into its next phase…. > > “This is an exciting time for the OSIRIS-REx team,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-Rex at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “After almost four years of intense design efforts, we are now proceeding with the start of flight system assembly. I am grateful for the hard work and team effort required to get us to this point.” > > OSIRIS-REx is the first U.S. mission to return samples from an asteroid to Earth. The spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu and bring at least a 60-gram (2.1-ounce) sample back to Earth for study. OSIRIS-REx carries five instruments that will remotely evaluate the surface of Bennu…..OSIRIS-REx is scheduled for launch in late 2016. The spacecraft will reach Bennu in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023. > > =================================== > > Planetary Defense Conference April 13-17 in Frascati, Italy > > Attendance was 245, including 16 from the media. There were 81 oral papers, and approximately the same number of poster papers. > > Planetary Society blog: [http://www.planetary.org/blogs/bruce-betts/2015/20150413-planetary-defense-…] > > Media Briefing and access to additional information: [http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/2015/04/16/planetary-defense-conference-…] > > ================================= > > Asteroid Threat Exercise at PDC Meeting > by David Morrison > > Over the 5 days of the Planetary Defense Conference in Frascati, the attendees participated in an imaginary impact scenario. The fictional asteroid 2015PDC followed an orbit carefully planned by Paul Chodas (JPL); Mark Boslough (Sandia) modeled the probable effects of impacts over land and sea, and Debbie Lewis (Axiom) stage-managed the exercise. The scientists attending the meeting provided regular strategy inputs to the “world leaders” on how to deal with the possibility of an impact on September 3, 2022. Many volunteered for role-playing to represent the reactions of political leaders and the public. > > The exercise began on Day 1 of the conference with the announcement, dated June 9, 2015, of discovery of 2015PDC (a fictitious asteroid with diameter between 150 and 450m) and its predicted close pass by Earth seven years in the future. On Day 2 it was announced that new observations had improved knowledge of the orbit and now predicted a 50% chance of impact, and by December 2016 (18 months after discovery) an impact was certain. Although the exact location could not be determined, the locus of possible impact points was defined by a “risk corridor” that stretched from the Pacific Ocean, across the South China Sea, and into the South Asian mainland. Cities lying close to this path included Manila, Hanoi, Dhaka, Delhi, and Tehran. Here the role-playing began, with the realization that the areas at risk were all in Asia, and that a majority of the world’s Moslems were living along the risk corridor, while most of the decision-making would likely be done in Europe and the United States. The only two nations along risk corridor with substantial space capabilities were China and India. > > By summer 2019 the risk corridor had shrunk to within the South China Sea. While there could be potential tsunami damage to the nations around this body of water, large population centers such as Dhaka and Delhi were spared. In spite of the reduced risk, the US, ESA, and Russia proposed to launch several kinetic impactor (KI) missions in the only available window in August 2019. This information precipitated the major crises of the exercise, since any KI effort that was not fully successful in moving the target area off the Earth could move it into the heavily populated parts of India and Bangladesh. Thus some nations wanted to take the hit and deal with the resulting tsunami, while others opted for the KI attempts. We faced the new threat of possible warfare between China and India. > > The adopted scenario did include the launch of several KI missions, but the deflection was only partially successful. The asteroid split, with one part missing the Earth, while a 100m fragment was still headed for the Ganges and Brahmaputra deltas, including the cities of Delhi and Dhaka. Having tried to deflect the asteroid, we were now dealing with a human-made threat rather than an “act of god”, with associated issues of liability and compensation. India unilaterally decided to attempt a last-minute nuclear strike on the asteroid, but this mission failed. The exercise concluded with asteroid impact near Dhaka on September 3, 2022. > > Was this a realistic simulation of an impact threat? The answer is yes, for the orbit of the asteroid and the limited windows for telescopic and radar observations. But the political leaders were being played by scientists with no prior expertise on the nations involved, so their assessments and decisions were strictly amateur. In any case, it was educational for the participants. We got a much better idea of how difficult it would be to measure size and physical properties, and how few opportunities there would be for spacecraft or radar observations, in the case where the asteroid picked us, not the other way around. And it illustrated that while we talk about defending the planet, in a real case individual nations will likely have conflicting priorities on how to deal with the threat. > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > NEO News (now in its twentieth year of distribution) is an informal compilation of news and opinion dealing with Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and their impacts. These opinions are the responsibility of the individual authors and do not represent the positions of NASA, Ames Research Center, the International Astronomical Union, or any other organization. If anyone wishes to copy or redistribute original material from these notes, fully or in part, please include this disclaimer. > > If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, please reply with the word unsubscribe in the title. > > David Morrison <david.morrison(a)nasa.gov> >

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Earth Day Meteor Shower
by Wiggins Patrick 21 Apr '15

21 Apr '15

Earth Day Meteor Shower (Lyrids) http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/21apr_lyrids2015/ patrick

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Timp Cave Star Party / Dark Sky Summer Program - looking for volunteers
by Richard Tenney 21 Apr '15

21 Apr '15

I got this in my inbox today: Hi Rich,Timpanogos Cave National Monument would like to start a Dark Sky program this summer. We are partnering with the US Forest Service to present two programs this summer on the importance of preserving our night skies against light pollution. We are looking for an astronomy club to assist with a program in July and one in September. After a short presentation by a Ranger, we would like to have some telescopes available, with astronomers to introduce our visitors to interesting features of space and the night sky. If your club would be interested and willing to help with our new program, please contact me at this e-mail address or the phone number below. Thank you, -- Bonny ArmstrongBiological Science TechnicianTimpanogos Cave National MonumentAmerican Fork, Utah801-756-5238 x503 It turns out I will be in Sweden the first two weeks of July this year, but can do the September Event. Is there anyone on either list that could manage the July event? This is a really big deal, IMO, getting more National Park and Forest Service personnel interested and involved, and I don't want to blow this opportunity to make Utah a much more dark-sky friendly place! Please contact me directly (don't just hit reply to these lists) if you can help out in July. The dates she has in mind are the either the 10th or 11th, or the 17th or 18th (new moon is the 16th). These are Fridays/Saturdays. She has no idea yet how much interest this will generate. Her guess was 50, but I'm thinking it could turn out to be much higher. I'd like to get at least 5 scopes and operators there. /Rich Tenneyretenney(a)yahoo.com

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Space X music video
by Wiggins Patrick 21 Apr '15

21 Apr '15

Goes to show that the folks at Space-X have a sense of humor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yypBjVpDJZY&feature=youtu.be patrick

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