May 2016 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Last night's lecture
by Joe Bauman 12 Dec '18

12 Dec '18

Brent, speaking of the ISS, I have wondered if it could be put into an orbit that continuously cruised between Earth and Mars. When it swung by Mars it could drop off and retrieved crews. I don't see how the radiation would be any worse than the ISS crews are already exposed to. ------------------------------ On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 8:18 AM MST Brent Watson via Utah-Astronomy wrote: >I attended the lecture last night on trajectories. It was really a good, stimulating talk. Thanks for passing the word along. >There were some interesting side comments made about our launch capabilities and the Mars One effort. Mr. Adamo was not at all enthusiastic about the Mars One effort. His opinion is that the effort is doomed because there is not really a way to assure that folks going there would be safe - primarily from radiation. He has done some work with a former flight surgeon on designing a spacecraft to go to Mars. Their result is that in order to get sufficient shielding (using a water jacket), the spacecraft's mass would be around 380 metric tons. That is for a small crew, probably only about 5 members. For a point of comparison, the ISS mass is 400 metric tons. He made the comment that an astronaut who made this trip could only go to space once in this craft, and then he would be at the limit of radiation exposure for his life. The NASA limit is an increased risk of developing cancer of 5%. >That brings us to our current launch capability. Our latest heavy lift rocket - the one we are currently developing - will have the capability to lift 130 metric tons to a very low earth orbit. So low, in fact, that it would burn up at perigee. The Apollo 17 Saturn 5 rocket lifted 140 metric tons into earth orbit -- higher than the new rocket will go. (I am sorry, but my mind will not allow me to recall the name of our currently being designed rocket.) Recall that it took several dozen shuttle launches to assemble the ISS. The Mars One vehicle would require either a hugely more massive launch rocket or a similar effort to build the craft. >As I mentioned, it was a very intellectually stimulating lecture and did involve several ordinary differential equations. They were nicely explained in English by Mr. Adamo. This was the first time I have seen some real math put to Kepler's laws. There were many charts showing what it takes to leave the earth and go to the moon or Mars. It was a very well done lecture. >The above is my recollection of the lecture, and may not actually represent the opinions of Mr. Adamo. It is only my interpretation of what he said. He knows his stuff, that is apparent. Thanks Patrick and Dr. Sohl for passing the word along. >_______________________________________________ >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".

15 22

Great Basin Astronomy Festival
by Gilliland, Annie 21 May '16

21 May '16

I work in the astronomy program at Great Basin National Park and am organizing this year's astronomy festival. The festival will be from September 29 - October 1 and we have star parties all three nights. We rely on volunteers to help us out with these events. We have a large observing field (a picnic area) and will generally have interested people for several hours each night. During the days, we feature solar observing, a night photography workshop, children's activities, and more. We'll have a keynote speaker and other popular evening events. There is also a volunteer appreciation dinner! If you are interested in helping out, please see our website: https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/greatbasinastronomyfestival.htm and especially the volunteer info page: https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/astrovip.htm Please let me know if I can answer any questions. Thank you, Annie Gilliland

1 0

How it's made - Vixen telescope factory
by Chuck Hards 16 May '16

16 May '16

This is a pretty cool video showing some important steps in the making of refractor telescopes at the Japan Vixen factory. A little over 13 minutes long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv6mA1POktU

2 1

L&O Next Saturday
by Chuck Hards 16 May '16

16 May '16

A reminder that the Liver & Onions Subcommittee will meet this coming Saturday May 21st, at the Left Fork Grill at 1:00 PM. Note the time, this is so the diner won't be so crowded and those wishing to attend the Sun Party in the morning can do so, and have lunch with us afterwards. This also makes it easier for some of our Ogden friends to attend. 68 W 3900 S, SLC. Plenty of on-site parking as well as easy TRAX access only half a block to the west. If you haven't already, please RSVP so I can get a head count and reserve our table. Hope to see you there!

1 0

Big sunspot
by Chuck Hards 16 May '16

16 May '16

The clouds broke yesterday afternoon for a short time, so I set up a small scope with a white-light filter. I was surprised to see that large sunspot of several weeks ago has rotated back into view. Take a look if you get the opportunity.

1 0

Venus/Mercury Shadow Size Comparison
by Dave Gary 16 May '16

16 May '16

Larry and Dan were commenting on the relative sizes of the shadows of Mercury and Venus as cast on Sun’s surface during their respective transits. I found my Venus transit photos from 5 June 2012 and put three of these photos beside the two photos I posted for the recent Mercury transit. The size difference of the shadows is quite pronounced. Enlarge each photo for full effect. > https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157667682350260/with/71… <https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157667682350260/with/71…> Dave

3 4

Transit of Mercury 05/09/2016
by Dave Gary 10 May '16

10 May '16

Here’s a couple of photos of the transit of Mercury. I have contact III (or close to it) but I can’t seem to get this particular card to read in the card reader I have and I can’t find the cable to hook the camera directly to the computer and bypass using the reader. I had to switch cards during the session and for some reason this older card (only 256MB capacity) won’t show up as a disk on my computer. Given time, maybe when I’m Larry’s age, I’ll figure it out. Contact III may be toast. > https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157665762078974/with/26… <https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157665762078974/with/26…>

2 2

Mercury transit
by kharrismar 09 May '16

09 May '16

I'm interested in observing the Mercury transit on May 9. I think it will be visible from here, but I don't know the timing. Can anyone help? Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

7 8

Next L&O Subcommittee Meeting
by Chuck Hards 05 May '16

05 May '16

I'm thinking Saturday the 21st, but starting at 1:00 PM. That way, those who want to attend the sun party at Winchester park that morning can do so, then have lunch afterwards. I'm thinking of going to the sun party that morning, myself. What say the rest of you? Would another day be better?

6 7

M81 and M82
by Dave Gary 04 May '16

04 May '16

Thanks Rich and Joan. I’m going to try to image tonight and tomorrow night. It’s supposed to bad weather down here in St. George in a couple of days. Dave

1 0