June 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".

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Star party in American Fork canyon this coming Friday, 1 July
by Richard Tenney 28 Jun '16

28 Jun '16

The Rangers of Timpanogos Cave National Monument and the Utah Valley Astronomy Club are hosting a star party Friday night. For those of you who can come up and bring a scope, or a pair of mounted binoculars, or a green laser and a knowledge of the night sky, please come and help support this effort. For everyone else, come and enjoy the night sky! Details: Date: Friday, July 1, 2016Time: Set up begins at 8:30 PM, event runs from 9:00 PM-11:00 PMLocation: Pine Hollow Trailhead (approximately 7 minutes & 4.5 miles up-canyon from the Timpanogos Cave National Monument Visitor Center on SR-92 in American Fork Canyon) Things to note:There will not be directional signage posted for the event along the route. There will, however, be signs in the Visitor Center windows and alongside the pullout for the Pine Hollow parking area. Visitors seemed to find us just fine last year without signage, so we’ve opted to keep things simple. Please encourage anyone you invite to plan their routes ahead of time.We are looking forward to this event being a fun, awe-inspiring star party. Additionally, we hope to deliver educational messages about the effects of artificial light at night and importance of darkness in our lives. We also aim to engage young people in light pollution awareness and star education through demonstrations and Junior Ranger activities. In essence, there will be a lot going on at this night skies event, and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation and patience in advance. Timpanogos Cave National Monument is so extremely fortunate to partner with Utah Valley Astronomy Club on these important and popular events. I attended a National Park Service night skies interpretation training at Arches National Park this spring, and as far as I can tell other parks do not have similar partnerships with local experts. We are truly grateful for the work you do to inspire wonder and encourage stewardship for the night skies at these events and throughout the year.

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Launch of the Utah Valley Astronomy Club Tonight!
by Richard Tenney 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

There is a new -- and soon to be fully functioning -- astronomy club in Utah County; the Utah Valley Astronomy Club (UVAC)! Check out the website: Utah Valley Astronomy Club | | Utah Valley Astronomy Club | | Tonight at 7pm in the basement auditorium of the Pleasant Grove Library (30 E. Center, Pleasant Grove), we will have our first public meeting. Clarence Spencer, an award-winning professional photographer, will present "Nightscapes: photographing the Milky Way with a DSLR camera". Free and open to the public. Come join us, become a member, and join our Facebook group: Security Check Required | | | Security Check Required | | | Hope to see you there!/Rich Tenney

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I'll be darned!
by Chuck Hards 23 Jun '16

23 Jun '16

I think this is the first year that we got to the Summer Solstice with nobody mentioning those stupid Sun Tunnels!

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SLAS meeting Wednesday night
by Chuck Hards 20 Jun '16

20 Jun '16

Thanks to all who attended the SLAS meeting on Wednesday night. We were treated to a pretty remarkable talk by Dr. Tim Parker of JPL. I know that my knowledge of Mars geology increased at least tenfold thanks to Dr. Parker. When I see pictures of the Martian surface, from now on I'll have a much better understanding of the formations I'm looking at. We had a pretty good turnout for a summer meeting, I estimate somewhere between fifty and sixty. Hopefully we can get him to speak again next year. Tim attended "Advanced Training" at VI afterwards. Thursday morning Rodger Fry kindly opened SPOC and gave him a personal tour of the observatory. He was very impressed with the facility. Tim is also a lifelong amateur astronomer and telescope maker, having a special interest in the Springfield mount (the 32" Grim scope at SPOC is on a Springfield), and having at least four awards from Riverside to his credit during his lifetime so-far. Tim spoke to Rodger about Mars geology quite a bit and Bruce Grim joined us for the tour. We were treated to some nice views of the sun with the Brandt refractor and DayStar filter. Tim said he had a very good time with SLAS and asked me to thank you all for your hospitality. Please feel free to repost this to SLAS TALK on FB if you are a FB member.

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Impressive solar prominence today
by John M. Craig 17 Jun '16

17 Jun '16

Hi Folks, I haven't had a chance to look myself, but the views at halpha.nso.edu show a pretty great prominence on the NE limb of the sun. It was a pretty impressive filament yesterday. Happy viewing! John

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Friday Night Pit n Pole
by JayLEads 03 Jun '16

03 Jun '16

I have obligations on Saturday so I have to come home around 2am or so, but a few of us are planning to observe tonight at Pit n Pole if anyone wants to join us there. Sunday night I am planning on Vernon again. -- Thanks! Jay

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Observing Wed June 1st and Thurs June 2nd (Camping Over)
by JayLEads 01 Jun '16

01 Jun '16

It's mid week, I'm lucky, I'm off, new moon is this weekend and the skies are gorgeous tonight. Guess where I am off too? I am loading up and heading out in about 2 hours to Vernon. I am shooting for the spot just after the cattle guard on Forest Road 006, turn right immediately after the cattle guard and come back by the lone Juniper tree. I'll be there. I AM camping over . . . and then observing again on Thursday night. SO if your off or wanting to come out, and you want to see some stuff or observe, feel free to come out. One last chance at GALAXIES for Spring. I anticipate being alone tonight (maybe a few will show up and possibly one on Thursday) but as always, I make the offer if anyone wants to join me. Temps are mild, mid 50's tonight and Thursday night. Bring a tent or sleep in mine if you want, and a decent sleeping bag should keep you warm. I no longer have data out there on my phone, so no texts, but my phone receives calls at the site, and my number is on the SLAS page if you should need to call me. I'll bring a tent but may car camp in the back of the Outback. We'll see. -- Thanks! Jay

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