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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Last night's lecture
by Joe Bauman 11 Dec '18

11 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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Fwd: Europan life?
by Joe Bauman 26 Sep '16

26 Sep '16

Re. Like life and water temperature at Europa: > > I suppose the temperature doesn't matter much as long as the ocean isn't frozen solid. The important things are that chemical reactions take place, the right elements are available for life, it's warm enough but not scalding, a liquid medium is present, and the environment isn't toxic. > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Sep 26, 2016, at 5:02 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> The freezing point of water can be affected by impurities in the water. For example, salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, depending on the saline concentration. Pressure may also affect the freezing point, but college chemistry class was over a third of a century ago. Google it. >> >> Good question, Joe. >> >> >> >>> On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 4:55 PM, Joe Bauman via Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> wrote: >>> This may be a dopey question, but doesn't water have to be 32 degrees or above not to freeze? >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> > On Sep 26, 2016, at 1:28 PM, Dunn, David <David.Dunn(a)supervalu.com> wrote: >>> > >>> > One thought I have, I haven't found the answer yet, is how warm is the ocean under the ice. They know it is liquid water but with Jupiter pulling on it and radiating the moon and any core it has, I wonder how warm it is with all the protective ice on the surface. >>> > >>> > Thanks, >>> > David Dunn >>> > >>> > -----Original Message----- >>> > From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards >>> > Sent: Monday, September 26, 2016 1:07 PM >>> > To: Joe Bauman <josephmbauman(a)yahoo.com>; Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >>> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Europan life? >>> > >>> > *** External Email *** >>> > >>> > I think that would depend on the size of the organisms, the thickness of the ice, and the size of the fissures that rise to the surface. If the cracks are tight and miles deep, perhaps only microorganisms can make it all the way to the surface. Still, frozen bacteria, while not as nice as an alien fish, is better than nothing! >>> > >>> > >>> >> On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 12:40 PM, Joe Bauman via Utah-Astronomy < utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> wrote: >>> >> >>> >> If the ocean harbors living organisms, chances are great that their >>> >> remains are frozen on the surface! >>> >> >>> >> >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > 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". >>> > >>> > >>> > Information contained in this email, including attachments, is intended only for the recipient and may contain confidential information. If you received this email in error, please contact the sender, and delete the email from your system. >>> > >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > 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". >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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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Anyone going observing tonight?
by Joel Stucki 26 Sep '16

26 Sep '16

Looks like tonight and tomorrow are going to be the best nights this month. Trying to decide if I am going to pit n pole or out to Vernon.

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Europan life?
by Joe Bauman 26 Sep '16

26 Sep '16

If the ocean harbors living organisms, chances are great that their remains are frozen on the surface! Sent from my iPhone

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Fwd: [NASA HQ News] NASA’s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa
by Joe Bauman 26 Sep '16

26 Sep '16

Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: NASA News Releases <hqnews(a)newsletters.nasa.gov> > Date: September 26, 2016 at 12:06:00 PM MDT > To: hqnews(a)newsletters.nasa.gov > Subject: [NASA HQ News] NASA’s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa > Reply-To: hqnews(a)newsletters.nasa.gov > > > September 26, 2016 > RELEASE 16-096 > NASA’s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa > > This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The plumes, photographed by NASA’s Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble’s ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features -- rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa’s icy surface -- to be discerned. The water is believed to come from a subsurface ocean on Europa. The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014. The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions. > Credits: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high altitude water vapor plumes. > > The observation increases the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa’s ocean without having to drill through miles of ice. > > “Europa’s ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa’s subsurface.” > > The plumes are estimated to rise about 125 miles (200 kilometers) before, presumably, raining material back down onto Europa's surface. Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth’s oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness. The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice. > > The team, led by William Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore observed these finger-like projections while viewing Europa's limb as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. > > The original goal of the team's observing proposal was to determine whether Europa has a thin, extended atmosphere, or exosphere. Using the same observing method that detects atmospheres around planets orbiting other stars, the team realized if there was water vapor venting from Europa’s surface, this observation would be an excellent way to see it. > > "The atmosphere of an extrasolar planet blocks some of the starlight that is behind it," Sparks explained. "If there is a thin atmosphere around Europa, it has the potential to block some of the light of Jupiter, and we could see it as a silhouette. And so we were looking for absorption features around the limb of Europa as it transited the smooth face of Jupiter." > > In 10 separate occurrences spanning 15 months, the team observed Europa passing in front of Jupiter. They saw what could be plumes erupting on three of these occasions. > > > > NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took direct ultraviolet images of the icy moon Europa transiting across the disk of Jupiter. Out of 10 observations, Hubble saw what may be water vapor plumes on three of the images. This adds another piece of supporting evidence to the existence of water vapor plumes on Europa; Hubble also detected spectroscopic signatures of water vapor in 2012. > Credits: Goddard/Katrina Jackson > Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio > This work provides supporting evidence for water plumes on Europa. In 2012, a team led by Lorenz Roth of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, detected evidence of water vapor erupting from the frigid south polar region of Europa and reaching more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) into space. Although both teams used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph instrument, each used a totally independent method to arrive at the same conclusion. > > "When we calculate in a completely different way the amount of material that would be needed to create these absorption features, it's pretty similar to what Roth and his team found," Sparks said. "The estimates for the mass are similar, the estimates for the height of the plumes are similar. The latitude of two of the plume candidates we see corresponds to their earlier work." > > But as of yet, the two teams have not simultaneously detected the plumes using their independent techniques. Observations thus far have suggested the plumes could be highly variable, meaning that they may sporadically erupt for some time and then die down. For example, observations by Roth’s team within a week of one of the detections by Sparks’ team failed to detect any plumes. > > If confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system known to have water vapor plumes. In 2005, NASA's Cassini orbiter detected jets of water vapor and dust spewing off the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. > > Scientists may use the infrared vision of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2018, to confirm venting or plume activity on Europa. NASA also is formulating a mission to Europa with a payload that could confirm the presence of plumes and study them from close range during multiple flybys. > > “Hubble’s unique capabilities enabled it to capture these plumes, once again demonstrating Hubble’s ability to make observations it was never designed to make,” said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This observation opens up a world of possibilities, and we look forward to future missions -- such as the James Webb Space Telescope -- to follow up on this exciting discovery.” > > The work by Sparks and his colleagues will be published in the Sept. 29 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. > > The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency.) NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. STScI, which is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, conducts Hubble science operations. > > For images and more information about Europa and Hubble, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/hubble > > and > > http://hubblesite.org/news/2016/33 > > -end- > > NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail message with the subject line subscribe to hqnews-request(a)newsletters.nasa.gov. > To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message with the subject line unsubscribe to hqnews-request(a)newsletters.nasa.gov. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Hqnews mailing list > Hqnews(a)newsletters.nasa.gov > https://newsletters.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hqnews

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New address
by Patrick Wiggins 21 Sep '16

21 Sep '16

Hi all I'm in the process of changing email addresses. Hopefully for the last time. Current: paw(a)digis.net New: 4099wiggins(a)gmail.com Both addresses currently work but with the digis address going away eventually it's best to start using my new address. Thanks, patrick

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St George Astronomy Group
by astroshelton＠yahoo.com 19 Sep '16

19 Sep '16

Hi Everyone, Just to let you know that the St. George Astronomy Group (SGAG) of St, George is organizing into a official astronomy club here in St. George. We had our very first club meeting and it was a great success. Our club meetings will take place on the second Tuesday of each month. If you are in the area please come and join our group. We are a small group down here in the south but enjoying having star party's year around. And much better seeing conditions than northern Utah. Please check out our web pages here: https://sites.google.com/site/stgeorgeastronomygroup/home Clear Skies to you all Mark Shelton

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L&O Thank You!
by Chuck Hards 10 Sep '16

10 Sep '16

Thanks to everyone who showed-up today, we had a terrific time! 16 people including one very cute little one tagging-along with Enid and Sue. Some faces we haven't seen in a while were there as well as many of the regulars. My wife Kelly was under the weather and couldn't make it but I passed-along everyone's wishes for a speedy recovery and your comments that she was missed. Thank you, she was touched. A new waitress was obviously in over her head with our large group, but even so I think everyone eventually got what they ordered. The big problem with the later start time continues to be the lack of pie variety available by then. Yes, it's true, I didn't have the liver this time, but my smothered chili verde burrito was delicious. Probably get back to liver next time. All-in-all, it's more about the company than the food, and touching-base with everyone, getting caught-up on what's going on in our friend's lives. We'll keep an eye open for possible future venues, and maybe Left Fork will have a more fully capable staff by next time. I'm thinking about another one as Halloween approaches, we will start to firm it up in three or four weeks from now. Thanks again, it was great to see you all in good spirits and good health. You are all my very good, dear friends!

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L&O on Saturday Sept. 10
by Chuck Hards 09 Sep '16

09 Sep '16

A reminder that the Liver & Onions Subcommittee will meet next Saturday, Sept. 10th. Left Fork Grill 68 W 3900 S, Salt Lake City 1:00 PM Note the start time, we avoid much of the crowds by starting at 1:00. All are welcome! It's the end of summer (almost), time to relate summer observing stories and plans for fall. But the discussion is liable to wander anywhere. Bring something for show & tell if desired. If the sun is out, we may take a look through the PST in the parking lot afterwards. Please RSVP before Friday so I can get a head count and reserve our table. Hope to see you there!

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Want free sonotube?
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Sep '16

07 Sep '16

Ok, first attempts have not worked. May have found the problem so trying once more before bugging the admins... +++++ Needing to change my email address (again, and hopefully for the last time) so figured I'd resubscribe to the list and try it out here. So if you are reading this it must have worked. :) But while I'm here, for you telescope builders out there, I have a piece of 8" sontube about 4' ong I'd like to give away. I could have it at either of this weekend's star parties so it could be picked up there. Or it could be picked up at my place in near SPOC. Any takers? patrick 4099wiggins(a)gmail.com

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