December 2017 - 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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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 178, Issue 2 Dark Sky ASAP
by Sue Ellen Ebertz 01 Jan '18

01 Jan '18

Chuck, this too http://www.artificiallightatnight.org/ also there are articles from 2016 conference that might be able to be used have you been trying in the SLV? To talk to planning dept etc? and city councils? Just interested. Best, Shoshana

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Light Pollution new construction
by Sue Ellen Ebertz 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

I ditto Joan. We have a local rep from International Dark Sky at the U. Her contact info is on the Dark Sky website. So he can contact that person, I just don't remember her name. If he doesn't find it there, it is listed on the International Dark Sky Convention site that is planned for next summer HERE IN SALT LAKE CITY!!! Since she is local there would be MUCH HELP. Dark Sky has some excellent short videos and handouts that the person can take to the city counsel. I hope something can be done at this late date, though we all know construction is planned and drawn out many months sometimes years ahead. Best, Shoshana

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Local Light-pollution mitigation resources needed ASAP
by Chuck Hards 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

I'm forwarding this from my friend Bob Grant. Can anyone recommend a contact or some kind of resource? Begin quote: A good friend of mine, an Evironmental Engineer, lives on the edge of the old Cottonwood Mall property, and has become involved as a citizen giving input to the Holladay City council regarding permitting the plans for the new development proposed for the site. One of the topics that concerns him is the light pollution that might be emitted here, but he doesn't know as much as he would like about pollution conscious lighting targets and the meaning of projected luminosity numbers. Two public hearings have already been held about this development, so things are already moving along, but there may still be time to influence the outcome regarding light pollution. SLAS might want to get involved or have some input, for this may have some long lasting effects. Do you know anyone in the local, or non-local, astro community who knows enough about this topic to give some guidelines for reasonable design targets, and how to present them in a concise way in public hearings, so we can put them in contact with each other? End Quote. Thanks everyone!

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