February 2017 - 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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Joe's article on Jay
by Marlene Egger 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Oh, that is a lovely article and a lovely sketch. I think you caught Jay's expressions of his interest in sketching beautifully! I was touched by his comment about twilight. My father used to say the same thing. Marlene

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Jay Eads' remarkable astro sketches
by Joe Bauman 24 Feb '17

24 Feb '17

Dear Fellow Utah astronomy buffs, You might enjoy this article of mine, just published on-line by the Deseret News, about one of our own: Jay Eads, who makes wonderful drawings of astronomical objects, using his Dobsonian telescopes. The link is here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865674163/How-this-Utahn-sketches-rather… Thanks, Joe Bauman

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Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival
by M Wilson 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Does anyone know the dates for the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival? According to the official Bryce Canyon Internet site, there's a brief sentence saying it's from June 21-24 but if you scroll down the page it has the 2016 schedule. It didn't help much when I looked at the Salt Lake Astronomical Society's (SLAS) page and had it listed for only June 21 - 22.

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ZAP grant -- of interest only to SLAS members
by Joe Bauman 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Hello Folks, I attended a Salt Lake Co. workshop on applying for ZAP grants. Pursuant to board vote, we're going for it this year. I'm working on our application. A new feature is that we can attach videos to show our community impact. This pertains only to SL County, so events at our observatory aren't eligible. If anyone has a video of a star or sun party or any other club activity in Salt Lake County, could you please drop me a note? My email is josephmbauman(a)yahoo.com. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone

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SLAS question
by Chuck Hards 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

I know this isn't a SLAS list, but if any officers get this message, who do I send a change of email address to? Don't give me any Facebook contacts, I'm not on Facebook. Some parts of the SLAS website were down this morning. I also noticed that Dave's last name was misspelled on the club officer roster, lol. Thanks!

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Meteorites
by Chuck Hards 11 Feb '17

11 Feb '17

After a lifetime in this hobby, I finally took the plunge and bought a few meteorite specimens from a reputable dealer. The price was affordable for a bottom-feeder like me. I got a 16.8 gram Canyon Diablo, worn exterior that reveals the shiny iron under the fusion crust. Also a nice slice of the Sikhote-Alin Russian fall, 9.13 grams. Lastly, an unaltered piece of the recent Chelyabinsk fall, the one that was heavily documented by Russian dash-cams at the time, 3.0 oz. I'll bring these to the next L&O. Anybody else on the list collect meteorites? It's humbling to hold something that dates to the formation of the solar system itself, a third of the way back to the big bang. My late dad was interested in geology in his youth (studied under professor Jennings at the U), and once gave me something that he thought was a meteorite. It broke my heart to tell him, years after he gave it to me, that it was just a broken, worn and oxidized steel ball from an industrial mill. These new specimens are my way of not letting his interest die-off, and honoring his interest and mentoring of his son, all those years ago.

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Losmandy Titan listed on Cloudy Nights
by Dale Hooper 11 Feb '17

11 Feb '17

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know that I have my Losmandy Titan listed on Cloudy Nights. If you are interested, here is the link: http://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/item/98321-losmandy-titan-with-gemi… Clear skies, Dale.

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Starry starry nights
by Joe Bauman 08 Feb '17

08 Feb '17

Hi Friends of Utah astronomy, I'm hoping some of you might be interested in my new blog about stars. Feel free to look around the site and subscribe if you wish, free. Thanks, Joe http://the-nightly-news.com/blog/blog-6-stars

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Wednesday evening board meeting -- of interest to SLAS
by Joe Bauman 07 Feb '17

07 Feb '17

SLAS will hold its monthly board meeting Wednesday night, Feb. 8, 7 p.m. till 8:30-ish, at the Denny's Restaurant, 250 W. 500 South, Salt Lake City. All are welcome! -- thanks, Joe Bauman

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