September 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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Great Basin
by Craig Smith 21 Sep '17

21 Sep '17

How popular is the Great Basin Astronomy festival? When do you have to get there to secure a campsite? Craig

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Astro yard sale..
by RON VANDERHULE 11 Sep '17

11 Sep '17

A Chuck Hards yard sale? Makes me sweaty in the wallet . I'm in. Of course make it close to full moon time. Ron Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Note® 4, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

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Behind the Hedge light pollution
by D P Pierce 09 Sep '17

09 Sep '17

www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2017/09/03 note the go to for more info in the bottom corner. Deloy Pierce <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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My pathetic little story
by Joe Bauman 08 Sep '17

08 Sep '17

http://the-nightly-news.com/blog/blog-27-disaster

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Any interest in an astro yard-sale?
by Chuck Hards 07 Sep '17

07 Sep '17

I have way too much astro stuff, from ATM bits to collectible telescopes, accessories, etc. I was wondering if, I held an astro yard-sale sometime this fall, would there be enough interest from others to warrant pulling it all out into the driveway for a day? I need to downsize, retirement is only a few years away. If there is sufficient interest, I'll gladly hold the yard sale. I would give everyone at least two or three weeks notice.

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Sunspots through the smoke
by Dale Hooper 07 Sep '17

07 Sep '17

I'm not sure what it is like in Ogden or SLC, but it is extremely smokey here in Cache Valley. Currently, the two sunspot groups are visible without magnification. I've been telling coworkers and others that they should still be using the solar glasses to observe the sunspots. But, there are a number of people I've spoken too that are looking at them "unfiltered" when the sun is somewhat low. Am I right to warn them to only look at it with the glasses? Or with it being very smokey and the sun around 20 degrees or less, is enough UV and IR scattered so that this is okay to look at? Clear skies (please), Dale.

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Possible Aurora tonight
by Chuck Hards 06 Sep '17

06 Sep '17

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-blogs/explore-night-bob-king/giant… I've been watching these big sunspot groups currently on the sun, they are large enough to be seen naked-eye, with proper filtration. The moon and smoke from western fires will work against any aurora, but they just be seen anyway if very active. We could get activity through the weekend.

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Project Moonwatch
by Chuck Hards 04 Sep '17

04 Sep '17

This is pretty cool, for the Sputnik history crowd: http://www.arkansasnews.com/news/20170821/booneville-resident-92-eager-for-…

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Fw: September Happenings
by Joe Bauman 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

Just FYI, this a news release I emailed to media outlets. -- Joe Bauman SALT LAKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY NEWS RELEASE September public events: star, sun parties and tales of the eclipse A sun party, six star parties and a meeting in which members describe their eclipse adventures are among the free events hosted by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society during September. All are family-friendly and welcoming to the public. A trio of star parties at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex (SPOC) will offer glimpses of starry wonders through four impressive telescopes, the newest of which – the gigantic Clements Telescope, housed in the new Kolob Observatory – is the largest amateur telescope in the world used for visual astronomy. SPOC is about 30 miles west of Salt Lake City. From Utah’s capital, take I-80 west, turn off at Exit 99 (the Tooele-Grantsville exit), and travel south on Highway 36. At the third traffic signal turn right onto Stansbury Parkway. Continue west until a sign in the center median that is labeled “Plaza.” Turn left at the plaza and park in a lot adjacent to the skateboard park. The observatory is to the right. Visitors with questions about setting up or operating their own telescopes are invited to bring them to any of the star parties an hour before sunset, and experienced club members will be happy to help. Star parties begin at dusk and continue until 10 p.m., while the sun party is scheduled from 9 a.m. until noon. Many SLAS members will set up their personal telescope and offer views at both types of parties. The parties are held subject to the weather. Public events in September are: ** Friday, Sept. 1, star party at the Bangerter Crossing Harmons Store, 125 E. 13800 South. ** Saturday, Sept. 2, star party at SPOC. ** Saturday, Sept. 9, sun party, Winchester Park at the Jordan River Parkway, 6400 S. 1100 West. Group members will set up specially-filtered telescopes that allow safe viewing of our local star. ** Friday, Sept. 15, star party at Wheeler Farm, 6351 S. 900 East, Salt Lake County. ** Saturday, Sept. 16, star party at SPOC. ** Wednesday, Sept. 20, members will tell of their experiences during the Great American Solar Eclipse that swept across the country on Aug. 21. The venue is the monthly meeting of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Calvin L. Rampton Building, Salt Lake Community College Taylorsville-Redwood campus, about 4600 S. Redwood Road. The building is in the campus’ northeast corner and free parking is available east of the building in the Q lot. ** Friday, Sept. 29, star party at the Seventh Street Harmons store, 7755 S. 700 East, Midvale. ** Saturday, Sept. 30, star party at SPOC. -30- Note to editors: could you please publish the schedule as a public service? If any events are happening before your publication date, kindly remove them from the article For further information, call Joe Bauman, SLAS vice president, 801-913-3588. Thanks, Joe

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