May 2018 - 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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(no subject)
by Chris Watson 30 May '18

30 May '18

http://smile.woollybabs.mobi Chris Watson

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great basin astronomy festival
by Gilliland, Annie 11 May '18

11 May '18

Hello again all, It's that time again! Great Basin National Park in Nevada is starting to work on our annual Astronomy Festival. The festival will be from September 6 - September 8 and we have star parties all three nights. We rely on volunteers to help us out with these events. We have a large observing field (a picnic area) and will generally have interested people for several hours each night. During the days, we feature solar observing, a night photography workshop, children's activities, and more. We'll have a keynote speaker (John Barentine from the International Dark Sky Association) and other popular evening events. There is also a volunteer appreciation dinner! If you are interested in helping out, please see our website: *https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/astronomy-festival.htm <https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/astronomy-festival.htm>* and especially the volunteer info page: https://www.nps.gov/grba /planyourvisit/astrovip.htm Please let me know if I can answer any questions. Last year the Festival fell on fairly cloudy nights, but my fingers are crossed for clear skies this year. When it's clear here, the observing opportunities are incredible. Thank you, Annie Gilliland -- Annie Gilliland 775-234-7523 or 775-234-7514 Astronomy Ranger VIP Coordinator Great Basin National Park Baker, NV 89311

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