June 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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Capital Reef or Great Basin Star Party?
by astrodeb＠beyondbb.com 29 Jun '18

29 Jun '18

Anybody going to either of these star parties? Great Basin has free camping but Capital Reef has great fishing nearby and super dark skies. It's a tough choice. I want to see the Lehman Caves as well. Saw Carlsbad Caverns in '98. Thought it was way cool except I couldn't walk down cause I got kicked in the leg by a horse. Anyway, hope the skies are clear in September. A couple of guys in St George may head up to Great Basin so I want to start making plans. Way too hot down here, Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 184, Issue 5 binocs
by Sue Ellen Ebertz 28 Jun '18

28 Jun '18

Hi Don, nice tip. Last night I held my giant ones on the top back of a heavy wood 'ladder' chair with the balance point near the objectives. I was too lazy to put up the parallelogram (not sure this is the right form of the word). Best, Shoshana hold binoculars as close to the objectives as possible instead of near the eyepieces like most people do. Using this trick I can hand hold 16x70 binoculars. Clear Skies, Don Colton ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php ------------------------------ End of Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 184, Issue 5 **********************************************

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Jupiter
by Don J. Colton 27 Jun '18

27 Jun '18

Hi Joe, I enjoyed your article on Jupiter in the Deseret News. One tip I learned from Roland Christen is to hold binoculars as close to the objectives as possible instead of near the eyepieces like most people do. Using this trick I can hand hold 16x70 binoculars. Clear Skies, Don Colton

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Dust storm on Mars
by Chuck Hards 13 Jun '18

13 Jun '18

Of course, with Mars Season effectively here, a dust storm is building. It could effectively wipe-out observing plans this summer. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it subsides quickly. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/martian-dust-s…

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