October 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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Comets
by Joe Bauman 31 Oct '18

31 Oct '18

Dear fellow Utah Astronomy subscribers, I thought you might be interested in my latest blog, number 66 of a planned 72, because this board is mentioned in it. Many thanks, and especially thanks to Chuck for maintaining the board. Best wishes, Joe https://the-nightly-news.com/blog/blog-66-comets-part-2

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RIP DeLoy Pierce
by Chuck Hards 26 Oct '18

26 Oct '18

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that long-time SLAS member DeLoy Pierce passed-away on Oct. 22. Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=deloy-glen-pie… I've known Deloy for decades, and his wife Karen when she was living. Those two were a fixture at star-parties and gatherings for many, many years. DeLoy always dressed as Santa Claus at the club "Solstice Parties". I'm going to miss the old guy. Say hi to Siegfried for us, DeLoy. Ad Astra.

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Telescope mounts on Mars
by Chuck Hards 17 Oct '18

17 Oct '18

It occurred to me recently that the Equatorial telescope mount will work not only on Earth, but on Mars as well. Mars' inclination is only a couple of degrees more than earth, and it's day only a tad longer than ours. Any earthly EQ mount could be polar-aligned on Mars, and the correct tracking rate easily adjusted by either a drive corrector for synchronous motors, or with software for stepper motors. No gearing or motor changes needed at all. In case you are interested, here is a link to a chart showing the north circumpolar sky for Mars: http://www.eknent.com/etc/mars_np.png Mars has no significant pole star in the northern sky. I suspect that even if we could determine rotation rate and axial tilt for exo-planets, we would probably have to search through millions before finding another one that would allow a stock Earth equatorial mount to function, right from the box (temperature and atmospheric details aside). What an incredible coincidence that we have two such planets right here in the solar system. And they have adjacent orbits!

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Mars Society Meeting For Tonight, October 15th Postponed!
by Edward Heisler 15 Oct '18

15 Oct '18

Sent from Outlook<http://aka.ms/weboutlook> [Inline image OWAPstImg647856] URGENT NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release October 15, 2018 UPDATE Mars Society Meeting For Tonight, October 15th Postponed! The Utah Mars Society chapter is sorry to announce that the visit of Dr. Shannon Rupert, a senior Mars Society representative and program director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), has been unfortunately postponed due to scheduling and preparation issues related to next week’s beginning of the crew field season at MDRS near Hanksville, Utah which require Dr. Rupert’s attention and involvement. The visit of Dr. Rupert to Salt Lake City will be rescheduled at a date in the near future. We apologize for the late notification of this scheduling change. Contact: Edward Heisler Utah Mars Society Tel: 385-321-7301 EdwardHeisler(a)msn.com Sent from Outlook<https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2Fw…>

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L&O
by Joe Bauman 15 Oct '18

15 Oct '18

It was so good to see all the nice Astro-folks at L&O today! Thank you for organizing it, Chuck. — Joe Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

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Reminder: L&O this Sunday, 10/14
by Chuck Hards 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

I never got much consensus on a start time, so let's go with 1:00 PM, to give people time to get home from church if needed. RSVP if you haven't already. Hope to see you all there! Left Fork Grill 68 West 3900 South SLC UT

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Dr. Shannon Rupert, the Director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Hanksville, Utah will be speaking on the subject "Is There Life on Mars?" in Salt Lake City October 15th.
by Edward Heisler 06 Oct '18

06 Oct '18

Dear Friend: I’ve attached a flyer advertising a very special public meeting organized by the Mars Society Utah Chapter and the Great Salt Lake Institute. Dr. Shannon Rupert, the Director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Hanksville, Utah will be speaking on the subject “Is There Life on Mars?” We hope that you, your friends and associates will participate in the meeting and discussion on this subject. Please feel free to copy and circulate this meeting notice on bulletin boards, social media and internet discussion boards. Let’s go to Mars! Sincerely yours, Bonnie K. Baxter, Ph.D Director, Great Salt Lake Institute Professor and Chair of Biology Westminster College James Allen President Mars Society Utah Chapter Edward Heisler Speakers Bureau Mars Society Utah Chapter DIRECTIONS TO GORE AUDITORIUM >From the north: I-15 South to I-80 East I-80 East to 1300 East Exit >From the south: I-15 North to I-80 East I-80 East to 1300 East Exit. >From SLC Make your way up to 1300 East heading south. Driving on 1300 East turn onto 1700 South (heading west) Pass the first drive into the campus and then turn left into the parking deck. Park anywhere in the deck, Turn right when you leave the parking deck and walk north. Continue walking until you pass Malouf Hall on your right. Make a left turn just pass the building and walk east until you reach the Gore School of Business. That’s where the Gore auditorium is located! Sent from Outlook<http://aka.ms/weboutlook>

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L&O Oct. 14
by Chuck Hards 03 Oct '18

03 Oct '18

A reminder that we are going to have a Sunday L&O this month, on the 14th. We haven't set a time yet, do we want to go at 1:00 PM to give folks time to get home from church services, or is noon preferred? No Saturday lunch rush to contend with, they aren't as crowded on Sundays. Opinions?

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