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RE: [Utah-astronomy] NASA deluged by civilians' Mars "discoveries "
by Kim Hyatt 08 Mar '04

08 Mar '04

Interesting article - thanks, Dale. -----Original Message----- From: Dale Hooper [mailto:Dale.Hooper@sdl.usu.edu] Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 5:38 PM To: Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] NASA deluged by civilians' Mars "discoveries" http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/8124461.htm _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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NASA deluged by civilians' Mars "discoveries"
by Dale Hooper 08 Mar '04

08 Mar '04

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/8124461.htm

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Re: V838 Mon
by Patrick Wiggins 08 Mar '04

08 Mar '04

Hi, It does not get very high here in Utah but given a good southern horizon it should be doable. Details here: http://www.aavso.org/vstar/vsots/1202.shtml Patrick Jim Gibson wrote: > > Patrick > I know you study variable stars. Can a person see V838 Mon with a medium sized > scope? > > http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040305.html > > Jima

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[Utah-astronomy] OT: Frontiers of Science Lecture Wednesday evening at U of U
by Richard Tenney 08 Mar '04

08 Mar '04

The following is from the U's website. The lecture is at 7:30 pm in the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Auditorium. Every one of these lectures so far has been outstanding, IMHO. See you there, -Rich --------------- The fifth Frontiers of Science lecture, on Weds, March 10th features University of Utah Distinguished Professor Christopher R. Johnson, director of the University of Utah Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute. He will discuss "Computing the Future of Biomedicine." As always, this lecture is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Computers have changed the way we live, work, and play. Now, they are transforming how we think about and treat human disease. In particular, advanced techniques in biomedical computing, imaging, and visualization are changing the face of biology and medicine in both research and clinical practice. As a result of these advances and of research conducted at the University of Utah, biomedical computing and visualization are contributing to important medical discoveries and clinical treatments. In this talk, Professor Johnson will discuss the state of the art in biomedical computing, medical imaging, and visualization research and present stunning examples of their roles in cardiology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, and radiology. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search - Find what youre looking for faster http://search.yahoo.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Clear Skies
by Joe Bauman 08 Mar '04

08 Mar '04

I agree. Maybe storms flush the pollution out of the air. I too was awestruck by the sky after the storm. Last night I stood outside the house loving every second. If it hadn't been so cold I would have dragged out my telescope. Venus and Jupiter were especially gorgous, and for once the full moon just seemed a nice addition. It was lovely to see the moon so close to Jupiter. -- Joe

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Clear Skies
by Gary Liptrot 07 Mar '04

07 Mar '04

Jim, One of the best combinations of transparency and seeing that I witnessed was one night right after a storm when I was at Camp Atoka, South Fork. Dean Williams and I were trying to show a church group the wonders of the heavens when a line of thunderstorms swept over the whole area. Normally we would pack it in and go home, but that night we just covered up the scope, hung out in my car and waited out the storm. We were rewarded with a clear steady sky that was hard to beat. The storm system was not one of those that took two days to get here and another day to leave. Some of those wide area systems have a long wedge of cirrus, then alto-cumulus (mackeral sky) etc. until the big ones move in. The good ones seem to be fast in and fast out. My feeling is that some of the best viewing is in the winter where the sky is cold and stable. We seem to wait until the heat convection columns of summer boil to great heights. When I was flying a lot in the 70's and 80's I noticed that the most stable air was winter. Summertime was hang on to your hat time, especially in the mid-west where the humidity would add to the unstable skies. Note: I'm envious of your spear fishing adventures as a kid. Beats all my skin diving adventures to pieces... B) Tnx es 73 de n7zi Gary "Why buy something for ten bucks when you can make it for a hundred.", J.R. -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+n7zi=comcast.net(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+n7zi=comcast.net@mailman.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Jim Gibson Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 5:23 PM To: List; UVAA List Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Clear Skies Saturday night after the storm I step outside for a few minutes to look at the sky and the it was magnificent. I am wondering, in your collective experience does the sky usually get really steady and transparent after a storm? Jim

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Oops pix
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Mar '04

07 Mar '04

Sometimes I get some pretty good astro shots. But then there are the other times... These are shots I took in the mid 70s out at Little Stonehenge near Grantsville. Does anyone remember Little Stonehenge? Care to guess what the problems were? http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/OOPS1.JPG http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/OOPS2.JPG Ok, now that I've fessed up, is anyone else willing to share some of their Oops Pix? Enjoy, Patrick :-)

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Hasting Tiplet Lenses
by Marilyn Smith 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

In the Surplus Shed list of new items is a Hastings triplet lens for $8. Their description says they are good magnifiers. Do these have any use as eyepieces, or strictly handheld magnifying lenses? Bob Grant http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3146.html

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Caption contest
by Chuck Hards 04 Mar '04

04 Mar '04

Folks, I've been just too darned busy to go over all the entries received and pick a winner yet. I'll get to it as soon as possible, thanks for your patience. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search - Find what youre looking for faster http://search.yahoo.com

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Mars Water
by Patrick Wiggins 03 Mar '04

03 Mar '04

This just in from NASA HQ: Donald Savage Headquarters, Washington March 2, 2004 (Phone: 202/358-1547) Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. (Phone: 818/354-5011) RELEASE: 04-077 OPPORTUNITY ROVER FINDS STRONG EVIDENCE MERIDIANI PLANUM WAS WET Scientists have concluded the part of Mars NASA's Opportunity rover is exploring was soaking wet in the past. Evidence the rover found in a rock outcrop led scientists to the conclusion. Clues from the rocks' composition, such as the presence of sulfates, and the rocks' physical appearance, such as niches where crystals grew, helped make the case for a watery history. "Liquid water once flowed through these rocks. It changed their texture, and it changed their chemistry," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. "We've been able to read the tell-tale clues the water left behind, giving us confidence in that conclusion," he said. Dr. James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars and lunar exploration at NASA Headquarters, Washington, said, "NASA launched the Mars Exploration Rover mission specifically to check whether at least one part of Mars ever had a persistently wet environment that could possibly have been hospitable to life. Today we have strong evidence for an exciting answer: Yes." Opportunity has more work ahead. It will try to determine whether, besides being exposed to water after they formed, the rocks may have originally been laid down by minerals precipitating out of solution at the bottom of a salty lake or sea. The first views Opportunity sent of its landing site in Mars' Meridiani Planum region five weeks ago delighted researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., because of the good fortune to have the spacecraft arrive next to an exposed slice of bedrock on the inner slope of a small crater. The robotic field geologist has spent most of the past three weeks surveying the whole outcrop, and then turning back for close-up inspection of selected portions. The rover found a very high concentration of sulfur in the outcrop with its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, which identifies chemical elements in a sample. "The chemical form of this sulfur appears to be in magnesium, iron or other sulfate salts," said Dr. Benton Clark of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. "Elements that can form chloride or even bromide salts have also been detected." At the same location, the rover's Moessbauer spectrometer, which identifies iron-bearing minerals, detected a hydrated iron sulfate mineral called jarosite. Germany provided both these instruments. Opportunity's miniature thermal emission spectrometer has also provided evidence for sulfates. On Earth, rocks with as much salt as this Mars rock either have formed in water or, after formation, have been highly altered by long exposures to water. Jarosite may point to the rock's wet history having been in an acidic lake or an acidic hot springs environment. The water evidence from the rocks' physical appearance comes in at least three categories, said Dr. John Grotzinger, sedimentary geologist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge: indentations called "vugs," spherules and crossbedding. Pictures from the rover's panoramic camera and microscopic imager reveal the target rock, dubbed "El Capitan," is thoroughly pocked with indentations about a centimeter (0.4 inch) long and one-fourth or less that wide, with apparently random orientations. This distinctive texture is familiar to geologists as the sites where crystals of salt minerals form within rocks that sit in briny water. When the crystals later disappear, either by erosion or by dissolving in less-salty water, the voids left behind are called vugs, and in this case they conform to the geometry of possible former evaporite minerals. Round particles the size of BBs are embedded in the outcrop. >From shape alone, these spherules might be formed from volcanic eruptions, from lofting of molten droplets by a meteor impact, or from accumulation of minerals coming out of solution inside a porous, water-soaked rock. Opportunity's observations that the spherules are not concentrated at particular layers in the outcrop weigh against a volcanic or impact origin, but do not completely rule out those origins. Layers in the rock that lie at an angle to the main layers, a pattern called crossbedding, can result from the action of wind or water. Preliminary views by Opportunity hint the crossbedding bears hallmarks of water action, such as the small scale of the crossbedding and possible concave patterns formed by sinuous crestlines of underwater ridges. The images obtained to date are not adequate for a definitive answer. So scientists plan to maneuver Opportunity closer to the features for a better look. "We have tantalizing clues, and we're planning to evaluate this possibility in the near future," Grotzinger said. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington.

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