Posts Made By: K. Michael Malolepszy

Roy,

Thanks for the info! I used to live in Socorro and may go back for an SW observing vacation one of these days. Your list sure would be helpful to anyone thinking about going out there.

Too bad you didn't make it to Datil - it is very dark there.

K. Michael M.

I never have seen any, though I've not spent that much time observing the moon compared to others. After doing a lot of reading about the subject, though, I've come to the conclusion that most TLPs are subjective observer effects, though there might be some dust-caused phenomena that some people are seeing.

Recent work on earth's magnetosphere and it's interaction with the moon, as well as Apollo crew, ALSEP & Surveyor observations of what might be dust "storms" caused by sunrise on the moon have gotten some attention lately;

The Moon and the Magnetotail

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/17apr_magnetotail.htm

Moon Storms

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07dec_moonstorms.htm

Here's what the 1999 Sky & Telescope articles said (I think) in the August and September issues 2 TLP articles that seem to discredit them as either observer misperceptions or atmospheric effects:

-------

It's All In The Seeing


The TLP Myth. There is a long history of Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLPs). Almost as soon as the telescope was invented, observers began seeing flashes of light, color changes, and other luminous phenomena on the moon. Reddish glows around the rims of the craters Aristarchus and Alphonsus have long been accepted as objective scientific observations. The most popular explanation of these color phenomena involves the eruption of gases around the craters.

In 1964, in an attempt to better understand TLPs, NASA organized a network of amateur lunar observers with communication links to the Corralitos Observatory in New Mexico. Corralitos possessed a 5-inch reflector equipped with color filters which could checkout network sightings. In almost 3,000 hours of surveillance, no color phenomena were recorded using the Corralitos instruments -- even when the network reported a colored TLP in progress. Are all TLPs therefore illusory?

The NASA program certainly suggested that TLPs might be subjective phenomena, perhaps something like the colored coronas observed during solar eclipses. TLPs are still reported nevertheless. And there are also recognized phenomena that might account for TLPs. One such phenomenon is prismatic dispersion in the earth's atmosphere. On the moon's surface, thermoluminescence is a possibility, as is the fluorescence of lunar soils being bombarded by solar wind.

"It is far easier to believe that misinterpretations of mundane atmospheric and instrumental effects are responsible."

(Sheehan, William, and Dobbins, Thomas; "The TLP Myth: A Brief for the Prosecution," Sky & Telescope. 98:118, September 1999.)

----------

The text of another S&T article written by the leading TLP researcher who considers TLPs as a real phenomena can be found online at

http://www.lunaranomalies.com/TLPtext.htm

Reprinted from Sky & Telescope Magazine, March, 1991.

LUNAR TRANSIENT PHENOMENA (LTP)
by Winifred Sawtell Cameron

But beware that the webmaster / editor of this website refers to Richard Hoagland - that goofy Mars Face guy - and has inserted some remarks to that effect into the article.

There are rumors (and perhaps they are only that) about the re-entry of Soyuz TMA-11, that " it may not have been "just" a ballistic entry, either. A poster on NSF reports (third-hand, but the original source is cited as Andre Kuipers) that TMA-11 had a separation problem and started entry nose-forward, similar to Soyuz 5...."

Soyuz 5 had "Separation problems" that almost killed the crew - who survived after experiencing in partially burned through hatch, tangled parachute cables and broken teeth for one of the crew during a very rough landing of Soyuz 5 after the soft-landing rockets didn't fire.

If these rumors are true, this may indicate that something isn't right in russia. Three ballistic re-entries in only 11 flights isn't good in any case.

Andre Kuipers is an ESA astronaut that has flown to ISS on a soyuz flight:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Kuipers


Soyuz 5 re-entry description from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_5

"....The service module of the Soyuz failed to separate after retrofire, but by that point it was too late to abort. While this had occurred on various Vostok and Voskhod flights, it was a much more serious problem for Volynov, where the Soyuz service module was much larger than the small retropack those other vehicles employed. When the Soyuz started aerobraking in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, the combined spacecraft sought the most aerodynamically stable position - nose forward, with the heavy descent module facing directly into the air stream with only its light metal entry hatch at the front to protect it. The gaskets sealing the hatch began to burn, filling the air with dangerous fumes. The deceleration, while normal for reentry, was pulling Volynov outward against his harness rather than against the padded seat.

Fortunately, as the thermal and aerodynamic stresses on the combined craft increased, struts between the descent and service modules broke off or burned through before the hatch failed. The descent module immediately righted itself once the service module was gone, with the heat shield forward to take the brunt of reentry. There was one final problem in store for Volynov when the parachute cables partially tangled and soft-landing rockets failed, resulting in a harder than usual impact which broke his teeth. The capsule had come down in the Ural Mountains 2 km SW of Kustani, near Orenburg, Russia, far short of its target landing site in Kazakhstan. The local temperature was -38 °C, and knowing that it would be many hours before rescue teams could reach him Volynov abandoned the capsule and walked for several kilometers to reach a local peasant's house to keep warm. It would be seven years until Volynov flew again, on Soyuz 21."

Surely you're trolling...


If you're not, please see

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html

What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?

02.01.05


The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term averages of daily weather. Today, children always hear stories from their parents and grandparents about how snow was always piled up to their waists as they trudged off to school. Children today in most areas of the country haven't experienced those kinds of dreadful snow-packed winters, except for the Northeastern U.S. in January 2005. The change in recent winter snows indicate that the climate has changed since their parents were young.

If summers seem hotter lately, then the recent climate may have changed. In various parts of the world, some people have even noticed that springtime comes earlier now than it did 30 years ago. An earlier springtime is indicative of a possible change in the climate.

Mark Norby said:

We had several inches of snow last night. If a new record high is proof of warming, then this snowfall is proof of cooling, right?

KOREA'S FIRST ASTRONAUT HOSPITALIZED AFTER ROUGH LANDING

Tuesday April 29, 2008, 7:18 pm

DAEJEON, April 29 Asia Pulse - South Korea's first astronaut has been hospitalized due to severe back pains caused by a rough return voyage, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said Tuesday.

The state-run institute in charge of the country's space program said Yi So-yeon is currently undergoing a detailed medical checkup at an Air Force hospital in Cheongju, 137 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

It said the astronaut who returned to Earth on April 19 from the International Space Station has been examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other scans to determine the exact cause of her discomfort. The tests will help determine if there were any injuries to her muscular or nervous system.

"She has complained of considerable back pains and will have to cancel all her appointments for the time being, including visits to the presidential office and TV interviews," a doctor at the military hospital said.

More at

http://au.biz.yahoo.com/080429/17/1pwkn.html

Get a look at the pipe (dark) nebula (B59, B65-67) and the surrounding area on the Scorpius / Ophiucus border with big (50mm or larger) binoculars if you can. I "discovered" them for myself a few decades ago and remember uttering an audible "WOW!!!" when I saw them for the first time while scanning that part of the sky with my 80mm binoculars. I was surprised at how much detail I could see in them. It still is a favorite of mine.

See

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/deepsky/3304346.html?page=3&c=y

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/stellar/scenes/object_e/pipe.htm

http://www.eastbayastro.org/articles/lore/ophiuchus.htm

Inge Skauvik said:

I have to face it. After my last visit to the Canary Islands I had just a few opportunities to observe. It has been raining almost continuously, and if we happened to have a clear night it was often impossible to do deep-sky observation due to moonlihgt. Now the nordic summer season is beginning, meaning that we have to wait until late August for a dark sky.

To keep my astronomy interest alive I need some inspiration. There is one part of the sky containing lots of interesting deep-sky objects which I don't know very well. I'm thinking about the constellation of Ophiuchus, particularly the southern part. I have observed this part of the sky from La Palma, but I missed several of the objects I tried to locate there, and even those I succeeded to find, I could obviously have spent more time with. Can you tell me about your favourite objects (both showpieces and challenges) in Ophiuchus. I know that the region contains many globulars and planetaries, but any deep-sky objects are of interest. The region is also rich in double stars, so why not make a post under the double star forum.

Inge S

All I can say is... WOW! That's beautiful!

K. Michael M.

Floyd Blue said:

http://www.astrophotogallery.org/showphoto.php?photo=201
Here is a link to the full res picture.
RGB = 6min x 7 each l = 6 min x 20
DSI III Pro Astronomik filters

As posted on USENET by someone else.. KMM

-----------------

Internal NASA Documents Give Clues to Scary Soyuz
Return Flight By James Oberg

First Published May 2008

Engineers are attempting to reconstruct the 19 April
Soyuz descent from the ISS

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/may08/6229

-------

Here is an interesting section:

"However, a suggestive detail in the postlanding
photography, a thruster mounting with jagged gaps
alongside it, indicates that an attitude thruster
burned through. Such damage would have reduced or even
entirely eliminated the crew's ability to point the
crew module during descent. The thruster could have
been lost as a consequence of a vain attempt to steer
the much-heavier-than-expected combined vehicle
through the initial buffeting."

"In addition, Yi So-yeon, the South Korean flight
participant, reported in interviews in Seoul that the
final ground impact was not vertical but sideways,
causing many heavy baggage items to break free from
restraints and hit her."

After parachute deployment the capsule is supposed to
fire a system that releases a bridle from the
side-mounted parachute housing that then swings up
over the top hatch, so that the capsule is descending
vertically under the chute. If it did hit sideways,
that suggests the possibility that something went
wrong with the bridle release and in that case the
landing rockets wouldn't cushion the landing much on
impact.

Floyd,

What anti-spyware software were you using that detected this problem? What warning / error message did it generate?

Have you looked at the yahoo group "Virtual Moon"that is pointed to by the "Users Forum" link from that page?


KMM

Floyd Blue said:

I just saw that Virtual Moon 4 is available for download, a 450 meg file. I downloaded it, but it turns out that it has a spyware built into the install. Do not download this file, but if you do make sure you scan it with a good antispyware program. Some of these new worms are very hard to get rid of if you catch them. >

NASA-TV will carry it - but beware that their "schedule" can change at any time. Check the link below for updates:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html

From that page, this is the NASA-TV schedule as of 5/22/08:

--------------

May

May 21, Wednesday
12:55 p.m. - ISS Expedition 17 In-Flight Interview with "This Week in Baseball" for Fox Sports – JSC (Public and Media Channels)
2 p.m. - Interviews with STS-124 Commander Mark E. Kelly and Mission Specialist Karen L. Nyberg - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
4 - 6 p.m. - Interviews with STS-124 Pilot Kenneth T. Ham, Mission Specialist Michael E. Fossum and JAXA astronaut, Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
8 p.m. - Interview with STS-124 Mission Specialist Ronald J. Garan Jr - HQ - (Public and Media Channels)

May 22, Thursday
11 a.m. - NASA Aeronautics Technical Seminar -- Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication: A Fabrication Process that Revolutionizes Aircraft Structural Designs and Spacecraft Supportability - HQ (Education Channel)
12:50 p.m. - ISS Expedition 17 In-Flight Interview with the Discovery Home Network's "The G Word" Show - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
2:30 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Briefing - Entry Descent and Landing Overview - JPL (Public and Media Channels)
4 p.m. - Interviews with STS-124 Commander Mark E. Kelly and Mission Specialist Karen L. Nyberg - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
7 - 9 p.m. - Interviews with STS-124 Pilot Kenneth T. Ham, Mission Specialist Michael E. Fossum and JAXA astronaut, Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
10 p.m. - Interview with STS-124 Mission Specialist Ronald J. Garan Jr - HQ (Public and Media Channels)

May 23, Friday
6 - 10 a.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Live Satellite Interviews with Dr. Michael Meyer - JPL (Media Channel)

May 24, Saturday
3 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Briefing - Landing Preview - JPL (Public and Media Channels)

May 25, Sunday
3 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Briefing - JPL (Public and Media Channels)
6 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Landing Coverage - JPL (Media Channel)
6:30 - 8:45 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Landing Coverage - JPL (Public Channel)
9:30 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Briefing - First Downlink of Data - JPL (Public and Media Channels)

May 26, Monday
6 - 10 a.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Live Satellite Interviews - JPL (Media Channel)
12 a.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Post Landing Briefing - JPL (Public and Media Channels)
2 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Update Briefing - JPL (Public and Media Channels)

May 28, Wednesday
6:30 a.m. - STS-124 B-Roll Feed - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
7 - 9 a.m. - Live Interviews with STS-124/1J Lead Space Station Flight Director Annette Hasbrook – JSC (Public and Media Channels)
10 a.m. - Countdown Status Briefing - KSC (Public and Media Channels)
10:30 a.m. - ISS Commentary - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
11:30 a.m. - STS-124 Crew Arrival - (Public and Media Channels)

May 29, Thursday
8 a.m. - Interviews with STS-124 Commander Mark E. Kelly and Mission Specialist Karen L. Nyberg - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
10 a.m. - ISS Commentary and Mission Coverage - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
11 a.m. - STS-124 Launch Readiness News Conference - KSC (Public and Media Channels)
1 p.m. - JAXA Kibo Briefing - KSC (Public and Media Channels)
2 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Briefing - JPL from Tucson (Public and Media Channels)
4 - 6 p.m. - Interviews with STS-124 Pilot Kenneth T. Ham, Mission Specialist Michael E. Fossum and JAXA astronaut, Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide - HQ (Public and Media Channels)

May 30, Friday
9 a.m. - ISS Commentary and Mission Coverage - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
10 a.m. - Countdown Status Briefing - KSC (Public and Media Channels)
11 a.m. - ISS National Science Laboratory Briefing - KSC (Public and Media Channels)
12 p.m. - STS-124 Webcast - KSC (Public and Media Channels)
2 p.m. - Mars Phoenix Lander Update Briefing - JPL from Tucson (Public and Media Channels)

May 31, Saturday
12 p.m. - STS-124 Launch Coverage and Commentary (Launch is scheduled for 5:02 p.m.) - KSC/JSC (Public and Media Channels)

June

June 13, Friday
4 p.m. - OSTM Prelaunch News Conference - VAFB/KSC (Public and Media Channels)
5 p.m. - OSTM Mission Science Briefing - VAFB/KSC (Public and Media Channels)

June 15, Sunday
2:30 a.m. - OSTM Commentary and Launch Coverage (launch is scheduled for 4:47 a.m.) - VAFB/KSC (Public and Media Channels)

All times Eastern. Programs may be pre-empted without advance notice.

Matthew Ota said:

Read my preview story here:

http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2008/05/14/matts-mars-landing-preview/