NOW LET THE DEBATES BEGIN

No, I'm not talking about the political debate although the subject at hand will have it's political overtones. I'm talking about the debates over the state of affairs that the U.S. will be in if the proposed axing of human space flight is implemented. Already there are folks lining up their support for the continuation of the human space program, namely the development of the Orion capsule and SOME kind of rocket to launch the capsule. Lockheed is very vocal about their ability to have the Orion capsule ready for launch by 2013----but there isn't any firm proposals for a rocket to launch it. A lot of folks think the Aries launch vehicle has been doomed to failure for a long time---even before the proposed budget cuts which would do away with the entire Constellation program. Someone will win and someone will lose---I just pray that we don't get some kind of half a---ed program that won't be worth the continued investment in time and money.

I was surprised and pleased with the various comments I got in response to the previous rant I wrote which indicated that the budget crunch was coming. I gather that most of the respondents feel like we need to get on with robotic exploration of space until such time as we feel it is necessary to move colonies of folks to some of the outer planets or their moons. Low earth orbit and return to the moon with humans seemed to be a distant second to other means of space exploration and development. Especially for the NASA crowd. Thanks for reading and commenting guys. Now all we can do is sit back and watch the fireworks from a distance.

THE SHOE DROPS MONDAY

Like most things in Washington the news about the cancellation of the Constellation project is front page news today. Sources close to the presidents budget proposals say that there will be no funds for the moon mission which was set to place humans to the moon by 2020. The majority of these funds are being diverted to extend the International Space Station instead. Simply stated, "there just isn't enough money to do both projects". The formal announcement is expected Monday when the presidents budget is presented to congress. It has been a well known fact that the Constellation program was terribly underfunded to begin with and there was no way the program could meet its original date. It is sad that $9 billion has already been poured into the development of various components of the program but that is the trend in government programs. I remind you of the huge atom collider program which was started in east Texas only to be cancelled after a different administration concluded that it was not going to be cost effective.

But the fight isn't over yet. Congressmen from the states that will be unfavorably affected by the change of direction for NASA will fight to the bitter end to restore funding. This too is a ongoing fact in the decision making system of our federal government. In the overall scheme of things, that is the job of the senators and representatives from every state. They are elected to look out for the affairs of their individual districts and states at the national level. That in itself is the main ingredient for "pork barrel" spending. You rub my back and I will rub yours without very much consideration as to whether it is good for the nation as a whole or not. Many times the military forces have indicated that they didn't want or need a particular weapons systems but------congress bought the system anyway because the manufacturing facility was in their district and it meant jobs and security. Not to mention the good publicity for the next election.

NASA is in a very difficult position no matter how you look at it. They do not have one single program that does not require a very long lead time to develop and deploy. Very few government administrations remain in control of the decision making process as long as it takes to develop and deploy any given NASA program. If the next elected administration does not agree with the funding policies of the previous, they simply cut the funds---no matter how much has been invested. At this point in time I cannot think of one single individual or corporate entity that operates on that premise. In an economy where one must be responsible for making a profit, long range plans must be carefully developed and followed. I'm not saying that private organizations never make mistakes or that they never change their direction but they certainly don't seem to be as willie-nilly about mid course changes as the national government. Agencies such as NASA probably couldn't exist in the private sector because of the huge financial demands. Maybe we don't need to be the world leader in everything but we could do a better job of focusing on those projects that we do decide to develop.

I doubt if the federal government needs to bear all the blame. NASA has a very hard time getting their priorities straight as well. The way they handle spending contracts is hard to describe. Cost never seems to enter the picture--just get something started and we will try to get funding later. That is always a disaster in progress. I doubt that any astronaut would be proud to say "I am going to the moon on the lowest contract bid for this shuttle" but I think they could do better than they do.

I don't have very many good answers for these problems. The one that I would suggest has proven to be impossible for any previous administrations to do very well. It is very simple---get off the partisan bandwagon and start looking out for the good of the nation. One possible solution might be a third party electorate. At least that would go a long way toward ending democrat/republican gridlock. I never have been able to understand why it is that if you are a democrat, nothing a republican can do or say is good for the nation. The same goes in the other direction as well.

I am acutely aware that the financial situation in our nation is critical at this point. I believe it is partly that way because we refuse to allow people to determine their own ways and means to get the job done. Someone is always attempting to regulate--unionize,--redistribute--or otherwise run the lives of individuals. Government should govern---not dictate.

Well maybe I got a little carried away with this NASA redirection thing. I just hope that in 10/15 years down the road we don't get another big change in direction. In the mid 90's NASA went thru a similar change of direction that cost billions in changed plans and programs. As of Monday, NASA will not have any form of human space program in the works beyond what is being done today. We certainly won't be a world leader in this arena for a long time to come.

LARGEST FULL MOON IN 2010

If the weather cooperates, we will be able to witness the largest full moon for the year of 2010 this Friday, Jan. 29th. Aww come on---you don't mean to tell me that the moon is bigger sometimes than it is at others. Yep, that is what I am saying---at least I am saying it appears to be bigger. In reality it seems to be bigger because it will be at Perigee during this full moon phase. Apogee---Perigee---what is all this none sense?

Well we all know that the moon does not make a perfect circle when it orbits earth. For that matter, neither do any of the planets make perfect circle orbits around the sun but that is another story. So if the orbit isn't round then what does it look like? In simple terms, it might look something like an egg or football with the earth a little offset from center. When it is at its nearest point to earth during the orbit, the terminology is Perigee. When it is at the farthest point of the orbit, it is called Apogee. And it just so happens that during the full moon this Friday night the moon will be very near Perigee. The points of Apogee and Perigee do not always coincide with the full moon phase so that is why it is worthwhile to look this Friday. For all practical purposes, the moon will appear to be 14% larger than it usually does at the full moon phase. We all understand the optical illusion about the moon looking bigger when it is near the horizon--ie at the time it rises as a full or near full moon. But now it will seem to be enormous---especially if you position yourself to observe it with buildings or trees in the foreground to give added perspective.

But that isn't all of the story. Our old faithful friend Mars will be in the mix also. Now don't go bannas on me here--Mars will be at the closest point it will be during the period 2008 thru 2014. Some of you will remember that Mars was as close as it has ever been recorded (read-- known to be in the past 60,ooo years according to astronomy calculations) during 2003 when it was only 56 million kilometers from earth. During Fridays event Mars will be about twice that far away but it will be in the same part of the sky as the moon. This should be the perfect time to put to rest all those rumors that Mars would look as big as the moon. It never has been and it never will be. It will in fact look like a small orange star in comparison to the moon. It will travel the same path as the moon throughout the night so look and compare all night long. While you are looking watch for the brightest star in our sky, namely Sirius, which will be in the same sector of the sky with Mars all week long. Compare its brightness to the planet Mars.

Like I said at the beginning---all this will take place on Friday Jan. 29. We may or may not be able to see this event due to weather but it is worth a try.

SUBTLE MOVEMENT IN ASTRO OBSERVING

When your grandkids are getting older you don't seem to notice them changing if you see them on a regular basis but if you only see them once or twice a year the changes seem astounding. There is always that tendency to say " my how you have grown since I last saw you". They always hate that.

If you haven't been paying much attention to what is being offered for sale in the telescope arena lately you might also be a bit surprised. More and more the offerings in all the catalogs tend to point toward scopes that are controlled by either a hand held keypad or maybe even a laptop which may or may not be in the vicinity of the scope. I have spent many words on the good and bad influence that this trend has on the observers real knowledge of the sky but it is a coming thing so I need to adjust to it. That doesn't mean I have to remove myself from the point and seek aspect of observing but I need to realize that I might be slowly entering the minority. I have in fact embraced locating devices on both of my dobson scopes. I don't use them the majority of the time but they are there for whatever reason.

But it seems to me that a new invasion of observing is creeping into the scene. What I am referring to is imaging. I am not sure who is driving this technology---the amateur observer or the equipment manufacturer. It doesn't really matter either---it is the coming thing in routine astronomy circles. The equipment cost is still quite expensive in my mind but I have been accused of being a bit miserly before. Don't misunderstand me here---I very much enjoy looking at the fine pictures that even the most beginning astro photographer can produce but I think it tends to take away the thrill of seeing the intended object with the naked eye pasted to the eyepiece of a scope. One of my pleasures is seeing a deep sky object ---even in its faint and dim status--- and becoming aware of all the things that we can see today compared to a few short years ago. The development of the dobson reflector scope with its relatively small cost per inch of aperture has made this possible for so many folks. But more and more observers that are truly interested in astronomy can to afford to spend so much more to pursue their hobby that the cost is not the consideration it was a few years ago. The development of high quality tracking mounts has made the move toward what I describe as "automated observing" the "in" thing. And the scopes that are carried on these mounts are ideal platforms for imaging purposes. When you add to this the transition from the old film cameras to the new CCD cameras you begin to see the increased involvement in astro imaging. With these new cameras the need for 3-4 hour exposures is a thing of the past. Then add in the image stacking programs that are available and you have the ingredients for a movement toward a totally different kind of observing.

Not to reflect on my age, but all the movies I watched years ago were about cowboys and indians or cattle range wars. That was enough to satisfy anyone. No one thought about the fact that six shooters could shoot a dozen or more times without reloading or that the good guy always got the girl (but quite often did not kiss them). Most of the time no one was killed---just wounded and taken to jail. I will leave the content of todays movies to your own imagination. Just an illustration of how things change without us really noticing---it just naturally happens.

And so with stargazing. Inexpensive telescopes allowed a lot of folks to indulge themselves in the hobby. But things gradually change and equipment advances and now we see ourselves moving into a different phase of our hobby. Not necessarily a bad trend---just different. And if the weather doesn't quit making it so hard to do visual observing I may just join the revolution and move to being an armchair observer---looking thru some remote scope where the weather is cooperating and watching the result on my computer screen.

Well not actually---but I think you get the point of this rant. Astro observing is changing and if we don't want to be left totally in the dark (no pun intended) we need to keep our eyes open for new ways to see our universe. Don't be a stick in the mud determined never to change. Keep in mind how you started and how change has wormed its way into your stargazing routine. Just remember to keep observing using whatever technique that best suits you. (But I still like the cowboys & indian movies).

TIME TO THINK MESSIER

Around this time of the year I usually get around to posting something about the March Messier Marathon. This year will be no exception. For years upon years amateur astronomers have invested at least one night in the early spring to the pursuit of those old standby targets known as the Messiers. Why do we take the time to look at these objects with such an intense interest? If I had a patent answer I would be happy to give it to you but I don't. However, not one to be lost for words, I will wax once again on this ritual that intrigues so many of us.

I might start out with a comparison to the die hard sport fan. We all know that during the course of any athletic contest there are going to be moments of greatness and inspiration as one player or maybe the team in general will give some outstanding performance. Maybe it will be key to the outcome of the game and maybe not---but it gives us something to talk about and remember for a long time. We carry on and on about how we would have made a different decision that surely would have affected the outcome of the contest----either good or bad. In reality, we know that nothing that we could have done would have made one bit of difference but the thought and talk process makes us a part of the game.

It is a lot like that with a Messier Marathon. As often as we go out and observe you would think that every last one of has seen ever single Messier target. NOT SO. Most of us have seen the more obvious ones and the most popular, and the most easily observed ones but I am going on the record as saying most of us have never seen every last one of these amazing objects. Some are so insignificant that we don't consider them worthy of our time. For example, M40 located in Ursa Major. It is nothing more than a small double star that for some unknown reason made the Messier list. It isn't much to see and if you don't take the time to definitely identify it, you may just point your scope to the general area, observe a couple of stars in the general vicinity and go on. And for all practical purposes that would pass as OK. No one is going to chastise you or doubt your word. "Only the shadow knows". How about those in the southern sky in the vicinity of the center of the galaxy? It is hard not to see every one of those----just start around M6 & M7 and walk right up the sky until you reach the top. The hard part is knowing which numbers to put on which target. Most of us can readily identify M8 but as you move on up the way it is not always easy to be positive which one you are really observing. I had a friend tell me the other day that she had gone out to observe and she saw some very impressive "objects". She didn't have even the slightest clue as to what she was seeing but she was seeing something. Now that isn't all bad---even tho there is so much to see it is not very easy to just point a scope toward the sky and see anything of significance except may the moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn without knowing where to look. But just seeing something will usually whet ones appetite to see more. So a part of the marathon is knowing what you are looking for and where to look and then finding it. In the overall scheme of the marathon it is not necessary to see the object with your scope---a naked eye or bino observation counts---as long as you know what it is you are seeing. Maybe I could put it this way---how would you respond to someone at a football game who was yelling at the top of his lungs "shoot it at the goal" or maybe "steal home dummy". You would know that they didn't really understand anything about what they were seeing.

One of my favorite activities at the marathon is visiting throughout the night. There are times when you don't have much extra time to talk but finally you get caught up and there are no new messier objects to seek out so it is time to relax and have a cup of coffee and talk about whatever. On a messier night most observers have a one track mind so the talk will usually center around equipment, or the lack of equipment, and what has been going on in astro circles lately. Not that there isn't plenty of time to do this kind of activity on regular observing nights--we do a lot of that on a regular basis--- but the all night affair is a little different. One thing about star gazers---they are at their best talking to someone they can't really see. Same goes for listening---no one can see the signs of disbelief on anyones face in the dark when a slightly unbelievable tale surfaces. But all in all it is a great time.

It is always interesting to see how many of the starters are still awake and trying to locate those last early morning targets in the early dawn light. It has been my experience that about 2-3 AM is the breaking point. That is when a little lull in activity comes and the weaker ones of us decide to take a SHORT nap. Of all the difficult tasks there are in this old world, getting back up after that nap is probably one of the most difficult. Some would say that the mind is willing but the body isn't---I say" NOTHING ABOUT ME IS WILLING". So I try not to lull myself into that NAP mind set.

I have never attended a marathon where anyone actually observed all of the targets. Usually the very first ones that must be seen just at sunset evade most of us. They are easily seen earlier in the year when the are high in the sky but in the evening twilight it takes a very good eye and a little imagination to get them. Same for those just before sunrise. Like I said in the beginning---it isn't that we haven't seen most of these objects before---we just haven't seen them all in one evening of observing. THAT IS WHAT THE MESSIER MARATHON IS ALL ABOUT.

HOW MANY SOLAR SYSTEMS ARE OUT THERE?

Recently S&T magazine has reported on the Kepler spacecraft and some of its results. You should remember that Kepler's mission is to search out stars that have exoplanets orbiting them. The results have been astounding. No less than 424 stars are now known to have at least one exoplanet orbiting them and several are suspected of having two or more in their so called "solar system". It is estimated that roughly one-third of the stars host at least one exoplanet and roughly one-sixth of the stars have multiple giant exoplanets orbiting them. A little math using the estimated number of stars in the Milky Way will yield a figure of approximately 10 billion+ solar systems similar to ours. As of this time, there are no known exoplanets that orbit their stars in what earthlings describe as the "habitable zone". That in no way means that there aren't any that might look exactly like the one in which we live but given any kind of mathematical odds it would seem at least possible.

Just for the record, this is the only part of the sky that Kepler is observing. I looked at this same part of the sky when LASS was at Ft Griffin but I was looking for the "blinking nebula". Again for the record, I didn't see one single exoplanet but with the able assistance of Ben, I did finally locate my target.

Speaking about possible targets---have you seen all the hype about asteroid 2010 AL 30? This dude is passing nearer to earth than our moon---but don't panic---experts tell us it will not impact our dear old homeland. It is very difficult for the average amateur observer to see but some of our more professional amateurs have imaged it. It is somewhere around mag 14+ and in a very crowded star field. Makes me feel kinda puny when I am looking for a mag 10 object and can't find it. I remember making a vow to look for the Horsehead nebula while at Ft Griffin and some of the guys did actually see it while observing thru the 20 inch "Mr T" scope that Russ and Doug travel with. Horsehead is still on my list and with the 20 incher I have acquired, it may be a possibility for me. Orion is perfectly situated over the next couple of months to make that a challenging target.