BIG STAR PARTY AT TARLETON OBSERVATORY

The 2nd annual star party at the Tarleton observatory was a rousing success as far as I could tell. Naturally I give a lot of credit to LASS members who showed up with telescopes for the public to use. LASS was by far the leading contributor with both active participants and telescope hardware. My special thanks to everyone who participated.

We didn't get to look thru the 32 inch scope housed in the observatory dome because it was being used to do some project but at least they had a big TV screen set up outside so you could see what the scope was pointed toward. I was especially proud to see Dr. Hibbs there with the 15 inch scope I had traded to him a couple of weeks before. He seemed really pleased with the scope and when I ventured a look thru it I got the same feeling I think Ben had after he had traded it to me. Just a little homesick feeling deep down inside somewhere. I know it will sound a little prejudice but that is really a good scope.

I estimated that there were at least 50 folks there for the evening but it is always hard to tell. Sometimes you count the same person more than once due to the darkness. I handed out several LASS info flyers to folks from the Stephenville area so we might see some of them at some future LASS meeting.

The sky is sufficiently dark at the observatory location to make it a good place to set up for a nights work. There are absolutely no lights that you can see from the site and the sky glow from towns in the area don't hamper observing. It may not be quite as dark as Eldorado or Ft Davis but it is good enough for us country guys. Of course, ole man moon showed up around 10PM and began to do his thing to the sky. By that time the wind had started to pick up and here was a definite chill in the air so folks began to button things up shortly thereafter. From all indications, this will be a yearly affair for the Tarleton astronomy school. Maybe we will see you there next year.

ARE YOU ACTING RESPONSIBLY?

Today in California a man was give 2 1/2 years in prison for using his green laser to either distract or disorient pilots as they were preparing to land their aircraft. Using a green light laser can be a dangerous thing if the operator is careless or just doesn't care. Are you careless?

The green laser used by the man in California is the very same laser that some of us have and use at various star parties to help point out satellites, constellations and even general aiming directions to find a desired target. These lasers are the most powerful that we are allowed to operate without a license or registration. That should give you a good general indication of how powerful the beam from one of these lights can be. At just about every star party I have attended where lasers are present and in use, kids ask to handle and point the beam. No matter how much you caution them about the safety precautions, the most effective response they can get is to point it at someone or something nearby. They have seen and been exposed to the weaker "red beam" lasers and they just can't believe that the simple little green color of the beam can make any difference. Even worse is the adult who asks to borrow your laser and then points it in a very casual and careless manner. Even when you are still holding the laser in your hand and trying to show them the "ON" switch, someone is likely to say something like---"oh you mean right here" and push the on switch while not having even the slightest idea where the light beam is pointing. I am not suggesting that folks don't care if they permanently damage another persons eyesight, they just don't get the overall implications of the danger. I AM TALKING SERIOUS AND PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THE EYES.--- NOT JUST THE TEMPORARY LOSS OF YOUR NIGHT VISION.

What is the moral and point of this discussion? Let me put it this way---would you let someone handle your razor sharp hunting knife in the darkness of a star party? Would you give them a loaded pistol and caution them not to point it at anything but the sky? Surely you can't miss what I am trying to say.

Green lasers as powerful as the ones we use must be handled with responsibility. Because of several incidents like the one by the man in California, the folks who regulate lasers threatened to take the ones we use off the market. That's something I don't want to happen. I like my laser and I believe it adds appreciably to my ability to show folks things in the sky that I might not be able to do otherwise. Let's show the jury that imposed a 2 1/2 year prison term on that irresponsible person in California that we are not just a bunch of uncontrolled Yahoos out in the back yard in the dark. Use your green laser to its best potential but always use it responsibly.

LET THE ARGUMENTS/DEBATES BEGIN

The Ares l-X booster rocket made it off the launch pad with astounding success but in the long run, that launch may be the last of the Ares series rockets to see the light of day. The Ares l-X is the prototype of a rocket being designed to carry NASAs manned space effort into the future. It is an integral part of the Constellation program which is designed for replacing the current space shuttle fleet and moving their manned space program to the moon and beyond. Currently, the Ares program is so far behind schedule that there is very little chance of making it to the moon in 2020 or even supporting missions to the ISS until that vehicle is retired in 2016. The ORION capsule, which is the part of the program that carries the astronauts into space separately from heavy payloads which would be launched with heavy duty rockets, is way behind schedule and has very little chance of meeting any of its goals due to cost overruns and a lack of future funding support.

Most of the bad news for NASA is contained in the Augustine Committee Report which examined the overall Human Spaceflight Plans of NASA. A one sentence summary of the report is this---"the Human SpaceFlight program seems to be on an unsustainable trajectory".

The report does make some recommendations and that is where all the debate and arguments will begin. The initial budget for the entire Constellation program was 28 billion and it has swollen to at least 44 billion. NASAs current budget is 18 billion dollars annually and 10 billion of that is spent on the human spaceflight program. The commission estimated that NASA would need an additional 3 billion annually to meet Constellation goals and even then most of the events would be slipped several years. Give the current attitude for NASA spending projects, that additional money would not likely be available.

Here is a short summary of the committee recommendations:

1. Continue under current funding

a. shuttle retirement delayed until 2011 to help service ISS

b. de orbit ISS in 2016--Ares and Orion would not be available to service ISS

c. insufficient funds to develop lunar landing making manned moon

landing impossible

2. Continue under current funding

a. extend ISS until 2020

b. develop Lite version of Ares

c. extend shuttle fleet until 2011

d use commercial crews to service low earth needs

e. no human mission to the moon

The remaining 3 options all include additional funds for NASA

3. a. Basically the current planning with delayed missions to the moon in late 2020s

4.

a. Send humans to the moon first

b. extend ISS to 2020

c. use commercial vehicles to send humans into low earth orbit

d. extend shuttle until 2015

5. So called the "Flexible Plan"

a. operate shuttles until 2011

b. extend ISS until 2020

c. commercial crews services for low earth orbit needs

d. several options for developing heavy lift vehicles for space flight

e. possible lunar landings and rendezvous with Mars moons by late 2020s

Whatever your thoughts on this part of NASAs human space program may be, you can rest assured that it will be decided by fiscal restraints and right now that doesn't favor anything for NASA. Our nation badly needs some guidance on where we are going with our space program and what the timeline will be. With so many different thoughts and development programs going on we cannot afford to spend the limited dollars we have only to change our minds a couple of years later and start down a different line.

It is interesting to read the blog lines about NASA and the U.S. space program. There are some really radical folks out there on both ends of the spectrum. Almost as bad as the extremist on both ends of the health reform bills. What are your thoughts?

LOOK OUT CHICKEN LITTLE--THE SKY IS FALLING

There is a report out of Latvia, a small country in the northern Baltic, about a large object falling to the ground near the small city of Mazsalaca leaving a crater 66 ft in diameter and 33 ft deep. Almost as soon as the report surfaced there were indications that it might be a fake. There were all sorts of theories as to why the report was downplayed with the main one being to cover a weapons test. Just why a small country would need to cover some kind of weapon test is not clear to me but stranger things have happened. Maybe it wasn't the country of Latvia that conducted the test. One thing is for sure---the crater is there and it has been authenticated.

Early reports identified the object as being a spent satellite or an asteroid but neither has been confirmed. Of course there were witnesses who claimed to have seen the object as it approached earth but those reports can't be confirmed either. We might as well get used to this kind of event, whether real or imagined because there are plenty of objects out there that are capable of hitting the earth. Don't rule out the possibility that some little green men from the moon my be trying to get even for the latest strike we made there.

A GREAT PUBLIC STAR PARTY

I have titled this rant a "Great Public Star Party" and that's exactly what I thought it was. There was a big turnout for the North Texas Skywatch Star party held at Lake Mineral Wells State Park last Saturday night---the weather was very good and there were plenty of folks there with their favorite scope to show the visitors the night sky. And the public did turn out for the show.

This particular event, which has been going on for several years, reaches out to a very select group of would be star gazers. The audience ranges from those that are mildly interested in astronomy to folks who are just taking the kids out for a good nights entertainment. It isn't the only event that is tailored to this kind of audience, i.e. the Coppers Break events held throughout the summer, but it probably is the most widely attended star gaze of its kind near the metroplex. I won't say that it isn't for the seasoned star gazer because that individual is the backbone of the evening, but the public is the main target and after they have looked all they want and after the kids finally hound the parents into taking them home, the real "backyard" guys and gals get their chance at the night sky. Last night, that turned out to be about 10:30. There were a few adults that stayed around to investigate the possibility of getting another look at something without the pressure of someone standing in line right behind them, but generally speaking it turned out to be the scope owners and their families that dotted the parking lot after then.

For the most part of the evening my scope was pointed at Jupiter and later the Andromeda galaxy. People who are not used to star gazing really like targets like Jupiter because it is big and shows lots of color. There's a lot to tell them about the bands of clouds and the moons and how they orbit the planet. They can visit the various types and sizes of scopes and get a comparison view of what to expect from each different scope. Naturally the bigger view of the planet you can show them, the better they like it. Not much different than me along that line. Andromeda was very good last evening but it isn't quite as impressive to the novice. Usually the comments ranges somewhere around "you mean that bright looking foggy thing" or "how far away is it"? Trying to explain 2.5 million light years distance can sometime get a little difficult. I can quote the numbers but I doubt that most could even begin to understand. But then I have a hard tine grasping the vastness of our universe.

The evening was special to me because it was the first time I had my newly acquired 20 inch dob out for a trial run. I was pleasantly impressed. I got the scope from Michael Hibbs in a trade for my 15 inch dob. I had swore that I would not get a scope that require the use of a ladder to look into the eyepiece. Here is how I justified changing my mind. This particular dob has a f4 mirror therefore the distance between the primary mirror and the secondary is shorter that a f5 or f6 mirror. That means this scope is not nearly as tall as the one Russ and Doug bring out from Ft Worth. But I will concede, there are situations when a ladder is required. For the most of the evening I could stand flat on the ground and look at the desire targets. Nearly every one of the visitors who came by had to step on the lowest rung of the ladder. There were a few long legged gooks like myself who didn't need assistance but they were in the minority.

Part of the agreement between Lucy and myself before the trade was that I wouldn't be taking this scope to star parties. It was to be my "home base" permanent scope. But new toys are hard to keep secret so I succumbed to the temptation to take it out at least this one time. It is big and heavy to transport but if I can get a buddy to help out on those occasions when it does leave the local premises, I will be OK. Nuff said about that.

Lucy and I both agreed that it was more difficult to move than the smaller 15 inch scope but at least I thought the difference in what I could see and how I could see things was well worth the effort. Let's just hope that I can keep my sense about me and not try to transport it to often.