Watching

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

This pandemic still has many still working at home. I’m not working at home but retired at home instead.

I did some watching. Watching the heavens (I’m not convinced about this religious heaven concept but calling the dark sky the heavens still sounds good to me) fuels my wonder.

Why bother to watch the heavens? Jupiter and Saturn are mostly huge balls of gas. Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell.

I believe knowledge of the night sky objects creates more wonder as you watch these objects move through the heavens.

Back to the original thought for this post, this past month (sorry this is not a site for what’s in the sky tonight) the northern hemisphere had the opportunity to view a comet zipping by. It was given the name comet NEOWISE. The strange name was assigned for a reason. The NEO part stands for Near Earth Orbit and WISE stands for Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer. The NEOWISE project is the asteroid-hunting project that discovered this comet, hence the name.

I saw the comet with binoculars on two different evenings. Sadly the suburban area around Chicago is not the best for a good dark sky. I managed to see this fuzzy stretched out dirty ice ball but I’m sure it would have look better in a darker sky. I recall seeing the comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. That one was easier to see.

 
On nice afternoons I’ll find myself enjoying a beer and watching clouds pass overhead. Clouds have pros and cons. Clouds on the ground (fog) are bad unless you’re a psycho murderer stalking their next victim (how did I go off on that tangent?). Clouds blocking the sun are good on a hot day but bad at night when I’m trying to see a comet. Of the many things I really don’t know, clouds are probably low on the list.

 

Please enjoy a few thoughts that popped up in my brain long enough to be written down: 

 

• “Stand By Your Man” - While I’m not an expert, I don’t think it applies well to grizzly bear families.
• It occurred to me that receiving long sentences doesn’t help you write long sentences. However, it does give you time to work on it.
• I’ve noticed that Tik Tok is a popular app for the younger generation. If anyone is developing an app for the older generation they should call in Ticky Tacky.
• I heard this good advice the other day: “But I’m going to take a step back and make sure that we learn the facts before we start talking about it.” - Dr. Fauci 
  

 

Even if you don’t watch the weather it will change your day. Don’t most people enjoy a good storm if they are in a safe place? No matter, the weather will find you.

If you read my last post, you should be expecting these two musical videos.

experiemental stream of

You know that Newton guy did a lot of thinking about the movement of things. Why he discovered a whole new branch of mathematics while pondering falling apples. After hearing this latest idea about teaching physics I wonder if Newton had more that falling apples to watch.

public physics lesson

It was in my high school physics class that the power of mathematics became apparent. Our teacher helped us formulate the equation of the path of projectile. Newton's Principia (greatest science book ever written?), explains the workings of the solar system with "simple" equations. His underlying math of moving objects was eventually applied to rockets traveling to outer space.

There are many examples of projectiles that don't require a canon or rocket. Golfing, football, watering your lawn and one that boys often find entertaining - urinating. Yes the path of the stream follows the path of a projectile. It's also a simple way to demonstrate vectors.

You may have heard this story.

Three Australian researchers have proposed an explanation why the largest gaps in performance between girls and boys arise in questions that involve projectile motion. In this report they state:

Playful urination practices – from seeing how high you can pee to games such as Peeball (where men compete using their urine to destroy a ball placed in a urinal) – may give boys an advantage over girls when it comes to physics.

Now until now I never thought my attempt to write my name in the snow had anything to do with my love of physics. Oh the many times I could have just used studying physics as an excuse.

The researchers are serious. They suggest not using projectile motion for the introduction to physics. Another quote from the report:

But despite the surface layer of toilet humour, and the implication that physics may be little more than a pissing contest, we’re making a serious point. As the proportion of jobs in the science and technology sector rises, and many of the complex problems the world faces require high levels of scientific and technological literacy to be understood and resolved, lower achievement and participation rates for young women in physics are set to become even more significant problems.

This outside-the-toilet-bowl idea might be as wrong as leaving the seat wet (I was studying evaporation Mom!) but if anything it will bring more attention to this gender gap.

Here's an example of a woman who had no problem grasping the math of projectiles, Katherine G. Johnson.

previously on Mars

When I founded the Lisleman Institute for Better Posting I toyed around with the idea of starting a space rumor group. (BTW when you toy with ideas you get to keep them unlike the shared toys in the playground.)

This space picture from Mars when combined with previous odd martian pictures would support a great rumor. There could be a martian up there that is littering Mars. Looks someone tossed a chewed leg from a their last BBQ on the ground over there. Such a low life.

Months ago it was a tossed jelly donut. (my first report on this)

All this litter will bring out the martian rats.

The rumor mill never stops turning.

Circular Notice (best kind of notice don’t you think?): This is to advise you that, unless otherwise expressly indicated, personal advice contained in this post is not intended to be used.

too early to plan

Is seven years or so, too early to start planning an event?

How about a prediction?

A big shadow will be sweeping across the US.

I predict August 21, 2017 is going to be momentous Monday. The Moon and Sun are going to be big players here in the states that day. Right in the middle of day the moon sneaks up on the sun and gobbles it up.

It will be the first with a path of totality crossing the USA's Pacific coast and Atlantic coast since 1918 (unless you count the summer vacation my family took in 1994 - the totality of arguments over seating arrangements with the kids were record breaking) .

Having just celebrated CC’s (Christopher Columbus) big day this week, I must remind you of his great use of an eclipse. In 1503, CC and his men were stranded in Jamaica. They were having some issues with the natives, so CC referred to his astronomical tables and "predicted" a lunar eclipse he knew would take place to secure respect and fear - as well as a regular supply of food.

Remember my post about my brother’s place in the middle of nowhere? 

Guess what, this total eclipse puts his middle of nowhere place very close to the central path of the whole thing.  So of course, I called him.

“Yeah, what’s up?”  (caught him in a good mood - otherwise it’s now what the f--k)
“I’m planning a trip to visit your place.  Is August 21, 2017 open?”
(he doesn’t actually catch-on to the date at first, I repeat the year)
“Well we need to find a calendar that goes that far out.”

So what are your plans for Aug. 21, 2017?
They are looking up for me. 

testing what you don't want to happen

NASA shared their success of testing a pad abort system today. Being that it is an abort system, you DON'T want to use it. Basically it propels the crew module away from the rocket so that they can escape a malfunctioning rocket.

Here's the video of the test. The whole flight lasts only 135 seconds and the top altitude is about 1.2 miles high.





I appreciate that NASA also shares their mistakes with us too.  Back in 2008, I posted the video of Spacewalker Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper's  mistake.

Walter Cronkite

On July 20, 1969, Walter Cronkite pulled off his glasses, mopped the sweat from his forehead and said: "Wow, boy! Man on the moon!"

The trusted teller of our news considered Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind so important that "everything else that has happened in our time is going to be an asterisk."

On Friday, July 17, 2009, Walter Cronkite landed in the afterlife. Walter died at the age of 92.

It wasn't until I started to dislike our current news media and their focus on ratings and not the news that I realized how good it was to have news reported by Walter Cronkite. As it has been widely reported the man was a trusted source of news.


A NASA tribute to him.

Fly Me To The Moon

A favorite song covered by a favorite singer Diana Krall. If you missed my earlier post on Apollo 11 please take a look.




So 40 years ago this month much of the world got a view FROM the moon. The moon has been important to our life on earth. I recently read that the moon stabilizes the earth's orbit and without it some theorize that life on earth would have been cut short.




About six or seven years ago, I took my young grandson to Kennedy Space Center. We walked around the massive Saturn V rocket that was used in the Apollo program.


The size of this machine is hard to describe. They have a special building to display it and it is laying on its side. Here's more info on it.


At the business end of this beast are five F1 rocket engines. Just walking under these engines made the trip worthwhile. I stared up at these engines imagining the forces being created. Each one produced 1 and half MILLION pounds of thrust. That is definitely going to get you going quickly. Here's a picture I took.



Any of you actually witnessed a launch? I never have but would be interested in hearing your story.

MAN STEPS ON MARS

What if that happens the same day that some uber-celebrity dies? What will the lead/searched story on the internet be? Will it be the top twitter tweet? Well who knows - maybe twitter will be gone by then. I didn't write 'front page headline' because it appears newspapers maybe gone by then. I hope not. It will be big news. I would like to be around when it does happen. I hope that people appreciate the wonder of it all. How many people today know about the rovers that roamed around Mars landscape? Today there's a big difference between 'walking on the moon' vs. 'moonwalk'. But 40 years ago - no internet - no twitter - plenty of newspapers - big time TV news and Michael Jackson had not yet thrilled us with his moonwalk.

  

Sunday afternoon/evening July 20, 1969 (Chicago time) - As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended onto the moon they were confronted with an overloaded computer. Looking out those small windows, Neil thought he was headed for a boulder field. Armstrong takes over manual control and steers the craft to a smoother spot. I recall watching those first TV images at home. But to be honest I don't remember many details of what my parents said or who was sitting where. I do recall looking at the moon during those July nights and saying "Just think, there are people up there!" My interest of space and science has lasted and most of the Apollo details I've learned has come from documentaries and books. Of course now with the internet it much easier to find information about the Apollo program. One important aspect of the program was the 'Cold War'. The race against the Russians was what really kept the long expensive program going. I watched a CSPAN discussion with the Apollo 8 (first to orbit the moon) crew. When asked what he thought after their accomplishment, Frank Borman replied, 
"We beat the Russians"

Immediately after landing on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin prepared the Lunar Module (LM) for liftoff as a contingency measure. Following the meal, the astronauts requested their scheduled sleep period be postponed. The astronauts wanted to get out onto the lunar surface. I can't imagine being able to sleep having just landed on the moon.  

As he was climbing back into the LM Buzz bumped the switches with his backpack. This created another problem with grave potential. (From Buzz's book, "Men from Earth":)

 
"We discovered during a long checklist recitation that the ascent engine's arming circuit breaker was broken off on the panel. The little plastic pin (or knob) simply wasn't there. This circuit would send electrical power to the engine that would lift us off the moon...We looked around for something to punch in this circuit breaker. Luckily, a felt-tipped pen fit into the slot." 

So a pen was needed to get them off the lunar surface! They had problems sleeping up there. Not much room and chilly - plus how do you relax camping out on the moon? They stayed on the surface less than a day (21hr:36min:17sec). Missing tapes - the Land of OZ

   

Hours after landing when Armstrong opened the hatch on the lunar module, and stepped out onto the moon the tracking stations with a direct line on the Apollo's signal were the ones in Australia. One important tracking site was Honeysuckle. The TV pictures from the moon were transmitted via Slow Scan TV format, a special technique to save precious radio bandwidth. This format needed to be converted for regular commercial TV. This conversion degraded the picture quality. The people who saw the best pictures from the moon were the Aussie operators.

  

The original Slow Scan signal was recorded onto tape. NASA went looking for the tape because with today technology the conversion could be redone with much better results. NASA appears to have misplaced the tapes. Luckily those operators took some photos of their monitor screens. This web page shows the quality difference in the picture. Honeysuckle tribute web site NASA site for the 40 anniversary. Here's an article suggesting the first nation to the moon might not be the next nation to go there. Please share in the comments any memories you have of the Apollo program - thanks.

Drive By news update

That satellite crash, I posted something on recently had me looking for more info. The wired site has a interesting list of lost stuff in space.

One of the items listed was the tool bags that got away during a space walk. On another spacewalk another astronaut lost her camera.

The camera-missing astronaut is Suni Williams who holds a longevity in space record, is a naval aviator and had long hair. Now this long hair shown in her NASA picture was cut while in space. She talks about in the video below.





From my experience of cleaning up the mess of hair from my daughters, I can imagine the stuff floating around in space would be a bigger pain.

Back on earth (at a BBQ?) she was interviewed and was very candid and open about her spaceflight. Maybe sharing more info than some even wanted to hear.

Drive By news

The story behind that SUV picture involves an F-16 fighter and a target range.

"The cause of the accident was the failure of the pilot to positively identify the intended target during the nighttime, close air support training sortie," the news release said.

The soldiers in the SUV only suffered minor injuries. I wonder if they now suffer from reoccurring nightmares. You can see in the above picture, what a 20 mm gun can do to the finish on your car. (here's a link)


In recent news:
(High above Siberia) A Russian spacecraft pulled out in front of a Iridium spacecraft. Looks like a case of an elderly spacecraft not judging the safe distance before pulling out into a lane of traffic. The resulting crash left a cloud of debris.

Russian - ? - maybe vodka was involved ?

It would be interesting to see the accident report sent to Iridium's insurance agent.

It's dangerous to have all these chunks of spacecraft scattered around waiting for another unsuspecting spacecraft to hit it. The international space station has bumpers or shields to protect it. These safety measures go by the non-reassuring name of "Whipple bumpers".

While checking out this story I came across this NASA program:
Orbital Debris Program Office

Sounds like a space age version of animal control programs that pick up roadkill. Now we are dealing with spacekill and debris scattered in orbit. Here's one of many pictures they have of destructive debris impacts.

big science tiny bubbles

I stumbled on to this while looking up Alka Seltzer.

It sure looks fun in space. Things just floating around, great views of the earth. Well I guess they bring Alka Seltzer up to the space station. I can't imagine the astronauts would be eating too much.

Those bubbles are cool looking in that sphere of water. An experiment you can drink too.

free tool bag - just try to get it

Lost in Space

Do you remember this old TV show, well now there's another item lost in space - a tool bag

Spacewalker Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper dropped the bag (well you can watch the video for the details) on her repair mission. This is one of those jobs that the whole world gets to watch so a screw-up gets plenty of attention. Hopefully no damage done.

thanks google

Thanks to google's decoration of their search page logo, I found out that NASA is 50 years old today.

I suspect most of you have seen the decorated google logos before. Halloween is a day they regularly change it, as are many other holidays. I assume they must have a group that reviews upcoming anniversaries for selecting their next logo change. That would be a fun review. I imagine they come across some strange ones. I wonder if they take requests.

did you notice

OK - space - google
Two subjects that interest me.
I really like it when Google creates special logo's to mark historic days.

Well, the space race started 50 years ago today. I thought the write-up in USA Today (the web site - I assume the hard copy had the same) was good. The article points out the difference now in attitude of Americans about the space race compared to then. If you don't know already, the big push for reaching the moon was political and "Cold War" related.

Today the "Cold War" has been replaced by a terrorist war. I don't imagine any terrorist group would have or want any plans to say land a man on Mars. So today we have a very different world situation. You know China has a space program and I wonder if they were to land man on Mars before us, would we feel that we blew it?

I wonder how many people make the connection between Sputnik and the current widely used GPS system.

The special web pages over at Nasa are worth a look too.