Starship Asterisk*

I'm not quite sure what the polymers (PBAN orHTPB) that make up about 12% of the mixture are but I think perhaps they are rubber. Maybe kinda like burning tires?

The main engines (liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen) account for only 17% of the thrust at liftoff. The other 83% is provided by the solid rocket boosters. Each external booster contains 1,100,000 pounds of propellent. The propellant mixture in each SRB motor consists of ammonium perchlorate (oxidiz...

DOH!

That so many occured at the same time makes me ask if there was a small marsquake to trigger the falls. Is there a seismic probe on the planet? Actually I have observed a similar phenomenon from my home, located out of Homer, Alaska. We live on a ridge and overlook Cook Inlet. The shore has cliffs ...

Yes, I see five objects total. In addition to the ISS and the airplane, there seem to be three other satellites. It's a busy sky. 30 years ago it was a treat to see any at all. Now they're everywhere!

[/quote]Speaking of protective layers...shouldn't they be in white lab coats rather than shorts & overalls? [quote]

I dunno. They list the inside temerature as variable between 16 and 27 degrees (C) (approx. 61 to 81 degrees (F)) so either shorts or overalls might be appropriate.

I see that the length of the module is rounded up and quoted as 7 meters or 23 feet at a few sites. This link has a detailed cut-away view and lists the length as 6.87 meters. http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESAFRG0VMOC_iss_0.html The internal volume of 75 cubic meters listed is less than the overall calcu...

The Columbus lab is said to be about 6 meters long. That must be counting the antenna. Judging from the astronaut working on it; the cylinder appears to be about 2 meters long.

Actually, the suited astronaut is about 2 meters long.

Crater Chains wrote: It is thought that the big red circle is a crater and that the smaller circle represents the rebound center peaks from the blast. Since this is such a small body, instead of a "rebound center peak" which would imply something "liquid", could this central peak...

Thanks Andy. I'd like to invite you to come see the auroras from Alaska but I think it would be a lot easier for you to visit perhaps Norway. Easy hop to Copenhagen, Oslo and then maybe Tromso. Perhaps you have a direct hop over to Iceland. You will get them in the UK but it usually takes a pretty g...

Here is an interesting graph that may not shed much light on the last thousand years, or the fact that greenhouse gasses are at their highest levels in over 650,000 years, just for lack of detail but it does take the record back 400,000 years or so based on Antarctic ice core samples. It certainly h...

Thanks for that.
I can relate to the frustration of not being able do the science at the very time that it would be so much desired. It would be inconceivable that I would have to switch off my cameras during such an event.

http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image001984.html

Yes, that certainly answers the question of short wavelength radiation at the surface but I also wonder if upper regins are affected such as the mesosphere and possibly polar mesospheric clouds (noctiluscent clouds) or if there would be increased heating of the upper stratosphere by UV radiation and...

Thank you Art for the expertise. I have a question about one event in particular and a generalization of such events: Back in late October of 2003 we experienced the impact of CME's related to two huge solar flares. I had read that these actually stripped off some of the Earth's outer atmosphere and...

ER, before you jump on me spelling, let me make that "infinite".

With the dange of appearing simplistic: If the universe is infinate, wouldn't that mean that in the whole of the universe, no matter how slim the chances, the number of collisions between stars would also be infinate?

The info on today's image says that it was taken on January 31st but there is no mention of orientation. On the 31st 10982 was 40 degrees east that would make the orientation of east at the top of this image if it is indeed 10982.

The area is 10 one-millionths of the surface area of the visible sun - whatever that translates into. I believe it is rather tiny for a sunspot. I have not found anything on weather this spot, 10982 actually belongs to the new cycle 24. It is only at a latitude of 9 degrees south and may belong to t...

"HOMER: We have a great life here in ALASKA,
. and we're never going back to America again! "

He couldn't have said it better! It's amazing how many people don't know that Alaska IS part of the US but that's OK by us!

Not to get off the subject :wink: but I do hope that folks elsewhere are getting to see this conjunction. At 60 degrees north, and with mountains to the south, I have barely been able to see Venus rise between peaks before it is too light out. The moon has been too low the past few days and Jupiter ...

Ed, I wouldn't go so far as to say we are any smarter now but by exonerating Gallileo, the Catholic Church finally recognized the fact that the Earth orbits around the Sun and not the other way around. And this took place only about 20 years ago!

Matthew 2 KJV Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard [th...

Conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter occur quite regularly, about once every 1-1/2 to 2 years. As pretty as it can be, certainly it is not an event of biblical proportions.

While growing up in Montana, I had abserved the aurora on many occasions and noctilucent clouds on a few. Now, living in Alaska I have observed both many, many times. Noctilucent clouds have always appeared as cirrus-like or in wave patterns but never ray-like. It sounds more like you saw the rays f...

This is a beautiful shot. I get vertigo just looking at it. The facility sure looks built to withstand some fierce weather.. One thing to note is the lack of color in the stars and especially the lack of color in the Orion Nebula. I wonder if the camera rendered it thus or if some type of color corr...