tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297235812024-03-05T02:52:16.047-05:00Roaming AstronomerJames M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.comBlogger524125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-82726439667664651282020-09-18T08:28:00.005-04:002020-09-18T08:28:37.268-04:00Potential Sign of Life on Venus<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibR5ivRNLMTX4yW36v910EYyjZ2LEB24SHe_-b99F39qWOVwkCQLdxC2uFG6h57q-ZTz95hZxTTCHYVaNuLeWXcM8z1PxhQcrJu4EvaC6i2Q-BYj-MrEvYnBC1IAY8LXojUVb2Zw/s400/venuscloudsglobal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibR5ivRNLMTX4yW36v910EYyjZ2LEB24SHe_-b99F39qWOVwkCQLdxC2uFG6h57q-ZTz95hZxTTCHYVaNuLeWXcM8z1PxhQcrJu4EvaC6i2Q-BYj-MrEvYnBC1IAY8LXojUVb2Zw/w400-h225/venuscloudsglobal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">Artist's concept of the thick clouds that obscure Venus’ surface. Image Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser & NASA/JPL/Caltech</i></p><p>An international team of astronomers have confirmed that the cloud tops of Venus contain traces of phosphine, a gas that is produced by microbial life. The gas is also produced by some Earth-based industrial processes. That said, no known non-biological processes can create phosphine in the conditions found on Venus.</p><p>The find raises two intriguing possibilities: One, the possibility that Venus may harbor life in its clouds. And two, the phosphine could be the result of some unknown chemical process, which would be an enticing subject of scientific study.</p><p><a href="https://astronomy.com/news/2020/09/astronomers-spy-phosphine-on-venus-a-potential-sign-of-life" target="_blank">You may read the full article at Astronomy.com</a></p><p>-</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-4685369528403221692019-06-02T20:38:00.000-04:002019-06-02T20:38:03.285-04:00Martian Clay Found<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMNBnTkRlrynpAwntmVFidMkYAwQ6gc-wn5h4ydXfuznB2-hRI6xMUYwXkXky8ZpWZa_MUpIJOyXXi6ntRnBpJ_un1aG9AxoV6sEqtk95_EAQtK2-BI63MKqqKUJfXkRXh87ILg/s1600/PIA23240-1280x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1280" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMNBnTkRlrynpAwntmVFidMkYAwQ6gc-wn5h4ydXfuznB2-hRI6xMUYwXkXky8ZpWZa_MUpIJOyXXi6ntRnBpJ_un1aG9AxoV6sEqtk95_EAQtK2-BI63MKqqKUJfXkRXh87ILg/s400/PIA23240-1280x1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The Curiosity rover selfie is composed of 57 individual images taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm. The images are stitched together into a panorama, and the robotic arm is digitally removed. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS</i></div>
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NASA's Mars Curiosity rover confirmed that the region it's exploring, called the "clay-bearing unit," prooved to be an accurate name. Two samples the rover recently drilled at rock targets called "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie" have revealed the highest amounts of clay minerals found during the mission. Both drill targets appear in a new selfie taken by the rover on May 12, 2019, the 2,405th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.<br />
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The region is located on the side of lower Mount Sharp and stood out to NASA orbiters before Curiosity landed in 2012. Clay often forms in water, which is essential for life; Curiosity is exploring Mount Sharp to see if it had the conditions to support life billions of years ago. The rover's mineralogy instrument, called CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy), provided the first analyses of rock samples drilled in the clay-bearing unit. CheMin also found very little hematite, an iron oxide mineral that was abundant just to the north, on Vera Rubin Ridge.<br />
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Other than proof that there was a significant amount of water once in Gale Crater, what these new findings mean for the region is still up for debate. It's likely that the rocks in the area formed as layers of mud in ancient lakes - something Curiosity also found lower on Mount Sharp. Water interacted with sediment over time, leaving an abundance of clay in the rocks there.<br />
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Amid this new drilling and analyzing, Curiosity took a break to watch some clouds - all in the name of science. The rover used its black-and-white Navigation Cameras (Navcams) to snap images of drifting clouds on May 7 and May 12, 2019, sols 2400 and 2405. They're likely water-ice clouds about 19 miles (31 kilometers) above the surface.<br />
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The mission's team has been trying to coordinate cloud observations with NASA's InSight lander, located about 373 miles (600 kilometers) away, which recently took its own cloud images. Capturing the same clouds from two vantage points can help scientists calculate their altitude.<br />
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More information about Curiosity is at: <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/">https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/</a><br />
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More information about Mars is at: <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/">https://mars.nasa.gov/</a><br />
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-23109742275189375372018-03-02T09:33:00.002-05:002019-06-02T19:09:33.973-04:00Happy Birthday, Pioneer 10!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gYKmi9yJd6X4L9QkWlUhgj9VqiVJAiroikEm1RGlauvDgCB4hLKGSS1jnsE0uqwEfMA6z-kI2Cb2bZ2u94BdTn9LZAhIo4P6v5UcMFCqYsYR9ZJe5ORcrUget4nWmPpehDQr0w/s1600/Pioneer_10_at_Jupiter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1360" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gYKmi9yJd6X4L9QkWlUhgj9VqiVJAiroikEm1RGlauvDgCB4hLKGSS1jnsE0uqwEfMA6z-kI2Cb2bZ2u94BdTn9LZAhIo4P6v5UcMFCqYsYR9ZJe5ORcrUget4nWmPpehDQr0w/s400/Pioneer_10_at_Jupiter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pioneer 10<i> was launched March 2, 1972. Shown, artist rendering of </i>Pioneer 10<i> flyby of Jupiter. Image credit, NASA.</i></div>
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March 2 marks a birthday, of sorts, for NASA's<i> Pioneer 10</i> mission. On this day in 1972, the spacecraft was launched on the first mission to the planet Jupiter.<br />
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Originally designated Pioneer F, the spacecraft weighed 258 kilograms (569 pounds), completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter and, later, became the first of five artificial objects to achieve the escape velocity that will allow them to leave the Solar System. The project was conducted by the NASA Ames Research Center in California, and the space probe was manufactured by TRW Inc.<br />
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The spacecraft was launched on March 2, 1972 by an Atlas-Centaur expendable vehicle from Launch Complex 36A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Between July 15, 1972, and February 15, 1973, it became the first spacecraft to traverse the asteroid belt. Photography of Jupiter began November 6, 1973, at a range of 25,000,000 kilometers (16,000,000 mi), and a total of about 500 images were transmitted. The closest approach to the planet was on December 4, 1973, at a range of 132,252 kilometers (82,178 mi). During the mission, the on-board instruments were used to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter, the solar wind, cosmic rays, and eventually the far reaches of the Solar System and heliosphere.<br />
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<i>Pioneer 10</i> crossed the orbit of Saturn in 1976 and the orbit of Uranus in 1979. On June 13, 1983, the craft crossed the orbit of Neptune, the outermost planet, and so became the first human-made object to leave the proximity of the major planets of the Solar System. The mission came to an official end on March 31, 1997, when it had reached a distance of 67 AU from the Sun, though the spacecraft was still able to transmit coherent data after this date.<br />
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After March 31, 1997, <i>Pioneer 10</i>'s weak signal continued to be tracked by the Deep Space Network to aid the training of flight controllers in the process of acquiring deep space radio signals. There was an Advanced Concepts study applying chaos theory to extract coherent data from the fading signal.<br />
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The last successful reception of telemetry was received from <i>Pioneer 10</i> on April 27, 2002; subsequent signals were barely strong enough to detect, and provided no usable data. The final, very weak signal from <i>Pioneer 10</i> was received on January 23, 2003 when it was 12 billion kilometers (80 AU) from Earth. Further attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful. A final attempt was made on the evening of March 4, 2006, the last time the antenna would be correctly aligned with Earth. No response was received from <i>Pioneer 10</i>. NASA decided that the RTG units (the spacecraft's power generators) had probably fallen below the power threshold needed to operate the transmitter. Hence, no further attempts at contact were made.<br />
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To learn more about<i> Pioneer 10</i> and the NASA Pioneer missions, visit these sites.<br />
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<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/archive/pioneer.html">NASA Pioneer Missions</a><br />
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041105100336/http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNhome.html"><br /></a>
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041105100336/http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNhome.html">Web Archive of the NASA Pioneer Mission Home Page</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-464914244099542942018-02-28T06:59:00.002-05:002018-02-28T06:59:37.228-05:00Phoenix Mars Lander Is a Bit Dusty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G8vjzOdeGlEp2xqVuATAPFjy-e6jmsGX6_KWixJ1NaKduMh_Efs7gVoKfPdwoEaNyfQ0GC4_6fOXLJS3ld0dSJ6Dbf3ngAuOy7Gw5Bu65fwivUtLBtXp6Ll3pmgH9izb-g5u3Q/s1600/PIA22223.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="1286" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G8vjzOdeGlEp2xqVuATAPFjy-e6jmsGX6_KWixJ1NaKduMh_Efs7gVoKfPdwoEaNyfQ0GC4_6fOXLJS3ld0dSJ6Dbf3ngAuOy7Gw5Bu65fwivUtLBtXp6Ll3pmgH9izb-g5u3Q/s400/PIA22223.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The above animation "blinks" between two images: One taken May 25, 2008, the other taken December 21, 2017. Both show the landing site for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The later image shows the result of dust layering. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona</i></div>
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A late 2017 image of NASA's Phoenix Mars mission, which landed nearly a decade ago in the norther regions of Mars, shows that dust has covered some marks of the landing.<br />
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The Phoenix lander itself, plus its back shell and parachute, are still visible in the image taken December 21, 2017, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. But an animated-blink comparison with an image from about two months after the May 25, 2008, landing shows that patches of ground that had been darkened by removal of dust during landing events have become coated with dust again.<br />
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In August 2008, Phoenix completed its three-month mission studying Martian ice, soil and atmosphere. The lander worked for two additional months before reduced sunlight caused energy to become insufficient to keep the lander functioning. The solar-powered robot was not designed to survive through the dark and cold conditions of a Martian arctic winter.<br />
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Both images in the animation were taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The one with three patches of darker ground -- where landing events removed dust -- was taken on July 20, 2008. The one with a more even coating of pale dust throughout the area was taken on December 21, 2017. Both image cover an area roughly 300 meters wide at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude.<br />
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The University of Arizona, Tucson, led the Phoenix mission and also operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, managed the Phoenix Mars Lander Project and manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, built both the Phoenix and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.<br />
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For more information on the Phoenix Mars Lander, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and NASA's Mars exploration program, check out these site.</div>
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<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html">Phoenix Mars Lander Mission</a></div>
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<a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/">Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission</a></div>
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<a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/">NASA's Mars Exploration Program</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-83860313783588679242017-08-30T16:00:00.000-04:002017-08-30T16:00:05.871-04:00The Rings of Saturn Viewed Planet-Side and the Final Days of Cassini<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On August 20, NASA's Cassini spacecraft completed another pass between Saturn and its rings. The below animation shows the ring system from above (sunlit side) and then below (shadow side). All of the ring system is seen. But due to the angle, the rings and the ring divisions appear foreshortened (squeezed together). Also, the inner C ring looks larger in the foreground.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxvTsxUuS9itjPT0reioRQZjW542_Ly2z_XzrEzBtA_qtroQbu4LohQqGBfvnQF8Galfx6gBzJL9-d88yM0AfySrp7njhYCneEnFckqDdx3Bb5mvwnbK3UINtf7MUtJ-VXhTb_Q/s1600/PIA21886_Inside+outRings_20170820.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="504" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxvTsxUuS9itjPT0reioRQZjW542_Ly2z_XzrEzBtA_qtroQbu4LohQqGBfvnQF8Galfx6gBzJL9-d88yM0AfySrp7njhYCneEnFckqDdx3Bb5mvwnbK3UINtf7MUtJ-VXhTb_Q/s400/PIA21886_Inside+outRings_20170820.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Saturn's ring system as seen during the Cassini pass between the rings and Saturn on August 20, 2017. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute</i></div>
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<b>The Grand Finale is Nearly Complete</b><br />
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The spacecraft is quickly approaching its mission-ending dive into the atmosphere of Saturn on September 15. An April 22 gravitational assist from Saturn's moon Titan put the craft on its final path. But several mission milestones remain before then.<br />
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The spacecraft is expected to lose radio contact with Earth within about one to two minutes after beginning its descent into Saturn's upper atmosphere. But on the way down, eight of Cassini's 12 science instruments will be operating. In particular, the spacecraft's ion and neutral mass spectrometer (INMS), which will be directly sampling the atmosphere's composition, potentially returning insights into the giant planet's formation and evolution. On the day before, September 14, other Cassini instruments will make detailed, high-resolution observations of Saturn's auroras, temperature, and the vortices at the planet's poles. Cassini's imaging camera will take it's last views on September 14 and then be shut down. Below are some highlights from the final days of Cassini.<br />
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<b>September 9</b> -- Cassini will make the last of 22 passes between Saturn itself and its rings -- closest approach is 1,044 miles (1,680 kilometers) above the clouds tops.<br />
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<b>September 11</b> -- Cassini will make a distant flyby of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Even though the spacecraft will be at 73,974 miles (119,049 kilometers) away, the gravitational influence of the moon will slow down the spacecraft slightly as it speeds past. A few days later, instead of passing through the outermost fringes of Saturn's atmosphere, Cassini will dive in too deep to survive the friction and heating.<br />
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<b>September 14</b> -- Cassini's imaging cameras take their last look around the Saturn system, sending back pictures of moons Titan and Enceladus, the hexagon-shaped jet stream around the planet's north pole, and features in the rings.<br />
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<b>September 14 (5:45 p.m. EDT / 2:45 p.m. PDT)</b> -- Cassini turns its antenna to point at Earth, begins a communications link that will continue until end of mission, and sends back its final images and other data collected along the way.<br />
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<b>September 15 (4:37 a.m. EDT / 1:37 a.m. PDT)</b> -- The "final plunge" begins. The spacecraft starts a 5-minute roll to position INMS for optimal sampling of the atmosphere, transmitting data in near real time from this point to end of mission.<br />
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<b>September 15 (7:53 a.m. EDT / 4:53 a.m. PDT)</b> -- Cassini enters Saturn's atmosphere. Its thrusters fire at 10 percent of their capacity to maintain directional stability, enabling the spacecraft's high-gain antenna to remain pointed at Earth and allowing continued transmission of data.<br />
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<b>September 15 (7:54 a.m. EDT / 4:54 a.m. PDT)</b> -- Cassini's thrusters are at 100 percent of capacity. Atmospheric forces overwhelm the thrusters' capacity to maintain control of the spacecraft's orientation, and the high-gain antenna loses its lock on Earth. At this moment, expected to occur about 940 miles (1,510 kilometers) above Saturn's cloud tops, communication from the spacecraft will cease, and Cassini's mission of exploration will have concluded. The spacecraft will break up like a meteor moments later.<br />
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<b>A Very Long Mission at Saturn</b><br />
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As Cassini completes its 13-year tour of Saturn, its Grand Finale -- which began in April -- and final plunge are just the last beat. Following a four-year primary mission and a two-year extension, NASA approved an ambitious plan to extend Cassini's service by an additional seven years. Called the Cassini Solstice Mission, the extension saw Cassini perform dozens more flybys of Saturn's moons as the spacecraft observed seasonal changes in the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan. From the outset, the planned endgame for the Solstice Mission was to expend all of Cassini's maneuvering propellant exploring, then eventually arriving in the ultra-close Grand Finale orbits, ending with safe disposal of the spacecraft in Saturn's atmosphere.<br />
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<b>Mountains of New Data on the Saturn System</b><br />
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Since its launch in 1997, the findings of the Cassini mission have revolutionized our understanding of Saturn, its complex rings, the amazing assortment of moons and the planet's dynamic magnetic environment. The most distant planetary orbiter ever launched, Cassini started making astonishing discoveries immediately upon arrival and continues today. Icy jets shoot from the tiny moon Enceladus, providing samples of an underground ocean with evidence of hydrothermal activity. Titan's hydrocarbon lakes and seas are dominated by liquid ethane and methane, and complex pre-biotic chemicals form in the atmosphere and rain to the surface. Three-dimensional structures tower above Saturn's rings, and a giant Saturn storm circled the entire planet for most of a year. Cassini's findings at Saturn have also buttressed scientists' understanding of processes involved in the formation of planets.<br />
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<b>Why End the Mission?</b><br />
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The spacecraft is running low on the rocket fuel used for adjusting its course. If left unchecked, this situation would eventually prevent mission operators from controlling the course of the spacecraft.<br />
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Two moons of Saturn, Enceladus and Titan, have captured news headlines over the past decade as Cassini data revealed their potential to contain habitable – or at least "prebiotic” – environments.<br />
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In order to avoid the unlikely possibility of Cassini someday colliding with one of these moons, NASA chose to safely dispose of the spacecraft in the atmosphere of Saturn. This will ensure that Cassini cannot contaminate any future studies of habitability and potential life on Enceladus and Titan.<br />
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For more information about the Saturn system and the Cassini mission, click on the links below.<br />
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<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/cassini">NASA Cassini Mission</a><br />
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<a href="https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Saturn/Cassini Mission Coverage</a><br />
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-59024142040744391962017-08-27T20:27:00.002-04:002017-08-27T20:36:25.926-04:00Asteroid 3122 Florence Close Approach September 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">On
September 1, asteroid 3122 Florence will become the largest asteroid to fly by Earth
since near-Earth asteroids were discovered a century ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPsOhxYlNEgZicebSUkWzxq9hPFFgZHNI9xA2FUy06jwJPYhf5rV9f8Gb_0Qb7Nc2EljutgMxoVduVyRqWnlUquRh8U-klo4hoYLEckvfptyOV7aW7tBfkmvCrSNYMJywQCzwNQ/s1600/Florence.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="904" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPsOhxYlNEgZicebSUkWzxq9hPFFgZHNI9xA2FUy06jwJPYhf5rV9f8Gb_0Qb7Nc2EljutgMxoVduVyRqWnlUquRh8U-klo4hoYLEckvfptyOV7aW7tBfkmvCrSNYMJywQCzwNQ/s400/Florence.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Asteroid 3122 Florence will pass by Earth on September 1, 2017, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Measurements
made by the Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE asteroid-hunting instrument
suggest that Florence is around 2.7 miles (5 km) in diameter. The asteroid will
pass 4.4 million miles from Earth, about 18 times the distance from the Earth
to the moon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many
known asteroids have passed closer to Earth than Florence will, but those were
estimated to be smaller. NASA has tracked near-Earth objects since 1998.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Background
on Florence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The
body called Florence was first detected March 2, 1981 by American astronomer
Schelte “Bobby” Bus from Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory. The discovery
was provisionally labeled 1981 ET<sub>3</sub>. In 1993, it was acknowledged as
asteroid discovery number 3122 and was named 3122 Florence in honor of Florence
Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of modern nursing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">3122
Florence is a stony asteroid of the Amor group, classified as near-Earth object
and potentially hazardous asteroid (PAH). It orbits the sun at a distance of
1.0–2.5 AU once every 2 years and 4 months (859 days). Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.42 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic. The
PHA classification is due to both the body’s absolute magnitude (H ≤ 22) and
its minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID ≤ 0.05 AU).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Observing
Opportunity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For visual
astronomers, 3122 Florence will be clearly visible in the night sky beginning
August 27. On September 1, 3122 Florence will pass 0.04723 AU (7,066,000 km; 4,390,000
mi) from Earth, brightening to apparent magnitude 8.5, when it will be visible
in small telescopes for several nights as it moves through the constellations
Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">NEO
Close Approaches in 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Florence
is just one of a few bodies passing Earth this year. In January, asteroid 2017 AG<sub>13</sub> snuck up on astronomers. The body was between 36 and 111 feet wide and passed
Earth at half the distance to the moon. Another asteroid in the same size
range, 2012 TC<sub>4</sub>, is scheduled to pass roughly one-fourth the distance to the
moon—between 4,200 miles and 170,000 miles—on October 12, 2017.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Earth-Based
Radar Observing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The size
and proximity of Florence make it a perfect target for ground-based radio
telescope observations. Radar imaging is planned at NASA's Goldstone Solar
System Radar in California and at the National Science Foundation's Arecibo
Observatory in Puerto Rico. The resulting radar images will show the real size
of Florence and could reveal surface details as small as about 30 feet (10
meters).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">NEO
Tracking Continues<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Currently,
NASA is tracking 1,826 near-Earth objects classified as Potentially Hazardous
Asteroids, which have some risk of striking Earth in the future. Among those are
several larger than Florence, including 1999 JM<sub>8</sub> at 4.3 miles
across, 4183 Cuno at 3.5 miles across and 3200 Phaeton at 3.2 miles across.
None have come as close as Florence. Florence won’t make a closer pass until
around the year 2500.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">More
information about asteroids and near-Earth objects can be found at:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch">NASA Asteroid Watch</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For
more information about NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, visit:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense">NASA Planeterary Defense Coordination Office</a></span></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-44213450996287508642017-08-25T07:23:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:55:52.890-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 14<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
New friend Scott Wargo made this video of totality during the August 21 eclipse, as seen from our Greenwood, South Carolina location. I've already shared this link on some sites, so apologies if you have already seen this. Just trying to be thorough. Enjoy. <a href="http://bit.ly/2wakOKK">http://bit.ly/2wakOKK</a><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/2wakOKK"><img alt=" Eclipse Video" border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="601" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESzjLkZbFR520nsR7hVIJnRxgomFTovLDpxHAkgf0SUyLvadXmBcKfT6PnL9fGSLIaq-qo8_NLG_kuzlkP195cp5KW7kE2h16r_tASl8UaiqvxWOepZSVG8U5db7nC445lyz4mw/s400/image015.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-84681426154471567632017-08-25T07:04:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:55:38.871-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 13<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Friend Craig MacDougal made this 13-minute YouTube video to capture the sights and sounds of the August 21 eclipse. Watch the Walmart as the sky grows erily darker and folks get more excited, see the darkness and hear the shouting during totality, and then watch how the world seems to quickly return to normal afterward. Did it really happen? I'm pretty sure it did! <a href="http://bit.ly/2w3PmPZ">http://bit.ly/2w3PmPZ</a><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/2w3PmPZ"><img alt=" Eclipse Video" border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="602" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-onBCCfmvbW-sukYL8v5S5I3UODxeQOylrv0DZwGdvVp_PtyfTPwz0K2wTHMsr3Cbd4jEEPP_Xllbf4iGI1aQTMczwfUXKywmuNHIONtaEFfEMIudDZOyv-FAU9gQHXHQ53pE7A/s400/image014.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-50636056149596764712017-08-21T18:48:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:55:27.049-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 12<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 21, 2017<br />
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I have no photos from totality. But I have memories. Wow! Amazing. It was so otherworldly. The corona had the look of a Star Fleet delta shield with a solar prominence thrown in. The experience was so worth the trip. I will be scanning the recordings for the eclipse as it appeared when I saw it with my own eyes. We broke camp about 30 minutes after the end of totality. We are making our way back home with the rest of humanity. ETA, sometime after midnight Eastern Time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadJ7gAwNrELrDjtFYU45IF6phguLSeoAyJRWZzf2BOaA2aw3lFfvUnLjFLzqaHaoJcnZuYZxKhVjR2Xc-IuG0sOrMrg4MAGpqs15Fzia9GTbNdaxAiBcc-SB81PdTiLEk0CJOWg/s1600/image013.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="599" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadJ7gAwNrELrDjtFYU45IF6phguLSeoAyJRWZzf2BOaA2aw3lFfvUnLjFLzqaHaoJcnZuYZxKhVjR2Xc-IuG0sOrMrg4MAGpqs15Fzia9GTbNdaxAiBcc-SB81PdTiLEk0CJOWg/s400/image013.png" width="397" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-34459478295957892302017-08-21T18:32:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:55:16.099-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 21, 2017<br />
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More observers collected as we got closer to totality. One family had some guests, a missionary family back from Niger. We had some fun with a pinhole projector.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP366Vk3vXUWOQXs-hQAxtb0J4fvlmhBihtHZ26K-jJgwMxQvlh08VN0byIGqr4K8327PHBB7PfT0U1aAfd_hbyMXysN2LG9KP-eQ9OSAw47OskH_Zdc6H-ZvVY7k5i0RKjdDYQ/s1600/image012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="599" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP366Vk3vXUWOQXs-hQAxtb0J4fvlmhBihtHZ26K-jJgwMxQvlh08VN0byIGqr4K8327PHBB7PfT0U1aAfd_hbyMXysN2LG9KP-eQ9OSAw47OskH_Zdc6H-ZvVY7k5i0RKjdDYQ/s400/image012.png" width="397" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-75331524815496764122017-08-21T18:03:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:55:02.288-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 10<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 21, 2017<br />
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As we waited through the partial phase, Craig played a little Frisbee to pass the time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9YZDPq9Eh24wjO47UbDSjU054Q4ilXmrl1jnWTNiGmrJ0ZV5kWp8DMMi4wiwHt-JeeUJEPEPA-6Pep8GASTQMsuz6197ltj9R58A31CvyT9lmqtxfhCPktRSp9bVamgw67fenA/s1600/image011.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="599" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9YZDPq9Eh24wjO47UbDSjU054Q4ilXmrl1jnWTNiGmrJ0ZV5kWp8DMMi4wiwHt-JeeUJEPEPA-6Pep8GASTQMsuz6197ltj9R58A31CvyT9lmqtxfhCPktRSp9bVamgw67fenA/s400/image011.png" width="398" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-48955071681853666152017-08-21T13:03:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:54:45.688-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 9<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 21, 2017<br />
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We met up with Craig's friends in Greenwood. We are camped in a shaded area by the parking lot of a Super Walmart. Partly cloudy, but we still consider it a great spot. Also, we aren't relocating again. And so we wait.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcq3XhOK0KwyPQ_-K8H2mccl-TRuvThept9NaY9s8qCp6h5smXLZ-gX5BUlVFKg5BaCzaEzT3zgBc0VjFv49GZNimt-uPCQGSDLCvUHgtak9Wq8mrUj-lQJ6xjjuDNkdDCWSQtA/s1600/image010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcq3XhOK0KwyPQ_-K8H2mccl-TRuvThept9NaY9s8qCp6h5smXLZ-gX5BUlVFKg5BaCzaEzT3zgBc0VjFv49GZNimt-uPCQGSDLCvUHgtak9Wq8mrUj-lQJ6xjjuDNkdDCWSQtA/s400/image010.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-60874272489977992542017-08-21T08:09:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:54:33.776-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 8<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 21, 2017<br />
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It is the morning of Eclipse Day and we have a new plan: Go West! Craig's careful study of the weather models and satellite imagery gave him a headache. But suggested that around eclipse time in South Carolina, the chances of cloud cover will be lower the farther west you go. Therefore, we've decided to drive to Greenwood, west of Columbia. There we will meet an old friend of Craig's who will be observing there with friends. Being Eclipse Day, we expect traffic to be a challenge. So, for our dash across the state, we will take a few roads we hope will be less traveled. And by doing so, we hope that will make all the difference. The optimistic travel-time estimate is about 2 hours 30 minutes. If there are significant delays on the road, we may get to Greenwood after first contact (C1, the start of the partial phase). But as long as we are in place before totality (the time from C2 to C3), then no worries! The rough eclipse contact times for Greenwood, SC (Eastern Time) are: C1: 1:10:25 pm; C2: 2:39:22 pm; C3: 2:41:51 pm; C4: 4:04 pm. Queue the John Williams music!...Trivia Item 1: Experiencing a total solar eclipse where you live happens on average about once in 375 years. Trivia Item 2: 12.2 million Americans live in the path of this total eclipse. Of course, with visitors, that number will be much higher! About 200 million people (a little less than 2⁄3 the nation's population) live within one day's drive of the path of this total eclipse. In addition, millions of Americans will be able to view a partial eclipse, weather permitting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6est5CeM43zbmKem0543053P14GmkMKjeXV42K18NijyBchUadIjZP-TKnLgGpKzcmx-BoTAvmeegZDVSwwqvxGQTeGQrBNWDaD2aWxhWGDhH9ztbDiRhKqABGNgiqEiH7vxqYA/s1600/image009.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="603" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6est5CeM43zbmKem0543053P14GmkMKjeXV42K18NijyBchUadIjZP-TKnLgGpKzcmx-BoTAvmeegZDVSwwqvxGQTeGQrBNWDaD2aWxhWGDhH9ztbDiRhKqABGNgiqEiH7vxqYA/s400/image009.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-40711047549814914102017-08-20T21:26:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:54:16.146-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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August 20, 2017</div>
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We found near our motel this concrete elephant and giraffe. Since golf is big in this area, we think they are remnants of a miniature golf course for the kids. We had dinner at the local Shoney's, watched the local news and weather, and chatted about the eclipse with the staff. After dinner, we returned to the restaurant with a couple pairs of eclipse glasses and a copy of the eclipse times for local viewing. We gave the glasses and times to the staff and wished them well. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBbTlTEixdLkxpRMKDl8b2z0UNt6VCKXPqXNYmuqOvn5XeD7sXhdeW_ltB4Noy_QU8wrvKQFSREKm2m8FEGECFteNIVKeZ9MXVWLQUbhIXYVrjaFODzJH3HMRnt69NTXQdSVj3Q/s1600/20170820_183640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBbTlTEixdLkxpRMKDl8b2z0UNt6VCKXPqXNYmuqOvn5XeD7sXhdeW_ltB4Noy_QU8wrvKQFSREKm2m8FEGECFteNIVKeZ9MXVWLQUbhIXYVrjaFODzJH3HMRnt69NTXQdSVj3Q/s640/20170820_183640.jpg" /> </a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-19400797135491548822017-08-20T17:04:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:54:02.631-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 20, 2017<br />
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We have arrived at the Best Western in Santee, South Carolina. The agenda for the evening includes: (1) Get the wi-fi going, (2) forage for dinner at a local establishment, (3) construct some pinhole projectors to have on hand for the eclipse, and (4) study the latest weather models for tomorrow. Oh, and (5) get a good night's rest. Trivia: The last time a total solar eclipse occurred exclusively in the U.S. was in 1778.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIYVu29-VYudlNQ8WiTS5UKl_sSlcuNBjPJuY_f1ZeFfNloWHQsVpRKnTHtONq5sc-DEPT9iw7pApEHoMHP694bGYG5d3nY-HlhPI_5Km2aqlee2G0s0LvispRANT-jCeirVcSw/s1600/image006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="599" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIYVu29-VYudlNQ8WiTS5UKl_sSlcuNBjPJuY_f1ZeFfNloWHQsVpRKnTHtONq5sc-DEPT9iw7pApEHoMHP694bGYG5d3nY-HlhPI_5Km2aqlee2G0s0LvispRANT-jCeirVcSw/s400/image006.png" width="398" /></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-54721056181462810942017-08-20T15:19:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:53:51.593-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 20, 2017<br />
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We reached South Carolina and topped off the tank. We're back on the road to Santee. Trivia: The last total eclipse in the United States occurred on Feb. 26, 1979. The last total eclipse that crossed the entire continent occurred on June 8, 1918.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-76585804574957270092017-08-20T13:23:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:53:36.093-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 20,2017<br />
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Now in Georgia. Behold the image of a sign partially eclipsed (ha!) by another car taking a pic of the same sign! Trivia: The umbra (or dark inner shadow) of the moon will be traveling from west to east from almost 3,000 miles per hour (in western Oregon) to 1,500 miles per hour in South Carolina.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-69035451001158085702017-08-20T08:40:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:53:21.360-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">August 20, 2017 </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">All packed and waiting for
my cohort, Craig MacDougal. The black bag has pieces of foam core board for
pinhole projectors. Trivia: On Aug. 21, 2017, all of North America will view –
weather permitting -- a partial eclipse, when the moon obscures part of the
sun.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">On our way! Note the car signage. If others can advertise their fanaticisms, so can we. Trivia: The total eclipse will be viewable throughout a 70-mile-wide path that crosses 14 of the United States from Oregon to South Carolina.</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-45794117104895933182017-08-20T08:14:00.001-04:002018-06-19T19:52:57.627-04:00Journey to the Shadow, No. 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">August 19, 2017</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border: 1pt none; color: black; padding: 0in;">The Journey to the Shadow gets serious tomorrow as we leave Tampa,
Florida for Santee, South Carolina.</span></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-47730858855058080552017-07-04T13:30:00.001-04:002017-08-25T11:29:45.167-04:00I Can Name That Eclipse in Five Notes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Total solar eclipses have always captivated our attention. They have even made their way into our music. See how many of these songs you recognize.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXrVVdRqHDCfSOlFrwoPBAA69klmCN_KRvFBDSgK0DSEtUCZFxSfwjapG06BV4iGEPW_bTLvqtk4RYvAh-LYrkUt1MV5lRc4O9fvFE5ZQmli_-vW-RR5lEMjBOM529OcSgvBXuQ/s1600/Total+Solar+Eclipse+1970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="630" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXrVVdRqHDCfSOlFrwoPBAA69klmCN_KRvFBDSgK0DSEtUCZFxSfwjapG06BV4iGEPW_bTLvqtk4RYvAh-LYrkUt1MV5lRc4O9fvFE5ZQmli_-vW-RR5lEMjBOM529OcSgvBXuQ/s400/Total+Solar+Eclipse+1970.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>March 7, 1970 total solar eclipse. Image Credit: NSO/AURA/NSF</i></div>
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<b style="font-style: italic;">You’re So Vain, </b>composed and performed by Carly Simon<br />
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<i>. . . you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia</i></div>
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<i>To see a total eclipse of the sun</i></div>
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This is the only known recorded song with lyrics that mention a specific eclipse. But which one? The recording was released November 1972. And Nova Scotia had recently experienced two total solar eclipses, one on March 7, 1970 and another on July 10, 1972. Simon has reported that she wrote the song in 1971. If Simon was reflecting on recent events, then she probably meant the total solar eclipse of March 7, 1970.<br />
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<b><i>Eclipse</i></b>, by Pink Floyd from ‘Dark side of the Moon’<br />
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<i>… and everything under the sun is in tune</i></div>
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<i>but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.</i></div>
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<b><i>Total Eclipse of the Heart</i></b>, sung by Bonnie Tyler.<br />
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<i>…Once upon a time there was light in my life</i></div>
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<i>But now there's only love in the dark</i></div>
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<i>Nothing I can say</i></div>
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<i>A total eclipse of the heart…</i></div>
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If we go farther back in time, we come across a smattering of sheet music published in the 1800s and early-1900s.<br />
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<b><i>The Total Eclipse Gallop</i></b>, composed by E. Mack and published in 1919 by Lee & Walker. This song commemorates the August 7, 1869 total solar eclipse, which was visible across the continental United States.<br />
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<b><i>Eclipse,</i></b> composed by Herman Darewski (1883-1947) was published in 1919.<br />
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Other memorable dance tunes that are now long forgotten include:<br />
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<b><i>Eclipse March</i></b>, 1899 published by Troedel & Co., National Library of Australia.</div>
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<i><b>Eclipse Polka</b></i>, by Giuseppe Bistolfi. Published by Kansas City, MO: J.W. Jenkins Son, 1889. University of Missouri, Kansas City Sheet Music Collection</div>
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<b><i>Eclipse Polka</i></b>, 1853, Published by Wm. Vanderbeek and Son,</div>
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<b><i>Eclipse Waltz</i></b>, 1854, W. C. Peters and Sons</div>
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<b><i>Eclipse Polka</i></b>, 1874, Lee & Walker</div>
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<b><i>Eclipse Quickstep</i></b>, 1885, Richards, J. G</div>
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<b><i>Eclipse Gallop</i></b>, 1885, Spear & Dehnhoff</div>
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<i><b>Eclipse Schottische</b></i>, 1884, Stewart, S. S.</div>
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For more information on the August 21 total eclipse, and eclipses in general, visit:</div>
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<a href="https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/">eclipse2017.nasa.gov</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/eclipse">www.nasa.gov/eclipse</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-18927468538478399312017-07-03T07:16:00.003-04:002017-07-03T07:16:55.971-04:00Solar Viewing Safety<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When it comes to looking at the sun, safety comes first! Here are some important questions and answers about solar viewing safety.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiispD8vls4QdTLad_DyvK4VxpY1D7ybeGuHCkM88iPi3vdy59lfUtmAHHV3G7HloM8gXYUX-zXSkxb30Twrn5CY_em497StEZYN0rSeGnUkhDmI7ioq_w4Ljk_1aRkgyJDY5q2MQ/s1600/81682main_anatomy_med+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="500" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiispD8vls4QdTLad_DyvK4VxpY1D7ybeGuHCkM88iPi3vdy59lfUtmAHHV3G7HloM8gXYUX-zXSkxb30Twrn5CY_em497StEZYN0rSeGnUkhDmI7ioq_w4Ljk_1aRkgyJDY5q2MQ/s320/81682main_anatomy_med+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Anatomy of the Human Eye. Image Credit: NASA</i></div>
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<b>Why is it not safe to look at the sun even when only a small part of it is visible?</b><br />
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The rods and cones in the human retina are very sensitive to light. Even a thin sliver of the sun’s disk covers thousands of these light-sensitive cells. Normally during daylight conditions, the iris contracts so that only a small amount of light passes through the lens and then reaches the retina. This level of indirect sunlight is perfectly OK and the eye has evolved over millions of years to safely see the daylight world under most circumstances. The problem is that the sun’s surface is so bright that if you stare at any portion of it, no matter how small, it produces enough light to damage individual retinal cells. It takes a few seconds for this to happen, but afterwards you will see a spot as big as the solar surface you glimpsed when you look away from the sun at some other scenery. Depending on how long you gazed at the sun and how badly the retinal cells were damaged, this spot will either fade away in time or remain permanent. You should <b><i>never</i></b> assume that you can look away quickly enough to avoid eye damage because every person is different in terms of their retinal sensitivity, and you do not want to risk being the one who damages their eyes just to try to look at the sun. If you want to see what the sun looks like, use a properly-equipped telescope. Or just go online and view thousands of pictures taken of the sun by telescopes and NASA spacecraft.<br />
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<b>Is it true that you should not look at the sun even during a total solar eclipse?</b><br />
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There is a misunderstanding being circulated that during a total solar eclipse when the moon has fully blocked the light from the sun, that there are still harmful ‘rays’ that can injure your eyes. This is completely false. When the bright photosphere (the visible surface) of the sun is completely covered, only the faint light from the corona is visible, and this radiation is too weak to have any harmful effects on the human retina.<br />
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The misunderstanding comes about because of using the general term ‘solar eclipse’ to describe both the total phase when the sun disk is completely blocked, and the minutes before and after totality when there is still some of the sun’s disk visible. It is harmful to view even a sliver of the sun disk because of its intensity, and so to simply say that you should not view a solar eclipse is rather inaccurate.<br />
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<b>Do lunar and solar eclipses have any noticeable effect on humans?</b><br />
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There is no evidence that eclipses have any physical effect on humans. However, eclipses have always been capable of producing profound psychological effects. For millennia, solar eclipses have been interpreted as portents of doom by virtually every known civilization. These have stimulated responses that run the gamut from human sacrifices to feelings of awe and bewilderment. Although there are no direct physical effects involving known forces, the consequences of the induced human psychological states have indeed led to physical effects.<br />
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<b>How are eyes damaged by staring at the sun?</b><br />
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Solar retinopathy is a result of too much ultraviolet light flooding the retina. In extreme cases this can cause blindness, but is so painful that it is rare for someone to be able to stare at the sun for that long. Typically, eye damage from staring at the sun results in blurred vision, dark or yellow spots, pain in bright light or loss of vision in the center of the eye (the fovea). Permanent damage to the retina has been shown to occur in approximately 100 seconds, but the exact time before damage occurs will vary with the intensity of the sun on a particular day and with how much the viewer's pupil is dilated from decongestants and other drugs they may be taking. Even when 99% of the Sun's surface (the photosphere) is obscured during the partial phases of a solar eclipse, the remaining crescent Sun is still intense enough to cause a retinal burn. Note, there are no pain receptors in the retina so your retina can be damaged even before you realize it, and by then it is too late to save your vision!<br />
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<b>Where can I get the right kind of solar filter to view the eclipse?</b><br />
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Many people will obtain eclipse viewing glasses. To date, three manufacturers have certified that their eclipse glasses and hand-held solar viewers meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for such products: Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, and Thousand Oaks Optical. These companies may be found online and the glasses ordered, but you really need to order your glasses many months in advance because of the anticipated huge audience that could number in the hundreds of millions. If you are a photographer or amateur astronomer, you will want professional-grade solar filters to cover your binoculars, telescope or camera. Companies like Thousand Oaks Optical and others you can find by using the keyword ‘Solar filters’ have these filters for sale, but again due to the large number of likely customers along the path of totality, you need to order your filter many months in advance. You will also need some time to learn how to use the filter with your optical system, and if you are photographing the eclipse, take lots of test shots to get the right solar disk size and sharpness.<br />
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<b>Is it only the bright light that is dangerous when viewing the sun?</b><br />
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Actually, although filters and glasses do safely block the intense sunlight that is known to damage retinas, the infrared ‘heat’ from the sun can also make viewing uncomfortable as it literally warms the eye. This is why staring at the sun for minutes at a time even with proper filters can still over-heat the tissues and fluids in the eye, and the consequences of this heating can be dangerous as well. To avoid this problem before totality takes place, try not to use your filters without frequently looking-away to cool your eyes. During totality, there is no adverse heating of the eyeball since the solar disk is not visible.<br />
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<b>Isn’t this ‘safety’ issue about eclipse viewing, a bit overblown?</b><br />
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<b><i>Absolutely not!</i></b> You cannot look at the sun without suffering severe damage. We have many built-in reflexes to prevent this. The ONLY exception is in viewing solar eclipses. It is an inherently dangerous activity that you have to do very carefully in order not to suffer eye damage. There are specific steps you can take, based on the experience of thousands of professionals, not only in astronomy but in medicine. So, bottom line: read the safety warnings and make sure you understand how to view the eclipse before August 21, so that the only lasting impression you have is a wonderful memory of the event, not a damaged retina!<br />
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For more information on the eclipse, and how to safely view it, visit:</div>
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<a href="https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/">eclipse2017.nasa.gov</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/eclipse">www.nasa.gov/eclipse</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-83464719388656264612017-06-29T07:12:00.001-04:002017-08-25T11:31:49.042-04:00The Sun, a Primer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Sun is a huge, glowing ball at the center of our solar system. The sun provides light, heat, and other energy to Earth. The sun is made up entirely of gas. Most of it is a type of gas that is sensitive to magnetism. This sensitivity makes this type of gas so special that scientists sometimes give it a special name: plasma. The planets and their moons, dwarf planets, tens of thousands of asteroids, and trillions of comets revolve around the sun. The sun and all these objects are in the solar system. Earth travels around the sun at an average distance of about 92,960,000 miles (149,600,000 kilometers) from it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcVv3B-b8rtA7sH7iR-PsGSGReg0wSPfTxaJj4QMmuVluFS0XsWYa1kz-aC7EZYcbV9OA28Qc9t3SkxvccR1EeHcZAJc1iRyVGQD1N_5Antd-6daekewf3nTk4QgpVWbp5qD8zA/s1600/PIA03149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1550" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcVv3B-b8rtA7sH7iR-PsGSGReg0wSPfTxaJj4QMmuVluFS0XsWYa1kz-aC7EZYcbV9OA28Qc9t3SkxvccR1EeHcZAJc1iRyVGQD1N_5Antd-6daekewf3nTk4QgpVWbp5qD8zA/s320/PIA03149.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>An Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) image of the Sun and a huge, handle-shaped prominence, taken on September 14,1999, in the 304 angstrom wavelength. Prominences are huge clouds of relatively cool dense plasma suspended in the Sun's hot, thin corona. At times, they can erupt, escaping the Sun's atmosphere. Image credit: NASA/European Space Agency</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The sun's radius (distance from its center to its surface) is about 432,000 miles (695,500 kilometers), approximately 109 times Earth's radius. The following example may help you picture the relative sizes of the sun and Earth and the distance between them: Suppose the radius of Earth were the width of an ordinary paper clip. The radius of the sun would be roughly the height of a desk, and the sun would be about 100 paces from Earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The part of the sun that we see has a temperature of about 5500 degrees C (10,000 degrees F). Astronomers measure star temperatures in a metric unit called the Kelvin (abbreviated K). One Kelvin equals exactly 1 Celsius degree (1.8 Fahrenheit degree), but the Kelvin and Celsius scales begin at different points. The Kelvin scale stars at absolute zero, which is -273.15 degrees C (-459.67 degrees F). Thus, the temperature of the solar surface is about 5800 K. Temperatures in the Sun's core reach over 15,000,000 K (27,000,000 degrees F).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The energy of the sun comes from nuclear fusion reactions that occur deep inside the sun's core. In a fusion reaction, two atomic nuclei join together, creating a new nucleus. Fusion produces energy by converting nuclear matter into energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The sun, like Earth, is magnetic. Scientists describe the magnetism of an object in terms of a magnetic field. This is a region that includes all the space occupied by the object and much of the surrounding space. Physicists define a magnetic field as the region in which a magnetic force could be detected—as with a compass. Physicists describe how magnetic an object is in terms of field strength. This is a measure of the force that the field would exert on a magnetic object, such as a compass needle. The typical strength of the sun's field is only about twice that of Earth's field.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But the sun's magnetic field becomes highly concentrated in small regions, with strengths up to 3,000 times as great as the typical strength. These regions shape solar matter to create a variety of features on the sun's surface and in its atmosphere, the part that we can see. These features range from relatively cool, dark structures known as sunspots to spectacular eruptions called flares and coronal mass ejections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Flares are the most violent eruptions in the solar system. Coronal mass ejections, though less violent than flares, involve a tremendous mass (amount of matter). A single ejection can spew approximately 20 billion tons (18 billion metric tons) of matter into space. A cube of lead 3/4 mile (1.2 kilometers) on a side would have about the same mass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The sun was born about 4.6 billion years ago. It has enough nuclear fuel to remain much as it is for another 5 billion years. Then it will grow to become a type of star called a red giant. Later in the sun's life, it will cast off its outer layers. The remaining core will collapse to become an object called a white dwarf, and will slowly fade. The sun will enter its final phase as a faint, cool object sometimes called a black dwarf.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-70879814270838588092017-06-28T06:00:00.000-04:002017-06-28T06:00:16.002-04:00Are You an Umbraphile? You May Be After August 21!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b>um-bra-phile</b> (ˈəm-brə-ˌfī(-ə)l) <i>noun</i>. 1. an avid observer of, or a person with a great interest in, eclipses. [from Latin <i>umbra</i> ‘shade’ and Greek <i>philos</i> ‘loving’]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An umbraphile is, literally, a "shadow lover." He or she is addicted to total solar eclipses. Those who have not stood in the moon’s shadow may not understand. But those who have, do. For many umbraphiles, it is way of life. These are the “solar eclipse chasers.” Once every 16 months, on average, umbraphiles drop what they are doing and travel, by whatever means necessary, to gather along a narrow strip in some remote corner of the globe defined by the laws of celestial mechanics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The next total solar eclipse will occur August 21, crossing the continental United States from coast to coast. Are you an umbraphile? If you aren't, you may be very soon!</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-53889442339882559862017-06-27T06:57:00.001-04:002017-06-27T06:57:55.223-04:00Have You Made Your Reservations for the August 21 Total Solar Eclipse?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There are less than two months until the August 21 total solar eclipse. The path of totality will pass from coast to coast across the entire continental United States. The path of totality is about 70 miles wide. So, there are lots of great places in the U.S. you can see the event.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywtxDwaama7pgv_y5o2TdTJfORkjmBJfLwEKbLIXNMRp11EUx-YtxSC4EKOV6Zvi-OrGioxvDCHLrN4BzdKmtsRYYGjOKk5uA-IH0x0SRQLNaDonyQxbVgoAa6ur_YGsDrGZJ8Q/s1600/Totality+Path.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="1164" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywtxDwaama7pgv_y5o2TdTJfORkjmBJfLwEKbLIXNMRp11EUx-YtxSC4EKOV6Zvi-OrGioxvDCHLrN4BzdKmtsRYYGjOKk5uA-IH0x0SRQLNaDonyQxbVgoAa6ur_YGsDrGZJ8Q/s400/Totality+Path.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The Path of Totality for the August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. Image Credit: NASA</i></div>
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If you are coming from outside the path of totality and hope to stay overnight within the path August 20, before the August 21 event, you should make your plans now if you have not done so already. Hotels are filing up fast, and are already filled up in some locations.<br />
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Please do not wing this! The Department of Transportation is asking that people DO NOT pull off to the side of the interstate. Visit the DoT website where you can see how traffic may be affected by the eclipse. Visit the Fact Sheet link below.<br />
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<a href="https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop16085/" target="_blank">2017 Solar Eclipse Transportation Fact Sheet for State and Local Departments of Transportation</a><br />
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Here are the states through which the center line of the path of totality will pass.<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Oregon</li>
<li>Idaho</li>
<li>Wyoming</li>
<li>Nebraska</li>
<li>Kansas</li>
<li>Missouri</li>
<li>Kentucky</li>
<li>Tennessee</li>
<li>Georgia</li>
<li>South Carolina</li>
</ul>
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To get more of an idea of the location of the path of totality, check out this list of major cities that will be in the path.<br />
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<li>Corvallis, Albany and Lebanon, Oregon</li>
<li>Idaho Falls, Idaho</li>
<li>Casper, Wyoming</li>
<li>Grand Island, Lincoln Nebraska</li>
<li>St Joseph, Missouri</li>
<li>Kansas City, Kansas</li>
<li>St Louis, Missouri</li>
<li>Bowling Green, Kentucky</li>
<li>Nashville, Tennessee</li>
<li>Greenville, South Carolina</li>
<li>Columbia, South Carolina</li>
</ul>
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The website Eclipse2017.org has a great page to see what cities will be in the path and how long totality will last at those locations. Follow the link below.<br />
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<a href="http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/in_the_path.htm" target="_blank">Cities that lie in the Path of Totality</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29723581.post-67988482736401339542017-06-25T22:09:00.000-04:002017-06-26T20:45:09.706-04:00Make a Pinhole Camera to View the Solar Eclipse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pinhole Camera</div>
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You don't need a lot of money to observe a solar eclipse in complete safety. With just a few simple supplies, you can make a pinhole camera that lets you watch a solar eclipse safely and easily from anywhere. </div>
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A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens. Instead of a lens, it has a tiny aperture, a pinhole. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an inverted image, which is known as the camera obscura effect.</div>
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<b>Remember: You should never look at the sun directly without equipment that's specifically designed for looking at the sun. Even using binoculars or a telescope, you could severely damage your eyes or even go blind! The totality portion of a solar eclipse is safe. But looking at anything as bright as the sun is NOT safe without proper protection. And no, sunglasses do NOT count.</b> </div>
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Now, let's make a pinhole camera! You will need the following materials.</div>
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<li>2 pieces of white card stock</li>
<li>1 piece of unused, smooth, aluminum foil</li>
<li>1 pair of scissors</li>
<li>1 roll of tape</li>
<li>1 pin or paper clip</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb6v1Y3JKlXL3CczQ2lt_8PzMKXJM6YNA1bv8j6fvZMBKHTrgH5G1BqGqoy4VZw37Y52rAuO3w2cfkQdS3F22sTr06WdvqCAAC9Aul6_qju0JeOi6HjlIShJt9rGlNVw86GrADw/s1600/pc_materials-640x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb6v1Y3JKlXL3CczQ2lt_8PzMKXJM6YNA1bv8j6fvZMBKHTrgH5G1BqGqoy4VZw37Y52rAuO3w2cfkQdS3F22sTr06WdvqCAAC9Aul6_qju0JeOi6HjlIShJt9rGlNVw86GrADw/s400/pc_materials-640x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</i></div>
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1. Cut a square hole into the middle of one of your pieces of card stock.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemSF5ypKkO21Qo4LvKkVZQm39AY3lacNoXqTIVkButRBKYH5vg5cKL_9RmvRrDc7r6T7o83-jQ1MyXjBddO4cWmwuEPnWQN_ei5wOYWSRr4kDb2hs7_6ueTGNU84tfLlxFd4RWA/s1600/pc_step2-640x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemSF5ypKkO21Qo4LvKkVZQm39AY3lacNoXqTIVkButRBKYH5vg5cKL_9RmvRrDc7r6T7o83-jQ1MyXjBddO4cWmwuEPnWQN_ei5wOYWSRr4kDb2hs7_6ueTGNU84tfLlxFd4RWA/s400/pc_step2-640x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech </i></div>
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2. Tape a piece of aluminum foil over the hole.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKL0WZdQo3C2jHx8ZCDHljI44fgKA7-juFXq9BhdZk17mEJLg0eP8eFD-U1Un2QU_ZJxWzpDAB1h7V0rQgC3X11ndkQ8Begsa5OPmJBaC9NHdsAq8aKl9HGfM6xQF0BDyqna_pg/s1600/pc_step3-640x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKL0WZdQo3C2jHx8ZCDHljI44fgKA7-juFXq9BhdZk17mEJLg0eP8eFD-U1Un2QU_ZJxWzpDAB1h7V0rQgC3X11ndkQ8Begsa5OPmJBaC9NHdsAq8aKl9HGfM6xQF0BDyqna_pg/s400/pc_step3-640x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</i></div>
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3. Use your pin or paper clip to poke a small hole in the aluminum foil.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvVABIrnew5FRztTty9Q2m1ScNTtfXNI9TON1IWt5tmQEmp8mjn_0oN2GrO6Ay0vsh7fd6p8IK30GTOkZJUhDLEg-aQ04fEbVTJof4QEJa9y7wG0y-fY7D0zULEOA3RtgBg6NiQ/s1600/pc_step4-640x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvVABIrnew5FRztTty9Q2m1ScNTtfXNI9TON1IWt5tmQEmp8mjn_0oN2GrO6Ay0vsh7fd6p8IK30GTOkZJUhDLEg-aQ04fEbVTJof4QEJa9y7wG0y-fY7D0zULEOA3RtgBg6NiQ/s400/pc_step4-640x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</i></div>
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4. Place your second piece of card stock on the ground and hold the piece with aluminum foil above it (foil facing up). Stand with the sun behind you and view the projected image on the card stock below! The farther away you hold your camera, the bigger your projected image will be.</div>
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To make your projection a bit more defined, try putting the bottom piece of card stock in a shadowed area while you hold the other piece in the sunlight.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlaOkex2GRQRh1Jm2UbHx22SjwteetcveWLlHmy4esiMfO3v9rCq_SO34L7GKkJko-1s7d1Gxz6I0yUhIBxU7JueatYDZZOg3KgkTZYMeNS-qFTY42v4BhwdGve9-F9_uMhBzTQ/s1600/pc_step5-640x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlaOkex2GRQRh1Jm2UbHx22SjwteetcveWLlHmy4esiMfO3v9rCq_SO34L7GKkJko-1s7d1Gxz6I0yUhIBxU7JueatYDZZOg3KgkTZYMeNS-qFTY42v4BhwdGve9-F9_uMhBzTQ/s400/pc_step5-640x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</i></div>
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5. For extra fun, try poking multiple holes in your foil, making shapes, patterns and other designs. Each hole you create will turn into its own projection of the eclipse, making for some neat effects. Grab a helper to take photos of your designs for a stellar art project you can enjoy even after the eclipse has ended. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHtTAyoMF8xFlLnveEga0aIW5ro5qhzDFWlEzgNuBK4IBgMA64S1sqbr41-bE7hsOwxZ_nYemwbccPQin2Sthq1yPa1B6tbUzGtKbWk55r_rCB7pJTA8AGGcFoq-TydIkREuiaw/s1600/pc_step5-640x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHtTAyoMF8xFlLnveEga0aIW5ro5qhzDFWlEzgNuBK4IBgMA64S1sqbr41-bE7hsOwxZ_nYemwbccPQin2Sthq1yPa1B6tbUzGtKbWk55r_rCB7pJTA8AGGcFoq-TydIkREuiaw/s400/pc_step5-640x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</i></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">To catch postings for all my blogs, subscribe on Twitter to twitter.com/RoamingAstro . Email feedback to: RoamingAstroInput@gmail.com .
-</div>James M. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145835139894675838noreply@blogger.com0