Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Hear is a story about a hymn text written by an English minister while in fear for his life in Northern Ireland. Have I got your interest? Charles Wesley (1707 - 1788) was an Anglican minister and a musician who, along with his younger brother John, founded the movement that would later be known as the Methodist denomination. Quite prolific when writing about his faith, Wesley was personally responsible for over six thousand hymn texts. This particular hymn was written, as I mentioned, in Northern Ireland.

It seems that Wesley was preaching in the fields of the parish of Killyleagh, County Down, when he was attacked by men who disagreed with his doctrines. Disagreement was not foreign to Charles Wesley. He was quite adamant in his faith and got into heated discussions with his bother John on numerous occasions. In this particular disagreement in Killyleagh, Wesley was forced to flee for his life with the attackers close on his trail. Wesley sought refuge in a house located on what was known as the Island Barn Farm. The farmer’s wife, Jane Lowrie Moore, told Wesley to hide in the millhouse, down in the garden. The mob soon arrived and demanded that Wesley be turned over to them. Mrs. Moore tried to quiet the mob by offering them refreshments. Going down to the millhouse, she instructed Wesley to climb through the rear window and hide under the hedge, which ran beside a little brook.

While hiding there, hearing the cries of his pursuers all around him, Wesley turned to God for his deliverance. He may have recalled Scripture passages such as David’s Psalm 18, which describes the Lord God as a refuge in the midst of the raging storms and battles of life. He may have recalled David’s Psalm 23, which describes the Lord God as his shepherd, guiding him and caring for him in the midst of great troubles. Wesley might even have recalled Jesus’ story of the prodigal, recounted in Luke 15:11–32, where the Lord God is described as the generous and loving father who allows his wayward son to leave but waits for his return, and who then counts him as once being lost, but now found.

It was in this setting that Wesley wrote what is considered by many as one of the best loved hymns of all time. The words speak of a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, describing Him as Lover, Protector, and Provider. While we do not know the final details of Wesley’s ordeal, it is apparent that he survived. The hymn text was first published in the 1740 collection entitled “Hymns and Sacred Poems.”

Several melodies have been paired with Wesley’s text over the years. The first recorded pairing is with a tune called “Martyn,” published in 1834 and written by American musician, choir director and Sunday School superintendent Simeon Butler Marsh (1798 - 1875). Another popular pairing is with a tune called “Aberystwyth,” published in 1879 and written by Welsh-American composer Joseph Parry (1841 - 1903). There are others, but whatever tune you prefer, the hymn text is the important thing. And it speaks to hearts even today.

The story of Wesley’s ordeal and his deliverance, comes down to us through the Moore family descendants. To this day, Moore family members still live in the house, which is much the same as it was in Wesley’s time.

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

-

Bibliography

“Charles Wesley.” NetHymnal. 11 Nov. 2007. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/w/e/s/wesley_c.htm>.

“Charles Wesley.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 20 Sept. 2009. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley>.

“Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” NetHymnal. 26 Aug. 2007. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/l/jlmysoul.htm>.

“Joseph Parry.” NetHymnal. 21 Oct. 2007. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/p/a/r/parry_j.htm>.

“Joseph Parry.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 7 June 2009. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Parry>.

“Simeon Butler Marsh.” NetHymnal. 20 Oct. 2007. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/m/a/r/marsh_sb.htm>.

-

Fifth Anniversary for SpaceShipOne

Yesterday, October 4, was a birthday of sorts. It was the fifth anniversary of the winning of the $10 million Ansari X Prize, when SpaceShipOne was officially declared the first privately built and piloted vehicle to reach space, and to do it reliably and repetitively. You might also consider it the birthday of private commercial space travel.

Landing of SpaceShipOne on October 4, 2004 following it's second Ansari X Prize flight. Image broadcast by the live coverage of NASA TV. Image Credit: NASA

SpaceShipOne was designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Lifted to an extremely high altitude above California’s Mohave Desert by the equally impressive and innovative “White Knight” carrier ship, SpaceShipOne was then dropped. It then fired its own engines to reach its maximum altitude, achieve a weightless state for 3 minutes, and then re-enter the atmosphere and land as a powerless glider, back on the runway where it began.

SpaceShipOne flew several tests as a glider and under powered flight, but only the last three flights actually exceeded an altitude of 100 kilometers (62.14 miles), the officially accepted boundary for space. The first was piloted by Mike Melvill and flown June 21, 2004. Melvill’s flight actually reached 100.1 kilometers.

Once the June 21 flight was accomplished, Rutan and Allen announced that they were ready to demonstrate their ability to reach space on two back-to-back flights with a quick turnaround time, as the Ansari X Prize required. The first of these two flights was on September 29 and also piloted by Melvill. This flight reached an altitude of 102.9 kilometers. The second flight was on October 4 and was piloted by Brian Binnie, one of those who had piloted the earlier test flights of SpaceShipOne. Binnie’s, flight reach an altitude of 112.0 kilometers—actually exceeding by 4.1 kilometers the maximum altitude set by U.S. Air Force pilot Joe Walker in North American’s X-15 experimental aircraft.

Today, SpaceShipOne is now on display the National Mall Building of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The craft hangs in a place of honor between Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1.

Even now, tests are underway on SpaceShipTwo, which will serve as the foundation for a fleet of suborbital space tourism vehicles to be owned and operated Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic company.

To learn more about SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo, check out these sites:

Scaled Composites – Tier One, Private Manned Space Program
http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/

Scaled Composites
http://www.scaled.com/

Virgin Galactic
http://www.virgingalactic.com/

-

Jesus, a Son of the Commandment
Luke 2: 40-52

The canonical Bible does not tell us much at all about Jesus’ boyhood before the age of 12. The Scripture passage Luke 2:21-39 does tells us that in obedience to the Mosaic Law—the first five books of the Old Testament—Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus at the temple. And Luke 2:40 sums up His childhood years in a single statement.

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. –Luke 2:40, NIV

According to Deuteronomy 16:16, all Jewish men were required to attend the temple at Jerusalem at Passover, Penetecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. From what we can tell, Joseph was diligent to fulfill his duties, and apparently Mary attended the observances with Joseph on at least some of these occasions, even though the women were not required to do so. Jesus’ trip to the temple at age 12 may, or may not, have been His first. Either way, this trip was a special event. When a Jewish boy reached the age of 13, he was initiated fully into religious life, becoming a “bar Mitzvah”—a “son of the commandment.” Usually a boy attended the festivals in Jerusalem one year before this point in order to gain greater understanding of his new responsibilities. Based upon Luke 2:40, we know that Jesus had been growing and learning the privileges and responsibilities that went along with Jewish manhood. At this point in Jesus’ life we do not know the full extent of Jesus’ growing awareness of His special place in God’s plan. But over the next few days Jesus must have experienced some special revelations about God and Jesus’ relationship to Him.

Jewish custom dictated that teachers sat in the temple courts during Passover and entered into discussions with the people. Jesus joined the people and followed in this practice of hearing teachers and asking questions. This process was the usual educational method of that period. But Luke 2:47 tells us that the teachers were amazed by Jesus’ understanding.

Families come to church today just like families went to the temple in Jesus’ day. How do you interact with your children and the children of others? Do you encourage their learning of the Bible? Do you talk about Bible truths and encourage others in the doing of them? What can you do to foster a son or a daughter of the commandment?

-

Shine On, Harvest Moon

There is a full moon this weekend. Specifically, the moon reaches full tonight at 06:10 UTC, which translates to 2:10 a.m. EDT October 4 / 11:10 p.m. PDT October 3. Wherever you are, the moon is going to look wonderful for the next few days. This full moon is the closest to the northern autumnal equinox, which occurred this year on September 22, and therefore this full moon is traditionally called the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon and the full moon that follows--called the Hunter's Moon—are both special. On average, the moon rises 50 minutes later each evening as it goes through its monthly (or “monthly”) cycle, but around the time of the Harvest and Hunter's Moon the time difference between moonrises is shorter, closer to 30 minutes difference each evening as seen from about 40 degrees North or South latitude. So for several evenings around these two full moons there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moorise. This phenomenon for the full moons of September, October and November can also be seen in the southern hemisphere for the full moons of March, April and May around the time of the northern vernal (spring) equinox, which is the southern hemisphere's autumnal equinox.

In the past, when farmers depended more on natural light, the Harvest Moon allowed farmers to work late into the evening as they gathered their harvest of ripening crops. Once the crops were in, the farmers then used the next month's light from the Hunter's Moon to make their last big catches of protein for the season, before the snows made it too difficult to hunt or travel over long distances.

And since we are talking about the moon, please allow me to catch you up on current lunar exploration activities. Here is a quick summary of three currently ongoing lunar missions. First, there is Change’s 1, China's lunar orbiter. Launched October 24 2007, Change’s 1 is designed to make three-dimensional imagery of the lunar surface and study its chemical elements and soil composition, preparing the way for future Chinese lunar lenders. Second, there is NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), launched June 18, 2009 with the mission to make high-resolution maps of the lunar surface for future landing sites, and to seek potential sources of water-ice. And third, there is NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). Launched along with LRO, LCROSS is designed to create two impacts on October 9 in a crater at the lunar South Pole. The first impact will be made by the Centaur upper stage that carried LRO and LCROSS, and that LCROSS will steer to its final resting place. The second impact will be made soon after by LCROSS itself. The resulting plumes from these impacts will be carefully checked for the presence of water (in the form of ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.

Now, with a nod to musical nostalgia, the Harvest Moon always reminds me of a popular song from the early 1900s called “Shine On, Harvest Moon.” Officially, the words were written by Jack Norworth, the music was composed by Nora Bayes and the song was first published in 1908. But there is a little difference of opinion on the authorship, because as with many songs of the time, once a song was purchased outright, be came the property of the purchaser. Some credit the song to Edward Madden and Gus Edwards, while others credit David Stamper. Whatever the case, the song was extremely popular for several decades. I should note that the months referenced in the chorus have been changed by different performers over the years. For example, I learned them as “January, February, June or July.” If you need a refresher on the song, I’ve listed below a YouTube link to a wonderful performance of the chorus, given by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the 1939 movie “The Flying Deuces.”

Shine On, Harvest Moon

The night was mighty dark so you could hardly see,
For the moon refused to shine.
Couple sitting underneath a willow tree,
For love they did pine.
Little maid was kinda ’fraid of darkness
So she said, “I guess I'll go.”
Boy began to sigh, looked up at the sky,
And told the moon his little tale of woe

Chorus:

Oh, Shine on, shine on, harvest moon
Up in the sky;
I ain't had no lovin’
Since January, April, June or July.
Snow time ain’t no time to stay
Outdoors and spoon;
So shine on, shine on, harvest moon,
For me and my gal.

I can't see why a boy should sigh when by his side
Is the girl he loves so true,
All he has to say is: “Won't you be my bride,
For I love you,
I can't see why I'm telling you this secret,
When I know that you can guess.”
Harvest moon will smile,
Shine on all the while,
If the little girl should answer “yes.”

(chorus)

--

Official Home Page of China’s Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) and Chang’e 1
http://www.clep.org.cn/

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mission Home Page
http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov/

NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Mission Home Page
http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/

YouTube video, performance of the chorus of “Shine On, Harvest Moon”, given by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the 1939 movie “The Flying Deuces.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72qZZapTHFo

-

MESSENGER Makes Pass Number Three

Here is an update on NASA’s intrepid little robotic explorer called MESSENGER. On September 29, MESSENGER successfully flew by Mercury for the third time in its journey, gaining a critical gravity assist that will enable it to enter orbit about Mercury in 2011. MESSENGER also captured addition images of the planet surface, bringing the total now to 90 percent.

The above images is one of those taken by MESSENGER on
September 29, during its third flyby of Mercury. Image Credit: NASA

For clarification, this is the NASA Discovery mission called MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging—or MESSENGER for short—is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury and the first space mission designed to orbit the planet. The mission’s anagram is a nod to the winged messenger of the gods in Roman mythology—Get it? Messenger? Oh, never mind…

MESSENGER passed by Mercury at an altitude of 142 miles and at a relative velocity of more than 12,000 mph. As the spacecraft approached the planet, MESSENGER’s Wide Angle Camera captured portions of Mercury's surface that had remained unseen by spacecraft even after the three flybys by Mariner 10 in 1974 and 1975 and by MESSENGER’s two earlier flybys in 2008.

This was MESSENGER’s last opportunity to use the gravity of Mercury to adjust its trajectory without using its limited fuel supply. You see, like many of us who travel today, MESSENGER is traveling smarter and cheaper, though often taking longer to get where its going. The “smarter and cheaper” comes from the fact that messenger has used gravity-assist maneuvers to gain momentum and direction from multiple flybys of various solar system bodies along its journey, including Earth, Venus and Mercury. By using this technique, the spacecraft conserves fuel and also doesn’t have to carry as much. This allows the spacecraft to be smaller, lighter, and require less of a boost to get on its way. But then there is the “taking longer” aspect, which comes from the fact that MESSENGER is in a solar orbit and so must wait up to one orbit of the sun before it catches up with a given gravity-assisting body to perform the flyby maneuver. MESSENGER was launched on August 3, 2004 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The spacecraft has now performed three close-up flybys of the planet Mercury, and will finally enter orbit in March of 2011 and begin a year of study of our innermost planet.

NASA’s MESSENGER mission is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury. Like any good researcher the goal of MESSENGER is to answer questions. In this case, six specific questions about Mercury. They are: Why is Mercury so dense? What is the geologic history of Mercury? What is the nature of Mercury's magnetic field? What is the structure of Mercury's core? What are the unusual materials at Mercury's poles? What volatiles—chemical compounds with low boiling points—are important at Mercury?

The MESSENGER spacecraft has a scientific payload including seven instruments that gather data. One is the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), a camera with wide and narrow fields-of-view, for monochrome, color, and stereo imaging. Another is the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS), which maps the elemental makeup of Mercury’s crust. The third is the X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS), also used to map elemental abundances in crustal materials. The fourth is the Magnetometer (MAG), which maps the detailed structure and dynamics of Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere and searches for regions of magnetized crustal rocks. The fifth instrument is the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA), which measures the planet’s topography. The sixth is the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS), which measures the abundance of atmospheric gases and detects minerals in surface materials. And the seventh instrument is the Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer (EPPS), which measures the makeup and characteristics of charged particles within and around Mercury's magnetosphere.

In addition to these, a radio scence investigation uses MESSENGER's telecommunications system to monitor the Doppler effect–the shift in the frequency of the spacecraft's radio signal with changes in the spacecraft's velocity relative to Earth–to measure Mercury's mass distribution, including spatial variations in crustal thickness.

Along with the instruments and experiments, MESSENGER has other necessities for the mission. It has a sunshade to protect the spacecraft from direct sunlight, allowing the electronics and instruments to operate at room temperature even in the hot Mercury environment. MESSENGER has a solar array and battery to collect and distribute power to intruments and other systems. And the craft has liquid chemical-fuled thrusters which perform fuel burns to change its trajectory and attitude.

For more on the MESSENGER mission and to keep up on the latest events, check out the mission home page.

MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) Home Page
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/

--

Spitzer Spots Swirling Planetary Material

...Say that phrase ten times fast. Anyway, the astronomers working with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have observed some rather odd behavior around a young star. Something, maybe another star or a planet, appears to be pushing a clump of planet-forming material around. The observations may provide a rare look into the early stages of planet formation.

Our current understanding of planet formation says that planets form out of swirling disks of gas and dust. And over a period of five months, Spitzer observed infrared light coming from one such disk around a young star called LRLL 31, located in the open star cluster IC 348, a star-forming region about 1,000 light years away, in the direction of the constellation Perseus. While observing LRLL 31, the astronomers were surprised to see that the light varied in unexpected ways over a period of just one week. Since we understand planets to take millions of years form, it is rare to see any change over a human lifetime, let alone over one week.

One explanation they offer is that a close companion to the star—either a star or a developing planet—could be shoving planet-forming material together, causing its thickness to vary as it spins around the star.

One theory of planet formation suggests that planets start out as clouds of gas and dust grains swirling around a star in a disk. Over time, the grains slowly clump and gradually increase in size to that of planets. As the planets get bigger and bigger, they carve out gaps in the dust, until a so-called transitional disk takes shape with a large doughnut-like hole at its center. This disk fades very gradually over time, and a new type of disk emerges, made up of debris from collisions between planets, asteroids and comets. Ultimately, a more settled, mature solar system like our own forms.

The observing team suggests that a companion to the star, circling in a gap in the system's disk, could explain the data. The companion would have to be close in order to move the material around this fast—about one-tenth the distance between Earth and the sun.

More information is needed to confirm the presence of a companion. The latest information came from five months of observing LRLL 31, and more observations are planned using Spitzer as well as ground-based telescopes. The next observations may be more of a challenge as Spitzer slowly comes to the end of its operational life. You see, Spitzer needs coolant to keep its temperature low enough to make the necessary infrared observations. Spitzer has already exceeded its 5+ years lifespan estimate, and finally ran out of coolant in May of this year. Spitzer is still operating, but now in a “warmer” state which may influence how much infrared “light” the observatory will be able to detect.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was originally developed as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), but NASA later renamed the program in honor of renowned American astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer, Jr. (1914-1997). Spitzer is an infrared space telescope—it detects bodies in space by their infrared energy, or heat, which radiates between the wavelengths of 3 and 180 microns (1 micron is one-millionth of a meter). Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground, but can be observed from outside our atmosphere.

Spitzer was launched aboard a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 25, 2003. Consisting of a 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically-cooled science instruments, Spitzer is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space. Its highly sensitive instruments give us a unique view of the Universe and allow us to peer into regions of space which are hidden from optical telescopes. Many areas of space are filled with vast, dense clouds of gas and dust which block our view. But infrared light can penetrate these clouds, allowing us to peer into regions of star formation, the centers of galaxies, and into newly forming planetary systems. Infrared also brings us information about the cooler objects in space, such as smaller stars which are too dim to be detected by their visible light, extrasolar planets, and giant molecular clouds. Also, many molecules in space, including organic molecules, have their unique signatures in the infrared.

Because infrared is primarily heat radiation, Spitzer must be cooled to near absolute zero (-459°F or -273°C) so that it can observe infrared signals from space without interference from the telescope's own heat. Also, the Spitzer must be protected from the heat of the Sun and the infrared radiation put out by the Earth. To do this, Spitzer carries a solar shield and was launched into an Earth-trailing solar orbit. This unique orbit places Spitzer far enough away from the Earth to allow the telescope to cool rapidly without having to carry large amounts of cryogen (coolant). Spitzer is the final mission launched in NASA's Great Observatories Program—a family of four orbiting observatories, each observing the Universe in a different kind of light (visible, gamma rays, X-rays, and infrared). Other missions in this program include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO). Spitzer is also a part of NASA's Astronomical Search for Origins Program, designed to provide information which will help us understand our cosmic roots, and how galaxies, stars and planets develop and form.

To learn more about Spitzer and this latest discovery, check out the mission home page:

Spitzer Space Telescope Mission Home Page
www.spitzer.caltech.edu/

-

LCROSS Adjusts its Aim

Do you remember NASA's Deep Impact mission of July 4, 2005, which punched a spectacular hole in Comet Temple 1 in order to see what was inside? Well, as Yankee's great Yogi Berra would say, its “déjà vu all over again.” Only this time the target is a lovely crater at the South Pole of the Moon.

The mission is NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS for short. The mission objectives of LCROSS include confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed—and therefore always cold--crater at the Moon’s South Pole. As mentioned here a few days ago with the Chandrayaan-1 announcement, the identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon. LCROSS will excavate the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon’s polar craters with two heavy impactors to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. The impact will eject material from the crater’s surface to create a plume that specialized instruments will be able to analyze for the presence of water (in the forms of ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.

Like on Earth, water is a crucial resource on the Moon and it won't be practical for humans to carry with them all of the water they will need. It is critical to find natural resources, such as water, on the Moon. The LCROSS mission will begin NASA's direct search for water, leveraging the information that was learned from NASA'S Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions.

By going first to the Moon and staying there for extended periods of time, astronauts can search for resources and learn how to work safely in a harsh environment before moving out to other bodies in our solar system. In addition, a close up and extended study of the Moon can offer scientists insight to the time when the planets were formed.

A sister mission working with LCROSS is NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. From lunar orbit, LRO will scout for safe and compelling landing sites for future missions, locate potential resources (with special attention to the possibility of water ice) and characterize the effects of prolonged exposure to the lunar radiation environment. In addition to its exploration mission, LRO will also return rich scientific data that will help us to better understand the moon’s topography and composition.

Back on June 18, LCROSS and LRO began their mission from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, aboard an Atlas V first stage with a Centaur upper stage. Since then, the mission teams have been using their returning data, along with data from current and past lunar missions (those previously noted as well as ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 and JAXA's Kaguya spacecraft), to refine the South Pole target for the LCROSS impactors.

Until recently the target was crater Cabeus A, a companion to crater Cabeus (proper). Then on Monday the LCROSS mission announced it was shifting the target to Cabeus (proper). The latest data now seems to show that Cabeus has the highest hydrogen concentrations at the South Pole. Also, the latest terrain models show a small valley in an otherwise tall Cabeus perimeter ridge, which will better allow sunlight to illuminate the ejecta cloud—the stuff flying out from the impact—on October 9, which is the scheduled date for the event. While this target change means that the ejecta will have to fly a little higher before it is visible to ground-based and Earth-orbital telescopes, a shadow cast by a large hill along the Cabeus ridge, will provide an excellent, high-contrast, back drop for ejecta and vapor measurements. The first impactor will be the Centaur upper stage, which has been guided by the LCROSS spacecraft. Following its observations of the first impact, LCROSS itself will then dive in, creating the second impact.

The exact time of the impact is early Friday morning, October 9, at 7:30 a.m. EDT/4:30 a.m. PDT. As the date gets closer, mission teams will continue to refine the target, choosing the exact point of impact within Cabeus crater in order to avoid rough spots, and to maximize solar illumination of the expected debris plume and Earth observations. Scientific benefits aside, it looks to be a great show. If you happen to be at a location where the Moon is visible at that time, and if you have a telescope with a 10” to 12” aperture, you might want to gather some friends for a LCROSS impact party. It should be fun. Just be sure to observe and party responsibly.

To keep current on the missions as they progress, stay tuned to these sites:

NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Mission
www.nasa.gov/lcross/

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mission
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html

-

Friday Fireball Over the GTA

Last Friday evening—September 25th—a meteor streaked across the sky over southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area (locally abbreviated as the GTA). The event was seen just after 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Many described the light as a greenish color and that its brightness was greater than that of the full Moon—qualifying the object as a fireball. Some Toronto security cameras under the fireball's path actually caught the dramatic change in brightness at ground level as the fireball passed. One security camera actually caught a reflection of the fireball in the paint job of a parked van.

After a few seconds of fame, the meteor broke into reddish fragments and faded from view. Some described the meteor as a bolide since it broke up in flight. My understanding of a bolide is that the exposition would be more violent than what was reported, and that it would normally be accompanied by sonic boom-like sounds. Neither of these occurrances was reported in the story, but no matter. By whatever you call it, the event was spectacular.

So what do we really know about the object? When all is said and done, not much. But that has never stopped us before. Let’s pretend that we are a bunch of amateur astronomers sitting around a jolly table with a tasty beverage in hand. What can we guess about the object—and guessing is definitely what we are doing here.

Was this really a meteoroid or was it space junk? Good question. Since the newspapers did not report any official announcement of “something” expected to fall on that evening, I’m guessing that it was not space junk. If it was, though, shame on them for missing it. Let’s stay with the meteoroid guess.

About how big was it? Well, fireballs are thought to be the result of meteoroids that range in size from a basketball to a small car. At least, that would be the size range when it entered the atmosphere. It would have gradually broken up on its way down until it finally did that major breakup at the end.

What kind of meteor was it? Well, we don’t have details in the news story as to its direction, so we cannot even extrapolate an orbit that my suggest a possible family of Near-Earth asteroids, so we will have to let that one go. With regard to its composition, we can take a wild guess. The witnesses report that it was bright green. That is one of the usual colors seen of fireballs, along with blue, yellow, red, or even white. The color green can be an indication of the presence of the mineral nickel, so perhaps it was a nickel-iron meteoroid, and therefore produced nickel-iron meteorites.

Can we find the meteorites? Well, that depends on whether someone was close to the break-up point, and has a good idea of the general location. If they are nickel-iron meteorites, and that is a very wild guess, then they would be easier to spot than stony or stony-iron meteorites, which tend to blend in with the surrounding rocks. One think to look for is a crusty, charred exterior, as if someone took a large knife and carved big chunks out of the surface, creating interestingly shaped rocks. This carving appearance is the result of the ablation process as the meteoroid passes through the atmosphere. The surrounding air molecules are compressed, heat up, and ionize the gas around the meteoroid. As the outside of the meteoroid heats up, parts of the exterior pop off, taking the excess heat with them and allowing the larger body to survive intact for at least a little longer. If you do see a meteor, and if it comes down near your location, look around as best you can. If you do find something that you think might be a meteorite, take it to the nearest university, science museum or science center. Talk to the most knowledgeable person there on the subject of meteorites. Tell them all you can about the rocks and where you found them. If that person agrees with your opinion, they may need to send it off to someone for testing, or perhaps do the tests themselves. And if you’re lucky, you might have found a meteorite.

Why didn’t astronomers warn anybody about this one? Well, that goes back to its size. Official watch groups, like the participants in NASA’s Near-Earth Objects program, only look for bodies that are a kilometer in size or greater. The smaller stuff is just too small to consistently spot. And besides, statistics show that the smaller stuff usually breaks up well before hitting the ground, like this one did, or falls in water or in a remote area. The numbers say that bigger stuff is possible on the average of every one hundred years or so, like the Tunguska event over northern Russia on June 30, 1908. Wait, you say. It is now 2009. Are we statistically due for another Tunguska-sized event? Oh, I see you have been watching the History Channel. Me, too. Well, to be a concern, the body would have to affect a populated area, not a remote area or a body of water. Beyond that speculation, I’m not even going further. That topic is for the professionals.

If you really want to know about Near-Earth objects, then NASA’s Near Earth Object Program is definitely the place to check out. The folks in this group are constantly looking for bodies that might be a concern to Earth either now or in the future. As of September 27, 6,386 Near-Earth object have been discovered by them. These are bodies orbiting our Sun which come close to Earth every now and then. Knowing who our neighbors are and where our neighbors are is the first step in avoiding our neighbors, if you know what I mean. As I say these folks are dedicated and do a great job. And the site is very informative, too. Summing up, I would say that since these groups are diligently working away, it is a good chance that anything that would be a concern to us would be reported in the news well in advance of a possible problem. So please don’t worry your pretty little head about it.

Gee, that was fun. And I’m in need of another tasty beverage, so I’ll leave you now. But if you want to learn more about observing meteors and finding meteorites, or about Near-Earth objects, please check out these great sites:

American Meteor Society
http://www.amsmeteors.org/

International Meteor Organization
http://www.imo.net/

NASA's Near Earth Object Program
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

-

Planck is Up and Mapping Ancient Light

The Planck mission has produced its first rough images of the ancient sky, demonstrating that the new observatory is working and ready to measure cosmic microwave background radiation—ancient light from the dawn of time.

Cosmic microwave background radiation, or CMBR for short, is thought to play a key role in the field of cosmology—the study of the origin and nature of the universe. CMBR is a form of electromagnetic radiation which fills the universe. While the space between the stars and galaxies appears pitch black in an optical telescope, a radio telescope reveals a faint background glow, almost exactly the same in all directions, that is not associated with any star, galaxy, or other object. This glow is strongest in the microwave region of the radio spectrum, leading to the name cosmic microwave background radiation. CMBR was discovered in 1964 by radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson and was the culmination of work initiated in the 1940s. Their discovery earned them the 1978 Nobel Prize.

According to the Big Bang model of cosmology, before the formation of stars and planets, the universe was much smaller, much hotter, and filled with a uniform glow from its white-hot fog of hydrogen plasma. As the universe expanded, both the plasma and the radiation filling it grew cooler. When the universe cooled enough, stable atoms formed. These atoms were no longer able to absorb the thermal radiation, and the universe became transparent instead of being an opaque fog. The photons that existed at that time have been traveling ever since, though growing fainter and less energetic, since the exact same photons fill a larger and larger universe.

The objective of the Planck mission is to detect and map these ancient photons. Planck is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission that has significant participation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA played key roles in the development of the Planck mission and is providing important contributions to the science analyses of mission data.

The mission is named after German physicist Max Planck (1858 – 1947), considered to be the founder of quantum theory. The Planck mission was launched (along with the Herschel mission) on May 14, 2009 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Since July 2, Planck has been orbiting the Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Earth in the direction opposite the Sun. This dark location, combined with an onboard cooling system, allows Planck to be very cold indeed, with an operational temperature of -273.05°C (-459.5°F). This temperature allows Planck’s detectors to study the CMBR.

And extensive checkout and initial calibration of Planck's instruments was completed by the second week of August. Planck's "first light" survey, which ran continuously from August 13 to 27, verified the stability of its instruments and their ability to be calibrated over long periods to the extreme accuracy that is needed. The survey produced maps of a 360° strip of the sky, one map for each of Planck's nine observed frequencies. Preliminary analysis indicates that the quality of the data is excellent.

Astronomers expect that Planck will provide the best views to date of the early moments of our universe, over 13 billion years ago. Planck will survey the entire sky continuously for at least 15 months, yielding at least two full and independent all-sky images. The mission promises to contain a treasure trove of data that will keep cosmologists and astrophysicists busy for decades to come.

The Planck mission follows in the footsteps of previous missions which studied the CMBR, including NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) , NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) , NASA's and the Netherlands (NIVR) Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) , and other orbital and ground-based missions. For more on the Planck mission and earlier CMBR missions, check out these sites:

Planck Mission, ESA Home Page
http://www.esa.int/planck

Planck Mission, NASA Home Page
http://www.nasa.gov/planck

NASA’s Legacy Archive for Microwave Background Data Analysis
http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/

NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Archive Page
http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/cobe/

NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Archive Page
http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/map/current/

NASA's and the Netherlands (NIVR) Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Archive Page
http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/iras/

Paul, Timothy and the Bible
Acts 16:1-3; 2 Timothy 1:1-5; 3:14-17

Who built a foundation for your faith in Jesus Christ? Who helped you understand the gospel? Who was present when you asked Jesus to be your Savior? Who influenced you on your spiritual journey? Was it a parent? A grandparent? Another family member? A close friend? Who was your Paul?

Timothy may have been converted to faith in Christ on Paul’s first missionary journey to Lystra, a city in what is now modern Turkey. When Paul returned to Lystra on his second journey, he found that Timothy was well respected by other believers for this faith.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul addressed Timothy as his son, indicating a close relationship between them. Paul described Timothy’s faith as sincere and that it first lived in his grandmother and his mother. Timothy grew up in a family that nourished his faith from their own.

Paul reminded Timothy to do those things he had learned. Timothy did not learn the truth from strangers, but from people close to him who lived out Scripture teachings. Timothy’s personal knowledge of his teachers assured him of the reliability of the things he had learned. The content of the teaching was important, but so was the character of those who taught him.

Paul asserted to Timothy that the Scripture guides, corrects, and helps us to know what to do and how to act. The Scriptures can lead people to wisdom and then salvation. Just knowledge of the truths of Scripture is not enough. Saving faith comes only through trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Faith in Christ is the link which unites the message of the entire Scripture.

As a Christian, you can help others to hear and know what the Bible says. You can be a Paul to someone else. You can help them begin to do what the Bible says to do. You help build foundations in the lives of others so they will know how to live for God. Who will be your Timothy?

Reflecting on the Ice of Mars

The science teams for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission have been very busy of late, studying images of sub-surface water ice on the planet Mars. The images were taken by MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). The images show craters that were dug by meteorite impacts in 2008. One crater is 12 meters, or 40 feet, across and is located within Arcadia Planitia. Another crater is 8 meters, or 26 feet, across on the flat, dark plains of Vastitas Borealis. When HiRISE found these recent additions to the Martian surface, it also found something very exciting—ice. Other MRO mission instruments were put into play and the teams soon confirmed they were looking at sub-surface water ice that was 99 percent pure.

This discovery provided two big surprises about Mars. The first surprise was that the exposed water ice was so pure. They previously thought that the ice would accumulate between the soil grains, creating a 50-50 mix of dirt and ice. But by watching the ice slowly fade in progressive images, they estimate the mixture to be about one percent dirt and 99 percent ice. The second surprise was that, while scientists expected ice beneath the Martian surface at high latitudes, they did not expect it to stretch at least to 48 degrees of latitude—over halfway to the equator. This amazing discovery could have a major impact on the future and direction of Mars exploration. But what if this discovery had been made earlier? Say, 30 years earlier?

Flash-Back Time… Do you remember NASA’s Viking program? I sure do. It consisted of two ambitions orbiter/lander missions to Mars. Viking 1 launched August 20, 1975 and Viking 2 launched September 9. The probes reached Martian orbit on June 19 and August 7, respectively, of 1976. The Viking 1 Lander reached the surface July 20 and the Viking 2 Lander on September 3. Viking 1 touched down in Chryse Planitia (Greek for “Plain of Gold”) and Viking 2 landed in Utopia Planitia (Greek for “Plain of Utopia”). Trekkers in the know will remember that the U.S.S. Enterprise D, from TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, was assembled in the Utopia Planitia Yards, a nod to the amazing achievements of the Viking program. The various Viking crafts operated for a significant time. Orbiter 2 until July 25, 1978, Lander 2 until April 11, 1980, Orbiter 1 until August 17, 1980, and Lander 1—the old man of the program—operated until November 13, 1982. Their combined data provided most of our knowledge about the Red Planet well into the early 2000s.

Viking was pretty big for me. Like many other teenagers in the southeastern U.S., I got an opportunity to see the mission up close and personal. It was, of course, 1976, the year of the U.S. Bicentennial celebration. NASA's Kennedy Space Center was hosting Third Century America, an exposition of what American science and technology had achieved and what was possible in the future. The event was assembled around the south end of the Vehicle Assembly Building and featured an Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle on display and a collection of geodesic-domed pavilions filled with exhibits. One pavilion featured a full-scale model of a Viking Lander with updates on the Lander activities and real-time feed of the downloaded images.

But what if those downloaded images had included sub-surface water ice? What if Viking had discovered it? The relative location of at least one of these meteorite craters is near to the Viking 2 Lander site. Could Viking 2 have discovered it? Well, the Viking scoops were designed for mission experiments to test the soil for organic compounds that would indicate the presence of current or past life. They were not designed to dig deeply, like the Mars Polar Lander of 1999 or the Phoenix Lander of 2008. But what if they had? What if those scoops were able to dig just three or four inches deeper? We would not have had to wait until the Mars Polar Lander (which failed) or the Mars Phoenix Lander before we saw water ice in the Martian soil. How would that discovery have affected our perception of Mars and the exploration of Mars for the next twenty years? Would this knowledge have encouraged the budgetary support for more robotic Martian probes through the 1980s and 1990s? Would the talk of human exploration of Mars have become a reality by now? Maybe…and maybe not.

The important question for us now is this: How does this discovery affect our perception of Mars and Mars exploration now? Will this encourage the budgetary support for more robotic probes? Will the talk of human exploration of Mars become a reality sooner than later?

To learn more about the discovery of sub-surface water ice on Mars, and to learn more about Mars exploration, please check out these great sites:

HiRISE Home Page
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Home Page
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/

NASA’s Mars Exploration Program Home Page
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

NASA’s Mars Polar Lander Mission Home Page
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Mission Home Page
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/index.php

NASA’s Viking Mission Home Page
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/viking/

Water on the Moon

The scientific community is all a-buzz today, using phrases like "definitive," "clear evidence" and "unequivocally confirm." Of what do they speak? Why of the presence of water on the Moon, a world previously thought, for the most part, to be as dry as a bone.

The new evidence comes from three corroborating sources. The first is the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, an instrument developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and flown on Chandrayaan-1, India’s first robotic lunar probe. The second source is the Deep Impact spacecraft, which made its discoveries on two fly-by’s of the Moon during it's current extended mission (EPOXI). The third source is NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.

The new data shows that over the course of the long lunar day, a water only a few molecules thick—described by some as “dew”—gradually forms on the lunar surface and then gradually dissipates. Scientists are not certain how this happens, but they think the cycle is driven by the sun. They suggest that hydrogen ions are carried by the solar wind to the Moon where they interact with oxygen rich minerals in lunar soil and rock to produce the molecules for water and hydroxyl. The molecules form in the cooler lunar morning and then evaporate in the warmer lunar mid-day. Scientific reports estimate that one ton of lunar surface containing the molecules could naturally yield as much as 32 ounces, or one quart, of water. While this amount is not large, scientists note that there are ways to increase the output. What’s more, scientists suspect that if their theories regarding the process are correct, then this is happening throughout the inner solar system on all airless bodies with oxygen-bearing minerals.

This is very exciting news, but, for now, there are a few hurdles that sill need to be cleared. The discovery must be confirmed to everyone's satisfaction. The resource finds must be in sufficient quantities to be usable. And the resources must be cost effectively accessible. If all of these issues can be addressed, this is major. Just think about it. Once the necessary extracting, processing and storing facilities were up and running, future explorers would no longer have to "bring their own everything" when they left the safety and comfort of Earth. Instead, they could pack the minimum essentials for a short hop and let the Moon provide the rest. This would include water for drinking and farming, oxygen for breathing, and the combination of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel. This turn of events could give a tremendous boost to the arguments for using the Moon for colonization and as a platform for future solar system missions. In addition to the possible benefits to space exploration, there are those that are considering, with the presence of water, the possibility of life on the Moon. Whatever the final outcome, this discovery should definitely boost budgets for lunar exploration in the short term.

Chandrayaan-1 was India's first robotic lunar probe, managed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The word “Chandrayaan” is Sanskrit, meaning “Moon-vehicle” or "Lunar Craft.” Chandrayaan-1 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota on October 22, 2008. Designed for a two-year mission, it ended after only 312 days when radio contact was lost on August 29. Even with this loss, mission managers were able to achieve 95 percent of the planned objectives. The spacecraft carried eleven scientific instruments. Five were Indian, three were from the European Space Agency (ESA), one from the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, and two were from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). One of these was the Moon Mineralogy Mapper .

NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft was originally built for is 2005 mission in which it successfully punched a hole in comet Tempel 1 in order to find out what was inside. The spacecraft's data on lunar water were obtained as part of calibration opportunities that occurred during two June flybys of the Earth and Moon, which were needed to get a sufficient gravity boosts to travel on its EPOXI mission to a second comet, Hartley 2, which the spacecraft will encounter in November 2010.

NASA’s Cassini-Huygens mission was launched October 15, 1997 and is currently orbiting Saturn, studying the planet, its ring system and its moons.

For the latest on the discovery, please check out these sites:

Chandrayaan-1 Mission Home page: http://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan/htmls/home.htm

NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper home page: http://m3.jpl.nasa.gov/

NASA’s Cassini Mission home page: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/index.html

NASA’s Deep Impact Mission home page: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html

NASA’s EPOXI Mission home page: http://epoxi.umd.edu/

A Jupiter Enticement

In an effort to encourage the growth of amateur planetary astronomy, I thought I would try to inspire you with a just a taste of the neat things that are possible for the amateur with decent equipment, careful planning and a bit of patience. A planetary astronomer is one who concentrates their observing efforts on bodies orbiting within our solar system. And of the easily visible planetary bodies, one of the most consistently satisfying, if not the most satisfying, is Jupiter.

If you look up into a clear night sky, you can see the planet Jupiter. After Earth’s moon, Venus and sometimes Mars, it is the brightest object in the heavens. It looks like a very bright object but it doesn’t twinkle like a star. It has a bright, steady glow.

Because Jupiter can be seen from Earth, people have observed it for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations had no way of knowing that they were really looking at a planet, but they knew that it was different from the stars. They knew it was different because, unlike the stars, it seemed to move across the sky in a unique way. In fact, the word “planet” comes from the Greek word for “wanderer.”

The planet is named for the king of the gods in the Roman pantheon. Also called Jove, but known to the Greeks as Zeus, he overthrew his father Saturn (in Greek, Cronus). He then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades to determine who would be the supreme ruler of the gods. Jupiter won the draw and became the ruler of Olympus and the patron of the ancient Roman state. Jupiter was the rain god and lord of the sky. His weapon is a thunderbolt which he hurls at those who displease him. He is married to Hera, but is famous for his many affairs. He is also known to punish those that lie or break oaths.

It was not until the invention of the telescope in the early 1600s that people were able to take a closer look at Jupiter. When the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei turned his homemade telescope toward Jupiter in 1610, he saw a huge striped world with moons of its own. However, not much else was discovered about the giant mysterious planet for hundreds of years.

In the 1970s, the Pioneer spacecraft were sent to Jupiter. There were soon followed by the two Voyager missions an eventually by Galileo, the spacecraft named after the astronomer, which was launched in 1989 and which plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere at the conclusion of the mission in 2003.

What has been learned about the planet from these missions is truly amazing. Jupiter isn’t a planet as we normally think of one—it’s actually a giant ball made completely, or almost completely, of liquid and gas. It has more moons than any other planet and is often viewed as its own mini solar system. The size of the planet is astounding, encompassing two-thirds of all the planetary mass in the solar system.

The environment of Jupiter is one of powerful storms, incredible lightning, deadly radiation, and winds many times faster than those of the strongest hurricanes on Earth. Scientists continue to be fascinated by the planet.

However, it is not just the planet that interest scientists and astronomers today. The moons, or satellites, of Jupiter are also subjects of intense study. And with forty-nine moons officially named so far, there is a lot to be learned.

Lately, much attention has been focused on the fact that liquid water has been detected on several of Jupiter’s moons, suggesting that the moons may once have had, or may currently have, some form of life since water is necessary for life as we know it. Europa, the sixth moon from Jupiter, is considered by many to be, along with Mars, among the likeliest places outside of Earth to find evidence of life.

We are just over halfway through Jupiter’s current apparition, which is a fancy way of saying the current appearance of Jupiter from its last Solar conjunction until its next conjunction. Jupiter's last Solar conjunction was January 24, 2009, and it was at opposition (opposite from the Sun in our sky) on August 14. It will next be in conjunction on February 28, 2010. This means that Jupiter is past its visual prime for this time around, but it is still a sight to behold for those who take the time and make the effort.

Some of those who make this effort are the members of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, the A.L.P.O. This international organization studies the Sun, Moon and the solar systems planets, asteroids, meteors, comets. The goals of the A.L.P.O. are to stimulate, coordinate, and generally promote the study of these bodies using methods and instruments that are available within the communities of both amateur and professional astronomers. Incidentally, if you happen to speak with a member of the A.L.P.O., you would do well not to make humorous references to a certain brand of dog food. I mention this for your own good…

A.L.P.O. members are encouraged to submit their observations for comparison and study. The most interesting are regularly published for the benefit of the members and the general public. The Jupiter observations appear in the weekly Jupiter Newsletter. This electronic publication is edited and posted by my good friend and fellow amateur Craig MacDougal, who is an Assistant Coordinator for the Jupiter Section of the A.L.P.O. The Jupiter Newsletter may be found on the A.L.P.O. Jupiter Section page (http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jupiter/). The newsletter link is located near the bottom of the page and is appropriately called "The ALPO Jupiter Newsletter."

And while you are on the Jupiter Section site, if you really want to get an idea of what is possible for the amateur observer, I encourage you to check out the link at the top of the page called "Jupiter Observations and Alerts." Within it you will find a wonderful sampling of images from various member observers stretching from 2007 back to 2005. You will see fine examples of digital imaging and pencil drawing--yes, people still do that.

I’m afraid that is all I have for now, but we will revisit the Jupiter system soon. To learn more about Jupiter and Jupiter observing, please check out these sites:

The Galileo mission home page
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/

The Jupiter page of NASA/JPL's Solar System Exploration site:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jupiter

A.L.P.O Official Site
http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/

A.L.P.O. Jupiter Section
http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jupiter/

New Horizons is Halfway There

On September 8, NASA's New Horizons mission passed the halfway point on its way to the outer solar system. On July 14, 2015, if all goes well, the grand-piano sized robotic spacecraft will unveil the mysteries of Pluto and the Kuiper belt. The journey began January 19, 2006 from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. New Horizons departed aboard a mighty Atlas V rocket, leaving earth orbit at over 58,500 kph--the fastest speed on record for an outward bound spacecraft. The probe flew past Jupiter on February 28, 2007, where it got a gravitational boost, adding about 14,000 kph to its velocity. The spacecraft will spend much of the remaining trip in hibernation but will be awakened periodically by engineers for checkup in order to make sure that and all systems are healthy and ready for the historic encounter. The last checkup was completed August 27 and the next will not begin until November 9. In the mean time the craft sleeps peacefully as it speeds between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus.

The spacecraft will fly by and study Pluto and its three known moons, Charon, Nix, and Hydra. And the journey does not end there. Depending on the success of the flyby and the health of the craft, NASA may approve flybys of one or more other Kuiper Belt Objects.

Here are some interesting facts about Pluto and the New Horizons mission.

Eight Facts about Pluto and Kuiper Belt

1. Pluto is named after the Greek god of the underworld. Its Roman counterpart is Hades.

2. Pluto orbits the sun once every 248 years.

3. A person on Pluto would weigh 1/15 what they weigh on Earth.

4. The symbol for Pluto has a double meaning. While it is an artistic combining of the first two letters of the name Pluto ("P" and "L"), it is also a tribute to Percival Lowell, who began the search for a ninth planet in the early 1900s.

5. Pluto was discovered in 1930 by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowel Obervatory.

6. In honor of the discovery, Walt Disney named Mickey Mouse's dog after Pluto.

7. Pluto was considered a planet until August 24, 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted on a definition for solar system planets. It was then determined that Pluto would be the first of a new category of solar system bodies called dwarf planet, though this redesignation—some say demotion--is disputed by various members of the astronomical community. The IAU definitions continue to be a topic of great debate.

8. The Kuiper (rhymes with “viper”) belt was first discovered in 1992. It is a region of the solar system beyond the planets extending from the orbit of Neptune ( 30 astronomical units) to approximately 55 astronomical units from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt, although it is much larger—20 times as wide and 20–200 times as massive. Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies, or remnants from the solar system's formation. While the asteroid belt is composed primarily of rock and metal, the Kuiper belt objects are composed largely of frozen volatiles (termed "ices"), such as methane, ammonia and water. The region is known to include over a thousand Kuiper belt objects (KBOs), and it is home to at least three dwarf planets – Pluto, Haumea and Makemake.


Five Facts about New Horizons

1. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers mission category, larger and more expensive than NASA's Discovery missions but smaller than the NASA'S Flagship Program. The cost of the mission (including spacecraft and instrument development, launch vehicle, mission operations, data analysis, and education/public outreach) is approximately $650 million over 15 years (from 2001 to 2016).

2. The New Horizons craft was built primarily by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The mission's principal investigator is Dr. S. Alan Stern (NASA Associate Administrator, formerly of the Southwest Research Institute).

3. The New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt is managed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

4. The initials of the mission name New Horizons (N and H) are a tribute to Pluto’s two most recently discovered moons, Nix and Hydra.

5. Other items traveling with the spacecraft include, among other things, a collection of 434,738 names stored on a compact disc, a piece of Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne, and an American flag. One of the trim weights on the spacecraft is a Florida state quarter, and New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern has also confirmed that some of the ashes of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh are aboard the spacecraft.


For more on New Horizons, check out the mission home page: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

For more on Pluto and the Kuiper belt, visit this page of the NASA/JPL’s Solar System Exploration site: http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto

Wondrous Love

Alexander Means was described in his day as a polymath--a person with extensive learning in several fields of study. Means was, among other things, a Methodist minister, an inventor, a physician, and a poet.

Born in Statesville, North Carolina, in 1801, Means began his career as a school teacher in Georgia. His curiosity later took him into medicine, electronics, and ministry. At age twenty-four, he went to Transylvania University in Kentucky, where he studied medicine for a year. Soon after, while practicing medicine in Covington, Georgia, he was granted a local preacher's license by the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The three great interests in Means's life were science, religion and education, and he found that the first two came together naturally in the third. In 1834, the Georgia Conference chose Means as the first superintendent the Manual Labor School, a vocational school of the day. Means served until 1838, when he resigned to become professor of natural sciences in Emory College in its first year of instruction.

Traveling in England in 1851, Means became acquainted with the experiments of Michael Faraday, and on his return to Oxford he exhibited in his Emory laboratory what many regard as the first electric light in America. Considered more imaginative than inventive, it is said that Means predicted the phonograph and the electric engine two decades before their invention.

Ever energetic, Means willfully kept a torturous schedule from 1841 to 1858. Although he held the sciences chair at Emory College from 1838 until his resignation of the presidency in 1855, he was granted permission simultaneously to lecture in chemistry during the winter terms at Augusta Medical College from 1841 to 1858, and in 1853 he was elected president of the Southern Masonic Female College in Covington, a position he resigned the following year to accept the presidency of Emory. Always looking for new opportunities, Means proposed in 1855 that Emory should assume the property and charter of Oglethorpe Medical College, then a school of Oglethorpe University, and manage it as one of Emory's departments. The Emory trustees respectfully but firmly declined.

After serving as president of Emory for one semester, the board reluctantly granted permission for Means to accept a professorship in the Atlanta Medical College. A year later, a dissatisfied board convinced the distracted Means to resign the presidency, effective December 1855. Still, Means continued to alternate his teaching between the medical colleges in Atlanta, during the summer, and Augusta, during the winter. His later career continued to be distinguished by scientific work, and he was eventually elected a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1883, at the age of eighty-three, Means died in Oxford and was buried there.

What drove Alexander Means so vigorously? What gave him the inspiration, the will to get up every morning and discover and solve? Could it possibly be a joy, an awe, a reverence in his heart which he captured in a few lines of text that he wrote while in his thirties? These words, attributed to Means, were set to music and first published in 1835 in William Walker's collection, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.


Wondrous Love
Words attributed to Alexander Means (1801 – 1883)

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.


-

Bibliography

"Presidents - Alexander Means, 1801 - 1883." The History of Emory University. Ed. Office of the Deputy to the President. Emory University, 11 Oct. 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <http://emoryhistory.emory.edu/people/presidents/Means.htm>.

"What Wondrous Love Is This?" NetHymnal. 4 Oct. 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/h/a/whatwond.htm>.

"Wondrous Love, 252 of Southern Harmony." Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Calvin College. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/walker/harmony/files/hymn/Wondrous_Love.html>.

First Solid Evidence for a Rocky Exoplanet

On September 16, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced they had the first solid evidence of a rocky exoplanet. I can hear your queries. Firstly, you ask, what is an exoplanet. And secondly, I hear, why would it be rocky?

First, an exoplanet, also called an extrasolar planet, is a planet located beyond our Solar System, orbiting a star other than our Sun. As of September 17, 2009, there were 374 exoplanets listed in the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (http://exoplanet.eu/). Yes, there are now so many of them that they have their own encyclopaedia. How do astronomers find exoplanets? They mostly use indirect methods, seeing how orbiting planets affect--wobble--the movement their parent stars. This process of detection is called radial velocity observation. The process is complex and requires lots of measurements before astronomers are satisfied with the findings and actually announce the existence of an exoplanet. Most of the exoplanets announced to date are massive gas giant planets thought to resemble our Jupiter, but the size of the planets discovered to this point is biased because of the limitations of our technology in the detection process--the planets usually have to be relatively big in order to induce a noticeable wobble in their parent stars. Projections based on the recent detections of much smaller worlds suggest that lightweight, terrestrial-type planets, or “rocky” planets as they are sometimes described, will eventually be found to outnumber extrasolar gas giants. These rocky planets would be similar in composition to our Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. And this takes care of question number two.

The September 16 announcement by the ESO is in reference to CoRoT-7b, a planet orbiting the orange dwarf star CoRoT-7 (previously cataloged as TYC 4799-1733-1). The star CoRoT-7 is located in the direction of the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), five hundred light-years away. The star is slightly smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is also thought to be younger, with an age of about 1.5 billion years. The existence of exoplanet CoRoT-7b was first announced February 9 after about a year of observations and measurements. What makes CoRoT-7b so remarkable is that it was detected by direct observation, when it passed in front of its parent star and caused a noticeable dimming of the star's light. The difference in brightness, combined with a size estimate for the parent star, allowed astronomers to calculate the planet's size. It turns out that CoRoT-7b is the smallest and fastest-orbiting exoplanet discovered so far, with a blistering orbital period of 20.4 hours. That velocity--more than 750,000 kilometers per hour--puts the planet only 2.5 million kilometers away from its parent star, or 23 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.

The latest observations were made using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) instrument attached to the ESO 3.6-m telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile. The HARPS measurements were the longest made on a start to date. They reveal the planet's mass to be five times that of Earth's. Combined with CoRoT-7b's known radius, which is less than twice that of Earth, this tells astronomers that the exoplanet's density is very similar to the Earth's, suggesting a solid, rocky world. Because of the relative size and mass of planets such as this, they are described as “super-Earths.” And what’s more, the extensive observation also found another wobble that indicates the presence of another super-Earth in this alien solar system.

About a dozen super-Earths have been detected, though in the case of CoRoT-7b, this is the first time that the density has been measured for such a small exoplanet. We owe this to the fact that, from our perspective, CoRoT-7b transits--passes in front of--its parent star on every orbit.

For more details on these discoveries, and to learn more about the European Southern Observatory, check out their home page: http://www.eso.org/

Philip Read the Bible

(Acts 8:4-8, 26-40)

Were you ever certain you should do something, but did not know why? Did you act on your feeling, question it, or ignore it? The Apostle Philip was successfully ministering in the city of Samaria. The people were listening. Unclean spirits were being cast out. The paralyzed were healed. People were turning from their old lives and being baptized. And there was much joy in the city. But God had new plans for Philip. God told Philip to leave Samaria and go into the desert. Whatever Philip thought about this change, he obeyed.

An angel of the Lord led Philip to a barren place on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. There Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch—an official who served as treasurer in the court Candace, the title for the queen of Ethiopia. The official had traveled to Jerusalem to worship and he was now on his way back home. When Philip saw the official’s chariot, the Holy Spirit told Philip to go near. Philip ran up, and heard the official reading out loud from the book of Isaiah. He asked the official, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

“How can I,” he answered, “unless someone explains it to me?” The official invited Philip to sit with him.

This was the passage he was reading.“He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation his judgment was taken away; who will relate his generation? For his life is removed from the earth.”

The official asked whether Isaiah was speaking of himself or someone else. Philip took the opportunity and ran with it. Beginning with this Scripture passage he preached the good news of Jesus to him. This encounter was not a coincidence. The Holy Spirit’s activity is evident.

As the chariot passed water, the Ethiopian indicated his desire to be baptized. He understood and wanted to make a commitment. When they came out of the water, the Holy Spirit took Philip to witness elsewhere. The Ethiopian official continued heading south on his long journey home, rejoicing as he went.

Sometime, someplace, God will want you to share the biblical message of Jesus. It may be in someone’s home, in a store, in a gas station, or on an airplane. God may place you next to a person who needs to hear about Jesus. Will you be faithful to share your relationship with Christ?

Working Together

"With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men"
- Ephesians 6:7 (KJV)

Perhaps a practical, everyday way to say this might be to work together and for each other. Just think of it. What if we all genuinely shared in each other's joys and sorrows and wanted the best for each other? We might be something like the friends of this man, as told in Mark 2:1-12.

A man in Capernaum was sick. He couldn't walk. He couldn't move. But his friends cared about him and they wanted to help. They were sure Jesus could make their friend well.

Four of the friends picked up the man by his sleeping mat and carried him to a house where Jesus was teaching. When they got there they found the house was so full of people that the men couldn't get inside.

But that did not stop the friends. Up, up, up they went, carrying their friend to the roof by the outside steps. They made a hole in the roof and then they lowered their friend by his mat to the floor right in front of Jesus.

At this Jesus stopped teaching. When He saw the man and what his friends went through to get him there, He said, "Get up, take your mat, and walk."

And the man got up and walked. He danced! He was so happy. And not just him. His friends were happy, too. They were happy for their friend and they were grateful to Jesus for healing their friend.

Gee. Working together. What a neat idea...

Farther Along We'll Know More About It

The chancel choir at my church is off this month for summer vacation, so we have been blessed with an assortment of special music to fill-in for our worship services. I am especially blessed this morning to be part of a pick-up men’s quartet which is singing. I have not done a lot of singing outside of the chancel choir for the last few years, so I was very excited to be a part. Our song this morning is the gospel classic, “Farther Along.” For this reason, I was inspired to share with you the story of how this song came to be.

It seems the Reverend W. A. Fletcher, an itinerant preacher, was traveling by train through his mission field in eastern Oklahoma, what was then known as the Indian Territories. Fletcher's wife was expecting their first child, but he was many miles away and wouldn't be the home for the birth. While he was torn at not being with his family, he felt a great obligation to his ministry in the Territories.

Fletcher decided to focus his feelings into the words of a song that dealt with the Christian's discouragement at the apparent prosperity of the wicked, when contrasted with the suffering of the righteous. Through the questions expressed in the song, Fletcher repeats the theme is that God will reveal the truth to us in His good time.

Also on the train with Fletcher was J. R. Baxter, a gospel music promoter who liked Fletcher's words very much. Baxter offered to buy them for $2.00, Fletcher agreed and Baxter had the words set to music. The hymn first appeared in a collection entitled Select Hymns, published in 1911 by The Gospel Trumpet Company.

Fletcher's words reflect the same despair of Jesus' disciples following His death, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24 verses 13 through 48. In their case, it was the risen Jesus Himself who showed them that their lives and Gods plans were much more than what they could feel or see.


Farther Along
By W. A. Fletcher

Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all the day long;
While there are others living about us,
Never molested, though in the wrong.

Refrain:

Farther along we’ll know more about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by.

Sometimes I wonder why I must suffer,
Go in the rain, the cold, and the snow,
When there are many living in comfort,
Giving no heed to all I can do.

(refrain)

Tempted and tried, how often we question
Why we must suffer year after year,
Being accused by those of our loved ones,
E’en though we’ve walked in God’s holy fear.

(refrain)

Often when death has taken our loved ones,
Leaving our home so lone and so drear,
Then do we wonder why others prosper,
Living so wicked year after year.

(refrain)

“Faithful till death,” saith our loving Master;
Short is our time to labor and wait;
Then will our toiling seem to be nothing,
When we shall pass the heavenly gate.

(refrain)

Soon we will see our dear, loving Savior,
Hear the last trumpet sound through the sky;
Then we will meet those gone on before us,
Then we shall know and understand why.

(refrain)


Bibliography

"Farther Along Lyrics Anonymous/Unknown." Timeless Truths Free Online Library. ibiblio.org, 2009. Web. 18 July 2009. <http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Farther_Along/>.

"Farther Along (song)." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., 23 June 2009. Web. 18 July 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Farther_Along_(song)&oldid=298050619>.

"Luke 24 King James Bible." King James Bible Online. Biblos.com, 2009. Web. 18 July 2009. <http://kingjbible.com/luke/24.htm>.

Remembering the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

I’ve got this really neat pocket watch. Its was made by Molnija, a watch factory based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Molnija (pronounced “MOHL-nee-ya) is the Russian word for lightning. The factory was founded in 1947 to create various kinds of watches, clocks and timepieces for Soviet military vehicles, including aircraft, tanks and submarines. In the late 1950’s the factory’s focus shifted to making mostly nickel-plated 18-jewel pocket watches. To those of you born in the digital age, that’s a kind of wind-up mechanical watch. One of the things that make the watch so special is the graphic imprinted and enameled on the hunter case—a stylized globe overlaid with a depiction of an Apollo spacecraft and Soyuz spacecraft docked in space. This is the insignia of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), the first joint space mission of the United States and the then-Soviet Union. Added to the original insignia design are the numbers 1975, the year of the historic flight. I remembered this unique watch because this Friday, July 17, marks the thirty-fourth anniversary of the first docking in Earth orbit of the two crews and the first international handshake in space.

The U.S. crew of ASTP included Thomas P. Stafford (Commander), Vance D. Brand (Command Module Pilot) and Donald K. “Deke” Slayton (Docking Module Pilot). The Soviet crew included Alexi Leonov (Commander) and Valeri Kubasov (Flight Engineer).

The crew of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Left to right: Slayton, Stafford, Brand, Leonov, Kubasov. Image Credit: NASA

Stafford was a three-time veteran, having flown on Gemini 6, Gemini 9 and Apollo 10. The other two U.S. astronauts were technically “space rookies.” Though Brand had trained as backup on Apollo 15 and was a backup/rescue pilot for the Skylab missions, he had never actually flown. Even Slayton, who was one of the original Mercury astronauts, had never flown because of a diagnosed irregular heartbeat. Following a comprehensive medical review in 1972, Slayton was re-certified for space flight and became eligible for ASTP. Leonov had been the first human to walk in space, in 1965 on Voskhod 2. Kubasov had previously flown on Soyuz 6 in 1969. Both cosmonauts had originally been slated to fly on Soyuz 11, the first mission to a space station (Salyut 1), but they were grounded because doctors suspected Kubasov of having tuberculosis. Sadly, the replacement crew was lost when the Soyuz 11 capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry.

The U.S. side of the joint mission featured the last of the Apollo-era equipment to fly, including a Saturn IB rocket and an Apollo Command Service Module (CSM). Added to this was a docking module built especially for the mission, which allowed the two differently made spacecraft to dock.

Both the U.S. and Soviet missions launched from their respective complexes on July 15, 1975, and docked in Earth orbit on July 17. Three hours later, Stafford and Leonov exchanged the first international handshake in space. The combined Apollo-Soyuz crews conducted joint scientific experiments (including multiple docking and undocking procedures), exchanged national flags and gifts (including tree seeds which were later planted in the two countries), signed certificates, visited each other's ships, ate together, conversed in each other's languages, and presented radio and television broadcasts. About two days later, after all of the planned events were completed, the two spacecraft undocked for the last time on July 19 and each crew continued on its separate mission. The Apollo crew returned to Earth on July 24, splashing down near Hawaii.

On an astronomical note, there is a main-belt asteroid which commemorates the mission, called Asteroid 2228 Soyuz-Apollo. It was discovered on July 19, 1977 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. The body has an absolute magnitude of 10.9, rotates once every 6.12 hours, and orbits the sun once every 5.54 years. While the minor planet was named after the historic mission, the two names were flipped so as not to confuse the body with Asteroid 1862 Apollo. The latter having been discovered in 1932 by Karl Reinmuth and named after the Greek god Apollo (not the U.S. lunar program which, of course, took place many years later).

To see the Apollo command module flown on ASTP (CM-111), visit the California Science Center in Los Angeles <http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/Exhibits/AirAndSpace/HumansInSpace/Apollo-Soyuz/Apollo-Soyuz.php>.

To the the Soyuz capsule flown on ASTP (Soyuz 19), visit the RSC Engergia Museum in Korolev, Russia <http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/history/museum/museum.html>.
Full-scall mock-ups of the docked Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft may be seen at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building, Washington D.C. <http://www.nasm.si.edu/> and at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia <http://www.ras.ru/>.
To learn more about solar system bodies, check out the NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics web site <http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/>.

To learn more about the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, check out this observatory mirror site, hosted by Stanford University <http://quake.stanford.edu/~crao/>.

To learn more about Molnija watches and other Russian-made watches, check out the Solod watch company <http://www.molnija.ru/>.

Broken Guitars and YouTube Videos

By now you have probably heard about the struggles of Dave Carroll, member of the Halifax, Nova Scotia folk-pop band Sons of Maxwell. While traveling with the band last year on United Airlines to a concert, he watched in horror from his seat while baggage handlers below tossed musical instrument cases and, in the process, broke his $3500 Taylor guitar. After nearly a year of effort attempting to get satisfaction from the airliine, United finally informed Carroll that nothing could be done, Carroll then informed United that he would make a music video about the incident and post it on YouTube. In fact, he told United he would post three videos in all.

True to his word, Carroll posted on July 6 a music video called "United Breaks Guitars," portraying the painful events in song and humor. The video soon "went viral," as they say, and has been viewed well over three million times as of this writing. The support for Carroll was strong. One musician posted a video in solidarity with Carroll and stated that he would not fly United on future trips. Carroll was even contacted by the founder of Taylor Guitars who offerred to replace the damaged instrument.

Sometime after the video's debute, Carroll was contacted again by representatives of United Airlines who said they wanted to "make good" on the damage. Carroll had spent $1200 to have a local shop repair his guitar so that it was sturdy enough to play, though not trustworthy enough to travel for concerts. United offered to reimburse the repair bill, but Carroll asked instead that United give the money to a worthy charity. Carroll then posted on July 10 a video explaining United's response and thanking the YouTube viewership for their support. United Airlines has since donated $3,000, in Carroll's name, to support music education through the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In addition, United has also announced that it would be using Carroll's music video in its internal program to improve customer service.

I found this story particularly interesting since we are a bit of a musical family and we have traveled on airlines before with valuable instruments. Specifically, my wife Marian's bassoon. Thankfully, we have been able to treat the bassoon as a carry-on in most cases. I also must confess that I have become a fan of this group. I find their mix of celtic instrumentain and down-home fun to be very contageous and enjoyable. If you get a chance to check them out, I hope that you will enjoy them as well.

To see the “United Breas Guitars” video for yourself, go to this link <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo>. And here are a couple of songs from Sons of Maxwell: "Oceanside Again" <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1zibvLvHbk> and "Queen of Argyle" <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJVSNLTdJWY>. To learn more about Dave Carroll and Sons of Maxwell, go here: <http://www.sonsofmaxwell.com/>.