22 Jul 2007

Launchpad Finale

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The final observing night looked as though it would be a washout, or rather a cloud-out. We drove some distance to get to the WIRO Observatory in the mountains that from Laramie are a part of the horizon. Cloudy, cloudy. A drive up the winding, dirt mountain road made me think I was back at Cedar Point. When we finally reached the top, the conditions looked hopeless for even opening the observatory dome. So we looked at the telescope instead:



And gathered in the control room while our enterprising grad-student operators tried to get the aging computer system to cooperate:


And even posed for a group photo (shot by Jeremiah Tolbert):


Gradually, though, the sky began to clear—just a few stars, at first. Hoping for the best, we opened the dome. By the time the system was up and running, more of the sky was clearing—and within an hour or two, we had a spectacular view of the Milky Way overhead (for those of us who wandered outside to stand in the dark). In the meantime, the telescope was starting to pull in images.

It was instructive to watch the process. Telescopes take photos in black and white, not color. To achieve color images, successive pictures are taken in red, blue, and green, and combined on the computer to produce a final image. And that is exactly what we did in the end. Most of the group had left by midnight, but the few of us remaining watched images come in of the Pelican Nebula. We left with the gray and white images on a CD. In the morning, someone who knew how to do the computer wizardry combined them to produce the photo that we have adopted as our workshop badge: the Pelican Nebula, in glorious color:


We’re done with all the sessions now, with only our closing party to look forward to. It’s been a great week, and while I look forward to getting home, I’m also sorry to see it end.

I’m going to end with this quote that seems utterly appropriate to me.

“I believe that good questions are more important than answers, and the best children’s books ask questions, and make the readers ask questions. And every new question is going to disturb someone’s universe.” —Madeleine L’Engle

20 Jul 2007

Midweek at Launchpad

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Wednesday started with a hike in a nearby national park. Very cool big rocks, which look as if they were carefully set into place by giants, some rather precariously:


It was a surprisingly lush place, with aspen and junipers (I think) and various evergreens, and at least one beaver dam. Here’s another shot:


We hiked for an hour or two, which tested our adaptation to the 7000+ ft. elevation of the Laramie area.


The only time I really noticed the altitude was when a few of us ran, briefly, toward the end of the hike. Then, as I bent over gasping, I wondered why I had done that.

More astronomy during the day: stars and stellar evolution. In the evening we went onto the roof of the astronomy building and did some star-gazing. At home I have a small Meade telescope; here I found its much bigger brothers, a 10 inch reflector and a 16 inch reflector. Plus, Mike had night-vision goggles, which were surprisingly effective at helping us pick out star patterns that were hard to spot with the city lights and scattered clouds. Besides the Moon and Venus and Jupiter, we took in the Ring Nebula and a fuzzy image of the Andromeda Galaxy (which I had never seen in a scope before).

Thursday brought us more on stellar evolution, a visit to the small but charming planetarium in the same building (after looking at star patterns awhile, we watched some laser light shows). Then we learned a bit about the processing of raw astronomical data, and talked about using what we were learning in our writing (which, after all, is the purpose behind this workshop).

Finally we visited the somewhat larger Red Buttes Observatory outside the city. Conditions didn’t allow for opening the dome and viewing, but we got a tour of the telescope:



Then we just stood outside awhile, as the clouds cleared some, and enjoyed the dark sky and partial view of the Milky Way.

We’re learning a lot, and we’re enjoying a fine group camaraderie; it’s hard to believe the week is nearly over.

“Truth is a matter of the imagination.” —Ursula K. LeGuin

18 Jul 2007

Launchpad Workshop, First Two Days

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We’ve been covering some basic astronomy, most of it stuff I already know, but still interesting as a refresher. Three different people are presenting to us, Mike Brotherton covering the basic science, Jerry Oltion on amateur astronomy and simple calculation of orbits. Jim Verley has been covering educational issues, such as how to convey to the public, or to school kids, frequently misunderstood concepts such as the cause of the seasons and the phases of the moon. (Jim showed us a short video in which 23 brand new Harvard grads and faculty members were asked what causes the seasons. Out of 23, 21 answered that summer occurs when the Earth is closer to the sun, and winter when it was further away. Twenty-one students, including some who had studied science, stated this misconception with complete confidence! The correct answer, of course, is that the Earth is tilted on its axis, and when the northern hemisphere is tilted to receive more direct rays from the sun, it’s summer there; and when the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it’s summer there. So we talked about why this is so commonly misunderstood, and why kids in school don’t get it even when it’s taught to them. One thing we learned is that hands-on and kinesthetic ways of showing the Earth’s tilt, or the phases of the moon, are much more effective at conveying the concepts than words or even diagrams.)

As a group, we watched the movie Armageddon, and laughed and cried at the astounding number of scientific errors foisted on the viewers by a movie about the Earth being endangered by an approaching asteroid. Tonight we were to be observing from the roof of the astronomy building, but the sky is cloudy, so we’ve put that off a day. Tomorrow, we hike in some of the local hills in the morning, and then get back to astronomy in the afternoon.

It’s a great group of people–some well-established writers like Vonda McIntyre and Josepha Sherman, and some folks whose names you might come to know in the future. (There’s a list on the Launchpad website. Click the prematurely-named link for “past attendees.”)

Internet access turns out to be iffy, at least for me. I can get online at the astro building, and can do things like post blog updates during breaks, but for some reason I can’t send email. I don’t know what that’s all about.

More in a day or two, I hope.

“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” —E. L. Doctorow

16 May 2007

Extragalactic Dark Matter Ring

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Okay, just one more entry before I head off! This image of a 2.6-million light-year-wide ring of dark matter, surrounding a cluster of galaxies, is too incredible to pass up.


To see a gorgeous, full-sized image of it, look to Astronomy Picture of the Day.

For further explanation, read the news report at space.com. One thing they don’t say there that they do say on the APOD page is that the large blue ring is a digital modeling that has been superimposed over the Hubble image. I’m a little puzzled at the discrepancy there, and am not sure at this point whether the blue cloud is entirely a false-color representation or not. It must be, though, because the thing about dark matter is that it’s, well, dark. You can’t see it. (Except in a scene late in my novel Sunborn, but that’s another matter.)

To get a better grasp of the science behind the conclusion, check out this short Hubblecast video, which describes the gravitational lensing effect that actually supports the thesis that this really is dark matter being depicted and not just some camera artifact.

————-

In a complete change of subject, I’ll just note the passing of Jerry Falwell, who probably did more to promote the cause of bigotry and intolerance in our society than just about anyone claiming (in a chillingly distorted way) the banner of Christianity. I don’t wish him ill; but I do hope he’s seeing things a little differently now.

“To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts—such is the duty of the artist.”
—Robert A. Schumann

26 Apr 2007

Shields Up?

posted in: science, science fiction, space, technology | 0

One of the thorniest questions relating to interplanetary travel, or even long-term residence on the moon, is danger to astronauts from radiation. I’ve often wondered why magnetic fields could not be used to protect astronauts in the same way that Earth’s magnetic field protects us. Well, maybe the answer is—they can. A group of British scientists is working on a plan to create a magnetic field 20-30 km around a spacecraft or moonbase, and then fill that space with ionized gas (plasma). The plasma would slow incoming particles and reduce the hazard.

We’re getting awfully close to Star Trek technology here.

Read the full story at Technovelgy.com.

25 Apr 2007

Gliese 581 C: a New Earth?

posted in: science, space | 0

For some years now, astronomers have been racking up discoveries of extra-solar planets—that is, planets circling other stars. It’s been very exciting, but until now, they’ve mostly been giant planets, because those are the most easily detected. And they’ve all been way outside the presumed habitable range in terms of distance from their suns. That has now changed, according to study leader Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. Space.com reports:

An Earth-like planet spotted outside our solar system is the first found that could support liquid water and harbor life, scientists announced today.

Liquid water is a key ingredient for life as we know it. The newfound planet is located at the “Goldilocks” distance—not too close and not too far from its star to keep water on its surface from freezing or vaporizing away.

And while astronomers are not yet able to look for signs of biology on the planet, the discovery is a milestone in planet detection and the search for extraterrestrial life.

This possible Earth-like planet is only 20 light-years away, circling the red dwarf star Gliese 581. Read the whole story on space.com.

As an aside, although we haven’t yet discovered weird life on other planets, we do have some pretty weird life on this one (outside of the federal government, I mean). Check out this short video of a bird of paradise performing a mating dance.

10 Apr 2007

Saturn—Curiouser and Curiouser

posted in: quirky, science, science fiction, space, writing | 0

So, I don’t pretend to really know what’s going on out there at Saturn, but the images coming back from Cassini really are telling a strange tale. On the one hand, we have Saturn’s north pole:

which is clearly a hex-wrench socket of alien design, though we don’t know its function with certainty (could be to open up the planet, could be to adjust its orbit, could be something even more fiendish).

And then we have Saturn’s south pole, which at first glance appears to be the place where you stick a Saturn-sized inflation needle to maintain internal pressure with, presumably, a giant bicycle pump:

But a closer look reveals that the south pole is…well, you decide:

Now you just tell me that’s not an eye. The window onto the soul of Saturn. And if it’s not related to a whale’s eye, I’ll eat my hat.

Who says the space program doesn’t pay its own way with dividends of new knowledge. Remember Senator Proxmire? If he’d had his way, we wouldn’t know any of this stuff.

By the way, these photos are all from JPL and NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. I love those guys, don’t you?

14 Mar 2007

A Low Flyover of Mars

posted in: Flying, science, space, technology, writing | 0

This link to a pair of NASA videos comes courtesy of my friend Victoria (not to be confused with the Victoria Crater on Mars dramatically displayed in the first video). Want to make a low flying pass over some of the terrain that the Opportunity and Spirit rovers have explored? Thanks to some incredible photography from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, you can! This appears on the New Scientist web site, but if it’s not on a lot of others, I’m sure it will be soon.

8 Feb 2007

Errant Astronauts, Friendly Fire, and Other Civics Lessons

posted in: Flying, public affairs, science, space, technology, writing | 0

Today’s news was awash in stories that made me reflect on the vagaries of human nature, especially in the crazy world we live in. I’m going to assume you’re familiar with the stories, but if you’re not, just click the links for more information. The tales run from bizarre to tragic to uplifting, with a side trip to controversy.

The first one that hit me today was the story of the NASA astronaut, Lisa Nowak, accused of driving from Texas to Florida with the intention of murdering a romantic rival. I don’t follow astronaut personalities the way I did when there were just seven of them, but I remembered Lisa Nowak from the coverage of the shuttle mission last summer: she was bright, competent, strikingly pretty, and by all accounts a great role model for girls and young women. What in the world happened, that she could do such a bizarre thing? Does she suffer from a psychological disorder that was hidden until now? Did she simply crack from the stress of being simultaneously an astronaut and a mother? I feel a mixture of sympathy, pity, puzzlement, and a bit of fear. Could any one of us crack this way? Does this dark side lurk in all of us? It makes me shiver a little, and vow to get more sleep.

Next came the furor over released cockpit video from two U.S. A-10 pilots who, in the early days of the Iraq war, mistakenly strafed friendly trucks, killing a British soldier. The incident was declared an innocent mistake and the pilots cleared of wrongdoing, back in 2003, but only recently was the cockpit video (containing the radio conversations) provided to the British government and subsequently leaked to the public. I watched the video—it’s about 15 minutes long—and the first thing I noticed was how businesslike and calm it all seemed until the mistake was discovered, not at all the image of combat one gets from the movies. The guys saw orange panels on the roofs of the trucks—the sign of friendly forces—but because they were assured by their ground controller that no friendly forces were in the area, they concluded that they were looking at orange rocket launchers. And they opened fire. In hindsight, it’s pretty easy to conclude that they made a dumb call—especially given how hard it is to see things on the ground from a cockpit. But it would also be a cheap shot, since I wasn’t there.

What I really noticed was how different I felt about it after watching the video, versus reading the stories. The news reports said the pilots cursed, wept, and were distraught after learning that they’d just shot a friendly. But the selected quotes also made it sound as if they were mainly concerned about how much trouble they were in. Watch the video, and you get a different picture. They were beside themselves. Yes, they obviously knew they were in trouble, but they were also kicking themselves around the block for the error. The news reports one pilot saying to the other, Is your tape still running?—after which the recording stopped. What the pilot actually said was, My tape ran out; is yours still running?—and this when they were well on their way back to base. What comes across in the news story is, Can we cover our asses? Watch it, and you get something quite different. So…I guess this story made me think less about the possible culpability of the pilots than it did about just how easily the truth gets distorted. And how we have to form opinions and make decisions all the time, based on this kind of incomplete—or misleading—information.

On the flip side of the war, you have the court martial of Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused to go with his unit to Iraq, because he believed the war was illegal and immoral. From the San Jose Mercury News:

“…He took to heart a superior’s advice to make exhaustive preparations for missions. What he found — in reading international law, the history of war and the history of Iraq, and articles by governmental and independent agencies, journalists and scholars about the situation in Iraq — changed his mind.

As he told the Army Times, he was in turmoil. “I found out this administration had gone to great lengths to deceive Congress and the people of this country to go to this war.”

With complete respect for those who are in Iraq right now, including one of our wrestling coaches, my hat’s off to Lt. Watada for being willing to take a stand on principle, knowing he could be court-martialed, but believing that these things had to be said.

Of course, I’m basing that opinion on news reports. See earlier paragraph.

Finally, I read of actor Richard Dreyfuss’s current passion—not acting in films, but teaching civic responsibility in schools. Among other things, he’s working with a school system in Massachusetts to help create a civics curriculum for elementary schools, hoping to find ways to make this exciting for kids. You go.

Funny, I was not always a huge fan of Dreyfuss in the movies, especially his earlier ones—but I thought he was great in the quietly forgotten TV series, The Education of Max Bickford.

Which, coincidentally, is where I first encountered the actress Katee Sackhoff. Starbuck.

13 Dec 2006

Water on Mars and a Cool Historical Link

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In case you’ve been living on the Moon and haven’t heard, they’ve found evidence of possible liquid water on Mars—water that flowed, not in the geologically recent past, but over the lifetime of one of our probes. If it proves out, that’s just plain cool. Maybe next we’ll find a Martian frog.

Also, a friend sent along this link, to a Flash display on the Maps of War web site showing all of the various empires that have controlled the Middle East over the last 5000 years (including a few I’d never heard of). It takes 90 seconds to play, and is well worth it.

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