/dev/null Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/27/sp...y-observations/
Steely Dan Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/27/sp...y-observations/ If it wasn't for all of the light pollution here that's how the earths night sky would look.
The Dean Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Sol 1943? The 1,943rd day of the mission, perhaps?
The Dean Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 If it wasn't for all of the light pollution ... and atmosphere, I suspect.
Steely Dan Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 ... and atmosphere, I suspect. Look I don't care what kind of atmosphere you're trying to create at home and I really don't care.
DC Tom Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 ... and atmosphere, I suspect. Atmosphere doesn't help...but mostly light pollution. Astronauts can't see much more from orbit (often much less, because of glare) than we can down here in a dark, clear "middle of nowhere" sky. It's actually a serious problem for terrestrial observing. Palomar's performance has degraded over the years simply from the light from Southern California as the population's grown. There's a reason newer observatories are built in the middle of nowhere in places like Cerro Tololo or Mauna Kea.
The Dean Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Atmosphere doesn't help...but mostly light pollution. Astronauts can't see much more from orbit (often much less, because of glare) than we can down here in a dark, clear "middle of nowhere" sky. It's actually a serious problem for terrestrial observing. Palomar's performance has degraded over the years simply from the light from Southern California as the population's grown. There's a reason newer observatories are built in the middle of nowhere in places like Cerro Tololo or Mauna Kea. I didn't mean to downplay the impact of light pollution. I was just commenting that even without it, the atmosphere would impact what we see, to a degree. But good clarification, anyway.
Wacka Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Sol 1943? The 1,943rd day of the mission, perhaps? 1,943rd Martian Day. A Martian day is 24 hours, 34 minutes.
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 That is cool. On another note about the rover being stuck (I did not view the website)... FreeSpirit ...I wonder how they are going (if they really can) get it unstuck? Is there a way they can make it "jump" and then have it land on a place that it will be able to get going on?
Steely Dan Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 That is cool. On another note about the rover being stuck (I did not view the website)... FreeSpirit ...I wonder how they are going (if they really can) get it unstuck? Is there a way they can make it "jump" and then have it land on a place that it will be able to get going on? Hopefully they can get it out but the damn thing has lasted over 20 times what they thought it would. Not a bad run for the thing if it's stuck for good.
John Adams Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 If it wasn't for all of the light pollution here that's how the earths night sky would look. Not quite. That's a long exposure picture. Note the streaking stars. Living in a big city and being a hobbyist astronomer, I am sensitive to light pollution. It's terrible and a long ways from being on anyone's radar.
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Atmosphere doesn't help...but mostly light pollution. Astronauts can't see much more from orbit (often much less, because of glare) than we can down here in a dark, clear "middle of nowhere" sky. It's actually a serious problem for terrestrial observing. Palomar's performance has degraded over the years simply from the light from Southern California as the population's grown. There's a reason newer observatories are built in the middle of nowhere in places like Cerro Tololo or Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is also more than 10,000 ft above sea level and has much less atmosphere to deal with. They have agreements with all the towns at the foot of the volcano to keep light levels down. It's pretty cool actually.
Beerball Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 1,943rd Martian Day. A Martian day is 24 hours, 34 minutes. How long is a Martian year?
SDS Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 If it wasn't for all of the light pollution here that's how the earths night sky would look. "But most of the "stars" in this raw image are not really stars, just hot pixels. "We use long and multiple exposures to make stars stand out," Lemmon told Universe Today. "We can only see bright stars, looking through the dust, but can pick out most of the major stars in Orion for instance." I suppose if we had pixels on our retinas and we stared at the sky for hours.
The Dean Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 1,943rd Martian Day. A Martian day is 24 hours, 34 minutes. Thanks.
stuckincincy Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 How long is a Martian year? Martian taxes are due May 2nd.
The Dean Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Martian taxes are due May 2nd. I'm guessing that, like most other places on Earth, they are higher than in the USA, too.
Beerball Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 never mind, looked it up myself On Mars, days, as we have seen, are 37 minutes longer. It has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, that whip around it every 1.3 and 0.3 days, respectively, making for very frequent months. And to make the full, year-long trek around the sun, Mars takes 687 Earth days -- or more properly, 669 sols Wow, that's a long wait for those Martian husbands.
Steely Dan Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 "But most of the "stars" in this raw image are not really stars, just hot pixels. "We use long and multiple exposures to make stars stand out," Lemmon told Universe Today. "We can only see bright stars, looking through the dust, but can pick out most of the major stars in Orion for instance." I suppose if we had pixels on our retinas and we stared at the sky for hours. I'm still pissed about light pollution. I remember being at a friend's house who lives deep in the country away from most of the light pollution and the sky is about a quarter of what that picture shows. It's an incredible sight. Lying on your back you can see so much more and it's really, really cool.
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