Posts Made By: Maurice Clark

Hi all,

Arrived back a few days ago from my trip back home to Oz. Over 4 weeks without an A'mart fix...... torture!!! You guys sure have been busy in the cesspool while I was away..... nearly 2000 postings!!!!! 8O Let me see... Rick and Ray are at loggerheads.... Bad Bu$h/Good Bu$h...... Iraq war..... looks like everything is normal. Did I miss anything interesting?

Cheers,

Maurice

Ps: I posted a brief report on the my observing while I was there in the "After Dark" forum and a few images on the "CCD" forum if anyone can tear themselves away from this wonderful quagmire!

Hi all,

Here are a few more images from my trip to Oz.

This one is NGC 55, a large and bright galaxy that is a member of the Sculptor group.

10 x 1 minute exposures. 300mm f/6 newtonian + ST-9E.

Enjoy

Maurice

Just saw this on the BBC news.

"There were 37 million people living in poverty in 2004, up 12.7% from the previous year."

Not a particularly encouraging statistic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4198668.stm

Cheers,

Maurice

Hi all,

This one came through me email yesterday. I thought it was so well done others might get a good laugh from it!

Cheers,

Maurice

You have perhaps an excessive belief in human rationality. Orbital dynamicists may conclude prior to 2029 that the probability of impact in 2035 may be very high but someone will always be able to come up with computations that conclude that it's not a certainty. Those who pay the bills will conclude that the money could be better spent (and more likely to get them re-elected) funding some social program than averting the "mere possibility" of an impact. There would be endless debate in Congress and the money will finally be approved after it becomes impossible to effect the deflection using known means. Of course, NASA will still be mandated to go ahead with the hopeless attempt (and, yes, the tanks will still be shedding foam). There will be those that claim the Apophis deflection mission is all a hoax and it was done in a Hollywood studio.

There will be incessant bickering between different agencies as to which method is best for the deflection, solar sail, white paint, impactor, ion engine, or nuclear detonation and who has the responsibility (and funding) to do it. The different nuclear laboratories of all of the nuclear nations have always wanted a good excuse to see if they could really build a multi-gigaton bomb, AND HERE'S THEIR CHANCE!

And who was President when Apophis was discovered? Wasn't it... BUSH! Obviously, this is a neocon plot to keep the Republicans in office and there really is nothing to this impact nonsense except to protect Israel. The following US President will claim that Bush didn't take the Aphophis threat seriously and left yet another mess for the Clinton administration to clean up.

If the Americans deflect Apophis, of course it is so that it will impact the countries of the Middle East such as Iran. "Our Mujahadeen Holy Warriors will defeat the efforts of the Crusaders to trample our holy soil".

This is obviously a cynical political show to impress the world with the alleged superiority of capitalism. The Red Chinese will engage in a space race to see who can deflect Apophis first, maybe even in the correct direction.

Someone will claim that Apophis is their valuable property and they must be paid a fee for permission to deflect it. (hmmmm...) Of course, there is a sound legal foundation to this claim.

And then there will be others who contend that we don't have the legal right to deflect a poor, innocent asteroid that was here before we were and has no record of ever impacting anybody before. Someone will want to attach a satellite tracking device to it to monitor its locat... never mind. Native Americans will contend that Apophis is sacred to them and we shouldn't deflect it. International legal experts will contend that deflecting the asteroid without UN approval would be a crime against humanity and would merit prosecution before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The opponents in the UN will say that this is an obvious imperialist aggression and that there is no proof that Apophis has WMDs and inspectors must be sent. Do we need a license to deflect an asteroid? From whom? I'm sure some international agency will claim we do. Russian astrologers will file suit to prevent the deflection because of the negative consequences on everyone's horoscope. "If the orbit solution doesn't fit, you must acquit!"

Environmentalists will want an Environmental Impact Statement (hee hee) researched and filed so that they can contest it in court. We will have to send biologists to see if any endangered species will be affected by the deflection effort. Apophis First! and Asteroid Liberation Front protesters will try to sneak in at night to monkey wrench the preparations for the deflection. People for the Ethical Treatment of Asteroids will object to the cruelty involved with any but the most gentle and humane deflection methods.

Mothers Against Asteroid Deflection will be upset and demand laws specifying minimum sentencing guidelines for deflecting asteroids. The Asteroid Civil Liberties Union will mount a major class action suit. There will be claims that the project to do the deflection will exacerbate global warming and the ozone hole. It's obvious that global warming has made the asteroid impact threat worse.

Who will Hollywood support in this controversy? Historically, Hollywood has been a major asteroid deflection supporter but that was in the previous Ronald Reagan conservative years. The current Liberal atmosphere in Hollywood might produce a spate of anti-deflection movies, perhaps from Oliver Stone and Michael Moore. After all, didn't the Earth do something to provoke this impact? We just need to be more sensitive towards asteroids and understand why they hate us so much.

Hi Sandy,

I would go with you and say "A". From looking at the evidence and from some of the things that have happened to me in the past, I have no doubts.

Regards,

Maurice

Hi Bill,

The reason is simple....... some of us go home from work on the weekend!! 8O

Cheers,

Maurice

Hi all,

I am trying to track down an H-alpha filter to fir onto a Tamron telephoto lens for CCD imaging of nebulae from a VERY light-polluted area.

The Tamron has a 62mm thread. Talking with the people at ATWB, they know of nothing that will fit such a size. Does anyone here know where one might be found?

It is not possible to use a filter in the filter wheel as the CCD will not focus with the filter wheel in place. (A BIG boo-boo on the part of SBIG IMHO)

Has anyone else tried wide-field CCD imaging?

Cheers,

Maurice

Hi Sandy,

Actually I disagree with some of what that writer says. (How unusual!! 8) )

I do not see how they can conclude that it "is impossible to commit outside of the physical presence of Jesus." nor how they can conclude that this sin is blasphemy. Neither of these conclusions is supported by scripture.

The unpardonable sin is against the Holy Spirit, and is the refusal to respond to the Spirit and accept salvation, or as the writer puts it "disregarding the divine source of Christ's power". This is not the Bible definition of blasphemy.

Regards,

Maurice

Hi all,

Japan's Hayabusa mission to the asteroid Itokawa has now arrived. I hope all continues to go well for the landing and sample return.

Cheers,

Maurice

http://www.isas.ac.jp/e/snews/2005/0912.shtml

Hi all,

I see on the news that the pledge of allegiance is before the courts again! :S Get ready for another circus! Will all the pollies get together on the steps on congress in another attempt to buy votes!!??? :C

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4247436.stm

Cheers,

Maurice