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Posts Made By: Maurice Clark

January 29, 2009 02:46 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Escape????????

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

This one has to go into the "dumbest of the dumb crooks" category.

Two handcuffed prisoners tried to escape from custody and...... well watch what happened....!!!! 8O grin grin

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7857469.stm

Maurice

February 6, 2009 08:40 PM Forum: Politics

Republicans and the stimulus

Posted By Maurice Clark


Hi all,

Just read some of the things that the republicans are trying to remove from the stimulus package.

$750M from NASA (a 50% reduction), $427M from NOAA (a 34% cut), $100M from the Department of Energy office of science (a 100% cut), and $1.4B from NSF, again, a 100% reduction.

It would seem like the republican party is continuing the Bush anti-science policy! Give billions to fat-cat bankers but avoid spending on science and things that will actually benefit the country by investing in its future!

How anyone into astronomy and science could support these people I do not know. Nixon killed Apollo. Reagan, the hero of the republican party did everything he could to kill ALL robotic space exploration..... he is still the only president that during his term there was not a single planetary exploration mission launched. Bush II did commit NASA to go back to the Moon, but did not give them any extra money to do so, as a result science missions have been drastically cut.

What is it about these people that they hate science so much?



Maurice

more details on the proposed cuts can be found here:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/Collins-Nelson-Cuts/?resultpage=1&

February 19, 2009 08:48 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

ELEANOR "GLO" HELIN

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

Not sure where to put this so will try here. Am surprised not to see this posted in the "news" section, but one of the pioneers in asteroid searching, particularly for NEO's, Eleanor Helin, died late January.

I met her once at a conference. Delightful speaker, and a very pleasant person to talk to, and always trying to encourage more people into NEO hunting and research.

The astronomical community has lost another valuable member.

Maurice

March 18, 2009 02:20 PM Forum: N.A.S.A.

shuttle launch skydiving

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

Here is an interesting video from a group of skydivers that jump each time a shuttle launch occurs.

not bad!

Cheers,

Maurice

http://vimeo.com/3693962

April 30, 2009 02:10 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Saturn V model launch video

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

New Scientist website has a video of the launch of a 1:10 scale model of a Saturn V rocket. Cool video.... looks like fun! :-)

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17053-video-shows-launch-of-worlds-largest-amateur-rocket.html

They report it as the largest amateur rocket launch.

Cheers,

Maurice

May 13, 2009 01:26 PM Forum: N.A.S.A.

external tank movie

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

Here is a movie of the shuttle external tank below the shuttle and heading towards the Earth.

Not bad.

http://thespacewriter.com/wp/2009/05/12/tanks-for-the-memories/

Cheers,

Maurice

July 7, 2009 07:28 PM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

Back from Oz

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

I just got back from 5 weeks back home in West Oz. Almost all of that time I spent at an observatory in the bush under 7.5+ skies. (When there was no Moon!) 7000+ DSLR and CCD images totaling over 50Gb, and 13 rolls of 35mm and 120 format film is the result!!!!! Needless to say, I have enough image processing to keep me occupied for a day or two! 8O

It was my first chance to try out my modified Canon Rebel under dark skies, and I am very pleased with the results. 5 minute exposures were enough to record far more than film would with the same telescope, so somehow I think that film has lost another user. :-)

Here are a few images that I have given a quick run through.

NGC6723 Canon Rebel 5 minutes at 1600 5" f/5 refractor

July 8, 2009 03:36 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

CCD images from Oz 3372ha

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

Here are a few CCD images from my Oz visit. This one is a combination of 20 3-minute images. STL1001E with a Baader 6nm Ha filter. 5" f/5 refractor at prime focus.

Interesting to see how modern technology performs with a telescope over 50 years old!

Cheers,

Maurice

July 16, 2009 01:40 PM Forum: N.A.S.A.

Interesting inverview with Al Bean

Posted By Maurice Clark
Hi all,

As part of its contribution to the 40th anniversary celebrations for Apollo 11, the BBC has a number of interesting clips on Apollo. Below is a link to an interview with Apollo 12 astronaut/painter Al Bean where he talks about his art and the upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian.

Very interesting.

Cheers,

Maurice

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8153127.stm

July 17, 2009 07:33 PM Forum: N.A.S.A.

LRO Images the Apollo landing sites!!!!!!

Posted By Maurice Clark
HI all,

NASA has just released photos of the Apollo landing sites taken by LRO with a resolution of about 1 metre per pixel. Although this is not the maximum possible resolution, it is still good enough to see the descent stage of the LEM on the surface, and even tracks made by the astronauts.

Great images!!

Cheers,

Maurice

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html

PS: this is of course assuming that the Apollo landings really did occur somewhere other than in a hanger in New Mexico!!! 8O wink

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