Space Rescue and Safety

Space Rescue and Safety

Edited by Philip H. Bolger. 272 pages, hardcover, $20.00. American Astronautical Society (1975)

Potential space rescuers have been forced to watch helplessly as space crews perished or limped home from beyond the reach of direct Earth aid. A recent congress of the International Astronautical Federation was the setting for a special meeting of concerned would-be rescuers who discussed the difficult problems of space rescue in the age of the Space Shuttle. Someday the lives of endangered astronauts or cosmonauts may be saved by outside help, as in the science fiction movie “Marooned”. So far, however, it’s all talk – and this book reports on it all.

This collection of articles represents an enormous spectrum of interests. One gets the first impression that the meeting organizer really had to stretch the scope of the subsession in order to get enough papers submitted. They include engineering proposals, operational constraints, statistical summaries, historical analysis, bibliographical and related subject guides, and reports on present and planned systems.

Cosmos. Illustration by Elena

Two papers dal with emergency one-man “bailout” from orbit. A stranded spaceman must return to Earth without a spacecraft which has become disabled. Inflatable heat shield are proposed, while one engineer suggests a revolutionary (but entirely feasible) heat resistant parachute for return from orbit without any ablative heat shield at all.\Other authors discuss ways to prevent spacecraft failure: reliability, testing, and preflight verification. An interesting survey of spacecraft and engine structural failures (so far, all on the ground) sheds new light on engineering and management techniques which have made the United States space program so successful.

Another excellent section deals with rescue capabilities of the Space Shuttle, including crew training, spacesuits and airlocks. Passengers may be evacuated in pressurized “rescue pods” carried by space-suited astronauts or by the amazing mechanical arm which will be installed on the Shuttle. A “manned maneuvring unit” can provide mobility and carrying power during rescue. All these excellent plans, however, call for the availability of a second Space Shuttle to come to the aid of the disables sister ship. But the first production space plane may fly solo for more than 1- 1/2 years before the next one is ready for flight. Hence, no rescue option will be available during this interval.

But astronomers have lived with that risk, and have survived before. A historical in-depth analysis of the Skylab reliability and rescue programs gives perspective to the problem and reveals why the danger of a “solo” Space Shuttle is very low after all.

Two studies discuss the probability of collision of two orbiting satellites (low, but becoming significant as flights are longer, ships are bigger, and more junk is left in space) and the probability that a downed space crew at sea might be able to depend on world fishing fleets for emergency pickup. Both topics are interesting and important, though too long and somewhat tedious.

The overall level of these papers reflects the general survey nature of the conference; there is just not much deep technical information available. By the end of the book, though, what appeared to be a hodgepodge of disparate topics seems to merge into one “big picture” of space rescue, testifying to the real care with which the session was organized. Space rescue and safety is truly a multifaceted problem.

The result is a fascinating, wide-ranging and easy to read survey of a “life or death” subject.

No American astronaut has ever died in space, and none have died on duty in nearly a decade. The technology and plans described in this book will hopefully continue to trend for many years to come

James E. Oberg (August 1976)

Conflict of Civilizations

Conflict of Civilizations

If there are millions of civilizations distributed more or less randomly through the Galaxy, the distance to the nearest is about two hundred light-years. Even at the speed of light it would take two centuries for a radio message to get from there to here. If we had initiated the dialogue, it would be as if the question had been asked by Johannes Kepler and the answer received by us.

Especially because we, new to radio astronomy, must be comparatively backward, and the transmitting civilization advanced, it makes more sense for us to listen than to send. For a more advanced civilization, the positions are, of course, reversed.

We are at the earliest stages of our radio search for other civilizations in space. In an optical photograph of a dense star field, there are hundreds of thousands of stars. By our more optimistic estimates, one of them is the site of and advanced civilizations. But which one? Toward which stars should we point our radio telescopes? Of the millions of stars that may mark the location of advances civilizations, we have so far examined by radio no more than thousands.

Photo by Elena

We have made about one-tenth of one percent of the required effort. But a serious, rigorous, systematic search will come soon. The preparatory steps are now underway. It is comparatively inexpensive : the cost of a single naval vessel of intermediate size – a modern destroyer , say – would pay for a decade-long program in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Benevolent encounters have not been the rule in human history, where transcultural contacts have been direct and physical, quite different from the receipt of a radio signal a contact as light as a kiss.

Still, it is instructive to examine one of two cases from our past, if only to calibrate our expectations : Between the times of the American and the French Revolutions, Louis XVI of France outfitted an expedition to the Pacific Ocean, a voyage with scientific, geographic, economic and nationalistic objectives. The commander was the Count of La Pérouse, a noted explorer who had fought for the United States in its War of Independence InJuly 1786, almost a year  after setting sail, he reached the coast of Alaska, a place now called Liuya Bay. He was delighted with the harbor and wrote: “Not a port in the universe could afford more conveniences.” In this exemplary location, La Pérouse perceived some savages, who made signs of friendships, by displaying and waving white mantles, and different skins. Several of the canoes of these Indians were fishing in the Bay… we were continually surrounded by the canoes of the savages, who offered us fish, skins of otters and other animals, and different little articles of their dress in exchange for our iron. To our great surprise, they appeared well accustomed to traffic, and bargained with us with as much skill as any tradesman of Europe.”

Meade Research Quality Telescope

Meade Research Quality Telescopes, Parts and Accessories

2” O.D. Eyepieces. Superb wide-angle eyepieces for 2” focusers. Fully coated, premium quality optics for the ultimate in rich-field performance. Erfle 32 mm – highly corrected 5 element optical system, with wide, flat 65” field. Keller 60mm – Low power, log eye relief, ideal for deep-space observations. Kellner 60mm – Low power, long eye relief. Ideal for deep-space observations.

Zoom Eyepieces. Orthoscopic 8.4-21mm (1 1/4” O.D.) – Zooms instantly, with excellent image corrections at all powers. 50 degrees field at 8.4mm. Filler Adapter: couples our filters to above eyepieces. Kellner 7.5-22.5 mm (.965” O.D.) – Fine quality, 4-element design. Coated optics mounted in a machined metal housing.

Wide Field Eyepieces. Kellner 40mm Extra Wide Field (1 ¼ O.D.). Yields widest field obtainable in 1 ¼” O.D. Enlarged field liens and special field-flattening optics with long eye relief. Barrel accepts filters directly.

Photo: Elena

Erfle 20 mm (1 1/4” O.D.). An advanced 5-element system with fully coated, color corrected optics. Fine image quality throughout a wide 65” field. Barrel threaded for our filters. Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece. A professionally made Kellner 12 mm guiding eyepiece for the most discriminating applications. Precisely focusable crossline reticle; remote brightness control with 2 ft cord. Specify either 1 ¼” or 0.965” O.D. Micrometer Reticle. For accurate measurement of stellar and planetary separations. Interchanges with standard crossline reticle.

Photo-visual color filters. Top quality optical glass, dyed-in-the-mass, with excellent spectral homogeneity. Mounted in machine metal cells which thread directly into all our 1 ¼” Series 1” eyepieces. Filters may be piggy-backed. Listed by Wratten N and color: #8 Light-Yellow, #11 Yellow-Green, #12 – Yellow, #21 – Orange, , #21A – Light Red, #25A – Red, #47 – Violet #58 – Green, #80A – Medium Blue. Polarizer (30% trans.)

Serie1 Orthoscopic eyepieces (1- 1/4” in 8 focal lengths. Now available in .965” O.D. – These same Series 1 orthoscopic may also be ordered in the foreign standard .965” barrel. Manufactured to exacting specifications, these excellent orthoscopic will optimize the performance of any telescope. They are of the classical 4-element design, 45 degrees field, fully coated, with precise corrections for color and field flatness. We sell thousands of these Series 1 orthoscopic every year to serious amateurs, universities, and telescope manufacturers throughout the world. There are no finer eyepieces sold for under $25. Barrels are of machined brass, heavily plated, and are threaded to accept our color filters directly. Focal lengths 4,5,6,7,8,9, 12.5, 18.25 mm.

Guide Telescopes. For precise guiding during astrophtography. Fine air-spaced achromatic objectives. Rack and pinion focuser, Kellner 9 mm crossline eyepieces, and diagonal prism included. Brackets for either guide telescope. Either guide telescope with Ke12mm, illum. Reticle Eyepiece System.

Serie 1 Kellner Eyepieces (1 – ¼” O.D.). The 3-element Kellner design has long been a favorite of amateurs seeking a highly-corrected, yet moderately priced, eyepiece. The 40 mm focal length is an exceptionally fine low-coast, wide-field eyepiece. Fully coated. Barrels are threaded for our filters. Focal lengths: 6,12,25, 40 mm.

Camera Adapters. Adapt your camera to telescope focuser instantly. Individually machined from solid bar aluminium. For eyepiece projection of first focus. Specify either .965” or 1 ¼” focuser. All 1 ¼” adapters are threaded for our filters. Pentax, Praktica, Yashica, Mamiya, Exakta, Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Miranda, Olympus OM-1, Olympus Pen. Adapters only for First Focus.

Model 300 Refractor. Air-spaced achromatic objective. Complete with 5 eyepieces and all accessories. Motor drive, model 280 2.4”. Equatorial Refractor.

Research Grade Orthoscopic eyepieces (1 – ¼” O.D.) All our Research-Grade eyepieces are precisely parfocal. The very finest in eyepiece design and manufacture. These superb 4 – element systems are unsurpassed by any other eyepieces in resolution, color correction, and flatness of field. They are the mainstays of research institutions and observatories everywhere. Fully coated 45” field.

Erfle 20mm. Manufactured to the same stringent standards as our Research-Grade Orthoscopic, with a wide 75” apparent field. The virtual absence of curvature to the extreme field edge affords truly breathtaking observational opportunities.

Precision Rack-and-Pinion Focusers. Carefully machined, all-metal construction. All 3 models include helical-cut rack for ultra-smooth focusing without backlash. Universal bases fit all tube sizes. Standard 1 – 1/4“ eyepiece holders. Each focuser is guaranteed to be the finest obtainable in its class. Model #67- Strong, light-weight design for 4” to 10” telescopes. 2 – 3/16” travel. An excellent value. Model #640 – a heavy-duty deluxe focuser for 6” to 16” telescopes. Full 3” travel. Ideal for both visual and photographic applications. Model #680 – our finest focuser. Accepts both 1 – ¼” and 2” eyepieces. Full 3” travel, for photo or visual observing with 6” top 16” telescopes.

7 x 50 Viewfinder. Coated achromatic objective. 50 mm dia. Wide-field crosshair eyepiece. Sharp, brilliant images (Not for use with prism).

7 x 50 Right-Angle viewfinder. Specifications as above, but for both right-angle and straight-through observation. Crosshair eye-piece, prism included.

6 x 30 Viewfinder. A fine, wide-field finder. Coated achromatic objective. Crosshair eyepiece, 2-ring bracket included.

Research-Grade. Erfle 20 mm. Manufactured to the same stringent standards as our Research Grade Orthoscopic, with a wide 75” apparent field. The virtual absence of curvature to the extreme field edge affords truly breathtaking observational opportunities.

Research-Grade telenegative Amplifiers (1 – ¼”). The world’s finest Barlow lens. Full 26 mm clear-aperture achromat, with virtually flawless corrections for chromatic and spherical aberrations.

The Meaning of Mackerel Clouds

The Meaning of Mackerel Clouds

The science behind the farmer’s and sailor’s maxims

Weather folklore has been passed down through the ages by mariners and farmers who relied on their own observations of astronomical events, animal behaviors, and atmospheric changes to predict upcoming weather events.

Today, while the average person’s ability to observe the natural world has declined, much of the folklore still exists, partly because of a psychological yearning to keep in touch with a time when humans seemed more in tune with their environment. Here we help discern what of today’s remaining weather lore is still viable: Red sky at night, sailors delight.

Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning: Much of the weather folklore based on observations of atmospheric phenomena is a fairly good predictor of short-range weather changes. In the mid-latitude regions, the general flow of storm systems follows the jet stream from west to east. The red color at night is due to the reflection of the red colors from the sun as it lowers in the western sky. This signals that the jet stream has pushed the storm systems out of your area. If clouds appear red in the morning, this means that the sun is rising in clear skies to the east with clouds approaching from the west, indicating the storm system is to your west and moving your way.

Roseraie. Photo: Elena

Mackarel clouds in the sky, expect more wet than dry: This is another good example of accurate weather folklore based on atmospheric observations. Mackerel clouds refer to cirrocumulus clouds that appear pearly white with scaly formations akin to the scales on a fish, Ancient mariners knew that these clouds presaged the approach of a warm front that would produce rain or snow within the next 12 to 18 hours.

When round the moon there is a halo, the weather will be cold and rough: The halo is generated by cirrostratus clouds 15,000 to 20,000 feet up in the atmosphere. These clouds cover great areas with a uniform thickness of ice crystals, which are responsible for many optical wonders. A halo around the moon generally means stormy weather within the next 24 hours.

When smoke hangs low, a storm is approaching: Meteorologists attribute the phenomenon of smoke hanging low to low pressure systems that cause the atmosphere to be unstable and can signal the approach of stormy weather. However, sometimes near lakes, and in valleys, local air circulation can dominate the larger scale circulation that can give a false reading.

When hornets build their nest close to the ground, expect a hard winter: Folklore that deals with animals and long-term weather forecasts generally is false. Meteorologists believe that if people observed the hornet’s activities over a long period of time, they would find no correlation between the hornet’s behaviour and seasonal forecasts. The same is true for folklore that links a squirrel’s very bushy tail or a large black band on a woolly-bear caterpillar with an upcoming severe winter. 

If bees stay at home, rain will soon come: We can liken this folklore to similar and associate approaching storms with hornets lining up to go back to their nest, cows lying down in a field, frogs singing more than usual. Scientists admit that these examples are difficult to prove or disprove, because scientists can’t isolate what in the environment would be causing these behaviours. However, we would have to err on the side of bee keepers who swear by the ability of their bees to predict rain. With cows, though, we can jokingly ask, “if 25 cows are lying down in a field, and 25 are standing up, does that mean there’s a fifty percent chance of rain?”

Crickets are a poor man’s thermometer: Counting the chirps of a cricket, is an accurate way of determining temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Below 40 degrees, a cricket’s metabolism is too slow. To get the current air temperature within one degree Fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in a 14-second period and then add 40 this number.

Pins Victoria Park. Weather folklore has been passed down through the ages… Photo: Elena

The air smells sweet before a storm: Science definitely has an explanation for this folklore. Before a storm, lower pressure predominates, which causes plants’ stomatic openings to enlarge and emit more gases, including ones that are aromatic.

When human hair becomes limp, rain is near: Human hair – especially blond hair – becomes thicker and longer when exposed to increases in humidity, which sometimes mean rain is near. In fact, early hygrometers designed to determine the moisture content of the air relied on measuring the changes in the length of a human hair.

Sinus and joint pain signals story weather: This folklore, at least for arthritis sufferers, has been proved to signal rapid changes in the weather. Pressure changes , the cause of the pain, signal the unstable atmospheric conditions that typically precede a storm.

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103a Films: 103a films can be obtained in 36-exposure, 135 cassettes for about S7 from Optica b/c Company. These films deteriorate unless refrigerated until needed, so “thaw” the film for about four hours before use. Kodak D-19 developer is recommended by Kodak for 103 emulsions. (Not all camera stores carry D-19, and if necessary you can use the more readily available D-76). MWP-2 is a “superdeveloper” formulated at Hale Observatories for 103 films. It is available from Clayton Chemical Co., 3867 S. Grandview Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066.

103 films comes with a black annihilation backing (called a Ram-Jet backing) which prevents exposure of the light sensitive surface by light reflected from the back side of the film. This backing should dissolve in the developer, though it occasionally doesn’t. However, it can easily be removed after the fil m is half fixed: Rub the back with a cotton swab, soaked with developer, rinse in water, and finish the fixing.

Speed up your film – With water: Exposure time can be shortened by hypersensitization of the film. You can hypersentisize E and F films quite simply by washing them in cold water. A method that works well is to tape the film cassette to a wire suspended well above a table in a dark room. Then pull as much film as you to hypersentisize from the cassette. A deep glass of cold (about 40 degrees Fahrenheit), dilute Kodak Photoflo solution should be brought up under the film, and the film immersed for about two minutes. Be sure the water is cold – warmer water could dissolve the emulsion off the film. After removing the film from the glass, weight it with a clothespin so it hangs down without curling. Cold air from a hairdryer blown over both sides of the film for about 20 minutes will thoroughly dry it. You can touch the edges and back of the film to see if they are dry, as well as part of the emulsion near the clothespin. Then, wind the film back into the cassette. Suspending the film seems to be the best way of preventing fingerprints on the emulsion.

Hypersensitization will wear off in a few days – unless you want to place the film in the freezer, where it should last for up to five weeks – so hypersensitize only as much film as you’ll need for each night’s photography.

A Pink Planet. Illustration: Elena

Edmund Scientific Co:All Tel escopes in Shop

Ready for immediate shipment.

Shop Astronomical HQ. USA by Mail… And Save

Edmund gives you the largest selection, guarantees every item, all in stock for speedy delivery.

The famous Edmund catalog, offered free, details a huge display of telescopes, from 3” reflectors to 8” Cassegrains. You’ll also find a tremendous variety of eyepieces, lenses, finders, drives, mounts; morror grinding and polishing kits, parts, accessories – everything needed to build or equip your own scope. It contains 4500 unusual Science, Optical, Hobby values!

Photo: Elena

A. 4 1/4 “ Astronomical Telescope

Features fine f/10 mirror (verified better than 1/10 wave with a scatter plate interferometer) which insures performance to theoretical limit of resolution. Equatorial mount; rack and pinion focusing; aluminum tube, 6X finder, 25mm F.L. 45X Kelinar achromatic eyepiece and Barlow lens to double and triple power to 135X, includes FREE Star Chart, 2 Books.

# 85,107K3 (Clock Drive) Shipping weight 45 lbs – $199.50 FOB

# 85,107K3 (w/o Clock Drive) Shipping weight 42 lbs – $159,50 FOB

B. True zoom Telescope Eye Piece

C. Low cost variable speed drive and slow motion control

D. The extra power 20×60 binocular NASA chose for Apollo

E. All about telescopes by Sam Brown

F. Color super slide sets

G. Polaroid instrument astro camera

Deep Spice. Photo by Elena

Buy your new Celestron 5 or 8 Telescope from Tuthill. Stock Deivery: Free advice to present Celestron owners: Would you like to have increased protection from dewing – make lining up on the celestial pole a snap without leveling your tripod or knowing your latitude – look at the zenith easily with a large variable power finder – adjust the tripod height for sitting or standing – increase the fine adjustment of the right-ascension knob – see the setting circles with built-in lights – have a five pound sturdy portable equatorial mount which duplicates the wedge and tripod function but which stores in the box – motorize your manual declination adjustment – increase your declination circle resolution five times – have a Velvet Touch helical eyepiece focuser – have a fitted box liner for scope and accessories – carry your valuable scope securely with a sturdy retractable handle?

Write today for our Free Catalog or unique items that will enhance your pleasure in using these beautiful world-renowned instruments. We stock all the standard CELESTRON accessories, too. We invite your inquiries for our Custom Engineered Accessories for other scopes.

All you have come to expect

Another new product from our laboratories A Stereoocular on a Celestron

An astronomical accessory which lets you view with both eyes simultaneously. There is something magical about seeing the Moon, Sun, Planets, and even stars with two eyes at the same time. If you once use this Stereoocular, you may never want to view with only one eye again!

Even though the reason is not clear, those who have used the Stereoocular claim they see a three dimensional effect. These units are of our own design and have large high quality binocular microscope instrument prisms. They give very restful heavenly views.

The Stereoocular can be used with or without glasses with interpupillary adjustment from 56-75mm. It gives a full view with 1- 1/4″ eyepieces and fits standard 1 – 1/4″ draw tubes. The Stereoocular works well with refractors or CELESTRON or Dynamax scoops. It is a valuable teaching aid as two people can view at the same time. It is essential that MATCHED eyepieces be used for best results.

Stereoocular Model #1 (use your matched eyepieces) – $244.00

Steroocular Model #2 (includes two matched 1 – 1/4″ Orthoscopic eyepieces of 6, 12.5, 18 or 25mm) State choice $279.00

Stereoocular Model #3 (includes two matched 20mm Erfle eyepieces $289.00

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