Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Autonemesis · 06-10-2003, 03:23 PM

Got this one last weekend:

I have a ton of video to process. There is at least one image like this per minute of video captured, and I captured video for almost an hour early Saturday morning.

The last week of August, Mars is at opposition to the Sun, and will be closer to Earth than at any time in the past 57,000+ years. The apparent diameter will be more than double what's shown in this image. The next time it will be this close is in the year 2287.

(I forgot to mention: the images are traditionally oriented South up, East to the right, which is how it appears in astronomical inverting telescopes. My imaging system actually orients it South down, East to the left, same as it is on the sky or with any camera)

Asha'man · 06-10-2003, 04:22 PM

Sweet.

echidna · 06-10-2003, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Autonemesis
The last week of August, Mars is at opposition to the Sun, and will be closer to Earth than at any time in the past 57,000+ years. The apparent diameter will be more than double what's shown in this image. The next time it will be this close is in the year 2287.

Cool, can I chalk August down as the time most likely for the Martian Invasion ? Must buy more duct tape.

Autonemesis · 06-10-2003, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by echidna
Cool, can I chalk August down as the time most likely for the Martian Invasion ? Must buy more duct tape.

Actually, due to travel times, the invasion occurs in November December. But we humans are the ones invading Mars, not the other way around.

(or at least, our robot sidekicks will)

This will be very, very cool. If all goes well, there will be three craft on the surface of Mars at one time and five in orbit, all by the end of the year. So far, Mars Express (ESA) and Rover A (NASA) are on their way, Rover B is ready for launch as early as the 25th of June.

I know it kinda got swamped in all the other news, but Rover A launched today. They called it "Spirit" (*gag*) and Rover B is called "Opportunity" (OK, I guess

).

Quote:

Mars is a perilous destination for spacecraft. Of 30 missions launched by various nations over the years, only 12 have succeeded. Landing on the surface is even harder, with just three of nine attempts ending in success.

Dr Rick · 06-10-2003, 05:47 PM

Excellent, and thank you.

BTW, I'm interested in a good value in a time share in a really exotic locale....

ajm51987 · 06-10-2003, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Autonemesis
The last week of August, Mars is at opposition to the Sun, and will be closer to Earth than at any time in the past 57,000+ years. The apparent diameter will be more than double what's shown in this image. The next time it will be this close is in the year 2287.

Yes! August 27th! I'm goin up to a relatives cabin away from light pollution w/ my telescope to have a look. It ought to be good! I don't think I can wait till 2287

echidna · 06-10-2003, 09:31 PM

There was another piece on the radio this morning about how the Europeans may well overtake NASA in the race to walk on Mars. With the Shuttle floundering & consequently the ICC on hold, so far recent Euro-explorations have been significantly cost-effective, and they have a target of 2030 to walk on Mars, a broad direction which even NASA lacks. European exploration seems less politically hamstrung than the US, & more and more NASA looks like a dinosaur of the Cold War.

And the biggest problem for NASA is their obvious lack of a shuttle replacement, which risks prolonging the life of the current model for another 20 years. IIRC there isn�t even another one under detailed development. With Dubya otherwise preoccupied, it seems unlikely he�ll ever get his mind around problems of space travel. A bleak outlook for manned (peopled ?) US space exploration ?

06-10-2003, 03:23 PM	#1
Autonemesis Contributor Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: I've left FRDB for good, due to new WI&P policy Posts: 12,048	Mars on JUne 1, 2003 Got this one last weekend: I have a ton of video to process. There is at least one image like this per minute of video captured, and I captured video for almost an hour early Saturday morning. The last week of August, Mars is at opposition to the Sun, and will be closer to Earth than at any time in the past 57,000+ years. The apparent diameter will be more than double what's shown in this image. The next time it will be this close is in the year 2287. (I forgot to mention: the images are traditionally oriented South up, East to the right, which is how it appears in astronomical inverting telescopes. My imaging system actually orients it South down, East to the left, same as it is on the sky or with any camera)

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06-10-2003, 04:22 PM	#2
Asha'man Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: southeast Posts: 2,526	Sweet.

06-10-2003, 05:47 PM	#5
Dr Rick Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: USA Posts: 5,393	Excellent, and thank you. BTW, I'm interested in a good value in a time share in a really exotic locale....

06-10-2003, 09:31 PM	#7
echidna Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,832	There was another piece on the radio this morning about how the Europeans may well overtake NASA in the race to walk on Mars. With the Shuttle floundering & consequently the ICC on hold, so far recent Euro-explorations have been significantly cost-effective, and they have a target of 2030 to walk on Mars, a broad direction which even NASA lacks. European exploration seems less politically hamstrung than the US, & more and more NASA looks like a dinosaur of the Cold War. And the biggest problem for NASA is their obvious lack of a shuttle replacement, which risks prolonging the life of the current model for another 20 years. IIRC there isn�t even another one under detailed development. With Dubya otherwise preoccupied, it seems unlikely he�ll ever get his mind around problems of space travel. A bleak outlook for manned (peopled ?) US space exploration ?

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