Monday, 6 October 2008
ch - Milky Way
This installation was commissioned for NGA Arts Festival in Birmingham 2008 by Chris Hodson ©.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Specifications for searchlights
Control specifications:
Movement parameters: 240 deg tilt - 420 deg pan
Speed: 4 RPW to 4 RPM
Resolution: 0.0001 deg (360,000 steps per revolution)
Accuracy: 18 sec (0.005 deg)
repeatability e.g.:872mm @ 10 kM
Control interface: RS485/232 or DMX (in development)
Optical Specifications:
Beam angle: Variable- -0.5 to 15 deg full angle
Colour Temp: 6,200 K
Efflugence: 350,000 lumens
Movement parameters: 240 deg tilt - 420 deg pan
Speed: 4 RPW to 4 RPM
Resolution: 0.0001 deg (360,000 steps per revolution)
Accuracy: 18 sec (0.005 deg)
repeatability e.g.:872mm @ 10 kM
Control interface: RS485/232 or DMX (in development)
Optical Specifications:
Beam angle: Variable- -0.5 to 15 deg full angle
Colour Temp: 6,200 K
Efflugence: 350,000 lumens
RUSSELL L. SCHWEICKART b612 Foundation & Dumitru Dorin Prunariu Romainian Cosmonaut. IFAS Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies.
Russell L. (Rusty) Schweickart is a retired business and government executive and serves today as Chairman of the Board of the B612 Foundation. The organization, a non-profit private foundation, champions the development and testing of a spaceflight concept to protect the Earth from future asteroid impacts.
Schweickart served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force and the Massachusetts Air National Guard from 1956 to 1963. He has logged over 4000 hours of flight time, including 3500 hours in high performance jet aircraft.
Schweickart was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1969) and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale De La Vaux Medal (1970) for his Apollo 9 flight. He also received the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees Award (Emmy) in 1969 for transmitting the first live TV pictures from space. In 1973 Schweickart was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his leadership role in the Skylab rescue efforts.
Source: b612 foundation website.
99942 APOPHIS - A more detailed report.
Apparently, the near-Earth asteroid named "99942 Apophis" has an orbit which almost mirrors Earth's orbit. In 2029 Apophis must clear a 400 meter gravitational "keyhole" in order to avoid hitting Earth. Seven years later, in 2036, it has to clear another keyhole. These 2 keyholes are the 2 points at which Apophis' orbit intersects Earth's orbit.
In the movie "Armageddon" starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, although the asteroid is broken up with a nuclear bomb, some scientists say that's not a realistic or safe approach since the fragmented pieces would crash into Earth, rather than going around it.
Rusty Schweickart, a former NASA astronaut and the founder of the B612 Foundation, a private group whose mission is to demonstrate how to deflect an asteroid favors a different approach. He calls it the "asteroid tugboat" tactic, in which a spacecraft flys to an asteroid and pushes the craft's nose gently into it. The craft then starts a slow burn of its engine and pushes the asteroid into a different trajectory, like a tugboat.
David Durda , an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO, prefers pulling the asteroid instead of pushing it. In theory, a rope won't be required as gravity will act as the towline. A spacecraft positioned near an asteroid and firing its engines over many months could pull the asteroid off course, PROVIDED the gravitational attraction between the spacecraft and the asteroid is strong enough.
Personally, I'd make my getaway to the moon, Mars or any one of the 166 moons in our solar system. As long as we understand how to build a dynamo to deflect radiation, we'll survive.
5 months ago
Source(s):Posted on Astronomy Forum 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apoph...
http://www.atmospheres.5u.com
In the movie "Armageddon" starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, although the asteroid is broken up with a nuclear bomb, some scientists say that's not a realistic or safe approach since the fragmented pieces would crash into Earth, rather than going around it.
Rusty Schweickart, a former NASA astronaut and the founder of the B612 Foundation, a private group whose mission is to demonstrate how to deflect an asteroid favors a different approach. He calls it the "asteroid tugboat" tactic, in which a spacecraft flys to an asteroid and pushes the craft's nose gently into it. The craft then starts a slow burn of its engine and pushes the asteroid into a different trajectory, like a tugboat.
David Durda , an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO, prefers pulling the asteroid instead of pushing it. In theory, a rope won't be required as gravity will act as the towline. A spacecraft positioned near an asteroid and firing its engines over many months could pull the asteroid off course, PROVIDED the gravitational attraction between the spacecraft and the asteroid is strong enough.
Personally, I'd make my getaway to the moon, Mars or any one of the 166 moons in our solar system. As long as we understand how to build a dynamo to deflect radiation, we'll survive.
5 months ago
Source(s):Posted on Astronomy Forum 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apoph...
http://www.atmospheres.5u.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
