Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer
Title: Travelers in the Night Digest: Eps. 281 & 282: Starlight Walking and Biggest Rocket
Organization: Travelers in The Night
Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus
Description: Today’s 2 topics:
- The IDA the International Dark-Sky Association has created the Cosmic Campground in the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico. Very dark skies delight the visitors! After half an hour of acclimating to the darkness you can see fairly well by starlight alone. Then you can take a walk by starlight like our hominid ancestors did.
- The venerable RS25 rocket engine is from the Shuttle era. Four of them are about to be incorporated into the huge new SLS first stage. In 2018 it’ll have its first (and possibly manned) launch around the Moon.
Each week we will have a random drawing for a prize package from our sponsor. Enter the code for this week into this site: https://cosmoquest.org/achievements/code for a chance to win.
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Bio: Dr. Al Grauer is currently an observing member of the Catalina Sky Survey Team at the University of Arizona. This group has discovered nearly half of the Earth approaching objects known to exist. He received a PhD in Physics in 1971 and has been an observational Astronomer for 43 years. He retired as a University Professor after 39 years of interacting with students. He has conducted research projects using telescopes in Arizona, Chile, Australia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Georgia with funding from NSF and NASA.
He is noted as Co-discoverer of comet P/2010 TO20 Linear-Grauer, Discoverer of comet C/2009 U5 Grauer and has asteroid 18871 Grauer named for him.
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Transcript:
281 – Starlight Walking
We don’t know much about our Ethiopian ancestor Lucy who walked the Earth some 3 million years ago, however, it is likely that she made her way around at night but the light of the stars, air glow, and the Moon. In modern humans, the Rod receptors in our eyes become amazingly sensitive when they are not exposed to bright light for some 30 to 45 minutes. At this point things look black and white even though your eye’s maximum sensitivity is close to the color of the green light given off by atmospheric night airglow.
In the space of a human lifetime most people have lost the opportunity to be dark adapted under a clear, natural, night sky. My wife Annie and I have become reacquainted with the wonders of the natural night sky at the Cosmic Campground International Dark Sky Sanctuary. During a recent star party there Annie was visiting with a family from a nearby city when a six year old remarked to his mother “I can see you”. It was the first time that he had seen her by starlight. All of us were able to move around without the aid of artificial lighting by using the light of stars, the air glow, planets, clusters of stars, and the magnificent Milky Way. What a concept.
You can find a spot to experience the natural night sky by visiting a dark sky place which you can locate on the International Dark Sky Association’s website. Pick a nice clear night when it is not too cold. Equip your flashlight with a red cellophane filter attached with a rubber band. Your visit will allow you to experience the age old sense of wonder which happens when a human looks into deep space and thinks about what might be out there.
282 – Biggest Rocket
NASA’s Saturn V which took humans to the Moon produced powerful sound waves of low to medium frequencies which shook buildings and were felt as well as heard by launch observers more than 5 miles away. Now it’s more powerful replacement is under development. A crucial component of it is the RS-25 rocket engine which was used in 135 successful Space Shuttle Missions. Recently an improved RS-25 rocket motor was auditioned for it’s new job as part of the biggest rocket ever.
Holding enough liquid oxygen and hydrogen to fill 63 large tanker trucks NASA’s new Space Launch System Core Stage is 212 feet tall and is 27.6 feet in dimeter. It’s four mighty RS-25 engines will generate 2 million pounds of thrust. With the assistance of two solid fuel external booster rockets, this mammoth first stage is really fast. It is designed to be going 23 times the speed of sound which is more than 17,000 miles per hour in only eight and a half minutes.
In 2018 the first flight of the Space Launch System is scheduled to send an unmanned Orion capsule on trip around the Moon. After that this new biggest rocket ever will be used to launch crews of up to four astronauts with the Orion spacecraft to various deep space locations. The Space Launch System will also enable large payloads for robotic scientific missions to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and other points in our solar system.
For Travelers in the Night this is Dr. Al Grauer.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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