PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet 63/2001 - 3 May 2001
---------------------------
"A group of astronomers using the 1.5-meter Catalina
telescope
report that the nucleus of comet C/2001 A2 (LINEAR) has split
into two
pieces. Only a week ago it appeared whole. The comet's brightness
has
soared a hundred-fold since the end of March, probably because
volatile
ices in the fragmenting nucleus are being newly exposed to solar
radiation.
At present, the visual magnitude of the comet is near 6.3 -- just
below
naked eye visibility. No one knows how much the comet will
brighten as it
heads for a 0.78 AU close encounter with the Sun on May
24th."
--Space Weather News, 2 May 2001
"It's time to revise solid-state physics textbooks,
according to a
report in this week's issue of the Physical Review Letters.
Scientists
from the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the State University
of
New York at Stony Brook have discovered a third mechanism by
which
materials change phase. In addition to diffusional
transformations-the sort
that turn graphite into diamonds-and diffusionless
transformations,
the books will now have to include what have been christened
pseudomartensitic transitions.
--Kristin Leutwyler, Scientific American, 2 May 2001
(1) COMET C/2001 A2 LINEAR SPLITS IN TWO
SpaceWeather.com <spaceweather@lists.spaceweather.com>
(2) COMET LINEAR SPLITS IN TWO
NearEarth.Net, 2 May 2001
(3) UNDER ONE SKY: ASTRONOMY & MATHEMATICS IN THE ANCIENT
NEAR EAST
http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~jms/UOS/Preview/index.html
(4) IMPACTS FROM SPACE: PAST, PRSENT AND FUTURE (ST LEONARD'S
COLLEGE
LECTURE)
Graham Richard Pointer <grp1@st-andrews.ac.uk>
(5) NEW PHASE TRANSITION MAY EXPLAIN DEEP EARTHQUAKES
Scientific American 2 May 2001
(6) FUTURE COULD BRING CONSTELLATIONS OF SPACE EXPLORATION
TELESCOPES
Florida Today, 3 May 2001
(7) RE: "SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT NASA AND
NEOs"
David Morrison <dmorrison@arc.nasa.gov>
(8) FEATHERED DROMAEOSAUR MAY NOT BE A DINOSAUR
Robert Clements <Robert.Clements@dva.gov.au>
==========
(1) COMET C/2001 A2 LINEAR SPLITS IN TWO
From SpaceWeather.com <spaceweather@lists.spaceweather.com>
Space Weather News for May 2, 2001
http://www.spaceweather.com
Yesterday astronomers reported that the nucleus of comet C/2001
A2 (LINEAR)
has apparently split in two. This icy visitor from the outer
solar system is
growing in brightness as it approaches the Sun and could soon
become a faint
naked-eye object. Sky watchers with modest telescopes or
binoculars can
spot the fuzzy fragmenting comet near the feet of Orion after
sunset. The
comet is rapidly gliding toward southern skies, so southern
hemisphere
observers will enjoy the best views in the days and weeks ahead.
DOUBLE COMET: A group of astronomers using the 1.5-meter Catalina
telescope
report that the nucleus of comet C/2001 A2 (LINEAR) has split
into two
pieces. Only a week ago it appeared whole. The comet's brightness
has soared
a hundred-fold since the end of March, probably because volatile
ices in the
fragmenting nucleus are being newly exposed to solar radiation.
At present,
the visual magnitude of the comet is near 6.3 -- just below naked
eye
visibility. No one knows how much the comet will brighten as it
heads for a
0.78 AU close encounter with the Sun on May 24th. This week,
southern sky
watchers with modest telescopes or binoculars can spot the fuzzy,
fragmenting snowball from the outer solar system near the feet of
Orion
after sunset. See: [3D orbit][ephemeris]
=======
(2) COMET LINEAR SPLITS IN TWO
From NearEarth.Net, 2 May 2001
http://www.nearearth.net/
Posted on 5/2/01 | from Charles Morris
The unexpected increase in brightness of C/2001 A2 (LINEAR) is
apparently
due to the break-up of the nucleus. IAU Circular 7616 (May
1,2001) reports
that C. W. Hergenrother, M. Chamberlain, and Y. Chamberlain,
Lunar and
Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, have taken images
with the
Catalina 1.54-m reflector on April 30 that show two components to
the
nucleus. Previous images on April 24 showed only a single
nucleus. The two
components are of nearly equal brightness, 3.5" apart and
aligned on an
east-west line. This comet should be monitored closely for other
unusual
activity.
============
(3) UNDER ONE SKY: ASTRONOMY & MATHEMATICS IN THE ANCIENT
NEAR EAST
From http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~jms/UOS/Preview/index.html
Archaeologically recovered materials from Egypt and
Mesopotamia provide
the earliest written sources of astronomy and mathematics known
to us today.
They reveal that already by the early second millennium
BC advanced
mathematical techniques had been developed to
solve both practical and
abstract problems. In the first millennium BC,
Babylonian astronomers
used developments of these mathematical methods to
calculate planetary
and lunar phenomena such as the dates of the first and last
visibilities of
the planets, and eclipses of the sun and moon.
This conference will provide a forum for the
presentation and discussion
of recent work on the history of astronomy and mathematics
in the Ancient
Near East. In addition to technical discussions of the
methods of the
ancient science, sessions of the conference
will be devoted to ex-
ploring the relationship between astronomy and celestial
divination, the
role of astronomy in establishing absolute chronologies,
and the legacy
of Ancient Near Eastern science in neighbouring cultures.
The conference is supported by a grant from the British Academy.
General Information
Date and Location
The conference will be held in the Stevenson Lecture Theatre in
the Clore
Education Centre at the British Museum on 25-27 June 2001
Languages
The main language of the conference will be English, but speakers
should
feel free to use their native tongue if they prefer.
Registration
The registration fee for the conference will be about £20.
Registration will
begin in April. Details of how to register will be posted
here shortly.
Programme
25 June
10:00-10:15 Arrival and Registration
10:15-10:45 Welcome and Introduction
10:45-11:15 N. A. Roughton: A Study of Normal Star Almanacs and
Observational Texts from Babylon
11:15-11:30 T. de Jong: Early Babylonian Observations of Saturn:
Astronomical Considerations
11:30-12:00 Break
12:00-12:30 F. R. Stephenson: The Measurement of Angles in
Babylonian
Astronomy
12:30-12:45 C. Williams: Signs from the Sky. Signs from the
Earth. The
Diviner's Manual Revisited
12:45-13:00 D. Lehoux: Historicity of Astral Omens
13:00-13:45 Lunch
13:45-14:15 F. Rochberg: The Astronomical Contents of Enuma Anu
Enlil 1-13
14:15-14:30 L. Verderame: Enuma Anu Enlil 1-13
14:30-14:45 M. C. Casaburi: Calendrical lunar phenomena
14:45-15:15 E. Reiner: Characteristic Attributes of Stars and
Planets in
Enuma Anu Enlil
15:15-15:45 Break
15:45-16:15 U. Koch-Westenholz: Making Sense: A Comparison
Between the
Working Methods of the Astrologer and the Diviner
16:15-16:45 F. Hoffmann: Measuring Egyptian Statues
16:45-17:15 E. Robson: More than Metrology: Evidence for Maths
Education
from an Old Babylonian School House
26 June
10:00-10:15 Arrival and Registration
10:15-10:45 K. R. Nemet-Nejat: History of Mesopotamian
Mathematics: An
Update
10:45-11:15 J. Høyrup: The Apparent Absence of a Culture of
Mathematical
Problems in Ur III
11:15-11:30 D. Melville: Mathematics in Suruppak
11:30-12:00 Break
12:00-12:30 A. Imhausen: The Structure of the Egyptian
Mathematical Problem
Texts
12:30-13:00 J. Ritter: title forthcoming
13:00-13:45 Lunch
13:45-14:15 J. Quack: A Goddess Rising 10.000 Cubits into the Sky
... or
only 1 Cubit, 1 Digit?
14:15-14:45 K. Locher: Traces of Astral Divination in
pre-Hellenistic
Egyptian Texts
14:45-15:15 A. von Lieven: An Astrological Passage in the Pistis
Sophia
15:15-15:45 Break
15:45-16:15 R. Krauss: The 'Eye of Horus' and the Planet Venus:
Astronomical
and Mythological References
16:15-16:30 S. Symons: The "Transit Star Clock" in the
Book of Nut
16:30-16:45 K. Spence: Astronomical Orientation in Old Kingdom
Egypt and its
Chronological Implications
16:45-17:15 A. Jones: What the Greeks Thought they knew about
Babylonian
Astronomy
27 June
10:00-10:15 Arrival and Registration
10:15-10:45 J. M. Steele: The Practice of Astronomy in Seleucid
Uruk
10:45-11:15 J. P. Britton: Solstices, Equinoxes and Related
Phenomena:
Theoretical Schemes from Cuneiform Sources
11:15-11:30 D. Rawlins: Aristarchos and the Babylonian
Month
11:30-12:00 Break
12:00-12:30 A. Aaboe: Yet Another Inconsistency in Lunar System B
12:30-13:00 L. Brack-Bernsen: Babylonian Methods for Predicting
Lunar
Phenomena
13:00-13:45 Lunch
13:45-14:15 A. Spalinger: Egyptian Festivals and Dating. Useful
or
Indeterminant Data?
14:15-14:45 R. Wells: On the Fallacy of Using 'Modern'
Astronomical
Techniques for Ancient Near Eastern Dating
14:45-15:00 M. Gerber, J Donatowicz and G Grasshoff: Too Much
Regularity?
Observational Criteria for Intercalation Before 539
15:00-15:15 R. Bremner: Stellar Lore - A Pre-historic Link
between
Mesopotamia and Egypt?
15:15-15:45 Break
15:45-16:15 J. Oelsner: Überlegungen zur Rolle von Mathematik
und Astronomie
in der spätbabylonischen Kultur
16:15-16:30 B. Schaefer: The Accuracy of Absolute Chronologies
Throughout
the Middle East from Astronomical Records (to be confirmed)
16:30-17:00 L. Depuydt: The Role of Ancient Astronomy in the
Study of
Ancient Chronology
17:00-17:15 Closing remarks
Contacts
John Steele
Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham,
DH1 3LE,
England
Email j.m.steele@durham.ac.uk
Annette Imhausen
Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology, MIT
E56-100, 38
Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Email aimhausen@dibinst.mit.edu
Christopher Walker
Department of the Ancient Near East, The British Museum, London,
WC1B 3DG,
England
Email c.walker@british-museum.ac.uk
=========
(4) IMPACTS FROM SPACE: PAST, PRSENT AND FUTURE (ST LEONARD'S
COLLEGE
LECTURE)
From Graham Richard Pointer <grp1@st-andrews.ac.uk>
Just in case anyone is up in Scotland next Friday...
Graham
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 14:05:54 +0100
From: Postgraduate Office <pgoffice@st-andrews.ac.uk>
To: pgoffice-list@st-andrews.ac.uk
Subject: St Leonard's College Lecture
Sir Crispin Tickell - Chancellor of the University of Kent at
Canterbury and
member of the government task force on potentially hazardous near
earth
objects will deliver the St Leonard's College Lecture 'Impact
from Space:
Past, Present and Future' in School III, St Salvator's
Quadrangle, on
Friday, 11th May 2001 at 5.15 p.m. The Vice-Principal and Provost
will
take the Chair. The Lecture, which will be illustrated, is open
to the
public and all are welcome.
Susan Beaumont
Secretary, St. Leonard's College
Tel: 01334 462135
Fax: 01334 463388
=========
(5) NEW PHASE TRANSITION MAY EXPLAIN DEEP EARTHQUAKES
From Scientific American 2 May 2001
http://www.sciam.com/news/050201/1.html
It's time to revise solid-state physics textbooks, according to a
report in
this week's issue of the Physical Review Letters. Scientists from
the
Brookhaven National Laboratory and the State University of New
York at Stony
Brook have discovered a third mechanism by which materials change
phase. In
addition to diffusional transformations-the sort that turn
graphite into
diamonds-and diffusionless transformations, the books will now
have to
include what have been christened pseudomartensitic transitions.
Stony Brook professor Jiuhua Chen led the team that made the
discovery,
using a state-of-the-art high-pressure x-ray diffraction system
they
developed over the past few years. The group studied how olivine,
the most
abundant mineral in the earth's upper mantle, transforms under
pressure to
become a more dense form called spinel. They found that
substructures in the
material could transform by a diffusionless mechanism, while the
rest of the
atoms underwent short-range diffusion transformations. Because
such shifts
in olivine change the structure of earth's subducted lithosphere,
the new
phase transition mechanism could help explain the origins of some
deep
earthquakes. -Kristin Leutwyler
FURTHER READING:
Solving the Paradox of Deep Earthquakes, by Harry Green,
Scientific
American, September 1994. Available for purchase at the
Scientific American
Archive.
Copyright 2001, Scientific American
========
(6) FUTURE COULD BRING CONSTELLATIONS OF SPACE EXPLORATION
TELESCOPES
From Florida Today, 3 May 2001
http://www.floridatoday.com/news/space/stories/2001a/may/spa050301b.htm
By Steven Siceloff
FLORIDA TODAY
CAPE CANAVERAL - The days of the one-piece observatories such as
Hubble
Space Telescope orbiting Earth may be numbered.
In their place will be several satellites flying in precise
formation
creating in effect space telescopes much larger than any that
could be
launched on a rocket.
The approach could also be cheaper, said Jonathan McDowell, an
astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics, because
the cheaper and upgradable sensors can be housed on one satellite
that can
be replaced.
The larger and vastly more expensive mirrors and other equipment
would be on
a separate satellite that can remain operational longer.
The first test of such as system is planned for 2005 in a system
called
Starlight, McDowell said. There won't be much science from it,
but the
satellites will use lasers to align themselves and stay lined up.
Later, a project called Darwin hopes to electronically link as
many as seven
satellites in a constellation that may spot Earth-size planets
orbiting
other stars.
Why go through the trouble?
McDowell said it is because conventional telescopes such as
Hubble and the
Chandra X-ray telescope launched in 1999 are not large enough to
find
everything that's out there.
"Chandra is a great telescope, but it's tiny," McDowell
told the Space
Congress on Wednesday. "Never mind that is took up nearly
the entire shuttle
cargo bay."
The only choice is to build larger rockets that are very
expensive, or
develop new designs like multi-satellite constellations.
The Hubble's mirror is about 15 feet in diameter. A large set of
satellites
could create a virtual mirror many times that size, with sensors
and
computers turning the mosaic into a single detailed picture.
The telescopes also will likely move further away from Earth
orbit,
positioning themselves just beyond the moon where the sun's and
Earth's
gravity create a tide that hold objects in place.
Telescopes that analyze the universe through radio waves could
find a good
home on the far side of the moon where interference from Earth
would be
reduced.
The point of the effort is to find Earth-like planets, and to see
the first
galaxies born in the universe.
McDowell set out a series of scientific goals for the next 50
years,
including:
Exploring fundamental physics principles.
Mapping the big bang and galaxy formation.
Studying gravity's effects on light and time, mainly around black
holes.
Evaluating supermassive black holes.
As shown in the last 40 years, the knowledge and technology
change so fast
that "I can guarantee this list is wrong," McDowell
joked.
Whatever projects are chosen and developed, the group building
them will
almost certainly be international, experts agreed.
JoAnn Morgan, Kennedy Space Center's External Affairs manager,
said the
trend is toward more nations working on single projects.
NASA's first international effort was an American/English
satellite launched
in 1962, she said.
"(Back then) there were people who spoke with accents, but
they were mostly
from Alabama," Morgan said.
Now, NASA has about 3,000 agreements with 130-150 nations and
international
organizations.
Copyright 2001, Floria Today
============================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
============================
(7) RE: "SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT NASA AND
NEOs"
From David Morrison <dmorrison@arc.nasa.gov>
Benny:
I normally do not comment on the many discussions about NEOs and
the impact
hazard that are presented in CCNet, but this once I believe I
should. Ed
Grondine's version of history expressed by him at length in CCNet
for 2 May
is so grossly inaccurate that this fact should be noted. As
someone who has
been a major participant throughout the period he discusses, I
believe I
should say for the record that Mr. Grondine's creative story is
basically
fiction, from beginning to
end. Perhaps this is what is meant by his very apt title,
"SOME COMMON
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT NASA AND NEOs".
David Morrison
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
David Morrison, NASA Ames Research Center
Tel 650 604 5094; Fax 650 604 1165
david.morrison@arc.nasa.gov
or dmorrison@arc.nasa.gov
website: http://space.arc.nasa.gov
website: http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov
website: http://impact.arc.nasa.gov
=========
(8) FEATHERED DROMAEOSAUR MAY NOT BE A DINOSAUR
From Robert Clements <Robert.Clements@dva.gov.au>
There's a much simpler explanation of the feathered dromaeosaur;
& that is
that it isn't a dinosaur: it's a bird which returned to the
ground
(originally as a small predator) & used the avian advantages
of body
temperature regulation & possibility greater intelligence to
grown into a
major ecological threat. The BCF (Birds Came First) theory -
which i
stumbled on while researching other things - is hated by
mainstream
palaeontologists as much as the impactor extinction theory is;
but like the
impactor theory, it seems to reflect the evidence much better
than the
preferred hypothesis: not only do all the feathered dinosaurs
postdate the
first birds, they start appearing when birds are pushing
pterosaurs out of
the fossil records & are clearly starting to dominate the
skies. We also
have postMesozoic egs of birds returning to the land to start
attacking
terrestrial critters; including Australia's own carnivous ducks.
The problem with this theory in the context that Dr Crouch raises
is is that
it says nothing whatsoever about how flight evolved: the
dromaeosaur has
lost flight to become big; & is not in the process of gaining
it....
All the best,
Robert Clements <Robert.Clements@dva.gov.au>
endeavour2 project <http://www.geocities.com/robtclements/endeavour2.html>
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