HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jrad@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (ahmad.m.jrad)
Subject: Lunar Conjunction Model
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 20:04:28 GMT


Hello,

I am interested in a relatively simple algorithm that one can
readily put in a program on a PC and that will predict the
Lunar conjunction dates with very good accracy (within minutes).
The model should be usable for the 19th through the 21st centuries.
If it also can be used outside this interval that would be even
much better.

I already have a  very simple estimation model which computes these
times based on the average moon month (29.5305881 days). However, based
on the data of actual Lunar conjuntion times for the rest of this
century, these estimates could be off on the average by more than
6 hours. And the maximum error of this model can reach 13 hours
and 42 minutes.

Obviously, this is not very good. I would appreciate all help and
pointers that I can get. (please reply via email if possible).

Ahmad Jrad
aj@hoqas2.att.com
AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: mcdonald@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (J. D. McDonald)
Subject: Re: Yet Another "New Look
Organization: UIUC SCS
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 16:09:33 GMT

In article <635.36.uupcb@pcs.sj.ca.us> paul.burnett@pcs.sj.ca.us (Paul Burnett)  writes:


>TRR>    I beg to differ with the "too old to be of much use at all" part,
>   >    as well.

>TRR>    There's nothing wrong with learning some fundamentals
>   >    and some history in any field, if only because it'll
>   >    help you avoid making silly mistakes.

>Granted - I have no problem with learning fundamentals - but technology
>and materials have progressed considerably in the sixty years since the
>older articles in the ATM.  The common names of chemicals have changed
>considerably, and plastics have replaced natural fibers and other
>materials - have you tried to locate any gutta percha recently?

While much of the material in these books is rather quaint looking ...
especially some cheap mountings ... other stuff is useful today.
The amateur methods of making mirrors is unchanged. Testing is
unchanged (note ... the methods described in these books, while costing
perhaps $10, would have been sufficient, if used and believed, to save NASA
a billion or so dollars). 

As to the "chemical names" about the only chemicals mentioned  are those
for silvering glass. This process remains the same today ... our glass
shop uses a recipe from one of these books all the times for silvering
Dewars.

Actually, the quaintest, funniest parts are those concerned with
photography.

Doug McDonald
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: merrill@stein.u.washington.edu (Gregory Merrill)
Subject: Looking for grad schools 
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 23:45:51 GMT

Hello, 

I'm a recent BS Astronomy graduate, and i'm looking for a grad school
to attend, I've talked to some profs of mine, but wanted to hit the net
as well.  I'm looking for schools studying stellar system formation 
and/or astrometry (specfically, the search for extrasolar bodies, the other
method is with doppler shift analysis, and infrared heat surplus, but the name
for these methods escapes me)  

If you attend or work at an insitution that studies either of these disciplines,please give me a ring.

merrill@stein.u.washington.edu

Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: dsmith@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com (David R. Smith)
Subject: Re: Planet viewing
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 18:52:55 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories Palo Alto,CA

I posted a message in this string saying that I had tracked Saturn past
sunrise.  Upon reading some more messages, I realized that most people
were referring to naked-eye observations, so I cancelled the article.  But
it still got out, and I got a couple of pieces of e-mail about it.  So be
advised that I was using a 50mm scope.  I don't believe I would have noticed
Saturn by sweeping through it, since its surface brightness was just barely
above that of the sky.

-- 
David R. Smith, HP Labs |   "I like to get my hands dirty,
dsmith@hpl.hp.com       |   because it stimulates my mind."
(415) 857-7898          |        -- Irwin Sobel
From: steinly@topaz.ucsc.edu (Steinn Sigurdsson)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Jobs
Date: 11 Dec 92 23:16:58 GMT
Organization: Lick Observatory/UCO
NNTP-Posting-Host: topaz.ucsc.edu


   Consider this a test of the Net.


UCO/Lick is inviting applications for two
tenure/tenure track positions in observational
optical astronomy and instrumentation.
Positions are contingent on funding etc...

Interested parties should mail CVs and
"names of at least 5 referees" to:

Dr J.S. Miller, Director
UCO/Lick Observatory
Univeristy of California
Santa Cruz Ca 95064

Refer to provision #271-923 or LICK-100/101
for observer and instrumentalist respectively...


	Please note I do not speak for UCO/Lick or UCSC
and am passing the information along as a private service
to net.readers.  Job announcements will be made officially public
via usual channels.

|  Steinn Sigurdsson	|I saw two shooting stars last night		|
|  Lick Observatory	|I wished on them but they were only satellites	|
| steinly@lick.ucsc.edu |Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?		|
| "standard disclaimer"	|I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care - B.B. 1983	|
From: dieter@informatik.rwth-aachen.de (Dieter Kreuer)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Re: What would happen if
Followup-To: sci.astro
Date: 14 Dec 1992 09:26:03 GMT
Organization: i4
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: frueh-koelsch.informatik.rwth-aachen.de

In article <1992Dec11.171226.15232@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com>,
dsmith@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com (David R. Smith) wrote:
> 
> In article <dieter-111292095226@frueh-koelsch.informatik.rwth-aachen.de> dieter@informatik.rwth-aachen.de (Dieter Kreuer) writes:
> >What other orientation could be special? Well, I suggest we place the
> >Moon in a geostationary orbit over the Pacific, so that my night skies
> >here are as dark as black ink, all the time...

> What, you have black-ink-dark skies in Europe?

No, I was just kidding. Actually, light pollution is probably worse than
anywhere else, except downtown L.A. :( But from my house, no light pollu-
tion is as bad as that of the full moon. Ranking next is a soccer stadium
just 300 m from the house, but they turn off the lights at 9 p.m. (this
is why I have seen Swift-Tuttle only once from my garden, on a Sunday
with no training). And finally, there are some high pressure HG streets
lights. They are putting up more and more of them, the worst kind which
disperses light in a cylinder around the lamp. There are only five
permanently inhabited houses in the area, the rest are only summer houses.
I think there are ten to fifteen of these lights for each one of us!

Fortunately, I am going to move to another place in January. There are
fewer street lights there, which scatter their light downwards only.
I already had found that it was rather dark in front of my garage behind
the house (which is still under construction) and was happy that I only
had to carry my scope from inside the garage to the outside, until yester-
day, I found that they have installed a 500 W spotlight which switches 
on automatically, when someone enters the parking are :-(
So much for the black-ink-dark-skies here.

-----------------------                  ---------------------------------
     Dieter Kreuer      ##     ======== / dieter@informatik.rwth-aachen.de
Lehrstuhl Informatik IV __   /// /#    /  dieter%informatik.rwth-
     RWTH Aachen        ##  /// # #   /             aachen.de@uunet.uu.net
     Ahornstr. 55       ## /// ##### /...!informatik.rwth-aachen.de!dieter
W-5100 Aachen, Germany  ====      # / PHONE:  +49 241 80 21413
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: mcallist@pretzel.dsd.es.com (Steve McAllister)
Subject: Re: Planet viewing
Organization: Evans & Sutherland
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 17:55:22 GMT

In article <1992Dec10.153922.29564@siemens.co.at>, howdii@patty.gud.siemens.co.at () writes:
|> I can not easily believe, that JUPITER can also be seen during bright daylight
|> like VENUS, because Venus can get much more brighter then Jupiter. 

Believe it.

Don't get me wrong, it's not easy.  But at the time of the triple grouping
of Venus, Mars and Jupiter in June of last year, when they approached to
within about a degree of each other, I did a LOT of looking.  I found that
(once initially located) I could spot Venus fairly easily from afternoon to
afternoon by standing in the shadow of my house at a certain spot at the same
time each day, and using the roof of the house as a guide.

Jupiter could then easily be located in my C8, as early as five in the
afternoon.  But even with the Celestron, I could never spot Mars until after
sunset.

Then, one evening an hour befor sunset, my wife and I drove up into the hills
on the east side of Salt Lake Valley, and quickly located Venus by following
the ecliptic (this was easy to do, since the Moon was also up), and knowing
that Venus was (if memory serves) about 45 degrees eastward of the sun.  (I
seem to remember that we folded a piece of paper on the diagonal, and used it
for a sight.)  There were some wispy clouds present, and using them for
reference, we were able to keep it in sight.  (This was all done by naked-eye;
we had left the Celestron at home.)

Then, about 20 minutes before sunset, knowing precisely where it was in
relation to Venus, we were finally able to spot Jupiter using fingers and
thumbs on outstretched arms as guides, with Venus as the reference.  A
passerby wanted to know what we were doing; so we explained, and in about three
minutes he, too, had found first Venus, and then Jupiter.  We were able to keep
them in sight until after sunset, when Mars was also visible.

It can be done, if everything is JUST right.  I know three people who did it.

-- 
		--Steve McAllister (I'm all for self-expression.  'Course,
that's just my opinion...)
UUCP Address:  mcallist@pretzel.dsd.es.com
               (or try pretzel.dsd.es.com!mcallist)
From: j.jahn@abbs.hanse.de (Jost Jahn)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Sunspots at 12.12.1992.
Reply-To: j.jahn@abbs.hanse.de
Date: 12 Dec 92 11:52:00 MET
Distribution: sci
Organization: ABBS AstroMail, D-W 2121 Dahlenburg / Germany
X-Version: ZerUU V6.45c

Sunspots at 12.12.1992., 0 h UT.

No.    Pos.  Cl.  Ar.  Mag. SF  F  M  X
---------------------------------------
7355 17S 37W Cao   70   b
7360 17S 05E Eai  300   b    4
7362 04S 10W Eki  440   b    3
7363 07S 32E Dao  200   b
7364 10N 29E Cso   70   b
7365 21S 29W Bxo   20   b
7366 12S 57E Cao   50   b


No optical or x-ray flares yesterday observed.


 
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABBS AstroMail, the first and most popular German astronomical bulletin board
------------------------- for amateur astronomers ----------------------------
    + 49 5851 7896 / V.21, V.22, V.22bis, V.32, V.42, V.42bis and MNP5
    ------------------------------------------------------------------


Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: howdii@patty.gud.siemens.co.at ()
Subject: Planet viewing
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 15:39:22 GMT
Organization: SIEMENS Austria Corp., A-1100 Wien, Gudrunstr. 11
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

I can not easily believe, that JUPITER can also be seen during bright daylight
like VENUS, because Venus can get much more brighter then Jupiter.
From: berman@fndaug.fnal.gov (Eileen Berman)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Solar Telescope Algorithms
Date: 15 Dec 1992 19:48:25 GMT
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia IL
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: fndaub.fnal.gov

hi, i am working on designing a solar tracking telescope for an interactive
museum in aurora illinois (35 miles west of chicago).  i am interested in
knowing if anyone has information on where i can find the algorithms that
are used to follow the position of the sun.  i think these would take position
on the earth and time, date and year and calculate the position of the sun
for that time, date etc.  any books or articles would be helpful.

thanks a bunch
eileen
(the actual physical design is done and in the process of being built)



Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: saseph@hal.unx.sas.com (Ed Hughes)
Subject: Telescope question from rank novice
Originator: saseph@hal.unx.sas.com
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 16:05:08 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.


Does anyone out there know who manufactures the
6" or so reflector telescope that Brookstone
(the gadget store) sells?  Is it one of the 
manufacturers-to-avoid?  This thing regularly
sells for around $450 (but that's Brookstone
dollars) and is on sale now for $299.  A tripod
and some selection of lenses is included.  I'm
not sure of the type of mount, since I just read
the FAQ today and learned about equatorial and
altazimuth.

Thanks to anyone who can answer this question!
-- 
Ed Hughes, SAS Institute  | "I'm human; now shut up and pass the salt!"
Cary, NC                  | --Crow, "Rocketship X-M," MST3000
                          |
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: chris@chrism.demon.co.uk (Chris Marriott)
Subject: Re: The Hole Story 
Distribution: world
Organization: None
Reply-To: chris@chrism.demon.co.uk
X-Mailer: Simple NEWS 1.90 (ka9q DIS 1.19)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 12:44:06 +0000

In article <Dec.11.15.41.34.1992.2487@ruhets.rutgers.edu> bweiner@ruhets.rutgers.edu writes:

>No.  The moment it is perturbed to the inside, the light cone tips over
>and the particle, or photon, is doomed to hit the singularity.  You
>can derive an upper limit of, I think, ~ 10^-5 sec (proper time) to the 
>singularity for a 1 M_sun black hole.  Which should point out why this
>"communication through the horizon" stuff is irrelevant.  (Note: how
>you gonna "communicate" with the static field?  You need _radiation_ to
>communicate, and we do agree that gravitational radiation can't escape
>a BH, right?)
>

-- 

Wouldn't communicate be (at least theoretically) possible using Hawking
radiation - ie, high-energy photons annahilating to an electron/positron
pair, one inside and one outside the event horizon?  If you had, say, a
strong gamma-ray source with you inside the event horizon, wouldn't this
result in a flux of electrons and/or positrons *outside* the event horizon?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Chris Marriott                   | chris@chrism.demon.co.uk            |
|                                  | BIX: cmarriott                      |
| (Still awaiting inspiration      | CIX: cmarriott                      |
|  for a witty .sig .... )         | Compuserve: 100113,1140             |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: johno@sdd.hp.com (John Ongtooguk)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Re: Purchasing a portable telescope
Date: 16 Dec 1992 21:23:37 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, San Diego Division
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: hpsdlg10.sdd.hp.com

In article <1992Dec16.174400.3986@linus.mitre.org>, chaloux@mandolin.mitre.org (Dave Chaloux) writes:
|> 
|> You don't always get what you pay for with optics but if you pay next to
|> nothing, next to nothing is almost certainly what you will get.

   Maybe, maybe not. Although it's only one data point I was able to
   spend a few minutes looking thru a friend's $200 Pirate 6in f8
   Dobsonian last night and it had very nice star images out to the
   edge of the field as viewed in a TV 32mm Plossl. Mars was low
   on the horizon but thru the bad seeing one could glimpse the polar
   cap (?) and some dark features once in awhile (don't know what they
   were as I haven't spent much time looking at Mars yet). We didn't
   look at too many items as she doesn't have a finder but she will
   probably pick up a 6x30 from Pirate. 

   It comes with a helical focuser (that we smoothed out with some
   teflon tape) and a 25mm Kellner eyepiece. The secondary is a
   rectangular affair mounted on a single stalk, the tube is long 
   and is affected by wind but the mount seems pretty smooth. As
   received the stiction in the vertical axis was very low, nice
   for use with a single eyepiece, but the tube moved when changing
   eyepieces. We drilled s few more holes up the side of the bearing
   mount and selected the bearing pad locations that allowed good
   movement with adequate stiction. 

   It's lighter than my 8in Coulter, slightly dimmer, and like some 
   Newtonians seems to need some attention to some sort of detail.
   The only thing worse than spending $200 to $300 and getting a
   soft scope is spending $1000 to $2500 and getting the same quality
   or worse. Usual disclaimers.

   John Ongtooguk (johno@sdd.hp.com)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: bwebster@pages.com (Bruce F. Webster)
Subject: Re: Earth's Orbit if no other planets
Reply-To: bwebster@pages.com
Organization: Banzai Research Institute
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 17:09:49 GMT

In article <7460061@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> duanej@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Duane Jacobson)  
writes:
> >If all the other planets were to suddenly disappear, the Earth's orbit
> >WOULD be very slightly different in the future.  The gravitational
> >attraction of the planets "perturbs" the orbit of the centre of mass
> >of the Earth/Moon system from the keplerian ellipse it would otherwise
> >follow around the sun.  Unless you're interested in predicting precise
> 
> In fact, this is how the existence of Pluto was discovered.  Neptune's
> orbit was perturbed in a way that could most easily be explained by the
> existence of a small planet in a nearby orbit.  So they looked for it and
> found it.

...the irony being, of course, that Pluto's mass has turned out to be too small  
to perturb Neptune in the manner observed, hence the on-going controvery about  
and search for a hypothetical Planet X.  ..bruce..

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce F. Webster             |  I grow old...I grow old...
CTO, Pages Software Inc      |  dBASE II and Wordstar are no longer sold.
bwebster@pages.com           |                         -- Jeff Duntemann
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.astro,rec.radio.shortwave
From: oler@rho.uleth.ca (Cary Oler)
Subject: Daily Solar Geophysical Data Broadcast for 16 December
Organization: University of Lethbridge
Date: 17 Dec 92 09:48:25 GMT

!!BEGIN!! (1.0) S.T.D. Solar Geophysical Data Broadcast for DAY 351, 12/16/92
10.7 FLUX=150.7  90-AVG=136        SSN=151      BKI=1222 1211  BAI=005
BGND-XRAY=B5.3     FLU1=3.0E+05  FLU10=1.1E+04  PKI=1322 1211  PAI=005
  BOU-DEV=005,015,012,015,007,011,006,006   DEV-AVG=009 NT     SWF=00:000
 XRAY-MAX= C4.7   @ 0605UT    XRAY-MIN= B4.6   @ 0245UT   XRAY-AVG= C1.0
NEUTN-MAX= +004%  @ 1525UT   NEUTN-MIN= -001%  @ 2250UT  NEUTN-AVG= +0.6%
  PCA-MAX= +0.1DB @ 2310UT     PCA-MIN= -0.4DB @ 1220UT    PCA-AVG= -0.0DB
BOUTF-MAX=55425NT @ 1517UT   BOUTF-MIN=55399NT @ 1937UT  BOUTF-AVG=55416NT
GOES7-MAX=P:+101NT@ 1924UT   GOES7-MIN=N:+004NT@ 0841UT  G7-AVG=+071,+027,+010
GOES6-MAX=P:+120NT@ 2000UT   GOES6-MIN=E:-012NT@ 0148UT  G6-AVG=+090,-005,+033
 FLUXFCST=STD:150,145,140;SESC:150,145,140 BAI/PAI-FCST=010,015,020/010,015,022
    KFCST=2233 2223 3333 3333  27DAY-AP=006,004   27DAY-KP=1212 3211 1101 1112
 WARNINGS=*SWF
   ALERTS=**245STRM:0000-1337UTC
!!END-DATA!!
From: andromed@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Late Lunar Eclipse Report,Dec.9/10
Date: 17 Dec 92 23:45:01 -0400
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

I was at the university but left before the
umbra was on the moon. I overdid it a bit  after
having a  hernia surgery, once home I used my
7x50 binoculars and noted that just before totality
there was a light blue zone between the umbra and
bright part of the moon. At totality, I could only
see the moon using averted vision and even in the
binoculars the lunar features where hard to see.
On the Dajaon scale I gave it a 0/5 where the moon
was gone completely.
 I observed from the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada, at latitude 44 N and longitude 63 W.

                           Clear skies

                          Mike Boschat

JOHN F. KENNEDY
ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
Xref: sparky sci.astro:13223 sci.physics:21333
From: steinly@topaz.ucsc.edu (Steinn Sigurdsson)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Detecting Second-Order GR Effects in Binary Pulsars
Date: 16 Dec 92 16:23:30
Organization: Lick Observatory/UCO
	<STEINLY.92Dec15104937@topaz.ucsc.edu> <1992Dec16.234420.4146@s1.gov>
NNTP-Posting-Host: topaz.ucsc.edu
In-reply-to: lip@s1.gov's message of Wed, 16 Dec 1992 23:44:20 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.234420.4146@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich) writes:

   In article <STEINLY.92Dec15104937@topaz.ucsc.edu> steinly@topaz.ucsc.edu (Steinn Sigurdsson) writes:
   >In article <1992Dec14.205537.12618@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich) writes:

   :	   About the precession rate, is there an alternate theory of
   :  gravity that predicts (1) a significant departure from the GR value
   :  for the HT pulsar and (2) nearly perfect agreement for the Solar
   :  System?

   >Come now Loren, you should know that one. There are several sets
   >of theories that predict agreement with the solar system and
   >significant departure from one of the GR predictions for the HT
   >pulsar - which is compensated for by a shift in some other parameter
   >to get a match with the result.

	   I've never seen any such theory in the GR literature I have
   read.

Check the Damour & Someone Else referenced in Damour's Phil Trans paper.

   ... essentially Damour et al constructed a new
   >(infinite) family of theories of gravity...

They're not pretty, but they exist - for example
Brans-Dicke theory is consistent if the omega(? - whateveritsname)
parameter is large enough - of course in that limit it
essentially _is_ GR. 
Damour et al constructed sets of "tensor-multi-scalar" theories
of gravity which satisfy observational constraints - the
theories are necessarily ad hoc, not so much physically motivated
as mathematical construct - further observations will successively
eliminate the theories, both constricting the various parameters
and eliminating classes of theories (eg theories where grav waves
lead to orbit expansion are rapidly ruled out). 

however, in some sense the class of competing theories can
never be completely closed out, for example, given enough
free parameters you can simply add fields that always
cancel for any current observational constraints to agree with
GR but deviate from GR in some limit - most such theories
maximally violate Occam's razor and are more used as parametric
constructs for PPN tests of GR rather than successors to GR
 - now it is conceivable that a theory qualitatively different from
GR exists, consistent with all observations yet fundamentally
different and we're simply too stupid to deduce it - I know of
no test like the Bell inequality that will eliminate classes of
competing theories to GR, and QM types will argue GR cannot be
a full theory of gravity but only a limit of some TOE - like
maybe superstrings ;-) but that's a different set of parameter
space, the superstrong field limit, I guess :-)


*  Steinn Sigurdsson   			Lick Observatory      	*
*  steinly@lick.ucsc.edu		"standard disclaimer"  	*
*  The laws of gravity are very,very strict			*
*  And you're just bending them for your own benefit - B.B. 1988*
From: monta@image.mit.edu (Peter Monta)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Re: Universal time
Date: 20 Dec 92 07:12:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: image.MONTA.92Dec20021230
	<MONTA.92Dec20014045@image.mit.edu>
Organization: MIT Advanced Television Research Program

Oops, that's comp.protocols.time.ntp.  The place to find ntp
implementations, list of Internet time servers, documentation,
etc. is louie.udel.edu in pub/ntp.

Peter Monta   monta@image.mit.edu
MIT Advanced Television Research Program