Looks like folks in the US down to Oregon may see auroras tonight.
Observatory Version of Misc Musings, Ravings, and Random Thoughts
- Thread starter LordFrith
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You didn't wait outside for hours for a "glory hole" only to find it opened around the full moon?
In my youth ... in my youth
In my youth ... in my youth
Up thread, we rattled through a series of websites from NOAA and I got hooked on this one:
https://www.spaceweather.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts-dashboard
Email notifications come from https://pss.swpc.noaa.gov/ProductSubscriptionService/SubscriptionCategoriesWebForm.aspx - they may want an account created.
https://www.spaceweather.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts-dashboard
Email notifications come from https://pss.swpc.noaa.gov/ProductSubscriptionService/SubscriptionCategoriesWebForm.aspx - they may want an account created.
We have whistles in our GO BAGs just in case we need to be found during an emergency. Whistles call attention to the one who blows them, often in good way, the Ref in a sports game for example and then there is the anonymous tip line.
A notice from the USGS a few days ago - the map referenced below is amazing.
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT
U.S. Geological Survey
Thursday, May 2, 2024, 9:58 PM HST (Friday, May 3, 2024, 07:58 UTC)
KILAUEA (VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW
SUMMARY
The summit region of Kīlauea is currently experiencing heightened unrest, but no eruptive activity. Both seismicity and ground deformation increased sharply in the past week with most seismicity focused along Chain of Craters Road from Luamanu Crater to Pauahi Crater. This activity is reflective of increasing pressurization in the magmatic system underlying the Kīlauea summit region. Current conditions are not indicative of an imminent eruption, but this could change rapidly. Prior eruptions in the summit region have occurred with very little warning. The Kīlauea volcano alert level and aviation color code remain at ADVISORY/YELLOW, but this could change quickly. HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea for changes.
RECENT OBSERVATIONS
More than 1,600 earthquakes have occurred in the six days since April 27. These were initially concentrated beneath the upper East Rift Zone along Chain of Craters Road between Puhimau Crater and Hilina Pali Road but have since expanded northwestward to Luamanu Crater and Keanakākoʻi Crater, and southeastward to Pauahi Crater. Approximately 300 more earthquakes have been located south of Halemaʻumaʻu within the outer boundaries of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera). Most events have been smaller than magnutude-2 and located at depths of 2–4 km (1–2 miles) beneath the surface. The largest event was a magnitude-3.3 that occurred late on the evening of April 28. A magnitude-3.1 also occurred at 4:07 p.m. HST today (May 2). Though separated by days, both earthquakes took place close together beneath the region northeast of the intersection of the Chain of Craters and Hilina Pali roads. Periods of low-frequency activity typical of magma movement have also been detected intermittently over the past week beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and extending to the south part of Kaluapele during the unrest.
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/may-2-2024-summary-map-recent-unrest-kilauea-volcano
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT
U.S. Geological Survey
Thursday, May 2, 2024, 9:58 PM HST (Friday, May 3, 2024, 07:58 UTC)
KILAUEA (VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW
SUMMARY
The summit region of Kīlauea is currently experiencing heightened unrest, but no eruptive activity. Both seismicity and ground deformation increased sharply in the past week with most seismicity focused along Chain of Craters Road from Luamanu Crater to Pauahi Crater. This activity is reflective of increasing pressurization in the magmatic system underlying the Kīlauea summit region. Current conditions are not indicative of an imminent eruption, but this could change rapidly. Prior eruptions in the summit region have occurred with very little warning. The Kīlauea volcano alert level and aviation color code remain at ADVISORY/YELLOW, but this could change quickly. HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea for changes.
RECENT OBSERVATIONS
More than 1,600 earthquakes have occurred in the six days since April 27. These were initially concentrated beneath the upper East Rift Zone along Chain of Craters Road between Puhimau Crater and Hilina Pali Road but have since expanded northwestward to Luamanu Crater and Keanakākoʻi Crater, and southeastward to Pauahi Crater. Approximately 300 more earthquakes have been located south of Halemaʻumaʻu within the outer boundaries of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera). Most events have been smaller than magnutude-2 and located at depths of 2–4 km (1–2 miles) beneath the surface. The largest event was a magnitude-3.3 that occurred late on the evening of April 28. A magnitude-3.1 also occurred at 4:07 p.m. HST today (May 2). Though separated by days, both earthquakes took place close together beneath the region northeast of the intersection of the Chain of Craters and Hilina Pali roads. Periods of low-frequency activity typical of magma movement have also been detected intermittently over the past week beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and extending to the south part of Kaluapele during the unrest.
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/may-2-2024-summary-map-recent-unrest-kilauea-volcano
And another, albeit different, article, this one on sat imaging, gift link from NYT. Seems three workhorse NOAA sats are aging out and there are few replacements for their specific functions,
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/...e_code=1.pU0.h1RL.jcAeXqQ33O7h&smid=url-share
Nice, a Science Saturday!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/...e_code=1.pU0.h1RL.jcAeXqQ33O7h&smid=url-share
Nice, a Science Saturday!
Our sun is a wild place, we have CMEs, campfires, magnetic flip-flops and a lot of wind. Question for readers who might know, are these chaotic behaviors a concern for plasma containment in fusion reactors?
chuck /chŭk/
Considering the woodchuck's anatomy, it would seem that stacking cordage isn't possible, rather a random heap of chucked wood would be more appropriate. I'll look to see if there are any papers on the woodchuck piles in the wild.
transitive verb
- To pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin.
- To throw or toss.
"chucked stones into the water." - To throw out; discard.
"chucked my old sweater."
Considering the woodchuck's anatomy, it would seem that stacking cordage isn't possible, rather a random heap of chucked wood would be more appropriate. I'll look to see if there are any papers on the woodchuck piles in the wild.
Discussion of LEO satellite repositioning due to the geomagnetic storm of May 2024 was moved to the Aerospace forum.
This is the Park fire in Northern California. You can observe it here:
https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/15547
Today, the fire crews bulldozed a barrier around this lookout station.
Park Fire
| Start Date | 2024-07-24 |
|---|---|
| Last Updated | 2024-07-28 |
| Admin Unit | Unified Command: CAL FIRE Butte Unit, CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit and Lassen National Forest |
| County | Butte,Plumas,Shasta,Tehama |
| Location | Off Upper Park Road in Upper Bidwell Park, East of Chico |
| Acres Burned | 350012 |
| Percent Contained | 12 |
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34% containment but still burning - this is the one they think might burn until the winter rains come, the terrain is difficult.
BTW - whilst browsing for a diagram of the grounding array set into the tidal basin adjacent to the old RCA transmitter site outside Bolinas CA, I stumbled across this web site from the National Insulator Assn.
https://www.nia.org/notins/nons6.htm
These insulators allowed the antenna they supported to be "configured" by running wire into the spacing of the nodes.
https://www.nia.org/notins/nons6.htm
These insulators allowed the antenna they supported to be "configured" by running wire into the spacing of the nodes.
Yep - those insulators were for pretty big antenna, ship board etc. I've seen these old loop antenna, in an old GE J-105 I rebuilt, the "Beam-O-Scope" was a cardboard tube with fancy graphics and inside of which was a loop antenna but without the insulators. It rotated in the tube and really worked well for AM reception. The dimensions were important, length and gauge of wire, insulation, grounding etc. This one had four leads into the chassis for various frequencies.
That's 1950, this one below is earlier:
That's 1950, this one below is earlier:
If their work survives the rigors of peer review and they go further in this investigation, why the increase over the 8 years between 2016 and 2024 will be of interest. Aerosols? Trash burning? Trader Joe's/Whole Foods packaging?
https://undergroundgardens.com/
You got to be Sicilian and build before the codes were in place!
You got to be Sicilian and build before the codes were in place!
I worked on a coastal survey in Alaska for NOAA, on parts of Cook Inlet back in the late 1970's. There were reefs which extended out off some of the islands we would have to get to to place a benchmark on, take a fix, do some estimates of the surrounding reef size and we did this by small boat. You had to get the timing right to get the work done as it was about 3 or 4 hours needed to setup survey stations to triangulate, all pre-GPS.
Tides were pretty strong there, 20 ft is common at Homer and in addition you have to factor in the wave action. So tide going out at ~10knts + waves of 5FT could give you a rip wave much bigger and steeper than the predicted heights.
I would daydream about building a domed (has be a dome, no?) dwelling at the end of these reefs, spending a few hours under water at high tide, then out of water at low tide. However, after seeing what the ocean brought to the beaches and reefs in the area, it quickly became apparent why fishermen build up on stilts or a few hundred feet away from the tide lines. The driftwood debris was big and knarly. Most sheltered coves are already occupied.
One enterprising person build a small saw mill just above high tide mark on one of the smaller islands and was fabricating a house from salvaged timber that washed ashore. We saw his place, it was nice, but it was quite a ways away from the sea.
An interesting aside, many of the benchmarks we had to recover and re-fix were done by a crew of the US survey back in 1900's using long boats, oars, lead lines and sextants. We found quite a few of their markers but trying to imagine doing that by "hand" in that weather and with those tides made us feel somewhat less tough than those able bodied seamen of yore.
Tides were pretty strong there, 20 ft is common at Homer and in addition you have to factor in the wave action. So tide going out at ~10knts + waves of 5FT could give you a rip wave much bigger and steeper than the predicted heights.
I would daydream about building a domed (has be a dome, no?) dwelling at the end of these reefs, spending a few hours under water at high tide, then out of water at low tide. However, after seeing what the ocean brought to the beaches and reefs in the area, it quickly became apparent why fishermen build up on stilts or a few hundred feet away from the tide lines. The driftwood debris was big and knarly. Most sheltered coves are already occupied.
One enterprising person build a small saw mill just above high tide mark on one of the smaller islands and was fabricating a house from salvaged timber that washed ashore. We saw his place, it was nice, but it was quite a ways away from the sea.
An interesting aside, many of the benchmarks we had to recover and re-fix were done by a crew of the US survey back in 1900's using long boats, oars, lead lines and sextants. We found quite a few of their markers but trying to imagine doing that by "hand" in that weather and with those tides made us feel somewhat less tough than those able bodied seamen of yore.
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I was born and raised in one of those "less desirable" desolate, god-forsaken, barren, "high chaparral" Western places and they are less desirable for a number of reasons: winter, fire, water, wind, and dust come to mind.
The urge to leave was strong, the urge to return is nill even though there are a few improvements in infrastructure (fiber internet) and cheap housing and cheap power.
There has been an increase in folks moving to the high deserts, we've seen Boise, Spokane, and even places like Missoula MT go ape with building and sky rocketing housing costs.
A person who was on subsistence housing vouchers could afford a bit more in some of the off the main highway towns, and from what my family tells me, they are. But, 100 miles out of Spokane is COLD in the winter and finding medical care is difficult.
As part of a solution to homelessness, I don't see rural western America giving all that much succor to the poor, it's tough in them parts, always has been and they tend to take care of their own first. And in small towns, you know who your neighbors are, all of them.
The urge to leave was strong, the urge to return is nill even though there are a few improvements in infrastructure (fiber internet) and cheap housing and cheap power.
There has been an increase in folks moving to the high deserts, we've seen Boise, Spokane, and even places like Missoula MT go ape with building and sky rocketing housing costs.
A person who was on subsistence housing vouchers could afford a bit more in some of the off the main highway towns, and from what my family tells me, they are. But, 100 miles out of Spokane is COLD in the winter and finding medical care is difficult.
As part of a solution to homelessness, I don't see rural western America giving all that much succor to the poor, it's tough in them parts, always has been and they tend to take care of their own first. And in small towns, you know who your neighbors are, all of them.
And, for a fleeting second, I thought we were in the Homeless thread over there --> some days I ramble.
C/2023 A3 (Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is waxing in the morning sky.
https://spaceweather.com/
has a sky chart and a beautiful photo from the Alborz Mountains of Iran:
https://spaceweather.com/
has a sky chart and a beautiful photo from the Alborz Mountains of Iran:
I bought a microscope. I checked out a book from the juvenile section of the library on how to use it. The book recommended looking around your house for dead bugs, dust, and other things that, with your parents permission, you could prepare for exam. I looked around and am working through an electric pencil sharpener full of shavings from colored pencils I made a year or more ago. I dabbed some Singer machine oil on the slide and after carefully sifting the shavings, I came up with the following:
These are two of the 40 images I've captured so far. It's a whole new world down there. These images are much prettier than the grubs and nematodes I've found in the compost.
These are two of the 40 images I've captured so far. It's a whole new world down there. These images are much prettier than the grubs and nematodes I've found in the compost.
From spaceweather.com:
POWERFUL X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND CME: Sunspot AR3848 was directly facing Earth this morning, Oct. 8th (0156 UTC), when it unleashed a powerful X1.8-class solar flare. This explosion lasted more than five hours, long enough to lift a massive CME out of the sun's atmosphere. SOHO coronagraphs show a bright, fast-moving CME heading directly toward Earth. NOAA and NASA models agree that the CME will strike our planet late on Oct. 10th. NOAA forecasters are predicting a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm.
POWERFUL X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND CME: Sunspot AR3848 was directly facing Earth this morning, Oct. 8th (0156 UTC), when it unleashed a powerful X1.8-class solar flare. This explosion lasted more than five hours, long enough to lift a massive CME out of the sun's atmosphere. SOHO coronagraphs show a bright, fast-moving CME heading directly toward Earth. NOAA and NASA models agree that the CME will strike our planet late on Oct. 10th. NOAA forecasters are predicting a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm.
https://www.spaceweather.gov/products/geoelectric-field-models-1-minute#
FL looks OK at this point - we'll all need a few hours to see how things pan out.
FL looks OK at this point - we'll all need a few hours to see how things pan out.
Here's to the PROs, winners of the 50th annual Nikon Small World contest. Image stacking? Hmmm ... It could explain how they can get that depth of field in some of these photos, like the Bronze award of the cannabis trichomes
https://petapixel.com/2024/10/17/gr...wins-landmark-50th-nikon-small-world-contest/
https://www.theguardian.com/science...ll-world-photomicography-2024-awards-pictures
A fun note - one fellows' name is Dr. Eric Vitriol 20th place entry.
https://petapixel.com/2024/10/17/gr...wins-landmark-50th-nikon-small-world-contest/
https://www.theguardian.com/science...ll-world-photomicography-2024-awards-pictures
A fun note - one fellows' name is Dr. Eric Vitriol 20th place entry.
Pursuing the image stacking thought has rendered some results (ha!) I poked around and found Helicon Focus software, recommended in a blog post about stacking. As I expected, nothing is without its learning curve and this is no different, but that's a lot of the fun. Once mastered, this combination of microscopy, image capture and manipulation will be as intensive and tedious as any other pursuit with good rewards.
Helicon Focus allows you to import mp4 files which the software that came with my OMAX M83EZ-C50U scope allows you to make.
So, what you see is what you get? Nope - many variables go into getting the camera to see what you see, color temp, frame rates, color values, the issues are somewhat different from using a HANDICAM where the machine is set to do a lot of that for you. As I went for using some good, high intensity LED reading lamps for my slide illumination, there were a couple of white balance issues as the temps for these reading lamps differs from the temp of the condenser LED.
Once I figured that out and setup the OMAX Toupview software correctly, making images is pretty easy, MP3 and MP4 primarily, TIF is getting some attention too. Below is a long bead like fiber I found while looking over the buds from this year's weed harvest. I haven't found out what it is yet, but this snip is from a TIF which is a stack of 8 TIF files in varying focus points. I did some retouching with the Helicon software as well.
which is made of images like this:
Not sure if there is enough interest in this hobby to make its own thread.
Helicon Focus allows you to import mp4 files which the software that came with my OMAX M83EZ-C50U scope allows you to make.
So, what you see is what you get? Nope - many variables go into getting the camera to see what you see, color temp, frame rates, color values, the issues are somewhat different from using a HANDICAM where the machine is set to do a lot of that for you. As I went for using some good, high intensity LED reading lamps for my slide illumination, there were a couple of white balance issues as the temps for these reading lamps differs from the temp of the condenser LED.
Once I figured that out and setup the OMAX Toupview software correctly, making images is pretty easy, MP3 and MP4 primarily, TIF is getting some attention too. Below is a long bead like fiber I found while looking over the buds from this year's weed harvest. I haven't found out what it is yet, but this snip is from a TIF which is a stack of 8 TIF files in varying focus points. I did some retouching with the Helicon software as well.
which is made of images like this:
Not sure if there is enough interest in this hobby to make its own thread.
Forever is as long as I'M alive, and if we hit singularity before then, well, I won't care.
Spoken like the entitled twit I really am, deep down.
Spoken like the entitled twit I really am, deep down.
A new solar observer is operational, thanks NOAA:
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/no...lds-first-operational-space-based-coronagraph
and a gift link to a NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/...e_code=1.VU4.3kNT.xK3riWz9L8WU&smid=url-share
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/no...lds-first-operational-space-based-coronagraph
and a gift link to a NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/...e_code=1.VU4.3kNT.xK3riWz9L8WU&smid=url-share
In The Atlantic, an essay by Sharon Zhang about using CAR-T-cell therapy to treat Lupus and possibly other immune system disorders. The only problem is it costs $500k per patient and is an odious treatment. It isn't the same as supply problems like Ozempic but it tells a story of broadening the use of a therapy for other diseases. Gift link below ...
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...opy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...opy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Today, on spaceweather.com, Dr. Phillips posts a short video of a serac breaking off of a glacier and producing a blue light caused by "triboluminescence."
It's pretty and weird and he is asking if others have seen this before or if there are papers we know of about this.
https://spaceweather.com/
It's pretty and weird and he is asking if others have seen this before or if there are papers we know of about this.
https://spaceweather.com/
Meanwhile, over on The Atlantic, Ross Anderson writes about a security issue which has popped up in the planned use of the Vera Rubin telescope. While I can't divulge any information due to security issues, Ross can and you might enjoy this slightly tongue in cheek essay or it might cause you some concern. Me, I have no comment.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science...opy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
https://www.theatlantic.com/science...opy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
The USGS lists 82 aftershocks from the 7.0 quake off the Humboldt coast today:
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthqu...hown=true&showUSFaults=true&baseLayer=terrain
Added: 123 aftershocks as of 8AM PST 12/6/24
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthqu...hown=true&showUSFaults=true&baseLayer=terrain
Added: 123 aftershocks as of 8AM PST 12/6/24
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My 2022 Prius has radar assisted adaptive cruise, so, at least on the high end trim I bought. It also does automatic dimming but I'm not sure if the camera or if that radar system is used. As usual, the caveats about bad weather, which apply to all the automation, is tagged in that section. The user guide/manual would be 900 pages smaller if Toyota didn't repeat the same warnings page after page.
On spaceweather.com, Dr. Phillips writes about how GPS dependent farm equipment went haywire during the May 10, 2024 solar storm.
A short and fun read on our fragile dependencies.
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=10&month=12&year=2024
A short and fun read on our fragile dependencies.
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=10&month=12&year=2024
Just to mirror your post, The Guardian has this essay:
https://www.theguardian.com/science...call-for-halt-on-mirror-life-microbe-research
https://www.theguardian.com/science...call-for-halt-on-mirror-life-microbe-research
I kept thinking of misfolded prions, mad-cow and all that when I read the Guardian article. Those are proteins, right? (err, correct?) They don't seem to have natural defenses nor any problem propagating cross species.
Cut from spaceweather.com: The annual December solstice occurs this Saturday, Dec. 21st, at 4:19 a.m. EST. It marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere amd summer in the southern hemisphere. Wherever you live, Happy Solstice!
Issued: Monday, December 23, 2024, 6:43 AM HST
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Kīlauea volcano is erupting within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the summit caldera. As of 6:30 a.m. HST, the eruption has stabilized within the crater and there are no immediate threats to infrastructure.
The ongoing eruption of Kīlauea is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The eruption began at approximately 2:20 a.m., and vents are continuing to erupt on the floor of the southwest part of the summit caldera. The primary hazard of concern at this time is high levels of volcanic gas which can have far-reaching effects down-wind (generally southwest) of the summit. The plume of volcanic gas and fine volcanic particles is reaching elevations of 6,000-8,000 feet above sea level (2,000-4,000 feet above ground level) and winds are transporting it to the southwest, within the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0KulR_3wQk
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Kīlauea volcano is erupting within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the summit caldera. As of 6:30 a.m. HST, the eruption has stabilized within the crater and there are no immediate threats to infrastructure.
The ongoing eruption of Kīlauea is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The eruption began at approximately 2:20 a.m., and vents are continuing to erupt on the floor of the southwest part of the summit caldera. The primary hazard of concern at this time is high levels of volcanic gas which can have far-reaching effects down-wind (generally southwest) of the summit. The plume of volcanic gas and fine volcanic particles is reaching elevations of 6,000-8,000 feet above sea level (2,000-4,000 feet above ground level) and winds are transporting it to the southwest, within the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0KulR_3wQk
- Status