Date: Thu, 1 Apr 93 05:55:25 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #400 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Thu, 1 Apr 93 Volume 16 : Issue 400 Today's Topics: Irish Re-entry or AURORA/DIPPER Irish re-entry or AURORA/DIPPER? II Nasa & Congress Why is Venus so bad? Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to "space@isu.isunet.edu", and (un)subscription requests of the form "Subscribe Space " to one of these addresses: listserv@uga (BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle (THENET), or space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1993 23:04:19 GMT From: apryan@vax1.tcd.ie Subject: Irish Re-entry or AURORA/DIPPER Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro Between 0:10UT and 0:13UT on Wed. March 31 many people in Ireland saw two bright (mag -1 or brighter) lights travelling slowly across the sky. One advanced amateur astronomer, John Fitzsimons, from his observatory a few miles outside Sligo town on the west coast saw the object rise in the NW and pass 70 deg. up in the SW 35 seconds later, eventually setting in the SE. He reported four other mag. 4 objects trailing behind it. The whole assembly left a glowing wite 'mist' that persisted for 3 or 4 minutes. John is one of the country's best astrophotographers (if not the best) and has built an impressive observatory around his Celestron-11. He seems convinces it was a satellite re- entering the atmosphere and burning up. Based largely on John's sighting Astronomy Ireland believed the satellite re-entry was the correct interpretation but a number inconsistencies have led Leo Enright (BBC Ireland correspondent) to suggest it was a special type of aircraft possibly Aurora or Dipper (Dipper?). We're no aviation experts so maybe you can help? (This story has made the front page, national TV & radio) One inconsistency is that the two bright lights appear to be the same brightness and flying 'abreast' separated by 2 to 3 deg. rather than one after the other. If re-entering 50 miles up this puts them at least 2 miles apart can fragments get this far apart during re-entry? Secondly, a sighting was made from Glastonbury, Somerset (U.K.) which puts the object heading out across the English channel - BUT AT 0:40UT which is 300 miles in 30 minutes i.e. 600mph roughly. Leo Enright suggests that this in particular shows it must have been a craft of some description. He hypothesises that a military craft like Aurora/Dipper possibly got into trouble in the Atlantic and headed toward Shannon airport as a possible landing site, was told not to land such a craft in a neutral country and possibly continued on to the base in Spain? Nothing showed up on radar in Shannon airport (or so they say). Could a natural object in space 'graze' the Earth's atmosphere at such a speed? Leo Enright says the 'four mag 4 objects' following the craft are consistent with reports of other sightings of Aurora or more likely Dipper and the effects seen in its 'exhaust' contrail. Is there any chance it could still have been a satellite re-entry (or natural object)? P.S. sorry I was not following the Aurora thread going on in sci.space over the past few weeks. I thought it would not affect me. Didn't know base in Scotland! -Tony Ryan, "Astronomy & Space", new International magazine, available from: Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 1, Ireland. (WORLD'S LARGEST ASTRO. SOC. per capita - unless you know better?) 6 issues (one year sub.): UK 10.00 pounds, US$20 surface (add US$8 airmail). ACCESS/VISA/MASTERCARD accepted (give number, expiration date, name&address). Newslines (48p/36p per min): 0891-88-1950 (UK/N.Ireland) 1550-111-442 (Eire). ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1993 23:09:05 GMT From: apryan@vax1.tcd.ie Subject: Irish re-entry or AURORA/DIPPER? II Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro Sorry, in a rush. Forgot if I asked one very imposrtant question: Does anyone know if ANYTHINH re-entered the atmosphere early on UT day of March 31 (or even March 30)? Or who I could ask this question of and get a conclusive answer? -Tony Ryan, "Astronomy & Space", new International magazine, available from: Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 1, Ireland. (WORLD'S LARGEST ASTRO. SOC. per capita - unless you know better?) 6 issues (one year sub.): UK 10.00 pounds, US$20 surface (add US$8 airmail). ACCESS/VISA/MASTERCARD accepted (give number, expiration date, name&address). Newslines (48p/36p per min): 0891-88-1950 (UK/N.Ireland) 1550-111-442 (Eire). ------------------------------ Date: 31 Mar 93 20:31:38 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Nasa & Congress Newsgroups: sci.space In 18084TM@msu.edu (Tom) writes: >BTW, Fred, you've really crossed the border, since you admit that the ideas >you support can only be carried out with coercive power. Now that's really >f***in' intolerant, so get off yer high horse about tolerance. No, Tommy, I "admit" that there are such things as 'market failures' which necessitate intervention by other than capitalist forces to correct. Get a clue, little boy, and go salve your wounded pride in my not considering you infallible in some other fashion. I'm not interested in your ego games. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Apr 93 02:10:23 GMT From: "Elizabeth A. Madigan" Subject: Why is Venus so bad? Newsgroups: sci.space,rec.scuba In a previous article, prb@access.digex.com (Pat) says: >In article oivindt@fagmed.uit.no (Oivind Toien) writes: >| >|In a previous record dive (dry) at NUTEC, Bergen, Norway to about 500 >|m they used a Heliox mixture most of the time except during the descent >|were the gas mixture contained some nitrogen. The idea was the the >|effect of N2 narcosis should reduce the effect of high pressure nerve >|syndrome. >|Several of the divers suffered serious injury. Although technology >|seems to develop infinitely, physiology sets certain limits... >| >>In a program on the Norwegian channel 2 yesterday it was said that 1 >>of 7 divers are injured (per dive...) in dive operations in the North >>Sea occuring at more than 300 m. > > >My understanding is that Commercial diving has some real problems >following the Navy Dive tables. Even if you rigorously follow them, >that multiple diving causes some form of Micro Nitrogen bubbles >in the nervous tissue. Long term studies of the spinal tissues >of commercial divers shows large amounts of nerve damage. > >There is some movement to require deep diving bells, where the divers >can live underwater for extended periods and undergo >slow decompression. > >pat > > And let's not forget long term damage to the bone tissue as well- osteonecrosis. Ever see an old commercial diver walk? Looks painful and is debilitating. Liz ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 400 ------------------------------