From
Jeffrey
D BEISH
®
. . . . . Date:
Subject:
dust storm
MOC reports dust storm over Acidalium, maybe heading for
Chryse -- go see:
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/05/28/index.html
® . . . . . .Date: Thu,
Subject:
The closeness of Mars and Earth
Masatsugu MINAMI et al,
Jim DeYoung ran the integrator for
predicting the closest that Mars and Earth came together before 2003 and he
came up with the very same results. Both Jim and I both researched the records
and found that Jean Meeus originally got 60000 years,
and changed his after Myles Standish (JPL) got 73000 years. From inspection of our original plot I get
the minimum at 36800 years ago and the last time it was this close as about
59000 years ago
This agrees with the ~60,000 year figure sited in the June Sky and Telescope. I do not have a copy
so I can only repeat what someone else told me.
Jim DeYoung wrote me, "Why is
JPL getting 73000 years? Probably they have the latest and greatest initial
conditions? I am using mean elements not instantaneous epoch initial conditions.
Mean elements are a smoothed average typically of recent behavior. One is as
good as the other in my opinion because we are going back 100,000 years based
on maybe a few hundred years of orbit information, and probably 50 to 70 years
of good astrometry going into the orbit. To say the least the orbit is
uncertain over 100,000 years, If only Cro-Magnon man had done some astrometry
on a wall painting someplace. Didn't have to be great either.
I think I'll go find a cave a draw some astrometry so when future peoples of
the Earth show up they will have this problem in hand!!!"
Jim again write to me, "Standish used a numerical
integration of the solar system just as I did--different method but basically
equivalent. The VS theories are analytic theories and if I remember are fits to
numerical integration(s) probably the JPL products! It doesn't matter since
what we did is correct and I feel there are no gross errors in it. I think I
gave an estimate of the error propagation over the 200,000 year window, but
those error estimates are not thousands of years of accumulated errors."
So, we stand by our date for the closest approach of Mars
and Earth was 59,538 years ago or 57, 537 B.C. I ran my integration program and
while mine is not as rigorous as Jim's my results were around 60,000 years
ago. So it is when people debate
numbers.
To close this issue I will quote the question Swami Ashtasahasrika posed to Buddha: "Is it possible to find perfect wisdom
through reflection or listening to statements or through signs or attributes,
so that one can say 'This is it' or 'Here it is'?"
The Buddha answered:
"No, Subhuti. Perfect wisdom can't be
learned or distinguished or thought about or found through the senses. This is
because nothing in this world can be finally explained, it can only be
experienced, and thus all things are just as they are. Perfect wisdom can never
be experienced apart from all things. To see the Suchness
of things, which is their empty calm being, is to see them just as they are. It
is in this way that perfect wisdom and the material world are not two, they are
not divided. As a result of Suchness, of calm and
empty being, perfect wisdom cannot be known about intellectually. Nor can the
things of the world, for they are understood only through names and ideas.
Where there is no learning or finding out, no concepts or conventional words,
it is in that place one can say there is perfect wisdom."
® . . . . . .Date:
Subject:
Sandship of Mars revised
Just added some new dust events to my article, "The
Sand Ships of Mars (
http://www.tnni.net/~dustymars/
Interesting developments already
this apparition.
Plenty of dust activity seen by both spacecraft and
ground-based observers.
® . . . . . .Date:
Subject:
my buddy returned!
WELL! This ain't a small bear by any means! After the big rains last evening and night I
took my camera for the morning walk and ran into our friendly garbage can smasher! The front
paws indicate a black near of around 300 pound or more. The tracks came out of a sandy road way back
of my house where I walk every morning, across the parallel road behind my
house and took off to my neighbors direction. I could not find any tracks leading out so he
is still back there somewhere! I could
smell the SOB and I made quick tracks out of there. Black bears have a distinct smell and I was
not about to wait around to see him. It
would have been my last photograph! Three weeks ago a smaller one tracked the
road, but this mother is huge!
® . . . . . .Date: Thu,
Subject:
wow
Wow, Nix Olympica (orographic cloud over Olympus Mons) were
very bright this morning on evening limb. Very nice cloud. Brings back memories of 1988!
® . . . .
. .･････Date:
Subject:
NIXO???
Masatsugu, I think the bright cloud I saw on 05 June was not
over Olympus Mons but south of there, most likely Arsia Mons or maybe in
Phoenicis Lacus. My memory came to me this morning as I woke up that I could
see Olympus Mons as a dark patch with a light circular area during those
moments of perfect seeing. So, I think I
was wrong about the Nix Olympica and now looking at
Parker's 05 June image Olympus Mons closely appears as I perceived it. Sorry
for the mistake. I am now going out to my telescope to see this cloud again.
® . . . . . .Date:
Subject:
sad, sad news!
Just received this from Tim Robertson:
"It is with my deepest regrets I am informing you of
the passing of Thomas Roland Cave III, well known telescope maker, Mars
observer and Life-Time LAAS member. Tom had been in failing health for some
time but passed on
The last of the classical Martians is gone.
® . . . . . .Date: Sat,
Subject:
Re: RE:Mars -
I'm sitting here finishing up my Mars drawing and stiff
thinking of how Tom and I had observed Mars in the past. That was about the
only time he was quite :) He called me a
few times inviting me to observe with him using the Hooker 100-inch. When we
were out in
W-clouds bright and forming nicely.
® . . . . . .Date:
Subject:
we win!
Jim, I would say that some voices from the recent past (pun
intended) at JPL and et al, are backing off on their
assumptions for the 87K year thing-ie. We can take
solace in that a couple of amateur/professional computer gurus can get it right
too. The merits of technology and persistence get us this:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/MARS_preview_021108.html
[Editor's Note: The initial computations that brought this
event to light were made by Jean Meeus of
On
Oh gloat bro Jimbo, gloat!
Jeff BEISH (27ﾟ21'N' 81ﾟ20'W Lake Placid,
FL, USA)