Larry Sessions

Loading Newer »

If Daylight Saving Time wasn’t bad enough…

Published April 21st, 2008 in Bizarre, Earth, Human World and Science. 3 Comments

There is so much controversy over Daylight Saving Time — who benefits?, does it really save energy?, is it worth the hassle? – that maybe we should dump it altogether in favor of “Mecca Time.” At least that is what some Muslim scientists meeting in Qatar have called for — nothing less than the worldwide adoption of Mecca Time over Greenwich Mean Time, according to a report in the BBC. Science, they claim, has “proven” that the Saudi city of Mecca, ground zero for Moslem pilgrimages, is the “center of the world.” One Arabic scientist says that this is so because Mecca is in “perfect alignment” with magnetic North, whatever that means.

Changing to Mecca time, he claims, will help clear up time discrepancies between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, make the blood and circulatory systems work better, and apparently heal the aged and infirm. The mechanism is some vague, undocumented and frankly absurd negative properties attributed to the Earth’s magnetic field. Even if this were true, its relation to our time keeping system would be unknown and probably non-existent.

As best I can tell, Mecca has a magnetic declination of several degrees East, although it appears to be near the magnetic equator. But even if it were exactly on the magnetic equator and the “magnetic prime meridian,” so to speak, so what? Time is an arbitrarily defined concept to begin with, so it makes no real difference if we define it based on the meridian of London, Tokyo, Sydney or Mecca. But since it already is defined based on Greenwich time (or one of the many associated systems), what possible value — scientific or practical — would we gain by changing it?

It would make about as much sense as renaming the Moon for Groucho Marx. “Oh, look! There’s a full Groucho out tonight.” Or can you imagine a romantic walk in the Groucho-light? A Moon by any other name would be as bright, but what sense does it make to change it?

Changing the time zones to coincide with “Mecca Time” makes about as much sense as… well, Daylight Saving Time.

I saw another “UFO”, maybe two

Published April 14th, 2008 in Bizarre, Space, atmospheric events and Science. 5 Comments

I saw another UFO Saturday night. Once again in the car headed west, I spied a bright starlike object in the reddish post-sunset sky, low to the mountains. It was reminiscent of Venus as it appears deep in the sunset glow, but of course Venus is not in that part of the sky at sunset right now. I stopped long enough at a traffic light to determine that the object was drifting very slowly to the south. This motion was entirely consistent with what is frequently seen with incoming aircraft arriving, perhaps from Seattle, circling around Denver to land nose to the north wind at the airport.

Moments later I lost sight of this bright spot while we drove to a nearby Post Office to send out — guess what — tax returns. At this point I was convinced that the “UFO” was simply landing lights of an incoming jet. I don’t know of any better or more reasonable explanation. But if that were all there was, I would have forgotten it by now.

Minutes later when we parked at the Post Office and started to walk inside, I noticed another odd sight to the west. It was in the same general direction as before, but a little higher in the sky. I doubt that there was any connection between the two sightings, but this one was obviously not landing lights on a plane. Nor was it a weather balloon. It was larger and more diffuse that the first sighting, maybe roughly a quarter the size of a full moon. It was slightly rectangular or just oblong — I couldn’t be sure. It appeared in a relatively clear patch under a rapidly encroaching deck of clouds. My impression — and that is all it is because I have no actual evidence — was that this object was considerably farther than the clouds which were intervening. It looked like a small bit of jet contrail broken off and shining in the last rays of the sun. Caught off guard and camera-less, I did not get any photographs, although I’m pretty sure they would have appeared as a sunset with clouds and a barely distinguishable spot.

Now, I could jump to the conclusion that these two sightings — or perhaps two sightings of the same object — were outside the bounds of normal experience. I could jump to the conclusion, as some did with the image of “aliens” pictured here, that they were evidence of extraterrestrial visitations. I admit that such sightings would be fantastic, but there just isn’t any good evidence of that, and every reason to believe that what I saw had a much more mundane explanation.

By the way, the two “aliens” in the photo shown here made the rounds over the Internet recently when they appeared on the side of a house in Calgary, Alberta. They are striking, but hardly extraterrestrial. Instead, they are fairly complex and admittedly odd reflections off a nearby window, and only show up in the late afternoon when there are no clouds. It is understandable why people think they look like “aliens.” But it is as unreasonable to think that they are extraterrestrials communicating with us as to think that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Interesting idea, maybe, but hardly worth serious consideration.

Why not the “Clarke Event?”

Published March 21st, 2008 22 Comments

While most of us slept on the morning of March 19, hours before the death of famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was announced, a shot rang out in the Universe the likes of which are unknown in human history. By a preliminary analysis, this object was visible to the unaided human eye in the constellation Bootes, and at an estimated 7.5 billion light years, it was the farthest object ever observable by the human eye in all of recorded history. In addition, it was 2.5 million times more luminous than the most luminous supernova ever recorded, making this event, according to a NASA news release, “the most intrinsically bright object ever observed by humans in the universe.”

Unfortunately it has now faded below unaided-eye visibility, but for a few shining hours, those who might have seen it were fortunate to have observed an event unlikely to occur again in our lifetimes.

It brings to mind the previously known farthest objects ever seen. Within the Milky Way Galaxy, one of the farthest was Tycho’s Star, a supernova seen in November 1572. Its distance has been estimated at about 10,000 light years. Beyond the Milky Way the farthest objects normally visible to unaided human eyes include the Andromeda Galaxy at about 2.4 million light years, and M33 at 2.9 million light years. I suspect that there have been supernova explosions in farther galaxies visible to the human eye, but so far as I know there are no records.

I had the great honor to have met Sir Arthur and to have spent a few hours with him at his home in Sri Lanka some 22 years ago. We corresponded, sporadically, for years. He even included my name in 2061: Space Odyssey Three, an unexpected honor I will always remember.

I propose that henceforth we refer to the March 19 gamma ray blast, officially designated GRB 080319B, as the “Clarke event” in honor of Sir Arthur. Was it the Universe reacting to the loss of this great man? No, as he himself would have told you, although likely not without prefacing it with a mischievous grin and an allusion to the gods being angry with him. No it wasn’t the Universe mourning Sir Arthur. Instead, at its enormous distance, the light from this event formed and left on its journey long before Earth was born, presumably also making it the oldest event ever directly witnessed by human eyes. But what more fitting an honor for Sir Arthur?

Ben Franklin pulled Paris’s leg…

Published March 8th, 2008 in environment, fallacies, Bizarre, Innovation, Body & Mind, Climate and Human World. 6 Comments

…and we fell for it.

Living in Paris in April 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote an article — fully tongue in cheek, that suggested a way that Parisians might save money on candle wax and lamp oil. (Read it here: Ben Franklin’s Essay on Daylight Saving.) Though meant as a joke, Americans and much of the western world now have made Franklin’s idea into law in the form of Daylight Saving Time (also known as Summer Time).

But can we really “save” daylight? Yes, certainly, in terms of storing sunlight in various ways it is a great idea. The Earth itself stores the energy of sunlight and releases it slowly over months. That’s why there is a lag in seasons from the astronomical dates that set them. (For example, the hottest part of summer is usually in July or August, not June when the Sun is highest.)

Fossil fuels and even the crops we grow for food and fuel are in essence stored sunlight.

But the value of shifting the clock forward and back through the year is debatable at best. If it ameliorates some problems, it exacerbates others. It’s like the situation of someone who deliberately sets their watch ahead by a half hour to avoid being late for appointments. More often than not, the person then adjusts their mental machinery to process this — knowing that the watch is fast — and still pushes things to the last possible moment and ends up late anyway. (Check out this article: “Saving daylight increases energy use.”)

Ben Franklin’s original idea was clever and humorous, not practical. But the institution of setting clocks forward and back by the season in the major economies of the world is not, in my opinion, the result of clear thinking. It is an example of politicians looking for a “quick fix” that should be dealt with in more sober and intelligent fashion.

I’m no Ben Franklin, but I know when to laugh at a joke, not set it as national and international policy.

The stars are disappearing!

Published January 28th, 2008 7 Comments

What’s behind all this, an alien conspiracy? Is the government hiding something from us? Well, I think we all know what is going on. And if you don’t know, you need to get informed. For anyone who has observed the skies for more than a few years, it is obvious that stars are disappearing. And I hate to say it, but it is your fault. I say that in a generic way, because I am partly to blame as well as everyone else who contributes to air pollution or uses excessive lighting. Light pollution is stealing our enjoyment of the night sky.

I spoke of this months ago in “Starry, starry night. Where are you?” You can make a positive impact on this problem by doing everything you can to reduce your pollution and excessive energy consumption (which of course also contributes to pollution). In this case of course it is important to reduce unnecessary lighting. For more ideas on what you can do to reduce your impact, there are tons of sites online offering suggestions. I recommend for ideas on cutting light pollution, and the Nature Conservancy’s Everyday Environmentalist site for general ideas.

But you can not only help reduce light pollution, you also can contribute to the study of global light pollution while enjoying a family activity under the stars. Between February 25 and March 8, thousands of people around the world will participate in the “Globe at Night” program. The concept is simple. On a clear evening during this period, go out about an hour after sunset and observe Orion. The constellation is conveniently located in the southern sky at that time, and quite easy to find. You don’t need — or want — telescopes or binoculars. This observation needs to be done with just your eyes. Basically you just compare what you see to several graphics available on the Globe at Night website, then report your findings online.

The Globe at Night program is suitable for all ages and abilities, individuals, families and classes. In fact I am assigning it to my college-level students as homework. It should be a lot of fun as well as providing useful research.

And if you enjoy the nighttime version, there is information on the Globe at Night website for daytime observations of clouds and contrails. Not enough for you? There are more activities at The Globe Program. Then check out NASA’s Sun-Earth Day website for more Make and Take Activities. (Sun-Earth Day this year is March 20).

The stars are disappearing and it’s your fault (and mine, of course). But you can do something about it and have fun at the same time!

Sundogs bite as UFOs

Published January 20th, 2008 in Bizarre, Photos, Space, atmospheric events and Science. 17 Comments

Let me start by saying that I do not know what most people of north central Texas saw and reported as a UFO last week. If the published reports are accurate — then what they saw was very unusual at least, and if true, then we cannot rule out an extraterrestrial origin. However, I must emphasize that it is very big if.

In the image to the left, the large bright blob to the right is the overexposed image of the sun, whereas the smaller, conical blob to the left is a sundog.

Based on what I have heard in reports, no normal natural or manmade object would move in the way described. However, of the photographic “evidence” presented so far … let’s just say that I have my doubts. One video on CNN shows a dot in the sky, which in several frames appears to show a flashing light highly indicative of an aircraft of human origin. However, this is a low-quality cell phone image, and certainly subject to some interpretation. I do not think that anything definitive can be said, and as such skepticism should rule.

What really bugs me, however, is a photo published by the Fort Worth Star Telegram a couple of days ago. Now, truth be told, I consider Fort Worth my adopted home town, and the Star Telegram (which I used to refer to, years ago, as the “Startle-gram”) is the hometown newspaper. For years it was the home paper of a favorite of mine, Molly Ivins.

However, the Star Telegram has hit a new low with the publication of a photo by a Kentucky truck driver, of what he called a “curious object” in the sky near Cisco (Eastland county, near Erath county where the majority of reports came). Now the trucker’s description of this as a “curious object” is not unreasonable. Although the object in the photo is neither alien nor greatly unusual, it is unfamiliar to many people. The photo very clearly shows what is known as a “sundog” or “mock sun,” a multi-colored image resulting from sunlight reflecting off ice crystals high in the atmosphere. Granted, this is not seen every day, but it is completely natural and well known. It is hardly unusual and certainly not alien. Given this, the further description given by the Kentucky truck driver is at best a major embellishment and, perhaps due to the excitement of the moment, a serious if not necessarily intentional fabrication.

Sundogs, which this unquestionably is, do not move or act in the manner the Kentucky truck driver described. I can’t say that he was drunk, but I would not be far off by saying the he was perhaps “absolutely chock clean through with wild blueberry muffins.” No sundog acts as described, and frankly this is this kind of garbage that gives a black eye to every legitimate claim of anything unusual in the sky. Instead of ranting and raving at me (which some UFO fanatics undoubtedly will do), those who believe in an honest investigation should spend time working to educate the media, whose mandate appears to present anything sensational, without any concern for reality or truth.

Now, again, I do not know what everyone who reported a UFO in the Stephenville area last week saw. But it is abundantly clear that at least some of the folks who were successful in getting media attention absolutely do not know what they are talking about. There are legitimate UFO researchers who believe that there is reason to investigate some UFO reports, and that they may conceivably be explained by extraterrestrial visits to Earth. I do not deny this as a possibility and I do agree that reasonable research needs to go forward. But I also feel that everyone needs to act logically, assess reasonably, and to rely on the concepts of science rather than emotion.

You can claim anything you want to if you don’t have any evidence that can be examined. There may turn out to be something to the Stephenville UFO reports. But until there is good evidence, it’s best not to make wild claims.

Astronomy at your fingertips

Published January 15th, 2008 2 Comments

Recently I posted a blog about “Listening to Astronomy.” This was intended to refer to podcasts containing astronomical material, but of course it could be of interest and value to those who are blind or who have visual impairities. However, just today I have learned that NASA has funding the publication of “Touch the Invisible Sky”, which presents some of the most spectacular findings of the Hubble, Chandra and Spitzer space telescope in Braile, large-type and tactile diagrams for the blind and visually impaired.

I am not blind or visually impaired (except for very thick glasses due to nearsightedness), so I cannot begin to imagine what full blindness might be like. But I strongly imagine that this new publication will be highly beneficial and deserves the greatest disttribution. If you are blind or visually impaired, or know someone who is, I hope you will look into this. For more information see this page on Science at NASA: Touch the Invisible Sky.

You can measure the sun

Published January 1st, 2008 2 Comments

solar image Earth passed the December solstice more than a week ago, but another milestone comes tomorrow (Jan. 2). It’s not one you would normally notice, nor one that you would logically expect. As the Earth orbits the sun, its distance varies by up to 3 million miles. Tomorrow, earth is at perihelion, or its closest point to the sun of the year. See Tonight’s Sky, Earth at perihelion, Jan.2, 2008.

Now, if you live where the temperatures are frigid and there is snow on the ground (as there is here in Denver), you might reasonably question this fact. It seems logical that it would be warm when we are closer to the sun, and colder when we are farther away. But the truth is that this slight change in distance (about 3 percent) has little if any bearing on earth’s seasonal temperatures. Rather, it is our tilt toward or away from the sun that causes the seasons. In summer we are tilted sunward and the sun is high in the sky so it gets hot. In winter the opposite is true. You can measure the height of the midday sun yourself to prove this. See my earlier blog, “What’s noon to you?“. Do this in several seasons and you will note a big difference.

Tomorrow, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, the Sun is the closest it will be to earth in 2008. This is the time that the earth reaches “perihelion,” meaning closest to the sun. At that time, the sun will be about 147,096,000 km (about 91,402,000 miles), compared to about 152,104,000 (94,513,000 miles) in July.

You can also measure the actual size of the sun with a ruler, tape measure and a small mirror. It does require a very small amount of math, but it is great for school project. Just project the light of the sun from a small mirror onto a darkened wall. Then measure the diameter of the projected image (d) and the distance between the wall in the mirror (l). These are in the same ratio as the actual diameter of the sun (D) to the true distance to the sun (L). So you can set up a simple equation and solve:

D = (d/l)*L

Be sure that your measurements for d and l are in the same units. Then if your distance to the sun (L) is in miles, your resulting value for the diameter of the sun (D) will be in miles as well.

This is a variation on the “pinhole” projection method and provides an actual image of the sun if the size of the mirror is very small compared to the distance of projection. A quarter-inch mirror at about 16 - 20 feet is good. The exact shape of the mirror is unimportant. If you are too close, or the mirror is too large, the projected image will not be a real image of the sun, so be careful with this. Also be careful not to look into the reflected beam or allow any child or animal to do so. It would like looking at the sun directly and can ruin your eyes.

I’ll keep this short, so I won’t add any more details here, but you can find much more in this activity I’ve used with students for years: “The Diameter of the Sun“.

By the way, you can do this any day of the year, not just the day of perihelion. To be most precise, you should use the exact distance to the sun on that day, but if you do not know it, it should be fine to use the average distance of about 93,000,000 miles (149,600,000 km).

Larry S.

Listening to astronomy

Published December 17th, 2007 5 Comments

Astronomy started out as a purely visual science, but with today’s electronics and techniques, the visually impaired can enjoy and contribute. But that really isn’t what I am referring to as “listening to astronomy” here. It used to be that you to take classes, or else had to be in the right place at the right time to hear a talk on astronomy. But with the Internet, there are many resources for “hearing” astronomy.

Of course you can hear astronomy information on the Clear Voices Podcasts here on Earth & Sky, as well as the Earth & Sky radio shows online and on broadcast radio stations around the world. In addition to astronomy, the Earth & Sky podcasts offer programs on a range of science and nature topics.

And there is AstronomyCast by Earth & Sky bloggers Frasier Cain and Pamela L. Gay.

But what really got me to thinking about this was the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures, a series of audio podcasts by eminent astronomers, from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Among the recent lectures are Dr. Jeff Moore (NASA Ames Research Center): “New Horizons at Jupiter (and Some Saturn News)”; Dr. David Morrison (NASA Ames Research Center): “Taking a Hit: Asteroid Impacts and Evolution”; Dr. Dana Backman (SETI Institute and Astronomical Society of the Pacific): “A Ringside Seat to the Formation of Planets”; and Dr. David Grinspoon (Denver Museum of Nature and Science): “Comparing Worlds: Climate Catastrophes in the Solar System”.

You may already be familiar with Science at NASA, and there are also podcasts from the main NASA site, as well as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Well, that was just a start. I did a little “Googling” and was amazed to find all the places you can “hear” astronomy. You might want to do a little searching for yourself. If the links above don’t give you enough to listen to, check out these:

The San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers, home of the world-famous John Dobson, offers suggestions on its podcast page. I also found the “Astronomy Media Player,” which is actually web page with links to a number of astronomy and space podcasts from around the world.
If you have time to listen to more than this, I’m sure a little searching will turn up much more. What are your favorite links?

Hot pink flying saucers!

Published December 3rd, 2007 in Bizarre, Photos, Climate, atmospheric events and Science. 6 Comments

Hot pink flying saucer cloud over Syria They are not exactly uncommon here in Denver, although I have never personally seen one quite this spectacular. But sometimes they are so prominent as to be visible in satellite photos if you look closely enough. Others have been famously reported as UFOs and no wonder, they are weird.

This hot pink flying saucer cloud is the cover shot in a new photo book of strange cloud formations, particularly clouds that look like things. The book, called “Hot Pink Flying Saucers” in the U.S., is the second from the Cloud Appreciation Society (CAS), of which I am a proudly certificated member (but no, I do not get a kickback!). It is an inexpensive trade paperback with some really interesting photos. I mention it here in support of the CAS, but also because it would make a great small Christmas gift. (Earlier I looked at the Society and “The Cloudspotter’s Guide” in my September 25 blog, Bring in the Clouds.

Alas, this image is not really of an alien spacecraft (but wouldn’t it be fun if it were!). It is of a particular cloud formation called a “lenticularis,” seen over Syria and “lenticularis” refers to the lens-like shape. Such clouds are due to particular atmospheric conditions, and are most common near mountains, and are often spectacular near California’s Mount Shasta and others. The type seen here in Denver often has an orange or red or pink color in the sunset, but are more of the rolling tube type, called a standing wave altocumulous lenticularis. It isn’t hard to imagine why some folks have actually reported these as UFO’s, but it is simply one of many strange formations in the clouds (or elsewhere in Nature) that can be mistaken for something else. If you have never seen one of these yourself, it will definitely look odd when you do.

Other photos in the book include images of Salvador Dali, the Michelin Man, the Grim Reaper, poodles, dragonflies and my favorite, a pig with six legs!

The latter is in fact the title and cover photo of the UK version of the book, photographed ( in Lincolnshire, UK. Loxley calls it “Cumulopiggussextoleggus” but it is not a natural cloud formation, but rather a steam condensation cloud from a power station.

It is a good exercise of the imagination to find recognizable shapes in random things and I have seen many things in clouds, from the childhood ponies and elephants to more complicated figures sometimes too bizarre to mention. (I see patterns in other things as well, including a shower curtain we used to have whose random patterning revealed lions, alligators, apes and a wide variety of other things. My wife, perhaps justifiably, thought I was crazy. But I “seen ‘em”!)

Whether day or night, there usually is something interesting to see in the sky. Keep looking up!

Photos used with permission of the Cloud Appreciation Society. Hot pink flying saucer over Syria

Search

Latest Posts

Blogroll

My Topics

About

Welcome to this blog. You are allowed and encouraged to comment and to disagree with me, but you are required to be civil. Comments are moderated, which means that they will not show up until they have been approved. Please be patient. Rude and offensive material will be removed. This is my blog, and I set the groundrules.