|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
My aluminum-domed observatory
http://www.primordial-light.com/observatory.html is located at 39° 04' 40.61" N, 76° 39' 33.46" W. I was in the observatory at approximately 2300 EST on the night of 6 January, 2012, when I heard a very loud and startling metallic clang that could only have resulted from something solid striking the aluminum dome. The outside temperature was about 30°F and winds were calm. I have never seen a "UFO." You who know me know that when I rant and rave it's not about skulls on the Moon or blood on Mars. I don't /really/ believe that there's a statue of Elvis on Mars, though I think there ought to be. I have never seen a meteor strike the ground or, to the best of my knowledge, been near a meteor strike. Like all amateur astronomers, I have seen my share of meteors and bolides burning up in the atmosphere--though I do not see them when I am inside my observatory watching a computer display. When I heard the loud noise I thought, only for the briefest and scariest instant, that somehow one of two Takahashi telescopes had fallen off my A-P 1200 GTO mount--but I was watching a graph of guide-star tracking on the PHD guiding-software display on a MacBook Pro display at the time. There was no disruption in tracking, not even a little spike, which immediately ruled out any accident associated with the pier/mount/telescopes/camera chain. And the sound was that of something striking an expanse of sheet metal. Imagine hitting a steel trash can with a hammer. I decided to wait a few seconds for the camera exposure to finish, then I turned on a white incandescent workshop ("trouble') lamp. A thorough inspection of the observatory interior showed nothing amiss. A quick inspection outside with a three D-cell flashlight showed nothing amiss. The dome rotator, which was not running at the time, was fine, the taut steel cables that control the aperture closing were fine, the two entry doors were fine. There are no springs in the dome aperture mechanism. The aluminum dome amplifies noises when one is inside. The dome rotator is quite loud and even the SBIG STL fan motors are fairly loud from the inside, not terribly noticeable from outside. I expect that a person outside the dome would have heard this sound much differently. I reiterate that it was very loud from inside the dome. Inclement weather precluded a close exterior daylight examination for three days. Today I rotated the dome as my wife and I examined the dome from the ground in bright sunlight. We saw what appeared to be a shallow dent just below the highest point on the right--hand (as seen face-on from outside) sliding aperture cover. I got on a stepladder to confirm that what we were seeing was the shadow of a depression and not dirt on the dome. I did not measure the dent; I estimate it to be about 8 cm wide and .5 cm deep. The paint did not appear to be damaged, but that will be a matter for a closer examination. I cannot be certain that the dent is brand new. I know that it was not there in October of 2011 when I inspected and lubricated the dome washed the exterior by hand as I do each spring and fall. I believe that I know virtually every nick and bit of peeling paint on the dome (and there aren't many). Something blunt and somewhat weighty has struck the dome from above since October, 2011. It seems unlikely that any person threw a stone and struck the observatory. The incident occurred at 2300 local. The dome is situated some 260 feet from a rural road on a two-acre property on a nine-home cul-de-sac surrounded by woods. The only child in the 'hood is a three-year-old girl--not a person of interest. There is virtually never anyone in the neighborhood, except me, outside their home at 2300 hrs. A bird striking the observatory would have made a thud rather than a very loud metallic clang. Judging from the smoothness of the dent and the lack of obvious paint damage, I would guess that the dome was struck by a blunt object. I wouldn't want to try to guess the mass of the projectile, but the dome is very stiff, a sort of monocoque construction in which all of the seams are welded. I do not know what the velocity of a small projectile would have to be to dent the dome. With the denting of the dome absorbing energy, it doesn't seem that the projectile would have fallen to the ground far from the dome after bouncing off the dome. Light snow and now wet ground have precluded a thorough search of the area which might reveal the object that struck the dome. I plan to borrow or rent a metal detector asap. What struck my dome? Ideas not involving magic, the wrath of god(s), hallucinations, aliens, UFOs, flying animals, or the the like? -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
Davoud wrote in :
My aluminum-domed observatory http://www.primordial-light.com/observatory.html is located at 39° 04' 40.61" N, 76° 39' 33.46" W. I was in the observatory at approximately 2300 EST on the night of 6 January, 2012, when I heard a very loud and startling metallic clang that could only have resulted from something solid striking the aluminum dome. The outside temperature was about 30°F and winds were calm. I have never seen a "UFO." You who know me know that when I rant and rave it's not about skulls on the Moon or blood on Mars. I don't /really/ believe that there's a statue of Elvis on Mars, though I think there ought to be. I have never seen a meteor strike the ground or, to the best of my knowledge, been near a meteor strike. Like all amateur astronomers, I have seen my share of meteors and bolides burning up in the atmosphere--though I do not see them when I am inside my observatory watching a computer display. When I heard the loud noise I thought, only for the briefest and scariest instant, that somehow one of two Takahashi telescopes had fallen off my A-P 1200 GTO mount--but I was watching a graph of guide-star tracking on the PHD guiding-software display on a MacBook Pro display at the time. There was no disruption in tracking, not even a little spike, which immediately ruled out any accident associated with the pier/mount/telescopes/camera chain. And the sound was that of something striking an expanse of sheet metal. Imagine hitting a steel trash can with a hammer. I decided to wait a few seconds for the camera exposure to finish, then I turned on a white incandescent workshop ("trouble') lamp. A thorough inspection of the observatory interior showed nothing amiss. A quick inspection outside with a three D-cell flashlight showed nothing amiss. The dome rotator, which was not running at the time, was fine, the taut steel cables that control the aperture closing were fine, the two entry doors were fine. There are no springs in the dome aperture mechanism. The aluminum dome amplifies noises when one is inside. The dome rotator is quite loud and even the SBIG STL fan motors are fairly loud from the inside, not terribly noticeable from outside. I expect that a person outside the dome would have heard this sound much differently. I reiterate that it was very loud from inside the dome. Inclement weather precluded a close exterior daylight examination for three days. Today I rotated the dome as my wife and I examined the dome from the ground in bright sunlight. We saw what appeared to be a shallow dent just below the highest point on the right--hand (as seen face-on from outside) sliding aperture cover. I got on a stepladder to confirm that what we were seeing was the shadow of a depression and not dirt on the dome. I did not measure the dent; I estimate it to be about 8 cm wide and .5 cm deep. The paint did not appear to be damaged, but that will be a matter for a closer examination. I cannot be certain that the dent is brand new. I know that it was not there in October of 2011 when I inspected and lubricated the dome washed the exterior by hand as I do each spring and fall. I believe that I know virtually every nick and bit of peeling paint on the dome (and there aren't many). Something blunt and somewhat weighty has struck the dome from above since October, 2011. It seems unlikely that any person threw a stone and struck the observatory. The incident occurred at 2300 local. The dome is situated some 260 feet from a rural road on a two-acre property on a nine-home cul-de-sac surrounded by woods. The only child in the 'hood is a three-year-old girl--not a person of interest. There is virtually never anyone in the neighborhood, except me, outside their home at 2300 hrs. A bird striking the observatory would have made a thud rather than a very loud metallic clang. Judging from the smoothness of the dent and the lack of obvious paint damage, I would guess that the dome was struck by a blunt object. I wouldn't want to try to guess the mass of the projectile, but the dome is very stiff, a sort of monocoque construction in which all of the seams are welded. I do not know what the velocity of a small projectile would have to be to dent the dome. With the denting of the dome absorbing energy, it doesn't seem that the projectile would have fallen to the ground far from the dome after bouncing off the dome. Light snow and now wet ground have precluded a thorough search of the area which might reveal the object that struck the dome. I plan to borrow or rent a metal detector asap. What struck my dome? Ideas not involving magic, the wrath of god(s), hallucinations, aliens, UFOs, flying animals, or the the like? Pieces of ice happen to drop off airplanes. If there are some routes across your location, that is a fair candidate. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
On Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:25:35 -0500, Davoud wrote:
What struck my dome? Ideas not involving magic, the wrath of god(s), hallucinations, aliens, UFOs, flying animals, or the the like? My first guess would be ice- it sounds as if you had bad weather coming in, and ice can sometimes be carried pretty long distances in otherwise clear air. Of course, there's that blue (or worse, brown) ice that occasionally falls from airplanes... Certainly a meteorite strike is possible, although extremely unlikely. If it was a meteorite, it almost certainly was not a Quadrantid, since the parent body is probably cometary in nature (although no longer active), and therefore quite fragile. When combined with the fairly high entry speed of 41 km/s, any material will burn up completely while still very high. If you find a meteorite, it will be very valuable, since it would receive the "hammer" classification- one which struck a structure, person, or vehicle. It might be especially valuable since it actually struck an observatory, with a person inside to witness the noise it made. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
Davoud:
My aluminum-domed observatory http://www.primordial-light.com/observatory.html is located at 39° 04' 40.61" N, 76° 39' 33.46" W. I was in the observatory at approximately 2300 EST on the night of 6 January, 2012, when I heard a very loud and startling metallic clang that could only have resulted from something solid striking the aluminum dome. The outside temperature was about 30°F and winds were calm. I have never seen a "UFO." You who know me know that when I rant and rave it's not about skulls on the Moon or blood on Mars. I don't /really/ believe that there's a statue of Elvis on Mars, though I think there ought to be. I have never seen a meteor strike the ground or, to the best of my knowledge, been near a meteor strike. Like all amateur astronomers, I have seen my share of meteors and bolides burning up in the atmosphere--though I do not see them when I am inside my observatory watching a computer display. When I heard the loud noise I thought, only for the briefest and scariest instant, that somehow one of two Takahashi telescopes had fallen off my A-P 1200 GTO mount--but I was watching a graph of guide-star tracking on the PHD guiding-software display on a MacBook Pro display at the time. There was no disruption in tracking, not even a little spike, which immediately ruled out any accident associated with the pier/mount/telescopes/camera chain. And the sound was that of something striking an expanse of sheet metal. Imagine hitting a steel trash can with a hammer. I decided to wait a few seconds for the camera exposure to finish, then I turned on a white incandescent workshop ("trouble') lamp. A thorough inspection of the observatory interior showed nothing amiss. A quick inspection outside with a three D-cell flashlight showed nothing amiss. The dome rotator, which was not running at the time, was fine, the taut steel cables that control the aperture closing were fine, the two entry doors were fine. There are no springs in the dome aperture mechanism. The aluminum dome amplifies noises when one is inside. The dome rotator is quite loud and even the SBIG STL fan motors are fairly loud from the inside, not terribly noticeable from outside. I expect that a person outside the dome would have heard this sound much differently. I reiterate that it was very loud from inside the dome. Inclement weather precluded a close exterior daylight examination for three days. Today I rotated the dome as my wife and I examined the dome from the ground in bright sunlight. We saw what appeared to be a shallow dent just below the highest point on the right--hand (as seen face-on from outside) sliding aperture cover. I got on a stepladder to confirm that what we were seeing was the shadow of a depression and not dirt on the dome. I did not measure the dent; I estimate it to be about 8 cm wide and .5 cm deep. The paint did not appear to be damaged, but that will be a matter for a closer examination. I cannot be certain that the dent is brand new. I know that it was not there in October of 2011 when I inspected and lubricated the dome washed the exterior by hand as I do each spring and fall. I believe that I know virtually every nick and bit of peeling paint on the dome (and there aren't many). Something blunt and somewhat weighty has struck the dome from above since October, 2011. It seems unlikely that any person threw a stone and struck the observatory. The incident occurred at 2300 local. The dome is situated some 260 feet from a rural road on a two-acre property on a nine-home cul-de-sac surrounded by woods. The only child in the 'hood is a three-year-old girl--not a person of interest. There is virtually never anyone in the neighborhood, except me, outside their home at 2300 hrs. A bird striking the observatory would have made a thud rather than a very loud metallic clang. Judging from the smoothness of the dent and the lack of obvious paint damage, I would guess that the dome was struck by a blunt object. I wouldn't want to try to guess the mass of the projectile, but the dome is very stiff, a sort of monocoque construction in which all of the seams are welded. I do not know what the velocity of a small projectile would have to be to dent the dome. With the denting of the dome absorbing energy, it doesn't seem that the projectile would have fallen to the ground far from the dome after bouncing off the dome. Light snow and now wet ground have precluded a thorough search of the area which might reveal the object that struck the dome. I plan to borrow or rent a metal detector asap. What struck my dome? Ideas not involving magic, the wrath of god(s), hallucinations, aliens, UFOs, flying animals, or the the like? Sjouke Burry: Pieces of ice happen to drop off airplanes. If there are some routes across your location, that is a fair candidate. Agreed. I hadn't considered ice. Only thing is, I'm several miles from any flight path leading into or out of BWI, which is not very far away. I could imagine a piece of ice falling off an incoming plane due to vibration when flaps are extended, landing gears is lowered, and what-not, but with calm wind, I don't know how it would have found its way to my home, especially when it would likely have come off the plane at a fairly low altitude, 10 miles or more laterally distant. Unseen high-flying aircraft? Possibly. We see contrails from high-altitude military aircraft in daylight and early evening some days, possibly from fighter CAP, if they're still doing that on the eastern seaboard. I don't know about nighttime fighter CAP, so I can't rule it out, either. Even though the weather was clear, it is still possible that a little seed of ice happened to form at a certain altitude, grow as it fell, and struck my dome. Such an ice fall would be a rare, even freak occurrence here, but certainly not impossible. In any event, until someone comes up with something more plausible, I like your ice fall--some kind of ice fall--as a leading candidate. -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
Davoud:
What struck my dome? Ideas not involving magic, the wrath of god(s), hallucinations, aliens, UFOs, flying animals, or the the like? Chris L Peterson: My first guess would be ice- it sounds as if you had bad weather coming in, and ice can sometimes be carried pretty long distances in otherwise clear air. Of course, there's that blue (or worse, brown) ice that occasionally falls from airplanes... Certainly a meteorite strike is possible, although extremely unlikely. If it was a meteorite, it almost certainly was not a Quadrantid, since the parent body is probably cometary in nature (although no longer active), and therefore quite fragile. When combined with the fairly high entry speed of 41 km/s, any material will burn up completely while still very high. If you find a meteorite, it will be very valuable, since it would receive the "hammer" classification- one which struck a structure, person, or vehicle. It might be especially valuable since it actually struck an observatory, with a person inside to witness the noise it made. However long the odds it was a meteor, they got worse by some orders of magnitude when you said such a meteor could be valuable. The most valuable thing ever to land on my property was a pile of roof shingles when a truck delivered to the wrong address while I was away. I think that ice is much more likely than a meteor. Ah well, maybe I'll have worse luck next time. -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:34:03 -0500, Davoud wrote:
Agreed. I hadn't considered ice. Only thing is, I'm several miles from any flight path leading into or out of BWI, which is not very far away. I could imagine a piece of ice falling off an incoming plane due to vibration when flaps are extended, landing gears is lowered, and what-not, but with calm wind, I don't know how it would have found its way to my home, especially when it would likely have come off the plane at a fairly low altitude, 10 miles or more laterally distant. Of course, you must also consider that it was a piece of ordinary ice that fell off an alien flying saucer when it extended its scloxulaforb during a routine abduction in your neighborhood. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
On Jan 11, 7:14*am, Chris L Peterson wrote:
Of course, you must also consider that it was a piece of ordinary ice that fell off an alien flying saucer when it extended its scloxulaforb during a routine abduction in your neighborhood. Had the location been Denmark I would have suggested a search for a rocket of the firework variety. Kids are still letting off left-over fireworks a week after the New Year celebrations. As it was in N.America I should call the local MIB office ASAP. Failure to report a collision with an alien craft, and all that... These were probably micro-beings in a battle-cruiser and mistook your dome for their vast, mother ship. Far preferable to a shard of brown ice! Or differential thermal expansion. There are no years of free beers, recounting the tale, in the latter. ;-) |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
On Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:49:40 -0800 (PST), "Chris.B"
wrote: As it was in N.America I should call the local MIB office ASAP. Failure to report a collision with an alien craft, and all that... These were probably micro-beings in a battle-cruiser and mistook your dome for their vast, mother ship. Far preferable to a shard of brown ice! Or differential thermal expansion. There are no years of free beers, recounting the tale, in the latter. ;-) If Davoud's luck is as poor as he indicates, it's likely that somebody else would be blessed with an impact from an unobtainium bolt off the flying saucer; Davoud would just get a piece of... orange?... ice that fell out of the evacuation shoot. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
On Jan 11, 7:56*am, Chris L Peterson wrote:
If Davoud's luck is as poor as he indicates, it's likely that somebody else would be blessed with an impact from an unobtainium bolt off the flying saucer; Davoud would just get a piece of... orange?... ice that fell out of the evacuation shoot. Don't knock it. A piece of alien orange ice can be preserved and exhibited for a lifetime of small entry charges to the Davoud Museum of Alien Artefacts. Just think if the object had struck the poor devil after passing through the open slit? He might have ended up in his own museum. As an exhibit! ;-) What a terrifying choice! Knock out the dent to match neighbours' expectations of visual decorum. Or paint a big red arrow on the dome and invite the UFO-NUTS round for the price of more beer. Will he have sufficient room for parking in the high season? I heard there is already a viral YT video using Google Earth to pinpoint the First Alien Encounter of the Filth Kind! There may be some serious copyright issues here. BTW: Nobody with a dome full of toys on two acres of pristine lawn is remotely unlucky. We can't even hope for frost heave to put a slight lean on his pier. He'd only adjust it back out! ;-) |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Did a Quadrantid Meteor Strike My Observatory Dome?
On Jan 10, 7:25 pm, Davoud wrote:
Light snow and now wet ground have precluded a thorough search of the area which might reveal the object that struck the dome. I plan to borrow or rent a metal detector asap. What struck my dome? Ideas not involving magic, the wrath of god(s), hallucinations, aliens, UFOs, flying animals, or the the like? Interesting. What happens to the bullets partiers are firing of into the air? Hope we hear of the cause. Ken |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
ASTRO: new 10-in dome observatory at Stellafane | George Normandin[_1_] | Astro Pictures | 0 | September 1st 07 11:29 PM |
Observatory dome crank mechanism | Barry | Amateur Astronomy | 4 | April 2nd 07 01:45 PM |
NASA Astronomers Spot Rare Lunar Meteor Strike | [email protected] | News | 0 | December 24th 05 11:22 PM |
Observatory Safety--Ash Dome | W. Watson | Astronomy Misc | 4 | September 21st 04 08:46 PM |
Observatory Dome | Eric | Amateur Astronomy | 4 | October 12th 03 07:44 PM |