Just an idle question on a cloudy night . . .

.. . . but let's admit it. How many of us have gone out to
observe SeaSat, and as it makes its pass found ourselves
saying "SeaSat . . . SeaSat run . . . run, Sat, run!"

--Bill Thompson

. . . but let's admit it. How many of us have gone out to
observe SeaSat, and as it makes its pass found ourselves
saying "SeaSat . . . SeaSat run . . . run, Sat, run!"

I can honestly say that I haven't said that, but I've said,
"Flare, Seasat, flare!" Sometimes it gets *really* bright!

There's a satellite prediction program called Seesat (and
another called C-Sat, I think), so maybe we can also imagine
folks yelling at their PCs, "Runc Seesat, run!"

Cloudy here also.... I think I caused it, because I got new
Orion Ultraview 8x42 binoculars and haven't had much chance to
use them yet (one pretty good evening and one fair one out of
10 nights now).

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA

. . . but let's admit it. How many of us have gone out to
observe SeaSat, and as it makes its pass found ourselves
saying "SeaSat . . . SeaSat run . . . run, Sat, run!"

I can honestly say that I haven't said that, but I've said,
"Flare, Seasat, flare!" Sometimes it gets *really* bright!

There's a satellite prediction program called Seesat (and
another called C-Sat, I think), so maybe we can also imagine
folks yelling at their PCs, "Runc Seesat, run!"

Cloudy here also.... I think I caused it, because I got new
Orion Ultraview 8x42 binoculars and haven't had much chance to
use them yet (one pretty good evening and one fair one out of
10 nights now).

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA

Ed Cannon wrote:

Cloudy here also.... I think I caused it, because I got new
Orion Ultraview 8x42 binoculars and haven't had much chance to
use them yet (one pretty good evening and one fair one out of
10 nights now).

You actually had a good evening? You mean, reasonably clear,
not a whole lot of clouds and fog, and all that? What was it like?
It's been so long, I've almost forgotten.

--Bill Thompson

Ed Cannon wrote:

Cloudy here also.... I think I caused it, because I got new
Orion Ultraview 8x42 binoculars and haven't had much chance to
use them yet (one pretty good evening and one fair one out of
10 nights now).

You actually had a good evening? You mean, reasonably clear,
not a whole lot of clouds and fog, and all that? What was it like?
It's been so long, I've almost forgotten.

--Bill Thompson

Nice and clear here lately, but windy and below 0 (F)...

Pipes are frozen this morning!

William R. Thompson wrote:

Ed Cannon wrote:


Cloudy here also.... I think I caused it, because I got new
Orion Ultraview 8x42 binoculars and haven't had much chance to
use them yet (one pretty good evening and one fair one out of
10 nights now).


You actually had a good evening? You mean, reasonably clear,
not a whole lot of clouds and fog, and all that? What was it like?
It's been so long, I've almost forgotten.

--Bill Thompson

--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.

Nice and clear here lately, but windy and below 0 (F)...

Pipes are frozen this morning!

William R. Thompson wrote:

Ed Cannon wrote:


Cloudy here also.... I think I caused it, because I got new
Orion Ultraview 8x42 binoculars and haven't had much chance to
use them yet (one pretty good evening and one fair one out of
10 nights now).


You actually had a good evening? You mean, reasonably clear,
not a whole lot of clouds and fog, and all that? What was it like?
It's been so long, I've almost forgotten.

--Bill Thompson

--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.

Sky Watchers Report Strange Phenomena,
Call For Investigation By Scientists

--From the Dissociative Press--

Today several observers in Reduce Speed,
Iowa reported a bizarre and inexplicable
sight in their skies.

"It was blue, that's fer dang sure," said
Herkimer T. McGargle, a 73 year old pig
breeder. "Right overhead! Must've been
at least as big as my thumb!"

His 8 year old nephew, Hezekiah Cornpone,
and his twin brother, 12 year old Jezebel
Plowpusher, gave an account which varied
only in minor details. Hezekiah swears
that the strange object in the sky was
black, and speckled with at least two--and
perhaps three--glowing light-points which
he called "stars," in reference to a fairy
tale common beloved by children and others
of easily-impressed mentalities. Jezebel's
account says that the black area contained
none of the alleged stars, but rather a
large crescent-shaped object with a mottled
gray surface.

Scientists aren't impressed.

"We've had dozens of reports like this over
the past century," scoffed Dr. Pencilly
Nerdenhall. "It's funny how no two reports
are alike. The so-called 'sky' is a small
patch of blue, or it extends over a vast
area, or it's black, or it has this huge
hot source of light--and most telling of
all, none of these bizarre sightings ever
happen when a qualified observer is looking.
You'd think it would happen at least once
in my lifetime!"

Dr. Nerdenhall points to his recent book,
"The Impenetrable Clouds," for further
evidence which disproves what he and his
supporters have named the "clear sky
delusion." They believe that untrained
observers can mistake certain variations in
the sky's normal gray coloration for blue,
and that certain eye defects can cause even
a veteran scientist to misinterpret these
differences in the cloud deck for color and
light. Scientists have recently demonstrated
the existence of different shades of blue
light, but they steadfastly deny that this
optical event can be observed anywhere
outside the lab, much less overhead.

"And let's face it," Dr. Nerdenhall adds,
"some of these people have--let's be polite--
ingested certain recreational pharmaceuticals.
It could be an accidental case of ergot
poisoning, but the sad fact is that nothing
else can account for these irrational and
hallucinatory claims."

And what of Herkimer T. McGargle's report?

"I don't care none fer what these science
johnnies say," the elderly pig breeder
announced. "I know what I seen. It was right
proper purty, and I hope I get to see it again
before I die of old age."

Sky Watchers Report Strange Phenomena,
Call For Investigation By Scientists

--From the Dissociative Press--

Today several observers in Reduce Speed,
Iowa reported a bizarre and inexplicable
sight in their skies.

"It was blue, that's fer dang sure," said
Herkimer T. McGargle, a 73 year old pig
breeder. "Right overhead! Must've been
at least as big as my thumb!"

His 8 year old nephew, Hezekiah Cornpone,
and his twin brother, 12 year old Jezebel
Plowpusher, gave an account which varied
only in minor details. Hezekiah swears
that the strange object in the sky was
black, and speckled with at least two--and
perhaps three--glowing light-points which
he called "stars," in reference to a fairy
tale common beloved by children and others
of easily-impressed mentalities. Jezebel's
account says that the black area contained
none of the alleged stars, but rather a
large crescent-shaped object with a mottled
gray surface.

Scientists aren't impressed.

"We've had dozens of reports like this over
the past century," scoffed Dr. Pencilly
Nerdenhall. "It's funny how no two reports
are alike. The so-called 'sky' is a small
patch of blue, or it extends over a vast
area, or it's black, or it has this huge
hot source of light--and most telling of
all, none of these bizarre sightings ever
happen when a qualified observer is looking.
You'd think it would happen at least once
in my lifetime!"

Dr. Nerdenhall points to his recent book,
"The Impenetrable Clouds," for further
evidence which disproves what he and his
supporters have named the "clear sky
delusion." They believe that untrained
observers can mistake certain variations in
the sky's normal gray coloration for blue,
and that certain eye defects can cause even
a veteran scientist to misinterpret these
differences in the cloud deck for color and
light. Scientists have recently demonstrated
the existence of different shades of blue
light, but they steadfastly deny that this
optical event can be observed anywhere
outside the lab, much less overhead.

"And let's face it," Dr. Nerdenhall adds,
"some of these people have--let's be polite--
ingested certain recreational pharmaceuticals.
It could be an accidental case of ergot
poisoning, but the sad fact is that nothing
else can account for these irrational and
hallucinatory claims."

And what of Herkimer T. McGargle's report?

"I don't care none fer what these science
johnnies say," the elderly pig breeder
announced. "I know what I seen. It was right
proper purty, and I hope I get to see it again
before I die of old age."