Aurora Show on TV

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #1 13-12-2005, 08:49 PM

Tonight (Tues 13 Dec) at 11:30 on the Discovery Channel is a Documentary 'Riddle of the Polar Sky' about Solar Wind & Auroras!

Going by the ad it looks excellent!!
Hopefully I can find a blank tape somewhere in the house to tape it.

Enjoy! (I'm even going to miss Star Trek to watch it!!!)

iceman (Mike) · #2 14-12-2005, 05:37 AM

I saw the ad for that the other day and forgot to watch it

fringe_dweller · #3 14-12-2005, 10:00 PM

Many Thanks Ken

missed it but i see its repeated 4:30 PM this comin sunday 18th dec, same channel - will try then - was it good?

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #4 14-12-2005, 10:04 PM

Yep Kearn, it was very very good!

They even captured footage of the rare Black Aurora!!!!!! and sent their sattelites into it.

Extreme close-ups showing swirling eddies within the Aurora and some weird facts like: Auroras make steel pipelines rust faster!

fringe_dweller · #5 14-12-2005, 10:09 PM

wow! I like the sound of that - thanks again for the heads up BD!

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #6 14-12-2005, 10:24 PM

Kearn, there is one scene you might cringe at. I did!

Two astronomers are at the South Pole

with a 12" - 14" SCT pointing straight up (coz they are at the South Pole

) and coz it's pointing straight up, the corrector plate keeps filling with snow. Well, this 'Astronomer' uses a plastic (or wood or metal

) scraper to scrape the snow of the corrector!!!!! Roughly!!!!!!!

Be nice to have a budget where you just don't care if you wreck it. Just pull another one out of the storeroom! The ESA is paying for all the research.

fringe_dweller · #7 14-12-2005, 11:47 PM

Ken, its only a SCT, who care's anyway??

not like it was something important like a dob/newt ...... ONLY JOKING!

gives new meaning to the term light bucket!

asimov (John) · #8 15-12-2005, 04:45 AM

They must have a lot in their storeroom then, 'cos it snows A LOT there!

"darn! Can't see a thing! She's had her mandatory 15 corrector-plate scrape downs....grab us another one outa the storeroom willya!?"

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #9 15-12-2005, 12:38 PM

They don't explain why they are viewing in the snow either! I think they were waiting for a sucker hole in the Blizzard.

They also own and use the worlds largest and most powerful Radar! The scientist said it is so powerful that if anyone lives in outer space that this would be the first signal they'd pick up. They use this radar for studying Auroras only. Nothing else!!!

Even though the whole Aurora project is run and funded by the ESA it is in jeopardy of closing because NASA is spending billions to get back into space flight. I don't get that bit

ving (David) · #10 15-12-2005, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fringe_dweller

gives new meaning to the term light bucket!

did someone say snow bucket?

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #11 15-12-2005, 12:48 PM

I wonder if they had a 3m reflector if they'd use snow shovels on it? Eeeek!

asimov (John) · #12 15-12-2005, 04:51 PM

It's a wonder they did'nt stoke a nice lil' fire up under the OTA to boil the snow off the corrector!

asimov (John) · #13 15-12-2005, 04:52 PM

'unlimited budget dew removal system!'