Partial Sunrise Solar Eclipse Sunday Morning

SUNDAY GOOD MORNING TO THE SUN AND MOON—TOGETHER AGAIN


(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org )

By Francis G. Graham
Professor Emeritus of Physics
Kent State University
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower
                         

Eclipse of the Sun / Solar Eclipse:
Tips For Safe Viewing

 

(Following Professor Graham's article is an addendum for East Coast North American viewers)

There will be an eclipse of the Sun on Sunday morning, and part of it will be visible from Pittsburgh.

General Eclipse Situation

This will be an Annular-Total , or Hybrid, eclipse, total in most places but annular near the ends. An annular eclipse is an eclipse where the Moon, due to its increased distance, does not cover the Sun completely. For most of the eclipse, the 4000-mile radius of the Earth is sufficient to project people on the eclipse path into totality.

The eclipse will begin in the western Atlantic Ocean 10:04:25 UT, which is 5:04 AM, Eastern Standard Time. The Sun will of course not have arisen yet in Pittsburgh. The shadow will proceed across the Atlantic to a maximum point just off the coast of Liberia, Africa; then it will continue on and make landfall in Gabon. It will cross the Republic of the Congo and then the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The shadow will continue to Uganda and Kenya, and leave the Earth in Ethiopia, around 15:28:13 UT (10:28 AM Eastern Standard Time).

The eclipse will not be visible at all, west from a line connecting Cleveland with Portsmouth, Ohio and down to Atlanta, Georgia and Tallahasseee. The farther east you are to watch the Sunrise, the better.

The Pittsburgh Eclipse Experience

From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania a limited eclipse is visible but not much. It will be almost over as soon as the Sun rises on the southeastern horizon!

The eclipse will start in Pittsburgh before the Sun is above the horizon, at 5:16:45 Eastern Standard Time. The Sun will be clear above a good flat east-southeast horizon about 6:56 AM, depending on how far east or west you are in the greater Pittsburgh area. Just fifteen minutes later, at 7:09:29 AM Eastern Standard Time, the eclipse will end!! The Sun at that time will then be only two degrees above the horizon as seen from Pittsburgh!

If you want to see this eclipse from Pittsburgh, be sure to find a place where you have a very flat horizon to the east-southeast under clear skies. Also be sure to set your clock back one hour; November 3 at 2 AM is the time switch to Eastern Standard Time from Eastern Daylight Time.

Please let me know if you observed this eclipse or tried to, and how it went. (Information can be sent to the following address, which will be forwarded to Professor Graham: fotz@planetarium.cc )

Source: Francis G. Graham, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Kent State University
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
Professor Graham was also a Planetarium Lecturer and Observatory Observer at Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science in the  late 1970s and the 1980s, and he serves on the Steering Committee of Friends of the Zeiss.

Eclipse of the Sun / Solar Eclipse:
Tips For Safe Viewing

 

Addendum: For East Coast North American Viewers

By Glenn A. Walsh, Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

 

While people viewing the November 3 solar eclipse in Pittsburgh or eastern Ohio will see a very slight partial eclipse, people near the eastern coast of North America will be treated to a larger partial eclipse of the Sun, weather and clouds permitting. Here are some percentages of obscuration of the Sun, by the Moon, at maximum eclipse for select cities:

* New York: 48 percent

* Boston: 54 percent

* Philadelphia: 44 percent

* Washington: 35 percent

* Miami: 36 percent

* Montreal: 32 percent

* Toronto: 10 percent

In all cases, the eclipse is in progress at local sunrise, and the eclipse ends just about 15 to 20 minutes later. Maximum eclipse occurs around 7:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, or perhaps a few minutes earlier (do not forget to reset your clocks, as Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, which becomes 1:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time).

You will need an unobstructed view of the Sun, shortly after sunrise, to see this eclipse. Of course, clouds and inclement weather can also obstruct the view of an eclipse.

 

Remember--NEVER, NEVER, NEVER look directly at the Sun or a solar eclipse with a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device--it would cause PERMANENT BLINDNESS INSTANTLY. Looking directly at the Sun or a solar eclipse with the naked-eye could also cause eye damage.

 

There are no nerve cells in the eyes, so eye damage could occur while the viewer feels no pain !!!

 

Click the following link for tips on how to view a solar eclipse or eclipse of the Sun safely:

 

Eclipse of the Sun / Solar Eclipse:
Tips For Safe Viewing

Other helpful links for information on the November 3 eclipse ---

NASA Eclipse Web Site: Link >>> http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2013Nov03Hgoogle.html

EarthSky.org: Link >>> http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/get-ready-hybrid-solar-eclipse-on-november-3

Space.com: Link >>> http://www.space.com/23419-hybrid-solar-eclipse-visibility-images-november-3-2013.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh, Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor/Author: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#GAW >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Astronomical Calendar: 2013 November

This photograph shows a very busy day at the Miniature Railroad and Village exhibit at Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, during the 1966-1967 exhibition season. One of Buhl's most popular exhibits, it was displayed each year from 1954 to 1991. Known as a very popular Pittsburgh attraction during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the four months of the year known to the Buhl staff as "Railroad Season" actually began each year on the first Friday of November. Today, the Miniature Railroad and Village is displayed at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center and will open to the public on the day after Thanksgiving. More on the history of the Miniature Railroad and Village: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium3.tripod.com/MiniRR.htm

Astronomical Calendar for 2013 November:

Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2013.html#nov

The current month's Astronomical Calendar can also be found on the cover page of the History of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh web site at this link:

Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#astrocal

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.

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Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor/Author: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#GAW >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

'War of the Worlds' Panic Broadcast: 75th Anniversary

Photograph of monument at the supposed landing site of a 1938 Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. (Image Source: Wikipedia.org )

By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Wednesday evening will mark the 75th anniversary of the legendary Orson Welles' radio broadcast, "The War of the Worlds," which created the illusion in the minds of some radio listeners that Earth was actually being invaded by beings from the Planet Mars! Broadcast on the day before Halloween (1938 October 30) as an episode of the radio drama anthology series, "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" on the CBS Radio Network (including then-Pittsburgh CBS Radio Network affiliate WJAS-AM 1300), the broadcast was an adaptation of the H.G. Wells science fiction novel by the same name, which had been published in 1898.

More than half of the first part of the 60-minute broadcast consisted of realistic-sounding, yet fictional radio news bulletins and on-the-scene remote broadcasts from fictional news reporters. Although the beginning of the broadcast made it clear that the program was simply a dramatization, many people had begun listening to the program well after the program had begun. Hence, some of these people were in a panic, seriously thinking that the radio news bulletins were real, and that spaceships and beings from the Planet Mars had actually invaded the tiny hamlet of Grover's Mill, New Jersey, on their way to New York City.

Although people in New Jersey and New York were particularly alarmed, the nationwide broadcast caused fear from coast-to-coast. The Associated Press news wire service reported:

* Pittsburgh: A man returned home during the broadcast to find his wife about to commit suicide by poison. She reportedly screamed, referring to the supposed events in New Jersey: "I'd rather die this way than like that."

* San Francisco: Hundreds of telephone calls to police and newspapers came from men wanting to volunteer to help stop the invasion from Mars.

* Providence: The telephone switchboard of the Providence Journal was swamped with calls from hysterical and weeping women asking about the massacre. Some urged the electric company to turn off all city lights so the city would be safe from the enemy.

* Kansas City: One motorist, who had filled his automobile with gasoline and readied his entire family to leave, called asking "Where is it safe?"

The fake news reports used by the radio drama were similar to on-the-spot radio news reports that had been recently heard by the public, such as the famous radio report of Herbert Morrison (who, in 1958, became the first News Director of WTAE-TV 4 in Pittsburgh), then a reporter for Chicago radio station WLS-AM on the destruction of the Hindenburg Airship, in Lakehurst, New Jersey on 1937 May 6. The War of the Worlds 1938 dramatization mimiced another CBS Radio program, a news documentary series called The March of Time, which combined real news events with reenactments. Combined with real news of the era, that seemed to show that world events could be leading to another war in Europe, the American public at that time was on-edge.

In the days following the 1938 broadcast, public outrage regarding the hoax led to an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); however, the FCC did not sanction the CBS network in any way. Several people tried suing CBS for "mental anguish" and "personal injury"; all lawsuits were dismissed, except for one case where the network did reimburse a Massachusetts man for shoe money he had used to escape from the Martians.

German dictator Adolf Hitler described the panic brought on by the program as "evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy."

At the age of 23, the notoriety from this broadcast made the name of the young dramatist, Orson Welles, a household-word. Three years later, Orson Welles would produce and star in the landmark movie, Citizen Kane.

Over the years, many radio stations have replayed the original 1938 broadcast, usually around Halloween. During the Summer months in the 1970s, the program was replayed twice each Summer on a rather unique educational radio station, operated by campers at a Summer camp near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (the author, Glenn A. Walsh, was a camp counselor and General Manager of this radio station).

Additionally, several other radio stations, and one American television network, broadcast remakes of the original broadcast, updating it to modern broadcast standards so it did sound like a real news broadcast. Some of these broadcasts were so realistic, such as one in South America, that it created a riot when the people realized it was a hoax! Several years ago, there was also a television movie that portrayed the 1938 broadcast.

This year, in commemoration of the radio program's 75th anniversary, Pittsburgh public news radio station WESA-FM 90.5 plans to air a remake of the broadcast, having the Martian invasion set in Downtown Pittsburgh in 1938. This remake will air on WESA-FM on Wednesday evening at 9:00 p.m. EDT (Note: Since Daylight Saving Time was not observed in 1938, this will be exactly 75 years since the first broadcast on the CBS Radio Network at 8:00 p.m. EST on 1938 October 30). The previous hour (starting at 8:00 p.m. EDT), WESA-FM's public affairs program, Essential Pittsburgh (heard weekdays at 12:00 Noon and repeated at 8:00 p.m., and available on-demand on the < wesa.fm > web site), will air highlights of the original 1938 radio broadcast (this highlight program will be heard on October 30 at both 12:00 Noon and 8:00 p.m.).

More on "The War of the Worlds" radio broadcast:
Link >>> http://johnbrashear.tripod.com/wlcr.html#warofworlds

Related Blog Post ---

'War of the World's' Panic Broadcast Remembered by NJ Woman (2014 Oct. 30):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/10/war-of-worlds-panic-broadcast.html 

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

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Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor/Author: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#GAW >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Eye Changes After 2 Weeks in Space

Animal Enclosure Modules, used to study animals
in low gravity conditions, being inspected by
Mission Specialist Tracy Caldwell, Ph.D. and Pilot
Charles Hobaugh aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor
 (STS-118). (Image Source: NASA) 

Just 13 days in space may be enough to cause profound changes in eye structure and gene expression, report researchers from Houston Methodist, NASA Johnson Space Center and two other institutions in the October 2013 issue of Gravitational and Space Research.

The study, which looked at how low gravity and radiation and oxidative damage impacts mice, is the first to examine eye-related gene expression and cell behavior after spaceflight.

"We found many changes in the expression of genes that help cells cope with oxidative stress in the retina, possibly caused by radiation exposure," says Houston Methodist pathologist Patricia Chévez-Barrios, the study's principal investigator. "These changes were partially reversible upon return to Earth. We also saw optic nerve changes consistent with mechanical injury, but these changes did not resolve. And we saw changes in the expression of DNA damage repair genes and in apoptotic pathways, which help the body destroy cells that are irreparably damaged."

Since 2001, studies have shown astronauts are at increased risk of developing eye problems, like premature age-related macular degeneration. Experts suspect the cause is low gravity, heightened exposure to solar radiation, or a combination of the two.

More - Link >>> http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/10/two-weeks-space-cause-eye-changes?et_cid=3559651&et_rid=544607214&type=cta

Sources: Houston Methodist Medical System, LaboratoryEquipment.com .

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor/Author: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#GAW >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Lunar Laser Com-System Sets Data Transmission Record

NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) has made history using a pulsed laser beam to transmit data over the 239,000 miles between the moon and Earth at a record-breaking download rate of 622 megabits per second (Mbps).

LLCD is NASA's first system for two-way communication using a laser instead of radio waves. It also has demonstrated an error-free data upload rate of 20 Mbps transmitted from the primary ground station in New Mexico to the spacecraft currently orbiting the moon.

"LLCD is the first step on our roadmap toward building the next generation of space communication capability," said Badri Younes, NASA's deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation (SCaN) in Washington. "We are encouraged by the results of the demonstration to this point, and we are confident we are on the right path to introduce this new capability into operational service soon."

Since NASA first ventured into space, it has relied on radio frequency (RF) communication. However, RF is reaching its limit as demand for more data capacity continues to increase. The development and deployment of laser communications will enable NASA to extend communication capabilities such as increased image resolution and 3-D video transmission from deep space.

More - Link >>> http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/october/nasa-laser-communication-system-sets-record-with-data-transmissions-to-and-from/#.UmcXdEqyKHt

Source: NASA.

Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science was dedicated as America's fifth major planetarium on 1939 October 24: Link >>> http://www.planetarium.cc

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Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor/Author: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#GAW >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Comet LINEAR Suddenly Brightens

Astronomers are reporting an unexpected outburst by comet C/2012 X1 (LINEAR), although it is not clear whether the object is breaking up or whether a bright jet of material is simply blasting copious quantities of gas and dust into space.

Veteran comet hunters Ernesto Guido, Nick Howes and Martino Nicolini used a remote controlled telescope located in New Mexico to observe the spherical explosion on Oct. 21, revealing a bright coma exhibiting a 100-fold brightness increase. The comet is currently 450 million kilometers (approximately 3 AU) from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices.

“The predicted magnitude of the comet on Oct. 20th was about +14,” Guido told Spaceweather.com. “Now it is close to +8.5.”

More & Video - Link >>> http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/comet-explosion-observed-is-it-doomed-131022.htm

Sources: The Discovery Channel, SpaceWeather.com .

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor/Author: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#GAW >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >