THE WORLD AROUND US
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Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 3, 2015
DAWN SPACECRAFT BEGINS APPROACH TO DWARF PLANET CERES
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has entered an approach
phase in which it will continue to close in on
Ceres, a Texas-sized dwarf planet never before
visited by a spacecraft. Dawn launched in 2007
and is scheduled to enter Ceres orbit in March
2015.
Dawn recently emerged from solar conjunction,
in which the spacecraft is on the opposite side of the
Sun, limiting communication with antennas on
Earth. Now that Dawn can reliably communicate
with Earth again, mission controllers have
programmed the maneuvers necessary for the
next stage of the rendezvous, which they label the
Ceres approach phase. Dawn is currently 400,000
miles from Ceres, approaching it at around 450
miles per hour.
The spacecraft’s arrival at Ceres will mark the
first time that a spacecraft has ever orbited two
solar system targets. Dawn previously explored
the protoplanet Vesta for 14 months, from 2011
to 2012, capturing detailed images and data about
that body.
“Ceres is almost a complete mystery to us,”
said Christopher Russell of UCLA, principal
investigator for the Dawn mission. “Ceres, unlike
Vesta, has no meteorites linked to it to help reveal
its secrets. All we can predict with confidence is
that we will be surprised.”
The two planetary bodies are thought to be
different in a few important ways. Ceres may have
formed later than Vesta, and with a cooler interior.
Current evidence suggests that Vesta only retained
a small amount of water because it formed earlier,
when radioactive material was more abundant,
which would have produced more heat. Ceres, in
contrast, has a thick ice mantle and may even have
an ocean beneath its icy crust.
Ceres, with an average diameter of 590 miles,
is also the largest body in the asteroid belt, the
strip of solar system real estate between Mars
and Jupiter. By comparison, Vesta has an average
diameter of 326 miles, and is the second most
massive body in the belt.
The spacecraft uses ion propulsion to traverse
space far more efficiently than if it used chemical
propulsion. In an ion propulsion engine, an
electrical charge is applied to xenon gas, and
charged metal grids accelerate the xenon particles
out of the thruster. These particles push back
on the thruster as they exit, creating a reaction
force that propels the spacecraft. Dawn has now
completed five years of accumulated thrust time,
far more than any other spacecraft.
“Orbiting both Vesta and Ceres would be truly
impossible with conventional propulsion. Thanks
to ion propulsion, we’re about to make history as
the first spaceship ever to orbit two unexplored
alien worlds,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief
engineer and mission director, based at NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
*******
JOY TO ALL THE WORLDS! Speaking of
unexplored alien worlds, let’s zoom out to a
cluster of galaxies 60 million light-years away.
This beautiful new image from the Hubble Space
Telescope shows an edge-on view of galaxy IC
335 in front of a backdrop of distant galaxies. I
wonder how many worlds there might be in this
field of view—and what their inhabitants, if any,
are doing at this moment?
In each galaxy,
A trillion new wonders wait…
Joy to all the worlds!
—Bob Eklund
You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.
WEATHER LORE
OUT TO PASTOR
A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder
By Christopher Nyerges
Aside from consulting with newspapers, the weather service, and
such online services as Weather Underground, you should learn to
make your own weather observations, and learn to interpret what
you see. If nothing else, this helps to increase your awareness of the
environment and keeps you alert.
Birds perch more and fly lower before a storm because the low-
pressure air makes it harder to fly.
A barometer – either store-bought or home-made – is a good tool
for determining if there will be clear days or rain ahead. A rising
barometer indicates decreasing air pressure and clear weather, while
a rapidly falling barometer sometimes forecasts rain, snow, or other
stormy weather.
Though you might have a barometer on your wall at home, most people do not carry a barometer
with them into the wilderness areas. However, many people do carry altimeters (sometimes built into
their wrist watches), and these are essentially barometers. First, you need to know where you are on
your map, and your altimeter needs to be accurate. Then, over the course of a day or so, if our altimeter
shows a higher elevation than is accurate, it means the pressure is falling and this could indicate that a
storm is coming. If the altimeter shows a lower elevation than what the map indicates, then the pressure
is rising and you have a general indication of clear or clearing weather.
The key here is an accurate altimeter, and your observation of a change in the altimeter while you
were at the same location.
Dew on the grass at night or early morning can be a sign of fair weather, and dry morning grass can
foretell rain or an overcast day. However, in some areas where it is very dry, you may not get morning
dew even though the day will be clear.
The presence of a red sunrise or sunset is also a good general indicator of the weather to follow. A red
sunset generally indicates fair weather, and a red sunrise may foretell rain within 48 hours. A simple
rhyme makes it easy to remember: “Red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in morning, sailors take
warning.”
Learning to read the clouds can be another skill for short-term weather forecasting.
For example, cumulus clouds are the puffy, flat-based, cauliflower-like clouds which are constantly
changing. They mean fair weather followed by clear nights. However, if they begin to stack up into
cumulonimbus clouds, that means rain or snow is on the way.
Cumulonimbus clouds result from strong vertical air currents. These are the most familiar
thunderheads, with winds often molding the tops into an anvil form. Their based may almost touch the
ground in the mountains, and violent updrafts can carry the tops to 75,000 feet. In their most violent
form, they can produce tornadoes. Usually a sign of approaching storms, these cumulonimbus clouds
will drop rain or snow, and sometimes hail.
There are many other natural signs which will tell you about upcoming weather systems. Most of
these signs are fairly logical once you understand the mechanisms at work. One of the best books on
this subject is Eric Sloane’s illustrated “Weather Book.” Sloane gives the reader a basic understanding
of the principles which control weather, and his beautiful drawings make the subject easy to grasp.
I have also learned a lot from Ellsworth Jaegar’s “Wildwood Wisdom” and from the weather section
of most Boy Scout manuals.
Observing short-term weather signs is a good way to increase your awareness. When planning your
trips, take advantage of all the modern resources.
Once while discussing weather with meteorologist Dr. George Fischbeck, well-known to Southern
California TV audiences, he told me that he is very suspect of the long-term weather projections of
a week to 10 days. “Weather is a very dynamic thing,” he told me. “No one can accurately predict the
weather beyond more than 48 hours.”
How to determine weather conditions by observing a rope that was hung from a tree limb:
If the rope is: The weather condition is:
MOVING Windy
STILL Calm
INVISIBLE Foggy
WET Rainy
DRY Sunny
GONE Hurricane
[Nyerges has been teaching outdoor skills since 1974. He is the author of many books, including “Testing
Your Outdoor Survival Skills,” “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Enter the Forest,” and others. Information
about his books and classes can be seen at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]
WHAT IT WAS, WAS FRUITCAKE
The period between November 1 and January 1 happens to be my favorite
time frame. Oh yes, there is the idea of Christmas and Christmas presents and
all of that. I certainly enjoy Christmas with my family and friends.
As the oldest person in my family, (I will never mention aloud that the Gracious Mistress of the
Parsonage is a wee bit older than myself), it is my duty to pay for all of these Christmas presents. By the
time January 1 rolls around, I am just about broke.
What good is money if you can’t spend it on your favorite people in all of the world? I won’t say that
my family is the best people in all of the world, although it is true, I just won’t say it aloud.
What I do like about this period of the year are the delicacies of the season. It is the time of the year to
splurge on the finer elements of life. By that, I mean food. I don’t think it’s possible to get too much food
during this time of the year.
My wife is infamous for looking at me and saying, “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Being
married as long as I have I only allow her to say, “Don’t you think...” And I stop her right there, shake
my head vigorously and say, “No I don’t think. Tis the season not to think.” And I’m not bragging or
anything, but when it comes to not thinking I have perfected the art.
I have one rule when it comes to this time of the year. Vegetables are completely off my diet. All year
long my wife force feeds these wretched vegetables on me as though it was good for my health. The only
thing good for my health is to eat them so that she doesn’t badger me as much as she can. But vegetables?
At Christmas time?
This time of the year is the time for me to exploit the delicious delicacies of the season. I can’t think of
any dessert at this time of the year that I don’t indulge in and do it right smartly. Whenever I’m invited
to a party, I always manage to bring some kind of dessert. And I don’t bring the dessert for the host. I
bring the dessert for me. When you are at a party, it is not polite not to eat the dessert. And I want to be
as polite as I can along this line.
It was a couple days before Christmas when I realized something rather strange. Of course, being who
I am thinking about something strange comes rather normal. But this was something a little different.
I turned to my wife and said, “Have you noticed something absent this year during the Christmas
season?”
“Vegetables?” She said somewhat sarcastically.
“No, something else.”
Then I explained what I have not seen this holiday season. They must be around, but I have not run
into any this year.
What I have missed this year is the good old fashion Fruitcake. What is the Christmas season without
Fruitcake?
There was a time when Fruitcake was everywhere you looked and you couldn’t get away from it. Of
course, I never tried to get away from Fruitcake. Being the nut that I am, I absolutely love Fruitcake.
I know many people make fun of this holiday delicacy. I’m not one of them. I don’t make fun of that
which has some special meaning. Only during the holiday season can you get this wonderful, delightful
delicacy.
Just think about it for a minute. On the one hand, you have “fruit,” and on the other hand, you have
“cake.” What two things could merge in such a harmonious marriage of deliciousness?
The goodness of the fruit cancels out the badness of the cake.
Now when I say badness of the cake, I’m only quoting my wife. I have never seen a cake that was bad,
except the one that I can’t eat. Cake is the one thing that makes a gathering worth gathering.
Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical for those people who think a cake is bad, andthen have it on
certain celebrations? For example. How could you have a wedding without having a wedding cake? I
could go on from there if you want me to. No matter what the celebration, cake makes it better.
I fondly remember the first time I brought home Fruitcake for our Christmas festivities. I set it on the
table and my wife looked at me and said, “What in the world is that?”
I looked at her and smiled one of those smiles that comes to someone who is happy to be doing
what he’s doing at the time and said, “This is not from the world, my dear, this is from heaven.” Then I
explained to her what a fruitcake was. I’m not sure she bought the whole story.
Life is full of combining things and when combined with other things they take on a new identity. I
think life is much like a Fruitcake.
Perhaps Jesus said it best, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).
When we combine our life with Jesus we take on His identity.
Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He
lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@
att.net or website www.jamessnyderministries.com.
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