Endeavour in the Moon; Slippery Toolbag (APOD 2008 Nov 20)

[geckzilla]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081120.html

Also visible in the background Capella, Aldebaran, and The Pleiades.

[neufer]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081120.html
http://www.youtube.com/v/EsZZUdzL-Vs
http://www.youtube.com/v/8qB-tvEnVrU
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi

<<A visit by the doctor to Heidi and her grandfather convinces him to recommend that 14-year-old invalid girl named Klara Sessemann journey to visit Heidi in Switzerland. Klara spends a wonderful summer with Heidi and becomes stronger on goat's milk and fresh mountain air, but Peter [Steven Bowen?] is jealous of Klara and pushes her wheelchair down the mountain to its destruction.>>

<<On November 17, 1968, NBC cut off a live broadcast of an American Football League game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders with 65 seconds remaining in favour of a pre-scheduled airing of a new made-for-TV version of Heidi, omitting a stunning comeback by the Raiders and drawing the ire of millions of fans.>>

[emc]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/11/1 ... index.html

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/08 ... ewalk.html

Of all the things I've lost...

[neufer]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/11/1 ... index.html
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/08 ... ewalk.html

Of all the things I've lost...

But how many things have you dropped from 350,000 meters?

[emc]

Of all the things I've lost...

But how many things have you dropped from 350,000 meters?

I don't expect to get the chance on my budget.

But I may have seen the tools on their way back down a couple of days ago in the form of a green streak of light. ... doesn't green indicate man-made meteor?

[neufer]

Of all the things I've lost...

But how many things have you dropped from 350,000 meters?

I don't expect to get the chance on my budget.

But I may have seen the tools on their way back down a couple of days ago in the form of a green streak of light.
... doesn't green indicate man-made meteor?

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dSXcy1r4LHM
http://www.planetaryhq.com/greenmeteor.htm
----------------------------------------------
http://www.astronomyforum.net/amateur-a ... eteor.html
....................................
Chris L Peterson:

<<Green is the most commonly reported color for slow, bright fireballs.>>
....................................
Robin Leadbeater:

<<The blue/green colour comes from Oxygen heated by the passage of
the meteor through the upper atmosphere. I was lucky enough to catch
a spectrum of a bright Persied recently which showed this effect.>>
----------------------------------------------
http://www.answers.com/topic/flame-test
Green: Copper(non-halide), Boron, Barium, Tellurium, Thallium, or Antimony .

Code: Select all

Symbol 	Name 		Color
-------------------------------------
Cs 	Cesium 		Pale violet
Rb 	Rubidium 	Pale violet
K 	Potassium 	Lilac
Se 	Selenium 	Azure blue
As 	Arsenic 	Blue
In 	Indium 	        Blue
Cu(I) 	Copper(I) 	Blue
Pb 	Lead 		white/blue
Cu(II) 	Copper(halide) 	Blue-green
Zn 	Zinc 	Bluish Green
P 	Phosphorus 	Pale bluish green
Cu(II) 	Copper(non-halide) 	Green
B 	Boron 	Bright Green
Ba 	Barium 	Light Green
Te 	Tellurium 	Pale green
Tl 	Thallium 	Pure green
Sb 	Antimony 	Pale green
Mn(II) 	Manganese(II) 	Yellowish green
Mo 	Molybdenum 	Yellowish green
Na 	Sodium	 	Intense Yellow
Fe 	Iron	 	Gold
Li 	Lithium 	crimson
Sr 	Strontium 	Crimson
Ca 	Calcium 	Brick red
Mg 	Magnesium 	Brilliant white

[emc]

Thank you again for helping shed light. 8)

I just happened to look up on my way to work and saw the meteor burning down in a southeastererly direction.

[neufer]

Thank you again for helping shed light. 8)

I just happened to look up on my way to work and saw the meteor burning down in a southeastererly direction.

To summarize:

1) The green color of olde 1950's pewter UFO's is due to the copper & antimony.

2) The green color of meteors & aurorae is due to oxygen:
--------------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteors

<<A meteor is the visible event that occurs when a meteoroid or asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes brightly visible. This typically occurs in the mesosphere, and most visible meteors range in altitude from 75km to 100km. For bodies with a size scale larger than the atmospheric mean free path (10 cm to several metres) the visibility is due to the heat produced by the ram pressure (not friction, as is commonly assumed) of atmospheric entry. Since the majority of meteors are from small sand-grain size meteoroid bodies, most visible signatures are caused by electron relaxation following the individual collisions between vaporized meteor atoms and atmospheric constituents.>>
--------------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Borealis

<<Aurorae are produced by the collision of charged particles from Earth's magnetosphere, mostly electrons but also protons and heavier particles, with atoms and molecules of Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km (50 miles)). The particles have energies of 1 to 100 keV. They originate from the Sun and arrive at the vicinity of Earth in the relatively low-energy solar wind. When the trapped magnetic field of the solar wind is favourably oriented (principally southwards) it reconnects with Earth's magnetic field, and solar particles enter the magnetosphere and are swept to the magnetotail. Further magnetic reconnection accelerates the particles towards Earth.

The collisions in the atmosphere electronically excite atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere. The excitation energy can be lost by light emission or collisions. Most aurorae are green and red emissions from atomic oxygen. Molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions produce some low level red and very high blue/violet aurorae. The light blue colors are produced by ionic nitrogen and the neutral nitrogen gives off the red and purple color with the rippled edges. Different gases interacting with the upper atmosphere will produce different colors, caused by the different compounds of oxygen and nitrogen. The level of solar wind activity from the Sun can also influence the color of the aurorae.>>

[Chris Peterson]

http://www.answers.com/topic/flame-test
Green: Copper(non-halide), Boron, Barium, Tellurium, Thallium, or Antimony .

While individual emission lines from meteoroid contents can be recorded spectroscopically, these have little or no impact on the visual appearance of meteors. Blackbody output and light from atmospheric ionization (mainly oxygen) are much more intense light sources.

[BMAONE23]

Something somewhat related to the color of emissions by element: Do Iridium Satellites always flare blue-white?

[Chris Peterson]

Something somewhat related to the color of emissions by element: Do Iridium Satellites always flare blue-white?

It must have a lot to do with individual vision. I've seldom seen a flare I'd describe as "blue-white"; to me, the color is usually more of a warm white. Since we are just seeing reflected sunlight, the color must also depend on the relative position of the Sun, satellite, and observer. If the satellite reflects a setting sun (from its perspective), I'd expect more orange. Also, if the flare occurs low in the sky, more blue will be scattered away and it should appear warmer. I've certainly seen flares that were distinctly orange.

[apodman]

Do Iridium Satellites always flare blue-white?

I've seldom seen a flare I'd describe as "blue-white"; to me, the color is usually more of a warm white. ... If the satellite reflects a setting sun ... I'd expect more orange. ... I've certainly seen flares that were distinctly orange.

---

Iridium Flare
Credit: John Hoad - http://www.mkas.org.uk/gallery.htm

[BMAONE23]

I saw one once that was bright red. Perhaps these are the source of some of the colorful glowing orbs (UFO's) that have been reported in the past. The flaring, at a distance sould be confused with a pulsating bright oblect.