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kreigor |
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Extreme Junky Posts: 468   Location: Sacramento, Calif. 38*32' X 121*26' | i've been tossing this around for awhile, so here's what i came up with... we have the monthly photo thing going, and i just love to see some of our members participating in it... it takes a lot of desire, patience, and willingness to be a successfull APer... i'm not quite there yet...so that leaves myself and (i think) many others on this forum who could benefit from another form of contesting... i coined the title "question of the week"... where by a member makes up a question regarding astronomy and then posts it for anyone to view and try to answer... some problems can be seen this way... flooding of answers and not knowing who was correct first... so, the answers could be sent to the questioners PM (private message)... then he/she could post to the forum who won for the week... "THE PRIZE???" well, if you win, YOU get to make up the next question...  questions can be posted on sunday morn, and answering closed saturday night or sooner if a correct response is made... i have thought up a few possible Q and As as examples... 1) Q: what is the farthest distance the earth could be from mars (in AU units) ??? 2) Q: if antares is at my zenith, what is my lat/long ??? 3) Q: if the sun is at RA 18H what is my meridian RA at midnite??? seems to me we could spark more interest from newcomers as well as some of us more knowledgeables... what do you think??? andy??? mosh??? david??? johnm??? anybody??? any and all forms of information can be used for answers... ie: internet, library, your local college prof., your mom/dad, etc... may clear and dark skies flood your evening... kreigor | ||
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| David Pavlich |
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 Forum Support Admin Posts: 3568    Location: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90.07 | Sounds like fun! It could be one of those continuing threads. I see no harm in it. With that being said, since Kriegor came up with the idea, I think he should have the honor of posting the first question. This should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: It has to be astro-related. And without any more yacking from me...I give you Kriegor's first question!  David | ||
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| kreigor |
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Extreme Junky Posts: 468 Location: Sacramento, Calif. 38*32' X 121*26' | well, i thought this would generate a bit more interest, but oh well... ok... i think the first question should be somewhat challenging, and not to difficult as well... so here goes: When (date) and why was Pluto declassified as a regular planet??? here's a bonus ques.: In order of size (biggest first), name the moons of pluto??? pls PM all answers to me (kreigor) and the winner will be anounced as time will permit... this could really be some fun guys, so let's give it a try... thanks for reading, kreigor... | ||
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| kreigor |
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Extreme Junky Posts: 468 Location: Sacramento, Calif. 38*32' X 121*26' | BINGO!!! mosherific has answered the first (and i hope many to follow) question correctly as of 8/01/2010 @ approx 2:00 PM his answer has given him the right to ask the next one... the following was his qualifying response: "Pluto was officially declassified to minor planet status on August 24, 2006. The reasoning was that Pluto had much less mass than once thought, in fact seven moons are larger than it is. Including: Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Io, the Moon, Europa, and Triton. Another minor planet, Eris, is 27% more massive than Pluto. It is also considered a Kuyper Belt object. The moons of Pluto are: Charon, ( pronounced "Karon" ) Nix, and Hydra." another of the criteria for an object to be considered for planetship is to clear its own orbit, which pluto does not... thank you, mosherific, and now you are in control of the board... i knew this was going to be fun, so , let's keep it goin' fellas... best always, kreigor... | ||
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| mosheriffic |
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Expert Junky Posts: 2686 Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | Thanks Kreigor, what a fun thread!! Don't be shy now, I know there are others just dying to participate in this little game!! My question is also solar system oriented: The fuzzy, outer edge of our solar system is usually defined as.... what ?? And as a bonus: How many Earth/Sun distances (AU) is this edge from the Sun?? Please PM me with your responses.  Edited by mosheriffic 8/2/2010 6:31 PM | ||
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| mosheriffic |
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Expert Junky Posts: 2686 Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | We have a winner!! Paul ( phxbird ) correctly stated the answer as the " Oort cloud "!! ( The fuzzy, outer edge of our solar system is usually defined as.... what ?? ) As the winner, Paul gets to pick the next challenge question. I'm still looking for the answer to the bonus question: How many Earth/Sun distances (AU) is this edge from the Sun?? Thank you Paul for participating in the challenge!!  | ||
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| phxbird |
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Elite Junky Posts: 878 Location: Deming, NM | |||
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| phxbird |
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Elite Junky Posts: 878 Location: Deming, NM | |||
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| mosheriffic |
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Expert Junky Posts: 2686 Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | I believe I know the answer Paul, but I wanted to give others the opportunity to respond. Kreigor got my bonus question correct by answering : 50,000 AU distance from the Sun ( What is the estimated distance of the outer limit edge of our Solar system?) For those that don't know: AU ( Astronomical Unit ) = one Earth to Sun distance. Edited by mosheriffic 8/6/2010 5:08 PM | ||
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| phxbird |
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Elite Junky Posts: 878 Location: Deming, NM | |||
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| mosheriffic |
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Expert Junky Posts: 2686 Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | Thanks Paul!! I hope we can get more members involved in the fun!! My question, inspired by a resent observing session, is : What makes the Blinking planetary nebula "blink" ? Please PM me with your answer. | ||
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| mosheriffic |
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Expert Junky Posts: 2686 Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | Congratulations to David Pavlich for correctly answering the challenge question!! This was his reply: It doesn't really "blink". The central star is so bright, it overcomes the nebulosity. When viewing back and forth from direct to averted vision, it winks in and out. ( What makes the Blinking planetary nebula "blink" ? ) Ok David as a winner, you get to choose the next challenge question!! | ||
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| David Pavlich |
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Forum Support Admin Posts: 3568 Location: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90.07 | |||
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| kreigor |
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Extreme Junky Posts: 468 Location: Sacramento, Calif. 38*32' X 121*26' | |||
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| mosheriffic |
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Expert Junky Posts: 2686 Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | Kreigor, I think we could bump this thread every couple of days to keep it alive. I just PMed David with an answer. I was sure hoping for more participation in this.  | ||
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| David Pavlich |
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Forum Support Admin Posts: 3568 Location: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90.07 | Ron got the first part correct. I should've stopped there since it's supposed to be one question. The second type of SN takes place in a binary star system with one of the stars still active and the other, a white dwarf. As the active star sheds its surface, the material is acreted onto the white dwarf. Once the white dwarf receives 1.4 times it's weight in acreted material, the dwarf detonates completely destroying the dwarf. The second question's answer is this: Because of the nature of this SN, the fact that it's a white dwarf and that it detonates when it reaches 1.4 times it's weight in acreted material, the light from this blast is a known constant. Hence, it makes measuring distance from Earth to the host galaxy easy to measure. As an editorial comment, my one astrowish before I assume room temperature is that our galaxy will host to a SN. At the moment, Betelguese and Eta Carinae are my only hopes. In astronomical terms, they are both on the verge of going kablooey. Of course, if Betelguese goes, that's going to make ole' Orion look funny.  David | ||
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