The Flight Deck for June 2002, Issue 109
From the Bridge:
All right, I won't do it...I won't complain how fast time is
going. But it's June, it's summer, and that means heat.
So I am heading north (namely Great Lakes Naval Station) for two
We've got quite a few things coming up; first and foremost, the June
The 4th of July weekend brings us two events: Inconjunction and the
Also, July 20-21 marks the British Isles Festival, taking place at
That does it for me this month; I'll inform everyone
CAPT Cathy Dailey
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Upcoming Events:
June 29th--Halsey Meeting (and hopefully pool party)
July 5th-7th--Inconjunction convention, Indianapolis, IN
July 13th--July Halsey Meeting at ADM Rosann Packer's
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Beamdown Coordinates:
FADM Paul & ADM Sandy Sundstrom
Directions:
1. Take I-65 to Keystone Ave Exit (#107).
Hope to see you there!
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Special Announcement!!
HEAR HEAR!!! There is a rumor of a pool party at the Sundstroms'.
PLEASE READ READ THE FOLLOWING VERY CAREFULLY.
Please bring your own swim suit --- beach towel -- any suntan
If you have little ones please be advise that you will
Remember that there is a side of the pool that is open & you will
We will be providing the hamburgers & hot dogs, you will need to bring a
Hope to see you all at the pool party.
Paul & Sandy
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
June 1st--Honorary CAPT Rene Auberjonois
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From the "Is it My Imagination or is it Awfully Shady?" Desk:
Viewer's Guide to the June 10 Solar Eclipse
By Joe Rao, SPACE.com
Last December 14, viewers across a large part of North America were able
Along a very narrow track that averages only about 26 miles in width,
However, because the Moon will be a bit farther from Earth than
Most observers will simply see a partial eclipse, in
Today becomes yesterday
One unusual circumstance of this eclipse is that because the Moon's shadow
At its beginning, the track of the annular eclipse will touch down in
The island of Guam will lie about 25 miles south of the
Thereafter, virtually the all of the remainder of the annular eclipse
Although it will be difficult to make scientifically useful
Several seconds later the 9,100-mile long
The view from the U.S.
Much of North America will see this as a partial solar eclipse. And
All places to the right (or east) of this line
Meanwhile, those localities to the left (or west) of the line will be
At Pittsburgh, the Moon will manage to cover 22 percent of the Sun's
As one heads farther west, more and more of the eclipse will be
Go West
The farther to the west and south one is, the
Across the Pacific Northwest and the Great Plains, anywhere from 30 to
Fine examples include San Francisco (72% at 6:16 p.m. PDT); Phoenix
In his autobiography "Starlight Nights," Leslie C. Peltier (1900-
Observers in the Southwest states may want to look
For Hawaiians, this will be an event lasting just over two hours
For Alaska, eclipse coverage will range from only about 10
Be careful
Do not look at the eclipse without proper,
Unlike a total eclipse of the Sun, concentrating its excitement
Most people are under the mistaken impression that when a solar eclipse
The result can be "eclipse blindness," a serious eye injury that has been
Fortunately, public warnings by news media have vastly reduced solar
In contrast, after the solar eclipse of May 30, 1984, Sky & Telescope
Pinhole camera
By far, the safest way to view a solar eclipse is to construct a
Binoculars or a small telescope mounted on a tripod can also
A variation on the pinhole theme is the "pinhole mirror." Cover a
The farther away from the wall is the better; the image will
Modeling clay works well to hold the mirror in place. Experiment with
Filters
Acceptable filters for unaided visual solar observations include
Also acceptable is shade 14 arc-welder's glass, available for just a few
Unacceptable filters include sunglasses, color film negatives, black-and-
The fact that the Sun appears dim, or that you
Future eclipses
The next solar eclipse is scheduled to occur late this year on Dec. 4.
Interestingly, the next two partial solar eclipses visible over North
But the next time a solar eclipse will be visible over a large swath
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From the "Inevitable Star Wars Joke" Desk:
The Top 10 Rejected Star Wars Trilogy Marketing Tie-ins
10. Chewbacca Chew'n T'bacca, from Skoal
9. Princess Chia
8. Lando Calrissian Cognac -- 40 Parsecs of smoooooth
7. Han Solo Cups
6. "Do you know me? Probably not, if I'm out of my
5. McDonald's Ewok Burger Happy Meal
4. Metamucil - "May the Force run through you!"
3. Volkswagen's "Return of the Jetta"
2. "Ewok On A Stick" toilet brushes
And the Number 1 Rejected Star Wars Trilogy Marketing Tie-in...
1. Barbie Wan Kenobie's Malibu Deathstar
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end transmission
Go to this page to view older issues of the Halsey Newsletter.
weeks beginning on the 9th of June and returning on the 22nd. I'm
chaperoning the Area 9 ROTC Leadership Academy. I graduated from
that same Academy 5 years ago, and I said that I loved the
experience, but that I would never go back. Now I eat my words.
I'll be incommunicado for that period, so if anyone needs anything,
they can go through our capable exec, RADM Mary Bischoff.
meeting will be at FADM Paul & ADM Sandy Sundstrom's starting at 1
pm. With any luck, it will also be our annual pool party. So
everyone bring munchies, raffle items, suits and sunscreen, as well
as any artillery you desire. **SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW**
release of "Men in Black II." I'm testing the waters for interest in
an MIB away mission. Is there any?
the Renaissance Park in Harveysburg, OH. Prices are $15 for an adult 2-day
ticket, $10 for adult 1-day, $5 for child (6-12) 2-day. There will be
live entertainment from all kinds of bands and dance troupes, along
with food, arts & crafts, rides, and games. It looks like it could
be a very fun time. Is there enough interest to organize an away mission?
when (or if!) I return from ROTC patrol.
at FADM Paul & ADM Sandy Sundstrom's
237 N. 18th Ave, Beech Grove
2. Turn right if coming from the south, left if coming from the north
3. Turn right at light onto Troy Ave.
4. Turn left in between Walgreens' and Chinese takeout place.
5. Continue straight through stop sign (stop first!)
6. 237 on right side of street.
If the weather will cooperate we will have a pool party, if not we
might have a pool cleaning party. Either way the party will be here.
lotion & some clothes to change into after all the fun in the pool.
have to provide some some float device for them if they
can't swim. I have limited number of pool toys so you might
want to bring something for them to play with that is pool safe.
have to watch your little ones very closely to be sure that you are
in the pool with them. Remember this is a small pool & you can't have
too big a float or no one else will be able to move in the pool.
covered dish & drinks. (no booze unless you are planning to stay the night
& arrangements will have to be made before coming) If you don't want the
above meat you will have to bring the meat you want cooked on the grill.
June 25th--CMDR Mark Milhous
to see the New Moon crossing in front of the Sun, causing a partial
solar eclipse. If the weather in your area was unsettled or overcast
and prevented your getting a view of the eclipse, you'll get another
chance on Monday, June 10, when once again most parts of North America
will have an opportunity to watch the Moon partially eclipse the Sun.
the Moon will appear to cross directly in front of the Sun.
average, the dark disk of the Moon will appear ever-so-slightly
smaller than the disk of the Sun, resulting in an annular or "ring"
eclipse. In essence, this is really nothing more than a fancy partial
eclipse. It will produce a "penny atop a nickel" effect, with the Sun
mimicking a blazing ring of light at maximum effect.
which it appears a bite has been taken out of the Sun.
falls upon the Earth's surface to the west of the International Date Line,
the eclipse will begin on Tuesday, June 11th. Then, as the shadow progresses
rapidly toward the east, it will cross the Date Line, causing the calendar
date of the eclipse to fall back a day to Monday, June 10th.
Indonesia along the north coast of Sulawesi and then race across the
Celebes Sea. The eclipse track will then engulf the Indonesian
islands of Pulau Sangihe and Kepulauan Talaud and later Saipan and
Tinian of the Northern Mariana Islands chain.
eclipse track and will see nearly 98 percent of the Sun's
diameter obscured by the passing New Moon.
track falls over open ocean waters. The track sweeps as close as 1,600
miles to the northwest of Hawaii, but its final landfall doesn't come
until practically its endpoint. It will pass about 30 miles south of
the southern tip of Baja, Mexico, before finally reaching Mexico's
Pacific Coast, less than 20 miles south of Puerto Vallarta.
observations, if weather conditions are favorable, properly positioned
observers may obtain striking views and photographs of the setting
Sun transformed for just over a minute into a striking "ring of fire"
above the Pacific Ocean horizon. Cabo Corrientes and El Tuito are
inside the track; Llano Grande is very close to its northern edge.
eclipse track finally comes to an end.
there will also be locations that will see nothing. If you have an
atlas of Canada and the United States, draw a line starting from a
point roughly between the cities of Montreal and Quebec and extend it
south, to a point just west of Washington, D.C. Continue the line
south to Perry, Florida and on into the Gulf of Mexico.
will have no view of any part of the eclipse.
able to see at least a part of this eclipse near sunset, although the
Moon's "bite" out of the lower edge of the Sun will be small. For
example, at Columbia, South Carolina, the eclipse will begin at 8:29
p.m. EDT. The eclipse will still be in progress eight minutes later
when the Sun sets with only eleven percent of its diameter obscured.
diameter by the time local sunset occurs at 8:54 p.m. EDT. The eclipse
will have gotten underway 24 minutes earlier as seen from the Steel City.
visible before sunset intervenes. Generally speaking, those who live
in the Mountain and Pacific Time zones will get an uninterrupted view.
larger the magnitude of the eclipse will be.
60 percent of the Sun's diameter will be obscured. California and the
Desert Southwest will be the most favorably situated with anywhere
from 60 to 80 percent coverage of the Sun's diameter by the Moon.
(73% at 6:24 p.m. MST); Los Angeles (77% at 6:22 p.m. PDT) and San
Diego (80% at 6:24 p.m. PDT). At all of these locations, enough of
the Sun will be obscured at maximum eclipse to possibly cause a
subtle diminution in the overall illumination of the sky.
1980) wrote of his observation of a partial solar eclipse in June
1918. From his Delphos, Ohio home, the eclipse reached 75 percent
coverage. When the eclipse reached its peak, Peltier wrote " . . .
the nearby fields, the distant vistas, all seemed wrapped in some
unearthly early twilight. The sky seemed darker - shadows faint and
indistinct. A cool wind, almost chilly had sprung up from the west."
for similar effects around the time of maximum eclipse.
from start to finish. At maximum eclipse (2:42 p.m. Hawaii Time)
up to 52 percent of the Sun's diameter will be eclipsed.
percent for northernmost locations (such as Barrow), to about
50 percent for the westernmost Aleutian Islands. As will be
the case in Hawaii, this will be an early-afternoon affair.
specially designed eye protection.
into a few fleeting minutes, a partial eclipse can be watched
relaxedly from wherever one happens to be. Once proper precautions
are taken, observations can be made with the eye, binoculars, or
telescopes of any size. However, looking at the Sun is harmful to
your eyes at anytime, partial eclipse or otherwise.
is in progress there is something especially insidious about the Sun's
light. But the true danger that an eclipse poses is simply that it may
induce people to stare at the Sun, something they wouldn't normally do.
recognized at least since the early 1900's. About half of the reported
victims of eclipse blindness recover their precious quality of eyesight
after a few days or weeks. The other half carries a permanent blurry or
blind spot at the center of their vision for the rest of their lives.
eye injuries at eclipses in the last few decades. After the solar
eclipse that crossed the United States on March 7, 1970, no fewer
than 245 cases of retinal injury were reported. Of these people, 55
percent suffered permanent impairment of vision.
magazine was able to locate only three cases of eclipse blindness in
the entire United States. During any direct observation of the
eclipse, your eye must be protected by dense filters from the
intense light and heat of the focused solar rays.
"pinhole camera." A pinhole or small opening is used to form an image
of the Sun on a screen placed about three feet behind the opening.
be used to project a magnified image of the Sun onto a white
card. Just be sure not to look through the binoculars or
telescope when they are pointed toward the Sun!
pocket-mirror with a piece of paper that has a ¼-inch hole punched
in it. Open a Sun-facing window and place the covered mirror on the
sunlit sill so it reflects a disk of light onto the far wall inside.
The disk of light is an image of the Sun's face.
be only one inch across for every 9 feet from the mirror.
different-sized holes in the paper. Again, a large hole makes the image
bright, but fuzzy, and a small one makes it dim but sharp. Darken the
room as much as possible. Be sure to try this out beforehand to make
sure the mirror's optical quality is good enough to project a clean,
round image. Of course, don't let anyone look at the Sun in the mirror.
aluminized Mylar. Some astronomy dealers carry Mylar filter material
specially designed for solar observing.
of dollars at welding supply shops. It also used to be widely advertised
that two layers of fully exposed and developed black-and-white negative
film was safe. This is still true but only if the film contains an emulsion
of silver particles. But beware: some black-and-white films now use black
dye, which is no longer safe. It is always a good idea to test your filters
and/or observing techniques before eclipse day.
white film that contains no silver, photographic neutral-density filters,
and polarizing filters. Although these materials have very low visible-
light transmittance levels, they transmit an unacceptably high level of
near-infrared radiation that can cause a thermal retinal burn.
feel no discomfort when looking at the Sun through
the filter, is no guarantee that your eyes are safe.
It will be a total eclipse with a duration of just over two minutes
that will sweep across parts of southern Africa and south Australia.
America will strongly favor Alaska. On May 30, 2003, Alaska and parts of
adjacent northwest Canada will see 50 to 80 percent coverage at around
local sunset. Then, on October 13, 2004, a large partial solar eclipse
will take over western Alaska, again at sunset. Near the town of Kenai
(southwest of Anchorage), nearly 93 percent of the Sun will be eclipsed.
of North America (as will be the case this coming Monday), won't come
again until May 20, 2012, when the path of an annular solar eclipse
passes across portions of eight southwestern states.
Stormtrooper uniform. That's why I carry American Express."
