And there's plenty more ready and waiting!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Wait Is Over
It's good to be swinging my old maul again! Two months of not cutting any wood. The traditional gun deer season ended yesterday and today signaled my return to making firewood. I milked the cows this morning and after chores I took Mrs. Quads to town so she could do a little Christmas shopping. Then had time to cut some wood before tonight's milking.
And there's plenty more ready and waiting!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
And there's plenty more ready and waiting!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Mummy's CT scans show heart disease came before fast food
Her name was Lady Rai. She was a nursemaid to an Egyptian queen who lived three centuries before the reign of Pharaoh Ramses I. And she suffered from heart disease.
The evidence lies in a CT scan of Lady Rai's mummified remains, researchers here said Tuesday. Using 21st-century science, they peered through her tattered wrappings and into her ancient arteries. There, they found evidence of the same kind of plaque that doctors now diagnose every day.
What's more, they found it in someone who lived 3,500 years before fast food, sedentary living and cheap cigarettes. The research suggests that while modern risk factors may account for the current epidemic of heart disease, the ailment predates them.
"To me, it means we're all susceptible," says researcher Randall Thompson of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., who presented the findings at an American Heart Association meeting. "To a certain extent, this may be a disease of being human."
The images of Lady Rai are part of a series made in February by a team of cardiologists, imaging experts, Egyptologists and preservationists at the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. The team examined 22 mummies, dating from 1981 B.C. to A.D. 364. They found heart tissue or blood vessels in 13; in four, they found intact hearts.
Three of the mummies had atherosclerosis, a buildup of fat, cholesterol and calcium inside their arteries. Another three had probable atherosclerosis. Calcified blockages were more common in mummies who were estimated to have died after the age of 45, researchers say.
The images of Lady Rai betrayed classic evidence of calcified plaque in the aorta, which appears as a bright spot on the CT image. "It's just what you'd see in a living patient," Thompson says. "We don't know whether she died of a heart attack or not, but we can tell that she had the disease process that leads to heart attacks."
The most ancient mummy with evidence of heart disease died between 1530 B.C. and 1570 B.C., the researchers say.
The project got its start when senior author Gregory Thomas of the University of California-Irvine visited the museum with Egyptian cardiologist Adel Allam.
When Allam, a devout Muslim, left the museum briefly to pray, he noticed a CT scanner in a trailer parked out back. The scanner had been used for other research. The idea for the project was born.
The project was funded by the National Bank of Egypt, the Mid America Heart Institute and scanner maker Siemens.
Each of the mummies was slid intact into a donut-shaped, six-slice CT scanner for a sequence of X-rays. "We didn't have to tell them to hold their breath," joked collaborator Samuel Wann of the Wisconsin Heart Hospital.
source....
The evidence lies in a CT scan of Lady Rai's mummified remains, researchers here said Tuesday. Using 21st-century science, they peered through her tattered wrappings and into her ancient arteries. There, they found evidence of the same kind of plaque that doctors now diagnose every day.
What's more, they found it in someone who lived 3,500 years before fast food, sedentary living and cheap cigarettes. The research suggests that while modern risk factors may account for the current epidemic of heart disease, the ailment predates them.
"To me, it means we're all susceptible," says researcher Randall Thompson of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., who presented the findings at an American Heart Association meeting. "To a certain extent, this may be a disease of being human."
The images of Lady Rai are part of a series made in February by a team of cardiologists, imaging experts, Egyptologists and preservationists at the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. The team examined 22 mummies, dating from 1981 B.C. to A.D. 364. They found heart tissue or blood vessels in 13; in four, they found intact hearts.
Three of the mummies had atherosclerosis, a buildup of fat, cholesterol and calcium inside their arteries. Another three had probable atherosclerosis. Calcified blockages were more common in mummies who were estimated to have died after the age of 45, researchers say.
The images of Lady Rai betrayed classic evidence of calcified plaque in the aorta, which appears as a bright spot on the CT image. "It's just what you'd see in a living patient," Thompson says. "We don't know whether she died of a heart attack or not, but we can tell that she had the disease process that leads to heart attacks."
The most ancient mummy with evidence of heart disease died between 1530 B.C. and 1570 B.C., the researchers say.
The project got its start when senior author Gregory Thomas of the University of California-Irvine visited the museum with Egyptian cardiologist Adel Allam.
When Allam, a devout Muslim, left the museum briefly to pray, he noticed a CT scanner in a trailer parked out back. The scanner had been used for other research. The idea for the project was born.
The project was funded by the National Bank of Egypt, the Mid America Heart Institute and scanner maker Siemens.
Each of the mummies was slid intact into a donut-shaped, six-slice CT scanner for a sequence of X-rays. "We didn't have to tell them to hold their breath," joked collaborator Samuel Wann of the Wisconsin Heart Hospital.
source....
Sunday, November 29, 2009
stargazers
For stargazers, no time is as spectacular as late fall and early winter, when the evening sky abounds with bright stars, such as Rigel and Betelgeuse in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus, Capella in Auriga, and Sirius and Procyon in Canis Major and Canis Minor.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Top 10 Reasons Why the World Won't End in 2012
In the early days of computers, when hard drives weighed as much as a piece of furniture, a popular phrase was "Garbage-in, Garbage-out" (GIGO). It meant that computers would unquestioningly process the most nonsensical of input data and produce nonsensical output.
"GIGO" describes the abysmal lack of intelligent thought and critical thinking on the Internet when it comes to all the hysteria about the end of the world coming on December 21, 2012 -- just in time to ruin Christmas.
I'm getting e-mail about this weekly and I expect the nonsense to ratchet up.
This latest installment in decades of flaky astronomical apocalypse predictions is loosely based on the Mayan calendar that marks the end of a 5,126-year era. Apparently the Mayans knew something about the heavens we don't, according to numerous hot-selling 2012 doomsday books on the market. Our multi-billion dollar telescopes, space probes, and 6,000 professional astronomers somehow just can't keep up with the mystic knowledge of an ancient superstitious culture.
With the much-ballyhooed release of the film "2012" opening on November 13, end of world chatter will be the topic from backyard cookouts, to bars, to wine and cheese parties.
I am listing the 10 most popular 2012 end-of-world scenarios and providing a quickie reference guide to use in politely dismissing any friends, relatives, or in-laws whose brains have turned into a pile of GIGO mush after being suckered by the End of Days hype.
The ten top 2012 doomsday scenarios:
10. Changes in the Sun's magnetic field will lead to powerful flares.
So what else is new under the sun? The sun goes though a well-documented 11-year sunspot cycle that is driven by its magnetic field entangling, reforming and flipping polarity. Yes, the peak of the next cycle is in 2012 (or 2013), and some predictions suggest it might be 30 to 50 percent stronger than the last peak.
But experts say it will certainly not be the biggest peak ever recorded.
The bottom line is that no dragon's breath of flame will stretch across 100 million miles of space and blowtorch Earth. The largest solar flare recorded to date, on Nov. 4, 2003, spewed several billions of tons of plasma in Earth's direction. The flare's X-ray radiation that impacted our protective atmosphere had the equivalent radiation of 5,000 suns.
We're still here.
9. The Earth's magnetic field will reverse.
Don't hold you breath. The last field reversal happened nearly 800,000 years ago. Fred Flintstone and our other ancestor cavemen survived. Geological evidence shows that the field has reversed its orientation tens of thousands of times over Earth history. Yet there is no definitive evidence that a magnetic field reversal has ever caused any mass extinction due to increased cosmic ray influx.
8. The Earth's rotation axis will tip.
This isn't nearly as easy as tipping cows. Unlike Mars, which does go though wide excursions in it axial tilt, Earth's tilt is kept steady by the gravitational influence of the moon. An object the size of Mars would have to hit Earth to transfer enough momentum to knock us out of kilter. But Mars-sized protoplanets were kicked into interstellar space over 4 billion years ago. The solar system doesn't make "planets-gone-wild" anymore.
7. A grand alignment of Jupiter and Saturn will gravitationally perturb Earth.
For the past several decades there have been doomsday claims that the combined gravity from grand planetary alignments will cause geologic and meteorological upheavals on Earth.
None are scheduled for 2012.
In 1962 an extremely rare grand conjunction of the classical naked-eye planets drove astrologers crazy. The conjunction happened on Feb. 4-5 and was accompanied by a solar eclipse! The most infamous grand conjunction was in 1982 and popularized in a book called "The Jupiter Effect," which predicted earthquakes and massive tides. Life went on as usual both years. The moon has a vastly greater gravitational influence on Earth than Jupiter. It's called location, location, location! At a whopping distance of 400 million miles from Earth, Jupiter's tug is pretty wimpy.
6. The Sun will align with the galactic equator on the winter solstice.
So what? These are simply coordinates in the sky. It has no physical reality any more than the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue at Times Square influences the geology of Manhattan Island. This is greatly confused with the fact that the sun's position actually oscillates up and down as it orbits the galaxy, like a horse on a carousel.
We pass through the galactic plane every 35 to 40 million years. It's possible that an increased number of comets might be hurled towards the Earth because of gravitational interaction with the densest parts of our galaxy during this passage. But we are talking about the consequences spanning many thousands of years, not crashing down on our heads in any one specific year.
5. The black hole in the galactic center will affect us.
The Milky Way's black hole has no influence on the galactic disk. The black hole is three million solar masses. The Milky Way is several trillion solar masses when we add the tug of dark matter. Any gravitational influence of the black hole over the galaxy would be like the tail wagging the dog. The Milky Way's collision with the Andromeda galaxy will dump gas into the black hole and it will blaze as a quasar. But that's several billion years away.
4. An asteroid will smash into Earth.
A threatening near-Earth asteroid that's gotten the most press is the 900-foot wide Apophis. But its chances of collision have been downgraded to 1 in 250,000 at its next close approach in 2029. In theory, an uncharted asteroid or comet could come out of the blue tomorrow. But if we don't know about it today, the Mayans certainly didn't know about it 1,200 years ago. Earth-killer impacts are tens of millions of years apart. So there's no reason to be a doomsday clock-watcher.
3. The rogue planet Nibiru will swing by Earth.
There isn't such a planet any more than the planet Naboo from the Star Wars trilogy is real. Purported Internet pictures of the interloper are photographic lens flares or hoaxes. Don't believe every dot you see photographed in the sky.
2. Supernovae or hypernovae will irradiate Earth.
There are no stars that are so close to Earth that radiation from their supernova demise would seriously affect us. The nearest candidate, the red giant Betelgeuse, is predicted to explode in the next 1,000 years. The monster star Eta Carinae is also on a short fuse. Neither doomed star has a spin axis precisely aimed at Earth, so we don't have to worry about being fried by a narrow beam of gamma rays ejected from the core's implosion. In fact the kinds of stars that shoot out these Death Star beams are uncommon in the Milky Way. Earth has a one percent chance of getting zapped over 10 billion years. Scratch gamma ray bursts off of your homeowner's insurance policy.
1. A cloud of negative energy engulfs the solar system.
Wow! A dark cloud with a bad attitude! This sound suspiciously like a Star Trek episode. Dark energy is all around us already, but it is not packaged into clouds. The same goes for dark matter.
source....
"GIGO" describes the abysmal lack of intelligent thought and critical thinking on the Internet when it comes to all the hysteria about the end of the world coming on December 21, 2012 -- just in time to ruin Christmas.
I'm getting e-mail about this weekly and I expect the nonsense to ratchet up.
This latest installment in decades of flaky astronomical apocalypse predictions is loosely based on the Mayan calendar that marks the end of a 5,126-year era. Apparently the Mayans knew something about the heavens we don't, according to numerous hot-selling 2012 doomsday books on the market. Our multi-billion dollar telescopes, space probes, and 6,000 professional astronomers somehow just can't keep up with the mystic knowledge of an ancient superstitious culture.
With the much-ballyhooed release of the film "2012" opening on November 13, end of world chatter will be the topic from backyard cookouts, to bars, to wine and cheese parties.
I am listing the 10 most popular 2012 end-of-world scenarios and providing a quickie reference guide to use in politely dismissing any friends, relatives, or in-laws whose brains have turned into a pile of GIGO mush after being suckered by the End of Days hype.
The ten top 2012 doomsday scenarios:
10. Changes in the Sun's magnetic field will lead to powerful flares.
So what else is new under the sun? The sun goes though a well-documented 11-year sunspot cycle that is driven by its magnetic field entangling, reforming and flipping polarity. Yes, the peak of the next cycle is in 2012 (or 2013), and some predictions suggest it might be 30 to 50 percent stronger than the last peak.
But experts say it will certainly not be the biggest peak ever recorded.
The bottom line is that no dragon's breath of flame will stretch across 100 million miles of space and blowtorch Earth. The largest solar flare recorded to date, on Nov. 4, 2003, spewed several billions of tons of plasma in Earth's direction. The flare's X-ray radiation that impacted our protective atmosphere had the equivalent radiation of 5,000 suns.
We're still here.
9. The Earth's magnetic field will reverse.
Don't hold you breath. The last field reversal happened nearly 800,000 years ago. Fred Flintstone and our other ancestor cavemen survived. Geological evidence shows that the field has reversed its orientation tens of thousands of times over Earth history. Yet there is no definitive evidence that a magnetic field reversal has ever caused any mass extinction due to increased cosmic ray influx.
8. The Earth's rotation axis will tip.
This isn't nearly as easy as tipping cows. Unlike Mars, which does go though wide excursions in it axial tilt, Earth's tilt is kept steady by the gravitational influence of the moon. An object the size of Mars would have to hit Earth to transfer enough momentum to knock us out of kilter. But Mars-sized protoplanets were kicked into interstellar space over 4 billion years ago. The solar system doesn't make "planets-gone-wild" anymore.
7. A grand alignment of Jupiter and Saturn will gravitationally perturb Earth.
For the past several decades there have been doomsday claims that the combined gravity from grand planetary alignments will cause geologic and meteorological upheavals on Earth.
None are scheduled for 2012.
In 1962 an extremely rare grand conjunction of the classical naked-eye planets drove astrologers crazy. The conjunction happened on Feb. 4-5 and was accompanied by a solar eclipse! The most infamous grand conjunction was in 1982 and popularized in a book called "The Jupiter Effect," which predicted earthquakes and massive tides. Life went on as usual both years. The moon has a vastly greater gravitational influence on Earth than Jupiter. It's called location, location, location! At a whopping distance of 400 million miles from Earth, Jupiter's tug is pretty wimpy.
6. The Sun will align with the galactic equator on the winter solstice.
So what? These are simply coordinates in the sky. It has no physical reality any more than the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue at Times Square influences the geology of Manhattan Island. This is greatly confused with the fact that the sun's position actually oscillates up and down as it orbits the galaxy, like a horse on a carousel.
We pass through the galactic plane every 35 to 40 million years. It's possible that an increased number of comets might be hurled towards the Earth because of gravitational interaction with the densest parts of our galaxy during this passage. But we are talking about the consequences spanning many thousands of years, not crashing down on our heads in any one specific year.
5. The black hole in the galactic center will affect us.
The Milky Way's black hole has no influence on the galactic disk. The black hole is three million solar masses. The Milky Way is several trillion solar masses when we add the tug of dark matter. Any gravitational influence of the black hole over the galaxy would be like the tail wagging the dog. The Milky Way's collision with the Andromeda galaxy will dump gas into the black hole and it will blaze as a quasar. But that's several billion years away.
4. An asteroid will smash into Earth.
A threatening near-Earth asteroid that's gotten the most press is the 900-foot wide Apophis. But its chances of collision have been downgraded to 1 in 250,000 at its next close approach in 2029. In theory, an uncharted asteroid or comet could come out of the blue tomorrow. But if we don't know about it today, the Mayans certainly didn't know about it 1,200 years ago. Earth-killer impacts are tens of millions of years apart. So there's no reason to be a doomsday clock-watcher.
3. The rogue planet Nibiru will swing by Earth.
There isn't such a planet any more than the planet Naboo from the Star Wars trilogy is real. Purported Internet pictures of the interloper are photographic lens flares or hoaxes. Don't believe every dot you see photographed in the sky.
2. Supernovae or hypernovae will irradiate Earth.
There are no stars that are so close to Earth that radiation from their supernova demise would seriously affect us. The nearest candidate, the red giant Betelgeuse, is predicted to explode in the next 1,000 years. The monster star Eta Carinae is also on a short fuse. Neither doomed star has a spin axis precisely aimed at Earth, so we don't have to worry about being fried by a narrow beam of gamma rays ejected from the core's implosion. In fact the kinds of stars that shoot out these Death Star beams are uncommon in the Milky Way. Earth has a one percent chance of getting zapped over 10 billion years. Scratch gamma ray bursts off of your homeowner's insurance policy.
1. A cloud of negative energy engulfs the solar system.
Wow! A dark cloud with a bad attitude! This sound suspiciously like a Star Trek episode. Dark energy is all around us already, but it is not packaged into clouds. The same goes for dark matter.
source....
Saturday, November 28, 2009
ISS Tonight
28 Nov -1.6 16:45:58 WNW 36
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
New Milky Way Image Shows Best of All Spectra
A new multi-telescope image has revealed the beauty of the center of the Milky Way across the electromagnetic spectrum.
The Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes teamed up with the Chandra X-ray Observatory to provide a glimpse of our galaxy that shows far more than our human eyes can see.
The effort allows a tremendous amount of data to be grasped in one glorious, mind-blowing space photo. Spitzer investigated the infrared light (red in the final image) emanating from the region, which largely comes from glowing dust clouds created by stellar radiation and wind. Chandra captured the X-rays (blue and violet in the final image) emanating from stellar explosions and the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. And the Hubble looked at the near infrared light closest to the visible part of the spectrum (yellow in the final image) to reveal hundreds of thousands of stars.
source....
Friday, November 27, 2009
M33
M33 — a galaxy that looks like a smaller version of our own — is in the small, faint constellation Triangulum, which is high in the east at nightfall. Through binoculars, the galaxy looks like a faint, fuzzy patch of light.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Can Spirit be Freed?
On Monday, NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover Spirit as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap.
"This is going to be a lengthy process, and there's a high probability attempts to free Spirit will not be successful," cautions Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Spirit has been lodged at a site scientists call "Troy" since April 23, 2009. Spirit was driving backward and dragging its inoperable right front wheel when the rover's other wheels broke through a crust on the surface that was covering a slippery sand underneath. After a few drive attempts to get Spirit out, the rover began sinking deeper in the sand trap. Driving was suspended to allow time for tests and reviews of possible escape strategies.
Data show Spirit is straddling the edge of a 26-foot-wide crater that had been filled long ago with sulfate-bearing sands produced in a hot water or steam environment: map. The deposits in the crater formed distinct layers with different compositions and tints, and they are capped by a crusty soil that Spirit's wheels broke through. Engineers have now plotted an escape route from Troy that heads up a mild slope away from the crater.
"Our preparations to resume driving have been extensive and thorough," said John Callas, project manager for Spirit and Opportunity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We've used two different test rovers here on Earth in conditions designed to simulate as best as possible Spirit's predicament. However, Earth-based tests cannot exactly replicate the conditions at Troy."
Researchers expect the extraction process to be long and the outcome uncertain based on tests they've done here on Earth. "After the first few weeks of attempts, we're not likely to know whether Spirit will be able to free itself," notes McCuistion.
Spirit has six wheels for roving the Red Planet. The first commands will tell the rover to rotate its five working wheels forward approximately six turns. Engineers anticipate severe wheel slippage, with barely perceptible forward progress in this initial attempt.
Spirit will return data the next day from its first drive attempt. The results will be assessed before engineers develop and send commands for a second attempt. Using results from previous commands, engineers plan to continue escape efforts until early 2010.
"Mobility on Mars is challenging, and whatever the outcome, lessons from the work to free Spirit will enhance our knowledge about how to analyze Martian terrain and drive future Mars rovers," McCuisition said.
Even if Spirit remains in place, it could continue making important discoveries about Mars. The "sand trap" turns out to be a region of great scientific interest.
"The soft materials churned up by Spirit's wheels have the highest sulfur content measured on Mars," says Ray Arvidson, a scientist at Washington University in St. Louis and deputy principal investigator for the science payloads on Spirit and Opportunity. "We're taking advantage of its fixed location to conduct detailed measurements of these interesting materials." The rover's work at Troy augments earlier discoveries it made indicating ancient Mars had hot springs or steam vents, possible habitats for life.
Spirit and its twin rover landed on Mars in January 2004. They have explored Mars for five years, far surpassing their original 90-day mission. Opportunity currently is driving toward a large crater called Endeavor.
source....
"This is going to be a lengthy process, and there's a high probability attempts to free Spirit will not be successful," cautions Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Spirit has been lodged at a site scientists call "Troy" since April 23, 2009. Spirit was driving backward and dragging its inoperable right front wheel when the rover's other wheels broke through a crust on the surface that was covering a slippery sand underneath. After a few drive attempts to get Spirit out, the rover began sinking deeper in the sand trap. Driving was suspended to allow time for tests and reviews of possible escape strategies.
Data show Spirit is straddling the edge of a 26-foot-wide crater that had been filled long ago with sulfate-bearing sands produced in a hot water or steam environment: map. The deposits in the crater formed distinct layers with different compositions and tints, and they are capped by a crusty soil that Spirit's wheels broke through. Engineers have now plotted an escape route from Troy that heads up a mild slope away from the crater.
"Our preparations to resume driving have been extensive and thorough," said John Callas, project manager for Spirit and Opportunity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We've used two different test rovers here on Earth in conditions designed to simulate as best as possible Spirit's predicament. However, Earth-based tests cannot exactly replicate the conditions at Troy."
Researchers expect the extraction process to be long and the outcome uncertain based on tests they've done here on Earth. "After the first few weeks of attempts, we're not likely to know whether Spirit will be able to free itself," notes McCuistion.
Spirit has six wheels for roving the Red Planet. The first commands will tell the rover to rotate its five working wheels forward approximately six turns. Engineers anticipate severe wheel slippage, with barely perceptible forward progress in this initial attempt.
Spirit will return data the next day from its first drive attempt. The results will be assessed before engineers develop and send commands for a second attempt. Using results from previous commands, engineers plan to continue escape efforts until early 2010.
"Mobility on Mars is challenging, and whatever the outcome, lessons from the work to free Spirit will enhance our knowledge about how to analyze Martian terrain and drive future Mars rovers," McCuisition said.
Even if Spirit remains in place, it could continue making important discoveries about Mars. The "sand trap" turns out to be a region of great scientific interest.
"The soft materials churned up by Spirit's wheels have the highest sulfur content measured on Mars," says Ray Arvidson, a scientist at Washington University in St. Louis and deputy principal investigator for the science payloads on Spirit and Opportunity. "We're taking advantage of its fixed location to conduct detailed measurements of these interesting materials." The rover's work at Troy augments earlier discoveries it made indicating ancient Mars had hot springs or steam vents, possible habitats for life.
Spirit and its twin rover landed on Mars in January 2004. They have explored Mars for five years, far surpassing their original 90-day mission. Opportunity currently is driving toward a large crater called Endeavor.
source....
Thursday, November 26, 2009
ISS Tonight
26 Nov -1.7 17:37:20 WNW 34
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
2012’s Doomsday Predecessors: An Apocalyptic Primer
The sky is falling, again, as three upcoming movies explore the end of days, the apocalypse or whatever you want to call the dead-end ash heap that strikes fear in the hearts of true believers — and conjures visions of box office gold in the minds of Hollywood executives.
The Road, which opens Nov. 20, hurls Viggo Mortenson into a brutal landscape of cannibal-infested devastation as envisioned by novelist Cormac McCarthy. In The Book of Eli (January 2010), Denzel Washington takes it on the chin as a road warrior making his way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Most pressing: Disaster auteur Roland Emmerich’s 2012 (pictured), which opens Friday, dramatizes a world-ending perfect storm of comets, floods and fires, supposedly predicted by the ancient Mayans’ ingenious calendar.
These disaster flicks represent the latest in a long and flaky line of doomsday scenarios from scientists and charlatans alike. Centuries before the Y2K scare prompted people to stock up on canned goods and a first-aid kit — just in case — earthlings worried that the worst was yet to come.
Here’s a journey back in time that looks at 14 of the apocalypse’s greatest hits.
1988: Rocket scientist gets Rapturous
NASA staffer Edgar Whisenaut publishes 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. The book sells more than 4 million copies, but nobody disappears.
1983: Guru says ruin will reign
On behalf of Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, his secretary Sheela Silverman predicts floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions topped off with nuclear devastation in Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Bombay.
1974: Bunker mentality
Children of God cult leader David Berg pegs the Comet Kohoutek to destroy Earth in 1974. (Berg also predicted that California would soon fall into the sea and that Jesus would arrive in 1993.)
1960 and 1953: Pyramid schemes
Books by Scottish astronomer C. Piazzi Smyth (Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid) and David Davidson (The Great Pyramid, Its Divine Message) declare that symbols embedded in Egypt’s mysterious landmarks spell the end of life as we know it in 1960 and 1953 respectively.
1953: Atomic clock-watchers
The Doomsday Clock, dreamed up by scientists in 1947, tick-tocks to within two minutes of the dreaded midnight hour six years later after the United States and Russia detonate thermonuclear devices. Thankfully, it never goes straight-up 12 (although the Doomsday Clock does leave its mark on classic comic book series Watchmen).
1936: The Second Coming
America’s heartland is literally covered in dust as Hitler begins exterminating Europe’s Jewish population amid a worldwide depression. Not surprisingly, evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong finds a ready audience for his message that Jesus will start the world over from scratch in 1936. (When that doesn’t happen, Armstrong revises his apocalypse deadline to 1975.)
1919: Catastrophic convergence
Meteorologist Albert Porta reports that six planets will align to generate a magnetic current that will blow up the sun to explode and destroy Earth.
1914: World War I: We’ve only just begun
Jehovah’s Witnesses compute that World War I hostilities mark the start of Armageddon, pointing to biblical prophecies in the Book of Daniel.
1891: Consensus — it’s all over now
Sixteenth-century mystic Mother Shipton and Mormon leader Joseph Smith Jr. agree that the world will implode in 1891 year. (It doesn’t.)
1844: The Great Disappointment
In 1843, Baptist preacher William Miller convinces followers to sell their worldly possessions in advance of mass destruction fated to occur in 1844. A few months later, the planet’s anticlimactic resilience is dubbed “The Great Disappointment.”
1850: An angel speaks
Seventh-day Adventists founder Ellen G. White writes that an angel told her an upcoming batch of plagues signal the end of the world: “‘Get ready, get ready, get ready…. Now time is almost finished.”
1555: Rats, fleas and Nostradamus
As the bubonic plague kills a third of Europe’s population, a French physician named Nostradamus publishes The Prophecies and becomes the world’s foremost seer. (By some interpretations, his colorfully ambiguous rhyming quatrains predict a doomsday date of 2012. Coincidence?)
500 A.D.: Hippolytus’ false alarm
Anticipating similarly inspired prophecies that would transpire in 1000, 1500 and 2000, the round-numbers at the half-millennium milestone prompts philosopher Hippolytus to warn that the world is due to expire.
source....
The Road, which opens Nov. 20, hurls Viggo Mortenson into a brutal landscape of cannibal-infested devastation as envisioned by novelist Cormac McCarthy. In The Book of Eli (January 2010), Denzel Washington takes it on the chin as a road warrior making his way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Most pressing: Disaster auteur Roland Emmerich’s 2012 (pictured), which opens Friday, dramatizes a world-ending perfect storm of comets, floods and fires, supposedly predicted by the ancient Mayans’ ingenious calendar.
These disaster flicks represent the latest in a long and flaky line of doomsday scenarios from scientists and charlatans alike. Centuries before the Y2K scare prompted people to stock up on canned goods and a first-aid kit — just in case — earthlings worried that the worst was yet to come.
Here’s a journey back in time that looks at 14 of the apocalypse’s greatest hits.
1988: Rocket scientist gets Rapturous
NASA staffer Edgar Whisenaut publishes 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. The book sells more than 4 million copies, but nobody disappears.
1983: Guru says ruin will reign
On behalf of Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, his secretary Sheela Silverman predicts floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions topped off with nuclear devastation in Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Bombay.
1974: Bunker mentality
Children of God cult leader David Berg pegs the Comet Kohoutek to destroy Earth in 1974. (Berg also predicted that California would soon fall into the sea and that Jesus would arrive in 1993.)
1960 and 1953: Pyramid schemes
Books by Scottish astronomer C. Piazzi Smyth (Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid) and David Davidson (The Great Pyramid, Its Divine Message) declare that symbols embedded in Egypt’s mysterious landmarks spell the end of life as we know it in 1960 and 1953 respectively.
1953: Atomic clock-watchers
The Doomsday Clock, dreamed up by scientists in 1947, tick-tocks to within two minutes of the dreaded midnight hour six years later after the United States and Russia detonate thermonuclear devices. Thankfully, it never goes straight-up 12 (although the Doomsday Clock does leave its mark on classic comic book series Watchmen).
1936: The Second Coming
America’s heartland is literally covered in dust as Hitler begins exterminating Europe’s Jewish population amid a worldwide depression. Not surprisingly, evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong finds a ready audience for his message that Jesus will start the world over from scratch in 1936. (When that doesn’t happen, Armstrong revises his apocalypse deadline to 1975.)
1919: Catastrophic convergence
Meteorologist Albert Porta reports that six planets will align to generate a magnetic current that will blow up the sun to explode and destroy Earth.
1914: World War I: We’ve only just begun
Jehovah’s Witnesses compute that World War I hostilities mark the start of Armageddon, pointing to biblical prophecies in the Book of Daniel.
1891: Consensus — it’s all over now
Sixteenth-century mystic Mother Shipton and Mormon leader Joseph Smith Jr. agree that the world will implode in 1891 year. (It doesn’t.)
1844: The Great Disappointment
In 1843, Baptist preacher William Miller convinces followers to sell their worldly possessions in advance of mass destruction fated to occur in 1844. A few months later, the planet’s anticlimactic resilience is dubbed “The Great Disappointment.”
1850: An angel speaks
Seventh-day Adventists founder Ellen G. White writes that an angel told her an upcoming batch of plagues signal the end of the world: “‘Get ready, get ready, get ready…. Now time is almost finished.”
1555: Rats, fleas and Nostradamus
As the bubonic plague kills a third of Europe’s population, a French physician named Nostradamus publishes The Prophecies and becomes the world’s foremost seer. (By some interpretations, his colorfully ambiguous rhyming quatrains predict a doomsday date of 2012. Coincidence?)
500 A.D.: Hippolytus’ false alarm
Anticipating similarly inspired prophecies that would transpire in 1000, 1500 and 2000, the round-numbers at the half-millennium milestone prompts philosopher Hippolytus to warn that the world is due to expire.
source....
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Photo of 55ft snake shocks China
A photograph purporting to show a 55ft snake found in a forest in China has become an internet sensation.
It was originally posted in a thread on the website of the People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper in China.
The thread claimed the snake was one of two enormous boas found by workers clearing forest for a new road outside Guping city, Jiangxi province.
They apparently woke up the sleeping snakes during attempts to bulldoze a huge mound of earth.
"On the third dig, the operator found there was blood amongst the soil, and with a further dig, a dying snake appeared," said the post.
"At the same time, another gold coloured giant boa appeared with its mouth wide open. The driver was paralysed with fear, while the other workers ran for their lives.
"By the time the workers came back, the wounded boa had died, while the other snake had disappeared. The bulldozer operator was so sick that he couldn't even stand up."
The post claimed that the digger driver was so traumatised that he suffered a heart attack on his way to hospital and later died.
The dead snake was 55ft (16.7m) long, weighed 300kg and was estimated to be 140 years old, according to the post.
However, local government officials in Guiping say the story and photograph are almost certainly a hoax as giant boas are not native to the area.
source....
ISS Tonight
25 Nov -3.5 17:15:05 WNW 80
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Hunters register 100,330 deer opening weekend of 2009 season
Warm temperatures and heavy fog in many areas greeted hunters on the opening weekend of Wisconsin’s 158th gun deer hunt. Hunters participating in the traditional November 9-day gun deer hunt registered a preliminary tally of 100,330 deer over the first two days of the hunt.
The 2009 preliminary count compares to a similar opening weekend count of 133,828 from 2008. Buck harvest statewide in 2009 was 49,583 (52,477 in 2008) and antlerless harvest was 50,478 (81,351 in 2008)
“We want to remind folks that these preliminary numbers come from a staff call-around to deer registrations stations this morning,” said Tom Hauge DNR’s wildlife management director. “The final opening weekend tally will likely be somewhat larger, when all the registration stubs are entered into the data base over the next couple of months.”
This fall, wildlife staff indicated that they expected lower total harvest numbers - especially antlerless deer harvest numbers - due to several factors including lower deer numbers in many areas of the state, fewer herd control units and no earn-a-buck units outside of the chronic wasting disease management zone.
“There was pretty dense fog until 10-11:00 a.m. opening morning,” reported Kris Belling DNR West Central Region wildlife expert. “The fog coupled with wet conditions, made it hard to hear anything coming and definitely impacted the morning hunt. Hunters I talked to (in West Central Region) enjoyed the mild temperatures and it was comfortable enough for them to stay out hunting, and that seems to have offset the original difficulties due to the fog. Overall, it was just a nice week-end to be out. Lots of interest in getting the deer butchered quickly.”
However, the weather improved later in the day.
“Many folks take this week off leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday and given the slower start to the season, there should continue to be good opportunity out there in many areas. There is still a lot of hunting left,” said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist.
As of early Monday afternoon, 571 “opening weekend” hunting trip reports have been recorded on the department’s new online reporting database. Hunters reported seeing 796 total deer on those trips which translates to an average of 1.39 deer per trip. These numbers will also likely change as trip reports were still coming in at a rapid pace. Hunters wish to report their hunting experiences can do so from the DNR website.
Enthusiasm for hunting remains high
DNR Secretary Matt Frank visited several registration stations along the I-39, Saturday morning.
“At the stations I visited it was really gratifying seeing our next generation of hunters taking their place,” said Frank. “I especially enjoyed the chance to visit with the youngsters who brought in their first deer. Congratulations to all hunters for keeping our heritage strong. I wish them all success and an enjoyable and safe hunting experience during the remainder of the seasons.”
The department’s license sales office reported 626,404 hunters hit the woods with a license to participate in the 2009 nine-day gun deer season. The number of gun hunting licenses included a new category this year, 9,592 10- and 11-year-old hunters who for the first time were able to participate as mentored hunters under Wisconsin’s new Mentored Hunting Law.
Deer license and tag sales will continue through the hunting seasons.
The long custom of buying a license on the way to deer camp is also intact. Over 43 percent – nearly half - of all deer hunters purchased a license in the eight days preceding the gun deer opener; 82,463 licenses were sold on Friday. At peak, which occurred at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the DNR’s online licensing system – known as ALIS – was processing 212 transactions per minute.
Nearly 270,000 licenses were issued in the eight days preceding the season opener.
Of the hunters hitting the woods on Saturday:
* 592,287 (95 percent) were residents and 34,117 were nonresidents;
* More than 79,000 youth hunters under 18 years old participated in this year’s hunt, representing 13 percent of the total number of deer hunters;
* More than 54,000 hunters were age 65 or older, and over 191,000 (31 percent) are under 30-years-old;
* Females represent 8.5 percent of the total hunters, and 20 percent of new 10- and 11-year-old hunters;
* Hunters throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries purchased a Wisconsin gun deer license. The highest number of nonresident hunters came from Minnesota (16,413), Illinois (8,568), Michigan (1,078), and Florida (898);
* The most deer licenses were sold in Dane County (29,024), with Brown, Washington, Marathon and Waukesha counties following;
* More than 170,000 antlerless deer tags have been sold this year.
Wisconsin Conservation Congress delegates also shared their experiences over the weekend.
Scott McCauley, Conservation Congress delegate from Wood County was hunting in Waupaca County and noted that for his party opening day was off to a promising start.
“Last year we had our best season ever taking nine deer. This year is looking even better with five people taking three deer and the season is just starting,” said McCauley.
Mike Riggle, Conservation Congress delegate from Taylor County called in, “Seven in camp now, including 11-year-old Austin Riggle hunting for his first time as a mentored hunter. Austin didn’t see anything but enjoyed being in camp and will be out again having a good time.”
Injury report
There were no confirmed fatal shooting incidents recorded during the first two days of the hunt but there were five non-fatal firearms-related incidents, reports DNR Hunter Education Administrator Tim Lawhern.
“We are grateful these five incidents were not fatal and wish a speedy recovery to the victims, but the fact remains that all five could have been prevented if strict firearm safety rules had been observed by the shooters and by the victims who wounded themselves.”
Three woundings occurred on Saturday. In Grant County a hunters was struck in the back of the leg by shrapnel when a hunting companion’s gun discharged into the door of a vehicle as he attempted to unload the gun.
In Price County, a hunter suffered a self-inflicted wound in the left hand from a handgun, and in Green County a hunter sustained a gunshot wound to his leg when he slipped crossing a stream on a log and his shotgun discharged
On Sunday a Barron County hunter was wounded in the thigh by a bullet, and in St Croix County a hunter sustained a self-inflicted gunshot would to the right hand from a .30-30 caliber rifle.
Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern noted that historically about half of Wisconsin’s shooting incidents happen during deer drives, usually because someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be or someone shot at a deer when they did not have a safe backstop or in a direction they should not have been shooting. “It is really important that hunting parties wanting to drive deer have a plan and that they follow that plan to the letter. Knowing where your hunting mates are and where safe shooting lanes are is critical,” he said.
Statistically, about half the hunting incidents happen during opening weekend. “I am hoping we buck that statistic and can avoid further incidents this year,” Lawhern said. “Compared to the ‘good ole’ days,’ hunting is safe and getting safer. In 1915, of the state’s 155,000 hunters then, 24 were killed and 26 were injured. That meant 1 in about 3,100 hunters could expect to be killed or injured. Today it’s 1 in 100,000 or better. Still any shooting incident is one too many. Hunters need to remember the shooting TAB-K safety rules and be careful with deer drives later this week,” he said.
source....
The 2009 preliminary count compares to a similar opening weekend count of 133,828 from 2008. Buck harvest statewide in 2009 was 49,583 (52,477 in 2008) and antlerless harvest was 50,478 (81,351 in 2008)
“We want to remind folks that these preliminary numbers come from a staff call-around to deer registrations stations this morning,” said Tom Hauge DNR’s wildlife management director. “The final opening weekend tally will likely be somewhat larger, when all the registration stubs are entered into the data base over the next couple of months.”
This fall, wildlife staff indicated that they expected lower total harvest numbers - especially antlerless deer harvest numbers - due to several factors including lower deer numbers in many areas of the state, fewer herd control units and no earn-a-buck units outside of the chronic wasting disease management zone.
“There was pretty dense fog until 10-11:00 a.m. opening morning,” reported Kris Belling DNR West Central Region wildlife expert. “The fog coupled with wet conditions, made it hard to hear anything coming and definitely impacted the morning hunt. Hunters I talked to (in West Central Region) enjoyed the mild temperatures and it was comfortable enough for them to stay out hunting, and that seems to have offset the original difficulties due to the fog. Overall, it was just a nice week-end to be out. Lots of interest in getting the deer butchered quickly.”
However, the weather improved later in the day.
“Many folks take this week off leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday and given the slower start to the season, there should continue to be good opportunity out there in many areas. There is still a lot of hunting left,” said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist.
As of early Monday afternoon, 571 “opening weekend” hunting trip reports have been recorded on the department’s new online reporting database. Hunters reported seeing 796 total deer on those trips which translates to an average of 1.39 deer per trip. These numbers will also likely change as trip reports were still coming in at a rapid pace. Hunters wish to report their hunting experiences can do so from the DNR website.
Enthusiasm for hunting remains high
DNR Secretary Matt Frank visited several registration stations along the I-39, Saturday morning.
“At the stations I visited it was really gratifying seeing our next generation of hunters taking their place,” said Frank. “I especially enjoyed the chance to visit with the youngsters who brought in their first deer. Congratulations to all hunters for keeping our heritage strong. I wish them all success and an enjoyable and safe hunting experience during the remainder of the seasons.”
The department’s license sales office reported 626,404 hunters hit the woods with a license to participate in the 2009 nine-day gun deer season. The number of gun hunting licenses included a new category this year, 9,592 10- and 11-year-old hunters who for the first time were able to participate as mentored hunters under Wisconsin’s new Mentored Hunting Law.
Deer license and tag sales will continue through the hunting seasons.
The long custom of buying a license on the way to deer camp is also intact. Over 43 percent – nearly half - of all deer hunters purchased a license in the eight days preceding the gun deer opener; 82,463 licenses were sold on Friday. At peak, which occurred at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the DNR’s online licensing system – known as ALIS – was processing 212 transactions per minute.
Nearly 270,000 licenses were issued in the eight days preceding the season opener.
Of the hunters hitting the woods on Saturday:
* 592,287 (95 percent) were residents and 34,117 were nonresidents;
* More than 79,000 youth hunters under 18 years old participated in this year’s hunt, representing 13 percent of the total number of deer hunters;
* More than 54,000 hunters were age 65 or older, and over 191,000 (31 percent) are under 30-years-old;
* Females represent 8.5 percent of the total hunters, and 20 percent of new 10- and 11-year-old hunters;
* Hunters throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries purchased a Wisconsin gun deer license. The highest number of nonresident hunters came from Minnesota (16,413), Illinois (8,568), Michigan (1,078), and Florida (898);
* The most deer licenses were sold in Dane County (29,024), with Brown, Washington, Marathon and Waukesha counties following;
* More than 170,000 antlerless deer tags have been sold this year.
Wisconsin Conservation Congress delegates also shared their experiences over the weekend.
Scott McCauley, Conservation Congress delegate from Wood County was hunting in Waupaca County and noted that for his party opening day was off to a promising start.
“Last year we had our best season ever taking nine deer. This year is looking even better with five people taking three deer and the season is just starting,” said McCauley.
Mike Riggle, Conservation Congress delegate from Taylor County called in, “Seven in camp now, including 11-year-old Austin Riggle hunting for his first time as a mentored hunter. Austin didn’t see anything but enjoyed being in camp and will be out again having a good time.”
Injury report
There were no confirmed fatal shooting incidents recorded during the first two days of the hunt but there were five non-fatal firearms-related incidents, reports DNR Hunter Education Administrator Tim Lawhern.
“We are grateful these five incidents were not fatal and wish a speedy recovery to the victims, but the fact remains that all five could have been prevented if strict firearm safety rules had been observed by the shooters and by the victims who wounded themselves.”
Three woundings occurred on Saturday. In Grant County a hunters was struck in the back of the leg by shrapnel when a hunting companion’s gun discharged into the door of a vehicle as he attempted to unload the gun.
In Price County, a hunter suffered a self-inflicted wound in the left hand from a handgun, and in Green County a hunter sustained a gunshot wound to his leg when he slipped crossing a stream on a log and his shotgun discharged
On Sunday a Barron County hunter was wounded in the thigh by a bullet, and in St Croix County a hunter sustained a self-inflicted gunshot would to the right hand from a .30-30 caliber rifle.
Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern noted that historically about half of Wisconsin’s shooting incidents happen during deer drives, usually because someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be or someone shot at a deer when they did not have a safe backstop or in a direction they should not have been shooting. “It is really important that hunting parties wanting to drive deer have a plan and that they follow that plan to the letter. Knowing where your hunting mates are and where safe shooting lanes are is critical,” he said.
Statistically, about half the hunting incidents happen during opening weekend. “I am hoping we buck that statistic and can avoid further incidents this year,” Lawhern said. “Compared to the ‘good ole’ days,’ hunting is safe and getting safer. In 1915, of the state’s 155,000 hunters then, 24 were killed and 26 were injured. That meant 1 in about 3,100 hunters could expect to be killed or injured. Today it’s 1 in 100,000 or better. Still any shooting incident is one too many. Hunters need to remember the shooting TAB-K safety rules and be careful with deer drives later this week,” he said.
source....
ISS Tonight
24 Nov -2.5 16:52:54 NW 33
and
24 Nov -1.6 18:27:59 WNW 31
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
and
24 Nov -1.6 18:27:59 WNW 31
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months
JUST months - that's how long it took for Europe to be engulfed by an ice age. The scenario, which comes straight out of Hollywood blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, was revealed by the most precise record of the climate from palaeohistory ever generated.
Around 12,800 years ago the northern hemisphere was hit by the Younger Dryas mini ice age, or "Big Freeze". It was triggered by the slowdown of the Gulf Stream, led to the decline of the Clovis culture in North America, and lasted around 1300 years.
Until now, it was thought that the mini ice age took a decade or so to take hold, on the evidence provided by Greenland ice cores. Not so, say William Patterson of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and his colleagues.
The group studied a mud core from an ancient lake, Lough Monreagh, in western Ireland. Using a scalpel they sliced off layers 0.5 to 1 millimetre thick, each representing up to three months of time. No other measurements from the period have approached this level of detail.
Carbon isotopes in each slice revealed how productive the lake was and oxygen isotopes gave a picture of temperature and rainfall. They show that at the start of the Big Freeze, temperatures plummeted and lake productivity stopped within months, or a year at most. "It would be like taking Ireland today and moving it up to Svalbard" in the Arctic, says Patterson, who presented the findings at the BOREAS conference in Rovaniemi, Finland, on 31 October.
"This is significantly shorter than what has been suggested before, but it is plausible," says Derek Vance of the University of Bristol, UK. Hans Renssen, a climate researcher at Vrije University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, says recent findings from Greenland ice cores indicate the Younger Dryas event may have happened in one to three years. Patterson's results confirm this was a very sudden change, he says.
The mud slices from the end of the Big Freeze show that it took around two centuries for the lake and climate to recover.
Patterson says that sudden climate switches like the Big Freeze are far from unusual in the geological record. The Younger Dryas was brought about when a glacial lake covering most of north-west Canada burst its banks and poured into the North Atlantic and Arctic OceansMovie Camera. The huge flood diluted the salinity-driven North Atlantic Ocean mega-currents, including the Gulf Stream, and stalled it. Two studies published in 2006 show that the same thing happened again 8200 years ago, when the Northern hemisphere went through another cold spell.
Some climate scientists have suggested that the Greenland ice sheet could have the same effect if it suddenly melts through climate change, but the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded this was unlikely to happen this century.
Patterson's team have now set their sights on even more precise records of historical climate. They have built a robot able to shave 0.05 micrometre slivers along the growth lines of fossilised clam shells, giving a resolution of less than a day. "We can get you mid-July temperatures from 400 million years ago," he says.
source....
Around 12,800 years ago the northern hemisphere was hit by the Younger Dryas mini ice age, or "Big Freeze". It was triggered by the slowdown of the Gulf Stream, led to the decline of the Clovis culture in North America, and lasted around 1300 years.
Until now, it was thought that the mini ice age took a decade or so to take hold, on the evidence provided by Greenland ice cores. Not so, say William Patterson of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and his colleagues.
The group studied a mud core from an ancient lake, Lough Monreagh, in western Ireland. Using a scalpel they sliced off layers 0.5 to 1 millimetre thick, each representing up to three months of time. No other measurements from the period have approached this level of detail.
Carbon isotopes in each slice revealed how productive the lake was and oxygen isotopes gave a picture of temperature and rainfall. They show that at the start of the Big Freeze, temperatures plummeted and lake productivity stopped within months, or a year at most. "It would be like taking Ireland today and moving it up to Svalbard" in the Arctic, says Patterson, who presented the findings at the BOREAS conference in Rovaniemi, Finland, on 31 October.
"This is significantly shorter than what has been suggested before, but it is plausible," says Derek Vance of the University of Bristol, UK. Hans Renssen, a climate researcher at Vrije University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, says recent findings from Greenland ice cores indicate the Younger Dryas event may have happened in one to three years. Patterson's results confirm this was a very sudden change, he says.
The mud slices from the end of the Big Freeze show that it took around two centuries for the lake and climate to recover.
Patterson says that sudden climate switches like the Big Freeze are far from unusual in the geological record. The Younger Dryas was brought about when a glacial lake covering most of north-west Canada burst its banks and poured into the North Atlantic and Arctic OceansMovie Camera. The huge flood diluted the salinity-driven North Atlantic Ocean mega-currents, including the Gulf Stream, and stalled it. Two studies published in 2006 show that the same thing happened again 8200 years ago, when the Northern hemisphere went through another cold spell.
Some climate scientists have suggested that the Greenland ice sheet could have the same effect if it suddenly melts through climate change, but the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded this was unlikely to happen this century.
Patterson's team have now set their sights on even more precise records of historical climate. They have built a robot able to shave 0.05 micrometre slivers along the growth lines of fossilised clam shells, giving a resolution of less than a day. "We can get you mid-July temperatures from 400 million years ago," he says.
source....
Monday, November 23, 2009
Opening Weekend of the Traditional Gun Deer Season
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
ISS Tonight
23 Nov -3.5 18:05:19 WNW 83
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
The amazing man who drives car with thought-powered arms after losing limbs in accident
A former mechanic who lost his arms in an industrial accident four years ago is able to drive again thanks to thought-powered artificial limbs.
Christian Kandlbauer, who lost his arms after being electrocuted by 20,000 volts, retook his driving test and passed.
Using the nerves that previously controlled the healthy limbs, the 22-year-old Austrian merely has to think what he wants his arms to do and the command is obeyed.
The thought from his brain creates a particular electrical impulse in the nerve endings at the site of amputation.
Those impulses are picked up by electrical connections to the artificial arm, which respond to the specific impulse and so causing the arm to move as he wants.
Mr Kandlbauer, who became the first recipient in the world of such ‘intelligent’ artificial limbs two years ago, now drives to work in a modified disabled car after passing his test last week.
‘The driving is really important to me,’ he said. ‘But now I can also drink a glass of beer without needing a straw. Now that’s impressive!’
He will be in the German capital Berlin on Friday to further showcase his abilities with his arms after they were fitted in 2007.
Before being fitted, the apprentice, who lost his arms in September 2005, underwent a complex operation in which nerves are relocated.
The Otto Bock health care company invented in the prosthetics in conjunction with medical scientists in Vienna.
‘After this selected nerve transfer surgery, the signals that were once responsible for controlling the arm are used for controlling the new prosthesis,’ said the makers of his arms.
‘Electrodes installed in the socket of the prosthesis respond to these control signals. When the user sends movement signals, a complex electronic analysis inside the prosthesis converts the signals and recognises the movements the user would like to make.’
He now works as a warehouse clerk at the company where he was employed as a mechanic before his accident.
source....
Christian Kandlbauer, who lost his arms after being electrocuted by 20,000 volts, retook his driving test and passed.
Using the nerves that previously controlled the healthy limbs, the 22-year-old Austrian merely has to think what he wants his arms to do and the command is obeyed.
The thought from his brain creates a particular electrical impulse in the nerve endings at the site of amputation.
Those impulses are picked up by electrical connections to the artificial arm, which respond to the specific impulse and so causing the arm to move as he wants.
Mr Kandlbauer, who became the first recipient in the world of such ‘intelligent’ artificial limbs two years ago, now drives to work in a modified disabled car after passing his test last week.
‘The driving is really important to me,’ he said. ‘But now I can also drink a glass of beer without needing a straw. Now that’s impressive!’
He will be in the German capital Berlin on Friday to further showcase his abilities with his arms after they were fitted in 2007.
Before being fitted, the apprentice, who lost his arms in September 2005, underwent a complex operation in which nerves are relocated.
The Otto Bock health care company invented in the prosthetics in conjunction with medical scientists in Vienna.
‘After this selected nerve transfer surgery, the signals that were once responsible for controlling the arm are used for controlling the new prosthesis,’ said the makers of his arms.
‘Electrodes installed in the socket of the prosthesis respond to these control signals. When the user sends movement signals, a complex electronic analysis inside the prosthesis converts the signals and recognises the movements the user would like to make.’
He now works as a warehouse clerk at the company where he was employed as a mechanic before his accident.
source....
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Fog shrouds early morning of an otherwise beautiful opening day Wisconsin deer season
Early dense fog dampened some areas of the state on the opening day of Wisconsin’s 2009 nine-day gun deer season, but hunters enjoyed balmy weather throughout much of the day that some thought was just a little too good.
In some areas the fog didn’t burn off until mid morning. But the remainder of the day was calm, with temperatures in the 50s. One of the questions hunters were asked this year on the registration stub for the first time was to rate the weather. Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Supervisor Tim Lizotte said some hunters were giving conditions a 10 to 11 on a 10-point scale.
Alan Crossley, DNR wildlife biologist also working the registration station, said “it’s kind of funny. If hunters shot a nice buck, they tended to rate the weather as a '10.'”
Wildlife managers at registration stations, especially in former earn-a-buck areas, were reporting a large percentage of older bucks, many with nice antler development. In many areas, deer appeared to still be in rut, or their mating season, in many areas. Tom Hauge, director of the DNR Wildlife Management program, was able to watch two bucks sparring for about 10 minutes. At another station, a 7-year old buck was registered with antlers badly damaged from recent sparring.
Jeff Pritzl, DNR wildlife expert aging deer in Northeast Region, recounted his favorite story of the morning: “A young boy on his first nine-day hunt shot a nine-point, 185-pound buck. The boy said his father had taught him that if he saw a doe that kept looking back, don’t shoot, because a buck was following her. Sure enough, he saw a doe that kept looking back, he waited and the buck came into view. Though the young hunter landed a good shot, the buck moved away and he and his dad spent the next two hours searching the wetland. The dad found the deer, and called his son, teary with pride.”
DNR Secretary Matt Frank, visiting with hunters registering deer in Montello, Westfield, Wautoma and Portage this morning, noted hunters were in good spirits, including one young girl registering her first buck at Wautoma.
“This is a great Wisconsin tradition, and it's just plain fun visiting with hunters and hearing their stories. Tomorrow, I will be out hunting myself. DNR is committed to maintaining a healthy deer herd so that we can enjoy deer hunting for many generations to come.”
Jim Shurts, Wisconsin Conservation Congress delegate chair from Dane County, registered his deer this morning. He was hunting in Columbia County east of Wyocena and heard more shooting than in the last few years. In one of those rare outdoors experiences, Shurts said a large flock of turkeys roosting near him gobbled loudly every time they heard a shot.
License Sales
As shooting hours opened, 626,404 hunters hit the woods for Wisconsin’s grand tradition of Gun Deer Season. Of these, 9,592 were 10- and 11-year-olds who were able to participate in this year’s hunt under the new Hunting Youth Mentorship Program. Nearly one-third of all hunters were under the age of 30.
DNR’s on-line licensing system – known as ALIS -- didn’t even break a sweat Friday as hunting license purchases peaked at 212 per minute at 5:30 p.m. Friday. All tolled 82,463 gun deer licenses were issued to anxious hunters who waited until the last minute to purchase. Nearly 270,000 licenses were issued in the eight days preceding the season opener. Deer license and tag sales will continue through the hunting seasons.
Of the hunters hitting the woods today:
* 592,287 (95 percent) were residents and 34,117 were nonresidents;
* Over 79,000 youth hunters under 18 years old participated in this year’s hunt, representing 13 percent of the total number of deer hunters;
* More than 54,000 hunters were age 65 or older, and over 191,000 (31 percent) are under 30-years-old;
* Females represent 8.5 percent of the total hunters, and 20 percent of new 10- and 11-year-old hunters;
* Hunters throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries purchased a Wisconsin gun deer license. The highest number of nonresident hunters came from Minnesota (16,413), Illinois (8,568), Michigan (1,078), and Florida (898);
* The most deer licenses were sold in Dane County (29,024), with Brown, Washington, Marathon and Waukesha counties following;
* More than 170,000 antlerless deer tags have been sold this year.
DNR Call Center hears from tree stands; sets record for calls
Operators at DNR’s call center began receiving calls at 7 a.m. Saturday morning from tree stands, deer camps and hunters afield. Questions ranged from, “Can I still buy a license” and “What is my hunter ed. number,” to one hunter saying that as the fog lifted, a bunch of cows appeared and were loose on state land. He wanted DNR let other hunters know so that none got shot by accident.
On Friday, the DNR call center bested its daily record by more than 500, answering 2,591 calls. During the week prior to the opener, customer service staff received 10,140 calls and 588 internet chats. The call center expects to handle over 260,000 calls this year, with approximately one-third of calls received on nights and weekends.
“It’s been really busy in the call center, and we love it. We’ve got a great staff just as excited about this season as the hunters are, and we’re here for you if you have a question,” said Customer Service Director Diane Brookbank.
Call center staff are available to serve customers from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m., seven days a week by calling 1-888-WDNR INFo (1-888-936-7463) or online at [dnr.wi.gov]. Spanish and Hmong service is available.
DNR call center staff manning the poacher hotline were also kept busy Saturday with reports of baiting violations, hunters shooting from the road, and ATV’s on public land. Hunters wishing to report a violation can call 24 hours a day and seven days a week at 1(800)TIP-WDNR [800-847-9367] or cell #367.
Two shooting incidents reported opening day
By late afternoon Saturday, DNR Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern had been notified of two shooting incidents, both non-fatal.
A male hunter in Grant County was shot just below the buttocks, reportedly when a nearby hunter was unloading his gun. A hunter in Green County received a shotgun wound to the thigh; it was not self-inflicted. No other details were available at time of publishing.
Lawhern notes that every shooting incident can be traced back to hunters failing to follow the four basic firearm rules.
“Every hunter – no matter the level of experience or years in the woods – should have these rules so engrained they are automatic,” Lawhern said. “Review these and review them with your hunting friends. It’s in your best interest and theirs. Make these rules your habits.”
The four rules are:
Treat every firearm as if it is loaded should be a habit.
Always point the muzzle in a safe direction at all times.
Be certain of your target and what is beyond it.
Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.
Wardens wrote citations on opening day for illegal baiting, loaded firearms in vehicles and other violations, but no serious incidents were reported. A hunter in Clark County was cited after he cut down 25 pine trees on county property to improve a “shooting lane.” Another hunter was arrested and booked into jail for carrying a firearm while legally intoxicated.
Adams County
Plainfield – “It’s been horribly slow today,” says Stacy Knaus, working the deer registration station at the Wagon Wheel. “We’ve had 28 deer come in – four nice bucks but other years at this time we would have registered in the 100s and 200 to 300 total deer opening day.” Knaus says public hunting grounds in the area have been popular sites this year but hunters weren’t seeing many deer there. “I heard there were 118 vehicles parked in one area,” she says. One highlight for Knaus was meeting a boy who had gotten into hunting through the recent inaugural mentored hunt program. “He said his dad was his mentor and his dad looked so proud that his son brought in a deer,” Knaus says. Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist, reported that he was on his way to his hunting camp but that he’d heard from the folks already there that things were starting slowly with no deer shot in the morning.
A party of hunters on a parcel of private Adams County property, largely surrounded by timber land that is open to the public, came across a man and his young daughter who was on her first hunt. It turns out they had inadvertently crossed onto the private property. Keith Williams of Beloit, whose uncle owns the property, told the man and his daughter to stay put. He said it was a good day and they had a good location. “I told them now we know where you are so there won’t be any miscommunications about firing lines,” Williams told a DNR communications specialist working opening day. Williams handled that situation really well, said wildlife biologist Jon Robaidek. “That leaves a pretty good impression on a young hunter, on how things can be handled between groups of hunters,” Robaidek said. This act of kindness didn’t put a crimp in William’s hunting, Robaidek said. The four hunters in his party registered three deer opening morning, including an eight-point buck shot by Williams, and were heading back out.
Jackson County
Taylor – “It’s been a very slow day,” says Kristine Krencis, working her fifth year registering deer at the Taylor County Store. “We’ve registered 36 deer so far,” she says. But she was seeing registration pick up later in the afternoon after the morning fog had cleared out. “The deer have been small – the largest is an eight-point buck so far. Most people seem to be sticking to private land.”
Juneau County
Camp Douglas – Ron Kasulke, working at the Eagles Nest Resort, reports a slow opener. “I’ve only registered eight bucks and nine total deer,” Kasulke says mid-afternoon. But he expected registration to pick up before close. “The hunters are sticking with it and staying out. It was hard to see with the fog this morning and some came in for a while but have gone back out and I think we’ll see more deer coming in.” Kasulke, a bow hunter, says he enjoys working the registration station during the gun hunt because of the people he meets. “I just love to talk to hunters and hear them get excited and share their stories. Young girls and boys to older hunters. That’s what it’s all about.”
Monroe County
Sparta – Don Schmitzler, owner of Don and Vi’s Hunting and Fishing, says he was selling a lot of back tags and had registered 63 deer by 2 p.m. including 34 bucks and 29 antlerless. “We just had a real nice buck with a 21.5-inch spread and eight points,” Schmitzler says. Registrations were steadier than past years when Schmitzler says there would be a run on registrations followed by down time. “It’s the warm weather,” Schmitzler says. “Hunters are just bringing the deer in as they get them.”
Wood County - Hunters throughout west central Wisconsin found themselves shrouded in fog. “One guy said he couldn’t see past the end of his gun barrel,” reported wildlife biologist Greg Dahl, who was aging deer. The weather, which most hunters graded as less than desirable on their registrations stubs, did provide a few lucky hunters with a dramatic moment when a large buck deer came out of the fog, seeming to materialize out of thin air. Hunters were also hindered by thick condensation which fell from the trees like a light rain, creating a constant pitter patter of sound that made it difficult to hear deer as well as see them.
Waushara County
Wild Rose – DNR Area Wildlife Leader Tom Nigus taking deer heads for CWD surveillance at Mr. Ed’s Place said deer registrations had been steady. DNR is sampling deer for CWD in the area due to positive deer being found at the Hall Wild Game Farm, located nearby in Almond. Nigus said that though there was fog early, it soon lifted, and hunters reported hearing a lot of shots taken around 8 a.m. “It’s a good temperature for sitting,” he said. Of the 40 bucks registered at Mr. Ed’s by mid-afternoon, most were yearlings, but four had nice racks. One buck aged out at 4-years-old. He expected things to pick up. “It gets busy here after dark – it’s not uncommon to have 30 cars and trucks waiting once the rush starts,” he said.
Wild Rose -- Jerry Apps joined his son, brother and nephews opening day hunting family land in Wild Rose. “Haven’t missed a deer season since I was 12-years-old,” Apps says, “and that goes back to a time when we wore red coats rather than blaze orange. I hunted with my dad back then, and walked miles from farm to farm—no trespassing signs in those days. Not many deer either.” Apps says people sometimes seem surprised that he still hunts. “Yup,” I answer with a smile he says. “And they look at me like I’ve lost a marble or two. My cynical answer is because I still can. But the reasons are more complicated than that. I hunt deer because my family has hunted for generations. My dad still hunted when he was 92. Deer hunting season is when I see my brother, and my three nephews, who all hunt. My son (now 46) has hunted with me since he was 12.” The Apps party had seen a half-dozen deer Saturday morning but none had taken a deer by the time they broke for lunch. Fog hampered their ability to see much of the morning. “It’s one more opportunity to be outdoors, in the quiet of a late November morning when the countryside is saying goodbye to fall and waiting for winter. The smells and sounds of fall are all around when I sit on the edge of a field on the back end of my farm,” Apps says. “Oh, I still enjoy a slice of venison sausage. Nothing better, especially if it’s home grown.”
source....
In some areas the fog didn’t burn off until mid morning. But the remainder of the day was calm, with temperatures in the 50s. One of the questions hunters were asked this year on the registration stub for the first time was to rate the weather. Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Supervisor Tim Lizotte said some hunters were giving conditions a 10 to 11 on a 10-point scale.
Alan Crossley, DNR wildlife biologist also working the registration station, said “it’s kind of funny. If hunters shot a nice buck, they tended to rate the weather as a '10.'”
Wildlife managers at registration stations, especially in former earn-a-buck areas, were reporting a large percentage of older bucks, many with nice antler development. In many areas, deer appeared to still be in rut, or their mating season, in many areas. Tom Hauge, director of the DNR Wildlife Management program, was able to watch two bucks sparring for about 10 minutes. At another station, a 7-year old buck was registered with antlers badly damaged from recent sparring.
Jeff Pritzl, DNR wildlife expert aging deer in Northeast Region, recounted his favorite story of the morning: “A young boy on his first nine-day hunt shot a nine-point, 185-pound buck. The boy said his father had taught him that if he saw a doe that kept looking back, don’t shoot, because a buck was following her. Sure enough, he saw a doe that kept looking back, he waited and the buck came into view. Though the young hunter landed a good shot, the buck moved away and he and his dad spent the next two hours searching the wetland. The dad found the deer, and called his son, teary with pride.”
DNR Secretary Matt Frank, visiting with hunters registering deer in Montello, Westfield, Wautoma and Portage this morning, noted hunters were in good spirits, including one young girl registering her first buck at Wautoma.
“This is a great Wisconsin tradition, and it's just plain fun visiting with hunters and hearing their stories. Tomorrow, I will be out hunting myself. DNR is committed to maintaining a healthy deer herd so that we can enjoy deer hunting for many generations to come.”
Jim Shurts, Wisconsin Conservation Congress delegate chair from Dane County, registered his deer this morning. He was hunting in Columbia County east of Wyocena and heard more shooting than in the last few years. In one of those rare outdoors experiences, Shurts said a large flock of turkeys roosting near him gobbled loudly every time they heard a shot.
License Sales
As shooting hours opened, 626,404 hunters hit the woods for Wisconsin’s grand tradition of Gun Deer Season. Of these, 9,592 were 10- and 11-year-olds who were able to participate in this year’s hunt under the new Hunting Youth Mentorship Program. Nearly one-third of all hunters were under the age of 30.
DNR’s on-line licensing system – known as ALIS -- didn’t even break a sweat Friday as hunting license purchases peaked at 212 per minute at 5:30 p.m. Friday. All tolled 82,463 gun deer licenses were issued to anxious hunters who waited until the last minute to purchase. Nearly 270,000 licenses were issued in the eight days preceding the season opener. Deer license and tag sales will continue through the hunting seasons.
Of the hunters hitting the woods today:
* 592,287 (95 percent) were residents and 34,117 were nonresidents;
* Over 79,000 youth hunters under 18 years old participated in this year’s hunt, representing 13 percent of the total number of deer hunters;
* More than 54,000 hunters were age 65 or older, and over 191,000 (31 percent) are under 30-years-old;
* Females represent 8.5 percent of the total hunters, and 20 percent of new 10- and 11-year-old hunters;
* Hunters throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries purchased a Wisconsin gun deer license. The highest number of nonresident hunters came from Minnesota (16,413), Illinois (8,568), Michigan (1,078), and Florida (898);
* The most deer licenses were sold in Dane County (29,024), with Brown, Washington, Marathon and Waukesha counties following;
* More than 170,000 antlerless deer tags have been sold this year.
DNR Call Center hears from tree stands; sets record for calls
Operators at DNR’s call center began receiving calls at 7 a.m. Saturday morning from tree stands, deer camps and hunters afield. Questions ranged from, “Can I still buy a license” and “What is my hunter ed. number,” to one hunter saying that as the fog lifted, a bunch of cows appeared and were loose on state land. He wanted DNR let other hunters know so that none got shot by accident.
On Friday, the DNR call center bested its daily record by more than 500, answering 2,591 calls. During the week prior to the opener, customer service staff received 10,140 calls and 588 internet chats. The call center expects to handle over 260,000 calls this year, with approximately one-third of calls received on nights and weekends.
“It’s been really busy in the call center, and we love it. We’ve got a great staff just as excited about this season as the hunters are, and we’re here for you if you have a question,” said Customer Service Director Diane Brookbank.
Call center staff are available to serve customers from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m., seven days a week by calling 1-888-WDNR INFo (1-888-936-7463) or online at [dnr.wi.gov]. Spanish and Hmong service is available.
DNR call center staff manning the poacher hotline were also kept busy Saturday with reports of baiting violations, hunters shooting from the road, and ATV’s on public land. Hunters wishing to report a violation can call 24 hours a day and seven days a week at 1(800)TIP-WDNR [800-847-9367] or cell #367.
Two shooting incidents reported opening day
By late afternoon Saturday, DNR Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern had been notified of two shooting incidents, both non-fatal.
A male hunter in Grant County was shot just below the buttocks, reportedly when a nearby hunter was unloading his gun. A hunter in Green County received a shotgun wound to the thigh; it was not self-inflicted. No other details were available at time of publishing.
Lawhern notes that every shooting incident can be traced back to hunters failing to follow the four basic firearm rules.
“Every hunter – no matter the level of experience or years in the woods – should have these rules so engrained they are automatic,” Lawhern said. “Review these and review them with your hunting friends. It’s in your best interest and theirs. Make these rules your habits.”
The four rules are:
Treat every firearm as if it is loaded should be a habit.
Always point the muzzle in a safe direction at all times.
Be certain of your target and what is beyond it.
Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.
Wardens wrote citations on opening day for illegal baiting, loaded firearms in vehicles and other violations, but no serious incidents were reported. A hunter in Clark County was cited after he cut down 25 pine trees on county property to improve a “shooting lane.” Another hunter was arrested and booked into jail for carrying a firearm while legally intoxicated.
Adams County
Plainfield – “It’s been horribly slow today,” says Stacy Knaus, working the deer registration station at the Wagon Wheel. “We’ve had 28 deer come in – four nice bucks but other years at this time we would have registered in the 100s and 200 to 300 total deer opening day.” Knaus says public hunting grounds in the area have been popular sites this year but hunters weren’t seeing many deer there. “I heard there were 118 vehicles parked in one area,” she says. One highlight for Knaus was meeting a boy who had gotten into hunting through the recent inaugural mentored hunt program. “He said his dad was his mentor and his dad looked so proud that his son brought in a deer,” Knaus says. Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist, reported that he was on his way to his hunting camp but that he’d heard from the folks already there that things were starting slowly with no deer shot in the morning.
A party of hunters on a parcel of private Adams County property, largely surrounded by timber land that is open to the public, came across a man and his young daughter who was on her first hunt. It turns out they had inadvertently crossed onto the private property. Keith Williams of Beloit, whose uncle owns the property, told the man and his daughter to stay put. He said it was a good day and they had a good location. “I told them now we know where you are so there won’t be any miscommunications about firing lines,” Williams told a DNR communications specialist working opening day. Williams handled that situation really well, said wildlife biologist Jon Robaidek. “That leaves a pretty good impression on a young hunter, on how things can be handled between groups of hunters,” Robaidek said. This act of kindness didn’t put a crimp in William’s hunting, Robaidek said. The four hunters in his party registered three deer opening morning, including an eight-point buck shot by Williams, and were heading back out.
Jackson County
Taylor – “It’s been a very slow day,” says Kristine Krencis, working her fifth year registering deer at the Taylor County Store. “We’ve registered 36 deer so far,” she says. But she was seeing registration pick up later in the afternoon after the morning fog had cleared out. “The deer have been small – the largest is an eight-point buck so far. Most people seem to be sticking to private land.”
Juneau County
Camp Douglas – Ron Kasulke, working at the Eagles Nest Resort, reports a slow opener. “I’ve only registered eight bucks and nine total deer,” Kasulke says mid-afternoon. But he expected registration to pick up before close. “The hunters are sticking with it and staying out. It was hard to see with the fog this morning and some came in for a while but have gone back out and I think we’ll see more deer coming in.” Kasulke, a bow hunter, says he enjoys working the registration station during the gun hunt because of the people he meets. “I just love to talk to hunters and hear them get excited and share their stories. Young girls and boys to older hunters. That’s what it’s all about.”
Monroe County
Sparta – Don Schmitzler, owner of Don and Vi’s Hunting and Fishing, says he was selling a lot of back tags and had registered 63 deer by 2 p.m. including 34 bucks and 29 antlerless. “We just had a real nice buck with a 21.5-inch spread and eight points,” Schmitzler says. Registrations were steadier than past years when Schmitzler says there would be a run on registrations followed by down time. “It’s the warm weather,” Schmitzler says. “Hunters are just bringing the deer in as they get them.”
Wood County - Hunters throughout west central Wisconsin found themselves shrouded in fog. “One guy said he couldn’t see past the end of his gun barrel,” reported wildlife biologist Greg Dahl, who was aging deer. The weather, which most hunters graded as less than desirable on their registrations stubs, did provide a few lucky hunters with a dramatic moment when a large buck deer came out of the fog, seeming to materialize out of thin air. Hunters were also hindered by thick condensation which fell from the trees like a light rain, creating a constant pitter patter of sound that made it difficult to hear deer as well as see them.
Waushara County
Wild Rose – DNR Area Wildlife Leader Tom Nigus taking deer heads for CWD surveillance at Mr. Ed’s Place said deer registrations had been steady. DNR is sampling deer for CWD in the area due to positive deer being found at the Hall Wild Game Farm, located nearby in Almond. Nigus said that though there was fog early, it soon lifted, and hunters reported hearing a lot of shots taken around 8 a.m. “It’s a good temperature for sitting,” he said. Of the 40 bucks registered at Mr. Ed’s by mid-afternoon, most were yearlings, but four had nice racks. One buck aged out at 4-years-old. He expected things to pick up. “It gets busy here after dark – it’s not uncommon to have 30 cars and trucks waiting once the rush starts,” he said.
Wild Rose -- Jerry Apps joined his son, brother and nephews opening day hunting family land in Wild Rose. “Haven’t missed a deer season since I was 12-years-old,” Apps says, “and that goes back to a time when we wore red coats rather than blaze orange. I hunted with my dad back then, and walked miles from farm to farm—no trespassing signs in those days. Not many deer either.” Apps says people sometimes seem surprised that he still hunts. “Yup,” I answer with a smile he says. “And they look at me like I’ve lost a marble or two. My cynical answer is because I still can. But the reasons are more complicated than that. I hunt deer because my family has hunted for generations. My dad still hunted when he was 92. Deer hunting season is when I see my brother, and my three nephews, who all hunt. My son (now 46) has hunted with me since he was 12.” The Apps party had seen a half-dozen deer Saturday morning but none had taken a deer by the time they broke for lunch. Fog hampered their ability to see much of the morning. “It’s one more opportunity to be outdoors, in the quiet of a late November morning when the countryside is saying goodbye to fall and waiting for winter. The smells and sounds of fall are all around when I sit on the edge of a field on the back end of my farm,” Apps says. “Oh, I still enjoy a slice of venison sausage. Nothing better, especially if it’s home grown.”
source....
the largest planet in the solar system
The Moon takes aim at Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, tonight. They are well up in the south at nightfall and set in late evening. Jupiter is to the upper left of the Moon and looks like a dazzling star. If you have a pair of binoculars, take a look at Jupiter and you can see up to four of it's giant moons. They look like small stars around it.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
ISS Tonight
22 Nov -2.6 17:43:03 NW 34
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Hindenburg airship beer auctioned
A blackened bottle of beer found in the wreck of the Hindenburg zeppelin is expected to fetch thousands of pounds at auction.
The bottle was found by a fire-fighter cleaning up the American airfield where the German airship exploded in 1937.
The bottle will be the most expensive ever bought if it meets its estimated price of £5,000 ($8,337) on Saturday.
The airship was engulfed by flames as it landed in New Jersey, killing 38 people and injuring 60.
Secret find
New Jersey firefighter Leroy Smith found six bottles of Lowenbrau beer and a pitcher intact on the scene of the crash.
He buried his secret find so he could collect them later, as the area had been sealed off by the authorities.
Mr Smith gave the other five bottles to his colleagues.
Most of the others are now lost, although one was given to the Lowenbrau company after the death of Mr Smith's friend.
The silver-plated pitcher, which bears the logo of the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, the zeppelin airline company, is expected to reach £12,000 ($20,000).
Evaporated
The bottle and jug were passed on by Mr Smith to his niece in 1966 and are now to be put on sale by auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son.
The beer would have gone off within a year of being bottled.
"You wouldn't want to drink it - it is probably quite putrid to taste," auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said.
Some of the liquid has evaporated from the bottle and the label is burned, but the logo is still visible.
The previous record price for a bottle of beer was a limited edition sale of a Carlsberg lager which cost £240 ($400).
The flammable hydrogen that kept the giant zeppelin in the air exploded as the ship came in to land on a voyage across the Atlantic from Frankfurt.
The precise cause of the fire is not known, but it is thought that friction in the mooring ropes could have been responsible.
source....
The bottle was found by a fire-fighter cleaning up the American airfield where the German airship exploded in 1937.
The bottle will be the most expensive ever bought if it meets its estimated price of £5,000 ($8,337) on Saturday.
The airship was engulfed by flames as it landed in New Jersey, killing 38 people and injuring 60.
Secret find
New Jersey firefighter Leroy Smith found six bottles of Lowenbrau beer and a pitcher intact on the scene of the crash.
He buried his secret find so he could collect them later, as the area had been sealed off by the authorities.
Mr Smith gave the other five bottles to his colleagues.
Most of the others are now lost, although one was given to the Lowenbrau company after the death of Mr Smith's friend.
The silver-plated pitcher, which bears the logo of the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, the zeppelin airline company, is expected to reach £12,000 ($20,000).
Evaporated
The bottle and jug were passed on by Mr Smith to his niece in 1966 and are now to be put on sale by auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son.
The beer would have gone off within a year of being bottled.
"You wouldn't want to drink it - it is probably quite putrid to taste," auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said.
Some of the liquid has evaporated from the bottle and the label is burned, but the logo is still visible.
The previous record price for a bottle of beer was a limited edition sale of a Carlsberg lager which cost £240 ($400).
The flammable hydrogen that kept the giant zeppelin in the air exploded as the ship came in to land on a voyage across the Atlantic from Frankfurt.
The precise cause of the fire is not known, but it is thought that friction in the mooring ropes could have been responsible.
source....
Saturday, November 21, 2009
AIR QUALITY ALERT
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT TO MIDNIGHT CST
MONDAY NIGHT...
THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED AN AIR
QUALITY WATCH FOR PARTICULATES...IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT
TO MIDNIGHT CST MONDAY NIGHT.
A STAGNANT AND INCREASINGLY DIRTY AIR MASS WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE
UPPER MIDWEST DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY
THAT PARTICLE POLLUTION CONCENTRATIONS WILL REACH UNHEALTHY LEVELS
FOR PEOPLE IN SENSITIVE GROUPS FOR COUNTIES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
TWO-THIRDS OF WISCONSIN.
DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF ELEVATED LEVELS OF PARTICLE POLLUTION IN
THE REGION THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED
AN AIR QUALITY WATCH FROM SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
CONCENTRATIONS OF PARTICULATES MAY APPROACH OR EXCEED UNHEALTHY
STANDARDS. AT THIS LEVEL OF PARTICULATES EXPOSURE...MEMBERS OF
SENSITIVE GROUPS MAY EXPERIENCE HEALTH EFFECTS. THE GENERAL PUBLIC
IS NOT LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT WISCONSIN DNR AIR QUALITY
WEB SITE AT HTTP://DNR.WI.GOV/AIR/AQ/HEALTH/STATUS.ASP
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
MONDAY NIGHT...
THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED AN AIR
QUALITY WATCH FOR PARTICULATES...IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT
TO MIDNIGHT CST MONDAY NIGHT.
A STAGNANT AND INCREASINGLY DIRTY AIR MASS WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE
UPPER MIDWEST DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY
THAT PARTICLE POLLUTION CONCENTRATIONS WILL REACH UNHEALTHY LEVELS
FOR PEOPLE IN SENSITIVE GROUPS FOR COUNTIES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
TWO-THIRDS OF WISCONSIN.
DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF ELEVATED LEVELS OF PARTICLE POLLUTION IN
THE REGION THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED
AN AIR QUALITY WATCH FROM SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
CONCENTRATIONS OF PARTICULATES MAY APPROACH OR EXCEED UNHEALTHY
STANDARDS. AT THIS LEVEL OF PARTICULATES EXPOSURE...MEMBERS OF
SENSITIVE GROUPS MAY EXPERIENCE HEALTH EFFECTS. THE GENERAL PUBLIC
IS NOT LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT WISCONSIN DNR AIR QUALITY
WEB SITE AT HTTP://DNR.WI.GOV/AIR/AQ/HEALTH/STATUS.ASP
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Rebuilding of power line may result in incidental take of rare lizard
The rebuilding and maintenance of an existing electrical transmission line from Plainfield to south of Coloma in Waushara County could result in the “incidental taking” of a lizard that is listed as an endangered species in Wisconsin, under a permit the Department of Natural Resources proposes to authorize for the project.
American Transmission Company (ATC) is planning to replace damaged utility poles, string new shield wire, and complete other maintenance activities along the transmission line known as Y-90 or Chaffee Creek to Plainfield located in the Towns of Coloma, Hancock and Plainfield in Waushara County.
Portions of the project corridor include habitat that is suitable for the state endangered slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus), including oak savannas, sand prairies, old fields with sandy soils, and woodland edges. DNR biologists have confirmed the presence of the slender glass lizard in the vicinity of the project site and determined that the species is likely present and that the proposed project may result in the incidental taking of some lizards.
Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the overall population of the species at risk.
However, the department has concluded that the proposed project will minimize the impacts to the lizard by adhering to conservation measures; is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of the state population of these lizards or the whole plant-animal community of which they are a part; and has benefit to the public health, safety or welfare that justifies the action.
In order to minimize possible impacts to the slender glass lizard, the project will conduct work during the lizard’s inactive period, minimize the area of project disturbance, and restore disturbed areas to pre-existing conditions.
source....
American Transmission Company (ATC) is planning to replace damaged utility poles, string new shield wire, and complete other maintenance activities along the transmission line known as Y-90 or Chaffee Creek to Plainfield located in the Towns of Coloma, Hancock and Plainfield in Waushara County.
Portions of the project corridor include habitat that is suitable for the state endangered slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus), including oak savannas, sand prairies, old fields with sandy soils, and woodland edges. DNR biologists have confirmed the presence of the slender glass lizard in the vicinity of the project site and determined that the species is likely present and that the proposed project may result in the incidental taking of some lizards.
Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the overall population of the species at risk.
However, the department has concluded that the proposed project will minimize the impacts to the lizard by adhering to conservation measures; is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of the state population of these lizards or the whole plant-animal community of which they are a part; and has benefit to the public health, safety or welfare that justifies the action.
In order to minimize possible impacts to the slender glass lizard, the project will conduct work during the lizard’s inactive period, minimize the area of project disturbance, and restore disturbed areas to pre-existing conditions.
source....
Friday, November 20, 2009
Deer hunters urged to help eliminate feral pigs
State wildlife officials are encouraging hunters who have small game licenses heading out for Wisconsin’s traditional nine-day gun deer hunting season to keep an eye out for feral pigs. Since 1997 feral pigs have been found in at least 39 Wisconsin counties.
“Each year we receive reports of feral pig sightings and harvests from around the state,” says Brad Koele, wildlife damage specialist for Department of Natural Resources. “Most of these reports are of 1 or 2 pigs. However, any report of feral pigs is of interest and concern given the negative impacts they can have on the environment, Wisconsin’s agriculture production and our domestic swine industry.”
Feral pigs have been defined as “existing in an untamed or wild, unconfined state, having returned to such a state from domestication.” Feral pigs can be found across a wide variety of habitats and are highly destructive because of the rooting they do in search of food. They’re also efficient predators preying on many species including white-tailed deer fawns and ground nesting birds like grouse, woodcock, turkeys, and songbirds.
Feral pigs are known to carry a number of diseases of danger to humans and the domestic swine industry, including swine brucellosis, pseudorabies and leptospirosis. In 2008 a feral pig shot during the gun deer hunting season in Crawford County initially tested “positive” for pseudorabies however because of the poor sample quality test results could not be labeled definitive.
For removal purposes, feral pigs are currently considered unprotected wild animals and may be hunted year-round. The only day they cannot be hunted with a gun is the Friday before the nine-day gun deer hunting season. Also, feral pig hunting hours are the same as for deer during the nine-day season. During the rest of the year, there are no hunting hour restrictions for feral pigs.
There is no bag limit on feral pigs. Landowners may shoot feral pigs on their own property without a hunting license. Anyone else can shoot a feral pig as long as they possess a valid small game license, sport license, or patron license and have landowner permission if they are on private land.
While the Department encourages the removal of feral pigs when ever possible, Koele cautions that before shooting “hunters need to be sure the pigs are feral and they are not someone’s domestic pigs that may have just escaped. Hunters could be liable for the replacement cost of the pig if they are domestic.”
Information on feral pig hunting, including a list of counties where feral pigs have been sighted or killed, is available on the Department of Natural Resources Web site.
State officials request that anyone shooting a feral pig call a DNR service center or contact a DNR wildlife biologist so that blood and tissue samples can be collected for disease testing in collaboration with USDA and the State veterinarians office.
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“Each year we receive reports of feral pig sightings and harvests from around the state,” says Brad Koele, wildlife damage specialist for Department of Natural Resources. “Most of these reports are of 1 or 2 pigs. However, any report of feral pigs is of interest and concern given the negative impacts they can have on the environment, Wisconsin’s agriculture production and our domestic swine industry.”
Feral pigs have been defined as “existing in an untamed or wild, unconfined state, having returned to such a state from domestication.” Feral pigs can be found across a wide variety of habitats and are highly destructive because of the rooting they do in search of food. They’re also efficient predators preying on many species including white-tailed deer fawns and ground nesting birds like grouse, woodcock, turkeys, and songbirds.
Feral pigs are known to carry a number of diseases of danger to humans and the domestic swine industry, including swine brucellosis, pseudorabies and leptospirosis. In 2008 a feral pig shot during the gun deer hunting season in Crawford County initially tested “positive” for pseudorabies however because of the poor sample quality test results could not be labeled definitive.
For removal purposes, feral pigs are currently considered unprotected wild animals and may be hunted year-round. The only day they cannot be hunted with a gun is the Friday before the nine-day gun deer hunting season. Also, feral pig hunting hours are the same as for deer during the nine-day season. During the rest of the year, there are no hunting hour restrictions for feral pigs.
There is no bag limit on feral pigs. Landowners may shoot feral pigs on their own property without a hunting license. Anyone else can shoot a feral pig as long as they possess a valid small game license, sport license, or patron license and have landowner permission if they are on private land.
While the Department encourages the removal of feral pigs when ever possible, Koele cautions that before shooting “hunters need to be sure the pigs are feral and they are not someone’s domestic pigs that may have just escaped. Hunters could be liable for the replacement cost of the pig if they are domestic.”
Information on feral pig hunting, including a list of counties where feral pigs have been sighted or killed, is available on the Department of Natural Resources Web site.
State officials request that anyone shooting a feral pig call a DNR service center or contact a DNR wildlife biologist so that blood and tissue samples can be collected for disease testing in collaboration with USDA and the State veterinarians office.
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
GREAT WESTERN FIREBALL
Yesterday, Nov. 18th, something exploded in the atmosphere above the western United States. Witnesses in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho say the fireball "turned night into day" and issued shock waves that "shook the ground" when it exploded just after midnight Mountain Standard Time. The fireball was so bright it actually turned the sky noontime blue, as shown in this image from KSL TV in Utah:
Although the fireball appeared during the Leonid meteor shower, it was not a Leonid. Infrasound recordings of the blast suggest a small asteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere and exploding with an energy of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. Experts liken the event to the Park Forest fireball of 2003, which scattered dozens of meteorites across a suburb of Chicago. Meteorites are likely from this fireball as well.
Approximately 6 hours after the fireball, people in Utah and Colorado got another surprise. As the sun rose over those states, a twisting electric-blue cloud appeared in the dawn sky:
"These curious clouds on the horizon caught my attention just before sunrise," says photographer Don Brown of Park City, Utah. "They were strangely bright relative to the rest of the sky."
The cloud strongly resembles artificial noctilucent clouds formed at high altitudes by rocket and shuttle launches. Yet there was no (officially reported) rocket launch at dawn on Nov. 18th. Could the cloud be associated with the fireball? The geographical coincidence is certainly striking. Debris from the fireball should have dissipated by sunrise, but the cloud remains unexplained and a connection to the fireball cannot yet be dismissed.
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Although the fireball appeared during the Leonid meteor shower, it was not a Leonid. Infrasound recordings of the blast suggest a small asteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere and exploding with an energy of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. Experts liken the event to the Park Forest fireball of 2003, which scattered dozens of meteorites across a suburb of Chicago. Meteorites are likely from this fireball as well.
Approximately 6 hours after the fireball, people in Utah and Colorado got another surprise. As the sun rose over those states, a twisting electric-blue cloud appeared in the dawn sky:
"These curious clouds on the horizon caught my attention just before sunrise," says photographer Don Brown of Park City, Utah. "They were strangely bright relative to the rest of the sky."
The cloud strongly resembles artificial noctilucent clouds formed at high altitudes by rocket and shuttle launches. Yet there was no (officially reported) rocket launch at dawn on Nov. 18th. Could the cloud be associated with the fireball? The geographical coincidence is certainly striking. Debris from the fireball should have dissipated by sunrise, but the cloud remains unexplained and a connection to the fireball cannot yet be dismissed.
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Early returns on deer stubs and hunter self-survey indicate hunters are “seeing deer”
Hunters report seeing between one to three deer per hunting trip during the early hunting seasons.
The data come from a preliminary count of deer registration stubs and new Department of Natural Resources online hunter observation reports through October 28.
“Every successful hunter must fill out a Deer Harvest Information stub when they register their kill,” said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist. “This year, there are blanks on the stub asking whether or not the deer was killed on public or private land, the number of deer seen on the day of the kill, the numbers of hours hunted on the day of the kill and weather conditions.”
With only a portion of registration stubs entered and much hunting still to come, officials emphasize that these numbers will almost certainly change.
The early tally of successful hunters shows 31,470 trips reported and 95,229 hours hunted; 92,029 deer were seen for an average sighting of one deer per hour hunted and two-and-half to three deer seen per trip. Overall weather ratings were reported as six on a 10-point scale with one being worst and 10 best.
Hunters filing voluntary hunter observation reports logged 3,430 trips 12,904 hours hunted and one-and-a-half to two deer seen per trip. Information on the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey is available on the DNR Web site.
The eastern and southern farmland areas [PDF 294KB] saw the most hunting trips (9,659 and 9,940 respectively) by successful hunters. The greatest number of hunter field observation reports also came from eastern farmland (1,056 reports filed) and southern farmland (932 reports filed).
In both categories, hunters in the western farmland saw the most deer with 3.47 deer observed per trip for successful hunters and 2.09 deer observed per trip in the field observation reports.
As wildlife managers expected, preliminary registration returns entered through Nov. 5 show a decreased total archery harvest (about 31,000 in 2008 vs. about 22,000 in 2009).
“The archery antlerless harvest in this time period dropped by about 39 percent and the buck harvest climbed by about 7 percent,” said Warnke. “This was expected due mainly to fewer herd control units and no Earn a Buck outside of the CWD management zone.”
Antlerless registrations during the October antlerless gun hunt in herd control units were down also with about 11,000 deer registrations in the database in 2009 compared to about 26,000 by this date in 2008.
There are one-third fewer herd control units this year and no earn-a-buck requirements outside the CWD Zone thus, hunter opportunity to participate in the October gun hunt was more limited this year according to wildlife officials.
The registration numbers will most certainly change, say wildlife managers, as more stubs are entered.
source....
The data come from a preliminary count of deer registration stubs and new Department of Natural Resources online hunter observation reports through October 28.
“Every successful hunter must fill out a Deer Harvest Information stub when they register their kill,” said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist. “This year, there are blanks on the stub asking whether or not the deer was killed on public or private land, the number of deer seen on the day of the kill, the numbers of hours hunted on the day of the kill and weather conditions.”
With only a portion of registration stubs entered and much hunting still to come, officials emphasize that these numbers will almost certainly change.
The early tally of successful hunters shows 31,470 trips reported and 95,229 hours hunted; 92,029 deer were seen for an average sighting of one deer per hour hunted and two-and-half to three deer seen per trip. Overall weather ratings were reported as six on a 10-point scale with one being worst and 10 best.
Hunters filing voluntary hunter observation reports logged 3,430 trips 12,904 hours hunted and one-and-a-half to two deer seen per trip. Information on the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey is available on the DNR Web site.
The eastern and southern farmland areas [PDF 294KB] saw the most hunting trips (9,659 and 9,940 respectively) by successful hunters. The greatest number of hunter field observation reports also came from eastern farmland (1,056 reports filed) and southern farmland (932 reports filed).
In both categories, hunters in the western farmland saw the most deer with 3.47 deer observed per trip for successful hunters and 2.09 deer observed per trip in the field observation reports.
As wildlife managers expected, preliminary registration returns entered through Nov. 5 show a decreased total archery harvest (about 31,000 in 2008 vs. about 22,000 in 2009).
“The archery antlerless harvest in this time period dropped by about 39 percent and the buck harvest climbed by about 7 percent,” said Warnke. “This was expected due mainly to fewer herd control units and no Earn a Buck outside of the CWD management zone.”
Antlerless registrations during the October antlerless gun hunt in herd control units were down also with about 11,000 deer registrations in the database in 2009 compared to about 26,000 by this date in 2008.
There are one-third fewer herd control units this year and no earn-a-buck requirements outside the CWD Zone thus, hunter opportunity to participate in the October gun hunt was more limited this year according to wildlife officials.
The registration numbers will most certainly change, say wildlife managers, as more stubs are entered.
source....
nearest star clusters to Earth
The two nearest star clusters to Earth appear in the constellation Taurus, the bull. The Hyades forms the bull's V-shaped face, while the Pleiades forms a tiny dipper north of the Hyades. Look for them high in the east this evening.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Gun Deer Season: What’s new for 2009
There are a number of changes for the 2009 gun deer season that hunters should be aware of as they prepare to visit Wisconsin’s woods and fields. Among these are:
* No Earn-A-Buck (EAB) requirements in deer management units outside of the chronic wasting disease-management zone (CWD-MZ). The only units that have EAB regulations in 2009 are those inside the CWD-MZ.
* Whole deer movement from the CWD-MZ to elsewhere in the state is restricted. (See page 30 of the 2009 Wisconsin Hunting Regulations pamphlet for more details)
* The import of whole deer, elk and moose carcasses into Wisconsin from areas within states or provinces that have CWD is also restricted. (See page 30 of the 2009 Wisconsin Hunting Regulations pamphlet for more details).
* A new Mentored Hunting Program permits a licensed hunter 18 years or older to take out anyone 10 years and older for a hunt.
* There will be a four-day antlerless only hunt, Dec. 10-13, for all units statewide except state park and non-quota units.
* There are 62 regular deer management units, 55 Herd Control Units, and 22 CWD-MZ Units in 2009.
* Thirteen deer management units are buck only for the gun deer season. They are: 7,29B,31,32,35,36,38,39,40,42,43,44, & 50.
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* No Earn-A-Buck (EAB) requirements in deer management units outside of the chronic wasting disease-management zone (CWD-MZ). The only units that have EAB regulations in 2009 are those inside the CWD-MZ.
* Whole deer movement from the CWD-MZ to elsewhere in the state is restricted. (See page 30 of the 2009 Wisconsin Hunting Regulations pamphlet for more details)
* The import of whole deer, elk and moose carcasses into Wisconsin from areas within states or provinces that have CWD is also restricted. (See page 30 of the 2009 Wisconsin Hunting Regulations pamphlet for more details).
* A new Mentored Hunting Program permits a licensed hunter 18 years or older to take out anyone 10 years and older for a hunt.
* There will be a four-day antlerless only hunt, Dec. 10-13, for all units statewide except state park and non-quota units.
* There are 62 regular deer management units, 55 Herd Control Units, and 22 CWD-MZ Units in 2009.
* Thirteen deer management units are buck only for the gun deer season. They are: 7,29B,31,32,35,36,38,39,40,42,43,44, & 50.
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earthshine
The Moon will peek into view in the southwest shortly after sunset this evening. It is a bare crescent, although most of its "dark" portion is illuminated by earthshine, which is sunlight reflected off of Earth.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Cousin Jimmy
Portage man charged with 10th alcohol driving offense
A Portage man faces nearly 20 years in prison if he is convicted of a 10th alcohol-related driving offense.
James R. Zinke, 55, of Portage, was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail at an initial hearing Monday in Columbia County Circuit Court.
Zinke is charged with operating with prohibited alcohol concentration as a 10th offense and as a repeater, and with misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle after revocation and bail jumping, both as a repeater.
The charges carry a maximum possible initial prison sentence of 19 years and three months in prison.
It is illegal to drive in Wisconsin with an alcohol concentraion of 0.08 or more for anyone with three or fewer drunken-driving convictions, but the level is lowered to 0.02 for anyone convicted of four or more drunken-driving offenses.
A blood test revealed that Zinke had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.048 percent when he was stopped by a sheriff's deputy Oct. 23 on Highway 127 and Wolfgram Road in the town of Lewiston.
According to a report, Zinke admitted to the deputy that he had been drinking.
Zinke was convicted of eight drunken-driving offenses in the 1990s; he was convicted in April 2008 of felony drunken driving - his ninth conviction - from an incident in August 2007.
In Wisconsin, drunken driving becomes a felony after four convictions.
Zinke was charged in September with operating after revocation as a repeater.
Zinke is scheduled for a pretrial conference Dec. 18.
source....
A Portage man faces nearly 20 years in prison if he is convicted of a 10th alcohol-related driving offense.
James R. Zinke, 55, of Portage, was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail at an initial hearing Monday in Columbia County Circuit Court.
Zinke is charged with operating with prohibited alcohol concentration as a 10th offense and as a repeater, and with misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle after revocation and bail jumping, both as a repeater.
The charges carry a maximum possible initial prison sentence of 19 years and three months in prison.
It is illegal to drive in Wisconsin with an alcohol concentraion of 0.08 or more for anyone with three or fewer drunken-driving convictions, but the level is lowered to 0.02 for anyone convicted of four or more drunken-driving offenses.
A blood test revealed that Zinke had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.048 percent when he was stopped by a sheriff's deputy Oct. 23 on Highway 127 and Wolfgram Road in the town of Lewiston.
According to a report, Zinke admitted to the deputy that he had been drinking.
Zinke was convicted of eight drunken-driving offenses in the 1990s; he was convicted in April 2008 of felony drunken driving - his ninth conviction - from an incident in August 2007.
In Wisconsin, drunken driving becomes a felony after four convictions.
Zinke was charged in September with operating after revocation as a repeater.
Zinke is scheduled for a pretrial conference Dec. 18.
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watch the Milky Way
November evenings are good times to watch the Milky Way, which is the combined glow of millions of stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy. It arches from east to west, with a dip toward the northern horizon. You need a dark sky to see the Milky Way.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Chronology of Wisconsin Gun Deer Hunting: From closed seasons to antlerless permits
Wisconsin has a long and storied tradition of regulated gun deer hunting, going back to 1851. There have been many changes over the years, but none more dramatic as those experienced by hunters during the 1990’s and early twenty-first century.
* 1834 – Lafayette County, first reported crop damage by deer.
* 1851 – First closed season for deer, Feb. 1 – June 30; Indians permitted to hunt anytime.
* 1876 – Hunting with dogs prohibited statewide.
* 1887 – Two game wardens appointed by governor at a monthly salary of $50; night hunting prohibited statewide.
* 1888 – Game laws published in pamphlet form.
* 1890 – First chief warden appointed.
* 1892 – Lawful to kill any dog running or hunting deer.
* 1895 – Sheboygan first county closed to deer hunting; deer cannot be transported unless accompanied by hunter; last October deer season in state.
* 1897 – First bag limit for deer, two per season; resident license costs $1, nonresident license costs $30; estimated license sales total 12,000.
* 1900 – Twelve hunters killed by firearms.
* 19003 – Estimated 78,164 licenses sold.
* 1905 – Salt licks prohibited.
* 1909 – Season 20 days long, limit one deer; first civil service exam given on a competitive basis for prospective wardens.
* 1910 – Deer populations drop to record low numbers due to unregulated hunting and market shooting.
* 1914 – Twenty-four hunters killed, 26 injured; license sales at 155,000
* 1915 – First buck only season.
* 1917 – Shining deer illegal while possessing a firearm; Conservation Commission delegated some powers related to deer season, but legislature retains authority to set seasons; deer tags (paper) required for the first time…they cost 10 cents.
* 1919 – Estimated kill is 25,152.
* 1920 – First use of metal deer tags…they cost 10 cents.
* 1921 – Wardens are instructed that “all deer found in possession…with horns less than three inches in length, is a fawn and should be confiscated.”
* 1924 – Estimated kill is 7000.
* 1925 – Legislature passes law closing deer season in alternate years.
* 1927 – No open season.
* 1928 – Deer hunters required to wear official conservation button while hunting; Game Division formed with Conservation Department; estimated kill is 17,000 with 69,049 deer tags sold.
* 1929 – No open season.
* 1930 – Estimated kill is 23,000 with 70.284 deer tags sold.
* 1931 – No open season.
* 1932 – Deer tag price is raised to $1; estimated kill is 36,009 with 70,245 deer tags sold.
* 1933 – No open season; Conservation Congress, an advisory group representing public opinion registered at annual county hearings, begins to assist the Conservation Commission in establishing a deer management policy.
* 1934 – First bow deer season; estimated gun kill is 21,251 with 83,939 deer tags sold.
* 1935 – No open season.
* 1937 – Shortest deer season on record, three days.
* 1938 – Use of .22 rifle and .410 shotgun prohibited.
* 1939 – Licensed children between ages 12 and 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian; buckshot prohibited statewide.
* 1941 – Deer predators rare, timber wolves nearing extinction; estimated gun kill is 40,403 with 124,305 deer tags sold.
* 1942 – Back tags required while deer hunting.
* 1943 – First doe and fawn season in 24 years.
* 1945 – First year of ‘shotgun only’ counties; wearing red clothing required while hunting deer.
* 1950 – First ‘any deer’ season since 1919; estimated gun kill is 167,911 with 312,570 deer tags sold.
* 1951 – Deer hunting license and tag cost $2.50; orange clothing now included under red clothing law; Wisconsin leads nation in whitetail deer kill for third consecutive year.
* 1953 – First season gun deer hunters required to register deer at checking station.
* 1954 – Two-thirds of bucks harvested are less than three years old; portions of Walworth and Waukesha Counties and all of Jefferson County open for the first time since 1906.
* 1956 – 100th established gun deer season; registered gun kill is 35,562 with 294,645 deer tags sold.
* 1957 – Legislature authorizes party permit.
* 1958 – Longest deer season since 1916, 16 days; Rock County open for the first time since 1906; first harvest by deer management unit (in northwest and northeast only); registered gun kill is 95,234, of which 44,987 taken by party permit; 335,866 deer tags and 58,348 party permits sold, respectively.
* 1959 – First statewide deer registration by unit; Game Management Division of Conservation Department assumes responsibility for coordinating the state’s deer program; first open season in Kenosha County since 1906.
* 1960 – Hunter not permitted to buy a license after opening day of gun season; Green and Racine Counties open for the first time since 1906; all counties now open except Milwaukee; registered gun kill is 61,005, of which 25,515 taken by party permit; 338,208 deer tags and 47,522 party permits sold, respectively.
* 1961 – Resident big game license increased from $4 to $5; first use of SAK – sex-age-kill population-reconstruction technique for estimating deer numbers; hunters required to transport deer openly while driving to registration station; legislation authorizing unit specific quotas for antlerless harvest established.
* 1962 – Deer population above 400,000; deer management unit specific population goals established.
* 1963 – First year of quota party permits in eight management units; assassination of President Kennedy lessens hunting pressure.
* 1964 – Party permit quota extended to 32 management units.
* 1967 – Hunter Safety Education Program begins.
* 1970 – Registered gun kill is 72,844 with 501,799 licenses sold; 13 hunters killed.
* 1973 – No deer season fatalities.
* 1978 – Record registered gun kill is 150,845 with 644,594 licenses sold.
* 1980 – Blaze orange clothing required; first season of Hunter’s Choice permit; new law prohibits shining wild animals from 10pm to 7pm, Sept. 15 – Dec. 31; coyote season closed in northern management units to protect nascent wolf population.
* 1981 – Record registered deer kill of 166,673 with 629,034 licenses sold.
* 1982 – Another record registered gun kill of 182,715 with 637,320 licenses sold; three deer season fatalities.
* 1983 – Harvest continues to rise with another record registered gun kill of 197,600 with 649,972 licenses sold; experimental antlerless deer shunt in six southern management units to relieve crop damage.
* 1984 – Big jump in registered kill, fourth record harvest in a row of 255,726 with license sales totaling 657,969; handgun deer hunting allowed in shotgun areas; group hunting legalized.
* 1985 – Fifth consecutive record kill of 274,302 with 670,329 licenses sold; deer season extended in 21 management units; legislature further strengthens road hunting restrictions.
* 1986 – Gun deer season now nine days statewide; landowner preference program begins for Hunter’s Choice permits.
* 1987 – First year of bonus antlerless permits; seven fatalities and 46 hunting accidents.
* 1988 – Handguns permitted statewide.
* 1989 – Record registered harvest of 310,192 with 662,280 licenses sold; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.15 million deer; two fatalities and 37 hunting accidents.
* 1990 – Another record kill of 350,040, including 209,005 antlerless deer; record license sales of 699,275; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.3 million deer; season extended for seven days in 67 management units.
* 1991 – Third consecutive year of record harvest, 352,330; hunters allowed to buy more than one antlerless permit; season extended to 72 management units, mostly in the north; first year of separate, seven-day muzzleloader season.
* 1992 – Though kill fourth highest on record, 288,820, many hunters voice discontent over lack of success and claim DNR raised expectations by pre-hunt harvest prediction of around 370,000; hunters allowed to apply for bonus antlerless permits in more than one unit; Natural Resources Board approves Secretary’s recommendation to keep the gun season at nine days; new metro management units established around La Crosse, Madison and Milwaukee.
* 1993 – Harvest drops to 217,584, including 100,977 antlerless deer; pre-hunt herd population at 1 million with many units well below prescribed goals; 34 units, mainly in the north, designated as buck-only units; one fatality, 17 hunting accidents.
* 1994 – Hunters Choice permit availability jumps to 177,340 from 103,140 in 1993; six northwest management units remain buck only; herd beginning to build-up in southern agricultural range.
* 1995 – Harvest totals 398,002, a new state record; 32 accidents, one fatal; over 577,000 antlerless permits available with 414,000 plus applicants with 163,000 bonus permits offered to hunters; for the first time hunters can use their bonus or Hunter’s Choice permits in either the gun, bow or muzzleloader seasons.
* 1996 – ‘Earn a Buck” requirement placed on hunters in 19 deer management units situated in agricultural range where existing deer seasons and permit systems aren’t controlling herd growth; special four-day antlerless only season, state’s first October hunt since 1897, takes place in 19 ‘Earn a Buck’ units, resulting in a kill of 24,954 deer.
* 1997 – ‘Earn a Buck’ provision scuttled; early Zone T season in seven management units and three state parks results in over 7000 deer killed; the safest gun season even with one fatality and 10 accidents.
* 1998 – An early October gun season for third year in a row held in one management unit, 67A; harvest of 332,254 is fifth highest; accidents total 19 with two fatalities; most units in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed goals due to the mild winter of 1997-98.
* 1999 – Early antlerless Zone T deer season held in seven mainly east-central management units and one state park; early archery season is extended through Nov. 18 in Zone T units; pre-hunt herd estimate is 1.5 to 1.6 million deer; 33 management units in the central and southern part of the state are designated ‘watch unit’s that are above population goals and may be designated as Zone T units next year if quota numbers aren’t filled; resident deer license costs $20; non-resident license costs $135; record harvest of 402,204 deer.
* 2000 – Early four-day Zone T antlerless hunts produces kill of 66,417 deer; 97 of the state’s 132 deer management units listed as Zone T; two free antlerless permits given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; hunters kill a record 528,494 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day, muzzleloader and late antlerless only gun seasons; nine-day gun harvest totals a record 442,581 (170,865 antlered, 271,573 antlerless); 694,957 licensed gun hunters.
* 2001 – Wisconsin’s pre-hunt population estimated at 1.5 million deer; free antlerless permit given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; 67 deer management units and nine state parks designated as Zone T; October and December four-day, Zone T antlerless hunts results in kill of 58,107 deer; nine-day gun harvest is the state’s fifth largest, totaling 361,264 (141,942 antlered, 219,260 antlerless); chronic wasting disease (CWD) later identified in three deer harvested in the Dane County Town of Vermont.
* 2002 – Herd estimate at 1.34 million deer; DNR samples about 41,000 deer during the early Zone T antlerless hunt (Oct. 24-27) and opening weekend (Nov. 23-24) of the nine-day gun season to determine if CWD is present anywhere else in the state besides the Disease Eradication Zone in southwest Wisconsin; expanded hunting opportunities set-up in the CWD Management Zone and a gun deer season slated for Oct. 24 to Jan. 31 in the CWD Eradication Zone; October and November four-day, Zone T antlerless hunts in 25 deer management units produce a harvest of 36,228 deer; hunters register 277,755 deer during the traditional, nine-day season; number of licensed gun hunters drops about 10 percent with much of the decrease attributed to concerns about CWD.
* 2003 – Fall deer population estimated at 1.4 million; landowners in CWD Disease Eradication Zone (DEZ) can request free permits to harvest deer without a license and receive two buck tags per permit; earn-a-buck (EAB) rules in effect and no bag limits on deer in the CWD management zones; deer hunting license sales up 14 percent over 2002, but down 13 percent when compared to 2001; overall, DNR collects 15,025 samples for disease surveillance with 115 wild deer testing positive for CWD; all but two positives are from the Disease Eradication zones (DEZ) of southwest Wisconsin and Rock County; hunters killed 388,344 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzleloader and land antlerless only deer seasons.
* 2004 – Many deer management units (DMU’s) in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed management goals with 48 DMU’s designated as Zone T and 26 units as EAB; fall deer population estimated at 1.7 million deer; hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (archery or gun) up to a maximum of two; during all seasons, hunters in the CWD DEZ and much larger Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ) are required to kill an antlerless deer before harvesting a buck; hunters kill 413,794 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzle loader, late antlerless only and CWD zone deer seasons; eight gun deer hunting accidents documented with two fatalities; all accidents are either self-inflicted or shooter and victim were in the same party; hunters set a new record of venison donations by giving 10,938 deer yielding nearly 500,000 pounds of venison for food pantries to feed needy people across the state.
* 2005 – Forty-five DMU’s designated as Zone T units with unlimited antlerless permits and expanded gun hunting opportunities; hunters issued free antlerless permits for both archery and gun licenses; permits valid in any Zone T and CWD units; hunters in CWD units could get an unlimited number of antlerless permits at the rate of four per day; hunters harvest 387,310 deer during the early October, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined, the eighth highest kill on record; 195,735 deer harvested during the opening weekend (Nov. 19-20) of the nine-day gun season; gun deer sales total 643,676, down one percent from 2004; DNR conducts CWD surveillance survey in the agency’s Northeast Region where 4500 deer are tested and CWD not detected; 14 accidents, including three fatals, during the nine-day season (Nov. 19-27); top five gun deer harvest counties – all located in central Wisconsin – are Marathon (15,871), Clark (13,918), Waupaca (12,260), Shawano (11,748) and Jackson (11,461).
* 2006 – Statewide harvest quota totals 469,385 antlerless deer; over 1 million antlerless deer permits issued to reach this quota; all hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (bow and gun) with permits valid in any Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; hunters kill the fifth highest gun total (393,306) during the youth, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined; 10 accidents, one fatal, with five self-inflicted and five with shooter and victim in the same party.
* 2007 – Again, over 1 million antlerless deer permits issued and all hunters again get one free antlerless permit for each license type valid in any Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; nine-day gun season (Nov. 17-25) earliest possible opening day under the current season structure; 402,563 deer killed during all gun seasons is the third highest total on record, surpassed only by 2000 (528,494) and 2004 (413,794).
* 2008 – 57 DMU’s under EAB regulations and hunters must “earn” a buck sticker authorizing them to shoot a buck by first killing an antlerless deer; 51 DMU’s are on the EAB “watch list” meaning they could be designated as EAB units in 2009 if a sufficient number of antlerless deer aren’t harvested; most of southern Wisconsin lies within the new CWD-Management Zone (CWD-MZ) boundary and rifles can be used to hunt deer in previously shotgun only areas of the CWD Zone; traditional gun season runs from Nov. 22-30, the second latest possible opening day under the current nine-day season; hunting conditions considered above average throughout the state for most of the nine-day season; over 642,000 licensed hunters kill 352,601 deer during all gun seasons (103,845 antlered & 248,756 antlerless); nine accidents, one fatal, all either self inflicted or shooter and victim in the same party, during the nine-day season.
* 2009 – The 158th deer season: no EAB except in CWD-MZ; 13 DMU’s in northern Wisconsin will have an old fashioned buck only gun season due to units being below overwinter goal; all deer baiting & feeding banned in 28 counties; wildlife officials predicting a lower deer harvest than in 2008; movement of whole deer carcasses and certain parts of carcasses restricted from the CWD-MZ to elsewhere in the state; new Mentored Hunting Program permits a licensed hunter 18 years or older to take out anyone 10 years and older for a hunt.
source....
* 1834 – Lafayette County, first reported crop damage by deer.
* 1851 – First closed season for deer, Feb. 1 – June 30; Indians permitted to hunt anytime.
* 1876 – Hunting with dogs prohibited statewide.
* 1887 – Two game wardens appointed by governor at a monthly salary of $50; night hunting prohibited statewide.
* 1888 – Game laws published in pamphlet form.
* 1890 – First chief warden appointed.
* 1892 – Lawful to kill any dog running or hunting deer.
* 1895 – Sheboygan first county closed to deer hunting; deer cannot be transported unless accompanied by hunter; last October deer season in state.
* 1897 – First bag limit for deer, two per season; resident license costs $1, nonresident license costs $30; estimated license sales total 12,000.
* 1900 – Twelve hunters killed by firearms.
* 19003 – Estimated 78,164 licenses sold.
* 1905 – Salt licks prohibited.
* 1909 – Season 20 days long, limit one deer; first civil service exam given on a competitive basis for prospective wardens.
* 1910 – Deer populations drop to record low numbers due to unregulated hunting and market shooting.
* 1914 – Twenty-four hunters killed, 26 injured; license sales at 155,000
* 1915 – First buck only season.
* 1917 – Shining deer illegal while possessing a firearm; Conservation Commission delegated some powers related to deer season, but legislature retains authority to set seasons; deer tags (paper) required for the first time…they cost 10 cents.
* 1919 – Estimated kill is 25,152.
* 1920 – First use of metal deer tags…they cost 10 cents.
* 1921 – Wardens are instructed that “all deer found in possession…with horns less than three inches in length, is a fawn and should be confiscated.”
* 1924 – Estimated kill is 7000.
* 1925 – Legislature passes law closing deer season in alternate years.
* 1927 – No open season.
* 1928 – Deer hunters required to wear official conservation button while hunting; Game Division formed with Conservation Department; estimated kill is 17,000 with 69,049 deer tags sold.
* 1929 – No open season.
* 1930 – Estimated kill is 23,000 with 70.284 deer tags sold.
* 1931 – No open season.
* 1932 – Deer tag price is raised to $1; estimated kill is 36,009 with 70,245 deer tags sold.
* 1933 – No open season; Conservation Congress, an advisory group representing public opinion registered at annual county hearings, begins to assist the Conservation Commission in establishing a deer management policy.
* 1934 – First bow deer season; estimated gun kill is 21,251 with 83,939 deer tags sold.
* 1935 – No open season.
* 1937 – Shortest deer season on record, three days.
* 1938 – Use of .22 rifle and .410 shotgun prohibited.
* 1939 – Licensed children between ages 12 and 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian; buckshot prohibited statewide.
* 1941 – Deer predators rare, timber wolves nearing extinction; estimated gun kill is 40,403 with 124,305 deer tags sold.
* 1942 – Back tags required while deer hunting.
* 1943 – First doe and fawn season in 24 years.
* 1945 – First year of ‘shotgun only’ counties; wearing red clothing required while hunting deer.
* 1950 – First ‘any deer’ season since 1919; estimated gun kill is 167,911 with 312,570 deer tags sold.
* 1951 – Deer hunting license and tag cost $2.50; orange clothing now included under red clothing law; Wisconsin leads nation in whitetail deer kill for third consecutive year.
* 1953 – First season gun deer hunters required to register deer at checking station.
* 1954 – Two-thirds of bucks harvested are less than three years old; portions of Walworth and Waukesha Counties and all of Jefferson County open for the first time since 1906.
* 1956 – 100th established gun deer season; registered gun kill is 35,562 with 294,645 deer tags sold.
* 1957 – Legislature authorizes party permit.
* 1958 – Longest deer season since 1916, 16 days; Rock County open for the first time since 1906; first harvest by deer management unit (in northwest and northeast only); registered gun kill is 95,234, of which 44,987 taken by party permit; 335,866 deer tags and 58,348 party permits sold, respectively.
* 1959 – First statewide deer registration by unit; Game Management Division of Conservation Department assumes responsibility for coordinating the state’s deer program; first open season in Kenosha County since 1906.
* 1960 – Hunter not permitted to buy a license after opening day of gun season; Green and Racine Counties open for the first time since 1906; all counties now open except Milwaukee; registered gun kill is 61,005, of which 25,515 taken by party permit; 338,208 deer tags and 47,522 party permits sold, respectively.
* 1961 – Resident big game license increased from $4 to $5; first use of SAK – sex-age-kill population-reconstruction technique for estimating deer numbers; hunters required to transport deer openly while driving to registration station; legislation authorizing unit specific quotas for antlerless harvest established.
* 1962 – Deer population above 400,000; deer management unit specific population goals established.
* 1963 – First year of quota party permits in eight management units; assassination of President Kennedy lessens hunting pressure.
* 1964 – Party permit quota extended to 32 management units.
* 1967 – Hunter Safety Education Program begins.
* 1970 – Registered gun kill is 72,844 with 501,799 licenses sold; 13 hunters killed.
* 1973 – No deer season fatalities.
* 1978 – Record registered gun kill is 150,845 with 644,594 licenses sold.
* 1980 – Blaze orange clothing required; first season of Hunter’s Choice permit; new law prohibits shining wild animals from 10pm to 7pm, Sept. 15 – Dec. 31; coyote season closed in northern management units to protect nascent wolf population.
* 1981 – Record registered deer kill of 166,673 with 629,034 licenses sold.
* 1982 – Another record registered gun kill of 182,715 with 637,320 licenses sold; three deer season fatalities.
* 1983 – Harvest continues to rise with another record registered gun kill of 197,600 with 649,972 licenses sold; experimental antlerless deer shunt in six southern management units to relieve crop damage.
* 1984 – Big jump in registered kill, fourth record harvest in a row of 255,726 with license sales totaling 657,969; handgun deer hunting allowed in shotgun areas; group hunting legalized.
* 1985 – Fifth consecutive record kill of 274,302 with 670,329 licenses sold; deer season extended in 21 management units; legislature further strengthens road hunting restrictions.
* 1986 – Gun deer season now nine days statewide; landowner preference program begins for Hunter’s Choice permits.
* 1987 – First year of bonus antlerless permits; seven fatalities and 46 hunting accidents.
* 1988 – Handguns permitted statewide.
* 1989 – Record registered harvest of 310,192 with 662,280 licenses sold; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.15 million deer; two fatalities and 37 hunting accidents.
* 1990 – Another record kill of 350,040, including 209,005 antlerless deer; record license sales of 699,275; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.3 million deer; season extended for seven days in 67 management units.
* 1991 – Third consecutive year of record harvest, 352,330; hunters allowed to buy more than one antlerless permit; season extended to 72 management units, mostly in the north; first year of separate, seven-day muzzleloader season.
* 1992 – Though kill fourth highest on record, 288,820, many hunters voice discontent over lack of success and claim DNR raised expectations by pre-hunt harvest prediction of around 370,000; hunters allowed to apply for bonus antlerless permits in more than one unit; Natural Resources Board approves Secretary’s recommendation to keep the gun season at nine days; new metro management units established around La Crosse, Madison and Milwaukee.
* 1993 – Harvest drops to 217,584, including 100,977 antlerless deer; pre-hunt herd population at 1 million with many units well below prescribed goals; 34 units, mainly in the north, designated as buck-only units; one fatality, 17 hunting accidents.
* 1994 – Hunters Choice permit availability jumps to 177,340 from 103,140 in 1993; six northwest management units remain buck only; herd beginning to build-up in southern agricultural range.
* 1995 – Harvest totals 398,002, a new state record; 32 accidents, one fatal; over 577,000 antlerless permits available with 414,000 plus applicants with 163,000 bonus permits offered to hunters; for the first time hunters can use their bonus or Hunter’s Choice permits in either the gun, bow or muzzleloader seasons.
* 1996 – ‘Earn a Buck” requirement placed on hunters in 19 deer management units situated in agricultural range where existing deer seasons and permit systems aren’t controlling herd growth; special four-day antlerless only season, state’s first October hunt since 1897, takes place in 19 ‘Earn a Buck’ units, resulting in a kill of 24,954 deer.
* 1997 – ‘Earn a Buck’ provision scuttled; early Zone T season in seven management units and three state parks results in over 7000 deer killed; the safest gun season even with one fatality and 10 accidents.
* 1998 – An early October gun season for third year in a row held in one management unit, 67A; harvest of 332,254 is fifth highest; accidents total 19 with two fatalities; most units in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed goals due to the mild winter of 1997-98.
* 1999 – Early antlerless Zone T deer season held in seven mainly east-central management units and one state park; early archery season is extended through Nov. 18 in Zone T units; pre-hunt herd estimate is 1.5 to 1.6 million deer; 33 management units in the central and southern part of the state are designated ‘watch unit’s that are above population goals and may be designated as Zone T units next year if quota numbers aren’t filled; resident deer license costs $20; non-resident license costs $135; record harvest of 402,204 deer.
* 2000 – Early four-day Zone T antlerless hunts produces kill of 66,417 deer; 97 of the state’s 132 deer management units listed as Zone T; two free antlerless permits given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; hunters kill a record 528,494 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day, muzzleloader and late antlerless only gun seasons; nine-day gun harvest totals a record 442,581 (170,865 antlered, 271,573 antlerless); 694,957 licensed gun hunters.
* 2001 – Wisconsin’s pre-hunt population estimated at 1.5 million deer; free antlerless permit given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; 67 deer management units and nine state parks designated as Zone T; October and December four-day, Zone T antlerless hunts results in kill of 58,107 deer; nine-day gun harvest is the state’s fifth largest, totaling 361,264 (141,942 antlered, 219,260 antlerless); chronic wasting disease (CWD) later identified in three deer harvested in the Dane County Town of Vermont.
* 2002 – Herd estimate at 1.34 million deer; DNR samples about 41,000 deer during the early Zone T antlerless hunt (Oct. 24-27) and opening weekend (Nov. 23-24) of the nine-day gun season to determine if CWD is present anywhere else in the state besides the Disease Eradication Zone in southwest Wisconsin; expanded hunting opportunities set-up in the CWD Management Zone and a gun deer season slated for Oct. 24 to Jan. 31 in the CWD Eradication Zone; October and November four-day, Zone T antlerless hunts in 25 deer management units produce a harvest of 36,228 deer; hunters register 277,755 deer during the traditional, nine-day season; number of licensed gun hunters drops about 10 percent with much of the decrease attributed to concerns about CWD.
* 2003 – Fall deer population estimated at 1.4 million; landowners in CWD Disease Eradication Zone (DEZ) can request free permits to harvest deer without a license and receive two buck tags per permit; earn-a-buck (EAB) rules in effect and no bag limits on deer in the CWD management zones; deer hunting license sales up 14 percent over 2002, but down 13 percent when compared to 2001; overall, DNR collects 15,025 samples for disease surveillance with 115 wild deer testing positive for CWD; all but two positives are from the Disease Eradication zones (DEZ) of southwest Wisconsin and Rock County; hunters killed 388,344 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzleloader and land antlerless only deer seasons.
* 2004 – Many deer management units (DMU’s) in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed management goals with 48 DMU’s designated as Zone T and 26 units as EAB; fall deer population estimated at 1.7 million deer; hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (archery or gun) up to a maximum of two; during all seasons, hunters in the CWD DEZ and much larger Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ) are required to kill an antlerless deer before harvesting a buck; hunters kill 413,794 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzle loader, late antlerless only and CWD zone deer seasons; eight gun deer hunting accidents documented with two fatalities; all accidents are either self-inflicted or shooter and victim were in the same party; hunters set a new record of venison donations by giving 10,938 deer yielding nearly 500,000 pounds of venison for food pantries to feed needy people across the state.
* 2005 – Forty-five DMU’s designated as Zone T units with unlimited antlerless permits and expanded gun hunting opportunities; hunters issued free antlerless permits for both archery and gun licenses; permits valid in any Zone T and CWD units; hunters in CWD units could get an unlimited number of antlerless permits at the rate of four per day; hunters harvest 387,310 deer during the early October, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined, the eighth highest kill on record; 195,735 deer harvested during the opening weekend (Nov. 19-20) of the nine-day gun season; gun deer sales total 643,676, down one percent from 2004; DNR conducts CWD surveillance survey in the agency’s Northeast Region where 4500 deer are tested and CWD not detected; 14 accidents, including three fatals, during the nine-day season (Nov. 19-27); top five gun deer harvest counties – all located in central Wisconsin – are Marathon (15,871), Clark (13,918), Waupaca (12,260), Shawano (11,748) and Jackson (11,461).
* 2006 – Statewide harvest quota totals 469,385 antlerless deer; over 1 million antlerless deer permits issued to reach this quota; all hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (bow and gun) with permits valid in any Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; hunters kill the fifth highest gun total (393,306) during the youth, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined; 10 accidents, one fatal, with five self-inflicted and five with shooter and victim in the same party.
* 2007 – Again, over 1 million antlerless deer permits issued and all hunters again get one free antlerless permit for each license type valid in any Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; nine-day gun season (Nov. 17-25) earliest possible opening day under the current season structure; 402,563 deer killed during all gun seasons is the third highest total on record, surpassed only by 2000 (528,494) and 2004 (413,794).
* 2008 – 57 DMU’s under EAB regulations and hunters must “earn” a buck sticker authorizing them to shoot a buck by first killing an antlerless deer; 51 DMU’s are on the EAB “watch list” meaning they could be designated as EAB units in 2009 if a sufficient number of antlerless deer aren’t harvested; most of southern Wisconsin lies within the new CWD-Management Zone (CWD-MZ) boundary and rifles can be used to hunt deer in previously shotgun only areas of the CWD Zone; traditional gun season runs from Nov. 22-30, the second latest possible opening day under the current nine-day season; hunting conditions considered above average throughout the state for most of the nine-day season; over 642,000 licensed hunters kill 352,601 deer during all gun seasons (103,845 antlered & 248,756 antlerless); nine accidents, one fatal, all either self inflicted or shooter and victim in the same party, during the nine-day season.
* 2009 – The 158th deer season: no EAB except in CWD-MZ; 13 DMU’s in northern Wisconsin will have an old fashioned buck only gun season due to units being below overwinter goal; all deer baiting & feeding banned in 28 counties; wildlife officials predicting a lower deer harvest than in 2008; movement of whole deer carcasses and certain parts of carcasses restricted from the CWD-MZ to elsewhere in the state; new Mentored Hunting Program permits a licensed hunter 18 years or older to take out anyone 10 years and older for a hunt.
source....
Monday, November 16, 2009
Feeling grumpy 'is good for you'
Here's one for the SOBs that think I'm grumpy! Hee hee.
In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you.
An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.
In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.
While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.
'Eeyore days'
The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain "promotes information processing strategies".
He asked volunteers to watch different films and dwell on positive or negative events in their life, designed to put them in either a good or bad mood.
Next he asked them to take part in a series of tasks, including judging the truth of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events.
Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly - they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.
Professor Forgas said: "Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world."
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style".
His earlier work shows the weather has a similar impact on us - wet, dreary days sharpened memory, while bright sunny spells make people forgetful.
source....
In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you.
An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.
In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.
While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.
'Eeyore days'
The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain "promotes information processing strategies".
He asked volunteers to watch different films and dwell on positive or negative events in their life, designed to put them in either a good or bad mood.
Next he asked them to take part in a series of tasks, including judging the truth of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events.
Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly - they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.
Professor Forgas said: "Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world."
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style".
His earlier work shows the weather has a similar impact on us - wet, dreary days sharpened memory, while bright sunny spells make people forgetful.
source....
Sunday, November 15, 2009
ISS Tonight
15 Nov -2.5 16:41:32 W 40
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill
Return of the Leonids
Astronomers from Caltech and NASA say a strong shower of Leonid meteors is coming in 2009. Their prediction follows an outburst on Nov. 17, 2008, that broke several years of "Leonid quiet" and heralds even more intense activity next November.
"On Nov. 17, 2009, we expect the Leonids to produce upwards of 500 meteors per hour," says Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "That's a very strong display."
Forecasters define a meteor storm as 1000 or more meteors per hour. That would make the 2009 Leonids "a half-storm," says Jeremie Vaubaillon of Caltech, who successfully predicted a related outburst just a few weeks ago.
On Nov. 17, 2008, Earth passed through a stream of debris from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The gritty, dusty debris stream was laid down by the Leonids' parent comet more than five hundred years ago in 1466. Almost no one expected the old stream to produce a very strong shower, but it did. Observers in Asia and Europe counted as many as 100 meteors per hour.
Vaubaillon predicted the crossing with one-hour precision. "I have a computer program that calculates the orbits of Leonid debris streams," he explains. "It does a good job anticipating encounters even with very old streams like this one."
The Nov. 17, 2008 outburst proved that the 1466 stream is rich in meteor-producing debris, setting the stage for an even better display in 2009.
On Nov. 17, 2009, Earth will pass through the 1466 stream again, but this time closer to the center. Based on the number of meteors observed in 2008, Vaubaillon can estimate the strength of the coming display: five hundred or more Leonids per hour during a few-hour peak centered on 21:43 UT.
"Our own independent model of the debris stream agrees," says Cooke. "We predict a sub-storm level outburst on Nov. 17, 2009, peaking sometime between 21:34 and 21:44 UT."
The timing favors observers in Asia, although Cooke won't rule out a nice show over North America when darkness falls hours after the peak. "I hope so," he says. "It's a long way to Mongolia."
Many readers will remember the great Leonid showers of 1998-2002. The best years (1999 and 2001) produced storms of up to 3000 Leonids per hour. The 2009 display won’t be so intense. Instead, if predictions are correct, next year's shower could resemble the 1998 Leonids, a "half-storm"-level event caused by a stream dating from 1333. That old stream turned out to be rich in nugget-sized debris that produced an abundance of fireballs. Many observers consider the 1998 Leonids to be the best they've ever seen.
Could 2009 be the same? Vaubaillon expects a similar number of meteors but fewer fireballs. If the models are correct, the 1466 stream in Earth’s path contains plenty of dust but not so many nuggets, thus reducing the fireball count. On the bright side, the Moon will be new this Nov. 17th so nothing will stand in the way of the shower reaching its full potential.
source....
Astronomers from Caltech and NASA say a strong shower of Leonid meteors is coming in 2009. Their prediction follows an outburst on Nov. 17, 2008, that broke several years of "Leonid quiet" and heralds even more intense activity next November.
"On Nov. 17, 2009, we expect the Leonids to produce upwards of 500 meteors per hour," says Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "That's a very strong display."
Forecasters define a meteor storm as 1000 or more meteors per hour. That would make the 2009 Leonids "a half-storm," says Jeremie Vaubaillon of Caltech, who successfully predicted a related outburst just a few weeks ago.
On Nov. 17, 2008, Earth passed through a stream of debris from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The gritty, dusty debris stream was laid down by the Leonids' parent comet more than five hundred years ago in 1466. Almost no one expected the old stream to produce a very strong shower, but it did. Observers in Asia and Europe counted as many as 100 meteors per hour.
Vaubaillon predicted the crossing with one-hour precision. "I have a computer program that calculates the orbits of Leonid debris streams," he explains. "It does a good job anticipating encounters even with very old streams like this one."
The Nov. 17, 2008 outburst proved that the 1466 stream is rich in meteor-producing debris, setting the stage for an even better display in 2009.
On Nov. 17, 2009, Earth will pass through the 1466 stream again, but this time closer to the center. Based on the number of meteors observed in 2008, Vaubaillon can estimate the strength of the coming display: five hundred or more Leonids per hour during a few-hour peak centered on 21:43 UT.
"Our own independent model of the debris stream agrees," says Cooke. "We predict a sub-storm level outburst on Nov. 17, 2009, peaking sometime between 21:34 and 21:44 UT."
The timing favors observers in Asia, although Cooke won't rule out a nice show over North America when darkness falls hours after the peak. "I hope so," he says. "It's a long way to Mongolia."
Many readers will remember the great Leonid showers of 1998-2002. The best years (1999 and 2001) produced storms of up to 3000 Leonids per hour. The 2009 display won’t be so intense. Instead, if predictions are correct, next year's shower could resemble the 1998 Leonids, a "half-storm"-level event caused by a stream dating from 1333. That old stream turned out to be rich in nugget-sized debris that produced an abundance of fireballs. Many observers consider the 1998 Leonids to be the best they've ever seen.
Could 2009 be the same? Vaubaillon expects a similar number of meteors but fewer fireballs. If the models are correct, the 1466 stream in Earth’s path contains plenty of dust but not so many nuggets, thus reducing the fireball count. On the bright side, the Moon will be new this Nov. 17th so nothing will stand in the way of the shower reaching its full potential.
source....
Saturday, November 14, 2009
3 Clusters in Cassiopeia
For northern observers, November and December are the best months to explore the lovely constellation Cassiopeia. High overhead this time of year, this W-shaped constellation is situated in the plane of the Milky Way, so it’s full of bright stars and enough open star clusters to fill many nights of pleasant observation, either with binoculars or a small telescope.
In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus of Ethiopia. She was beautiful but vain, and boasted she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than all the Nereids, the nymph-daughters of the sea god Nereus. Poseidon, the main sea god, did not take kindly to this boast and threatened to flood the kingdom of Ethiopia.
An oracle advised Cepheus and Cassiopeia to appease Poseidon by sacrificing their daughter Andromeda. The beautiful princess was chained to a rock at the edge of the sea, and left to be mangled and eaten by the dreaded sea monster Cetus. But the hero Perseus, flying back on the winged horse Pegasus, and after slaying the Gorgon Medusa, arrived in time to save Andromeda and turn Cetus to stone with Medusa’s severed head. Soon after, Perseus and Andromeda married. But Poseidon still punished Cassiopeia by casting her and Cepheus into the heavens, where they circle the celestial pole, never rising or setting (at least not from the latitude of Mt. Olympus).
Let’s have a look at three of the finest open clusters in Cassiopeia, all of which are worthy of a little examination through the chilly fall air.
M52. Messier 52 is easy to find… just continue a line from beta Cass (Shedir) to alpha Cass (Caph) a little more than the same distance. It’s visible in binoculars as a hazy patch of magnitude 7. A 3-4 inch telescope will reveal a few dozen mostly blue-white stars, and a couple of yellow giants which evolved off the main sequence. The cluster is fairly tightly packed and hard to resolve. It looks small because it’s far away… about 5,000 light years. In the 1800’s John Herschel saw the cluster as round, while the redoubtable amateur Admiral Smyth saw it as triangular or fan-shaped. What do you see?
M103. This is the last object in Messier’s original catalog (it was later padded to include 6 more objects). It’s also easy to find, about 1 degree northeast of Ruchbah (or delta Cass). At 8,500 light years away, it’s one of the most distant open clusters in Messier’s catalog. In a small scope, the cluster is unmistakably triangular and displays perhaps two dozen stars. The star triple star Struve 131 is the bright star at the north vertex of the cluster; you can easily resolve all three stars in Struve 131 in a scope, even at low power.
NGC 7789. This open cluster is old (> 1 billion years), far (>8,000 light years), and faint (most stars are magnitude 11 or 12). Because it’s so old, many blue-white stars have turned into red giants, so the cluster is quite colorful in photographs. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783. You can’t resolve this cluster in binoculars, but a 3-inch scope resolves a spray of tiny pinpoints of light on a hazy background. This open cluster, unlike many, looks better with higher magnification. Find NGC 7789 at one vertex of the right-angled triangle it forms with Shedir and Caph.
A bonus object: Another cluster in Cassiopeia is NGC 457, named after a famous character in a Steven Spielberg classic, ET.
source....
In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus of Ethiopia. She was beautiful but vain, and boasted she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than all the Nereids, the nymph-daughters of the sea god Nereus. Poseidon, the main sea god, did not take kindly to this boast and threatened to flood the kingdom of Ethiopia.
An oracle advised Cepheus and Cassiopeia to appease Poseidon by sacrificing their daughter Andromeda. The beautiful princess was chained to a rock at the edge of the sea, and left to be mangled and eaten by the dreaded sea monster Cetus. But the hero Perseus, flying back on the winged horse Pegasus, and after slaying the Gorgon Medusa, arrived in time to save Andromeda and turn Cetus to stone with Medusa’s severed head. Soon after, Perseus and Andromeda married. But Poseidon still punished Cassiopeia by casting her and Cepheus into the heavens, where they circle the celestial pole, never rising or setting (at least not from the latitude of Mt. Olympus).
Let’s have a look at three of the finest open clusters in Cassiopeia, all of which are worthy of a little examination through the chilly fall air.
M52. Messier 52 is easy to find… just continue a line from beta Cass (Shedir) to alpha Cass (Caph) a little more than the same distance. It’s visible in binoculars as a hazy patch of magnitude 7. A 3-4 inch telescope will reveal a few dozen mostly blue-white stars, and a couple of yellow giants which evolved off the main sequence. The cluster is fairly tightly packed and hard to resolve. It looks small because it’s far away… about 5,000 light years. In the 1800’s John Herschel saw the cluster as round, while the redoubtable amateur Admiral Smyth saw it as triangular or fan-shaped. What do you see?
M103. This is the last object in Messier’s original catalog (it was later padded to include 6 more objects). It’s also easy to find, about 1 degree northeast of Ruchbah (or delta Cass). At 8,500 light years away, it’s one of the most distant open clusters in Messier’s catalog. In a small scope, the cluster is unmistakably triangular and displays perhaps two dozen stars. The star triple star Struve 131 is the bright star at the north vertex of the cluster; you can easily resolve all three stars in Struve 131 in a scope, even at low power.
NGC 7789. This open cluster is old (> 1 billion years), far (>8,000 light years), and faint (most stars are magnitude 11 or 12). Because it’s so old, many blue-white stars have turned into red giants, so the cluster is quite colorful in photographs. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783. You can’t resolve this cluster in binoculars, but a 3-inch scope resolves a spray of tiny pinpoints of light on a hazy background. This open cluster, unlike many, looks better with higher magnification. Find NGC 7789 at one vertex of the right-angled triangle it forms with Shedir and Caph.
A bonus object: Another cluster in Cassiopeia is NGC 457, named after a famous character in a Steven Spielberg classic, ET.
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