Mike's Astro Photos

Archive for 2009

Oct.15 2009

Observatory Construction Complete

by , under Observatory

We finished the construction on the observatory about 6 weeks ago. I have been waiting for the pier for the last month. I was late getting the pier order into pier tech, I did not realize the had to fabricate it / build to order. I got shipping confirmation on Monday so the pier should be here any day now. Once that is installed I’ll be at 100% and ready to start taking nice astro photos again. I haven’t been able to photograph without the pier as there is too much vibration with the tripod on the wooden floor. Almost there, I can’t wait!

Observatory

Observatory

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Oct.12 2009

Mars Rover Finds Meteorite

by , under Misc

The Mars Rover has found another big meteorite on Mars. Interesting article with some great pictures:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0910/11meteorite/

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Oct.11 2009

Shadow Simulation Program

by , under Misc

I have to do a lot of shadow analysis with all of these new videos so I went googling and found this program written by someone at MIT.

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/g8rghr/297509

It has been pretty useful conceputally interpreting the shadows. We will need percise measurements of the shadows in order to get anything tangible out of the shadow videos.

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Oct.08 2009

Moon Crash

by , under Misc

NASA is set to crash a rocket into the moon at 7:30 AM EST tomorrow morning.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/08/probe.moon.crash/index.html

hmm… this could be interesting.

here’s NASA’s official site for this event:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/index.html

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Oct.02 2009

Newly Acquired Meteor Video

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

This video shows a shadow that is cast from a flag pole caught in the light of the Mason Dixon Meteor on July 6th 2009. This is certainly the best shadow video we have acquired yet. The tall flag pole casts a long shadow and mutliple frames of movement were captured. If you would like to know more information about this video or watch the high res version please email me at mike.hankey [at] gmail.com.

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Sep.29 2009

I Love NY

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

My wife had her 40th birthday this weekend. We threw her a big party and then I took her to New York City for a few days to catch a show and look at some meteorites…

nyc-15-sm

nyc-4-sm

nyc-2-sm

nyc-3-sm

nyc-5-sm

nyc-6-sm

nyc-10-sm

nyc-1-sm

nyc-12-sm

nyc-13-sm

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Sep.23 2009

Andromeda Calling – Comic

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

I got this in an email from a random internet user named kirk2012. Kirk this is hilarious, thanks so much for taking the time to make this.

Andromeda Calling Comic

Andromeda Calling Comic (Click To Enlarge)

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Sep.21 2009

Andromeda Piggyback

by , under Stars

The new observatory is almost complete. I just got power working last night. I have the scope setup in there on the tripod as I haven’t gotten the pier yet. Its currently being fabricated and I should have it by the end of the month. Photography wise I’m limited to piggyback shots until I get the pier installed. I took this photo of Andromeda last night, I simply mounted my camera on top of my telescope, pointed to the Andromeda and snapped 5×2 minute exposures. I stacked 3 inside photoshop to create this image. There was the lowest default zoom on the camera, so the size of Andromeda is what it would be if you saw it with your naked eye (no magnification). Andromeda is the fuzzy ball in the center of the pic.

Andromeda Galaxy - September 19th, 2009

Andromeda Galaxy - September 19th, 2009

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Sep.20 2009

Best Meteor-Wrong Yet

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

Meteorite Window Test

Meteorite Window Test

As I reported a few days ago a farmer in Lancaster contacted me about some strange rocks he found on his farm. I went out to see the rocks and they were definitely strange and a little meteoric. My initial thoughts were the rocks were probably some sort of slag, but it was not a type of slag I recognized. When I encounter suspicious rocks I photograph them and send the pictures out to people that are more knowledgeable about meteorites than I am.

The next day I sent the pics out to the meteorite list and within 10 minutes I got 20 emails back that in effect said… “that looks like a meteorite / that could be a meteorite.” The members gave me suggestions on a few tests I could run that would help confirm if it was in fact a meteorite. The tests included a bulk density test, a window test and a nickle test. Several members suggested to ‘cut that sucker open’.

On site I did the bulk density test and the window test. Three of the rocks passed the bulk density test so this was a very positive sign. For the window test, using an electric sander we shaved away part of the rocks exterior so we could look inside. The window revealed small metal flakes that looked like chrondules.  Unfortunately we also saw some vesicles (small holes/ air bubbles inside the stone.)At the time we did the tests it was dark and I thought the holes could have been caused by the sander.

Window test - showing vesicles (holes)

Window test - showing vesicles (holes)

When I got the rock home I took some pictures of the window and emailed them out to some meteorite experts. They quickly responded and told me holes = slag… no meteorite.

This was kind of a bummer, but a great learning experience. I was able to learn and execute two new field tests that I can use to help identify meteorites. I was also very happy that the farmer found these rocks and called me about them. Gideon, I’m sorry it doesn’t look like these are meteorites, but they are defineately the best meteor-wrongs I’ve found so far in this adventure. Thank you very much for finding them and calling me about them.

Meteor Wrong Sliced

Meteor Wrong Sliced

For learning purposes and to be extra sure I wanted to follow through with the two other tests. I ordered a nickle test online, but haven’t gotten it yet. I drove out to Haggerstown MD to Derik Bower’s house. Derik has a diamond bladed rock saw and offered to slice the rock for me. When I showed Derik the rock he laughed and said, “that really looks like a meteorite”. We cut up the rock and inside we could see air bubbles that essentially confirmed this is a meteor-wrong.  If it weren’t for the bubbles it looks a little like this black meteorite slice. This rock has a lot of meteoric attributes inside and out, but the one thing that categorically rules out meteorite is air bubbles inside the rock.

The new tests to identify a meteorite I learned from this rock are:

bulk density test
– tile test (scrape the rock on the backside of a bathroom tile. A real meteorite should not leave a mark)
– window test (shave off a small piece of the exterior and look inside)
– slice test (use a rock saw to cut off a slice of the rock)
– nickle test (google nickle allergy test, buy one, follow instructions. All meteorites should test positive.)

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Sep.19 2009

Post Cards In The Mail

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

Here’s what 2000 postcards look like. Makes you wonder, if spammers printed a postcard for each piece of spam they sent how much room that would take up.

2000 Meteorite Postcards

Meteorite Postcards

The post cards hit the mail Thursday. We should hopefully start getting some new leads in soon.

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Sep.16 2009

Strange Rock Reports

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

I’ve gotten about six strange rock reports so far which is great! It shows the locals know meteorites could be on the ground and they are keeping an eye out for them. I have been able to identify most of the rocks I’ve seen so far, but this one in particular I’m not sure about. If anyone knows what this rock is please let me know.

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

Strange Rock

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Sep.12 2009

Meteor Postcards

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

I plan on sending out close to 2,000 of these post cards next week to property owners with 10 or more acres in the 6 zip codes that include and surround the Lancaster County search area. Within the last few days I have started to get more meteorite found reports. The leads that I have followed up with so far have turned out to be slag. To a meteorite novice, slag really does look like a meteorite or what you would think a meteorite would look like if you had never seen one before. Slag is black, often magnetic and burnt. It is easy to mistakenly think a piece of slag could be a meteorite.

With this post card I hope to 1) Raise awareness and excitement with a broad number of residents that extend beyond our refined search area. 2) Give the residents an informational and visual guide to help them identify a meteorite 3) Let them know about slag and how to identify it.

Here is the front of the card:

Meteor Postcard Front

Meteor Postcard Front

Here is the back of the card:

Meteor Postcard Back

Meteor Postcard Back

I plan on sending this out next Tuesday or Wednesday. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions before these hit the mail.

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Sep.10 2009

More Observatory Construction Photos

by , under Observatory

Here are some more constructions photos of the observatory. These were from a few weeks ago.

Here is a video of the roll off roof in action (this was taken the day we got the roof working).

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Sep.09 2009

Great Lead – Dead End?

by , under Mason Dixon Meteor

Dented Roof In New Holland

Dented Roof In New Holland

As I reported earlier, I recently got a great lead from a woman in New Holland named Jeane (pronounced with the e, think I Dream of…). Jeane couldn’t sleep the morning of July 6th and was watching Ghost Hunters when she heard a very loud crashing noise right outside her bedroom window. The next morning she looked outside her window and noticed a large dent in her metal porch roof. Everything about the initial report sounded very promising and was and still is the best lead I have gotten since the meteorite search started. New Holland is not in our current focus area, but it is within the greater impact zone. The specific house is approximately 1/2 miles south of the geometric impact point.  A meteorite found in this location is totally plausible and would support all of the data we are working with.

Dislodged and Broken Fascia Board

Dislodged and Broken Fascia Board

I went out to her house last Thursday, examined the damage, took some pictures and looked around her property but did not find any meteorites. I did notice the obvious big dent in the corrugated steel roof and what looked like black roofing tar splattered in the same location as the dent, (but no where else on the patio roof).  With my head out the window I turned my body around, looked up and noticed the fascia board was cracked and dislodged from the house. The cracked fascia board was about one foot to the left of the dent in the patio roof.  Jeane said she definitely would have noticed the dent before and when I looked at it from the underside of the porch I believed her. This would be a hard thing to miss. She also stated that she looked outside the window that morning because she had heard the noise the night before and it sounded like something had hit the porch roof.

Dog Hole Where Meteorite Should Be

Dog Hole Where Meteorite Should Be

After examining the roof from the upstairs I went to the backyard and looked around. At the end of the porch, aligned with the dent I saw a rather large hole in the ground about 3 inches closer to the house than I would have expected to see a meteorite had it rolled off the metal roof and onto the ground. Jeane said she hadn’t noticed the hole and said her dog (a boxer named precious) didn’t dig holes (I found two other holes in the yard and Jeane was surprised to see those as well).

After searching for a little over an hour I left Jeane’s house and asked her if I could come back again the next to day look around some more. After I left her house I drove around and stopped at about 8-10 different businesses in the area. Compared to the farmlands I have been searching recently New Holland is like a booming metropolis. There are a lot of agricultural businesses in this area and I stopped by several different warehouses and left messages with the facilities manager to keep an eye out for meteorites on the roof tops. I also went to a driving range that was closed at the time (I searched the range, but only found golf balls).

Three Cars With Dents

Three Cars With Dents

I then went by two different car dealerships. I asked them if they had any cars on their lots damaged after July 4th weekend. One of the dealerships told me that 3 cars had been damaged the Monday after July 4th weekend. All three cars were lined up next to each other and all three had what the manager described as ‘bb-gun dents’ in the passenger side windows. The cars were parked such that the passenger side doors were facing south. Three cars next to each other all getting hit by meteorites seemed like a stretch to me and I asked around if this was possible. I was told it was unlikely as normally meteorites would be falling straight down and not at an angle. I finished up the time in New Holland that day hunting along the train tracks. Talk about a fun place to look for meteorites.

I sent the pictures out to a couple of people that night and got back some skeptical replies. The main concern was the dent was wider than what would be expected. It also lacked visible scratches that also would have been expected had a meteorite caused it. I was told the dent looked like it was caused by something that was soft and big, not something that was small and hard. I was in the area that Friday working on some farms so I went back to her house later that afternoon. I didn’t search much but I talked to her about what to look for. I also told her I wanted to get on the top of the roof to see if there was any other damage up there. I also wanted to run my metal detector through her backyard.

Bent Roof

Bent Roof

I went back to Jeane’s house again for a third time tonight and brought along my friend Dan Casey. Dan is a home inspector with National Property Inspectors and knows a lot about houses, damage to houses and is in general a pretty analytical thinker about these kinds of things. Dan has gone hunting with me a couple of times and has been helping me out with the search however he can. If you need a home inspection in Baltimore County or Southern Pennsylvania give Dan a call, he’s a great guy and really knows his stuff.  Dan climbed to the top of the roof and took this picture. The metal frame is bent right above the dent on the porch roof below. After Dan came down, I climbed up the ladder and took a look myself. It was coincidentally placed, but after thinking about it, we both agreed, that whatever would have left such a dent in the lower roof would have caused more damage in the upper roof (although I still think its possible…)

I ran an Earth magnet through the dog hole and in the flower beds next to the porch. I found magnetic particles in the dirt, but I think the ground is contaminated with a lot of metal as I was getting hits all over the back yard with my metal detector.

I realize that if you look at a pizza pie long enough you will see the Virgin Mary, however there are a lot of things going on at this house that suggest a meteorite hit it:

– Jeane’s initial report
– The broken fascia board
– The bent frame on the upper roof
– The dog hole
– The huge dent in the porch roof

The interesting thing about the three dog holes is they were all in locations where a meteorite could have landed after bouncing off the porch roof. Something is telling me the dog found the meteorite, hid it somewhere and then dug the holes to look for more.

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