We have another winner in the Martz Observatory Telescope raffle. On Oct. 10, Randy Sweeny, executive director of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, while visiting the Martz Observatory, made the drawing for the three-inch telescope. The winner is William Aitken of Fredonia, N.Y.
The Mars rover "Curiosity" is way out there, busy roving and studying the planet Mars through soil sampling and other means. The NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) website mentions the following in explanation of the soil sampling equipment shown in the attached picture:
"Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 78th sol (Oct. 24, 2012) to view soil material on the rover's observation tray. The observations will help assess movement of the sample on the tray in response to vibrations from sample-delivery and sample-processing activities of mechanisms on the rover's arm."
The 78 sols (Martian days) mentioned, the number of days the mission has been functioning on the surface of Mars, is approximately 80 Earth days by my calculation
(1 sol = 1.0275 Earth days, 24 hours, 39 minutes). It doesn't seem like 80 days have passed since the Mars rover, Curiosity, landed on Mars, does it? How time flies!
Call the Martz Observatory at (716) 569-3689 or email martzobservatory@hotmail.com to schedule a visit. Martz Observatory is normally attended Wednesday evenings after 7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The observatory is located at 176 Robin Hill Rd., Frewsburg, N.Y. For more information about the Martz Observatory, we invite you to visit our website, www.martzobservatory.org.
Have a stellar day! By Garry E. Campbell, Russell, member, MMMAA.