Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Watching Wallenda
Nik Wallenda provided an unparalleled boost to binational tourism as he also entertained a worldwide television audience Friday night in the first crossing on foot directly over the brightly illuminated Niagara Falls from New York state to Ontario,Canada.The walk,which made even TV viewers feel some vertigo,went off without incident.Indeed,Wallenda,a man with clear eyes and a ready smile on his open face,a member of the legendary acrobatic family The Fying Wallendas,answered several questions from ABC journalists as he negotiated the daunting traverse over one of the natural wonders of North America and the globe.The hazards he faced included the prodigious mist generated by the falls;unpredictable swirling winds;the endurance required to make the trek with a huge balancing pole;and the sheer magnitude of the concentration needed to navigate various lights,crowd noise,and the extreme visual stimuli of crossing the precipice of the river dropping 158 feet into the chasm below.Many prayers sustained the acrobat's spirit,as did the thought of his great grandfather and German emigre Karl Wallenda,the family patriarch who fell to his death off a tightrope in Puerto Rico in the 1970s.
The master of the tightrope Nik Wallenda said his next goal was to walk across the Grand Canyon at a height of 1400 feet and a width of more than a mile.Permits have already been secured and ABC,part of the Walt Disney Company,is no doubt eagerly seeking that broadcast as well.
Walt Disney(DIS)
Friday, June 8, 2012
The Sun and Venus From Mauna Loa
Many of us watched the Venus transit on a live feed from the NOAA observatory at 11,000 feet on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano.Light winds pushing the telescopes caused the images to shimmer.Venus was a big black dot much larger than the sunspots also visible on the sun's surface.Sunspots are magnetic storms a few hundred degrees cooler than the surface of the sun,hence darker in appearance.They have a black umbra,or center,and a gray penumbra,or border.Giant convection cells of heat rise from beneath the solar disc;they are from hydrogen bubbling up from below the surface,causing lighter and hotter regions on the sun.We are near a solar maximum,when there are a lot of sunspots and other activity on the sun.It is the peak of a solar cycle.This was the longest period of time-45 minutes just before sunset-that I have ever observed the sun.It's so liquid and alive:an aspect of the sun we aren't normally aware of.The astronomer Galileo first discovered this;but,in his ignorance of the danger,paid with his priceless eyesight,his retinas damaged by the intensity of the solar rays.Now Venus moved along the sun's rim;but the sun itself,looking blue,red and yellow in the telescopes' filters,had become my fascination.
Friday, June 1, 2012
New Mexico Fire Sears Gila National Forest
New Mexico's Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire had grown to 217,988 acres as of 6 hours ago.The fire began as a result of a lightning strike on May 16.It is burning east of Route 180 on Gila National Forest,which contains about 3.3 million acres.The wildland fire has destroyed 12 homes and several outbuildings.The community of Mogollon remains under mandatory evacuation.Some 1257 personnel are engaged in firefighting at this time,including 15 hotshot crews and 12 hand crews,utilizing 60 engines;27 water tenders;7 dozers;and 10 helicopters.The largest fire in the state's history,it covers steep stands of ponderosa pine and formidable canyons,consuming mixed conifers and grass with heavy concentrations of deadfall as well.Growth potential is high on the extremely difficult terrain.Wildlife such as elk,mule deer,bear and antelope are abundant in the national forest's Reserve Ranger District,where much of the fire is located.It is an isolated mountainous area in Southwest New Mexico.Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument has been closed by the incident,as have the Catwalk Area and Snow Lake/Dripping Vat Campground.Smoke impacts are likely in Mogollon,Glenwood and Silver City,so heart and lung patients,as well as children and the elderly,should avoid prolonged activity in the out of doors.Tony Sciacca is Incident Commander.Some New Deal era Historic Landmarks,some old fire lookout cabins,are being protected by the wildland firefighters.New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez visited the Incident Command Post on Thursday and was briefed by staff on the situation.The very low humidity of 5% is ensuring quite a struggle ahead for all concerned for a number of days and indeed weeks.The forest is world famous among hunters.
Update:The fire has grown to 227,000 acres.Wildland firefighters are now utilizing 64 engines and 28 water tenders.Heli-rappelers have also been brought in.They are a specialized resource for early stage remote fires,rappeling from helicopters to extinguish fires or gather reconnaissance on challenging terrain.
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