PazMiniBits FOR AUGUST 2008
 -------------------------
 John Pazmino
 NYSkies Astronomy Inc
 www.nyskies.org
 nyskies@nyskies.org

    [PazMiniBits welcomes news about home astronomy and other matters 
of concern to home astronomers in and near new York City. Please, 
deliberately 'by the numbers', answer the seven W's: Who, What, When, 
Where, hoW, Why, and WoW. (OK, so there are EIGHT 'W's.) 
    [For items from newspapers and magazines, include the name, date, 
and town of the publication. Items from the mainstream astronomy 
periodicals are well known to readers and are usually out of date for 
the next PazMiniBits. For weblinks, please be mindful of restricted-
access sites. Note that some links may be too long for a single 70-
char row of text and may be broken by a copy-paste. 
    [When reporting observations, please make sure to include 
explicitly the observer ID, town or roadmap location of the observing 
site, the date and hour and timezone of the observation, general sky 
conditions, instruments employed for the observation, sky location 
(alt-azm) of the observed target where germane. Don't assume that the 
email or web specs has correct values for these parameters. Put the 
specific parameters in the very text. 
    [Items for PazMiniBits could be major club developments, notices of 
special meetings, progress or completion of an astronomy project, 
observing notes and reports, history comments, alert of impending 
unusual celestial activity, invite to attend or participate in public 
astronomy programs, useful computer programs and gadget, review of 
products and books, summary of major events. 
    [You may send PazMiniBits items to 'nyskies@nyskies.org', send them 
into the NYSkies Yahoogroup, or give them to me at a NYSkies or other 
astronomy event. NYSkies may check with other sources to fill in extra 
details. PazMiniBits normally passes on your item as a short newsnote, 
capturing the critical details from your item.] 
 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =  
    NYSkiers and ~120 others filled Explorers Club, UES MH, on 2008 
Jun 30. They heard Robert Zommerman discuss history of Hubble Space 
Telescope and upcoming repair mission. After talk he had book signing 
for his 'The universe in a mirror'.NYSkies supplied space observatory 
handots based on Night Sky Netowrk toolkits. 
    NYS Public Employee Relations Board on 2008 Jul 1 ruled that 
Nassau county, LI, can use GPS methods to keep tabs on its workers. 
Union grieved use of GPS cell phones and GPS car navigation system to 
track where abouts of its members. Board noted that tracking workers 
is a management prerogative, like timesheets and spot visits by 
supervisors. More oever, cars can be watched for misuse and speeding. 
    NY Times, 2008 Jun 24, has 'Homecoming of Odysseus may have been 
in eclipse' by John WIlford. He reports that certain parts of the 
Homer's 'Odyssey' may describe a solar eclipse, based on studies by 
Baikouzis and Magnasco. The eclipse may be that of 1178BC Apr 16 over 
modern Greece.  He includes a lousy sky map for that date and notes 
that most litterary experrts debunk the astronomy explanation. 
    An upload glitch on 2008 Jul 31 loused up NYC Events, 2008 August, 
for the dvi.astr.* Internet newsgroups. The issue is in 4 parts, 
'1/2', '1/2 do over', '2/2', and 'discussion'. '1/2 do over' replaces 
plain '1/2', which may be discarded. The complete one-piece issue is 
in the NYSkies website at 'www.nyskies.org/nyc.htm'. If you collect 
NYC Events from the newsgrops in its separate parts, you should knit 
them together into one file with a text editor like NotePad, The 
sequence is '1/2 do over' + '2/2 + 'discussion'. Please then distribute 
this new complete issue. 
    Russia and Space Adventures clarify future use of Soyuz shps for 
tourism [PMB 08 Jul]. On the regular flights, ISS crew  may occupy all 
three seats because there will be no Shuttle or other human vehicle 
after2010. The new tourist flights replace the missing seat and add an 
additional new one. 
    International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service on 2008 
Jul 4 declared that a leapsecond is added to the end of 2008 Dec 31. 
The previous leapsecond was at end of 2005 Dec 31. The sequence of the 
UTC seconds is: 
        2008 December 31 23h 59m 59s 
        2008 December 31 23h 59m 60s <-- the leapsecond 
        2009 January   1  0h  0m  0s <-- start of Jan 1st              
The difference between UTC and TAI is: 
        from 2006 Jan 1 0h UTC to 2009 Jan 1 0h UTC: UTC-TAI = -33s 
        from 2009 Jan 1 0h UTC until further notice: UTC-TAI = -34s 
    China in 2008 Jun revealed that its Shenzhou-7 spacecraft launches 
in Oct. It carries 3 taikonauts who will practice spacewalks. Exact 
date is not set, but luanch may be televised live. China also passes 
up, for now, any human lunar flights to concentrate on its own Rath-
orbiting space station. 
    NYSkiers, and thusands of other cityfolk, watched the Stonehenge 
sunset on 2008 Jul 9, 10, 11. The 8th was cloudy. They viewed from all 
over the manh street grid. Sun was brilliant, requiring dark glasses 
or quick glances. Some NYSkiers tutoerd passing tourists about the 
event and handed out NYSkies flyers. This was the 2nd of each year's 
two Stenhenge sunsets, the 1st being in late May [PMB 08 Jun]. 
    Unihedron Co offers free posters for math and physics packed with 
details. Pi to 350,390 olaces, epsilon to 350,390 places, first 54,222 
Prime Numbers, and Electromagnetic Radiation, DL PDF or JPG images. 
Purchase laminated 1/2x2/3m edition for $9.99 + P&P. unihderon.com. 
    NYC Dept of Parks on 2008 Jul 23 started stabilzing NYS World's 
Fair pavilion. It has 3 towers with exterior glass elevators, which 
will be taken down for possible refurbishing. It also has floodlights 
that during the fair in 1964-65 sprayed the towers and sky with garish 
luminous graffiti. Parks Dept noted these will be junked for being 
unfit for life in the future. 
    NYC is well along with new Broadway reconstruction in 2008 Jul 
between Times Sq and Herald Sq, Manj. New road has 2 traffic lanes, 2 
curb lanes, wider sidewalks ro cyclists and pedestrians, new trees, 
benches. Center lanes are open to clear Thanksgiving balloons. Similar 
project underway near Madison Sq. completion of both is 2008 late 
summer, to sort out road traffic and walk/ride users. 
    New Scientist, 2008 May May 20,  has '16% of US science teachers 
are creationists' by by Bob Holmes. He discusses recent surveys of 
high school teachers regaerding creationism in schools. He notes that 
16% of surveyed teachers believe in the 'young Earth' scenario. Many 
teachers still state that creationism is a valid alternate theory to 
evolution. The survey distinguished between the curriculum  set up in 
each school and what is actually carried out in classrooms.
    NASA on 2008 Jun 25 reported that its MGS and MRO Mars orbiters 
confirmed a gigantic rlliptical basin in Borealis region is an impact 
relic. Suspected previously, the crater r3esembles pacific Ocean with 
volcanos on its perimeter. Collidng body may be 1,290Km diameter. 
    US Court of Appeals, Washington DC, on 2008 Jul 11 struck down 
Clean Air  Interstate rule for managing industrial air pollution. It 
found, on challenge by North Carolina, the rule can not be fairly and 
consistently applied. It allowed pollutors in 28 states to credit 
cleaner air from other states to level out national air quality. US 
EPA stopped work under the rule and issued request for replacment. Air 
pollution absorbs starlight and exaggerates luminous graffiti. 
    Father Djokan Majstorovic, St Sava Serbian Christian Church on 2008 
Jul 8 explained statues in front of his church. Left pedestal has head 
& shoulder figure of Nikola Tesla [PMB 08 Jul]. Right empty pedestal 
is for Mikail Pupin. His statue is in yard out of easy view from 
street. Church is considering statue for Milutin Milankovitch, but no 
plans so far. Church is on 25 St, B'way-6 Av. Madison Sq/Ladies Mile. 
    US Dept of Transportaton in 2008 Jul 8 commended NYC for being 
in the top US cities for bike-friendliness. Burlington VT shared the 
honor. It noted that the City laid out 130Km of bike lanes, with 150 
more in 2008-09; handed out 12,000 free helmets and 200,000 bike route 
maps. Cooming for 2009 are barrier-defined bike lanes in 8 and 9 Avs. 
    NYS Dept of Parks issued warning on 2008 Jul 9, after complaints 
during first major heat storm of summer in early Jul, about extra hot 
artificial turf. Unlike grass, synthetic fibers reach ~60C in summer 
sunlight, causing discomfort and burns on skin. Sun heats other items, 
like benches and playground fixtures, but turf looks like grass, cool 
to sit or lie in, 
    Roskosmos on 2008 Jul 3 signed agrement with Kazakhstan to ahdnle 
all debris falling outside baikonur cosmodrome territory. In past, 
Soviet Union and russia ignored fragments and fuel that landed over 
kazakhstan, causing damage, injury, and health porblems. Agency will 
start clearing up 2,500 tons of rocket debris and do medical treatment 
and damage repair for residnets. 
    NYC closes 11Km of Manh streets to road traffic on 2008 Aug 9, 16, 
23 07h-13h EDST to create walk/bike route. From Brooklyn Bg, N in 
Lafayette St, 4th Av, Park Av S, Park Av, 72nd St, to Central Pk. 
Route joins bike paths on Bridge and in Park.
    Modern Mechanix, 1934 Jun, has '200 inch telescope' by William 
Jennings. It was originaly in the 1934 Jun issue. He describes with 
how Corning Glass Works was making the 5m mirror for the Mt Palomar 
scope. Replica of article is at www.modernmechanix.com/2008/05/29 
    NYC ran a bike-share program on 2008 Jul 11-13 in Greenwich Vg-
Union Sq. 4 stores signed out free bikes & helments, returnable at any 
of the stores before nightfall. Riders sign waiver and post bond via 
credit card. Warm, but humid, weather favored bike riding over bus or 
taxi, with ~1,000 signouts. 
    You don't have to bring your bike to Governors Island or shut down 
your bosy systems. Island has a few restrooms, fixed up in former army 
buildings, plus in the Battery Marine terminal. On Fridays, free bikes 
are signed on the Island, with ~500 used each day. 
    Two kayakers almost drowned on 2008 Jul 11 near Waterfall at 
Brooklyn Bg [PMB 08 Jul]. Vladimer Spector & Bert Rosenblatt paddled 
too close to artwork, when they were overturned by currents near the 
cascade. NYPD Harbor Patrol took them to NY DT Hospital with minor 
injuries. The Waterfalls can not suck in people thru the intake 
filters, previously tested with dummies, but they are a new waterway 
feature that must be respected. 
    Heartland America catalog, 2008 Jul, has many handy items for 
astronomy. Shipping may be extra, ask when ordering. 800-229-2901,. 
www.heartlandamerica.com 
  Euro-Pro cordless sweeper. Recharegable internal battery, 33cm-wide 
sweep, for flat observing fields too far from power mains. $29.99, 
#F7-39097.
  Strattford Labs film/slide scanner. Transfer 33mm slides and 
negative strips to computer files. 5Mp image chi,. USB cable, WinXP & 
up. $99.99, #F7-47001 
  ViaTEK mosquito trap. Lures and captures biting insects over 2,000m2 
clear area, AC power, auto-on at night, easy-dump hopper, mimics warm-
blood targets to fool insects. $79.99., #F7-65370. 
  Savoureux meat grinder for sandwiches, patties, BBQ. Sausage & 
cookie accessories, AC power, reversible to clear jams, accepts input 
from #F7-65370 above. $59.99, #F7-99307 
  Croton diamond-decorated wristwatch. 'Manhattan' model, gold & 
silver colored, analog hands, wtch battery, water resistent to 30m 
depth,  date window. $29.99 (lass than from Mnahattan street corner), 
#F7-44287 
  Oreck air purifier. For stuffy clubhouse/observatory. Cleans & 
sanitizes air, removes dust, pollen, pet hair, spores, mites, 
bacteria. $99.99, #F7-44614.
  Dell notebook computer. 20Gb HD, 35cm TFT screen, dialup modem, USB 
& PAR ports, NIC, AC & charger, P-III 1Gz, 128Mb RAM, 24X CDD. 
$349.99, #F7-79595.   
  Compaq notebook computer. Similar to #F7-79595 plus SER port, 250Mb 
RAM, 30Gb HD, 30X CDD, P-4 1.8Gz. E449.99, #F7-79594. 
  On-Time audio wristwatch. For dark skies observing. announces time 
hourly and with button press, alarm, watch battery, sets from WWV 
radio time signals, analog hands. $39.99, #F7-86811. 
  Westinghouse yard lamps. Hooded against upspray, LEDs, blazed globe, 
solar power, auto or manual-on at night, mellow glow, set of 8. 
$29.99, #F7-52892. 
  Westinghouse yard lamps. Same as #F7-52892, but set of 12. $49.99, 
#F7-96871. 
  TEAC CD/DVD duplicator. For cclub promos and handouts. No computer 
needed, load with original and stack of blanks. $249.99, #F7-22161. 
  Hllywood Legends DVD movies. For clouded out observing. 200 shows 
from classical era of motion pictures, mix of comedy, action, darama, 
romance. CONTAINS NO SEX, VIOLENCE, FOUL CUSSING, suitable for 
children. $49.99, #F7-79670 
  Intex airbed. For hard or dirt ground sleeping. Built in AC power 
pump, queen zie, takes fitted sheets, carry sack and shoulder strap, 
1-1/2x2m area, 1/2m high. embedded pillow. $59.99, #F7-96908 
  Victorian fantasy clubhouse model. Build and show off dream for club 
HQ. 5 rooms, 60H-25D-40W (cm), plywood parts, furnish rooms with own 
model equipment, needs paint and glue. $29.99, #F7-88891. 
  Supersonic portable HDTV. Fits in totebag, 17.5cm screen, HD, NYSC, 
PAL tuners, AC/DC power, 60 channel setting,. $149.99, #F7-35026.
  La Crosse weather station. For obsrvatory/clubhouse. Collects all 
usual parameters, gives trend and forecast, digital sensors and 
readout, atomic time, metric or oldstyle. $99.99, #F7-97078.
  Body Champ inversion stand. For prepare for southern hemisphere 
starID. Bodies up to 2m tall, metal frame, cushioned bed and joints, 
folds for storage, inclination adjusts for declination/latitude zone. 
$129.99, #F7-36566.
  Watson violin. For clouded out observing. horseehair bow, spruce and 
hardwood body, tuning bridge, padded case. $79.99, #72962.
  Gyro extreme sport vessel. For starparty fun near lakes. Lie inside 
transparent plastic sack, boat tows you thru water, vessel spins and 
tumbles, for strong of heart and stomach. $49.99, #F7-76711. 
  Galileo 30mm f10 Newton reflector. Alt-azm mount, tripod, 20mm ^ 6mm 
oculars, finder, software CD, good for kids. $59.99, #F7-65700. 
  Green Shine compact fluorescent bulbs. Set of 12, 3 7W, 6 13W, 3 
19W, for incandescent bulbs in standard sockets. $29.99, #F7-60874. 
  Natural umbrella. For daytime observing or marking observing site. 
3m diam, unobstructed underside, side pole and cantilever, crank 
fold/unfold. $99.99, $F7-81487 (gree), #F7-81488 (off white) 
    Interstate shots were fired in 2008 Jul between New Jersey and 
Staten Island. Belmar NJ mayor Pringle on 2008 Jul 4 started diss-out 
against SI visitors to his beaches. He called them by rather nasty 
names alluding to their Mediterranean heritage and adverse 
sanitary/hygene habits. Nabe twon of Bradley Bh NJ countered by 
inviting SIers to visit there instead. SI as at mid Jul may send 
militia to capture Pringle and exhibit him at SI presidnet's palace. 
www.belmarboycott.org 
    US FAA in 2008 Jul began crash program to recuit new air traffic 
controlers for NYC airports. In next 3 years ~1/2 of ATCs can retire, 
with no new ones coming on board. Applicants of all ages, litterally, 
HS grads thru annuitants. High pay, federal benefits, exciting tasks, 
window office, light pollution reward plan, learn as you earn, career 
track, indoor setting, work with real airplanes. Jobs at Kennedy, 
LaGuardia, Newark. 405-954-4657, 9-AMV-AMH-300@faa.gov. 
    Excalibur for Windows v2.00 is handy SW with many RPN calculettes. 
Switch between sci, phys, conv, biz and keep data intact. Programming, 
formula evaluation, graphing, bank memory, facts & figures, high 
precision calcs. Requires RPN skill. ~450Kb file fits on stiffy disc. 
Free DL at www.geocities.com/dbergis/freeware.htm. 
    The Concorde SST in Floyd Bennett Field, Bklyn, was rammed on 2008 
Jun 30 ~03h EDST by a service truck. The impact tore off the plane's 
nose cone while the truck was carrying gear from a soccer game at 
Aviation Sports Ctr on the Field. British Airways donated the SST to 
Intrepid Museum and is displayed at Field during Museum's renovation. 
It is the last Concorde, just reitred from service after flying from 
London to JFK, a British Airways model G-BOAD. BA ordered the nose 
repaired and the plane removed to Intrepid's pier by YE2008.
    Starbucks in 2008 Jul began closing 600 outlets across US. Workers 
will be deployed to other nearby units. On Manhattan, Starbucks units 
are set up at ~300m intervals along major avenues. The 12 closures, as 
at mid Jul, slated for NYC are: 
        -----------------------------------------------
        MH  1675 Broadway     | MH  400 Madison Av 
        MH  1600 Broadway     | MH  464 5th Av
        MH  340 Madison Av    | MH  151 W 34 St (in Macy's) 
        BK  Bay Ridge         | QN  Douglaston 
        QN  Atlas Park        | QN  Kew Gardens 
        SI  Graniteville      | SI  Castleton Corners 
        ---------------------------------------------
    NYSkies Astronomy Seminar on 2008 Jul 3 examined asteroid. 
Focusing on the main asteroid belt, it discussed dynamic groups, 
Kirkwood gaps, earth-threats, and astteroid paths in the sky. On Jul 
17 the Seminar explored natural factors in global climate change. It 
reviewed Milankovitch Cycles, solar radiation output, biologic and 
geologic evidence for climate changes, meteor collisions, and 
volcanos. Sweltering hot air on both dates fialed to quench the 
enthusiasm of the audience. 
    Apollo 14 Astronaut Mitchell on 2008 Jul 23 confrimed his belief 
in superior beings visiting Earth and being held secret by world 
governments. He made his comments in a 9-min phone interview on 
Kerrang!, a radio talkshow in Australia. He elaborated on his dealings 
with workers at the Roswell UFO crash site, who recovered a human-like 
space alien. He later, in other interviews, noted that US Pres Truman, 
Ford, Carter, Clinton failed in efforts to release the Roswell case. 
    US FAA dinally on 2008 Jul 18 issued new safety regs for center 
duel tanks on US iarplanes. They require new devices to lessen chance 
of ignition or combustion within tank. Planes entering service after 
2010 must have device to remove oxygen from air, leaving inert 
nitrogen in tank. Current planes must be retrofitted by 2017. Upgrade 
costs $92,000 to $311,000 each. Riders may ask airline for status of 
specific plane used for their flight. Planes to be fixed: 
        -----------------------
        airplane            qty 
        ------------------  ---
        Airbus A320 & A330  900 
        Beoing 777          130 
        Beoing 767          150 
        Boeing 757          475 
        Boeing 747           60 
        Beoing 737          965 
        -----------------------    
    NYC Mayor Bloomberg on 2008 Jul 10 revealed that Nissan, Ford, GM 
will produce more hybrid taxis to help City convert its fleet by 2012. 
Nissan supplies, starting in late 2008, 200 Altima per month; GM, 50 
Chevrolet Malibu; Ford, 50 Ford Escape. There are in 2008 ~13,000 NYC 
taxis. 1,300 are hybrids. City regs require new cabs after 2008 Oct 1 
to yield 10.6Km/L (9.5L/100Km); 2009 Oct 1. 12.7Km/L (7.9L/100Km). 
Hybrids taxis on road now can yield ~15Km/L (~6.5L/100Km). 
    International Mars Architecture for Teturn of Samples committee on 
2008 Jul 9 reported that a mission to bring back 500g[!] of Mars soil 
will take $5-8 billion and 10 yrs to carry out. Group also set out 10 
features for such a mission:
        ------------------------------------------------
        Mobility - rover, crawler, &c, not just a lander
        Longevity - a year or more, with atomic, not solar, power 
        Agility - navigate over rough terrain, slopes, loose ground 
        Crater site - to get at subsurface layers
        Iteration - to go back to prior places for further study 
        Hazard avoidance - stay out of potential traps
        Manipulation - to move or lift rocks to stufy under them
        Ingenuity - using rover tools in unexpected new ways 
        Imaging - hi compression and cm-level resolution
        Humanpower - crew must live on Mars time for many years 
        -------------------------------------------------------
    NASA in 2008 Jul revised its Shuttle schedule for remianing 
flights. After craft are reited, US must rely on Russia to commute to 
ISS, until Orion-ares system is compelte maybe in 2015. 
        ------------------------------------------
        date        | flight | shuttle   | mission 
        ------------+--------+-----------+-----------------------
        2008 Oct  8 | STS125 | Atlantis  | Hubblr sservice/repair 
        2008 Oct  8 | ---    | Endeavour | rescue for Hubble mission 
        2008 Nov 10 | STS126 | Wndwavour | NPLM unit to ISS 
        2009 Feb 12 | STS119 | Discovery | truss, solar panels to ISS 
        2009 May 15 | STS127 | Endeavour | Japan Kibo unit to ISS 
        2009 Jul 30 | STS128 | Atlantis  | 2nd MPLM unit to ISS
        2009 Oct 15 | STS129 | Discovery | EXPRESS 1 & 2 units to ISS 
        2009 Dev 10 | STS130 | Endeavour | Node 3 & Cupola to ISS 
        2010 Feb 11 | STS131 | Atlantis  | 3rd MPLM unit to ISS
        - - - - early end of Shuttle era  - - - -
        2010 Apr  8 | STS132 | Discovery | ICc & MRM units to ISS
        2010 May 31 | STS131 | Endeavour | EXPRESS 3 ^ 4 units to ISS 
        2010 XXX XX | STS134 | XXX       | AMS unit to ISS
        - - - -  late end of Shuttle era - - - - 
        ----------------------------------------
    Former chairs of US NOAA and USGS proposed on 2008 Jul 4 that the 
agencies merge thwie earth observation functions into new Earth 
Systems Science Agency. New unit would work with NASA's earth science 
dept, which remains as is. It would live under either Dept of Commerce 
or Interior, not yet decided. Agency would contiue to use NASA support 
and launch services. 
    Alcyone Ephemeris generates table of events for Sun, Moon, planets 
with selectable parameters. Plots graphs, starcharts, sol-sys view, 
years -3000 to +3000, Demo ver can't save, print, capture output but 
but ScrPrt grabs images. 44MMb[!] file. Free DL at www.alcyone.de. 
    Planetary, Lunar, Stellar Visibility (PLSV) plots visibility  
('undulation') chart for planets, Moon, Sun, stars, Lists events, 
siumlates eclipses, plots corscrew chart of Jupiter moons, shows 
dynamic telescope views, Years -3000 to +6000. Free at www.alcyone.de. 
    Michael Shvo inaugurated his Shvo Academy for real estate 
marketing on 2008 Jul 10 with a lunar project. It with 8 interns will 
concoct a marketing model for a development on the Moon, taking into 
account the special features of lunar habitation. Project will be 
reviewed by astronomers from Hayden Planetarium, then handed to Gray 
Associates advertising firm for 'promotion'. 
    Port of Authority on 2008 Jul 23 inked deal with St Nicholas Greek 
Orthodox Church, crushed by WTC collapse, to rebuild it. It was on 
Cedar & West Sts, now needed for a vehicle checkpoint in new WTC. New 
site is Greenwich & Liberty Sts on top of PA's new bomb-screening 
corral. St Nicholas was last Gk Orthdx Ch to keep Julian calendar, 
shifting to Gregorian in mid 1990s. Julian was optional since 1920s 
and almost all other churches dropped it quickly. 
    Pocket PC Central has explanations and tutorials for handhelds, 
such as PocketPCs and Smartphones. Good text and illustrations, how-to 
for assorted chores and operations, discussing handheld-desktop 
interaction, shortcuts and tips. Mostly for Windows devices. 
www.pocketpccentral.net.
    RapidEye AG, Germany, on 2008 Jul 21 opened conpo to name its new 
Earth-monitor satellites. Entrants may donate 10 euros to educate 
other countries about xenophobia. This is a reaction by some countries 
when foreign satellite fly over them for a look-see. Deadline is Aug 
8. www.rapideye.de/launch2008. 
    NASA and USDA inked deal for USDA to fly agricultural experiments 
on ISS after 2010 Shuttle retirement. Shuttles have no room for extra 
payload. NASA has similar arrangement for Natl Instt of Health for 
biomedical work on ISS. Transport between ISS and ground is not 
included. 
    Virgin Galactic rolled out its WhiteKnightTwo mother plane [PMB 08 
Jul] on 2008 Jul 28 at its base in Mojave CA. Plane will now go thru 
ground and flight testing before commercial rides begin, maybe in late 
2009. SpaceShipTwo rocket plane is under construction for mid 2009 
debut. ~250 customers are already signed up for rides. Virgin expects 
to fly 500 riders per year by 2011 and perhaps offer point-to-point 
flights between its bases in other towns. 
    Mind well that our web address is 'www.nyskies.org'. There is a 
www.nyskies.com website for the personal astronomy activity of an 
individual in upstate New York. NYSkies on 2008 Jul 30 asked the site 
to note the possible mixup in address and put a link to us. 
    Part of ongoing delays in IRT Flushing line service comes from 
loss of tail tracks at Times Sq terminal. They were in 2008 Mar-Apr 
trimmed to 60m length to make room for extending the line westward. At 
full length the tracks pop or push two trains during busy hours. Now 
trains must leave station only by going back toward Queens. 
    Nature, 2008 Jul 31, has 'Calendars with Olympiad display and 
eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism' by Dr Tony Freeth &a. 
They decipher dials on the Greek instrument [PMB 07 Jun] as a calendar 
labeled with Corinthian months. It tracks 12/13-month years and 29/30-
day months. plus years of the Panhellenic Games. Eclipse dial even has 
correction for longitude drift of eclipses in each Saros cycle, noting 
if the event occurs in local day or night. The machine may be for an 
Corinth official who announced the months and Games.