Recent content by Siliconaut

  1. S

    I managed to resolve the ISS "H" with naked eye on a recent pass!

    I just wanted to share something really cool because I like to test the limits of my vision with astronomical objects. For instance I have tried for decades to try to resolve at least one moon of Jupiter with my naked eye at opposition. It just isn't possible for me, but Jupiter does go from a...
  2. S

    Does anyone know how far the moon was from Earth when it was created?

    So I've been doing a lot of selenography type observations and starting to understand the moon on a pretty deep level through the eyepiece. But one question I can't seem to find is if anyone has ever calculated just how far the moon was from Earth at the time it came together from the orbital...
  3. S

    Best orbit for a Jupiter Space Station?

    I'd like to get an opinion on where you would put a space station around Jupiter that allows for certain functions: Function #1: Allow a spacecraft to easily coast into Jovian SOI and dock. Function #2: Allow a spacecraft to easily return to Earth or fly on to outer planets using minimal...
  4. S

    Total # of Orbiter downloads (from inception)?

    Sheesh. I've had every version of orbiter on my hard drive since the day I found version 1 in 2002 or 2003 maybe. Hard to remember that far back but it was EARLY in the development. But the one thing that has always been there through all these years, was the stunning Atlantis Launch into...
  5. S

    Spectroscopy through Orion XT8?

    So I scored this great deal when some guy moving to Florida and getting rid of extra stuff put an Orion XT8 Dob on Craigslist for $75. It included the whole beginners kit. 28mm Wide Field, 10mm, 2x Barlow, blah blah and a "solar filter" I chucked in the trash as soon as I saw it. Unfortunately...
  6. S

    Flying the Kirkwood Gaps.

    I was reading about the asteroid belt recently and learned about the concept of the Kirkwood Gaps. These are orbits within the asteroid belt that have been swept relatively clean of asteroids due to resonances with Jupiter, which perturb the asteroids that chance across these orbits into new...
  7. S

    Cockpit Door Discussion

    Wow. Since I rebuilt my PC, I decided I wanted to restock my Flight Sim collection so I was grabbing all the favorites and I saw that Steam had FSX on sale for a mere 5 dollars. I thought WTH and grabbed it, then I scrolled down and saw all the comments. Well, apparently the sale going on this...
  8. S

    Cockpit Door Discussion

    A lot of discussion about the door locking mechanism. The fact is, that there is no way to truly secure the cockpit and still allow some external way in that is infallible. Security means locked out until such time as cockpit occupants decide to unlock the door. So, the airline industry and...
  9. S

    General Question Unable to work keyboard controls absent labeled 10-keypad - UPDATE

    I never have been a fan of the tablet or two in one models or anything like that. Anything I'd do on it my Note performs well enough for, and such a device is just too puny for what I would need a PC for. After all, if one is going to :hailprobe: one should do it on a proper platform, perhaps...
  10. S

    News Germanwings Flight 4U9525 (Airbus A320) crash in Southern France (24 March 2015)

    I was at work a little bit ago so I didn't get a chance to watch the movies, so thank you for clearing that up. In America an airline admitting that would be instantly shut down with protesters. I see the Germans prefer to have at least a little common sense. It is maddening, because of course...
  11. S

    Question Vinka's Site is gone or moved?

    My orbiter distro is missing one important piece of the puzzle and that is vinka's stuff. A google search didn't bring his page up and all the links I have seen from the forum are dead. Any mirrors or alternatives? Also, where do I put the mscvp120.dll file? I get that error that it is...
  12. S

    News Germanwings Flight 4U9525 (Airbus A320) crash in Southern France (24 March 2015)

    Man, with the way people these days are one day sane and the next a radical jihadist. I wouldn't discount a previously exemplary pilot suddenly going jihad. I mean we had an Army psychologist go on jihad shooting spree without warning.. and he wasn't some buck private he was a major. This was a...
  13. S

    News Germanwings Flight 4U9525 (Airbus A320) crash in Southern France (24 March 2015)

    I was going for mechanical failure too, but what the NYT reported makes me queasy. Because I cannot for the life of me find a plausible scenario where one pilot walks out to take a leak and everything is fine and then when he comes back the door is locked, he can't get in and the plane starts...
  14. S

    Just rebuilt my PC and Orbiter distro! What a difference...

    Sure.. I didn't even realize there was an eclipse on the day that I had chosen for an interplanetary launch, it was just a coincidence. As I completed my escape burn and the ship headed away from Earth the sun-moon came out from behind the limb of the earth just as the eclipse was starting. My...
  15. S

    Just rebuilt my PC and Orbiter distro! What a difference...

    Honestly, I get the impression that NASA keeps you so busy you barely have time to appreciate the views offered lol but yeah. Watching ISS videos I often wish I could see that for myself. Cassini style polar orbits over Saturn are definitely on the list!
Top