2007 NL1: All luck but luck
Jul 14th
[[Image: Lulin-Sky-Survey/k07n01l_20070711.png|500|2007 NL1 at discovery.]]
I rarely write blog in English but today due to some reasons I'll do it, the reason is quite unusual: an asteroid, but the asteroid is quite unusual too, it's a Near-Earth Asteroid. That boy, 2007 NL1, became the first NEA I have got.
Long long stories of discovery could be reduced to a sentence: I scan, I spot, I found. I won't repeat this routine but will just mention two interesting spots during the discovery.
Spot 1: To be or not to be...
It seems pretty fine for me that all big surveys are off from work this dark run, but I just didn't get lucky. Our survey detected five NEOs in three nights -- a new record ever, but all of them are known -- include those very promising R~20's! Lord. So when I saw another detection on afternoon of July 12, all I thought was: "another known one, dot."
But usual checks went on.
"So that boy is a new one?" Out of the expectation and within the expectation, I asked myself. Well, possibly something simply went wrong. I had been chased those "NEOs" three or four times, stayed up for several nights, and later they turned out to be a-little-unusual main-belts. But a thing moving at 1.5 degree per day can't be anything. I checked again.
Indeed something went wrong, I had examed a wrong one. *That* boy called YQ00uR, not YQ00uS. I have to check for knowns again. But still no known ones turn out.
My heart was beating fast. The "one" finally comes.
Spot 2: Big surveys, where are you?
I never thought I'll miss the big surveys, I always regard them as big rivals, but on July 13 I found myself missing them!
YQ00uR was running quickly in the sky and the uncertainty area kept growing. July 12/13 nights were cloudy and I could do nothing but writing "help needed" mails. All surveys were off for holiday due to monsoon season on southwest United States except Siding Spring Survey in Australia, so it seems Siding Spring is my only option. Dr.McNaught replied my mail very quickly, and the answer was simple: cloudy. Then I look for other helps: Peter Birtwhistle at United Kingdom, Reiner Stoss at Spain, Jean-Claude Pelle at Tahiti Island, and they were all not okay with the rock.
Well, real problems occured. Seems I have to do anything to secure the rock on July 13/14 by myself. I spent a whole afternoon for observing design, then went to bed on around 7 p.m. On the morning of July 14 I have to cover dozens of arc degrees to catch the boy.
I dreamt I was searching for a little rabbit in a big big forest.
On 1 a.m. I got up. Jean-Claude told me the sky became clear at Tahiti and he was hunting. "I'd better secure the boy myself." I thought, then I began. There were 16 fields, coded Field 1 to Field 16. It would take 2 hours to fix, and they covered all the uncertainty area. "It won't lost..." I encouraged myself, "I still have one extra hour if all these 16 attempts are failed." Then I download image sets of Field 1, they were just finished.
Guess what happened? A faint, fast moving dot at the center of the images! I combined it with the observations on July 11 -- very fit! It's a nice Apollo.
I can't believe my eyes. The boy was done in such an easy way! I could just said I have been lucky.
I got up at 10 a.m. and the sun was high in the sky, the rock -- 2007 NL1, has been published in Minor Planet Electronic Circular. I also learned Jean-Claude had spot the asteroid too, a few hours earlier than me, but he reported it later than I did.
And so the big surveys are big rivals again 
《爱德华的奇妙之旅》
Jul 11th
[[Image: Other/20070711.jpg|500]]
记得初中的时候，语文老师布置的假期作业就有写读书笔记一项。我还记得我写的是《汤姆·索亚历险记》的读后感。老实说那本书当时我读得稀里糊涂，但作业又是要交的，所以只得东拼西凑地写了一点。这大概也是我最后一次用这些“拼凑”、“吹捧”或者“投（某些）阅读者所好”地来写这类文章，在此之后我成了“无病呻吟”文字的坚决抵制者：要么干脆不写，要么就不写那些矫揉造作的文字，并为此付出了高考语文作文砸锅的代价。
到了大学总算自由了不少，在忙碌之余读了许多书。其中好些过目即忘，但也有不少读完之后颇有感触的，然而却懒得动笔，于是也几乎忘却了。后来和X小姐谈及这些，她却觉得我还是写读书笔记较好，这样即使没读过此书的朋友，也可以“道听途说”，在书的海洋里了解一些书籍岛屿的见闻吧。
今天要讲的是美国现代作家Kate DiCamillo的著作《爱德华的奇妙之旅》。我觉得，大部分的书，从书名上很难看得出什么奥妙来，大多数情况下它也仅仅是对内容的一个概括罢了。当我拿起《爱德华的奇妙之旅》时，想法也是差不多的，封面上画了一只玩具兔子，正向放射出温暖光芒的房屋走去。玩具兔子？应该就是那些会说话、走路的形象吧—— 就是那些玩具，和人一样—— 不妨说，就是人。这大概是“又”一本这样的小说吧？
真出乎人意料。爱德华·图雷恩—— 一只瓷兔子，并不是我们通常看到的那种形象—— 是那种会走会蹦会说话会做事的玩具。事实上，他只能倾听和思索。爱德华的经历并不能产生所谓“揭穿社会黑暗现实”之类的“深刻”意义，这本小说试图探索的是爱的意义。通过在世界各个角落上颠沛流离的生活，原本生活在优越环境下、冷若冰霜的瓷兔子懂得了什么是爱。我以为最妙的地方是—— 故事情节看起来如此地实际和合理：瓷兔子当然是不会说话和走路的（但也许他能思索）；故事中的人没有绝对圣人和绝对坏蛋的分别，等等。读完这本书，我想起老朋友子聪以前说过一句富含哲理的话：“电线杆也许以另外一种生命形式存在……”盯着自己心爱的绒毛玩具，我想：也许他们真的能倾听和思考？
故事的结局很圆满。在一次意外事故中与他的主人阿比林分别几十年之后，瓷兔子爱德华终于又神奇般地回到了他朝思暮想的家。这也许是唯一不大贴近现实之处，但让世界多一份温暖有什么不好呢？
空中趣闻
Jul 7th
- 飞机抵达纽约，应该是肯尼迪机场，最后广播成了“我们已经抵达纽约肯德基机场”。
- 回到北京，落地前乘务员要做好签封工作，刚签封完就有旅客要可乐，乘务员说“我们都封了。”结果客人很不理解：“我就要个可乐，你们就疯（封）啦？！”
- 飞机落地了，还在滑行，旅客就都站起来拿行李，为了安全，要广播“女士们，先生们，我们的飞机还在滑行，请您坐好，并关闭头顶上方的行李架”，结果一着急广播成了“女士们，先生们，我们的飞机滑得还行……”这时候，“叮—— 咚”内话响了，机长说：“谁夸我呢？！”
- 乘务员正在供餐，到一位旅客前问道：“先生，我们有鸡肉米饭和鱼肉米饭，请问您吃哪种？”
旅客答道：“排骨！”
乘务员又重复一遍，旅客依然答道：“排骨！”
这时，乘务员问：“我们有鸡排骨和鱼排骨，您吃哪种？” - 请问牛和鱼您喜欢哪种？
好的，我要牛和。
是牛，和鱼。
哦，那我要和鱼。 - 一架载着两百多名乘客的飞机平稳地飞行在高空。这时，广播里传来机长愉快的声音：“女士们，先生们，我是你们的机长，欢迎大家乘坐我们的航班，我想告诉大家的是……啊！天哪！！”他发出这声恐怖的叫声后，广播里就没有声音了。
所有的乘客都吓坏了，连空姐也害怕得说不出话来。
过了一会，广播终于又响了，还是机长：“女士们先生们，对不起，方才让大家受惊了。这里确实发生了一个小小的意外，但不是飞机，乘务员给我倒咖啡的时候，不小心把咖啡撒在了我的衬衣上，不信你们来看都湿透了！”
这时，机舱里响起一个乘客怒气冲天的抱怨声：“衬衫湿了算什么，你看看我的裤裆！！” - 乘务员：“您好，请问喝点什么？”
旅客不好意思道：“不喝，不喝。”
于是乘务员小声地说道：“免费的哦。”
旅客：“啊？免费的啊！我要一杯橙汁，一杯可乐，一杯咖啡，还要……”
于是边说边从包里拿出一个瓶子说道：“再给我灌点豆浆在里面！我要把飞机票喝回来！！” - 旅客：“我要一杯可乐。”
乘务员不确定地问道：“你是可乐吗？”
旅客：“不是！”乘务员：“那你是？” 旅客：“我是人，我要可乐！”
（编后记：改错字改得好辛苦啊。）
Astronomy Tale: "Ah Nuts!"
Jul 1st
On one starry night at Kitt Peak, the Advanced Observing Program was well underway. After setting the camera up to begin imaging our first object, I instructed the telescope to slew towards its final destination. After a few moments I heard sounds which elicit dread in the hearts of telescope operators everywhere. The strange noises began with a soft “bink clink clink clink” and ended with mysterious “somethings” falling to the floor with a definitive “plit plot!” Not wanting to look concerned in front of the paying customer; I silently held my breath and illuminated the floor with a flashlight. I fully expected to see small sprockets and gears glistening beneath my feet- but no hardware was there! I did find something though. Scattered on the floor were small acorns and I had no idea from whence they came! In disbelief I randomly moved the telescope in Right Ascension and, sure enough, more acorns fell to the floor. Inside the hollow of the east fork arm I found a collection of a dozen acorns. Moments later, after cleaning out the stash, a small mouse skittered up the pier and came to stop between my feet. For one brief moment we stared at each other and telepathically the mouse seemed to say with a sneer “Thanks a lot buddy!” Then the bold creature ran out of the observatory, never to be seen again.
-- Adam Block, http://mstecker.com/pages/appblock.htm.
无题
Jun 26th
[[Image:Other/070626a.jpg|500]]
京报网报道：昨天下午4时左右机场高速回京方向5车连环追尾。据在场司机介绍，由于第一辆汽车在躲闪一只小狗时紧急踩刹车造成后面汽车连环碰撞，5车司机都比较冷静在现场等待交警处理。一位司机不顾汽车受损，在路边给那只受伤的小狗喂水。
赶着上床睡觉，想了半天没想到一个好的题目，于是给了一个“万能”题目，正文具体含义各位还是自行体会比较好。
这位司机是可敬的。简单的行动，远胜于某些所谓的美文里矫揉造作的辞藻。
仅此一句，也足够了。
看起来，好人还是不少的。
Stories about Halley's Comet's visit in 1910
Jun 25th
Some of the other ideas about Halley's Comet publicized in 1910 were fully as odd as the Koreshans' talk of "the breaking in of zones of cruosic energy generated at the colure". Jean B.Marchand refused to accept that the comet which appeared that spring was Halley's Comet -- the real one, he maintained, would not arrive until September. Edwin F.Nulty argued that comets' tails consisted of sunlight focused and concentrated by the head, which acted as a lens and that consequently, a path of fiery destruction would be traced across Earth wherever the focal point went as the comet passed between Earth and Sun.
The comet provided a final impetus for some people to go mad and for others to commit suicide. A sheep rancher in California tried to crucify himself and was badly injured. A Hungarian landowner named Adam Toma did commit suicide, saying he preferred death by his own hand "to being kiled by a star." But the story that a cult in Oklahoma was stopped just short of sacrificing a virgin to the comet was apparently made up and appeared only in some Eastern U.S. newspapers.
... One of the most famous items of 1910 Halley lore was the sale of "comet pills" guaranteed to protect people from the deadly effects of the tail's gases. Much has been said about this racket, but where was it actually practiced? Barnard in 1914 mentioned that such pills had been manufactured and sold among blacks in the south. The pills were reputed to come from Haiti. But the idea must have been picked up by other swindlers. Ruth Freitag mentions one seller of comet pills who was arrested in Texas but, because no one seemed to care about his misdeeds, was let go. In Chicago, people without comet pills or gas masks stopped up the cracks around their doors and windows with rags and newspapers while the Earth was supposed to be passing through the comet's tail.
[[Image:Other/070625a.jpg|400]]
-- COMET OF THE CENTURY, P.183-184.
Stories related to Comet Swift-Tuttle
Jun 24th
On the night of July 15 of that year (1862), Lewis Swift, an amateur astronomer in Marathon, New York, was out with his telescope looking for Comet Schmidt, a fairly bright new comet he had read about in the newspaper. Soon he found a fuzzy patch of light in the north sky which he took to be the comet, fainter han expected. But three nights later, Horace Tuttle, at Harvard Observatory, saw the same object and realized it was not Comet Schmidt. After Tuttle annouced the discovery, Swift hastened to make his claim, which, fortunately for him, was accepted.
Your first reaction might be to think poor Tuttle unfairly got second billing in this comet's name.
Horace Tuttle had already discovered several comets and would discover at least one more very important one - Comet Tempel-Tuttle, the parent of the Leonid meteor showers and storms. But Tuttle, after what some called heroic service in the Civil War, was dismissed from the Navy years later, when it was discovered that he had embezzled a small cial success, Horace Tuttle's fate was to die in 1923 with only $70 to his name and to be buried in an unmarked grave.
Story of Leslie Peltier
Jun 23rd
...Lwaliw Peltier of Delphos, Ohio, an unassuming farmer who was "the world's greatest non-professional astronomer". Earlier in this century, Peltier discovered a dozen comets and made 132,000 variable-star observations. He earned $18 by picking 900 quarts of strawberries in order to buy his first telescope, "the strawberry spyglass".
– P.129, Comet of the century, Fred Schaaf, Copernicus, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
Some interesting facts of Japanese comet hunters
Jun 23rd
... Great Kaouru Ikeya, who took a factory job at the age of 14 to help support his family but eventually saved enough money to build his own inexpensive telescope. He searched the pre-dawn skies before work for 335 hours over 109 nights in more than a year before finding his first comet. His co-workers were so proud of him that they put together a gift of $300 to help him continue his comet hunting. ...Ikeya proceeded to discover another comet the next year (1964) and then, in 1965, one of the great comets of the century -- the sungrazer Ikeya-Seki. In 1966, Ikeya found a rather dim comet and then, at the end of 1967, another comet that also ended up being called Ikeya-Seki. In 1965, Ikeya had found the great comet just 15 minutes before Tsutomu Seki; in 1967, he beat Seki by no more than 5 minutes!
The many Japanese amateurs' skll and intensity is demonstrated by the events of October 5, 1975. That night, three of them independently discovered Comet Mori-Sato-Fujikawa within 70 minutes of each other. Later that night, five of them independently discovered Comet Suzuki-Saigusa-Mori within half an hour of each other. Hiroaki Mori is the only person ever to have discovered two comets visually in one night.
– P.127, Comet of the century, Fred Schaaf, Copernicus, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
Stories about Charles Messier
Jun 23rd
The sport of visual hunting got started after the first predicted return of Halley's Comet. Charles Messier thought he was the first person to recover the comet in January 1759, but he then learned that a German farmer, Johann Georg Palitzsch, had beaten him by almost a month. This disappointment must surely have been a factor in inspiring Messier to start hunting for comets in the 1760s. At first, he had the field to himself, but his countrymen Jacques Montaigne and Pierre Mechain soon became his rivals. Messiers's fierce competitiveness is suggested by a famous story. Shortly after Messier's wife died, he heard that Montaigne had found a new comet. A friend, seeing Messier wracked with grief and thinking he was upset over his wife's death, said "I am sorry." Messier allegedly replied, "Alas! Montaigne has robbed me of my comet!" -- and then, trying to recover, "Poor woman."
-- P.123-124, Comet of the century, Fred Schaaf, Copernicus, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
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