Touring the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This Planetary Radio episode blends a tour of New Mexico’s National Solar Observatory with updates on the troubled Phobos Grunt mission. Emily Lakdawalla describes Goldstone’s giant Deep Space Network antenna and asteroid radar observations, Bill Nye and Bruce Betts explain Phobos Grunt’s uncertain fate and the Planetary Society experiment aboard it, and Matt Kaplan’s visit to Sacramento Peak highlights solar observing, adaptive optics, and why studying the Sun requires specialized high-altitude engineering.

Main Topics: Goldstone Deep Space Network and asteroid radar imaging: Emily Lakdawalla recounts visiting the DSS-14 70-meter antenna near Los Angeles for asteroid 2005 YU55’s close flyby. She emphasizes the station’s scale, engineering details, and its role in radar imaging and spacecraft communications. Phobos Grunt mission status and risk: Bill Nye and Bruce Betts discuss the Russian Phobos Grunt spacecraft, which remains stuck in Earth orbit. They explain the mission’s chance to still reach Phobos, the Planetary Society’s experiment aboard it, and the danger posed by its hydrazine fuel if the spacecraft falls back to Earth. National Solar Observatory tour at Sacramento Peak: Matt Kaplan tours the NSO in New Mexico with Dave Dooling, exploring the site’s history, visitor center, and observatory village. The discussion frames the facility as both a scientific outpost and a community built for solar research at high altitude. How solar telescopes study a dynamic Sun: Dooling explains sunspot structure, coronal imaging, and the constantly changing nature of the solar surface. He contrasts the apparent simplicity of telescope images with the complex physics of magnetic fields, flows, and plasma motion. Adaptive optics and telescope engineering: The episode details how the Dunn Solar Telescope and related instruments minimize atmospheric distortion through vacuum design, vertical mounting, rotating platforms, and adaptive optics. These systems enable high-resolution solar observations impossible with uncorrected ground-based telescopes. Trivia, skywatching, and Planetary Society outreach: Bruce Betts closes with sky highlights, a trivia question about Uranus, the answer reveal, and a new contest about Aquila’s brightest star. The segment reinforces the show’s educational and membership-oriented outreach mission.

Key Arguments: Ground-based solar and radar astronomy rely on highly specialized engineering to overcome scale, atmospheric distortion, and operational complexity. The Deep Space Network is a critical multi-mission communications system that must juggle dozens of spacecraft contacts each week. Phobos Grunt is not yet definitively lost, but its probability of recovery is poor, creating both scientific disappointment and a potential reentry hazard from its hydrazine propellant. The Planetary Society’s Phobos life experiment depends on the spacecraft escaping Earth orbit in time, so the mission’s status directly affects the experiment’s fate. Studying the Sun requires instruments designed around the Sun’s brightness and rapid variability, not just larger apertures. Adaptive optics and vertical telescope architecture dramatically improve solar resolution and observing stability. Public outreach—visits, blogs, photos, trivia, and membership drives—is treated as an essential part of the Planetary Society’s mission.

Data Points: Deep Space Network station distance from Los Angeles: about 150 miles - Goldstone is described as roughly a 150-mile drive from Los Angeles Goldstone main dish diameter: 70 meters - DSS-14 is identified as the large radio antenna visited by media Asteroid flyby target: 2005 YU55 - Goldstone hosted radar observations during the asteroid’s close pass Mission support load at Goldstone: typically 35 different missions per week - Emily reports the station’s operational workload Goldstone contacts per week: over 130 or 140 separate contacts - Distributed across five main dishes Phobos Grunt fuel load: seven tons of hydrazine - Bill Nye warns about the hazardous propellant aboard the spacecraft Solar observatory altitude: 9,200 feet - Dave Dooling gives the elevation of Sacramento Peak Dunn Solar Telescope above-ground height: 135 feet - Part of the vertical vacuum telescope structure Dunn Solar Telescope below-ground depth: 220 feet - The telescope extends substantially below the surface Dunn Solar Telescope rotating platform diameter: 40 feet - The Cadet platform supports instruments and rotates to track the Sun Solar resolution improvement: 7 times sharper - Dooling compares current G-band resolution to older capability Planned future resolution improvement: 30 to 40 times sharper - Projected for the proposed four-meter telescope in Hawaii Projected first light for four-meter solar telescope: 2017-2018 - Expected completion window if schedule holds Number of recognized constellations: 88 - Bruce Betts’ space fact segment Uranus pole darkness duration: 42 Earth years - Trivia answer explaining the planet’s extreme axial tilt Leonids meteor shower peak: November 17 - Bruce notes the shower date and that it is not expected to be a strong year Trivia contest deadline: November 21 at 2 p.m. Pacific - Deadline for entering the new Aquila question

Pivotal Quotes: "It’s awesome to look at this thing from up close." — Emily Lakdawalla: Describing the 70-meter Goldstone antenna during the media visit "It’s not dead yet, but it doesn’t look very promising." — Bruce Betts: Assessing the status of Phobos Grunt and the Planetary Society experiment aboard it "These are random globs of hot gas rising, shining light into space, and then cooling." — Dave Dooling: Explaining the convective granulation pattern on the Sun

Implications: Listeners come away with a clearer sense of how hard space operations and solar physics are, and why advanced engineering, patience, and public support matter. The episode also underscores the uncertainty of missions like Phobos Grunt and the value of sustained outreach and citizen engagement.