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North
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2006 11:38 am
Location: Virginia

Questions

Post by North »

Well, I've reviewed 300 hundred movies including 100 calibration movies, and some questions keep coming to mind. I have tried searching the forum for the answers, but my ability to use the search engine doesn't seem to be very good, so forgive me if these questions have been asked and answered.
When was the surface dust deposited on the aerogel collector?
If it was after the mission, could some of the surface dust be hiding dust tracts?
Other than pieces of aerogel, what is the dust?
Were efforts made to have an even plane to the gels of the collector?
Did acceleration during launch affect the plane of the collector?
How about the abscence of gravity during the mission or the reacquisiton of gravity during reentry? I realize the gel is extremely light weight, but it does have some mass and so is affected by changes in gravity, if even minutely. I can imagine that stresses on the collector frame causing deformation of the gels or perhaps the impacts from the dust paricles themselves.
I also have the impression that no "before" movies were taken for comparison (?)
Schlockading
DustMod
Posts: 132
Joined: Thu May 18, 2006 7:20 pm
Location: Mesquite, TX

Post by Schlockading »

Good questions. A few of the answers can be found in the "Finding Stardust" article and the tutorial. As for the questions about the effects of gravity on the aerogel, I don't know. That's an interesting topic of discussion. Still, I think the particles are locked in pretty tight and wouldn't shift considerably during re-entry.

-Schlockading
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skeeter
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:04 am
Location: Tennessee

Questions

Post by skeeter »

I've been dusting for a while but am new to the forum. There are several movies in My Events marked "Passed Cut 1". Exactly what does that mean? What is involved in the "Cut 1" process? Is it just another volunteer looking at the same movie I viewed and giving their opinion? Who makes the determination & what is involved in the process?

A few of these movies show "Passed Cut 1 - bad focus unable to evaluate. Will rescan" So, if it's bad focus and they can't make a determination, how can it "Pass" any cut? If these movies are rescanned will they get new numbers and start the process all over again?

Also, what criteria is used to determine the order in which movies are reviewed by the team. My Events has lots of movies showing viewed by 200 or 300 people and have over 100 agreements but are still marked "indeterminate" and one that has been viewed by only 65 people with 3 agreements that's been flagged as "Passed Cut 1 - possible IS particle"

I'm not complaining. I just want to understand the process. Anyone else have these questions - or answers to them.

I'm truly enjoying participating in this project and am thankful for the opportunity. I find I can't stop once I get started!

Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions.
DustBuster
DustMod
Posts: 694
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 8:12 pm
Location: Horsetown, USA

Re: Questions

Post by DustBuster »

Hi Skeeter.
skeeter wrote:I've been dusting for a while but am new to the forum. There are several movies in My Events marked "Passed Cut 1". Exactly what does that mean? What is involved in the "Cut 1" process? Is it just another volunteer looking at the same movie I viewed and giving their opinion? Who makes the determination & what is involved in the process?
This means there has been a review by a member of the StarDust@Home team (or an authorized under-grad) and it is worthy of a better look. This means looking directly at it with the microscope, which will take place some time in the future. You can determine if other 'Dusters have reviewed it by the number of agreements (1 being 'your on your own on this one!').
A few of these movies show "Passed Cut 1 - bad focus unable to evaluate. Will rescan" So, if it's bad focus and they can't make a determination, how can it "Pass" any cut? If these movies are rescanned will they get new numbers and start the process all over again?
Similar to above, but there may be an issue with the focus causing an artifact or preventing a better view. This is probably a judgement call by the team whether or not to look with the 'scope or just rescan.
Also, what criteria is used to determine the order in which movies are reviewed by the team. My Events has lots of movies showing viewed by 200 or 300 people and have over 100 agreements but are still marked "indeterminate" and one that has been viewed by only 65 people with 3 agreements that's been flagged as "Passed Cut 1 - possible IS particle"
I'm sure this has a lot to do with timing. Ideally, the FOV's with the most agreements would be reviewed first. There was also a case where the team saw a candidate in the "I Think I Found A Track" thread and reviewed it right away.
I'm not complaining. I just want to understand the process. Anyone else have these questions - or answers to them.

I'm truly enjoying participating in this project and am thankful for the opportunity. I find I can't stop once I get started!

Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions.
Great!! Keep up the good work- and welcome to the forum.
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