Duster with calibration views be like

[TitritEL]

[jsmaje]

I know the feeling TitritEL, having once excitedly posted a convincing "midnight track" (we haven't heard that term used lately) during one of the early phases, annotating it with a 'WOW !", like the SETI Wow! signal of 1977.
I actually got so drunk that night in celebration that I was still playing loud music at 2am during the night when my upstairs neighbour came down to strenuously complain, followed next morning by the apartments' disapproving chairman and his deputy!

Sadly it was later identified as one of the deliberate 'fiducial' orientation marks in the aerogel made by the team. I'd clearly just not seen enough of those before to be able to judge properly.
At least I learned my lesson.

John

[caprarom]

Yes, John, the first time I ever spotted a fiducial mark I was (temporarily) quite excited as well, although not with the kind of ramifications you describe! Thanks for sharing.
Mike

[TitritEL]

wait a minute! so you all saying that Aerogel search also has something called the deliberate 'fiducial' orientation marks in the aerogel made by the team? I am still excited about some Aerogel tracks I considered a dusting achievement Oh my! So let me close my eyes and count 1,2,3 tell me the flower last part says its a true fiducial mark

I have attached the movie here

Thank you John & Mike


Fatima EL AISSAOUI
TitritEL

[jsmaje]

Hi TitritEL (Fatima). I refer to your very own post of Fri Jul 21 2017 to the forum, where you say: "...every time i discover a track and see everyone else from the team clicked and we all like 35 or more on the same page! then that comment that its a fiducial mark, makes my whole day!!"
So you had heard of them, but somehow weren't aware that, by definition, they were 'an object placed in the field of view of an imaging system which appears in the image produced, for use as a point of reference or a measure. It may be either something placed into or on the imaging subject, or a mark or set of marks in the reticule of an optical instrument.'

The word is from Latin fiducialis and fiducia (“trust”), from fido (“I trust”).
Closely related, the dog name Fido means "faithful", from "fidelitas". Apparently Abraham Lincoln had a dog named Fido, but he clearly didn't provide Abe much luck in the long run!

Your 1157902V1 does actually look like my Wow! track and therefore rather fiducial-like to me, but I could very well be wrong. Let's hope the team quickly respond to your post with their assessment, something that has unfortunately been a rarity during this project.

I certainly can't find that particular movie in the list of 'midnight' candidates here: http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/news/candidates/, but suspect that page hasn't been updated for quite some time.

I think the fiducials were made by needle prick in an L (or was it F) shaped north-south/west-east pattern in selected tiles, but can't at the moment find a technical reference to them on the SD@H pages. Dan &/or Mike will be able to point you in the right direction I'm sure.

Hope you continue having fun,
John

[caprarom]

Yes, Fatima, John's correct. That looks very much like a fiducial mark to me as well.
Mike

[McAngus]

Here I report what I see in the "alpha list page" about the movie 1157902V1:

My rating ................. 10 325,150
Berkeley Rating....... 9 this is a fiducial mark
Red Team Average.. 8,3571

The fiducials were made inserting a needle into the aerogel.

Augusto

[DanZ]

Wow, you're taking me back! It was fun learning about all of these things with you back then too, when I didn't know anything either!
Dan