RE: STS-135 solar transits

From: Ted Molczan (ssl3molcz@rogers.com)
Date: Fri Jul 22 2011 - 14:15:25 UTC

  • Next message: Kevin Fetter: "One slow moving unid that will get away"

    Paul Grace wrote:
    
    > This posting does not conform to the seesat rules for posting high-res
    > images of satellites.
    
    Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but on SeeSat-L, only the moderator decides whether a post is on topic, and
    otherwise compliant with the rules. Subscribers who have concerns regarding topicality/rules about something that has
    been posted, should not respond to the list, but instead raise the issue with the moderator. That is long-standing
    policy.
    
    The rules say nothing about transits, and I did not consider them in drafting the rules. Nor, to the best of my
    recollection, were they included in our deliberations. For now, I see no reason to include them. That could change if
    folks begin to make inadequately substantiated claims regarding the silhouettes they report to the list. 
    
    > Since you started the whole controversy, you should be scrupulous about your own posts.
    
    Thierry Legault has performed a valuable service in educating the public about the relevant technical issues. My
    reservations about some of the interpretations being placed on hi-res imagery go back several years. Thierry's posts,
    here and elsewhere, confirmed my concerns and helped me to understand the challenges involved in hi-res imaging. That
    prompted me to do further research, which finally led me to act on the matter.
    
    As for being scrupulous, in my experience Thierry practices what he preaches. His images do not appear to be heavily
    processed, and he is moderate in his interpretations of his results. Instead of pushing processing to extremes, he has
    invested in improving his optics and tracking, to improve the raw data.
    
    Thierry's recent Lacrosse and KeyHole imagery is the best I have seen from an amateur, but nevertheless difficult to
    interpret. To his credit, Thierry did not rush to make precise interpretations, but simply made his results available.
    He understands that many additional images will be required to begin to ascertain the finer details of those challenging
    objects. And he agreed to provide raw imagery, upon request. His approach to amateur science is on par with the best
    contributors to SeeSat-L, who strive to achieve excellent results, but are realistic about their limitations, and accept
    accountability for their claims.
    
    I suspect that most subscribers have seen more than they want regarding the recent controversy; therefore, I request
    that any responses to this branch of the thread take place off list.
    
    Ted Molczan
    Admin 
    
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