text:
General Astronomy/Mercury

Visibility
Next Greatest Elongation, WEST: 2006 November 25

Next Greatest Elongation, EAST: 2006 October 17

Next transit of Mercury will begin at 19h:12m Universal Time on 8 November 2006.

Followed by that of 9 May 2016.

In Roman and Greek mythology, the planet Mercury played an important role in the religious life of many ancient civilizations. In Roman religion, Mercury was god of commerce and messenger of the gods, identified with the Greek Hermes. He was honoured at the Mercuralia, a festival held in May and attended primarily by traders and merchants.

Mercury is the closest planet to our sun lying at a mean distance of 57.909 million km and has an equatorial radius of 2,439 km, so that not only is Mercury slightly more than 1,367.6 km larger than the moon, it also looks very similar because the planet is covered with impact craters. The other unique attribute of Mercury is that the planet is almost entirely spherical since the planet’s polar diameter is the about the same as its equatorial diameter.

The planet is inclined on its axis at a mere 0.01º which is the lowest of all the planets in our solar system. Mercury is upright in its orbital path around the sun which takes only 87.968 days (115.88 Synodic days) to complete, as the planet rushes through space at 47.87 km/s.

The orbital inclination of Mercury is 7º. If it were possible to visit Mercury, the pole star would be the tenth magnitude star TYCHO 4215-996-1 in the northern constellation of Draco, the dragon.

The first attempts by amateur astronomers to measure the length of the planet’s solar day by observing and mapping surface markings, were quite wide of the mark; furthermore, only true measurements made by earthbound radar and spacecraft visiting Mercury, found the true figure to be 4,222.6 hours. Therefore, Mercury’s solar day is almost 176 earth days in length, and about twice as long as the planet’s year. Mercury rotates on its axis three times while it circles the Sun twice in synchronous rotation. The planet's sidereal day - the time it takes to rotate on its axis - is 1,407.6 hours, or 58.785 earth days, in length.

Prehistoric man probably saw Mercury; the first recorded observation was by Timocharis in 265 BC. The early Greeks believed that the east and west elongations of Mercury represented two separate objects which they called Hermes (evening star) and Apollo (morning star). When later the Greeks recognized that Mercury was one object, they designated it Hermes, the messenger of the gods, and god of twilight and dawn who announced the rising of Zeus. The ancient Egyptians however, first discovered that Mercury (called by them Sabkou) orbited the Sun.

To the Teutonic people Mercury was known as Woden, and our anglicized version of the midweek day Wednesday is derived from the original Woden's Day. The present name Mercury is derived directly from the Latin name Mercurius, which is the Roman designation for the Greek name Hermes.

Because Mercury and its neighbour the planet Venus are inferior planets - that is, they lie inside earth’s orbit - they are both able to display phases like our Moon, as they travel around the sun. The Italian astronomer Zupus first observed the phases of Mercury in 1639. Hevelius later observed them independently in 1644.

Another phenomenon associated with Mercury and Venus is a planetary transit, which takes place when Mercury (or Venus) passes between the Earth and the Sun. On such rare occasions, the inferior planet may be seen as a small black disk passing slowly across the Sun’s brilliant surface in transit. The transit of Mercury was first predicted by Kepler in 1630 and was observed by Gassendi.

The first recorded observations of the surface markings were by Schroter and Harding in 1800. In the same year, Schroter incorrectly measured a rotation period of 24 hours with a rotation axis inclined 70° to the orbital plane. Another incorrect rotation period of 88 days determined by Schiaparelli 80 years later was not corrected until the advent of recent radar observations, which in turn were confirmed by measurements made by the first Mercury space craft visitor Mariner 10.

It had been thought that the planet Mercury had no atmosphere whatsoever because of its low escape velocity of 4.3 km/s and its close proximity to the Sun, since the rapid movement of any atmospheric atoms would be greater than its escape velocity. However, visiting spacecraft, in particular Mariner 10, did detect a tenuous atmosphere - or "exosphere" - with a total mass of less than 1,000 kilograms. It has a measured composition of: 42% oxygen (O2), 29% sodium (Na), 22% hydrogen (H2), 6% helium (He) and 0.5% potassium (K). There were also very low traces of water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, despite the average surface temperature of Mercury being 169 degrees Celsius. However, the atmosphere is still essentially a vacuum in every sense of the word.

Although Mercury is remarkably similar to the Moon, it is different from it in many respects. This was unexpected, based on observations from Earth prior the Mariner 10 mission. On the one hand it was known that Mercury reflects sunlight and radar waves in the same manner, as does the Moon.

This similarity combined with the probable absence of any appreciable atmosphere suggested a cratered surface and a lunar-like regolith of pulverized rock mantling the surface of the planet as the result of meteoritic bombardment. On the other hand, the bulk density of the planet was known to be almost the same as that of Earth and about 60 percent greater than that of the Moon, implying that Mercury was a body greatly enriched in the heavy elements and, like Earth, perhaps having an iron-rich core.

The surface of Mercury, like that of the Moon, was found to be pockmarked with impact craters. However, not expected was the discovery that Mercury, unlike the Moon, has a weak but nevertheless Earth-like magnetic field whose origin is undoubtedly related to a large iron-rich core. Paradoxically, Mercury has a Moon-like exterior and an Earth-like interior.

Craters and basins dominate the illuminated surface observed by Mariner 10 as it first approached Mercury. This region of Mercury shows a heavily cratered surface that at first glance could be mistaken for the lunar highlands. In marked contrast to this view of Mercury, the surface photographed after the flyby, as the spacecraft receded from Mercury, exhibited features totally different from those shown on the incoming views, including large basins and extensive relatively smooth areas with few craters.

The smooth surfaces are clearly younger than the heavily cratered ground seen in the incoming views of Mercury. The most striking feature in this region of the planet is a huge circular basin, 1300 km in diameter that was undoubtedly produced from a tremendous impact comparable to the event that formed the Imbrium basin on the Moon. This prominent Mercurial feature, named Caloris Planitia - or Caloris Basin - is filled with material forming a smooth surface or plain that appears similar in many respects to the lunar Maria.

Mercury, much like the Moon, can thus present two totally different faces; one is a heavily cratered surface like the highlands on the backside of the Moon, and the second shows a region of large basins filled with smooth plains similar to the front side of the Moon.

Both the heavily cratered regions of Mercury and the craters themselves, however, differ from their lunar counterparts.

Mercury's heavily cratered surfaces exhibit relatively smooth areas or plains between the craters and basins, whereas the lunar highlands display closely packed and overlapping craters. In many cases, these "intercrater" plains appear to predate that time when most of the large Mercurial craters were formed.

The lunar and Mercurial heavily cratered surfaces are probably different because the force of gravity on Mercury is twice that on the Moon. The ballistic range of material ejected from a primary crater on Mercury is less than that on the Moon and, consequently, covers, depending on the ejection velocity, an area from a fifth to a twentieth smaller for craters of the same size.

As a result, ejecta deposits and secondary craters on Mercury are confined more closely around the primary crater than on the Moon; thus, the early cratering record stored in the surface features of Mercury may be better preserved than on the Moon. Ejecta-forming secondary craters from the most recent large basin events on the Moon have been superposed on the earlier record of primary craters, increasing the density of craters and obliterating the earlier activity.

The difference in the gravity fields is also probably responsible for the variation in the geometry of craters of the same size on the two bodies. In both cases, the smallest craters are bowl-shaped and with increasing size exhibit central peaks and develop terraces on their inner walls.

At the larger sizes, the central peaks become complex structures and undergo a transition into an inner mountain ring that is concentric with the crater rim.

Although this progressive change in crater geometry is the same on both the Moon and Mercury, the change from one type to another occurs with smaller diameters on Mercury and apparently reflects gravitationally induced modifications to the original excavation crater.

An additional important difference between the heavily cratered surfaces of Mercury and the Moon are the lobate scarps or cliffs that are several kilometres high and extend for hundreds of kilometres across the Mercurial surface.

The scarp named Discovery is one of the best examples of this feature. Its shape and transection relationships suggest that scarps are thrust faults resulting from compressive stresses, perhaps due to cooling and shrinkage of the iron-rich core, and causing crustal shortening on a global scale.

Regardless of the mechanism for forming these escarpments, their presence in the large, well preserved craters establishes an approximate relative time scale for their age and eliminates the possibility that planet-wide melting or Earth-like movement of crustal plates has taken place since the heavily cratered ground was created.

The extensive areas of smooth surfaces or plains on Mercury have been classified into three types. The most widespread type forms a level to gently rolling ground between and around large craters and basins.

These "intercrater" plains are characterized by an extremely high density of superimposed small (5 to 10 km) craters, which are frequently elongate, shallow, and suggestive of being of secondary origin. A second type, "hummocky" plains, occurs within a broad ring that is 600 to 800 km wide and circumscribes the Caloris Planitia. These plains consist of low, closely spaced to scattered hills, and have been interpreted to be material ejected during the cratering event that produced the Caloris basin. "Smooth" plains are the third type and form relatively level tracts with a very low population of craters, both within and external to Caloris Planitia as well as in some of the smaller basins (e.g., Borealis Planitia in the Borealis quadrangle).

The smooth plains are similar to the lunar maria and, if analogous, result from extensive lava flows that would reflect an extended period of volcanism on Mercury after the Caloris event. In addition to the cratered surfaces and plains regions, several other distinctive topographic features occur.

A system of linear hills and valleys that extends up to 300 kilometres cuts through, or modifies, some parts of the heavily cratered areas in the Discovery quadrangle. These valleys are scalloped and range up to 10 km wide.

The best example of this type of feature extends more than 1000 km to the northeast from the mountainous rim, Caloris Montes, in the Shakespeare quadrangle. Both examples are similar to the so-called lunar Imbrium sculpture.

It is generally believed that this type of lineated surface feature resulted from excavations by secondary projectiles when the large basins were formed and, possibly, fracturing and faulting of the planet's crust during the basin formation. The basin associated with the lineations in the Discovery quadrangle is unknown, but it may be found in the darkened hemisphere that was hidden from Mariner 10's cameras.

Some of the most peculiar and interesting landforms seen on Mercury are in another region in the Discovery quadrangle that has been termed "hilly and lineated." The hills are 5 to 10 km wide and vary from a few hundred meters up to almost 2 km in height. This region included many old degraded craters whose rims have been broken up into hills and valleys. Similar surfaces are known at two sites on the Moon. In all three cases, the regions are antipodal to the youngest large basins (Imbrium and Orientale on the Moon and Caloris on Mercury).

For this reason, there could be a genetic relationship between the formation of the basins and the hilly and lineated terrain.

It has been suggested that seismic waves generated by the basin impacts are focused in the antipodal region and are the cause of the peculiar surfaces.

Well-defined bright streaks or ray systems radiating away from craters constitute another distinctive feature of the Mercurial surface, again in remarkable similarity to the Moon. The rays cut across and are superposed on all other surface features, indicating that the source craters are the youngest topographic features on the surface of Mercury.

Despite some differences, the striking duplication of surface features between Mercury and the Moon suggests that although an absolute time scale for the development of the Mercurial surface must remain uncertain, the relative sequence of events for the two bodies must have been very similar, if not contemporary. The greatest uncertainty in the Mercurial absolute time scale is: When did the heavy bombardment forming the heavily cratered surfaces (lunar highlands) and the large basins (lunar Imbrium and Orientale) come to an end'?

Within these uncertainties, Mercury's evolution can be divided into five stages or epochs. The first epoch includes the interval of time at the earliest stage of the solar system, condensation of the solar nebula into solids, and the accumulation of the solid material into the main mass of Mercury.

It is not known whether the planet accumulated heterogeneously or homogeneously; i.e., whether it formed directly as an iron core with a silicate crust, or whether the proto-Mercury was initially a mixture of iron and silicates which subsequently melted and separated into the core and crust configuration. Regardless of how the planet accumulated, all crustal melting must have been completed well before the craters in the heavily cratered surfaces were formed to have preserved their shapes and geometries to the present time.

Moreover, if Mercury ever had been enveloped in an atmosphere either during or immediately after accumulation, aeolian degradation of craters would have occurred, similar to that seen on Mars.

Because such degradation has not been recognized, any atmosphere must have disappeared before the oldest cratered surfaces were formed.

The second epoch following accumulation and chemical separation was a period of heavy bombardment by large objects from an unknown source that produced the heavily cratered surfaces and the large basins; this epoch was terminated by the time of the Caloris event. It is not certain whether this last period of heavy bombardment was the terminal phase of the accumulation of Mercury, or if it was the second episode of bombardment unrelated to the accretionary phase. The "intercrater" plains probably represent an older surface that predates this second epoch, or they may have been emplaced during the period of heavy bombardment. Because the lobate scarps are prevalent in the intercrater areas and sometimes pass through and deform some of the older craters, core shrinkage and crustal shortening may have occurred during the end of the first epoch and extended into at least the early part of the second.

The Caloris basin was a massive event marking the onset of the third epoch. It produced the mountainous ring Caloris Montes and the basin Caloris Planitia, as well as the ejecta deposits and sculpturing of the older heavily cratered surface that can be traced more than 1000 km from the ring of mountains. If the Caloris basin were contemporary with our Moon's two youngest basins, Imbrium and Orientale, an absolute time for the Caloris event would be about 4 billion years ago.

The start of the fourth epoch followed an indeterminate but probably short, period after the Caloris event. During this time broad plains were formed, most probably as a result of widespread volcanism grossly similar to that which produced the lunar maria. It has been suggested, however, that the smooth plains surrounding the Caloris Planitia (i.e., the Suisei, Odin, and Tir Planitia) are ejecta from Caloris that were melted by the impact. If the smooth plains are analogous to lunar maria, this fourth epoch may represent the period from four to 3 billion years ago. If the plains are impact melt, they must be contemporary with the Caloris event, about 4 billion years in age.

The fifth and final epoch in what can be recognized in Mercurial history probably extends from about 3 billion years ago to the present. Little has happened on Mercury during this period except for a light "dusting" of meteoritic debris that has produced many of the prominent rayed craters. The crater population on the smooth plains is very similar to that on the lunar Maria.

The apparent similarity in the sequence of events for the Moon and Mercury is especially significant for interpreting and understanding evolutionary processes of the terrestrial planets.

It is now clear that Mercury, in common not only with the Moon, but also with Mars, was subjected to an early, intense crater-producing bombardment (including basin events) that was followed by volcanism and, in turn, by a greatly reduced impact flux.

Ice on Mercury
Mercury would seem to be one of the least likely places in the solar system to find ice. The closest planet to the Sun has temperatures, which can reach over 700 °C. The local day on the surface of Mercury is 176 earth-days, so the surface is slowly rotating under a relentless assault from the Sun. Nonetheless, Earth-based radar imaging of Mercury has revealed areas of high radar reflectivity near the north and south poles, which could be indicative of the presence of ice in these regions. There appear to be dozens of these areas with generally circular shapes. Presumably, the ice is located within permanently shadowed craters near the poles, where it may be cold enough for ice to exist over long periods of time. The discovery of ice on the Earth's moon, and on Mars, can only serve to strengthen the arguments for ice on Mercury.

Ice is highly radar reflective and the radar reflections off ice tend to be highly depolarized, unlike typical silicate rock that comprises the bulk of Mercury's surface. While not as highly reflective as other icy solar system objects, such as on Jupiter’s moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, these areas are still significantly more reflective than silicate material. Moreover, the depolarized nature of the reflections is also an indicator of water ice. The Arecibo results show that the radar reflective areas are concentrated in crater-sized spots. At the South Pole, the location of the largest area appears coincident with the large crater Chao Meng-Fu and the smaller areas with other identified craters. At the North Pole much of the area containing the radar bright spots was not imaged, and cannot be correlated with any known craters.

However, for the imaged areas at both poles most of the areas have been loosely correlated with known craters. Craters near the poles could provide the permanent, or near permanent, shading required for ice to exist on Mercury.

The radar results indicate the reflective areas are probably relatively uncontaminated ice. However, the lower reflectivity compared to pure ice features indicates the ice may be covered by a thin layer of dust or soil or else does not completely cover the crater floor. Note that no direct unequivocal detection of ice has been made.

The coincidence of the radar bright areas with large, possibly permanently shadowed, polar craters is strong circumstantial evidence for ice.

However, the radar reflections could be explained by an enhancement of some other radar reflective material, such as metal sulphides or other metallic condensates, or precipitated sodium ions

Investigations of Mercury were done from Earth using the Arecibo radio telescope, the Goldstone antenna, and the Very Large Array (VLA). The Goldstone/VLA study used the NASA Deep Space Network 70-m Goldstone dish antenna to transmit 8.51 GHz, 460 kW, right circularly polarized radar waves towards Mercury. The National Radio Astronomy Observatories 26 VLA antennas received the reflections. Calibration and processing of the radar returns showed radar-bright (high radar reflectivity) with depolarized signatures at the North Pole. The Arecibo observations were made by transmitting an S-band (2.4 GHz), 420 kW, circularly polarized coded radar wave at Mercury. The wave reflects off Mercury back to Earth. The wave is both transmitted and received by the Arecibo radio telescope.

Filtering and processing the return signal gives a radar reflectivity map of Mercury's surface with a resolution of approximately 15 km. About 20 anomalously reflective and highly depolarized features were observed at the north and south poles.

As mentioned above, all provinces on Mercury are exposed to the Sun for almost 90 earth-days at a time, and can reach temperatures over 700 °C. Additionally, Mercury has no ambient atmosphere and has very low gravity.

Water ice on the surface of Mercury is exposed directly to vacuum, and will rapidly sublime and escape into space unless it is kept cold at all times. This implies that the ice can never be exposed to direct sunlight.

The only locations on the surface of Mercury where this is possible would seem to be near the poles (Mercury’s South Pole is shown here), where the floors of some craters might be deep enough to afford permanent shading. Whether such permanently shadowed craters exist on Mercury is still problematic. The only close-up images we have of Mercury were taken by the Mariner 10 spacecraft on three close passes in 1974 and 1975.

The same hemisphere of Mercury was sunlit on each of these passes, so nearly half the planet has never been imaged, and no determination can be made of what polar areas, if any, are permanently shadowed. However, theoretical studies assuming typical crater dimensions show that craters near the poles should have areas that never rise above about 102 °C and that even flat surfaces at the poles would not exceed about 167 °C. Other studies also indicate that water ice in polar craters on Mercury could be stable over the age of the solar system.

There are only two significant sources for ice on Mercury: meteorite bombardment and planetary out gassing. Meteorites, especially in the past, potentially carried large amounts of water to Mercury's surface. Out gassing of water from the planet's interior could also provide a non-negligible flux of water to the surface, although this is speculative.

The permanently shadowed regions near Mercury's poles should act as "cold-traps" so that any water, which found its way to these regions, would freeze on the surface and remain. (The possibility that the ice is relatively uncontaminated may indicate that each deposit was laid down in one or a small number of rapid events, such as a large comet impact.) Meteorites, which impacted near the poles and water, which out gassed in that region, could have been easily trapped.

Solar Wind
The planet Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, our nearby star, which gives off a huge amount of light and heat. The Sun also has significant super hot plasma burst from its surface known as prominences, and upper atmosphere called coronal mass ejections.

The charged atomic particles then move at great speed through the solar system. Mercury therefore is the planet that is regularly in the line of fire, so that its surface is constantly bathed by the solar wind. While the planet’s atmosphere is too thin and rarefied to erode Mercurian surface features, the solar wind does appear to have an effect, albeit slowly, over eons of time.

Mercury's Physical Characteristics
Mass 				0.3302 kg Volume				6,083 kg³ Equatorial Radius		2,439.7 km Polar Radius			2,439.7 km Ellipticity (Flattening)	0.0000 Mean Density			5.427 g/cm³ Surface Gravity			6 km/s Escape Velocity		 	4.3 km/s Visual Magnitude		-0.42 (seen from Earth). Number of Moons			None Planetary Ring system		None Mean Orbital Velocity		47.87 km/s Orbital Inclination		7º Orbital Eccentricity		0.2056 Sidereal Axis rotation		1,407.6 hours Length of day			4,222.6 hours

Mercurian Magnetic Field

Dipole field strength		 0.0033 gauss-Rh^3 Dipoles tilt to rotation axis	169º Longitude of tilt		285º (From Mercury-1 flyby) 115º (From Mercury-III flyby).

Transit of Mercury Phenomena
A transit is the passage of a planet across the Sun's bright disk. At this time, the planet can be seen as a small black disk slowly moving in front of the Sun.

The orbits of Mercury and Venus lie inside Earth's orbit, so they are the only planets that can pass between Earth and Sun to produce a transit. Transits are very rare astronomical events. In the case of Mercury, there are on average thirteen transits each century. A transit of Mercury occurs only if the planet is in inferior conjunction with the Sun (between Earth and Sun) and is also crossing through Earth's orbital plane (the Ecliptic). During the present period in Earth's history, Mercury's orbit crosses Earth's orbital plane in early May and early November each year. If Mercury is passing between the Earth and Sun at that time, a transit will be seen.

During the seven-century period 1601 to 2065, Earth experiences 94 transits of Mercury across the Sun. These events can be organized into two groups: All Transits = 94 = 100.0%. May (Descending Node) = 31 = 33.0%. November (Ascending Node) = 63 = 67.0%

Mercury's orbit is highly eccentric (e = 0.2056). This causes the planet's distance from the Sun to vary from 46 to 70 million kilometres. At perihelion, Mercury's orbital velocity (59.0 km/s) is over 50% faster than it is at aphelion (38.9 km/s).

Furthermore, the planet's orbit is tipped 7 degrees to Earth's around the Sun. Such a wildly varying and inclined orbit has important consequences on the characteristics and frequency of Mercury's transits.

During May transits, the apparent diameters of the Sun and Mercury are 1902 and 12 arc-seconds, respectively. Thus, Mercury appears to be 1/158 the size of the Sun. In contrast, the apparent diameters of the Sun and Mercury during November transits are 1937 and 10 arcseconds, respectively. So then Mercury appears to be 1/194 the size of the Sun. Consecutive transits of Mercury appear to be separated by 3.5, 7, 9.5, 10, or 13 years.

The pattern is rather complex because of Mercury's elliptical orbit. The shorter periods are a consequence of several longer harmonics between the orbital periods of Mercury and Earth. The 13-year period is of particular note because it corresponds to nearly 54 orbits of Mercury around the Sun (it falls short of a perfect fit by just 2.01 days). A longer period of 33 years (10 + 10 + 13) produces an even better fit, which corresponds to 137 orbits of Mercury minus 1.67 days. If one combines the 13 year and 33 year periods together, the 46-year total equals 191 orbits of Mercury plus only 0.34 days.

A useful way to organize Mercury's transits is by grouping them into series where each member is separated by 16,802 days or 46 years (= sum of 13 and 33 years). Thus, the transits of 1957, 2003 and 2049 belong to one series, while the transits of 1960, 2006 and 2052 belong to another series. May transits occur about a month after Mercury's aphelion passage so the planet is travelling at close to its minimum velocity?

The planet's relative position with respect to the Sun shifts by approximately 200 arcseconds with each transit. This rapidly evolving geometry means that transit series, which occur in May only, last about 10 cycles or 414 years. In comparison, November transits occur just a few days before Mercury reaches perihelion so the planet is travelling at nearly its maximum orbital velocity. Mercury's relative position with respect to the Sun shifts by only about 100 arcseconds with each transit, so November series last about twice as long as a May series. For example, Series 8 (November at Ascending Node) began in 1776 and will run through 2604 for a total of 19 transits spanning 828 years. For comparison, Series 9 (May at Descending Node) began just recently in 1957 and will run through 2371 for a total of 10 transits spanning 414 years. At any one time, there can be about six transit series running concurrently. But since the November series last twice as long as the May series, there are twice as many transits in November as there are in May. Mercury's transit series are quite analogous to the Saros series for solar and lunar eclipses although they are shorter and tend not have as many events in each series.

Ephemeris Data
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Mercury

title: General Astronomy/Mercury


text:
Talk:General Astronomy/Mercury

Disambiguize
- A very interesting but not so popular logic programming language (http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/research/mercury/) We need another book for the programming language

Contributed by Patrick Fleckney at 00:00, 7 Sep 2004 (UTC).E-mail richard_pearson2@yahoo.co.uk

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:General Astronomy/Mercury


text:
User talk:Omegatron/sandbox/watch2

fdsafdsa

title: User talk:Omegatron/sandbox/watch2


text:
User talk:Omegatron/sandbox/watch1

fdsafdsa

fdsafdsa

title: User talk:Omegatron/sandbox/watch1


text:
User talk:Omegatron/sandbox

fdsafdsa

title: User talk:Omegatron/sandbox


text:
Talk:Outdoor Survival

Time to strike
Hi, my name's Chris; I'm a certified survival instructor. I've been talking with the folks at 'Pedia and they directed me here. As of now, this 'book has some good, some bad, (just like anything) but I think we can turn it into a PB'ing treatise. Right now, unfortunately, I have work to do - but I'll be back to start pouring info in. First I gotta get that work done and then organise my thoughts - which could take awhile, ha ha. 07:09, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC) I'm not accounted for here; on Wikipedia I'm user Esseye

hi i don't know who started this book but i just added a few things hope you don't mind.

yeah, good work you should change the namespaces

not wikibooks.org/wiki/food

wikibooks.org/wiki/outdoor_survival_food

Should the whole book be in the form of disconnected statements and ideas? I think having things in point form, while good for teaching, may not be the best format for a book.
 * In a wikibook you might have both: Have a quick checklist, and a more elaborate explanatory section. Go ahead and fill the sections! --Andreas 11:41, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Completeness?
I think the completeness statements on this are very exaggerated. There is a hell of a lot more information to be put into sections with even 3/4 of a marking. For example techniques to find water in different environments. Bandraoi 13:57, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

Area of coverage
Hi. I'm just passing through, but since you're just starting out, I'd like to suggest making an effort to talk about survival in a variety of different environments, or being explicit that you're only talking about a few. There are a lot of places where your first priority would be to keep cool, not to keep warm. 70.17.206.197 04:40, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

Mergers
I was looking around at all the different books on Outdoor/Wilderness Survival and thought that they should all be combined together into one big book. This would provide easier access to the information with less hassle. As I find more rouge article I will either merge them or if they are more then a stub will put up a merge suggestion. I am new to WikiBooks and if any one has any feedback for me it would be appriciated. Mason L. 13:50, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree. Guide to Wilderness Survival is very small and has not had any real edits for over a year. Redfalcon, the user who created it hasn't done any edits on Wikibooks since 2005. Transwiki:How to light a fire is an orphaned page, and this book could probably give it a good home. However, First Aid/Wilderness First Aid Probably doesn't need to be merged, it goes well with the wikibook it's in, and this wikibook already has a big page on First Aid. But for Guide to Wilderness Survival, I say: just start merging it. - Teaandcrumpets 20:42, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Actually, it looks to me like the only thing we need from Guide to Wilderness Survival is the water page. The rest of the pages have little or no information. In fact, I would consider that book for deletion, as the original author seems to have no interest in it. - Teaandcrumpets 21:11, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Replacement/revamping of entire book
I think this whole book should be replaced or merged with US Army Field Manual 21-76. The Field Manual is in the public domain, is already complete, and is much more comprehensive than whatever is here already. Siddharth Patil (talk) 20:51, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Merge with When It Hits the Fan
The content of this stub of a project will be at home there, and reduce duplication of content. Since this book has been without edits for a long time it would benefit from the activity on the new location. --Panic (discuss • contribs) 18:41, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

 * On 28 October 2011 Thenub314 removed the merge tag with the comment "different sort of scope" and on the target project only to as "disagree with merger". I have contacted the Wikibookian directly and requested participation in this discussion.

 * In regards to the argument of "different sort of scope" of the projects I agree that the scope implied on the Outdoor Survival project title is not the same, but complementary to the objective of "When It Hits the Fan". It also doesn't address the problem of Outdoor Survival being an abandoned stub that is replicating other existing projects, in any case I will extend the timing to execute the merge in case this is pursued or any other point is raised. --Panic (discuss • contribs) 02:58, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

(copying from my discussion page) Outdoor survival is a strictly more general subject then the subject of "When it hits the fan", and so their scope and audience is rather different. It makes sense to study outdoor survival if you intend to spend lots time in the woods (say hiking the whole Appalachian trail) but your not particularly concerned about difficult survival situations. As I understand when it hit the fan it discusses (local) apocalyptic situations which one intends to survive. I would agree that understanding that some understanding of surviving outdoors may help in some of these situations, and not in others. To give an example of potentially different audiences, boy scouts are more likely to be interested in outdoor survival to meet the requirements of a badge, but be less interested in When it hits the fan. If we decided to merge this because it is not being developed further, may I suggest Backpack Camping and Woodland Survival might be a more natural fit. Thenub314 (talk) 23:30, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

 * Is there any objection still pending ? The content merge will not be destructive, if anyone later wants to pursue the specific subject they can. --Panic (discuss • contribs) 23:00, 16 January 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Outdoor Survival


text:
Outdoor Survival/Signals

Bigger is better. Just don't burn down any forests.

 * Three of anything is the international standard for distress (three gun shots, three fires,  three flares, etc.)

 * Carry a whistle, it takes less energy and is louder than shouting

 * To prepare for rescue make three signal fires in a triangular pattern make them huge if you have the resources. Check them daily to make sure they are ready to light or in a desperate situation light them even if you can not see any one searching for you!

 * Make black smoke by burning the tires of your car or especially car oil. Plastic can also work (it may not be environmentally friendly but it's OK just this once. Also note that not all plastic will burn or give off smoke.)

 * Make white smoke by burning fresh leaves

 * Pick the smoke color that would show up best against your background. (in snowy conditions a black fire,  a dark forest... a white fire)

 * Ground Signals. Write out SOS or HELP. Huge as possible at least 30 feet wide but bigger think 300 feet is better. Bright as Possible. Use clothes, tents, tarps, ect. If using natural materials try to get as much color contrast as possible. Put it in the open away from trees.

 * Reflection. If you remember shining light in peoples eyes in class with your watch this is the same idea. Use you watch, mirror, anything that works to shine light off the sun on distant locations or planes. Reflect in bursts of three.

 * Combine all these three methods to do any thing to make your self as visible as possible.

title: Outdoor Survival/Signals


text:
Outdoor Survival/Survival Kit

There are many debates about what makes a survival kit. Below is a list of useful items to have with you. Remember to there is more to being prepared than a survival kit. Each person has their own personal needs, which can drastically change the following suggestions.

Items in bold can easily be carried in a small back pack whenever you go into the outdoors even for just part of a day. The other items should be brought on any trips longer than a day.

 * Water is an absolute must! Your body can not survive without fresh, clean water!!!
 * cell phone with a charged battery (charge it once a month to make sure that it does not lose its charge over a few months. Also note that you may not be able to get a signal if you are in the wild.) or
 * Portable CB radio (handheld CB radios have very limited range)
 * A container that should be something in which you can boil water and cook. Stainless steel is best. If you have to, remember you can boil water in almost anything, even straight in the water bottle.
 * Knife  with a solid blade and a tang that goes down into the handle (a good knife is very important). A knife that has the blade and handle made of one solid piece of metal (like a dive knife) is even better. There are many uses for a knife, such as carving, safety, marking, etc.
 * Knife sharpener (a dull knife is dangerous)
 * Flint and steel striker (in case matches fail)
 * Waterproof / Windproof matches (get good ones)
 * Disposable lighter, such as a Bic™
 * Water purification tablets or pump (Tablets may be more practical, as pumps can be expensive, and take up a lot of space.)
 * Water tight container (a heavy duty zip lock freezer bag will do)
 * High calorie food light and non perishable. (Nuts, energy bars, and peanut butter work well). When out in the wild, you will need a larger calorie intake.
 * sighting mirror to use for signaling or fire starting
 * Whistle
 * Beanie  to keep you warm you lose lots of heat from your head in hot environments a wide brimmed hat.
 * sunscreen and lip balm
 * Bug repellent
 * Bright plastic marking tape (to leave a trail for others to follow)
 * waterproof nylon tarp
 * Poncho, big plastic bag will do
 * Emergency "space bag, blanket" sleeping bag made of mylar (it's only about a 2" cube and works by reflecting your body heat). If you have room in your kit for two, that's even better. Put one on the ground then put a layer of leaves then the second blanket and then wrap yourself up in the layers. Or use one as a tent and the other as a blanket.
 * Parachute cord (at least 20 feet)
 * Folding portable cooking stove and solid fuel tablets (it is also small and inexpensive)
 * Map of the area, the best one being a topographic
 * Compass Remember you can tell direction using the sun to some degree of accuracy: Sun rises in the East sets in the West.
 * Money and Spare change for phone calls
 * Anti-diarrheal medicine (as drinking from a potentially unsafe water source carries the risk of sometimes-fatal dehydration)'''
 * Aspirin or similar medicine with anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing and pain-relieving qualities. (Acetaminophen, brand name Tylenol™, Ibuprofen, brand name Advil™)
 * Self-adhesive bandages & Cotton balls (such as Band-Aids™ brand) Cotton balls work well for swabs as well as tinder for starting a fire.
 * Watch to keep track of the time
 * Survival or First Aid Book provides fire starting materials( paper), helps relax by reading may tell you what you need to survive.
 * Flash Light The led kind are very light and last a long time. Make sure to have extra batteries or a shake recharge flash light.
 * Collapsible camp-cup and 4-foot square of clear, flexible, thin-gauge plastic sheeting like the kind used as paint drop-clothes The plastic sheeting is used to make water. This is done by digging a small hole about two feet in diameter and six inches deep.  The dimensions are not critical.  Once the hole is ready, place any water-bearing organic matter such as grass or leaves in the hole in a thin layer along the bottom.  Place the cup in the center of the hole.  Place the plastic sheet over the hole and weight it down around the edges with dirt and/or rocks.  Take a small rock and place it above the cup, so that the plastic dimples down directly over the cup.  As the sun begins to heat the contents of the hole, the water vapor steams out of the organic matter, condenses on the plastic, and drips down the dimple and into the cup.  This works, but it takes time.  Remember, any organic, water-bearing matter will work - including waste products.  The water produced will be pure since it is distilled.
 * And finally, Confidence

The important thing here is that you make your survival kit small and light enough that you bring it with you if you travel in rural areas leave it in your car.

Another important aspect of the survival kit is the container in which it is carried. The kit above in bold should not have to be that big or heavy but a good backpack of some sort is important for ease of carrying, energy savings, and for the comfort of the survivalist.

The other items you should have on longer trips may be heavier and need to be carried in a pack meant for back packing or kept in your car.

You can also keep a survival kit where you live for general emergencies.

title: Outdoor Survival/Survival Kit


text:
Outdoor Survival/Fire

Start the fire first with tinder, then add small twigs (wire size), then pencil size twigs, then thumb size twigs. Keep the fire small so that you aren't wasting valuable energy gathering firewood all the time. However if gathering wood is easy big fires attract attention. Burn whole logs without cutting them by just sliding them into the fire as they burn (the whole log will not catch fire).

Don't fear rain. Rainwater is just on the outside, and this does not mean that wood is sodden through. Green wood and young branches are "wet," and won't ignite readily, but any kind of wood will eventually burn on a hot enough fire. If it looks like a heavy downpour is coming, build a roof over your fire using one or two big logs about a foot (30cm) above the coals.

 * Paper, cardboard, or unneeded cloth can be easy to start on fire
 * Use small twigs from under the main canopy of the tree as tinder. (If they don't break off easily, they are still green.)
 * Dry pine needles work great to start fires and give off lots of smoke.
 * Rubbing bark between your hands until it is fluffy also makes excellent tinder
 * Cattails easily catch on fire.
 * If stranded in a vehicle, siphon out some gas or oil.

If you don't have matches:

 * The old "fire-bow" trick is very hard work even under the best circumstances
 * Fire can be started with a glass lens from a magnifying glass, mirror, binoculars, and the polished bottom of a soda can. (Most eyeglasses will not work.)
 * The reflector of a (broken) car headlight can be used to concentrate sunlight and start a fire. Place tinder where the filament is and point the lamp at the sun. Same with a flashlight reflector.
 * Flint and steel works but you must practice with it first.

Lately many new products have become available:

 * Two-part chemical fire starters work fairly well and work even in the rain
 * Magnesium fire starters work well but practice with them first

Some other ideas

 * a tealight candle works wonders.
 * If you have a 9 volt battery and a bit of steel wool, hold the steel wool against the battery's terminals and it will spark and start the steel wool burning.
 * Just for fun ( be careful with frost bite for this one) but you can actually start a fire by melting a piece of ice with your hands into a lens and using it to start a fire. However Mythbusters showed this does not work.
 * Be creative

To coax a struggling fire into a healthy blaze, fan it or blow on the coals. A flap of cardboard makes an ideal fan. Be careful not to blow it out.

title: Outdoor Survival/Fire


text:
Sufism/Nasrudin

Mullah, Nasrudin Hoja appears as the whimsical character in a growing tradition of stories. The tales of Nasrudin are sometimes adapted and used as teaching stories by followers of the Sufi way. Some mystic traditions use jokes, stories and poetry to express certain ideas, allowing the bypassing of the normal discriminative thought patterns. The rationality that confines and objectifies the thinking process is the opposite to the intuitive, gestalt mentality that the mystic is attempting to engage, enter and retain.

By developing a series of impacts that reinforce certain key ideas, the rational mind is occupied with a surface meaning whilst other concepts are introduced. Thus paradox, unexpectedness, and alternatives to convention are all expressed in the humor of Nasrudin.

Please add to the tales of Nasrudin and interpretations. It is said, there are as many interpretations as stars in the sky. And when you read a story, see yourself reflected in the story and make your own interpretations rather than relying on others to tell you the meaning of the story. In this way, you will learn for yourself and the usefulness of the story's teaching will be deeper.

The Eternal Comedian
It is sometimes said that the Universe is Allah laughing himself into existence. The idea of the cosmic joker that begins within a broadening smile allows us to hear the profound in the profane and the profane in the sanctimonious. Keep smiling.

The use of humor, stories and puzzles is well developed in shamanistic and pagan cultures. The mischievous spirit is both tension releasing and realizing of the solutions to life situations. Nasrudin Hodja belongs to this rich tradition stretching back into pre literate society. Humor brings insight and understanding and is a release of stored energy; clearing in nature.

 * "If you want
 * special illumination,
 * look upon a human face:
 * see deeply,
 * within laughter,
 * the essence
 * of ultimate
 * truth..."

Mevlana Jallaludin Rumi

Sufism
An opinion lessening form of Islamic heresy that stresses poetry and reasonable tolerance of peoples differences. Values inner quality above external piety. Nasrudin is often regarded as an 'Idiot', one of the appellations dervishes use in describing their Divine Madness. He also represents the excesses of the clerical or literal mind.

The Helper of Religion
There has to be more than just humor to make it a Nasreddin tale. It depends on the area from where the modern tales come. Tales originating in China will show a Nasreddin which has as extra element that he is campaigning for the oppressed, bullying rulers and those who abuse their authority. See "The Effendi And The Pregnant Pot - Uygur Tales from China"; New World Press; Beijing, China. "The Enchanted Prince" by Leonid Solovyov is a novel about Nasreddin wherin he is a flagrant subverter, a thorn in the side of the powers that be, a disturber of the peace. Ulrich Marzolph in his Nasreddin Hodscha presents no less than 666 true Nasreddin tales (although Nasreddin claims never to have spoken the truth) and does so in a chronological order, even showing erotical adventures of our hero. Sufi teachers are at times coining modern Nasreddin tales in order to further their teaching, as the opening sentence "One day Mulla Nasreddin..." is sufficient for many audiences to lower their barriers.

Nasruddin tales are from many ages and many cultures. There are Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Berber, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Daghestani, Greek, Judeo-Arabic, Kurdish, Maltese, Mandaic, Macedonian, Persian, Serbian, Sicilian, Syrian, Tajik, Turkish, Uighur and Uzbek sources for Nasruddin tales. He is known as Nasreddin, Joha, Si Je'ha, Giufa, Ieha, Iugale, Gahan, Nastradin, Nastradi, Hojas, Jiha, Juha, Khodja, Mala, Apendi, Afandi, Effendi, Afanti

Timur's Gift I

 * Humor can speak to even the hardest of hearts.

Timur's Gift II

 * Always keep your word

The Book

 * Be wary of stories from exaggerators.
 * Label your possessions!
 * Good fortune favors the prudent.

The Guest of Honor

 * Nobody is greater than God.
 * One should show regard for those of humble means.
 * Even a person of no consequence can be Hodja.
 * Elevation comes through the abandonment of ego.
 * Beware of the clever tongue.

Face of the Devil

 * Nasrudin shows that the Devil is in us when we are angry. Timur's anger is where the Devil comes out.
 * Judge not that ye may not also be judged.
 * To teach anyone is correspondence with the Devil.
 * It is all about your disposition: You are/become what you desire.
 * Don't ask questions unless you want to know the answers.

Of any two options choose the third

 * Conflict is a natural state of affairs - it's okay to accept this.
 * Resolving disputes is not about who believes they are right.
 * Remember, always consider there might be external or unknown factors
 * Truth, correctness, and integrity are subjective.
 * Judgment doubly so.
 * Expecting the world to make perfect sense might not make sense.
 * Even judges can be fools.

A call to prayer

 * It is easier to deflect blame outside of yourself than to accept it.
 * It's hard to judge your own voice, just as it's hard to judge your own actions. Listen to those around you who care enough to criticise you.
 * Context is everything.
 * His singing may have been awful, but at least it worked!

Ignore the Braying

 * The truth can come from unexpected places.
 * Don't lie about your affairs. The truth comes out eventually.
 * Claims of religious authority is the first refuge of the scoundrel. Be wary of liars who lead.

Fishy Morality

 * Philosophizing is useless.
 * Moral conduct is ultimately selfish.
 * Kindness and wisdom expressed through customs and tradition often lose their meaning, and their intent.
 * Being mindful is not about philosophy.
 * The noblest philosophy and erudition can be used for selfish ends.
 * For the innovative, there always exists a perspective in which "doing unto others as you'd do unto yourself" pays off.

The Right Route

 * Don't leave town without directions.
 * If you do, then you might get turned around.
 * People in need of favors should watch their manners.
 * Why ask, if you seem to know better?

Wearing other people's hat

 * People need a teacher to help them learn more about themselves.
 * It is not only the Emperor who has no clothes.
 * If people are unable to laugh at themselves in order to learn, they can laugh at him instead and learn that way.

Wisdom from the Hidden Realms

 * What Allah sees as fair and what men see as fair is not necessarily one and the same.
 * Accept what you receive.
 * Do not compare yourself to others in terms of what is fair.
 * Life is not equally fair to everyone. Nor are humans equal to each other.
 * We don't always understand the bigger picture, so we should accept what life gives us.
 * Being fair - is a human concept and not something Allah made
 * Fairness is not in what God gives you, but in you doing right with what you are given.

Last Wishes

 * Never give up hope.
 * Dead men cannot hear.
 * Be sure you understand the question before you choose your answer.
 * Pay attention only to the real issue.
 * The best last wish is, that these wishes won''t be the last.
 * Die before you die.

Certainty

 * Smooth talkers get their way.
 * Sometimes, you just can't win.
 * Coins don't know who's right.
 * Make your own luck.
 * If you want to win a bet, ensure that you win regardless of the outcome.

Orthodoxy and heresy

 * Power is not the arbiter of truth.
 * Heresy and orthodoxy are worldly distinctions.
 * Religious definitions are more often politics than spirituality.

The Nature of the Unseen

 * Don't talk about things you don't know about.
 * A fool can make a fool of learned men.
 * The wisdom of the lord is the folly of men, and the folly of men is the wisdom of the lord.
 * People know as much about god as a chick that is still inside the egg.
 * Wise men can be trumped by a vegetable.
 * Religious people do not really believe the things they say and think they believe.
 * No description is equivalent to the thing it describes. To do so it would have to be the thing itself. Therefore, one can demonstrate but not describe the nature of Allah.
 * If we truly want to believe in and appreciate God, we should cherish him in all things, thus making our belief in him real.
 * Just because someone is making noise does not mean that they are communicating.
 * The nature of Allah is beyond human comprehension.
 * It makes no difference what Allah is.

Who died?

 * Language is imprecise and we can sometimes miss the context of a question.
 * Speak only the truth you know.
 * Once somebody is dead, it matters little who they were in life.
 * Being a traveler, he wouldn't have recognized the person who died anyway. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.
 * We could answer many of our own questions, with a little thought.

Fishing...

 * Fools remain fools although power is with them.
 * Only Intelligence can win over power.
 * Power is founded on lies.
 * There is no reason to carry on with a deception after it has served its purpose.
 * Don't set in authority over you those who will lie to achieve such positions.
 * People tend to elect officials for foolish reasons. Image over substance.
 * Wisdom given may not mean what you expect it to mean, and the truth may be unflattering.
 * Be unique.

Return of the Camel

 * Not all who claim to have been wronged, truly have been.
 * Beware those who play on your sympathies, sometimes they do so for the wrong reasons.
 * Sometimes, the true thief is the one claiming to have been stolen from.
 * There is no thief and no camel to be returned. Things you make up don't become reality.

People's talk

 * It is impossible to please everyone.

Preaching

 * It is easy to manipulate an audience that trusts you implicitly.
 * The correct answer is not always the opposite of the wrong answer.
 * It is impossible to teach those who are completely ignorant, and it is impossible to teach those who believe they already know the answers. The real way toward wisdom is for the learned ones to pass on what they know to ones who are willing and able to learn.

Ageless Strength

 * It's all relative.
 * One must carefully choose the standards one measures oneself by. If the standard is too high it will never be achieved.
 * All of life's woes come from comparison.
 * The limitations of the self to effect the physical world remain relatively stable regardless of age or status.

The Great Pumpkin

 * Things are as they should be.
 * Man is unable to understand just how complex nature actually is.
 * To achieve the fruit (spiritual perfection) one needs to be humble as the big fruit grow on the vines which are on the ground. Tall trees cannot bear the weight of big fruit and hence only produce walnuts.
 * What we think should be best, and what really is best, are often very different things.
 * To compare what is and what should be is always a fallacy, as it oversimplifies that which we, as mortals, cannot understand.

Truth

 * Truth is found in yourself, not in others.
 * Do not look to men for Truth. They may be even more confused than you are.

Telling a lie

 * Liars eventually come to believe their own lies
 * Trust can be exploited
 * The behaviour of crowds is strange, and rarely relates to the truth
 * Don't judge the truth by what others believe

The Trial of Nasrudin

 * There are many ways to see even the most simple of things.
 * People rush to judgment in matters of import.
 * Different ways of seeing the same thing are not necessarily incompatible.
 * People are clueless and disorganized. Their judgements means nothing.

Nasreddin and the Sultan's Horse

 * Do not despair of your circumstances. Things are rarely as hopeless as they appear.
 * Beware of offending the powerful, regardless of how much they deserve it.
 * Clever words well-timed may succeed where reason and moral appeals fail.

Nasreddin (or rather, Juha) and the Poem
This story comes from the Arab version of the character, who is known as Juha.

 * Do not fear to speak truth to power
 * Do not prolong the inevitable

Nasreddin tells the truth

 * a fixed set of rules cannot be imposed everywhere, for every scenario.

title: Sufism/Nasrudin


text:
User:GoodStuff

The GoodStuff
The GoodStuff is a South African software developer. He wants to be a hacker when he grows up one day.

He speaks far more computer languages (Basic,Logo,Pascal,C,C++,Java,Python,C#) than human ones, (Afrikaans,English) and he finds it difficult to spot the differences between American and British English. He would like to learn Russian and Lojban but is currently concentrating on learning Japanese which alternately delights, frustrates and bemuses him.

The GoodStuff's love for good food and cooking has gained him a few extra kilograms which he hopes to lose one of these days. He loves most types of Japanese and Chinese cooking, but specialises in vegetarian cooking due to a three and a half year vegetarian period. He's eminently bribable with some good sushi. He also likes cats, bats, and gadgets. He also likes women, but they don't ever seem to like him back with the same zeal.

The GoodStuff has a name in common with Carl Gustav Jung,Carl Gustaf XVI, Gustav Klimt, Gustav Kirchhoff, and Gustave Eiffel. He is justifiably proud of his username which is a homophone and not just the invention of an overdeveloped ego.

That's all for now... Check regularly for expansions and updates.

GoodStuff 09:28, 7 Sep 2004 (UTC)

title: User:GoodStuff


text:
User:Rfl~enwikibooks

Rafał Pocztarski

title: User:Rfl~enwikibooks