Bill Nye's Marsdial

Some Clown writes "MSNBC via the Seattle Post Intelligencer is reporting that Bill Nye the Science Guy, as part of the Earthdial Project has got what's being billed as a 'Marsdial' put onto the Mars Rover. Interestingly, it is now the official backup for orienting the Mars Rover in case of primary camera failure. Maybe an old fashioned sundial is just what the doctor ordered after the many math and other blunders of late. This whole Earthdial Project seems pretty interesting as well. They're trying to set up a worldwide network of sundials tracked via webcam. The goal is to track the sun's movements as viewed from many points on earth, as well as from Mars. Definitely interesting... at least if the 'Marsdial' doesn't disintegrate upon landing." There's a little more technical description of the Marsdial in our earlier story.

Comments

Probably Stupid Question

[PakProtector]

If they're going to use the sundial to align the camera if the camera goes out, how are they going to align the sundial to make sure it's correct in the first place?

Re:Probably Stupid Question

[PakProtector]

This is NASA we are talking about here.

They're Rocket Scientists, not cartographers.

Alternative use

[gringer]

I have noticed that the Beagle 2 may have a problem with its clock:

Another possibility is that Beagle's clock might have been reset during its descent to the Martian surface, and so it is trying to call home when nobody is listening.

Now this potential problem has a solution! The rovers just need to use the Marsdial to calibrate their clocks on landing.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

[Tempelherr]

I always really thought this guy was really amazing. From what I've seen, he actually has the somewhat rare ability to make science interesting for kids to learn and experiment with. I may be a bit biased though, as growing up here in WA, we often watched his videos in class when it dealt with the particular scientific subject that we studying at the time.

One time, he even came to the elementary school I went to and gave a presentation on precipitation and weather patterns. It was actually one of the most entertaining presentations I ever saw at school. I havn't heard anything about what he has been up to in years, but I'm glad to see that he is still actively contributing to the world, and perhaps continuing to interest kids with his wierd experiments.

Re:Bill Nye the Science Guy

[dwhitman]

You know, everyone seems to love Nye, and he is exposing lots of kids to science, which is a Good Thing. That said, as a scientist, I end up cringing anytime I watch his program. The science on the show often gets submerged under the painful quick-cut MTV-style editing. Call me an old fogey, but after watching more than about 5 minutes, I start feeling ill.

Although it may not be eye- or rating-catching, an important part of science is cultivating an attention span that allows observation and rational thought. His frenetic style is more about infotainment than showing what science is about. IMHO.

Re:Bill Nye the Science Guy

[paxcirca]

Bill Nye is, supposedly, putting together a new television entitled "The Eyes of Nye". Unlike the children's program, "The Eyes of Nye" will be aimed towards adults and will deal with controversial science topics. Also, Nye is serving as a professor at Cornell University, the university where he graduated from.
I'm glad to see him come back. I remember that he was a strong voice against the Kansas Board of Education's evolution nonsense. Although I was in college when the decision was passed, and my old high school wasn't even particularly governed by the KBOE since it was a private school, the ruckus that it created was quite loud. It was good to see a prominent science figure speaking out. Now that I'm an adult, I'm happy to see him speak to my current age group. Hopefully they can put out a good pilot, and hopefully someone will pick it up.

Re:Your tax dollars at work, folks.

[PakProtector]

In case you've forgotten, the whole thing about the Space Race, if I remember my Kennedy correctly, is we do these things because they are there, because we want to see if we can do them.

Re:Your tax dollars at work, folks.

[Tempelherr]

I think the overall cost of this would be negligible when considered in the scope of things.

Also, it appears as though Bill Nye essentially only modified the design of the color post that they were sending up that was originally meant to better calibrate the color tinting on the cameras. From the article:

"NASA had planned to calibrate using an erect post set in a color chart. The idea was to compare various colors in shadow and direct light to accurately adjust the natural tint.

A post? A shadow?

When Nye saw the color-calibration method planned for the rover, he realized it would just take one small step for mankind to transform the device into a sundial. He could add function without adding weight. Eureka! Nye was ecstatic."

As seen on TechTV

[bigbigbison]

Bill Nye was on TechTV a couple weeks ago talking about this. It was pretty interesting. They have a video of it on the TechTV site. http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,2 4330,3587881,00.html

William Nye is dead.

[Anonymous Coward]

Science Guy Bill Nye Killed in Massive Vinegar/Baking Soda Explosion.

Truly an American icon.

It is Good Bill Nye is Still Doing Science

[Famatra]

I am glad Bill Nye is still participating in science. Its unfortunate that his reputation seemed to have suffered in the scientific community after his Disney show Bill Nye the Science Guy, and is now relegated to working on the show 'Battle Bots' for comedy central.

An interesting article / interview from Scientific American also mentions a wide contempt in the scientific community for scientists engaging the public, for example it is likely Carl Sagan was denied membership to the national academy of sciences because he was on television. As well a scientist deserving of the Nobel Prize, who wrote children's books, was also ridiculed.

Is it no wonder why the public is so science ignorant when scientists are punished for speaking to and educating them. Hopefully, with Bill Nye as the example, scientists will be more willing to engage the public.

Re:It is Good Bill Nye is Still Doing Science

[LostCluster]

Bill Nye's formal background is more as a comic actor than a scientist. "Bill Nye: The Science Guy" was a character he first used on "Almost Live!" which was a Seattle local show that at the peak of its run was syndicated nationally. Pat Cashman, with his deep announcer voice, was also an Almost Live! cast member and is seen frequently on Nye's show as well. Nye was always interested in science, and as a result he made sure that his Bill Nye: The Science Guy show was accurate and at lot of influence in the direction of the show. Yet, he really doesn't have any science research cred, he's a broadcaster who knows how to present grade-school level topics in a way that most people can understand. His sundial idea is just a little too simplistic for NASA to have come up with on their own, which is why they initially rejected it. However, there is valid science because a sundial will always give you a fairly accurate way to tell time no matter which planet in the solar system you're on, and also a valid way to solve for orientation. Two things that previous missions may have stumbled over... a checksum is a very nice thing to have sometimes...

Re:Astrophysics for kindergarten 101

[Hiro Antagonist]

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! Wrong.

It tracks the rotation of the Earth, as well as the motion of the Earth around the Sun -- you can use a sundial to tell not only the time, but also what day of the year it is.

Sorry, just had to put this in. *grin*