Contest #388: Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, USA

Apache Point Observatory is home to “APOLLO”, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation. When the astronauts of NASA’s Apollo missions 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 were on the moon surface, they left mirror packages.

apollo_11_retroreflectors

Lasers can be fired at those mirrors and the return light can be used to very precisely (to the millimeter) the distance between the earth and the moon.

The unique atmospheric conditions that prevail at Apache Point create an environment that provides the best chance of successfully sending and receiving the laser bursts. “Best chance” is still a relative term — for every 1017 photons that are sent out, at best, 1 comes back and is measured at the observatory.

Apache-0110

 

Those who found their way to the moon and back included:

  • Phil Ower
  • Garfield
  • hhgygy
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Eloy Cano
  • steve willis
  • krenek
  • Lighthouse
  • ndrqu
  • mehmet durmus
  • Walter_V_R
  • Chris Nason

all before the hint!

Contest #387: Mount Roraima, Venezuela/Guyana/Brazil

At the triple point where southeast Venezuela meets Guyana and Brazil is Mount Roraima, a flat topped tepui.

The tabletop mountains in this part of the world are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago in the Precambrian.

The indigenous population of the area see Mount Roraima as a tree stump of the tree that once held all the fruit in the world.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book, The Lost World, is said to be based on the adventures of European explorers to the area.

The list of intrepid explorers who found the Lost World:

  • Lighthouse
  • Eloy Cano
  • hhgygy
  • Walter_V_R
  • Phil Ower
  • steve willis
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Garfield
  • Chris Nason
  • Marcel
  • krenek
  • Felix Bossert
  • rob de wolff
  • Charley Seavey
  • mehmet durmus

And those who needed a hint:

  • hèro
  • GINGER
  • Marisa Boraas

Contest #386: Gansu Wind Farm, near Jiuquan, China

This week’s contest was a small part of a massive wind farm project being constructed in China that is expected to one (very windy) day generate 20,000 MW of power for China’s Electric Grid. To put this in perspective, when complete, that’s about 3x the generation capacity of the any of the largest nuclear power plants in the world. Only the Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric plant has a greater capacity (22,500 MW).

gansu2

gansu

Those who electrified the net with their answers:

  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Jesus Rodriguez
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Walter_V_R
  • steve willis
  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Phil Ower
  • Charley Seavey
  • krenek
  • hhgygy
  • mehmet durmus
  • Marisa Boraas
  • rob de wolff
  • Chris Nason

No answers after the hint.