GC14BTT Exploring the Universe (Unknown Cache) in New Mexico, United States created by Aberwak

This cache has been archived.

Alpine Reviewer: As I have not received an update from the cache owner, I am archiving this cache to keep it from continually showing up in search lists, and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements. If you (the cache owner) wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the near future, please contact me, and assuming it meets the guidelines, I will be happy to unarchive it.

Alpine Reviewer
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GC14BTT ▼

A cache by Aberwak Message this owner

Hidden : 7/21/2007

Difficulty:

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Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

This is a puzzle cache. The cache is not at the above coordinates. In order to determine the correct coordinates, you must answer these astronomy-related questions.

The coordinate listed is the location of the observatory at NMSU, which is a great place to visit if you want to see the stars. Each month, there is an open house in which visitors can look through the telescopes (link). This observatory is named after Clyde Tombaugh.

Mars is perhaps the most interesting and most studied of the planets for the sake that it seems the most hospitable. Although it's 1/3 the size of Earth and can be a bit cold at times, it has good potential for finding water and is quite probably the best chance of hosting human colonies in space. In addition, Mars is home to the largest mountain in the solar system (Olympus Mons - which stands between 77,000 and 88,000 ft. above the land).
    A. How many moons does Mars have?

We've been to the Moon (often called Luna to distinguish our Moon from other moons), only to get a glim hope of ever settling there. It's a harsh environment, full of craters and lacks many important things necessary for human life: water and an atmosphere, most of all. Of course, not all moons in the solar system are like this. In fact, Saturn's largest moon, Titan has an atmosphere- primarily composed of methane (compared with Earth's Nitrogen and Oxygen-rich atmosphere).
    B. How thick is Titan's atmosphere? (in kPa)(first digit)

It might be hard to imagine what other stars are actually like, especially considering how different other stars are from our own. Stars can be composed of different materials (some with more hydrogen, some with more metals, etc.), sizes (there are stars out there more than 1,000 times the size of our sun), the temperatures at which they burn, mass, or even where they appear to fall on the color spectrum. The latter actually proves very useful because the color a star appears will often reveal temperature, and is closely related to the other characteristics of a star. Our sun happens to be a type-G star, with a temperature of ~9,000°F.
    C. In stellar classification, what class of star comes between B and F (using the key A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.)?

Pluto is an important planet to Las Cruces, since Clyde Tombaugh worked so long at NMSU. It was discovered somewhat as an oddity due to Pluto's small size. Unlike Uranus and Neptune, which could be observed with a telescope, Pluto was discovered by carefully observing photo images and detecting a small dot that didn't move in the same pattern as the stars- thus suggesting an orbit around the sun.
    D. When was Pluto discovered? (third digit, plus one)

Jupiter is known for having the Great Red Spot, which is actually an extremely large storm several times the size of the Earth. Neptune's Great Dark Spot is a bit different, however. It did not last the several hundred years the Great Red Spot has (and continues to be)- when the Hubble Telescope observed Neptune last, it was no longer present. There was a similar dark spot in the northern hemisphere, however.
    E. When was Neptune's Great Dark Spot discovered? (third digit, subtract three)

Galileo was an important astronomy for helping to prove that Earth does not revolve around the sun. As evidence to support this, he discovered several moons orbiting Jupiter. One of which is a highly volcanic moon (caused from extreme tidal heating due to gravity from Jupiter). Another potentially has liquid water under its surface of ice.
    F. How many moons are considered Galilean?

Because the size of the solar system, galaxy, and eventually universe is so much bigger than the earth, miles and kilometers aren't very good units to describe distance in space. Instead, things are often based on Astronomical Units (AUs)- the distance from the Earth to the Sun [approximately 93 million miles], lightyears- the distance that light can travel in an Earth year, or parsecs- .
     G. How far is a lightyear in AU? (first digit)

The universe is filled with stars. Our own Milky Way galaxy potentially has several hundred billion stars. Of course, these stars are quite far away. Space is incredibly vast and empty. Keep in mind the distances calculated for G when answering this question.
    H. Excluding the sun, what is the distance to the nearest neighboring star? (subtract 1, distance in lightyears)

The Big Dipper is one of the most well-known constellations. It's apart of the larger Ursa Major ("Great Bear") constellation. It helps "point" to the North Star (Polaris) and can even be found on the Alaskan state flag.
    I. How many stars are in the Big Dipper? (subtract 6)

Uranus can be an interesting planet when studied closely. It offers a lot of mystery, as the surface doesn't show much detail in visible light. There are a lot of interesting facts about Uranus, but you'll need to do a little research to find out about the axial tilt in order to discover them.
    J. What is Uranus' axial tilt? (round up to get rid of decimals, second digit, minus six)

Cache is hidden at N 32° AB.CDE W 106° FG.HIJ. It might be better to look for this at nights or weekends. FTF can take any one of the contents in the cache as a prize. Starting contents include a glow-in-the-dark sky chart, star decorations, and other astronomy and space-related objects.

Click here to check your answer

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

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Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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Exploring the Universe Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

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Geocache Description:

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