#and the sunspots during the partial phases

[ocdhuacheng]

Whenever I saw those professional photos of total solar eclipses in the past I was always like this is Amazing but there’s no way it actually looks like that in real life. BUT IT DOES. IT LITERALLY LOOKS LIKE THR PHOTOS AND EVEN BETTER. YOU CAN SEE THE RED PROMINENCES WITH THE NAKED EYE. YOU CAN SEE THE FILAMENTS AND THE LINES IN THE CORONA. THE MOON IS THE BLACKEST BLACK LIKE A BLACK HOLE AND THE CONTRAST WITH THE CORONA IS UNREAL

[loneberry]

FIRST TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

Images from my first total solar eclipse, depicting the outer corona, inner corona, prominent prominences, diamond ring, and the partial phase. Photos taken by Dan.

A black sun. Never had I seen a black sun, that insignia of melancholia that will forever remind me of Kristeva, which will forever remind me of M’s suicide—it was one of the few books M had with her at the very end, the book that her mother believed was the key to why she did it.

Black sun. On the day of—or day after—M’s death anniversary. I had been weeping for days when I found myself beneath that darkening sky.

*

What’s the difference between a partial and a total eclipse? I vaguely remember going onto the playground with some glasses as a child, but I don’t remember what I saw in the sky. What’s the big deal? The sky goes dark for a few minutes. It can’t be much different from the onset of night.

Wrong.

The rhapsodic scientists I listened to on various podcasts convinced me that there is really no comparison between a partial and total eclipse. I tried to hatch a last-minute plan to get myself in the path of totality. In the days leading up to the eclipse, I would be at the French King Bridge for M’s death anniversary. The only person I knew in Western MA, besides M’s mother, was my poet friend Ethan. So I asked him if he had a plan to see the eclipse.

I did not know, when I texted him out of the blue, that his parents lived in the path of totality in northern Vermont, that his father Dan was an astronomer (communist astronomer!) and eclipse chaser (this was his 14th eclipse), that Dan had even organized the local viewing event and wrote a book on the history of astronomy. At Ethan’s parents’ house there were literally photographs of eclipses mixed in with the family photos (see below). His father had even built a little observatory on his land. I had, in the most haphazard fashion, found the perfect guide to my first total solar eclipse.

Dan brought his equipment to the eclipse viewing: cameras, filters, binoculars, and a $4000 hydrogen alpha telescope that we used before the eclipse to look at the sun’s prominences and a sunspot on the surface. He enthusiastically answered all my questions. How had the Babylonians worked it out so long ago? Why does the wind pick up when the eclipse begins? Why is the sun’s corona so much hotter than the sun’s surface? (It’s still a mystery to the scientists…) Why why why. (People often tell me that I always ask a lot of questions—almost like an eternally curious child.)

The eclipse. It is not like the dimming of sunset, with its orange hues and plunge into the horizon, the low angle. It is a light unlike any light I have seen before, a strange dream-like atmosphere, a gray yet shimmering unreality, the air suddenly cold, the birds in a confused tumult. The uneven temperature of the atmosphere makes the wind pick up as the moon slowly covers the sun. Though the light was not the gold of sunset, you could see a band of orange on every horizon like a 360 degree sunset, an eerie gloaming that electrifies your skin.

A silence descended on the field as the moment of totality approached. Then, audible gasps—we couldn’t believe what we were seeing. I think the first thing I said was, “Holy. Shit.” Nothing prepared me for the numinous beauty of the sun’s corona, those elegant wisps of bright white light haloing the black sun. I think it’s probably the closest one can come to seeing God while alive on this earth. I cried during totality while observing the patterns in the corona through binoculars. A beautiful pink arch of plasma (a prominence) was visible toward the bottom of the sun. Dan pointed out Venus in the sky.

In the center of that black hole there is an abyssal silence

I don’t know how to describe it. Celestial indifference to human endeavor, human emotion. A kind of coldness in that heat, the heat of the corona, beyond even the fires of Hell. Then I can hear the angelic squall of the corona ringing over the landscape. It is a sound full of grace even as it cannot be called happy.

I can see why the ancients might interpret an eclipse as an augur of something deeply ominous, perhaps apocalyptic. The experience is, at once, sublime, ecstatic, and deeply unnerving—all your perceptual faculties are telling you that something is wrong. The ongoingness of the world and its rules cannot be taken for granted, for the sun went black, not in my dream, but in the afternoon sky.

And just as soon as it began, it was over. We had almost 3 and half minutes of totality. I was surprised by how quickly the sky brightened, how much light we get when the sun is almost completely covered.

One day the moon will float away. There won’t be any more total solar eclipses. Be grateful you were alive during this slice of cosmic time.

This is my favorite scene in all of cinema, from Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies. Watch drunkards reenact an eclipse in a drab Hungarian bar...

Ethan and communist astronomer dad!

I even got eclipse-branded maple syrup (peak Vermont)

[mid-nighttiger]

[Image ID: Composite photograph showing 13 snapshots of the sun during an annular solar eclipse, including annularity and the uneclipsed sun before and after. The snapshots are arranged on a diagonal from bottom left to top right. /End ID]

phases of an annular eclipse

also, spot the sunspots:

[Image ID: Picture of the partially eclipsed sun with two purple arrows pointing out sunspots on its surface /End ID]

[annieboltonworld]

Juniper Publishers-Open Access Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources

Impact of Natural Short-Term Climate Forcing on India's Climate

Authored by Ashutosh Mishra

Abstract

Among several factors of climate, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Sunspot cycles work on inter annual to inter decadal scales and it is believed that while the El Niño-La Niña pressure seesaw of Pacific Ocean affects climate by altering global wind and rainfall patterns, the 11 years periodic variability of sunspot appearance bring changes in insolation and cloud formation. Thus, the role of these two climate forcing seems critical in pushing short term climatic variability's. This paper attempts to know the impact of these two climatic phenomena on temperature and rainfall patterns at regional scale, and for the purpose the study considers India as the case. Analysis reveals that temperature show a good correlation with sunspot activities, while the effect of ENSO cycle on country's rainfall is not very clear. However, India's coastal states record a notable rise in temperatures during El-Niño phase of ENSO phenomenon, and this may be the cause behind fragmented and uneven rainfall over the country during El-Niño years.

Keywords: Sunspots; El-Niño Southern Oscillation; Short-Term Forcing; Temperature; Rainfall; Natural Variability

Introduction

Yielding from sun and varying with inclination, the climate of a place determines nature and state of biota flourishing there. However, atmospheric-oceanic-geomorphic changes modulate the climatic properties in course of time. Apart from these natural forces, today man also has developed the technology and skills to regulate climatic characters up to some extent. Natural forces that affect the climate, work on millennium to minimum scales whereas human role is limited up to a life span. The natural forcing are- Earth's orbital variations, changes in solar output, plate tectonic movements, volcanism, meteorites, oceanic circulation etc. while the Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), fossil fuel burn greenhouse gases, industrial aerosols, and enhanced atmospheric water vapour are the ‘humanogenic’ causal factors of changes in climate. The discovery of the stratospheric ozone hole over Antarctica in 1987 propelled scientific research on role of manmade CFCs in atmospheric alterations. And soon, searching statistical significance in the man-climate change relationship became focus of correlation studies on this issue [1,2]. Most of these studies surmised that human additions in the natural climatic variability is the cause behind increasing temperatures, disrupted rains and intensifying extreme climate events. They tried to estimate the departure of climatic conditions from their natural course of variability. However, they considered natural forcing as rhythmic and predictable. But, climate is a dynamic system where all of its components are linked with feedbacks, and, therefore, change in one component may lead to change in one or the all. Measuring probable departures in all the directions is really an accuracy challenge. It is rather more realistic to measure the degree of association between natural forcing and climatic variability. If natural causes fail to synchronise well with climatic trend, it is indicative of some unnatural causes of change.

The notable natural factors that affect the climate are- Milankovitch cycles, plate tectonics, sunspot cycle, meteorites, volcanism and El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Orbital changes and plate tectonic movements are slow and longterm processes mainly responsible for climate reversal, while the sunspots, volcanism, ENSO like short-term forces induce rapid changes in the climate. Studies suggest that increase in sunspot numbers increases surface temperature of the Earth while decreases the amount of rainfall [3] Svensmark, Friis- Christensen [4] found in their study that increased sunspot activity strengthens the electromagnetic field of Sun and that blocks galactic cosmic rays to enter into the inner solar system. This reduction in the cosmic ray flux, then, reduces the cloud seeding rate and thereby reduces the amount of solar energy reflected back by clouds directly to the universe. And by this process the enhanced amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface rises its temperature. The fall in rate of cloud seeding also decreases the volume of rainfall. Besides sunspot changes, the external bodies like meteorites, which fall on the Earth’s surface at a speed of approximately 10-75 kilometres per second after passing the thick layer of atmosphere, are also believed to have some impact on terrestrial climate Kohler, Beauford [5]. At this speed when these interplanetary bodies come in contact with even the thinnest of atmospheres, generate heat from both friction and compression. And the temperature and dust released at the time of their collision, sometimes alters the climate significantly. Several studies have attempted to substantiate that sudden climate change caused by heavy meteoritic shower in Cretaceous period was the cause behind extinction of dinosaurs from earth Ganapathy [6], Alvarez [7], Russell, Tucker [8].

Volcanic eruption is also a short-term forcing that affects the climate through injecting a large amount of ash, sulphurous gases, halogens and water vapour into the Earth’s atmosphere Gao [9], Crowley [10]. These gases and aerosols produce a cooling effect by reducing the amount of insolation. However, the extreme amount of volcanism can also produce global warming Robock [11] Timmreck [12]. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is another short-term climate forcing that is characterised by a warm (El Niño), neutral and cold (La Niña) phases. The warm phase of the ENSO event is associated with higher precipitation in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific and reduced rainfall in Western Equatorial Pacific when compared with neutral condition. These patterns are reversed during the La Niña phase Salau [13] Collins [14] Chavez [14] McPhaden [14]. Scientific accounts find a good connection between El Niño phenomena and a week monsoon over India. They observe that during El Niño years, it is more likely that India receives less rainfall than normal Pant & Parthasarathy, [15] Francis & Gadgil [16] Sajani [17].

Apart from these short-term forcing, the long-term climate agents also affect the climate as well, however, they are very slow-moving forces, and would not be very helpful in explaining short-term climate fluctuations. Hence, present study considers only the short-term climate agents for its investigation, and takes India as a case of analysis. It is important to mention that no significant occurrence of meteoritic impacts or volcanism have been recorded in India during last century. The study, therefore, analyses only the sunspot changes and El Niño events to understand the departure of climatic variability from the natural path.

Data Source and Methodology

The study is based on the temperature and rainfall series of 116 years (1901-2016), collected from India Meteorological Department. The data pertaining to Oceanic Niño indexes of past of 52 years (1961-2012) was obtained from the National Centres for Environmental Information, Boulder, USA while the data related to annual change in mean sunspot numbers during last 102 years (1911-2012) was collected from the World Data Centre, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels. The study uses simple correlation and regression analyses to examine the degree of association of sunspot and ENSO events with temperature and rainfall.

Temperature and Rainfall Changes in India: Recent Trends

India, which is a country of monsoon climate, witnesses seasonal trend reversal of pressure and wind system during the year. The Tibetan plateau and the Himalayan Mountains situated in the north, Thar Desert in the west and Indian Ocean in the south of the country, make its climate unique and diversified, varying from tropical to temperate and from desert to alpine conditions. The country receives most of its rain during summers while faces extreme cold conditions in north and mild temperatures in the south during winters. In recent decades India has recorded an increase in extreme climate events and there are several studies which link this change to rapid humanization of Indian landscape Mishra [18] Mishra [19] IPCC [20]. Notably the correlation between sunspot numbers and temperature is positive for all states. These relationships significant in case of Sikkim, Odisha, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam and Bihar while the statistical insignificance for most of the states can be attributed to geographical variations. Nevertheless, the unidirectional covariance of sunspot activity and temperature change shows that temperature trends are mostly being governed by the incoming solar radiation.

The uneven rise in surface temperature can be understood by differences in surface reflectivity and regional geography. For example, same amount of insulation will produce more warming on darker or flat surface and less on the light or undulating surface, like in Rajasthan, a large area of land comes under desert which reflects more energy and thus, is not as warm as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, or Northeast states which is marked by surface of vegetation cover absorbing more solar radiation. On the other hand, the state of Punjab is known for its green fields, absorbing more heat, but due to intense irrigation, this heat produces a 'partial cooling effect' as the naturally enhanced temperature spends its energy for evaporating the field waters. The state of Haryana along with the Chandigarh and NCT of Delhi is under the 'partial cooling effect' of urban heat islands as the extra heat accumulate in local atmosphere enhances the rate of evaporation and thereby atmospheric water vapour content. This effect is visible in the rainfall patterns of these states as they have received more rainfall due to the enhanced water vapour in their local atmosphere. The partial cooling effect of urban heat island is also working in case of Kerala and the state has recorded a less warming than its neighbouring states. The relationship between sunspot number and rainfall is not very clear, yet, due to low cloud seeding during increased sunspot activity, it can be suggested that the rainfall will decline (Figure 1).

(Figure 2) demonstrates the monthly and seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall conditions of India during last 116 years (1901-2016). Evidently February, November and December are the months that have recorded highest increase in temperature and on the other hand the month of July has witnessed maximum decrease in volume of rainfall. It is clearly visible from the Figure (2). That winter and Post-Monsoon seasons are gaining heat, while the Monsoon season has noticed a decline in rainfall.

(Figure 3) displays the temperature and rainfall pattern of India for 1901-2016. A sharp increase in temperature and a significant decline in rainfall after the year 1990 are quite evident. Virtually the year of 1990 can be termed as 'climate dividend' for India. Actually, this was the period when India opened its market for foreign investors to install industrial units in the country. It is evident that the India's climate is shifting towards hot and dry conditions and this change is more evident for last 2 decades.

Linking ENSO and Sunspot phenomena with Temperature and Rainfall Changes

(Table 1) shows the correlation between annual mean temperature, annual rainfall and annual mean sunspot numbers for a period of 102 years (1911-2012). Notably the correlation between sunspot numbers and temperature is positive for all states. This relationship is significant in case of Sikkim, Odisha, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam and Bihar while the statistical insignificance for most of the states can be attributed to geographical variations. Nevertheless, the unidirectional covariance of sunspot activity and temperature change shows that temperature trends are mostly being governed by the incoming solar radiation.

The uneven rise in surface temperature can be understood by differences in surface reflectivity and regional geography. For example, same amount of isolation will produce more warming on darker or flat surface and less on the light or undulating surface, like in Rajasthan a large area of land comes under desert which reflects more energy and thus, is not as warm as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, or Northeast states which is marked by surface of vegetation cover absorbing more solar radiation. On the other hand, the state of Punjab is known for its green fields, absorbing more heat, but due to intense irrigation, this heat produces a 'partial cooling effect' as the naturally enhanced temperature spends its energy for evaporating the field waters. The state of Haryana along with the Chandigarh and NCT of Delhi is under the 'partial cooling effect' of urban heat islands as the extra heat accumulate in local atmosphere enhances the rate of evaporation and thereby atmospheric water vapour content. This effect is visible in the rainfall patterns of these states as they have received more rainfall due to the enhanced water vapour in their local atmosphere. The 'partial cooling effect’ of urban heat island is also working in case of Kerala and the state has recorded a less warming than its neighbouring states.

The relationship between sunspot number and rainfall is not very clear, yet, due to low cloud seeding during increased sunspot activity, it can be suggested that the rainfall will decline. The correlation between sunspot numbers and the rainfall partially support this idea. It can be gauged from (Table 1) that almost half of the states of the country are showing negative relationship between sunspot activity and rainfall. However, owing to the two-tailed relationship, no definite association can be interpreted. It can be said that the rainfall depends more on local atmospheric conditions rather than external forcing. The second natural short term forcing for temperature and rainfall changes is the El Niño-La Niña oscillation. This is measured in Oceanic Niño Index (ONI). (Table 2) presents the correlations between Oceanic Niño Index and temperature and rainfall for a period of 52 years (1961-2012).

The (Table 2) shows that during El Niño years, temperatures were high over India and also that there was more rainfall during such years. Although the rainfall-oceanic Niño index correlation is insignificant for most of the states, yet few have recorded a significant positive correlation. This goes against the so called El Niño-Monsoon relationship that during El Niño a less rainfall is expected over India. However, the two-tailed relationship between El Niño and temperature, and El Niño and rainfall limits the possibility of predicting any significant association between these two variables.

Conclusion

The positive correlations between Sunspot cycle and Temperature patterns show that solar activity is a critical determinant of regional temperature profile of the country, however, the degree of correlation between sunspot numbers and temperature patterns for most of the states is very weak. On the other hand, the sunspot cycle-rainfall association is two tailed and do not support Svensmark, and Friis-Christensen's cosmic theory of climate change. It is noteworthy that most of the coastal states of India record a good correlation between Oceanic Niño Index and Temperature. This simply means that during El Niño years, Indian coast becomes warmer than usual, and thus, this phenomenon disturbs normal monsoon mechanism by easing the pressure gradient developed over the country. However, the correlations between El Niño and rainfall patterns do not justify the hypothesis that during El Niño years India gets less rainfall than normal.

To know more about Juniper Publishers please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/manuscript-guidelines.php

For more articles in Open Access Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/ijesnr/index.php

[thesevenseraphs]

Update 2.1.4

Listed Below are changes in update 2.1.4

Sandbox

Super Tuning

Hunter: Gunslinger

Golden Gun Super

Increased damage to bosses by 40% 

Includes Six-Shooter and Celestial Nighthawk

Golden Gun Six-Shooter

Base damage increased from 275 to 300 per shot

Kills now return a bullet to the Golden Gun’s magazine

"Line 'Em Up" Perk

Doubled precision damage bonus per stack of the buff

"Practice Makes Perfect" Perk 

Stack limit increased from 3 to 5 

Super regen modifier increased by 20%

Blade Barrage Super 

Impact damage decreased from 150 to 35

Explosion damage increased from 150 to 250

Now deals self-damage

Our goal for AoE supers of this type is that they incur self-damage when activated too close to a target. We consider Blade Barrage not causing self-damage a bug, which we are now addressing.

In other words, Hunters will know how Warlocks feel when they throw a Nova Bomb into a wall.

Fixed an issue in which Blade Barrage projectiles could track allies

Hunter: Nightstalker

Moebius Quiver

Tethered targets now have the full damage increase, rather than needing to be tethered by multiple Shadowshots

Additionally, the Shadowshot damage bonus to tethered targets was increased

Increased Moebius Quiver tether radius by 20%

Increased Moebius Quiver tether lifetime

Made it easier to fire successive Shadowshots

Developer Commentary: This is step one for Shadowshot, and we intend to keep improving the way it works. For this pass, we focused on Moebius Quiver quality of life. We plan to continue to make it more effective and globally relevant in the future.

Spectral Blades Super

Bonus damage resistance while in stealth decreased from 15% to 5%

While in Spectral Blades AND in stealth total damage resistance is 62%

Total Super duration while invisible decreased by 3.67 sec

Hunter: Arcstrider

Arc Staff Super

Heavy ranged and slam attack damage increased from 220 to 300

Heavy palm blast attack damage increased from 400 to 700

"Lethal Current" Perk

Bonus hit damage has been increased from 100 to 130

Raiden Flux (Exotic Armor) 

Damage bonus decreased from 20% to 13.5%

This change keeps the bonus damage granted by this Exotic about the same. Because this is calculated on a scaler instead of a flat number, any big changes in base damage have a large effect on the Exotic.

Titan: Sunbreaker

Sunspots 

Damage increased from 25 to 50 per tick

"Sun Warrior" Perk

Buff now increases ALL damage output from the Sunbreaker by 20% in PvP; 25% in PvE

Buff duration has been increased from 3 to 5 seconds

Burning Maul Super 

Spin melee attack damage increased from 65 to 80 per hit

Slam detonation radius increased from 5 to 6 meters

Improved Slam attack projectile tracking

Titan: Sentinel

Sentinel Shield Super 

Final melee combo hit damage increased from 300 to 390

Damage to PvE combatants increased by 17%

Titan: Striker

Fist of Havoc Super

Heavy slam attack (R2/RT) base damage decreased from 325 to 275

Damage to base, elite, and miniboss combatants increased by 7%

Damage to bosses increased by 23%

Damage to vehicles increased by 60%

"Terminal Velocity" Perk

Changed the way that bonus damage from this perk is granted

Added a third threshold tier based on how long you are in the air before impact

Arc damage hits per tier increased from 3 to 4

Tier 1 = 4 hits

Tier 2 = 8 hits

Tier 3 = 12 hits

Increased damage per Arc hit from 100 to 112

Code of the Juggernaut

Fist of Havoc shoulder charge energy cost reduced by 83%

"Trample" Perk  

Can now trigger the energy return every 0.5 sec, up from 1 sec

Warlock: Voidwalker

Cataclysm Nova Bomb

Initial detonation damage increased from 900 to 1500

Detonation radius increased from 8 to 10 meters

Seeker projectile detonation damage increased from 205 to 300

Improved seeker projectile turning radius and homing to make it more consistent to use against bosses/single targets

Fixed an issue where seeker projectiles could be prematurely detonated

Vortex Nova Bomb

Initial detonation damage increased from 900 to 1200

Linger volume damage increased from 10 to 23 per tick

Nova Warp Super

Slightly slowed movement while charging

Charging costs more energy

Initial charge cost (each time you trigger your super) increased by 60%

Sustained drain cost (holding) increased by 60%

Duration decreased by 6.8 seconds

Decreased Super damage resistance from 56% to 54%

Damage against Guardians decreased by 27%

Warlock: Dawnblade

Daybreak Super 

Increased damage against minor, major, and miniboss combatants by 43%

Increased duration by 3 seconds

Warlock: Stormcaller

Stormtrance Super 

Increased chain lightning maximum target count by 1

Weapons Tuning

Auto Rifles

Increased base damage on rapid fire by 9%

Increased base damage on high-impact Auto Rifles by 5% 

Increased base damage on adaptive Auto Rifles by 6%

Scout Rifles

Increased base damage on lightweight Scout Rifles by 5%

Increased base damage on rapid-fire Scout Rifles by 6%

Increased all Scout Rifle PvE damage by 10%

Sniper Rifles

Increased base damage of rapid-fire Sniper Rifles by 8%

You can two-shot to the body to defeat other Guardians in PvP

Grenade Launchers

Tweaked Grenade Launcher projectiles to feel more consistent on direct hits

Proximity Grenades can no longer impact directly (prevents Special ammo Grenade Launchers from one-shotting with the perk active)

Increased ammo reserve size of Special ammo Grenade Launchers

Increased initial spawn ammo in PvE for Special ammo Grenade Launchers

Bows

Made the effect of draw time from bow string perks more noticeable (High Tension String, Flexible String, Elastic String, and Polymer String)

The accuracy stat from High Tension String was increased from 10 to 15 to better compensate for the slower draw time

KNOWN ISSUE: The tooltip for High Tension String was not updated to show the larger accuracy increase; this will be addressed in a future update

Legend of Acrius

Range increased by 0.5 m

PvE damage increased by 50%

Telesto

Reduced base damage of each bolt from by 19%

Increased optics stat from 15 to 20 to be comparable with other Fusion Rifles with scope perks

PvE damage increased by 30%

Trace Rifles

Trace Rifles now gain additional ammo when picking up Special ammo

Reduced damage output of Wavesplitter against Guardians

Reduced by 19% on medium-damage mode

Reduced by 27% on high-damage mode

Adjustments were made to keep the damage output the same in PvE activities

Exotic Armor

Tuned energy values on Shards of Galanor to accompany changes to the Blade Barrage Super

Reduced maximum energy return from 90% to 75% of the total Super

Now only returns energy on the knife impacts

Reduced energy return on Gwisin Vest from 10% to 7% of the total Super

Miscellaneous

Abilities

Fixed an issue where players could retain Super energy for Chaos Reach even when being suppressed mid-Super

Fixed an issue where players could equip Celestial Nighthawk mid-Super to partially benefit from "Hawkeye Hack" perk when using the Six-Shooter subclass

Weapons

Fixed an issue where the arrows the Spiteful Fang left lodged in targets did not match the arrows it fired

Fixed an issue where Anarchy's trap detonation was not dealing damage if the owner had died

Fixed an issue where the Auto-Loading Holster perk was not reloading the magazine in some circumstances

Fixed an issue where the muzzle blast and spent shell effects had become misaligned on the Suros Regime and its ornaments

Fixed an issue where the No Feelings Scout Rifle had incorrect stats when Masterworked

Fixed an issue where the Tempered Dynamo Fusion Rifle wasn't playing all of its charge-up audio on consoles

Crucible

Breakthrough

Fixed an issue where deploying the Breaker or hacking the Vault exactly as time expired could end the round in an incorrect state

Heavy Ammo Tuning

Competitive

Control

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 120 seconds)

Clash

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 120 seconds)

Survival

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 60 seconds)

Rotators:

Showdown

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 30 seconds, now 60 seconds)

Rumble:

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 60 seconds, now 120 seconds)

Ammo Counts (All Modes)

Reduce Heavy crate ammo for Machine Guns

Redrix's Broadsword Quest:

Valor Rank Resets:

The Valor rank resets step will now look at previous seasons accomplishments as well. 

Five Valor resets are still required during a single season, but this is no longer restricted to the current season. Ex: If a player had five Valor resets in Season 4, this will now grant progress towards the quest.

Completion Inconsistencies

Fixed various issues where the quest was not progressing to the pickup step until a player re-entered orbit.

Crucible Ranks

Enhancement Cores

Fixed an issue that prevented Enhancement Cores from being awarded when reaching Legend in Valor and Glory ranks

Activities

Raids

Scourge of the Past

Fixed an issue where players could initiate damage phases for the boss encounter too early

Fixed an issue where the “Like a Diamond” Flawless Triumph was not being rewarded properly

Black Armory and Forges

Fixed an issue where players were not being properly credited when consuming keys for the Mysterious Box quest.

Players already affected by this issue will be awarded credit for the keys they've used the next time they log in.

It is still possible, on rare occasions, for players to use a key and not complete the objective. When this happens, returning to orbit should resolve this issue.

Forge emblems are now awarded from forge completions, rather than forge-specific bounty completions

Modulus Reports and Ballistics Logs will now go to the postmaster if lost; cap on Modulus Reports remains at 15 per account

When hunting for high-value targets on Nessus for the "Siviks's Delivery Note" quest step, all players who damage the enemy will be given credit toward the kill

Players can no longer purchase weapon frames if the Pursuits bucket is full

Black Armory lore drops have been increased to 20% (up from 10%), and successful forge completions are now required to earn the reward

Weapon Frame Updates:

Ballistics Logs no longer removed at reset

Ballistics Logs increased cap to five per character

Ritual Frame quests carried across reset now “refund” into purchased currency

“Gold” frames refunded into one Ballistics Log

“Silver” frames refunded into three Modulus Reports

Any instance of a “Radiant Matrix” removed on weekly reset

Players should stop experiencing frames “missing” from Ada’s inventory on a week-to-week basis

Players may still only purchase up to two “Gold” frames per week

All Nessus Fallen Captain high-value targets around the Exodus Black will now spawn correctly

Public Events

Whispers on Io now occur more frequently

General

Fixed an issue where the Fastidious Miser Triumph was not properly unlocking for players

Fixed an issue there the Veterans of the Hunt emblem was using the wrong art

Fixed an issue where the Knife Flip emote did not properly loop

Eververse

Fixed an issue where the Summer's Altar and Jupiter Midnight Sparrows shared the same appearance

Fixed an issue where the "Visions of Iron Bundle" and the "Form Given Function Bundle" did not show the correct message if players did not own proper DLC entitlements for purchase

Satou and Rassmussen Ghost Projections now have the correct imagery

[kerbaldevteam]

KSP Weekly: The Galilean Telescope

Welcome to KSP Weekly everyone. What a week! We had an eclipse (although it was only a partial one from our perspective at the KSP HQ), the pre-release of update 1.3.1, many advancements in all our projects, and today also marks the 408th anniversary of the demonstration of one of Galileo Galilei’s first telescopes to Venetian lawmakers. Telescopes were a profitable sideline for Galileo, who sold them to merchants who found them useful both at sea and as items of trade. It’s needless to say that Galileo Galilei is unequivocally one of the most important figures in modern Science. Native to Italy, Galilei was a polymath: astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician. He is a central figure in the transition from natural philosophy to modern science and in the transformation of the scientific Renaissance into a scientific revolution. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, the observation of Saturn's rings (though he could not see them well enough to discern their true nature) and the analysis of sunspots. But we’ll leave his story for another time, since there’s a lot to share about KSP development, so let’s begin.

As expected, many preparations had to be done for yesterday's Update 1.3.1 pre-release. Testing and last minute bug fixing was included, but also the wide array of tasks that involve making a build available to the public. Check out this link to learn more about this pre-release and the ways you can help us out to polish the final details before the official release.

The updated version of KSP for consoles was also part of this week’s agenda. Thanks to the conjoint effort of the external testing team, the QA team and Blitworks a few issues were resolved. Among these, there was a high priority bug that occured when ‘back’ was selected from the 'LaunchPad not clear' prompt, all vessel icons in KSC view lost functionality and remained in fixed locations on the screen despite any camera movements. The 'Options' button ('Menu' button for Xbox One) also lost functionality and couldn’t be used unless another area was visited. Similarly, a critical bug was also fixed recently. This one was triggered when the game was paused while in cursor mode during a flight, and 'Return to Space Center' was selected, the game would then become stuck in the 'Stages' section and unable to continue until reboot. The release for the updated version on consoles has been taking this long because we are investing more resources to ensure that the game experience for console players is greatly improved, and despite the bugs we have been telling you about, we are very happy with the results we’ve been getting with our friends at Blitworks. We can’t wait to see the response of the community once they get their hands on the final product.

Moving on to the Making History Expansion, this week included more Design and Architecture work, but devs also worked on a few features. For instance, they have been working on a feature that will allow Mission Players to see their target orbit when an orbit test is attached to the current node of a mission. The idea is that Mission Players will get a visual cue when an orbit test is active and be able to see it in the mapview, similar to how they appear now for satellite contracts. Additionally, the team has been working on the Orbit Adjustment Gizmo for the Mission Builder. This allows the creator to set orbits visually when creating their mission for placing vessels to start, or target orbits for missions. To do this we've been working with some extensions of the orbit rendering code to make it visually appealing. Similarly, the implementation of the feature for placing targets above surfaces within the Graphic Action Pane was part of this week’s assignments. This feature, while not finished yet, will not only allow Mission Builders to place targets with a simple click on their missions, but provide a visual representation of the "space" the player needs to fly through. The gizmo will let Mission Builders shift along the surface of the body - The latitude, longitude, the circumference line of the gizmo sets the "accuracy" of the target by resizing the area on the surface and a Z axis for setting the target altitude.

As part of the Expansion’s new features, it’s also worth noting that players will be able to build missions with vessels in all situations, and any number of vessels will spawn in their designated locations and situations on mission start. Full vessel building capabilities for Mission Builders and Mission Players was completed and the team began work on Part Failure and Repair functionality as parameters for mission design.

On the artistic side of the development, there has also been advancements. Remember the new 1.25m-0.625m Service Module Parts we mentioned a few weeks ago? Well the team has defined some functionality for these new parts. Specifically, we needed something where players could store fuel, batteries, and other parts but still retain all of the exterior surface area for attaching other parts (like RCS thrusters, etc.) - something the current service bay can't really do due to the large doors.  We also needed to allow the player to access (easily) the parts inside - something hard to do without doors. The new Service Modules feature fully surface attachable (and in some cases, jettisonable) shells, but also allow the player to toggle a cutaway view for accessing the internal parts. Note that this can only be done on the active vessel - these are cutaways for internal access, not doors for EVA operations (for that, use a Service Bay). Check it out!

And that’s not all, the artists did also work on the new Gemini-inspired Service Module’s geometry, one of the early stages on making a new part. After establishing the geometry of a part, the artists work on textures and currently an engine inspired by the LR-87 American liquid-propellant rocket engine is on that stage. Hopefully we’ll be able to show you a preview soon. However, we can show you something else now… The artists finished the Voskhod 1-inspired IVA this week, so check it out!

That’s it for this week. Be sure to join us on our official forums, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned for more exciting and upcoming news and development updates!

Happy launchings!

[astrogeoguy]

Astrogeoguy’s Total Solar Eclipse Trip Report

Ten Toronto Centre Rascals spent the last week in the USA. The plan was to see their first total solar eclipse in Glendo, Wyoming and to observe the night sky in Nebraska. We had some changes in plans and a surprise or two. Here’s our report.

Ian Wheelband and Blake Nancarrow, accompanied by mascot “Imperator Pinkarosa”, drove a camper trailer loaded with equipment to Merritt Reservoir, Nebraska, site of the Nebraska Star Party. Eight other travellers, Phil and Lora Chow, Grace and Tony Horvatin, Katrina Ince-Lum, Dan McRae, Chris Vaughan, and Sue Wheelband flew into Denver and drove out to meet them. The plan was to spend three nights observing with Ian’s 20” and Phil’s 15” Dobsonian telescopes under some of the darkest skies in the continental USA. But night one brought thunderstorms. On night two, the astronomers among us observed for several hours, accompanied by hordes of hungry mosquitoes and the annoying headlights of late-arriving cars. 

Spreading stories of traffic jams in the west led us to relocate a day early to the planned eclipse viewing site - the vacation property of our host Eric Olsen located in Glendo, Wyoming, population 205, elevation 1440 metres. Not an astronomer, Eric is a friend of Greg Halac, an amateur astronomer from Fort Collins whom Ian and Katrina befriended at OZSky 2015. Adopted as an honorary Canadian, Greg made our viewing location possible. 

The ten TC members set up camp – in the trailer, in tents on the property, and in the spacious loft of Eric’s boathouse, now dubbed “Canada House”. While mainly self-sufficient, we enjoyed hot showers in the house and the occasional cold beer from one of three mini-kegs Eric had set up on his deck! Saturday night was a massive star party for Eric’s family, friends, and neighbours. Most were completely new to astronomy and marvelled at Saturn, M13, the Ring Nebula, Andromeda, and much more. The mood was “festive”, to say the least. After the revellers slipped off to bed, or the kegs, the serious astronomers (Greg, too, had set up a large dobsonian) set to observing the best of the dark sky – easily as good as Nebraska, thanks to the low humidity and higher elevation. 

Sunday was spent prepping and aligning equipment, and practicing for the eclipse - while more guests arrived, including a camera crew from NBC Channel 9 in Denver. The filtered sun was shared through white light filtered refractors and Greg’s SCT. H-alpha views through a Lunt and Dan’s SolarMax revealed proms and sunspots we hoped would stick around for Monday. Meanwhile the weather forecast kept improving. Our other good luck charm, Sue Vaughan, was conjuring the best skies for us that she could – from back home in Toronto. 

The town of Glendo ended up hosting a quarter of a million eclipse chasers on its grassy airfield and the adjacent state park lands. By a happy turn of events, members Charles Darrow, Sara Seager and their two sons were on a tour scheduled to observe from there. They shifted gears and joined us at Canada House on Sunday night.

Monday dawned clear as a bell, with blue skies from horizon to horizon. Early riser Phil Chow gave a lengthy solar eclipse interview to Channel 9. At 10 am, 25 minutes before first contact, Chris Vaughan delivered an eclipse orientation session for the 90 or so people in our group, explaining what to look for, how and when to use eclipse glasses, and stressing that the imagers would not be available for questions during totality. He invited anyone interested to stand near him, since he and Blake were using the Solar Eclipse Timer app that announced contact times, when to look for phenomena, and more. 

Before, and throughout the partial phase, Katrina recorded the ambient temperature using a digital thermometer. We could all feel the temperature dropping – becoming almost chilly. Guests took pictures of the partial sun through telescopes and projected crescents through a kitchen strainer held over a white sheet. A few minutes before totality, the quality of the daylight changed. Shadows lost their penumbral edges due to the narrowing sunlight. With cameras running pre-programmed sequences, most of us gathered on the road to witness the shadow of the moon rushing towards us across the low hills to the west. A pair of distant hot air balloons descended as the air around them cooled.

And then, moments after 11:46 am local time, everything happened quickly. Shimmering shadow bands appeared clearly on the road bed as the sky darkened. A roar erupted as Venus was spotted some 34 degrees from the sun. The diamond ring shone clearly, but Baily’s Beads were too brief to see. Then glasses came off and the corona embraced the eclipsed sun – with three large “horns” and one lesser one. Shouts and exclamations erupted everywhere. Three large orangey prominences, visible in the H-alpha scopes that morning, leapt into view with naked eyes – taking many by surprise. The surrounding sky had dropped to a deep rich royal blue. Chris spotted Jupiter low in the east, and Mars and Regulus tucked in close to the sun. Tony recorded video of the 360 degree sunset. Katrina and others just soaked it all in – all 2 minutes and 27 seconds of totality. 

With a shout of “glasses on”, the diamond ring returned. More cheers. The sliver of sunlight quickly grew as the moon slipped eastwards off of the sun. The celebration was on! Hugging, high-fiving, and tears of joy, even in the eyes of people not expecting to be so moved. And Katrina kept on recording temperatures through her own emotions. What a great scientist. Blake broke out a Corona beer, but of course, and Katrina shared mimosas with the Rascals and the two Americans we wanted to toast the most – Eric and Greg. We also owe Fred Espanek, Ralph Chou, Mike Watson, and others a debt of gratitude for preparing us so well.

Of the 150 or so people gathered on and around Eric’s property, only Charles had ever witnessed a total solar eclipse. Many new eclipse chasers were made that morning. Charles and Sara left soon thereafter, in a vain attempt to beat the traffic back to Casper. But little Glendo’s one road out to the highway was backed up for hours. Many guests lined up to take cell phone pictures of the partial sun through the SolarMax, and express their appreciation to the Toronto Centre “experts” that Eric had arranged for them. Eric in turn thanked us for sharing our expertise and equipment. We watched through to last contact, and soon shut down the cameras. Mainly we compared our impressions and expressed the biggest thought – “We did it!” “We’ve seen a total solar eclipse, man!” And we had. The eclipse couldn’t have been more perfect. The only demerit was the absences of Rhonda, Sue, Fred, and Mary-Martha. 

With the cell services overwhelmed by the load during the morning, news about the success of other Toronto Centre members’ viewing events was slow to trickle in. The Channel 9 crew edited their footage onsite and eventually found a neighbour with enough bandwidth to upload the story. Here’s a link (http://www.9news.com/mobile/article/news/eclipse/thousands-descend-on-glendo-to-catch-eclipse/73-466291982) to one that features many of us. Keep an eye out for the fun “True North Strong and Free” moment. Tony Horvatin captured the crowd reaction and the effects of the coming shadow, darkening sky, and 360 degrees sunset. Jupiter is the little bright smudge visible just to the upper right of the house as he pans past. The video is on YouTube here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlybBY-v4Ak).

Monday night brought another beautiful new moon sky. And with most of the guests gone, the astronomers managed to do some serious observing, and even enjoyed a bit of fine single malt. Chris continued chasing Caldwell objects (after started from C109 during OZSky). This led to viewing through the 20” the spectacular Caldwell 44 (NGC7479) a bright barred spiral galaxy in Pegasus. That inspired us to pull out Ian’s Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies and view many of the interesting ones in Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Camelopardalis, and Pegasus. These objects are great practice for averted vision observing, and there are some fantastic imaging targets in that catalogue.

The next day, Team Canada left Glendo for Golden Gate Canyon Park in Colorado, and a few days of hiking and campfires. The stars were beautiful at the 2782 metre altitude, but the telescopes remained packed away for the long drive home. After years of anticipation, Eclipse 2017 was finally a wonderful memory, but plans for 2019 and 2024 are already underway. Clear skies! 

[lunasong365]

#and that’s not even to mention the approaching darkness and the 360 degree dawn and the stars and the planets and the beautiful dark blue sk#*sky#and of course the adorable eclipse shadows#and the sunspots during the partial phases#and the streetlights turning on#.txt#solar eclipse#my jaw literally fell to the ground when totality happened#I had extremely high expectations and it exceeded all of them by light years

Whenever I saw those professional photos of total solar eclipses in the past I was always like this is Amazing but there’s no way it actually looks like that in real life. BUT IT DOES. IT LITERALLY LOOKS LIKE THR PHOTOS AND EVEN BETTER. YOU CAN SEE THE RED PROMINENCES WITH THE NAKED EYE. YOU CAN SEE THE FILAMENTS AND THE LINES IN THE CORONA. THE MOON IS THE BLACKEST BLACK LIKE A BLACK HOLE AND THE CONTRAST WITH THE CORONA IS UNREAL