Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!nather
From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather)
Newsgroups: net.rumor
Subject: Re: apocryphal story about ESS crashes - can someone confirm it?
Message-ID: <18@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 30-Mar-85 14:59:52 EST
Article-I.D.: utastro.18
Posted: Sat Mar 30 14:59:52 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Apr-85 00:38:50 EST
References: <3957@Shasta.ARPA>, <63@decvax.UUCP> <5363@utzoo.UUCP> <170@ihlpa.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 22

> It finally
> dawned :-) on us that it happened at sundown on sunny evenings.  The sun
> was shining directly into the housing and swamping the sensor.  Since it
> was edge sensitive the sensor never saw the BOT hole go away and never ramped
> the motor down.  
> 
> Chris Edmonds @ Bell Labs, Naperville IL

Don't be embarrassed.  During WWII the British radar watch of the French coast
was suddenly swamped (at dawn) with noise, and they alerted everybody in sight
because obviously the Germans were jamming their radar.  As the sun rose the
noise lessened, then went away ... and they could see normal costal activity
and de-activated the alert.  Then, the very next morning ...

Sunspots, as it finally turned out.

"Those who don't study astronomy are condemned to repeat it."

-- 
Ed Nather
Astronony Dept, U of Texas @ Austin
{allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather