October 2003 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

RE: [Utah-astronomy] The Elegant Universe - rebroadcast tonight
by Dale Hooper 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

Zap2it.com says that Rich is right. > -----Original Message----- > From: Richard Tenney [mailto:retenney@yahoo.com] > Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 2:41 PM > To: Visit http://www.utahastronomy.com for the photo gallery. > Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] The Elegant Universe - > rebroadcast tonight > > > According to my dad, who has a Channel 7 guide for the > month, it was NOT rebroadcast last night at 11, but > will be shown again tonight -- actually early tomorrow > (Thurs) morning at 1 a.m. (set your VCR tonight!). > Hope that's accurate... > > -Rich > > > --- Dale Hooper <Dale.Hooper(a)sdl.usu.edu> wrote: > > The first two hours are now available on the web in > > quicktime and realvideo formats at: > > http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html > > > > The rebroadcast on KUED was last night at 11pm. :-( > > But, here is a table with the broadcasts on KBYU > > > > Einstein's Dream Nov 5, 8:00PM > > Einstein's Dream Nov 8, 5:00PM > > The String's the Thing Nov 12, 8:00PM > > The String's the Thing Nov 15, 5:00PM > > > > The first broadcast of hour three will be Nov 4th at > > 7pm on KUED. > > > > Clear skies, > > Dale. > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Joe Bauman [mailto:bau@desnews.com] > > > Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 12:16 PM > > > To: Visit http://www.utahastronomy.com for the > > photo gallery. > > > Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] The Elegant Universe > > > > > > > > > Anybody know when it'll be replayed? I missed > > taping the first 10 > > > minutes. -- Thanks, Joe > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > > > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > > > > > > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears > http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >

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Aurora from Farmington
by RStmarie＠aol.com 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

Kirsi and I were up at 2 AM feeding little Sophia (4 months old). The Aurora was bright blue-green and extended from northwest through east with small spires starting. It was clearly visible in the lightpolluted environment here, so it must have been wonderful in a dark sky site. Unfortunately, Sophia isn't up for midnight fieldtrips yet. Bob, Kirsi, & Sophia St. Marie

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] The Elegant Universe
by Dale Hooper 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

The third hour will likely get into some real "meaty" stuff. It's entitled, "Welcome to the 11th Dimenson". The first hour was probably a "necessary evil". I.e. they had to have it to make a complete production - but it was just a summary of things that were already available from other sources. BTW, if you haven't already checked out the website - you are really missing out. It's got some great stuff. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/ > -----Original Message----- > From: Chuck Hards [mailto:chuckhards@yahoo.com] > Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 11:51 AM > To: Utah-Astro > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] The Elegant Universe > > > While the show was aimed at the layperson, there > wasn't much depth, but it was still entertaining. > > The first hour was pretty much a summation of the > history of modern physics; the second hour delved into > string theory. > > Decent special-effects, though I'm sure most people > who never took a physics class will come away thinking > that the macro world really looks like the graphics > shown. (It almost certainly doesn't, but how else do > you represent a multi-dimensional realm on a TV > screen?) > > I thought it funny that some of the physicists who > obviously don't like string theory because it can't be > tested or observed called it "philosophy", rather than > theory, on grounds that if it can't be observed or > tested it isn't science. Funny because these are the > same people who eschew the Anthropomorphic Principle, > yet the requirement of testing & observation itself > restricts science to the realm of human cognition. > Science exists because of Mankind. > > It's been said before that not only is the universe > stranger than we understand, it may be stranger than > we CAN understand. > > In other words, the "Theory of Everything" just may > not be representable by mathematics (a human > invention), or understood by a living brain. We'll > see. > > On the whole, though, I'm giving the show a solid 4 > stars, mostly because deep down inside I'm a nerd at > heart and can't get enough of this stuff! Not up to > the grand scale of "Cosmos" (I miss Carl Sagan > deeply), but pretty darn good for 2 hours. > > My 2 cent review. > > C.

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The Elegant Universe
by Chuck Hards 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

While the show was aimed at the layperson, there wasn't much depth, but it was still entertaining. The first hour was pretty much a summation of the history of modern physics; the second hour delved into string theory. Decent special-effects, though I'm sure most people who never took a physics class will come away thinking that the macro world really looks like the graphics shown. (It almost certainly doesn't, but how else do you represent a multi-dimensional realm on a TV screen?) I thought it funny that some of the physicists who obviously don't like string theory because it can't be tested or observed called it "philosophy", rather than theory, on grounds that if it can't be observed or tested it isn't science. Funny because these are the same people who eschew the Anthropomorphic Principle, yet the requirement of testing & observation itself restricts science to the realm of human cognition. Science exists because of Mankind. It's been said before that not only is the universe stranger than we understand, it may be stranger than we CAN understand. In other words, the "Theory of Everything" just may not be representable by mathematics (a human invention), or understood by a living brain. We'll see. On the whole, though, I'm giving the show a solid 4 stars, mostly because deep down inside I'm a nerd at heart and can't get enough of this stuff! Not up to the grand scale of "Cosmos" (I miss Carl Sagan deeply), but pretty darn good for 2 hours. My 2 cent review. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/

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Aurora Activity
by Paul Witte 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

If anyone is still awake and happens to see this go outside & take a look. I am seeing some beautiful red-green aurora to the east here in Provo.

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Fantastic light show
by Thomas Sevcik 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

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*Small refractors for sale*
by Chuck Hards 29 Oct '03

29 Oct '03

FOR SALE: Meade 60mm f/15 refractor optical tube assembly. This is a 15-year-old doublet refractor that I have completely rebuilt. 1.25" all-aluminum r&p focuser, automotive finish in traditional white, with black dewcap & focuser. Anti-reflection coated objective. Tube interior is lined with black flocking. Excellent imagery. $60 for the OTA alone. Also available in a guidescope package, which would include a pair of cast aluminum, 3-screw rings, mirror star diagonal & 12mm illuminated reticle eyepiece, asking $170 for this package. Also available is a 70mm f/4.6 (320mm focal length) refractor suitable as a large finderscope or spotting scope. This scope does not come with any eyepieces or diagonal, but accepts 2" eps & diagonals, secured with a set-screw. Black cell, white tube, with a tripod mounting block (1/4-20) on the tube bottom for tripod use. Uses Apogee objective (sells for $60!), this objective is remarkable for it's lack of spurious color in the center of the field. You can see this little scope in my S&T article of 10/00, mounted on the Weightless mount. $70 for the OTA. Contact me off-list at: chuckhards(a)yahoo.com Thanks! C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/

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possible aurora tonight (sunspots cont.)
by James Helsby 28 Oct '03

28 Oct '03

Saw this posted on Slashdot earlier today, but couldn't get to my email. I hope we will be able to see the aurora this far south, but I think it might be a little overcast. http://sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5m.html http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/ this is really just in case someone hadn't heard that the sunspots we have been discussing during the last few days made an X17 scale eruption. Cheers! James Helsby

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Sun Pict
by Paul Witte 28 Oct '03

28 Oct '03

Here is a fairly high-res picture I took this afternoon. http://www.linkrealms.com/Sun_10-28.jpg

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] moon photo
by Jim Cobb 28 Oct '03

28 Oct '03

This is very interesting. For some reason I received your May message today (and it would appear that Dave did as well). I suppose it must have been living in some mail spool area lo these many months. I believe I can generate pdf files showing the identification I made earlier, later when I'm home. Would there be interest in receiving a copy? Jim ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 15:14:38 -0600 >From: Joe Bauman <bau(a)desnews.com> >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] moon photo >To: "Visit http://www.utahastronomy.com for the photo gallery." <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > >Hello, this was a note I sent out in May, I believe. Jim has just now >responded to it, kindly offering to help me identify the star. If I >am not mistaken, I took the view about 10 or 10:15 p.m. on May 15. >Best wishes, Joe > >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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