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

RE: [Utah-astronomy] Francis Peak
by David Dunn 18 Mar '03

18 Mar '03

OAS does public parties on the west shore in a trailhead parking lot. We do one per month from April thru October. The seeing is frequently real good from out there. A nice benefit of doing in on the west side is that the mountains on the island hide the city lights. I haven't ever noticed much wind on the island. There are some mosquitos. If you want a good time to try it out we will be there on 4/19. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Kim Hyatt [mailto:khyatt@smithlayton.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 11:18 AM To: Utah Astronomy (E-mail) Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Francis Peak For anyone considering observing from or near Francis Peak, you should know that Francis Peak holds the record as the windiest spot in Utah. Winds are frequent and often very high. For some reason (a lake effect perhaps?) the mountains in Davis County are all very windy. Antelope Island should provide good conditions, especially along the west shore. I've only been observing there once or twice, but I never really paid close attention to the seeing on those occasions. Anyone else? Kim A. Hyatt, AIA SL&A Architects 331 South Rio Grande, Suite 304 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 801.322.5550 x122 _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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Francis Peak
by Kim Hyatt 18 Mar '03

18 Mar '03

For anyone considering observing from or near Francis Peak, you should know that Francis Peak holds the record as the windiest spot in Utah. Winds are frequent and often very high. For some reason (a lake effect perhaps?) the mountains in Davis County are all very windy. Antelope Island should provide good conditions, especially along the west shore. I've only been observing there once or twice, but I never really paid close attention to the seeing on those occasions. Anyone else? Kim A. Hyatt, AIA SL&A Architects 331 South Rio Grande, Suite 304 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 801.322.5550 x122

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Urban astronomy
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 18 Mar '03

18 Mar '03

Chuck Here it is. I did about 20 planetary nebulae in MS Word. I can do the autumn ones later. Debbie

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Dave's folded Newt project
by Chuck Hards 17 Mar '03

17 Mar '03

Dave, have you seen this yet? http://www.kitgear.com/25%20inch%20plans.htm C. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com

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New Horizon's
by Ben Record 17 Mar '03

17 Mar '03

Does anyone know any information on the New Horizon's mission? I've read a few things on it and it's been mixed up ... Funding problems, time deadlines and so forth. Does anyone know what the current status of it all is? _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Urban astronomy
by RStmarie＠aol.com 17 Mar '03

17 Mar '03

Along the line of Messier Marathon efforts: How much advantage would a mountain top site be (Like the Francis Peak radar site behind Farmington)? and How much aperture is enough for a light polluted area?

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Urban astronomy
by Chuck Hards 17 Mar '03

17 Mar '03

Joe, your comment got me thinking. I wonder just how many enthusiasts have only city viewing available to them? A lot of folks despair over light pollution, yet by employing a few tricks, hundreds of objects can be seen. Of course, a dark sky is always preferred, and will improve the view, but if someone can't get out of town, due to job, family, or financial concerns, then the urban view is all they have. I wonder if there is sufficient interest for an "Urban Astronomy" class? How about you folks doing all the school star-parties? Does this sound like something interesting? C. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com

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OT - Powers of Ten
by Marilyn Smith 16 Mar '03

16 Mar '03

For any of you interested in scoping out the universe thru the opposite end of the optical path, the attached link shows some common (British) household items viewed thru an electron microscope. If you like what you see, be sure to click on the "Schools collection" link for more. http://www2.umist.ac.uk/material/research/intmic/schools/curious/curious.htm For those interested in more virtual microscopy, check out "The Usborne Internet-Linked Complete Book of the Microscope" from the SL County Library (Tyler Branch) (J502.82 Rog). I'm returning the book on Monday. Most pages have links to websites with further images. Or if there is interest here, I'll try to email to the group the links that caught my interest. Bob Grant

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Effects of land on viewing
by Josephine Grahn 15 Mar '03

15 Mar '03

We've been surprised to find that, with a big dob, our best viewing has come at the top of high long cliffs and canyons. It is usually windy, but the wind seems to mix the air for a large height above the cliff edge, giving what is essentially a stable mono-thermal air mass. Our best planetary views have been near the cliffs of Bryce, Wolf Creek, and Cedar Mountain. It's a bit frustrating, because we have to work hard to keep the scope from blowing around, but the views are spectacular so it's worth the effort. Jo Grahn At 07:12 PM 3/15/2003 EST, you wrote: >>>> I met an amatuer astronomer who insisted large flat spaces are the best for viewing (he recommended west Texas, and Key West) due to atmospheric stability. Made since to me then, but now that I think of it, those areas generate huge thunderstorms, so their not always stable. Mountainous areas can be turbulent. Tradeoffs anywhere you view.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Urban astronomy
by RStmarie＠aol.com 15 Mar '03

15 Mar '03

I met an amatuer astronomer who insisted large flat spaces are the best for viewing (he recommended west Texas, and Key West) due to atmospheric stability. Made since to me then, but now that I think of it, those areas generate huge thunderstorms, so their not always stable. Mountainous areas can be turbulent. Tradeoffs anywhere you view.

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