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

Bill Kelley in the press again!
by Chuck Hards 23 Sep '03

23 Sep '03

A tip of the hat to our own Bill Kelley, who was again cited in S&T in the current Telescope Techniques column. Author Pfannenschmidt describes how he used Bill's original method to flex a cheap spherical mirror into a much higher-quality paraboloid. It's basically just a rewrite of Bill's original article some ten years ago, but a good read in it's own right. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

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[Utah-astronomy]
by Naz & David 23 Sep '03

23 Sep '03

Hi Joe, I use a ToUcam with a Mogg adaptor (another local I believe, xcept living in Sydney now) and a TV Powermate x2 giving f30. I capture with a 366Mhz Compaq laptop I got off ebay for $150 which actually was a real bargain, running k3ccdtools which is freeware. On my Dell desktop I use Registax version 1 to process, can't be bothered with version 2, both of which are freeware. I use PhotoShop Elements 2 (Costco, $50 I think) to crop, size, rotate, animate etc. I got "The Hidden Power of PE2" book with cd PE2 addins (approx $70 I think) which gives me just about all the capability I need or know how to use for the fraction of the price of PhotoShop Pro. All up, I've spent about $400 to get into taking these shots (excluding the powermate and scope!) which is not bad. I added all sorts of stuff to the laptop but not to handle imaging. Cheers David

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Solar activity
by Chuck Hards 22 Sep '03

22 Sep '03

There are 2 largish sunspot groups rotating into view now, and a smaller spot closer to center. The 2 large groups are in the southern hemisphere. I just took a look at 12X, there should be dozens more spots visible at higher powers. This is great activity for being this far from solar max. Take a look if you get a chance. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

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Super Mono on Saturn this morning
by Naz & David 22 Sep '03

22 Sep '03

Tried my new TMB Super Mono 8mm on Saturn (my first view this season of the ringed planet) this morning. Compared to my Radian 8mm, this occular seems to have an advantage contrast wise - the image just seemed more pleasing. It also seemed snappier at focus but the seeing was not that good. I like it, will be keeping it and await eagily the arrival of its 10mm brother. I'm going to try it on Mars tonight and will post what I see. Took my first webcam shots of Saturn, still need to get the camera setup right for this beast - obviously needs a LOT more gain and slower shutter speed that Mars. I may need to monkey with the gamma and saturation settings. Cheers David

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Saturn Friday morning
by Naz_David 21 Sep '03

21 Sep '03

Yes Joe, maybe we can find out what settings are the best. What webcam are you using? Cheers David

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More inexpensive astro binos
by Chuck Hards 20 Sep '03

20 Sep '03

My comments in parenthesis: Sportsmans Guide www.sportsmansguide.com 1-800-888-3006 24/7 order line Barska 9x63mm fold-down eyecups, long eye relief. (Green multi-coatings, good looking bino from the catalog foto, rubber armor. For those lucky folks who's pupils will open to 7mm.) KX3X-73167 Barska 9x63mm binos $59.97 Simmons 20x60mm binos KX3X-73685 $59.97 (good high-power configuration) Simmons 15x70mm binos KX3X-73686 $69.97 (the same FOV, 231 ft. @ 1000 yds, as the Bears, Obies, Galileos, Celestrons, could be the same bino, my favorite "all-around" bino configuration) (Sometimes the on-line stock numbers have different letter prefixes than the paper catalog, but they are the same items.) C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

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[Utah-astronomy] Fwd: Discovering Black Holes -- Online Course from Oxford, Stanford an d Yale Universities
by Richard Tenney 19 Sep '03

19 Sep '03

"SPAM" that may be of interest to the list(s). -Rich Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

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[Utah-astronomy]
by Naz & David 19 Sep '03

19 Sep '03

How do I keep the thread right when posting? Cheers David

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[Utah-astronomy]
by Naz & David 19 Sep '03

19 Sep '03

Kim, I'm from Perth, Australia and have been here approaching six years. I'm a member of SLAS already but have a very demanding job so don't often get the time to socialize. I've rocked up to a few sun parties and I did the NOVA tour. I might see if I can make it to the Harmons party or maybe the Saturday one. Not sure yet. Cheers David

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Harmon's Night at SPOC
by Kim Hyatt 18 Sep '03

18 Sep '03

As far as we can tell, the weather looks promising (and warming!) for tomorrow night's rescheduled Harmon's Appreciation Night at SPOC. Harmon's is bringing lots of food, and not just cookeis, either. Come hungry and ready to eat by 8:00, but I suggest planning to set up your 'scopes prior to that time. We're not quite sure what kind of attendance to expect, but I'm told Harmon's is planning on 100+. Please, help support those who supported us and come to help with tomorrow's star party. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. Kim A. Hyatt, AIA SL&A Architects 331 South Rio Grande, Suite 304 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 Tel: 801.322.5550 x122 Fax: 801.322.5557

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