June 2004 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Launch in ~20 minutes
by Patrick Wiggins 23 Jun '04

23 Jun '04

In the unlikely event anyone is reading this right after I send it, I just received email saying a Minuteman III is set to be launched from Vandenberg AFB (S. California) at about 02:01 this morning (Wednesday). If you've got dark skies and a low SW horizon, go have a look (I'm going to be up on my roof). Patrick

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Nice article in today's Desnews Joe
by Richard Tenney 22 Jun '04

22 Jun '04

FYI, an interesting article by Joe Bauman appears on the cover of today's Deseret morning news about the work Dr. Chan at the U is doing on mars "marbles" research. Way to make the front page Joe! __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Bryce Canyon Star Party
by Michael Carnes 21 Jun '04

21 Jun '04

Hey Don- It was a blast. Sorry I couldn't stay for the last night, but I realized during the day that my sleep deficit was increasing exponentially and I'd never catch up. Did anyone get pictures of that row of scopes? Michael -----Original Message----- From: "Don J. Colton" <djcolton(a)piol.com> Sent: Jun 21, 2004 9:48 AM To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Bryce Canyon Star Party Thanks to all who helped out at Bryce! We had mostly clear skies Thursday and spectacular skies both Friday and Saturday nights. The Milky Way in Sagittarius was as good as I have seen it in the Northern Hemisphere with good seeing fairly low in the sky. We had bacon wrapped filets, salads and cheesecakes at 1 AM and several of us stayed up all night Friday. The Rangers want to make it even better next year with the filets at 1 AM and omelets at 5 AM. Clear Skies Don Colton _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Rich's note and report on astronomy vacation
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 21 Jun '04

21 Jun '04

Hey Joe, I have a few good observing spots in southern Utah. I like to stay away from I-15 because of the lights and other problems. There is a good spot near Rockville in a subdivision. We turn left on Anasazi Way and we drive to the end of the road where there is a cul-de-sac. I was out there in March with Jim Gibson, Jim Van Buskirk, and Jim Colwell. But it's getting quite hot now so we will probably head up towards Kolob Reservoir next month. That guy was probably up to no good because he sped away so quickly. That is why I go to Jim's house in LaVerkin when I'm by myself. It is much safer than Black Rock Rd. in AZ and darker. If you need Jim's phone number I can give it to you. Debbie ps I heard Wolf Hole in AZ is good also although I haven't been down there yet

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Bryce Canyon Star Party
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 21 Jun '04

21 Jun '04

Hi Don, I wanted to stay up too but I was getting tired after four nights of observing plus a night at Tuacahn, I was ready for some sleep. You made a believer out of me concerning the clear skies at Bryce. Next year I'll make the reservations three months in advance so I won't have any problems getting a room. There was a lot of nice scopes there including a 20" Obsession. Debbie

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Got one of these in your attic?
by Chuck Hards 19 Jun '04

19 Jun '04

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5903763079&sspagename=ST… If you can't get it to work, even cut and pasted into your browser window, then go to eBay and search for the item number using their engine. Can't wait to see what the final price is. I have a built one somewhere, broken after too many moves, awaiting rebuilding when I'm a little old man. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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More inexpensive binoculars
by Chuck Hards 18 Jun '04

18 Jun '04

Current Sportsman's Guide listings: Brunton 20x70mm Lite Tech binoculars Waterproof, fogproof, BaK-4 prisms, rubber armor. FOV: 183'@1000yds. 55 oz. GX4X-81289 $99.97 JC Optics 11x70mm Binoculars Bk-7 prisms, FOV: 237'@1000yds. Rubber armor. Long eye relief of 22.5mm. GX4X-80792 $39.97 Meade 8x42mm Travel View Binoculars GX4X-82956 $14.97 www.sportsmansguide.com 1-800-888-3006 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone. http://mobile.yahoo.com/maildemo

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Abell 43
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 14 Jun '04

14 Jun '04

Last night I observed the faintest planetary that I've ever observed through my 15" Obsession. I had trouble finding Abell 43 so I asked Jim to find it through his 25" Obsession. He found it and it was dim, circular and faint through the 25". It was below a couple of stars in a dark patch of sky. It's size was 1.3 arc minutes and had a 14.6 magnitude. I went back to my 15" and found the same star field and found it with averted vision. It was barely observable but it was there. We also tried Abell 71 but failed to locate it. Maybe I'll have better luck at Bryce Canyon in 7.0 magnitude skies. Looking through the binoviewer was fun too. We observed M8(Lagoon), M20(Trifid), and M17(Swan) through the binoviewer. They almost looked three-dimensional through the binoviewer. The Crescent nebula looked nice through the 25" also. It almost looked like the CCD images I've seen on the web. I also observed the central star of the Owl Nebula for the first time through the 25". No averted vision needed here. Just a firm grip on the ladder. The bright galaxies M51, M106, NGC 4631, and NGC 4656 looked bright and beautiful through that 25". The structure of each galaxy was well defined and it was fun to pick up the dimmer galaxies around M106. Again, seeing these galaxies through the 25" reminded me of the CCD images I've seen over the internet. Well, I'm going to catch up on my rest and come up to Bryce Thursday so I look forward to seeing the SLAS members and enjoying the cool weather there. Clear Skies, Debbie W

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Re: Bryce canyon star party
by Richard Tenney 14 Jun '04

14 Jun '04

If you want to go and don't want to camp and are a procrastinator like me (Ruby's Inn is already booked for the month), there's another place a few miles down the road that still has a couple of rooms available as of today (Monday) at noon: Bryce Canyon Pines. They are AAA rated, have a swimming pool, and are $75/night. 1-800-892-7923 See you down there, -Rich ---------------- > A reminder that SLAS will be doing a series of star > parties under the > inky black > skies of Bryce Canyon National Park this coming weekend. Those > attending with > telescopes will receive free admission to the park and a free camp > site. If you'd like to participate and have not already signed up, please contact Don Colton at djcolton(a)piol.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Rainbow Bridge
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 11 Jun '04

11 Jun '04

It seems that arches and bridges form when there is ample water flow. There are more arches up Escalante Canyon and other canyons around Lake Powell. The nps website has an interesting section on the history of Rainbow Bridge. It is located at www.nps.gov/rabr/adhi/adhi1.htm I was also wondering if carbon dioxide flows on Mars could produce a similar effect. I read an article in Sky and Telescope a few months back about carbon dioxide flows and the canals on Mars. I've been trying to locate it but can't seem to find the right issue. Debbie

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