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

telrad mapping tool.
by daniel turner 26 Aug '04

26 Aug '04

Guy: Here's a link to the device I told you about last night. http://actonastro.com/ Daniel Turner. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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f/4.5 or f/5
by Debbie 24 Aug '04

24 Aug '04

I was wondering if people would rather have an f/4.5 or an f/5 dobsonian reflector. I've looked through both and can't see any major difference. The f/5 scope would be easier to collimate but the f/4.5 would be easier on my knees. What do you guys/gals think? Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] f/4.5 or f/5
by Debbie 24 Aug '04

24 Aug '04

Actually, it's going to be cost that is the deciding factor. If I got a good deal on a f/5 scope, I could live with a taller ladder. I just prefer the more comfortable f/4.5 scope. When I'm up 10 feet in the air with a 25", I have a tight grip on the ladder. It's hard to concentrate when I'm worrying about my safety. When I'm more relaxed, I see more detail. At least climbing ladder keeps me warm. Debbie > [Original Message] > From: <diveboss(a)xmission.com> > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: 8/24/2004 11:07:39 AM > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] f/4.5 or f/5 > > Quoting Debbie <astrodeb(a)earthlink.net>: > > > I was wondering if people would rather have an f/4.5 or an f/5 dobsonian > > reflector. I've looked through both and can't see any major difference. > > The f/5 scope would be easier to collimate but the f/4.5 would be easier > > on my knees. What do you guys/gals think? > > > > > > Debbie > > > Debbie, > > Since my knees are still fairly good, then you should go with the scope that > requires the least amount of set up time so I don't have to stand around > waiting to look through it. ;) > > Who cares what others think, pick the scope that is going to provide you the > most comfort at the eyepiece. After all, if your knees hurt so bad that it > cuts your "eyepiece" time short, what good is that? On the other hand, you > may need to show up at the site earlier than normal so that you can take > the necessary time to iron out the optical bugs before the show starts. > Good luck. > > Guy > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] f/4.5 or f/5
by Michael Carnes 24 Aug '04

24 Aug '04

Hi Debbie - I have an 10" F/4.5. For that size scope, there's obviously not much of a length/weight difference, but it would certainly increase with aperture. I don't have any particular trouble collimating mine, using a cheshire eyepiece. Perhaps the biggest issue you'll run into is the limiting FL of your eyepieces. I have a 35mm Ultima that is very hard to use at F/4.5 (works fine in my F/10 SCT). Somewhere around 32mm is probably a practical upper limit. At F/5, you might notice the secondary a bit less with the wide-field eyepieces. Michael I was wondering if people would rather have an f/4.5 or an f/5 dobsonian reflector. I've looked through both and can't see any major difference. The f/5 scope would be easier to collimate but the f/4.5 would be easier on my knees. What do you guys/gals think? Debbie _______________________________________________ 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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5 (6?) more for Neptune
by Patrick Wiggins 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

Details in tomorrow's News, but BBC has just announced the discovery of 5 new satellites of Neptune. They said there may also be a sixth, but that one has not been confirmed. Patrick

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Friday night at Wolf Creek
by Debbie 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

The North American nebula-Pelican nebula was the best I've ever seen it. We split several doubles including Antares, Epsilon Lyra, Iota and Eta Cassiopea, Gamma Andromeda, Gamma Delphinis, Gamma Aries, Izar, Rho Hercules, Alpha Hercules, Delta Hercules, and 70 Ophuichus. Several galaxies were also observed including NGC 55 low in the horizon, NGC 253, M77, M74, and NGC 772. Thanks all for a great time. Debbie > [Original Message] > From: Robert Taylor <robtaylor3661(a)comcast.net> > To: <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: 8/14/2004 10:19:41 AM > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Friday night at Wolf Creek > > I was surprised at how few people made it up to Wolf Creek last night > (Friday); I don't think there were more than 8 scopes. Maybe the early > clouds scared some people off, or folks were exhausted from watching the > Perseids all week, not sure. > > We had some high thin clouds right around dusk, they didn't stay very long > and were nearly all gone by 10 pm. The rest of the night was terrific, > clear, good seeing and a spectacular Milky Way. The conditions improved as > the night went on. We even had a nice showing from the Perseids: about two > an hour, some were very bright and left long streaks behind them which > remained visible for a couple of seconds. It got cool but not as cool as I > thought it would get. If you were held back by the early clouds, you missed > a really good night at Wolf Creek. We'll be back tonight; hopefully tonight > (Saturday) will be just as great. > > Bob Taylor > _______________________________________________ > 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] 2 more for Saturn
by Michael Carnes 16 Aug '04

16 Aug '04

There would then be a company who would sell you the chance to name your very own Saturn Rock. ..................................................... Well, around Saturn, of course, many many millions of them collectively are called "Saturn's rings". But, just imagine if someone actually wanted to count and name those rocks. <g>

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Good work, Joe
by Chuck Hards 16 Aug '04

16 Aug '04

Our own Joe Bauman has a piece in today's DesNews on the Perseids: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view2/1,4382,595084400,00.html?textfield=meteor+s… Thanks again, Joe, keep up the good work. I am rather surprised that no local photographers took you up on your generous offer to run their meteor shots, however...What'd you have to pay Wally to use his shot? ;) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] 2 more for Saturn
by Dale Hooper 16 Aug '04

16 Aug '04

Well, around Saturn, of course, many many millions of them collectively are called "Saturn's rings". But, just imagine if someone actually wanted to count and name those rocks. <g> > -----Original Message----- > From: Chuck Hards [mailto:chuckhards@yahoo.com] > Sent: Monday, August 16, 2004 3:25 PM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] 2 more for Saturn > > > > --- Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> wrote: > > > I also wonder just how small an orbiting chunk of > > stuff has to be before they > > stop calling it a natural satellite (or moon). I > > mean, what would one call an > > orbiting 5 or 10 meter wide piece of ice or rock? > > A chunk of ice or a boulder. >

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2 more for Saturn
by Patrick Wiggins 16 Aug '04

16 Aug '04

More details in tomorrow's issue of News but I thought y'all might be interested to know that two more Saturnian satellites have been spotted. One measures about 3 kilometers and the other about 4. Both were found by Cassini. That brings Saturn's count up to 33. I wonder how long it will take Cassini to bring that number past Jupiter's 63. I also wonder just how small an orbiting chunk of stuff has to be before they stop calling it a natural satellite (or moon). I mean, what would one call an orbiting 5 or 10 meter wide piece of ice or rock? Patrick BTW, these data are now incorporated in my Solar System Fact Sheet located via the "Solar System Fact Sheet" link at http://www.trilobyte.net/paw . Cheers! Patrick

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