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

Perseids
by Michael Carnes 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Can't get away all night for Wolf Creek, but just might have a couple of hours I can go to the Gravel Pit. Anybody else settling for second-best? Michael

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Private star party etiquette
by diveboss＠xmission.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Debbie, If the interior lights are a problem, you can cover these with a little "Astro tape". You can also use the Astro tape to tape down the interior light buttons located in the door jams. Worse case scenario if all else fails would be to remove the interior light bulbs I suppose. But that's getting a bit drastic. Oh yeah, "Astro tape" is that silver colored stuff the heating and air conditioning folks use to hold their duct work together. They call it "duct tape", but we know the real name. FWIW, NASA uses the gold colored stuff to hold their more expensive satellites in orbit. ;)

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Green laser pointers and Star Parties...
by diveboss＠xmission.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

I myself don't have any problem with green laser pointers provided they are not carelessly pointed at others. I caught one in the eye 2 public star parties ago, which took some time for the green dot image to fade away. The person who shined it in my eye will not be so careless next time. On the whole, I find them to be quite useful at times. For instance, I have used my green laser pointer in conjunction with my sometimes noisy, but highly sophisticated LX200, ;) to show my friends where to point their Dob's when searching for hard to find objects. Like you, I don't "image" in a crowd so I'm okay with it.

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Rules
by Kim Hyatt 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

I've found (as no doubt all of you have) that private star parties are not the best venue for serious imaging. for me, the operable word is "party" and that may imply choosing socializing over imaging or science. My feeling is that if you really expect to have no issues with others while you're imaging, then choose another time and another place to do it, as I've learned to do. Having said that, how do folks feel about green laser pointers? I find them very useful at "private" star parties as well as public events. When trying to help someone star hop to that faint object I'm observing, the pointer is much easier and less disruptive to night vision than to pull out the charts and use a flashlight, whether red or not. I have not heard any arguments against green lasers that are not based on their effects on imaging. So if you shouldn't expect perfect imaging conditions at a star party, what's wrong with the green lasers? Thoughts? Kim Hyatt Architect 1849 East 1300 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 801.631.5228 kimharch(a)msn.com<mailto:kimharch@msn.com> serius est quam cogitas

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Is this right? (OT)
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

I purchased John Stossel's new book "Give me a Break" a few weeks ago. He brings up some good points in his book on bad science. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Wolf Creek
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Thanks Dave, I'll have to remember to bring the digital camera. Hope the weather holds. Debbie

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Is this right? (OT)
by Patrick Wiggins 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

I'm sitting here fighting with the one non-Mac machine I own (not sure who is winning at the moment) and listening to BBC. They just had a Yank on talking about energy consumption and pollution and at one point stated that "burning 6 gallons of gasoline will produce 20 pounds of CO2." Any of the science whizzes here care to say if that's right or not? I'm having trouble imagining how burning 6 pounds of gasoline can produce 20 pounds of CO2. Patrick

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Perseids
by Chuck Hards 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

What's the consensus on a site "reasonably" close to SLC, yet with good morning skies to the north and east? Looks like this year will be great, especially if the current skies hold. I can't recall a summer sky this free of dust in recent years, for this long. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

ok, I can't keep a secret forever. I'm leaving Friday for Provo, then I drive to Heber, then up to Wolf Creek. My 84 year old neighbor needs a ride to Provo so I'm more than happy to take her. I'm over at her house checking my e-mail. It looks like I need a new computer. Got the 15" still in the car, mostly. Jim is taking off this week to Oregon for the Oregon Star Party so I'm coming up to Wolf Creek, rain or shine. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

Joe, You don't know what balmy means. I set my scope up in 90+ weather Sat night. It cooled down to around 80 when I took it down. I can't wait to get out of the heat this next weekend for some better seeing and COOLER weather. Clear Skies, Debbie

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