January 2005 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Want topographic maps?
by Patrick Wiggins 23 Jan '05

23 Jan '05

Cleaning out the garage I came across several topo maps I don't need. Free to anyone who wants them. 1:125 000 Great Salt Lake and Vicinity 1:24 000 7.5 minute series quadrangle Dromedary Peak Mount Aire Mountain Dell Brighton Sugarhouse Griffith Peak Charleston Peak Mirror Lake Salt Lake City North Fort Douglas

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Re: Dark sky friendly porch lights
by Chuck Hards 22 Jan '05

22 Jan '05

Paul, all lights contribute to light pollution, but the ones defined as "friendly" emit their light in a narrow band of wavelengths that are more easily filtered-out at the telescope. Visually they are still an eyesore. You hit upon the real solution, the fixture. Full-cut-off means that none of the light, whatever the wavelength, is directed upwards. All of it is directed down. The guideline is usually that if the source itself can be seen directly (the bulb, tube, whatever) its not a friendly fixture. IDA has all the minute details, I've only painted the picture with an extremely broad brush (or roller!). Paul wrote: > Any ideas? Maybe a common fixture that can be easily > adapted. I think I > am game for just about any solution as long as my > wife doesn't think it > is ugly.... __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Dark sky friendly porch lights
by Paul Johnson 22 Jan '05

22 Jan '05

My porch light seems to have broken and now I have an excuse to upgrade to one that doesn't add to our light pollution woes. I have looked online at the IDA website and found most (if not all) of the lights featured there are rather expensive. Does anyone know of a good source for non light polluting fixtures in SLC. I live in Tooele and had planned on checking out the selection at Lowes or Home Depot but I don't have much time to shop around too much. I also live on a budget (like everyone else) and would rather save my money for telescope and computer equipment so I hate to pay too much for something I can get cheaper somewhere else. Any ideas? Maybe a common fixture that can be easily adapted. I think I am game for just about any solution as long as my wife doesn't think it is ugly.... Paul.

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ISS Moon transit tomorrow (Friday)
by Patrick Wiggins 21 Jan '05

21 Jan '05

Place yourself along the path indicated below tomorrow between 2041 and 2042 MST and you've got a pretty good chance of seeing ISS pass in front of the Moon. Looks like Flying J out by SPOC will be a good place to observe from. Patrick A - travel distance (kilometers) and direction B - date C - time D - elevation angle of the ISS E - azimuth angle of the ISS ( + is East from North; - is W from N) F - range (kilometers) G - latitude for observing the transit H - longitude I - elevation above Mean Sea Level (meters) J - how far (kilometers) can I be from the centerline? For other than solar transits: K - lunar transits: is space station sunlit? planetary encounters: 1=Mercury; 2=Venus; 4=Mars; 5=Jupiter; 6=Saturn L - sun elevation angle M - sun/moon or sun/planet separation angle A------- B----- C----- D--- E----- F--- G------- H-------- I--- J---- K L---- M---- 26.2 NW 21 Jan 204130 67.6 119.3 393 40.8243 -112.4896 1506 1.8 n -35.2 144.1 19.3 NW 21 Jan 204131 67.7 119.4 393 40.7846 -112.4193 1280 1.8 n -35.2 144.1 12.7 N 21 Jan 204132 67.7 119.4 391 40.7445 -112.3481 1265 1.8 n -35.3 144.1 7.9 N 21 Jan 204133 67.8 119.4 391 40.7044 -112.2770 1283 1.8 n -35.4 144.1 7.4 NE 33.35 40.6894 -112.2501 1.8 9.0 E 21 Jan 204134 67.9 119.5 391 40.6618 -112.2005 2581 1.8 n -35.4 144.1 14.3 E 21 Jan 204135 67.9 119.5 391 40.6228 -112.1325 1890 1.8 n -35.5 144.1 21.1 E 21 Jan 204136 68.0 119.5 391 40.5831 -112.0630 1568 1.8 n -35.5 144.1

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Is this a great hobby or what?
by Dale Hooper 21 Jan '05

21 Jan '05

I agree with you - the yahoo groups are great places to share and obtain good info. The SNR on most of the groups is fairly good - as opposed to the usenet. The usenet used to be great - but now, for example, most of the messages on sci.physics.relativity are from total nut cases that want to tell you how wrong Einstein was. -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+dale.hooper=sdl.usu.edu(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+dale.hooper=sdl.usu.edu@mailman.xmission. com] On Behalf Of daniel turner Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 4:54 PM To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com; uvaa(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Is this a great hobby or what? I belong to several of the Yahoo astronomy discussion groups and one of my favorites is the one on planetary nebulae. It can be dead quiet for six weeks and suddenly errupt into a passionate debate about whether post asymtotic giant branch stars actually overlap the proto planetary nebulae as a group. There is lots of heavy hitting technical jargon, my favorite phrase today is "axisymmetric superwind mass loss". If you can't get enough of geek jargon, try the Yahoo group discussions on astronomy. Daniel Turner __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 _______________________________________________ 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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Is this a great hobby or what?
by daniel turner 21 Jan '05

21 Jan '05

I belong to several of the Yahoo astronomy discussion groups and one of my favorites is the one on planetary nebulae. It can be dead quiet for six weeks and suddenly errupt into a passionate debate about whether post asymtotic giant branch stars actually overlap the proto planetary nebulae as a group. There is lots of heavy hitting technical jargon, my favorite phrase today is "axisymmetric superwind mass loss". If you can't get enough of geek jargon, try the Yahoo group discussions on astronomy. Daniel Turner __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

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Re: Motion on Titan
by Chuck Hards 21 Jan '05

21 Jan '05

Sorry about that last repeat of the digest! Why is the delete key right next to the enter key? Argh! Joe, I love the way you pore over every image from each new mission, looking for anything unusual. Now THATS investigative journalism at work! One day, you just might find something that a thousand engineers and technicians missed. On that day, "The Bauman Effect" will enter the scientific lexicon forever! __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? All your favorites on one personal page Try My Yahoo! http://my.yahoo.com

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Re: Re: A Cassini editorial
by Chuck Hards 20 Jan '05

20 Jan '05

Bill, I doubt it, the images were available at other sites long before they popped-up on the ESA pages; all the images had to have come through ESA mission controllers originally. UofA had all the raw images posted over the weekend, they are partners in the project to be sure, but if they had them, ESA could easily have posted them too. Could be that ESA Webmasters just don't work weekends...I think Kim was correct; PR just wasn't a top priority for them. Bill wrote: > Was part of the delay and slow release a technical > issue. The probe had > to transmit to the orbiter which relayed the data to > earth. And the > orbiter was on the other side of the planet? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone. http://mobile.yahoo.com/maildemo

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Re: Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 23, Issue 40
by Chuck Hards 20 Jan '05

20 Jan '05

--- utah-astronomy-request(a)mailman.xmission.com wrote: > Send Utah-Astronomy mailing list submissions to > utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, > visit > > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > or, via email, send a message with subject or body > 'help' to > utah-astronomy-request(a)mailman.xmission.com > > You can reach the person managing the list at > utah-astronomy-owner(a)mailman.xmission.com > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it > is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Utah-Astronomy digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Motion on Titan (Joe Bauman) > 2. Re: A Cassini editorial (Greg Taylor) > 3. Re: Motion on Titan (Jim Stitley) > 4. Re: Lumicon Easy-Guider (Chuck Hards) > 5. ISS Moon transit tomorrow (Friday) (Patrick > Wiggins) > 6. Aurora watch (William Biesele) > 7. Re: Aurora watch (William Biesele) > 8. Re: A Cassini editorial (Chuck Hards) > 9. Re: Re: A Cassini editorial (William Biesele) > > ATTACHMENT part 3.1 message/rfc822 > From: Joe Bauman <bau(a)desnews.com> > To: Utah Astronomy > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:40:12 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Motion on Titan > > Answer to my own question: On second thought, I bet > they are doubling > photos, showing us two of each image so that the > movie lasts longer. > I saw in another odd blip that it was there for two > frames. So there > is noise on a frame, the frame is shown twice, and > the noise seems to > persist. -- Joe > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.2 message/rfc822 > From: Greg Taylor <astronomus_maximus(a)yahoo.com> > To: Utah Astronomy > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 13:57:08 -0800 (PST) > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] A Cassini editorial > > This editorial was indeed very poorly written, so > much so that I couldn't stand to finish it. I will > however say that I think that the landing on Titan > is a tremendous acheavement and worth every penny. > Also I believe that society should pay for such > endeavors as the mere aquisition of knowledge > bennifits all of human kind. So what if most people > don't appreciate such things? If human kind had > always followed what the masses would have us do (in > terms of scientific learning) we'd still be in the > dark ages. > > Greg Taylor > > > \Comments? > > http://www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-05i.html > > Patrick > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' > > ATTACHMENT part 3.3 message/rfc822 > From: Jim Stitley <sitf2000(a)yahoo.com> > To: Utah Astronomy > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 13:58:22 -0800 (PST) > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Motion on Titan > > Joe, > > Hhhhmmmmmmm, what if it were a frog and just jumped > off between frames. Could have!? > Jim > > Joe Bauman <bau(a)desnews.com> wrote: > Could well be. But I'm a little puzzled why some > electronic noise > would persist for more than one frame. In frames 126 > and 127 we see a > little light "frog" show up on a rock, then > disappear. It's an angled > rock about halfway up the frame and about a quarter > of the way in > from the left. There are other examples, but that's > an interesting > one. -- Thanks, Joe > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > the Perfect You "inside and out" > Insightful Seminars, Workshops & Coaching > Increase SelfAwareness - Know Who You Are...REALLY! > Discover the NEW "Inner You" > http://www.theperfectyou.us > > > > > > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.4 message/rfc822 > From: Chuck Hards <chuckhards(a)yahoo.com> > To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:18:27 -0800 (PST) > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Lumicon Easy-Guider > > > Debbie, if he was using it with a telescope that > would > fit on a Losmandy mount, it was probably too-small, > or > marginal. That parallels my experience. It's a > great > product, but not really suitable for small > apertures. > Even 10" is pushing the small side for the > Easy-Guider. Many (most, it seems) objects just > don't > have a bright enough guide star at the right radial > distance from the center of the field, this can be > frustrating and you can't always compose the shot > just > the way you want it as a result. No competent > reflecting telescope maker would design for 100% > illumination 1" off-axis unless it was a dedicated > imaging system like a Schmidt camera or similar, and > not many amateurs can afford a 12" refractor (except > for Al George, who has a 15"!) > > One a large scope, it would work much better. > > That said, the principle of the off-axis guider is > excellent: Guide with the same optical train as the > one you're imaging with, and you eliminate > differential flexure as a possible source of > trouble. > The bigger the image scale, the greater this problem > can be. > > I use a separate guidescope on my small set-up. > > Debbie wrote: > > > I guy e-mailed me from the Losmandy yahoo group > the > > other day and he had trouble using it and sent it > > back. I'm not considering that option anymore. I'm > > now looking into a guidescope on a dual scope > > platform right now. Thanks for the feedback. > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. > Learn more. > http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.5 message/rfc822 > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> > To: utah astronomy listserve > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 15:45:19 -0700 > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] ISS Moon transit tomorrow > (Friday) > > Place yourself along the path indicated below > tomorrow between 2041 and > 2042 MST and you've got a pretty good chance of > seeing ISS pass in front > of the Moon. > > Looks like Flying J out by SPOC will be a good place > to observe from. > > Patrick > > > > A - travel distance (kilometers) and direction > B - date > C - time > D - elevation angle of the ISS > E - azimuth angle of the ISS ( + is East from North; > - is W from N) > F - range (kilometers) > G - latitude for observing the transit > H - longitude > I - elevation above Mean Sea Level (meters) > J - how far (kilometers) can I be from the > centerline? > > For other than solar transits: > K - lunar transits: is space station sunlit? > planetary encounters: 1=Mercury; 2=Venus; > 4=Mars; 5=Jupiter; 6=Saturn > L - sun elevation angle > M - sun/moon or sun/planet separation angle > > A------- B----- C----- D--- E----- F--- G------- > H-------- I--- J---- K > L---- M---- > 26.2 NW 21 Jan 204130 67.6 119.3 393 40.8243 > -112.4896 1506 1.8 > n -35.2 144.1 > 19.3 NW 21 Jan 204131 67.7 119.4 393 40.7846 > -112.4193 1280 1.8 > n -35.2 144.1 > 12.7 N 21 Jan 204132 67.7 119.4 391 40.7445 > -112.3481 1265 1.8 > n -35.3 144.1 > 7.9 N 21 Jan 204133 67.8 119.4 391 40.7044 > -112.2770 1283 1.8 > n -35.4 144.1 > 7.4 NE 33.35 40.6894 > -112.2501 1.8 > 9.0 E 21 Jan 204134 67.9 119.5 391 40.6618 > -112.2005 2581 1.8 > n -35.4 144.1 > 14.3 E 21 Jan 204135 67.9 119.5 391 40.6228 > -112.1325 1890 1.8 > n -35.5 144.1 > 21.1 E 21 Jan 204136 68.0 119.5 391 40.5831 > -112.0630 1568 1.8 > n -35.5 144.1 > > > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.6 message/rfc822 > From: William Biesele <bill(a)biesele.net> > To: Utah Astronomy > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 20:15:03 -0700 > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Aurora watch > > > The shock from another X-class solar flare on the > 19th will arrive at > > Earth early on the 21st GMT. > > Reference: > http://www.gi.alaska.edu/cgi-bin/predict.cgi > > And I just started a new job so we can't head out to > Idaho. > > Bill B > > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.7 message/rfc822 > From: William Biesele <bill(a)biesele.net> > To: Utah Astronomy > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 20:20:21 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Aurora watch > > And the web cam at Poker flats has the following > message: > "Server Maintenance Information. > Scheduled Server Maintenance. You cannot access > to This Page. > > From: Jan. 21, 2004 18:00 (JST) > To : Jan. 24, 2004 10:00 (JST) > Reason: The rolling blackouts in our facility." > > On Jan 20, 2005, at 8:15 PM, William Biesele wrote: > > >> The shock from another X-class solar flare on > the 19th will arrive > >> at Earth early on the 21st GMT. > > > > Reference: > > http://www.gi.alaska.edu/cgi-bin/predict.cgi > > > > And I just started a new job so we can't head out > to Idaho. > > > > Bill B > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > > > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.8 message/rfc822 > From: Chuck Hards <chuckhards(a)yahoo.com> > To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 19:53:13 -0800 (PST) > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: A Cassini editorial > > Kim, like you I was annoyed and puzzled at the slow > rate that information was being made available at > the > time of the landing. But ESA is a tiny organization > compared to NASA, with a proportionally smaller > budget, and is subservient to more than one > governement which I'm sure is a bureaucratic > nightmare. With a comparatively smaller staff, > "first > things first" was probably the order of the day at > ESA. It's a shame that any dollars going to > research > have to be spent on any PR at all, it's just a drain > on the real work of the institution. > If just the burning desire to know the truth isn't > enough, if we as a species are dependant on "wow" > factors and effective marketing in order to fund > scientific research, then we don't deserve to learn > of > faraway new worlds in the first place. We're just > delaying the inevitable end. "Rome" will fall > again, > for pretty much the same reasons. > > > Kim wrote: > > > I was enormously disappointed at the trickle of > both > > real information and images that came from ESA. > > Despite NASA's many shortcomings, ESA could learn > a > > lot from NASA's public relations team. > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. > http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail > > > > ATTACHMENT part 3.9 message/rfc822 > From: William Biesele <bill(a)biesele.net> > To: Utah Astronomy > <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:00:59 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: A Cassini > editorial > > Was part of the delay and slow release a technical > issue. The probe had > to transmit to the orbiter which relayed the data to > earth. And the > orbiter was on the other side of the planet? > > Just curious > Bill B > On Jan 20, 2005, at 8:53 PM, Chuck Hards wrote: > > > Kim, like you I was annoyed and puzzled at the > slow > > rate that information was being made available at > the > > time of the landing. But ESA is a tiny > organization > > compared to NASA, with a proportionally smaller > > budget, and is subservient to more than one > > governement which I'm sure is a bureaucratic > > nightmare. With a comparatively smaller staff, > "first > > things first" was probably the order of the day at > > ESA. It's a shame that any dollars going to > research > > have to be spent on any PR at all, it's just a > drain > > on the real work of the institution. > > If just the burning desire to know the truth isn't > > enough, if we as a species are dependant on "wow" > > factors and effective marketing in order to fund > > scientific research, then we don't deserve to > learn of > > faraway new worlds in the first place. We're just > > delaying the inevitable end. "Rome" will fall > again, > > for pretty much the same reasons. > > > > > > Kim wrote: > > > >> I was enormously disappointed at the trickle of > both > >> real information and images that came from ESA. > >> Despite NASA's many shortcomings, ESA could learn > a > >> lot from NASA's public relations team. > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty > viruses. > > http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

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Re: A Cassini editorial
by Chuck Hards 20 Jan '05

20 Jan '05

Kim, like you I was annoyed and puzzled at the slow rate that information was being made available at the time of the landing. But ESA is a tiny organization compared to NASA, with a proportionally smaller budget, and is subservient to more than one governement which I'm sure is a bureaucratic nightmare. With a comparatively smaller staff, "first things first" was probably the order of the day at ESA. It's a shame that any dollars going to research have to be spent on any PR at all, it's just a drain on the real work of the institution. If just the burning desire to know the truth isn't enough, if we as a species are dependant on "wow" factors and effective marketing in order to fund scientific research, then we don't deserve to learn of faraway new worlds in the first place. We're just delaying the inevitable end. "Rome" will fall again, for pretty much the same reasons. Kim wrote: > I was enormously disappointed at the trickle of both > real information and images that came from ESA. > Despite NASA's many shortcomings, ESA could learn a > lot from NASA's public relations team. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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