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

Active region 808 rotating into view on Sun
by Canopus56 07 Sep '05

07 Sep '05

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/sxi/current_sxi_4MKcorona.png This very active region, formerly Region 798, was tracked across the backside of the Sun for the last week by helioseismic holography. It ejected a CME a few days ago that was not directed at Earth. Attached find part of the NOAA space weather advisory. See www.spaceweather.com for more ongoing details. - Canopus56(Kurt) ======================== SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #05- 6 2005 September 07 at 11:31 a.m. MDT (2005 September 07 1731 UTC) **** ACTIVE SOLAR REGION RETURNS **** A very active sunspot group numbered by NOAA as Region 808, is currently rotating onto the visible side of the Sun. This sunspot cluster, formally numbered as Region 798 was responsible for significant solar activity during its previous transit on the visible solar disk, and continued to produce significant eruptions during its passage on the far side of the Sun. Current solar imagery indicates that this region is still very active, and will become visible from Earth today. Solar flares producing significant radio blackouts, and radiation storms are likely from this active region. Geomagnetic storms are possible later this week as this sunspot group rotates towards the center of the visible solar disk. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

1 0

Darwinism On Trial In Kansas (again)
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Sep '05

07 Sep '05

http://www.terradaily.com/news/life-05zzzzy.html Interestingly, the topic is also touched on in this piece about the Deep Impact mission: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/comet-05zj.html Patrick

3 2

M22 Image posted - Success at last
by astrodeb＠charter.net 07 Sep '05

07 Sep '05

I went outside my house Saturday night to see if my mount would track. It was not tracking the previous imaging attempts and I was about to send if off to Losmandy. I adjusted the worm gear cover on the mount and set the mount up on my card table Saturday afternoon. I ran the mount for about 3 hours and the RA axis moved so I thought I'd set it up for visual use in front of my house. When it got dark I carefully polar aligned the mount and pointed the telescope to M22. I centered M22 in the eyepiece and walked into the house for 5 minutes. When I came out again M22 was still in the field of view. The mount was tracking! I ran in the house and got my camera and computer and focused the camera with the Images Plus focus routine under the Canon DSLR control tab. I shot mostly 30 sec exposures and some 1 minute exposures but only used the 30 sec exposures in the final stack. I calibrated, aligned, and stacked the images last night. I took the best 26 frames for a total of 13 minutes on M22. Here is the result. Enjoy. www.utahastronomy.com/astrodeb/M22Image Debbie

4 4

SETI politics
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Sep '05

07 Sep '05

SETI politics by Gregory Anderson Tuesday, September 6, 2005 SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has a fundamentally fascinating hypothesis. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/444/1 Patrick

1 0

Re: ISS - 1st attempt to capture overpass streak
by Chuck Hards 07 Sep '05

07 Sep '05

Rob, I take it you are using transparency film? Are you scanning the 4x5? Any chance of enlarging and scanning say, an 8x10? I get the feeling there is a lot more detail than is making it through the digital conversion- the same problem I have when scanning my old Hale-Bopp prints. Great shots- you are having too much fun! > From: Rob Ratkowski <ratkwski(a)hawaii.rr.com> > I can remove the coma by stopping down, problem is > that 4X5 sheet > film has a top ISO of 100 and even w/ a 1 1/2 stop > push (320 IS)) > exposure is 90 minutes at F4 ______________________________________________________ Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

2 1

A. Jaegers objectives
by Chuck Hards 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

I just received an A. Jaegers 83mm dia., f/10.5 doublet objective from Surplus Shed, #L3435, $75. The quality is excellent for a lens that's been in storage for 25 years. No cement problems, coating in great shape. Nice and thick, this is obviously not made from modern glass. A quick check of the SS Website shows it still available, as well as the f/12.7 version, and several other antique Jaegers lenses, although Fred is stating "limited quantities" on all the Jaegers lenses. JAEGERS 83MM DIA, 1016MM FL TELESCOPE OBJECTIVE Item No: L3386 Price: $75.00 These lenses won't give the color-free images of an ED objective such as the Orion 80mm scope or TeleVue, but then the price is miniscule in comparison, and the resolution is essentially perfect. Also if you were an ATM about a third of a century ago, these objectives will have some nostalgic value. To some of us, if bright objects don't have a slight purple fringe, there's something wrong with the telescope! ;) This will make a dandy large finder, "quick-look" scope, dedicated solar scope, spotter, etc. Guy, I'll be talking to you about machining a cell in the very near future, as soon as I get it drawn up. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

1 0

Re: M22 Image posted - Success at last
by Chuck Hards 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

That's too bad, I can see where that would be a de-motivator, especially if the mount has some backlash- and it sounds like it may, if it sometimes takes a little time to start tracking after you've set it on-target. You might try ever-so-slightly unbalancing the mount, making it heavy on the "uphill" side, so it is always verrrry slightly loaded. That should remove some backlash and make tracking response more instantaneous. Drives usually fare better when working against a load, rather than acting as a governor or escapement. Does it have to be an eight-minute training period? Can you cut it shorter? Is eight minutes one complete worm or spur rotation? > From: <astrodeb(a)charter.net> > Chuck, > You have to turn it on and guide for an eight minute > cycle. My mount is non-Gemini so that means you have > to do it every time you turn it on. Gemini mounts > have a permanent memory so your hard work is saved. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

1 0

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sad news
by Ken Harris 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

Kim, I think a memory book for Andy's wife is a wonderful idea. I don't know if SLAS needs to sponsor it or not. I would be happy to do so. If you are willing to put it together, I will support you in any way necessary, including financially. Thanks for your offer. Let me know, OK? Ken Harris Great Salt Lake Shipmodeling & Research Society NRG member Salt Lake Astronomical Society > [Original Message] > From: Kim Hyatt <kimharch(a)cut.net> > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: 9/6/2005 9:55:21 AM > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sad news > > I love the idea. We have time between now and the next SLAS meeting to do > something. We should have lots of photos of Andy at work on SPOC. I don't > have any stories of my own to tell (at least nothing comes immediately to > mind), but I'd be happy to collate and assemble stories and photos into a > book of sorts. I'll even do the printing and binding. I've lost track of > who's now on the SLAS Board, but I suppose they'll want to decide an > appropriate response. I'm making the offer, though. If the Board is > agreeable, the Board and others can send stuff to me and I'll get it all > started. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ann House" <annchouse(a)gmail.com> > To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 9:45 AM > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sad news > > > |I did not get to know Andy and it seems that was my loss. My heart goes out > | to his family and friends. > | > | As far as what to do for the family - when my husband died I appreciated > | notes from friends telling stories about him. Some of these ended up being > | things that I did not know because I was not around him all the time. Most > | of the stories were pure Fred and I enjoyed reading them as did my > children. > | They were so young when their dad died that they really came to know their > | dad through the eyes of his friends. > | > | How about SLAS collecting stories and presentating them to the family? > | > | -A > | _______________________________________________ > | 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 > | > | ______________________________________________________________________ > | This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, > using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on > Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net > | ______________________________________________________________________ > | > | > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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

1 0

ISS - 1st attempt to capture overpass streak
by Canopus56 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

Primitive 1st attempt to capture and ISS overpass streak: http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/ISS/20050831ISSSt… (272k) - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

2 3

Health issues
by Chuck Hards 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

I've talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Many people tend to put health issues on the back burner, and astronomers & hobbyists are no exception. Someone else on this list pointed out that some clubbers might be harboring the "missing mass" in the universe- an attempt at humor, but it hits home today especially hard. It is never too late to start living a healthy lifestyle again, regardless of age or physical ability. I implore you, if it's been a while, see your doctor, have a comprehensive check-up, get a stress test if necessary, a cardio ultrasound, have a blood work-up. Establish a health baseline and talk to your doctor about improvement with the goal of living a longer and healthier life. Get at least 30 minutes a day of aerobic exercise and eat right. I promise that you will be happier and live longer if you do. You may think you are healthy, but might have an undiagnosed problem- it's time to find out. I don't want to go to any more unnecessary funerals before they should have happpened. I happen to like most of you and hope to have you all around for a lot longer! Lastly, you owe it to those who love you to take care of yourselves. Don't leave a gaping hole in someone's life, way too soon. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

2 1