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

New Astro-Image Posted
by Tyler Allred 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

Hi all. I made the trip to Wolf Creek on Friday night. The conditions were not that great, but I managed to get one decent image before the clouds took over. The highlight of the evening was getting a peek through Steve Dodds 33-inch Dob. Wow, what a scope!! Late in the evening I performed a belly flop on the back of my chair (don't ask) and really did a number on my ribs! I don't think I broke anything, but that won't stop me from whimpering every time I breath, cough, laugh, etc. Ouch! I imaged M16, the Eagle Nebula. Here is a link to the thumbnail version: http://www.utahastronomy.com/album16/Utah_Astronomy_M16_Eagle Click the thumbnail for the full version. I am pretty happy with the image, but it's not my best work. Cheers, Tyler

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Re: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Tri-X
by astrodeb＠charter.net 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

I personally like E200 film for it's red sensitivity. I need to try it on the "California nebula" and IC 1396 in Cepheus. My digital camera is essentially blind to the red H-alpha wavelengths. Debbie > > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> > Date: 2005/09/05 Mon PM 09:18:41 MDT > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Tri-X > > Chuck Hards wrote: > > > While at the store today, I noticed that good old > > Tri-X film was still being marketed (for a while, at > > least). > > Has anyone ever tried B&W astrophotography from an > > urban or suburban location, using red filtration? > > This should have the double advantage of acting as an > > effective LPR filter, while selectively passing Ha. > > This used to be done quite a bit in the "old days". > > Any comments? Patrick? > > I tried Tri-X a few times until I found that Plus-X had better reciprocity. > > Just the same I don't think I've ever tried shooting through a red > filter especially since I eventually settled on Ektachrome 400. > > Speaking of film (remember film?) while defrosting my freezer the other > day I found bulk rolls of unopened Technical Pan and Ektachrome 400. > > 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 >

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More on the commercialization of space
by Patrick Wiggins 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050905/full/050905-3.html Patrick

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Re: Cycles
by Chuck Hards 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

The road to the site was the one immediately next to the school (high school?), as I recall...is that what you remember? And the site wasn't too far south, either, I'm thinking only a mile or two? > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> > While up flying jumpers last week I made a couple of > passes over where I > thought I remembered Little Stonehenge was located. > > Didn't see a thing. It's not like the area has been > "improved". The > whole area south of Grantsville remains pretty much > untouched. > > I guess next time I'm in Grantsville I'll try > driving south and see if I > can find anything from ground level. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Tri-X
by Chuck Hards 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

I agree, but I only saw Tri-X at the store- in fact was astounded to see it. Is PXP still available? I think Tri-X had better contrast though, but of course that can be made up for in developing/printing. I have state-of-the-art imaging equipment- for 1975! Since I still need to finish this house, and need a new (read: used) car sometime in the next ten months, I'm not likely to drop a few grand on digital equipment any time soon, so I'm trying to come up with imaging strategies that fit my budget and existing equipment, as well as available time. My old analog autoguider and home-brewed equatorial set-up (built for comet photography) would be great for telephoto suburban back-yard imaging, if the red filter/Tri-X combination works out. Digital imaging? What, and miss-out on all those acrid fumes? Think of it as building character... ;) > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> > I tried Tri-X a few times until I found that Plus-X > had better reciprocity. > > Just the same I don't think I've ever tried shooting > through a red > filter especially since I eventually settled on > Ektachrome 400. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Sad news
by Chuck Hards 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

Ad astra, Andy. Thanks for all your hard work, it was and always will be much appreciated. You now have the best celestial seat in the house. We'll see you again one day at the ultimate star party, be sure to meet us at the gate. C. ______________________________________________________ Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

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Tri-X
by Chuck Hards 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

While at the store today, I noticed that good old Tri-X film was still being marketed (for a while, at least). Has anyone ever tried B&W astrophotography from an urban or suburban location, using red filtration? This should have the double advantage of acting as an effective LPR filter, while selectively passing Ha. This used to be done quite a bit in the "old days". Any comments? Patrick? ______________________________________________________ Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

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Cycles
by Chuck Hards 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

One of the advantages of starting work at 6:00 am is that you get a sneak peak at upcoming winter skies. This morning marks the first time since last spring that I have seen Sirius. It's been visible earlier but this morning was the first time that eastern skies were clear when I happened to be looking. It was hoisting itself up above the Wasatch in the pe-dawn skies. It struck an ancient, visceral chord in my mind. Instinctively, I could sense the cold months ahead, spurred by this visual clue. Many, many years ago, the Little Mountain site was much better than it is today. There was unrestricted access to the flat parking area on the summit (now behind a locked gate) and amateur astronomers would gather there every clear Friday night in the summer. This was in the pre-SPOC days. The entire south side was bordered by telescopes. Bob Brundage would be there with his 4" refractor and occasionally his 12.5" reflector, Patrick would have his C-8, I had my 8" Astrola, Steve Jacobs would occasionally show-up with his 6" Dynamax, among many others. Even Bruce Grim would sometimes make an appearance. The skies were darker in those days as well- the Veil nebula was an easy object, and the Horsehead was glimpsed on rare occassions with 8" telescopes (and no LPR filters!). I remember how a chill would run down our spines as Capella rose, late at night in the northeast, promising colder nights in a few months. Rather a similar feeling to seeing Sirius this morning. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Report from Capitol Reef
by Ann House 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

Lowell and Tom S organized a great star party at Capitol Reef this Labor Day weekend. Lowell worked with the rangers for 3 nights of ampitheater presentations and telescopes in the field. Tom printed up flyers about the event that he mailed to local businesses. Capitol Reef is beautiful with wonderful oberving opportanities. I drove down Saturday morning, a relatively short 3.5 hour drive. It rained, as it had on Friday, but also like Friday by the evening the skies had cleared. Tom and I did presentations from our Nightsky Network kits at the amphitheater for perhaps 75-80 attendees, then they followed Lowell to the field where we had our scopes. A good time was held by all, especially for some travelers from the Netherlands and San Francisco. It stayed warm until midnight or so (when I got tired) and only a couple of diehards from SLAS remained to do seek out some hard to find objects. SLAS members that came were Lowell and Rob R who brought their families, Bill B and Bill K who brought their wives, Ivo, Tom, and me. Oh, and Brandon (I need to get his last name). Unfortunately, I had to head for home early Sun morning, though I would have liked to have stayed to swim and hike and to attend Sun night's party as the weather had cleared. For those of you who were not at our July meeting, I introduced our club's Nightsky outreach kits to use at public star parties. So far, we have 3 kits, how scientists are searching for planets outside our solar system, the universe, and black holes. We will be getting our next kit (a product from NASA and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific) in December on telescopes. We will continue to get these as long as we use them and record our efforts. The kit on planets will be presented at this month's SLAS meeting. I believe that these kits ought to be loaned out to current club members in much the same way as our telescope loaner program. I will talk to Siegfried about bringing it up at our meeting this month. These are an easy fit with school and youth parties, as well as for the parks. The park would like us to come down again next year and present our talks at the nature center during the day as well as at the amphitheater at night. Thanks to all who made the trek to Capitol Reef and made a fun and memorable weekend! -A

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Misc finder charts for faint PNs in the Aql-Del-Sgr region
by Canopus56 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

These Cartes du Ciel captures may be of use to star-hopping club members - http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/20050906PN/index.… - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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