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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too good to be true?
by Michael Carnes 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

>Michael, my scanner came with Photoshop Elements. Can you outline the >advantages of using the full program? Thanks, Joe Can't outline them all, Joe. I'm still learning. But I can lay out a few things for you. Elements is definitely easier to use. It's also quite powerful in its own right. If you spend a reasonable amount of time exploring it, you'll be able to do an awful lot. Photoshop CS2 has apparently undergone a reworking of its UI (I don't have experience with an older version for comparison). Layout seems pretty logical, but there's an awful lot under the hood. CS2 supports RAW camera format. CS2 also supports 16-bit images (16 bits per pixel). It has a very nifty mode for tripod shots. If you're shooting a scene with a large dynamic range--something that would overwhelm a typical digital camera--you can stack a number of shots done at different shutter speeds. The short exposures would capture the bright stuff and the long exposures would capture the dim stuff. Photoshop will use the best parts of each exposure to make a stack. This is different from astronomical stacking in which the images are integrated. The end result is that you have a photo with a much larger range than your camera is capable of. CS2 has a much more powerful way of using layers. I don't know how useful this is for astrophotography, but it's fabulous for retouching or creating composite shots. CS2 has a great lens correction filter. It can correct 'bowed' lines shot at low F/stops. It can remove JPEG noise. It can easily level an image that leans one way or another. It can even do small perspective changes. There are many more basic image corrections available, along with a lot more in the way of filters. If your primary interest is astrophotography, I really can't address that. I have tremendous admiration for folks on the list who share their shots, but I have too many demands on my time to undertake it. My own photography interests lean more toward landscapes, critters and people. For that kind of work, CS2 has been a real step forward. Hope this is helpful. MC

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Tonight's Vandenberg launch (8:24-8:40pm MDT)
by Canopus56 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

In follow-up to Patrick's daily news announcement for tonight's 8:24pm-8:40 MDT launch window for a Minotaur I rocket from Vandenberg, here's a good max potential photo at 1,500 miles for what might be seen - http://www.spacearchive.info/jawsat.jpg from - http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm Patrick, any recommendations for photo exposure settings, assuming the weather holds? Brian Webb's "Photographing Vandenberg Launch" website - http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbphoto.htm I ran a great circle calculator for an azimuth of the direction of VAFB - http://williams.best.vwh.net/gccalc.htm - and got an azimuth of 231.5 degrees and a distance of about 1020 kilometers. Thanks for the head's up, Patrick. - Canopus56(Kurt) P.S. - The VAFB Unclassified launch schedule page (with the "official" current launch window) http://mocc.vandenberg.af.mil/launchsched.asp Vandenberg AFB: 34Â° 42' 33" (34.709Â°) N, 120Â° 36' 00" (120.600Â°) W UT - Salt Lake City: 40Â° 45' 39" N, 111Â° 53' 25" W __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too good to be true?
by Michael Carnes 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

It's an older version. The current version is CS2 (I've got it. Boy is it ever sweet!), but the version on sale is CS. If you check the upgrade prices from CS to CS2, it might still turn out to be a savings. But it's also worth looking at an upgrade from Photoshop Elements. I had a coupon that came with an old version of Elements (it came as part of a scanner bundle). The coupon was almost three years old, but Adobe still honored it and sold me a copy of CS2 for under $300. If there are still such deals available, it's almost as cheap to buy a scanner, use the coupon and toss the scanner ;-) http://www.buysusa.com/index.htm Photoshop for less than 1/5 retail sounds like great news for astroimagers, but the prices look way too good to be true. Anyone know what the catch is? 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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Observing this Weekend at the Wedge
by Olhomorto＠aol.com 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

The weather this week-end looks to be ideal for observing at the Wedge! Is there anybody else besides me who has observing plans? Mike Bailey

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Recommended SciFi
by steve.nielsen＠comcast.net 27 Sep '05

27 Sep '05

It came recommended to us by a friend also. Surprisingly good. All 12 episodes. Shows you what the network folks know. I can't believe they cancelled it. We will definitly go see it in the theatres and would also recomend it. -------------- Original message -------------- > Just finished watching the DVD set of "Firefly", a > series that ran less than a season on Fox a couple of > years ago (I completely missed it then). But on the > encouragement of some colleagues at work, I borrowed > the set (13 episodes on 4 disks). > > In a word, fabulous. > > Funny, hip, sometimes intense, and different. And > despite being cancelled by Fox executives (who clearly > don't have a clue about what works), there is a huge > fan following worldwide, and the creator (Joss Whedon > of "Buffy" fame) went and made a movie anyway. > "Serenity" (the name of the Firefly-class ship, with > the same cast from the TV-series Firefly) will be in > theaters opening the end of this month. Anyway, check > it out -- I think you'll enjoy it. My wife even > watched the whole thing with me and liked it as well > (a rare thing for her with SciFi). > > One caveat, this is definitely PG-13 fare, intended > for adults. > > You can see the movie trailer here: > http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/serenity/ > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.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

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RE: Observing on the moon
by Chuck Hards 26 Sep '05

26 Sep '05

I don't think the motors, lubricants, or rubber belts would work very well on a motorized Dob either, at minus 250 degrees (or plus 200 if in the sunlight). You're still stuck with a manual scope. Since we need to resolve some hardware issues, we may as well work on new tracking software and take the Celestron anyway. I think there's plenty of time... ;) > From: "Dale Hooper" <Dale.Hooper(a)sdl.usu.edu> > You are probably right - it would be best to take a > big dob and put it > on a rate-modified dob tracker platform. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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New Image - M15 Globular Cluster
by Tyler Allred 25 Sep '05

25 Sep '05

Hi all, I managed a few minutes of imaging time last night, from my light-polluted back yard here in Orem. I decided it was futile to try anything that was dim, so I went with a globular instead.... M15. I had to deal with some pretty severe gradients because of the background light, but it turned out OK. Here is the link to the thumbnail image: http://www.utahastronomy.com/album16/Utah_Astronomy_M15_LRGB Click the thumbnail for the larger version, or just click here: http://www.utahastronomy.com/album16/Utah_Astronomy_M15_LRGB?full=1 I hope someone out there enjoys these images as much as I enjoy capturing them. Cheers, Tyler

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Observing on the moon
by Dale Hooper 25 Sep '05

25 Sep '05

You are probably right - it would be best to take a big dob and put it on a rate-modified dob tracker platform. It's a good thing we'd be imaging because I wouldn't want to climb a 12 to 16 foot ladder in an EVA suit! - even if it wouldn't hurt much to fall that far. Dave - I think you'd be okay with the earthshine as long as you had good baffling since there isn't any atmosphere. That also assumes that everyone stays away from the moonshine. Just imagine how close the double stars could be that you could resolve! Clear skies, Dale. > > Dale Hooper wrote: > > > > When we go back to the moon in 2018, I'll be a spry 58 years old - so > I > > should certainly live long enough to make the journey myself. <g> So, > I > > was curious what it would take if I plop my Meade LX-200 out on the > > lunar surface and want to observe? > > Why would you want to settle for such a small scope? On the moon, you > ought to be able to heft a 30" dob with little problem, even at 58. :) > > Aaron > You will want to set up on the far side of the Moon. I think the earth > shine, which we see all the time reflecting off the Moon, will make it > such that you wouldn't be able to see very well. > > You could probably set it up inside a glass dome. The dome would need to > be made such that it didn't distort the image. I big Dob with one of the > Meade DSI eyepieces would be the way to go. Then you could share the > image with all of us Earthbound astronomers. > > Dave

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RE: Observing on the moon
by Chuck Hards 24 Sep '05

24 Sep '05

I guess it's true- familiarity does breed contempt. If I got to the moon, I'd leave the telescope packed for a long time, and go exploring for a few years first. I'll only be sixty by then, myself. Besides, the LX-200 will probably not even function in the cold of Lunar night. You are indeed better off with the Dob. > From: "Dale Hooper" <Dale.Hooper(a)sdl.usu.edu> > When we go back to the moon in 2018, I'll be a spry > 58 years old - so I > should certainly live long enough to make the > journey myself. <g> So, I > was curious what it would take if I plop my Meade > LX-200 out on the > lunar surface and want to observe? __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com

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Hurricance Rita - NASA and NOAA space photos
by Canopus56 23 Sep '05

23 Sep '05

In addition to NOAA's space based tracker - http://www.stormtracker.noaa.gov/stormtracker-rita.htm and photos - http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/FLOAT/RGB/20.jpg NASA has a neat 3-D simulation of Rita - http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/h2005_rita.html - Canopus56 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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