January 2006 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Remembering Challenger
by Chuck Hards 29 Jan '06

29 Jan '06

I remember that morning 20 years ago exactly. It's one of five instances burned into my brain. The moon landing was the first, stepping out of the car and looking up to see comet West is the second, Challenger the third, my daughter's birth the fourth, and 911 is the fifth. Three out of five were joyous, the other two disaster. I was sitting at the kitchen table in my old apartment in Sugarhouse, nursing a cup of coffee. I was down with the flu, and worse yet between jobs- I had just been laid-off at my lab job of five years. I had a blanket around my shoulders and was watching the launch coverage on the small b&w TV I had in the kitchen. When it happened, I was in shock. A few minutes later I managed to call my best friend and let him know. He had been working nights while going to school and was certainly asleep and not watching it. He couldn't believe what I told him and was sure I was pulling his leg. Only after he turned on his TV did he realize it really happened. Sad, sad day. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Re: The promise of spring
by Chuck Hards 28 Jan '06

28 Jan '06

Michael, you've been misinformed. Shoveling doesn't build character, it builds biceps. You know, there are already robotic vacuum cleaners, I wouldn't be surprised at all if an automated snow blower is next... Hey, I think there's a cantata there, just begging to be written... ;) > From: Michael Carnes <michaelcarnes(a)earthlink.net> > For decades in New England I shoveled my driveway > the old-fashioned way. With snow more dense than > the interior of a neutron star, I convinced myself > that this was the way to build character. A few > years ago I decided that character was highly > overrateed and I bought a snow blower. Now you're > saying there's a GoTo snowblower? Where can I get > one? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: The promise of spring
by Michael Carnes 27 Jan '06

27 Jan '06

>Guy, None of your high-falootin' >GoTo snow thingamabobs for me! ;) For decades in New England I shoveled my driveway the old-fashioned way. With snow more dense than the interior of a neutron star, I convinced myself that this was the way to build character. A few years ago I decided that character was highly overrateed and I bought a snow blower. Now you're saying there's a GoTo snowblower? Where can I get one?

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Re: The promise of spring
by Chuck Hards 27 Jan '06

27 Jan '06

Ed and Joe, this spring I'll have those 100mm binos on a big parallelogram- definitely time to bribe the groundhog. Guy, I meant to tell you that even though I have double-wide, 100-foot-long driveway, I- yep, you guessed it- shovel it the old-fashioned way! (Love the workout- really!!) None of your high-falootin' GoTo snow thingamabobs for me! ;) > From: Edward Lunt <lunco(a)yahoo.com> > Chuck; > The thought of Spring has started my day off great. > From: Joe Bauman <bau(a)desnews.com> > Chuck, What an uplifting thought to share with us. > From: diveboss(a)xmission.com > Not me, I have a brand new snow blower I have yet to > use. I bought it thinking > we would be getting a bunch of snow down here this > year but noooo. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Thanks Patrick...
by Michael Carnes 27 Jan '06

27 Jan '06

'Twas fun. The launch sequence was almost like a Rube Goldberg device with things that just kept on happening. That alone was worth the drive down to the theater. -- Funny, but I couldn't help but think of that gag animation that came out right when Spirit originally landed. You've probably seen it. The RAT comes out of the rover and starts to spin. As soon at it touches the rock, the RAT locks up and the rover spins like crazy.

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Pitt Professor's Theory Of Evolution
by Patrick Wiggins 27 Jan '06

27 Jan '06

Schwartz hearkens back to earlier theories that suggest that the Darwinian model of evolution as continual and gradual adaptation to the environment glosses over gaps in the fossil record by assuming the intervening fossils simply have not been found yet. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Pitt_Professors_Theory_Of_Evolution_Gets_… Patrick

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Spring and Mars Attacks!
by Robert Taylor 27 Jan '06

27 Jan '06

Yes, it's great to see the winter moving along, February second will be here soon. Yes, Ground Hog Day where we learn how much more Winter we have left to bare. "Tongue in Cheek" aside, I'm looking forward to getting back out, I've been working on my SVP mount adding the new Computer Object Locator for this season, can't wait to give a good try-out. Now maybe I'll actually know what Galaxy I'm looking at for a change. Life is good. Thanks Patrick for putting the special screening together last night. The Mars rovers are quite and amazing success. Bob Taylor

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Bill Kennedy/CTI is out of the office.
by Bill.Kennedy＠fiserv.com 27 Jan '06

27 Jan '06

I will be out of the office starting 01/26/2006 and will not return until 01/31/2006. I will respond to your message when I return.

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Another Reflex sight
by Chuck Hards 26 Jan '06

26 Jan '06

I've found another good reflex ("red-dot") type sight that can be used for mounted binoculars and telescopes. Guide Gear Compact Multi-reticle reflex sight, from the Sportsman's Guide, stock #AX6A1-20367, $49.97. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=239991 While pricier than the typical red-dot gun sight used for astronomy, it's still only about 1/3 the cost of a TV Starbeam, and only a few dollars more than say, a Telrad or a Quickfinder. As Guy can tell you, reflex gunsights can run into the hundreds of dollars for the high-end models so this one is still considered modestly priced. My first impression out of the box was of quality construction. This unit is anodized metal, not plastic. It is also a bit smaller than the typical reflex sight, yet the viewing window is a large 33mm. It offers 4 different reticle patterns and 4 brightness levels so you should be able to choose a reticle that works well for you. Standard dovetail mount, and rubber window cover. It also comes with a pair of allen wrenches for adjustment purposes, and a cleaning cloth. The reflective coating on the window could be a little more transparent but it shouldn't be too dimming. I hope to try it out on the stars in the next week or two and will report back, as well as post a photo on my Gallery page once I get it mounted. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Tickets sent
by Patrick Wiggins 25 Jan '06

25 Jan '06

I just finished emailing tickets for Thursday's IMAX screening to all of the astronomy club members who requested one. If you requested a ticket and it does not show up in your in box today please let me know. Patrick

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