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

If you have any money left after Christmas...
by Chuck Hards 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

As the new models begin to appear, older model binoculars are hitting the discount & surplus market: >From Heartland America, www.heartlandamerica.com 1-800-229-2901 FOTAR 20x80mm binocular BAK-4 prisms, waterproof, O-ring sealed, nitrogen purged. Comes with carrying case, neck strap, and integrated tripod adapter (the type that bridges the hinge and objectives and allows longitudinal balancing, no L bracket needed). Item No. D1-59811 $89.99 FOTAR 25x100mm binocular BAK-4 prisms, alloy aluminum body, individual eyepiece focus, multi-coated optics, long eye-relief, integral tripod adapter (the same type as above). These are the identical OEM binocular as the Celestron 25x100mm and Apogee 25x100 bino, the big monsters that Jim Gibson and I bought several years ago from Apogee when first introduced. Item No. D1-59959 $179.99 Shipping charges extra on all items. God bless the Chinese who will work for nothing to provide us with these large binoculars for such a low price. Get 'em now before labor unions get a foothold over there. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL Â Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com

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New bino photos posted
by Chuck Hards 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

I have posted some new photos of parallelograms and related hardware on my Gallery page, the new stuff begins on page 2: http://www.utahastronomy.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=Chuck Lots of notes and descriptions. Let me know if anyone has questions or notes any errors, and I'll attend to it as soon as I open your reply. Remember I'm on the digest so I don't get posts immediately. In coming days I'll post a shot of the whole binocular family, from my 12x25mm up to the 25x100mm, for size comparison. Thanks to Rob Ratkowski for the use of the digital camera! C. __________________________________________________ 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] Stardust return
by Seth Jarvis 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

The wx forecast is (gulp) pretty bleak for Sunday in the wee-smalls along the I-80 corridor. Nonetheless, I'll be in Elko that night armed with my camcorder. Maybe we'll get lucky. It may be that I only get to hear a small sonic boom. NASA's being a little vague right now as to how audible it might be. We're told that the point of maximum heating on the capsule during reentry will be above Carlin, a few miles to the west of Elko. To reduce interference from moonlight we're advised to travel a bit south of Elko (increasing the moon-SRC distance), so I'll be heading down Highway 278 south of Carlin a few miles at about 09:00 GMT. Try as I can, I can't get a weatherman to push the advancing clouds out of the way. This may just end up being a Saturday night jaunt with nothing to show for it except a few bucks lost in the slot machines. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kim Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 2:02 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Stardust return Has anyone seen a [reliable?] weather forecast for Sunday AM's return of Stardust? I'd hate to make the trek from Sanpete if the weather will be rotten. Also, if weather looks good, are folks planning to rendezvous anywhere? Kim _______________________________________________ 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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ISS Overpass Fri night 19h22 -0.7m Sat night 19h47m -2.1m - Face north
by Canopus56 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

If the clear weather holds, there is a good ISS overflight tonight at 19:22 pm. The ISS will transit at mag -0.7 - disappearing directly into the overwhelming -12.5 mag Moon. Data is from CalSky: Fri. Jan. 13, 2006 19h22m32s Overpass Appears Â Â Â Â Â 19h17m50s Â Â 2.8m Â az:312.6d Â NW Transit Â Â Â Â Â 19h22m32s Â -0.7m Â az: 25.9d NNE Â h:24.8d Disappears Â Â 19h23m27s Â -0.6m Â az: 57.3d ENE Â h:20.8d 19h23m57.22s ISS Close to Moon. Separation=0.615Â° Â Position Angle=75.8Â° Satellite at Azimuth= 69.4Â° ENE Â Altitude= 17.1Â° The celestial track runs along the north horizon - face north. Starts at Hercules and progresses and increases in brightness through - Draco - below wagon of the Little Dipper - above alf UMa and the bier of the Big Dipper - through Lynx near 27 Lyn - towards alf Gem Capella and disappearing into the near full Moon glow. The JPL ephemeris is predicting a lunar magnitude of -12.54 in that time frame. Although the weather will probably change over the weekend, in case there is a hole, there is a good overpass on Saturday: Sat. Jan. 14, 2006 19h47m20s Overpass Appears Â Â Â Â Â 19h42m26s Â Â 3.1m Â az:307.6d Â NW Transit Â Â Â Â Â 19h47m20s Â -2.1m Â az: 34.9d NE Â h:68.2d Disappears Â Â 19h47m54s Â -1.9m Â az: 96.8d Â Â E Â h:49.5d - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ 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] Stardust return
by David Dunn 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

It is the Motel 6 in Wendover. I don't know if they still have rooms available but if you tell them you are with us the rate was $29.99 double. Dave -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com@mailman.xmissio n.com] On Behalf Of Kim Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 2:24 PM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Stardust return Thanks Dave. Is the Motel 6 in Ogden, or is it in Wendover? I thought I might drive west, perhaps through Delta, then north toward Wendover and find a dark spot in the desert somewhere south of Wendover. I'm just now taking the time to visit options, so not yet sure what I'll do. -----Original Message----- OAS is planning to meet in the parking lot of Motel 6 at 6pm. We are planning to go somewhere to eat and play and then head out south or west to a site that we haven't selected yet. If anyone is interested they are welcome to join us. If you don't want to eat and play, let me know and we can exchange cell phone numbers to that I can let you know where we are going. Dave _______________________________________________ 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: [Utah-astronomy] Stardust return
by David Dunn 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

OAS is planning to meet in the parking lot of Motel 6 at 6pm. We are planning to go somewhere to eat and play and then head out south or west to a site that we haven't selected yet. If anyone is interested they are welcome to join us. If you don't want to eat and play, let me know and we can exchange cell phone numbers to that I can let you know where we are going. Dave -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com@mailman.xmissio n.com] On Behalf Of Kim Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 2:02 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Maybe Spam] [Utah-astronomy] Stardust return Has anyone seen a [reliable?] weather forecast for Sunday AM's return of Stardust? I'd hate to make the trek from Sanpete if the weather will be rotten. Also, if weather looks good, are folks planning to rendezvous anywhere? Kim _______________________________________________ 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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The end of film?
by Patrick Wiggins 13 Jan '06

13 Jan '06

(3rd time trying to post this. Let's see if Cynthia has the list working this morning.) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I guess I'm not surprised but now that it's actually starting to happen I am saddened. The following are video clips from ABC News. Nikon Goes Digital In a sign of the times, the camera maker is effectively abandoning film. http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1499885 The End of Film Archivists worry that the loss of film will lead to a loss of history. http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1499977 Sigh... Patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Low Temperature Grease
by Naz_David 12 Jan '06

12 Jan '06

Kurt, Thought I'd let you know how I've got on with my Vixen GP-DX regrease efforts - not well. After the mount locked up as I described earlier on the main load surface RA I had to pound the shaft out with a hammer - a big one, with a lump of wood between it and the shaft. It was a bit surreal wacking it after babying it for years. Anyway, I have a badly damaged bushing as the shaft seems to have scoured in three places. I'm presently looking at getting a new one made up, its aluminium, the shaft is steel which fortunately survived the abuse. Cheers David

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Re: If you have any money left after Christmas...
by Chuck Hards 11 Jan '06

11 Jan '06

You're welcome, I hope you enjoy them. If you don't have a massively huge parallelogram, be sure to take a beefy tripod with a heavy-duty pan/tilt head, that is up to the weight of these things. They mount with a standard 1/4-20 stud on the built-in tripod adapter/balance arm. I'm assuming you bought the 100mm unit- or did you buy the 80mm? Talk to me about solar filters when you are ready. I need to make a pair for mine and it would be just about as easy to make 2 sets at the same time. I already have parts for 80mm filters. > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> > UPS says they should be here Friday so, weather > permitting, it looks > like I'll be able to use them to watch Stardust > return home Sunday morning. > Thanks for the tip, Chuck. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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AAS 207th Meeting - Session List
by Canopus56 11 Jan '06

11 Jan '06

Today's news from Patrick is chocked-full of new discoveries, probably because the press releases are coming out of the 207th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C. (Jan. 8-12). Here's the session/paper list for those interested in new developments. - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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