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

Status of the ID bill on the House floor and sending emails to your representative
by Canopus56 16 Feb '06

16 Feb '06

The bill can be read and followed from: http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/sbillhtm/SB0096.htm The current substituted bill can be read at: http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/bills/sbillamd/sb0096.pdf Key language in subsection 3 reads: "The curriculum requirements described in Subsection (2) shall require that if instruction is given to students on any theory regarding the origins of life, or the origins or a present state of the human race, then that instruction shall stress that not all scientists agree on which theory is correct." Key language in subsection 4(b) reads: "The State Board of Education shall . . . . (b) ensure that all policies and positions of the State Board of Education relating to theories regarding the origins of life or the origins or present state of the human race: (i) do not endorse a particular theory; and (ii) stress that not all scientists agree on which scientific theory is correct." The House calendar for Friday showed the bill was scheduled for debate. On Saturday 3:00pm, the best web info I can find is that the bill has not passed and is on the final reading calendar: http://cal.le.state.ut.us/JSP/JDisplay/Default.html "House 3rd Reading Calendar for Senate bills The House 3rd reading calendar for Senate bills. Debate and amendments can take place here. A vote is taken and if the bill passed without amendments it is signed by the Speaker. If the bill was amended, it is returned to the Senate for Concurrence. SB0096S02 is in position 11 on this calendar behind: 6 - SB0139 Reportable Transactions Act 7 - SB0037 Income Tax - Taxation of Individuals, Estates, and Trusts 8 - SB0038 Individual Income Taxation of Certain Trust Distributions 9 - SB0123 Utah Consumer Credit Code Amendments 10 - SB0137 Business Organization and Division of Corporations and Commercial Code Amendments" Now would be a effective time to send an email to any Utah House legislator indicating your feelings on the bill. An email link to your House representative can be found at: http://www.le.state.ut.us/house/members2005/membertable1add.asp If it does pass, the bill has to go through another reading in the Senate. You may wish to also circulate your comment to the editorial pages of the main local newspapers. letters(a)sltrib.com (NO attachments, requires a name and address). letters(a)desnews.com (Requries full name, address and phone number). If this email has arrived too late and the bill has already gone through 3rd reading, I apologize. - Canopus56 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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From the archives
by Chuck Hards 15 Feb '06

15 Feb '06

I posted a photo from my archives on page 4 of my Gallery pages. It shows the big composite tube for the Grim telescope that was never used, being loaded on a trailer for transport to SPOC. At the time it was still planned to be used. I think now it's being used as low-income housing for the city of Herriman, or as a culvert on a cattle ranch. ;) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Sky Publishing Sold
by Chuck Hards 15 Feb '06

15 Feb '06

Thanks for posting that, Dale. The magazine sure has changed a lot since I first started reading it in the early '70's. The last few years have seen it become more and more like a Kalmbach property, that is, more geared toward the general public, less-so the serious astronomy enthusiast. In the "good old days", S&T was almost a professional journal. Time will tell if the new owners are a good thing. Some of those S&T owners just made a big pile of money, no doubt. We may see some retirements. > From: "Dale Hooper" <Dale.Hooper(a)sdl.usu.edu> > >http://skyandtelescope.com/aboutsky/pressreleases/article_1677_1.asp __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Tonight on Nova
by Chuck Hards 15 Feb '06

15 Feb '06

Guy, Amber is cold and hard, and terrible at conversation. Not much fun at all. > From: diveboss(a)xmission.com > There may lie the answer to your Mosquito concerns. > If Amber can trap > mosquitoes, then perhaps we should get Amber to come > to our star parties! ;) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Re: Recurrent nova RS Oph
by Chuck Hards 15 Feb '06

15 Feb '06

Hey Rich: George Wallerstein made his "purple star" observations on the nights of July 14, 17, and 25, 1958. (I personally would not arrive on earth for another 2-1/2 months.) It should be noted that the author was using a 60-inch telescope that night, a reflector. Not known is if he made his observation through the main instrument or an auxiliary telescope. Trying to perceive a subtle stellar tint should be done with a reflector or apochromatic refractor. Standard achromats will make their own contributions to the star's color. Racking the star out-of-focus will sometimes make tints easier to perceive. S&T reports the star reddening and dimming slightly, mag. 5.7 as of this morning (15th). > From: Richard Tenney <retenney(a)yahoo.com> > Chuck, > > Is your '58 date dyslexia, a correction, or an > unusuallly bright recurrence? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Reminder - Frontiers of Science Lecture Tonight, 7:30pm, U of U
by Richard Tenney 15 Feb '06

15 Feb '06

FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE LECTURE The RNA World: Forerunner of Our DNA World? Lecturer: Raymond F. Gesteland, distinguished professor of human genetics, University of Utah Date: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006 (TONIGHT!) Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Auditorium, University of Utah FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC In our modern biological world, all the functions of life are carried out by cells. The core machinery is made of proteins that direct the cellsÂ complex chemistry and behavior by precisely triggering chemical reactions within the cell. Proteins are synthesized by particular components of the cellular machinery (made mostly of proteins themselves) that take their instructions from the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of genes. The DNA, in turn, is copied by other components that also are made of proteins. Thus, each kind of primary, large biological molecule Â protein and DNA Â depends directly on the other for its existence, and cells need both, working together, to grow, divide and function normally. This absolute interdependence between proteins and DNA in modern life gives rise to a profound chicken-and-egg problem: How could our DNA-and-protein world have evolved if neither DNA nor protein can exist without the other? The answer may be found in ribonucleic acid (RNA). RNA is similar to DNA, and like DNA it can carry genetic information. But it can also fold into complex shapes and act as a catalyst Â like proteins do Â to trigger chemical reactions. This makes it a candidate for solving the chicken-and-egg problem. Many lines of reasoning and evidence suggest that an RNA world early in EarthÂs 4.5-billion-year history could have supported the gradual evolution of both DNA and proteins. Although this theory may help solve the chicken and egg problem, it does not explain how the RNA world itself might have arisen. Gesteland earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry at Harvard University in 1965 and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. In 1967, John Cairns hired him to work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, where he became assistant director for research with James Watson, who received the Nobel Prize in 1962 for his discovery of the DNA double helix. Gesteland was attracted to Utah in 1978 as a full professor of biology. In 1984, he accepted a faculty appointment in human genetics and became a distinguished professor in 1996. Gesteland is currently the vice president for research at the University of Utah, as well as a distinguished professor of human genetics and the recipient of the Helen Lowe Bamberger Colby Presidential Endowed Chair in Human Genetics. He has nearly 200 publications and is a member of the RNA Society and the American Academy of Microbiology. University of Utah College of Science 1430 E. Presidents Circle, Room 220 Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0140 (801) 581-6958 fax: (801) 585-3169 www.science.utah.edu __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Sky Publishing Sold
by Dale Hooper 14 Feb '06

14 Feb '06

http://skyandtelescope.com/aboutsky/pressreleases/article_1677_1.asp

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Tonight on Nova
by Patrick Wiggins 14 Feb '06

14 Feb '06

Anthology, Science, David Attenborough investigates whether dinosaur DNA can be extracted from mosquitoes trapped in amber. 7:00 pm. KUED channel 7. Patrick

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Recurrent nova RS Oph re-erupts and is naked-eye
by Canopus56 13 Feb '06

13 Feb '06

Recurrent nova RS Oph (Nova Oph 1933), normally a mag 11 object, has re-erupted for the first time since 1985 as a naked-eye object at ~mag 5: AAVSO Notice 335 http://www.aavso.org/publications/alerts/alert335.shtml The eruption is expected to last through April. At 5:00 AM local time, I am showing it at about +20 degs alt: RS Oph J175014.40-064236.0 Az118.68 Alt+20.11 AAVSO finder charts are at: http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/searchcharts3.pl?name=RS%20OPH AAVSO wide-field A chart http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/shrinkwrap.pl?path=/charts/OPH/RS_OPH/RSOPH-A.… See the related S&T article: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/variablestars/article_1678_1.a… - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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New dovetail
by Chuck Hards 13 Feb '06

13 Feb '06

I added a photo of the new dovetail on a C-bracket to my Gallery page (page 3). Gamo sight installed. I like this dovetail a lot more than the plastic one that comes with the Mars-eye, or the Orion bracket. It has a lower profile, much cleaner and more compact. I made it from 1/8" plate aluminum on the table saw, then a little handwork to remove the cutting marks and put a bit of a shine to it. Woodworking tools only. The particular one in the photo belongs to our own Rich Tenney. Many thanks to Guy for giving me the industry standard dovetail widths! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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