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

Today's APOD is by list member Rob Ratkowski
by Canopus56 10 Jun '06

10 Jun '06

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html Congrads Rob! - Canopus56 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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GRS, Sr. transit times for observing GRS, Jr.
by Canopus56 10 Jun '06

10 Jun '06

For those interested in trying to see the GRS, Jr. approach to GRS pappa, the Sky & Telescope website has an online calculator that gives transit times for the Great Red Spot: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_107_1.asp GRS, Jr. looks from the June 5 NASA Press Release to be about 10-20 degrees trailing of the Great Red Spot. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/05jun_redperil.htm?list89139 The second page of the S&T Article also includes a table of all the GRS transits for the rest of the year from the ALPO. http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_107_2.asp UTC GRS transit times for the next week (from the article) are: 10, 7:51 (Y-alt 20deg), 17:47; 11, 3:43 (Y-alt 33deg, twilight), 13:38, 23:34; 12, 9:30, 19:25; 13, 5:21 (Y-34.5 deg), 15:17; 14, 1:12 (Y-Daylight), 11:08, 21:04; 15, 6:59 (Y-alt 25deg), 16:55; 16, 2:51 (Y-Civil Sunset-alt 31deg), 12:46, 22:42; 17, 8:38 (Y-alt 8.5deg), 18:33; "(Y)" after a time means that I have checked the Jupitor is above the horizon at my intermountain 41N lat, 111 W observing point. The near full Moon is up on most of these dates. - Canopus56 P.S. - I'm not quite sure what Jovian features are built into the various popular planetarium programs. P.P.S. - The MDT date/time -6h translations for favorable date-times are: 6/10 7:51UTC = 6/10 1:51AM MDT 20deg 6/11 3:45UTC = 6/10 9:45PM MDT 33deg 6/13 5:21UTC = 6/12 11:21PM MDT 34.5deg 6/15 6:59UTC = 6/15 0:59AM MDT 25deg 6/16 2:51UTC = 6/15 8:51PM MDT 31deg __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Ultimate telescope control system?
by Patrick Wiggins 10 Jun '06

10 Jun '06

Too lazy to lift a finger to run a telescope? Try brain power: http://www.physorg.com/news69039322.html Hmmm, maybe Chuck Hards could try this with the Big Scope at SPOC (we all know how much he loves GOTO scopes... <grin>) Patrick

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ISS crosses Moon 6/15/2006 5:56am from SLC (???)
by Canopus56 09 Jun '06

09 Jun '06

Patrick, Could you confirm this possible ISS cross of the Moon on June 15 at 5:56am local time for me? Thanks. Data is from Calcsky - Canopus56 5h56m55.97s ISS Crosses the disk of Moon. Separation=0.138ÂÂ Position Angle=329.0ÂÂ Angular Velocity=30.9'/s. Transit duration=0.90s Angular diameter=23.1" size=73.0m x 44.5m x 27.5m Satellite at Azimuth=209.3ÂÂ SSW Altitude= 22.8ÂÂ Distance=801.8 km Magnitude=-0.5mag Satellite apparently moves to clock-face direction 8:45 o'clock Centerline, Closest Point ÂÂ¨Map: Longitude=111ÂÂ50'27" W Latitude=+40ÂÂ47'00" Distance=4.80 km Azimuth= 48.6ÂÂ NE Path direction: 138.6ÂÂ SE ground speed: 7.615 km/s width: 19.1 km max. duration: 1.1 s __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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News, 08 JUN 2006
by Patrick Wiggins 08 Jun '06

08 Jun '06

News, Thursday, 08 June 2006 6th Annual Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival Next Week The start of the 6th Annual Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival is only 2 weeks away. As always SLAS is expected to have a large contingent present but others are welcome as well. If you'd like to participate please contact Bryce Canyon Ranger Chad Moore at chad_moore(a)nps.gov. http://www.nps.gov/brca/astronomy_programs.html +++++ Griffin Welcomes Russian Help In Future Space Missions NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said he would welcome Russian participation in future space exploration missions that go beyond the International Space Station. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Griffin_Welcomes_Russian_Help_In_Future_S… +++++ Huge Storms Converge The two biggest storms in the solar system are about to go bump in the night, in plain view of backyard telescopes. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/05jun_redperil.htm +++++ Killer Crater Found Under Ice Ancient mega-catastrophe paved way for the dinosaurs, spawned Australian continent. http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/erthboom.htm +++++ Astronomers Find Ancient 'Cities' of Galaxies A team of astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a grand total of nearly 300 clusters of galaxies. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=1114 +++++ First Images From NASA'S Cloudsat Have Scientists Sky-High The first images from NASA's new CloudSat satellite are already revealing never-before-seen 3-D details about clouds. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-083 +++++ New Gemini Images Contrast the Late Evolution of Two Very Different Stars Two new images from Gemini Observatory show a pair of beautiful nebulae that were created by two very different types of stars at what may be similar points in their evolutionary timelines. http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=188 +++++ New Study Suggests 'Planemos' May Spawn Planets and Moons Discovery on miniature solar systems blurs the definition of 'planet'. http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/060605-2347.asp http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2006/pr-19-06.html +++++ Researchers Find Hidden Greek Text On Oldest Astronomy Computer The size of a shoebox, a mysterious bronze device has baffled scientists for years. Now a British researcher has stunningly established it as the world's oldest surviving astronomy computer. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Researchers_Find_Hidden_Greek_Text_On_Old… ************************************************** ************************************************** Images and Data From Cassini-Huygens At: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/latest/index.cfm http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-releases.cfm +++++ Information On The Mars Rovers At: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html +++++ SLAS 2006 Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/LOCAL.HTML +++++ SSA / UMNH 2006 Southern Utah Public Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/STARPARTIES.HTML +++++ ************************************************** News is being sent to you because of your affiliation with the Salt Lake Astronomical Society or because you asked to be subscribed. To unsubscribe please send your request to paw at wirelessbeehive dot com. Check out my NASA Solar System Ambassador web site at: http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky and mirrored at http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/ For astronomy clubs in Utah see: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/UTAHCLUBS.HTML For the Utah Astronomy Listserve see: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy ************************************************** -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah & NE Nevada paw at wirelessbeehive dot com http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/ 435.882.1209 801.918.9092

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News, 06 JUN 2006
by Patrick Wiggins 06 Jun '06

06 Jun '06

News, Tuesday, 06 June 2006 Refractor Level 2 Thursday Bruce Grim reports he plans on holding a refractor level 2 class this coming Thursday. If you have completed a refractor level 1 class and could like to take Thursday's class, please contact Bruce at bgrim(a)erda.net. +++++ Final 2006 Ealing Level 1 Set One final Ealing level 1 (introductory) class has been scheduled for the evening of Saturday, 17 June starting _promptly_ at 7:30 and going to 9:00 p.m. You do not need to be a member of SLAS to take this class. To register for the class please email paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com. While this is the last level 1 class currently scheduled for this season, if the backlog of level 2 students can be taken care of, the instructors may schedule additional classes later in the season. +++++ Andromeda Adrift in Sea of Dust in New NASA Image The Andromeda galaxy, named for the mythological princess who almost fell prey to a sea monster, appears tranquil in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2006-14/ +++++ NASA Awards Mars Science Lab Launch Contract NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has selected Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services Inc. to deliver an Atlas V rocket for the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which aims to land a large rover on the red planet in the fall of 2009. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Awards_Mars_Science_Lab_Launch_Contr… +++++ STS UPdate Now less than 1 month from the opening of the next shuttle launch window. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/2006/status-20… +++++ ************************************************** ************************************************** Images and Data From Cassini-Huygens At: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/latest/index.cfm http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-releases.cfm +++++ Information On The Mars Rovers At: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html +++++ SLAS 2006 Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/LOCAL.HTML +++++ SSA / UMNH 2006 Southern Utah Public Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/STARPARTIES.HTML +++++ ************************************************** News is being sent to you because of your affiliation with the Salt Lake Astronomical Society or because you asked to be subscribed. To unsubscribe please send your request to paw at wirelessbeehive dot com. Check out my NASA Solar System Ambassador web site at: http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky and mirrored at http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/ For astronomy clubs in Utah see: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/UTAHCLUBS.HTML For the Utah Astronomy Listserve see: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy ************************************************** -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah & NE Nevada paw at wirelessbeehive dot com http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/ 435.882.1209 801.918.9092

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Ann: Personal lunar observer planning spreadsheet in Excel
by Canopus56 06 Jun '06

06 Jun '06

http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/MoonPlan/MoonSpdtProj… This email is to announce an observation planning spreadsheet implemented in Microsoft Excel (2003) suitable for beginner or intermediate lunar observers. The spreadsheet contains a catalogue of approximately 2,600 lunar objects which can be sorted and filtered by the current position of the lunar terminator. Utilities are provided to predict on what dates and times a particular terminator position will occur in the 12 months following the current date and time. It is designed to quickly answer the question "What's on the terminator tonight?" The spreadsheet is not internationalized and assumes a Microsoft Windows U.S. date system. While this spreadsheet contains a good utility for locating favorable observing times for objects near the terminator on the Moon's near-side face between 0 and 90 degrees East or West lunar longitude, this spreadsheet is not suitable for high-precision planning for observing objects in libration areas on the lunar limb. This lunar observing spreadsheet will be of interest to instructors of introductory college astronomy courses, astronomy club lunar party organizers, and intermediate and beginner lunar observers. By using the full power of Excel's drill-down data filter feature, a variety of interesting lunar tours can be developed, e.g. - by geologic period, by crater size, by feature type, by bright ray crater, by dark halo crater, by dark-floor craters, by fractured floor craters, etc. Other features included in this lunar observing spreadsheet are a means to quickly move target lists to HTML tables for redistribution over the web. An article index and bibliography is included. A better existing alternative is the popular freeware Virtual Atlas of the Moon (VAM) by Patrick Chevalley and Christian Legrand. The project homepage and spreadsheet download site, which contains a detailed description of the catalogue's development, is listed above. Enjoy - Canopus56 __________________________________________________ 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: Minor planets
by Dale Hooper 06 Jun '06

06 Jun '06

Hi Patrick, Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. I also looked at Astrometrica after the discussion on mpml. I still prefer a few of the Maxim DL/Pinpoint features vs Astrometrica. But, I really like how Astrometrica displays all the known MP's from MPCORB onto my images at the expected locations. Does TheSky/CCDSoft do that also? At 25 euros for Astrometrica (about $33?) it's tough to go too far wrong. Like you said - the automatic surveys are getting most of the discoveries now - but I'm still having lots of fun! I hope you don't mind me asking you a few more questions, from time to time, as I continue working this. Again, I really appreciate your time and help with it. Clear skies, Dale. > -----Original Message----- > On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins > Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 12:02 AM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Minor planets > > Dale Hooper wrote: > > > Hi Patrick, > > > > I just got my minor planet observatory code today (G87)! > Kudos! In case you need to know it mine is 718. > > > - so I hope you don't mind a question or two. > Not at all. > > > I thought it was okay to > > report the mid-point of the observation? I.e. it doesn't matter if > > there is some streaking if you get the mid-point position and time (or > > an end-point position and time). > I think you are right. I posted the question because I've never worked > an asteroid moving fast enough to trail in my typically 2 minutes or > less exposures. Now that I'm thinking along the lines of NEOs I may > have to learn how it's done. However, now that I've purchased > Astrometrica it may solve the problem for me. > > > Are you observing NEO's or doing photometry? > I tried my first NEO a few nights ago but until I feel good about the > data I wont be officially reporting them. > > Most (all?) of the astrometry software today automatically does > photometry so I guess you could say I'm doing minor planet photometry as > well. I'm also trying to figure out how to do light curves. > > I got into this back when it was still pretty easy to make discoveries > so back then (1998) my primary concern was astrometry. Now that the > game is changing I'm trying to figure out what to do now. > > > Is that why this would be more important? > I'm sure the answer to that will depend on which camp you ask. I don't > have an opinion. > > Good luck! > > Patrick >

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Solar activity
by Chuck Hards 04 Jun '06

04 Jun '06

A check through my 50mm solar scope reveals a fair-sized sunspot group just now rotating into view on the sun's eastern limb. (Directions on the sun, like the moon, are based on compass directions for a terrestrial observer, not what they would be to a hypothetical observer on the surface of those bodies.) This is group number 892. More info at: http://www.spaceweather.com/ They claim a coronal mass ejection should hit our neighborhood on June 7th. Too bad the moon will be big and bright, and out all night by then, as there will be the possibility of aurorae. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Website announce: Indices to the the Nearside LPODs
by Canopus56 04 Jun '06

04 Jun '06

Indices to the the Lunar Nearside Articles of Charles A. Wood's (ed) Lunar Photo of the Day This site provides hyperlinked indices to the popular Lunar Photo of the Day (LPOD) website edited by Charles A. Wood and the LPOD archives from 2004 to June 1, 2006. Through June 1, 2006, the lists include approximately 446 article-feature entries related to nearside objects observable by amateur lunar observers. Excluded from the lists were LPOD articles that dealt exclusively with historical matters or far-side objects that could not be directly viewed by Earth-based amateur lunar observers. Main page http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/LPODIdx/LPODIdxProjec… LPODs by Lunar Latitude and Longitude http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/LPODIdx/html/LPODIdxL… LPODs by Feature Name http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/LPODIdx/html/LPODName… LPODs by Feature Type http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/LPODIdx/html/LPODObjT… The intended use for these lists is an observing aid to astronomy clubs and individual amateur lunar observers who want to improve their public educational star parties or their general enjoyment of the Moon. It is hoped that astronomy club presenters can use these lists to ascertain which LPODs are available within 10-20 degrees of the current colongitude of the lunar terminator. Observing plans and presentations can then be enchanced with Dr. Wood's insights and the numerous photographic contributions of many expert-level amateur astrophotographers including (to name just a few LPOD photo contributors) Paolo Lazzarotti, K.C. Pau, Mike Wirths, Wes Higgins, and Anthony Ayiomamitis. This author is not affiliated with the LPOD site. - Canopus56 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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