January 2007 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

More comet pix
by Patrick Wiggins 21 Jan '07

21 Jan '07

http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~rmn/C2006P1.htm http://www.spaceobs.com/perso/ pw

7 9

Comet McNaught Captured from Cerro Pachon
by Patrick Wiggins 20 Jan '07

20 Jan '07

http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=223%5D pw

2 1

McNaught from S. Africa
by Patrick Wiggins 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

Pictures from South Africa http://www.etacarina.co.za/comet-mcnaught/ http://assa.saao.ac.za/news/2007jan_mcnaught.html http://www.psychohistorian.org/astronomy/gallery/comet-mcnaught-2006- p1.html pw

1 0

Comparing comets McNaught and West
by Chuck Hards 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

The most recent photos from the southern hemisphere really made me sit up straight- McNaught bears a striking resemblence to comet West in 1976. Here is a (admittedly mediocre) photo for those who never saw West: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_West Note the similar structure in the tails of the two comets. They also share an exceedingly bright nucleus and coma. The wikipedia article also mentions the visibility of West in daylight- again like McNaught. I haven't seen an estimate yet of the apparent size of McNaught, but it looks like it could be approaching the size of West, which I made out at the time to be about 30-degrees when seen from a dark location. Let's hope that next time it's the northern hemisphere's turn- and a summertime great comet wouldn't put the universe out of balance, either (as long as we're hoping...). ____________________________________________________________________________________ The fish are biting. Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php

2 5

PST price increase
by Dale Hooper 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

I've been saving up for a Coronado PST and I'm almost ready to purchase one. So, now that Christmas is over they seem to be out of stock all over the web and the price is increasing from $499 to $599 (just my luck). Does anyone know if they have one in stock at the Clark Planetarium? If they do, is it still $499 or has is gone up to $599? Thanks and clear skies, Dale.

1 0

Fwd: FOR SALE: Astronomical Observatory and Beautiful AZ Custom Home
by Richard Tenney 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

A bit 'o SPAM that just might interest one of you... --- James and Susan Smith <sandjsmith(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > From: "James and Susan Smith" > <sandjsmith(a)earthlink.net> > Subject: FOR SALE: Astronomical Observatory and > Beautiful AZ Custom Home > Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 16:19:08 -0700 > > January 5, 2007 > > Dear Fellow Astronomer: > > We are offering for sale our 3,500 ft2 custom > pueblo-style home with a > detached observatory located on five acres of > natural desert in rural > Surprise, Arizona. The observatory makes this a > unique property and we > would like to see it enjoyed by an astronomer > (amateur or professional) > or a family with children who may be interested in > astronomy. > > > Our home and observatory are located on a rocky > hilltop about 35 mi. NW > of Phoenix which provides year-round astronomical > observation. The > observatory was designed to accommodate casual > planetary or deep space > viewing, and astrophotography to professional > research levels. The > building is 12Âx 24Â and consists of a 12Âx 12Â > elevated observatory > deck covered by a 10Â steel Ashdome (Ash > Manufacturing, P.O. Box 312, > Plainfield, Il 60544) with ample storage room below > the observatory > deck. The dome is controlled by Meridian Systems > dome control hardware & > software. The control room is 12Âx 12Â and features > lots of wall and > under counter cabinets (shelves & drawers), a > multi-monitor DELL > computer, a built-in TRANE heating and cooling unit, > and a telescope > surveillance camera with a 4-channel TV monitor. > > The CELESTRON C14 scope (white OTA, hand picked > mirror with minimal > flop) is mounted on a Software Bisque Paramount > GT-1100S and is > accompanied by Software Bisque controlling software > (incl. SKY 5 & 6, > T-Point, Orchestrate, etc.). The scope has an OPTEC > 2Â TCF-S Temperature > Compensated Focuser and an ST-9XE CCD Imaging Camera > (with electronic > alternate cooling), both controlled by Software > Bisque SKY or CCDSoft. > > Details, photos and virtual tours of the many > amenities in our home and > the observatory may be found at the following link: > > http://arml > <http://armlslistings.marketlinx.com/SearchDetail/Scripts/PrtBuyFul/PrtB > uyFul.asp?prp=mls&AgentId=DB326&EmailKey=61707797> > slistings.marketlinx.com/SearchDetail/Scripts/PrtBuyFul/PrtBuyFul.asp?pr > p=mls&AgentId=DB326&EmailKey=61707797 > > Complete details and contacts at: > > http://callthebigsbys.com > <http://callthebigsbys.com/> > > Or, call Dave or Ernie Bigsby, Windermere Surprise > Toll free at 877 > 469-7431 for information by phone; cell 623 > 826-8051, FAX 623 584-5502 > > Thank you. > > Dr. James Smith, Owner & Retired Biology Professor __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

2 1

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Like Chuck said...
by Michael Carnes 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

Holey Moley! And that's in twilight, too! >It's like Chuck said, "It's just not fair!" > >Comet McNaught today (when we can't see it): >http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image005564.html >

3 3

Like Chuck said...
by Patrick Wiggins 18 Jan '07

18 Jan '07

It's like Chuck said, "It's just not fair!" Comet McNaught today (when we can't see it): http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image005564.html pw

1 0

Frontiers of Science Lecture Jan. 31 - Mars Climate
by Seth Jarvis 17 Jan '07

17 Jan '07

MEDIA ADVISORY Contacts: -- Matthew P. Golombek, senior research scientist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. - (818) 393-7948, mgolombek(a)jpl.nasa.gov (Golombek will be in Utah Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Please contact James DeGooyer (below) to arrange interviews.) -- James DeGooyer, public relations specialist, University of Utah College of Science - (801) 581-3124, jdegooyer(a)science.utah.edu FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE LECTURE Martian Climate Change: >From Wet to Dry Lecturer: Matthew P. Golombek, senior research scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Date: Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Auditorium, University of Utah FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Scientific evidence gathered on Mars by the NASA exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity suggests that the Red Planet has undergone dramatic climate changes in its history, including warm and wet episodes. For example, in the Meridiani Planum or plain, where the Opportunity rover landed, it has been discovered that "dirty" sedimentary rocks produced by evaporation were deposited in saltwater desert lakes approximately 3.7 billion years ago. Likewise, rocks that bear evidence of water saturation and erosion in the Columbia Hills area of Gusev Crater, where the Spirit rover landed, formed at a time when a variety of indicators such as valleys, highly eroded terrain, and layered sedimentary deposits indicate a warmer and wetter environment. However, the erosion rates recently measured at Gusev Crater, as well as recorded by the earlier Viking 1 and Pathfinder missions, limit this warmer and wetter period to about 3.7 billion years ago, and a drier and desiccating climate since that time. "So, if Mars was habitable early in its history, did life develop there, or are we alone in the solar system and the universe?" asks Matthew P. Golombek, a senior research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He will present the latest scientific results and extensive photographs from Mars and discuss water, ice, atmosphere and geophysics on the Red Planet. According to NASA, the rover project's science goal has been to assess the history of environmental conditions at sites that once may have been wet and favorable to life. The two landing sites showed evidence detectable from orbit that they once may have been wet. For Spirit, NASA chose Gusev Crater, a Connecticut-size basin that appears to have once held a lake, judging from the shapes of the landscape. A wide channel, now dry, runs downhill for hundreds of miles to the crater and appears to have been carved by water flowing into the crater. For Opportunity, NASA chose part of a broad plain named Meridiani Planum based on a different type of evidence for a possibly watery past. A mineral-mapping instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor had identified there an Oklahoma-size exposure of gray hematite, a mineral that usually forms in the presence of liquid water. Golombek is science operations team leader for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and led the team that selected their landing sites. He also was the chief scientist for the Mars Pathfinder Mission, which successfully landed a spacecraft and the Sojourner rover on Mars on July 4, 1997. He was responsible for the overall scientific content of that mission and directed presentation of the mission's science results to the press, the public and the scientific community. He appeared regularly on television news programs, including "The Today Show" and "Nightline." Golombek received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology and geophysics from the University of Massachusetts in 1978 and 1981, respectively. He worked as a visiting scientist and postdoctoral fellow at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston until 1983, when he was hired by NASA as a senior research scientist. He has written a popular book, "Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet" for the National Geographic Society and published almost 400 scientific papers, abstracts and other articles. The Frontiers of Science lecture series was established in 1967 by Peter Gibbs, a professor of physics. Frontiers of Science will celebrate its 40th year in 2007, making it one of the longest-running lecture series at the University of Utah. The series is now co-sponsored by the College of Science and the College of Mines and Earth Sciences.

3 2

Northern hemisphere discrimination
by Chuck Hards 17 Jan '07

17 Jan '07

It's just not fair. http://skytonight.com/news/home/5231826.html ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news

3 2