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

Ann: Website on using manual setting circles with 638 star list
by Kurt Fisher 08 Oct '07

08 Oct '07

The table of 638 bright stars for use with manual setting circles has been stored as a Utahastro wiki page for easy reference. See "Observing Resources" page off main page. Direct link is: http://www.utahastronomy.com/Table_Setting_Circle_Bright_Stars - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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ISS overpass Mon Oct 8 19:26 MDT
by Kurt Fisher 08 Oct '07

08 Oct '07

Details at: http://www.utahastronomy.com/Current_observing_events#ISS_Overpass_ Mon_Oct_8_19h25m_MDT - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Ann: Website on using manual setting circles with 638 star list
by Kurt Fisher 08 Oct '07

08 Oct '07

This is to announce a web sheet sheet guide to using manual setting circles: Manual setting circles - basic use http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/mansetcir/ManSettingC… Although the narrative is not the best, the document includes a table of 638 brights stars visible above -38 degs declination for use by northern hemisphere observers near 41 deg north latitude. http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/plan/mansetcir/html/BayerT… The list includes only stars that have Bayer and Flamsteed numbers above magnitude 4.5. The list is used to provide the J2000 coordinates of bright reference stars near a desired target. Then only a short manual slew using manual setting circles is needed to reach the target. - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: ISS overpass Mon Oct 8 19:26 MDT
by Kurt Fisher 08 Oct '07

08 Oct '07

Joe, Patrick has you covered, but for the benefit of the group, I'll try to get around for adding some updates to the Utahastro wiki for the following SLC events from Calsky: Sunday 21 October 2007 ISS crosses Sun from north of the SLCC Int'l Airport Nov. 20, 2007 ISS crosses Moon - from Murray Calsky limits projections to two months, becaus orbital corrections and Progress and ISS dockings and solar flares modifies its orbit in real time. As a date approaches, recheck Calsky. An unplanned orbit correction can invalid a projected crossing. - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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2005 Bryce Astronomy Festival
by Naz & David 07 Oct '07

07 Oct '07

Anyone have any snaps of the 2005 Bryce star party? I've attended every event since 2004 but don't have any images of this one (I was in between migrating from film to digital as I recall). Cheers David

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Finder solar filter from welder's glass
by Kurt Fisher 07 Oct '07

07 Oct '07

Joe wrote: > I am not advocating your doing anything that could damage > your eyes or your equipment, just trying to figure out > the technique. Thanks, Joe My experience using the shadow technique or a Solar-view finder alone is that they still come out a good 1 to 3/4 degree off when you look down the eyepiece with a solar filter over the objective. By aligning a regular finder and the scope e.p. on a terresterial target first and then using the finder alone, you get a more precise result. Any extra error probably adds back in when you do the index offset slew between the Sun and Venus. - Kurt P.S. After playing around with a piece of No. 12 welder's glass, I decided it was too shaky a material and I am going for the Baader film instead. _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Finder solar filter from welder's glass
by Kurt Fisher 07 Oct '07

07 Oct '07

Joe B wrote: > I found the sun by watching the OTA's shadow, and when it > was as small as possible in all direcitons, it was pointing > at the sun. -- Joe Thanks. I've use that too for solar observing. For the specific application I'm working on - daytime acquisition of Venus - I'm trying to come up with a light-touch solution for centering the Sun that does not involve putting the solar filter on the main scope. Rather, I want to leave the light-touch opaque scope lid in place. The plan is to: 1) align the finder and scope on a terresterial object, 2) put the light-touch solar filter on the finder and the standard opaque lid on the scope, 3) center on the sun, 4) set the manual setting circles to 0, 5) offset index slew to Venus using ephemeris data, and, 6) take the light-touch solar filter off the finder. Hopefully, Venus will be somewhere in the 3 1/2 deg finder view. Then I can take the opaque lid off the mainscope. I can do the same thing using the larger full scope solar filter off. But wrestling the tight-fitting main scope solar filter tends to jostle the scope and mount around. - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Finder solar filter from welder's glass
by Kurt Fisher 06 Oct '07

06 Oct '07

Forget it. Looks like the answer is no. 14 welder's glass - although that recommendation is limited to naked-eye observing. http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety.html Thanks - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Finder solar filter from welder's glass
by Kurt Fisher 06 Oct '07

06 Oct '07

I am returning to an old project to fabricate a solar filter cover for my 50mm finder from a lens cap and a piece of welder's glass. I first saw this idea at a SLAS solar party this summer; don't recall who the member was. I have the lens cap but got stumped on buying the welder's glass. ACE sells a selection marked with somekind of opacity number, e.g. - 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. My question is this. Which opacity should I buy? Are the welders' glass opacity numbers the same as our astronomy optical density number? - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Rush Valley next weekend
by Richard Tenney 05 Oct '07

05 Oct '07

Debbie Whitaker is bringing up her 15" Obsession next weekend from St. George for some observing at the pit 'n pole with me and whoever cares to join us out there next Saturday (the forecast looks promising a week out). /Rich ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433

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