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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Lucky Duck laser
by Michael Carnes 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

You can try it against my 5mw Dinky Duck anytime. >I still want to do the laser comparison test, anybody else?

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SpaceX to launch at 5 from Kwajalein
by Patrick Wiggins 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

SpaceX is set to make a launch attempt today (Monday) at 5:00 p.m. from their test site on Kwajalein (Joe's old stomping grounds). Watch it live at http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php . pw

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How not to install a mirror
by Barney B. 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LBMn8lO9k8

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Lucky Duck laser
by Wayne Sumner 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

I agree, Chuck. Wayne A. Sumner Math/Physics/Astronomy/Engineering Boy's Tennis Coach Northridge High School Davis School District (801) 402-8610 >>> <cmh856(a)aol.com> 03/21/07 9:50 AM >>> And with me not being able to commit to the 21st, perhaps it would be best to not plan on it as an Astronomy Day (Astronomy Night?) activity. Let's stick with our original plan, Wayne. We are trying to set it up for the first week in April, week after next. Anybody with a laser to test would be most welcome. Venue, time and exact day still TBD. -----Original Message----- From: wsumner(a)dsdmail.net To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Sent: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 8:43 AM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Lucky Duck laser I've got a tennis tournament in Ogden on April 21st (coaching, not playing), so I'm not available that day. April 6th works for me, however. Wayne A. Sumner Math/Physics/Astronomy/Engineering Boy's Tennis Coach Northridge High School Davis School District (801) 402-8610 >>> Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> 03/21/07 4:00 AM >>> On 20 Mar 2007, at 12:39, cmh856(a)aol.com wrote: > I was thinking about possibly the first Friday in April (6th), I > will have some time off-work then, hopefully. How's about during SLAS's Astronomy Day star party at SPOC on Saturday, 21 April? ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. _______________________________________________ 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] Re: Lucky Duck laser
by Wayne Sumner 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

I've got a tennis tournament in Ogden on April 21st (coaching, not playing), so I'm not available that day. April 6th works for me, however. Wayne A. Sumner Math/Physics/Astronomy/Engineering Boy's Tennis Coach Northridge High School Davis School District (801) 402-8610 >>> Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> 03/21/07 4:00 AM >>> On 20 Mar 2007, at 12:39, cmh856(a)aol.com wrote: > I was thinking about possibly the first Friday in April (6th), I > will have some time off-work then, hopefully. How's about during SLAS's Astronomy Day star party at SPOC on Saturday, 21 April? Listening to heavy rain here in Stansbury, Patrick _______________________________________________ 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: Lucky Duck laser
by cmh856＠aol.com 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

Noah Acres of Lucky Duck was very prompt in his reply to my email. It turns out that there is a happy ending. After checking the serial number of my laser to see what the actual tested power was, he wrote: *** "Chuck, We have that one tested on 2/15 at a little over 19mw. Normally they will vary about 10% depending on batteries, temperature, etc. I think it's more likely your older pointer is greater than 5mw. There really is no such thing as "factory tuned." It just means they tested their lasers and set aside the higher powered ones to sell for a bit more. When did you buy it? Up until about 2 years ago it was pretty common to find lasers that were way over powered (being 10mw or more). As manufacturing processes become more refined lasers turned out a lot closer to spec (the spec being exactly 5mw). It used to be where you might find a few 1mw and a few 20mw in the same batch and a lot more in the range between; but now they're all really close to 5mw. We actually set these to 20mw by design though. Thanks, Noah Acres Luckyduck.com" *** So, it would appear that my old faithful Beta pointer was in the 20mw range all along- no wonder I felt it superior to all other 5mw lasers I'd seen, it actually was- and that explains why the Beta and Ducky laser beams are identical in brightness. But of course had we done the laser test in 2005, we probably would have discovered that by now. Folks could have had a 20mw laser long before now; those of you who bought the Beta pointer should feel good that you were ahead of the trend in this instance. Don't feel cheated if you bought the Lucky Duck "20mw" unit, you got what you paid for, and for a little less money than the Beta. One more thing, Acres wrote in a prior email, in answer to my observation that the label didn't match the power rating of the laser: "There is a bit of difficulty in importing lasers greater than 5mw. To simplify things, we used the same 5mw labels as always, even though some are of greater strength." That seems a bit sketchy, but as long as the laser is really a 20mw unit, I'll accept an "eyewash" label. He's the one that has to deal with government import restrictions, not me. I still want to do the laser comparison test, anybody else? ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.

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Fwd: Frontiers of Science March 28
by Richard Tenney 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

--- James DeGooyer <jdegooyer(a)science.utah.edu> wrote: > Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:27:40 -0600 > To: office(a)science.utah.edu > From: James DeGooyer <jdegooyer(a)science.utah.edu> > Subject: Frontiers of Science March 28 > CC: jdegooyer(a)science.utah.edu > > Dear Frontiers of Science Patron: > > You are cordially invited to the upcoming Frontiers > of Science event > on Wed, March 28, 7:30 PM, featuring world-famous > hurricane expert > Kerry A. Emanuel from MIT. Free and open to the > public! > > Professor Emanuel will give a live radio interview > on KCPW 88.3 and > 105.3 FM on March 28, from 9:10-9:30 a.m. Tune in! > > Also, Kerry's best-selling book, "Divine Wind: The > History and > Science of Hurricanes," will be available at the > lecture March 28, > and he will sign copies afterward! > > See the official U. of U. press release here > http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=032007-1. > > See a description of Emanuel's book and research > here > http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/AtmosphericScience/Meteorolog… > > > [You have received this announcement because your > email address is > listed in the College of Science FOS email registry. > If you wish to > unsubscribe to this service, "reply" with subject > line "remove."] > -- > James R. DeGooyer > Public Relations Specialist > College of Science > 1430 E. Presidents Cir. Rm. 220 > Salt Lake City, UT 84112 > Ph. (801) 581-3124 > Fax (801) 585-3169 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396546091

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Weather on Channel 4
by Michael Carnes 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

>I just called the station and got his voice mail. Messaged asking if >he is the Todd Gross that does telescope reviews and said that if he >is there are some local amateurs that would like to make contact. >Left my number. He is in fact that Todd Gross. Met him once ages ago. I popped him an email care of the station when he was here a few weeks back, but never heard back. It would be nice to have him as part of the community here, but here was never really part of the community back East either. We'll just have to see.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Weather on Channel 4
by Michael Carnes 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

Funny Joe, since I moved out here I haven't worried much about hurricanes... >Cool! Maybe he'd run a few of our astrophotos when things are slack >in the hurricane business. I think it's possible anyway .... Joe

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Weather on Channel 4
by Michael Carnes 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

>I haven't caught the Channel 4 weather for a while. Is Todd Gross >actually in Utah doing the weather or is it a feed from New England? Hi Don, He's actually here in studio. I happened to catch him a few weeks ago when he was in for just a couple of days. Then someone else was in, then Gross turned back up a couple of weeks ago. So I don't know if it's extended audition or just contract work. Can't claim any real knowledge on the weatherman contracting business (or any made-up knowledge, either). MC

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