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

M57 +73PSW-3
by daniel turner 27 Mar '13

27 Mar '13

Mark your calendar for early evening May 7. Their will be a close encounter between the Ring nebula and periodic comet 73P. The comet will be close to earth so its exact position in the sky will depend stongly on your location on the globe. Go to spaceweather.com and use the link at the bottom of the page for "Observable Comets". 73p is in the list and includes orbital elements and a link for daily ephemerides. DT __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Border Lighting
by erikhansen＠TheBlueZone.net 01 Aug '07

01 Aug '07

Hi All, I have been in contact with the IDA. They have been succesful in getting the border patrol to agree to sheilded lighting, but are waiting for "official" confirmation which they are expecting any day. Erik

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Fwd: astroimaging conference 2007
by Richard Tenney 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

Astro-spam that may be of interest to some... --- STEVEN MAZLIN <seanseth(a)msn.com> wrote: > From: "STEVEN MAZLIN" <seanseth(a)msn.com> > To: retenney(a)yahoo.com > Subject: astroimaging conference 2007 > Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:40:38 +0000 > --------------------------------- If possible can you kindly post this info on your website, or include in your mailings or pass on to anyone you feel would benefit from this informative, easy to reach conference. Philly is fun for families also. Join us for a spectacular weekend in Philadelphia We would like to make all of your members aware of the East Coast Conference on Astronomical Imaging (ECCAI), to be held on Sept 28-30, 2007 in Philadelphia, PA. If possible can you kindly post this info on your website, or include in your mailings or pass on to anyone you feel would benefit from this informative, easy to reach conference. Philly is fun for families also. In case you have not yet signed up for this conference, but are still planning to come, please complete the necessary paperwork ASAP -- you can do everything online via our interactive website We are offering a total of 17.5 hours of lectures and/or workshops beginning on Friday afternoon and going through Sunday afternoon, not including additional time for vendor exhibits, etc. We guarantee a fantastic weekend that should be a valuable learning experience for both the beginning and advanced imager. Sept 28th still seems like it's far away but unless you register NOW, you may be closed out! Hope to see you in September! The ECCAI Board: Jim Misti, Bob Benamati, & Steve Mazlin Please visit our website for more details: www.pennastroimaging.com/ECCAI2007 Please email with any further questions. IF possible please let me know you received email. Thank you. Steve Mazlin, MD www.fourthdimensionastroimaging.com We apologize if you received more than 1 email ____________________________________________________________________________________ Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sunday Funnies
by Olhomorto＠aol.com 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

I've watched a segment or two of that Leno routine, and found it hilarious, too. I imagine that for the entertainment value, they do filter out the intelligent-sounding answers in favor of the funnier ones. I've often thought it would be fun to participate in those kinds of routines--I never seem to get picked for opinion polls, etc. But, then, other times I remember then when asked pointed questions, the pressure of the moment seems to make me freeze up. Afterward I say to myself, "Darn, why didn't I think to say this or that." On the other hand, about 30 years ago a couple of "missionaries" from the church of Scientology stopped my wife and me on the street downtown. They asked us if a divine being came to answer one question, what would our question be. My wife asked about when life truly begins (abortion issues were at the front at the time) and I asked about the existence of life throughout the universe. Our questions didn't seem to fit their pre-programmed responses. ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] GEM cone error guru needed
by Kurt Fisher 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

Chuck and Don, It seems I'm trying to get more out of the mount than can be achieved. Looks like the best I can do is add the extra heavy-duty mounting bar that I've ordered, do an extra check for any loosness in the OTA and then hope for the best. But I'm still not sure I'm following the cone error reduction instructions properly. (Silly me, looking at the advertising literature and expecting the mount to work as advertised. And all for only $2K.) - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] GEM cone error guru needed
by Kurt Fisher 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

Thanks, Chuck. This leaves the final option - getting together with a local expert to make sure my inexperience at correcting cone is not the problem. - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sunday Funnies
by Olhomorto＠aol.com 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

In a message dated 7/30/2007 5:47:43 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, jchorley(a)gmail.com writes: We certainly have made progress in educating the masses over the past 400 years-- I don't think there's anyone out there who still thinks the earth is flat or that the sun revolves around us. I'm a little more persuaded by some of Chuck's arguments. Something I think I've observed is that while many of us of all ages are smart when it comes to consuming technology such as ipods, etc. but we don't seem so different from our counterparts of 400 years ago in other ways such as superstitions and adhering to questionable beliefs. (From individuals to nations we certainly haven't progressed all that far beyond the reasons for waging wars with one another.) I'm interested in another facet of the Ask Marilyn column and the questions she chooses to answer and publish. I'm a little disappointed that she insinuated the questions were too silly to bother with. I personally think correct answers to those funny (astronomy-related) questions could sometimes be more interesting and far-reaching than the answers to some other questions like which game-show door I should really choose. Personally, I find the answers to questions such as whether food tastes the same to everybody, or whether everybody sees the same colors identically as being much more interesting and thought-provoking than those that deal with odds and statistical analyses. But then again maybe the subjects are really related in the end. I wonder if the people who asked the funny questions got their answers somewhere else, or whether they eventually stopped asking questions altogether. I hope not. Mike Bailey ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] GEM cone error guru needed
by Kurt Fisher 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

> Check that the mount and tripod is completely rigid, > no screws are loose. Make sure your primary isn't > shifting in it's cell. Be sure the mount is dynamically > balanced. Then be sure there is no slop in the > saddle/tube interface (too thick a felt liner? > Insufficient tension on mounting hardware?) > Good luck, Kurt. Thanks, Chuck. Already considered and ruled out all of the above. If any experienced amateurs out there can spend a couple of hours with me and this scope, I appreciate it. Kurt Fisher fisherka(a)csolutions.net _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sunday Funnies
by Gary Vardon 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

Lets help educate the masses before it is too late. -----Original Message----- From: Chuck Hards Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2007 5:55 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sunday Funnies I love a good laugh at my fellow man's expense. One of my favorites was a line from an episode of "The Simpsons". A comet was on a collision course with earth and science was unable to provide any help. Fortunately the "comet" burned up in the atmosphere and was reduced to a rock the size of a chihuahua's head (and fell right at Bart's feet, who discovered it one night while observing with principal Skinner as punishment). Moe the bartender speaks up and yells at the gathered mob, "Let's go burn down the observatory so this sort of thing never happens again!" (LMAO!) The moral of these kinds of things is that intelligent, scientifically literate people tend to congregate, and are usually unaware that most people live their lives on a very simple level, as far as their understanding of nature goes. But we (if I may be so bold as to include myself) are a TINY minority and will be the first against the wall when the animals start rioting. Guy will be much more appreciated then, I assure you! Be afraid. Be very afraid. On 7/29/07, Ann House <ann(a)annhouse.org> wrote: > > In this morning's Parade magazine, Marilyn vosSavant lists questions she > has > received that she says are just too funny to answer. I must admit, all you > can do is laugh at the amazing things that go through people's minds. > Among > these are a few astronomy-related questions: > > Where did all the stars go? In the '50s, the sky was loaded with them. > -St. > Petersburg, FL > > Do you think daylight-saving time could be contributing to global warming? > The longer we have sunlight, the more it heats the atmosphere. -San > Antonio, > TX > > I see falling stars nearly every night. They seem to come out of nowhere. > Have stars ever fallen out of any known constellations? -Batesville, AK > > _______________________________________________ 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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Swap meet / Star-B-Que / Star party on 18 August
by Patrick Wiggins 30 Jul '07

30 Jul '07

SLAS will be holding an astronomical swap meet at SPOC the afternoon of Saturday, 18 August starting at 4:00 p.m. The event will be open to the public. The swap meet will be followed by a Star-B-Que pot luck dinner at 6:00 p.m. (dinner open to SLAS members and their guests) and a public star party starting at dusk. Y'all come! Patrick

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