December 2008 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Marriott Library Digital Collections Astronomy Related Calendar
by Canopus56 23 Dec '08

23 Dec '08

The Marriott Library Digital Collections office is selling an astronomy related 2009 calendar consisting of prints from the 1661 Harmonia Macrocosmica charts: Go to the Marriott Library Homepage at: http://www.lib.utah.edu/portal/site/marriottlibrary/ and select the "Purchase a digital collections calendar option" in the upper right hand corner. Kurt

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Happy solstice
by Patrick Wiggins 21 Dec '08

21 Dec '08

It's 2008 December 21, 12:04 UT. Happy Solstice to all! patrick 718

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Beyond the North Pole: Send a message way up to the space station
by Patrick Wiggins 20 Dec '08

20 Dec '08

In today's Tribune: Beyond the North Pole: Send a message way up to the space station http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_11274086 patrick

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Anyone see the bolide?
by Patrick Wiggins 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

I've heard from the local TV stations asking about a bolide that passed over SLC earlier this evening. Anyone here see it? I had just been on my daily walk but minutes before the bolide appeared I went into a restaurant. Augh! But even worse is the story I heard from one of the TV reporters. Seems they had a camera pointed in the right direction shooting sky pictures for the evening broadcast but shut it off just before the event. patrick

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NASA astronauts at risk over RUSSIA
by Ilove2getSpam＠gmail.com 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

This isn't meant to be a bigoted expression, just an observation. For a long time, more then half of my life, I've had the opinion that the race to beat the Russians to the Moon offset our space program, say 30 years! Then, in the mid 70's, just off the high of the Apollo program, we put our efforts into the Shuttle Program...once again, to remain competitive with the Russians. Of course, The USSR quickly figure out the STS wasn't an efficient system at all and quickly abandoned the program. Of course, we went on to do circles in low-earth orbit for the next 30 years. Instead, Russia concentrated on building and manning the worlds first space station. As the time came for America to play catch-up (interesting, isn't it?) the construction of ISS was heavily dependent on the Russian Soyuz and associated cargo systems (The name of which escapes me). The Russian Space Station already reached it's end of life, that is, once the US was done upgrading the hunk of junk so we could figure out how were were going to, once again, "Beat the Russians"....what a joke! You're probably wondering what has prompted all of this. Well, I know it's a bit of old news but, with the Russians as defiant as ever (and rightfully so) I think the article is still pertinent. Just think, the Russians will be on Mars and we'll still be futzing around with our Space Shuttle...thank goodness for eBay! -Rich NASA astronauts at risk over Georgian conflict *NASA is examining the possibility of keep its ageing fleet of space shuttles flying for up to five years past their 2010 retirement date. NASA official, Mike Griffin, has said that the South Ossetian crisis may cut off access to Russian Soyuz rockets, leaving NASA with no way to get to the International Space Station except through the shuttles. * The plan was for Russia to step in with its Soyuz spacecraft, but analysts say Congress may not approve the deal because of Russia's response to the Georgian conflict. "It's a very tough spot for NASA because they really are not sure which way they will go. And no one really knows until the new president comes to office," said George T. Whitesides, Executive Director of the National Space Society. Presidential candidate John McCain, an outspoken critic of Russia, has not missed the opportunity to voice his opinion on the matter. He has asked the White House not to go ahead with dismantling the shuttle programme for at least a year. NASA is now looking to extend the shuttle programme beyond 2010, which is a potentially risky move. "Most people acknowledge the space shuttle is an old vehicle. It's been flying since 1981 and many of its parts are getting to the point where they need to be refurbished. So, with each flight, the risks are higher," Whitesides added. NASA administrator Michael Griffin has also acknowledged the risks. Back in April he made a statement in front of a Senate panel. "If one were to do as some have suggested and fly the shuttle for an additional five years - say for two missions a year - the risk would be about one in 12 that we could lose another crew. That's a high risk. One I would not choose to accept on behalf of our astronauts," he said. Flying the shuttle beyond 2010 will not only be risky but costly. Griffin has estimated the cost at $US 4 billion a year. The agency's entire annual budget is about $US 17 billion. This means NASA will have to ask Congress for more money in order to build the Orion, its next generation spacecraft. But whatever U.S. Congress decides, NASA is in a lose-lose situation, as it will probably have to put politics before the safety of America's astronauts or the future of its space programme.

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Probably for Chuck :)
by Patrick Wiggins 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

Hmmm, do you suppose Chuck could somehow make his own shuttle? :) NASA Solicits Ideas for Displaying Retired Space Shuttles and Main Engines http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/dec/HQ_08-330_Shuttle_retirement.html

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Green lasers
by diveboss＠xmission.com 16 Dec '08

16 Dec '08

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,467567,00.html

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Discovery image
by Patrick Wiggins 16 Dec '08

16 Dec '08

Just to show would be minor planet hunters what's ahead I've posted the discovery image of K08X02R. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/UOFU12.JPG An arrow shows where it is. It measured at mag 19.6. On a related note, I spoke with Jerry Foote this evening. After reading his post from last night and then speaking with him this evening I'm beginning to think I might be doing a disservice by promoting minor planet discovery. Discovery is fun, to be sure. But minor planet discovery takes a great deal of time and patience and with the automated searches becoming ever better at what they do it's becoming harder and harder for amateurs to make discoveries (not impossible but hard). Jerry's suggested projects, on the other had, still take a good deal of work and dedication but have a much better chance of a positive outcome. patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] How dim of objects can I see?
by Gary Logan 15 Dec '08

15 Dec '08

Jay, I would love to connect up some time (when it's a little warmer). Apologies for not responding back in Sept to your post. Unfortunately, just as I was starting getting interested in astronomy, my job decided to send me out of town. Now it's a bit cold out, although I did go out in the backyard for a half hour last night before the moon came up to get a last look at Jupiter before it leaves us. I have started a list of objects to find from the Urban Astronomy webpage. I will add yours to them. Gary Logan. ________________________________________________________________________ | From: Jay Eads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> | Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] How dim of objects can I see? | To: "Utah-Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> | Message-ID: <E9BA779A-FFA1-4B59-B838-F893A7D030C4(a)gmail.com> | Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes | | Hello Gary, | | I'm in Herriman and from my backyard I have seen the following items | (starting from August to December): | | The three stars of the summer triangle, Arcturus, M28, M22, M25, M17, | M18, M24, M21, M28, M8, M6, M57 (multiple times), M16, M103, NGC663, | NGC 654, NGC 225, M42, M43, M41, M31, M32, M45, M15, M21, M2, M20, | M21, NGC 869, M29, M11, Almach (wonderful double to view), M33 failed | to find, M97 failed to find, M51 failed to find, M106 failed to find, | M101 failed to find (probably too low in the atmosphere and I was | still too new in finding objects), M52, M71, M27 (multiple times), | M72, M73, NGC 6818, M34, NGC 6826, M26, NGC 7009, M36, M37, M38, M42 | (multiple times) M43, M103, NGC 659, NGC 457, NGC 436, M52, Venus | (multiple times to observe the phases and sketch) Jupiter (in August | and Sept it looked better higher up), M32 M101 and M33, the Double | Cluster in Pereus, M76, NGC 7914, Hades, M36, M1, M38, NGC 2392, M35, | NGC 7662 Blue Snowball, NGC 1023, M78, M41, M50, M46, M47 to list some | of them. I haven't listed the doubles I have bagged or some of the | other NGC's. | | Anyway, I listed these to let you know that you can see em from the | valley or at least from my backyard in Herriman. If you ever want to | link up if the weather gets good again let me know. I also would like | to take the class for SLAS Observatory when the time commitment is up. | | Jay | ____________________________________________________________ | On 2008-12-10 06:32, Gary Logan wrote: | > Thanks Erik (and all) for the responses. | > | > I appreciate the advice. I am getting more familiar with the | constellations. | > And have just added a pair of binoculars to my Christmas | list. > > The Urban list looks great. And I definitely | want to see the SLAS > Observatory and probably take a | class. (No I've never been at the U, or | > Poison Control) | > | > Gary Logan | > ____________________________________________________________

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Two recent Tribune astro articles - thank you Sheena
by Canopus56 14 Dec '08

14 Dec '08

Big moon a sight to see http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11199195 Geminids won't pack much punch http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11179981 by Sheena Mcfarland. - Kurt

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