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

Potential refractor lens?
by Dan Hanks 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

I have an old lens that I think came out of a theater spotlight. It's about 6" in diameter, flat on one side, convex on the other. I've tried holding it at arms length while holding an eyepiece to my eye and found that the combination can magnify things. I'm curious if it might make for an objective lens in a home-brew refractor, if I were to mount it up in some kind of tube or something? |\ | | |/ I'm not an optics expert by any stretch, but curious if it would be worth the effort to put together into some kind of frankenstein refractor. Thoughts? Dan -- Kiva.org - Loans That Change Lives

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Catching-up
by zaurak＠digis.net 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

Welcome back Chuck. Does this mean you have caught up on house projects? Erik --- chuck.hards(a)gmail.com wrote: From: "Chuck Hards" <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Catching-up Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 19:11:18 -0700 Hi astro-fans, I'm receiving list postings again. What's happened to everyone in the 4 months I was off-list? I want to wish everyone, especially state senator Buttars, "Happy Holidays"! _______________________________________________ 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://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Another one
by B. Hugo 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

Hey Patrick! Congratulations! I'd be interested in learning how you do it! I've got the 30cm or larger clock driven scope, CCD camera and a goodly bit of time and patience. Dark sky may be my only problem. Let me (us) know if you have a little training session when it stops snowing. Clear skies! Bruce Hugo ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 17:28:50 -0700 From: Patrick Wiggins <PAW(a)wirelessbeehive.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Another one To: utah astronomy listserve utah astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Message-ID: <8E1E6BDD-736D-45DE-99FD-B557560AC389(a)wirelessbeehive.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Now that I've had another minor planet discovery confirmed (confirmed this morning and bearing the temporary designation K08X02R) I'm thinking I've got the system for finding these things refined enough that maybe I can offer tutoring to others here that might like to get involved in the discovery game. Requirements are a 30cm or larger clock driven scope, CCD camera and a goodly bit of time and patience. Anyone here interested? patrick

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Going to the moon
by Gary Vardon 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

Fellow SLASers, The planetary society directors thinks that the United States should do manned missions to Mars and not do manned missions to the moon I disagree. Here's why. 1. Going to the moon is cheaper. 2. A permanent base can be built on the moon. On Mars this is questionable. 3.The earth can be viewed from the moon easier than from Mars. These observations may be very valuable. 4.The moon has less gravity and thus it is easier to escape the moon's gravity. 5. Less time in space is required Thus space travelers would be safer. 6. Because the moon is closer its resources can be exploited easier than those of Mars. 7 Because the moon has no atmosphere it makes a good astronomy platform. Sincerely, Gary Vardon -----Original Message----- From: Jay Eads Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 5:25 PM To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Wednesday the 10th Near Full Moon will Cross in Front of the Pleiades So if you are able to grab a few minutes on the evening of the 10th, we can see the near full moon cross over the Pleiades. Should make for some very bright viewing best in a small telescope or binocs I would imagine. Anyway just thought I would mention it. _______________________________________________ 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://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Another one
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Dec '08

07 Dec '08

Now that I've had another minor planet discovery confirmed (confirmed this morning and bearing the temporary designation K08X02R) I'm thinking I've got the system for finding these things refined enough that maybe I can offer tutoring to others here that might like to get involved in the discovery game. Requirements are a 30cm or larger clock driven scope, CCD camera and a goodly bit of time and patience. Anyone here interested? patrick

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Joe Bauman makes news (OT)
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

During all of his many years at D News Joe wrote news stories. Now he's making news: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4767728 Kudos Joe! patrick

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APOD: Happy Face over LA
by Patrick Wiggins 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

APOD, Happy Face Over LA http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html And just for laughs from KSL: Buttars named ‘Worst Person in the World' http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4975919 patrick :)

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wednesday the 10th Near Full Moon will Cross in Front of the Pleiades
by Jay Eads 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

Seems like December is/has lined/lining up for some good events. It is a shame that a gibbous Moon will interfere with seeing the Geminids except for the brightest ones on the 13th of December. On 2008-12-03 04:19, Patrick Wiggins wrote: > On 02 Dec 2008, at 17:25, Jay Eads wrote: > > > So if you are able to grab a few minutes on the evening of the 10th, > > we can see the near full moon cross over the Pleiades. Should make > > for some very bright viewing best in a small telescope or binocs I > > would imagine. Anyway just thought I would mention it. > > Hi Jay, > > Thanks for the reminder. I'd forgotten. > > Looks like three of the Pleiades' stars brighter than 6 will be > occulted. > > From here in N. Utah the first ingress, a mag. 5.45 will be at about > 23:45, then a mag 4.3 at 23:50 and the last and the brightest mag 3.87 > at 00:16. > > All three events are with the Moon between 70 and 66 degrees above the > SW horizon. > > Egresses will then occur at 00:34, 01:04 and 01:12 with the Moon > between 63 and 57 degrees up. > > Ingresses will be behind a very (VERY) narrow dark limb and while they > could be a challenge to naked eye should be visible with binoculars. > Egress even with binos could be a problem since one does not know > exactly where to look. > > Thanks again, > > patrick > >

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Wednesday the 10th Near Full Moon will Cross in Front of the Pleiades
by Jay Eads 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

So if you are able to grab a few minutes on the evening of the 10th, we can see the near full moon cross over the Pleiades. Should make for some very bright viewing best in a small telescope or binocs I would imagine. Anyway just thought I would mention it.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Good Dark Sky Locations
by Jay Eads 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

Joe, I would take it as a honor to tag along come spring. I would like to try out that gravel pit by the fort. I also think I'll be getting permission to use a rancher's open land out here in Herriman that has a good view except to the south southwest where the Oquirrh's rise up, but it is a dark sky out that way. That would give me a good close area to go to. I agree that Herriman has decent skies, and my own backyard once a neighbor goes to bed or upstairs and shuts off her lights are really decent also. So I'll guess I'll be happy for that for now. Thanks for the replies and the advice! On 2008-12-02 18:28, Joe Bauman wrote: > Jay is always welcome with me! I head out to the Wedge whenever I can, but I have promised Cory that I'm shut down for the winter, and it's not smart to break a promise to the wife. See you in the spring, if you'd like .... Joe > > --- On Mon, 12/1/08, Patrick Wiggins <paw@???> wrote: > > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw@???> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Good Dark Sky Locations > To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@???> > Date: Monday, December 1, 2008, 10:58 PM > > Hi Jay, > > I can't speak to to nearby observing sites (there are others on the > list better qualified to speak to that). > > As for using SPOC in the winter, the grounds are open year round but > there is no power and no shelter and the snow can get pretty deep. > > If Joe is looking for company you might want to tag along on one of > his regular outings. > > patrick > > > On 01 Dec 2008, at 22:49, Jay Eads wrote: > > > I have ok skies at my home in Herriman, but I am wondering just a > > couple of newbie type questions. First, are there any good dark sky > > areas with 45 minutes of Herriman that any one knows of and will > > share? Next, is it worth it to plan a trip out to SPLOC with the > > equipment during the winter? Anyway, just a couple of easy questions > > and any advice I would appreciate it. > > > > >

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