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

BYU star party could use some extra help tomorrow (FRI) night
by Richard Tenney 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

The BYU Astronomical Society is having a public star party this Friday night. We've done some advertising on campus and it is looking like we're going to be having a LOT more people coming than we're able to handle. We need a few more people to run telescopes - we have extra telescopes, but nobody to run them. Will you please e-mail your group and see if anyone would like to participate? They're welcome to bring their equipment, or use some of ours. We have a couple of 12" Dobs, two 8" schmidt cassegrains, 2 4.5" Newtonian celestrons, and me and another club member have our own scopes. I've attached a flyer with the necessary details as well. We'd appreciate any help you can give. If you or anyone in your group will come, please have them e-mail me (nick.herrick(a)gmail.com) to let us know that they're coming so we won't be so worried. Thanks, Nick Herrick President - BYU Astronomical Society Star Party Details: When: Friday, Sept 26 8-11 (for public) we got permission from the city to stay until 2am Where: Big Springs Park - see Google Map link below http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=1036639416671661454… We'll have food too!

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Newbie continued...
by Gary Logan 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

All, Thanks for the responses. I think I will try to show up at a star party or 2, it looks like they occur quite often, and perhaps join the club also. Seeing what others are using sounds much better paying for a telescope having had no experience. I like the idea of building one, but that available time issue seems to get in the way. I already have: "retrofit my electric heated house to gas heat" on this fall's things-to-do-in-my-spare-time list. I did try out my third iteration of my Barn Door tracker last night, and it actually worked this time. I can get 10 second long steady shots most of the time, but 30 second shots remain steady only 1 time out of 5. I think Kim is right about my tripod being my (next) limiting factor. Turning the screw sometimes wiggles the tripod) I'm going to keep tinkering with the tracker, trying to improve it. Kim ... Did you add a motor to your Barn Door tracker? And what is the longest you have tracked for a single picture? I was even able last night to star hop to the Andromeda galaxy for a picture -- which my wife accused of looking like a water spot. I tried looking for Venus as the sun was setting tonight, but didn't see it. The Western sky was partly cloudy. My other committee member had a very positive reaction to the '...give the other committee member an equally expensive goodie...' suggestion, so we may move into the 'exchange of political favors' stage of these negotiations. The "forgiveness vs. permission" approach is more difficult to make use of in these long term committee appointments. Best Regards, Gary Logan.

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Shenzhou 7 to launch Thursday morning
by Patrick Wiggins 24 Sep '08

24 Sep '08

China is set to launch it's first 3 person crew tomorrow (Thursday) morning. For those with Dish Network the launch will be carried live on channel 265. The launch window runs from 2107 to 2227 local time at the Chinese launch site. So what time is that here in Utah? They have not given the time in anything but local time (I'd think they'd also give UT). Checking the web, 2200 MDT equals 1200 noon at the launch site. So I'm thinking 2107 local equates to 0707 MDT. I think I'll just set my DVR to start recording when I turn in in the morning and hope I get something. http://www.chinaview.cn/shenzhou7 好运 patrick

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Fresh images from Keck
by Patrick Wiggins 24 Sep '08

24 Sep '08

The principal investigator on the project I'm taking light curve data on asteroid Kleopatra for has some time on one of the Keck scopes and he just sent me some images he got of Kleopatra and another asteroid called Hermione. They're not fully processed but he gave me permission to post them as is. Looking at Kleopatra's image I can see why it changes magnitude by nearly a full magnitude. With its dog bone shape when it's seen end on there's very little surface to reflect light whereas once it turns sideways it brightens up considerably. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/kleopatra.jpg And note the image scale on this one. Just goes to show what one can do when imaging with 10 meters of aperture. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/hermione.jpg Suddenly the Big Scope at SPOC doesn't seem quite so big anymore... :) Speaking of SPOC, remember there's a public star party there tonight. Clear skies! (please) patrick

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Vandenberg launch tonight
by Patrick Wiggins 23 Sep '08

23 Sep '08

There's a launch scheduled for Vandenberg AFB tonight (Tuesday). Launch window is from 10:30 to 11:54 p.m. MDT. patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Adventures of a newbie
by zaurak＠digis.net 23 Sep '08

23 Sep '08

Here is a link about Barn Door Mounts. http://www.homebuiltastronomy.com/barndoor/index.htm --- kimharch(a)cut.net wrote: From: "Kim" <kimharch(a)cut.net> To: "'Utah Astronomy'" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Adventures of a newbie Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:33:21 -0600 Gary, Welcome to a great avocation. I hope you'll have a wonderful time getting to know the science, the hobby, and all the great folks who share your new-found interest. I'm a bit old-school but I'm sure you'll find others who will share my first recommendation: learn the night sky before you invest a lot of money in any equipment. I spent almost a whole year with a modest pair of 7x50 binos (under $100 - but you don't even have to spend that much) and a planisphere (David Chandler’s “The Night Sky” is the best – about $10) to learn the sky. Binoculars can reveal hundreds of objects and will whet your appetite for larger optics. You’ll learn to “star hop” to locate objects, a skill that go-to gizmos just can’t replace. (What do you do if your battery runs down at 10:00 PM and you have until dawn to observe?) Also during that time you can go to club meetings and star parties, see a lot of homemade and commercial equipment, and when you are ready to make a larger investment you'll be able to make an informed decision. The bottom line is, go slow so that you won’t regret your choices. My recommendation for a first scope is to build it yourself. I built a 10-inch F5 Newtonian alt-az for about $500 and I’ve never regretted the decision. I purchased high-end commercial optics and some commercial hardware, and then made the rest. It’s still my favorite. Don’t be intimidated by building a scope – they just aren’t that complicated or difficult. And, with your kids, it’s a great family project. Sky & Telescope published an article about building an accurate barn-door-type camera tracker a few months back. It may have been in May or June. I built one based on that design and I’ve been very happy with it. I can’t see spending hundreds of dollars for a commercial tracker when you can build one that is just as serviceable for under $100. You may want to look into that as an alternative to the commercial unit that you’ve been considering. It sounds like the problems that you’re having with the tracker you now have are more related to the type of tripod that you use. I’ve found that a heavy-duty tripod with a fluid head such as one would use for making videos works OK. My brother recently purchased a pair of Bogen tripods with fluid heads on eBay for about $75 each. You should be able to get a good deal on a similar used tripod. Finally, there’s still a lot to see in light-polluted skies. I really enjoy observing double stars, and that kind of observing is rarely limited by light pollution. Filters are available that are very effective in reducing light pollution and allowing one to observe faint objects in polluted skies. I don’t know how effective they are for imaging. Hope this helps. Good luck with the family budget committee. Hope to meet you soon. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Gary Logan Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 8:24 PM To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Advantures of a newbie Hi All, I am a newbie, just discovering the world of astronomy, and what looks interesting, fun, and doable. It all started when ... I was out in my backyard a couple of weeks ago after dark, and on a whim I put my dSLR on my tripod an took a few pictures of the stars. A couple years ago a friend had told me that the planets were easy to see, and that was in the back of my mind when I zoomed into a bright southern star with my 300mm telephoto. After I downloaded the pictures onto my laptop I was very excited to see 4 little blobs next to the larger blob. I knew it must be a planet and it's moons, and after finding a star chart, I determined that it was Jupiter and 3 of it's moons. That was soo!! exciting. (I eventually figured out that the last blob was a star, but it remained classified as a UFO until that time.) Then after my fuzzy Jupiter pictures I ran across a tracking device for SLRs on the web that really got me excited about the astrophotography potential (at: <http://www.astrotrac.com/> http://www.astrotrac.com/) Looking at the pictures taken with the tracker indicate that the camera equipment that I have (normal/wide and standard telephoto lenses) and a decent tracker (and a dark sky), can provide the potential for some great photos. I am now lobbying the family budget committee for a grant for additional equipment to both better see, and to take better pictures of astronomical sights. (Telescope, tracking mount, camera attachments, better lenses, eye-pieces, magazine subscription, stacking software, Photoshop, hmm what other basics do I need.) While my grant request languishes in committee, I have been working on a Barn Door tracker. I just finished the third revision of my prototype last night (and it was cloudy - bummer). My first attempt was too heavy and make my tripod fall over. So, I cut it to half the length, and the weight was okay, but pointing it at the North Star by shortening one leg of the tripod made the tripod fall over again. My third try was to add a block/shim between the tracker and the tripod that set the natural angle at 41 degrees, so it ought to point pretty close to the proper elevation of Polaris to start with. It looks like I will be able to try it again tonight. If I can get the basic thing working, then adding a polar alignment scope will be the next improvement on the list. Adding a stepper motor would be after that, but that appears to be a much more complicated thing to attempt. At any opportune time in this process, showing my wife my sorry looking leftover-parts contraption and eliciting a sympathetic response will be employed. I'm not sure what I want to begin with as far as a telescope. As I look at telescopes, it appears that the Dobsonian mounted Newtonian Reflectors are easily the cheapest way to get good viewing ability. But they do not easily include or add tracking for Astrophotography. It appears that if I get a telescope with a tracking mount, I can mount my camera as the eyepiece, or attach/mount the camera on top of the telescope to track with it. I am thinking (but not certain) that I could still take 1 second or shorter shots on a Dob. using my camera as the eyepiece. I was thinking of maybe getting a used Dobsionian first for $200-300 and forget about tracking, then figure on replacing it when I decided what I really want (next). But Meade has a Truss tube Dob. that appears easy to break down, and fit in the Minivan with our 3 kids on camping trips. Still no tracking though unless I build something custom. So a couple questions: 1) Any recommendations on a first telescope? 2) What are good things to look at in a very light polluted SLC sky? - I have found: Andromeda Galaxy & Jupiter - I'm going to look for Uranus & Neptune (Nepture is at the edge of my ability with my current equipment shortage). - Recognizable pictures of a galaxy or Nebula are my current dream (so I will be continuing to attempt Andromeda) - ... or pointing to a random place in the sky and finding an uncharted asteriod would be okay too. Best Regards, Gary Logan No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.1/1686 - Release Date: 9/23/2008 7:38 AM _______________________________________________ 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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Advantures of a newbie
by Gary Logan 23 Sep '08

23 Sep '08

Hi All, I am a newbie, just discovering the world of astronomy, and what looks interesting, fun, and doable. It all started when ... I was out in my backyard a couple of weeks ago after dark, and on a whim I put my dSLR on my tripod an took a few pictures of the stars. A couple years ago a friend had told me that the planets were easy to see, and that was in the back of my mind when I zoomed into a bright southern star with my 300mm telephoto. After I downloaded the pictures onto my laptop I was very excited to see 4 little blobs next to the larger blob. I knew it must be a planet and it's moons, and after finding a star chart, I determined that it was Jupiter and 3 of it's moons. That was soo!! exciting. (I eventually figured out that the last blob was a star, but it remained classified as a UFO until that time.) Then after my fuzzy Jupiter pictures I ran across a tracking device for SLRs on the web that really got me excited about the astrophotography potential (at: <http://www.astrotrac.com/> http://www.astrotrac.com/) Looking at the pictures taken with the tracker indicate that the camera equipment that I have (normal/wide and standard telephoto lenses) and a decent tracker (and a dark sky), can provide the potential for some great photos. I am now lobbying the family budget committee for a grant for additional equipment to both better see, and to take better pictures of astronomical sights. (Telescope, tracking mount, camera attachments, better lenses, eye-pieces, magazine subscription, stacking software, Photoshop, hmm what other basics do I need.) While my grant request langishes in committee, I have been working on a Barn Door tracker. I just finished the third revision of my prototype last night (and it was cloudy - bummer). My first attempt was too heavy and make my tripod fall over. So, I cut it to half the length, and the weight was okay, but pointing it at the North Star by shortening one leg of the tripod made the tripod fall over again. My third try was to add a block/shim between the tracker and the tripod that set the natural angle at 41 degrees, so it ought to point pretty close to the proper elevation of Polaris to start with. It looks like I will be able to try it again tonight. If I can get the basic thing working, then adding a polar alignment scope will be the next improvement on the list. Adding a stepper motor would be after that, but that appears to be a much more complicated thing to attempt. At any opportune time in this process, showing my wife my sorry looking leftover-parts contraption and eliciting a sympathetic response will be employed. I'm not sure what I want to begin with as far as a telescope. As I look at telescopes, it appears that the Dobsonian mounted Newtonian Reflectors are easily the cheapest way to get good viewing ability. But they do not easily include or add tracking for Astrophotography. It appears that if I get a telescope with a tracking mount, I can mount my camera as the eyepiece, or attach/mount the camera on top of the telescope to track with it. I am thinking (but not certain) that I could still take 1 second or shorter shots on a Dob. using my camera as the eyepiece. I was thinking of maybe getting a used Dobsionian first for $200-300 and forget about tracking, then figure on replacing it when I decided what I really want (next). But Meade has a Truss tube Dob. that appears easy to break down, and fit in the Minivan with our 3 kids on camping trips. Still no tracking though unless I build something custom. So a couple questions: 1) Any recommendations on a first telescope? 2) What are good things to look at in a very light polluted SLC sky? - I have found: Andromeda Galaxy & Jupiter - I'm going to look for Uranus & Neptune (Nepture is at the edge of my ability with my current equipment shortage). - Recognizable pictures of a galaxy or Nebula are my current dream (so I will be continuing to attempt Andromeda) - ... or pointing to a random place in the sky and finding an uncharted asteriod would be okay too. Best Regards, Gary Logan. _____ -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@???] Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 3:30 PM To: garybulk@??? Subject: Welcome to Utah Astronomy Hello, Just a quick note to welcome you to Utah Astronomy. If you get a moment what's say you post a message to the group (use utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com ) introducing yourself and letting everyone know why you signed on? Also, I'd appreciate knowing how you heard about us. As with everyone who signs on to Utah-Astronomy your first post or two will be moderated (alas, in this day and age we have to do that to keep out the spammers) but after we're sure you're a real person the moderation will be quickly removed. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments. Clear skies! Patrick UA Co-administrator

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Former SLASer's "Wow" moment
by Patrick Wiggins 19 Sep '08

19 Sep '08

Hi all, Some of you who have been around SLAS a VERY long time might remember Jerry Montgomery (who donated and for who the SPOC dome was named). It seems he and another fellow feel they've come up with something new in the world of physics. Have a look: http://www.unclear2nuclear.com patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Webcams at Cern collider
by sjseebergp＠webtv.net 19 Sep '08

19 Sep '08

There was too much data and it wouldn`t boot up on web tv., So, like a goof I relied on good reports. My BAD! Jan

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Kleopatra light curve
by Patrick Wiggins 19 Sep '08

19 Sep '08

Anyone interested in doing a light curve work on an easy target? The place that has had me taking data on asteroids the past couple of years now has me working (216) Kleopatra. I just finished my first run on it and it turns out to be a bright and fast rotator. Bright enough and fast enough that this might be a great target for anyone (Joe?) wanting to try light curve work. Any takers? patrick p.s. Here's a plot of tonight's data: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/216KLEOPATRA2008SEP19.JPG

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