January 2009 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Suggestion for gallery users
by Patrick Wiggins 21 Jan '09

21 Jan '09

Hello fellow gallery users, When one places a new image on the gallery there are five places in which to enter descriptive data. They are labeled "Title", "Summary", "Keywords", "Description" and way down at the bottom is a series of pull down menus for entering the date and time the image was taken. "Title" as one might expect, is what is displayed in bold face type immediately under each image. When one clicks on a particular album in the gallery each of the images are then displayed with the title still underneath each image and still in bold type but "Summary" is what is displayed in smaller, non-bold type under the title. Note that there is a limit to how much text "Summary" can accommodate before it cuts off. So it's best to keep the "summary" to, as the name implies, just a summary of the full caption. When one then clicks on a particular image a larger version of the image is displayed with the full "Description" shown above. There may be a limit to the amount of text that can be entered in the description but I have not seen any evidence of that yet. The date and time are displayed below the image (checking the various albums it looks like some either have not noticed the Date/Time feature or chose not to use it). Oh, as for "Keywords"? I don't know what that is. I'm guessing there's some way to search the entire gallery for particular images by searching for keywords but I don't know that for sure. Keep those images coming. patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Venus returning from max elongation (near Uranus)
by zaurak＠digis.net 20 Jan '09

20 Jan '09

I think we all noticed it, but understood you meant Uranus, not Venus x 2. --- paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com wrote: From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Venus returning from max elongation (near Uranus) Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:17:02 -0700 Typo alert! That _should_ have read: The evenings of the 21st and 22nd Uranus will be just under 1.5 degrees from Venus. Thanks to Sheena and Siegfried for catching that. patrick On 18 Jan 2009, at 20:38, Patrick Wiggins wrote: > The evenings of the 21st and 22nd Venus will be just under 1.5 degrees > from Venus. > > Weather permitting Uranus at mag. 5.9 should be easily visible in even > smallish binoculars. > > 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://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Gallery update / EGP / Cooold
by Patrick Wiggins 20 Jan '09

20 Jan '09

Gallery Lots of folks are already on the gallery with many nice images. Have a look: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php There is one small change in the registration procedure in that one no longer needs to email me directly when registering. --- EGP (Experimental Geodetic Payload) Here's a video of a fun satellite to watch. Launched in the 1980's the satellite which is basically a 2 meter diameter disco ball, flashes its way across the sky. It's gotten pretty hard to see with naked eye but is easy with even 7x35 binoculars. --- Cold! Think it was a bit frosty yesterday morning? As I was closing up my observatory I got these pictures: Scope: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/ICE01.JPG Walls: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/ICE02.JPG How in the world folks like Joe and Tyler can stand to stay outside in such weather is beyond me. I salute you guys. For me, I prefer working from inside and letting the equipment grow the icicles (and not my nose). patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M 74
by JayLEads 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try next time I get out which would have been tonight but the smog is just horrible right now. I need to get up early one of these mornings and nab a look at Saturn even with the rings edge on. I noticed this early a.m. that Ursa Major was looking pretty good near zenith also with some of the objects in and around it. On 2009-01-19 23:03, zaurak wrote: > Jay, > > A little more info: Author Mallas puts M74 at mag 8.8. Brent Watson lists some magnitudes lower in his cards than "The Messier Album" by Mallas and Kreimer, I have found many examples in the card set we have at SPOC, perhaps he considers angular size and does some sort of calculation, M74 is listed at 8 mins. > They list the central core as "starlike" and fairly easy to see, and early observers (1861) thought it resembled a globular cluster. > > I woud suggest that next time you look at M74 go to Alpha Piscium (Al Rescha) first, it is a close double star that requires 150-200X to get good view. When Al Rescha is high enough that also puts M74 in a good viewing location, Eta is also called Kullat Nunu. > > Erik > > > --- jayleads@??? wrote: > > From: JayLEads <jayleads@???> > To: Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy@???> > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] M 74 > Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:58:48 -0700 > > Just was wondering if anyone could help a newbie. M 74 has eluded me > this winter though I have attempted to find her several times. I know > I am in the right area based on star charts and tonight I thought > using averted vision I saw a very small core, but it faded out as I > moved my eye back. This best describes the route I have tried though > I have tried another also: > > I start from Hamal (Alpha Arietis); and from this star, I follow a > line via Beta Arietis to Eta Piscium (mag 3.5); M74 should be about > 1/2 deg N and 1 1/2 deg E of Eta Psc; > > Is it just too hard an item to see unless I'm in a dark site? > > Thanks, > > Jay > > > > >

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Venus returning from max elongation
by Canopus56 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

The 2009 RASC Handbook indicates that Venus passed maximum elongation on Jan. 15 and is now heading back towards the Sun. For those wanting to brave the cold, favorable conditions for taking an image of Venus will lessen over the next month. - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M 74
by zaurak＠digis.net 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

Jay, A little more info: Author Mallas puts M74 at mag 8.8. Brent Watson lists some magnitudes lower in his cards than "The Messier Album" by Mallas and Kreimer, I have found many examples in the card set we have at SPOC, perhaps he considers angular size and does some sort of calculation, M74 is listed at 8 mins. They list the central core as "starlike" and fairly easy to see, and early observers (1861) thought it resembled a globular cluster. I woud suggest that next time you look at M74 go to Alpha Piscium (Al Rescha) first, it is a close double star that requires 150-200X to get good view. When Al Rescha is high enough that also puts M74 in a good viewing location, Eta is also called Kullat Nunu. Erik --- jayleads(a)gmail.com wrote: From: JayLEads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> To: Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] M 74 Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:58:48 -0700 Just was wondering if anyone could help a newbie. M 74 has eluded me this winter though I have attempted to find her several times. I know I am in the right area based on star charts and tonight I thought using averted vision I saw a very small core, but it faded out as I moved my eye back. This best describes the route I have tried though I have tried another also: I start from Hamal (Alpha Arietis); and from this star, I follow a line via Beta Arietis to Eta Piscium (mag 3.5); M74 should be about 1/2 deg N and 1 1/2 deg E of Eta Psc; Is it just too hard an item to see unless I'm in a dark site? Thanks, Jay _______________________________________________ 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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M 74
by JayLEads 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

Just was wondering if anyone could help a newbie. M 74 has eluded me this winter though I have attempted to find her several times. I know I am in the right area based on star charts and tonight I thought using averted vision I saw a very small core, but it faded out as I moved my eye back. This best describes the route I have tried though I have tried another also: I start from Hamal (Alpha Arietis); and from this star, I follow a line via Beta Arietis to Eta Piscium (mag 3.5); M74 should be about 1/2 deg N and 1 1/2 deg E of Eta Psc; Is it just too hard an item to see unless I'm in a dark site? Thanks, Jay

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Gallery update
by Patrick Wiggins 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

I've had a few hours to experiment with the gallery. There were a few quirks but I asked Joe Bauman to be my test subject and with his help I think the quirks (at least most of them) have been tamed. I posted a few pictures I found in my files. Unfortunately many of the shots I really liked and would have liked to post were lost in the meltdown of the old UA gallery. Sigh... I'm especially impressed with the speed of the gallery. It processes inputs much more quickly than the old gallery. Happily, Ken based it on the old gallery, so it operates pretty much the same as the old. No doubt danger still lurks in the bushes (was that a political crack <grin>)? So I'd really like to hear from users about their experiences, good and bad. But for that to happen we need users. So sign up now and show off your handiwork! http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Thanks again to Ken for all his pro-bono work. patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M 74
by zaurak＠digis.net 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

It is perhaps the dimmest M galaxy, It is very compact so the fuzzy core you saw was likely M74. I usually just go to eta piscium to find it, it is not an object I look at at an urban site. --- jayleads(a)gmail.com wrote: From: JayLEads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> To: Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] M 74 Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:58:48 -0700 Just was wondering if anyone could help a newbie. M 74 has eluded me this winter though I have attempted to find her several times. I know I am in the right area based on star charts and tonight I thought using averted vision I saw a very small core, but it faded out as I moved my eye back. This best describes the route I have tried though I have tried another also: I start from Hamal (Alpha Arietis); and from this star, I follow a line via Beta Arietis to Eta Piscium (mag 3.5); M74 should be about 1/2 deg N and 1 1/2 deg E of Eta Psc; Is it just too hard an item to see unless I'm in a dark site? Thanks, Jay _______________________________________________ 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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Request for images - Centaur booster M3Star Cent booster Id 25725
by Canopus56 18 Jan '09

18 Jan '09

With respect to my personal LCROSS pre-event observation and imaging planning, I would like to obtain images of a passage of satellite MStar 3 Centaur Rocket, USSpaceCommand Id 25725, International Id 1999-023B. Background data on this booster can be found at found at CalSky and Heaven's Above. For registered Heaven's Above and CalSky users, direct links are: http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25725 http://www.calsky.com/csephem.cgi?&object=Satellite&number=25725 Ideally, I would like to obtain images of the booster at apogee at 5148 kilometers. Visibility at my own observing point appears to be limited times other than apogee. Favorable apogee observing positions appear to be in Hawaii, Australia or the Far East. Favorable United States western continential United States times over the next two weeks (based on my Intermountain observing point) are listed as follows: Favorable opportunities to image 3 MStar Centaur Booster, USSpaceCmd Id. 25725 for observing point 111W 41N Date MST Mag Alt Az 19-Jan-09 19:27 5.0 22 SSW 21-Jan-09 18:33 5.1 28 SSW 22-Jan-09 19:24 5.3 21 SSW 27-Jan-09 18:26 5.8 26 SSW Observers will have to obtain particularlized targeting details from CalSky or Heaven's Above. Thanks - Kurt I am not making these requests as part of any official LCROSS observing campaign and am not associated with the campaign. This is an unofficial individual request.

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