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

Posts on The Trib's astro blog
by Sheena McFarland 28 Feb '09

28 Feb '09

Hi everybody, Here is a listing of last week's (and today's) blog posts on The Salt Lake Tribune's astronomy blog The Final Frontier: An out-of-this-world proposal, crash and burn, What an outburst!, What do you know about this man?, It's a bird, it's a plane, it's likely not satellite debris... Comments are always welcome, and thanks for reading! Sheena McFarland State Government Reporter The Salt Lake Tribune 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 Office: (801) 257-8619 Cell: (801) 510-5567 Fax: (801) 257-8525 smcfarland(a)sltrib.com

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Moon Venus
by Raeburn Kennard 28 Feb '09

28 Feb '09

Even the rank amateur that I am, I had several people calling me last night to explain that cool sight. My 9-year-old grandson had his mom call on the cell phone so he could come over "right now" on his way home from the store to look at it through my scope.

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Tribune Astronomy Blog posts and a plea
by Sheena McFarland 28 Feb '09

28 Feb '09

Hi all, Well, it's that time of year. The editors at the paper are going through and eliminating blogs that don't have high readership or reader interaction (ie comments). I love writing the astronomy blog and really, really want to keep writing it. So, here are a few ideas of mine: I would love to post up some of the awesome photos that many of you take. It could be of a variety of genres, from the awesome astrophotography I've seen to capturing a beautiful moonrise. I'd love to feature them as often as possible. If you have any other ideas on interactive things such as posting readers' photos, let me know. I'm totally open to new ideas. Also, if you guys have any suggestions (and I assure you I take criticism well) on how I can improve the blog, let me know. Again, I'd love for you guys to comment. I know it's a pain in the neck to register with Blogger.com, but the more comments, the better it appears to editors for readership. And, of course tell your friends and family about it! :) Here are this week's posts: A nice way to end the day Friday, Glow-in-the-dark Venus, A room with a view, An out-of-this-world proposal, Crash and burn. The blog can be found at: http://blogs.sltrib.com/frontier Thanks for reading! Sheena McFarland State Government Reporter The Salt Lake Tribune 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 Office: (801) 257-8619 Cell: (801) 510-5567 Fax: (801) 257-8525 smcfarland(a)sltrib.com

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Being overly cautious
by Patrick Wiggins 27 Feb '09

27 Feb '09

I'm probably being overly paranoid but over the past few days we've had folks sign on to the list using what (to me at least) look like made up names and when I attempt to send them my usual "Welcome to Utah-Astronomy" email, the messages have bounced. Oddly, messages from the list do not seem to be bouncing. As with all folks signing on for the first time these folks are automatically moderated so none of the kind of stuff that got through to the old U-A Gallery should make it through to the list. However, in the spirit of hyper-vigilance I'd like to ask that if anyone here does receive any inappropriate postings from the list to please forward them to me (paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com) and Rich (retenney(a)yahoo.com ) immediately so we can remove the poster from the list. Now go drag out a telescope. It's a great night tonight. patrick the paranoid

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Lulin photos
by Raeburn Kennard 27 Feb '09

27 Feb '09

I posted two new photos of Lulin to my SLAS gallery http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=464&g2_page=2 The first is another version of one already posted earlier, but this time edited by Tyler Allred. He works magic even on my simple tripod & camera shot. Here's what he did: "I am using Photoshop CS3, but there may be a more recent version out. I just did a quick version with your data. I used Focus Magic (Photoshop plug-in program) to remove the trailed stars. Then I did some curves and levels adjustments in Photoshop. I broke my own rule and forced the background to black because there was quite a bit of blotchy noise there. That is normal when using only 1 frame. The resulting image is not bad. Keep up the good work." It is encouragement like that which makes me enjoy this discussion group. And, Chuck, no matter how curmudgeonly you try to sound, we all know you're just a kind old teddy bear! Like the Saturday you volunteered to come to my house to collimate my 20-year old Dob, when I had never heard of collimation before. Thanks to the group for being a source of light and friendship. Raeburn Kennard (mostly a "lurker")

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Patrick's Mosaic
by Jim Gibson 27 Feb '09

27 Feb '09

Patrick, You have single handedly taught me more about image processing than any of my books. On the other hand you have been producing data so fast I haven’t had time to read any of my books. Lest that sounded like a complaint I do want to thank you again for the fun time learning about image processing. Like Roger I keep most of my booboos to myself. We could all learn faster if someone would look at our images and say, “why don’t you try this?” Or maybe something like this – Joe said, “Here's my slapdash effort to assemble Patrick's data…” Joe, I worked a long time trying to do what you did and couldn’t. How did you lighten the Horse Head background with out loosing the dark color in the Horse Head itself? You did something besides curves I am guessing. Here’s what I came up with for Patrick’s mosaic. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1147 Jim

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Spreadsheet for polar alignment
by Canopus56 27 Feb '09

27 Feb '09

It might be a good time to review what software has polar alignment aids built-in. I do not subscribe to the favored SLAS-member software, The Sky, or Maxim DL. Baldwin's technique has the advantage that it only requires leveling the scope but does not require access to Polaris. You only need to be able to see a circumpolar star. I use Rodham's Astroplanner quite a bit. It has a polar alignment helper feature that I have tried but do not use regularly. Unlike Baldwin's technique, you have to have access to Polaris. In Rodham's utility, you slew repeated to a proposed menu of program selected stars, sync the scope and laptop program and then slew back to the pole star. The program computes and displays the amount of the alignment error. Then you use your adjustment locking bolts to recenter Polaris. This is manual process is repeated until the polar alignment error is minimized. The program selected stars are not circumpolar, but are a cocktail of stars between the meridian in the northeastern sky - similar to what a hand-controller alignment program yields. K3CCD Tools has a drift alignment "helper" - i.e. it has a good screen that displays the drift error (labeled the "Drift Explorer") based on a meridian star seen in a video or CCD camera. Of course, all of the above, IMHO is only necessary for hyper-alignment for imaging purposes or where precise target slewing is otherwise desirable, e.g. - heavily attended star parties where target acquisition delays does not match the crowd's attention span or some urban astronomy settings where precise targeting is helpful finding faint fuzzies. Clear Skies - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Lulin -- obs report
by Canopus56 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

> To each his own. I just ask for the right to be allowed my own opinion > without taking sh*t for it. Chuck, I continue to hold you in the highest regard. No offense intended. I was outta line. We're fine on this. > Maybe I'm just a glutton for abuse and should stop showing > these things to the general public when they read about it in the > paper or on-line. Joe and Sheena, I keep on forgetting anything I write here might now be printed in some newspaper blog where my boss can read it. I categorically forbid you to print in a newspaper blog that I hold Chuck in high regard! -:) Clear Skies - Kurt

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FITS liberator
by Patrick Wiggins 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

A while back there was some discussion here about software to open FITS files. It was pointed out that while Photoshop alone will not open FITS files, it will open them if the ESA/NASA "FITS Liberator" plug-in was installed. I found out last night that there are a couple of versions. Once version works on Mac and Windows: http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/ However, on Macs it only works with the full blown version of Photoshop. Cheapskates (like me) who are still using Photoshop Elements on our Macs need the other version which is at: http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/download_v1.html Carpe Noctem! patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Lulin -- obs report
by Canopus56 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

I set up a small after work 4 1/4 inch GOTO reflector at 1AM for a few minutes and took a quick look at Lulin between jet stream driven cloud lines from an urban light polluted location. Lulin is now at opposition and is at its brightest. It now has a distinct central core. Some of the "wings" of its tail could be only faintly seen. While a spectacular astrophotography object, as illustrated in yesterday's APOD: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090225.html - it's visual appearance is better represented by yesterday's ASOD (Astronomy Sketch of the Day). http://www.asod.info/?p=1610 Saturn is near opposition and wonderfully distinct at 1AM at a high altitude and with good seeing. Ceres is at opposition. It was a nice bright mag 5-6 and one had the definite impression that you where looking at an extend and not a point object. Ceres is almost at the zenith - not a convenient binocular observing frame - within one degree of a triangular asterism anchored by 54 Leo. 54 Leo anchors the "bottom" or south of a small, prominent triangular asterism consisting of: 54 Leo South anchor 4.5v 50 Leo Northeast corner 6.4v 48 Leo Northwest corner 6.2v If you can find the triangle asterism, Ceres is the brightest thing just to the east at (J2000 11h00m04.21s +24°35'11.5"). At 10pm tonight, Lulin will be about 1 1/2 degs north of 44 Leo (SAO118286) at 23 degs alt and on a line between rho Leo and Regulus. At 1AM it is within a 1 deg TFOV of 7.7 mag star SAO99061 (J2000 10h18m52.68s DE:+10°19'39.9"). It will be interesting to see what other changes Lulin might develop, now that it has been heated up by traveling through its point of closest passage to the Sun. Clear skies - Kurt P.S. to Chuck - Chuck wrote: > Another sarcastic comment. . . . . By all means, comets such as > this are worth observing - especially to those of you who live > and breathe astronomy, and apparently have little else to > occupy your free time . . . But I don't feel like I have an > obligation to drool and fawn publicly over every fuzzy > thing that pops into the night sky. Thanks, Chuck, that's nicest compliment I've received all week and a badge I am proud to wear. -:) But seriously, sometimes you deserve the ribbing you get. Sometimes you guys sound like a bunch of fossilized old-foogies whose astronomical life stopped with Comet West. It's not the skies that you have but what you do with the skies that you do have. This is an astronomy listserv - a place where people with some astronomy experience come to drool and fawn over every fuzzy thing that pops into the night sky. My apologies if I my sarcasism struck too deep or sent you over your limit. Peace, Best wishes, Kurt

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