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

eBay strangeness
by Chuck Hards 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

Has this ever happened to you? Last night, I was the high bidder on a Celestron 15x70mm binocular (same binocular as Barska, Oberwerk, Galileo, Brunton, Bear, etc.), at about $22 plus shipping, with several days yet to go on the auction. This morning, there is no record of it in "My eBay". Not as a win, a loss, or even as watched. It has simply vanished. Searches do not turn it up again. In the past, when a seller has ended an auction early, it still showed-up if I was watching or bidding on it; it just noted on the auction page itself that it ended early. I've sent an enquiry to eBay, we'll see what their reply is.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] eBay strangeness
by Wayne Sumner 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

Large binoculars of reasonable quality and well mounted on a parallelogram truly are a joy to the eyes. I am thoroughly enjoying the 25x100 Barska pair I bought from Patrick two years ago. But I also enjoy the relative portability and ease of use of my 20x80's, my 15x70's, my 10x50's, and my 7x35's!!! I always get funny looks when using the 15x70's from the nose bleed section at Jazz games, but when I let others try them out, they are amazed! Wayne A. Sumner Math/Physics/Astronomy/Engineering Boy's Tennis Coach Northridge High School Davis School District (801) 402-8610 >>> Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> 02/26/09 2:20 PM >>> Hi Jo, thanks...but actually I "only" have 4 pair right now. I have a 25x100mm, 20x70mm, & 2 15x70mm. Some are strategically stashed in different locations so I don't have to transport them. No danger of a pile tipping-over anytime soon. But I'm always on the lookout for a bargain, to pass-along to someone in need. A certain person with admin rights on this list who will remain nameless has the "touch of death" with large binos, lol. On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 2:12 PM, Josephine Grahn <bsi(a)xmission.com> wrote: > Dear Chuck... > > I can't help with e-bay, but, all seriousness aside, Have you > considered joining Binoculars Anonymous?.... Although we are all the > beneficiaries of the marvelous reviews of every binocular ever > available, I have to imagine them slowly stacking up in the corners, > threatening to topple onto innocent passers-by.... > > A Friend :) > > > > _______________________________________________ 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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Idiot with laser gets busted
by Chuck Hards 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5696134 This idiot deserves the full penalty of the law.

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Comet Lulin mosaic
by Patrick Wiggins 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

I'm beginning to think I should have paid more attention to Tyler's talk as no amount of fussing on my part with Photoshop this morning is producing the results I was hoping for. No doubt there's some key step I'm forgetting. Here's my 9 panel mosaic of Lulin. Each panel is a 15 second exposure. All taken at sidereal rate so the comet is blurred at bit. It looks some better if viewed from across the room. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/lulin2009feb26.jpg It looked better through binoculars. :( For those that want to give it a go, here are all 9 raw images. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/lulin2009feb26.zip Hopefully my galaxy image will come out better but that'll have to wait. For now it's time to turn in, patrick p.s. For those who might be interested, refractor training at SPOC may be starting as early as next week. Let me know if you are interested.

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Mangling Patrick's HH data
by Jim Gibson 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

Patrick, Thanks for offering your HorseHead data to play with. If nothing else I have learned 15 different ways not to process it. I finally came up with one to offer as good as I can get it for now, but my mind is frazzled so I will probably play with it some more later. I broke one of Tyler’s commandments; I let my stars get pure white. Actually I may just post 2 of my efforts; one with stars white and one with out. I will come back and visit this later when my head quits buzzing. The names will indicate the basic process I went through. White stars (my bad) http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1135 Still not good enough http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1138 Jim

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Hard lessons in amateur astronomy
by Debbie 25 Feb '09

25 Feb '09

Patrick, I'd put that one out on E-bay if I were you. You could make a few extra dollars maybe. I liked the shot too. Debbie On Wed Feb 25 11:31 , Joe Bauman <josephmbauman(a)yahoo.com> sent: >Hey, I love your shot of the moon occulting Orion! -- jb > >--- On Wed, 2/25/09, Patrick Wiggins paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> wrote: >From: Patrick Wiggins paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Hard lessons in amateur astronomy >To: "Utah Astronomy" utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 12:54 AM > >On 25 Feb 2009, at 00:11, Joe Bauman wrote: > >> Need to feel better about your astro-mistakes? Read my blog: >> >> >http://deseretnews.com/blogs/monthly/1,5553,10000034,00.html\?bD=20090224&s… > >Ouch! That was almost painful to read. :) > >> And I would very much like any comments that might shed light on >> other errors, so that folks might avoid them -- or at least get a >> chuckle out of them. > >Ok, here are a couple from the days of film photography (taken at >Little Stonehenge): > >Forgot to advance the film between exposures. >http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/0893.jpg > >Forgot to close the shutter before using a red light to check the >scope's corrector plate for dew. >http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/0903.jpg > >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 > > > > >_______________________________________________ >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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noise processing software
by daniel turner 25 Feb '09

25 Feb '09

Has anyone on the list had experience using NoiseNinja? How would you rate the product? Effective or not? DT

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Obs Ops - SLC Feb 25 sunset 6:15pm and 10pm
by Canopus56 25 Feb '09

25 Feb '09

We'll just have to see what, if anything, the weather gods allow tonight. 6:15pm ain't happening. But the NOAA IR map is showing some kind of clearing to the west, but I'm not sure which way the clouds are moving. NOAA IR Map http://www.weather.gov/sat_tab.php?image=ir The Wendover Cam shows things are clearing out to the west. Wendover Cam http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/camera/single/WestWendover.php Maybe a peak at Lulin later tonight will open up; maybe not. Like an astronomical version of Punxsutawney Phil, I'll have to stick my head out of my hiddy-hole around 10pm and see if we are in for another 6 hours overcast weather. Clear Skies - Kurt

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Obs Ops - SLC Feb 25 sunset 6:15pm and 10pm
by Canopus56 25 Feb '09

25 Feb '09

If the clouds clear out by sunset, tonight is a favorable evening to view or image a thin crescent 24 hour old moon in Utah. See chart below the fold at: http://www.crescentmoonwatch.org/nextnewmoon.htm At local time 6:15pm MST, civil sunset will occur. The thin crescent Moon will be at az 285 alt 10.5. Unfortunately, there will be no other guideposts in the area. Basically, you'll have about 20 minutes in a lawn chair with binoculars to see if you can catch the thin crecsent in the advancing sunset before the Moon hits the tops of the Oquirrihs. Ceres is at opposition tonight. As the Sun sets, Ceres and Comet Lulin are invisible but rising in the northeast sky. Ceres transits at 1:09am at mag 6. It is within a 1 deg TFOV of mag 8.5 star SAO81624 At 1:00 AM, Lulin is just outside a 1 deg TFOV of mag 5.9 star 49 Leo, SAO118380. If Lulin is not in the TFOV of 49 Leo, just slew to the east in right acension for 2 RA arcmins. You should run right over it. At a most reasonable earlier hour of 10pm MST, use the same procedure but slew about 45 arcmins east. Alternatively, try entering mag 7.5 star SAO118431 in your hand-controller. At 10pm, Lulin should be within a 1 deg TFOV of SAO118431 at about 40 deg alt 120 az. Clear skies - Kurt

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HOA variable star educator's guide
by Canopus56 25 Feb '09

25 Feb '09

The AAVSO has updated their popular Hands-On-Astrophysics modules from the late 1990s and integrated the HOA cirriculum with the AAVSO's new online data repository Variable Star Plotter (VSP). Hands-On-Astrophysics (HOA) has been renamed "Variable Star Astronomy" (VSA): HOA Main page http://www.aavso.org/education/vsa/ HOA Other Materials Page http://www.aavso.org/education/vsa/materials.html This resource may be of interest to Utah educators. The teacher's guides and student manuals cover basic astronomy concepts for middle school through introductory college course and is tied to National Science Standardsand Benchmarks. Teacher's Overview Manual: http://www.aavso.org/education/vsa/teacher_using_manual.pdf (I note that the Benchmarks and Content Standards in each unit are only generally described at the front of each teacher's module guide and are not listed by a specific benchmark id number.) Most of the materials would be review for SLAS members, but those of you who are interested in learning the basic types of variable stars and variable star analysis techniques, will find Chapters 11, 12 and 13 a good place to get started on variable stars. Clear Skies - Kurt The following is reposted from the AAVSO listserv: Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:26:46 -0500 From: arne <arne(a)aavso.org> Subject: [Aavso-photometry] The New HOA == Variable Star Astronomy (VSA) To: AAVSO-DIS <aavso-discussion(a)mira.aavso.org>, Aavso-Photometry <aavso-photometry(a)mira.aavso.org> Message-ID: <49A43BE6.6050300(a)aavso.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Hands On Astrophysics was a major initiative of the AAVSO during the 1990's. It was funded by a grant from NSF, and resulted in a great package that taught astrophysical concepts through the study of variable stars. The package contained an excellent manual in a 3-ring binder; a VHS tape; 35mm slides, hardcopy photos and finding charts of stellar fields, and even a complete software package that could display light curves and do basic period searches. The package was geared towards the educator, though many copies were sold to individuals. This package was very expensive for the AAVSO to produce. We had depleted most of the stock about the time that I became Director. Donna Young and I sat down together, and she expressed interest in bringing this package into the modern world. This made perfect sense to me - she was one of the primary authors of the original HOA manual, and was willing to perform the work as a volunteer. She began the process by converting a few chapters to use on her Chandra site, and slowly worked through the remaining chapters with the help of several of her coworkers (especially Pamela Perry). I am proud to announce that the entire manual and most of the supporting material is again available through the AAVSO website, this time for free. As linked through the home page: http://www.aavso.org/education/vsa/ you can download individual chapters or supporting material. The software, VSTAR, has yet to be converted from its original DOS roots (we are looking for a grant to cover this cost), but we hope that it will happen sooner than later. Note also that Donna was unhappy with the original "Astrophysics" title, as she felt that it frightened away some potential readers, and so has renamed the curriculum "Variable Star Astronomy." It is the same manual and material, though updated with modern links. I hope you enjoy the final product as much as I have, and use it frequently in your classrooms and club activities. Arne

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