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

Grand Canyon - North Rim
by Debbie 21 Apr '09

21 Apr '09

Anybody planning on going to the North Rim in June? I hear the viewing is superb. Omega Centauri is also visable as well as Centaurus A (NGC 5128). I had a friend that said that Cape Royal was a good place to observe. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Moon occults Venus Wed 4-22 6:15am
by Canopus56 21 Apr '09

21 Apr '09

Checked out conditions in anticipation of tomorrow morning's occultation. At 6:15am MDT this morning (4/21/2009) both the Moon and Venus (-4.1 mags) were naked eye and easily seen above the Wasatch. At 7:20am MDT this morning, the Moon was still visible just before the rising Sun crested the local eastern Wasatch mountain range. Venus was not naked eye but was easily found by scanning along the ecliptic with 8x35mm binos. Venus is a phased crescent. Venus should be visible at egress during tomorrow's occultation around 7:09am MDT. Astronomical twilight is at 4:57am MDT and civil twilight at 6:09am MDT. For tracked astrophotography, it is advisable to set up at 5:00am MDT, computer align your scope while the major stars are still visible and then put the scope into park mode until 6:00am MDT. Alignment stars were not visible at 6:00am MDT. The Lyrid meteor shower will peak at around 4am MDT 4/22/2009 per the RASC Handbook. The IMO meteor shower calendar states for the Lyrids that: "The Lyrids are expected to peak on 2009 April 22 around 11h UT (ZHR ~20). Past observations have shown the maximum time to be variable from year to year; in 2009 the peak could occur between 3h and 14h UT on April 22. The radiant of this shower, between Lyra and Hercules, rises during the night. Watches can be usefully carried out from about 22h30m local time onwards from mid-northern sites, but only from well after midnight from the mid-southern hemisphere. The waning crescent Moon will rise too late in the night in the northern hemisphere to cause any problems." Although the Lyra-Moon geometry looks good for lunar meteor impacts on the dark limb of the Moon, due to the closeness of the Moon to the Sun, the Lyrid shower peak does not look like a good opportunity for lunar meteor impact imaging. Clear Skies - Kurt

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Tasco scope for a school
by Stephen Peterson 21 Apr '09

21 Apr '09

All, I inherited a 60mm f 15 Tasco refractor on a equatorial mount. I have rebalanced the OTA on the mount, cleaned the 'optics', took most of the play out of the RA drive gear, and beefed up the tripod legs. While it is not the greatest scope, views of the moon are generally sharp, and the phase of Venus was clear. I'll try it on Saturn tonight. Anyone know of a school that might make use of the scope? Happy to give it away as well as offer any help needed with transport and set up. Steve

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Finding myself on the Stellafane Website
by Chuck Hards 21 Apr '09

21 Apr '09

While I was looking for references to the manual Dob setting circles I rememer seeing, I found a link to my Woodshop design on the Stellafane site! http://stellafane.org/misc/links.html#AltAz Way down, under "Dobs and Other Alt-Az Mounts", we find a link to "Woodshop Scope plans by Chuck" I'll be darned! I've never even been to Stellafane, but hope to make it before I die.

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Moon occults Venus Wed 4-22 6:15am
by Canopus56 20 Apr '09

20 Apr '09

Just before sunrise at 6:15am MDT on Wed Apr 22, the Moon will occult Venus at az 96 alt 12 in SLC. Ingress will be on the bright leading edge of the Moon near Mare Orientale with an 0.08 illuminated fraction. The occultation will end 7:16am MDT after sunrise and will probably not be telescopically visible. Egress will be on the dark limb near Crater Balmer. At 6:15am, Mars will be about 4 degs towards the eastern horizon and below the Moon. Clear Skies - Kurt

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Harmon’s Aids Armature Astronomer Develop Hi-Tech Equipment
by Jim Gibson 20 Apr '09

20 Apr '09

Sorry about the headline but that is how I felt when I tried out my 2 hole focus mask made from Harmon’s paper bags. Check it out: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1199 I was surprised how well it worked. I have been having a hard time knowing when my camera is in focus when attached to my Orion 100mm APO. While I was waiting for the sky to clear I decided to make a focus mask and try it out. I discovered that I like the holes vertical better than horizontal. When viewing a bright star through the camera view finder while attached to the APO I could see 2 stars with wings. The stars were one above the other. Or they would be horizontal if the holes were horizontal. Then as I rotated the focuser the 2 stars came together and join as one. Then I knew I was in focus. That thing is going to be a permanent part of my Hi-tech equipment. Jim

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Dobsonian Setting Circles?
by Jay Eads 20 Apr '09

20 Apr '09

Troy, Here is a site that may offer some insights. http://www.homebuiltastronomy.com/ManualDobSettingCircles.htm Not sure if it will help or not. Jay

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Stephen Hawking
by Jim Gibson 20 Apr '09

20 Apr '09

Just saw this LONDON – Famed mathematician Stephen Hawking has been rushed to a hospital and is seriously ill, Cambridge University said Monday. Sorry to hear that.

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Saturday night at SPOC
by Chuck Hards 20 Apr '09

20 Apr '09

Quite a turn-out last night at SPOC! The sky was covered with high cirrus until about ten and not very dark, but it was better than a rain storm. It really improved just as Erik and I closed-up and left. Whoever that last hardy soul was who had a personal telescope on the grass probably had the best views of the night. I left my Caldwell & Messier cards, as well as my mini-planisphere at SPOC, either in the control room or the 32" bay. I'll try and cruise out there later today to retrieve them. They are inside a black-covered copy of the Grim operator's manual that I brought with me. And thanks to the Blanchards for some yummy treats!

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Misc Notes on Stargate Asterism - Sat SPOC
by Canopus56 20 Apr '09

20 Apr '09

> http://platformx.sourceforge.net/Name/index.html Nice page, Kim. But you left off the most important info -:) =========== Buck Rogers Timeline 2464 Elias Huer pilots the first ship through a Stargate. The short trip takes him across Earth's solar system. His mission a success, a system of Stargate's is developed to link trading planets throughout the Earth Federation and beyond. 2491 Buck and Wilma travel together on a Recon mission to a destination near Stargate 4. This is one of Buck's first trips through at space warp. ("Planet of the Slave Girls") =========== > Anyone know of good images available on the web that > might represent a "let there be light" moment? The DSS image off the page: http://platformx.sourceforge.net/Name/red.gif Here's other images off the net that I liked: http://www.astro-pat.com/Galaxies/M104-Shark-Stargate-040805.htm http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2008-02-10-chuckwalla/slides/IMG_8136.html and a drawing - probably more representative of what is seen in the eyepiece - http://www.backyard-astro.com/Logs/Stargate.html - Kurt

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