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

Items for Astronomical Festival
by Ann House 15 Jun '09

15 Jun '09

I have some IYA items from NASA that can be taken to the Festival this weekend at Bryce to be given to the public. Bookmarks, pins, fact sheets, car decals, booklets, holograms, posters - some fun give-aways for the festival goers. Would anyone from this list be going to Bryce, and would be willing to take them down and see that they are distributed? They might be good to have at the Visitors Center, as well as at the star parties. If you are a SLAS member, I can bring them to the SLAS mtg tomorrow evening, though I will be late as I teach Tue evenings. -A

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] LCROSS media notes
by Canopus56 15 Jun '09

15 Jun '09

YouTube broadcast of the NASA LRO-LCROSS Press Briefing held June 15, 2009. LCROSS starts at min 21: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GXjR_CZSE Visibility is discussed at min 28: A June 18 launch gives a south pole impact on Oct. 9. There are 369 archived NASA videos at the site, but news conferences are not necessarily systematically archived: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=NASAtelevision&view=videos The next NASA TV LCROSS broadcast is 9AM EDT tomorrow 6-16 on the science portion of the mission. - Kurt P.S. - Brian Day's Post on impact dates 5/26/2009: http://groups.google.com/group/lcross_observation/browse_thread/thread/eaac… My "local circumstances" post 6-9 http://groups.google.com/group/lcross_observation/browse_thread/thread/6d57… Jim Mosher's visualization http://ltvt.wikispaces.com/LCROSS+Impact For 110W Longitude on Oct 9 11:30 (UT) (5:30 MDT, 4:30AST) October 9 11:30 UT (5:30 MDT) Salt Lake City Utah 2009-10-9 5h30m ( TU + -6h00m ) Sideral Time : 5h15m Hour Angle : 23h52m Azimuth :+173°15' Altitude :+74°57' ---> Sun alt -23 <----- Clear Skies - Kurt

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My new solar mount setup continued
by erikhansen＠TheBlueZone.net 15 Jun '09

15 Jun '09

>Aloha Rob, >For Solar Observing I cut a hole in an umbrella so when I sit at the eyepiece my whole body is shaded. The only drawback is that it takes a sturdier mount than the telescope normally requires. Even in a good breeze the image stays still. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1078 One year at RTMC I saw a fellow that made his sun shade out of Solar Panels that charged a battery while he was observing. Erik Aloha Chuck > > > my solution to the solar viewing problem has been to put a 'gobo' (go between, a 12x18 piece of matt board that's white on one side, black on the other clamped to a pole) to shade the person and eyepiece and to put a circular disc of thin plastic ( Old G11 clutch pads are perfect) w/ a layer of black velveteen glued on. The gobo blocks the sun from heating you up and looking into the eyepiece w/ a black field around it is easy on the eyes. I use this set up on my > refractor w/ a Herschel wedge, we'll do a similar set up when the Lunt LS200 arrives. All we need now is something that is interesting on the sun. > > > Aloha > Rob > > _______________________________________________ > 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://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php > Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com >

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued)
by Joe Bauman 15 Jun '09

15 Jun '09

I've tried another bout of processing my M22 images, using a method to set color balance that relies on the background tones of the exposures. The result looks a little less crisp, and the colors are peculiar. But here it is, in case it has any interest: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2036 Jay, I very much appreciate all the great info you've provided! I may write another globular cluster piece later one, when people have forgotten I've board everyone on the topic, and then I could use some of the material you dug up. Hope you and your wife have a great tirp and a fine anniversary. -- Best wishes, Joe --- On Sun, 6/14/09, Jay Eads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Jay Eads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued) To: "Utah-Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 10:24 PM Another article at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/sfsu-lco042209.php tells us that 18 white dwarfs were found in NGC 6397. White dwarfs are very common in a globular cluster but what is interesting about these 18 is that instead of being made of carbon and oxygen they are made of Helium. These were captured by the Hubble in new images and they are "the first extensive sequence of helium-core white dwarfs to be observed in a globular cluster." The article implies that these stars were cut off at the helium stage because they are part of a binary system with a heavy star companion because they are found in the central regions and not all around the cluster. One of the astronomers is Professor Adrienne Cool at SF State University and she says: "Cool suggests that a star that goes on to become a helium-core white dwarf must have a close companion so that when the star became a red giant and expanded, its outer layers spilled onto the companion. The star never had the chance to reach maturity and burn its helium into carbon and oxygen" (see, it is Cool to be involved with Astronomy; just ask the professor; sorry couldn't resist). The actual publication by the astronomers will come out on July 1st, 2009 in Astrophysical Journal. On a side note NGC 6397 was the globular used in a 2004 study where berylium content of two stars were measured and allowed the astronomers in the study to deduce the time that elapsed between the rise of the first generation of stars in the galaxy and the first generation of clusters. This information was used then to arrive at an age of the Milky Way Galaxy at around 13.6 billion years old. You can see a recap of that at http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-20-04.html In 2006 another Hubble survey found the faintest stars in this cluster by examining red dwarfs and white dwarfs and comparing them. Of interest in the article (which I don't think we can photograph with earth bound telescopes) is this statement: "Hubble showed that the dimmest white dwarfs have such low temperatures that they are undergoing a chemical change in their atmospheres that makes them appear bluer rather than redder as they cool. This phenomenon had been predicted, but never observed." This article is found at http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/37/full/ So another item to add to the list of Globular Clusters is that the stars in the Globular are used by professional astronomers to determine the age of the universe and in this case, the Milky Way Galaxy, which is near the age of the universe itself. Joe, if you read this, thank you for providing me with something to do on these very cloudy and rainy nights. I've learned so much about Globular Clusters (more than I have shared fearing I am boring others) and the current research into them is interesting and intriguing. When I get a good night (soon I hope, before I go to San Diego for five days with my wife for our anniversary in a week) and I take my time to look at the wonderful globulars that are rising around 11:00p.m. to 1:00a.m. to the south south-western sky, I will have a far greater appreciation of not only these objects, but what we are learning from them. For enriching my knowledge I express my gratitude yet again to you. 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://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued)
by daniel turner 15 Jun '09

15 Jun '09

There is a long sad story that goes with this debate. Several years ago when astrophotography was starting to catch on in amateur circles there was a vigorous debate about whether pictures should reflect reality of the science or be interpreted solely for their beauty. The science side held the moral high ground but over time were swamped by events in the market place. The software vendors have no sympathy with scienctific realism and they install auto whitebalance routines all along the chain of processing. Starting with antiblooming gain on the chip and the color masks of popular DSLR cameras through the conversion to JPEG and into the world of photoshop. It is extremely difficult to get an accurate color balance with amateur equiptment. When it is achieved with much effort and special equiptment the results are less "pretty" than most people want to see. For the science, we know the color of M22 by brute force analysis of individual stars. lots of them. There are no vast populations of blue stars in the cluster. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2033 We know where the mainsequence cutoff is, it is redish, and you can see the spinkle of blue stragglers to the left of that. This is the reality of M22, the science. DT

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued)
by Jay Eads 14 Jun '09

14 Jun '09

Another article at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/sfsu-lco042209.php tells us that 18 white dwarfs were found in NGC 6397. White dwarfs are very common in a globular cluster but what is interesting about these 18 is that instead of being made of carbon and oxygen they are made of Helium. These were captured by the Hubble in new images and they are "the first extensive sequence of helium-core white dwarfs to be observed in a globular cluster." The article implies that these stars were cut off at the helium stage because they are part of a binary system with a heavy star companion because they are found in the central regions and not all around the cluster. One of the astronomers is Professor Adrienne Cool at SF State University and she says: "Cool suggests that a star that goes on to become a helium-core white dwarf must have a close companion so that when the star became a red giant and expanded, its outer layers spilled onto the companion. The star never had the chance to reach maturity and burn its helium into carbon and oxygen" (see, it is Cool to be involved with Astronomy; just ask the professor; sorry couldn't resist). The actual publication by the astronomers will come out on July 1st, 2009 in Astrophysical Journal. On a side note NGC 6397 was the globular used in a 2004 study where berylium content of two stars were measured and allowed the astronomers in the study to deduce the time that elapsed between the rise of the first generation of stars in the galaxy and the first generation of clusters. This information was used then to arrive at an age of the Milky Way Galaxy at around 13.6 billion years old. You can see a recap of that at http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-20-04.html In 2006 another Hubble survey found the faintest stars in this cluster by examining red dwarfs and white dwarfs and comparing them. Of interest in the article (which I don't think we can photograph with earth bound telescopes) is this statement: "Hubble showed that the dimmest white dwarfs have such low temperatures that they are undergoing a chemical change in their atmospheres that makes them appear bluer rather than redder as they cool. This phenomenon had been predicted, but never observed." This article is found at http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/37/full/ So another item to add to the list of Globular Clusters is that the stars in the Globular are used by professional astronomers to determine the age of the universe and in this case, the Milky Way Galaxy, which is near the age of the universe itself. Joe, if you read this, thank you for providing me with something to do on these very cloudy and rainy nights. I've learned so much about Globular Clusters (more than I have shared fearing I am boring others) and the current research into them is interesting and intriguing. When I get a good night (soon I hope, before I go to San Diego for five days with my wife for our anniversary in a week) and I take my time to look at the wonderful globulars that are rising around 11:00p.m. to 1:00a.m. to the south south-western sky, I will have a far greater appreciation of not only these objects, but what we are learning from them. For enriching my knowledge I express my gratitude yet again to you. Jay

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued)
by Joe Bauman 14 Jun '09

14 Jun '09

Also, four of them are known to have planetary nebulae. -- Joe --- On Sun, 6/14/09, Kim <kimharch(a)cut.net> wrote: From: Kim <kimharch(a)cut.net> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued) To: "'Utah Astronomy'" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 7:35 PM I recall an article some years back in either Astronomy or S&T that discussed one globular cluster in another galaxy that was extremely young compared to virtually all other known globulars. The evidence was a very high number of blue giants. Anyone else recall that article or know anything about this? Are the following facts correct for public star parties? 1. Globular clusters are not well understood. 2. GS are typically very old, on the order of 10 to 13 BY. 3. They are typically only a couple of dozen LY in diameter but with a density of hundreds to thousands of times that of our galactic neighborhood. (Of course "size" depends on to what point one measures the radius, core radius and half-light radius are the most common measures, I think - probably too much to try to explain in a public setting.) 4. GS may contain hundreds of thousands to well over 1 million stars. Anything else I should add? Kim > -----Original Message----- > From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy- > bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jay Eads > Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 6:02 PM > To: Utah-Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued) > > I came across this article on Globulars and found the study to be > quite interesting. It is located at > http://www.astronomynow.com/Oldglobularclusterssurprisinglyyoung.html > and discusses that though the stars in globulars are old, if the > study is confirmed, many globulars are either in their adolescence or > in middle age in terms of their development. > > > _______________________________________________ > 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://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php > Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.68/2175 - Release Date: 06/14/09 > 17:54:00 _______________________________________________ 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://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M22's Blue Stars (continued)
by Jay Eads 14 Jun '09

14 Jun '09

I came across this article on Globulars and found the study to be quite interesting. It is located at http://www.astronomynow.com/Oldglobularclusterssurprisinglyyoung.html and discusses that though the stars in globulars are old, if the study is confirmed, many globulars are either in their adolescence or in middle age in terms of their development.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] My new solar mount setup
by Chuck Hards 14 Jun '09

14 Jun '09

Hi Rob, that's an excellent idea! Shouldn't it properly be called a "gobee", lol. It could be rigged on stake(s) to push it into the ground, to keep breezes from knocking it over. I'm kind of limited on size and weight for any sunshield directly attached to the PST due to weight restrictions on the small GoTo mount I use- especially since I plan on mounting my white-light scope next to the PST on the same bracket. This week at work I'll experiment with some thin polycarbonate film painted white on one side and either lined with black flocked paper on the other, or simply painted black. On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 2:03 PM, Rob Ratkowski Photography < ratkwski(a)hawaii.rr.com> wrote: > Aloha Chuck > > > my solution to the solar viewing problem has been to put a 'gobo' (go > between, a 12x18 piece of matt board that's white on one side, black on the > other clamped to a pole) to shade the person and eyepiece and to put a > circular disc of thin plastic ( Old G11 clutch pads are perfect) w/ a layer > of black velveteen glued on. The gobo blocks the sun from heating you up > and looking into the eyepiece w/ a black field around it is easy on the > eyes. I use this set up on my refractor w/ a Herschel wedge, we'll do a > similar set up when the Lunt LS200 arrives. All we need now is something > that is interesting on the sun. > > >

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] My new solar mount setup
by Canopus56 14 Jun '09

14 Jun '09

Chuck, one thing to look out for is the computer alignment. The newer Celestron's include the "Sun" as a valid solar system alignment target for daytime use. I can't speak for the newer Meade stuff, but on the three year old ETX that I picked up, the "Sun" is not a valid daytime solar system alignment target. I also consider the GT114 mount about as low as you can go in the Celestron catalogue. Hope that helps. - Kurt

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