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

Moon occults Pleiades tonight 2:25am to 5am MDT 8-14
by Canopus56 13 Aug '09

13 Aug '09

Moon occults Pleiades tonight 2:25am to 5am MDT 8-14 Tonight, the Moon drives on deep into the Pleaides' center. Begins 2:25am MDT with occulation of 17 Tau Electra on the bright limb side. Moon alt 23 az 76. Alcyone (eta Tau) is eclipsed on the bright limb at approx. 3:10am. Alcyone (eta Tau) egresses on the dark limb at approx. 4:10am below Mare Crisium on the west side (eastern lunar) limb. Ends with egress of Pleione (Tau 28) at approx. 5:05am. Moon alt 53 degs az 104. Graze map by Rentz: www.curtrenz.com/1024l.hml Occultations egresses can be used to see very close binaries (via changes in brightness) that ordinarily are below the diffraction limit of your telescope, e.g 0.1" to 0.5". E.g. Electra 17 Tauri 0.2" egress at 2:53MDT. The major ingresses and egresses for this observing opportunity (with UT times) are: Occultation prediction for SaltLakeCity UT from Occult 4 E. Longitude -111 53 24.0, Latitude 40 45 24.0, Alt. 1337m; Telescope dia 15cm; dMag 0.0 day Time P Star Sp Mag Mag y m d h m s No D v r V Ingress 09 Aug 14 8 26 0 D 537SB6 3.7 3.8S R537 = Electra = 17 Tauri 537 is triple: 3.9 7.0 0.005" 350.0 : 3.9 7.5 0.20" 117.0 537 = NSV 15755, 3.70V 09 Aug 14 8 38 58 d 545 B6 4.1 4.2v R545 = Merope = 23 Tauri 545 = V0971 Tau, 4.18 Egress 09 Aug 14 8 53 44 R 537SB6 3.7 3.8S R537 = Electra = 17 Tauri 537 is triple: 3.9 7.0 0.005" 350.0 : 3.9 7.5 0.20" 117.0 537 = NSV 15755, 3.70V 09 Aug 14 9 12 36 D 552SB7 2.9 2.9S R552 = Alcyone = eta Tauri 552 is multiple: 3.0 4.6 0.031" 207.1 : AB 1.6 0.031" 207.1 : AB 2.9 6.3 117" 290.1 : AC 2.9 8.3 181" 312.0 552 = NSV 15775, 2.87V, Type VAR: 09 Aug 14 9 39 33 R 545 B6 4.1 4.2v R545 = Merope = 23 Tauri 545 = V0971 Tau, 4.18 Ingress 09 Aug 14 9 57 49 d 561cB7 5.1 5.1V R561 = Pleione = 28 BU Tauri 561 is double: AB 5.1 0.20" 313.2 561 = BU Tau, 4.77 to 5.50V, Type GCAS 09 Aug 14 9 58 1 D 560cB8 3.6 3.7s R560 = Atlas = 27 Tauri 560 is double: Aa1,2 3.8 6.8 0.009" 179.1 560 = NSV 01345, 3.60 to 3.65V Egress 09 Aug 14 10 12 48 R 549SA0 6.3 6.3 R549 = 24 Tauri 549 is multiple: AB 109.9 : AB 7.1 8.2 0.001" 205.0 : BD 6.3 8.7 74" 306.3 : BC 6.3 8.3 85" 345.2 09 Aug 14 10 16 14 R 552SB7 2.9 2.9S R552 = Alcyone = eta Tauri 552 is multiple: 3.0 4.6 0.031" 207.1 : AB 1.6 0.031" 207.1 : AB 2.9 6.3 117" 290.1 : AC 2.9 8.3 181" 312.0 552 = NSV 15775, 2.87V, Type VAR: 09 Aug 14 10 54 51 R 560cB8 3.6 3.7s R560 = Atlas = 27 Tauri 560 is double: Aa1,2 3.8 6.8 0.009" 179.1 560 = NSV 01345, 3.60 to 3.65V 09 Aug 14 11 3 53 R 561cB7 5.1 5.1V R561 = Pleione = 28 BU Tauri 561 is double: AB 5.1 0.20" 313.2 561 = BU Tau, 4.77 to 5.50V, Type GCAS Clear Skies - Kurt

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Perseids last night
by daniel turner 13 Aug '09

13 Aug '09

Alpine invited me to observe the Perseid shower last night. His location is a secret but it's within 20 miles of Lakepoint. Time: 2009 August 13 0230-0630 UT.(Wednesday night MDT) Location: secret equiptment: 20x80 binoculars conditions: variable cloudiness from 10 to 70%. Wind: mostly calm with a brief gusty breeze. Temp: high 70's throughout the session. Transparency: slight haze half way up to Polaris. Moon: Last quarter moon rose at 11:23 MDT. Perseid meteor shower: early in the evening, bright fast members with long persistent trails. Cloud cover made counting difficult. Later activity was much less. C/2006 W3 (Christensen): position found from distance to Delta SGE and Delta DEL. near the zenith bright condensed with faint greenish tinge. M57: fairly easy with as a fuzzy patch, definitly not a star. M56: faint hazy patch without central condensation. M22 and M28 almost fit in the same field of view. Spectacular. M4 even larger and brighter than M22 lots of structure and graininess. M81 and M82 low on the horizon not much haze to the north down low. Veil nebula: 52 CYG easy naked eye but with binoculars star made western veil not visable. Eastern veil was direct vision object easy to detect. M51 visable at only 20 deg elevation, no spiral structure or companion seen. Alberio: split cleanly, colors bright. Jupiter: at 0405UT, two moons in close either side, a third moon far off to the west. Perseid at 2208MDT: ran south through head of SCO left a trail. Perseid at 2208MDT: bright, ran down the handle of big dipper through Arcturus all the way to VIR left very persistent trail. Perseid at 2209MDT: bright, ran though CVN paralell to last one but lower on the horizon. Perseid at 2225MDT: bright in DEL crossing wing of AQL with bright trail. Perseids at 2227MDT: three bright ones in SAG all the way accross the sky from the radiant. Perseid at 2227MDT: another crossing head of SCO with a trail. Perseid at 2228MDT: through head of DRA with persistent trail. Perseid at 2246MDT: ran under the teapot of SAG fairly persistent trail for so low on the horizon. Perseid at 2249MDT: bright ran along the western horizon under Arcturus. Perseids at 2300MDT: stream of three along the northern horizon moving to the west. Perseid at 2304MDT: bright with trail through CYG. Perseid at 2307MDT: long slow bright in CAS. Perseids at 2309MDT: two crossing the square of PEG. bright trails. Perseid at 2324MDT: bright in head of DRA came in two phases bright then dim and then bright again. cloud cover 70% at 2324MDT getting hard to see through the holes. Perseid at 2329MDT: fairly short over in PER which is above the horizon. moonrize at 2335MDT 2353MDT clouds still 70% moon hidden in the clouds occasionally a Perseid will burn through. 0021MDT clouds back to 40% moon no longer covered by clouds so sky is bright. Perseid at 0023MDT: while looking at M81 M82 in binoculars a bright perseid passed through the field of view. Trail looked like fireworks display. Perseid at 0109MDT: overhead with a two stage tail. second part of tail visable for full 10 seconds. Perseid at 0125MDT: fairly bright over by JUpiter in the east but with no tail. Perseid at 0125MDT: another dim on by big dipper but with on tail. 0125MDT cloud cover back to 70% again.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] LCROSS: South Pole LCROSS target zone imaging 2009-08-09 11_23UT
by Canopus56 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

I had a few moments to image last night and made a technically poor image (20090811 at 0937UT) using a Meade ETX 125 at about f/30 and an older DSI-ProI. The image captures lunar south pole shadowing analogous to what will appear on the morning of the LCROSS impact. For illumination and sun-angle comparision, I also took a prior image on August 9 at 11:37UT: Lunar libration data for images and impact Source: LTVT ephemeris data, topocentric W111.8 N41.8 Date-TimeUT libr_lat lib_long colong illumfrac sunalt_MalpertE 20090811 0937 -6.1 -6.5 157.1 74.4 -0.5 20091009 1130 -3.5 2.8 158.2 70.9 1.6 20090809 1123 -5.2 -6.0 133.7 89.4 2.9 Date-TimeUT Lunar age (days) 20090811 0937 20.3 20091009 1130 20.6 20090809 1123 18.4 Item I. - South pole image 20090811 at 9:37UT http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090811_0… http://tinyurl.com/p3bdlk This image is a single frame - no stacking or deconvolution - and has been unsharp masked and gamma processed. While technically below the prevailing acceptable quality for amateur lunar imaging standards, it does record illumination and shadow conditions analogous to the LCROSS impact set for Oct. 9, 2009. Item J. - Same as item I but LTVT labeled with craters http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090811_0… http://tinyurl.com/pnmgta Item K. - Same as item I but hyperexposed to see if more detail could be extracted from the "Malapert dark hole". http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090811_0… http://tinyurl.com/qty3q8 (The Item K image is a single frame - no stacking or deconvolution. A stacked set of images also failed to bring out any more detail than that seen in the single frame image.) In the hyperexposed version, a snipet of the Faustini crater rim can be seen to the right of and below Malapert E. (Compare Item K to the best of the March 2009 south pole images.) Visually, this Faustini crater rim snipet was quite easily seen with 125mm of aperture. All images are in directory http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090811_0… Unlike my August 9 image, hyperexposing the Malapert "dark hole" did not bring out any additional detail. Compare Item K above with my Aug. 9 hyperexposed image: E. - Aug. 9 experimental hyperexposure - brings out hidden detail in the "Malapert dark hole". http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090809_1… http://tinyurl.com/ncjgcb I attributed the difference in the effectiveness of pulling detail out of a shadowed region to sun angle. On Aug. 9 the Sun angle at Malapert E was 2.9 degs. I believe at this angle, the Sun was also hitting the hidden backside of Leibnitz B and created a backscatter of light that faintly illuminated the interior of the Malapert "dark hole". On Aug. 11, the sun angle at Malapert E was -0.5 degrees, and there is no backscatter off the backside of Leibnitz Beta into the Malapert "dark hole". I was unable to image on the morning of the 12th, but observed visually at 2009-08-12 14:00UT during daylight. By then, a characteristic "dark canyon" for this colongitude (172 degs) leading from Moretus to Malapert had formed. The "hole" consists of Short and series of depressions lunar east of Newton B, M, G, A and ending with Newton B. This extended dark canyon trails lunar south down to the Malapert dark hole. It can be seen in Westfall's Atlas in plates 174-S and 179-S. The imaging lesson learned comparing the Aug. 9 and 12 images are that faint features can be extracted by hyperexposure notwithstanding lunar glare emitted from features on the bright side of the terminator. This result relates to two hypothesized impact ejecta curtain scenarios for the October 9 LCROSS impact. The first ejecta cloud scenario is the conservative LCROSS team planning assumption - a 10km wide by 5km high lampshade figure with a 2.5 km line rising above the rim of a permanently shadowed crater rim and being visible from Earth. The second ejecta cloud scenario is a more liberal hypothetical assumption of a 20km by 20km curtain capable of reflecting light that can be seen by a 254mm (10 inch) aperture amateur class telescope from Earth. For scale, the diameter of Malapert E is 17km. Using my Aug. 11 image, I added scaled ejecta cloud curtains for these two hypotheticals. Using 17km diameter Malapert E as the image scalar, the Aug. 11 image works out to an image scale of about 600 meters per pixel. Here's the Aug. 11 image with scaled figures for the two ejecta cloud hypotheticals: Item L. - Sames as Item I with scaled ejecta cloud hypotheticals - brightness of the cloud is abitrary http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090811_0… http://tinyurl.com/prdaku The luminance of the two scaled ejecta curtains is arbitary and is not intended to represent the actual, but presently unknown, brightness of the LCROSS impact ejecta curtain. The implication of these hypothetical cloud scales for the hyper-exposure imaging method is that the bright-border effect seen in the Aug. 9 image indicates that a 10km by 2.5km high ejecta curtain would be overwhelmed by the hyper-exposure border glare. See the following images showing the hyperexposure border glare where the southern lunar limb outline meets the dark sky - E. - Aug. 9 Experimental hyperexposure - brings out hidden Shoemaker in "Malapert shadow hole" http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090809_1… http://tinyurl.com/ncjgcb Item K. - Aug. 11 Experimental hyperexposure. Same as item I but hyperexposed to see if more detail could be extracted http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/observed/LCROSS/20090811_0… http://tinyurl.com/qty3q8 Conversely, a 20x high ejecta curtain would rise high enough above the hyperexposure border glare to be captured by imaging - assuming the ejecta curtain reflects enough sunlight to be detected from Earth. The above discussion is not intended to say anything about the likelihood of visually observing the ejecta curtain. As noted above with respect to the August 11 image, the Faustini crater rim snipet was quite easily seen visually with 125mm of aperture. In the hyperexposure Aug. 11 image, the Faustini rim snipet is barely visible. Clear Skies - Kurt References: Malapert E diameter http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jsp/FeatureNameDetail.jsp?feature=71175

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Persieds Shower
by Brent Johnson 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Last night I woke at midnight for an hour or so of viewing of the "Best" meteor shower of the summer (year too?). Nice evening. Slight breeze kept the micro-vampires at bay. Warm enough that barefoot with shorts and a tee-shirt was plenty. Put my chair in the yard and let the cool grass work between my toes. Man, what a perfect night! I set up my clipboard to record what I see (working on my Astonomical League certification). I'm ready to go. I start by looking towards Cass, no obstructed view at all. Then I notice I'm not alone tonight. I'm being visited by an old friend. To keep it ambiguous, lets just call her "Luna" (and no, she wasn't in Harry Potter). I really need to tell her to get a tan, she's so pale white. She shines in the night, making it difficult to see much. About 15 minutes looking up at Cass and I've seen a bat and a few planes running the redeye. I decide that rude as it may be, I turn my back on Luna. Now I'm looking towards Hercules. Within minutes I see my first meteor. I'm excited. After about 18 minutes of viewing I finally see my first of the 60-200 meteor-per-hour show. I'm giddy with excitement. Then the doledrums. Nothing happens. I wait, and wait, and wait. I look at my watch. Yep, right night and right time. I rub my eyes to see if something is wrong with them, hey it could happen. Nope, everything checks out. What is going on? Maybe I'm looking too far from Pers? So I lay on my back up at Cyg. Now and then I see a meteor. At the end of an hour, I have logged 7. Did I miss the boat? Maybe I was sucked into a blackhole in meteor viewing? What gives? So, now I wanted to find out from more veteran astronomers than I (that leaves all by my 3 year old): what happened? I'm assuming the moon was the biggest problem? Will the shower be productive tonight? I'm feeling very underwhelmed. Thanks Mitaccio _________________________________________________________________ Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCB&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Back…

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365 Days of Astronomy
by Jay Eads 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Just wondering if anyone besides me around here are listening to these and what your thoughts are of them? Some I find interesting, others funny, some I pass on. This is put out by the IYA to celebrate this year and is made up of amateurs, professionals and others who donate and make a podcast. Anyway here is the direct link with text http://365daysofastronomy.org/ you can listen there and/or download. I subscribed in iTunes and just put it on my iPod. Makes for good listening in the car or anytime. So, anyone else listening? Jay

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Persieds Shower
by Canopus56 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

To correct: Mirfak, not Algol, will be at 13 degs above the northeast horizon at 11:30pm tonight. - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Persieds Shower
by Canopus56 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Although I am not expected a greatly enhanced level of activity, it might be an idea to set the lawn chair outside for 15 mins and see if there are any horizontal grazers at the local zenith - of course reserving any expectations. Maslov predicted the main peak at 9UT 8-12 (3AM Wednesday, this morning) based on an encounter with a remnant of a 1610 C.E. stream fragment. At 8UT (2AM), the two closest radio meteor network observing stations to Salt Lake are at Apache Junction, Arizona (Steve Roush) and Kelowna, British Columbia (Jeff Brower). The Arizona continuous amateur monitoring station shows a minor peak of around 70 ZHR meteors per hour at 8UT. (Note radio meteor detection sees fainter than the naked eye observering and captures more meteors.) The Canadian station shows a peak of 260 ZHR at 8UT. see url: http://217.169.242.217/rmob/pages/liveradiometeorpage.php The traditional peak will be during daylight hours at 8-12 17:30-20:00UT (until 2pm MDT, right now). The Perseus is for Salt Lake presently (1:30 MDT) low in the northwest (during daylight). The most westerly RMOBS station is in Prince George Canada and is not showing slightly enhanced readings, but no peak yet. The rest of the RMOBS network is in Europe and there are no network stations in Oceania, the Pacific Rim or India. So, it is unlikely any European readings showing the level of the shower's activity will be available until later tonight (Salt Lake time). You can check the RMOBS site to see if there is an elevated level in Europe - a fair predictor for what might be seen as the Perseid's radiant rises over the eastern SLC horizon later this evening. A third RMOBS station is to the east of us - Mike Otte in Pearl City, Illinois. If that station is running tonight, you can use it to get an "over-the-horizon" peak at conditions. At 11:30 MDT tonight, the third-quarter Moon will be rising over the eastern SLC horizon in the northeast (blocked initially from view by the Wasatch Mtns). At that time, Agol (alf Per) will be at 13 degrees over the northeast horizon. Horizontal grazers at the local zenith may be a possibility - again reserving any expectations. By midnight, the Moon will rise over the horizon and wash most of the sky out around Perseus. Clear Skies, Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Persieds Shower
by daniel turner 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Brent: It's not a problem if you are underwhelmed by this year's Perseid shower. This one had several strikes against it. Besides the moon, the peak of the shower occured during the day for our longitude, that's why two nights are listed for the event. Also the showers themselves vary greatly from year to year. Half a decade ago the Leonids put on a great shower that was rated as a "storm". Unfortunately it rained that night up here but people who had driven to Delta were treated to a great show. For meteor showers there is only 2 really big "shows", that's the Perseids and the Leonids. The best year of the Perseids for me, I went to the west desert and became fully dark adapted. The shower peak occured when the radiant was well above the horizon and there was no moon. Yet beyond the occasional bright member that you can see from the city, all that I saw was a dim spray of very faint and short members comming right out of the radiant at about 1 per every 3 seconds. It's hard to sell this as a "show" to the young and impatient. People's taste are various. I think that fly fishing is about exciting as washing dishes and the very thought of the game of golf makes me break out in hives. If you want excitement, there is always duck hunting. Meteor showers don't really ring my bell that much, just being out at night is enough for me. If there is a shower I'll watch it but it don't expect it to hold my attention like a football game. There are other things to look at anyway. Sort of like channel surfing, the shower isn't the only thing to look at. DT --- On Wed, 8/12/09, Brent Johnson <mitaccio(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > From: Brent Johnson <mitaccio(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Persieds Shower > To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 10:03 AM > > I guess I should also mention I live in the outskirts of > Tooele. None of that Salt Lake nonsense here :) > > > From: rcfry(a)comcast.net > > To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > > Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:47:28 -0600 > > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Persieds Shower > > > > Brent, I went out into the park behind my house this > morning at 1:00 AM and > > spent about 30 minutes watching. I saw four very faint > meteors. I suspect > > that the light pollution plus the moon allowed seeing > only the brighter > > meteors. > > > > All in all, I wasn't that impressed. It probably would > have been better had > > I gone to a darker location. > > > > Rodger Fry > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Brent Johnson" <mitaccio(a)hotmail.com> > > To: <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > > Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:23 AM > > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Persieds Shower > > > > > > > > > > Last night I woke at midnight for an hour or so > of viewing of the "Best" > > > meteor shower of the summer (year too?). Nice > evening. Slight breeze > > > kept the micro-vampires at bay. Warm enough that > barefoot with shorts and > > > a tee-shirt was plenty. Put my chair in the yard > and let the cool grass > > > work between my toes. Man, what a perfect night! > > > > > > > > > > > > I set up my clipboard to record what I see > (working on my Astonomical > > > League certification). I'm ready to go. > > > > > > > > > > > > I start by looking towards Cass, no obstructed > view at all. Then I notice > > > I'm not alone tonight. I'm being visited by an > old friend. To keep it > > > ambiguous, lets just call her "Luna" (and no, she > wasn't in Harry Potter). > > > I really need to tell her to get a tan, she's so > pale white. She shines in > > > the night, making it difficult to see much. About > 15 minutes looking up > > > at Cass and I've seen a bat and a few planes > running the redeye. I decide > > > that rude as it may be, I turn my back on Luna. > Now I'm looking towards > > > Hercules. Within minutes I see my first meteor. > I'm excited. After > > > about 18 minutes of viewing I finally see my > first of the 60-200 > > > meteor-per-hour show. I'm giddy with excitement. > Then the doledrums. > > > Nothing happens. I wait, and wait, and wait. I > look at my watch. Yep, > > > right night and right time. I rub my eyes to see > if something is wrong > > > with them, hey it could happen. Nope, everything > checks out. What is > > > going on? Maybe I'm looking too far from Pers? So > I lay on my back up at > > > Cyg. Now and then I see a meteor. At the end of > an hour, I have logged > > > 7. Did I miss the boat? Maybe I was sucked into a > blackhole in meteor > > > viewing? What gives? > > > > > > > > > > > > So, now I wanted to find out from more veteran > astronomers than I (that > > > leaves all by my 3 year old): what happened? I'm > assuming the moon was > > > the biggest problem? Will the shower be > productive tonight? I'm feeling > > > very underwhelmed. > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > > > Mitaccio > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > > Get back to school stuff for them and cashback > for you. > > > http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCB&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Back… > > > _______________________________________________ > > > 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 > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your vacation photos on your phone! > http://windowsliveformobile.com/en-us/photos/default.aspx?&OCID=0809TL-HM > _______________________________________________ > 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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Great Basin National Park
by Lowell Lyon 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Hello: On Saturday June 27th my wife and I went down to Great Basin National Park for an event put on by the park. There is a new Visitor's Center just north of Baker Nevada with a large parking area. I'd guess there were almost as many scopes as I've seen at Bryce Canyon supported by representatives from the Clark Planetarium, the Las Vegas Club and groups from California. Tom Sevcik, who many remember was Vice-President when I was club president, is an integral part of the star parties put on at Great Basin. Tom might be a good contact person for what's happening and when. The interpretive ranger at Great Basin is Roberta Moore. Her number is 1-775-234-7274. If you want to support a public event, Tom and Roberta might want to be involved. At the Wheeler Peak campground with an elevation of just under 10,000 feet elevation, there is an open field that could be a good place to set up some scopes for private observing. The horizons aren't the best as the mountain itself and the trees do limit viewing near the horizons somewhat. I'll bet the seeing at this elevation plus the remote location of the site would best the Wolf Creek location a lot of us frequent. Just a few thoughts from my experience. Thank you. Lowell Lyon

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Great Basin National Park
by Jay Eads 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

The BYU Astronomical Society has a google map of places in the area located here at http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=103663941667166145492.00044a3b988… Some sites are better than others. Jay On 2009-08-11 16:35, Rodger C. Fry wrote: > Spencer, > > I think that Wolf Creek is not too bad for this. You have excellent view in > the east, south and southwest. The west does have some light polution but > the seeing can be very good for much of the sky at times. > > Also, it is only about 75 minutes from Salt Lake. > > Rodger Fry > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Spencer Ball" <spencer@???> > To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@???> > Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:21 AM > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Great Basin National Park > > > > Does anyone know of the best place for the best high power planet > > observing in Northern Utah? ...even including places subject to city > > lights? and maybe close by? (I know that Big Cottonwood Canyon sucks) > > > > Spencer Ball > > 3690 E. Ft Union Blvd # 101 > > Salt Lake City, Utah 84121 > > (801) 453-2000 > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <erikhansen@???> > > To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@???> > > Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 9:59 AM > > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Great Basin National Park > > > > > >> >As I recall, the horizons are VERY limited in the upper campground, with > >> Wheeler Peak dominating the southern horizon, and the lower areas even > >> worse for horizons. The sky was dark and transparent though. > >> > >> It is great that Las Vegas and some groups in California are supporting > >> that, SLAS seems to have a full plate and we should not and cannot be > >> everything to everybody. As far as NP for star gazing I rank Great Basin > >> at the bottom, for numerous reasons. It is worthwhile to visit with good > >> camping, especially if you want a good hike, but there are better places > >> and closer places for star gazing. The Baker area may be good for group > >> star gazing but isn't it a good drive from the camping areas? > >> > >> Erik. > >> > >> Hello: > >>> > >>> On Saturday June 27th my wife and I went down to Great Basin National > >> Park > >>> for an event put on by the park. There is a new Visitor's Center just > >> north of Baker Nevada with a large parking area. I'd guess there were > >> almost as many scopes as I've seen at Bryce Canyon supported by > >>> representatives from the Clark Planetarium, the Las Vegas Club and > >> groups > >>> from California. Tom Sevcik, who many remember was Vice- President when > >> I > >>> was club president, is an integral part of the star parties put on at > >> Great Basin. Tom might be a good contact person for what's happening > >> and > >>> when. The interpretive ranger at Great Basin is Roberta Moore. Her > >> number is 1-775-234-7274. If you want to support a public event, Tom > >> and > >>> Roberta might want to be involved. > >>> > >>> At the Wheeler Peak campground with an elevation of just under 10,000 > >> feet > >>> elevation, there is an open field that could be a good place to set up > >> some scopes for private observing. The horizons aren't the best as the > >> mountain itself and the trees do limit viewing near the horizons > >> somewhat. > >>> I'll bet the seeing at this elevation plus the remote location of the > >>> site would best the Wolf Creek location a lot of us frequent. > >>> > >>> Just a few thoughts from my experience. Thank you. > >>> > >>> Lowell Lyon > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Utah-Astronomy mailing list > >>> Utah-Astronomy@??? > >>> 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 > >>> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Utah-Astronomy mailing list > >> Utah-Astronomy@??? > >> 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 > >> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > > Utah-Astronomy@??? > > 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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