December 2010 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Interesting view of the Southern Sky
by Jay Eads 09 Dec '10

09 Dec '10

I found these over at the Bad Astronomy Blog at Discover.com and thought some here might find these interesting. Stéphane Guisard, who takes Deep Sky shots in an interesting way, took the following shots from Chile. The first is from December 5, 2010, at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g77CxWquJEU&feature=player_embedded#! Here is a link to the explanation on Bad Astronomy. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/08/amazing-wide-angl… This is the same info from Stephane's website: http://www.astrosurf.com/sguisard/Pagim/Paranal_LGS_fisheye.html This is called Star Trails from the Southern Hemisphere from the same site: http://www.astrosurf.com/sguisard/Pagim/From_pole_to_pole.html This is called a Milky Way All Around: http://www.eso.org/~sguisard/Pagim/darkest_sky.html Enjoy! -- Jay Eads

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SpaceX launch video
by Patrick Wiggins 09 Dec '10

09 Dec '10

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/SpaceX_Launches_Recovers_Successfully_… Enjoy, patrick

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Lunar Eclipse Anyone?
by Jay Eads 08 Dec '10

08 Dec '10

I know this is a couple of weeks out, and with the weather lately there is no guarantee we'll see it, but is anyone interested in getting together that night to view this event IF the weather cooperates?

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Bose-Einstein Condensate
by Rodger C. Fry 08 Dec '10

08 Dec '10

Last night on NOVA, I was watching the program on "The Super Cold" which focused into investigation of matter when it is infinitesimally close to absolute zero. They talked about scientists that have been able to transform matter (sodium and Hydrogen) into Bose-Einstein Condensate. In this state, motion of atomic nuclei ceases, it allows electron transfer with virtually no resistance and the matter begins to take on the characteristics of photons. Interesting enough, light travelling through Bose-Einstein Condensate is slowed down to the speed of a leisurely stroll. With the characteristics described and knowing that matter in deep space approaches absolute zero, I wondered if their might be a connection between Bose-Einstein Condensate and Dark Matter. I did a Google search and found that this is a topic that has been looked into seriously. Perhaps there is something to this possible connection. Did anyone else see this NOVA and what are your thoughts on this. Thanks Rodger Fry

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M-31_V-1
by Patrick Wiggins 08 Dec '10

08 Dec '10

After seeing the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMuaDJQSvdE) from BYU's West Mountain Observatory shown at this month's SLAS meeting of the Cepheid variable discovered by Edwin Hubble I thought I'd see if I could get a picture of it. Turned out to be not that hard with it showing up on a single 2' exposure. But I went ahead and shot five 2' shots and added them together to make it easier to see. Results posted here: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=68&g2_page=6 Not as fancy as the Y's video but now I'm thinking that since it did show up so easily, maybe I ought to try a video myself. 'Vourse what do you want to bet I just happened to catch it at its peak brightness tonight and within a few days it'll be gone. Stay tuned. :) patrick p.s. As I closed up the observatory the thermometer read -15.3 C. Brrrrrr...

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronomy Ranger
by Kim Hyatt 05 Dec '10

05 Dec '10

Sorry - my bad. I looked at a number of job postings and confused the location of this job with something else I had looked at for Grand Canyon. Thanks for the corrections Craig. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Craig Smith Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 8:14 AM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronomy Ranger Actually the link did work (if you just used the first line), and it is for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kim Hyatt Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 7:05 AM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] (no subject) Oops - it looks like cutting and pasting the URL didn't work. (And I meant to write, "I just saw this today..." Guess I'm getting old.) It is for a job listing with USAJOBS for an astronomy ranger at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Go to the USAJOBS website at: http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/search.aspx?q=&where=&x=55&y=16&brd=3876&vw=b&F edEmp=N&FedPub=Y. In the box, "Refine your search" enter "astronomy" and click on the blue arrow to the right. The job posting should be the first one to come up. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kim Hyatt Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 6:54 AM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: [Utah-astronomy] (no subject) I saw just this today and thought someone out there might be interested: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=94479481 <http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=94479481&JobTitle=Park+Ranger+ %28Astronomy%29%2c+GS-0025-05&q=nps&x=55&y=16&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub= Y&re=0&tm=3&pg=1&AVSDM=2010-12-03+00%3a03%3a00> &JobTitle=Park+Ranger+%28Astronomy%29%2c+GS-0025-05&q=nps&x=55&y=16&brd=3876 &vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y&re=0&tm=3&pg=1&AVSDM=2010-12-03+00%3a03%3a00. Kim _______________________________________________ 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 message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1170 / Virus Database: 426/3293 - Release Date: 12/02/10 _______________________________________________ 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 ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1170 / Virus Database: 426/3293 - Release Date: 12/02/10

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New FITS Liberator
by Patrick Wiggins 05 Dec '10

05 Dec '10

There's now a new option for those wanting to view FIT files. Version 3 is now available and unlike previous versions this one is stand alone software so Photoshop is no longer required. You can also sign up to receive updates as they become available. Do that at: http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/fitsmailinglist V3 is available for Macs and Windows but for some reason the file size of the Windows version is nearly twice as big (but still only 5 MB). Find both here: http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/download_v30/ I downloaded it and tried it out on my desktop iMac and it worked ok but there were a few glitches. As with previous versions, v3 opens FIT files upside down. But at least with v3 there is a box you can uncheck to turn the image right way up. Oddly if you open a FIT and uncheck the box and then close the file (even without saving it) and then open the image again it opens with the image right way up. But if you then open a new FIT it opens upside down. Trying to open more than one FIT at a time causes the program to crash. I can't remember the last time I had a program crash on my iMac. But the software is pretty new (released 2010 OCT 01) so I guess they are still working the bugs out. Opening FITs can be a bit awkward. Opening a file from within the program works ok (the usual Apple key O). But just double clicking on a file will cause the program to launch but does not always cause the file to open. There is a "Save As" option but the only choice is to save as a TIF. I like the feature in v2 that allows one to save files as JPGs. They have a web page displaying known issues but so far the page for v3 indicates no known issues so I emailed them asking who I should report issues to. Clear skies! patrick

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Today (Sat) APOD - Sunrise over spiral jetty
by Canopus56 04 Dec '10

04 Dec '10

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

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Ball lightning
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Dec '10

04 Dec '10

Just curious on this dreary, cold and overcast day, but has anyone here ever seen ball lightning? I ask because I always thought it was pretty rare but another list I'm on has a thread on the subject just now and several folks are posting accounts. My favorite is shown below. So, anyone here seen it? patrick +++++ I have been lucky enough to see ball lightning twice. The first was a brilliant, basketball-size globe that bounced lazily down a neighbor's sloped driveway (after a nearby CG lightning strike) and dissipated noiselessly after a total of five or six seconds. The second was not much more than baseball-size, sizzling and spitting as it dropped out of a furnace damper adjacent to a friend's basement workshop (again, immediately after a very near lightning strike). Presumably, this one came right down the chimney and found it's way out the damper. It bounced slowly across the basement floor a couple of times, dissipating with a bang like a large firecracker and leaving a strong ozone smell. Startling, to say the least! +++++

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(no subject)
by Kim Hyatt 03 Dec '10

03 Dec '10

I saw just this today and thought someone out there might be interested: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=94479481 <http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=94479481&JobTitle=Park+Ranger+ %28Astronomy%29%2c+GS-0025-05&q=nps&x=55&y=16&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub= Y&re=0&tm=3&pg=1&AVSDM=2010-12-03+00%3a03%3a00> &JobTitle=Park+Ranger+%28Astronomy%29%2c+GS-0025-05&q=nps&x=55&y=16&brd=3876 &vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y&re=0&tm=3&pg=1&AVSDM=2010-12-03+00%3a03%3a00. Kim

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