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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] RASC Colorful Doubles (N=79) to SAO Cross-reference list
by Canopus56 28 Dec '10

28 Dec '10

Thanks for the corrections. I'll get a revised list up in a day or so. - Kurt

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RASC Colorful Doubles (N=79) to SAO Cross-reference list
by Canopus56 28 Dec '10

28 Dec '10

The 2010 and 2009 RASC Handbooks includes a color contrast doubles list by Michael Duval for widely separated color contrast doubles for 75mm to 150mm scopes: Duval, M. 2010. Coloured Double Stars. 2010 RASC Observer's Handbook. pp. 299-301 In order to aid exploration of this list using GOTO telescopes, I prepared a cross-reference list of the id numbers in Duval's original table to SAO id numbers. http://fisherka.csolutionshosting.net/astronote/plan/coldoubles/ColorfulDou… Although I have not tested the SAO cross-reference numbers against Meade and Celestron handboxes (not all SAO stars appear in each handbox), this cross-reference list may provide a quick way to locate these exceptional and showcase color contrasting doubles using a GOTO scope, e.g. for star party presentations. The cross-reference list does not include the J2000 coordinates or Duval's quality tags, which can be found in Duval's RASC Handbook table. Clear Skies and Happy Holidays - Kurt P.S. - Please also note my Oct 2010 posted table for a general LX200 Meade Handbox to SAO stellar cross-reference list - Table: Cross-reference Bayer-Flamsteed-to-SAO for 1822 stars brighter than mag 5.5 visible above -40° dec http://fisherka.csolutionshosting.net/astronote/plan/mansetcir/html/LX200SA…

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Fun letter to the editor
by Patrick Wiggins 28 Dec '10

28 Dec '10

I and many others on this list were taken aback 11 years ago when so many people, including supposedly learned people in the media, kept talking about the decade/century/millennia ending at the end of 1999. So imagine my surprise when lately I've been hearing in the same media about the current decade ending the end of this month. Apparently I'm not the only one feeling that way as evidenced by this Letter to the Editor in today's Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/50943106-82/decade-2000-century-2001.h… While I agree with the writer, I'm wondering if maybe rather than criticizing, he should have complemented them for finally getting it right. Cheers, patrick :)

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Winter Star Party at Great Basin National Park
by Kelly_Carroll＠nps.gov 28 Dec '10

28 Dec '10

Mark your calendars! The night of Saturday March 5, 2011 Great Basin National Park is holding our annual Winter Star Party/Messier Marathon. Come brave the cold, clear, dark sky of the Great Basin NP. Hot refreshments will be provided and the visitor center will be open as a warm room. Telescopes can be set up right in front of the visitor center. No telescope? I'll have three scopes set up for use. Help spread the word: if you are going to any meetings, events, etc... I can provide you with a flyers to post or hand out. Thank you! Kelly

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Straight Dope
by Kim 27 Dec '10

27 Dec '10

For anyone who reads the Salt Lake City Weekly you may have already heard of Cecil Adams and his column, The Straight Dope. For fun this morning I perused his website by the same name. I found this gem from 1986: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/417/is-the-great-wall-of-china-the…. This reminds me of one of my favorite LDS myths (unrelated/off-topic, so don’t anyone get offended, please). As a child I was told how brilliant Brigham Young had been to tell the Utah settlers to build with adobe. It was cheap, and according to LDS myth, “a great insulator.” (This is still being perpetrated by the Blessed Sisters of Temple Square in their tours at Brigham Young’s SLC residence, the Beehive House. Go take a tour if you doubt it. You’ll hear other LDS myths, too.) For anyone who cares, and for the record, adobe is NOT an insulating material at all. It would take a 50-inch-thick adobe wall to approximate the insulation value of a typical 2x6 exterior wall in modern construction. Adobe’s favorable properties as a building material come largely from its thermal mass. I won’t bore everyone with details, but if you’re interested, here’s a good discussion of the thermal properties of adobe: http://www.quentinwilson.com/adobe-as-mass/. FWIW, I live in a house partially built of adobe and my pioneer ancestors built houses of adobe. I am proud of my LDS heritage, even when myths are told about them. Merry belated Christmas to everyone, and Happy New Year. Kim

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ISS
by Troy Davidson 26 Dec '10

26 Dec '10

I just went outside and looked up and saw the ISS pass by. I know that this is a common thing now a days, but it still amazes me. To think that we have made our home in space is amazing. ++++++++++++++++++ Troy Davidson, KF7MTE www.istroyworking.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] useless facts
by Gary Vardon 26 Dec '10

26 Dec '10

the return of the light beam see utterly impossible to confirm. How would anyone know they got back to the same spot after 200 billion years? Sincerely, Gary Vardon The book DO It Right will help you understand vital ideas leading to your greater success. GO to PublishAmerica.com Consulting For Profit is also available. Learn how to make money as a consultant.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] So Long, Solar System
by Gary Vardon 26 Dec '10

26 Dec '10

Interstellar space bears investigation. I am glad that a space craft made it there. It goes to show how powerful the signal analysis and amplification NASA has. Sincerely, Gary Vardon The book DO It Right will help you understand vital ideas leading to your greater success. GO to PublishAmerica.com Consulting For Profit is also available. Learn how to make money as a consultant.

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useless facts
by sfisher01＠comcast.net 24 Dec '10

24 Dec '10

I read this on the usless facts gadget on my desktop. I'm not sure I understand it. Care to comment? A sunbeam setting out through space at the rate of 186,000 miles a second would go in a gigantic circle and return to its origins after about 200 billion years.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Birth order of Red Dwarfs
by Raeburn Kennard 23 Dec '10

23 Dec '10

Spencer Ball asked: Are they able to determine reasonably precisely when the red dwarfs in our galaxy were born? According to Tolkein's Silmarillion, first came the elves, then came the dwarfs, then came men. In his later histories we learn that somewhere in there came the hobbits. The Orcs were corruptions of some or all of the foregoing. I hope that answers the question. Raeburn Kennard

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