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

"Astronomers Wanted" (humor)
by Patrick Wiggins 15 Dec '10

15 Dec '10

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/101215/cx_frank_umedia/20101512 patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] stellarium
by Canopus56 15 Dec '10

15 Dec '10

Dale wrote: > Has anyone sped up time on Stellarium to see how > the lunar eclipse will go? It's impressive. Dale, I use Cartes du Ciel on my main Windows laptop, but I also have a Linux laptop on which I use Stellarium. Stellarium is a wonderful program for just showing an evening all-sky star chart to the general public, and Stellarium's simulated lunar eclipse feature is a real hidden gem of the program - which includes showing the Earth's shadow on the lunar disk and the star magnitude increase at total eclipse. That feature is very well-written code. My main feature wish for Stellarium is to automate the importing of comet and satellite data into program. Right-now the process is a very wooden hand-editing of obscure text files, and nothing I care to mess with. Clear Skies - Kurt

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stellarium
by Dale Wilson 15 Dec '10

15 Dec '10

Has anyone sped up time on Stellarium to see how the lunar eclipse will go? It's impressive. Just hope the real eclipse isn't clouded out. Dale

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Lunar Eclipse
by Robert Taylor 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Next week, Monday/Tuesday night, we have one of the better lunar eclipses we will see for a while. The weather doesn't look good so far. Let's keep equipment purchases down to a minimum if we can. Bob Please note new e-mail <mailto:Robtaylorslc@gmail.com> Robtaylorslc(a)gmail.com or <mailto:Robtaylorslc@Comcast.net> Robtaylorslc(a)Comcast.net

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YouTube - Richard Dawkins - Life on Earth Begun by Aliens!
by RON VANDERHULE 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_ObJ-g1kR8<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_ObJ-g1kR8>

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Religiously speaking
by erikhansen＠thebluezone.net 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

>Well the "how" is because "he said" so, the chronology in Genesis is what is at odds with science, not so much the "how". I have no problem with the concept of "God" creating the universe, I am not an atheist. Paul, in 1 Cor. 2 compared spiritual knowledge "things of God" to > "wisdom" > subjects studied by the Greeks at Corinth--"things of a man." They are > entirely different subjects altogether. It appears to me some are trying > to > overlap two subjects that don't really overlap. > > I know that God created the universe, the earth, and life on earth. > > Science and Astronomy tells me how. > > I don't really find any "how" in the Bible, Book of Abraham, Book of > Moses, > D&C 77 at all. > > Spencer Ball > > -----Original Message----- > From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com > [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of David > Rankin > Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 3:17 PM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Religiously speaking > > "Religion has always been the enemy of science and astronomy, not it's > foundation and roots." > > That makes perfect sense, explains why so many of our most famous > breakthroughs came from astronomers who had no religious interests at all > right? > > "Any other attempt to paint it differently is just warm fuzzy stuff to > enable it's practitioners to sleep at night." > > Are you always so absolutist? No gray area at all? Hmmmm > > "I don't give a rat's hat about historical religious institutions' > make-believe > cosmic fantasies." > > One thing consistent about our understanding of astronomy, is that our > facts > are constantly changing. > > "I'm leaving for a while because I'm bored. If any of you are not, stick > around and have fun, by all means." > > I personally don't find anything anyone has to say on this list boring in > the least bit. > > Enjoy your Sabbatical. ;) > > > > > > On 12/14/10 2:56 PM, Chuck Hards wrote: >> One last note before I take my break: >> >> On 12/14/10, Kim<kimharch(a)cut.net> wrote: >> >>> I agree. Discussing astronomy without being able to refer to its >>> historic >>> roots, which ARE religious, is like trying to learn French cuisine > without >>> being able to mention butter and eggs, simply because their use might > offend >>> some sensibilities. >>> >> Kim, respectfully, the science of modern astronomy and it's roots have >> nothing to do with religion, except that religious authority tried to >> muzzle the enlightenment, whenever it could. It still does, in many >> houses of worship across the globe. Religion has always been the >> enemy of science and astronomy, not it's foundation and roots. >> >> Any other attempt to paint it differently is just warm fuzzy stuff to >> enable it's practitioners to sleep at night. I don't give two hoots >> about paleolithic sky beliefs. They were not astronomy. I don't give >> a rat's hat about historical religious institutions' make-believe >> cosmic fantasies. Those are not astronomy. >> >> I'm not leaving temporarily because I'm offended. Not offended in the > least. >> >> I'm leaving for a while because I'm bored. If any of you are not, >> stick around and have fun, by all means. >> >> OK, that's my bus. Gotta go. :o) >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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(596) Scheila and Saturn White Spots
by Canopus56 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

I. (596) Scheila `cometary' asteroid ====================================================================== BAA electronic bulletin ====================================================================== The first well-observed case has been reported of a large main-belt asteroid apparently exhibiting 'comet-like' behaviour. Steve Larson of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, has reported that images of the minor planet (596) taken on December 11.44-11.47 UT with the 0.68-m f/1.8 Schmidt telescope at Catalina show the object to be in apparent outburst with a comet-like appearance, exhibiting a total V magnitude of about 13.4 and an envelope that extends 2' north and 5' west of the central condensation (CBET No.2583 issued December 12). Note that the predicted magnitude of this asteroid at the time of Steve's observation is about 60% fainter than the observed value. BAA member Peter Birtwhistle obtained images from Great Shefford Observatory between December 12.178-12.204 showing the presence of a large arc to the north and smaller arc to the south in a field 3'x3' in size - See: http://www.birtwhistle.org/Gallery(596)Scheila.htm (596) Scheila is a large asteroid (diameter ~113 km) situated in the outer regions of the Main Belt, having a dark surface (albedo = 0.038). A rotation period of 15.8 hours has been reported and from the amplitude of its lightcurve(0.09 mag) it must be relatively spherical in shape. In other words it is a very ordinary, rather typical asteroid with no special features. Likewise its orbit is definitely asteroidal in nature and not cometary. It has been speculated that we have just witnessed the aftermath of a high-speed collision between (596) and a small, non-descript object, perhaps no more than a metre or two in size. The two conjoined arcs visible in Peter's stacked image are reminiscent of the arc-shaped material of 'Comet P/2010 A2' imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in January of this year - See: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/07/image/a/ For this latter case, it has now been shown that this phenomenon was not cometary but was indeed the result of a collision between two small bodies in the asteroid belt. Further observations of the evolution of the 'debris', dust, etc. around (596) Scheila should make it possible to discriminate between the collisonal hypothesis and a cometary origin. My money is on the former. Indeed, high-resolution spectroscopy of the emitted cloud of material could provide a unique opportunity to probe the composition of an asteroid by analysing the nature of the expelled material. Let's hope that an 8-metre or 10-metre class telescope will be put to work doing just this in the very near future. Checks should also be made on images of (596) taken in the past to see whether an associated coma can be found at some other epoch. If such a coma were to have occurred in the past then this would demonstrate recurrent activity characteristic of a true comet. Richard Miles Director, Asteroids and remote Planets Section BAA ====================================================================== Baa-ebulletin mailing list This is an announcements only list - please do not reply to the list. To unsubscribe please send an e-mail to circadmin(a)britastro.org or visit http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin (c) 2010 British Astronomical Association http://www.britastro.org/ ==================================================== II. Spots on Saturn ====================================================================== BAA electronic bulletin ====================================================================== Observing Alert: Spots on Saturn On 8 Dec 2010 two spots were recorded on Saturn at the same latitude. Firstly, a bright spot was recorded close to the central meridian in an image taken at 02:12UT by Sadegh Ghomizadeh in Iran. The provisional position for this spot masured from the image is: latitude 37.5 degrees north (planetographic), longitude (System 3) 248 degrees. Just over 5 hours later, David Gray in the UK visually recorded a light spot approaching the p. limb. The provisional position for this spot measured from David's drawing is: latitude of 37.5 degrees north, longitude (System 3) 29 degrees. Saturn is well placed for observation before dawn and more observations are urgently required to confirm these features. Mike Foulkes BAA Saturn Section director. 12 December 2010 ====================================================================== Baa-ebulletin mailing list This is an announcements only list - please do not reply to the list. To unsubscribe please send an e-mail to circadmin(a)britastro.org or visit http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin (c) 2010 British Astronomical Association http://www.britastro.org/ ====================================================================== ALPOCS Saturn Alert http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/saturnblog/?p=31

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] (596) Scheila and Saturn White Spots
by Canopus56 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Patrick, way to go. May I forward the url to the BAA on your behalf? - Kurt

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Mormon Astronomy
by Lowell Lyon 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (nicknamed the "Mormon Church") and have been all of my life. I respect other people's point of view event though it is different from mine. By doing so, I believe that explains why some of my closest friends are Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, Southern Baptist, non-religious, etc. I hope for respect from others for my religious beliefs as I honor theirs. In my opinion, if the "Mormon Church" is to be mentioned in the Astronomy News Group, then perhaps all religions views of Astronomy should be explored equally. I agree with the point of view that we leave the newsgroup to an intelligent discussion of astronomical topics. If religion is brought into the equation, I ask that we all be respectful of each other's point of view and beliefs without criticism or antagonism. Lowell Lyon

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Mormon Astronomy
by stormcrow60＠xmission.com 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Hello Julie, Don't you know? Santa moved his shop to the south pole years ago. No more polar bears and lots of cute penguins! Jon

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