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

KSL on NASA tonight (Friday)
by Patrick Wiggins 06 Feb '10

06 Feb '10

KSL radio just called and asked to do a spot on recent "stuff" at NASA. It'll be live (so callers and texts are welcome) from 9 to 10 pm. 1160 AM and 102.7 FM I hope to hear some familiar voices on the line. patrick

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NASA Budget
by erikhansen＠TheBlueZone.net 04 Feb '10

04 Feb '10

I read some comments about the cancellation of the constellation program. While this program is being cut, it appears that NASA is getting increased funding. I have included a link as to some reasons for this, citing some still unresolved technical issues. It appears NASA is going to pursue a more broad research program. While perhaps not good for N Utah economy, NASA does appear to still be doing research to spur new technologies and jobs associated with that. It seems the constellation program was going to eat too much into other NASA programs. Perhaps, Obama is giving NASA what they want, partisanship aside. I imagine Utah will get continued NASA business for rocket engines I am pleased that federal funding for cancer research is getting a boost. The private sector is falling far short on this front. http://www.moontoday.net/news/viewnews.html?id=1372 Erik

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Possible outburst of 29P/Schwassman-Wachmann 1 in Leo
by Canopus56 04 Feb '10

04 Feb '10

Something to put on your watch lists, should this comet get any brighter. Its no Comet Holmes but let's see how things develop. 29P is in a nearly circular orbit just outside Jupiter at about 5.2 AU from Earth. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=29P&orb=1 - Clear Skies - Kurt ================= From the AAVSO list Date: Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:27:08 -0500 From: Shawn Dvorak <sdvorak(a)rollinghillsobs.org> Subject: [Aavso-photometry] Comet 29P outburst To: Aavso-Photometry <aavso-photometry(a)mira.aavso.org> Message-ID: <4B6A307C.3010208(a)rollinghillsobs.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed The Astronomer's Telegram service http://www.astronomerstelegram.org announced earlier today that Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 is undergoing an outburst. It's currently in Leo and was around mag 15 prior to the outburst but it's now around mag 12 during the outburst. Not exactly naked-eye visibility but certainly within photometry range for us amateurs. At this time I'm not sure who should get any data that is collected but someone on this list can probably point us in the right direction. Shawn ===================== Astronomer's Telegram entry Massive outburst of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 ATel #2417; Josep M. Trigo-Rodriguez (CSIC-IEEC) on 3 Feb 2010; 17:39 UT Distributed as an Instant Email Notice (Comets) Password Certification: Josep M. Trigo-Rodriguez (trigo(a)ieec.uab.es) Subjects: Comets A continuous photometric monitoring of Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 is being currently performed from Spain. We have analyzed multi-band images taken in V, R, and I filters on Feb. 3.181, 2010 by A. Sanchez (MPC442). This object exhibits a stellar appearance in the images with an apparent diameter of 15 arcsec. The derived magnitude of the comet in a 10 arcsec standard photometry field is +11.7 R, +11.5 I, and +11.9 V. These data suggest that this comet is currently experiencing an unusual outburst, probably the brightest in the last decade according the recent photometric compilation by Trigo-Rodriguez et al. (2009) A&A 485, 599. Additional observations obtained in the last month suggest a progressive increase in activity from mid January from a quite inactive 40-days period in which the comet remained close to +16 R magnitude. Other significant observations of our follow-up during the last months are listed: Dec. 20.0400, +16.4 R (J.M. Trigo-Rodriguez, MPC B06); Dec. 25.2482, +16.1 R, and 15.9 I (A. Sanchez, MPC442); Jan. 09.9700, +15.0 R, +15.7 V, and 15.4 I (S. Pastor and J.A. Reyes, MPC J76); Jan. 10.0717, +15.6 R (A. Sanchez, MPC442); Jan. 12.1866, +15.7 R (A. Sanchez, MPC442); Jan. 27.1822, +15.2 R (A. Sanchez, MPC442); Jan. 27.1822, +15.1 R and 15.2 I (D. Rodríguez, MPC 458). Additional observations of this object are encouraged to better understand the physical processes behind the coma evolution after a massive outburst. ====================

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Fw: BIBLE CODE WARNS OF COMET IMPACT
by Rodger C. Fry 03 Feb '10

03 Feb '10

I don't know where this guy got my email address but thought it was worth sending out to UA so that people might get a chuckle! Rodger Fry ----- Original Message ----- From: Benadam To: info(a)earthandsky.co.nz ; info(a)starkenburg-sternwarte.de ; mab(a)easysky.de ; titan(a)kluegl.com ; jens_rothermel(a)web.de ; e.schwab(a)gsi.de ; Karin.Sonnenberg(a)urz.uni-heidelberg.de ; Jobst-Peter.Riese(a)t-online.de ; mcgaha(a)skepticus.com ; tbh(a)3towers.com ; Info(a)CamarilloObservatory.com ; Contact(a)CamarilloObservatory.com ; bpenprase(a)pomona.edu ; alper.ates(a)pomona.edu ; azook(a)pomona.edu ; pchoi(a)pomona.edu ; tmoore(a)pomona.edu ; jarrett(a)ipac.caltech.edu ; Ann_Esin(a)hmc.edu ; acz04747(a)pomona.edu ; dustynebula(a)juno.com ; rcfry(a)comcast.net ; josephmbauman(a)yahoo.com ; astro_outwest(a)yahoo.com ; ngoodman(a)lgcy.com ; ehansen(a)networld.com ; scott.crosby(a)hill.af.mil ; dutchbutz(a)yahoo.com ; a.blanchard(a)ugs.utah.edu ; ann(a)annhouse.org ; tmstratton(a)comcast.net ; bmoore(a)commercecrg.com ; paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com ; bmargrim(a)msn.com ; waynesclarke(a)msn.com ; dcoltonsprint(a)earthlink.net ; kharrismar(a)earthlink.net ; webmaster(a)slas.us ; slasinfo(a)slas.us ; observatory(a)physics.utah.edu ; uofuastronomyclub(a)hotmail.com ; radioman99(a)hotmail.com ; astroclub(a)lists.physics.byu.edu Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 4:20 AM Subject: BIBLE CODE WARNS OF COMET IMPACT hello, I represent a Bible Code researcher named HARRY WALTHER. He has found a Bible Code that warns of COMET IMPACT- MARCH 01, 2010 - UTAH. Please read the following page and search for any comet that could impact Utah on March 01, 2010. Thank you. BIBLE CODE PAGE: http://www.satansrapture.com/2010code.htm MAIN SITE http://www.satansrapture.com

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Spirit on Mars.
by Daniel Holmes 03 Feb '10

03 Feb '10

Anyone see today's xkcd? Almost put a tear in my eye. http://www.xkcd.org/695/ Dan -- Daniel Holmes, danielh(a)holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin

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2010 Bryce Canyon Astro Fest
by Patrick Wiggins 03 Feb '10

03 Feb '10

Here's the park's website for this year's festival: http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/astrofest.htm patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Killer deal on KSL
by Canopus56 02 Feb '10

02 Feb '10

One of you should make a "report abuse" report and tag the ad as fradulent using the "report abuse" button. The KSL "Report Abuse" button contains the following tests for deciding whether an ad is fraudulent. The ad and responses described in this thread meets tests 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 - or 5 out of 7 tests. Clear Skies - Kurt From the KSL Classified website: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=391&sid=222473 "More Information About Fraud . . . . 1. Phone number listed is wrong. 2. Buyer or seller explains that they are currently out of the county. 3. ... Seller asks to have money wired to them or paid via an online service. 4. Buyer or seller explains that a third party or service will pick up or deliver the item. 5. Email inquiry is poorly written, generic, or strange sounding. 6. Offer is simply too good to be true. 7. Seller or Buyer says that KSL will handle the transaction. . . ."

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UA Archives
by Dave Bennett 02 Feb '10

02 Feb '10

Are the Utah Astronomy emails archived somewhere and if so are they searchable? I see that instead of getting a UA Wiki, www.utahastronomy.com takes you to a mirror of one of Cynthia's websites. Is this because of the hardware crash that happened a while ago? Thanks, Dave Bennett

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah radio meteor obs report Jan 2010
by Canopus56 01 Feb '10

01 Feb '10

Joe wrote: > [C]an you actually hear anything from the radio signals? That would be cool. Thanks, Joe Joe, Under url - http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2984 - there are three sample recorded meteor reflections. Press the "Download audio" to listen to the wave file on each item. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2988 http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2791 http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2984 Two of the three have been confirmed as meteor reflections by an RMOB network lead observer. The first one is relatively noise free, having been made in Jan 2010 after correcting a glitch in my antenna setup. The second and third recording were made in December and have more static. You can compare these to the standard Spaceweather-Air Force sample recording and live link to the Air Force Space Surveillance System antenna at Lake Kickapoo, Texas. http://spaceweatherradio.com/ (After click "Listen", click "Introduction: How to Get Started") About the Air Force Survelliance System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Space_Surveillance_System The way counting and capturing is done, the counting-recording software (Spectrum Lab url: http://freenet-homepage.de/dl4yhf/spectra1.html ) is set to count and audio capture any signals that are more than a trigger value in decibals above the baseline static noise. In my case that is 18db for counting. Initially, I set the audio record capture between 18db to 25db and ended up capturing up to 700 or 800 meteor reflection sounds a week. That got boring pretty quickly, so now I have it set in "stand-down" mode at trigger capturing about 45db until the next major meteor in April. That captures above 10 audio files per week. If you have a five minute attention span on my receiver, you are guarenteed to one good reflection example about every 5 minutes during the daytime (as the apex-of-the-way transits Salt Lake City). At night, the 100% certainty detection period for a good reflection example is about 10 minutes. When the next major shower comes in April (the Lyrids), I'll flip the audio capture back to a lower setting and hopefully capture some shower associated meteor reflections sounds. I'll also be changing the spectral screen capture from 15 mins down to once a 1 second. That should get some spectral trace detail out of a Lyrid meteor trace - which happen on time scales of 0.2 seconds with 20 or 30 millisecond time resolution. Looking at the draft IMO calendar, there is a minor shower in Feb: alpha-Centaurids Active: January 28–February 21; Maximum: February 8, 05h30m UT (λo = 319 .2); zhr = 6.0 To correct my prior report: -------------- Date-UTHour Count Comments 20100103 20UT 145 Ursids peak 2010 6hr duration . . . Ursids peak readings: yyyymmddhh count 2010010316 90 -------------- - should have read - -------------- Date-UTHour Count Comments 20100103 20UT 145 Quadrantid peak 2010 6hr duration . . . Quadrantid peak readings: yyyymmddhh count 2010010316 90 -------------- Clear Skies - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] NASA Announces Two News Conferences To Discuss The 2011 Budget
by Canopus56 01 Feb '10

01 Feb '10

Feb 1 Budget Conf Recording http://www.nasa.gov/mp3/421316main_2010-02-01_FY2011_Budget_teleconference.… Feb 1 Conf materials and link to audio http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html Press Release announcing Feb 1 and Feb 2 audio press conferences (Feb 1 already occurred. See audio recording below) http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jan/HQ_M10-018_NASA_2011_Budget.html ( more direct link than Patrick's http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/index.html ) - K

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