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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Aurora
by Canopus56 04 Aug '10

04 Aug '10

The main wave is not set to hit until am tomorrow morning. If anyone subscribes to www.spaceweather.com phone alerts and you get an alert of current aurora, please post a notice here regardless of the hour. Note the phrase "with a chance for major storm levels beginning midday on 05 August" in the attached NWS solar forecast for today. For one historical aurora that did not reach to SLC's latitude - but that was over the U.S. Canadian border in Montana - I was able to see a curtain wall from SLC with binoculars low to the horizon. - Kurt NWS Space Weather Prediction Center http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/today.html NWS 3-day Solar-Geophysical Forecast issued Aug 04 22:00 UTC . . . . Geophysical Activity Forecast: Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels until midday on day 1 (05 August). [Kurt Note - that is 4 or 5am tomorrow morning.] Activity is forecast to increase to active to minor storm levels with a chance for major storm levels beginning midday on 05 August due to the expected arrival of a CME associated with a large filament disappearance on 01 August. Activity is expected to decrease to unsettled to minor storm levels on day 2 (06 August) as the CME passage continues. A further decrease to quiet to unsettled levels is expected on day 3 (07 August). Other utilities NOAA POES map http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/ To be seen in Utah, the Kp-index has to be 6 or higher. NOAA Costello Geomagnetic Activity Index (3 hour prospective predictor of global Kp-index) http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rpc/costello/pkp_15m_24h.html USGS Boulder Magnetometer (Real Time Region Kp) http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/bou_12h.html and of course - http://spaceweather.com/

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Many new subscribers / a bit of humor
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Aug '10

04 Aug '10

I don't know why but yesterday and today U-A picked up several new subscribers. I don't think we've added so many new folks in such a short time. Welcome new folk! And now a bit of (probably unintended) humor. A friend at a rural paper received the following news release. Hmmm, I wonder if I could "buy" (4099) Wiggins... patrick :) > From: Public Relations <publicrelations(a)galacticgovernment.org> > Date: August 2, 2010 10:30:52 PM MDT > To: undisclosed-recipients:; > Subject: Press Release - Solar Land Rush Extended > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > Solar Land Rush Extended > Gardnerville, NV- July 29, 2010 > > The Lunar Embassy, a company created in 1980 for the express purpose of offering to the citizens of Earth purchase opportunities for land on planetary bodies within our solar system, announced today that the moons of many planets have been released for sale in their entirety. During the last thirty years the Lunar Embassy has sold 560 million acres on the Moon of Earth, 314 million acres on Mars, and a combined 106 million acres on Venus, IO (eye-oh), and Mercury. The Lunar Embassy is the only company on Earth with the legal rights to sell land on any of our satellite bodies. (See the web site at http://www.lunarembassy.com) All Lunar Embassy authorized resellers will have the Lunar Embassy logo on their site. > > “Since the United States and Chile have now recognized the sovereignty of The Galactic Government, we decided now was the time to grant The Lunar Embassy permission to offer to the general public on Earth, 16 minor moons for sale.” said Dr. Vincent Hamm, Secretary of State for the Galactic Government, “These moons are of historic proximity and cost effective values.” > > The moons being offered by the Lunar Embassy for sale, are: > Mars – (Phobos, and Deimos), Jupiter – (Amalthea), Saturn – (Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Calypso, Helene, Hyperion, Mimas, Encladeus), Uranus – (Puck, Miranda), Neptune – (Larissa, Proteus). (see iown<moonname>.com for more information.) > > “We are pleased that The Lunar Embassy will be able to finance these moons with a few exceptions” stated Yasuyuki Matsumoto, Japanese Ambassador for The Lunar Embassy, “The Lunar Embassy mortgage company, with seven years of service, is perfect for those who want to purchase larger properties in our solar system and do not have the available cash to make that purchase. They will use simple interest (2%) and the term of the loans will range from 10 years to 35 years. The Lunar Embassy is in a unique position with their mortgage company as they do not require credit checks, payroll inquiries, or any form of qualifying for these loans in the traditional sense. Since they are the ones loaning on these properties they can set the rules to benefit those with desire to own a moon within our solar system.” > > C. Wesley Faires, Attorney General of The Galactic Government said: “After these moons have been sold, the purchaser has the all of the legal right to sell, gift, lease, or in some other manner change the ownership status of these satellites, as conferred by The Galactic Government through the Lunar Embassy.” > > For more information contact: > Dr. Dennis Hope, President; 1329 US Highway 395 North, Suite 10-281; Gardnerville, NV 89410; +1.702.991.1232, US toll free 1-800-LUNAR-29; info(a)lunarembassy.com > > > ###

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Aurora Tuesday Night
by Rodger C. Fry 03 Aug '10

03 Aug '10

With the large Solar Mass Ejection that occurred on Sunday, is anyone planning to go out and look for the Aurora on Tuesday night? I would like to consider this. Thanks Rodger Fry

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Parallax experiment with (3833) Calingasta
by Canopus56 02 Aug '10

02 Aug '10

There is an opportunity to try diurnal parallax imaging of mag 14.7 Mars orbit crossing asteriod 3833 Calingasta on the night of its opposition on August 6. Opposition for 3833 occurs at about 8-6-2010 1:45 UT (8-5-2010 7:45pm MDT) per NASA JPL Horizon's emphemeris. At opposition, 3833 will be approximately 62M km from Earth (0.413 AU). The Moon will not be above the horizon. For Salt Lake City, Utah, the exact moment of opposition occurs during daylight. Astronomical twilight is begins approx. at 8-6-2010 4:30UT (8-5-2010 10:30PM MDT). The Moon rises at approx. 8:15 UT (8-6-2010 2:15AM MDT). 3833 transits for SLC, Utah at 8-6-2010 7:15 UT (8-6-2010 1:15am) To take a parallax measure by the diurnal method, one photo of the target is taken just after astronomical twilight. An optional second photo is taken at transit. A third photo is taken just before the end of astronomical twilight. In this instance, Moon rise will occur earlier and represents the time cut-off for the third photo. An SLC, UT ephemeris with RA, DEC, Az, Alt is appended for the evening-morning of 8-5 to 8-6. The second method of measuring a parallax is, what I would term, the longitude method using two stations. This involves two observers taking pictures of the same object at approximately the same time but at widely different latitudes on the same longitude, e.g. one station in North America and second in South America. Unfortunately, the Slooh Roboscope's Chile facility has not come online. Although the parallax of Mars was measured by both methods at its 2003 close opposition at 0.3731, there are no guarantees that you will have enough of a baseline to obtain a useable parallax at 0.413 AU. Another option for the longitude method might be to take two images close in time, e.g. one from SLC and a second later in the morning using the Slooh Australia roboscope. Clear Skies - Kurt SLC, UT ephemeris for 3833 2010-Aug-06 01:30 * 20 33 12.69 +07 28 58.1 88.5955 9.9332 2010-Aug-06 01:45 * 20 33 12.72 +07 28 48.0 91.0512 12.7795 2010-Aug-06 02:00 * 20 33 12.74 +07 28 37.8 93.5376 15.6234 2010-Aug-06 02:15 * 20 33 12.76 +07 28 27.7 96.0682 18.4597 2010-Aug-06 02:30 * 20 33 12.78 +07 28 17.6 98.6578 21.2825 2010-Aug-06 02:45 C 20 33 12.79 +07 28 07.5 101.3220 24.0856 2010-Aug-06 03:00 C 20 33 12.80 +07 27 57.3 104.0780 26.8622 2010-Aug-06 03:15 N 20 33 12.80 +07 27 47.2 106.9448 29.6047 2010-Aug-06 03:30 N 20 33 12.80 +07 27 37.0 109.9431 32.3047 2010-Aug-06 03:45 N 20 33 12.80 +07 27 26.8 113.0960 34.9525 2010-Aug-06 04:00 A 20 33 12.79 +07 27 16.6 116.4285 37.5369 2010-Aug-06 04:15 A 20 33 12.78 +07 27 06.4 119.9684 40.0452 2010-Aug-06 04:30 20 33 12.77 +07 26 56.2 123.7450 42.4625 2010-Aug-06 04:45 20 33 12.75 +07 26 46.0 127.7895 44.7717 2010-Aug-06 05:00 20 33 12.74 +07 26 35.7 132.1330 46.9529 2010-Aug-06 05:15 20 33 12.71 +07 26 25.5 136.8049 48.9837 2010-Aug-06 05:30 20 33 12.69 +07 26 15.2 141.8292 50.8386 2010-Aug-06 05:45 20 33 12.67 +07 26 04.9 147.2208 52.4897 2010-Aug-06 06:00 20 33 12.64 +07 25 54.6 152.9797 53.9077 2010-Aug-06 06:15 20 33 12.61 +07 25 44.3 159.0848 55.0628 2010-Aug-06 06:30 20 33 12.58 +07 25 34.0 165.4900 55.9272 2010-Aug-06 06:45 20 33 12.56 +07 25 23.6 172.1221 56.4778 2010-Aug-06 07:00 20 33 12.53 +07 25 13.3 178.8842 56.6984 2010-Aug-06 07:15 t 20 33 12.50 +07 25 02.9 185.6642 56.5824 2010-Aug-06 07:30 20 33 12.47 +07 24 52.5 192.3482 56.1333 2010-Aug-06 07:45 20 33 12.44 +07 24 42.1 198.8334 55.3644 2010-Aug-06 08:00 20 33 12.41 +07 24 31.7 205.0384 54.2968 2010-Aug-06 08:15 20 33 12.39 +07 24 21.3 210.9086 52.9573

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sunspot spot spotted
by Gary Vardon 01 Aug '10

01 Aug '10

I spotted a sunspot for the first time since March and that was after a two year hiatus. Two days ago the sun was spot less. 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] Parallax experiment with (3833) Calingasta
by Canopus56 01 Aug '10

01 Aug '10

Patrick wrote: > JPL shows that on 26 August it will be 0.378 AU from Earth. That is similar to the distance of Mars at its closest August 2003 opposition - 55,758,006 km (0.372719 AU) - when Pete Lawrence and others were trying their diurnal parallax measurements. Looks like 3833 will be close enough to Earth to try a diurnal parallax measurement with an expected result around 7-8 arcsecs. What are you showing for its topocentric sidereal coords and SLC local horizon coords at transit on the morning of August 26? Thanks. - Clear Skies - Kurt

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Way to go SLASers!
by Patrick Wiggins 01 Aug '10

01 Aug '10

I've long known that SLAS members are known for volunteerism but it's things like what happened last evening that really drive that point home. It was pouring rain late in the afternoon but eventually the clouds did start to part. It was still mostly overcast by 6 pm but all it took was that slight clearing to get several SLASers to make the drive to SPOC for the public star party. And it's a good thing they did as there was quite a turnout of public too. Granted, things were not as nice as we might have liked but then I always have to remind myself that we do the public star parties for the public, not so much for ourselves. Thanks to all who helped! patrick

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Correction to Observer's Guide to SLAS Star Parties
by Canopus56 31 Jul '10

31 Jul '10

The Observer's Guide to SLAS Star parties that I did earlier this year at: http://fisherka.csolutionshosting.net/astronote/plan/20100315SLASObservingG… and http://fisherka.csolutionshosting.net/astronote/plan/20100315SLASObservingG… contains an error. It lists the Dawn spacecraft arriving at Vesta on 8/11/2010. It arrives next year on 8/11/2011. Dawn will be flying by Vesta at about 0.2 AU one its last orbit lap before Vesta. My apologies for the error. Nonetheless, the August 13 star party will be an extraordinary night. The star party will occur on the night of the Persids peak and will feature a four planet wide conjunction at sunset (Moon, Venus, Mars and Saturn). - Clear Skies - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Parallax experiment with (3833) Calingasta
by Canopus56 31 Jul '10

31 Jul '10

Looking at the July-Sept Minor Planet Observer, I see that 3833 appears to be near opposition on August 26 and that it is classified as a Mars-orbit-crossing asteroid. I am on my Linux box right now and cannot bring up the JPL Orbit Diagram applet. How far will 3833 be in A.U. on August 26? Thanks - Kurt --- On Sat, 7/31/10, Canopus56 <canopus56(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > From: Canopus56 <canopus56(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Parallax experiment with (3833) Calingasta > To: "Utah Astronomy List Serv" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 5:55 PM > Patrick, > > Thanks for the notes. The method I outlined only > applies to targets at opposition - which for asteroids can > be determined in real time using Warner's MPO Canopus > Lightcurve group. > > http://www.minorplanetobserver.com/Misc/EphemerisGenerator.htm > > But I forgot to ask the obvious first question: Is the > asteroid in the photo at opposition? If it was not, > then the method discussed upthread is not directly > applicable. > > I have not run the specific computation to find the > distance limit for a diurnal parallax measurement. It > probably would reach the inner asteroid belt using amateur > equipment, but not 1 A.U. > > Warner's Asteroid Ephemeris Generator lists the following > asteroid as coming to opposition on July 30 - 1004 > Belopolskya, mag 14.4, but it is at a distance 3.8 A.U. > > - Clear Skies - Kurt > > > > > >

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