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

moon
by Mark Shelton 20 Aug '10

20 Aug '10

Breaking Orbit A blog about planets and planetary sciences in the news. * 1 Item * Updated: Thu, Aug 19 2010 5:41 PM "International Observe the Moon Night" Next Month By Victoria Jaggard The moon may be shrinking, but it's still a big enough ball of fun to warrant its own night in the limelight. On September 18 people around the planet will be gathering for the first ever International Observe the Moon Night, a global event meant to get people excited about lunar science and exploration. The whole thing started with a national moon night in the U.S. last year, spurred by the activities of two NASA moon missions: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). The LRO launched on June 18, 2009, and settled into orbit around the moon on June 23. The orbiter was carrying LCROSS, which got shot into the moon on October 9 as part of a search for water ice in shadowy lunar craters. To get people stoked about NASA's moon missions, the LRO and LCROSS teams co-hosted National Observe the Moon Night on August 1. That event was so successful, NASA decided to up the ante, calling on partners with the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Astronomers Without Borders, and Gemini Observatory to help coordinate a worldwide moon extravaganza for 2010. This year may see a dip in the "lunacy," at least in the U.S.—human missions to the moon have been effectively canceled, the Apollo 11 anniversary has passed, and there's no promise of "moon bombing" probes to look forward to. But maybe that's why taking moon fever international makes sense. Data from India's lost Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter and Japan's terminated Kaguya moon probe are still offering scientific riches (boosting those countries' excitement over moon exploration). And China is planning to launch its second lunar probe in October, possibly followed by a human mission to the moon in 2017. Mountains on the moon. —Picture courtesy LRO/NASA For sky-watchers in the Northern Hemisphere, September 18 will present a lovely waxing gibbous moon, offering a chance to see plenty of surface features brought into sharp relief by shadows. (A full moon can be a beautiful sight to the naked eye, btw, but through a telescope the glare can drown out details.) With a decent telescope, viewers should be able to get a good look at features such as Tycho crater, the deep depression surrounded by bright rays that dominates the moon's southern face. Higher magnifications will reveal mountain ranges, dark lava fields, and rippling ridges. The nice part of events like International Observe the Moon Night is that you won't need your own fancy instruments to see the sights. Organizations and hobby groups around the world will be volunteering their time and access to equipment—all you have to do is show up! If you can't make it out to an official event, it still counts, imho, to stop at some point during the night, look up, and briefly ponder a few lunar mysteries.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Gravel-Pit Site in Brown's Canyon
by Joe Bauman 19 Aug '10

19 Aug '10

Hi Jay, I don't think there has ever been a problem about the site being private property. And it's nice to set up on the road just before the gate. The road is probably public until you get to the gate. The fact that the gate is locked means nobody is using the road. At least that's the way it was the last time I visited. But I wasn't as impressed with the darkness as much as I am with Lakeside. -- Joe --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Jay Eads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Jay Eads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Gravel-Pit Site in Brown's Canyon To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 10:07 PM A sincere question on the gravel pit location. I have not used it because it is my understanding it is on private land. Is that the case? Capitol Reef is too far for me that weekend and I need to stay local since I'm back to working. Thus why I'm staying local (within an hour or two). No matter where anyone goes, I hope that many people get out and observe, take astro-pictures and just enjoy the night sky wherever they are. On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 9:22 PM, Lowell Lyon <bolide(a)sisna.com> wrote: > Hello: > > > > My wife and I had a nice time observing Perseids from the gravel pit site > in > Brown's Canyon. Friday night into Saturday morning I went back up with a > telescope and had an enjoyable evening. The sky was exceptionally clear > and > steady with just a slight breeze once in a while, not enough to be a bother > at all. This is still a very good observing site being as close to Salt > Lake as it is. You now set up in front of gates restricting vehicular > travel into the gravel quarry itself. I don't find this a problem either. > It actually is better now that there is no traffic at all after dark > (except > for those bringing up scopes). There is an animal shelter of some sort a > short distance away that was built since I was at the site late time, yet > it > does not seem to make any noise and what light it generates didn't really > bother me either. There is a bit more development along the access road > yet > not enough in my opinion to keep people from using this site for a while > longer. I still like the higher elevation of this area versus the > observing > sites west of Salt Lake particularly with the nice eastern sky. I have > been > up to the gravel quarry site in late Fall and it was still quite pleasant > being above the haze and temperature inversions of Salt Lake. I hope to > see > more people still use this site if you want to stay within an hour of Salt > Lake. > > > > Those wanting to go a bit further away next new moon, I hope that we'll see > as many of you as possible at Capitol Reef National Park over Labor Day > Weekend. Thanks. Lowell Lyon > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- Jay Eads _______________________________________________ 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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Booster test
by Kim 19 Aug '10

19 Aug '10

Patrick, is public allowed anywhere near the ATK booster test? Kim

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First Light - USB Camera
by Troy Davidson 18 Aug '10

18 Aug '10

Ok, I got my usb camera today and had to give it a try. Here are the images: 2x barlow: http://www.clandaith.com/image_barlow.JPG no barlow: http://www.clandaith.com/image.JPG I took these with a 8" dobsonian. It was hard to focus since the telescope wasn't tracking. The software that comes with the camera was ok. I am looking for something else that will work better. One of the reasons I want better software is that the included software doesn't stream the video but takes a picture every ~2-5 seconds. So, when focusing, it's hard to do. Plus, the images aren't as good as I think they can get since the images were taken around 9:30 looking over my neighbors yard. The air was not very stable and even in an eyepiece, the moon was waving a lot. The ccd chip has a few flaws on it. There are a few strange pixels that show up. But, that's what you get when you buy cheap. Overall, I think the camera isn't bad. It's not great or even good. It's definitely better than a regular webcam. I'm going to head out to the desert this weekend and give it a better shot. ++++++++++++++++++ Troy Davidson www.istroyworking.com

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Balloons
by Patrick Wiggins 18 Aug '10

18 Aug '10

After last night SLAS meeting I did a bit of poking about on the web and found the speakers' website: http://www.extremespaceadventures.com/project-pegasus Also found the video they screened (really great pictures): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkPWQRg0kv8 And as long as we're talking ballooning... http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/exclusivevids/ClusterBalloonist_JonathanTra… patrick p.s. Ok, one more video. This one for Joe showing what he's missing by not flying in small planes: http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/exclusivevids/LostWingLanding_BRSParachute_…

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Aurora Watch site from above
by Patrick Wiggins 18 Aug '10

18 Aug '10

Here are a couple of aerial shots of the site several of us went to to see the aurora earlier this month (and from where Robert Taylor got the images he posted recently). Taken from north of the site looking south: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/EXIT84S.JPG Taken from south of the site looking north (I-80 exit 84 in foreground): http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/EXIT84N.JPG patrick (who is always looking for an excuse to fly)

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Wolf Creek
by Nate Jackson 17 Aug '10

17 Aug '10

Can anyone tell me if there are any dispersed camping spots up near Wolf Creek? Thank you!

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Eyepiece
by Kim 17 Aug '10

17 Aug '10

Question for anyone: What would be the optimal use for a Celestron 40mm E-lux 2” eyepiece? It’s an air-spaced fully multicoated 3-element design with a 50 degree FOV. While I’ve used it, I’m not sure that other eyepieces in my collection don’t serve me better. I always (well, nearly always) appreciate advice. Kim

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6 hours of Gamma Cygni
by David Rankin 17 Aug '10

17 Aug '10

This image is 50 lights at 7 minutes each. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3634&g2_imageViewsIndex=1 Enjoy!

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New Photo
by Robert L. Taylor 17 Aug '10

17 Aug '10

http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3643 A single shot of Balanced Rock in Arches with the Milky Way in the background. The sky is very nice down there. There was a half Moon in the sky when I shot this which allowed me to get some detail on the rocks without seriously washing-out the sky. The Moon was about 90 Degrees to my right as I shot this. Bob

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