October 2011 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Cosmic Ray Detector Visitor Center in Delta Opens Up; Article on Galaxy formation
by Jay Eads 06 Oct '11

06 Oct '11

Here is the article on the visitor center. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=17546079&nid=1012 Ripples in the Galatic Pond by Francoise Combes out of the Paris Observatory. http://aramis.obspm.fr/~combes/sciam-19aug.pdf I haven't read the article in depth but it discusses how a galaxy can metamorphose from a barred spiral to a spiral etc. Looks interesting. -- Jay Eads

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Unobstructed reflector
by Chuck Hards 06 Oct '11

06 Oct '11

I managed to nab one of a very few 4.25" f/22 primary mirrors from Surplus Shed, another old Jaegers item. They are now out of stock. This is probably going to be the foundation for an unobstructed reflector. No central obstruction to cause diffraction artifacts, with perfect Airy disks, and absolutely perfect color correction- something not even a triplet APO can do. This could be a dream of a planetary scope. We'll see what happens, there are several projects ahead of it. It could also be incorporated into a version of Brent's idea for an upside-down Gerrish.

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Galaxy NG7217 and the dust of Lakeside
by Joe Bauman 06 Oct '11

06 Oct '11

Please take a look -- a comment on the web page would be even nicer! Thank you, Joe http://tinyurl.com/5tpukm4

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Images
by Steve Fisher 05 Oct '11

05 Oct '11

I'm thinking I should have refered to them as images.Steve

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Accessory Shelf for Chinese and non-commercial Dobs
by Jay Eads 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

I think I really like this modification in terms of making a place to put say a Sky Pocket Atlas, some EP's or filters, a battery etc. Take a look at the XT10 and then below at the 11" StarMaster Dob. I think I would put some felt though where the metal handles touch the wood on either system. http://www.tomhole.com/Accessory%20Shelf.htm -- Jay Eads

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Telescope shootout
by Chuck Hards 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

Apropos the age-old "reflector vs. refractor" debate, here's Ed Ting's take on it: http://www.scopereviews.com/best.html Note that his piece is concerned with very specific brands and models, not an over-arching statement on types, but it's still a good read from a reliable, experienced observer and telescope junkie. He throws-in a CAT just to be an equal-opportunity reviewer, and talks about the telescope lust factor, as well. Good stuff.

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Mat's ATM Session on 10/15
by Jay Eads 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

I am going to be working on a few items but I wanted to let others know who own Orion Classic Telescopes some of the mods that you could come and work on. Own an Orion Dovetail like I do (it holds the finderscope for example or the EZ Finder). Remember how that goes on backwards so if your not careful your equipment can fall to the ground? Here is a simple mod I am going to do come that Saturday to fix that from CloudyNights. http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/1,2,3,4,5,8/Number/… Here are some others. BE WARNED. Note how some mods if you own the Intelliscope can ruin your azmuth encoders so read and do carefully. I am not responsible if you do this and it ruins your equipment, that is your choice since you are doing the mods. Some are quite easy and I have done them on my XT10. 1. Balancing with bungee cords as tension mounts vs the spring on the Orion XT10, 8, 6 or 12 if someone has this. Not an issue on the Zhumell brand. http://www.tomhole.com/Balancing%20the%20OTA.htm 2. Altitude and Azmuith Motion fixes http://www.tomhole.com/Motion%20Tips%20and%20Tricks.htm http://www.orion-xt10.com/orion-skyquest-azimuth-bearing.html They can also put a milk jug washer on their secondary so the screws or Bob's Knobs don't grind into it when they go to adjust the secondary during collimation. Putting plastic washers on an intelliscope base won't work as it interferes with the clearance necessary for the reading to be correct on the encoder. I have the pattern I'll bring in case some want to do this. 3. Accessory Shelf for Dobs http://www.tomhole.com/Accessory%20Shelf.htm Think I want to make one of these! 4. Lazy Susan Fix for Azmuith http://www.orion-xt10.com/lazy-susan-azimuth-bearing.html To be done at one's own risk because it can ruin the encoders. 5. Simple metal handles via screws on the tube for carrying. Some simple and one not so simple mod that can improve your Orion XT Classic. -- Jay Eads

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St. George Observing Trip
by Craig Smith 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

I'm planning on coming down for President's Day; any plans down there then? (Please excuse the change in subject; I thought this should be its own thread.) On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 6:58 PM, Debbie <astrodeb(a)beyondbb.com> wrote: > Thanksgiving weekend is a new moon. I'm planning on going out to the Little > BlackMountain Petroglyths around November 25th weather and health > permitting. You get off at the Southern Parkway exit off of I-15. It's 5 > miles east of the Arizona strip. I saw Omega Centauri out there this > spring. > > > Debbie > > On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 4:35 PM, Hutchings, Mat (H USA) < mat.hutchings(a)siemens.com> wrote: > I would be all over an observing trip to St. George. > > Mat > On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 4:30 PM, Jay Eads <jayleads(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Joe, > > > > Awesome job! Enjoy the contrast on this one even more. > > > > With enough lead time, I would take a day or two off work and head south > > come January or February. > > > > On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 4:21 PM, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman(a)yahoo.com> > > wrote: > > > > > Yes! We should organize another St. George trip in December or January. > > > Thanks, Joe > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Debbie <astrodeb(a)beyondbb.com> > > > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > > > Sent: Monday, October 3, 2011 4:12 PM > > > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] NGC7331, the improved view > > > > > > Awesome Joe. Your persistence and dedication is paying off big time. > When > > > it > > > gets a little cooler come down south for warmer temps. > > > > > > Debbie >

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Astro-physicists vs. planetary scientists
by Chuck Hards 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

A battle between siblings. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/wires?id=164251961&c=y Where do you stand? This is a tough call. Money is tight now, I hate these "either-or" funding decisions.

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Mars
by Chuck Hards 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

Wow, Mars is really moving across the early morning sky right now. Anybody catch it crossing M44 over the weekend?

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