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

M57 +73PSW-3
by daniel turner 27 Mar '13

27 Mar '13

Mark your calendar for early evening May 7. Their will be a close encounter between the Ring nebula and periodic comet 73P. The comet will be close to earth so its exact position in the sky will depend stongly on your location on the globe. Go to spaceweather.com and use the link at the bottom of the page for "Observable Comets". 73p is in the list and includes orbital elements and a link for daily ephemerides. DT __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] useless facts
by sfisher01＠comcast.net 07 Mar '12

07 Mar '12

Never? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Spencer Ball" <spencer(a)spencerball.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 1:27:05 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] useless facts We'll never see past the cosmic microwave background, much less see light from clear all the way around. Spencer Ball -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of sfisher01(a)comcast.net Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 1:12 PM To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] useless facts I read this on the usless facts gadget on my desktop. I'm not sure I understand it. Care to comment? A sunbeam setting out through space at the rate of 186,000 miles a second would go in a gigantic circle and return to its origins after about 200 billion years. _______________________________________________ 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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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Call for parts
by Chuck Hards 18 Feb '12

18 Feb '12

On 9/27/11, Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski(a)hawaii.rr.com> wrote: > Chuck > > I have a focuser from a Burgess 127, one side was damaged (knob broke > off but the R+P are good0 I replaced the R+P on my Burgess and gave > my unbroken focuser to my friend that broke his. In turn I have his > broken (damaged shaft) focuser. Yours if you want it. Thanks Rob! I'll foot the postage, want anything else for it?

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ATM session report and next planned date
by Hutchings, Mat (H USA) 27 Dec '11

27 Dec '11

We had a great ATM session on Saturday. Charlie, Jay, Joan and Josh were there and my neighbor who is working on a couple of 8" mirrors also came by. Charlie brought parts of his 17" telescope that he is adapting for use for his 13" f9 project. The purpose of this is to get the scope operational to the point that he can star test to determine if the mirror is astigmatic. Jay worked on the azimuth motion of his Orion 10 " scope. After shimming the central bolt up with disks made of milk jug plastic, the motion seemed much better. This had the effect of reducing some weight on the teflon bearings. He did not have the OTA with him to try the motion out, but it should be improved. Joan brought the optics from a 17" telescope from which she would like to build an ultra-compact style dobsonian. This must fit in her car trunk when finished, hence the need to go with the ultra-compact design. This should be a nice telescope when finished and I look forward to seeing it and seeing through it when finished. Josh brought his 8" mirror and supplies to strip the mirror of its coatings. This is something I had not done before so it was good to learn together. As it turns out, ferric chloride does a great job. Josh soaked the front surface with the chemicals and gently swabbed with cotton balls. It did take awhile, probably an hour, to get the bulk of the aluminum off the mirror. At that point, we poured a sub-diameter pitch lap he will will use to touch up the figure of the mirror. My own current project is a 4" f4 mirror. Prior to the ATM session, I quickly threw together a mini dob mount for the purpose of star testing. So far the mirror is making a good impression on me, but I have yet to have a good night to really see what its limitations are. At that point I will either decide to work on its figure some more, or call it done and get it coated. I plan on mounting the OTA in a ball rather than a dob mount. The next session is on Nov. 12th from 9:00 AM to noonish. As usual, email me off list at mat.hutchings(a)siemens.com and I will give you directions to my house. Mat ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to Central.SecurityOffice(a)siemens.com Thank you

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White-light solar scope update
by Chuck Hards 19 Dec '11

19 Dec '11

On 9/13/11, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> wrote: > The scope will probably include an inexpensive eyepiece OK, I have to cut-off reservations today, as I have exhausted the stocks of my suppliers for the time being, but everyone who contacted me both on-and-off list will have their orders filled. The only disappointment is that the eyepiece I had my eye on (no pun intended) is unavailable, and any available substitutions would double the cost of the scope. So I'm hoping that everyone has a suitable eyepiece already on-hand. If not, let me know and I'll see if I can assemble something from my lens inventory. Magnifications for given eyepiece focal lengths. Objective FL = 600mm: 40mm = 15X 30mm = 20X 25mm = 24X 20mm = 30X The scopes will have a 1.25" rack-and-pinion focuser, 1.25" star diagonal, a 50mm air-spaced achromatic objective, and installed Baader solar filter. The filter will be placed either behind a protective optical window in front of the objective, or directly behind the objective itself. I'm kicking around some ideas for a mechanism to retract the filter when not looking at the sun, but won't make that promise due to safety concerns. Also thinking of a simple, integrated solar finder, but that's not really necessary if you just use the scope's shadow for aiming. We'll see what happens, stay tuned.

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Project Moonwatch
by Chuck Hards 06 Dec '11

06 Dec '11

Can anyone tell me if this ebay item could possibly be one of the "Project Moonwatch" transit telescopes? I know several manufacturers made them, so there are a few variations, but this one sure looks like one to me: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-TELESCOPE-MIRROR-AND-WOOD-BASE-/350510912714

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The Utah Astro observing list
by Hutchings, Mat (H USA) 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

I like to use observing lists as a way or organize my star-gazing sessions, and so I thought it might be fun to copy what another usenet group did some years ago. A query went out to all the subscribers to nominate their favorite non-Messier deep sky objects. After some time, this was winnowed out to a list which is now known as the SAA (sci amateur astro) 100. So let me present the idea to all of you. Please respond back with your favorite 20 or so non-Messier deep sky objects that are appropriate for 8 - 12 inch telescopes and that are visible from our latitude. These may include objects of special interest like quasars, or chance alignments such as N6520 next to the ink spot (B86). Double stars (especially colorful ones) are welcome, and so are carbon stars. I will then consolidate the responses down to a list of I hope 100 objects and share it with this group. The objects with the most nominations will be first in the list in order of votes. In the case of objects with 1 vote only, I will put them in name order at the end of the list. If something similar has been done by this group in the past, please enlighten me. Please include the name (NCG, IC, etc), the type of object, the constellation, and any notes you might want to add. Have fun! To start this off, below is my list in no particular order: Name Type Const. Notes N6946 Gal Cep near OC N6939 N6939 OC Cep near gal N6946 N253 Gal Scl N4565 Gal Com Bernice's Hairclip N6960 SNR Cyg Western Veil N6992 SNR Cyg Eastern Veil N869 OC Per Double Cluster N884 OC Per Double Cluster N457 OC Cas Owl Cluster N436 OC Cas Owl Dropping N4038 Gal Crv Antennae N4039 Gal Crv Antennae N6888 BN Cyg Crescent (ghost of Mr. Potato-head) N891 Gal And N4567 Gal Vir Siamese Twins N4568 Gal Vir Siamese Twins CR399 asterism Vul Coathanger N6826 PN Cyg Blinking Planetary N6520 OC Sgr Near B86 B86 DN Sgr Near N6520 N6543 PN Dra Cat's Eye N7293 PN Aqr Helical nebula Keep looking up! Mat ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to Central.SecurityOffice(a)siemens.com Thank you

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Saturday observing report
by Hutchings, Mat (H USA) 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

Several of us (Jay, Jeff, Jorge, Mark, my 2 young daughters and I) made it out to Pit-N-Pole for an observing session last Saturday evening. It was a bittersweet time. Sweet because the skies were really clear and steady. Bitter because frost started settling by around 7:00 pm. That seems really early for frost like we got, but that's what happened. Of course it did not get any better after that. The frostiness continued but I was able to use my newly acquired 12V hair dryer to heat my eyepiece to the point that it would not fog over as soon as my eye was close to it. Each heating session would last for about 30 minutes or so then I would have to apply more heat. Anyone considering this option to dew management should know that it worked well for me and it is hard to beat the $15.00 price tag. You have to be able to power it with something that has a cigarette lighter power connection. I use my jump starter battery. If your car is close, you can use the cigarette lighter or any similar accessory power connection. If you are considering dew busting devices, feel free to use my hair dryer anytime we are observing together. Just don't try to dry your hair, as there is very little heat and air that comes from that dryer. I don't think it would work well for a SCT type telescope as the corrector plate is just too large to heat with the dryer. But again, try mine out, then you'll know. Anyway, back to the observing session, we called it a night after 11:00 or so. We had good times enjoying the night skies, but the frost got to us early. As usual for this hobby, observing the night sky is only part of the enjoyment, good conversation with like minded people makes the evening a good time. Mark's heater made it a great time, especially for my daughters! Keep looking up! Mat ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to Central.SecurityOffice(a)siemens.com Thank you

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Fw: [SBIG] Comet Garradd 2011-11-27
by Joe Bauman 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Hi Friends, Here's a picture that was posted by another member of the SBIG group. I thought you might be interested in case anyone wants to take a look or photo of Garradd. -- Joe ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Bernhard Hubl <b.hubl(a)gmx.at> To: SBIG(a)yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 11:10 AM Subject: [SBIG] Comet Garradd 2011-11-27 Hello group, Enclosed, you find a snapshot of comet Garradd. Seeing was terrible. Nevertheless, I want to show this image, because the two tails are quite bright at the moment. http://astrophoton.com/garradd-5.htm best, Bernhard __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: * New Members 8 * New Photos 1 * New Files 2 Visit Your Group MARKETPLACE Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.<img width="1" height="1" alt="" src="http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=8bbd2768-1b7e-11e1-84aa-6f5cd83f0e43&T=1ct87gct2…"> Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __,_._,___

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Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd
by Canopus56 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Reposted here by Kurt - Clear Skies - Kurt ====================================================================== BAA electronic bulletin This is an announcements only list - please do not reply to the list address. ====================================================================== Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd has been putting on a good show in the evening sky over the last few months. It is currently in Hercules at around magnitude 7 and should be visible in binoculars in a dark sky. The comet currently shows nice dust and gas tails and we have received a number of images which are stored in the Comet Section web gallery. This can be accessed by going to http://www.britastro.org and selecting "Galleries->Comets" from the main menu bar. As noted in the December Journal (p331) the comet remains in Hercules until the middle of February next year but the best viewing time will move from the evening to the morning as we move into 2012. It is expected to be at its brightest in early February, perhaps even reaching 6th magnitude if the current performance is maintained. An evening sky finder chart for the next couple of months can be found here: http://www.britastro.org/misc/2009p1_finder.jpg The Moon is currently moving into the evening sky so the best views will be later in December once dark skies return. We are planning to include a short review of observations of this comet in the February Journal. Please submit any observations to the Comet Section using the address cometobs(a)britastro.org so that we can consider them for inclusion. Nick James & Denis Buczynski.

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