March 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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Will the cost of gas change your dark site visits or your attendance at outreach events?
by Jay Eads 24 Apr '11

24 Apr '11

Title says it all. Some are speculating that gas may hit $250 a barrel (OUCH!) and that $5.00 gas by Memorial Day may be a reality. I posted this question over at Cloudy Nights back in January when the warning bells were starting to go off (still think this is a ploy by the Oil Companies and Speculators to drive up profits) but I would like a more local opinion. So I ask, if gas is between $4.00 to $5.00 a gallon will it change how often you drive to a dark site to observe? I know that SPOC is a good ways out for some of us and will that gas price impact the amount of times you drive out to perform outreach there or elsewhere? I know for me I will still make several trips up to Wolf Creek this summer but what will change is that I will drive up and camp over and get in two nights of observing in. I'll still hit Rush Valley as I have a couple of new spots that I really like and are up a little higher. Lakeside I'll still hit also. I still intend to hit Great Basin at least twice but if gas goes up over $4.00 I may not get that third visit in. Outreach, I plan to hit SPOC once a month this summer so that won't change, but I may hit a Harmon's more as those locations are usually closer. So gas will and will not impact my observing at a dark sites and at outreach. What could also change is instead of driving the Pathfinder I may drive the Altima out to SPOC and to other locations. Then again, it also depends what life throws my way over the next six months. -- Jay Eads

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Autoguider use
by Chuck Hards 08 Apr '11

08 Apr '11

I'm curious as to what the seasoned imagers on the list use when selecting a guide star, specifically, swapping an eyepiece parfocal with the autoguider, or a flip-mirror? I'm also guessing that Newtonian users don't have the back-focus to use the flip mirror. Thanks!

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Pit n Pole Thursday
by Jay Eads 01 Apr '11

01 Apr '11

Oh, I should mention, I drive a black Nissan Pathfinder and I park in the outer parking lot just west of the Holiday/Chevron but in the Walmart Parking lot area. On 2011-03-31 13:08, Jay Eads wrote: > There will be several people out at Pit n Pole both tonight, Thursday and > again on Friday. This will include visual observers and those doing > astro-photography. Humidity was very high at Pit n Pole last night, in the > 90% range for a majority of the night. Tonight the forecast is for lower > humidity, around 65% until 2:00a.m. and then climbing to around 80% after > that. So if you plan on staying late I'd have some dew heaters ready to > go. Nothing new for this site. If you want to avoid the humidity you could > observe up on Five Mile Pass which is up out of the muck but doesn't have as > much of a open view but the skies above 25 to 30 degrees are just as good > (and who looks under 25 degrees right?). > > I am meeting a friend at Walmart at 5:30p.m. in Lehi at the corner of Hwy 68 > and Hwy 73. We'll leave right at 5:30p.m. as we want to set up in the light > and be ready go before it gets dark. > >

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Star Party at Great Basin National Park
by Kelly_Carroll＠nps.gov 01 Apr '11

01 Apr '11

Howdy all, I just wanted to announce the next Star Party at Great Basin National Park. It will be Saturday, April 23 in celebration of Jr. Ranger Day. We will start in the afternoon with solar observing, followed by an evening of observing under the clear dark skies of the park. Moonrise is not until about 1:00AM. As always, we ask the support of the astronomer's in the region. Thank you for all you do. Hope to see you here! Best, Kelly Kelly Carroll Great Basin National Park http://www.nps.gov/grba/ Experience your America

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Color images of Mercury from Messenger
by Jonathan Larsen 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/ Enjoy! -Jonathan

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RX-8 Club descends on SPOC
by Chuck Hards 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

The local Mazda RX-8 club had it's first cruise of the year last Sunday. We terrorized the residents of Grantsville (not really, lol) before stopping at SPOC on the way back. http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/03-27-11_1336.jpg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/03-27-11_1332.jpg

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Observing this weekend?
by Hutchings, Mat (H USA) 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

All; I'm planning on observing this Friday, weather permitting, at Pit-N-Pole. I plan on arriving there around 6:30. Anyone else up for this? 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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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Ever Wonder how a Hubble Galaxy is Made
by Jay Eads 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

Oh, watch it in on full screen. On 2011-03-24 23:52, Jay Eads wrote: > Well, if you have, then watch this video on YouTube from the HubbleSite > Channel. It is really cool and I love the music selection they put with it! > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5c1XoL1KFs

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