May 2012 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Anyone need a tripod?
by Patrick Wiggins 12 May '12

12 May '12

Many years ago I picked up a "sturdy" tripod I had planned for a comet hunting project. The comet hunting part never happened but I still have the tripod and I think it's time it finds a new home. Now when I say "sturdy" I mean STURDY. It's military surplus, all metal and weighs nearly as much as I do. Any interest? It's free but you have to come to Stansbury Park to pick it up. patrick

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ATM session report
by Hutchings, Mat (H USA) 11 May '12

11 May '12

Below is an abbreviated report of the "super ATM session" held on 5/4/12 and 5/5/12 at the Hutchings optical shop (my garage). If you would like to read the longer version, go to the astronomy in Utah forum at: http://astronomyinutah.forumer.com/index.php then go to the ATMing in Utah forum, then the subject is ATM report. The first "super ATM" session is now history, and I for one had a great time! Charlie, Mike, Jeff, Jeff Porter, Kristen, Jay, Josh and I were the attendees. Friday evening we star tested Charlie's 13.1", f9 mirror in a test bed (old 17.5 Coulter dob assembly), Mike worked his 8" mirror projects and my son, Jeff continued his 8" by grinding with 180 grit. Charlie's mirror ended up being astigmatic which takes us to the next day... On Saturday, we started off by looking for strain in Charlie's mirror. We used a laptop monitor as a source of polarized light which shined through the mirror then we looked at it through a polarizing photo filter. It showed that indeed there is strain in the blank. To really fix the blank, it should be annealed, then the back ground flat, and then taken back to 320 grit until a good sphere is obtained, then worked in the normal ways all the way to slight polish, then it can be star tested again for astigmatism. Since we had the test set up for strain, we tested a lot of glass. Josh tested his 4" and 8". The 4" had the "cross" pattern that indicates a stressed mirror. I tested probably 10 pieces of glass including Pyrex and plate and surprisingly, to me at least, was that all the plate glass was strain free. Some of the Pyrex blanks had a little strain, but nothing to be worried about. I was very happy that my new 21" blank was stress free. Josh poured a new pitch lap for his 8" mirror. He will continue that project by polishing it out fully. As you can see this was a fantastic "super ATM session". I am up to doing it a couple of times per year, so stay in touch for another like this in the fall. Happy grinding! Mat This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients. The information contained herein may include trade secrets, protected health or personal information, privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachment from your system. Thank you for your cooperation

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Annular but not by much
by jcarman6＠q.com 10 May '12

10 May '12

Watson miscalculated? Can we trust nothing anymore? Must we stumble through the darkness without a guide? No chance of corona, bailey beads and forget I mentioned the diamond ring. 93% coverage still leaves plenty of sun.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Eclipse & Transit times
by Joe Bauman 10 May '12

10 May '12

Hi Chris, are the times much different for Cedar City? Thanks -- Joe ------------------------------ On Thu, May 10, 2012 10:53 AM MDT Chrismo wrote: >>From Salt Lake City area, first contact for the eclipse will be around >6:15pm, MDT. Venus transit first contact will be around 4:00pm, MDT. > >On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 10:29 AM, D P Pierce <starsbirdsglyphs(a)gmail.com>wrote: > >> What are the start times (in MDT please) for first contact of both the >> eclipse and the transit of Venus(TOV)? >> >> I have lots of eclipse glasses. I will bring them to both Wheeler Farm >> and SPOC. The price is $1.50. Price breaks for 50 or 100. >> >> Deloy Pierce >> _______________________________________________ >> Utah-Astronomy mailing list >> http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >> >> Send messages to the list to >> Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com >> >> The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. >> >> To unsubscribe go to: >> http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >> Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on >> "Unsubscribe or edit options". >> > > > >-- >Chrismo >I fix things, all kinds of things... > >(801) 897-9075 >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".

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Sky & Telescope Magazine "SkyWeek" App
by Chrismo 10 May '12

10 May '12

I just saw on S&T's facebook page that the SkyWeek app will be FREE when downloaded between May 13-20. -- Chrismo I fix things, all kinds of things... (801) 897-9075

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Eclipse & Transit times
by D P Pierce 10 May '12

10 May '12

What are the start times (in MDT please) for first contact of both the eclipse and the transit of Venus(TOV)? I have lots of eclipse glasses. I will bring them to both Wheeler Farm and SPOC. The price is $1.50. Price breaks for 50 or 100. Deloy Pierce

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Sunspot group 1479
by jcarman6＠q.com 10 May '12

10 May '12

This link will take you to my pictures of sunspot group 1479 taken on 05/09/12. All prime focus C8, Canon Rebel Digital ISO 100. The first two using eyepiece projection - 17mm plossl (figured out how to focus it) 1/30 and 1/40 sec respectively. The second two using eyepiece projection 10mm 1/8 second (sorry about the hair - promise to clean my eyepieces) and the last two taken with a telecompressor/reducer (thank's Dave - and you can actually see these) 1/80 and 1/100 sec respectively. http://s1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg587/joancarman/Facebook/Sunspots%2014… For Dave, to see my 09/29/11 sunspot pictures here is a good link http://s1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg587/joancarman/Facebook/Sunspots%2013… I guess you do have to be a member of FB to see the pages. I don't use my page very much - way to much information that I don't want to know about people. But FB does have its uses in case of emergencies and such.

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Solar image
by Hutchings, Mat (H USA) 10 May '12

10 May '12

Okay, here is the link to an image I took of the sun yesterday at around 10:20am. http://www.flickr.com/photos/78182360@N02/7164979170/in/photostream/ Details of the image are in the description. You will notice two images in the photostream. They are the same image, except that one has the brightness set much higher than the other because your monitor may be set differently than mine. Enjoy! Mat This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients. The information contained herein may include trade secrets, protected health or personal information, privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachment from your system. Thank you for your cooperation

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Annualar but not by much
by jcarman6＠q.com 10 May '12

10 May '12

Thanks, Joe. Discovered that not all eyepieces will fit into the barrel of the projector unit (don't recall what its really called lol) For others, if it was just a question of apogee/perigee on a elliptical path, we would get more supermoons and annuals than we do.

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Need ride to SPOC
by D P Pierce 10 May '12

10 May '12

I need a ride to SPOC Saturday. Deloy

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