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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] crowd-funded satellite
by Joe Bauman 13 Jul '12

13 Jul '12

YES! ------------------------------ On Fri, Jul 13, 2012 6:21 PM MDT Patrick Wiggins wrote: >Maybe Joe will get one of the Tree of Utah (timed, of course, for when someone "accidentally" knocks it over as Joe once opined in one of his columns). :) > >patrick > > >On 13 Jul 2012, at 14:03, Scott Catron wrote: > >> For $150 you can take 15 photos from space: >> >> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/575960623/ardusat-your-arduino-experime… >> >> or spend more and reserve time to run experiments: >> >> "Once launched, the ArduSat (Arduino – satellite) will be the first open platform allowing the general public to design and run their own space-based applications, games and experiments, and steer the onboard cameras to take pictures on-demand." > >_______________________________________________ >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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Wednesday's sunset
by Patrick Wiggins 13 Jul '12

13 Jul '12

Taking off from SL International last night the sunset was beautiful. All I could get were a couple of one-handed cell phone shots taken through the window but they do convey at least a bit of what it looked like. Between the beet red setting Sun, the clouds, falling virga and reflections off the lake, just plain gorgeous. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/sunset01.jpg patrick

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Another useful XKCD comic.
by Daniel Holmes 13 Jul '12

13 Jul '12

This time on your central visual field. http://xkcd.com/1080/ I found it pretty interesting... Dan -- Daniel Holmes, danielh(a)holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin

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A break in the clouds
by Chuck Hards 13 Jul '12

13 Jul '12

In the PST, prominence action is somewhat subdued as of this post. Only a few spikes along the sun's circumference. But the surface detail is amazing, especially associated with the large sunspot group currently visible. Double-stack users should be able to see even more surface detail.

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X 1.4 Class Flare
by D P Pierce 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

At 1623 UT saunspot group 1520 spit out an X 1.4 class flare. It is aimed at the earth. The CME will reach us at about 1020 UT on July 14. Deloy

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Sunset Last night
by Steve Fisher 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

Sunset from my house Wednesday night. Not at the horizon but this is what we saw. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=5315

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Blimp seen at Lakeside
by Chrismo 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

So I went out to Lakeside Monday with some friends, and on the way out, we spotted this dark object on the horizon. It never moved and all the way we kept wondering just what it could be. It was easily visible from 30 miles or further away. Upon arrival, I quickly set up a telescope and in the remaining daylight could see it was some sort of blimp-shaped balloon. The balIoon was tethered and had a flashing light on it. I went again lastnight and it was there again! I had arrived a little earlier so I could catch a little sunset and Mercury action. As I snapped some photos, I noticed it started going down, being taken in for the night I supposed, or maybe they saw me taking pictures, LOL. Here's the pictures: http://photobucket.com/blimp20120614 I posted these photos on my facebook gallery and John DuCrest was hooked. He managed to locate this article from the D News: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700024520/Missile-detection-airship-make… The page is painfully slow to load, so here's the text of the article: DUGWAY — The first Utah flight of a system that uses radar mounted on blimp-like airships to detect cruise missiles and other threats was conducted about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. The Army's Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, made its first test flight from about 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday above the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range north of the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Ground. The JLENS system is managed by the Army's Cruise Missile Defense Systems Project Office, at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. Soaring at up to 10,000 feet above the testing range, the versatile dirigibles or aerostats can be placed nearly anywhere they are needed, including being tethered to a ship at sea, and they are difficult to shoot down because they are inflated at such low air pressure. Raytheon, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., was awarded the development of the aerostat-borne radar and communications system. In 2007, the Army and Raytheon finalized a $1.4 billion contract modification for the JLENS project. In addition to being less costly to operate than aircraft-mounted radar, the unmanned dirigibles can stay aloft much longer, and the risk to human life is greatly reduced, according to a Dugway news release. The 242-foot-long aerostats may be raised, lowered or moved in weather conditions that would ground conventional aircraft. The Utah test was conducted through the cooperative efforts of the Army at the Dugway Proving Ground and Hill Air Force Base. "Dugway is proud to lead and support this important test that will protect American warfighters, civilians and their allies around the globe," said Dugway's commander, Col. William E. King IV. "Not only will it expand the view well over the horizon, but it will do so at least cost to the taxpayer. This is a critically needed capability as we continue to prosecute the global war on terrorism." Dugway and the testing range were selected for testing because of the remoteness of the area and its resemblance to the mountainous, arid geography and climate of Afghanistan, where American and allied troops are fighting the Taliban and other insurgents. The JLENS system consists of two aerostats, with radar and communication equipment, tethered to mobile mooring stations that are connected to ground-based communication and processing equipment. Each aerostat carries a specific radar system — one for fire control and the other for surveillance — and may be aloft for up to 30 days. The aerostats are inflated at a pressure not much more than the exterior air pressure, making them difficult to shoot down. Operational and other tests are ongoing, and tests during the next three years will train Army soldiers to become the nation's first JLENS battery. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700024520/Missile-detection-airship-make… -- Chrismo I fix things, all kinds of things... (801) 897-9075

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Ride to SPOC Sat
by D P Pierce 11 Jul '12

11 Jul '12

Hi, I would like a ride to SPOC Saturday. Deloy

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] The Sun
by Gary Vardon 11 Jul '12

11 Jul '12

I saw a line of sunspots with my Sunspoter. In other words some of the spots did not look like spots but were connected so they looked like a dash. Sincerely, Gary Vardon The book DO It Right will help you understand vital ideas leading to your greater success. GO to PublishAmerica.com Consulting For Profit is also available. Learn how to make money as a consultant. Jokes? is a wild and witty look at the world and the mbook Marketing can show you how to make good money selling goods and services. All books are available at PublishAmerica.com

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Patricks latest
by D P Pierce 11 Jul '12

11 Jul '12

Hey! I love the Utah Tree. It needs to have solar powered storage batteries to operate night time spot lights. Think how freaky that would look from a few miles away-UFO sightings would go way up! The tree is also known as the Bonneville National Forest. The pumps were built to water it. Deloy

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