October 2013 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

70-inch scope field trip
by Chuck Hards 27 Oct '13

27 Oct '13

I had lunch with Mike, Steve, and Charlie today after a photo shoot with the 70". I'm told I just missed Sheena from the Trib by mere minutes. Keep your eyes open for her story when it hits. Mike has a nice poster display set-up for you all tonight, taped to the side of his pickup. Now, if the weather will just cooperate. It's looking worse by the minute. Very windy there at noon and even though it was cloudless at the time, it sure felt like a front was approaching. Good luck, keep your fingers crossed.

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Excellent ISS pass this evening (Sunday)
by Wiggins Patrick 27 Oct '13

27 Oct '13

The following from CalSky. patrick Visibility of International Space Station ISS Appears 19h19m36s 1.1mag az:307.0° NW horizon Culmination 19h25m04s -4.1mag az: 35.7° NE h:76.3° distance: 430.6km height above Earth: 420.5km elevation of Sun: -11° Disappears 19h28m15s -1.9mag az:122.1° ESE h:11.1°

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Comet Lovejoy
by Wiggins Patrick 27 Oct '13

27 Oct '13

There's a post on the Minor Planet Listserve indicating that CometLovejoy (C/2013 R1) is currently 2 magnitudes brighter than ISON. Here are ephemerides for the next week should anyone care to have a look. During that time it is predicted to go from 10.5 to 9.8. patrick Date UT R.A. (J2000) Decl. 2013 10 27 000000 07 42 17.6 +06 44 55 2013 10 28 000000 07 46 17.8 +07 30 30 2013 10 29 000000 07 50 30.7 +08 18 57 2013 10 30 000000 07 54 57.7 +09 10 31 2013 10 31 000000 07 59 40.2 +10 05 23 2013 11 01 000000 08 04 39.9 +11 03 47 2013 11 02 000000 08 09 58.5 +12 05 57

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Observing Saturday October 26th
by Jay Eads 26 Oct '13

26 Oct '13

It sure looks to be one of the best nights in the last six months. I am heading out to either Pit n Pole (should be no dew issues tonight on the forecast) or if I don't hear that anyone wants to meet there then I am going to head elsewhere on my own. Let me know if you want to join me out at Pit n Pole for an evening of pretty decent dark sky observing.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] L&O sometime soon?
by Larry Holmes 26 Oct '13

26 Oct '13

------------------------------ On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 9:29 AM MDT Siegfried Jachmann wrote: >> How about L&O on the 9th? >> >> >> The 9th works for us. 73

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Comet Encke, no problem. Comet ISON, still can’t see in 6” scope
by Dave Gary 26 Oct '13

26 Oct '13

Took the 6” scope out this morning. Comet Encke was an easy target. Nice fuzzy snowball. Could pick it out even as the horizon was starting to brighten at around 0640. Comet ISON, on the other hand, was not visible in the 6”. I tried to imagine I could see something, but I wasn’t convinced. Hopped over to Mars, Jupiter, Orion Nebula, Andromeda (unfortunately, behind a tree) and back to Encke, just to make sure I did see it. Yep, no doubt, clearly visible, quite large. Maybe when Moon backs off a little I’ll be able to see ISON. Too lazy to set up the camera this morning. Just stood there and drank coffee as the telescope did its thing. Dave

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Tribune: SLAS hosts seasons last star parties
by jcarman6＠q.com 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

Ohhhh, Ohhhh, I'll be there. I've never seen the Dumbbell galaxy or the Ring galaxy.

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Tribune: SLAS hosts season’s last star parties
by Wiggins Patrick 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

Some nice media coverage of tonight's and tomorrow's Season ending star parties at SPOC (thanks to Joe for getting out the news release). Salt Lake Astronomical Society hosts season’s last star parties http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57030251-78/comet-telescopes-observatory-… (be sure to check out the first comment <g> ) End of Season Star Parties Set for This Weekend http://tooeleonline.com/end-of-season-star-parties-set-for-this-weekend/ The star parties were also advertised at the local schools. With all the advertising and the nice weather we could get quite a public turnout. Y'all come! patrick

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Huge star ripping apart
by Thomas Sevcik 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

Interesting article about the largest star known is ripping itself apart. http://www.nbcnews.com/science/biggest-star-ever-found-universe-ripping-apa… Tom Sevcik

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70-inch scope SLAS field trip
by Chuck Hards 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

A few tips for the trip: Those of you in SLAS who will be going to Steve's on Sunday to view through Mike's 70-inch scope might want to bring an eyepiece or two. I suggest figuring out which eyepiece will produce an exit pupil small enough to match your own pupil diameter. Don't figure a maximum opening since it's not truly dark there. Everyone is different, but for myself I usually figure about 5 to 5.5mm. If you use a lower power than that, you won't be using the full 70-inch aperture of the scope. Lower powers will also show the secondary shadow and that may be annoying for some observers. Also someone should bring a 1.25" adapter just in case. The focuser currently on the scope is a 2" format, and the focus knobs don't work. You have to focus by sliding the eyepiece and re-tightening the setscrew. I am giving Mike a new focuser this weekend but be prepared in case he hasn't had time to swap them out on the telescope. If Mike or Steve (whomever is running the scope for this session) prefers to keep the same eyepiece in place for the duration, then you're out of luck on setting a personal exit pupil, but still get to say that you've looked through a 70-inch telescope. If you don't have the physical strength to move the telescope to keep an object centered, you had better be quick getting to the eyepiece and getting it focused. Things move out of the field very quickly at the high magnifications that are inherent to this telescope's very long focal length. This won't be an issue when Mike gets the drives installed, but for now you're moving a telescope that weighs as much as a car, by hand. I will be spending time with Mike and Steve earlier in the day, gathering material and photos for an upcoming article. My work schedule precludes me from staying after dark on a Sunday night. If the trip is news to you, you cannot attend since the limited number of slots is already filled, but I believe another session is in the works for sometime in the future. Carpooling would be a good idea to avoid clogging-up the limited parking area there, and allowing Steve's family to get in and out if they need to. Many thanks to Mike, and to Steve for his gracious offer to allow SLASers to come to his home. Have fun, keep an eye open for deer on the road once inside the community gates, and be prepared to pick your lower jaw up off the ground once you see the scope!

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