December 2014 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Mid-winter Liver & Onions luncheon
by Chuck Hards 20 Jan '15

20 Jan '15

With the holidays just about behind us, I've been thinking about a meeting of the Liver & Onions Subcommittee sometime in January. I'm thinking of either Saturday the 17th, or Saturday the 24th. Post your preference, and we'll go with the majority. Thanks!

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"New" Tasco
by Chuck Hards 15 Jan '15

15 Jan '15

Some of you know that I recently acquired a Tasco 15TE. It's a 3-inch refractor on a motorized equatorial mount, the flagship of Tasco's lineup in the 50's and 60's. They also offered a pier-mounted 4", but only a few are known to have been made and none are known to still exist in this country. Tascos got a bad rap when the company abandoned their Japanese manufacturers in the mid-seventies and began to source them from China. The formerly all-metal designs gave way to plastic, and optics of lesser quality. The old Tascos have objectives of the highest quality and were serious telescopes in their day. I also have a museum-quality 7TE (60mm x 1000mm) and a 6TE (50mm x 600mm). Both of those have outstanding optics and are all-metal examples of Tasco at their finest. Only the eyepieces of the day had some serious drawbacks, that said, some of them were pretty good despite a narrow FOV. The 15TE has an interesting history. I am the third owner, having purchased it from a man who got it at the estate sale of the original owner. Patrick especially may find this interesting due to his affiliation with NASA. Here is a repost of my report on Cloudy Nights: I now have the backstory on my recent Tasco 15TE acquisition. It's pretty cool. It was formerly owned by Fred Ordway III (1927-2014), and kept at his summer house on Montesano Mt. in Huntsville, AL. Ordway's summer house was used by all the NASA German engineers on Von Braun's team as a place to relax and converse, and plan where the upcoming lunar lander would land on the moon. They built an observatory on the mountain to house a 16" telescope to aid in the landing decision. It is very possible that the Tasco was used for the landing spot research prior to the completion of the 16". Certainly it was used by Ordway for his own stargazing while at his summer house, and chances are good that his many guests (co-workers at NASA and their families, mostly) looked through it as well, including Von Braun. Ordway also spent three years working as technical advisor on Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", thanks to his friendship with Arthur C. Clarke. I'm currently scouring the internet for any photos of Ordway and his friends relaxing at the summer house, and hopefully a shot of him at the eyepiece of the Tasco. He is survived by 3 adult children. I'm trying to screw-up my courage enough to find and contact them, and let them know that I am the new owner of their father's telescope, and ask if they can contribute any photos or other details of it's history. Ordway's obit: http://quadcitiesdaily.com/?p=182794 Wikipedia article on Ordway: http://en.wikipedia....k_I._Ordway_III <http://en.wikipedia....k_i._ordway_iii/> I will post links to pictures of the scope once I get it fully assembled and restored. It has some cosmetic issues that I want to address. Paint chips, etc., the optics are in perfect condition. Here is a link to a .pdf copy of the 1968 Tasco catalog. My 15TE was made in 1962, going by the serial number. http://geogdata.csun.edu/~voltaire/classics/tasco/tasco1968.pdf I have a couple of other made-for-export Japanese refractors from the era, including a Penncrest 60mm x 1000mm (J.C. Penney house brand) and a Shrine Manon 60mm x 700mm, with optics made by Pentax, and a few others made by Towa and other makers, and branded for American companies. I'd love to hear from anyone else who has a fondness for these vintage telescopes. My very first telescope, brought to me by Santa Claus, was a Tasco 60mm alt-az in 1965. I found all the Messier objects with it over the course of about a year. Some of them were darn hard, as I recall, and took many tries before I was sure I had bagged them! But it sure was fun.

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"The Martian" Ridley Scott: Due to come out November 2015
by Dave Gary 31 Dec '14

31 Dec '14

Deb, Nature magazine had an up-and-coming segment about movies and plays (with a science theme) due to be released this year. “The Martian” is due to come out November 2015 directed by Ridley Scott (Alien). Hopefully, it’s as good as the book. Dave

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ISS to cross Moon shortly
by Wiggins Patrick 30 Dec '14

30 Dec '14

CalSky is predicting ISS to pass in front of the Moon this afternoon (Tuesday): 16h18m05.72s Transit duration=1.37s Angular diameter=37.3" Satellite at Azimuth=101.7° ESE Altitude= 30.7° Distance=741.4 km Magnitude=-3.1mag Centerline passes through Stansbury Park and continues SE towards the far south end of the Salt Lake Valley. Time above is for Stansbury. Time in the SL Valley will be a second or two later. patrick p.s. Don't blink... :)

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Brent's EPOD
by Joe Bauman 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

OOPS, I accidentally sent the wrong URL. Here it is: Algae and Foam on Great Salt Lake - Earth Science Picture of the Day

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Congratulations to Brent!
by Joe Bauman 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

Brent Watson has the EPOD! Way to go, Brent! https://us-mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=delh55sccr0pc#8299930355

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Unusual rocket launch
by Joe Bauman 27 Dec '14

27 Dec '14

Larry, why don't you Hellfire guys try this? -- Joe

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mid-winter Liver & Onions luncheon
by Enid Norton 26 Dec '14

26 Dec '14

either day works for me looking forward to it and I promise no snide remarks about liver and blue cheese dressing =D Enid

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing
by Joe Bauman 23 Dec '14

23 Dec '14

We saw what a brilliantly clear night it is while on a nighttime visit tonight at Deseret Village (I think it's called), This is the Place State Park. But the biting cold would have made me too.uncomfortable to hang out with my telescope all night. Have fun and keep warm, Jay! ------------------------------ On Tue, Dec 23, 2014 6:24 PM MST Jay wrote: >Happy Holidays from the West Desert! Wonderful evening out here, coyotes yelping and an owl flyby. Lots in Pegasus, Auriga, Gemini and Zorion. Much like Orion I am on the hunt tonight. Enjoy your holiday, I am. > >Jay > >Sent from my iPhone >_______________________________________________ >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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Observing
by Jay 23 Dec '14

23 Dec '14

Happy Holidays from the West Desert! Wonderful evening out here, coyotes yelping and an owl flyby. Lots in Pegasus, Auriga, Gemini and Zorion. Much like Orion I am on the hunt tonight. Enjoy your holiday, I am. Jay Sent from my iPhone

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