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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 12 Aug '04

12 Aug '04

Kim, Did you split Antares? That one is a challenge but if you look at Antares closely in one of my pictures I posted, you can see the faint companion. We saw it popping in and out through my 4" refractor in July. Debbie

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Homefront
by Chuck Hards 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

Since I must go to work on Thursday, I'm going to watch the Perseids from my yard. Anyone else sticking around SLC tonight? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Private star party etiquette
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

You can hang by my telescope Dave if you don't mind retinal torture. LOL. By the way, my dad's car interior lights are really anoying to me. Would red cellophane be best or should I buy black? I don't know where the fuse box is. I also noticed when I was taking slides in July that when the car lights went on in back of the telescope, about 20 feet in back, no exposures were ruined. When I opened my door in front of the telescope, my last exposure that I took was ruined. It helps to be careful when taking exposures. Thanks Jo for the reminder. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

It just seems that seeing is never good down in Southern Utah once the summer heat begins. The seeing is always better up in the mountains at the higher elevations like Kolob Reservoir or Cedar Breaks area. The air isn't as turbulent as the lower and hotter elevations. Jim and I did observe the secondary at about the 4 o'clock position up at Kolob Reservoir. I hope the new concrete that is being laid this week will not affect the seeing. Grass is always better but I don't think that would be practical. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

It would seem that late winter would be best for splitting Antares when it is rising in the the early morning and seeing is more stable. It is way too warm and balmy this time of year for tight doubles. Higher elevations are necessary for this one, such as Wolf Creek to get better seeing. Debbie

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new guy here -- where on Duchesne Ridge?
by Dan Cimbora 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

Hi all, Just joined the mailing list. I recently completed a 16" Telekit, my first scope after being out of astronomy for some time. For my first dark-sky trip with the new scope, last weekend I went up to Duchesne Ridge/Wolf Creek summit, following the various online directions to the observing fields. Found the area with no problem but I arrived at dusk and didn't have much time to scout around, and wasn't sure exactly where to set up - I expected to find spurs off the main dirt road, but found none. Did I miss them, or do you all just bushwhack it across the sagebrush out into the meadows along the ridge? I was really pleased with how dark the skies are up there. I had half a dozen "Holy Crap" moments - the 16" is by far the biggest scope I've ever used, and most of my prior observing has been from pretty light-polluted skies. The Veil nebula and M8 looked better than photos!!! The only downside to the trip was that on my way home at 2 a.m. I hit a deer between Kamas and Park City, and my truck's in the shop with $3000 in repairs. Had to wake a neighbor up to come get me, since my wife was home with our 3-month old daughter. Bad end to a great evening! I'm toying with the idea of going up tomorrow (Weds p.m.) for observing and some Perseids. Anyone else planning on being there? I'd love some company. -Dan in SLC

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

I did it with an OIII filter but I think that is cheating. Seeing has to be superb to get a clean split. Debbie

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Perseids
by Michael Carnes 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Can't get away all night for Wolf Creek, but just might have a couple of hours I can go to the Gravel Pit. Anybody else settling for second-best? Michael

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Private star party etiquette
by diveboss＠xmission.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Debbie, If the interior lights are a problem, you can cover these with a little "Astro tape". You can also use the Astro tape to tape down the interior light buttons located in the door jams. Worse case scenario if all else fails would be to remove the interior light bulbs I suppose. But that's getting a bit drastic. Oh yeah, "Astro tape" is that silver colored stuff the heating and air conditioning folks use to hold their duct work together. They call it "duct tape", but we know the real name. FWIW, NASA uses the gold colored stuff to hold their more expensive satellites in orbit. ;)

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Green laser pointers and Star Parties...
by diveboss＠xmission.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

I myself don't have any problem with green laser pointers provided they are not carelessly pointed at others. I caught one in the eye 2 public star parties ago, which took some time for the green dot image to fade away. The person who shined it in my eye will not be so careless next time. On the whole, I find them to be quite useful at times. For instance, I have used my green laser pointer in conjunction with my sometimes noisy, but highly sophisticated LX200, ;) to show my friends where to point their Dob's when searching for hard to find objects. Like you, I don't "image" in a crowd so I'm okay with it.

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