- Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Rules
by Kim Hyatt 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

I've found (as no doubt all of you have) that private star parties are not the best venue for serious imaging. for me, the operable word is "party" and that may imply choosing socializing over imaging or science. My feeling is that if you really expect to have no issues with others while you're imaging, then choose another time and another place to do it, as I've learned to do. Having said that, how do folks feel about green laser pointers? I find them very useful at "private" star parties as well as public events. When trying to help someone star hop to that faint object I'm observing, the pointer is much easier and less disruptive to night vision than to pull out the charts and use a flashlight, whether red or not. I have not heard any arguments against green lasers that are not based on their effects on imaging. So if you shouldn't expect perfect imaging conditions at a star party, what's wrong with the green lasers? Thoughts? Kim Hyatt Architect 1849 East 1300 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 801.631.5228 kimharch(a)msn.com<mailto:kimharch@msn.com> serius est quam cogitas

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Is this right? (OT)
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

I purchased John Stossel's new book "Give me a Break" a few weeks ago. He brings up some good points in his book on bad science. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Wolf Creek
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Thanks Dave, I'll have to remember to bring the digital camera. Hope the weather holds. Debbie

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Is this right? (OT)
by Patrick Wiggins 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

I'm sitting here fighting with the one non-Mac machine I own (not sure who is winning at the moment) and listening to BBC. They just had a Yank on talking about energy consumption and pollution and at one point stated that "burning 6 gallons of gasoline will produce 20 pounds of CO2." Any of the science whizzes here care to say if that's right or not? I'm having trouble imagining how burning 6 pounds of gasoline can produce 20 pounds of CO2. Patrick

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Perseids
by Chuck Hards 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

What's the consensus on a site "reasonably" close to SLC, yet with good morning skies to the north and east? Looks like this year will be great, especially if the current skies hold. I can't recall a summer sky this free of dust in recent years, for this long. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

ok, I can't keep a secret forever. I'm leaving Friday for Provo, then I drive to Heber, then up to Wolf Creek. My 84 year old neighbor needs a ride to Provo so I'm more than happy to take her. I'm over at her house checking my e-mail. It looks like I need a new computer. Got the 15" still in the car, mostly. Jim is taking off this week to Oregon for the Oregon Star Party so I'm coming up to Wolf Creek, rain or shine. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 09 Aug '04

09 Aug '04

Joe, You don't know what balmy means. I set my scope up in 90+ weather Sat night. It cooled down to around 80 when I took it down. I can't wait to get out of the heat this next weekend for some better seeing and COOLER weather. Clear Skies, Debbie

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Observing Report from the Gravel Pit
by Richard Tenney 08 Aug '04

08 Aug '04

Last night (Saturday) about a dozen or so telescopes showed up at the Gravel Pit just East of Park City. In spite of some frustratingly increasing skyglow to the West (thanks in part to all the stupid lighting practices in Utah and SLC counties) the sky was clear and we were treated to some good seeing. I knocked off another 14 Herschel-400 objects in Saggitarius, Scutum, Ophiuchus, Hydra, Libra and Serpens (I know, I was working in the soupy part of the sky for the most part). I only have 6 more Summer/Fall objects unfortunately, and I'm only a little more than halfway (205 at last count), because that means the rest are Winter and Spring objects, and you know how many clear nights we have at that time of the year. Most of the objects I observed were small globular clusters. Notable was NGC 6553, a rectangular cluster in Sagittarius of uniform brightness set in a beautiful background star field at 115x (22 Nagler). Another was NGC 6712, a GC in Scutum, a cluster with some resolvable stars with others that dim to "nebulosity" (in a 16-inch scope anyway) also set in a very rich, lovely star field. The challenges for me last night were NGC 6629, a fairly bright yet small Planetary that took more magnification to really see that it wasn't just some out of focus star (also in Sagittarius). The other was a rather large galaxy in Serpens, NGC 6118. I know, wrong time of year to observe this object, as it is very low surface brightness and needs the contrast of darker skies when it's higher in the sky. I very nearly missed it. Other highlights of the evening came from veteran observer Lowell Lyon and his 20-inch f/5 Obsession. He treated us to some marvelous views of the Crescent Nebula, the Veil (stunning in his 40mm Pentax with the O-III filter), and even the rather obscure and faint ghostly-bubble "Jones-1" Planetary Nebula. I was also treated in other telescopes to the 2 bright comets that are up in the evening (can't remember the names) in Ursa Major and Bootes. Thanks to those who showed for the good time and the great company. -Rich __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Is this right? (OT)
by diveboss＠xmission.com 07 Aug '04

07 Aug '04

>I'm sitting here fighting with the one non-Mac machine I own (not sure who is >winning at the moment) and listening to BBC. That's your problem Patrick! :)

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More bino deals
by Chuck Hards 07 Aug '04

07 Aug '04

2 more binos from Sportsman's Guide. If you are on a budget, note the price on the JC Optics 11x70mm. E432E-83281 - Celestron 15 x 70 mm Skymaster Binoculars Compare at $160.00 Sale $89.97 http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=149796 E432E-80792 - JC Optics 11 x 70 mm Binoculars Compare at $100.00 Sale $29.97 http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=149797 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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