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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Ken Croswell
by Kim Hyatt 24 Feb '04

24 Feb '04

Joe: For the record, Ken contacted SLAS, SLAS is paying a modest honorarium to Ken for the lecture, and he is even staying in a SLAS member's home that night. The U of U Astronomical Society and the College of Science were invited by SLAS to co-sponsor the event - this they did by providing a space for the lecture at the Fine Arts Auditorium. Otherwise, this is a SLAS event. -----Original Message----- From: Joe Bauman [mailto:bau@desnews.com] Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 1:50 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Ken Croswell Hi friends, I wrote an advance story about the Croswell lecture, which ran in the Deseret Morning News, based on the following press release. As you can see, the top of the release does not agree with the bottom. What I mean by that is the heading, "UNIVERSITY OF UTAH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY GUEST LECTURE: MAGNIFICENT MARS" -- no mention of SLAS. Unfortnuately, I did not read every word and missed the fact that SLAS also is a sponsor. So SLAS members, please forgive this oversight. When I write the article about the lecture itself, the club will be mentioned. Best wishes, Joe >UNIVERSITY OF UTAH MEDIA ADVISORY > >Contacts: >-- Ken Croswell, astronomer-author - (845) 365-8483, >kencroswell(a)kencroswell.com >-- Russell Galen, Croswell's literary agent - (212) 679-8686, >russellgalen(a)scglit.com >-- Lynn Higgs, Department of Physics, adviser to University of Utah >Astronomical Society - >(801) 581-7140, higgs(a)physics.utah.edu >--James DeGooyer, program coordinator, University of Utah College of >Science - >(801) 581-6958, jdegooyer(a)science.utah.edu > >UNIVERSITY OF UTAH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY GUEST LECTURE: >MAGNIFICENT MARS > >Lecturer: Ken Croswell, astronomer and best-selling author >Date: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 >Time: 7:30 p.m. >Place: Old Museum of Fine Arts auditorium, University of Utah > >FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC > > Astronomer and best-selling author Ken Croswell will speak at >the University of Utah on Tuesday Feb. 24 as part of a 15-city, >nationwide tour promoting his latest book, "Magnificent Mars." > > "The planet Mars has long offered the prospect of another living >world in the solar system," Croswell says. "With an armada of spacecraft >scrutinizing the red planet as never before, I'll show you the best >color images of Mars and describe the planet from pole to pole, >exploring Martian geology, the Martian atmosphere, Martian volcanoes, >and Martian water, all organized around the four great elements of Mars: >earth, air, fire and water. Along the way you'll see nearly every image >from my new book 'Magnificent Mars,' including volcanoes over twice as >tall as Mount Everest, canyons that could stretch from Ohio to >California, and floods of water far greater than any known on Earth. >Billions of years ago, on a world warmer and wetter, Mars may have given >rise to life whose fossils await discovery today." > > "This is truly a golden age in the exploration of Mars," states >Sky and Telescope magazine. In the last six years alone, two orbiters >began remote-sensing missions and NASA's large robotic explorers, Spirit >and Opportunity, have successfully landed on Mars and are sending >extremely detailed information back to Earth. Mars recently passed >closer to Earth than it has since prehistoric times, allowing our >ground- and space-based telescopes to obtain more detailed information >about the red planet's surface and atmosphere than ever before. In >January, President Bush set a "new course" for the nation's space >program that included returning astronauts to the moon by 2020 to >establish a permanent base and putting astronauts on Mars sometime after >2030. > > Croswell earned his Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University >and is the author of several highly acclaimed books including his first >book, "The Alchemy of the Heavens," which was nominated for a Los >Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book, "Planet Quest," explores the >discovery of new planets in other solar systems and was named a New York >Times Notable Book of the Year. > > His best-selling book to date, "Magnificent Universe," is a >lavish celebration of the heavens, with 100 large, full-color >astronomical photographs. His newest book, "Magnificent Mars," presents >the red planet in all its glory, with stunning images of Mars and its >moons, following the same large, lavish format as "Magnificent >Universe." Croswell's books have been translated into Chinese, German, >Polish, and Serbian. > > The University of Utah bookstore will have each of Croswell's >books on sale at the event, and Croswell will autograph books for the >public. > > The Salt Lake Astronomical Society and the University of Utah >Astronomical Society are co-sponsoring Croswell's lecture. For more >information please see www.slas.ws/index.htm > > >University of Utah College of Science >1430 E. Presidents Circle, Room 220 >Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0140 >(801) 581-6958 fax: (801) 585-3169 >www.science.utah.edu _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Ken Croswell
by Kim Hyatt 24 Feb '04

24 Feb '04

At 11:00 this morning, Radio West (KUER - FM 90.1), hosted by Doug Fabrizio, will have Ken Croswell as a guest. It may be a nice preview for tonight's lecture. With the broadcast and additional avertising, tonight's lecture is even more likely to be full, so arrive early. I will block out 50 or so seats for SLAS members and their guests, but I will have to let them go at 7:15. See y'all tonight. Kim A. Hyatt, AIA SL&A Architects 331 South Rio Grande, Suite 304 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 Tel: 801.322.5550 x105 Fax: 801.322.5557 Cell: 801.631.5228

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Ernie Pfannenschmidt
by Chuck Hards 24 Feb '04

24 Feb '04

I was extremely saddened to read in the April S&T that longtime ATM Ernie Pfannenschmidt passed away last November. The current Telescope Techniques article was written by him and published posthumously. (And it's darned good, I might add, like everything Ernie did.) Some of you may recall that Ernie and I shared the T.T. column back in February of '00. Editor Gary Seronik paired my "Woodshop Eyepieces" article with Ernie's "Homemade Barlows". The column received favorable reviews, I was too glad to ride on Ernie's ample "coat-tails". Ernie was a professional astronomer & optician during his working career, his first S&T article was decades ago, though the exact date escapes me at the moment, I was just a kid at the time. Please take the time to read the tribute Gary wrote in the April S&T, page 128. Ad Astra, Ernie. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools

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More on 3D
by Patrick Wiggins 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

Using the web site I mentioned here earlier today ( http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features/3d.cfm ) I just made these test images on my Mac G4 using Photoshop. Note that you need to use red/blue glasses to see the stereo effect. First, here's one using two images from MER-B: http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/STEREO01.JPG And second, here's one made from two pictures I took tonight of my observing buddy: http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/STEREO02.JPG This is fun stuff! Patrick

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How to make 3D images
by Patrick Wiggins 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

This showed up on the JPL site today. Anyone here ever tried this before? http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features/3d.cfm Patrick

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Fwd: [Planetary_Nebulae] Re: Additions to Group
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

I just found some more obscure planetaries to hunt down. I've already hunted down 8 of the 14 planetaries in the top table. NGC 3132 or Eight Burst nebula was easily found from my latutude in '02. Very blue planetary. It looks like Kohoutek 1-23 may be a bit of a challenge from my latitude though. I love large planetaries. They really test the equipment and conditions. Debbie

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] New object to drop (thanks, Bruce)
by Kim Hyatt 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

NASA already did it on Mars. -----Original Message----- From: B. Bettilyon [mailto:aaah@sisna.com] Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 10:57 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] New object to drop (thanks, Bruce) Bubble wrap an egg and drop it. What the Hell, you're up there anyway. I know there's not a lot of science involved but a possible Guiness Record if the egg remains unbroken. Barney ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Carnes" <moogiebird(a)earthlink.net> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 9:23 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] New object to drop (thanks, Bruce) > Doesn't your Cessna have a bomb bay? > > The tentative plan is to drop all 7 at the same time, if we can figure > > a way to > > do it safely. Altitude, date, time and location TBD. > > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com > _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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New object to drop (thanks, Bruce)
by Patrick Wiggins 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

Bruce Grim has come up with a whole new series of objects for the next drop. Pictured at http://planet.state.ut.us/temp/test/LOW.JPG are the bowling ball we used before plus six white spheres (soon to be painted international orange or some other bright color). Four of the sphere are solid iron. The smallest is solid lead. And the third from the right is made of an acrylic substance that seems similar to the stuff the bowling ball is made from. Note that the acrylic ball is the same diameter as the much heavier iron ball to its side. Since they have the same surface area but very different masses it will be interesting to see if both hit the ground at the same time. The tentative plan is to drop all 7 at the same time, if we can figure a way to do it safely. Altitude, date, time and location TBD. Patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] BB Drop wrap up
by Steve Trottier 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

I know there's at least one lurker (me) who enjoys hearing about your dropping experiments and your plans for future experiments. Just because some of us aren't interested in actually standing under the plane and catching the bowling balls ;) don't assume nobody wants to hear about what you're up to. Keep it up and keep the news coming! :) Steve

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Speaker needed
by Kim Hyatt 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

I volunteered for this event a couple years ago. I was treated very poorly by the expo staff, and exactly five people attended my little presentation. All this without any thanks from the expo people. -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 6:46 PM To: utah astronomy listserve Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Speaker needed The International Sportsmen Expo at the South Town Exposition Center is looking for a speaker for a segment called "Things that go Bump in the Night." The speaker will be talking about 30 minutes about stuff like stargazing, telescopes, and viewing opportunities for campers. Saturday March 13 at 4 p.m. If interested please call Brian at 360-3645. Patrick _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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