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Discussion re. ALCON '17 at Casper
by Joe Bauman 23 May '14

23 May '14

Warning: Non SLAS folks will find this boring. SLASers might too, for that matter. I received a good cogent email from Lowell Lyon responding to what I said at Wednesday's SLAS general meeting regarding his proposal that the club sign up as a sponsor of the conference. For those who don't know, it would be held a couple of days before the Aug. 21, 2017 total solar eclipse, in Casper, Wyo., which apparently is trying to establish itself as Eclipse Central. I am opposed to SLAS becoming formally involved. My response, sent to him two hours ago, follows. You'll see at the end that I invited Lowell to let me also post his note to me, but he hasn't responded yet. We're about to go out and I won't be waiting any longer. He is certainly welcome to post it, or anything else he wishes to. Here is my note: Hi Lowell, Thank you for the note. I have several objections to the idea, none of which involve any question about your ability to do a superb job. We all know that's the only sort of job you do. My problems involve these issues: 1, Overreaching. I don't want to see SLAS drift away from its emphasis as an astronomy club focused on and serving the interests of the Salt Lake area. I think its efforts will become diluted if it does. We are already stretched extremely thin trying to service both SPOC and the Salt Lake County facilities that we need to because of our participation in the county's ZAP program. Add to that numerous private star parties in Utah where we help, and we're about at the limits of our reach. 2, Our non-profit status. You mention that SLAS would divide the profit from ALCON with other entities. But I think under our non-profit umbrella, we should not be dividing any profits. I don't want to see SLAS lose its advantages as a non-profit. 3, The commitment that ALCON would require from club members if we were to become sponsors. Yes, it's true that nobody has to go to Casper, but if nobody does, our commitment and our agreement to the contract aren't worth much, are they? The assumption is that a largish number would go in order that the club can reap profit based on its level of participation, as you mentioned at the meeting. And why shouldn't many people from our club go to ALCON in Wyoming? That brings up the final two points I want to make. 4, Distance to travel and return in order to see the total eclipse. As I mentioned at the previous meeting, members can drive 240 miles to Rexburg to see the eclipse (480 miles round-trip), versus 406 miles to Casper (812 round-trip). 5, Duration. If someone from Salt Lake City feels like it, he or she could easily drive to Rexburg on the day of the eclipse -- Aug. 21, 2017 -- and back the same day. Or that person could reserve a motel room in Rexburg for the previous night, driving back after the eclipse, which takes two days at most. But to attend ALCON and the eclipse in Casper requires going to ALCON's meeting itself, Aug. 16-19 (three days), the next day after the convention (Sunday, Aug. 20) and finally the day of the eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21. Because of these reasons, I second George Washington's advice, "Avoid entangling alliances." I'll be posting just my response soon on the Utah Astronomy web site. Or if you wish, I'll post your original comments with it. Just let me know. Best wishes, Joe

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Type II Supernova in M106
by Dave Gary 23 May '14

23 May '14

Patrick, Have you seen the new type II supernova in M106? An RSpec list I belong to mentioned it. They have a spectrum. http://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2014/05/supernova-psn-j121857714718113-m106-… Dave Sent from my iPad

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Meteor Shower and Star Parties this Weekend
by Ann House 22 May '14

22 May '14

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57971743-78/meteor-shower-friday-saturday… Keep your fingers crossed for the shower! Thanks Sheena -A

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] M64 Image
by Joe Bauman 22 May '14

22 May '14

It looks more like a tracking error that collimation. The softness could be because the focus is off a little or because the tracking is too aggressive and overshoots and corrects frequently. Since you ate stacking images I would suggest shorter exposures to see what that looks like. ------------------------------ On Tue, May 20, 2014 3:17 PM MDT gazebo4sale(a)comcast.net wrote: >Don, >Thanks for looking. I have a collimation eyepiece for this refractor and it does look good. I will have to check it out with a star ASAP. >Here is a 300 second sub from my M20 image that I have enlarged to show the elongation. Do you think this is tracking. >The software I use to Stack, (images plus) handles eccentricity quite nicely but the focus becomes a bit soft. Your input will be >greatly appreciated. >See: >http://home.comcast.net/~galico/M20Track.jpg > >Steve > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: "Don J. Colton" <djcolton(a)piol.com> >To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 2:49:16 PM >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] M64 Image > >That looks like a tracking error not collimation. > >-----Original Message----- >From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com >[mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of >gazebo4sale(a)comcast.net >Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 1:51 PM >To: Utah Astronomy >Subject: [Utah-astronomy] M64 Image > > >Hi, >I captured this image of M64 during my trip to Capital Reef 3 weeks ago. I >have to get to the bottom of my collimation problem, but the image came out >interesting. > >see: >http://home.comcast.net/~galico/M64.jpg > >Thanks >Steve Gallenson > > >25X300" Light Subs > >Dark,Flats, Bias calibrated. > >Staked in Images Plus > >Backyard EOS camera control > >Hutech Modified Canon T3i > >Takahahshi FSQ 106 N for imaging > >Takahahsi EM 200 Temma 2 mount > >Guided with Starlite Express Loadstar on 500 mm Nikon Lens. > >Processed with IP and CS5 using Scott's LRGB techniques. >----- Original Message ----- > >_______________________________________________ >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". > > >_______________________________________________ >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". > >_______________________________________________ >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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Collimation
by Dave Gary 22 May '14

22 May '14

Don, Thanks for the reply. Hopefully, I never have to send my refractor back for collimation. So far, it's been outperforming it's operator by a long shot. Dave Sent from my iPad

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Problem with list messages
by Chuck Hards 22 May '14

22 May '14

I'm wondering if any other list members who use gmail have this problem. Any list messages originating with a person with a yahoo address are getting sent immediately to my spam folder. Since I don't check the spam folder often, and sometimes just delete the entire contents sight-unseen, I've missed many recent list postings. This just started a few weeks ago, judging by the dates on messages I've seen in the spam folder. If you have list messages sent to a gmail account, please check your spam folder and see if you are having the same problem with utah-astro list messages originating at a yahoo address. Thanks! C.

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Refractor Collimation
by Dave Gary 22 May '14

22 May '14

Thanks to everyone for the information. Chuck, your answer was very informative. I’m saving it for one of those “just-in-case” scenarios. I’m not having any problems with my scope or mount, yet. I was just curious about refractor collimation. Hopefully, I never have to attempt a collimation of my refractor. It sounds as if it could be quite intensive and hard on the nerves. Dave

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Our Sun has a sibling!
by Thomas Sevcik 21 May '14

21 May '14

This should be a hit at star parties! Imagine showing the public a nearby relative (well, not that nearby at 110 lys) to our Sun. And the fact that it's visible in low power binos and small scopes. There's also a link near the bottom of the article to download a 410 KB JPEG chart (my best guess is that it's near the double/multiple star 90 Hercules) that identifies HD 162826. http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/05/08/sun-sibling-astronomy/ Tom Sevcik

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Nice ISS pass in morning
by Wiggins Patrick 20 May '14

20 May '14

Early morning folks might want to to know that CalSky is predicting a very nice near vertical ISS pass for N Utah tomorrow (Wednesday) morning: Appears 4h00m37s -4.2mag az:270.6° W h:65.8° Culmination 4h00m58s -4.1mag az:324.4° NW h:75.2° distance: 429.3km height above Earth: 417.2km elevation of Sun: -19° Disappears 4h06m24s 2.6mag az: 52.9° NE horizon patrick

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ATM reminder
by Hutchings, Mat 20 May '14

20 May '14

Just a quick reminder that I'll be having an ATM session this Saturday from 09:00 until 14:00. Let me know if you need driving directions. Mat This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients. The information contained herein may include trade secrets, protected health or personal information, privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachment from your system. Thank you for your cooperation

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