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Observing near Springdale
by Marlene Egger 23 Dec '16

23 Dec '16

I sometimes observe at the LaVerkin Overlook. We usually stay in Hurricane when visiting Zion, as the motels are less expensive, and the overlook is on the way back to the motel, a feature which makes it easier for me to remind my non observer husband to stop. There is a dirt road that is not too bumpy, and we stop short of the actual overlook to block the city light. You do see faraway lights of cars but nothing really distracting and there is a nice southern view. Marlene Sent from my iPhone

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I bagged 14 planetary nebulae last night despite the haze
by astrodeb＠beyondbb.com 22 Dec '16

22 Dec '16

Hi! I've really hated this cold weather but I wanted to see some planetary nebulae before Christmas and didn't want to travel. I wheeled my 15" scope out onto the driveway before 5pm. I cut the power to the garage, then waited for darkness. Before it got fully dark, I viewed M27, M57,, and M34. Then after a brief view of the Double Cluster, I switched to the 9mm Nagler and screwed on the OIII filter. Here are my observations for the planetary nebulae. Perseus - M76 looked good. Nice bright bi-polar nebula. IC 351 looked oval or oblate. IC 2003 looked fainter than IC 351. Like a bloated star. Both are 6" in size with IC 2003 a faint mag 13.0 and IC 351 mag 12.0. Taurus - NGC 1514. Mag 10 with a size of 120" X 90" .Cental star readily apparent in some haze. Need dark skies to show up better. Camelopardolis - NGC 1501. Nice round nebula .Mag 13.3 I saw the 14mag central star. I observed it at the Virgin site Nov 25 with the 12mm Nagler without a filter. I think the size is 55". Takes magnification well. Cygnus - NGC 7008 Mag 10.7 Nice fuzzy ring with a size of 96". NGC 7026 - Called the Cheeseburger Nebula. Nice little small planetary. 28" X 13" with a mag of 11.8. NGC 7027 - nice bright round planetary. Mag 8.5 with a size of 18". NGC 6826, the Blinking planetary. Mag 8.8 with a size of 30". Did not blink in the 15". Auriga - NGC 2149 Nice oval shape. Takes magnification well. Only 12" X 6" with a mag of 11.2 Orion - NGC 2022 Nice round nebula. 28" in size with a mag of 12.3. Jonckheere or J3230 Nice overlooked planetary with a distinct oval shape. Takes magnification well. Mag 12.9 with a 11" X 8" size. Have to revisit that one again. It was starting to haze up more so I quickly observed NGC 1535 and NGC 2392 with the same power. Will try again on a better night. Then observed the Orion Nebula before tearing down just after 9pm. It was getting cold and damp so I packed the scope in for the night. Restored power to the garage and warmed up to a nice book. Clear Skies, Debbie

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John Glenn R.I.P.
by Thomas Sevcik 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

Just saw this minutes ago. This morning the news said he was in a hospital in Ohio....now this! http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-astronaut-us-sen-john-glenn-of-ohio… [http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAlh90M.img]<http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-astronaut-us-sen-john-glenn-of-ohio…> Former astronaut, US Sen. John Glenn of Ohio has died at 95<http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-astronaut-us-sen-john-glenn-of-ohio…> www.msn.com John Glenn, whose 1962 flight as the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career in the U.S. Senate, died Thursday. The last survivor of the original Mercury 7 astronauts was 95.

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Vega
by Chuck Hards 22 Nov '16

22 Nov '16

I just watched Vega rise above the mountains to the north east. Can summer be far-off? ;-)

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Anybody tried this observing technique?
by astrodeb＠beyondbb.com 17 Nov '16

17 Nov '16

Hi, I was reading the book "The Caldwell Objects" by Stephen James O'Meara cause I was interested in his observations of planetary nebulae. He wa saying instead of putting in a high magnification eyepiece, use a moderate power eyepiece with a 2X barlow. You essentially get the same magnification with higher contrast. He said to try it with the barlow then switch back to the higher magnification eyepiece to see if there is a difference. I was thinking of getting my refractor out tomorrow night to see some fall-winter objects and will take my TeleVue 2X barlow with me. Digital Setting Circles are working great since I tightened the nut on the RA encoder. I also checked out a good observing book at the local library. It is called "1001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die" It has some great photographs of deep sky objects. Hopefully the weather should clear up soon. Clear skies, Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Eyepiece Advice
by Jamie Bradley 16 Nov '16

16 Nov '16

I thank you all for your great input you I planned to get 1 or 2 eyepieces at first and expand later That's exactly what I needed to know, what others used and their experiences. I forgot to ask where you all purchase your filters, Is there a better place for a 2" OIII at $109 from Celestron By the way if you were looking to buy one Meade has a sale on the LX200 line with a free accessory package for the model: a wedge, a power pack/light, LPI-Monochrome Camera/Guider and RGB filter set About $1000 worth of accessories on my scope. Jamie B "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except for bears, bears will kill you." _______________________________________________ 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 <mailto:Utah-Astronomy@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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Eyepiece Advice
by Jamie Bradley 15 Nov '16

15 Nov '16

OK I'm buying a Meade LX200 10" it comes with the 1.25" diagonal and I'm getting the additional 2" diagonal What Eyepieces should I get? Size, shape, color, flavor :-) Any recommendations with info and links to the product, Please. Jamie B _______________________________________________ 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 <mailto:Utah-Astronomy@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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Fwd: introduction
by Richard Tenney 15 Oct '16

15 Oct '16

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Shivam Shah <sshah2(a)progrexion.com> To: "utah-astronomy-owner(a)mailman.xmission.com" <utah-astronomy-owner(a)mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2016 8:29 PM Subject: Hello, Myself, Shivam Shah. I have been a space and astronomy fanatic since my childhood days. My parents are both astrologers hence the stars, the moons and the planets have been an integral part of my upbringing. I recently moved to Salt Lake Valley from Florida and I used to live in Kenya before that. I owned a telescope in Florida and did lots of sky gazing. It was and still is my favorite hobby. One of my co-workers is also a big fan and used to be a SLAS member in her childhood days, she recently suggested me and introduced me to your pristine community. Last week I borrowed a telescope of a member from my ward and I would love to share this great joy with you all. I would also love to be a member. Only concern is I live in Draper and it would be hard to commute to the observatory. Although it is not an issue, I was just throwing it out there to see if I could car-pool with someone. Anyways, please let me know more details about the community and how I could be a part of it. I would love to come visit the observatory and attend one of the community meetings before I sign up. Your feedback is valuable to me, Best Regards Sent from my iPhone

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Accessories markdowns
by Thomas Sevcik 13 Oct '16

13 Oct '16

Greetings fellow SLAS'ers, I've just marked down a limited number of accessories at the Planetarium with our store manager's permission. They are; (2) 2-inch centering extension adapters now at $12.50. (3) large binocular tripod adapters now at $16.22. (1) Orion Stratus 21mm 2/1-1/4" eyepiece now $67.48. (1) Orion UltraBlock Narrowband 2" filter now at $59.98. (1 each) Orion Epic II's of 8mm, 25mm (and 25mm in the box) at $49.98 each. Also, although not marked down, recently discovered are several Orion SkyGlow 2" SCT filters priced at $79.95. Also recently found was a Orion Star Shoot focal reducer and a Pentax K T-ring. First come, first served. Tom Sevcik

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Interesting article
by Joe Bauman 13 Oct '16

13 Oct '16

Possible extraterrestrial intelligence evidence - Peculiar periodic spectral modulations 234 solar type stars out of 2.5 million stars | | | | | | | | | | | Possible extraterrestrial intelligence evidence - Peculiar periodic spectra... The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has analyzed 2.5 million stars and is seeing very short light pulses along with nor... | | | |

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