One last possibility. The western desert according to the Clear Sky Chart is looking ok for tomorrow morning. Here is the one for the Knolls (you can click on map on the right side for location and to get directions). Problem is your facing the light dome to the east where Virgo is rising. Have you thought about waiting until new moon and taking a chance then? What Messier are you trying to finish up? http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/KnllUTkey.html?1 Realizing this is not a perfect forecast. Jet Stream is showing very cold NW winds coming in so I would be very warm as Kurt suggested. http://squall.sfsu.edu/gif/jetstream_h12_00.gif On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 8:24 PM, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Here are some specific directions to the Gravel Pit:
Courtesy UVAA http://www.uvaa.org/sitedirections/GravelPit.html Drive up Provo Canyon and through Heber as you normally would to get to Park City; from I-80 take the Park City/Kamas Exit 4. At the bottom of the exit ramp, go East (right) towards Kamas. Take this road for 1.6 miles to the Peoa - Oakley turn-off. This turn-off will be on your left. You know you are approaching it because there are several "Deer-Crossing Ahead" signs. Since the Deer Crossing is at the turn off, the distances on the signs are also the distances to the turn-off. This is Browns Canyon, but the sign says Peoa - Oakley. Take this road for 4.2 miles, to the Park City Harper Gravel Pit road and sign on the left. (About 1000 feet before you get to the gravel pit road, there will be an orange sign on the right that says "truck entrance ahead".) At the gravel pit sign, turn in. Watch out for the speed bump at the entrance! Go about one and a half miles up this road. There is a "mobile home" weighing office off to the left. Just after the office there is a parking area (for the office), which is where we set up
On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 6:30 PM, Canopus56 <canopus56@yahoo.com> wrote:
Michael,
Tomorrow morning looks problematic due to weather. Here is where I would go, if I were going to try this:
Mirror Highway Fee station N40d 37m 49.94s W111d 10m 55.82s
Mirror Highway Equestrian Parking Lot N40d 35m 42.90s W111d 5m 41.61s
Gravel Pit (Closed, can use entrance at State Route 189, on State Route 189 between Park City and Oakely ) N40d 44m 18.65s W111d 22m 41.78s
These are all very cold sites (-5 to 0 degrees C) and would require due heaters, emergency gear, e.g. a down bag. Watch out for livestock (black dairy cows) and moose on the road.
At 6am, the Virgo cluster is only at 12 degrees alt while the Sun is at -21 degs alt. This is a very narrow observing window against astronomical twilight, and again, problematic due to weather and for faint galaxies due to the low altitude and high atmospheric extinction. I'd wait for next spring.
http://www.weather.gov/sat_tab.php?image=ir
- Kurt
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