Kurt- I was referring to Lakeside when commenting on the dust. I drew an analogy with Rush, sorry if it didn't read that way. A fire may actually reduce the dust. If there is nothing for cattle to graze, they won't be out there disturbing the crust after admittedly infrequent rains. The UofU's southern Utah site is a terrific bit of news, but it's simply too far to go for many of us. We can't construct our lives to revolve around random clear skies or set-aside every moonless weekend in summer for astronomy- at least until we retire or our children grow up. Even grabbing the scope on a whim and heading up the canyon after work isn't an option; family members need us for other tasks or work hours carry us into the evening. A closer location is needed. Sadly, I don't have much hope anymore. Seems like efficient, effective night lighting is still the exception in most communities, rather than the norm. On 7/22/07, Kurt Fisher <fisherka@csolutions.net> wrote:
Chuck wrote:
The caveat, as Erik notes for Rush Valley as well, is dust. The ground is like a giant powder puff in summer, especially during a prolonged dry spell.
The same limitation applies to Lakeside. Additionally, I recall from the papers over the last few weeks that there has been a fire out in that valley. That may increase the dust level.