Joe, I have observed (Comet Hale-Bopp) from the road towards Lakeside. I set up my astrograph on the side of the road. The road travels along the east side of Puddle Valley, and there is a range of mountains on the west side of that valley. They are not very high, and are several miles away. The skies are very dark, and the road sees very little traffic. There is a significant amount of air traffic - airliners coming fromt the west - that passes overhead with lights blazing. This is more prevalent when they are landing towards the south at Salt Lake. I-80 was also visible, although it was towards the south and not a problem. The west side of Antellope Island is a pretty good location. Many people around the world observe on shorelines because of the clear skies it offers. Antellope's west shore points directly at Amax Minerals, a set of stacks that are the biggest polluters in the state by far. Sometimes they produce quite a bit of smoke and other times not so much. They are also lit by some pretty intense strobe lights. Overall I would choose the road to Eagle Range. It is west of Amax and has some pretty nice skies. Of course, you could drive all the way to Lakeside and get away from all of the above problems. Just one person's opinion. Brent --- Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote:
More dithering. I now think the Wedge faces the wrong direction, with the Wasatch Plateau looming to the WNW where we'd like to see the comet. So probably the Wedge is out of the question. Regarding the headlights of Skull Valley: How about the road to the north toward Lakeside? Before the Utah Test and Training Range, probably there's a good spot. Anyway, looking at the map, that seems possible.
The closeness of the Great Salt Lake brings up a concern that I have, which might be ridiculous, so I would like the group's opinion on this. But living in the middle of the Pacific (I went to high school on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands), we were acutely conscious of the corrosive effects of salt spray. Is there any such worry about astronomical equipment in proximity to the Great Salt Lake? Is vapor from the lake going to degrade the view? Even west of the lake, like the route to Lakeside, there are big muddy salt flats that contribute moisture to the atmosphere.
Just wondering if anyone has thoughts on these notions.
Thanks, Joe
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