Yes, I read your report. I remember those times. I still don't have a real smart phone. All I have is a Blackberry knock off, and no aps. I am not sure I'd use them much. Like you, Chuck, I know where my preferences are and they are chosen for darkness, but also country I am fond of - Bald Mountain and Elizabeth Ridge come to mind. It used to be that Little Mountain was a reasonable dark site. ________________________________ From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 10:31 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Thursday's Report/ Observing this Weekend Excellent report, Jay, thanks. Loads of info for the relative newcomer to Wasatch Front observing. And by newcomer I mean anyone new to observing visually here since about 1985. Lakeside is hard to beat for me. I am in the Granger area of West Valley, just 20 minutes or so from SPOC and closest to Lakeside of any reasonably dark sites mentioned. Fuel cost is a real concern. Being recently divorced, even five or ten bucks worth of gas can be a deal-breaker, no matter how good the skies in a given direction. Damn. The "processing plant" you mention has been there for decades. It doesn't really affect observing, especially after about 11:00 PM unless they have added a lot of unshielded lights in the last ten years or so. The only other Lakeside darkness drawback seems to be Wendover, and I-15 traffic itself. Again, I consider those ample ecconomic trade-offs for the proximity to my house. Alas, I am a poor man and it must be taken into account. Having been doing this since 1968, when the light pollution dome over SLC was considerabley less than it is now, I really have seen just about every object visible in telescopes up to 36" aperture visually, and I have derived great pleasure from backyard observing sessions in very small aperture scopes from the heart of the Salt Lake valley. After all, the greatest benefit is derived from just being outside with a telescope on the skies, regardless of where we happen to be at the moment. Revisiting old friends with smaller apertures, just to see what CAN be seen, is extremely interesting. How many of us old-timers can recall the moniker "Kennecott Nebula", often heard cursed during star parties as far back as the early '70's? LOL! BTW, I dont' use on-line resources much, in favor of experience, due mostly to time constraints. There are too many interesting sites to pick-and-choose from, with limited on-line available time. Likewise, I still haven't found an app for my smartphone that does anything that the decades haven't already done for me (you read this, Brent?). And trying to type anything on that tiny screen is an excercise in frustration. Half of my kestrokes are back-spaces. :-( Thanks again, Jay! I observe vicariously through you and your compatriots. Keep the faith. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php