Last night's SLAS meeting
A very enjoyable, informative speaker at the meeting last night. I learned quite a bit about solar dynamics that I hadn't known before, and re-learned some things I had forgotten. Dr. Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo is obviously very enthusiastic about his work. Many thanks to him for graciously giving us his time. If he has more material geared to a general science-minded audience, I'd like to see him return. I was initially worried that it could devolve into a climate-change fracas, but the speaker was good at keeping that can of worms at arm's length. He gave us some insights into interpreting historical solar data that I hadn't really considered before. If we had more clear days in this state, I'd seriously consider a long-term project of sunspot counting and lattitude plotting. I also came away with a better idea of the processes behind sunspots and related surface features, and will be a better and more appreciative solar observer because of it. There's only one star we can observe at this level of detail, it's nice to have the tools to more fully understand what I'm looking at. Thanks to whomever on the board arranged for this speaker. Rodger, maybe?
Amen to everything Chuck just stated. Loved last night's presentation, and am more motivated than ever to pursue the acquisition of a Ha solar telescope ;) ________________________________ From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 8:31 AM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Last night's SLAS meeting A very enjoyable, informative speaker at the meeting last night. I learned quite a bit about solar dynamics that I hadn't known before, and re-learned some things I had forgotten. Dr. Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo is obviously very enthusiastic about his work. Many thanks to him for graciously giving us his time. If he has more material geared to a general science-minded audience, I'd like to see him return. I was initially worried that it could devolve into a climate-change fracas, but the speaker was good at keeping that can of worms at arm's length. He gave us some insights into interpreting historical solar data that I hadn't really considered before. If we had more clear days in this state, I'd seriously consider a long-term project of sunspot counting and lattitude plotting. I also came away with a better idea of the processes behind sunspots and related surface features, and will be a better and more appreciative solar observer because of it. There's only one star we can observe at this level of detail, it's nice to have the tools to more fully understand what I'm looking at. Thanks to whomever on the board arranged for this speaker. Rodger, maybe? _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to 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".
I am adding my kudos as well to a wonderful SLAS evening. Excellent and fun presentation. Thanks to Andres, Robyn, and Rodger. I am excited to explore the sun now that I know more. There is a good article, and great pictures, from the NY Times two days ago on solar eruptions. If you enjoyed last night, this is a good read: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/science/space/on-the-watch-for-a-solar-sto... -A
Good read, Ann. I was already aware of most of the early points of his presentation, late in coming, unusually low sunspot activity, etc., but Chuck said it well. Learned a lot I did not know, & reminded me just how poor my memory is becoming. 73 On 3/21/2013 11:17 AM, Ann House wrote:
I am adding my kudos as well to a wonderful SLAS evening. Excellent and fun presentation. Thanks to Andres, Robyn, and Rodger. I am excited to explore the sun now that I know more. There is a good article, and great pictures, from the NY Times two days ago on solar eruptions. If you enjoyed last night, this is a good read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/science/space/on-the-watch-for-a-solar-sto...
-A
Rich, Agena Astro still has the PST on-sale for $100 off, but I think the sale ends soon. Don't get the case. It's not worth a hundred bucks (ten bucks, tops. It's cheap). You have to re-use the shipping foam to line it. The box the telescope comes in works just fine and you save a C-note. And speaking of the PST, if it clears up a bit more this afternoon, I'm going to try my bino-viewer with it. It never occurred to me until today, so I'll give it a try. Probably have to use the Barlow relay lens to reach focus, but I have a good assortment of paired, long-focal-length eyepieces. One of those sets in combination with the Barlow should get me very close to an effective 10-12mm final eyepiece focal length, which I've found is about right for a full-solar-disk view with the PST. On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 10:07 AM, Richard Tenney <retenney@yahoo.com> wrote:
Amen to everything Chuck just stated. Loved last night's presentation, and am more motivated than ever to pursue the acquisition of a Ha solar telescope ;)
participants (4)
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Ann House -
Chuck Hards -
Larry Holmes -
Richard Tenney