Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 99, Issue 4
Hi, Joe -- Sadly, not a lot to report. The night was a clear one, and in the end, neither windy nor particularly cold. I was pretty overdressed. I ended up not staying out too long. Combination of factors. It seemed like whatever I was looking for was in a place that made the eyepiece position really awkward. The Zodiacal light was very pronounced, and probably a highlight. This time of year that early in the night, there's not really any Milky Way band to speak of. I found 6-7 new objects, and then visited some old ones. The ground was already dry and very dusty, almost no humidity. Still, the Hercules cluster was not naked eye, even with effort. I feel like in most of my experience at Lakeside, this is not too hard to see without help. The non-Messier member of the "Leo Trio" did not exactly jump out and bite me. Maybe I'm just out of practice. Anyhow, as much as I wanted to stay out, laziness got the best of me. I was tired of awkward positions (I never used to polar-align. Why do I do it now if it makes things so uncomfortable?), had stuff to do this morning, was curious about the news unfolding on the radio just as I was arriving out there, etc. I probably would have spent another hour if I had brought binoculars, but I didn't. In a word, if I knew conditions were going to be as good again, I'd give it another go tonight. Oh, and I actually saw one of the coyotes that you always hear out there... ---- Rev. Michael A. van Opstall Department of Mathematics, University of Utah Office: JWB 313 opstall@math.utah.edu
Nice, encouraging report, Michael! I'm jealous. We were on a trip -- 966 miles in two days -- so I couldn't go. But I've got to get out soon. I'm also envious that you saw a coyote. It must have been on that road along the foothills, right? I can't imagine one at the actual Lakeside site. Thanks, Joe ________________________________ From: Michael Vanopstall <opstall@math.utah.edu> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Monday, May 2, 2011 11:50 AM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 99, Issue 4 Hi, Joe -- Sadly, not a lot to report. The night was a clear one, and in the end, neither windy nor particularly cold. I was pretty overdressed. I ended up not staying out too long. Combination of factors. It seemed like whatever I was looking for was in a place that made the eyepiece position really awkward. The Zodiacal light was very pronounced, and probably a highlight. This time of year that early in the night, there's not really any Milky Way band to speak of. I found 6-7 new objects, and then visited some old ones. The ground was already dry and very dusty, almost no humidity. Still, the Hercules cluster was not naked eye, even with effort. I feel like in most of my experience at Lakeside, this is not too hard to see without help. The non-Messier member of the "Leo Trio" did not exactly jump out and bite me. Maybe I'm just out of practice. Anyhow, as much as I wanted to stay out, laziness got the best of me. I was tired of awkward positions (I never used to polar-align. Why do I do it now if it makes things so uncomfortable?), had stuff to do this morning, was curious about the news unfolding on the radio just as I was arriving out there, etc. I probably would have spent another hour if I had brought binoculars, but I didn't. In a word, if I knew conditions were going to be as good again, I'd give it another go tonight. Oh, and I actually saw one of the coyotes that you always hear out there... ---- Rev. Michael A. van Opstall Department of Mathematics, University of Utah Office: JWB 313 opstall@math.utah.edu _______________________________________________ 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
participants (2)
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Joe Bauman -
Michael Vanopstall