A couple of us will be going to the Browns Canyon gravel pit tonight (Sunday Aug 31). I'll get there about sundown; weather permitting it should be good! Joe Borgione jborgion@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
Hi Joe, I have been to the gravel pit a few times lately. The most recent excursion, a few days before Mars' closest pass, workers were using machinery off in the distant gravel pit. They had a bright light on but it was so far away it did not interfere with my night vision. In fact, was just about to use it to check my alignment when it turned off. I think they got off about midnight. They drove up to the gate, where I was working (it was unlocked, for the first time that I've been there, and I was set up just outside it). They were a couple of friendly, nice fellows and wanted to see Mars thorugh the telescope, and I was happy to oblige. Best wishes, Joe Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
Dear friends, would anyone on the news list like to give me comments about viewing Mars for a roundup article I am about to prepare? thank you, Joe Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
Joe, There's nothing like being at 9,000 feet (Wolf Creek Summit) with pristine seeing; at 1:30 Saturday night the view of Mars in my 16-inch at 350x was unsurpassed -- the best I've seen so far anyway (and perhaps likely in my lifetime). Others nearby had essentially equally good views in most of the scopes up there. It was also particularly good in Don Colton's SCT with the binocular viewer. Special thanks to Jo Grahn and her husband for hauling up the 24 inch; it gave them a lot of trouble, but it gave all of us some stunning deep-sky vistas, and a very clear, unmistakable view of the central star in the ring nebula. That alone would have made the 90 minute drive up there worthwhile, but the seeing was some of the best I've ever experienced, and combined with a great Mars showing it all made for a very memorable evening (didn't get home until 5 a.m. Sunday, and then only because I had a lesson to teach at church a few hours later!). For those of you who haven't made the "pilgrimage" to Wolf Creek, you should try it sometime; it's truly a religious experience for me. You stand under a milky way that, looking up, truly takes your breath away... -Rich --- Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote:
Dear friends, would anyone on the news list like to give me comments about viewing Mars for a roundup article I am about to prepare? thank you, Joe
Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
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Hi Rich. That article is done but I should be able include your comments in another story that I hope will be in the paper on Wednesday or Thursday. Also, anyone who reads my Mars article in today's Deseret Morning News should know that a production error occurred. The credit line printed in the paper is for Jeff Allred, a photographer here, when I took the photo! I was up all night a couple of nights making the attempt then worked two days on my own time, using my computer to get the picture right -- winnowing video frames, stacking and registering images. So it's a bit of an outch to see someone else's name on it. Also, it printed too light, so I plan to post a view in the utahastronomy photo gallery. Thanks, Joe Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
Joe, My views were somewhat tainted. (Both figuritively and literally). The proximity of our war-god neighbor was amazing. It was an incredible experience that I know only my Great-Great-Great-Great-grandchildren may be able to rivel. The beauty of that glowing disk in the sky was amazing. I felt I could nearly see its full shape with the naked eye. But what was truely astonishing, was that for once, the average person got the impression that Mars was a planet that it was so close to us, and not that it was just another bright spot in the sky. I wish that I would have been able to make it out of the valley. Work unfortunately had me bogged down, otherwise I would have been cowering in the Moab desert, 25 miles from the nearest light source. Cheeers! James Helsby Quoting Richard Tenney <retenney@yahoo.com>:
Joe,
There's nothing like being at 9,000 feet (Wolf Creek Summit) with pristine seeing; at 1:30 Saturday night the view of Mars in my 16-inch at 350x was unsurpassed -- the best I've seen so far anyway (and perhaps likely in my lifetime). Others nearby had essentially equally good views in most of the scopes up there. It was also particularly good in Don Colton's SCT with the binocular viewer.
Special thanks to Jo Grahn and her husband for hauling up the 24 inch; it gave them a lot of trouble, but it gave all of us some stunning deep-sky vistas, and a very clear, unmistakable view of the central star in the ring nebula. That alone would have made the 90 minute drive up there worthwhile, but the seeing was some of the best I've ever experienced, and combined with a great Mars showing it all made for a very memorable evening (didn't get home until 5 a.m. Sunday, and then only because I had a lesson to teach at church a few hours later!).
For those of you who haven't made the "pilgrimage" to Wolf Creek, you should try it sometime; it's truly a religious experience for me. You stand under a milky way that, looking up, truly takes your breath away...
-Rich
--- Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote:
Dear friends, would anyone on the news list like to give me comments about viewing Mars for a roundup article I am about to prepare? thank you, Joe
Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
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http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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Thanks, James! Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
Are we not making more out of this than there really is? Certainly, Mars is closer than it has been, but only by a small amount. We have the chance to see Mars at a somewhat similar distance roughly every fifteen years. Of the perihelic oppositions of Mars, 23 August 1923, 10 September 1956, and 10 August 1971 have all been within 0.3 seconds of arc of this latest opposition. This is only 1.2% smaller than the current opposition! Not much when you talk about observing visually. The difference between this opposition and the 1923 opposition requires at least 4 significant figures to differentiate. (That is less than 0.1%, and more like 0.05%) The opposition in 2018 will be .386 a.u., and the opposition in 2035 will be .382 a.u. as compared to this one at .376 a.u. The angular size will be 24.1 and 24.5 seconds of arc compared to our 25.1. You won't see much difference there. I enjoy looking at Mars as well as the next guy, but I think the emphasis on this being the closest oposition in 60,000 years is at best overstatement, and at worst misleading. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
Excellent comments Brent. But hey, sometimes having something of importance in your life makes you feel a little better... Ie. Mars being at its closest point in 60,000 years. First man to land on the moon. First artificial satellite. First (fill in the blank) Its not so much what it is, as much as what we believe about it. Cheers! James Helsby
Aw Brent, you're such a killjoy! Of course you are technically correct, but all the hype adds to the flavor of the moment, and it sure has kindled a lot of interest in the community like hyped events (e.g., comets Halley, Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake, Kohutek, etc.) often do. I've had more people sign up on the UVAA web page in the past couple of weeks than I typically get in a year. Granted, many of these are simply following the hype, and will likely "apostatize from the faith" before long, but also for many of them it's just the first step on the long journey towards true photon addiction! And to tell you the truth, I myself had never made a serious observation of mars prior to this year, out of sheer ignorance. Previously I had always only seen a featureless orange blob swimming in atmospheric soup, always with too low power, etc., not realizing what it takes to get a good image, never believing Mars would ever reveal much detail to amateur scopes. It wasn't until ALCON last summer in fact that I learned otherwise from some of the ALPO attendees that were eagerly and vocally anticipating this year's opposition. So, while true it's mostly all hype, hype can be a good thing! :-) -Rich --- Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> wrote:
Are we not making more out of this than there really is? Certainly, Mars is closer than it has been, but only by a small amount. We have the chance to see Mars at a somewhat similar distance roughly every fifteen years. Of the perihelic oppositions of Mars, 23 August 1923, 10 September 1956, and 10 August 1971 have all been within 0.3 seconds of arc of this latest opposition. This is only 1.2% smaller than the current opposition! Not much when you talk about observing visually. The difference between this opposition and the 1923 opposition requires at least 4 significant figures to differentiate. (That is less than 0.1%, and more like 0.05%)
The opposition in 2018 will be .386 a.u., and the opposition in 2035 will be .382 a.u. as compared to this one at .376 a.u. The angular size will be 24.1 and 24.5 seconds of arc compared to our 25.1. You won't see much difference there.
I enjoy looking at Mars as well as the next guy, but I think the emphasis on this being the closest oposition in 60,000 years is at best overstatement, and at worst misleading. http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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I would like thank the group for the great trip to Lowell. Kim and David were very gracious and fun to view with. Seeing was great and I'm sure, but I think I just might have seen Patrick, or someone who looked just like him on Mars. Wayne -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Richard Tenney Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 4:46 PM To: Visit http://www.utahastronomy.com for the photo gallery. Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mars comments Aw Brent, you're such a killjoy! Of course you are technically correct, but all the hype adds to the flavor of the moment, and it sure has kindled a lot of interest in the community like hyped events (e.g., comets Halley, Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake, Kohutek, etc.) often do. I've had more people sign up on the UVAA web page in the past couple of weeks than I typically get in a year. Granted, many of these are simply following the hype, and will likely "apostatize from the faith" before long, but also for many of them it's just the first step on the long journey towards true photon addiction! And to tell you the truth, I myself had never made a serious observation of mars prior to this year, out of sheer ignorance. Previously I had always only seen a featureless orange blob swimming in atmospheric soup, always with too low power, etc., not realizing what it takes to get a good image, never believing Mars would ever reveal much detail to amateur scopes. It wasn't until ALCON last summer in fact that I learned otherwise from some of the ALPO attendees that were eagerly and vocally anticipating this year's opposition. So, while true it's mostly all hype, hype can be a good thing! :-) -Rich --- Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> wrote:
Are we not making more out of this than there really is? Certainly, Mars is closer than it has been, but only by a small amount. We have the chance to see Mars at a somewhat similar distance roughly every fifteen years. Of the perihelic oppositions of Mars, 23 August 1923, 10 September 1956, and 10 August 1971 have all been within 0.3 seconds of arc of this latest opposition. This is only 1.2% smaller than the current opposition! Not much when you talk about observing visually. The difference between this opposition and the 1923 opposition requires at least 4 significant figures to differentiate. (That is less than 0.1%, and more like 0.05%)
The opposition in 2018 will be .386 a.u., and the opposition in 2035 will be .382 a.u. as compared to this one at .376 a.u. The angular size will be 24.1 and 24.5 seconds of arc compared to our 25.1. You won't see much difference there.
I enjoy looking at Mars as well as the next guy, but I think the emphasis on this being the closest oposition in 60,000 years is at best overstatement, and at worst misleading. http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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James, did you see this from SL Valley? Thanks, Joe Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169
Joe, yes. We were in the Salt Lake valley, along the south east bench. Unfortunately, we had to wait till around 1am for initial viewing, because it takes such a long time to come around Lone Peak. Then viewed until around 3:30am. Cheers, James
Hi Joe- Had a good time Sunday night at the pit. It was quiet, no equipment running. I got there just before sundown, and I can see that there has been alot of activity in the imediate area. I just wonder how long we will be able to use the spot. I sure like going there; its so convenient, and the skies are pretty good. At that location, Mars cleared the Uintahs shortly after I arrived. Joe Borgione Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote: Hi Joe, I have been to the gravel pit a few times lately. The most recent excursion, a few days before Mars' closest pass, workers were using machinery off in the distant gravel pit. They had a bright light on but it was so far away it did not interfere with my night vision. In fact, was just about to use it to check my alignment when it turned off. I think they got off about midnight. They drove up to the gate, where I was working (it was unlocked, for the first time that I've been there, and I was set up just outside it). They were a couple of friendly, nice fellows and wanted to see Mars thorugh the telescope, and I was happy to oblige. Best wishes, Joe Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau@desnews.com (801) 237-2169 _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
participants (7)
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Brent Watson -
cyanics＠xmission.com -
James Helsby
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Joe Bauman -
Joe Borgione -
Richard Tenney -
Wayne Reese