Thursday's Report/ Observing this Weekend
Well, last night Mat and I went to a new location out in Rush Valley. It is located out on the Pony Express Road as you begin to drive up to Lookout Pass. There is a pull out right in front of the Juniper/Cedar trees up there and I can tell last winter someone had fun with a 4x4 because there are some serious ruts. There is a nice place to set up out there, and a grove of the trees act to block any ambient light from Vernon which is much, much less then the Weapons Depot. You can see the light dome from SLC suburbia/urban area but the Utah Co. light dome is really suppressed by the distance. The mountains to the west and north-west block any dome from Dugway and the foothills block the Weapons Depot lights. After getting set up the twilight came on and so did some high cirrus clouds. We would fight the clouds off and on all night. Transparency was really bad at times and I was going after galaxies and even the big ones looked horrible. I did get a wonderful view of Veil, of a couple of planetary nebula and just an outstanding view of M15. By 11:00p.m. we packed it up and drove home. I had a digital thermometer with me and when we left at 10:47p.m. to be exact the temperature at this location was 41.6 degrees and the humidity was non-existence. We stopped at the Pit n Pole road and the temperature showed 36.0 degrees F and the humidity was much, much higher. Again, the only negative here was the road in as it has become very rutted. My SUV did fine, but I think a low level car would struggle. Great site though and one I'll use again. Oh, we also had until around 9:00p.m. or 9:30p.m. a steady stream of cars coming up the Pony Express Road and their lights were bothersome. I think that was because people were leaving for Simpson Springs to go camping though with UEA weekend. This is also a place like Pit n Pole that other people have and will use so you can run into people here. Next up, a drive on Sunday I hope out to Vernon Reservoir. It might have to wait for a week though. Tonight is up in the air. Skippy Astronomy Forecast at http://www.skippysky.com.au/NorthAmerica/ is showing high level clouds coming back in tonight which is impacting transparency and seeing. Saturday and Sunday nights look to be the best so I am putting off going back out tonight and going out on Saturday and Sunday. Location is undetermined and will depend on where I can get the most people to respond who want to go out observing. I'm up for Lakeside or up for Pit n Pole or in that general area. If you would like to join up and go out and get some personal observing in please let me know by responding and listing which area you would prefer or are heading to. By the way, NOAA released its Dec., Jan and Feb. forecasts and it calls for snow, clouds and about average temperatures for this period. La Nina is back, perhaps weaker so that means more clouds again this winter I fear. I would take advantage of any clear skies you get if you want to get some personal observing in over the next week or so. Thanks! Jay --
Thanks, Jay. Good report! Someday would you post the location of the new site? -- Joe ________________________________ From: Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 2:22 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Thursday's Report/ Observing this Weekend Well, last night Mat and I went to a new location out in Rush Valley. It is located out on the Pony Express Road as you begin to drive up to Lookout Pass. There is a pull out right in front of the Juniper/Cedar trees up there and I can tell last winter someone had fun with a 4x4 because there are some serious ruts. There is a nice place to set up out there, and a grove of the trees act to block any ambient light from Vernon which is much, much less then the Weapons Depot. You can see the light dome from SLC suburbia/urban area but the Utah Co. light dome is really suppressed by the distance. The mountains to the west and north-west block any dome from Dugway and the foothills block the Weapons Depot lights. After getting set up the twilight came on and so did some high cirrus clouds. We would fight the clouds off and on all night. Transparency was really bad at times and I was going after galaxies and even the big ones looked horrible. I did get a wonderful view of Veil, of a couple of planetary nebula and just an outstanding view of M15. By 11:00p.m. we packed it up and drove home. I had a digital thermometer with me and when we left at 10:47p.m. to be exact the temperature at this location was 41.6 degrees and the humidity was non-existence. We stopped at the Pit n Pole road and the temperature showed 36.0 degrees F and the humidity was much, much higher. Again, the only negative here was the road in as it has become very rutted. My SUV did fine, but I think a low level car would struggle. Great site though and one I'll use again. Oh, we also had until around 9:00p.m. or 9:30p.m. a steady stream of cars coming up the Pony Express Road and their lights were bothersome. I think that was because people were leaving for Simpson Springs to go camping though with UEA weekend. This is also a place like Pit n Pole that other people have and will use so you can run into people here. Next up, a drive on Sunday I hope out to Vernon Reservoir. It might have to wait for a week though. Tonight is up in the air. Skippy Astronomy Forecast at http://www.skippysky.com.au/NorthAmerica/ is showing high level clouds coming back in tonight which is impacting transparency and seeing. Saturday and Sunday nights look to be the best so I am putting off going back out tonight and going out on Saturday and Sunday. Location is undetermined and will depend on where I can get the most people to respond who want to go out observing. I'm up for Lakeside or up for Pit n Pole or in that general area. If you would like to join up and go out and get some personal observing in please let me know by responding and listing which area you would prefer or are heading to. By the way, NOAA released its Dec., Jan and Feb. forecasts and it calls for snow, clouds and about average temperatures for this period. La Nina is back, perhaps weaker so that means more clouds again this winter I fear. I would take advantage of any clear skies you get if you want to get some personal observing in over the next week or so. Thanks! Jay -- _______________________________________________ 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
I found a place near there maybe (I don't think so because it was a developed overlook) that is the place you found. The discouraging thing I found there was everything was riddled with bullet holes.
Well, last night Mat and I went to a new location out in Rush Valley. It
is located out on the Pony Express Road as you begin to drive up to Lookout Pass. There is a pull out right in front of the Juniper/Cedar trees up there and I can tell last winter someone had fun with a 4x4 because there are some serious ruts. There is a nice place to set up out there, and a grove of the trees act to block any ambient light from Vernon which is much, much less then the Weapons Depot. You can see the light dome from SLC suburbia/urban area but the Utah Co. light dome is really suppressed by the distance. The mountains to the west and north-west block any dome from Dugway and the foothills block the Weapons Depot lights. After getting set up the twilight came on and so did some high cirrus clouds. We would fight the clouds off and on all night.
Transparency was really bad at times and I was going after galaxies and even the big ones looked horrible. I did get a wonderful view of Veil, of a couple of planetary nebula and just an outstanding view of M15. By 11:00p.m. we packed it up and drove home. I had a digital thermometer with me and when we left at 10:47p.m. to be exact the temperature at this location was 41.6 degrees and the humidity was non-existence. We stopped at the Pit n Pole road and the temperature showed 36.0 degrees F and the humidity was much, much higher. Again, the only negative here was the road in as it has become very rutted. My SUV did fine, but I think a low level car would struggle. Great site though and one I'll use again. Oh, we also had until around 9:00p.m. or 9:30p.m. a steady stream of cars coming up the Pony Express Road and their lights were bothersome. I think that was because people were leaving for Simpson Springs to go camping though with UEA weekend. This is also a place like Pit n Pole that other people have and will use so you can run into people here. Next up, a drive on Sunday I hope out to Vernon Reservoir. It might have to wait for a week though.
Tonight is up in the air. Skippy Astronomy Forecast at http://www.skippysky.com.au/NorthAmerica/ is showing high level clouds coming back in tonight which is impacting transparency and seeing. Saturday and Sunday nights look to be the best so I am putting off going back out tonight and going out on Saturday and Sunday. Location is undetermined and will depend on where I can get the most people to respond who want to go out observing. I'm up for Lakeside or up for Pit n Pole or in that general area. If you would like to join up and go out and get some personal observing in please let me know by responding and listing which area you would prefer or are heading to.
By the way, NOAA released its Dec., Jan and Feb. forecasts and it calls for snow, clouds and about average temperatures for this period. La Nina is back, perhaps weaker so that means more clouds again this winter I fear. I would take advantage of any clear skies you get if you want to get some personal observing in over the next week or so.
Thanks!
Jay
-- _______________________________________________ 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
Was the problem really transparency, or could high-altitute turbulence be the culprit? How does the site compare to Lakeside? Great report, thanks!
This wasn't a developed overlook. It didn't have a bunch of shot up things there either. It is more of a pull out and the worse thing is there are a lot of wood chips by where people have a fire pit from making kindling. Joe, I'll post a link/site on Google Earth later. On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 5:27 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
Was the problem really transparency, or could high-altitute turbulence be the culprit? How does the site compare to Lakeside? Great report, thanks! _______________________________________________ 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
-- Jay Eads
On 10/21/11, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
This wasn't a developed overlook. It didn't have a bunch of shot up things there either. It is more of a pull out and the worse thing is there are a lot of wood chips by where people have a fire pit from making kindling.
Smells like deer hunters. Wear blaze orange, Jay! ;o)
IMO, Lakeside is hard to beat, from a strictly darkness, and proximity to my personal dwelling standpoint. The ground dust (and/or mud) is another issue. But for dark skies without spending gas money I don't have and driving to Great Basin, the Wedge, or Bryce, it's hard to beat. YMMV. Really, it will!
Lakeside is very good,but this new site rates darker than Pit n Pole though it is 15 miles farther west and about 25 minutes longer to drive. Technically, if you use the most current Light Pollution Map which can be found at this link: http://sites.google.com/site/3davel/home/light-pollution/lp2001/gmap On this map it goes in order of worst light pollution, white, red, orange, yellow, green. blue, grey and then black, black being the best. 1. Pit n Pole. You will find that Pit n Pole is in the Green, bordering on Blue. Not a bad site in terms of LP but you are somewhat impacted but the time and space for those in Utah Valley or in southern Salt Lake Valley is hard to beat. It's the humidity in the fall and spring that brings the temperature down at this site. I've seen the Horsehead here twice in the winter, along with splitting Sirius. I would rate this as a 4/5. I use this site in the winter, and it has been dry and steady. Just don't go out there right after a large snow storm or a 2 to 3 day rainstorm in the spring. Both this site and Lakeside can get very muddy. 2. Lakeside: Is located in a blue zone with a green zone right on the other side of the mountain to the east due to a processing plant (?) some type of plant in the area. Great site, great location but not the only one in the area. Fantastic for those living in the northern portion of the Salt Lake Valley or the southern portion of Davis Co. as it takes only an hour to get out there. If your in the southern portion of Salt Lake Co., in Utah Co. or northern Davis Co. count on an hour and a half to get there. Very dusty at this site but a very good site. I rate this site 4.5/5 for a local site. 3. Lookout Pass 1 that I was at last night is deep in the blue zone bordering on the grey zone. Warm, no humidity because of the elevation the only impact is the road, lights of cars coming up the Pony Express Road (which went down as the night went on). I'll be back to this site but I recommend going with 1 other person in case the road gets to a tire. I would rate this site as a 4/5. 4. Vernon Reservoir. This is in a grey zone, at 5200 to 6000 feet depending on where you go. There are 11 camping spots that are rough near the reservoir that is 20 acres in size. Rather low humidity at this site, like Lakeside it sits around 50% to 55% and it is somewhat milder than Pit n Pole with tonight's low around 43 degrees. Lights from Vernon are to the north. Here is a link to directions from Herriman: http://utah.hometownlocator.com/maps/distance-directions2.cfm?vernon%20reser... Mileage is about 63 miles for me from Herriman or around 1 hour or so to the site. I recommend if your not camping and fishing (no power boats allowed in the reservoir, similar to Grantsville Reservoir) to set up away from the campground area so any campfires don't impact. This site is open year round. Again I think the weekday might be better than a Friday or Saturday but I haven't tried a weekend yet . . . I would rate this site as a 4.75/5. Finally, next spring or early summer I would like to check out Little Valley Campground which is further down the forest road and to the west looks to have a nice open area to observe from. There is also a possible site down the Forest Service Road from the turn to the campground to the south. Here is a topo map of the Little Valley Campground area and you can move it up to see Vernon Reservoir. http://utah.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,2,fid,1442799,n,little%... No rating on this site. 5. South Park Parking Lot. This is located up Provo Canyon on Hwy 189 off of S. Fork Rd. Some will be going up there for a school star party next Friday. This is a yellow zone, okay viewing but the canyon walls do impact views except at zenith. Also the light dome from Utah Valley/Provo does impact the site but overall, not bad and easy access. I would rate this site a 3/5. 6. Wolf Creek Pass (summer into early fall). One of my favorite sites and on the Sky Quality Meter it has had the best reading of all the local sites. I would rate this site 4.9/5. 7. Notch Peak. Located about 3 hours away and west of Delta but not as far as Great Basin. Mat and I went there and there was no local sources of light and the only light you could see was a faint dome to the northeast from the SLC dome and then another fainter dome to the southeast from the St. George light dome. This is a 5/5 site and I am looking forward to going back there. It is a dirt road getting out there and you have to find a spot to set up in but it is just outstanding. That's enough. On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 6:18 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
IMO, Lakeside is hard to beat, from a strictly darkness, and proximity to my personal dwelling standpoint. The ground dust (and/or mud) is another issue. But for dark skies without spending gas money I don't have and driving to Great Basin, the Wedge, or Bryce, it's hard to beat.
YMMV. Really, it will!
_______________________________________________ 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
-- Jay Eads
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.
Hi Chuck, I've noticed that at Lakeside the distant headlights don't seem to impact the darkness (though of course the city light domes do). When I balance the cost in time, energy and gas, Lakeside beats out my old dark-sky favorite, the Wedge. This is especially true now that I no longer use the generator, but batteries. It's easy enough to drive home from lakeside, lie around and recharge batteries, and go back the next night. With the Wedge and my generator I tended to spend a night and a day and another night there. -- Joe ________________________________ 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
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
Joe, the Wedge is also one of my favorites. ________________________________ From: Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 1:26 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Thursday's Report/ Observing this Weekend 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 _______________________________________________ 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
That light pollution link is super Jay, thanks for posting. I note that is for 2001 (I wonder how much has changed) A site I like (42 minutes from my house) up Brown's canyon overlooking Kamas is in a green zone. Interestingly, SPOC is in a yellow zone. Nice to know. If the west desert sites weren't so far away from my house(southeast part of the valley) I would problably try them. Your new site sounds exciting, BUT I have a low riding car and the ruts would ruin it. Now if they graded that road over the winter or next spring... Still, I would like to check it out for myself, at least once. Maybe after the 17.5 is built .... BTW I saw a news report about the slide on SR 14 and they said it won't be ready until June of next year (after the annular eclipse). Knowing how things just take longer than expected, it might not even be ready by then. I guess it's the backside Panguitch route for me :( ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jay Eads" <jayleads@gmail.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 9:42:26 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Thursday's Report/ Observing this Weekend Lakeside is very good,but this new site rates darker than Pit n Pole though it is 15 miles farther west and about 25 minutes longer to drive. Technically, if you use the most current Light Pollution Map which can be found at this link: http://sites.google.com/site/3davel/home/light-pollution/lp2001/gmap On this map it goes in order of worst light pollution, white, red, orange, yellow, green. blue, grey and then black, black being the best. 1. Pit n Pole. You will find that Pit n Pole is in the Green, bordering on Blue. Not a bad site in terms of LP but you are somewhat impacted but the time and space for those in Utah Valley or in southern Salt Lake Valley is hard to beat. It's the humidity in the fall and spring that brings the temperature down at this site. I've seen the Horsehead here twice in the winter, along with splitting Sirius. I would rate this as a 4/5. I use this site in the winter, and it has been dry and steady. Just don't go out there right after a large snow storm or a 2 to 3 day rainstorm in the spring. Both this site and Lakeside can get very muddy. 2. Lakeside: Is located in a blue zone with a green zone right on the other side of the mountain to the east due to a processing plant (?) some type of plant in the area. Great site, great location but not the only one in the area. Fantastic for those living in the northern portion of the Salt Lake Valley or the southern portion of Davis Co. as it takes only an hour to get out there. If your in the southern portion of Salt Lake Co., in Utah Co. or northern Davis Co. count on an hour and a half to get there. Very dusty at this site but a very good site. I rate this site 4.5/5 for a local site. 3. Lookout Pass 1 that I was at last night is deep in the blue zone bordering on the grey zone. Warm, no humidity because of the elevation the only impact is the road, lights of cars coming up the Pony Express Road (which went down as the night went on). I'll be back to this site but I recommend going with 1 other person in case the road gets to a tire. I would rate this site as a 4/5. 4. Vernon Reservoir. This is in a grey zone, at 5200 to 6000 feet depending on where you go. There are 11 camping spots that are rough near the reservoir that is 20 acres in size. Rather low humidity at this site, like Lakeside it sits around 50% to 55% and it is somewhat milder than Pit n Pole with tonight's low around 43 degrees. Lights from Vernon are to the north. Here is a link to directions from Herriman: http://utah.hometownlocator.com/maps/distance-directions2.cfm?vernon%20reser... Mileage is about 63 miles for me from Herriman or around 1 hour or so to the site. I recommend if your not camping and fishing (no power boats allowed in the reservoir, similar to Grantsville Reservoir) to set up away from the campground area so any campfires don't impact. This site is open year round. Again I think the weekday might be better than a Friday or Saturday but I haven't tried a weekend yet . . . I would rate this site as a 4.75/5. Finally, next spring or early summer I would like to check out Little Valley Campground which is further down the forest road and to the west looks to have a nice open area to observe from. There is also a possible site down the Forest Service Road from the turn to the campground to the south. Here is a topo map of the Little Valley Campground area and you can move it up to see Vernon Reservoir. http://utah.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,2,fid,1442799,n,little%... No rating on this site. 5. South Park Parking Lot. This is located up Provo Canyon on Hwy 189 off of S. Fork Rd. Some will be going up there for a school star party next Friday. This is a yellow zone, okay viewing but the canyon walls do impact views except at zenith. Also the light dome from Utah Valley/Provo does impact the site but overall, not bad and easy access. I would rate this site a 3/5. 6. Wolf Creek Pass (summer into early fall). One of my favorite sites and on the Sky Quality Meter it has had the best reading of all the local sites. I would rate this site 4.9/5. 7. Notch Peak. Located about 3 hours away and west of Delta but not as far as Great Basin. Mat and I went there and there was no local sources of light and the only light you could see was a faint dome to the northeast from the SLC dome and then another fainter dome to the southeast from the St. George light dome. This is a 5/5 site and I am looking forward to going back there. It is a dirt road getting out there and you have to find a spot to set up in but it is just outstanding. That's enough. On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 6:18 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
IMO, Lakeside is hard to beat, from a strictly darkness, and proximity to my personal dwelling standpoint. The ground dust (and/or mud) is another issue. But for dark skies without spending gas money I don't have and driving to Great Basin, the Wedge, or Bryce, it's hard to beat.
YMMV. Really, it will!
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I updated my observing sites on my own Google Maps and here is the link: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=211755030117194028721.00049324662bf653d3... That way others can see if any of these sites they might have used. I'll be honest, most of the sites have changed since the satellite images were taken. I put Vernon Reservoir up there now, and think I will like that one better than the new site we tried yesterday. I also found a new campground to go up to and perhaps check out south of Vernon Reservoir called LIttle Valley Campground. Its up in elevation, about 6800 to 7200 feet. The question will be if there is a ridge there that one could get to and use like at Wolf Creek. My eventual goal is to put pictures with all of these sites. I have Lakeside and Pit n Pole on my blog but I would like pictures to go with directions since I think for some, visual references are really important. On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 10:46 PM, <jcarman6@q.com> wrote:
That light pollution link is super Jay, thanks for posting. I note that is for 2001 (I wonder how much has changed) A site I like (42 minutes from my house) up Brown's canyon overlooking Kamas is in a green zone. Interestingly, SPOC is in a yellow zone. Nice to know. If the west desert sites weren't so far away from my house(southeast part of the valley) I would problably try them. Your new site sounds exciting, BUT I have a low riding car and the ruts would ruin it. Now if they graded that road over the winter or next spring... Still, I would like to check it out for myself, at least once. Maybe after the 17.5 is built ....
BTW I saw a news report about the slide on SR 14 and they said it won't be ready until June of next year (after the annular eclipse). Knowing how things just take longer than expected, it might not even be ready by then. I guess it's the backside Panguitch route for me :(
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jay Eads" <jayleads@gmail.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 9:42:26 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Thursday's Report/ Observing this Weekend
Lakeside is very good,but this new site rates darker than Pit n Pole though it is 15 miles farther west and about 25 minutes longer to drive. Technically, if you use the most current Light Pollution Map which can be found at this link:
http://sites.google.com/site/3davel/home/light-pollution/lp2001/gmap
On this map it goes in order of worst light pollution, white, red, orange, yellow, green. blue, grey and then black, black being the best.
1. Pit n Pole. You will find that Pit n Pole is in the Green, bordering on Blue. Not a bad site in terms of LP but you are somewhat impacted but the time and space for those in Utah Valley or in southern Salt Lake Valley is hard to beat. It's the humidity in the fall and spring that brings the temperature down at this site. I've seen the Horsehead here twice in the winter, along with splitting Sirius. I would rate this as a 4/5. I use this site in the winter, and it has been dry and steady. Just don't go out there right after a large snow storm or a 2 to 3 day rainstorm in the spring. Both this site and Lakeside can get very muddy.
2. Lakeside: Is located in a blue zone with a green zone right on the other side of the mountain to the east due to a processing plant (?) some type of plant in the area. Great site, great location but not the only one in the area. Fantastic for those living in the northern portion of the Salt Lake Valley or the southern portion of Davis Co. as it takes only an hour to get out there. If your in the southern portion of Salt Lake Co., in Utah Co. or northern Davis Co. count on an hour and a half to get there. Very dusty at this site but a very good site. I rate this site 4.5/5 for a local site.
3. Lookout Pass 1 that I was at last night is deep in the blue zone bordering on the grey zone. Warm, no humidity because of the elevation the only impact is the road, lights of cars coming up the Pony Express Road (which went down as the night went on). I'll be back to this site but I recommend going with 1 other person in case the road gets to a tire. I would rate this site as a 4/5.
4. Vernon Reservoir. This is in a grey zone, at 5200 to 6000 feet depending on where you go. There are 11 camping spots that are rough near the reservoir that is 20 acres in size. Rather low humidity at this site, like Lakeside it sits around 50% to 55% and it is somewhat milder than Pit n Pole with tonight's low around 43 degrees. Lights from Vernon are to the north. Here is a link to directions from Herriman:
http://utah.hometownlocator.com/maps/distance-directions2.cfm?vernon%20reser...
Mileage is about 63 miles for me from Herriman or around 1 hour or so to the site. I recommend if your not camping and fishing (no power boats allowed in the reservoir, similar to Grantsville Reservoir) to set up away from the campground area so any campfires don't impact. This site is open year round. Again I think the weekday might be better than a Friday or Saturday but I haven't tried a weekend yet . . . I would rate this site as a 4.75/5.
Finally, next spring or early summer I would like to check out Little Valley Campground which is further down the forest road and to the west looks to have a nice open area to observe from. There is also a possible site down the Forest Service Road from the turn to the campground to the south. Here is a topo map of the Little Valley Campground area and you can move it up to see Vernon Reservoir.
http://utah.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,2,fid,1442799,n,little%...
No rating on this site.
5. South Park Parking Lot. This is located up Provo Canyon on Hwy 189 off of S. Fork Rd. Some will be going up there for a school star party next Friday. This is a yellow zone, okay viewing but the canyon walls do impact views except at zenith. Also the light dome from Utah Valley/Provo does impact the site but overall, not bad and easy access. I would rate this site a 3/5.
6. Wolf Creek Pass (summer into early fall). One of my favorite sites and on the Sky Quality Meter it has had the best reading of all the local sites. I would rate this site 4.9/5.
7. Notch Peak. Located about 3 hours away and west of Delta but not as far as Great Basin. Mat and I went there and there was no local sources of light and the only light you could see was a faint dome to the northeast from the SLC dome and then another fainter dome to the southeast from the St. George light dome. This is a 5/5 site and I am looking forward to going back there. It is a dirt road getting out there and you have to find a spot to set up in but it is just outstanding.
That's enough.
On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 6:18 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
IMO, Lakeside is hard to beat, from a strictly darkness, and proximity to my personal dwelling standpoint. The ground dust (and/or mud) is another issue. But for dark skies without spending gas money I don't have and driving to Great Basin, the Wedge, or Bryce, it's hard to beat.
YMMV. Really, it will!
_______________________________________________ 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
-- Jay Eads _______________________________________________ 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
_______________________________________________ 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
-- Jay Eads
participants (6)
-
Brent Watson -
Chuck Hards -
erikhansen＠thebluezone.net -
Jay Eads -
jcarman6＠q.com -
Joe Bauman