March 2003 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Utah-astronomy] C9.25 F/10 SCT
by David Moulton 11 Mar '03

11 Mar '03

The GM8 is the lighter mount is it not? I have thought of that one for my C9.25, but have always suspected that it would be 'borderline' and thus not ideal for picture taking. I can't remember the weight of the OTA, but as I recall it is right at the top end of the weight range that the GM8 should take. I certainly think it has less mirror shift. I notice essentially none on my scope. I really like mine. Given the right mount I think it would be great for astrophotos. dave -----Original Message----- From: UTAHDEB(a)aol.com To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 14:05:49 EST Subject: [Utah-astronomy] C9.25 F/10 SCT Hi all, I'm thinking of going into digital astro-photography. I was wondering how the Celestron 9.25 F/10 carbon fiber tube assembly would work on my GM-8 mount. The exposures would be a maximum of five minutes. I hear that the 9.25" SCT has less mirror shift than the 8" SCT. I would attach a Nikon Coolpix 5000 using the TeleVue adapters. Anybody have any experience using the 9.25" SCT and what were your impressions of this scope? Thanks, Debbie _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Project Morpheus (not the software)
by Dale Hooper 11 Mar '03

11 Mar '03

There would probably be information on this or similar concepts in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS). It has covered space sailing, various relativistic propulsion concepts, relativistic navigation, etc. It's an excellent journal and you should be able to find it at the larger universities in the state, i.e. USU, UofU and BYU. I don't think Weber State carries it. > -----Original Message----- > From: Chuck Hards [mailto:chuckhards@yahoo.com] > Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 2:42 PM > To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Project Morpheus (not the software) > > > Hi James: > > It is a concept as old as the atomic bomb. I remember > reading science-fiction stories in the sixties that > mentioned the concept, as well as a show at Hansen > Planetarium in the early '70's that also mentioned it. > One of the variations was a "spring-plate" on the > back of the ship, in lieu of a "sail", to provide a > surface for the explosion to react against. As > laughable as the concept sounds, I have met engineers > & physicists who insist it is feasable & can be > designed to be safe, given a sufficient budget. > > As far as any 'Net resources, or modern write-ups, > you're on your own. > > C. > > --- cyanics(a)xmission.com wrote: > > All, > > > > First off.... First submission (ye ha). > > > > Secondly, I realize that this is an avenue for > > astronomy, and not > > necessarily astrophysics (which this question > > pertains to) > > > > Does anyone know anything about a "project > > morpheus"? I ask, because I was > > watching the Learning Channel a few nights ago, in > > which the discussion was > > interstellar or intrastellar travel. One of the > > possibilities that they > > discussed was this project morpheus. It used a > > solar-sail type array, which > > in its envelope a low-yield nuclear weapon is > > detonated. The force of the > > explosion is caught in the sail, and accelerates the > > spacecraft to speeds > > (as they said) of "several hundred thousand miles > > per hour" > > > > While I accept that this velocity is achieveable, I > > found the technology > > laughable. So I ask the question. Does anyone know > > of an avenue which I can > > follow that might have more information (beyond a > > basic google search) > > regarding this project? > > > > Thanks in advance > > > > James Helsby. > > cyanics(a)xmission.com > > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online > http://webhosting.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >

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C9.25 F/10 SCT
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 11 Mar '03

11 Mar '03

Hi all, I'm thinking of going into digital astro-photography. I was wondering how the Celestron 9.25 F/10 carbon fiber tube assembly would work on my GM-8 mount. The exposures would be a maximum of five minutes. I hear that the 9.25" SCT has less mirror shift than the 8" SCT. I would attach a Nikon Coolpix 5000 using the TeleVue adapters. Anybody have any experience using the 9.25" SCT and what were your impressions of this scope? Thanks, Debbie

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Shuttle
by Larry Frisk 11 Mar '03

11 Mar '03

http://www.snopes.com/photos/shuttle2.asp

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Moon Transit Across Jupiter
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 10 Mar '03

10 Mar '03

I went to Sky and Telescope's- This Week's Sky at a Glance. It was Callisto that cast its tiny black shadow onto Jupiter's face. The Great Red Spot should transit around 8:36 MST tonight. Hopefully it will still be clear tonight. Debbie

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S&T chart error
by Chuck Hards 10 Mar '03

10 Mar '03

It sure looks to me like the positions of Jupiter and Saturn are off by 1 to 1-1/2 hrs. on the chart on pages 93-94 of the March '03 issue. They seem to have not perpetuated the error, the planets are back in their correct locations in the April issue. C. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/

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Solar filters for 20x80mm binos
by Chuck Hards 10 Mar '03

10 Mar '03

I completed the prototypes over the weekend; they look and perform well. I also have parts for 4 more sets. I was going to put these on eBay, but will sell them at a fixed price for list members. Baader filter material, PVC construction. Made to fit the Apogee 20x80mm binoculars, but if you remove the felt liner they will fit up to a 3-7/8" OD tube or dewcap. Also, the filter material is replaceable, should it ever require changing- you don't have to throw the cell away when the filter needs replacing. Price for list members: $50/set (thats 2 filters, folks) Deilivery will be in approximately 3-4 weeks (waiting for more Baader material). Contact me off-list if interested. Any sets not sold by the end of March will go to eBay. Thanks Chuck __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/

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5 more!
by Patrick Wiggins 10 Mar '03

10 Mar '03

Those keeping track of the recent race to find more Jovian satellites will want to know that last week's new total of 47 has now been upped to 52. See http://planet.state.ut.us/files/SSFACTS.TXT for a complete list (a list that will probably be out of date soon when they find still more). Patrick

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Red LED Flashlight
by David Dunn 10 Mar '03

10 Mar '03

I was in need of a couple of Red flashlights and I came across the following web page. I spent $12 dollars buying a set of three flashlights at Wal-Mart and some LEDs and Resistors at Radio Shack. I was an easy project. This was only the second time I have ever Soldered anything. I made a Red and a Green and plan to buy a couple more flashlights so that each of my kids will have one. http://www.dma.org/~wagner/led.htm Thanks. David Dunn 801-961-3253

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New Eyepiece Review
by David Dunn 10 Mar '03

10 Mar '03

I bought three new eyepieces from Hands On Optics. They arrived a week ago but Saturday night was the first time I had a chance to use them. I bought a 2mm, 5mm, and 9mm of the long eye relief GTO eyepieces. The 9mm will be sent back. It had a color problem with Jupiter, Saturn and the moon. I don't mind seeing a planet colored by a filter but having half of it purple and the other half red bothers me. It did have a sweet spot in the center where the color went away and the image looked nice. I have some 10mm Plossils and they produce a better image. The 2mm and 5mm eyepieces performed quite nicely. The 2mm takes my 10" f/4.5 up to 572X. The moon looked real nice. The central peak in Theophilus was real clear and sharp. The small craters around the Apollo 11 and the mountains to the south were nice as well. The 5mm eyepiece performed well on Jupiter and Saturn. The shadow transit was real clear, crisp and dark. The 20mm eye relief was real nice. I did notice a little stretching right at the edge of the 2mm. It seemed to be trying to straighten the edge of the moon out. The image did look pleasing to the eye. I think that my next step is to have Brent or Chuck take a look at them and show me how to detect other possible problems since I am not an expert on optics. Here is a link to the eyepieces. http://www.handsonoptics.com/astronomy/GTO_series/gto_series.html#ler Thanks. David Dunn 801-961-3253

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