March 2005 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Good news & I need some help!
by Richard Tenney 16 Mar '05

16 Mar '05

I just got off the phone with a local reporter who wants to do a story on light pollution in my local town (Pleasant Grove / Lindon) on the heels of me showing up to the last city council meeting and making an impromptu, passionate speech about how they should adopt a sensible, dark-sky friendly outdoor lighting policy. Apparently my message resonated with enough people that: 1. The City told Utah Auto Sales, who wants to expand across the street, and the soon-to-be-built Low Book Sales, that they must change their planned lot lighting to be more dark-sky friendly! 2. The local paper wants to do an interview (with pictures) about the things I spoke of (dark sky, saving money, safety issues, etc.). Anyway, I'm pretty happy; it just goes to show that even one voice in the right place at the right time can make a difference. Here's where I'd like some help. Last year SLAS had a guy from SLC present on some of Mayor Anderson's efforts towards better downtown lighting, and in the course of his talk mentioned that the lighting redesign of one of the city/county buildings downtown resulted in a tremendous amount of money saved; it seemed that he tossed out a number something like $20 or $30k / year savings on that building alone. Is my memory flawed? Do any of the list/SLAS members recall what that amount was, what the building is, and who the speaker was so that I might contact him and get the actual numbers/facts straight so that I can pass this info along in the article? Thanks, Rich PS, attend YOUR next city council meeting and see if you can put in your $.02 on them adopting sensible outdoor lighting policies where you live. The 15 minutes I spent at mine have apparently already had a positive impact... __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/

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ST-4 back on the block
by Patrick Wiggins 15 Mar '05

15 Mar '05

I just heard back from the guy that had the option on my ST-4 and learned he's not ready to buy just yet and has released his option. So it's back up for grabs. Patrick

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Re: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too easy
by astrodeb＠charter.net 15 Mar '05

15 Mar '05

Patrick, What autoguider did you get? I hear the ST-4 is the standard for autoguiders. Debbie > > From: Joe Bauman <bau(a)desnews.com> > Date: 2005/03/14 Mon AM 08:31:52 MST > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too easy > > Oops, I noticed the time you sent it -- I simply got it in the > daylight, but you sent it at 3:14. So you ARE in bed! That's the > Patrick I know. -- Joe > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com >

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Too easy
by Patrick Wiggins 15 Mar '05

15 Mar '05

Remembering back to when I first started dabbling in astrophotography I remember all to well the frozen fingers, uncomfortable sitting positions, difficulty finding a guide star, even more difficulty guiding and (shudder) those long exposures it took to get enough photons from those faint fuzzies to register on the film. And now it's so much easier (albeit at a higher cost). Specifically I'm referring to tonight's play time with my brand new, self guiding, imager. Sitting warm and cozy in my library I pushed a few buttons and 10 minutes later the following picture of M-95 appeared on the monitor: http://www.trilobyte.net/paw/temp/M9510MIN.JPG Or if you'd like the FITS image so you can play with it yourself: http://www.trilobyte.net/paw/temp/M9510MIN.FIT Note that these are just as they came out of the camera. No flat field, no Photoshop. Just the raw image shot through the C14 at f/11 (3,900 mm focal length). Patrick

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Re: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too easy
by astrodeb＠charter.net 14 Mar '05

14 Mar '05

I need a CCD camera first. I did mostly visual observations of Arp and Messier galaxies Friday with my 15". I need more clear nights down here. Debbie > > From: Joe Bauman <bau(a)desnews.com> > Date: 2005/03/14 Mon PM 01:14:40 MST > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Subject: Re: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too easy > > Post 'em Deb!!!! Thanks, Joe > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com >

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Re: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too easy
by astrodeb＠charter.net 14 Mar '05

14 Mar '05

I got a wonderful view of M104 Friday. I would also vote for the NGC 4631 and the NGC 4656 combo. It is one of my favorite pairs. Debbie > > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)trilobyte.net> > Date: 2005/03/14 Mon PM 01:13:08 MST > To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Too easy > > Hey, > > Joe Bauman wrote: > > > Patrick, While you're trolling, see if you can hook M104... > > Ok. > > > Also, have you angled for M51? > > Kind of low in the sky now but it is on my "must get" list. > > Patrick > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com >

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Friday night at the Wedge Overlook
by Olhomorto＠aol.com 14 Mar '05

14 Mar '05

I had a great time at the Wedge on Friday, too. The weather was pretty cooperative and it didn't feel as cold as I had worried about. The breeze wasn't bad, but the light pollution from the nearby towns annoyed me. Rob, Brent, and I set up our scopes right on the edge of the cliffs. I was pleased after midnight to be able to see the NGC 5139 Omega Centauri cluster about a finger's width above the horizon as well as NGC 5128 (Centauras A) another finger or so higher! At the beginning of the evening a cloud and the zodiacal light made it pretty difficult to start my M marathon with M-74. And by 5:00 a.m. the coming dawn obscured the rise of Capricornus and Aquarius so I couldn't bag the last five objects on my list. But in between M-objects I enjoyed a host of other items such as the NGC 3242 planetary in Hydra and the open cluster NGC 2477 in Puppis! Mike Bailey

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A few astrophotos posted to my gallery
by Tyler Allred 14 Mar '05

14 Mar '05

Hi all. I managed to get set up with a gallery on the Utah Astronomy site, and I posted a few of my astrophotos. Comments and suggestions are always welcomed, as I am just learning how to do this thing called astrophotography. I hope someone enjoys looking at the photos as much as I have enjoyed taking them. I made the mistake of signing up for the "digest" mode instead of getting individual emails. As such, I can't figure out how to respond to messages, without starting a new thread. Am I just blind? Could someone explain if it is possible to respond, when receiving the digest? I think I will just change to individual email delivery. That will probably solve the problem. Cheers, Tyler

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Fwd: 15x70mm binos
by Naz & David 13 Mar '05

13 Mar '05

Just got hold of a pair of these at the sale price - went in twice and the second time they gave it to me for $59.99. Great value. You can get the same for $54 plus shipping at www.binoculars.com but I could not be bothered fussing with a few bucks. Cheers David

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Images from Orem... last night!
by Tyler Allred 13 Mar '05

13 Mar '05

Hi all. I did two open cluster images last night from my light polluted back yard in Orem: M35 and its neighbor NGC2158, and M36. I added them to my Utah Astronomy gallery. Take a look if you would like. Here is the link: http://www.utahastronomy.com/geomorph They are located in the "Deep Sky Images" album. I also put some of my wildlife images in the gallery. for those who are interested in such things. Cheers, Tyler PS - I used Don Goldman's RGB Weight Calculator v1.4 to set the G2V star colors, so the colors of the individual stars should be correct

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