October 2006 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Mercury, Black Drop Effect, and Sunspotter scope
by Jim Cobb 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

On Oct 15, 2006, at 8:54 PM, Chuck Hards <chuckhards(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > I haven't read anything on the black drop in years-obviously it's > an optical illusion, but I had thought it was more related to > telescope optics or earth's atmosphere. I've seen it with Mercury, > but I've never seen a Venus transit to compare it to. > > How big is the image with your sunspotter? Mercury may be hard to > spot if the projected solar disk is under about four inches in > diameter. Good point, Chuck. The solar image is about four inches with the scope. With Mercury's apparent diameter of 10 arcseconds, that works out to be .02 inches. Pretty small,but I think visible. I would not expect to be able to see any black drop effect at such a size. Venus' disk during transit is considerably larger (58 arcseconds during the 2004 transit) because it is a larger planet, and because it is so much closer to earth at transit. It is visible naked eye (with proper protection). I happened to be in Boston on that date and saw it using eclipse glasses. Jim Cobb james(a)cobbzilla.net

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Latest imaging efforts
by Tyler Allred 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Looking good Patrick! You are right.... 4000mm is a lot of focal length to deal with! I couldn't begin to handle it, but your Paramount seems up to the task. :) Tyler Allred President Allred Restoration, Inc. _____________________________________________

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Well it was _supposed_ to be off list
by Patrick Wiggins 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Apologies to Chuck. That last was supposed to be off list. Patrick

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Latest imaging efforts
by Patrick Wiggins 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Lots of clear nights recently and I'm only now getting around to processing the resultant images. See the last four images at: http://www.trilobyte.net/paw/slas/patrickw/PATRICKW04.HTML Click on the thumbnail images for larger views. The originals are nearly 7 megs so I had to shrink them considerably to work on the web. With the exception of my first attempt at imaging through a camera lens (the M-31 picture) the rest are using the C-14 with no focal reducer and the ST-10 with 1x1 binning. Per suggestions from Jerry and Tyler I'm also trying stacking many short exposures. Does seem to keep the bright star flaring to a minimum and maybe even shrink the size of the stars. I'm still not happy with the star sizes of the shots through the C-14 but I'm beginning to accept that it's hard (impossible?) to get small stars with a 4,000 mm focal length light path. Did not use Photoshop except to shrink the images for the web. pw

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New Image - NGC6820 and NGC6823 in Vulpecula
by Tyler Allred 15 Oct '06

15 Oct '06

Hi all. I managed another image this week. It is an emission nebula in Vulpecula (NGC6820) with an associated open cluster (NGC6823). There is also a small planetary nebula in the lower left part of the brighter nebulosity (PLN 59-0.1). Despite the light pollution in Orem, I am getting some good results with my portable backyard setup. The Ha filter really helps cut the background light. The details of the exposure are listed with the image. I hope you enjoy it! Here is a link to the thumbnail image.. Click it for the full resolution version. http://tinyurl.com/yxezn8 Cheers, Tyler Tyler Allred President Allred Restoration, Inc. _____________________________________________

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] New Image - NGC6820 and NGC6823 in Vulpecula
by Tyler Allred 15 Oct '06

15 Oct '06

By the way.... I also added two reprocessed images to the webpage: the Pacman Nebula and the Flaming Star. I think both versions are better than the original postings, but I would like to know what others think as well. Cheers, Tyler Tyler Allred President Allred Restoration, Inc. _____________________________________________

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Upcoming Frontiers of Science Lectures at the U of U
by Richard Tenney 13 Oct '06

13 Oct '06

Frontiers of Science lecture series Frontiers of Science The COLLEGE OF SCIENCE and THE COLLEGE OF MINES AND EARTH SCIENCES have teamed-up to present FOUR lectures during the 2006-2007 academic year! The 2006-2007 Frontiers lecture series will feature eminent scientists and researchers from across the country who are exploring the latest frontiers in their fields. The Frontiers lecture series was established in 1967, and will celebrate its 40th year in 2007, making it the longest-running lecture series on campus! Over the years, we have hosted many Nobel laureates, Guggenheim Fellows, MacArthur Fellows, and members of the National Academies. Free and open to the public! All lectures begin 7:30 p.m. in the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology building (lower campus, near University Bookstore) The first lecture is Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006. This lecture features James P. Keener, distinguished professor of mathematics at the U, who will discuss "Heart Attacks Can Give You Mathematics" Heart attacks kill hundreds of people daily in the United States; many more than are killed by math anxiety! A heart attack is fatal when there is a subsequent disruption of the normal electrical signal of the heart, leading to fibrillation. There is very little understanding of why this occurs, and there are essentially no reliable predictors for the onset of fibrillation. Professor Keener will give an overview of some of the ways that mathematics can help our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias, how they occur, what they are, and how they might be eliminated or even prevented. The main emphasis will be on how mathematics can be used to give us insights into biological problems that could not otherwise be found. The second presentation will take place on Wednesday, January 31, 2007. This event will feature Matthew P. Golombek, NASA senior research scientist in Pasadena, California. His lecture title is "Mars Exploration Results: Climate Change from Wet to Dry" Dr. Golombek is a research geologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. He is also a science operations team chair on NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, currently exploring the Red Planet and led the team that selected the landing sites for these missions. Golombek has lectured about Mars internationally and co-wrote the book Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet for the National Geographic Society. He has served as editor and associate editor of professional journals, has convened scientific sessions at national and international meetings, and has served on numerous NASA science advisory groups. The third Frontiers of Science lecture is on Wed, March 28, 2007. This event will feature Kerry A. Emanuel, professor of meteorology at MIT. His presentation, "Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes," will address the historical importance of hurricanes, and focus on the current state of scientific research. "Imagine standing at the center of a Roman coliseum that is 20 miles across, with walls that soar 10 miles into the sky, towering walls with cascades of ice crystals falling along its brilliantly white surface. That's what it's like to stand in the eye of a hurricane." --excerpt from Divine Wind In his latest bestseller, Divine Wind, Kerry Emanuel, one of the world's leading authorities on hurricanes, gives an engaging account of these awe-inspiring meteorological events, revealing how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history, thwarted military incursions and changed the course of explorations. Offering an account of the physics of the tropical atmosphere, the author explains how such benign climates give rise to the most powerful storms in the world and tells what modern science has learned about them. Kerry Emanuel has been chosen as one of TIME Magazine's '100 People Who Shape Our World.' The book, Divine Wind was named One of the Top Twenty Science Books of 2005 by Discover Magazine. The fourth and final Frontiers of Science lecture is on April 18, 2007, 7:30 PM, presented by Lucy Shapiro, professor of developmental biology at Stanford University. Her lecture title poses a very serious question for researchers and the general public-- "Why Are Bacteria Winning the Antibiotics War?" "Since antibiotics were discovered in the 1950s, they have been over-used. Bacterial cells are smarter than scientists and find ways to build up resistance to current antibiotics. While many antibiotics still function today, the rate at which they are becoming useless is faster than the rate that we are discovering new ones. Furthermore, there is an increase in prevalent infectious diseases, due to overpopulation, globalisation and urbanisation. This results in a lethal combination of emerging diseases and loss of our effective antibiotics. We are rapidly reaching a critical stage," says Shapiro. All Frontiers of Science lectures are videotaped! To obtain a video or DVD, please contact James DeGooyer, (801) 581-6958 at the College of Science. Mark your calendar now for these lectures! Watch your mailbox for our direct mailers. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, contact James DeGooyer, (801) 581-6958 at the College of Science. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Mercury transit
by David Dunn 13 Oct '06

13 Oct '06

I finally took the time to look up the details on the transit. I am sure that I will be watching it, assuming that we don't have clouds. We discussed it last night at the OAS meeting as well. I think that I will bring a telescope to work and set up in the parking lot for a little while to share the experience with my co-workers. I will then head up to Doug Say's auto shop and spend the rest of the time viewing it with OAS. This is a long transit. The transit a few years ago was only a couple of hours. This one lasts almost 5 hours. From Layton, it could be visible at 4th contact, if you don't have a hill or mountain to the west. It is supposed to finish at 5:08. Sunset is supposed to be 5:16. Dave

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Re: Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 44, Issue 11
by Jim Cobb 11 Oct '06

11 Oct '06

My understanding is that the black drop effect is atmospheric. Venus has a dense atmosphere, so the effect is pronounced for a transit of Venus. Mercury has very sparse atmosphere, so the refraction by gases does not occur. At least, this is what I've read. I have no solar filters (except for naked eye). But I do have a sunspotter ( http://www.starlab.com/ltiprod.html ), which I will be using to view the event. It's not as fancy as a scope with solar filter; certainly not as fancy as a scope with an alpha filter. But, several people can observe simultaneously. Jim james(a)cobbzilla.net Chuck Hards wrote: [...] You'll need high power if trying to see the "black drop" effect. [...]

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Re: Mercury transit
by Patrick Wiggins 11 Oct '06

11 Oct '06

The list is picking on me again in that it's only sending me some of the messages (makes me wonder if it will be sending me a copy of this...) At any rate, checking the list archive I see there was a question asking if anyone is planning on viewing next month's transit. SLAS will be holding a Mercury Transit Watch at the Harmons in Midvale from noon until sunset. http://www.slas.us/displayevent.asp?EventID=869 pw

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