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

comet 73p
by daniel turner 22 Apr '06

22 Apr '06

Amateur Astronomers have been able to image the split in the "B" component with 8 inch telescopes. This week from SPOC the C and B components were easily seen even over the light dome of Salt Lake city. I urge you all to look at these if the weather permits. DT 73p c ************************************************************************************************************** Date__(UT)__HR:MN R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC T-mag N-mag delta deldot S-O-T /r S-T-O ************************************************************************************************************** $$SOE 2006-Apr-20 00:00 15 28 15.70 +26 29 47.0 10.53 10.95 .211183239260451 -14.6171222 135.3028 /L 37.3662 2006-Apr-20 12:00 15 30 22.16 +26 43 30.1 10.47 10.90 .206974856253190 -14.5274224 134.9385 /L 37.8060 2006-Apr-21 00:00 15 32 33.56 +26 57 25.0 10.41 10.85 .202792586582231 -14.4362260 134.5613 /L 38.2589 2006-Apr-21 12:00 15 34 50.23 +27 11 31.8 10.35 10.80 .198636892775623 -14.3433201 134.1709 /L 38.7255 2006-Apr-22 00:00 15 37 12.48 +27 25 50.7 10.30 10.74 .194508301450948 -14.2484735 133.7665 /L 39.2062 2006-Apr-22 12:00 15 39 40.69 +27 40 21.8 10.24 10.69 .190407408956593 -14.1514343 133.3477 /L 39.7019 2006-Apr-23 00:00 15 42 15.25 +27 55 05.1 10.18 10.64 .186334887605519 -14.0519278 132.9138 /L 40.2129 2006-Apr-23 12:00 15 44 56.57 +28 10 00.6 10.11 10.58 .182291492582018 -13.9496543 132.4640 /L 40.7402 2006-Apr-24 00:00 15 47 45.11 +28 25 08.1 10.05 10.53 .178278069615364 -13.8442861 131.9976 /L 41.2846 2006-Apr-24 12:00 15 50 41.36 +28 40 27.6 9.99 10.47 .174295563528426 -13.7354640 131.5137 /L 41.8467 2006-Apr-25 00:00 15 53 45.85 +28 55 58.5 9.93 10.41 .170345027783803 -13.6227941 131.0113 /L 42.4277 2006-Apr-25 12:00 15 56 59.15 +29 11 40.4 9.86 10.35 .166427635162389 -13.5058434 130.4894 /L 43.0284 2006-Apr-26 00:00 16 00 21.87 +29 27 32.6 9.80 10.30 .162544689718761 -13.3841349 129.9470 /L 43.6501 2006-Apr-26 12:00 16 03 54.68 +29 43 34.3 9.73 10.24 .158697640162392 -13.2571428 129.3826 /L 44.2939 2006-Apr-27 00:00 16 07 38.30 +29 59 44.1 9.67 10.18 .154888094812659 -13.1242867 128.7951 /L 44.9611 $$EOE ************************************************************************************************************** 73p b ************************************************************************************************************** Date__(UT)__HR:MN R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC T-mag N-mag delta deldot S-O-T /r S-T-O ************************************************************************************************************** $$SOE 2006-Apr-20 00:00 15 06 49.30 +28 02 06.6 10.62 11.84 .217694535643647 -14.6693322 136.4828 /L 36.1683 2006-Apr-20 12:00 15 08 22.80 +28 17 24.4 10.55 11.79 .213468869566651 -14.5950727 136.1321 /L 36.5906 2006-Apr-21 00:00 15 09 59.87 +28 32 59.1 10.48 11.74 .209264701796838 -14.5204093 135.7707 /L 37.0242 2006-Apr-21 12:00 15 11 40.75 +28 48 51.3 10.40 11.69 .205082167300389 -14.4452134 135.3982 /L 37.4695 2006-Apr-22 00:00 15 13 25.70 +29 05 01.8 10.33 11.64 .200921439697502 -14.3693458 135.0143 /L 37.9268 2006-Apr-22 12:00 15 15 14.98 +29 21 31.3 10.26 11.59 .196782734561171 -14.2926550 134.6187 /L 38.3967 2006-Apr-23 00:00 15 17 08.89 +29 38 20.7 10.18 11.53 .192666313084556 -14.2149762 134.2108 /L 38.8795 2006-Apr-23 12:00 15 19 07.76 +29 55 30.6 10.11 11.48 .188572486180543 -14.1361297 133.7903 /L 39.3757 2006-Apr-24 00:00 15 21 11.93 +30 13 02.0 10.03 11.42 .184501619090920 -14.0559186 133.3564 /L 39.8860 2006-Apr-24 12:00 15 23 21.79 +30 30 55.7 9.96 11.37 .180454136597704 -13.9741270 132.9088 /L 40.4110 2006-Apr-25 00:00 15 25 37.76 +30 49 12.5 9.88 11.31 .176430528944711 -13.8905170 132.4467 /L 40.9512 2006-Apr-25 12:00 15 28 00.28 +31 07 53.2 9.80 11.26 .172431358591867 -13.8048258 131.9694 /L 41.5075 2006-Apr-26 00:00 15 30 29.85 +31 26 58.7 9.72 11.20 .168457267936910 -13.7167620 131.4761 /L 42.0806 2006-Apr-26 12:00 15 33 07.02 +31 46 29.8 9.64 11.14 .164508988148268 -13.6260015 130.9659 /L 42.6714 2006-Apr-27 00:00 15 35 52.38 +32 06 27.4 9.56 11.08 .160587349258198 -13.5321830 130.4379 /L 43.2810 $$EOE ************************************************************************************************************** __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

1 0

How times change
by Patrick Wiggins 20 Apr '06

20 Apr '06

I just read the following line on another email list I subscribe to: "On 19th March, imaging fields near Denebola I found 4 bright mainbelters (between 18.4 R and 19.4 R)." Remembering back to "the old days" (for me the 1970s) and how I had to try hard to photograph Pluto (mag 14), it just struck me as funny that today fellow amateurs are now calling 19th magnitude "bright". Patrick :)

1 0

RE: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Climate of Fear
by Michael Carnes 18 Apr '06

18 Apr '06

>2. Let's say for a moment that the current warming trend (if it does exist) >is entirely due to natural phenomena. What is the downside to reducing >carbon/CO2 emissions? Is there a downside other than economic change? Thundering silence, eh Kim? That's exactly the same reaction I got when I posed the same question the last time we went around this issue. The reason is simple. It's inconvenient. Dealing with our inability to live in a sustainable manner is the largest moral/ethical issue our species has ever faced. But human exceptionalism--our belief that we are somehow the apex of all living things--gives us a deep seated belief that something will come along and save us, no matter how stupidly we behave. MC P.S. I'm sick of the snow. If it ever clears up, maybe we can get back to astronomy. I'm sick of this topic on this list, and I doubt anyone is going to be swayed by anything anyone says.

3 3

RE: [Utah-astronomy] Eclipse Pictures.
by David Dunn 18 Apr '06

18 Apr '06

Last fall they added a $150 per person Eclipse Tax. At the same time, they told us that Americans might need to get their own visa. They later informed us that we would be part of the group visa but that we couldn't have an Israel stamp in our passport. While on the ship they decided to let us have a visa for $25. The $150 was supposed to be for security. We had great security on the whole trip. I felt much safer and enjoyed Libya more than I did Egypt. Basically the cost of the eclipse expedition was $99 (original excursion fee) + $150 (Eclipse Tax) + $25 (visa fee) + $15 (3 T-shirt & 2 hats). This gave us a bus ride to the eclipse and stopped at a war cemetery on the way back. We also had a box lunch, a Sky & Tel eclipse shirt and a pin. I think it was well worth it. The travel agency for Sky & Tel is TravelQuest. Dave -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+david.dunn=albertsons.com@mailman.xmissio n.com] On Behalf Of Joe Bauman Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 10:08 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Eclipse Pictures. PS: David, were you in Libya as part of a tour? Which outfit? While Cory and I were in Europe we heard a story that the Astronomical Tours trip to Libya was canceled at the last minute. (We were with Astronomical Tours and part of it was great while part wasn't.) Supposedly, Gadhafi suddenly demanded an $80-each entry fee and an $80-each exit fee, which for some unknown reason caused them to pull out. That didn't make sense to me, because if you've spent the enormous amount to get to Libya in the first place, what's another $160? So can you fill me in on this? 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

1 0

RE: [Utah-astronomy] Eclipse Pictures.
by David Dunn 18 Apr '06

18 Apr '06

I guess I should probably let everyone know the where and how for these pictures. My wife and I went on Sky & Tel's Cruise to Totality. We had a 12 day Mediterranean cruise. On The 29th, we took a bus for a two hour ride into the desert south of Tobruk in Libya. The whole experience was great. We had lectures by people that Sky & Tel had brought each day while we were at sea. When we arrived in Tobruk, we were the first cruise ship that had come there since the 1940s. We were welcomed in a nice ceremony that included flowers for our captain. The eclipse site was rocky desert. It was where many of the battles of WWII were fought. They had a lot of security for us at the site. They did bring a few buses full of locals to the site to view the eclipse with us. They were very friendly. They had a tent with T-shirts and hats for sale. They were $3 a piece. They had some boy scouts do some cultural dancing for us as well. They also had a television crew that came around and interviewed many people. The eclipse was great. At totality, we had an 8 degree C drop in temperature. It got dark, but not as dark as I had imagined. We could see the planets and some stars. I took video of the whole totality portion of the eclipse. My pictures are captured off the video. The view was taken with a Panasonic mini dv video camera that I bought from Sam's club a month before the eclipse. I practiced getting the exposures correct using the sun and moon prior to the eclipse. I was important that it work on its own because this was my first eclipse and I was going to watch it, not film it. If the film worked, that would be good. I think it turned out real nice. Dave _______________________________________________ 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

1 0

Eclipse Pictures.
by David Dunn 18 Apr '06

18 Apr '06

I have placed some pictures on the eclipse from Libya in my page of the photo album. http://www.utahastronomy.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=ddunn Thanks, David Dunn 801-961-3253

2 2

OT: Climate of Fear
by cpclark＠xmission.com 17 Apr '06

17 Apr '06

MIT Professor of Atmospheric Science claims global-warming alarmists intimidate dissenting scientists into silence: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008220

4 4

RE: [Utah-astronomy] Can't quite figure this one
by Michael Carnes 16 Apr '06

16 Apr '06

>Pretty small, but maybe that's doable. Why does it have to be 10 >meters from the scope? Why not 100 meters? It would be difficult, but >it still seems easier than building a fleet of telescopes linked >together. Actually to counteract the shadow of the occluding disk it might need to be some kilometers away. The issue there is keeping a sub-arcsecond alignment between these two objects. Although the disk can get larger as it grows more distant, it then becomes more subject to atmospheric drag and solar wind--making it even more difficult to keep in alignment. And of course the telescope size needed to resolve this milli-arcsecond planet would be enormous, requiring an ever larger disk at even greater distance. It seems that when you try to control one problem area, another blows up in your face. The more I think about it, the more I think the interferometer wins. Even that faces massive difficulties though.

4 7

Much better
by Patrick Wiggins 15 Apr '06

15 Apr '06

I much preferred last night's lecture to Wednesday's. I would have liked a bit more technical data but the hard, non-new age science was most welcome. The occasional bit of humor was fun (I liked the cat and dog pix) and I really liked the way he displayed the visual to IR comparisons. All in all, a good presentation. Patrick p.s. I was surprised by the light turnout. Whereas Wednesday night the hall was filled almost to capacity last night was half to 3/4 at most. Maybe the weather? Or maybe there are just more New Agers out there than us Old Agers. :)

4 5

Last night's lecture
by Patrick Wiggins 13 Apr '06

13 Apr '06

Anyone here go to last night's Frontiers of Science lecture at the U last night? I'd be interested to hear what folks thought about the talk. Patrick

5 7