July 2007 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

GEM cone error guru needed
by Kurt Fisher 30 Jul '07

30 Jul '07

I have an EQ6 mount that, when I loaded up a heavy 10 inch Newt, I cannot seem to get the cone error out of it. Polar alignment is spot on. I am not sure if I am doing the cone error reduction procedure right. I need a local GEM guru who can spend a couple of hours showing me the procedure, so I can confirm whether it is 1) me or 2) some error in the mount like tube flexure. Willing to pay $50. - Kurt Fisher fisherka(a)csolutions.net _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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New events - possible SLAS participation?
by Kurt Fisher 30 Jul '07

30 Jul '07

For consideration by the SLAS powers that be - Lunar eclipse on August 28 http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2007Aug28T.GIF Oct. 19-21,2007 Space Elevator Games at Davis County Fairgrounds - invite of participants to a SPOC party? http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/26/292892.aspx http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-2… (SLAS Harmon's is scheduled on Fri. the 19th; SPOC set for on the Sat. the 20th). - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Sunday Funnies
by Ann House 29 Jul '07

29 Jul '07

In this morning's Parade magazine, Marilyn vosSavant lists questions she has received that she says are just too funny to answer. I must admit, all you can do is laugh at the amazing things that go through people's minds. Among these are a few astronomy-related questions: Where did all the stars go? In the '50s, the sky was loaded with them. -St. Petersburg, FL Do you think daylight-saving time could be contributing to global warming? The longer we have sunlight, the more it heats the atmosphere. -San Antonio, TX I see falling stars nearly every night. They seem to come out of nowhere. Have stars ever fallen out of any known constellations? -Batesville, AK Hope these brighten your day! -A

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Europa's Ocean
by Gary Vardon 29 Jul '07

29 Jul '07

Fellow SLASers, There is much interest in Europa the second moon out from Jupiter as Europa may have an ocean under its surface ice. The Encyclopedia of the Solar system on page 823 states that there is a 2:1 resonant lock between Io and Europa. Io passes on some orbital energy and angular momentum it gets from Jupiter to Europa. -----Original Message----- From: Rob Ratkowski Photography Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:19 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Dark sky fund (Was: Rush Valley or Lakeside) Patrick Out here at our site, it takes a lengthy process to add anything permanent BUT temporary structures are easily added. We needed to extend the area of our pad at the HAA site by putting post foundation blocks into the soil (after getting the OK from the local cultural advisor). It's more work, more money but served our purpose w/o having to deal w/ state, county, UHawaii, IfA and Hawaiian activists,it's a clean installation and can be removed at a moments notice. This could be a problem if your site is not in a controlled are like ours. Aloha Rob _______________________________________________ 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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1001 Things to do with liquid nitrogen
by Patrick Wiggins 28 Jul '07

28 Jul '07

I found this on the web this morning while preparing for a demo: http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/~ubws/nitrogen.html Enjoy, pw

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Rush Valley
by Naz & David 28 Jul '07

28 Jul '07

Does the Rush Valley site provide decent dark sky views of the south and south west? Cheers David

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For Saturday's Sun Party - Will solar minimum ever arrive?
by Kurt Fisher 28 Jul '07

28 Jul '07

Glad you enjoyed it, Julie. It looks like the experts - an official NOAA-NASA consensus panel that predicts these things - failed to reach a consensus after surveying 46 prediction studies! http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/SC24/index.html Minimum is predicted for March 2008 plus or minus six months - meaning it could be as early as this September. But the 11 member panel split 6-5 (sounds like the Supreme Court) on whether the maximum sunspot number for the next cycle will be: 1) a high 140 sunspot number, peaking in Oct. 2001, or, 2) "average" and will peak a year later at 90 ssn in August 2012. But it looks like the panel has been continually setting the date back for solar minimum based on continuing observations. See - "Previous target dates and counter re-sets: January 1, 2007 set on June 1, 2006 June 1 ,2007 set on January 1, 2007 March 1, 2008 set on June 1, 2007" http://www.solarstorms.org/SNextCycle.html - Kurt _______________________________________________ Sent via CSolutions - http://www.csolutions.net

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Denver Museum of Science and Technology
by Gary Vardon 27 Jul '07

27 Jul '07

Fellow SLASers, I enjoyed visiting the Denver Museum of Science and Technology. The museum has a good planetarium and good science and astronomy exhibits. -----Original Message----- From: Don J. Colton Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 10:57 AM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Wolf Creek Pass Site Locations David, See http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/Menu6.html for the exact coordinates of the observing site. It may not be the best place at Wolf Creek but it is usually pretty good. On July 13, we had fabulous transparency and very good seeing at this site. The veil without a filter was the best I have ever seen it through my 10.1" Dob. Clear Skies Don -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+djcolton=piol.com(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+djcolton=piol.com@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Naz & David Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 9:20 PM To: ZZ_Utah Astro List Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wolf Creek Pass Site Locations Thanks Chuck, Yes, I know the weather is a bit dodgey this time of year (not exactly and exception around Salt Lake City) but my wife is away for a few weeks and I need to entertain an only child :( Can anyone comment on best locations at Wolf Creek? Cheers David _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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] NASA
by Debbie 27 Jul '07

27 Jul '07

I just heard on CNN that the astronauts flew drunk. And somebody cut the wires on the space shuttle. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19979164/ Debbie On Fri Jul 27 10:06 , diveboss(a)xmission.com sent: >The headline reads "Love Triangles, Boozing and Sabotage". Sounds like >a fun place to work. ;) > >_______________________________________________ >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] Rush Valley
by Debbie 27 Jul '07

27 Jul '07

You guys should try eating buffalo. It is leaner and lower in fat than beef. I had buffalo prime rib and buffalo ribs last weekend. It was a wonderful meal. We got it at the Gun Barrel in St George. I also love elk but haven't tried that menu yet. Back in '96, I spent a week at Teton Village and had elk and caribou diane. Very delicious meal! The bill came to $125 for two people though. But it was worth it. Wild game is a great way to get some red meat without the risk of steroids and antibiotics that they feed the cows. Time for the parade now, Happy Pioneer Day Debbie On Sun Jul 22 20:14 , 'Chuck Hards' <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> sent: >Ah, but it's at it's best when red in the middle and juicy! > >char = nitrosemenes (SP?) = cancer risk, no matter the meat, but the fatter >it is, the higher the concentration, in general. > >The rule of thumb is, the more flavor a food has, the worse for you it is. >One of life's little inequities! :o( > > >On 7/22/07, diveboss(a)xmission.com diveboss(a)xmission.com> wrote: >> >> The answer to red meat is to cook it longer. :) >> >_______________________________________________ >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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