April 2008 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Utah-astronomy] [UVAA] Need help with upcoming star party - Friday April 11, South Fork
by Richard Tenney 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

For those willing to help, they will be serving us dinner at 6. I know there is snow up there, how much I'm trying to find out as I write this. Worst case they can turn off the lights and we can set up in the parking lot, assuming the weather isn't a factor on Friday. Again, with 200 girl scouts, any volunteer help would be appreciated! But please RSVP so I can communicate it to those providing dinner. Call me if you have access to a digital projector that I can borrow for the lecture, or if you have any questions/concerns. 801~380~3331 (I live in Lindon) /Rich ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost. http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com

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FW: Comet Boattini
by Ann Blanchard 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

Sorry, I meant M 13 (I must have been in a gun mode with the m16 reference). -----Original Message----- From: Ann Blanchard Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 10:43 AM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Comet Boattini Great, thanks, I'll await your information. We have a Celestron CPC 11. The binoviewer I looked through I believe belonged to someone named Fisher? at the Gravel Quarry with his large Obsession scope, looking at M 16. It was so beautiful, it was almost like swimming in the stars! -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 10:30 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Comet Boattini Hi Ann, thanks for the good wishes, it's good to be back on my hobby lists and good to hear from you. It's been a hectic winter. Still under the weather but back at work part-time, a little more each day. I haven't had a chance to use my bino-viewer yet. Like binoculars, it appears that many of the lower-cost units are all made by the same Chinese factory and then branded for retail sale, so one is likely as good as another unless spending thousands. Once I try it out, I'll let you know how it works and who's model it is. Hopefully soon. I can say that even for a "budget" unit, the fit and finish is very good. Years ago, a friend bought one and it quickly became apparent that the telescope you use the viewer with is just as important as the viewer itself. They require a lot of back-focus (or "In" travel), mine needs 4 inches (100mm), or 2" with an included Barlow lens that is used as a relay lens. 4" of back-focus is typically not achieveable on a fast Dob/Newt unless built into the design, and even if it is, significant vignetting will result. It takes a narrow-angle light cone to get all the way through a bino-viewer without vignetting and f/4 or f/5 probably won't make it unvignetted. Since the total throughput of the telescope is halved for each eyepiece in the bino-viewer, the larger the aperture, the better. No bino-viewer seller recommends them for deep-sky use because of this. Most advise using them for lunar, solar (with proper filtration), and planetary use, and some for the brighter DSO only. Telescopes such as the Ealing and 32" at SPOC are ideal for bino-viewers, since there is more than enough back-focus without having to resort to the Barlow transfer lens (which doubles the magnification and further cuts brightness by a factor of 4), as well as oodles of aperture. Even the Andy scope is probably large enough for good results with a bino-viewer. All three have long f-ratios that are ideal for unvignetted throughput with a bino-viewer. Larger Schmidt-Cass scopes (8" and up) are good candidates for use with a bino-viewer. Plenty of aperture, lots of back-focus, and a narrow (f/10) light cone. Long-focus, large-ish refractors as well, say 6" and up, and not much faster than f/8, as an estimate. That's not to say that you won't be able to coax an image from a bino-viewer with other types of telescope, but the view may not be optimal. Also, Patrick has pointed out that they are not the best for group viewing, like regular binoculars, due to individual variations in interpupilary distance and differential focus between left and right eyes. Too much fussing between each and every viewer. The bino-viewer is probably best kept in the accessory case during public star-parties. That's about all I can give you now, but as soon as I've had a chance to use it under the stars, I'll let you know my impressions with this particular unit. On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 8:11 AM, Ann Blanchard <a.blanchard(a)ugs.utah.edu> wrote: Hi Chuck, Just wanted to say I'm so glad you're back on the list and hopefully feeling better! If you have time, can you let us know what kind of bino viewers you bought and if you've had a chance to try them yet? I've seen in past NOVAs several binocular reviews you did, besides talks at some SLAS meetings--any opinions on what are the better bino viewers or what to avoid? Thanks! _______________________________________________ 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://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Comet Boattini
by Canopus56 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

Mark, Thanks for the heads up on C/2007 W1 (Boattini). This comet has an interesting and unusual orbit as it passes the Earth. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=C%2F2007+W1+&orb=1 By May 8, it comes to about 1/3 a.u. of the Earth (50M km) and sets in the west around May 23. Then W1 runs nearly parallel to Earth's orbit at about 1/5 a.u. (30M km) between the Earth the Sun. In early July after periastron, W1 returns as an early morning object. At a max mag of 4.0, it does not look like it's predicated to be a daytime comet. - Kurt ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost. http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com

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$30 green laser
by Patrick Wiggins 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

Jasper is running another sale on green lasers. http://www.jasperlaser.com/index.php?/forms/basement Chuck, what do you think of these? patrick p.s. Can you believe the skies tonight?! I into SLC through snow this afternoon, home through rain this evening and now I've got clear skies and am taking data.

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“Science Night Live!” at PortO’Call
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Apr '08

07 Apr '08

The College of Science is hosting a "Science Night Live!" social event at Port O' Call club and restaurant on Wed, April 16 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Chemistry professor Matt Sigman will present "Chemistry and Biology: The Shape of Things to Come," which will highlight his work developing new pharmaceutical drugs and catalytic reactions. The presentation is approx. 25 minutes, although you can mix-and-mingle from 6 to 8 o'clock. (Also, Matt will be on-air, KCPW 105.3 FM, on April 16, 10:40 a.m. Tune in!) Join us for a stimulating discussion and social event! No RSVP needed. Port O' Call, a private club for members, is located at 400 South & West Temple. Must be 21 years of age. You will be the GUEST (no cover charge) of members Pat Shea and Jim DeGooyer. Simply indicate at the door that you are invited to the "College of Science" event. No tickets or RSVP are required, although you may print the attached flyer if desired. http://www.science.utah.edu/images/sciencev11.pdf

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Meade 10" LX200GPS Scope for sale
by Lowell Lyon 07 Apr '08

07 Apr '08

Hello: I have already sold the 10" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope due to my recent Astromart ad. Thank you for your interest. Lowell Lyon

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Tuesday at SPOC doe Moon/M-45
by Patrick Wiggins 07 Apr '08

07 Apr '08

Any interest in gathering at SPOC tomorrow (Tuesday) evening to view the Moon mingling with the Pleiades? Say maybe 8 to 9 p.m. Joe (our very own mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper) says he may show up to take pictures for the paper. The weather is iffy at this point but if there are holes it the clouds it could make for some pretty views. And, of course, it's a fun way of getting together for going en-masse to dinner. patrick

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Comet Boattini
by Mark Hanning-Lee 06 Apr '08

06 Apr '08

We may soon have a magnitude 8 comet to enjoy. Comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini) is brightening more or less as predicted. Using the latest elements and SkyMap Pro, it looks like we can see it in a moonless evening sky from April 22 through May 8. The comet will be about 25-30 degrees high in the S at about 10:15 pm. As the days pass, it will be lower in the SW but brighter. That period includes the SLAS star party at SPOC Saturday 4/26, and the OAS Antelope Island star party on Sat 5/3. The view will be best from a place with a dark southern sky. For more reading: http://www.aerith.net/comet/future-n.html predicts visibility of this and other comets. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/icq/CometMags.html shows recent brightness estimates. Best, Mark

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Photo op
by Canopus56 06 Apr '08

06 Apr '08

And on 4-11 at 11:00pm, the first quarter Moon will be with 1.25 degs of Mars. - Kurt ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost. http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com

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Fourth 2008 lunar cycle begins
by Canopus56 06 Apr '08

06 Apr '08

Last night marked the beginning of the fourth lunar cycle for 2008. With the new moon there are dark skies for the next week. - Kurt ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost. http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com

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