July 2009 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

July 15 Special Star Party cancelled
by M Wilson 11 Jul '09

11 Jul '09

Hey Rodger and others (Dan Filer, Dan Turner and Brent Johnson) I just saw in today's Tribune that the Asthma camp at Camp Wyatt/Wapiti in Tooele's Settlement Canyon has been closed due to fears that the kids will be unnecessarily exposed to the H1N1 Virus. Being that the July 15th Special Star Party was for these kids at this camp, you may want to check out the above link and read for yourself. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12809728?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

1 0

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Jupiter and No Visible Galilean Moons Coming in September
by Jay Eads 11 Jul '09

11 Jul '09

Sorry, forgot to add the Sky&Telescope has a nice Jupiter Almanac as a PDF called Phenomena of Jupiter’s Moons that shows the event in their September 2009. Add six hours to the times listed as they are universal times. That link is found here: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/38135094.html Another site I found interesting is http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mjpowell/Astro/Naked-Eye-Planets/Jupiter-Path.… It has some interesting information regarding Jupiter and objects to view with it. One is the position of Neptune with Jupiter this year located here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mjpowell/Astro/Naked-Eye-Planets/Neptune-Path-… I'm sure most know that Jupiter and Neptune are undergoing a triple conjunction this year, first time since 1971. "The first of the 2009 conjunctions took place on May 25th 2009, when Jupiter (at magnitude -2.4) was moving direct (or prograde, i.e. West to East) against the star background and Neptune (at magnitude +7.9) was approaching its Eastern stationary point. The two planets were separated vertically by 25' (25 arcminutes, or just under half a degree) at this point, and were visible in the morning sky before sunrise. The second conjunction takes place on July 13th 2009, when both Jupiter (mag. -2.7) and Neptune (mag. +7.8) are retrograding (moving East to West) against the star background; the planets are separated by 36' (0°.6) at this point, and are visible from the late evening onwards. Jupiter then reaches opposition to the Sun on August 14th (having brightened to mag. -2.8), followed only three days later by Neptune (at mag. +7.8). Finally, the planets are again in conjunction on December 20th 2009, when both Jupiter (-2.2) and Neptune (+7.9) have resumed direct motion, the pair then being separated by 33' (0°.55); this conjunction is visible in the evening sky, shortly after sunset." So Monday is a time when you may want to take a look at Jupiter and Neptune with the second of three conjunctions and then again on December 20th, 2009 per the site. Also, next year 2010 to 2011 Uranus and Jupiter will also share a triple conjunction. That can be found here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mjpowell/Astro/Naked-Eye-Planets/Uranus-Path-2… about 1/2 down under the title The Jupiter_Uranus Triple Conjunction. Something to put down for next year (and this site gives a finder chart for finding the two planets next year). Good time to view Neptune and Uranus rather easily over the next year or so. Jay

1 0

Fun in the morning
by jim Gibson 11 Jul '09

11 Jul '09

Got up at 4am this morning. Got my little 4 in Newt out on the back porch and in just a few minutes was able to check out Jupiter close to the moon, Then ran east to see Venus, Mars, Pleiades, and M31. Thought about searching for M33 but didn’t have time. I will try and catch it tomorrow. Jim

2 2

Re: [Utah-astronomy] In case anyone would like to help...
by Joe Bauman 10 Jul '09

10 Jul '09

Hi Patrick, I can't make it tonight after all. I did so much yard work today, in the heat of the midafternoon, that I'm exhausted and have a headache. When are other opportunities? Thanks, Joe --- On Thu, 7/9/09, Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> wrote: From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] In case anyone would like to help... To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 11:06 PM Hi Joe, Good idea to practice first even if you don't get any "real" data this time. Lots of opportunities coming up. Regarding watering, I don't _think_ they water on the weekend but I'm copying this to Bruce Grim so he can get back to you about that. And while you're at it you might also want to shoot an occasional image of the area around U Sco (I'm trying each one each night) in hopes of catching it when it flares. Here are a couple of images that may be helpful. Field containing U Sco: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/USCO.JPG Field containing "my" eclipsing binary: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/VARIABLE01.JPG Let me know if I can help. thanks again, patrick On 09 Jul 2009, at 22:23, Joe Bauman wrote: > I plan to set up at SPOC and give it a try -- but for it to work my first job there will be to retrain my drives so I can get into the right vicinity. When I replaced my nylon gears with stainless steel ones that changed the gearing enough to throw it off. Also, do you know if the Stansbury Park watering folks are going to do their thing tomorrow night? 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.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

1 0

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wolf Creek on Saturday 11th?
by Jay Eads 10 Jul '09

10 Jul '09

Troy et al I can't make it up this weekend but am planning on next weekend at least for an overnight trip. Also, except for the 20th and 21st of July, I don't have to return to work until the 17th of August so if anyone wants to make another trip let me know, I'm game as long as I clear it with the boss and can go up almost any night. I just don't like to go to an area that remote without another adult. I'm also willing to go to Rush Valley site any night http://slas.us/maps/RVALLEY.HTM as that is relatively close to where I live (just around an hour). At Wolf Creek would leaving times at 1:00a.m and 3:00a.m. work or would it be better to have 1:00a.m., 4:00a.m. and then dawn? I know if I get tired I'll just have a pad and a bag and either pack up without lights on or cover up the scope until morning and then lay down and catch some z's. Warning, I won't have my sleep apena machine so . . . I would also mention if anyone goes next weekend to remember edict of keeping red flashlights really dim and if your going to use one, set up away from people it may disturb. If your not sure, ask, but in the same token if someone sets up first and you show up and you ask if they use a red light and they say yes and a red light will drive you nuts, thank them and find a new location away from them. Works both ways.

2 1

Wolf Creek on Saturday 11th?
by Troy Davidson 10 Jul '09

10 Jul '09

I am thinking of heading up to Wolf Creek this Saturday to check it out and stay the night. I'm wondering if anyone else wants to do an impromptu star party? ++++++++++++++++++ Troy Davidson

4 5

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Where to go camping?
by M Wilson 10 Jul '09

10 Jul '09

Good pictures on that second link, Dave. --- On Thu, 7/9/09, Dave Bennett <dlbennett(a)mac.com> wrote: From: Dave Bennett <dlbennett(a)mac.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Where to go camping? To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 5:19 PM Julie, If you're interested in trying out the Wolf Creek observing site you may want to check out my Wolf Creek pages at: http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/PhotoAlbum4.html http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/PhotoAlbum5.html Regards, Dave Bennett On Jul 9, 2009, at 1:42 PM, Kim wrote: > Julie, Jay: > > The Wolf Creek public FS campground is immediately adjacent to the highway > (SR-35) at the Wolf Creek pass summit. I've never camped there, so I can't > speak to reservations or how rapidly the campsites fill on any given > weekend. The campground itself doesn't have good horizons and is in the > bottom of a draw/canyon, a few hundred feet lower and about 1.5 miles (as I > recall) from the ridge that SLAS members have used as a star party site for > a number of years. That site is exposed (high, dark and low horizons!) and > not great for camping, but a hundred yards or so to the north there are good > undeveloped campsites among the trees. > > Julie, I live in Sanpete County where the Skyline Drive is less than 30 > minutes away above Fairview (about two hours from SLC). It winds along the > western edge of the Wasatch Plateau, from Spanish Fork Canyon to I-70 near > Salina, and at elevations that may exceed 10,000 feet. There are hundreds of > undeveloped campsites all along the route, with access to many nearby FS > campgrounds. There is a site that used to be a SLAS favorite about one mile > north of the summit where SR-31 intersects Skyline Drive, at milepost 14. I > plan to go up there this Saturday night for a couple of hours and I may be > there Sunday night, as well. > > Hope to see some of you this weekend or next... > > Kim > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy- >> bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jay Eads >> Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:37 AM >> To: Utah-Astronomy >> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Where to go camping? >> >> I have not been there (yet) but have been up to the Mill Hollow area >> but I know that Wolf Creek Pass is on the SLAS lists of sites. >> http://www.recreation.gov/camping/Wolf_Creek_Ut/r/campgroundDetails.do? >> contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70121&topTabIndex=CampingSpot not sure if >> that is too far away or not. >> >> That brings up a question, can you go up to Wolf Creek Pass without a >> campsite to observe or if one is going for a "private star party" does >> one need to reserve a campground? Also, if you can just go up to >> observe where does one observe up there? >> >> On 2009-07-09 14:11, Julie Chorley wrote: >>> Wonder if anyone could suggest a good spot to go camping/stargazing >> that's >>> not going to be too hot this time of year and is fairly close by? >>> >>> >> >> __ >> 05:55:00 > > > _______________________________________________ > 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.slas.us/gallery2/main.php > Visit the Wiki: 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.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

3 2

Re: [Utah-astronomy] In case anyone would like to help...
by Joe Bauman 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

I plan to set up at SPOC and give it a try -- but for it to work my first job there will be to retrain my drives so I can get into the right vicinity. When I replaced my nylon gears with stainless steel ones that changed the gearing enough to throw it off. Also, do you know if the Stansbury Park watering folks are going to do their thing tomorrow night? Thanks, Joe --- On Thu, 7/9/09, Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> wrote: From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] In case anyone would like to help... To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 3:07 PM Hi Joe, On 09 Jul 2009, at 11:26, Joe Bauman wrote: > Patrick, What time in Utahn will it happen Friday night? While we are on Daylight Silly Time you subtract 6 hours from UT. So the 11th between 0525 and 0737 UT works out to be 23:25 the night of the 10th to 01:37 the morning of the 11th here in Utah. And remember that you'll want to start imaging well before it's predicted to start and end well after it's predicted to end. I typically start one hour before and go until one hour after. I'd suggest practicing ahead of time to make sure you can find the star and also to shoot a few test shots to get the exposure right (I typically shoot 15 or 30 second exposures). And don't forget to shoot several darks and flats (I do 15 of each) once you have the camera attached and focused (using the same binning, focus, temperature, camera orientation and exposure length as the light shots) so you can turn them into the master dark and flat files you'll need to reduce the raw images. Let me know if you have any questions. You're welcome to call tonight (I'll be up all night working an exo-planet). 435.882.1209. Thanks for your interest, 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.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

2 1

Wolf Creek star party site
by Lowell Lyon 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

Hello: I am going up to Wolf Creek on Friday night, July 17th for private viewing. I have email blasted those on the Intermountain Astronomy Group (IMAG) email list with information and a map with directions to the site. If you would like to be included in the email list, please let me know at bolide(a)sisna.com. You don't camp at the Wolf Creek Forest Service campsite itself. At the entrance to the campground there is a dirt road you'll stay on for about 3.5 miles to get to the actual observing site. I can email the map and information to anyone interested. Thank you. Lowell Lyon

2 1

LRO moon photos and a "movie"
by Joe Bauman 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

Hi Friends, Here's a blog about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and its first views, including one that plays like a movie. Many thanks to Kurt for keeping us updated on it. -- Joe http://www.deseretnews.com/blogs/1,5322,10000034,00.html?bD=20090709

1 0