May 2010 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

X37B overflight Sat 5-29 11_33_45 MDT
by Canopus56 29 May '10

29 May '10

I believe I may have seen the X37B as naked eye object during its 9:50pm overpass, but am classifying as a "non-acquisition." The Heaven's Above plot for the X37B overflight of SLC at 11:33:45pm MDT Sat 5-29 shows the X37B passing with a magnitude 4.6 brightness within a one degree TFOV of nu Leo Star HR 3937 HD 86360 SAO 98876 Flamsteed Number: 27 Bayer Letter: Nu Constellation: Leo Visual Magnitude: 5.26 nu Leo is about midway between Mars and Regulus. nu Leo will be low to the horizon at alt 23.5 degs. - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] EPOD
by Canopus56 29 May '10

29 May '10

Thanks to all. It's a great road cut. Thanks to UDOT. - Kurt

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EPOD
by Patrick Wiggins 28 May '10

28 May '10

Look who's on EPOD today: http://epod.usra.edu/ Kudos Kurt! patrick

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Looking for a C-5 OTA (sort-of)
by Chuck Hards 28 May '10

28 May '10

I'm thinking about getting a C-5 OTA for my Tele-Track mount, to expand the aperture available on my "grab and go(to)" setup. I haven't made up my mind yet, but I'm thinking a C-5 would be the best combination of aperture and compactness, that the Tele-Track could handle. Does anyone local have one that they'd be willing to let me peek through? Or know of one for-sale at a reasonable price? I'm only after the optical tube assembly (OTA), not a mount or accessories. I'm watching a couple of auctions and classified ads currently, but always looking for the best deal.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Utah Geology Price Highway
by Canopus56 27 May '10

27 May '10

I received an email from EPOD that tomorrow's (May 28) EPOD http://epod.usra.edu/ will be the first in my series of Price roadcut geology pictures. - Clear Skies, Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] CGEM (Was: Atlas or CGEM?)
by Chuck Hards 27 May '10

27 May '10

OK, I finally powered up the CGEM a little while ago. The menu is fairly intuitive, and start-up isn't as intimidating as I thought. After all these decades, Celestron still can't write a top-notch user manual. Close enough, put the money into the mount instead of the technical writing department. It's not as noisy as some people tried to make me believe. Certainly not offensively loud, although not as quiet during the slew as my little Tele-Track mount. And when tracking, it is absolutely silent. The GPS accessory makes alignment a breeze. I've got the 80mm ED on there now and will be swapping it out for the 100mm ED shortly. I'll set it up for full visual, with 50mm finder, reflex sight, 2" diagonal and the heaviest EP in the box- probably my UO 40mm 7/70. It's "refractor night" in the basement. I have 2 Losmandy dovetail plates in-hand, and as soon as 2 more arrive that have been on back-order for a couple of weeks, I'll set up the mount for my 6" f/8 Newtonian and go planet hunting. On 5/11/10, Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski(a)hawaii.rr.com> wrote: > Chuck > > > either way HAVE FUN!!!! > > > 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.slas.us/gallery2/main.php > Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com >

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X37B flyover times
by Canopus56 27 May '10

27 May '10

Spaceweather.com has a calculator that displays predicted flyover times for the X37B spaceplane. http://spaceweather.com/flybys/flybys.php?zip=84111 pre-set for Salt Lake City It is suprising bright - mags 4 to 2. Clear Skies, Kurt

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New long distance subscriber record
by Patrick Wiggins 26 May '10

26 May '10

Howdy UAers, We now have a member on the list that's further away than any other (sorry Rob). Karl Lavo just signed up from New Zealand (didn't say which island) saying he's a youngster interested furthering his knowledge of astronomy (kudos to him for that). So now we have someone to ask about things happening south of the equator. Cheers, patrick p.s. Let's be on our best behaviour for a while so we don't scare him off. :)

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Utah Geology Price Highway
by Canopus56 26 May '10

26 May '10

For your rainy day entertainment - On the Road to Price, Utah No. 4 - Ancient Beachfront Property at Helper, Utah http://fisherka.csolutionshosting.net/geology/PriceHighway6GeologyNo4.html As submitted to EPOD. Clear Skies - Kurt

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Weekend observing
by Jay Eads 25 May '10

25 May '10

Well, conditions were decent until around 20 minutes ago when clouds from the SW came streaming in. They rather looked like streamers too. Spent about an hour observing and attempting to sketch Romer and Romer B near the terminator tonight among a few other items that I observed in the nearby area. Made for a fun evening. On 2010-05-21 01:34, Jay Eads wrote: > Conditions are good for open clusters and double stars, and of course for > observing along the terminator. My visual DSO's are all galaxies right now > on the H400 and the moon will impact that activity. If I had my key to the > Bogdan and had signed up, it would be a good night to use it for some of > these items. Thought of making a private viewing party at SPOC but probably > too late. Anyone game for a few hours, give me a call or post. I'd come out > for practice on the Bogdan or even the Ealing. > > On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 6:55 PM, Rob Ratkowski Photography < > ratkwski@???> wrote: > > > Chuck > > > > it's winded out here the summit has been at 45mph all day w/ gusts to > > 72mph as the moon marches towards brightness, it's time to do other things > > so I'm heading to the surf tomorrow > > > > > > > > aloha > > Rob > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > > Utah-Astronomy@??? > > 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 > > >

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