July 2011 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Pit n Pole Tonight
by Jay Eads 25 Jul '11

25 Jul '11

The monsoon is coming back on Monday but tonight looks really good at Pit n Pole so if you want to do some personal observing a few of us will be out there. -- Jay Eads

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Solar set-up
by Chuck Hards 25 Jul '11

25 Jul '11

I recently dis-assembled my old astrophoto platform, a 25-year-old hodgepodge based on a light-duty Asian-manufactured mount of the era. A precursor to the EQ-2, with home-made dec slow motion. I returned it to it's original condition and just for kicks one day stuck the PST on there. I customarily use the TeleTrack mount for the PST- but I may not anymore. The little equatorial was a breeze to set-up. Latitude is pre-set, adjust it fairly level, get it within ten degrees of north, and it tracks the sun as well as the little GoTo, at the low powers used on the PST. In about two minutes I was set up and observing. No more punching of keys to initialize a GoTo computer. It was a breath of fresh-air. The mount has a good synchronous RA drive, and I put the manual dec knob on there. Perfect adjustment control with an old drive corrector, but honestly it tracks great at the sidereal rate on just house current or an inverter. I may be just using the TeleTrack at night only from now on. Pics: http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/PSTEQU01.jpg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/PSTEQU02.jpg

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Pit n Pole Tonight
by Jay Eads 25 Jul '11

25 Jul '11

Oh, I forgot to mention for tonight. I am taking the XT10 (a 10 inch dob) from now on and if you don't own a scope and want to try star hopping I have a couple of extra eyepieces and an extra copy of The Pocket Sky Atlas and you can come out and run a scope and find a few objects on your own. It is really a great time to try this as I'll start you in Sagitarrius and have you find M22 a globular cluster, then the Lagoon Nebula, the Trifed Nebula, The Swan and Eagle Nebula and the Wild Duck Cluster. So if your wanting to try running a dobsonian the 10 inch will be out there for you and I'll be nearby if you need help. Great way to spend a summer evening. Jay On 2011-07-24 19:01, Jay Eads wrote: > The monsoon is coming back on Monday but tonight looks really good at Pit n > Pole so if you want to do some personal observing a few of us will be out > there. > >

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Sunday observing
by Michael Vanopstall 25 Jul '11

25 Jul '11

Hello -- No Pit, no Lakeside. Did a family camping trip to Rockport. Just fantastic conditions. Milky way band was distinguishable by 10:00 pm. Sister-in-law was there, so did a quick tour with her and the kids. Started before it was really dark with Saturn. Picked out Titan, Rhea, Dione. Shadow from the rings was quite distinct. Moved to some doubles 'til it got really dark. Then the ring, M22, M4, M6, M7, M8, M20, M51, M81/82, Hercules cluster. After the kids went to bed, I went to work and found everything visible from this latitude on Tirion chart #18 that's not on the Herschel list. Good fun. Slept for a while and looked a little bit after Pegasus had come up; just old favorites - M31/32/33/110. Double cluster. Etc. Got up in the morning in time for Jupiter. All in all, pretty good. As far as camping and observing together go, I like Rockport. It's about 40 minutes from my house, and primitive camping (not all that primitive) is only $10. It's dark enough: last year I did some "difficulty level 1" (per O'Meara) Herschels from there without a problem. Some tips: Cottonwood campground there is a great campground, but the light from the entry gate and some big light from an outbuilding are distracting. Twin Coves and Juniper have good sites -- especially if you pick the ones right on the lake, so the trees don't get in the way. Riverside is down below the dam, so you lose some horizon, but there's a big open field there. ---- Rev. Michael A. van Opstall Department of Mathematics, University of Utah Office: JWB 313 opstall(a)math.utah.edu

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Pancakes at midnight
by Dale Wilson 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

Rogers idea of having the hotcakes last night was a great success. All who contributed really made it a good time. Lets do it a again. Dale

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Astronomy Festival at Great Basin National Park - July 28-30
by Kelly_Carroll＠nps.gov 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

Having Bryce withdrawal? Great Basin National Park will be having its 2nd Annual Astronomy Festival July 28-30. Like last year we will be having our astronomer's camp (free tent camping - astronomer's camp has a limited number of space, opens Thursday morning until Sunday morning and it's tent only), free astronomer's dinner, and a ranger talent show - as well as 23 other events. You can see our schedule of events at: http://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/2011-astronomy-festival.htm Dr. Tyler Nordgren, astronomer and author of "Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks" will be this year's keynote speaker. Please email me if you have any questions. We hope to see you here! Best and clear skies, Kelly Kelly Carroll Great Basin National Park http://www.nps.gov/grba/ Experience your America

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronomy Festival at Great Basin National Park - July 28-30
by Kelly_Carroll＠nps.gov 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

Debbie, The nighttime lows for next week are forecasted in the low 50s. Kelly Carroll Great Basin National Park http://www.nps.gov/grba/ Experience your America Anybody know the current low temps at Great Basin? It's sometimes hard to remember a jacket in July down in St George so if I need one that is the first thing to get packed. I did reach Kelly last Wednesday. Debbie

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] WISE
by Gary Vardon 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

The WISE lecture was awesome. The value of IR was shown. I checked out the WISE website and found it interesting. Sincerely, Gary Vardon The book DO It Right will help you understand vital ideas leading to your greater success. GO to PublishAmerica.com Consulting For Profit is also available. Learn how to make money as a consultant.

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Lakeside tonight?
by Chrismo 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

Watching the cloud cover maps, and crossing my fingers for Lakeside tonight. Anyone else? Sorry, no flapjacks.

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NEED RIDE TO STARBQ
by D P Pierce 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

Greetings SLASlings, I really want to go to the StarBQ at SPOC on Aug 6th. Nate is going to be playing with trains at a model railroading convention so I can't ride with him. I have a fold up manual wheel chair which weighs 37 lbs. It fits in most trunks, hatchbacks and some back seats. I live at 6200 S & Bangerter. Clear and dark skies, Deloy Pierce, Large Bored Member

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