January 2012 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

One night stand
by Patrick Wiggins 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

A message was posted to the Minor Planet Mailing List (MPML) asking if anyone was going to try to recover 2003 AF23, an asteroid that was only seen in 2003. Based on orbital data from back then there was a good chance it was going to pay a return visit this month. So I said I'd give it a try but weather interfered for a few days which forced me to wait until a few nights ago when I tried and failed. Same the next night I tried. But then using new position estimates from the Minor Planet Center I tried once more Wednesday night and was delighted to nab it. However, while examining those shots I noticed something moving much more quickly off to the side of the intended target. With all of the automated searches these days the chances of someone like me making a new minor planet discovery are much poorer than when I started in the 90s. And certainly, I thought, one of the "big boys" would have nabbed something this bright by now. I dutifully measured and reported it. But rather than the usual "sorry loser, someone beat you to it...again" reply I'm so used to getting the reply read "No known minor planets, brighter than V = 20.0, were found in the 15.0-arcminute region." Bonus points: It was moving so fast it had to be near Earth = My first Near Earth Object. But, alas it was moving so fast I was having trouble keeping up with it. And then, after about 70 minutes it faded and was gone. I put the word out on MPML and others searched. But to now avail. It came by, put on a nice show and then it was gone. In minor planet speak it's what's known as an ONS (One Night Stand). I filed my discovery report anyway. That way if someone does pick it up one day I may still get discovery credit. But I'm not going to hold my breath. At any rate, here's an animation I put together of the discovery frames. Each is a 60 second exposure spaced 5 minutes apart. FOV is about 18 x 26 arc minutes. The intended target, 2003 AF23, is the object making the short dashes near the center of the field moving left to right. The new object moves from bottom right to upper right. Compare the lengths of the two trails and you'll see my ONS was really moving. http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/gotaway.gif patrick

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Great Basin National Park Astronomy Festival
by Kelly_Carroll＠nps.gov 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Hello all! I know it's still five months away but I have started the planning of the third annual Great Basin National Park’s Astronomy Festival. We have moved the festival earlier in the summer to June 14-16 to try to avoid the monsoonal weather that we've been plagued with for the past two years. I would like to invite and encourage all of you to come to this year's festival. I have set-up an information blog at http://greatbasinastronomy.wordpress.com if you are interested in volunteering. This year's festival will have some changes and some similarities to the last couple years. We are still having the "Astronomer's Camp." Keep an eye on our website for the schedule at: http://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/2012-astronomy-festival.htm Thank you so much for all of your support! Best wishes and clear skies, Kelly Kelly Carroll Great Basin National Park http://www.nps.gov/grba/ Experience your America

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Spring Events at Great Basin National Park
by Kelly_Carroll＠nps.gov 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

I would like to get the word out on some special events planned this spring at the park. Spring Star Party! Saturday April 14, 2012 (the visitor center will remain open as warm room and cookies and hot drinks will be served.) Annual Solar Eclipse Sunday May 20, 2012 Transit of Venus Tuesday June 5, 2012 For both the eclipse and the Venus transit we will have special viewing areas set up so bring your equipment along and observe with us! Kelly Carroll Great Basin National Park http://www.nps.gov/grba/ Experience your America

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C/2009 P1 Garradd
by Dave Gary 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Got up this morning and took a look at C/2009 P1 Garradd. I think Patrick is correct, it’s getting a little bit of a tail. Well, in my scope and a fairly bright Moon it seemed to have a wispy fuzziness extending upward to the 12 o’clock position in the eyepiece. I tried several eyepieces and couldn’t seem to resolve it any better. The 2” 32mm seemed to give the sharpest view. I couldn’t bag the thing with SkySafari Pro. I guess I haven’t updated the comet data in this program for awhile. I switched to the Parallels virtual machine and fired up RTGUI (a Windoze-only program) and it centered the comet, pretty nearly. However, I used RTGUI the other day and the comet data was, recently, acquired. It makes a difference if the comet data is not two or three months old, if you’re not freezing and your mind hasn’t gone to mush, to have an uneventful time at the scope. I miss my mind. Dave

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Dreams of the Lagoon
by jcarman6＠q.com 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

I don't have a SLAS page, but here is a link to the photo http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/photo.php?fbid=1052477314221&se…

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Comics
by D P Pierce 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

http://www.seattlepi.com/comics-and-games/fun/Pardon_My_Planet/2012-01-12/ Deloy

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Observing Tonight south of Vernon
by Jay Eads 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

This is what I get off my Google Map when I ask for directions: FR 006 Site 1 @40.001406,-112.427157 FR 006 Observing Site 2 @39.997732,-112.426813 Does that help? I am going to get changed and start loading up now. > > This cries out for GPS coordinates. Do you have them, or is there a way to get them from Google Maps? > > DT

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Dreams of the Lagoon
by jcarman6＠q.com 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

LOL - Joe - I have tried it, a long time ago. I learned quickly I don't have the patience or dedication you and Tyler show. Besides, when there are guys like you doing it, my poor attempts would embarass - me. I am up for the short exposure of constellations, sunspots, the moon and the like, though, and have done some decent work. My facebook image is actually a 7 minute exposure of the milky way taken at Wolf Creek in 2005. It's "damn" good, if I say so myself :) I truly respect and appreciate the work of those who have the patience and dedication to do it.

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Dreams of the Lagoon
by jcarman6＠q.com 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

I am truly sorry I missed that meeting. It looks like Tyler has picked up the ball Jack Newton dropped.

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Ogden Astronomical Society
by Joe Bauman 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

OAS has asked me to speak about astrophotography at their January meeting tonight. It would be nice if some of the SLAS folks went too -- we could get to know our sibling club better. The meeting is 7:30 to p.m. I hope one of the OAS people will chime in and post a map of where it is on campus, and tell about parking! Thanks, Joe

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