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

Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS history document
by Joe Bauman 07 Nov '12

07 Nov '12

Daniel, we aren't scientists. We are amateurs who enjoy astronomy as a hobby. Let's not forget that and get all caught up with ourselves. If some of us enjoy UFO stories, that's good. Personally, I'm not so closed-minded to say travel from other regions is impossible or so egotistical to think I know what could or could not happen. Any scientist who announced just 100 years ago, during my Grandpop's manhood, that humans would walk on the moon and land instruments on Mars would have been laughed out of the scientific establishment. This stern attitude reminds me unpleasantly of a visit I once had with a Civil War reenactment group. The "general" was so full of himself that he swaggered around issuing gruff comments as if he thought he really was a general. We're just folks who enjoy the night sky and if anyone wants to recite stories about UFOs, I say great. And who knows if someday there might be a UFO that turns out to really be from another planet? -- Joe ------------------------------ On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 10:43 AM MST daniel turner wrote: >Ann and Kelly: > >Whether anyone likes it or not, Astronomy is a science and not one of the humanities. It's about discovering the truth about the world we live in and dispelling myths, no matter how popular they are. I don't see the UFO stories as quaint or charming. They come from the world of conspiracy theories and just plain goofball ideas. We open the door on UFO's and we have to also hear long monologues about how "Bush brought down the towers", "Einstein is all wrong about space travel", "Evolution is a atheist conspiracy" and "Cigarettes don't cause cancer". I've endured this drivel at SLAS events because there is a core of people there who really are interested in the science. I've also seen dozens of people wander away from SLAS because they don't want to listen to this constant rain of tripe. These people we are losing tend to be the most intelligent, educated, and our club is greatly diminished by their departure. It's not just good > clean fun. It's a big problem. > > >Daniel Turner > > > >________________________________ > From: Ann Blanchard <a.blanchard(a)ugs.utah.edu> >To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >Sent: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 8:24 AM >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS history document > >I'm open to the stories. The hard part is prying them out of people. Dave Berenson is a font of information and has been promising to write up some of his adventures for years, but . . . So anything folks want to e-mail me, tell me about, whatever, I'm happy to work on including more. The personal anecdotes are my favorite too. > >-----Original Message----- >From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kelly Ricks >Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 7:48 AM >To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS history document > >Wow! This must have taken loads of time. I loved reading through this...especially the personal anecdotes...many of them made me laugh out loud! If anything I'd enjoy seeing more of these added. > >I'm wondering if it might be possible to include a couple of the club member's infamous UFO stories...or is this too controversial to be included? While I was a member of SLAS, I remember these curious stories incidents referred to from time to time, and I always felt that their presence created a mysterious sort of undertone to many SLAS gatherings. If club romances can be accounted for, why not UFOs? Just an idea. > >~Kelly Ricks >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". > >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > >Send messages to the list to >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > >To unsubscribe go to: >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".

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Neaf-West
by Larry Holmes 06 Nov '12

06 Nov '12

Is anyone planning to go to Tucson this weekend for the convention? 73, lh Sent from my iPad

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Lot of stuff up there.
by Wiggins Patrick 06 Nov '12

06 Nov '12

Like the subject line says, there's a lot of stuff up there. patrick Objects being tracked on Earth orbit as of 3 October 2012. Country Payloads Debris Total CHINA. 131. 3595. 3726 CIS. 1421. 4774. 6195 ESA. 41. 45. 86 FRANCE. 55. 437. 492 INDIA. 48. 127. 175 JAPAN. 121. 78. 199 USA. 1123. 3823. 4946 OTHER. 597. 114. 711 TOTAL. 3537. 12993. 16530 Source: Orbital Debris Quarterly Newsletter, Volume 16, Issue 4, October 2012.

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Offerring SLAS document layout and design help
by Michael Wells 06 Nov '12

06 Nov '12

Hey guys, Just wanted to make an offer to anyone putting together digests, newsletters, posters, flyers, or your own personal astronomy journals; I have experience in layout and design work, having gone to school for graphic arts, as well as working int he printing industry for the last 9 years or so. No ability to draw(I couldn't draw a straight line if the ruler was nailed to the desk!), but I'm pretty good with layout, and can use all of the Adobe products quite well. I can only take on so much, but I can help anyone who needs any of these things done. I also have a coule of friends who actually are artistic whom I may be able to occasionally get Just drop me a line and let me know. I'd be happy to help out. Mike Wells

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Observing Tuesday
by Jay Eads 05 Nov '12

05 Nov '12

A few of us are going out Tuesday, tomorrow to Pit n Pole for an evening of observnig. I'll be out there around 5:30pm and will stay til around 11:00pm to 12:00am. Weather is not looking good for observing this weekend.

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Sage Hills Ele
by Ann House 05 Nov '12

05 Nov '12

Just wondering who else will be going to Sage Hills tomorrow for the Hogwarts Event? Thanks. A On Oct 18, 2012 6:07 PM, "Jay Eads" <jayleads(a)gmail.com> wrote:

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Many thanks for a successful star party last Friday
by Richard Tenney 05 Nov '12

05 Nov '12

Just wanted to shout out to those who braved the cold and showed up to help with the very successful school star party in Provo's South Fork Canyon Friday night. The sky was lovely, the company was excellent, and I know the kids and parents were thrilled. /R

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Lens Question
by Tyler Allred 04 Nov '12

04 Nov '12

Hello all. My father had a William Optics Megrez 80mm triplet refractor that shows clear signs of pinched optics. William Optics has offered to replace the cell with a new version with FPL-53 glass, which would be excellent, but I would need to ship the scope to Taiwan and then pay $400 for the modification. I am hesitant to go that route. The lens cell is one that does not allow adjustment. Does anyone here have experience or recommendations for any way to correct the problem? I can hear the lens elements slipping around a bit inside the cell, and it looks like I could disassemble the cell with a spanner wrench, but I am not sure how to go about correcting the problem... or if it is even possible. Any suggestions? Thanks, Tyler

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iOptron
by Dave Gary 04 Nov '12

04 Nov '12

Have any of you guys/gals seen or used any of the mounts from iOptron? This one seems to be something I could use with my little 80mm refractor and have decent equatorial tracking at a ?reasonable? price. Here's the site. I don't know anything about iOptron products and any input would be appreciated. I think the link was incomplete in my last transmission. http://ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=6650b0b6-9767-494d-… Dave P.S. Thanks, Don, for your input. That’s the kind of information I wanted to know. It looks a little cheap in the photograph, but that may not be the case in actual use. There’s a lot of people on this list who have seen or used equipment that I have no knowledge about or have had no opportunity to see in action.

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Orion catalogue paperless option
by Wiggins Patrick 03 Nov '12

03 Nov '12

Those, like me, who seem to receive an endless supply of paper Orion catalogues might like to know that the option is now available to receive the catalogue via the web. http://www.telescope.com/content.jsp?pageName=eCatalogs I just installed the app and downloaded the latest catalogue. Works and looks great. I also emailed them asking that I be removed from their snail mail mailing list which could make for fewer trips to the recycling center. patrick

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