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

ATM session report
by Hutchings, Mat 10 Aug '12

10 Aug '12

The August session was a great time. We were happy to have Frank and Daryl join us for the first time. Regular attendees Charlie, Doug, Jay, Jeff and Josh were all there also. Daryl brought his 10 "Z" scope which he is in the process of updating. He had just installed an improved spider in it and was looking for help in collimating. Jeff, the very capable collimator, helped him out and showed us all how to do a thorough collimation. After that, we all enjoyed images of the sun through that scope. Lots of smallish sunspots were visible. Josh brought his completed bath interferometer, and took some in'grams of Charlies 13.1" mirror. This is a fantastic tool that has fully lived up to expectations (mine at least). Josh has really done an impressive job with putting this project together. Though an interferometer does not replace all the tests available to ATM's, it is much faster, easier and more accurate than the Foucault test. Great tool, that interferometer. Doug continued work on his 5 5/8" mirror and it is completely "hogged out" now to f7. We did get the grinding machine cranked up and grinding my son's 8" project. It was a lot easier than walking the barrel! Mat This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients. The information contained herein may include trade secrets, protected health or personal information, privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachment from your system. Thank you for your cooperation

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Moral of the story: call ahead
by Dion Davidson 10 Aug '12

10 Aug '12

I was excited to visit Scope City in Costa Mesa, CA this week. I even had a client appointment across the street! Too bad I scheduled my visit for Thursday ...

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Dork Tower.
by Daniel Holmes 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

Typically a gaming comic, it's had a couple of pretty good Curiosity based strips.. http://www.dorktower.com/2012/08/09/curiouser-dork-tower-09-08-12/ http://www.dorktower.com/2012/08/06/curiositous-dork-tower-06-08-12/ Dan -- Daniel Holmes, danielh(a)holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] In today's Tribune
by Joe Bauman 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

You are right, Patrick. She does a great job. ------------------------------ On Thu, Aug 9, 2012 8:42 PM MDT Patrick Wiggins wrote: >Nice to see them being so positive about NASA: >http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/54657452-82/curiosity-space-http-mars.… > >Also in today's Tribune (sorry Joe but the DN just doesn't seem interested) is evidence of how a reporter can take a bunch of rambling quotes and make them readable. :) >http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54658752-78/shower-sunday-wiggins-meteor.… > >Actually I found the comments pretty interesting (and the second one about the car wreck moving). > >patrick > >Sent from my iPad >_______________________________________________ >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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In today's Tribune
by Patrick Wiggins 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

Nice to see them being so positive about NASA: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/54657452-82/curiosity-space-http-mars.… Also in today's Tribune (sorry Joe but the DN just doesn't seem interested) is evidence of how a reporter can take a bunch of rambling quotes and make them readable. :) http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54658752-78/shower-sunday-wiggins-meteor.… Actually I found the comments pretty interesting (and the second one about the car wreck moving). patrick Sent from my iPad

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Curiosity cartoon
by Patrick Wiggins 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

There are several NASA related cartoons on the site (both liberal and conservative) but here's one I like that's neither: http://www.caglecartoons.com/viewimage.asp?ID={3AB665F8-FAC2-4E96-AF1F-8430… Grins, patrick Sent from my iPad

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Curiosity on NatGeo
by Steve Fisher 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

This may be a re-run but if you have wondered how Curiosity was built and tested you can see it on a show called Martian Mega Rover on National Geographic channel tonight. I’m watching it now but it will be re-run at 11:00PM. Great show so far.

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Sloan Digital Sky Survey Map
by Rodger C. Fry 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

The following is a 3-D map produced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey which I find quite interesting: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48591032/ns/technology_and_science-space/ Thanks Rodger C. Fry

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Moral of the story: call ahead
by Dion Davidson 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

I was excited to visit Scope City in Costa Mesa, CA this week. I even had a client appointment across the street! Too bad I scheduled my visit for Thursday ...

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The Sun
by Chuck Hards 09 Aug '12

09 Aug '12

Quite a few prominences visible today, as well as a few sunspot groups. The white-light view is fairly good, using a Baader visual filter. I'm amazed at how, apparently, the water vapor in the air can make some details in H-a less visible. Today is much better than other recent days. The view through "sucker holes" on mostly overcast days is never as good as a day with lower humidity, from my experience. If I had the time, I'd actually research the absorbtion factor of water vapor on the H-a wavelength. Maybe it's something else entirely? Call-out for nerds with lots of free time and the need to know! After a long, hard day at work in a 92-degree shop, I am headed for a bowl of my wife's home-made chicken-noodle soup and a cold beer, and have suddenly lost interest in physics- for now. ;-)

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