February 2013 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

European Space Agency
by Gary Vardon 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

I get email updates on the activities of the ESA. The ESA provides interesting info. 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. Jokes? is a wild and witty look at the world and the mbook Marketing can show you how to make good money selling goods and services. All books are available at PublishAmerica.com

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ISON tonight, 2013 FEB 18
by Patrick Wiggins 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

Two more shots taken 10 minutes apart: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/C_2012_S1.2013FEB18.JPG patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] They're Shooting at Chelyabinski
by Joe Bauman 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

I agree fully, Chuck. ------------------------------ On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 12:19 PM MST Chuck Hards wrote: >Yes Joan, completely coincidental in my opinion. As I posted yesterday, >the unrelated orbits prove that they are not related. > >The earth is pummeled by thousands of meteors every single day, these are >just larger than average. As the human population grows and covers more of >the earth, more of these big boys will be witnessed. Modern media >connectivity also guarantees it. > >Even though weathering and an active geology have erased most of them, >there are still doznes of known or suspected impact craters on Earth from >large bodies. It's been happening since the planet was formed and will >continue forever. One look at the moon and you'll see about what the earth >looked like at one time. Probably more pocked due to Earth's greater >gravity. > >A human liftetime is a statistically insignificant time span to draw any >conclusions on impact rates or suspected clumping of data points. > >Coincidence. To think otherwise smacks of anthropocentrism. > >On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 11:42 AM, <jcarman6(a)q.com> wrote: > >> Coincidence? >> _______________________________________________ >> >_______________________________________________ >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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Re: [Utah-astronomy] 2012 DA14 second attempt (photometry)
by Joe Bauman 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

It animated well.on my Kindle while the first attempt didn't. Nice movie! ------------------------------ On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 5:21 AM MST Patrick Wiggins wrote: >Here's my second attempt at animating part of last night's 2012 DA14 pass: > >http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/2012DA14-02.gif > >Like before it's an animated GIF so judging from what I heard last night some folks not using iOS are going to have problems playing it (I'm still looking for software to easily make animations that are cross platform). > >Details: > >54 two second exposures taken between 0415 and 0433 UT on 2013 FEB 16. FOV is 18' x 26'. > >South is up, east to the right. Relatively bright star in the upper left corner is SAO 2554. > >Now, as for photometry, I've got 240 images taken between 0217 and 0433, spanning 3 fields of view. Given its speed and the 3 different fields of background stars I can't figure a way to get any worthwhile photometry. However, if anyone here would care to try I'd be happy to get them all the images. > >patrick >_______________________________________________ >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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They're shooting at Chelyabinski
by jcarman6＠q.com 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

>From Wikipedia on fireballs The frequency of fireball sightings increases by about 10-30% during the weeks of vernal equinox . [ 33 ] Even meteorite falls are more common during the northern hemisphere's spring season. Although this phenomenon has been known for quite some time, the reason behind the anomaly is not fully understood by scientists. Some researchers attribute this to an intrinsic variation in the meteoroid population along Earth's orbit, with a peak in big fireball-producing debris around spring and early summer. Research is in progress for mapping the orbits of the meteors in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon. [ 34

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2012 DA14 second attempt (photometry)
by Patrick Wiggins 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

Here's my second attempt at animating part of last night's 2012 DA14 pass: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/2012DA14-02.gif Like before it's an animated GIF so judging from what I heard last night some folks not using iOS are going to have problems playing it (I'm still looking for software to easily make animations that are cross platform). Details: 54 two second exposures taken between 0415 and 0433 UT on 2013 FEB 16. FOV is 18' x 26'. South is up, east to the right. Relatively bright star in the upper left corner is SAO 2554. Now, as for photometry, I've got 240 images taken between 0217 and 0433, spanning 3 fields of view. Given its speed and the 3 different fields of background stars I can't figure a way to get any worthwhile photometry. However, if anyone here would care to try I'd be happy to get them all the images. patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Current ATM Project
by Tyler Allred 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

Thanks Don. That is good advice. I came to that conclusion a few days ago. I have already ordered an off-axis guider that is custom machined to fit between the 3" Wynne corrector and the FLI filter wheel and camera. Guiding through the main scope should solve all my flexure problems. I had to order it from Europe, and it could take 5 weeks plus shipping time... BUMMER! Cheers, Tyler Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID "Don J. Colton" <djcolton(a)piol.com> wrote: >Tyler wrote: > >"I am still struggling to get my new astrograph up and running perfectly. I >have produced a few decent images, but I am having flexure issues and can >only get 1 minute exposures right now. I disassembled the entire unit >today, trying to troubleshoot. I may be coming to the next ATM session for >a little guidance and advice, along with some liver and onions." > >I had the same problem at longer focal lengths 2,300 mm using a guide scope >with my Mewlon. However with the new SBIG STT camera with built in off axis >guider on the filter wheel in front of the filters all of the guiding >problems disappeared. Using an off axis guider of some sort might be easier >than fixing flexure issues. > >Clear Skies, > >Don > > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com >[mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Tyler >Allred >Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 5:31 PM >To: 'Utah Astronomy' >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Current ATM Project > >Chuck, >I would guess that you could do some nice imaging with that scope. I really >enjoyed my Takahashi Sky 90 (F/5.6), which was a fast doublet, but not quite >as fast as yours. I used it for some really nice images. The Tak had a >little bit of blue halo on the bright stuff, but overall it was a very good >performer for most objects. > >The coma corrector will almost certainly be needed with such a fast >achromat, but that may depend on the size of your camera chip. I am >guessing that the color correction may not be too big of an issue. You >could always go with a monochrome camera and filters, which would also help >a bit over a one-shot color chip. > >I am still struggling to get my new astrograph up and running perfectly. I >have produced a few decent images, but I am having flexure issues and can >only get 1 minute exposures right now. I disassembled the entire unit >today, trying to troubleshoot. I may be coming to the next ATM session for >a little guidance and advice, along with some liver and onions. :) > >Some of my favorite images are the wide field stuff. That scope could be a >lot of fun. >Cheers, >Tyler > > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: utah-astronomy-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com >[mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck >Hards >Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 3:21 PM >To: Utah Astronomy >Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Current ATM Project > >Thanks Tyler! > >What do you think about using the RFT for imaging? I'm pretty sure I'll >need to use my coma corrector, but I'm not sure about the uncorrected color >of an achromat on a CMOS or CCD chip. It won't be an issue with narrowband >imaging of course, but what about with a color camera? Would a V-block >filter do any good? It would probably only be a problem with objects >emitting a broad spectrum such as galaxies and star clusters. Emission >nebulae won't pose any difficulties. > >I've used short-focus doublet refractors for astrophotography in the past, >but that was emulsion photography, not digital imaging. > >That wide field is just begging me to try it. > >On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 3:09 PM, Tyler Allred <tyler(a)allred-astro.com>wrote: > >> That looks awesome Chuck! >> Tyler >> >> >_______________________________________________ >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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They're Shooting at Chelyabinski
by jcarman6＠q.com 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

Sorry, meant 2012 DA 14 not the comet, which is a first time visitor to the sun (and may be its last). Cuba now reports a fireball in the sky. So that's Russian, San Francisco and Cuba, with 2012 making a close approach in between. Not counting the "thing" (much smaller if it was a meteor) seen in Utah. Coincidence?

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Betelgeuse & Albireo
by M Wilson 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

Ever since I've been involved with astronomy and a member of one of the local astronomy clubs, I have been told that the name Betelgeuse means "Armpit of the Giant". According to this account http://www.examiner.com/article/betelgeuse-the-history-of-a-star-name it never meant that at all. It really means "Hand of the Giant". To quote the next to last paragraph: "Scholars decided that the true origin of the name must be bat al-jauza', the "Armpit of the Giant." Unfortunately for these hard-working scholars, such a name never appeared anywhere in Arabic astronomy. Even more unfortunately, the name is just wrong: the "Armpit of the Giant" should be ibt al-jauza', not the bat al-jauza' they wanted." Another misconception that I've heard over and over at star parties is that Albireo is a gravitationally bound binary system. In this Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albireo and Burnham's Celestial Handbook, that fact has never been proven.

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2 more Russian meteor videos
by Patrick Wiggins 16 Feb '13

16 Feb '13

For this first one, watch the snow on the roof on the right (also turn the audio way down before starting the video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odKjwrjIM-k Audio up for this one. Multiple sonic booms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp-CMWGQ9ag patrick

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