March 2014 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Utah-astronomy] Not enough backfocus
by Bruce Hugo 09 Mar '14

09 Mar '14

Hey Daniel, Here is the verbiage and calculations on the device: http://www.hubbleoptics.com/artificial-stars.html It recommends the telescope be placed at a distance based on two formulas. M=336*D/F^3 where D is in inches. Distance = M*D*F The 12" mead is 12" aperture, f/10. I came up with 483.8" = 40.3 ft. I'll re-read the instructions and check the calculation. You guys know the physics of optics much better than I. I'll have to bend your ear(s) this year at the sun and star parties. I want to learn more. I took the eyepiece out of the diagonal and moved it back until I got focus on the 57 ft distant tree. The eyepiece was a good 5"-6" off the diagonal. Hahahaa! So it is pretty far out if focus. Guess the easy collimation out the window is not possible and I'll have to disassemble the scope and set it up in the yard some night when we have a clear night. Listening to the weather report, that's not going to happen this week! Bruce >Bruce: >40 feet doesn't sound right to me, but my only reference is Suitter and he is looking at Newtonians.? and he is doing more >than just collimation.? Perhaps, just for collimation you don't actually need to come to focus.? Just centering the blob will >suffice. >DT

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Patrick does it again!
by Bruce Hugo 07 Mar '14

07 Mar '14

Cool shot Patrick! ------------------------------ Spectacular photo of the Great Salt Lake and the way its causeway divides into two distinct arms by Patrick Wiggins -- today's Earth Science Picture of the Day. http://epod.usra.edu/ ------------------------------

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Patrick does it again!
by Joe Bauman 07 Mar '14

07 Mar '14

Spectacular photo of the Great Salt Lake and the way its causeway divides into two distinct arms by Patrick Wiggins -- today's Earth Science Picture of the Day. http://epod.usra.edu/

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Pixels in Space
by Kelly Ricks 07 Mar '14

07 Mar '14

This is breathtaking! http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html ~Kelly

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] "The Martian" by Andy Weir
by Kelly Ricks 06 Mar '14

06 Mar '14

Debbie, Here's a great Science Friday podcast talking about this book. It does indeed sound very interesting. Lots of real science! http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/02/14/2014/andy-weir-the-martian.html Enjoy! ~Kelly

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No light pollution here
by Wiggins Patrick 06 Mar '14

06 Mar '14

IOTD recently featured a shot of a place with very little light pollution. Hmmm, wonder if an ALCON could be held there. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83182 Speaking of light pollution, I had occasion recently to fly near the new NSA site at night. An excellent example of well shielded lighting. The ground was well lit but there was no sign from above of the source of the light. Actually reminded me of the state prison which has similar excellent lighting on it's perimeter. Cheers, patrick OT, but since the Tree of Utah was mentioned here recently I thought folks might want to see how it's looking these days. I see they've put a fence around it. I don't remember seeing a fence before. Pictures taken yesterday (5 March): http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/tree-1.jpg http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/tree-2.jpg http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/tree-3.jpg

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Cosmos on Sunday the 9th
by jcarman6＠q.com 05 Mar '14

05 Mar '14

Just remembered. The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson's book about the Chicago World's Fair. Have seen the trailers for Cosmos, it looks very slick. Hope Tyson intends to "stand on the shoulder's of giants." rather than replace Sagan :)

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Cosmos on Sunday the 9th
by jcarman6＠q.com 05 Mar '14

05 Mar '14

Dan: I've read all of Mary Roach's books except Stiff and Gulp (which I have now and just started ) They are all very educational, humorous and eye-opening. She ask s the questions no one thinks to ask and researches the answers. Good reads, all of them. You might be interested in books by Erik Larson. Isaac's Storm, The Garden of the Beast and , sorry, can't remember the correct title, about a serial killer and the Chicago World's Fair - The Devil and...... All true, well researched and good reads.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Cosmos on Sunday 9th
by Joe Bauman 04 Mar '14

04 Mar '14

SPOILER ALERT, Chuck: it didn't all happen in six days. ------------------------------ On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 3:38 PM MST Chuck Hards wrote: >I'm going to record it and watch it later. 8 PM is bedtime on Sunday >nights. > >No spoilers, please! > >On Mar 4, 2014 3:30 PM, "Ed" <utnatsedj1(a)xmission.com> wrote: >> >> Reminder: The new Cosmos series premiers this Sunday, the 9th, on Fox at >8 pm MDT. Don't miss it because of the switch back to daylight savings time >the evening before. >> >_______________________________________________ >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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"The Martian" by Andy Weir
by Debbie 04 Mar '14

04 Mar '14

I checked amazon.com for some best seller books and I saw this book called "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Has anybody read it. It looks kind of interesting. It is a story about astronauts landing on Mars. It may be a fun read. Debbie

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