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2,500
by Wiggins Patrick 04 Dec '14

04 Dec '14

While entering tonight's session in my observatory log book I saw that tonight's session was my 2,500th in my current observatory (first light was in 1983). Being the OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Delightful) numbers nut I am I set about putting together a spreadsheet to see how many times I've observed each year. Surprising just how much the numbers have varied. There was a spell when it appears I was losing interest with 42 sessions in 1993 and then 12 in 1994. Then really hard to believe that in all of 1995 it dropped all the way to 1! One pitiful night in the whole year. Ugh! But then the numbers jumped way up to 76 the next year and I've been pretty active ever since. Funny but the only major change that happened in my life in 95/96 was the entrance of a certain Dr. Holly. Apparently being with a real scientist was a real inspiration (ell either that or she really kicked me in the rear. LOL!) Busiest year, BTW, was 2012 with 198. 171 this year. And counting. Clear skies to all! patrick

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wanderers
by Bruce Hugo 03 Dec '14

03 Dec '14

Very cool Patrick. Thanks for sharing! Bruce Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. - Edwin Powell Hubble A short movie narrated by Carl Sagan: "Wanderers" http://vimeo.com/108650530 patrick

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Wanderers
by Wiggins Patrick 03 Dec '14

03 Dec '14

A short movie narrated by Carl Sagan: "Wanderers" http://vimeo.com/108650530 patrick

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Launch of Japan's Hayabusa 2
by Wiggins Patrick 02 Dec '14

02 Dec '14

Here's hoping Hayabusa 2 has fewer problems and is even more successful than it's predecessor. patrick 718 --From the NBC News website-- Japan's Hayabusa 2 Probe Launches Toward Target Asteroid The Japanese Hayabusa 2 probe has begun its long mission to space to bring back a sample of a distant asteroid after a successful launch late Tuesday night (early Wednesday afternoon local time) from Tanegashima Space Center. Its target is an asteroid called 1999 JU3, where it will land and deploy several mobile instruments to break a few pieces off the surface to take home. It's similar to the first Hayabusa mission, which made its rendezvous with the Itokawa asteroid in 2005, 180 million miles from Earth. However, that probe was unable to successfully deploy its lander, though it did bring back to Earth a few specks of material. Hayabusa 2 carries improved landing gadgetry, a more sophisticated lander capsule and several small mobile rover-like devices — as well as an explosive charge designed to make a crater and expose lower layers of the asteroid's surface. An archived live stream of the launch is available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TwlwZobc4 (launch is at 01:09:40)

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Another try at odd streaks
by Joe Bauman 02 Dec '14

02 Dec '14

Hi Utah astronomy people -- I have uploaded all eight frames from the sequence to my album in the SLAS gallery. Just click on the first one, whose URL I'm including here, then hit "next" to see all eight. I took them the night of Nov. 26, 2014 while sitting on my front porch. The first six photos were taken at 10:59 p.m., the last two at 11 p.m. Remember, these are crappy images so don't expect much detail -- I was trying out my new iPhone to see if it could record starlight, aiming generally toward Orion which was easily visible. On several you can see the stars of Orion's belt. Each time I hit the button the flash went off, illuminating the juniper beside the porch. I could see the strange phenomenon as it happened, without looking at the camera's view. My impression was of a broad fast sweep first coming down then arching up and to the left and perhaps down again. It seemed like a diffuse brightness. I kept pushing the button the whole time. I actually had the impression that it happened so fast that I missed it between views. Here's the first view: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=6063 I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, Joe

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Another try at odd streaks
by Joe Bauman 02 Dec '14

02 Dec '14

Thanks, Seth and Chuck. What I was trying to do is see if I could stack a bunch of frames. I'll try it again if I can figure out how to turn off the flash! ------------------------------ On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 9:06 AM MST Chuck Hards wrote: >Seth, I have a Galaxy S5, and the camera is pretty spiffy. 16MP resolution >and lots of interesting features. I've been experimenting with it for >solar and lunar shots. I'm getting more and more impressed with the >capabilities of smartphone cameras. > >Here is a lunar shot taken about a month ago, afocally through a 50mm f/12 >refractor, using the smartphone: > >http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/002a_zps2d29b864.jpg > >And here is a shot of the recent partial solar eclipse, same phone but a >50mm f/9 refractor & Baader solar filter material: > >http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/001a_zps8742359c.jpg > >Copy and paste the links into your browser window if they don't come across >as live links. > >I have the Orion universal smartphone bracket to hold it up to the >eyepiece. Takes some fiddling but worth it once adjusted. There are also >cable releases available for most smartphones, that plug into the headphone >jack. Check eBay or Amazon for your particular model. > > > >On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 8:48 AM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis(a)slco.org> wrote: > >> Joe, have you tried using your iPhone but not using the flash? Now you've >> got me wanting to experiment with mine. >> >> Seth >> >> >> >_______________________________________________ >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] Another try at odd streaks
by Joe Bauman 02 Dec '14

02 Dec '14

That's fabulous! These tiny cameras really are impressive. ------------------------------ On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 9:13 AM MST Chuck Hards wrote: >Whoops, should have been: > >http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/005a_zps5e002ca0.jpg > >On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 9:12 AM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Another lunar shot, same small 50mm f/12 refractor & Android phone: >> >> http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/001a_zpsb79f7b26.jpg >> >> >> On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 9:06 AM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Seth, I have a Galaxy S5, and the camera is pretty spiffy. 16MP >> resolution and lots of interesting features. I've been experimenting with >> it for solar and lunar shots. I'm getting more and more impressed with the >> capabilities of smartphone cameras. >> >> Here is a lunar shot taken about a month ago, afocally through a 50mm >> f/12 refractor, using the smartphone: >> >> >> http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/002a_zps2d29b864.jpg >> >> And here is a shot of the recent partial solar eclipse, same phone but a >> 50mm f/9 refractor & Baader solar filter material: >> >> >> http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/001a_zps8742359c.jpg >> >> Copy and paste the links into your browser window if they don't come >> across as live links. >> >> I have the Orion universal smartphone bracket to hold it up to the >> eyepiece. Takes some fiddling but worth it once adjusted. There are also >> cable releases available for most smartphones, that plug into the headphone >> jack. Check eBay or Amazon for your particular model. >> >> >> >> >> >_______________________________________________ >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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Odd meteor streaks?
by Joe Bauman 02 Dec '14

02 Dec '14

The night of Nov. 26-27, I was sitting on my front porch testing my new iPhone. I wanted to see if it was sensitive enough to record the stars, and aiming near the Orion Nebula. Here is a sequence of eight images, all of them taken at 10:59 except that the last two were taken at 11. The juniper bush is bright because the flash went off for each frame. While I was shooting these I had the strong impression that something flashed down from in front and arched away to the left, sweeping up and then down. I wonder if it was a meteorite that skipped off the atmosphere. Only three frames of the eight show any of this. The one with the longest streak also is the least sharp, possibly because my hand jiggled as I was shooting -- it was pretty startling. I know the quality is crappy. I find that if I shrink the size of the screen that shows it, the quality doesn't seem quite as bad. Just click "download" and this should trigger your Windows Media Player (or whatever kind of video player your computer has) to play it. I would appreciate comments. http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=6060 Thanks, Joe

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 142, Issue 2
by John R. Peterson 01 Dec '14

01 Dec '14

Mark, this may be the one you're looking for: http://htwins.net/scale2/ It has a scroll bar so that you control the scale you're at. John R. Peterson -----Original Message----- >From: utah-astronomy-request(a)mailman.xmission.com >Sent: Dec 1, 2014 12:00 PM >To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com >Subject: Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 142, Issue 2 > >Send Utah-Astronomy mailing list submissions to > utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > >To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > utah-astronomy-request(a)mailman.xmission.com > >You can reach the person managing the list at > utah-astronomy-owner(a)mailman.xmission.com > >When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >than "Re: Contents of Utah-Astronomy digest..." > > >Today's Topics: > > 1. web page/Universe (Mark Shelton) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 18:46:08 +0000 (UTC) >From: Mark Shelton <astroshelton(a)yahoo.com> >To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> >Subject: [Utah-astronomy] web page/Universe >Message-ID: > <529573291.3344956.1417459568195.JavaMail.yahoo(a)jws10628.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > >Hi, allI am teaching a bunch of 6th graders tomorrow morning. I remember about a year or so ago someone sent out a link to a site that showed the universe from earth and your could zoom out to get a perspective of the size and distances. If this sounds familiar to you please send me the link to this site. I lost the one I had. >Thanks >Mark > >------------------------------ > >Subject: Digest Footer > >_______________________________________________ >Utah-Astronomy mailing list >Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com >https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php > >------------------------------ > >End of Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 142, Issue 2 >**********************************************

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Mark Shelton - Scales of the Universe
by stormcrow60＠xmission.com 01 Dec '14

01 Dec '14

Mark, See the three links below. Perhaps one of these is what you were mentioning. Good luck with your class. Jon http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html http://htwins.net/scale2/ http://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/powers-of-ten/

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