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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Thanks for the suggestions
by Levae＠aol.com 27 Oct '02

27 Oct '02

The Star Party is at the Golden Spike National Monument Visitors Center. They turn off the outside lights and leave the restrooms open for us. If you want to tour the facilities at the Monument you will need to pay the admission fee, but otherwise there is no charge for the Star Party. Camping is available in the parking lot, or the field next to it. We will be there Friday and Saturday Nights, November 8th and 9th. Everyone is welcome but be prepared for below freezing temperatures. Lee Priest OAS

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Thanks for the suggestions
by DunnDave＠aol.com 27 Oct '02

27 Oct '02

Joe, Be sure to come to the Golden Spike star party on 11/8 adn 11/9. We usually spend most of the night out observing. I will have several telescopes setup and you are welcome to use them. I have found that attending the star parties, even without a telescope is the best way to learn about astronomy and to find out which type and how big your telescope should be. Dave

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Thanks for the suggestions
by Joseph Barney 23 Oct '02

23 Oct '02

Thanks for making suggestions. It will be a while before I get binos and a scope, but I kinda of wanted to test the waters. I'm glad there are star parties where you can look via other people's equipment. Joe __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting.yahoo.com/

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Leonids from Monument Valley
by David Bennett 19 Oct '02

19 Oct '02

Hello again, I'm having some problems with my main menu on my homepage so until it's fixed please use this link for a direct link to the Monument Valley views and map: http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/PhotoAlbum16.html dlb http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/

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2002 Leonid Expedition
by David Bennett 19 Oct '02

19 Oct '02

Hello all, Despite the Full Moon and it's eye that scorcheth all it glares upon, (that's Byron, not me ;-) this year's Leonid shower looks to be as promising as last year's boon of meteors. If you missed your chance to see the storm last year, be sure to mark your calendars for Monday night, November 18th/19th, 2002. I can honestly say that I saw more meteors in one night last November than I have in my entire time out under the stars with a telescope. Our excursion last November took us first to Virgin, Utah the night before the peak to check out a possible observing locale. The wind-ridden site, where we had hoped to meet others from Southern Utah, was harsh, inhospitable and therefore short-lived. We then spent the next morning and early afternoon seeing the sites of Zion and having lunch at our friends cafe: Tsunami Juice and Java/Zion Tubing owned and operated by Ken Warner's sister Cindy and her husband John. (No, we did not do any tubing!) Next, with clouds looming all around, we headed further south to explore and find our site for the upcoming peak. After much debate, worrying, and a little whining (not by me of course ;-) our little convoy found its way to Pipe Springs National Monument. With darkness quickly approaching, as well as what appeared to be a band of clear sky from the west, we decided that this truly was 'the place' and began to make what camp we could. A friendly group of rangers offered (or did we foist ourselves upon them?...I do not recall.) a viewing area near their living quarters and after sending an envoy armed with a thirty foot extension ladder and a roll of aluminum foil to dispatch an annoying local street-light, we had ourselves quite a nice setup. Not to mention the joy at seeing the clouds say goodnight as well! Throughout the night many of the rangers and their families stopped by for a peek through the scopes we had brought along but mainly to join in with our gasps of 'oohs & ahhs' at the Lion's light show. I hate to admit it, but it became almost commonplace to look up to the sky as you would walk around and see one meteor after another...two, three, five at a time. We did many 15 minute counts and came up with a Zenithal Hourly Rate of 800-1200 meteors at the peak. A fabulous night of meteors!! The icing on the cake came as everyone had either left or was packing: a green sporadic fireball which had me on my knees having a personal religious experience. I know there were several other members of SLAS who witnessed this one from other parts of Utah with similar exaltation. Now, the predictions are in for this year from the various camps and it seems the further East and South you are the better. The radiant will be higher in the sky the further East you travel, (I'm still trying to figure out the 'Going South' part...anyone care to chime in?) but my feelings are that in heading south (and low) we have the best chance of clear weather once again. This year I'm being drawn for some inexplicable reason to the Four Corners area so I've looked into a group campsite at the Mitten View Campground in Monument Valley. I have yet to hear back if a site is available for the night of the 18th but will keep those who are interested informed. Here are a few links to entice you to join me for our last chance for 33 years to witness this grand spectacle: http://www.go-utah.com/monument_valley http://www.go- utah.com/topicDetail.cfm?objectID=563E7860-634A-11D4-AADF0050DAB32CA6 and my homepage for the amazing views from the campground and a map of the area: http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/ Please email me at dlbennett(a)mac.com if you are interested on being put on a list of those to contact with additional details once I have more concrete info. 'The goodness of the night upon you, friends!' Dave Bennett P.S. My heartfelt apologies for my unusual verbosity. http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Picking out my first scope or binos
by Kris Jones 18 Oct '02

18 Oct '02

If I had to go back in time I would choose the 15x70 binos over my Celestron Firstscope in a snap - hindsight is 20x20, always :-) If you wanted a whole lot more light gathering power for a little more - try an orion dobsonian (skyquest is I think the brand name). They run up to 600.00 for a ten inch with a 2" focuser. Its a huge scope to haul around and doesnt break down to store, but its a whole-lotta bang for the buck. Otherwise I wouldn't pass up the binos.. you will use them even after you get a bigger scope when it just seems like too much hassle to set up the big one. Happy stargazing! Kris >>> retenney(a)yahoo.com 10/18/02 08:45PM >>> Joseph, I would recommend ordering a pair of those 15x70 Galileo binos that Chuck Hards reviewed recently: http://www.uvaa.org/hardsbinoreview.html They are out of stock right now, but supposedly are getting more in November. It's a deal you can't pass up on. While you're at it, Chuck tells me he has parts for a few more parellogram mounts. At approx. $30 you also can't beat that with a stick. All you need is to make or buy a tripod and you're all set! You can do a lot of quality observing with such a setup... My 2 cents, Rich --- Joseph Barney <jbarneyut(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Hey, I just joined the Ogden Astronomical Society > and > am waiting for my first newsletter. I read > space.com > when I can, and have a few astronomy books by the > likes of Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawkings. Well, I > guess some of them are really theoretical physics, > but > anyhow... I'm looking to one of these days buy a > telescope or binoculars. If you need windows > software > for any of these, I gotta let you know that I'm > currently only using Linux. I am thinking of buying > XP Home though because they tend to make commercial > astronomy programs for Windows and Mac only. > > Anyhow, I'm on a student budget, and if you know of > a > place that does lay away that would work best for > me. > I kind of know what to look for, i.e. light > gathering > capabilities vs. magnification. I'm just not > familiar > with name brands. Thanks! > > Joe > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More > http://faith.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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Fwd: Possible Sky Show
by Richard Tenney 18 Oct '02

18 Oct '02

Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com

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ISS-Shuttle
by Joe Borgione 16 Oct '02

16 Oct '02

Wow! Just came back in from the front yard and watching the shuttle & ISS. That was great! Joe Borgione --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos, & more faith.yahoo.com

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Minuteman Launch
by David Bennett 14 Oct '02

14 Oct '02

So what time did the launch occur tonight? I must have either just missed it or been completely blind because I was up at Skyline High with my camera from 8:15 to 10:15p and saw zip and nada but thats all. I did get some interesting shots of Perseus and the Pleaides that I hope will turn out though. I'll send them to Patrick when they've been uploaded to my comp. dlb http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Minuteman Launch
by Paul Witte 14 Oct '02

14 Oct '02

It was about 8:04pm. So you just missed it, though I'm kinda surprised you didn't see any of the afterglow, it lasted several minutes. ---------- From: David Bennett Sent: Monday, October 14, 2002 10:53 PM To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Minuteman Launch <<File: ATT00000.att>> So what time did the launch occur tonight? I must have either just missed it or been completely blind because I was up at Skyline High with my camera from 8:15 to 10:15p and saw zip and nada but thats all. I did get some interesting shots of Perseus and the Pleaides that I hope will turn out though. I'll send them to Patrick when they've been uploaded to my comp. dlb http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/

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