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Re: [Utah-astronomy] New Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope ?????
by nathan swenson 30 Mar '14

30 Mar '14

I have this telescope with the goto system. I've been very happy with it - light enough to move easily, and the views are pretty good. I was pleasantly suprised the first time I looked through it. I am clearly an amateur who is mostly interested in the pretty pictures I see through through the glass, and this scope serves me very well. If you want to try it before you buy, and you are ever in Utah County, you are welcome to look through mine. Nate S. > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:15:56 -0600 > From: "BWFlowers" <BWFlowers(a)comcast.net> > To: "'Utah Astronomy'" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] New Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian > Telescope ????? > Message-ID: <02ce01cf4aba$25fcf120$71f6d360$@net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > New Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope > > http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Orion-SkyQuest-XT8-Classic-Dobsonian-Telescope/1 > 51237511604?_trksid=p1.m2287&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D > 1%26asc%3D156%26meid%3D5810121119440237327%26pid%3D100070%26prg%3D1087%26rk% > 3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D251483119223%26%26clkid%3D5810127017972437886&_qi=RTM13 > 27406 > > > Is this worth the price? Suggestions and comments please!! > > Thanks, > Barrett > http://www.barrettscustomleather.com/physics.html >

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50 years ago today (OT)
by Wiggins Patrick 29 Mar '14

29 Mar '14

It's been 50 years since 27 March 1964 but I'll bet Siegfried remembers it like it was yesterday. http://www.livescience.com/44412-1964-alaska-earthquake-facts.html patrick Sent from my iPad

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Neil deGrasse Tyson Tanner Lecture
by Ed 28 Mar '14

28 Mar '14

An important 5-minute segment of Dr. Tyson's Tanner lecture has been posted on YouTube: Neil deGrasse Tyson Reads from the Book of Carl (Sagan) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPFsEKGl1GM

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Neil DeheGrasse Tyson Tanner Lecture
by CenturyLink Customer 27 Mar '14

27 Mar '14

Ed, really sorry you had to leave at 8:30. You missed some of his best moments. No one expected him to go 3 hours, even Dr. Goldberg (the Humanities Chair). Towards the end of his lecture, h e said he did not want "you" (the audience) to say "Tyson taught me this." He wanted you to take it from him and make it your own, a part of yourself. For the entire lecture I thought he was using darts and missing the bulls eye. After thinking about that one short statement, I realized he was spot on for the lecture subject . He presented his case, how integral science is to our civilization and American society and how American society is turning away from it. T hen left it to the audience to take on the implications and apply them. A humanities theme indeed. His last story was about a kid wearing a Harvard tie. Th e kid was going to sta rt Harvard in the fall and he wanted everyone to know it. Tyson told the kid it is not where you go to school , what your background is, it is what you accomplish that mat ters. Your accomplishments set you apart and then no one cares about where you wemt to school or what your background is . His final slide was Cassini's "pale blue dot" from 2013. He got very serious about its implications . Several serious moments amid his entertaining presentation. I laughed a lot throughout his presentation, but when you think about the examples he presented, seemingly from hither and yon, you realize he made his point a dozen times over. Am also glad more people attended.

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"SLAS Announcements"
by Joe Bauman 27 Mar '14

27 Mar '14

Non-SLASers on the list don't need to read this. For those of us who are members, I have a question: How did two requests for school parties get sent out as official SLAS announcements, apparently from our server, when the authors are not board members? My understanding is that only board people may use that feature. I'm not judging the worthiness (or otherwise) of these plans, but I do think such star party proposals should not masquerade as club propositions. If they are worthy of consideration, an officer should pass them along. Our internal email system shouldn't be accessible by anyone and everyone. -- Joe

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New to Astronomy
by CenturyLink Customer 27 Mar '14

27 Mar '14

Ryan The suggestions so far are excellent and haven't hit your pocket book very hard :) Re: the binoculars. I have 10X50s, purchased about 30 years ago and still use them. BUT they are big and heavy and would prob ably be the death knell of your daughter's interest . It's even hard for me to hold them still over time . You probably already know this but the 10 refers to number of times the binos magnify and 50 refers to the diameter of the lenses in millimeters. For astronomical viewing, 35 is really too small and 50 is the low end . Binos are a good place to start, but really are not necessary. Learning the night sky is really the place to start. I suggest you get a planetarium program for your phone. They are inexpensive and you can take it with you to places away from city lights where you can really see the sky. Better to go to the free public star parties. All manner of telescopes and you can look through them and see the wonders of the universe. You might find a fun father/daughter project is building your own scope, in which case there are a number of people on this board to help you and keep the cost down. There is a monthly ATM session (Amateur Telescope Makers) you can go to IF you go that route. Please watch Cosmos on Fox, Sunday night at 8:00 MST (Mountain silly time). You will learn ALOT!!!. The series has already started, but you don't need to have watched from the beginning. You daughter should watch too. Welcome - good luck :)

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New to Utah Astronomy
by Ryan Simpkins 27 Mar '14

27 Mar '14

Hello Utah Astronomers, I'm new to the list and wanted to introduce myself. Right now I don't have a lot to contribute, but I'm curious how I can best keep up with all the happenings in the local community. Beyond this list, what groups or forums do you recommend a beginner join? I'd love to find something on Facebook so I can match names with faces, but so far I've not found a Utah Astronomy related FB group. Does one exist? -Ryan --- More about me (for the especially curious): --- I've been a Linux Sys Admin for 15 years, 8 years at Adobe Systems. I work in the big building across from Thanksgiving Point. I have a background in lots of different activities including electronics, photography, and more. Astronomy is something I've long been interested in, but I am interested in so many things I'm wary about adding yet another (potentially expensive) hobby. That said, I have a really good primary reason for wanting to learn more about astronomy. I don't know where she came up with this idea, but my 10 year old daughter is quite sure she wants to be a cosmologist or astrophysicist when she gets older. And not just any cosmologist, she wants to be an exoplanetary specialist. I know a little about physics and other sciences (I enjoy following the happenings at CERN), and she clearly has an aptitude for these subjects. I'm sure some day she'll know a great deal more than me. Whether my daughter grows up to be a planet hunter or not, I hope she will retain her interest in our universe. I'm looking for ways to continue to inspire and teach her as she gets older. In the process, I hope to learn some things myself. I look forward to meeting some of you soon.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] New to Utah Astronomy
by Joe Bauman 26 Mar '14

26 Mar '14

You should consider joining the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, whose membership isn't restricted to the Salt Lake area. In fact, ar least one member lives in Hawaii. Go to slas.us on the Internet to find out about the club; you can ho yo meetings ir star parties for free or join for only $20 a year for the family. And check Facebook for our site there. Welcome to the hobby! -- Joe ------------------------------ On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 12:58 PM MDT Ryan Simpkins wrote: >Hello Utah Astronomers, > >I'm new to the list and wanted to introduce myself. Right now I don't have a >lot to contribute, but I'm curious how I can best keep up with all the >happenings in the local community. Beyond this list, what groups or forums do >you recommend a beginner join? I'd love to find something on Facebook so I can >match names with faces, but so far I've not found a Utah Astronomy related FB >group. Does one exist? > >-Ryan > >--- >More about me (for the especially curious): >--- >I've been a Linux Sys Admin for 15 years, 8 years at Adobe Systems. I work in >the big building across from Thanksgiving Point. I have a background in lots >of different activities including electronics, photography, and more. >Astronomy is something I've long been interested in, but I am interested in so >many things I'm wary about adding yet another (potentially expensive) hobby. > >That said, I have a really good primary reason for wanting to learn more about >astronomy. I don't know where she came up with this idea, but my 10 year old >daughter is quite sure she wants to be a cosmologist or astrophysicist when >she gets older. And not just any cosmologist, she wants to be an exoplanetary >specialist. I know a little about physics and other sciences (I enjoy >following the happenings at CERN), and she clearly has an aptitude for these >subjects. I'm sure some day she'll know a great deal more than me. > >Whether my daughter grows up to be a planet hunter or not, I hope she will >retain her interest in our universe. I'm looking for ways to continue to >inspire and teach her as she gets older. In the process, I hope to learn some >things myself. I look forward to meeting some of you soon. > >_______________________________________________ >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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Media Advisory: Press Conference in Brazil to Announce Discovery in Outer Solar System
by Bruce Hugo 26 Mar '14

26 Mar '14

Interesting! Wonder what was found! Media Advisory: Press Conference in Brazil to Announce Discovery in Outer Solar System http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann14021/ An international team of astronomers, led by Felipe Braga-Ribas (Observatório Nacional/MCTI, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), has used telescopes at seven locations in South America, including the 1.54-metre Danish and TRAPPIST telescopes at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, to make a surprise discovery in the outer Solar System. This unexpected result raises several unanswered questions and is expected to provoke much debate. A press conference will be held in Brazil to present the new results and allow opportunities for questions. Note that all information regarding these findings is under strict embargo until 19:00 CET (15:00 BRT) on Wednesday 26 March 2014.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Media Advisory: Press Conference in Brazil to Announce
by Bruce Hugo 26 Mar '14

26 Mar '14

Cool! Rings around an asteroid! I also found this report on a new found distant dwarf planet: http://www.kwwl.com/story/25080503/newfound-pink-world-lurks-at-solar-syste… ------------------------------ From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards(a)gmail.com> Rings around a distant asteroid. http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann14022/

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