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Observing Saturday October 26th
by Jay Eads 26 Oct '13

26 Oct '13

It sure looks to be one of the best nights in the last six months. I am heading out to either Pit n Pole (should be no dew issues tonight on the forecast) or if I don't hear that anyone wants to meet there then I am going to head elsewhere on my own. Let me know if you want to join me out at Pit n Pole for an evening of pretty decent dark sky observing.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] L&O sometime soon?
by Larry Holmes 26 Oct '13

26 Oct '13

------------------------------ On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 9:29 AM MDT Siegfried Jachmann wrote: >> How about L&O on the 9th? >> >> >> The 9th works for us. 73

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Comet Encke, no problem. Comet ISON, still can’t see in 6” scope
by Dave Gary 26 Oct '13

26 Oct '13

Took the 6” scope out this morning. Comet Encke was an easy target. Nice fuzzy snowball. Could pick it out even as the horizon was starting to brighten at around 0640. Comet ISON, on the other hand, was not visible in the 6”. I tried to imagine I could see something, but I wasn’t convinced. Hopped over to Mars, Jupiter, Orion Nebula, Andromeda (unfortunately, behind a tree) and back to Encke, just to make sure I did see it. Yep, no doubt, clearly visible, quite large. Maybe when Moon backs off a little I’ll be able to see ISON. Too lazy to set up the camera this morning. Just stood there and drank coffee as the telescope did its thing. Dave

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Tribune: SLAS hosts seasons last star parties
by jcarman6＠q.com 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

Ohhhh, Ohhhh, I'll be there. I've never seen the Dumbbell galaxy or the Ring galaxy.

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Tribune: SLAS hosts season’s last star parties
by Wiggins Patrick 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

Some nice media coverage of tonight's and tomorrow's Season ending star parties at SPOC (thanks to Joe for getting out the news release). Salt Lake Astronomical Society hosts season’s last star parties http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57030251-78/comet-telescopes-observatory-… (be sure to check out the first comment <g> ) End of Season Star Parties Set for This Weekend http://tooeleonline.com/end-of-season-star-parties-set-for-this-weekend/ The star parties were also advertised at the local schools. With all the advertising and the nice weather we could get quite a public turnout. Y'all come! patrick

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Huge star ripping apart
by Thomas Sevcik 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

Interesting article about the largest star known is ripping itself apart. http://www.nbcnews.com/science/biggest-star-ever-found-universe-ripping-apa… Tom Sevcik

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70-inch scope SLAS field trip
by Chuck Hards 25 Oct '13

25 Oct '13

A few tips for the trip: Those of you in SLAS who will be going to Steve's on Sunday to view through Mike's 70-inch scope might want to bring an eyepiece or two. I suggest figuring out which eyepiece will produce an exit pupil small enough to match your own pupil diameter. Don't figure a maximum opening since it's not truly dark there. Everyone is different, but for myself I usually figure about 5 to 5.5mm. If you use a lower power than that, you won't be using the full 70-inch aperture of the scope. Lower powers will also show the secondary shadow and that may be annoying for some observers. Also someone should bring a 1.25" adapter just in case. The focuser currently on the scope is a 2" format, and the focus knobs don't work. You have to focus by sliding the eyepiece and re-tightening the setscrew. I am giving Mike a new focuser this weekend but be prepared in case he hasn't had time to swap them out on the telescope. If Mike or Steve (whomever is running the scope for this session) prefers to keep the same eyepiece in place for the duration, then you're out of luck on setting a personal exit pupil, but still get to say that you've looked through a 70-inch telescope. If you don't have the physical strength to move the telescope to keep an object centered, you had better be quick getting to the eyepiece and getting it focused. Things move out of the field very quickly at the high magnifications that are inherent to this telescope's very long focal length. This won't be an issue when Mike gets the drives installed, but for now you're moving a telescope that weighs as much as a car, by hand. I will be spending time with Mike and Steve earlier in the day, gathering material and photos for an upcoming article. My work schedule precludes me from staying after dark on a Sunday night. If the trip is news to you, you cannot attend since the limited number of slots is already filled, but I believe another session is in the works for sometime in the future. Carpooling would be a good idea to avoid clogging-up the limited parking area there, and allowing Steve's family to get in and out if they need to. Many thanks to Mike, and to Steve for his gracious offer to allow SLASers to come to his home. Have fun, keep an eye open for deer on the road once inside the community gates, and be prepared to pick your lower jaw up off the ground once you see the scope!

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Nice local ISON shot
by Joe Bauman 24 Oct '13

24 Oct '13

Good question, Dion. My feeling is that he was tracking on the stars, not the comet, so that the stars wouldn't show motion. And the comet probably didn't blur much during the nine-plus minutes of the exposures. But I don't know. Please tell us if you learn any more. Thanks, Joe ------------------------------ On Thu, Oct 24, 2013 3:42 PM MDT Wiggins Patrick wrote: >Hi Dion, > >I don't know what went into making the picture and I don't think Richard is on UA so you can't ask him here. But he is a member of SLAS so you can find his contact info on the SLAS roster. > >Cheers, > >patrick > >Sent from my iPad > >On Oct 24, 2013, at 8:09, Dion Davidson <diondavidson(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >> Amazing! Is this one of those shots where you have to cut the comet out of its background because the stars are moving in each shot? And then you pick one background field for the composite photo? >> Is Richard on this list? I also live in Sandy and would love to watch the master work or get a tutorial on how to capture data like this and then process it. I wonder if he'd be willing to let me sit and watch one of these mornings. >> Dion >> >> >> >> >> On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 10:58 PM, Wiggins Patrick <paw(a)getbeehive.net> wrote: >> >> SLASer Richard Grossen sent me a picture he shot of Comet ISON. Sure puts my anemic efforts at working the comet to shame. And the picture taken in the city (Sandy) no less. >> >> Additional details: >> >> Oct 23 at about 5:30am MDT >> 9 exposures at 360s each, stacked (bias, dark and flats) >> Celestron CGEM 1100 >> Hyperstar >> Starlight Xpress H9C >> MaxImDL >> Photoshop >> Lightroom >> >> http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/rgrossen2013oct23.jpg >> >> 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". >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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Tribune Story about Gil Moore and his POPACS Spheres
by Tyler Allred 24 Oct '13

24 Oct '13

Hello All, I don't know if anyone is interested, but there was a story on the Tribune website about some satellites that Gil Moore recently managed to get launched. They are known as POPACS Spheres, and they are being used to study the effect of solar events on the density of the upper atmosphere. I have been helping to identify and track the objects with my scope, with some much-appreciated help from Patrick. Take a look at the story here: <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57025588-78/popacs-space-orbit-moore.html .csp> http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57025588-78/popacs-space-orbit-moore.html. csp Links to videos of my tracking software here (these links are also in the story as Exhibits A and B): http://www.allred-astro.com/misc/20131021_104531.mp4 http://www.allred-astro.com/misc/20131021_105039.mp4 (These are big files - copy address and paste into your browser) Cheers, Tyler

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Nice local ISON shot
by Wiggins Patrick 24 Oct '13

24 Oct '13

SLASer Richard Grossen sent me a picture he shot of Comet ISON. Sure puts my anemic efforts at working the comet to shame. And the picture taken in the city (Sandy) no less. Additional details: Oct 23 at about 5:30am MDT 9 exposures at 360s each, stacked (bias, dark and flats) Celestron CGEM 1100 Hyperstar Starlight Xpress H9C MaxImDL Photoshop Lightroom http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/rgrossen2013oct23.jpg patrick

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