- Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Scribbles? No, detail.
by Patrick Wiggins 29 May '13

29 May '13

In her latest blog Kelly refers to them as scribbles. I look at her "scribble" of a lunar crater and call it detail. And fine detail at that. http://kellyricks.blogspot.com/2013/05/scribbles.html patrick

1 0

Frustration at the eyepiece: help!
by Dion Davidson 29 May '13

29 May '13

I need help with a few things that are causing frustration for me at the scope this year: Battery: I bought a Ryobi battery/light/tire pump to use as an power source for my scope. But it is always dead! Useless. Even if I charge it for 2 days prior to an event, it will be dead within minutes of using it. Suggestions for a better battery? My old Meade 2120 10 SCT uses AC power, so I use an inverter between the battery and the scope. Know of anything better for sale? Viewfinder: I have the straight-through 8x50 viewfinder that came with my scope. It works fine but I have a hard time finding stuff, especially when looking up. I'd like to get a right angle correct image viewfinder. Suggestions? Know any for sale? If I bought a non-Meade one, could someone show me how to connect it to my tube? Would I have to drill holes? Collimation: I think my scope is ok (I had it collimated at Scope City when I bought it), but I've heard other opinions from SLAS members. Could I get help from someone who knows what they are doing on a) determining if my scope needs collimation, and b) how to do it. I have read a bunch online and watched youtube videos but I'm none the wiser. Finding stuff: I would love to have a class/lesson/tutorial on how to find cool stuff in the sky. I struggle to find anything but the most basic things in the sky. Having the image inverted/upside down in my viewfinder doesn't help, and it seems I can always see more stars in the eyepiece than I can on a star chart, which makes it difficult to know if I'm in the right area. I probably need some basic instruction on star hopping and recognizing star magnitudes, fields of view, map orientation, etc. (FYI: I can usually find the moon, planets, and some familiar deep sky stuff: M8 (Lagoon), M31 (Andromeda), M13, Orion Nebula, and even M57 (ring nebula)). I spent a beautiful weekend in Montana this weekend under dark skies and spent a few hours one night looking for stuff and finding none of it! (I looked for M51, M81, M82, M101, M108. I even looked for PANSTARRS). I went back out early in the morning on another day and did see M31, M57, and got M81 and M82 in the same field of view. So, some redemption. Thanks for listening. Dion

11 25

Ride to SPOC
by D P Pierce 29 May '13

29 May '13

* I need a SPOC fix bad! Help me out with a ride to SPOC Friday and/or Saturday.* ** *Deloy*

1 0

Two Items
by Jay Eads 28 May '13

28 May '13

I know UA isn't a swap but I do have two items for sale. A Celestron Cheshire collimating eyepiece for 1 1/4 that I'll part with for $10.00 (you pick up from me) and I have a HoTech 1 1/4 inch laser collimator I'll part with for $40.00 If interested let me know off list at jayleads at g m a i l dot net.

1 0

C-5 needs tuneup
by Patrick Wiggins 28 May '13

28 May '13

I've received an email from a local guy who has an old, non-computerized C-5 that needs a tuneup. Basically checking the collimation and some cleaning. Anyone here care to help? Let me know if you are and I'll put you in touch. Cheers, patrick

3 2

Re: [Utah-astronomy] New Image Posted - The Splinter or Knife-Edge Galaxy NGC 5907 - Nocturne Observatory
by Joe Bauman 27 May '13

27 May '13

Sorry to hear it, Dave. I haven't been out this year yet because of my painful back/hips but hope to go soon. -- Joe ------------------------------ On Sun, May 26, 2013 11:54 AM MDT Dave Gary wrote: >Fantastic image Tyler. When my broken ribs heal I'll start imaging, again. As it stands, I've been sleeping in a chair for over two weeks. I've never had anything hurt so badly. Sneezing and coughing are an out-of-body experience. Have been out of the loop for awhile. However, I have found out something about myself....I'm a major pussy these days. Word of advice, don't get on a ladder when you're pushing 60. The ladder buckled underneath me. My usual cat-like reflexes failed to kick in. I fell eight feet on my back and head. Eight stitches in the back of my head. No problems there. Now I have symmetric scares on my head, front and back. No head injuries, of course. The spinal vertebrae are OK, but a couple of fractured ribs on the right backside. At least I'm back to work since yesterday. It was a new experience being transported to the hospital in an ambulance. Good thing my daughter was there to explain to the hospital personnel that I'm a jerk 24/7 and it wasn't just a medical issue causing my surly behavior. > >Dave > >Sent from my iPad > >On May 26, 2013, at 12:16 AM, Tyler Allred <tyler(a)allred-astro.com> wrote: > >> Hi All. >> >> I just posted a new galaxy image to my website. It shows the Splinter >> Galaxy, or Knife-Edge Galaxy, NGC 5907. I shot the image over two nights, >> separated by a week or so. Between sessions, I rotated my camera and forgot >> to rotate it back... DOH!! As such, the color data does not match the >> orientation of the luminance data, but it doesn't detract too much from the >> image. I collected the color data last night, with a full moon and a gusty >> wind, so it was a challenge to process, but it turned out pretty good. I >> finally feel that the scope is completely dialed in and everything is >> working beautifully. >> >> >> >> >> >> [Description from Wikipedia] NGC 5907 is a spiral galaxy located >> approximately 50 million light years from Earth. It has an anomalously low >> metallicity and few detectable giant stars, being apparently composed almost >> entirely of dwarf stars. It is a member of the NGC 5866 Group. NGC 5907 has >> long been considered a prototypical example of a warped spiral in relative >> isolation. Then in 2006, an international team of astronomers announced the >> presence of an extended tidal stream surrounding the galaxy that challenges >> this picture and suggests the gravitational perturbations induced by the >> stream progenitor may be the cause for the warp. NGC 5907 is also known at >> the Knife Edge or Splinter galaxy. The galaxy was discovered in 1788 by >> William Herschel. Supernova 1940A was in this galaxy. >> >> >> >> Here is a link to my website. Be sure to click on the image a couple of >> times to get to the full version. >> >> >> >> http://www.allred-astro.com//viewer.php?id=130 >> <http://www.allred-astro.com/viewer.php?id=130&cat=1&sub=101> &cat=1&sub=101 >> >> >> >> Comments and suggestions are always welcome. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Tyler >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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".

2 2

Sorry to hear about your situation, Joe.
by Dave Gary 27 May '13

27 May '13

Joe, Larry, Tyler: Thanks so much for the concern. To answer Larry, they don't wrap ribs any longer. It's been shown that wrapping fractured ribs (at least in us old folks) can lead to pneumonia because of compromised lung function. It's hard enough to breath without the wrap. I guess if I was 30 years younger it wouldn't matter much, but I've found the wrap (I did try it at home) seemed to make things worse. I may be able to sleep in a bed in a week or two, we'll see. Fortunately, I'm one of those blessed individuals who can sleep standing up if need be. When I go to bed I'm, usually, out in just a few minutes. Even with fractured ribs I've been nodding off in less than 20 minutes. That's with no drugs. The wife says she wishes she could do that. Granted, it's a gift. I'm sorry to hear, Joe, that you have been having problems, too. I'm fortunate to have not injured my back. I've never had hip problems. However, as with the ribs, I could see that you couldn't do much of anything without pain. Lifting that 12" scope would be a major chore. I was wondering why you hadn't posted any photos this year. Believe me, I understand better-safe-than-sorry at this point in time. I won't be doing anything with any of my scopes for at least another couple of weeks. I sort of tremble when I see a ladder. Thanks for the reply, Tyler. I'm trying to see the bright side. When I fell off the ladder I was right next to my pool. Good thing I didn't roll into the pool. I have no small cranes near my pool, so I don't know what the wife would have done had I gone in. It would have been ugly and I would have been upset about getting blood in the water. Fortunately, I just splatted on the concrete. Lucky, I guess. Thanks, guys. Dave Sent from my iPad

1 0

New Image Posted - The Splinter or Knife-Edge Galaxy NGC 5907 - Nocturne Observatory
by Tyler Allred 26 May '13

26 May '13

Hi All. I just posted a new galaxy image to my website. It shows the Splinter Galaxy, or Knife-Edge Galaxy, NGC 5907. I shot the image over two nights, separated by a week or so. Between sessions, I rotated my camera and forgot to rotate it back... DOH!! As such, the color data does not match the orientation of the luminance data, but it doesn't detract too much from the image. I collected the color data last night, with a full moon and a gusty wind, so it was a challenge to process, but it turned out pretty good. I finally feel that the scope is completely dialed in and everything is working beautifully. [Description from Wikipedia] NGC 5907 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 50 million light years from Earth. It has an anomalously low metallicity and few detectable giant stars, being apparently composed almost entirely of dwarf stars. It is a member of the NGC 5866 Group. NGC 5907 has long been considered a prototypical example of a warped spiral in relative isolation. Then in 2006, an international team of astronomers announced the presence of an extended tidal stream surrounding the galaxy that challenges this picture and suggests the gravitational perturbations induced by the stream progenitor may be the cause for the warp. NGC 5907 is also known at the Knife Edge or Splinter galaxy. The galaxy was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel. Supernova 1940A was in this galaxy. Here is a link to my website. Be sure to click on the image a couple of times to get to the full version. http://www.allred-astro.com//viewer.php?id=130 <http://www.allred-astro.com/viewer.php?id=130&cat=1&sub=101> &cat=1&sub=101 Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Cheers, Tyler

7 9

Reminder of planets gathering
by Patrick Wiggins 25 May '13

25 May '13

Just a reminder that Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are currently coming together in our skies. They will be at their closest tomorrow (Sunday) evening. I've been watching them the past few evenings and have been surprised at just how quick they are closing on one another. Here's NASA's take: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/10may_sunsettrian… patrick

4 6

Meritline Lasar Pointers
by Ray Druian 25 May '13

25 May '13

Meritline has been around for years supplying all sorts of chatchkeys for electronics and others. They have the powerful laser pointers that people crave but won't ship them to US addresses. If anyone knows how to pry them out of the company, here's a link: http://www.meritline.com/50mw-green-laser-pointer-pen---p-72787.aspx

3 2