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Sunspot Group 2443
by Dave Gary 02 Nov '15

02 Nov '15

After I saw the posting by Sig and Chuck, I went out about 11:00 and took these photos of the large sunspot group they discussed on the astronomy list. It’s a big sunspot group. I edited the photos to black-and-white to bring out more detail in the spots. The designation for this sunspot group is 2443. I labeled it in the first photo. > https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157660659105186 <https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157660659105186> Dave

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Sunspot activity
by Chuck Hards 31 Oct '15

31 Oct '15

If you can, go out and look at the sun before it sets and the trick-or-treaters arrive. There is a remarkably large sunspot group visible right now, a terrific white-light target with lots of detail. I haven't yet looked in H-a, but the white light view itself is pretty darn good. I'm using an 80x400mm achromat with a 2" Lunt solar wedge, ND3 filter, and 2" variable polarizing filter along with various eyepieces.

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U.S. Navy Recovers NASA Orion Space Capsule
by Jamie Bradley 28 Oct '15

28 Oct '15

U.S. Navy Recovers NASA Orion Space Capsule . EFT-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbRgTRSdBLg Navy Divers Recover a 9 Tons Space Capsule Fell From the Sky: NASA's Orion Crew Module https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxut0cIlNQ Jamie B "So, here's the plan: The next time we send someone to space, upon their return, everyone wear ape suits!" _______________________________________________ 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 <mailto:Utah-Astronomy@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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6" SCT for sale
by Chuck Hards 27 Oct '15

27 Oct '15

I am selling a highly collectible Bausch & Lomb Criterion 6000 6" Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. Details here: https://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=37116677&cat=&lpid=&search=telescope&ad_cid… Priced low for quick sale on this classic SCT telescope. Includes factory wedge and tripod.

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sky Safari Plus 4 Sale
by Naz_David George-Kennedy 18 Oct '15

18 Oct '15

Right. Never used an iPad or iPhone so didn't know. There seems to be a lot of inexpensive uart to wifi modules on ebay. Don't know if that's helpful. On 2015-10-18 19:45, Joel Stucki wrote: > I seem to be reading a lot that Android has an easier time with this. IOS versions of SkySafari do not use Bluetooth because IOS does not allow direct access to BT devices. So the connection is a bit more complicated having to connect over an ad hoc wifi network. I am pondering options. Thanks for the offer of help. I may ping you off list. > > On Sun, Oct 18, 2015 at 1:12 PM, Naz_David George-Kennedy > <naz_david@???> wrote: >

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Sky Safari Plus 4 Sale
by Naz_David George-Kennedy 18 Oct '15

18 Oct '15

For less than $10 on ebay I got one of these and put it in my Argo Navis, works a treat with my android tablet and phone both running SkySafari using the Meade GOTO protocol: CRIUS MWC Multiwii Bluetooth Module Parameter Configurator Module/Adapter I had to track down the pin-outs to get the UART TX/RX before its converted to RS232 serial. I assume the Orion has a serial connector so it should be possible with that as well and you'll have to configure the module for baud rate etc. I can help you with both if you need it, otherwise good luck! Cheers David

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Balloon sighting?
by Fred Orrell 18 Oct '15

18 Oct '15

I saw something in the sky last night about 6:50 PM on October 15, 2015. It wasn't quite dark yet and the skies were mostly clear. I was sitting in the backyard swing at my house in Sandy, Utah and happened to look up about 80 degrees in elevation and toward the East. A white colored "star" appeared about as bright as Venus or the ISS would be at this time of day, yet Jupiter, Mars, and Venus are only visible in the early morning this month. None of the other planets ever appear this bright. I was sitting in the swing and used the support bar as a reference to verify it wasn't moving, at least not very fast if it was moving. I watched it for several minutes and then it started fading in brightness until it disappeared over about a one minute period. I really wished that I had my binoculars with me. A geostationary satellite would never appear that bright and an Iridium satellite (which I have seen many) would have moved. Other than calling it a UFO, the only thing I can imagine is that I witnessed a high altitude balloon. If so, it either dropped into Earth's shadow causing it to dim, or it burst. Anyone know how to find out about high altitude balloons over Utah? Another wild possibility is that it could have been a gamma ray burst, which I believe I witnessed years ago with several other people. Fred Orrell

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Sky Safari Plus 4 Sale
by Joel Stucki 17 Oct '15

17 Oct '15

If you use iPhone, or iPad the best astronomy app out there is Sky Safari. It also has an Android version. It's "plus" version which is very good is on sale this weekend for 50% off ($6.99). It's a great deal as it makes a nice mobile planetarium with a red light setting and lots of info on popular celestial objects that does not require wifi or Internet to access. I strongly recommend it if you don't yet have a computer solution for in field. It also has the ability to connect wirelessly to pushto or goto scopes although I use an Orion and the connecting part costs $150 which seems too steep to me. Although I would love to hear if anyone has tried this connection and found it worth the money.

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Odyssey 13.1" on KSL
by Chuck Hards 15 Oct '15

15 Oct '15

Did anyone see that pristine 13.1" Odyssey Dob in the KSL Classifieds?

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Downfall of the most prolific planet-finder
by Joe Bauman 14 Oct '15

14 Oct '15

>From what I read, it's a well-deserved downfall. UC Berkeley astronomer accused of sexually harassing students resigns | | | | | | | | | | | UC Berkeley astronomer accused of sexually harassing stu...A well-known UC Berkeley astronomer facing sexual harassment allegations from multiple students has stepped down after a furor about whether the unive... | | | | View on www.latimes.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |

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