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| HELLO FROM UKIAH, CA NOV 2, 2006 9-10 PM
TONIGHT WE GOT A CHANCE TO OBSERVE THE "NEW" COMET HOLMES, P17. tTHE LX200 12 ALONG WITH THE 80MM PIGGYBACK REFRACTOR WERE BOTH ABOUT TO GIVE UP SOME OF THE BEST TREATS EVER! WE USED STARRY NIGHT PRO FOR THE LOCATOR AND GOT SUCH AN INCREDIBLE EYEFULL, THAT IMAGING WAS THE LAST THING TO DO PRIOR TO SHUTTING DOWN. I SET UP THE NIKON 4500 WITH A CLOSE COUPLED 26MM EP TO BOTH SCOPES. FOCUSING ON THE 1 INCH SCREEN AFTER A 60 SECOND DOWNLOAD WAS NOT PERFECT FOR SURE. BUT HERE IS THE IMAGE UNDOCTORED EXCEPT FOR THE NIKON AUTOMATIC DARK FRAME REDUCTION IN THE CAMERA. CLICK HERE. THE MAGNIFICATION OF THE EP AND THE SCOPE CALCULATES OUT AT 120X. I HAVEN'T FIGURED THE CAMERA FACTOR. THE COMET WAS SOOOO LARGE THAT USING THE 12 WITH A 30 MM EP FILLED THE ENTIRE FOV! AMAZIMG!! IF YOU HAVEN'T LOOKED YET, DO SO NOW!
OLD POSTS I am sorry that we have not posted much here lately, but not much going on. We are looking for contributions of information and events. Please contact Paul...thanks
January 14, 2007 Hello from Benson Arizona! We loaded up for a road trip, scopes and all, and headed for some warm weather. When we arrived at the Butterfield RV Resort and Observatory last eve, it was in the 20's and 3550 foot evelation. Today we had a great thrill when we were able to observe the comet McNaught in binocs. With some joint efforts on the part of the staff here, (Mr Bill Worth) we aimed the observatories LX200 16 just off of the Sun and found the comet. I was able to take a few photos afocally via my Nikon 4500 set at infinity and using the "fireworks" presets. Focus is of course, quite difficult but acceptable results were obtained. Considering this is a "first" as in a daytime comet, whew! Here it is. Later that eve we had a good time with the 16. Tomorrow we plan on chasing the comet again
Jan 16th, 2007 two days later and the sky 'looks" clear but a high overhead layer caused the sky to appear white instead of the deep blue we had on the 14th. As such, the comet was not visible. So, we appreciated the great opportunity to see through to the the other day.
TThe upcoming passage of Mercury (transit) will be coming up on November 8, 2006. Safe observing of the solar disk is a necessity. Unfortunately, many will try to observe and will damage their eyes. Please seek the assistance of an experienced astronomer or observer prior to attempting this. I will be setting up my scopes in Ukiah for the event. Anyone wishing to see the transit please contact one of our members. We will have a PST hydrogen alpha scope, and several white light scopes running. We might even get the opportunity to image the transit. You can chat with us via our Yahoo site. Here is a simulation of the transit which according to this from Starry Night Pro V5, should start at 12:23 PM on Nov 8th and end at about 5:05PM. To view the simulation click Well it wasn't all that exciting. Our setup was at Motosports of Ukiah's parking lot in Ukiah, Ca. We set up the two scopes, ie the 105 Flourite and the PST. The Flourite running the Baadar filter while the PST using Ha filters. The dot was about as the size of a medium sunspot. It seemed to graze the orb near the limb. The event lasted from about 10:30 till late afternoon. Viewing via the Baadar filter was not sharp perhaps due to heating of the scope. But for the life of me, I just couldn't get a tack sharp image. The PST was crystal with the added beauty of a few filaments and surface details shown. We had about 50 sets of eyes check it out
Added interest. . .Today Nov15,2006 I set up the scopes again and with the help of the PST and the Meade DSI 1, stacked 150 frames which were tracking a nice double set of sunspots and got this false colored image. Sky and Telescope Solar Eclipse in 2008 The advertising in S&T looked soooo inviting. It looks as if the solar eclipse will travel over China, Russia, and the North Pole with tours to each. Joyce and I have laid down some deposit monies for the China adventure. It will culminate with a two minute or so of totality. BUT the trip, ahhh the trip, will be worth the time. It will travel on the Orient Express, visit the Terra Cotta Warriers, a walk on the "wall" etc all in first cabin. The openings are filling up fast as only 120 will go , 4 froups of 30 to fit into the air conditioned tour busses. Please contact S&T for furthur info but let us know as well via the Yahoo chat site.
Apophis colission, near Earth asteroid A lot of hype is going on right now about the upcoming near collision of asteroid Apophis on April 13, 2029 (Yes it is a Friday the 13th). Again Starry night come through by putting in the variables, the program has generated a movie clip of the near collision. It is not that near collision that is of worry, but the passage by Earth will modify its path to some degree and place it into a possible collision seven years later. Here is the simulation of the 2029 pass. November Sky and Telescope has a wonderful article on this. SNPro showed the object to pass within 0.029 Au of Earth. S&T states that it may pass within a "keyhole" a lot smaller. If it does pass to the inside of this keyhole, then it will be on a collision seven years later. Please do some reading on this. . .
The Leonids are coming On the night of November 18, the Leonid Meteor Shower peaks, producing perhaps as many as 150 meteors per hour this year.
Ukiah Astronomical Society is the Northern Californian group run by President, Paul Kobetz and our Vice President, Terry Maples. It is an open society welcome to all star lovers who wish to give and receive input constructive to the development of the U.A.S. We are a group of enthusiasts like you that enjoy the splendor of the stars. We are strong supporter of the Taylor Observatory and Planetarium in Kelseyville, Ca. Welcome to our web site, enjoy. Please give feedback and forward any pictures or suggestions.
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Our MissionHere at U.A.S., our mission is strictly to have a meeting place for those who share the love of the stars- a place that is open to people who enjoy star gazing and wish to push it's limits. We currently are learning how to do CCD imaging. Our cameras include Meade LPI, Meade DSI, SBIG ST2000XM and many digital cameras and security cameras. Join us in our search for knowledge.
Contact InformationFeel free to contact us with questions and/or suggestions. You may reach Paul Kobetz at:paulk@saber.net
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