[AZ-Observing] Re: Mizar as spectroscopic binary

The dust Brian was talking about was very visible here too, in New River
(2200 ft).  We noticed as the Sun set that it was very reddened and
attenuated.  We could watch it set without additional filters.  Still, the
seeing was very good Saturday night.  Ken Reeves was there, and he called it
8/10 seeing, 6/10 transparency.  I got a great view of Mercury in my 5" Tak
at 200x.  No surface detail, of course, but a nice steady half-phase that
was clear to even the students.  And this was all around 12 degrees
elevation, just over the Bradshaws as seen from New River.

I hope Stan's question gets answered, because I'd like to know too.  There
was something about that in USN&WR a few weeks back, but I didn't read the
details.  I know there is a lot of development going on over there, so maybe
its the same deal as down here in the Valley?  Like, insufficient dust
suppression protocols?  I see dust blowing around west of I-17 all the time,
right where they're putting in homes for the Arroyo Grande development.
Phoenix now stretches all the way north to New River Road west of I-17.
It'll be a sea of homes out there in a few years.

Dan Heim
President
Desert Foothills Astronomy Club
http://www.dfacaz.org


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stan Gorodenski" <stanlep@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:04 PM
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: Mizar as spectroscopic binary


>
>
> Brian Skiff wrote:
>
> >     Once a long time ago while showing visitors Mizar through
> >the Lowell Clark, there was a guy who insisted that the view of
> >Mizar AB was simply a slightly magnified view of Mizar + Alcor.
> >No amount of explaining that the telescopic view was of just
> >the one naked-eye component convinced him.
> >
> >     The comment, by the way, that the sky over the weekend was
> >clear but very light-polluted was almost certainly caused by
> >the second round of Asian dust
> >
> >
>
> Do you know what the cause of the dust is? Is it a natural weather
> phenomenon, or is it from the industrialization and land development in
> China? If the latter it means the poor skies we are having will be a
> frequent phenomenon.
> Stan
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