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 Program-  Buying the Christmas Telescope
Don Surles & others
To determine the correct scope to give  someone, Don asks the following questions:
Who’s going to use it?
Age and  experience are considered here. Someone under 10 years old is probably  better off  ith a department store scope such as a 2”  altazimuth refractor. As age and /or proficiency increase, a 6” Dobsonian could be considered. For more advanced observers, an equatorial mounted Newtonian or one of the many Catadioptric designs might be considered.
What’s it going to be used for?
For general astronomical observation at nominal cost, it is hard to beat an 8” Dobsonian.  It is easy to set up and transport, and allows direct slewing to the target.  As you get more specific activities, the requirements change. For deep space observing you would want at least 12” of aperture.  Don reminds us that light gathering increases exponentially with each inch of aperture. ( A onefold increase of aperture gives a fourfold increase of light gathering.)
For astrophotography, the favorites are the fork mounted 8” Schmidt Cassegrain and/or an 8” equatorial mounted Newtonian.  Double stars, planets and the Moon are best viewed with a good refractor for razor sharpness and higher contrast.
Where do you buy it?  The  choices are local or mail order. The best choices and prices will probably be mail order but at this date you might be too late for Christmas delivery.
How much to Pay for it? This is a very rapidly changing market; you might want to consult with the stargazer members who keep on top of such things.  Also there are a lot of one time deals out there.
Accessories  You’ll probably need eyepieces, and you’ll want a Telrad (even if you already have a finder scope) and finally be sure to get a planisphere, especially is you’re a beginner.

From the President’s Desk
Back in 1988, my family and I had the pleasure of meeting Clyde Tombaugh at Stellafane.  At the time it didn’t register that Dr. Tombaugh was the only living person to discover a planet in our solar system – and probably the last person to do so.  Today, I look back on the occasion as one of those experiences that one remembers – forever.  This past weekend, I had a similar experience.  While visiting my son, Matt, in Lexington, KY, I had the pleasure of meeting Harrison “Jack” Schmitt.  Who is Jack Schmitt, you ask.  Well, he is the only scientist to have visited the moon.  Jack went to the moon on Apollo 17,
December 11, 1972.  He is a geologist; he participated in examination and evaluation of  lunar samples after each mission and finally stepped onto the moon – the last of the 12 astronauts to do so.  Dr. Schmitt’s presentation recounted his trip to the moon and kicked off Earth Week for the University of Kentucky.
Although I was very much alive in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the Apollo program was not a high priority item in my day-to-day activities.  Attending and “staying in” college, the Vietnam War, body counts, demonstrations and riots on our campuses and in our streets, assassinations, and working for funds to pay for college…all these put the Apollo program
very low on my list of “musts”.  Today, I read about the tremendous efforts of our nation in the space race and wonder how I could have missed 10 years of mankind’s best performance.   I also wonder why we have no program of such importance in progress today – we don’t even talk about “going forward”.  What a rut to be in!

Here are some tidbits of information about Apollo 17 and the race to the moon I jotted down during Dr. Schmitt’s presentation:
 * Gene Cernan wore an extremely loud pair of plaid pants while driving the Lunar Rover in Arizona – and my wife bought me a pair similar to them about 1971-72 but I could never get the courage to wear them in public
* The velocity required for Earth orbit is 18,000 MPH and 25,000 MPH for a trajectory to the moon – Apollo 17’s trajectory was nearly perfect and required very few adjustments –the ship was “rolled or spiralled” continuously to avoid overheating the sunward side
* The lack of color on the moon is due to a lack of water – without water there is no oxidation of the minerals and thus no rusty reds or corroded greens…
* The American flag stands out because it had a curtain rod holding it outstretched
* The backup firing mechanism for the ascent module was a set of jumper cables – if the ascent rockets failed to fire, the commander would exit the ascent module, locate the jumper cables in the descent module, connect them to a battery in the descent module, re-enter the ascent module and connect the other end of the cables, and push the “start”
button.  This procedure was never tested on the moon…
* There were approximately half a million people working for NASA during the race to the moon – approximately 1/3 government and 2/3’s contractors
* Most of the people (2/3’s-3/4) working for the Apollo program were less than 30 years old.  I hope history remembers this period and the tremendous effort and courage of those committed people who made the lunar landings, and returns, one of the crowning events of our existence.
Back to reality – our 8th No-Frills Star Party is history.  We all had a good time and after several days of hot, muggy weather we welcomed Saturday morning’s clear sky and promise of a great Saturday night.  No one was disappointed with Saturday night!  We will dissect this party and make a few notes for possible improvements for the next one.

Attention:  Star gazing at Tuckahoe for November is scheduled for November 1-2.  We have been invited to use the Equestrian Center grounds.
Here are directions to the Equestrian Center: from the entrance to the camping area (where we normally stargaze) –
follow Cherry Lane to the stop sign and turn right onto Crouse Mill Road – go past the lake (on your right) – the road will split just after passing the lake – take the left fork and look for the entrance to the Equestrian Center on your right (approximately 200 yards).
We will meet in the field behind the buildings.
The Leonids: we will meet at the ball field for the Leonids , Monday night, November 18.  The moon will not be an asset but this is supposed to be the last chance of significant showers for several years.
Dance for clear weather…
Our program this month is “Choosing and Using Barlows”.  We will answer questions of what, why, which one, how much, etc – come and learn all about barlows.  Bring your questions and your barlow if you have one.  Lyle will tell us all about Cygnus; we’ll have some facts about our planet Earth, and some pics of the moon.
Delmarva Star Gazers is sponsoring a mirror making seminar again this year and we will also construct the prominence scopes during the seminar.   The seminar will be advertised on the internet and other websites early in December.  If any Delmarva Star Gazer wants to participate please contact Lyle Jones  (302-736-9842) ASAP because the spaces do not last more than a couple of hours after we list the event on the internet.  For information, we have approximately 12-15 mirror making stations and 20 prominence scope positions.  The costs are: Mirror making -10” = $375, 8”= $225, 6” = $175, and prom
scope = $400.  All supplies, instructions, meals, and lodging are included in the fees.  Steve Swayze (Swayze Optical) will again be here to assist in figuring the mirrors.  Dave Groski will be the instructor for assembling the prom scopes.   For information, last year’s seminar was a huge success.  Most of the mirrors were finished to excellent figures and the prominence scopes perform very well.  This is the same design that won an award at Stellafane this year.
Enuf – see you at Tuckahoe or the Church.  Don…

The Editor’s Quadrant....
The Leonid Meteor Shower November 18-19
This shower, caused by comet Tempel-Tuttle, will come in 2 waves, the first from the 1767 dust trail and the second from the 1866 dust trail.  The first will come on November 18 at about 11 p.m. EST;  the second will be about 6 hours later at 5:30 p.m. EST.  The morning of Tuesday the 19th should be the bettert, since its ZHR  (zenithal hourly rate) is 6000 vs. 3000 for the 18th.  Also, the full moon of the 18th will be at its highest whereas the moon of the 19th will be an hour away from setting.  The radiant will be in the center of Leo’s sickle head.
The Planets in November
Mercury  is too close to the Sun for decent  viewing for almost all of November. You may catch a fleeting glimpse at the end of the month when it rises 50 minutes before the Sun.
Venus passes through  conjunction with the Sun early in November and by the middle of the month is rising almost 2 hours before the Sun and 3 hours by the end of the month, reaching magnitude—4.6.
 Mars remains a morning star in November, increasing very slightly in magnitude.
Jupiter improves throughout November since it rises ever earlier as the  month proceeds, and finally rising slightly before 10:00 p.m. as the month ends. The size of the planets disc increases 3 arc seconds to 40.4.
Saturn also does nothing but improve in November as it rises ever earlier with rings open at full tilt and the magnitude reaches -0.2.
As for the remaining planets in October, Uranus and Neptune can still be found in Capricornus and
Pluto remains in the southern part of Ophiuchus but near the end of the month will be too close to the sun for viewing.
Clear Skies!  Frank Sheldon f.a.sheldon@att.net
 
  Club Activities...
Club Meetings- We meet in the First Presbyterian Church in Smyrna, DE (653-8000) on the first Tuesday of each month from 7-9 PM.  From US 13, turn west at Wendy's and go one stoplight on  Commerce Street; the church is on the right directly across from the Fire Hall.

Future Meetings...The remaining meeting dates  for 2002 will be:  November 05, December  03.  The regular meeting format includes discussion of club activities, observing highlights and an advertised presentation.
We solicit suggestions for topics and presenters.

Club Observing... Observing is (usually) scheduled for the Friday nearest the New  Moon to maximize the hours of  deepnight  without the moon in the sky.   Unless otherwise stated,  the monthly observing site will be at the baseball field in the camping  area at Tuckahoe State Park.
The monthly observing days left for the year 2002 will be:    November 1, and December 6.   The cloud or rain date for the monthly Friday observing will be the following Saturday, but don't trust the weather man!  Go outside and look for yourself or check the CNN weather link on our web page.   If  you still can't decide, Call Don Surles (302) 653-9445 or Lyle Jones (302) 736-9842