Don spoke briefly about the No Frills Star Party, expressing some concern
that attendance was less than in the past and wondered if we needed
to offer more and advertise .Members, who had been at the star party thought
that it was a great one, so don’t mess with it.
Lyle Jones reported that the club even made a modest profit. (For
more coverage of No Frills 8, see Kent Blackwell’s review on page 4 )
Outreach:
On Oct. 3, Don Surles, Dick Gardner, Keith Lohmeyer, Gary Brown, Ron Zink,
Tom Pomponio, Mark Holloway and Lyle Jones were
at Allen Frear Elementary School to show them Mars. This was the third time
that we had it scheduled. Nancy Zink, who set up the event,
estimated that we had over two hundred students and parents look at Mars
and the Moon plus some messier objects. The students had made
Mars hats for the event. Mark had his new scope out for the first time for
this event. Everyone enjoyed the event and we were kept busy from 8:00
until after 10PM. Lyle Jones
Southern Hemisphere Constellations
This year in our meetings we are learning about the constellations of the
southern hemisphere. Terry Young started us off at this meeting by discussing
the “birds”
of the southern skies. Terry talked about the five birds: Apus (Bird of
Paradise), Grus (the Crane), Pavo (the Peacock), Phoenix and Tucana (the
Toucan).
APUS – first given the name Avis Indica (the Indian Bird) in the
1590’s, Apus is one of the 12 southern constellations proposed by the Dutch
navigator Keyser and
included in Johann Bayer’s “Uranometria” of 1603. Apus is greek for footless.
It was a common practice of the aborigines to cut off the legs, before they
sold birds
of paradise to Europeans.
PAVO – another of the modern constellations introduced in Bayer’s
“Uranometria”. The peacock in question is most probably the one which had
its tail
decorated by the 100 eyes of the giant Argus who lost his head as the result
of a dispute between Zeus and Hera over Zeus’ affair with Io. Alpha
Pavonis
(Peacock) is a bright (Mag. 1.9) star and is a multiple star with two companions
of 9.3 and 10.0 mag. Pavo contains several interesting DSO’s: NGC 6752
a globular cluster with of mag. 5.5 with an apparent diameter of 42’;
NGC 6744, one of the largest barred spiral galaxies and NGC6769/6770
a pair of galaxies surrounde by a common gas envelope.
GRUS – also introduced into the celestial zoo by Johann Bayer, during
the middle ages it hsd been known as the Flamingo. The Crane lie just south
of Piscis
Austrinus (the Southern Fish) and is most easily found by starting at Fomalhaut.
Alpha Gruis (Alnair) is a mag. 1.7 star of class B7. Delta 1, Delta 2, Mu
1 and Mu 2 are optical doubles, discernible by naked eye; and both deltas
are in turn doubles. NGC 5148 is a small, faint planetary nebula.
PHOENIX - the fabulous bird that lived 500 years and was then
consumed by fire, from the ashes of which a new Phoenix arose, was also introduced
in Bayer’s
Uranometria of 1603. Phoenix is situated in an area which provides
a vista of distant galaxies. One grouping of galaxies, NGC 97-89
and NGC 92, contains 4 very different types of galaxy. NGC 87
is an irregular, NGC 88 is a spiral with an outer gas envelope
and NGC 89 ( the biggest of the four) is an Sa type with two distinct broad
arms, one of which is 100,000 light years long.
TUCANA – again introduced in Bayer’s Uranometria, the Toucan is a
tropical bird with a powerful beak and no classical mythological background.
This inconspicuous constellation contains the Small Magellanic Cloud which
consists of two irregular dwarf galaxies which are connected gravitationally
with our galaxy at a distance of approx. 200,000 light years. Two bright
globular star clusters (NGC 104 and NGC 362) can be seen in the direction
of the SMC, however they are much closer to, at 20,000 and 32,000 light years,
and belong to our galaxy. NGC 104 is the second brightest globular
(after Omega Centauri) with a magnitude of 5.0. Terry’s presentation
was met with an appreciative round of applause. Next month James Morgan
will introduce us to the “Tools” of the southern onstellations.
Other Presentations
Doug Norton gave a presentation on software avaible for PDA’s. The
two basic operating systems available for PDA’s are Palm O/S and Pocket PC
2002, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. The one program
available for Pocket PC 2002 is “The Sky” is basically the same as the program
of the same
name available for desktops and laptops. It is a full blown planetarium
program with the full information available (at the tap of the stylus) for
stars, DSO’s
and solar system objects from the full spectrum of catalogs. This program
can also control goto telescopes. Your location can be entered, as can your
telescope
and eyepiece info. This program costs about $55 and can be downloaded from
the internet or purchased on CD-ROM. It has to be run on pocket PC’s, which
are
expensive, at around $600 On the Palm Pilot, Doug uses six programs: Lunar,
Moon Info, NGC!, J-Moons, Messier and Night Sky
Tom Pomponio gave a presentation on WebCam astrography. Using inexpensive
web cameras, at prime focus and a program called K3CCD Tools for capture and
processing of .avi files, it is possible to capture decent pictures of the
moon and planets inexpensively and fairly easily. A CCD webcam is attached
to your
computer, through a USB port and running K3CCD Tools you capture a stream
of images. Again using the K3CCD software you can selct the best frames,
to be used in the stacking and registering to produce the finished image.
CCD Webcams can be obtained inexpensively and only require simple modification
to be mounted in the focuser. K3CCD Tools is freeware
From the President’s Desk....
October 19, 2003 Well, it’s been a month since Isabel’s visit and six weeks
since our No Frills star party. My, how the weather has changed!
This has been the longest period of dry weather since last Fall. Observing
opportunities have been plentiful and several of us have pointed our scopes
skyward to catch the summer Milky Way Show as it sets in the southwest. What
a beautiful sight Sagitarrius, Scutum, Aquila and Cygnus provide as the great
wheel of the Milky Way shifts from
directly overhead to the southwest and west. As the change of seasons
takes the summer sky toward the western horizon we are amazed by the show
beginning in the north and east. This show is created by the rising
winter favorites including Andromeda, Perseus, Cassiopeia, the Pleiades, and
Pegasus. For those who stay
past midnight the great Orion rises to display its wonders. By the
time you read this we will have switched to Eastern Standard time which will
give us an extra
hour of early night time viewing. The falling temperatures and lowering
humidity have also taken the skeetersfrom the observing field and brought
us the migration
of geese. Fall is a great season for stargazing!
Congratulations to the Chinese people and their success in putting a man in space. We should welcome their efforts to explore our world. China has a tremendous capacity to assemble talent and resources to manufacture a growing list of consumer goods. The quality of those goods is improving constantly. It is reasonable that they should transfer the same drive that is transforming their nation into a great manufacturing power to their manned space flight dreams. Stay tuned for their “catchup”. I predict the time frame will be very, very short. Speaking of China…I went observing last night and took my Chinese made 25 X 100 bino, my Chinese made Meade 10” Schmidt-Newtonian , and my Chinese made Atlas mount. I also had a Meade ETX 90 assembled in Mexico. I grew up during a time when Made in USA or Made in Germany was desirable. If we received a toy on Christmas day with a Made in Japan sticker there was a good chance it would break before the day was over. Early merchandise from China was in the same classification; it was cheap and of low quality. China is changing. They are looking for the latest in technology and are improving the quality of their products to meet the demand of their customers. Like it or not, we are customers of the Chinese manufacturing industry. The combination of world class technology and low cost labor is a tremendous economic force that we must learn to live with and to successfully compete against.
Enuf of the economic stuff. How did this Chinese astronomy merchandise perform? The answer is: Very well. The views thru the 25 X 100 bino are outstanding. The brighter Messier objects are a treat. Last night Tom Poponio and I looked at the“steam” coming from the teapot (M22, M11, M16, Trifid, Lagoon), Hercules’ M13 & M92, and Andromeda’s galaxies, the Double Cluster in Perseus, and some neat asterisms not seen via a telescope. The combo 10” Schmidt-Newt and Atlas mount also performed well. Again, the wide angle views were very pleasing. So, here I am star gazing with a load of Chinese gear. Why? Two reasons: Price and Quality. There is no question about the price since no one is lower. Quality has been iffy for some items and I must be honest in my evaluation by saying there is very probably a better quality product available somewhere for a definitely higher price. But, when I compare price and quality there just isn’t any better value available today. I do truly enjoy viewing with the 25 X 100’s and recommend them with the caveat that you will need a sooper-dooper mount to hold them (old TV camera tripods are cheap and heavy and will do the job). Now we need to enlist Chinese aid on the DEW FRONT.
Some news from the doings on Delmarva Star Gazers…the Club fas bought
a supply of astronomy calendars and Observers Handbooks from the Canadian
Astronomical Society. The 2004 calendars feature amateur astronomers
photographs of the heavens and the Handbooks are THE source for next years’
astronomy related events and also a great read for the whole year.
The calendars are $10 and the Handbooks are $15. We also have a few
Star Gazer hats
for $12 each. And if you would like a Delmarva Star Gazer shirt please
contact Kathy Sheldon – they will be special ordered for those interested.
Halloween is coming – if you have Trick or Treaters consider setting up
a scope for the little ones and their parents. I have done this for
several years; there is
a lot of enjoyment to be had from seeing the little princesses and devils
climb the ladder with a bag of candy and say “WOW”. Some of the first
years’ kids are now teenagers and come back to view every year. Moms
and Dads should not hog thescopes…
Now is the time to put in your orders for astronomy related Christmas gifts.
If a scope is on your list the supply can become limited in the weeks just
before the
holidays…shop early for availability and guaranteed delivery. Please remember
our next meeting on November 4 at the Church. And remember the
Lunar Eclipse on Saturday night, November 8 – it begins at sunset – in the
East See you at Tuckahoe or the Church – Don…
Tuckahoe No-Frills Star Party Kent Blackwell
This year's Delmarva Stargazers' No-Frills Star Party held at Tuckahoe
State Park in Queen Anne, MD occurred only a week in the aftermath of Hurricane
Isabel. While the Eastern Shore wasn't terribly hard hit, surrounding areas
were. It was wonderful for me to just escape from all the work I've been
doing cleaning my yard from fallen trees and branches. Tidewater Virginia
was very hard hit by the hurricane.
Although I had planned to attend the star party Thursday through Saturday
clear skies on Wednesday caused me to alter my plans. Arriving around 3:00
pm, I began setting up the 25" telescope, tweaking collimation and cleaning
the optics. Delmarva Stargazers member Don Surles stopped by to say hello,
and invited me to eat some homemade lima bean soup. Well, have you ever
seen me turn down food?
By sunset the sky was very clear. As the stars began to shine I could tell it was going to be a good night, but the seeing was bumpy. Star images were bloated, but, hey, it was better than expected. Some really neat objects I viewed included the Cocoon Nebula & Campbell's Hydrogen Star, both in Cygnus. It must have been a night for "nicknamed" deep-sky objects, because I also peered at the ET Cluster, also called the Owl Cluster (NGC 247) in Cassiopeia and the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) in Draco. Usually I like to really throw the power to high surface brightness planetary nebulae, but the rough seeing would only allow about 200x for the Cat's Eye. I continued observing until 4:00 am.
Thursday was quite nice, but clouds rolled in by afternoon. Ted
Forte, also from Virginia Beach, joined me for what we hoped would be a clear
evening. Fortunately, it wasn't completely clouded out.
I still managed to locate a few good deep sky objects, including 12th magnitude
Comet Schwassermann-Wachmann in Aquarius, the faint planetary nebula PB-1
in Aquila, and even the globular cluster Palomar 11, also in Aquila. Add the
excitement of seeing those illusive objects to the excitement of eating a
half-dozen hot dogs served up all night and you have quite a terrific evening.
Since the clouds were thickening, I was forced to quit at 1:00 am.
The big surprise on Friday was seeing Roy & Dee Diffrient show up with a brand new Dodge truck, complete with camper and Pace trailer. You may remember Roy by his exquisite award-winning homemade 18" red Dobsonian telescope.
Friday's forecast was not good for the evening, but as it turned out the
skies remained perfectly clear all night, without a trace of a single cloud.
As the sun set, one could hear the whir of GOTO telescope motors, as well
as excited amateurs chatting about what favorite object they planned to observe.
Probably a standout for me was the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) in Cassiopeia.
Thanks, Bill Dickinson, for suggesting we look at it. Another delight was
the bright galaxy NGC 1023 in Perseus. Some compare it to a miniature M31.
At 8th magnitude it should have been a Messier object. Poor Messier, he
must have had too much red wine that night.
Since the sky was so gorgeous Friday night, I did something I never do; I left my 25" telescope outside when I retired for the evening, rather than haul it into my trailer. At 8:00 am Saturday morning there was a sudden rap at my door. It was Ted Forte telling me it was raining. I hurriedly stumbled out of bed and proceeded to pack the scope away. Most people were just as trusting as I, for as I looked around they were doing the same. After that experience most decided to forego the remainder of the star party and head home. I stuck it out, as did about 25 others. Sure enough, as the afternoon wore on, the sky cleared. Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. I had high hopes for the evening, and in fact Ron Robisch called from Monrovia, MD. I told him it was clear at Tuckahoe, so he loaded up his scope and started the 100-mile trek to Tuckahoe State Park. But wait, just as the sun began to set thick clouds moved it. Since I had no way to contact Ron I only could hope the skies would clear before his arrival. That, dear friends, did not happen. In fact, at the first sign of lightning I packed up the 25" once again.
After bidding my farewells Sunday morning I drove back to Virginia Beach thinking about all the good friends and great views at the Delmarva No Frills Star Party. Thanks again to all the organizers who seem to improve the event every year.
THE DMSG YAHOO GROUP ON EYEPIECES
Kent Blackwell I started an inquiry with Norfolk Astronomical Society & Back Bay Amateur Astronomers about favorite eyepieces and thought it would be interesting to get some of your opinions as well. Are you like me and own oceans of eyepieces, but end up using only 1 or 2 nearly 100% of the time? My favorite synergistic eyepiece with the 12.5" f/5 was a 13mm Nagler (145x). Then I moved up to the 16" f/6.2 Dobsonian, and the favorite became a 16mm Nagler Type 2 (160x).I still prefer that 16mm with my 25" f/5 (200x) to all others. I'd venture to say it's in the focuser about 90% of the time. Oddly, each has yielded about a 2.5 - 3.0 mm exit pupil. Maybe that's the synergy for deep-sky work. I rarely use low power, especially when searching for faint galaxies or planetary nebulae.So, is there an eyepiece you prefer with your scope? I think synergy exists. What do you use, and with what scope? Kent Blackwell
Paul Gray For years when I used my old 13.1" F4.5, I used my buddy’s 13mm Nagler all the time. We both swore it was the best hunk of glass to be used.As it turned out it gave me 114x and a nice 3.0 mm exit pupil. Now once I acquired my current 12.5" F5 I also bought new eyepieces including a used but in great shape 13mm Nagler, type 1 series 2. Again I now get 122x and a nice 2.5mm exit pupil. Its hard to beat any view with an exit pupil of that size.If you get a new 2004 observers handbook, there is a new section on page 49 about magnification and contrast in deep sky observing, which explains and shows why exit pupils of this size are so effective. Well worth the read. Clear skies Paul Gray
Steve Long At the moment, almost nothing but Pentaxes go into the diagonal of my C8. I've really come to enjoy these eyepieces when used with my Celestron. I own four of them, 40mm, 21mm, 14mm, and 10.5mm. The 40 (51X) is my "finder" eyepiece; with its 1.1-degree fov and my setting circles, I can find nearly anything I'm able to see. It's also nice for observing anything fairly large like the Double Cluster, although its field isn't quite wide enough for larger objects like the Pleiades or M31. The 21 (97X), 14 (145X), and 10.5 (194X) are all used at different times and under different conditions. Bright globulars like M13 become textured and three-dimensional with the 10.5mm. The M82 galaxy is a delight in the 14, with good detail in the dust clouds on a clear observing night. Medium-sized nebulae and smaller galaxies show up well in the 21, especially with my SkyGlow filter on the rear cell of the telescope. If I were to catalog my usage I'd probably say the 14 is out of the box the least, with the rest pretty evenly balanced. Steve
Tim Milligan I have a set of TV PanOptics (35,22,15) and a couple of Naglers (12 T4 and 9 T1). I typically start with the 22 (100x) and once I find the object and view at that mag, I will go thru the 15Pan (150x ), 12Nag (185x) and maybe the 9Nag (250x) if I think the object will take more power. I always try to span different mags to see what different powers will show in an object. I sometimes use the 35Pan (63x) for extended views (a whole whopping 1 deg!). It works well on the Veil with an OIII. See ya soon. Tim
Eric Todd Well, just starting back into Astronomy recently after a ten year recess, the eyepiece I seem to be using the most lately is the Scopetronics wide angle 14 mm. I know this one probably doesn't even begin to compare with what others are using, but I consider it a good start for me. It always seems to provide decent magnification and a good field of view. Back in the days when I had my 10" Dob, I almost always used the same eyepiece- an Edmund 28 mm RKE. At that time, I had a small set of eyepieces which included that one, a couple of Orion orthos and I think a plain 25mm Kellner that came with the Dob. None provided the quality of view that the RKE did though at that time. Eric
Bill Collins Gee whiz, you guys must have money running out
of your pockets or you've got some really good sources... I basically
have two eyepieces that I use ALL THE TIME now. I must admit that
I recently sprung for a Televue 2" - 2X Powermate that I rate as priceless
when combined with my "cheap" eyepieces. First off, my scope is a 12.5" Meade
Newtonian at f/4.8 (1550mm FL). Eyepiece number 1 is a 2" - 26mm Rini that
I bought for about $70. It shows about 1 degree of true field in my scope,
so I don't even need a finder besides my Telrad.
Eyepiece number 2 is a 2" - 11mm SWA from somebody I don't even remember,
but it is Russian, also only about $70. It gives a 70 degree apparent FOV
and with the Powermate gave some excellent views of Mars (at ~280X).
Use your favorite eyepiece and a couple of barlows (ha..ha..ha) –Bill
Kent Blackwell Bill, I don't think it's that we have money
running out of our pockets. In my case I have been collecting for a very
long time. Could it be I put more money in my telescopes than my vehicles?
Hey, guys and girls, did you noticeat No-Frills I bought a F-150 truck to
haul my scope. Damn, had to get rid of five Naglers to do that……..
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 2003 will be:
November 04 and December 02 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 remaining observing days for
the year 2003 will be: November 21, and December 19.
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.
