The Official Publication of the Peoria Astronomical Society, Inc. Spring Issue No. 157 March 2004
Peoria PAS Website Astronomical Transit of Venus—2004 Society, Inc. By DeWayne Bartels P.O. Box 10111 Times Newspapers Redesigned Peoria IL By Tim McGrath 61612-0111 Space has exploded into What is it? So, what is the Transit of the consciousness of Ameri- If you frequently browse cans in recent months. Sheldon Venus? Member of the Schafer forgives the public the web like I do, then you Schafer loves that. But, it also may have noticed the warning Peoria Academy presents the North Peorian for not knowing what is is. A of Sciences on our website. It is in the with a big challenge. Since the Transit of Venus, quite simply and the put, is the planet, Earth’s process of being re-designed, Astronomical close pass of Mars, last Au- and it will soon have a com- League gust, astronomy has been a closet planetary neighbor, passing across the face of the pletely new look, with the newsworthy topic, locally and same great content. The tran- internationally. Just last week sun. There has not been one Board of since 1882. sition should be complete in NASA put its second rover on about two weeks. Directors: Mars in a month. President Schafer hopes to draw a The new website will be Bush recently announced he crowd of 800 or more, to Illi- president nois Central College’s East much more interactive. If you Tim McGrath wants to return man to the Campus at 5:27 a.m. June 8 to have clicked on the ‘portal’ Moon and then on to Mars. link, then you have already Vice-president Schafer is vice president of view the event. Getting the public interested in this his- gotten a feel for it. It will al- John Barra education and planetarium di- low everyone post messages, toric event is a concern for rector at Lakeview Museum. news articles, and even photo- Secretary He does not have a degree in astronomers world-wide. Dan Son Chuck Beuter, an inde- graphs. We will also have the marketing, yet he has to com- ability distinguish between pete with all this attention to pendent astronomer, formerly Treasurer PAS members and visitors, astronomy to get Central Illi- associated with the Adler Ob- Mike Shelton servatory, is among those put- and customize the content noisans excited about a rare accordingly. There will also Legal Agent astronomical event. And, by ting pressure on astronomers and educators, like Schafer, to be a calendar of events, and Mike Hay the time this event, called a we are working on a new make this event a big deal. Transit of Venus, comes email distribution system that Parliamentarian around the question of whether Beuter will be speaking in Mike Hay Peoria on this event at the mu- will eliminate our need for the Central Illinoisans will be suf- Yahoo groups. It will soon be fering from space news over- seum on March 3rd during the Nominating public meeting of the Peoria a one-stop-shop for all your Chairman load exists. Astronomical Society. PAS and astronomy related Dan Son That hardly spells a mar- needs! keter’s dream. In a recent paper, Beuter (Continued on page 5) (Continued on page 6)
Table of Contents Transit of Venus...... 1 The Bulletin Board ...... 5 Message from the Ansible...... 2 Monthly Program Schedule...... 5 [email protected]...... 3 Can You Spot This? ...... 6 Of Starlites Past ...... 4 Minutes of the Board of Directors ...... 7 Astronomical Calendar ...... 4 Observing Club Notes...... 8 Starlite and the aid of gravitational lensing, tiny voice in my head that is asking Message from scientists have discovered the most questions like: distant object known to exist - A Why is NorthMoor Observatory the Ansible galaxy roughly 13 billion light- worth saving? There is newer and by Tim McGrath years from earth. better technology out
With this first Starlite of 2004, there. What comes after
In my last mes- many of us find ourselves looking NorthMoor is fixed? Do …think sage, I told you to ahead to the new year. But I would we hang on to tradition, deeper read the book suggest looking ahead even farther. or do we embrace the fu- Ender’s Game by Lately I have been giving some ture? about the Orson Scott Card thought to what my role is as presi- Who are we, as a so- Society... to find out what dent. I view the president’s job is ciety? Who do we want an ansible is. to provide leadership and direction to be? Since I’m fairly toward the society’s common Are we merely a group of indi- certain none of you ran out to buy goals. But just what are the soci- viduals who share a common inter- the book, I will tell you what it ety’s goals? est in astronomy? Are we in it to means: serve the public? Are we in it for An ansible is a device that al- education? lows people to communicate in- Where are we going? How are stantaneously across the interga- we going to get there? lactic distances of space. Of I encourage all of you to ask course the concept of such a de- these kinds of questions of your- vice flies in the face of Einstein’s selves, and think deeper about the theory of relativity, since it would Society. I would like to hear your require communication to travel thoughts, as well as any other ideas faster than the speed of light. or concerns you have. The feedback I get will help me as president to Hence the word is not very popu- lar outside the sci-fi world. When I started, we were right lead us in the right direction. I look But perhaps now you can see in the middle of our NorthMoor forward to hearing your thoughts, how it relates to my Starlite col- Observatory restoration effort. The and to an eventful 2004 and beyond. umn. topic has been at the forefront of a --- lot of what I do now. Tim McGrath Looking ahead to 2004 and The fundraising efforts for 12124 N Whispering Woods, beyond NorthMoor are charging ahead. It Dunlap IL 61525 Just this week, with the help of is no longer a question of ‘if’, but Phone: 309-370-7547 the Hubble and Keck telescopes ‘when’. However there is this little Email:[email protected] y
Starlite is published quarterly during the months of March, June, September, and December by the Peoria Astronomical Society, Inc., P.O. Box 10111, Peoria IL 61612-0111. All rights reserved. Deadline for submission is the third Wednesday of the preceding month. Submissions should be directed to Jeffrey Pittenger, 721 Fillmore St, Morton IL 61550, or e-mailed to
@ @ @
[email protected] Hi All, compiled by Jeff Pittenger Alan Chu (Hong Kong contingent) has re- leased a superb lunar atlas in web-based or CD form, or may be downloaded as a print- Here are some highlights from HistoricPeoria.com website. As I was trying able book in PDF form! the Peoria Astronomical Society’s to decide what to write about, I remembered Available here at no charge, courtesy of Alan: how fascinated my brother from Nebraska e-mail group. If you are an active http://moonbook.hkas.org.hk/ was with the observatory on the Leo Dono- Check it out... you will not be disapointed, member of the PAS and would like van Golf Course. With the help of your web- truuuust me! site, I learned some of the history behind to subscribe to PeoriaAstro, send @ @ @ an e-mail message to Michael Northmoor Observatory, as well as discov- ered the presence of the Astronomical Soci- Tim, Frasca
@ @ @ soon. this should contact me and I will put them in Thank you for your assistance in this matter. touch with my friend. A petition site, if you are of a mind to sup- Sincerely, --Dave port Hubble: Clara L. Connick @ @ @ http://www.savethehubble.org/petition.jsp (309) 243-9569 It couldn't hurt and it may help... Dave, @ @ @ -Dan Son I might be able to give this group of Scouting
@ @ @ FYI leaders some ideas. Is this a Roundtable meet- I responded to Clara granting her permission. ing, or a troop leaders meeting? When, where, Dan, Her follow-up note is below. Our page is not how many, etc.? Have your friend give me a It is an obvious conspircy. NASA up there yet, but may be soon. I checked out call. By the way, I am a registered Merit wants us to think thank it is too un-(or it is the site, and came across their mission state- Badge counselor for astronomy M.B. it in-) hospitable on Mars for man--which is Clear and dark skies, really a coverup to hide the fact that the Rich Tennis man on the moon has moved to Mars. Ha, 309 467-3597 ha! @ @ @ John Barra
@ @ @ Found this old email thought some may like the information: Greetings to All, It's been a LONG time since I've posted to I have been looking over your site and this group, but I felt it's time to get back in. Wow! I am very impressed. What a world I've updated my MS Excel spreadsheet of of knowledge contained on it's pages. I use astronomical data and posted it on my web it often for information on various topics. site. The spreadsheet contains the complete We are in the process of building our site NGC catalog, Messier Catalog, Herschel and building our club back to something we ment. The link is : Catalog, Bernard's Dark Object Catalog, can be proud of. I have been checking out a Caldwell Catalog, Lynd's Catalog, RASC number of our sister clubs around the coun- http://www.historicpeoria.com/mission.cfm This sounds like an ideal opportunity to show Deep Sky Challenge Objects, Dyer Catalog, try for ideas and I have been very impressed SAA Top 100 and much, much more. The with your off our educational benefits to the public. This website has the potential to reach people recent additions are the catalog of 150 globu- club plus the enrollment, you guys and gals lar clusters and the Filter Reference done by are doing a great job. I would like to get beyond those only interested in astronomy, but our historical significance as well. We David your permission to use your "Missing Mess- Knisely. The current version of the spread- ier" list as a club certification program to should take this opportunity to show off our history, and our benefit to public education. sheet is 1.6. It's a 1.4Mb file, help our members reach further to better so be patient when it downloads. Here's the themselves as observers. Of course any This could go a long way toward our "importance" and may help with our fund- link to the download. certification they would get would be called http://www.starcrwzr.com/downloads/ the "PAS Messier 2"certification in honor raising efforts. If you know of any material that would be AstronomyInfoV1.6.zip of your club. As you know our sister club -Dan Son just a few miles down the road in Saint suitable for Clara's article, please forward it on. @ @ @ Augustine created the "Hershel 400" club and that is testimony to clubs like yours to -Tim Mc Grath. I happened across this www.ebooks3.com site
have that type of energy. I look forward to @ @ @ as I was looking for the book "Two In a
hearing from you and hope someday I will A note on full cut-off lights--in case I haven't Tower". A book written in 1882, which has in be able to stop by and check out your skies. mentioned this: the Peoria Univeralist Unitar- it the experiences of an astronomer, who in his Clear Skies ian Church (of which I am a member) will be adventures views the transit of Venus. So, if Mike Ramirez building a new facility on west Richwoods you want to read the book, just go to the site: Vice President Blvd, a few blocks west of the Sterling http://www.ebooks3.com/cgi-bin/ebooks/ Northeast Florida Astronomical Society Kroger store. Included will be full cut-off ebook.cgi?folder=two_on_a_tower Enjoy a writers experience of what we will, @ @ @ lights in the parking lot. We seek to provide
an enlightenment opportunity for people, not hopefullt see this June. Dear Sir or Madam: -Rich Tennis I am an English graduate student at Bradley the sky. Down with Light! @ @ @ University. One of the requirements for ENG 500 is to contribute new pages to the -Dave Grebner Starlite Of Starlites Past ABCDEFABCDEFA by John Barra Years Ago Years Ago 40 Winter Newsletter 1964 25 Winter Starlite 1979 “Probably no one member is more responsible for “The 9” refracting telescope, housed here at North- recruiting new members into the Peoria Astronomical Moor Observatory, was built by Mr. George F. John- Society than Dick Johnson. In his position as chairman son.... He designed the equatorial telescope and, with of the Introductory Class, Dick has again added to our help of company (Illinois Watch Company) machinists, membership. We should all join together to give these made it in the watch factory, with the exception of the new members a warm friendly HELLO.” optics. They were ground by a Frenchman, Mr. Pettit- It is always nice to give special notice to those in didier, in the laboratory of the Gaertner Scientific Cor- past who have contributed greatly to our society. There poration, Chicago, Illinois.” is always a necessity to add new blood to any organiza- It is interesting to find a historical piece about the tion. telescope in both the 40 and 25-year back issues of the If you get a chance to meet a new member, in addi- newsletter. As the society seeks help to save that tele- tion to saying HELLO, make an extra effort to get that scope, we continue to stress its historical significance all new member out to Jubilee to enjoy a good, dark site. these years later. See our web page as for an example. “Now let’s take a look at the telescope we acquired. “President’s Message: You might have not noticed, She was constructed in 1909 for use in the observatory but this winter was not the type of winter that beckoned at the Illinois Watch Company. Her nine inch lens was one from the living room to the backyard....Mike Hay, fashioned by the Gaertner Scientific Company by the President.” same optician who ground the lenses for the famous Hey Mike, you might not have noticed, but this win- physicist A. A. Michelson.” ter was not the type of winter that beckoned one from the This paragraph was a part of an article explaining living room to the backyard. And do you think someone how the Astronomy Section of the Peoria Academy of has said virtually the same thing each of the 24 years in Science acquired the telescope. Read below for another between? While this winter was milder, it is always cold excerpt on the telescope and lens.y if it is clear. Despite my suggestions at trying winter observing, I must admit that I have done none.y
March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 Astronomical Calendar S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 March 6 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Full Moon 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 March 13 28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 23/30 24/31 25 26 27 28 29 Last Quarter Moon April 7 Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks PAS Members Meeting, 7:30 p.m. March 17 May 5 Lakeview Planetarium PAS Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. PAS Members Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Northpoint Shopping Center Hardees April 11 Lakeview Planetarium Last Quarter Moon March 20 May11 New Moon April 19 Last Quarter Moon. Messier Marathon New Moon Spring Equinox May 19 April 21 PAS Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. March 25 PAS Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Northpoint Shopping Center Har- Mars passes 0.8 deg. north of Mars Northpoint Shopping Center Hardees dees March 28 Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks New Moon First Quarter Moon April 27 May 24 First Quarter Moon March 29 Mars passes 1.6 deg north of Sat- Mercury greatest eastern elongation May 2 urn Venus greatest western elongation Venus at greatest brilliance May 27 April 5 May 4 First Quarter Moony Full Moon Full Moon Starlite Venus…. The Bulletin Board (Continued from page 1) wrote, “For good reason, Edmond Hal- ley declared, ‘This sight...is by far the noblest astronomy affords.’ With the New Members Work Party NorthMoor Observatory transit of Venus comes an opportunity Welcome to: April 3 9:00 a.m. to witness nothing less than how we Royal Duncan came to understand our place in the ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ cosmos. So how do we as planetarians respond?” That is the question facing Schafer. He approaches it philosophi- Minutes…. Starlite: (Jeff Pittenger) cally. Deadline for Starlite will be February "It's a question," Schafer said, "of board meeting, please bring in your how shallow or enriched a person (Continued from page 7) Membership: (Scott Swords) wants their life to be." Eric made a mockup of the desired door and after some tweaking it New roster is out. Get interested Eric Clifton made a motion to have a Schafer is planning to go after both now works. Will build the doors now. copy of every new roster to be in- children and adults. The adults will be cluded in the minutes and also show the target of stories from press confer- Light Pollution: (Rich Tennis) Bill Rutherford met with Rich who Friend’s of the Society are, 2nd ences. They and children will be the by John Barra. Motion passed. targets of a planetarium show he will Tennis and Eric Clifton and wants Website: (Tim McGrath) present for a month leading up to the to change all the lights in the park to make it Dark Sky ready. We are up and running on the new event. hosting web site. Will gradually get "The accessibility of this event to Bill Rutherford had another meet- ing with Rich Tennis, Eric Clifton information on the site updated. the public is so great," Schafer said. Scott Swords said that the Sky & Tel "For $2 anyone will be able to get a and Clare Howard of the Journal Star for an article in the Journal web site had old information about pair of eclipse shades and view this. PAS and will get them updated infor- "This is history. It's going to be about Star about Wildlife Park’s interest as a Dark Sky Sanctuary. mation soon. being part of something." We are thinking of making a CD of Schafer said he is not too con- NorthMoor Restoration: (Scott Hay) the web site and leaving it at North- cerned about all the recent attention on moor for anyone with a laptop to run astronomy giving people news over- Meeting has been rescheduled for January 28th. the website during our Saturday eve- load, blunting interest in this event. ning viewings. "Mars will be part of our lives from Observing Club: (John Barra) Get ready for the Messier and Old Business: now on. I think because of the rareness Will get the Audit done soon, next of this event people will be interested," hope for some clear nights and warm weather. month maybe. Schafer said. Logo design is on hold. He is more concerned about reach- Program: (Dan Son) Feb will be Prof. Holland talking New Business: ing people only interested in the here Why have the membership dues not and now, and having a good time. about Mars. March Transit of Venus. gone out yet, will contact Mike and "I don't know what sparks interest send them out ASAP. in people," Schafer said. "That's the April will be Star Hopping. May Constellations Bill (William) Morrow passed away challenge. "But, in most people there's in December.y a certain amount of explorer. For those people this event is going to be great. The Transit of Venus is the fundamen- tal event that allowed us to measure distance is space. This is an opportu- Monthly Program Schedule nity to relive that." Unless otherwise noted, meetings will be held in the Lakeview Museum In the end, though, Schafer said he Planetarium, with all programs beginning at 7:30 p.m. has only one criteria for judging the success of the event locally. March 3, 2004 May 5, 2004 "If I get to see it it's been a suc- Chuck Beuter Dan Son = Constellations: cess," Schafer said, laughing. "But, Transit of Venus Cygnus, Saggita, Delphinius hopefully we'll have hundreds and hun- dreds of people there with me to see April 7, 2004 June 2, 2004 it."y John Barra = Star Hopping Cassini Mission Starlite long as you can pick out 9 Bootis Can You Spot This? with your naked-eye. NGC 5466 To give you a better idea how by John Barra far you need to sweep when pass- ing your scope past stars A and B, I Can You Spot This? premiered Bootis. should let you know that in Starlite Issue #144, December The key to this search, and also NGC 5466 and M3 are 2000. the hardest part of it, is to make sure almost exactly five de- You will probably have to wait that you have 9 Bootis in your eye- This method grees apart. Once you until mid-spring when Bootes rises piece. It has a magnitude of 5.0. have located each of is much high to find this month’s object. But there are several stars nearby them, substitute a higher But the wait will not only allow with a magnitude of 6 or less. To easier... power eyepiece to be you to find a globular cluster that is confirm 9 Bootis, find the two able to better compare fainter than the Messier globulars. nearby bright stars I have marked A and enjoy the two. It will also show you an easier and B. (see Chart 2) NGC 5466 is not only much route to find a Messier globular While keeping the same eye- fainter, it is also much smaller. cluster, M3 in nearby Canes Ve- piece, slew your scope back-and- When you look at M3, you should natici. forth between A and B and beyond be able to resolve many stars. This To locate the target of our in each direction until you find one globular cluster is one of the search, NGC 5466, begin by re- bright and one fainter globular clus- brightest and finest in the northern viewing Chart 1 below. With a ter. The noticeably fainter one--by hemisphere. While you may be low-power eyepiece in your tele- three magnitudes--will be NGC able to resolve only a few stars in scope, aim your Telrad or other 5466. Obviously, the bright one NGC 5466, look at it for a longer finder at 9 Bootis It forms a right will be M3. I have used other more period of time. You will be sur- triangle with Arcturus and Rho difficult techniques before to find prised how many stars you can ac- Bootis. Do not confuse it with 12 M3. This method is much easier, as tually resolve with high power.
OBJECT STATISTICS:
Name: NGC 5466 Type: Globular Cluster Magnitude: 9.0 Size: 11.0’ Coordinates: 14 hr., 05.5 min. +28°, 32 miny
Website... (Continued from page 1)
A special thanks to Don Ware, who has been the worldwide voice of the PAS for many years. His work and content is what makes our website world class by anyone’s standards. Also thanks to Tim Lester, who got the ball rolling and set us up with a new web service provider. Be sure to check us out at www.astronomical.orgy Starlite PAS internal audit- not done will Minutes of the get a date set to do this. Board of Directors PAS Design logo will be on hold till next month. by Dan Son, PAS Secretary The new TMB scope that was do- Board meetings take place on the to meet at Wildlife Park in January nated to the society now has insur- third Wednesday of the month. 2004. Senator Risinger will intro- ance on it. Those referenced below were held duce legislation in January to make New Business: at the Hardee’s of Willow Knolls Wildlife Park a dark light sanctuary. August 14th is the tentative date Court in Peoria. Future PAS Rich gave a talk to Lions club on for Lakeview bike ride. PAS will Board meetings will be held at the general history of PAS with dome support this event with members Hardee’s of Northpoint Shopping money needs. manning sites. Center in Peoria. Meetings start at NorthMoor Observatory: (Bill On June 8th Venus will transit the 7:30 p.m. Cole) Sun. Peoria will be able to few the We had 13 clear nights and 13 event at sunrise for about 38 min- ======cloudy nights during the summer utes with another 20 minutes of November 19, 2003 viewing session. exit time. Dan Son made a motion Attendees: Calene Fleming, 110 persons from St. Paul came out to have PAS join Lakeview Mu- Mike Hay, Scott Hay, Eric Clifton, for a clear night of viewing. This seum in a “Venus Transit” event, Tim McGrath, Mike Shelton, Bill was a 2nd grade class event. 2nd by Rich Tennis. Motion Cole, Brandt Bechtold, Don Ware, NorthMoor Restoration: (Scott passed. DeWayne Bartels, Jeff Pittenger, Hay) Sheldon Schafer, Mike Radigan, On November 12th a meeting was ======Rich Tennis and Dan Son held in East Peoria’s Fondulac Park December 17, 2003 Treasurer’s Report: (Mike building. Attendees: Not enough people Shelton) showed up for a quorum. Mike presented the Treasurer’s re- port (copies attached) for the ======month of October. Dan Son made a January 21, 2004 motion to accept the treasure’s re- Attendees: Calene Fleming, port, 2nd by Brandt Bechtold. Mo- Mike Hay, John Barra, Scott tion passed. Swords, Eric Clifton, Tim Money is needed to pay for McGrath, Jeff Pittenger and Dan needed services. Mike Hay made a Son. motion to cash in 1 of the CD’s and Treasurer’s Report: (Mike put the money into the general Shelton) fund, 2nd by Eric Clifton. Motion Mike was not present. Will get a passed. hold of Mike to get the reports. Committee Reports Will be holding another meeting on The treasury reports need new Academy of Science: (Scott December 10th at Fondulac Park members listed with their address Hay) building. and phone number. We were informed that we will Public Relations: (Brandt Bech- We owe Peoria Academy of Sci- now be paying $4 per member to told) ence dues for 2003 and 2004. the academy; we do not pay for Lunar eclipse was a success and was Scott Swords has a 2003 roster friends of the Society. on schedule. and will mark off friends of the Jubilee Observatory: (Eric Starlite: (Jeff Pittenger) society so Mike can get a check Clifton) Deadline for Starlite will be Febru- off to the Academy. We don’t pay On October 18th the ring was ary Board meeting. on the friends of the Society. bolted onto the dome. Thanks Tim Will get Starlite updated on the web Committee Reports McGrath. Tim Lester, John Barra site. Education: (Nerio Calgaro) and Rich Tennis. Membership: (Scott Swords) Tim McGrath went to his daugh- Rich Tennis, JC Kline, and Tim We have 1 new member, Royal ter’s 1st grade class at Mossville Lester did final work on doors with Publishing/ Royal Duncan grade school and showed them the measuring and cutting. Website: (Tim McGrath) sun and daytime moon thru his Edelstein group came out and had Will be moving to our new service ETX90 scope. some good viewing. provider by the end of the year. Will Jubilee Observatory: (Eric Light Pollution: (Rich Tennis) work on new content after that. Clifton) Senator George Shadid is willing Old Business: (Continued on page 5) NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PEORIA, IL PERMIT NO. 875 Astronomy Section Newsletter Peoria Academy of Science c/o Princen 677 E. High Point Terrace Peoria, IL 61614
#157, March 2004
In This Issue... Transit of Venus, New Website, ...Can You Spot This?, and more....
find your way around the night sky, Observing Club Notes please plan on attending the meet- by John Barra ing which is always held at 7:30 the Messier Marathon available in his garage. Sheets will first Wednesday night of the month Set for March 20. also be available for those only wish- at Lakeview Planetarium. You ing to complete one or more of our sea- will learn beginning techniques This year’s PAS Messier Mara- sonal mini-marathons. ranging from learning the constella- thon is scheduled for Saturday, Remember to dress according to the tions the right way to creating star March 20. weather conditions. Bring snacks to maps to navigating the sky. However, instead of the ob- share with other members. There will servatory at Brimfield, the be no official rain/cloud date this year. …checkoff marathon will be held at But watch your emails for a possible Rich Tennis’ StarHouse in alternative date if the weather inter- lists will be rural Eureka. feres with the primary date. available... Directions to the StarHouse will be available by our Learn How to Starhop email group shortly before At April Meeting the event. You can also call Rich for directions. Anyone wishing to par- I will be giving a lesson on the For those already experienced, I ticipate should start setting up by 6 techniques of starhopping at the April will teach some advanced tech- pm. We will set up on the west side 7 PAS membership meeting. This niques I have learned while trying of his property to view the first fifth presentation is designed both for the to locate the fainter Herschel ob- of the Messier objects. Then every- new members and for those who have jects. These techniques include one can move to the unobstructed a great deal of observing experience. galaxy hopping, using asterisms for east side to catch the rest. If you are just starting out in astron- direction, and confirming the obser- Observing checkoff lists will be omy and want to learn an easy way to vation of the very faint objects.y