Vol. 56, No. 9, November, 2011

Next Meeting – November 15th, 2011 at 8:00 PM ~Backyard Astronomy with Your Observatory~ Speaker: DAS Member Ron Worden at the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory

FROM THE PRESIDENT Bill Hanagan Special Astro-Photography First off, I’d like to thank Mike Cimorosi for his of DAS Members Feature presentation on Lasers in Astronomy at the October meet- ing. I’d also like to thank those members who brought in this Month’s FOCUS! refreshments to the meeting. FOCUS Editor Joe Neuberger Our November 15th main meeting program will begin As anticipated, the response of DAS members has with a review of “What’s Up in the Sky” by Greg Lee. Our been overwhelming, and the bulk of this month’s issue of the main feature for the evening will be a presentation by DAS FOCUS is devoted to the outstanding AstroPhotography of member Ron Worden titled Backyard Astronomy with Your the industrious and adventurous hobbiest/professionals in our Observatory, a review of the various types of amateur midst. We have members who literally travel the globe in observatories and why you might want to build one in your order to scratch their itch for recording the heavens and its own back yard. If there’s time for it, I’ll also present a majesty. And this month we are treated to a wide variety of review of the work on refiguring the primary mirror of the their efforts in the feature beginning on page 10. club’s 17.5” Dob. And, as I stated in the October issue’s “Last Word” column, there’s nothing I admire more in this Club of Ama- I’d like to remind all of you to keep thinking about teur Astronomers than those who experiment with the how YOU can contribute to the DAS and how you can make evolving technologies related to, and place considerable the DAS a better astronomy club. While we’ve had some resources into the exploration that is the Art of Modern volunteers step forward, and we’ve received a variety of AstroPhotography. I salute each and every one of the donations, more volunteers and donations are needed. participants in this month’s endeavor and look forward to featuring more of their efforts in the issues ahead. A club works best when essentially all of its able- And in that light, nothing could complement more bodied members pitch in and help out in whatever way they this month’s meeting speaker, Ron Worden, and his talk on can. If you haven’t found a way to contribute to the DAS, “Backyard Astronomy with Your Observatory.” Ron is one of call me at 302-239-0949. I’m sure we can come up with the AstroPhoto pioneers whose work appears in this month’s something that you can do to help the DAS that also suits edition and his talk will enlighten us regarding the ease and/ your particular interests. or pitfalls inherent in undertaking the construction of a home observatory and embarking on the adventures that access permits. Lastly, I wish to exend my heartfelt personal Each issue of FOCUS is full of useful hyperlinks. Just click on any graphic or telltale blue web address and your browser should “THANKS” to all who answered my call and participated in take you to additional linked web resources. this month’s feature showcasing the efforts of these talented individuals . “Thank you” one and all! The Flame Nebula - Photo by DAS Member Rick Davis. Designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission Nebula in the Orion.

Observing with the Delaware Astronomical Society... DAS Founding Member René Van Caneghem 1920-2011 Bill Hanagan René’s full obituary follows: It is my sad duty Mr. René J. Van Caneghem, age 91, of Elkton, MD, to report to you the passing passed away on Sunday, October 30, 2011. of one of our club’s found- Born in Paris, France on August 20, 1920, son of the late ing members, Mr. René Jerome Van Caneghem and Claire Ludet Van Caneghem, Mr. Van Van Caneghem. Caneghem proudly served in the US Army Air Corps during World In 1956, a group of War II. In civilian life, he would go on to earn master’s degrees in engineers met at René’s both education and engineering and make his career as a home in Newark to begin mechanical engineer with Aberdeen Proving Ground, where he retired after 25 years. He later accepted a position as a substitute an adventure together: to teacher with Cecil County Schools. learn about astronomy, to An avid and knowledgeable astronomer throughout his build telescopes, and to use life, Mr. Van Caneghem was one of the founders of the Delaware their telescopes to view Astronomical Society in 1956; he was pleased to mentor many the heavens. And thus was budding young astronomers over the years. Following his born our astronomy club, retirement, he was also a very active volunteer at Union Hospital Delaware Astronomical Society the Delaware Astronomical in Elkton and the Veterans Hospital in Elsmere. Founding Member, Past President & Society. In 1958, René Mr. Van Caneghem contributed frequent Letters to the Club Archivist René Van Caneghem became the club’s second Editor on political, social, and educational issues. Among his many hobbies, he greatly enjoyed ballroom dancing, bridge, President. While he only served as President for one year, woodworking, and gardening. Rene continued to participate in the club over the following In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by 50 years. In the not too distant past, he acted as an his first wife, Louise Van Caneghem. He is survived by his wife, archivist for the DAS and re-submitted many old articles Geraldine “Gerri” Murphy Van Caneghem; children, Gail Ridgway from early editions of the FOCUS. (Edwin) of Reston, VA and Lane McLaughlin of Newark, DE; René was a kind and gentle soul and I had several stepchildren, Kathleen of Elkton, MD and David M. Kirk (Carla) of interesting conversations with him over the years, though not Wilmington, DE; 8 grandchildren; and 9 great grandchildren. as many as I wish I’d had. In addition to his life-long career A funeral service was held at 1 pm on Wednesday, as an engineer at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, René was November 2, 2011, at the Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE, where visitation began at 12 noon. an avid woodworker and an advocate for the awareness of Interment followed in Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 N. DuPont global warming. In his retirement, René chose to return to Parkway, New Castle, DE. work part-time as a substitute teacher. In his personal life, Contributions in memory of Mr. Van Caneghem may be René encouraged and supported his children, step-children, made to Leeds United Methodist Church, 1579 Blue Ball Rd., and grandchildren in completing their educations. Elkton, Maryland 21921.

“PUBLIC NIGHTS” at the Mt. CUBA OBSERVATORY...

MCAO PUBLIC NIGHTS Greg Weaver http:// MountCuba.org. Programs are presented on Monday nights at 8pm. Please check the website for programs The Mt. Cuba planned, full details and updates. Observatory Public The remaining Public Nights schedule for Nights continue year 2011 follows: round! In addition to Date Speaker Topic learning about many aspects of the heavens, you’ll have a chance to Nov. 21 L. King How Uranus and Neptune visit and view our all-digital full-dome planetarium. You can were discovered. pick up a schedule when you next come to a meeting or get Dec. 12 D. Wilson Wonders of the Universe the latest updated version off the website at:

-2- DAS Special Interest Groups for Photography and Telescope Construction...

DAS ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY NEW The next meeting of the AP SIG is tentatively SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP Bill Hanagan scheduled for November 11 or 12 at the DAS Sawin Observa- tory, where I'll act as host and demonstrate planetary photog- The DAS astrophotography special interest group (DAS raphy using the Sawin 12.5" telescope. The exact date will, AP SIG) meets on Friday nights at 7:30pm every other month at Mt. as usual, be flex-scheduled based on the weather. For more Cuba regardless of weather. The SIG also meets for photo shoots info on what to expect see the story on page 9 in this issue. scheduled on 1-2 day notice to synchronize with the weather. As always, please consider submitting one or more of The monthly meetings are informal and typically your favorite astrophotos for publication in the FOCUS. A include the presentation of astrophotos taken by the members recent photo is not required. You can email your photo(s) as along with an extended question and answer period. Objects .jpg files to our FOCUS editor, Joe Neuberger at his address at commonly photographed include , auroras, lunar [email protected]. Please include a text file briefly eclipses, and planetary photos, as well as a wide variety of deep- describing how you made each photo (in Microsoft Word sky objects such as nebulae, galaxies, star clusters, etc. The format) along with any by-lines or captions you would like Joe topics discussed cover the entire gamut of astrophotography, to use. If you would like, you can write a more in-depth from how to get started with a minimum of equipment, to polar discussion to go with your photos. Joe can make a masterful aligning your telescope, all of the way to the fine points of using layout, but if you would like to suggest a layout of your own auto-guiders and post-processing digital images. you can insert copies of your photos into the Word document You can get started in astrophotography with just to give him an idea what you would like to see. Either way, your current camera mounted on a tripod or a motorized don’t forget to attach a high resolution .jpg file to your email for telescope by taking wide field photographs of meteor showers, each photo. Joe has done a great job improving the look of the conjunctions, constellations, and star trails. As you move to FOCUS and adding relevant links to take advantage of the fact progressively fainter and smaller subjects, you’ll need better that the FOCUS is now on-line, but like all newsletter editors, equipment. Joining the AP SIG is a great way to learn what he needs as much material as he can get from club members. equipment you’ll need and what works well before you spend your money. If you are interested in joining the AP SIG, just email your name, address, and phone number to me at [email protected].

DAS. AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP Bill Hanagan The DAS Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) Special email their name, address, and phone number to me at Interest Group (SIG ) meets on evenings and weekends [email protected]. according to the availability of the members and the particu- Meeting dates are announced primarily by email, so lar projects that are underway. Currently the ATM SIG has a if you are interested in telescope making, be sure to let medium Dob building program under way. The general range me know! of activities of the ATM SIG includes all manner of telescope making, mirror making, and the making of accessories for The refiguring of the club’s 17.5” f/4.5 mirror is telescopes and observing. proceeding. If you would like to participate in this effort, Anyone interested in joining the ATM SIG should please let me know.

LOANER TELESCOPES and SAWIN OBSERVATORY REMINDER Tom Sidowski One of the best advantages of being a member of the The DAS also maintains a club observatory on the grounds Delaware Astronomical Society is that all members have the of the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory. The Sawin Observatory privilege of being trained to use and then borrow equipment houses the club’s permanently mounted 12.5" reflecting telescope owned by the club for personal use. Currently, we have two and a 17.5" Coulter Odyssey 2 Dobsonian telescope. They are for scopes available for loan: a Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain, the use of club members once they are trained and checked-out in and a 6" Orion Sky-Quest XT6 Dobsonian reflector. The loan is a simple operating procedure. Members who are interested in for at least a month. If you’re interested in checking out either becoming key holders of the Sawin Observatory should contact me of these scopes, contact Tom Sidowski at 302-239-1844. at 302-239-1844 to arrange for training in the use of the facility.

Treasurer’s report, we’ll be discussing the following items. NEW The PRESIDENT’S DAS BOARD The first two of these are carry-overs from last month. MEETING AGENDA for OCTOBER 1) Purchase of a Digital Setting Circle controller for use with 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 15, 2011 the club’s telescopes.. In the Library at the Mt. Cuba Observatory 2) Purchase of a Barlowed Laser Collimator for loan to members. 3) Additional plans for the DAS Christmas Party and In addition to routine items of business such as the Swap Meet. -3- Some Reflections on the Purpose of the Delaware Astronomical Society DAS President Bill Hanagan I’d like to take a few moments to host of topics including Auroras (by Rob Lancaster), the review the purpose of our club vis-à-vis our Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI, by Mike by-laws. If you take a close look at the Cimorosi), Optical Problems in Telescopes and How to Test club’s by-laws or the front page of the Your Telescope (by yours truly), the Ancient Astronomy of FOCUS, you will notice first of all that Machu Picchu (by Bill McKibben), and the Sun (by Jack the name of our organization is the Fisher) to name just a few. I would have to go on for pages DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCI- just to describe all of the educational talks that have been ETY. Our astronomy club was given this name when it was given at our monthly meetings. created in 1956. It has the same name today. “Society” and Our Member Star Parties (MSPs) and outreach star “Club” are of course synonymous. parties have helped people learn about the myriad of astro- The name of an organization includes the most nomical objects that can be seen in the night sky as well as important words describing that organization, words that hold how to use a variety of telescopes to find and observe them. the most fundamental definition of what the organization’s Star parties are the best place to learn the care, collimation, creators wanted the organization to be and to do. Our club’s and use of a telescope as well as the advantages and name says that WE ARE AN ASTRONOMY CLUB and our disadvantages of different telescope types. single most defining purpose is TO BE AN ASTRONOMY CLUB. Our Astro Photography Special Interest Group (AP- This is quite obvious to most club members, so SIG) regularly features discussions and tutorials on topics obvious in fact that this fundamental purpose is not men- covering a broad range of skill levels from beginner to expert, tioned again anywhere in the by-laws. It’s so obvious that such as The Characteristics of Noise in Electronic Detec- new members invariably approach us by saying “I’d like to tors, Image Processing Techniques, and techniques for join your astronomy club.” photographing meteors, lunar eclipses, and auroras. Sadly, the lack of an explicit statement that our The late Dr. David Short, a professor in Chemical purpose is TO BE AN ASTRONOMY CLUB has led some Engineering at the University of Delaware, proclaimed that members who are not supportive of that goal to maintain that what he learned as a member of the AP-SIG in one month our club’s purpose has been changed to something com- was “Worth the cost of admission to the club for the entire pletely different by a subtle change of wording in the by-laws. year.” In addition to our club’s name, our by-laws include Our Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) SIG has some other statements about our purpose as a club. Article helped several of our members learn how to make a variety of 5, section D, paragraph 2 of the by-laws notes that in 1972 telescope gear, from solar filters to telescope components, the society was transformed into a corporation which was including Newtonian primary mirrors, which must be polished formed “exclusively for scientific and educational to a surface accuracy of just a few millionths of an inch over purposes. ” Of course, this statement was important for our hundreds of square inches. club to achieve its status as a tax-exempt charity, but in any Last but not least, our newsletter, the FOCUS, is case we meet these two additional requirements more or very educational in its own right, with several excellent less automatically by virtue of doing what astronomy club’s do. articles on astronomy featured in every issue. Astronomy is, after all, a widely recognized science. Given all of this, it is quite obvious that our club’s Any astronomy club can certainly claim to have a scientific activities are in fact highly educational. purpose just by practicing the science of astronomy. And, To go on, Article II of the by-laws states: “The from time to time, DAS members have participated directly in purpose of the Society shall be to encourage interest, and to scientific research, including occultation timing and the advance scientific knowledge and education, in the subject of “Whole Earth Telescope” project. So, it seems that we have astronomy.” This statement adds an entirely new require- the scientific purpose covered as long as we remain an ment: that the club’s activities should also encourage astronomy club. interest in astronomy! The monthly meeting presentations, Are the astronomy related activities of our club the AP-SIG, the ATM-SIG, the Member Star Party Program, educational? You bet they are! and the FOCUS newsletter all do that. Our monthly meetings regularly feature original So what is the point of going into all of this? First tutorials and reviews covering a broad range of astronomy and foremost, the DAS was intended to be and still is an related topics for both beginners and experienced amateur astronomy club. It will remain an astronomy club for as long astronomers. There have been a host of presentations made as the name of the club itself remains unchanged. And, if in our monthly meetings on topics related to astronomy we’re true to our fundamental purpose TO BE AN AS- which would take several pages just to mention here. The TRONOMY CLUB and we don’t stray from that purpose, we vast majority of these talks were created from scratch by our will, as we have in the past, meet the other purposes noted own members. We’ve seen excellent presentations on a in our by-laws, automatically.

-4- The Fall Messier Half-Marathon Member Star Party Bill Hanagan “black & white” image. I use this technique to insure that no As we approached the first set of potential weekend one’s dark adaptation is compromised by my taking photos dates for the Fall Messier ½ Marathon (October 21 and 22), the at the event. weather forecasts suggested that we might get a clear night on The seeing one night or the other, but it was uncertain which it would be. was average early Several of those who attended thought the forecast looked better on but improved for Saturday night, but Gus Swartout, the MSP supervisor for the gradually over the event, made an inspired call on the weather and chose Friday evening and by night (October 21) for the event. It was a great call. We were midnight we got treated to highly transparent, clear skies for the entire event and some very good the Milky Way was easily visible over a large swath of the sky. In views of Jupiter. contrast, Saturday night ended up being clouded out. We watched as The first photo, at right, shows our host and MSP one of Jupiter’s supervisor, Gus Swartout, observing Jupiter through a 10” moons, Io, Dob. As with all of the “black and white” photos that appear emerged either here, this photo was made using a tripod mounted camera from in front of or and an exposure of several seconds, relying on a faint red from behind the flashlight to paint the subject during the exposure. The planet. At first, images were digitally processed to convert them from a the northern bright red (which is often hard to view) into a monochrome or (Continued on Pg. 6)

Notes on the Member Star Parties (MSPs) Bill Hanagan For each MSP cycle there are usually four potential dates designated in advance, but which of these is used for the event is “flex-scheduled” according to the weather using the DAS Yahoo Group email system. Please be sure to mark your calendars with the potential MSP dates that appear in the table! Obviously, you need to keep as many of these dates open as possible so when a GO announcement is made you’re in a position to attend the DAS Member Star Party regardless of which date the weather favors! The DAS has a core group of visual observers and astro-imagers who travel to Tuckahoe, Cherry Springs, West Virginia, and other dark sky sites as opportunities and the weather allow. If you’re interested in going along or meeting up on any of the road trips mentioned in the MSP schedule, let me know and I’ll fill you in on the details and keep you apprised as plans develop. Several potential road trips are listed on the schedule. Road trips require that several DAS members commit to going in advance should the weather prove favorable for both nights. When the weather forecast only looks good for one night, the MSP will often be redirected to a closer site such as the Elk River site or the Sawin observatory. While DAS members who go on road trips are often involved in both observing and imaging, these road trips are particularly valuable for visual observers because they offer the best opportunity to see deep sky objects through large aperture telescopes under dark skies. Long-time members of the DAS may remember the disappointing views they had looking through Mount Cuba’s 24” Tinsley Cassegrain telescope. Don’t let the bad views produced by that telescope affect your thinking about what can be seen through a large aperture telescope. Most of today’s big Dobs produce dramatically superior visual images thanks in part to better optics, the use of a “thin” primary mirror, and fans for controlling thermal problems. If you are truly interested in visual observing, you owe it to yourself to see first-hand what dark skies and a large aperture will allow you to see. Finally, I’d like to remind you that you need to be signed up for the DAS Yahoo Group to receive the scheduling announcements for the MSPs. A full description of the MSP program appears on the DAS website at http://delastro.org/ and in the December 2009 issue of the FOCUS.

-5- We were limited to 10” and smaller telescopes for Fall Messier Half-Marathon the event, as neither Greg Lee nor Bill McKibben were able to (Continued from Pg. 5) bring out their big Dobs and Fred DeLucia had another equatorial belt (NEB) showed a concentrated dark spot that engagement. Bill was out of action due to an automobile looked like it might be the shadow of Io. But, as we contin- accident and Greg was unable to transport his two-piece 15” ued to observe Jupiter, Io and the dark spot moved in oppo- Discovery Dob due to the retirement of his roomy old station site directions, indicating that the dark spot was in fact not wagon. The club’s outdated 17.5” Monolithic Coulter Dob is, Io’s shadow and that Io had emerged from behind Jupiter and of course, not movable without a very large pickup truck and not from in front of it. The next day, I confirmed our conclu- 3 strong volunteers, and in any case is currently being sion using the planetarium program Starry Night. worked on. In recent weeks, Jupiter’s NEB has been displaying very In the fourth photo, below, several of us who were dark elongated markings known as “barges,” though the spot that inside for a snack break posed for a group shot before we thought might be Io’s shadow appeared quite round. heading out again for another round of observing. Appearing The second red-light photo, below, shows DAS from left to right are our host for the event, Gus Swartout, member Jeff Lawrence as he hunted for Messiers about to Greg Lee, Bill Hanagan, and Jeff Lawrence. set in the west.

The third photo, below, shows yours truly back on Jupiter again much later in the evening, when we spotted a second dark spot on Jupiter’s NEB on the opposite side of Everyone had a great time. Thanks go out to Gus the planet from the first one. Swartout, our host and MSP supervisor, for arranging a wonderful evening. The next set of potential MSP dates are November 18 and 19 and the expected venue is the DAS Elk River dark- sky site where the event above was held. The remaining MSP dates for 2011 are listed in the “Notes on the Member Star Parties (MSPs)” which appear at the bottom of page 5 in this issue of the FOCUS.

The Messier Chart of objects at right are the targets sought during events of the type hosted by the DAS featured in this story. For more info on Messier objects go to http:// messier.seds.org/ or click on the photo at right.

-6- ASTRO-PHOTO of the Comet Hale Bopp 4-2-97 MONTH Photo Credit: DAS Member Don Shedrick

Taken on the evening of 4/2/97 with an Olympus OM-1,Vivitar 70 - 150mm, f 3.8 zoom @ 150mm, Kodak E1600 slide film, exposure f 3.8 for 120 sec., piggy backed on an equatorial mount

Member has Telescope for Sale Miichael Enright Swap Table at the Dec. I am DAS member Michael Enright.. The point of this letter is that I’m older, retired, and basically have lost interest X’mas Meeting/Party... in using my telescope and I would like to sell it. I would like to sell it to someone in DAS because I trust them enough to let them take the telescope out and put it through its paces. BRING YOUR STUFF!! I would like to get something in the neighborhood of $950 but Tom Sidowski after you take it out and use it we can talk. This is just a reminder to all DAS members that we It hasn’t been used in a few years. The telescope will be having a swap table set up at the DAS’ annual itself is an 8" LX200GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope from December X-Mas meeting/party. So start thinking now of that Meade with an Autostar II Hand Controller. There are some astronomical equipment, books, telescopes, binoculars, accessories that I’ve picked up over the years and some software, etc. that have been collecting dust. Something things that come with the telescope: you’ve been thinking of getting rid out, to sell or just give i) Three instruction manuals away. Maybe someone else could put those items to good ii ) Autostar Suite Software for the computer. This soft- use! So check what you’ve got, and bring it to the December ware has over 19 million objects, can be updated to your PC meeting swap table. from Meade, and allows you to control the telescope from your PC. iii) LPI (Lunar Planetary Imager). Takes pictures of the with upgrades moon, planets, brighter deep-sky objects, exposure control ii) Six Celestron eyepieces with nine filters and a carrying from .001 to 15 seconds, image appears on pc, takes case multiple exposures, etc. iii) Something called a Scopesaver which is a metal plate iv) Three ring binders with instructions for that goes between the tripod (legs) and the telescope, a) Meade Instruments Autostar Suite which has holes in it to hold eyepieces and a place to put b) Meade LPI Camera Program The Basics the handheld control and another plate that can be attached c) Meade Autostar Image Processing for Windows to that plate to hold a laptop computer or book. I’ve added: I can be reached at the email address i) JMI telescope carrying case for a Meade 8 inch LX200 [email protected]. -7- - Photo Credit: by DAS Member Rob Lancaster. Taken with a 10” Newtonian scope made by Rob using a Canon Digital Rebel XSi and acquired on his Macbook Pro using Equinox Pro, stacked and processed in Canon Digital Photo Professional and Lynkeos.

MEMBERSHIP EXPIRATION NOTICES DAS FORUM / E-MAIL SITE ON YAHOO Bill McKibben Don Shedrick If you receive the FOCUS by email, you will be This is a restricted e-mail service for use by DAS notified of your membership renewal by email. If you receive members for DAS purposes. To use this site, go to http:// the FOCUS in the mail and the mailing label on the envelope groups.yahoo.com; search for Delaware Astronomical containing your FOCUS is marked with red marker, your Society; and click on the link that comes up. To join, you membership is expiring or has expired. Please see the must have a Yahoo ID and password; if you don’t, you can renewal form at the end of the FOCUS for additional renewal register at this time by following Yahoo’s instructions. You information. Also see the “Magazine Subscriptions” section will then be allowed to “Join the group” upon clicking in that in the FOCUS for information about subscription renewal. box. You must then register for the DAS group and add your profile by clicking on “add new profile” and completing the form. When adding or editing your profile, you will need to LIBRARY NEWS Glenn Bentley enter your actual name in the “Real Name” box so you can be identified as a DAS member so Don Shedrick can approve your NEW Members are invited to drop by the library after the November meeting to peruse our shelves for interesting application to join the DAS group, and everyone will know to materials for the cold nights ahead. whom they are communicating. Finally, specify your desired email address for delivery of messages. Note: you may choose to not have your name and email address displayed to anyone other than DAS ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP members who are members of the Yahoo DAS email group. DAS members have the opportunity to become For more detailed instructions, go to the DAS members in the Astronomical League at the discounted rate website under DAS Resource Links. of $7.50 per year. Benefits include the Reflector (a quarterly newsletter), observing programs, awards, discounts on books and educational materials. For questions on joining the MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS Bill McKibbon Astronomical League, contact Lynn King at meetings, call SKY & TELESCOPE will be processed by the club 302-764-8816 or email [email protected]. for the first subscription year only. The publisher should then send renewal notices directly to the subscriber at the club rate of $32.95. The subscriber can then pay the publisher directly. MT. CUBA LENDING LIBRARY Paul Stratton NOTE: If you receive a renewal notice for an amount other than $32.95, check to see if there are any special NEW From the MCAO Lending Library: offers included in the rate. Also check the renewal date Book of the month—Naked Eye Astronomy—Great for the printed on the magazine address label. These ‘special First time observer. Learn how to locate the basic constella- offers’ are likely to occur several months prior to the renewal tions by eye before using glasses or a scope. date. However, if you are approaching your renewal date and ALSO: have not received the correct renewal notice, contact me and Please remember that the lending time period is 3 months. I will process the renewal through the club. We have some books that have been on loan for several ASTRONOMY will continue to be processed by the months. If you’d like to keep the book longer, please let me club for all subscription years. know by either re-signing the sheet or email me at Please see the renewal form at the end of the [email protected]. FOCUS for additional renewal information.

DAS Main Meeting Topics and Speakers for the Balance of 2011 November 15: Backyard Astronomy with your Observatory, a review and analysis of the various types of amateur observatories by Ron Worden. December 20: One mini-talk: Title to be Determined by Sheila Vincent, plus the DAS Christmas Party

-8- 3rd in the Recent Series of On-Site AP SIG Meetings Hosted by DAS Member Ron Worden at his Home Observatory Bill Hanagan The AP-SIG met on Friday, November 4 in the third satisfied with all of them, though he particularly likes the ST- of the “on-site” series of meetings being held this year. This V because of its flexibility and its ability to take extremely time the meeting place was the home and backyard observa- short exposures for lunar and solar imaging. tory of DAS member Ron Worden. The first photo, below, After attending to some initial setup requirements, shows, from left to right, DAS members Jeff Lawrence, Rick the group retired to the warmth of Ron’s family room for Davis, Ron Worden (our host), Bill McKibben, and Bill Hanagan, further discussion and to see Ron’s demonstration. all gathered around the permanent pier of Ron’s observatory. The second photo, below, right was taken in Ron’s family room shortly after Diane Metzger arrived. Diane is standing to the right of center and Ron Worden is seated behind her at the controls. Jeff Lawrence, Rick Davis and Bill McKibben appear from left to right in the foreground. All of the control informa- tion and the resulting images are dupli- cated on the 36” TV to the left of center for the group to see. Ron plans to upgrade his old CRT TV to a larger flat panel display in the near future.

Ron has an excellent example of a small roll-off observatory. The walls and the roof of the observatory, which are partially visible in the background on the right, have a small footprint and roll off to the right as a single unit. In the nearby garage, which is partially visible in the background on the left side of the photo, Ron has a control center that The next AP SIG meeting is tentatively scheduled for houses the electronics required to run the telescope as well either November 11 or 12 at the Sawin Observatory, where I’ll as the autoguiding and imaging CCD cameras. The connect- be demonstrating planetary imaging with Jupiter as the subject. ing cables all run through an aluminum conduit that is visible This will be the fourth in our series of “On-Site” meetings to be directly behind Ron at floor level. The entire imaging rig conducted this year and I’ll be the host. As usual, this on-site canbe controlled from the garage control center, but it can meeting will be Flex-Scheduled according to the weather. The also be controlled from a computer in Ron’s family room seeing needs to be above average or better as indicated by the thanks to a hardwired network connection. Clear Sky Chart for MCAO in order to obtain data that will lead Mounted on the pier is a 10” Meade SCT (with to a good quality image of Jupiter, so this meeting may be optional focal reducers) and a Robofocuser, as well as an postponed until a good night becomes available. Orion ST-80 refractor and Orion CCD autoguider. For Even if you aren’t an AP-SIG member, you’re imaging, Ron uses an SBIG ST-7, an SBIG ST-V, and a welcome to attend the AP-SIG meetings to learn more. Be Starlight Express MX-7C. All three are cooled CCD cameras sure to sign up for the DAS Yahoo Group in order to receive that are designed for astronomical imaging. Ron bought all the email announcements that provide the exact date and of these cameras used on Astromart and has been very time of the meetings.

FOCUS uses plenty of photos So how about you?? HAVE ANY in banners & elsewhere each issue, and OLD or NEW ASTROPHOTOS?? we want to use YOURS...not Hubble’s!! PLEASE email to FOCUS editor Photos need NOT be current. (or tell us where they can be found on the web if your photos reside there) -9- FOCUS Special Feature on the OUTSTANDING AstroPhotography of DAS Members How Equipment Level Affects the Range of

Astronomical Objects that can be Imaged Bill Hanagan Background Depending on what astronomical object you wish to photograph or image, the equipment you would want might range from a relatively inexpensive camera and tripod arrangement, such as that seen in photo 1, to a simple equatorial mount and telescope like that seen in photo 2, all of the way up to and even beyond the sophisticated (and expensive) autoguider equipped imaging rig seen in photo 3.

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3

The table below summarizes the progressive relationship between the level of equipment employed and the number of astronomical objects you can expect to image without serious blurring.

(Continued on Next Page)

-10- How Equipment Affects Range of Objects Imaged (Continued from Preceeding Page)

One of the most important points to take away from Of course, if we could also double the aperture as this table is that you can get started in astro imaging by well as the focal length of the telescope the same exposure shooting a few relatively bright and large astronomical time would work for both telescopes and we would only need objects with inexpensive equipment, such as lunar eclipses. to reduce mount errors by 4x. However, doubling the Then later, after you develop your skills, move up to better aperture has significant costs as well. and more expensive equipment in order to image a wider One other interesting point that’s worth making here range of objects. However, to image the large majority of is that some sort of image can sometimes be obtained with deep sky objects well, you will want an autoguider equipped lower level equipment, but that image won’t necessarily be mount with a cooled astronomical CCD camera. equal to an image produced using better equipment. For Another important principal that’s extremely impor- example, photo 5 shows an image of the tant to recognize is that using a longer focal length lens or shot with a 50 mm lens and a DSLR mounted on a tripod! telescope places vastly greater demands on the telescope The galaxy appears in the upper half of the image just to the mount. right of center. To illustrate, let’s look at a simple example. Sup- pose a barely acceptable level of blurring occurs due the constant drift of the image over the detector. This could be caused by polar misalignment as well as a number of other errors. The apparent blur size caused by a constant angular shift in the aim of the telescope relative to the subject being imaged can be predicted from the following equation. Blur size = k • á • t • F2 where: á = the angular drift in the aim of the camera relative to the subject per second; t = exposure time in seconds; F = the focal length of the lens or telescope in use; and k = a proportionality constant. In this case, doubling the focal length F will increase blurring by 22 or a factor of 4x. But, we must also account for the change in exposure time that the second telescope Now check out the following link to see another image demands. If the two telescopes have the same aperture and of the Andromeda Galaxy made with a 20” Ritchey Chretien the second telescope has twice the focal length, the expo- mounted on a Paramount ME equipped with an autoguider. sure time will also need to be increased by a factor of 4 upon http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/M31NMmosaic.html switching to the second telescope. So, simply doubling the Though the first image certainly shows the Androm- focal length of the telescope that we use, without also eda Galaxy, it is in no way equal to the image seen at the link. increasing the aperture, would require us to reduce mount The point here is that the image quality that you can errors by a factor of 16 in order to get back to a barely hope to achieve is very definitely dependent on the quality of acceptable level of blurring! the equipment you use. -11- FOCUS Special Feature on the OUTSTANDING AstroPhotography of DAS Members

Yiwu, China Observing Site for August 2008 Solar Eclipse - Photo by DAS Member Don Shedrick using an Olympus E-500, 1/125s at f/8.0 at 45.0mm, iso100.

Don Shedrick

Don has chased eclipses of the sun across the face of the globe, from China in 2008 featured here, to Egypt in 2006, on the Indian Ocean in 2002, Zambia in 2001, and on the Black Sea in 1999. He is, without a doubt, a world traveler in general and an eclipse chaser in particular. Here are some of his most recent photographic eclipse efforts from Yiwu, China in 2008. There are more photographs from this trip at http://www.pbase.com/firstlightimaging/total_solar_eclipse_yiwu_china or from Don’s many other adventures at http://www.pbase.com/firstlightimaging/root. Don in Yiwu, China in August, 2008 and “Lovin’ It.” Note: All images are the copyright of Don Shedrick, and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

Don’s solar observing and photographic equipment is upper left. above, Don awaits totality, and at left Don is at work and enjoying the 2008 total solar eclipse which 2008 Total Solar Eclipse Prominences - close up appears at the top of the photo. Olympus E-500, 1/500s, f/8.0 at 200.0mm, iso200

Total Solar Eclipse Outer Corona Composite Image, Yiwu, China The image at right is a composite image created in Photoshop by stacking 13 separate exposures exposed from 1/2000 sec to 1/4 sec. This enables the image to capture far greater dynamic range than any one exposure can record. The result is very close to what the eye can see during the eclipse. The outer corona with prominent streamers symetrically distributed in an east - west direction, extending out nearly 2 solar diameters, can be seen. In addition, there are fainter and much shorter streamers extending out from the solar poles. A solar prominence can be seen at the 2 o’clock position. Olympus E-500 ,Olympus Dugutal Zuiko 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 @ 200mm,ISO 200 -12- Sun Before Start of Eclipse Solar Eclipse Start - First Contact Solar Eclipse Partial Phase

Solar Eclipse Partial Phase Solar Eclipse Partial Phase Solar Eclipse Partial Phase

Solar Eclipse Partial Phase - Solar Eclipse Totality - Totality Moments Away Sun’s Chromosphere

Total Solar Eclipse Inner Corona-Olympus E-500, 1/125s, f/8.0 at 200.0mm, iso200

Total Solar Eclipse Middle Corona Olympus E-500, 1/30s, f/8.0 at 200.0mm, iso200

Total Solar Eclipse Outer Corona- As exposure time is increased, the fainter outer corona becomes more visible, but the brighter inner corona becomes overexposed by the camera. No camera, film or digital, can capture the wide range of brightnesses in an eclipse in a single exposure photograph. This was my first eclipse using a digital camera, and I noticed the exposure range with the digital is less than with film. Olympus E-500, 1/15s, f/8.0 at 200.0mm, iso200 -13- Two Leonid Meteors streaking through Cassio- peia in 2001 - Photo by DAS Member Bill Hanagan using a Canon F1 on a tripod, 7 min. at f/2.0 at 50mm, on Kodachrome 100 film later digitized & reimaged using an Olympus C3040Z camera. There are two meteors running parallel, one in the middle and a lighter one near the right edge.

DAS President & AstroPhoto Bill Hanagan Special Insterest Group Chair

The Moon image at left was captured through a 10” SCT, f/6 telescope with a Canon EOS 20D DSLR at prime focus, ISO 800 at 1/500 sec. Image captured in October, 2007.

Bill captured this image of the Sun using a 3” acrhomatic refractor converted to a solar prominence telescope. An Olympus C3040Z digital camera was used handheld in an afocal arrangement at a 1/250 sec. shutter speed, f 1.8, ISO 100. Image captured in May, 2003.

Wide angled view of the field and sky above in October 2008 during a joint DAS This image of Mars was and DelMarVa produced by aligning and Skygazers MSP. stacking over 100 individual Jupiter can be images extracted from seen above center. video obtained with a Image taken with a Phillips ToUCam 840 Pro tripod mounted webcam equipped with an Canon 50D DSLR, IR cut off filter. Mars had 30 sec. exposure, an angular size of 6.2 arc 12mm focal length, seconds at the time. f/4.0, ISO 2500. Obtained at a rate of 5 frames per second and processed in Registax. An f/6 10” SCT telescope was used with a 2x Televue barlow ahead of the webcam to raise the effective focal length to ~3m. Image acqiured in March, 2006 with the assistance of Rob Lancaster.

-14- Note: All images are the copyright of Bill Hanagan, and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

Bill took this image of the Lagoon Nebula with a self-built 4.5” Newtonian telescope mounted on an old, tracking CG- 5 equatorial mount. Image was acquired in May, 2008 at a DAS, Cherry Springs Star Party. A Canon 20D DSLR Camera , at ISO 800 for a 1 min. exposure was Bill captured this Leonid meteor streaking passed M44, the used. A longer in 2001. A Canon F1 camera, 50 mm 1.4 lens at f/2.0 exposure or for a 2 minute exposure on Kodachrome 100 film. The camera was higher ISO “piggy backed” onto a tracking SCT telescope. would be needed to reveal the fainter details of the nebula. A longer focal length telescope would also help.

This image of M42, the Great Nebula in Orion, was taken using Bill McKibben’s 8” f/10 SCT with a 2000mm focal length using a Canon EOS 20D DSLR camera at prime focus. An exposure of 60 seconds was used at ISO 800. Many shots get discarded using this technique for long exposure times.

This image of Saturn was captured using a Celestron CG-11 SCT telescope and a Canon EOS 50D DSLR and 2x Televue “Big Barlow” lens This image, taken in Vail, Colorado in September, 2011, is of the to capture several video Andromeda Galaxy, which can be seen near the top to the sequences with about right of middle of the picture. It was taken with a tripod mounted 1800 frames each. The Canon EOS 50D DSLR with a 50mm, f1.8 lens, an exposure time best frames were then of 30 seconds at f/2.0, and an ISO setting of 800. selected using the program “Virtual Dub.” These frames were then stacked using “Registax V4.”

-15- Jupiter - Photo taken in October, 2011 by DAS Member Rob Lancaster using a self-built 10” Reflector with a mirror ground by Rob at the DelMarVa Stargazers Mirror Making Seminar. This he combined with his Canon 60D DSLR in movie mode at 60 frames per second, stacked using “Registax>”

Rob Lancaster

Note: All images are the copyright of Rob Lancaster, and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

The Messier 57 photo above was also taken in July 2011 at Mt Cuba Observatory with the same equipment described at left.

Ron captured this picture of The Andromeda Galaxy Messier 31 in July, 2011 at Mt. Cuba using his self-built 10” Reflector and Canon 60D DSLR on an LXD55 tracking mount.

The Messier 51a

The Messier 27 photo above was also taken in July 2011 at Mt Cuba Observatory with the same equipment described in the photo at top. The Transit of Venus at right was taken with a camcorder, a solar filter, and an LX200 telescope in 2004. -16- The Messier 42 was taken through the Celestron The North American Nebula NGC 7000 photo was taken in June 2011 telescope on the roof of Mount Cuba in 2009. It is actually an HDR with Rob’s new Canon 60D DSLR camera on a LXD55 tracking mount: composite shot of several images taken with Rob’s Canon Xsi camera.

I started taking astrophotos in High School in the 90’s using 35 mm film and my Ricoh SLR camera. Some I took in color and had Wal Mart develop them and some I took in black and white and then developed them myself in a darkroom. I didn’t have too many spectacular shots from that era, but I did have one photo that I took from a little tiny tripod while I was going for a walk at my aunt and uncle’s house in Tennessee that I felt was good enough to enter into a contest. It is a photo of comet hale-bopp, at left. You can even see the blue ion tail. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good scan of it. This is the best I can do at this time:

In College I took a number of pictures in a research grade observatory at Dickinson College in Carlisle PA. I did some of my best Astrophotos during this time. I wrote the software that was being used for controlling the observations at Dickinson and to test out the software, I took a number of interesting pictures of different objects. All the pictures at right and below were taken with an AP7P camera on a 24 inch telescope made by DFM engineering. These are some of Messier 64 my favorites: The Messier 1

Spiral Galaxy NGC891 Reflexion Nebula Messier78

-17- Mars - Photo taken in October, 2005 by DAS Member Ron Worden using an F30, STV Camera w/color wheel.

Note: All images are the copyright of Ron Worden, and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

Ron Worden

Venus Transiting the Sun - Ron’s equipment shown Photo above was captured on here are, at left, his Meade June 8, 2004 at Myrtle Beach LX200, 10” F/10, 2500mm South Carolina. Photo was focal length with an Orion taken using 10X50 binoculars Auto-Guider on the Orion on a tripod with someone 80mm Short Tube Refractor; holding a full spectrum solar above is a Coronado Solar- filter. A digital camera was max 40; Control Room in gar- used set to 2x zoom held up to age at top right; and Control binocular eyepiece Room in my home, right, where the computer in the garage can be controlled in comfort.

Messier 57 the Ring Nebula - Photo taken in June, 2008, ten - 20sec exposures were stacked from an F6.5, MX7C camera.

Sun with Solar Prominances captured with a Coronado SolarMax 40 telescope with a Canon 40D DSLR camera. Ron’s “Snobie Observatory” website can Saturn taken with be found at http://www.unique-treasures.com/. an STV Camera Check it out by clicking on that web The Hercules Globular address above! Cluster - Taken June, 2008, 19 - ten second exposures were stacked from an F6.5, MX7C camera.

-18- The Sun - two photos Messier 45 the or “Seven Sisters” taken with a Canon 40D above and DSLR with telephoto lens for a 30 second exposure. left with a group of sunspots. Color Shot Messier 27 The taken using Dumbbell Nebula - full spectrum Photo taken September, solar filter 2009, 17 - 30second and lunar unguided exposures filter taken were stacked from an with an F6.5, ST7 camera. STV Camera.

The following four black and white Moon shots were taken with an STV Camera through Ron’s 10” LX200 with a Focal Length of 1625mm.

-19- The Horsehead and Flame Nebulas - Photo taken by DAS Member Rick Davis. The Horsehead Nebula at right, also known as Barnard 33is a dark nebula in Orion. The Flame Nebula or NGC 2024, at left, is an emission nebula in the same constellation.

Rick Davis

The first two images are of Messier 57 The Ring Nebula. The picture on the left is color. The one on the right is the luminance channel of the color image stretched to show a dim background galaxy to the lower right. Both were taken using a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2.

Messier 74 is a face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation . This photo is a 110 min. exposure of M74 using a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2.

Note: All images are the copyright of Rick Davis, and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

-20- Messier 27 The Dumbbell Nebula - Photo above taken with a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2.

NGC 3628, also known as Sarah’s Galaxy, above, is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the Constellation Leo. Photo taken with a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2.

The Cocoon Nebula abpve is a reflection / emission nebula and NGC 7635 The Bubble Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Caldwell 19 object in the constellation Cygnus. Photo taken with a Cassiopeia. Photo above taken with a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2. Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2.

NGC 891, also known as Caldwell 23, is an edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy. Photo above taken with a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2.

NGC 1514 also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula is a planetary nebula. Photo above taken with a Meade 8” SCT operating at f/6.2. -21- Lunar Eclipse 2000 - Photo taken by DAS Member Willis Grenier who is currently residing in Colorado. Captured on 1-20-00 Pentax Spotmatic at optically reduced (f/6.3) prime focus of driven Celestron C8, Fujichrome ISO 1600 color slide film @ ½ second exposure from Conifer, CO.

Willis Grenier

“Orion / Leonid Bolide Detail” - 11-18-01 Pentax Spotmatic 28mm @ f/3.5 ISO 800 Fujicolor Professional Press P-800 color negative film – pushed 1 stop @ 2 minute exposure from South Park (near Fairplay) CO.

“Darkness in the Caribbean – Baily’s Beads” - 02-28-98 Pentax Spotmatic at optically reduced (f/6.3) prime focus of driven Celestron C-8, ISO 125 color negative film @ 1/1000 second exposure from Boca Tabla, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.

“Chena Aurora 7” - 03-19-04 Pentax 6X7 camera 105mm @ f2.4 ISO 800 Kodak Portra Professional color slide film @ 60 second exposure from Chena Hot Springs (north of Fairbanks), AK.

Note: All images are the copyright of Willis Grenier, “Coronal Experience” - 7-11-91 Pentax and may not be reproduced in Spotmatic at optically reduced (f/5) prime any manner without focus of driven Celestron C8, ISO 125 Kodak written consent. Ektar color negative film @ 1/125th second exposure from Bahia Chileno (near San Jose del Cabo), Mexico.

-22- “The Color of Night / Hale Bopp 10” - 3-29-97 Pentax Spotmatic 135mm @ f/3.5 piggyback on driven Celestron C8, ISO 400 Kodak Ektar color negative film @ 4 minute exposure from Conifer, CO.

“Hyakutake IV / Blaze” - 3-23-96 Pentax Spotmatic 55mm @ f/2 piggyback on driven Celestron C8, hypered Kodak Technical Pan film @ 5 minute exposure from Conifer, CO.

“NGC 891 in Andromeda” - 11-11-99 SBIG ST-8 through driven 16-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at f/ 6.3, 3-300 second exposures, dark and flat frame calibration, image manipulation using Maxim DL, from Kitt Peak, AR.

“Lunar Eclipse Montage” - 12-21-10 Nikon D5000 at optically reduced (f/6.3) prime focus of driven Celestron C-8, chip sensitivity ISO 200-400 @ various exposures from Conifer, CO.

http://www.astrophotographs.com/ is Willis’ award-winning instructional site of astrophotography and nature- centered narratives. Check it out by clicking above!

-23- Wayne King

M81, M82 - Telescope NP 127 - f/5.2; Camera ST 4000 XM Photographer: Wayne King, Location: Levittown, PA

M81 detail from photo above- Telescope NP 127 - f/5.2; Camera ST 4000 XM M82 detail from photo above - Telescope NP 127 - f/5.2; Camera ST 4000 XM

-24- Sun Hydrogen Alpha 8-20-11 - Lunt I.S100T - F3.5; Camera ST 4000 XM Photographer: Wayne King, Location: Levittown, PA

Sun Hydrogen Alpha 8-20-11 detail from photo above - Lunt I.S100T - F3.5

Sun Hydrogen Alpha 8-20-11 detail from photo aboeve- Lunt I.S100T - F3.5 Note: All images are the copyright of Wayne King and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

-25- Note: All images below are the copyright of Hank Bouchelle, and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

Hank Bouchelle

The Sun 11-6-11: Note the major sunspot structures on the left. There The Sun 11-8-11: Compare this photo taken at the same time of are two more sunspots at 5 o’clock, and another small one on the right. day with the one taken two days before. Both photos taken with a The Sun rotates, but is not solid, so the sunspots will appear to drift 300 mm telephoto lens on an ordinary digital camera and solar filter. across the Sun at different rates. Call for Organizing a Meteor “Students in Judi Provencal’s Observing Group Hank Bouchelle Observational Astronomy class As I mentioned at last month’s DAS meeting, I would like to form an informal meteor observing group, open recently photographed an explo- to families and casual participants. In the course of an average evening, one can observe 8-10 meteors per hour. ding star using the telescope at (Unfortunately, “meteor showers” are a late-night event.) My goal is to help individuals to learn the sky and to note the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory.” paths of meteors. Our observations can be forwarded to the The brightest North American Meteor Network and other groups to become in the last 20 years appears as part of the scientific literature. What a science fair project for the bright dot with tiny youngsters! rays in the lower center of this image, Further, thousands of tons of meteor matter fall into taken by students in Earth’s atmosphere every day. Much of this matter is iron. Judy Provencal’s UD An activity that can be organized into research: Periodically Observational Astronomy class, using collect water from your downspout. Meteorite dust rains the telescope at Mt. down on your roof, too, and is carried to home downspouts. Cuba Astronomical Observatory. The If this water/dust is collected, a magnet wrapped in a baggie, supernova is located in tied to a piece of string and dipped into the barrel, will collect the in this iron dust. Carefully measured, this dust can provide the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). astronomers with large amounts of information. Judy has I would very much like to get a group together (the been a frequent presenter to the DAS more the merrier!) to become involved in either or both of at meetings over the these projects. Individuals, families and teachers welcome! years. You can read the entire story by clicking on http:// My contact information follows: Hank Bouchelle: www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/oct/supernova-photo-100711.html. 302-983-7830 -- email address: [email protected] -26- EDSCORP 6” f/8 TELESCOPES FOR SALE by the CLUB Two classic telescopes have been restored by DAS members and the Club is offering them for sale. The scopes will be on display at the October meeting for your inspection. Two clean scopes in the classic style for a beginner or collector. Below appear the individual ads with pictures of these fine instruments being sold by the DAS.

DAS members have restored and refurbished two classic Edscorp (Edmund Scientific) Telescopes which the club is offering for sale. Both are 6" f/8 Newtonians on motorized German Equatorial mounts, have rack & pinion focuser, and a 6x finder. One has a mirror which has been refigured by the experts at the Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making workshop and is newly aluminized. The other’s mirror was tested by the personnel at MAMM who determined that refiguring was not called for. The coating is original but clean. Technical specs for both mirrors will be provided to the buyers. We have even assembled some Edmund materials which show how to use the drive motors, how to collimate, etc. Contact Tom Sidowski (239-1844 or [email protected]) with any questions or to reserve your selection.

Edscorp Telescope #1

1/6 wave primary mirror (tested at the Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making workshop). Coating is orginal and clean. 3" setting circles (slightly broken) One Eyepiece

FOR SALE $150.00

Edscorp Telescope #2

1/8 wave primary mirror (refigured at the Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making workshop). Coating is newly aluminized. 3" setting circles One Eyepiece

FOR SALE $195.00

-27- DAS CONTACTS Please call any of us with your concerns! Board members: Education: Bob Karcha -- 302-999-9509 Officers Observing: Greg Lee -- 762-5358 or President: Bill Hanagan -- 302-239-0949 or [email protected], also, What’s Up? [email protected], also, ATM and Observatory: Tom Sidowski -- 302-239-1884 or Astronomical Photography Special [email protected] Interest Group, By-Laws, programs & Library Glenn Bentley -- 610-869-0706 Star Parties Board Members at Large Vice-President: John Case -- 302-838-1568 or [email protected] David Swartout -- 836-4618 or [email protected] Secretary: Lynn King -- 302-764-8816 or also, Awards Committee Chair [email protected], also, Messier Club Terry Lisansky Treasurer: William McKibben -- [email protected] Bob Mentzger Sky & Telescope & Astronomy Other Chairs: magazine issues Sheila Vincent --302-322-4739, Ad-hoc star parties Standing Chairs Publications: Joe Neuberger -- 410-398-7394 or MCAO Web Page: www.MountCuba.org [email protected] also, FOCUS contri- DAS Web Page: www.DelAstro.org butions / submissions FOR NEW MEMBERSHIPS or RENEWALS If you have questions, call any of the member representatives listed. Otherwise, just check the appropriate boxes and complete the form below. Print it or cut it off and send it with your check to Bill McKibben at his address on the form. The magazine prices are group rates to DAS members. If you’re just joining us for the first time, THANKS, and welcome to the DAS! ------MEMBERSHIP or RENEWAL FORM Please make checks payable to DAS and forward to: Bill McKibben, DAS Treasurer, 27 Mary Jane Lane, Elkton, MD 21921

New Member Senior/Family Membership $20.00 Renewal Junior membership (16/under) $10.00 Astronomy Magazine $34.00 Sky & Telescope Magazine $34.00 (*First Year Only) NAME______

STREET ADDRESS______Total Submitted $

CITY______STATE______ZIP______TELEPHONE______

E-MAIL ADDRESS______*See the “Magazine Subscriptions” section in the FOCUS for information about Sky & Telescope subscription renewal

The Last Word. . . Whew! What an Issue. Think I’ll go have a drink

FOCUS editor now that it’s put to bed. Joe Neuberger