29° 39'N, 82° 21'W

FirstLight Newsletter of the

Alachua Astronomy Club September 1997

Amateur Astronomy Magazine — Don Loftus AAC Treasurer Don Loftus has found a new magazine about his

favorite hobby, telescope making

As many of you may know, I'm interested in telescope making. It is a

fun and frustrating hobby. Because of the frustrating part, there is a tendency to have a voracious appetite for any information on how to make a telescope. That is the main reason I started subscribing to Amateur Astronomy magazine.

This is a quarterly (four times a year) publication that costs $18 per year, $32 for 2 years and $45 for three years. I had heard very good things about this magazine on the "Amateur Telescope Makers" listserve and decided it was worth a try. I purchased all the back copies and subscribed for one year because I hate it when an article refers to a previous issue and I don't have it.

Besides it didn't cost that much, about $63 total. I'm covered up until issue #16 (#15 just came out). It is published by Tom Clark, previous owner of Techtron Telescopes, out of Sarasota, FL. He owned the 36 inch "Yard Scope" that you may have seen in S&T or Astronomy magazines.

So, was it worth the effort? I will give the magazine a very strong thumbs up! It covers some aspects of telescope making, mostly the construction end, and not the mirror or lens making. I haven't read all the issues yet but have glanced at many and so far have not seen anything about grinding or Foucault testing or Ronchi screens. But that's OK. Once you get past the optical part, there is still the telescope

FirstLight: Newsletter of the Alachua Astronomy Club Page 2

itsslf to make. Seeing what others have done, reading about their problems and philosophy, gives you ideas for your own scope. This information is probably more important than the mirror grinding part because optical information is so readily available. But what makes a good Dobsonian or equatorial, or what materials work best, or how do you make a 30" Dob portable; now this is the stuff that is hard to find.

As you have noticed from the title, the information between the covers is more than just telescope making, it covers the whole gamut of what it means to be an amateur astronomer. There are articles about the major star parties and what types of scopes people brought, Star People (those involved in our hobby in a big way), test reports on equipment, personal reports from individuals on great observing sites, reports from other amateurs from around the world, and just

about anything else connected with our hobby.

It is a good little magazine (about 65-70 pages) that really fills a gap not meet by the BIG two, slick astronomy magazines. The photos are in black and white, but are usually well done, and there is very, very little advertising! Amateurs are encouraged to send in material for the magazine (after all, it is for us, about us) and club newsletters are most welcome. They believe that astronomy clubs are the backbone of amateur astronomy, and you know something, they're right.

At the next meeting I will bring in some more issues for people to look at. If you are already convinced and want to subscribe, here is the pertinent information:

Amateur Astronomy 3544 Oak Grove Drive Sarasota, FL 34243 (941) 355-2423 (phone and fax) Email: aatclark@aol.com

FirstLight: Newsletter of the Alachua Astronomy Club Page 3

From the Sidewalk Saturday, August 23, 1997

On the way home from Pensacola, Gwen and I stopped by Grayton Beach (in the panhandle) in hopes of having a quiet star party. We arrived just after dark and set up across from the "Red Bar," the local hot spot. Before I had finished setting up, there was a crowd of 20 or more people waiting to look. The crowd kept coming as word spread through the nearby restaurants. For the next 4 hours, we never got a break. Over 200 folks got their first close up view of Jupiter and Saturn that evening. It was a great night... clear, calm, not too hot and lots of happy "customers."

Friday, August 29, 1997

About once every few months I take my two boys to play at the Reitz Union at the University of Florida. While they play video games I usually set up the telescope. Tonight was busier than usual — 73 customers! Most were students, of course, and a number of astronomy students. My favorite comment, "I always thought that was the North Star!" while looking at Jupiter.

An interesting arrangement of

— Randy Palmer Jupiter's moons tonight, with all four major moons on the same side and in the correct order and at approximately their maximum distance from the planet. Also, about mid evening, lo and Europa passed so close to each other that they appeared as one for over half an hour. The Great Red Spot was easily visible but not sharply defined, more like a darker blotch in the southern equatorial belt. So impressed with Jupiter, one couple hung around for two hours, while waiting for Saturn to rise and then one more hour while it rose higher. I gave them each a photo souvenir for being my longest customer!

The highlight of the evening was a visit by John Moran, chief photographer for the Gainesville Sun. He had passed by earlier and returned with a photo he made of Comet Hale-Bopp. It is the best Hale-Bopp shot I've seen. Check it out at the September club meeting, Tuesday, September 9.

Star Party, Saturday, August 30

Some clouds...more clouds...lots of clouds...rain! Let's try it again on September 6th at Bob's house. #

FirstLight: Newsletter of the Alachua Astronomy Club Page 4

Club Star Parties — dates & locations

• September 6 (Saturday Night); rain date. At Bob Jacob's house south of Alachua.

• September 27 (Saturday Night); rain date October 4th. At Bob Jacob's house south of Alachua.

Star Party Location

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FirstLight: Newsletter of the Alachua Astronomy Club Page 5

Minutes of August Council Meeting — Bud Cridlin

August 5, 1997, at Morrison's Cafeteria,

Education Committee: Gary Liljegren is busy working on a major project, but there is nothing currently going on during the summer vacation period.

Speakers: Regular meeting speaker for August 12th will be Howard Cohen; the topic will be Lowell Observatory. Bud Cridlin will do a ten minute talk on nebulae. John Oliver will speak September 9th on calendars and Don Loftus will do the ten minute short topic. The October 14th meeting will feature Dr. Elizabeth Lada, speaking on a topic related to star formation and Randy Palmer will do the ten minute short topic about care and maintenance of the club telescopes.

Star Parties: After the August 12th regular meeting, we plan to go Bob Jacobs' for the Perseid watch. The next regular star party at Bob's will be August 30th with September 6th as the rain date.

r, Gainesville FL

Moonlight event is scheduled for Saturday, October 11th. More on this topic at the September 9th meeting.

Upcoming Events: Don Loftus will have the Messier Scavenger Hunt Certificates ready for the August 12th regular club meeting. Randy Palmer will hand them out.

Other Business: Pam Mydock will call Dave Godman and Mark Cowan for information about the club for the AAC ten year anniversary. Don Loftus will submit an article to Amateur Astronomy magazine about AAC participation at the Rosemary Hill open house for Comet Hale-Bopp. The council agrees that the Messier Scavenger Hunt is a good star party activity and the next Messier event is tentatively scheduled January 24th, possibly at Rosemary Hill.

New AAC Officers: We will solicit for next year's club officers at the September 9th regular club meeting.

Moonlight Walk: The date for the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens Fall ft

FirstLight: Newsletter of the Alachua Astronomy Club Page 6

Minutes from August AAC Meeting — Bud Cridlin

Regular meeting, August 12, 1997 Doyle Conner Bldg., Gainesville FL

Vice President Howard Cohen conducted the meeting tonight.

Visitors at tonight's meeting are: Troy Ayers, M. Whitlock, and Burckaan Gurgun.

Howard handed out copies of the club roster for members to check for accuracy.

Treasurer's Report: Don Loftus gave the report — $962.

Randy Palmer presented certificates for the participants at the July 12th Messier Scavenger Hunt. The following list is of AAC members who participated: (Editor's note: let me know if I omitted anyone)

Don Loftus and family Bud Cridlin John Brandorff Bob Jacobs David and My Green Alicia and Sasha Kemper Pam Mydock and Duane Sandene Randy Palmer Michael Martinez Ian White

We will celebrate the club's tenth anniversary at the Holiday Party in December. Potential dates for the party are Saturday, December 6th, 13th, or 20th. Date to be determined at meeting.

Please contact any present club officer if you are interested in being a new officer

for 1998. (Editor's note: If there are no objections for the membership, the current treasurer, newsletter positions, and star party coordinator will continue to serve for one more year. But we will have vacancies in the following positions: President and Vice President. The duties of president include presiding over the monthly meetings and introducing the guest speakers. The duties of the vice president include public relations and club publicity. For the past two years, John and Howard have done a fantastic job, but the club could use some "new blood" in these roles. How about one of you new members? Now is a great time to step forward and donate your talents for the good of the club.)

August Speaker: As a young astronomer in the 1960's, Howard Cohen spent time at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona doing photoelectric photometry. Howard's talk tonight provided us with a detailed tour of Lowell (both Mars Hill and Anderson Mesa) using his own personal collection of photographs. An excellent presentation!

Correction to July minutes: Mark and Ryan Barnett have very generously donated a 26 mm Plossl eyepiece for use with the club's telescopes. Thanks, to BOTH Mark and Ryan! *

FirstLight: Newsletter of the Alachua Astronomy Club

Upcoming Club Meetings and Events

October Council Meeting Date Tuesday, October 7th Time 6:00 p.m.

Place Morrison's Restaurant, NW 13th Street, Gainesville FL

Club officers are expected to attend; everyone else is welcome.

Page 7

September Club Meeting Date Tuesday, September 9th Time 7:30 p.m.

Place Auditorium, Doyle Conner Building, 1911 SW 34th St., G'ville.

Speaker: Dr. John Oliver, Associate Professor of Astronomy, at the University of Florida, will give a general talk on calendars titled "Calendars and You." Dr. Oliver will discuss basic calendar issues including: will the year 2000 be a leap year and when should we celebrate the millennium?

Title: "Calendars and You"

AAC meets every second Tuesday of each month, at 7:30 p.m., in the Doyle Conner Building, 1911 S.W. 34th Street, Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, USA.

General public and beginning Stargazers are invited to all meetings, star parties and club events. No equipment needed: Call a club officer (most area codes 352) for more information or e-mail fclpam@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu

President John Brandorff Gainesville (375-1043)

Vice-President Howard L. Cohen • • • - • Gainesville (376-5833)

Treaswer Ryan and Don Loftus Alachua (904-462-1227)

Secretary Bud Cridlin Gainesville (374-8599)

Star Parties

FirstLight Editors

Publisher

Randy Palmer WiUiston (528-9614)

Pamela Mydock and Duane Sandene Lochloosa (481-5238)

Chuck Broward Melrose (475-1014)

World Wide Web Home Page at URL http://www.astro.ufl.edu/~cohen/aac

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September 1997 Astro Calendar (Times EDT)

Mon

Fri Sat Sun

Tue

Fri

Sat Sun Tue

Thu Sun Mon

Tue

d 1

5 6 7

9

12

13 14 16

18 21 22

23

hm 08:00 Julian Date 2,450,693.0 (12:00 UT) 19:52 New Moon 08 Venus (mag. -4.0) 3° S of Moon 01 Venus (mag. -4.0) 1.9° N of Spica (mag. +1.0) 05 Mars (mag. +1.0) 5° S of Moon 21 Pallus (mag. +10.0) stationary 02 Mercury (mag. +1.3) stationary 21:31 First Quarter Moon

Martian Autumn Equinox (N Hemisphere of Mars)

21 Neptune (mag. +7.9) 4° S of Moon 10 Uranus (mag.+5.7) 4° S of Moon 00 Jupiter (mag.-2.7) 4" S of Moon 14:50 Full Moon (Harvest Moon) 18 Mercury (mag. -0.4) greatest elong. W (18°)

Best morning apparition of yr. for mid N lat. 06 Saturn (mag. +0.3) 0.2° S of Moon 20 Aldebaran (mag.+0.8) 0.3° S of Moon 19:56 Autumnal Equinox (Fall begins in N

Hemipshere) 09:35 Last Quarter Moon

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