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The Eyepiece |
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| TABLE OF CONTENTS
February at a Glance: Page 1 New Member Welcome Mat: Page 1 February in Detail: Page 1 A Look At Our Past: Page 1 Down the Road: Page 2 Eyepiece Features: Page 3 Coming Next Month: Page 4 Camp U-Nah-Li-Ya Picture Essay: Page 5 |
FEBRUARY AT A GLANCE
11th: Monthly Meeting-Astrophotography
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I have never built a telescope before so it was quite a thrill to see images through something I had a part in building. Jeff Hermans had his telescope and so did Wayne Kuhn and we all enjoyed looking at images on a rare clear night. Others that came up were Steve Wagner from NEWSTAR, his wife Christine and three nephews. Also, Ray Nancoz, George McCourt and his wife Kathy, Don(feather boy) and Katrina DeWitt, my wife Sue and my two girls Jenni and Tammy and Jenni’s boyfriend Jeremy (Bob). Maybe I should explain why Don was called “Feather boy” and Jeremy was called “Bob”. While Don was checking the sauna he burned his new down-filled jacket and everyone kept forgetting Jeremy’s name so we just started calling him "Bob". The next day was another nice day. After breakfast we all decided to go sledding and for my money, I had more fun just watching Ray and Wayne fly down the hill over the bumps trying to get air borne. Even though Jenni and Jeremy tried to win by popping Katrina’s snow tube on a particular run, the title of King of the Sled Hill was given to Ray. He also gets an honorable mention for knocking the wind out of himself to capture the award. After cleaning up and changing into some dry clothes, we all went to a lunch of tomato soup and sloppy Joe’s. After lunch everyone kinda did their own thing. Katrina, Jeff, Wayne and Don went ice skating, while the Wagner clan did some snow shoeing. Still others, including myself relaxed in front of the fireplace back at the cabin. Before I knew it dinner time was upon us and a meal of roast chicken, potatoes and corn was served. When dinner was over, George talked me into playing the guitar and singing a few songs for our group which was fun. I guess I always was kind of a ham. When we got back to the cabin some of us played board games. My daughter liked playing Mancala with Kathy McCourt and she told me she had fun playing too. I suppose I will be getting that game now. When it got dark it was still clear. We were all pretty tired so instead of setting up our telescopes, Ray and I looked at objects with our binoculars. Then it happened I found a strange glowing light in the snow! At first I thought “gee do I tell everyone or will they all think I’m crazy”? So I thought I would just tell Wayne (it’s better for one person to thing you are crazy than a whole bunch!) |
seeing as he was just coming out side. I called him over
and told him and he followed me to the site and he was amazed too!
So to rule out that it was stray light from somewhere, Wayne walked around it to see if he would block the light and he didn’t. So he dug in the snow to see what it was and at the bottom of the snow was......a GLOW STICK! Boy was I glad that was all it was. I guess I watched too much Twilight Zone when I was a kid. The next day we ate breakfast and it was time for my family and I to leave early. I am told that the others continued to veg. out in front of the fireplace. My family and I sure had a great time! Steve Wicker MESSIER MARATHON
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| ASTRONOMY DAY UPDATE
We held our first Astronomy Day planning meeting on January 28th. Keeping in mind that our theme this year is “Interactive Astronomy” we have come up with some new displays as well as improvements to previous ones. As always, we will need as much help from club members as possible so as you read, keep in mind which area you would like to help in. We have included the person in charge of the project and their phone number, so you can call them directly to volunteer. Or you can call Katrina DeWitt and she will add you to the list. 1. Club Booth-Various pictures of club events, benefits of membership and added ability to sign up new members. Booth to be permanently manned. Contact Don DeWitt at 405-8534 for details. 2. Books Display-Miscellaneous astronomical books. Books will be divided by category and a list of books available at the local library will be available as well as recommended beginner books. Contact Katrina DeWitt at 405-8534 for details. 3. Meteorite Display-assorted meteorites in display cases for people to look at. Contact Ted Kordes at 336-5878 for details. 4. Pictures and Posters Display-designed to give the whole event an “astronomical feel”. Need more pictures from club members. Contact George McCourt at 468-9296 for more details. 5. Computer Demo’s, open to suggestions. Last year Jon Kruse had a nice program. Would like more computers and programs. Open. 6. Crater formation-demo of crater impacts using flour and rocks. Used too large of rocks last year and got kind of messy. Solution: less flour and smaller rocks. Contact Mike Monfils at 435-7350 for details. 7. Moon Phases-learning moon phases by holding ball and rotating around in circles. Needs location that is more noticeable and less distracting. Contact Jeff Hermans at 432-1916 for details. 8. Children’s Activity Center-various activities and cut outs designed to teach kids some astronomy basics. Open 9. Telescope Display-spread out a bit more and labeled better. Include everything that one brings out when observing, chair, charts, flashlights, etc. to give a better feel of what goes on. Also, focus on small picture of a planet on other end of room and have people draw what they see. Contact Steve Wicker at 496-0288 for details. |
10. Binocular Display-add books for
binocular observing as well as Astronomical League sponsored binocular
clubs. Permanently manned. Contact Wayne Kuhn at 468-0765 for
details.
11. Mirror Grinding-demo of grinding a mirror for telescope use. Contact Ray Nancoz at 920-746-0428 for more details. 12. Debunking Astrology- a spin off of the January meeting topic. Contact Steve Mofle at 866-3523 for details. 13. Light Pollution display. Gary Baier is getting high school students to record visible magnitudes all around the city of Green Bay on a particular night. The results will be plotted out and a “Green Bay Light Pollution Map” will be made. Contact Gary Baier at 391-9654 for details. 14. Planetary Distance Scale. Several ideas are in the works for this including one that starts with the entrance gate being the sun. Contact George McCourt at 468-9296 for details. Our next Astronomy Day planning meeting will be on March 3rd at Don & Katrina DeWitt’s house. All club members are invited to come and offer ideas and suggestions. Hope to see you there. BOOK CORNER
Turn Left At Orion
Turn Left At Orion is a guidebook for beginning amateur astronomers.
The Moon, planets and nearly a hundred deep sky objects visible in the
Northern Hemisphere are shown exactly as they appear in a small telescope
(50-100 mm or 2-4 inches in aperture).
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The authors also provide personal comments as well as statistical information and where to find other interesting objects in the neighborhood. Turn Left At Orion is the most user friendly field guide I have ever come across. No previous knowledge of astronomy is needed. Since the descriptions are non-technical, skywatchers of all ages and backgrounds can use and enjoy it. I agree with the statement on the back cover that it “should be packaged with every first telescope”. Next month’s meeting presentation will be about some unique gadgets and stuff for observing. Editors note: If you would like to try before you buy, the Brown County Library as two copies of Turn Left At Orion. GETTING READY TO STAND IN THE SHADOW February 26 is fast approaching and that means
only one thing, TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE! Unfortunately for most-the eclipse
goes through the Caribbean and will not be visible from up here.
However you can catch about 3 minutes of a partial eclipse if you venture
down to Milwaukee.
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The safest way to observe the sun with the
unaided eye is to project an image of the sun onto another surface-the
projection method. This guarantees that at no time is the eye exposed
directly to solar radiation.
To use this method, simply mount your binoculars or telescope on a tripod. Then mount a piece of cardboard or poster board in front of the eyepiece. Be careful to mount the cardboard close enough to the eyepiece so that somebody can’t accidentally look at the sun. The next safest way to observe the sun is with the proper solar filter. One that mounts on the front of a telescope and diffuses the suns light before it enters the telescope. If you have a solar filter that screws onto your eyepiece-throw it out! The intense light from the sun will focus on the filter and burn it up-along with your eye. There are many different ways to photograph an eclipse depending on your equipment. The main thing to consider is the film you use and it is recommended that you get something in the “Professional Grade” film. It can be found at any camera shop and is usually kept refrigerated. There is a group of people from the club heading down to the Caribbean for the February 26th eclipse. We hope to have some good photographs for next months newsletter so stay tuned for more details.
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