The Eyepiece
 
Published by the Neville Public Museum Astronomical Society Volume 10 Issue 05, May 1998
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS  
For Sale-Want Adds: Page 1 
New Member Welcome Center: Page 1 
May in Detail:  Page 1 
A Look At Our Past: Page 2 
Down the Road:  Page 2 		 MAY AT A GLANCE 
13th: Monthly Meeting-Open Topic 
20th: NEWSTAR Monthly Meeting 
22nd - 24th: Parmentier Observatory Weekend 
22nd - 24th: Crivitz Site Observing Weekend 
27th: General Board Meeting
 
FOR SALE-WANT ADDS 
     For sale, 10" F4.5 Meade Starfinder Equatorial Telescope with clock drive. Extras include: Full aperture solar filter; Type 2 by Thousand Oaks, Zero shift focuser; NGF DX3, from JMI, three Kellner eyepieces: 25mm, 12mm and 9mm plus a Chesire alignment eyepiece.  Used only three occasions.  Asking $875.00.  Call (920) 498-8958 After 5:00 PM and ask for Rudy. 

NEW MEMBERS WELCOME CENTER 
     We had one new person join the club in April.  Bill Krenovsky, 2061 Wayside Place, Green Bay, WI 54311.  Phone 983-9069.  Welcome to the club Bill! 

MAY IN DETAIL 

MONTHLY MEETING 
     Our May monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, May 13th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Neville Public Museum.  This month our topic is open but we have a few surprises in mind for you.  Hope to see you there. 

 NEWSTAR MONTHLY MEETING 
     The NEWSTAR monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, May 20th, 7:00 PM at the University of Wisconsin, Menasha Center.  Call Don DeWitt if you are interested in going. 

PARMENTIER OBSERVATORY WEEKEND 
     The Memorial Day weekend of May 22,23 and 24 is scheduled as a Parmentier Observatory Weekend.  All club members are welcome to come out.  For more information you can contact Ron Parmentier at 336-5878 or at the observatory at 845-5626. 

CRIVITZ SITE OBSERVING 
     Memorial Day Weekend is also set aside as a Crivitz Site Weekend.  If you are interested in going, contact Dave Jorgenson at 715-757-3296 or Don DeWitt at 405-8534. 

GENERAL BOARD MEETING 
     We will be having a general board meeting on Wednesday, May 27th at 7:00 PM.  The location is the DeWitt residence, 1081 Raleigh Street.  Topics to be covered: Review of Astronomy Day, Repair Job at Parmentier Observatory and a Proposal to host the 2001 NCRAL convention.  All club members are welcome to attend. 
 
A LOOK AT OUR PAST 
 CRIVITZ CLEAN-UP WEEKEND 
      by Steve Wicker 
     Clean up day at Dave Jorgenson's place went very well.  It was a perfect day for working outside, a little cool and sunny sky's. While Ted Kordes wired up an outlet for anyone who might need electricity for their telescopes, the rest of us worked on clearing some of the stumps and branches laying under the tall grass and brush.  Of course when Ted finished with his electrical work he joined the rest of us. We even cleared out a spot to park a few vehicles. 
     We had a nice group that included George McCourt, Don DeWitt, Steve Mofle, Tony Kroes, myself, my wife Sue and daughter Tammy and of course Ted Kordes and Dave Jorgenson. 
     After getting everything cleared (branches and stumps out of the way) Dave borrowed a tractor and brush cutter from a friend of his to clear the area.  While he was doing the cutting, the rest of us were raking up behind him.  It was quite a job but everyone pitched in and it went pretty fast.  Boy what a great place for an observing site! 
     Dave did a great job clearing it out with the tractor.  I can't wait to bring the camper up there and spend a weekend, camping and being at the perfect place to observe.  It doesn't get much better than that!  We should all give Dave a special thanks the next time we see him for opening up his place for us to use.  Hopefully we all will be able to make it up there sometime to use it.  I think it will be another great place for us to meet and enjoy our hobby. 

ASTRONOMY DAY 
     It was an interesting year for our annual Astronomy Day activities.  While the sky was cloudy and the road to the Sanctuary was closed for a few hours, we still managed to get about 250-300 people to come out. 
     This years activities included Ray Nancoz and his mirror grinding, a club information booth that was run by Ron Parmentier and Astrophoto's which stood by themselves.  Wayne Kuhn did an excellent job of the telescope displays and actually had set up a telescope and all the accessories that one uses while observing. 

 Ted Kordes did a great job with the Meteor display and Mike and Melissa Monfils kept the dust down with the crater formation.  Dick Francini and Bill LaPlant worked with the binocular displays and filled in when others needed to take a break. 
    On the second floor we had a children's activity area which was run by Becka LaPlant and her friend Lydia.  Jon Kruse brought in a computer with a self contained astronomy program that he manned before having to leave.  Kerri Francini filled in after he left.  A self contained slide show and video tape rounded out the top floor. 
     We all had a lot of fun and the evaluation forms we had people fill out gave us a lot of positive feed back as well as ideas for next year.  Thanks to everyone that helped make this year's Astronomy Day a success. 

DOWN THE ROAD 
WISCONSIN OBSERVERS WEEKEND 
     It's almost impossible to believe but Wisconsin Observers Weekend (W.O.W.) is just around the corner.  This year's dates are June 19-21 (Fathers Day Weekend). 
    W.O.W. is sponsored by our  friends in the fox cities area-NEWSTAR.  It is a weekend 
of camping and observing at Hartman Creek State Park, which  is located just to the west of 
Waupaca on highway 57.  The park offers many biking and hiking trails, swimming, fishing, 
canoeing or just plain relaxation.  Please note that you must bring your own equipment as none is provided. 
    NEWSTAR has reserved the parks group site 1 for Thursday night and sites 1-4, for the rest of the weekend. 
    In addition to the daytime camping activities, the telescopes will be pointed skyward to pick off some of the summer nighttime wonders with other amateur astronomers from around the state.  It  really is meant to provide a good   balance between a "family weekend" and an "observing weekend". 
     Pre-registration is not necessary and the cost is $4.00 per person per day.  You will also need a State Park sticker for your vehicle if you are staying overnight.  Contact Don DeWitt for more details.