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I use a bug suit exacty to keep nylon dissolving chemicals, like
DEET, away from my telescope stuff.

They cover you from ankes to wrists to head. They are effective
if you are standing up and moving a bit. They stop working if
you sit or lie down, say for meteor observing, because the
mesh will lie flat against your skin in some spots. The skeeters
then home in on those spots.

Richard's gazebo worked well as a refuge from the little devils
last manitoulin star party.

-ad

Well, it looks like we won't be having much of a spring, so I'd better get
this question out in the open, before it's too late!

What does everyone do to keep the bugs at bay? Sounds like a dumb question
from someone who's lived in Bug Country all his life, but here's the thing.
I've always used Muskol, and that stuff works great, but it also does a
super job of stripping paint off of things you touch. I'm looking for a
replacement that won't damage my shiny new equipment. Any suggestions?
What works for you?

Hello Roland,

Wow, only one more session to go. What an accomplishment! Do you
have any special targets planned for the 300th session? Will you be
waiting for the moon to set and then hunt down some really faint
fuzzy!? Or will you spend the time revisiting some of your old
favorites in the sky? Maybe a nice relaxing Moon sketch is in order
eh! What ever you observe during that session, please know that I
extended a hearty congratulation to you. Your amazing accomplish
inspires me. What ever you do don't stop observing!

Hello Roland,

Wow, only one more session to go. What an accomplishment! Do you
have any special targets planned for the 300th session? Will you be
waiting for the moon to set and then hunt down some really faint
fuzzy!? Or will you spend the time revisiting some of your old
favorites in the sky? Maybe a nice relaxing Moon sketch is in order
eh! What ever you observe during that session, please know that I
extended a hearty congratulation to you. Your amazing accomplishment
inspires me. What ever you do don't stop observing!

Matt

Sess#299 9:30-12:00pm lm=4.8 s=6 Back Yard Variable Clouds

Rima Hadley ( on Moon ) - the seeing seems very good just around dusk.
For about 1/2 hour it was around 8.5/10 judging from the view at 366X
magnification of moon features. I was able to see clearly, for the
first time, the difficult to see Rima Hadley (only 0.5 km across, but
long), where one of the Appollo missions landed and explored with a
moon buggy. I have tried to this one many times, and have only seen
it once before. This time, I saw it the most clearly ever!
Collimation and good seeing go together.

The rest was a mostly technical observing session:

Every spring I like to adjust, collimate and calibrate my astro gear.
This time I used a reticle micrometer and a stop-watch to measure and
calibrate certain things.

Based on the amount of time it took Denebola to drift a very specific
distance in the micrometer, I calculated the following bits of data
about my scope and the reticle micrometric eyepiece.

The focal length of my scope, when I use the 2" star diagonal in not
2030mm but 2195mm instead. This is a fairly standard finding that
affects small details like exact magnification and field of view, with
each eyepiece.

Also calibrated the following for the micrometer eyepiece:
No Barlow: One of the Micrometer scale divisions = 9.40"
2X Barlow: One of the Micrometer scale divisions = 4.66"
3X Barlow: One of the Micrometer scale divisions = 2.86"

This calibration allows me to accurately measure the size of celestial
objects, like for example the seperation for the binary, Epsilon
Bootes:

E Boo - Measured 3.1"
E Boo - Actual 2.9"
Error of 0.2", which is well below the resolution for the SCT-8"

Castor - Measure 4.1"
Castor - Actual 3.9"
Error of 0.2", a good accuracy for such a close binary

I mostly enjoy the views, but sometimes it's good to have a few tools
available and properly calibrated, like the MicroGuide eyepiece, to
get other jobs done. Now I'm ready for the summer of 2001!

Roland
(PS - Next session will be #300 - average 100/year for three years.)

Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
OAFs group:

Where would the OAFs like to have dinner
before RASC meeting? (or not have
dinner).
Cast your vote today (this poll will
self conclude on Thursday).

If someone wishes to supplant this poll
with an improved one, my feelings will
not be hurt :-)

o No dinner for me, thanks.
o Familiarity breeds contentment - Kelsey's close to the NMST
o Not as close but perhaps a thai breaker - Sala Thai (Alta Vista at Bank)
o Beer brewed on premises (always a good thing) - Abe & Roscoe's (Bank St. between the river and the canal)
o Fast food option - Lick's (Bank at Alta Vista)


To vote, please visit the following web page:



Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

Since I'm not digressing (just procrastinating) I'll bring up the
topic of a mug and a munch before this friday's RASC meeting.
Any takers and then we just have to work out the when and where.

Mike Zeidler

attilla.danko@... wrote:

--- In OAFs@y..., r.prevost@h... wrote:

Just a note to say that, thanks to help from alot of astro buddies,

I

will probably meet and exceed my goal of 300 observing sessions,

Achiving such a goal is worthy of considerable congratulations
and celebration. Perhaps oafs would like to pick a cloudy
night for a celebratory dinner.

For that matter, Roland - would you like session 300 to be quiet and
contemplative or rowdy and raucous? I am sure various OAFs (myself for
one) would be honoured to share your "big 300th" - you tell us where and
when and I'll complain that I'm too tired, no, I mean we'll show up. If
you'll have us.

And of course a celebratory dinner works. (Which brings up that the
first friday of the month is coming up again - but I digress.)

Untill then, congrats on session 298.

Actually congrats on being able to keep count. I have no idea
how many times I've observed.

I'm getting inspired to start keeping track of my observing - perhaps
starting on some auspicious date, say June 21st?

Too bad. They say time spent observing is not counted against
one's lifespan. :)

Oh no, do we need to keep receipts?

Many clear skies.

-ad

"Now then, some cheese please my good man!"

Rob

--- In OAFs@y..., r.prevost@h... wrote:

Just a note to say that, thanks to help from alot of astro buddies,

I

will probably meet and exceed my goal of 300 observing sessions,

Achiving such a goal is worthy of considerable congratulations
and celebration. Perhaps oafs would like to pick a cloudy
night for a celebratory dinner.

Untill then, congrats on session 298.

Actually congrats on being able to keep count. I have no idea
how many times I've observed.

Too bad. They say time spent observing is not counted against
one's lifespan. :)

Many clear skies.

-ad

--- In OAFs@y..., "Mike Wirths" <mwirths@s...> wrote:

Morning all!

Just a quick piece of good news, before I have to get back to the

barn,

<SNIP>

Mike,

That's wonderful news indeed!

I'd be more than happy to help out with my little 8" Newt and limited
( but growing astronomically...soory, had to say it!)knowledge....

Just let us know when and I'll do my best to show up with brimming
enthusiasm and exuberance for the night sky.

Jean

PS, figured out the DSC problem.....the bracket on one of the
encoders was moving...so it wasn't holding information....making a
new bracket out of aluminium, should resolve the problem. Hopefully...

Just a note to say that, thanks to help from alot of astro buddies, I
will probably meet and exceed my goal of 300 observing sessions, with
the Schmidt, in 3 years before midnight, May24th/2001 ( the date we
got our second scope, the SCT-8"). That Perth sidewalk session was
session #298.

So, the session after next will be the big 300! I sometimes like
setting goals, and then trying for them - I find it adds a little bit
of playful 'incentive' for me to get out there.

MikeW's news about the d'Acre site is just so great. As Rob
suggested, perhaps it might be possible to find out if we could set up
observing session tents? ANd of course, I would very much like to
participate in sessions for High School kids out there, schedule
permitting.

"WAY TO GO, MIKE!"

Grinning Kinda Photonically, ;-)

Rol

An exellent report of apparently a great sidewalk session.
I'm jealous. I had to spend the evening preparing a shubbery
for the taxmen who dont have the sense of humour to say Ni!

I hope to join you guys for the next one.

-ad

Wow. Being ask to do something we really like to
do in exchange for geting to do someting we also
really like to do is a hell of a deal.

I'd be delighted to attend a starparty for your
contact's highschool kids. The friday or weekend
after TSP (may 25-27) would be good for me.

If its in Dacre, skies should be dark.

- ad

Morning,

From the subject line I was hoping that your bino-viewers had finally
gotten to you, but this is good too. Along with setting up scopes,
setting up tents would be good (unless there is someplace else close by
to catch a few Z's).

From your reply to the Wimps!! post it sounds like you'd like to send
that horse to do some "negotiating" with the customs people in TO.
'course that might just qualify as a family reunion (one horse's @$$
meeting an office of them??). Too many analogies to make
must...stop...typing.

Hope your dog's feeling better soon.

Rob (who picked up Monty Python's "Contractual Obligation Album" and
"Matching Tie and Handkerchief", which while not really suitable for
observing could at least be good while driving to observing sites or
waiting for wind to die down etc)

Mike Wirths wrote:

Morning all!

Just a quick piece of good news, before I have to get back to the barn, I just got off the phone with my real estate appraiser freinds contact in the Dacre area ( this guy also happens to be the Principal of Renfrew Collegiate high school). He gave me the name and No. of a couple that live near Cardy's Mtn Retreat on a property by Mt St Patrick. He had already phoned them and asked on my behalf if it would be OK to set up our scopes on occasion this summer/fall and they said it would be fine with them!! I will give them a call tonight to chat with them, the Principal also asked if in return we could do something for interested kids from his school and I of couse said that would be great (good trade i figure).
BTW thanks to Roland and Janice for a great sidewalk session last night it was a blast!!


---more later....

Mike W

Sess.298 8:15 - 10:15pm lm=2(parking lot) s= 6 to 9/10 Clear

Janice and I joined Mike Wirths at a Perth shopping Mall for an
impromtu session of sidewalk astronomy. Since it was a Sunday night,
an unannounced session,and most of the stores were closed, we expected
very few persons to stop. In the end, between 20 and 25 persons
stopped at our two scopes to catch a glimpse of the sky during the two
hours we were set up.

Jupiter - looked quite clear just after dusk. The seeing was terrific
for about 1/2 hour. People still excited about seeing the 4 moons all
in a row and a couple of surface features.

Saturn - now very low in the sky, showed her rings but little else.
Still some gazers thought it looked amazing and asked if it was
"fake".

Castor - Binary: pair of blue-white stars. sep=3.9". "You mean there's
two suns turning around each other?"

Moon - was the main attraction of course. Being one day before first
quarter, and with decent seeing, people could see quite a bit of
detail on the moon's surface, especially in Mike's 18" truss-tube Dob.
Some were just stunned by what they could see (including Janice and
myself, I might add. eg. Janice: "Gosh, it's just so great!") in his
fine Zambuto mirror, and through an excellent Zeiss 7.5mm eyepiece...

M3 - found by chance (1st try ) using only the telrad. In the SCT8"
from this very brightly lit parking lot, it only looked like a very
faint indistinct grey smudge.

Talk about a 'sidewalk' session! I don't know if the people stopping
by fully appreciated how good a view they were getting during the 9/10
seeing phase. But "WOW" they did go. Guess that's all that matters.

One particular couple stayed almost an hour, used a cellphone to call
their parents over as well. They were all very interested in
everything they saw - and had a knowledge of globulars, nebulas, etc.
and so got very excited about the views and also the personal photos
and sketches. They are moving to a dark sky place and noew they want
to get a scope.

Pamela showed up in her 'vintage red sports car' (cool!) to keep us
company, add moral support and chat with the observers who stopped at
the scope. Good to see her.

Finally, after stopping for a coffee at Carleton Place on the way
home, we had to brake to avoid some racoons. While stopped, I saw a
mag -5+ blue green fireball moving slowly northwards at around 11:35pm
it exploded into tiny bits ( 6 or 7 ) at the end of it's journey.
Attractive!

Felt very good all the way home - due to the company, the fun impromtu
nature of our sidewalk session, topped off by this quite decent
fireball.

thank you

Hi all,

Well I think weather wise its definitly a GO , and location wise its at the
Perth Mews Mall up on Hwy 7. Instead of turning left on wilson St just
continue for a couple 100 feet and turn left into the mall at the next
light. I'll be set up there from around 8:00 pm onward be forewarned it may
be fairly slow as its a Sun night and only a couple shops are open. Should
be fun though!

-Mike

--- In OAFs@y..., "Mike Wirths" <mwirths@s...> wrote:

P.S I'm thinking of trying some sidewalk at the Perth mall

tonight

(even though It'll be fairly quiet) around 7:30 any takers ?

I'm not sure I can make it. What location in perth?

For those of you who are definitely going, I have posted
some bright satellite passes, with timings for Perth, to the
Oafs calendar.

-ad

Mike Wirths wrote:

P.S I'm thinking of trying some sidewalk at the Perth mall tonight (even
though It'll be fairly quiet) around 7:30 any takers ?

Sorry, I've got visitors for the next while and won't be able to get
away. That's too bad - I was looking forward to getting in A Perth
sidewalk session sometime.

Cheers - Al