Re: ATM Stellafane: weather report etc.

[Philip Tramdack <tramdack@tcnj.edu>]

I can give you the weather report at least. Friday gradually improved from
stormy in the late afternoon and gave us clear skies from early evening
until about 3:00 when the fog and low clouds became impossible.
Transparency in the middle of the night was excellent but seeing was bad
due to turbulence. I was able to see clearly and to show others star clouds
and to make out the characteristic backward S shape of M33 with my 10" f/6
using a 15mm TV wide field and a Lumicon broad band light pollution filter
(which oddly enough works best when there is practically no light
pollution). Without the filter I could just see structure with a 22mm
Panoptic and not at all with the 35 Panoptic. Incidentally, M33 was clearly
visible in my 8 x 30 monocular and a bright object in my 70mm finder. I
caught a look at NGC 891 (famous edge-on in Peg I think, or And?) through a
25" f/5 using a 22 Panoptic and it looked just like in the pictures with
granulation and the dark lane prominent. On Saturday the low clouds were
pesky all evening and I went to bed around 12. Clouds and stars alternated
in the middle of the night. When I got up at 2 it was more cloudy than
clear. When I got up at 4:30 it was completely clear. Some people who were
awake at 3:00 got in one hour of fabulous observing before the crepescule
began to interfere. Overall it was 1 for 2 or better.

Derek Pitts of the Franklin Institute Science Museum of Philadelphia and
the astronomy report on WHYY-FM was the keynote speaker and gave a very
nice inspirational talk which caused one to want to get out there and start
having star parties for all the scout troops, 4-H, church groups, craft
festivals and county fairs. His point was that it is the responsibility of
each and every one of us to use our technology and knowledge to show and
teach the wonders of the universe.

There were a lot of instruments submitted for judging this year. I know a
very nice split-ring equatorial got a prize, as did Bob May's 200"
refractor, which is the sort of thing Cassini used to discover the division
in Saturn's ring system. Quite an instrument, and authentic in every
respect. YEAH BOB! I took some pictures and will have them digitized. If
they are any good I will post them.

John Dobson was at the telescope making and also gave his infuriating
anti-big bang talk on Saturday afternoon. John was at his best (or worst,
depending on your point of view) as a cracker barrel Voltaire: pompous,
irascible, arch, funny, witty, and lovable. Stellafane was a lot of fun. As
usual the Springfield Telescope Makers did a great job. I think a good time
was had by all. PJT

Guy Brandenburg wrote:

> Would anybody who attended Stellafane care to tell the rest of us
> something about how it went? Was the weather decent or rainy? What sort
> of interesting telescope ideas and concepts were there? And so on.
>
> Guy Brandenburg

--


Philip J Tramdack
Associate Dean for the Library
Roscoe L West Library
The College of New Jersey
Box 7718
Ewing NJ 08628-0718
vox  (609) 771-2343
fax  (609)  637-5177