ContentsNew Members ____________Pg 1

Meetings ________________ Pg 1-3July 9 Two Mini-Talks:

Atmospheric PhenomenaAsteroids and Meteors

Aug. 6 Modifications for Improving Commer-cial Dobsonians

Sept. 10 Reflecting the Universe:  The Role ofMirrors in Astronomy and History

Events ___________________Pg 2-3-VAS Events- Public Star Gazing- GMAAA Events

Articles __________________ Pg 3-5- NASA’s Space Place Article

Board Talk ____________ Pg 5-6- Board Minutes- Committee Updates

Observer’s Page _________Pg 6-10- Jupiter- M106- NGC 4244- Supernova AT2018aqc in Leo- The Whale and the Hockey Stick- Owl Nebula and the Surfboard- Cigar Galaxy- Earth Day

Gary’s Astro Events ________ Pg 11Jack on the Radio ________ Pg 11For Sale / Wanted _______ Pg 11-12Announcements ___________ Pg 12Club Info ________________ Pg 12

Morning StarSummer 2018

New Members

VAS welcomes the following newmember who joined us since the lastnewsletter:

Ms. Sebastian RyderMr. Sebastian Ryder

Meetings/Presentations

Meetings are held the first (non-holi-day) Monday of the month, at 7:30 P.M.in the Kolvoord Community Room ofthe Brownell Library, 6 Lincoln St.,Essex Jct (2nd building north of Essex5 corners on the left on Rt. 2A). (seeMap on our web site, top of Eventspage). Extra parking is available in theBank North parking lot across from thelibrary. For inclement weather callJack St. Louis (802-658-0184) or PaulWalker (work # 802-861-8640) to con-firm.

July 9

Two Mini-Talks

Atmospheric Phenomena,Some Familiar and Some Not

By Mark Moyer

Rainbow by Paul WalkerWe’re all familiar with ordinary at-

mospheric phenomena. For example,we’ve all seen deep blue skies and or-ange sunsets. And we’ve all admired the

beauty of rainbows and even doublerainbows. The purpose of this talk is totake us a step further in our knowledgeof atmospheric phenomena.

Several different solar arcs, photo fromWikipedia (photo credit: Joseph Thie-bes)

One way we’ll go further is becom-ing familiar with lesser known atmo-spheric phenomena. As one example,circumzenithal arcs are as beautiful asrainbows; although they’re not rare, butpeople don’t know about them simplybecause they’re located where peoplenever look — straight up! The 22 de-gree halo is also common, especiallyhere in the north, but it is often mistak-en for a rainbow even though in someways it looks — and is — entirely differ-ent. Sun dogs, the green flash, the Beltof Venus, lunar coronae, and tangentarcs are a few of the other atmosphericphenomena we’ll view.

A second way we’ll deepen our un-derstanding of atmospheric phenomenais looking at the science underlyingthese various phenomena. With onlythe most basic science we’ll see whythese sights appear the way they do andhow we can better observe them.

Jupiter, Red Spot, Io, Io’s Shadow Taken 2018-06-15 by Paul Walker.

Io is barely visible. 10 in f/5.6Newtonian 2” 2x Barlow, 2” 32mmeyepicece, Canon HF-21 camcorder at15x zoom (~1200x eff), stack of 500video frames

Asteroids and MeteorsBy Steve Grimsley

Asteroids and meteors are the left-overs of non gaseous material from theformation of the solar system. They areconcentrated in the main asteroid beltbetween the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.Much of what we know about the earlyhistory of the solar system comes fromthe study of these rocky remnants thatmade their way to Earth.

A Piece of the Asteroid VestaNWA 2698 (Howardite) (Morocco 2004)

Photo by Paul Walker

2 pieces of iron meteorite, cut & etched.Photo by Paul Walker

There are three main categories ofmeteors, stony, stony iron, and iron.These types mostly are based on wherein an internally melted and gravity segre-gated asteroid they were formed.

Stony meteors that contain chon-drules are known as chondrites. Chon-drules are spherical grains of silicate

minerals 1 - 3 mm in size from rapidlycooled molten droplets in the primordi-al solar nebula. They are composed ofpyroxene, olivine, plagioclase, glass,iron nickel, and sulfate minerals thathave not undergone a full melt sincetheir formation. Their bulk composi-tion is nearly identical to the Sun with-out hydrogen and helium and otherlight volatile elements and compounds.They date to 4.55 billion years back tothe earliest formation of the solar sys-tem. These are by far the most com-mon type.

Achondrites are stony material thathas undergone a full melt cooling in adifferentiated asteroid.

Stony irons and irons are from theinteriors of large asteroids whose interi-ors melted and gravity segregated.

This presentation will review thesemajor meteor classifications with physi-cal samples to examine and discuss inan open forum. Nine separate meteorsamples, two irons, three stony irons,and four chondrites will be available. Ahistorical chronology of the early solarsystem will be presented as a summary.

August 6Modifications for Improving

Commercial DobsoniansBy Paul Walker

There are many affordable tele-scopes out there with Dobsonian typemounts. As one might expect there isoften a trade-off between price and fea-tures and/or price and options. Evensome of the more expensive or betterdesigned models may have trade-offs.Some trade-offs are fairly minor andhave little effect on the functionality ofthe telescope others are merely annoy-ing, some can make a telescope difficultand frustrating to operate.

Page 2

All observing events -areweather Permitting unless other-wise stated. Bring extra clothes.Even a summer evening can bechilly after standing still for acouple hours in damp air.

Contact: info@vtastro.org

We have an mail List for Member’sinteresting in getting a heads upwhen the Hinesburg Observing

Site (HOS) will be opened.

If interested in being on this list con-tact info@vtastro.org

Stargazing and other Events

Member & Invited GuestStar Gazing & other events

Picnic at the HOSJune 23 or 24, Starts 3 PM. Bring adish to share. A grill, Lemon Aid andIce Tea will be provided by VAS.BYO item to grill. No alcoholic bev-erages.

September 15 or 16, Starts 6:30.Viewing 1st quarter Moon at the HOSand farewell to Jupiter & Mars.

October 5, 6 or 7, Starts 6 PM. Darksky viewing at the HOS.

Contact info@vtastro.org

Public Star Gazing atSchools, Libraries,and other, groups.

If you know of a group or institutionthat would like to schedule a star gaz-ing session have them contact:info@vtastro.org

Public EventsWe have requests from several enti-ties for presentations and/or ob-serving events. Members interestedin helping or for more info Contact:info@vtastro.org

Paul will discuss some of the issueshe found with a 12.5” f/4.8 Reflectorhe recently purchased (used) and showthe modifications he did to addressthem. Among the issues covered areinexpensive focusers, inadequate finderscopes, tubes that are not well balanced,stiff and jumpy movements when tryingto follow an object at higher magnifica-tions. Some of the solutions were arefairly easy and didn’t cost much otherswere more involved and/or had a mod-erate cost.

September 10Reflecting the Universe:  The Role of

Mirrors in Astronomy and History

ArticlesThis article is provided by NASA SpacePlace. With articles, activities, crafts,games, and lesson plans, NASA SpacePlace encourages everyone to get excit-ed about science and technology. Visitspaceplace.nasa.gov to explore spaceand Earth science!

Page 3

Mark Pendergrast, author of MirrorMirror: The History of the HumanLove Affair with Reflection, will ex-plore the history of mirrors, from an-cient times to giant mirrors in moderntelescopes.

Along the way he will introducefascinating characters such as John Dee,the scientific advisor to Queen Eliza-beth I, who believed in talking to angelsin magic mirrors.  But of course he willfocus on the development of reflectingtelescopes, starting with Isaac Newton,then William Herschel, George Ritchey,George Elliot Hale, Roger Angel's Mir-ror Lab in Tucson, and the HubbleSpace Telescope.

Mars Observatory Trips Planned

Lyn Elder is organizing trips tolocal professional observatories toobserve the coming opposition ofMars during the month surroundingthe July 27 opposition. There will bereserved nights to look through twolocal observatory scopes for groups ofup to six VAS members.

The scopes in question are the 9.6"Alvan Clark refractor at DartmouthCollege, the 24" reflector at Middle-bury College.

Contact Lyn Elder at 870-7229or lynelder08@gmail.com if you areinterested in these trips.

So far the observatories are notcharging us for the evening's entertain-ment.

Lyn is a VAS Member but VAS isnot directly involved with these activi-ties so please contact Lyn directlywith any questions.

Green MountainAstronomers (GMA)

All events start about sunset.

Contact Ron Lewis for info802-779-5913 (cell)

802-247-5913 (home)vtpoet@gmail.com

Tue, Jun 26 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesTue, Jul 3 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesSat, Jul 7 - Hubbardton Battlefield -Hubbardton Battlefield Reenactment(special invite)Tue, Jul 10 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesSat, Jul 14 - Hubbardton Battlefield -Mars Night, Sliver of Moon sets at9:55Tue, Jul 17 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesTue, Jul 24 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesTue, Jul 31 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesTue, Aug 7 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesAug 9-12 - Stellafane - Springfield,VTTue, Aug 14 - Castleton University -Concert SeriesSat, Aug 18 - Chimney Point StatePark - Solar, Deep Sky and MarsNight, Moon below horizonFri, Sep 7 - Shrewsbury - RussellvilleRoad, Deep SkyRain Date: Sat, Sep 8Sat, Sep 15 - Castleton University -Homecoming - 2:00-4:00Sat, Oct 6 - Hubbardton Battlefield -Solar, Deep Sky Night, Sliver ofMoon sets at 5:29

“Spontaneous NightUnder the Stars”July or August.

Joe Comeau will once again holdpublic observing at his observatory,Orchard Hill Observatory at 70 PoorFarm Rd. Alburgh VT. The plan is tomake a list of interested people andcontact folks up to a few days in ad-vance based on the weather forecast.This event will likely occur in July butit may not happen until August.

Activities will begin at dusk. Thiswill be a no-cost event for people ofall ages. Families with children arewelcome.

VAS members are invited to bringtheir telescopes to show participantsaround the summer sky. There willbe a slide show of pictures taken byAstronomical Society members.Invite your friends for an excitingevening.

Contact Joe at 802-238-1664 orjkcomeau@hotmail.com

What’s It Like Inside Mars?By Jessica Stoller-Conrad

Mars is Earth’s neighbor in the so-lar system. NASA’s robotic explorershave visited our neighbor quite a fewtimes. By orbiting, landing and rovingon the Red Planet, we’ve learned somuch about Martian canyons, volca-noes, rocks and soil. However, we stilldon’t know exactly what Mars is like onthe inside. This information could givescientists some really important cluesabout how Mars and the rest of oursolar system formed.

This spring, NASA is launching anew mission to study the inside of Mars.It’s called Mars InSight. InSight—shortfor Interior Exploration using SeismicInvestigations, Geodesy and HeatTransport—is a lander. When InSightlands on Mars later this year, it won’tdrive around on the surface of Marslike a rover does. Instead, InSight willland, place instruments on the groundnearby and begin collecting information.

Just like a doctor uses instrumentsto understand what’s going on insideyour body, InSight will use three sci-ence instruments to figure out what’sgoing on inside Mars.

One of these instruments is called aseismometer. On Earth, scientists useseismometers to study the vibrationsthat happen during earthquakes. In-Sight’s seismometer will measure thevibrations of earthquakes on Mars—known as marsquakes. We know thaton Earth, different materials vibrate indifferent ways. By studying the vibra-tions from marsquakes, scientists hopeto figure out what materials are foundinside Mars.

What Is the Asteroid Belt?By Linda Hermans-Killiam

There are millions of pieces ofrocky material left over from the forma-tion of our solar system. These rockychunks are called asteroids, and theycan be found orbiting our Sun. Mostasteroids are found between the orbitsof Mars and Jupiter. They orbit the Sunin a doughnut-shaped region of spacecalled the asteroid belt.

Asteroids come in many differentsizes—from tiny rocks to giant boul-ders. Some can even be hundreds ofmiles across! Asteroids are mostly rocky,but some also have metals inside, suchas iron and nickel. Almost all asteroidshave irregular shapes. However, verylarge asteroids can have a roundershape.

The asteroid belt is about as wide asthe distance between Earth and the Sun.It’s a big space, so the objects in theasteroid belt aren’t very close together.That means there is plenty of room forspacecraft to safely pass through thebelt. In fact, NASA has already sentseveral spacecraft through the asteroidbelt!

The total mass of objects in the as-teroid belt is only about 4 percent themass of our Moon. Half of this mass isfrom the four largest objects in the belt.These objects are named Ceres, Vesta,Pallas and Hygiea.

The dwarf planet Ceres is the larg-est object in the asteroid belt. However,Ceres is still pretty small. It is onlyabout 587 miles across—only a quarterthe diameter of Earth’s moon. In 2015,NASA's Dawn mission mapped thesurface of Ceres. From Dawn, welearned that the outermost layer ofCeres—called the crust—is made up ofa mixture of rock and ice.

The Dawn spacecraft also visitedthe asteroid Vesta. Vesta is the secondlargest object in the asteroid belt. It is329 miles across, and it is the brightestasteroid in the sky. Vesta is coveredwith light and dark patches, and lavaonce flowed on its surface.

The asteroid belt is filled withobjects from the dawn of our solar sys-tem. Asteroids represent the buildingblocks of planets and moons, and study-

Page 4InSight will also carry a heat probe

that will take the temperature on Mars.The heat probe will dig almost 16 feetbelow Mars’ surface. After it burrowsinto the ground, the heat probe willmeasure the heat coming from the inte-rior of Mars. These measurements canalso help us understand where Mars’heat comes from in the first place. Thisinformation will help scientists figureout how Mars formed and if it’s madefrom the same stuff as Earth and theMoon.

Scientists know that the very centerof Mars, called the core, is made of iron.But what else is in there? InSight has aninstrument called the Rotation and Inte-rior Structure Experiment, or RISE,that will hopefully help us to find out.

Although the InSight lander stays inone spot on Mars, Mars wobblesaround as it orbits the Sun. RISE willkeep track of InSight’s location so thatscientists will have a way to measurethese wobbles. This information willhelp determine what materials are inMars’ core and whether the core is liq-uid or solid.

InSight will collect tons of informa-tion about what Mars is like under thesurface. One day, these new detailsfrom InSight will help us understandmore about how planets like Mars—and our home, Earth—came to be.

For more information about earth-quakes and marsquakes, visit:https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earthquakes

Caption: An artist's illustration showinga possible inner structure of Mars. Image cred-it: NASA/JPL-Caltech

a boy scout event, Jack will coordinatethe VAS assistance.

The 4" f/15 Baush & Lomb tele-scope at Grout Observatory at People'sAcademy, which Gary and Steve Quig-ley have working on, is ready to be re-assembled.

May (Annual Meeting/Banquet)Jack opened the meeting.President's Report: For those who

may not have known already Jack an-nounced that we are not moving fromthe Hinesburg Observing Site. Jackannounced that the construction of theRussell Chmela Observatory has started.Next year is our 55th anniversary. Jackread off all the presentations done atthe monthly meetings and the activitiesVAS participated in over the last year.

Joe reported that a change in strate-gy (going to where the people are) forpublic stargazing is working well.

The positions of President, VicePresident and the 4 board member atlarge positions were up for election thisyear. The voting results are; everyonewas unanimously re-elected.

Secretary's Report: The total mem-bership as of December 31, 2017 was79, compared to 80 for the previousyear. We had 17 new members in 2017.

Treasurer's Report: Doug gave asummary report that included the totalrevenue for 2017, total expenditures,ending balance, the value of VAS re-sources (tangible assets) and total netvalue.

Donna Lescoe asked if the clubhad any plans for an official goodbye toAngele (who is moving to Oregon).Paul suggested Dennis Woos talk aboutthe plans as it was his idea. Several ofus have pitched in to get her a nice eye-piece as a going away present.

Paul gave a slide show presentationon the Russell Chmela ObservatoryProject. This included some history ofRuss with the club, the observatory de-sign and the status of the construction.

Jack did the monthly drawing for"Brunch with the President". GaryNowak's name was drawn.

Page 5Jack gave out the following certifi-

cates:Service AwardsJoe Comeau Ron AnsteyDennis Woos Doug Williamson - 2Steve Quigley - 2 Gary Nowak - 2Keith Lawrence -2Angele Mott Nickerson - 6Mark Moyer Al BoudreauBrian Johnson Bob Williams - 2Paul Walker - 2 Larry GarrettTim Connolly Dana DeWittBob Horton Bill WickPeter Gillette Paul MarinoGreg Warrington Donna LescoeStephen Scaravella Joel GreeneJim Bosek -2 Ron LewisScott Turnbull Bill Banke

Telescope Observing, AdvancedKeith Lawrence

Recognition PlaqueLarry GarrettFor receiving the Honor of having Mi-nor Planet 2000 CU officially designat-ed 28475 Garrett by the InternationalAstronomical Union February 7, 2018

JuneJack opened the meeting and re-

viewed the presentations for the nextfew months, we are set through Septem-ber [see presentations in the beginningof this newsletter].

3 people who are interested inbuilding their own telescopes have con-tacted Jack. One person would like togrind and polish their own mirror.

Wake Robin [Senior Community]would like us to do an astronomy showin the Fall. Joe has been getting re-sponses for his "Spontaneous NightUnder the Sky".

Bob is almost done re-figuring the14" mirror [from a donated Cave tele-scope] and is looking into places to getit re-coated.

Doug recently received updated billfor dues from the Astronomical League.VAS became a member last year and afew VAS members have gotten reducedAstronomical League memberships.Doug has contacted Keith to find outwhether everyone has received the As-tronomical League’s newsletter, Keith isthe VAS contact person for the Astro-nomical League memberships.

ing them helps us learn about the earlysolar system.

For more information about asteroids,visit:https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid

Caption: This image captured by the Dawnspacecraft is an enhanced color view of Ceres,the largest object in the asteroid belt. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Board TalkApril

Jack opened the meeting.We are all set with the arrangements

with St. John's Club for the Annual Ban-quet & Meeting. He reminded us aboutproviding officer's reports at the Annu-al Meeting.

Paul will do a slide show update atthe annual meeting on the new observa-tory progress.

We decided to update the Site Sur-vey and hold off sending it out untilJuly or so.

Doug updated us on the financial's.He renewed our State tax exempt num-ber- it had expired, unbeknown to us, afew years ago. He gave an update onthe new observatory construction prog-ress. North supports for the roll-offshed rails are installed. Next will be thescope piers and deck support piers.

Keith mentioned the possibility ofbuying a modern (Goto mount) if weraise enough money.

Bob got a request from JFK HighSchool to help a couple students withastronomy projects. He agreed to helpthem.

Joe will hold his "SpontaneousNight Under the Sky" again this sum-mer. He received a request to help with

Work parties scheduled for the newobservatory - June 13, spread grass seedand mulch [mostly done, need moremulch and another round of seed] -June 30/July 1, start framing the deck.

Update on the Grout Observatoryat People's Academy. Gary said it isalmost finished. Some teachers need tobe trained on using it. The dome is notfully functional, it doesn't rotate a full360 degrees and the shutter doesn't ful-ly open.

VAS Membership CommitteeThere were no meetings this quarter.

Site & Russell Chmela Committees

JunePaul opened the meeting, read the

minutes of the last meeting and theagenda items for this meeting.

Doug updated us on the fundrais-ing status. We have had a very goodresponse with about 50% of the mem-bership participating and contributingan average of about $185 each, thankyou all very much. This will be enoughto complete the project and give us theoption of some upgrades. Doug updat-ed us on the construction status. Therewill be a work party this Thursday, June7, to finish leveling and smoothing thearea under and around the new observa-tory. Bob will work the parking areawith his tractor to fill in low areas andsmooth it. Saturday, June 9, there willbe a work party to lay the ground clothand cover it with pea stone. [Both workparties were successfully completed]

Keith updated us on the roll-offsheds. The framing for one is completeand he has started framing the other.

Gary is continuing work on the pri-mary mirror from Russell's telescope.

We covered dates that some peoplewill not be available to work on the newobservatory. Paul will not be availableJune 24 - July 9, Doug will not be avail-able from July 21 to 31. No one will beavailable during Stellafane, August 9-12.

We have scheduled construction onthe deck framing for the weekend ofJune 30 and July 1. This will give Dougtime to order materials.

Doug has been working on draftingthe thank you letters. There will be 2versions, one for donations of <$250and due to tax deduction requirements,another for donations >$250. The let-ters will include a question as whetherthe donor is OK with having theirname included on a list that may beposted at the HOS and/or on the website. And a question on how the donorwould like their name to appear (spell-ing). The VAS Board will discuss hav-ing a list of donors posted at the siteand/or on the web site.

Observers Page

Jupiter Observation from Hubbard-ton Battlefield State Park

By Paul WalkerThe Green Mountain Astronomers

(GMA) held a public observing eventlast Saturday [5/5/18] at the Hubbard-ton Battle Field.  High thin clouds inter-fered some but overall it was quitesuccessful.  Probably 40ish people, may-be 50ish.  Two 18" Obsessions (Caleand Ron), my 12.5" Newtonian, 10"Newtonian (Pat), 8" Newtonian (Allon),4" semi-APO refractor (Pete).  SkyQuality Meter reading was 21.7 (be-tween clouds).  We viewed globularclusters, open star clusters and galaxies.Even the 12.5" was big enough for the

general public, with some guidance, tosee the spiral arms in M51.  Peoplewere pleased to view Jupiter even when

it was low.  The seeing improved as thenight progressed.

Viewing Jupiter when it was maybe25 degrees high with my 12.5" and us-ing a 2 degree wedge prism we couldeasily see the Great Red Spot and theRed Spot Hollow (a light colored spacebetween the Red Spot and South Equa-torial Belt).  Could also see a thin grayband in the middle of the light coloredband (South Tropical Zone) just southof the Red Spot (see Joe’s images below,South up). At first the thin gray bandappeared intermittently but then be-came steady.  The Red Spot had nicecolor.  The best view was at 200x.  150xwas not enough to see all the detailsand 300x made it too fuzzy.  Pete's 4" ,with the wedge prism, showed the RedSpot and a little bit of the hollow.  Alsoviewed Jupiter through Cale's 18" (with-out the wedge prism). The Red Spotwas muted compared to the 12.5" viewbut I was reasonably impressed with thedetails in such a large scope.  The bestview was through the 12.5".  This tellsme the optics in it reasonably good.  Ithink I have sold Pete on the value of awedge prism for viewing planets at lowaltitudes.  The 2 degree prism actuallyover compensated for the atmosphericdispersion of the colors but still gavebetter results than without it.  I did notcompare it to using colored filters anddid not use colored filters with it.

Joe Comeau imaged Jupiter a fewnights later at opposition on 5/8/18from Alburgh (note- South is up inthese images).

Page 6

Page 7

M106 and Surrounding GalaxiesBy Steve Grimsley

Taken at the Texas Star Party in Ft. Davis, Texas.Twelve 7 minute subs (84 minutes total) using an Astro-Physics 155mm f/7 refractor.  Camera is a Canon 60Da DSLR.

NGC4244 Silver Needle edge on galaxyBy Steve Grimsley

Taken at the Texas Star Party in Ft. Davis, Texas. Fourteen 7 minute subs (98 minutes total) using the same equipmentand camera.  Bright stellar looking center of this galaxy was captured along with a thin dust lane.

2018 was a mixed year at the Texas Star Party as only 3 nights were very good out of 7.

Page 8

Supernova AT2018aqc in Leo2018/04/05 By Paul Walker

The host galaxy is NGC 3655. A12.5 magnitude galaxy about 100 mil-lion light-years distant. The supernovais brighter than and just to the lowerleft of the galaxy’s nucleus.

It was fairly easy to find in the trian-gle that makes up the hind quarters ofLeo the Lion. It is 2/3 of a degreewest of 5.6 magnitude 81 Leonis whichis almost in the center of the triangle.There is a nice group of 9th to 11th mag-nitude stars that show the way from 81Leonis to the galaxy.

Visually I could not distinguish thesupernova from the galaxy’s center us-ing my 12.5” f/4.8 Newtonian.

The image is a stack of ten, 4 min-ute exposures at ISO 1600 taken with aCanon XTi camera. North is up.

The telescope was a 10 inch f/4.0(1000mm fl) Schmidt-Newtonian reflec-tor (Meade LXD55)

Field of view of the original imagewas 0.79 X 1.21 deg. This image isabout ½ of that.

I also used a Baader Coma Correc-tor.

Two for OneThe Whale, NGC 4631/4627 and the

Hockey Stick, 4656/46572018/05/09 By Paul Walker

Two Sets of Interacting Galaxies.They are just above Coma Berenices inCanes Venatici. My 10 in f/4 Schmidt-Newtonian frames them well.

The Whale is magnitude 9.7 withit’s companion, 4627, below it. Thehockey Stick is a magnitude fainter at10.7 with it’s companion, 4657, at thebottom end of the stick.

Forty, 3 minute exposures (2 hours)at ISO 1600 (Canon XTi). North isdown.

Another Two for OneThe Owl Nebula (M97) and

The Surfboard (M108)2018/06/10&11 By Paul WalkerThis time it is a planetary nebula

(M97, upper left) and a galaxy (M108,lower right). While the Whale andHockey Stick are pretty descriptive andeven the Owl with it’s two dark eyes,

some objects like the Surfboard, I’mnot so sure about. Perhaps with theright exposure time and processing itwould look like it’s namesake.

They are located below the dipperof the Big Dipper (Ursa Major), 2.25degrees (M97) and 1.5 degree (M108)ESE of Merak the southern of the 2pointer stars, they are moderately easy

to find. However, being too dim toreadily seen in most finder scopes (12.0and 11.0 magnitude respectively) andnot obvious in scopes with aperturessmaller than 6-8 inch or so. They areharder to find than one may expect.

The excerpt above shows that theOwl Nebula has an outer shell with hy-drogen (red) and an inner shell with alot of oxygen (blue). The Owl is about2,000 light-years distance, 8,000 yearsold and 1 light-year across. It is the endof life for a star about the size of ourSun but about 5 billion years older.The star is visible in the center of thenebula. At 14th magnitude the star isdifficult to see even in a large amateurtelescope. I could not see it in my 12.5”scope. The “eyes” of the Owl also re-quire a large scope to see.

M108 is classified as a barred spiralgalaxy. We are viewing it nearly edgeon. In this image it appears to be quiteactive will large associations of youngblue stars (blue patches) and areas ofstar formation (red areas).

The image is a stack of 31, 3 minuteexposures at ISO 1600 taken with amodified Canon XT camera. 11 of theimages were taken on June 10 and 20on June 11. North is to the right.

Telescope was a 10 inch f/4.0(1000mm fl) Schmidt-Newtonian reflec-tor (Meade LXD55)

I used a Baader Coma Correctorand an Orion Broadband Light Pollu-tion Filter.

M82 (Cigar Galaxy) in Usra MajorBy Paul Walker

Steve Scaravela has had a black andwhite Mallincam for a number of years.He recently decided it was time to up-grade so he bought a color version, aMallincam Extreme II color camera.

It is a whole lot different to operatethen his B&W camera with a whole lotmore options, and not being familiarwith imaging in general he asked me tocheck it out, learn how to operate it andteach him.

This is a 30 second integration (ex-posure) through my 10” f/4 Schmidt-Newtonian (picture of the monitor).He currently uses a 12” Schmidt-Cass.with an f/3.3 focal reducer so heshould be able to get the same resultswith only a 20 second integration.

Earth DayMembers of VAS participated in

Earth Day event on April 21 by provid-ing views of the night sky from Church

Street in Burlington. That looks like itmight be Joel Green looking through a6” Dobsonian.

The Moon picture was taken byBob Horton by holding his cell phoneup to the eyepiece on Joe Comeau’ssmall refractor telescope.

Page 9

Page 10

Location Chart for the deep sky objects im

aged on the previous pages (see black arrows)

Created using Starry N

ight Pro 7 & Picture W

indow Pro 7

Page 11

Gary’s Astronomical Eventsfor the Month

can be viewed via WCAX atwww.wcax.com/story/6330547/astronomical-events

Jack on the RadioListen to Jack’s astronomy updateon radio station WJOY AM (AM1230) on Ginny McGehee's 'Break-fast Table' morning show. Airs thefirst Wednesday of the month at 8:40AM.

For Sale

Celestron SkyProdigy 90 mmMaksutov-CassegrainComputerizedFocal length 1250 mmF/ratio 14

Two eyepieces: 9mm, 25 mmMoon filter: 1.25"

Excellent condition

Asking $130.0

Contact: Jim, jhwbks97@gmail.com608-695-1652

Celestron CGE Mount, $1200 oboIncludes base (no tripod) with two20lbs counterweights and AC & DCpower cords.Mount has received a complete Hyper-Tune by Ed Thomas atdeepspaceproducts.comI replaced the problematic CelestronRA/Dec cables with Gary Bennet 6point midi style cable replacements.

Steve Yerbysyerby@gmail.com

Explore Scientific 80mm f/6 Apo-chromatic Triplet Refractor Tele-scope (FCD100 ED). Paid - $600.

Asking $350.

Stephen Scaravella, 802-434-3884 orenglishnotation@gmail.com

Celestron Astromaster 70 EQ (Ger-man Equatorial Mount) Never used.Purchased for project, then changedmy mind. Uses standard 1.25-in eye-pieces. Very well built. New it goes for$170. Asking $50 (new price).

Al Boudreau 802-758-2221 orastromanvt@gmavt.net

Celestron SP-C80 refractor tele-scope and tripod, rarely used.Comes with the original manuals, and3 books on astronomy and a viewingthe universe tool.Asking $350 or best offer.

Contact Aimee Green,leftlanegreen@yahoo.com

Celestron Power Tank 17Amp 12VDC Outdoor battery (list $115)----$50 or nearest offer

Meade Coronado PST PersonalSolar Telescope 40mm f/10 1.0 Ang-strom H-alpha bandpass, 20mm Kell-ner eyepiece, with tripod mount (buttripod not included) barely used, $699valuePRICE $200 ONO

Location South Burlington.Call Gary Glick at 203-247-5354

4 inch, 550mm f.l. brass TelevueRenaissance scope with carryingcaseEquatorial mount with oak tripod

2”, 20mm Nagler type 22” 45deg. righting prism2” Big Barlow2”, 4.8mm Nagler1-1/4", 26mm Plossl2”, 45deg. Prism camera adapter

New Price $1950 - will negotiate.

Contact Richard Cummings atRick@vsbmetal.comOr you can contact Ron Ansteyanstyer@myfairpoint.net

Meade DS-2114S (early 2000’s vin-tage)Dia. =114mm, f.l.=1000mmfocal ratio f/8.8Automated, computerized with MeadeAutostar handboxAutomatic tracking, guided tours,many other featuresLike new condition, on a tripod, threeeyepieces, original handbook

I called the company (Meade) andthey say it is similar to their currentPolaris 114 ($170-$200), but automat-ed and computerized like their ETX90 (currently $500. Their ETX seriesdoesn't have a 114, but if they did itwould cost more). So I am asking a

"hybrid", used (once or twice) price of$150 (new price).Contact Paul Cameron atpaulcameron1@msn.com, 802-249-3595 or 802-223-2204

Telescope mirrors and a couplemounting cells

3.5” f/10 with 3/4” diagonal.6”, probably f/8.8”, probably f/8, in nice cast alumi-num cell.10” f/9, 1/10 wave (measured by Bobseveral years ago), Beral coating that isin good condition though the edge hasseveral chips (edge not beveled) and anote from the coater says there are afew scratches and it is not fully pol-ished (may be saying that because ofthe scratches). From St. Michael,s Col-lege.12”, probably f/8, plate glass mirrorin nice 18 point mirror cell. The cellis worth more than the mirror. If Iremember correctly this came from St.Michael,s College, from the old scopethey had in their observatory.

Other than the 10” f/9 I cannotvouch for the figure of the mirrors.

The only one that may be Pyrex is the8” mirror, I’d have to pull it out of thecell and look again. The rest have aslight greenish-yellow tint.

Make an offer on any of the items.

Paul Walker 802-388-4220 orpaulwaav@together.net

OutreachAcknowledgement Letter

To help record our broad commu-nity involvement with public star gaz-ing events, projects and classes, wehave developed an Outreach Acknowl-edgment Letter with a Sample Form. Itis posted on the website and can be

found under Members, VAS ClubMaterials for Members, OutreachAcknowledgement Letter.

We encourage you to use it anytime you interact with the public. Hav-ing a folder of proof of what we dohelps when we ask for donations forevents and projects. Many people havenever heard of us and have no clue ofthe extent of the knowledge and timewe freely give to the public.

Please print it out and give it to theevent coordinator you are working withor fill it out yourself to record yourevent. Thank you for helping us docu-ment what we do.Direct Link: http://vtastro.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/VAS_Outreach_Ack_Letter_V3.pdf

Hinesburg Observing Site

We have an observing site in Hines-burg, VT. (Located on town property)

Any member can obtain a gate key.Full members can also get an observato-ry key.Requirement for Gate Key:o Associate member for at least 3

months.o Recommended for key issuance by

2 or more full members.o Approval of the Board of Direc-

tors by a majority vote.Requirement for Observatory key:o Must be Full Membero Trained on and/or demonstrate

competence on the observatoryequipment you will be using.

o Make entries in the ObservatoryLogbook.

We have an email List for Mem-ber’s interested in getting a headsup when someone will be at theHinesburg Observing Site (HOS).

If interested in any of the above con-tact info@vtastro.org

Dues

Associate Members $15Full Members $25

Contact Paul Walker802-388-4220

paulwaav@together.net

Send dues and any updates to your ad-dress (or email) to

VAS, PO Box 782, Williston, VT 05495.

Or bring to any monthly meeting.

Thanks

Announcements

Associate Members interested inbecoming full members make yourinterest known to one of the boardmembers.

Club Info

Observing CertificatesSeveral certificates (beginner to ad-vanced) are available to members asencouragement to get out under thestars and hone their observing skills.Follow the link on our web site.

Wanted - PR person and WebmasterIf interested in either position contactJack St. Louis or Paul Walker.

Moving or Changing Email?Please send changes to Paul Walker,53 Valley View, Middlebury, VT05753, paulwaav@together.net(info@vtastro.org will also work)

Web Sitewww.vtastro.orgEmail: info@vtastro.orgPaul Walker is the webmaster:webmaster@vtastro.org

Board MembersJack St. Louis Pres 658-0184Joe Comeau VP 238-1664Doug Williamson Treas 388-3482Paul Walker Sec'y 388-4220Bob Horton 879-7802Gary Nowak 879-4032Bill Wick 485-7877Keith Lawrence 453-5496

Editor and Publisher - Paul Walker

Contributors: Joe Comeau, SteveGrimsley, Linda Hermans-Killiam(NASA’s Space Place), Bob Horton,Paul Walker.(My apologies if I missed anyone)

Page 12

Meade 6" LXD55 telescope withthe following: 26mm eye piece, Spot-ting Scope, Anniversary eye piece kitwith 15mm; 6.4mm; 9.7mm; 12.4mm;40mm; 32mm; and 20mm. Solar filter,Dew cap, Autostar Instruction Manu-al, Martin Preston users guide

Asking $450 with the accessories list-ed.

Contact Bruce Harmon, 802-876-7535 or bdhinvt@yahoo.com.

Orion VersaGo III alt-az mountwith slo-mo controls. 18 lb capacity.Works great. Some cosmetic damagefrom previous owner that doesn't af-fect performance. $120.

Contact Paul Marinopaulstevenmarino@gmail.com

AstroTech 6" Ritchey Chretien OTAonly. $250 oboWith Losmandy dovetail

Steve Yerby syerby@gmail.com

Wanted

For selling & buying also check out:www.marketplace.skyandtelescope.com

Copies of "Mirror Mirror" - A His-tory of the Human Love Affair withReflection by Mark Pendergrast ofColchester, Vt. available for $25.

Mark will split the profits with VAS.

Contact Mark atmarkp508@gmail.com