Wow, what an evening it was. Congratulations to Larry for a job well done!! First Light for the 16″ truss project with the Beyers mount. It looks fantastic, and the seeing through it is also fantastic. This coupled with Suki’s and Larry’s hospitality made for a great evening. Amazing the albedo features we could make out on Mars. Its actually better than the C14. Guess what, we also spend time looking at M42 , but nothing compared to the view of Saturn. Larry actually had to twist my arm to stay for Saturn to clear the view, since he would not let me cut the tree down that was in its way, but for sure it was worth the wait and the trip to Alpharetta! Click here to take a look at the pictures in the gallery.

Thanks again to the Owens, and I am sure I am also speaking for Debbie and Clevis Jones, Ken Poshedley, and Shankar who stopped by also. I hope the rest of our friends will get a chance to take a peek through its eye piece soon.

Clear Skies
Theo Ramakers

As Theo said in the post a few days ago, GLOBE at Night (GaN) starts tonight and runs on March 3 - 16. There is a second run between March 17 and March 31 if you want to collect more data. The whole idea is to collect data from real sites all around the world in an effort to document light pollution. So you don’t need to fly out to Arizona to get your data! Your own yard is perfect. All you need is a place to see the constellation Orion about one hour after sunset.

I’ll be keeping a running tab during the month based on whatever observations we gather. Make sure you check the directions at the GLOBE at Night web site - http://www.globeatnight.org/index.html. The data should include latitude and longitude of the site, local conditions such as street lights and house lights. Seeing and transparency would also be a good thing to record. I suggest we use the Clear Sky Clock as a reference for the time being.

You can submit your observations directly to the GaN if you wish. However, please share your data with the Chapter so we can compare our results. We’ll have a first look at the data at the next meeting, on March 13th.

We did receive a request for an outreach program for the some reginal boyscout troops. They are planning a summercamp and asked us if we could show the scouts the night sky on June 19th. This is the day before fathers day and a week following our June meeting. We have accepted the invitation. The camp will be at Bert Adams Scout Reservation of Highway 36, 9 miles south of Covington. I will be coordinating this event since Jim will be out of the country by that time. They expect around 300 scouts and parents to be at the event, so we can use a few scopes out there! So if you can, please put this on your calendar.
http://basr.atlantabsacamp.org/downloads/basr//BertAdamsSR-Directions-051404.pdf

Stephen Ramsden did receive an request from Hopewell middle School for an Astronomy event and since he currently does not have access to the internet, asked me to post this message. The event runs from dark until about 8:30pm. Stephen asked to come about an hour early if possible to setup your scope. Here the information:

March 3rd Dark until 8:30 - 9:00
*Hopewell Middle School*
13060 Cogburn Road
Alpharetta, GA 30004-3605

Directions to the field for setup:
Take 400 north to Windward Pkwy (exit 11)
Continue on Windward Pkwy across Hwy9
Turn left at the next Intersection onto Cogburn
Take right onto Hopewell Plantation rd
After the fourth house on right there will be a right turn onto an access road
for the track field. Follow that to setup area.
Please send Stephen an email to let him know if you will be participating.

Just received a NASA news release regarding their new website to provide a better understanding on Climate Change.
http://climate.nasa.gov/warmingworld/
Theo Ramakers

Have you ever thought about using the Hubble Space Telescope to image? Well some of us have done that!!
I thought I share this email from Christopher Go with you.
Theo Ramakers

Today is the 4th anniversary of the discovery of the Red Oval BA. In connection with this, I am releasing the latest Hubble Space
Telescope image of Oval BA which our group took during September 2009
last year.
More info at:
http://astro.christone.net/redjr.htm

Regards,
Chris
Christopher and Vicky Go
Christone Industries

We are again participating this year in the GLOBE at NIGHT campaign to draw attention to light polution. Last year we had a number of Chapter members who did report the results as members of our group. It is noce to do this with a group of individuals such as boy scouts or schools. We also have a Sky Quality Meter that can be used to measure the sky qulaity at your location. We should try to pass this device on to as many members who are interested to participate.
Please go to the website to download a packet (Teacher or Parent) and schedule the observations. Please send me an email with the results after you reported them on their website as indicated in the material.
Also send me an email if you want the Sky Quality Meter at a specific day.
http://www.globeatnight.org/index.html
Theo Ramakers

I am forwarding here the thank you email from the school.
Theo,
Your session was a HUGE hit at Sci/TECH 2010. Honestly, it was one of the most talked about events at school today. The children AND parents were thrilled to view the night sky through the telescopes! Our rough count is 530 students and parents attended the event.

Thank you so very much for responding to our invitation and delivering such an enriching experience. These children will NEVER forget it!
Sincerely,
Mandy
PS I have forwarded the links to our entire school…so impressed!

Frank Garner and Theo Ramakers responded yesterday February 18th. for a Star Party at Pucketts Mill Elementary School at their Science Night. There was a tremendous turnout of students and parents, who appreciated looking at the Moon, Mars, the Orion Nebula and some other clusters. In addition, the students learned about our solar system and how small earth really is within the solar system. We would like to thank Mrs. Mandy Collins for inviting us to share our passion for astronomy with the students and parents and we hope that some of them will visit us soon at one of our meetings and observing sessions at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center. Click here for some images of the event.
Clear skies,
Theo Ramakers

Wow what an event. 6 Chapter members defied freezing temperatures to show the Universe to Scout Troop 211 from Covington who came out to Jon Wood field with their parents. Stephen Ramsden, Steve Bieger, Frank Garner, Jim Soboleski, Steve Kennedy and Theo Ramakers showed the group of about 35 indivisuals the moon, the orion nebula, Mars, and some open and globular clusters. In addition, the troop learned a lot about our solar system and some of the planets and took home some photos provided by the Night Sky Network. Thanks guys for the strong support! Click here for some images of the event.
Thanks to all for your committment to this event!!
Theo Ramakers