Our chapter has really been blessed with an increase of members and interested friends. We have seen young people coming over and over to the meetings and observing sessions. This is great in that we can help in growing the next generation of scientists, as well as amateur astronomers. I am really glad that Thomas Whalen and his family did visit my observatory and I could teach Thomas how to image the Sun. Thomas is 12 years old and is a 6 grader at the Trickum Middle School. I am reporting that Thomas made the image from start to finish by himself: He lined up the sun in the scope from the park position, connected the camera, loaded and setup the capture program, brought the sun on the chip and centered it. He also prepared himself beforehand how to capture the sun, by reviewing my presentation on the web. He set the controls of the camera and ran the required frames. Than the lessons continued inside with processing, Registax and Photoshop. It took him a while but you all can see he did a great job. To top it off, he also took the raw data home so he can practice even more…. Gratulations this month to Thomas Whalen for his Charlie Elliott Picture of the Month! http://ceastronomy.org

Clear Skies,
Theo