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Roanoke Valley Astronomical

Society Amateur Astronomy News and Views

In Southwestern Virginia

RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 1 of 15

Volume 33—Number 12 December 2016

With twenty-four members and two guests in at-

tendance, President Dan Chrisman opened the No-

vember 2016 monthly meeting at 7:30pm. A very

full agenda prompted Dan to move right into the

first item, a presentation by Vice President Clem

Elechi, “Coping with Light Pollution”.

Interspersed with humor, Clem’s interesting and

informative presentation focused on definition,

dark-sky advocacy, impact on nature, and how ama-

teur astronomers might cope with light polluted

skies. Providing common pollution comparisons such

as acid rain, sooty rain, the Cuyahoga River and

Love Canal, Clem offered “sky glow”, “light tres-

pass” and simply “a waste of light” as better names

for this bane of nighttime astronomy. International

advocacy for preserving dark skies led by the In-

ternational Dark-Sky Association has recently

made progress with regulations at the National lev-

el focusing primarily on National Parks and Pre-

serves, lighting standards and emphasis on energy

(Meeting Continued on page 2)

November 2016 Meeting Report

Telescope Mobility is Relative By Bill Dillon, Secretary

RVAS Vice-President Clem Elechi presents our Novem-ber meeting’s featured program, “Coping with Light

Pollution”.

Photo by Frank Baratta

RVAS member Clark Thomas addresses a point about pollution during Clem’s talk,


The Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society is a membership organization of amateur astronomers dedicated to the pursuit of observational

and photographic astronomical activities. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. See calendar on last page

of newsletter for location. Meetings are open to the public. Observing sessions are held one or two weekends a month at a dark-sky site.

Yearly dues are: Individual, $20.00; Senior Individual, $18.00; Family, $25.00; Senior Family, $22.00; Student, $10.00. Articles, quotes,

etc. published in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the RVAS or its editor.

Officers/Executive Committee/Editor/Webmaster Dan Chrisman, President ([email protected] )

Clement Elechi, Vice President ([email protected])

Bill Dillon, Secretary ([email protected])

Larry Hill, Treasurer ([email protected])

Ray Bradley, Member at Large ([email protected])

Michael Good, Immediate Past President ([email protected])

Frank Baratta, Past President ([email protected])

David E. Thomas, RVAS Newsletter Editor ([email protected])

David E. Thomas, Webmaster ([email protected])

RVAS web page: http://rvasclub.org

efficiency. However, budgetary constraints have

pushed much of the burden for implementation of

regulations to the State and local level where zon-

ing, choice of lighting fixtures and permitted levels

of illumination have become the most accessible

tools for dark-sky advocates.

Reminding the meeting attendees that our planet

has had about four billion years of naturally dark

skies within which nature and the environment has

developed, Clem pointed out that while astronomers

are often the most vocal in decrying the lack of

dark skies, the environment may actually be suffer-

ing unmeasured long-term impacts to sleep/wake

cycles, hormone development, gene regulation,

mood/cognition, predator/prey relationships, and

mating behavior which may have far-reaching im-

pacts to the environment and ultimately to the hu-

man race.

So, how does one cope with the problem of light

polluted skies? Clem suggested that a move to New

Mexico although desirable for many astronomers is

probably not practical for most. A more likely solu-

tion is to travel to a nearby site away from city

lights, such as our Cahas Knob Overlook, or to uti-

lize remote observing via currently existing com-

puter connections with either personal or commer-

cial observatories located in geographical areas

with much darker skies.

If none of those options are available, and

nighttime observing is limited to one’s driveway,

Clem’s advice is to be prepared for inaccessible

objects, temper one’s expectations in terms of

both availability and quality of objects, and make

use of imaging filters. Broadband filters which en-

hance blue, green and red colors are used to im-

prove viewing in light-polluted skies, whereas Nar-

rowband filters are designed to capture specific

wavelengths of light which is especially helpful in

imaging emission nebulae. Narrowband filters re-

quire long exposures, meaning steady mounts, relia-

ble tracking and sensitive cameras. The narrower

the bandpass, the better the filter……..and the

higher the price. There’s always a tradeoff.

In response to a question, Clem reminded everyone

that we see with our brains, not our eyes, and it is a

skill that has to be learned through practice.

Dan next introduced Frank Baratta for his

“What’s Up?” for December. The month of De-

cember is the time of the Winter Solstice. While

autumn’s star patterns still occupy our main viewing

area, winter’s patterns are rising in the east as

summer’s set in the west. Brilliant Venus and first-

magnitude Mars are readily visible to the naked

eye. Uranus is at the edge of naked-eye visibility,

while Neptune will require at least binoculars to

spot. Early evenings during December will find the

Milky Way passing high overhead. The Last Quar-

ter Moon on December 20th and the New Moon on

December 29th will offer Friday and Saturday ob-

serving opportunities on December 16th and 17th,

and December 23rd and 24th.

On Monday/Tuesday, 12th/13th, a Waxing gibbous

Moon will occult Aldebaran with the first contact

(Meeting Continued from page 1)



mailto:[email protected]









http://rvasclub.org

at about 23:00:13 on the 12th and last contact a

little over an hour later at about 00:14:12 on the

13th. On Tuesday/Wednesday, 13th/14th the Gemi-

nids Meteor Shower will make its appearance. Un-

fortunately this year, all but the brightest meteors

will be hidden by a full Moon. Algol, designated Be-

ta Persei and known colloquially as the Demon

Star, an eclipsing binary usually at magnitude 2.1,

will be at minimum magnitude (3.4) for about two

hours centered on 10:46 p.m. EST on Sunday the

18th. Minima occur for Algol every 2 days, 20 hours

and 49 minutes, so that on Wednesday, the 21st,

centered on 7:35 p.m., Algol will again be at mini-

mum for about two hours. Also on the 21st, the

Winter Solstice will occur at 5:44 a.m., giving us

the shortest day of the year.

After reviewing the overall look of the night sky

for our area on December 15th, including the place-

ment of Venus, Mars, Neptune and Uranus along

the Ecliptic, the WNW movement of the constella-

tions and the placement of the Milky Way versus

where it appeared on November 21st, Frank remind-

ed everyone that “What’s Up?” programs are post-

ed on the RVAS website under “Tips and Topics”

or at http://www.rvasclub.org/page23.htm.

Before giving up the floor, Frank asked President

Dan Chrisman to come to the front at which time

Frank presented Dan with the Astronomical

League certificate and pin for his exemplary lead-

ership and work with RVAS outreach events.

Dan then introduced Astronomical League Presi-

dent and RVAS member John Goss to present his

“Where’s That?”, a brief description of how to

find the deep-sky object of the month: NGC 7662,

Caldwell 22, the Blue Snowball planetary nebula.

In seven moderately easy steps clearly described

on a white board by John, you can find your way to

this planetary nebula which appears as a tiny round

glow in a medium to large scope. John reminded us

that a “planetary nebula” does not necessarily con-

tain or produce planets, that William Herschel

coined the term for this deep sky object because it

reminded him of his recently discovered gas giant

Uranus. Those seven steps can be found in a brief

article by John Goss elsewhere in this newsletter.

For our next agenda item, President Dan intro-

duced member John Wenskovitch to speak on his

“Telescope Mobility Adventures and Messier Ob-

serving”. John W. began with a series of slides

showing how he manages to squeeze his very large

Dobsonian into a very small automobile. Using his

Dob and three other scopes including a 1901

Brashear 9.5” refractor mounted in the Newton



RVAS President Dan Chrisman (left) receives his Astro-nomical League Outreach certificate and pin from Past-President Frank Baratta.

Photo by John Goss

Astronomical League President and RVAS member John Goss launches into his “Where’s That?” short program, targeting the Blue Snowball Nebula.



Observatory at Allegheny College in Meadville,

PA, John ran the table on the Messier 110 over a

three year period from June 2013 to June 2016.

He reported capturing 69 objects with his dobsoni-

an, 35 objects under the Newton Observatory

dome with the 9.5” Brashear, 5 objects with a 21”

Newtonian of the Amateur Astronomers Associa-

tion of Pittsburgh, and 1 object using a borrowed

8” Schmidt Cassegrain. John’s primary source for

his Messier 110 journey was the National Audubon

Society’s “Field Guide of the Night Sky”. John

W. applied his developing expertise in visual ana-

lytics toward his Messier observing. He described

what, when and where he observed in ways hereto-

fore never seen by club members. John W. contin-

ues his observing, having completed about half each

of the Caldwell Catalogue and the Herschel Cata-

logue.

With the clock rapidly spinning toward 9:00 p.m.,

Dave Thaler and Frank Baratta graciously agreed

to postpone their presentations to the next meet-

ing. Dan then thanked a number of members who

had helped make the Annual Picnic and Star Party

a success, especially Mark Hodges who once again

slaved over the hot coals serving up delicious dogs

and burgers. He also thanked those who had partic-

ipated in our many recent outreach events including

the VT Science Festival (Ray, Rene’ and Sierra

Bradley), Virginia Mountain Vineyards’ “Wine,

Moon and Stars” (John and Genevieve Goss,

Robin and Josh Jones, Carolyn Chrisman), the

Mountain View Elementary PTA STEM (Ray and

Sierra Bradley, Michael Martin), the Science

Museum of Western Virginia “Science Spooktac-

ular” (Roger Pommerenke, Carolyn Chrisman and

four Bradleys), and the VAAS Solar Observing

Outreach (Mark Hodges).

A quick review by Dan of potential future outreach

events and activities in December and February,

two questions concerning our club’s Facebook pres-

ence, followed by a call for any questions or com-

ments from the attendees, and the meeting was

closed promptly at 9:00 p.m.



“You don’t run 26 miles at five minutes a mile on

good looks and a secret recipe.”

Frank Shorter, Gold Medalist, 1972 Summer Olym-

pics.

Neither did club members depend on their good

looks or a secret recipe. Like marathons, there is

no secret recipe for attempting eight outreach

events in seven weeks. Everyone knows that enthu-

siastic club members and thoughtful preparation

are required ingredients.

Most of the members that participated in this mar-

athon of outreach events have been at this for

many years prior to my joining the club. Their dedi-

cation is documented in our newsletters over the

decade. However, I do not believe that our club

members have ever attempted so many events in

such brief a time. Here is the list of what we recently accomplished:

Sep. 11: Banff Radical Reels at the Jefferson Cen-

ter (Genevieve and John Goss, Ray Bradley, Dan

Chrisman).

Sep. 24: Blue Ridge Vineyards (Genevieve and

John Goss, Ray Bradley); curtailed by cloudiness.

Oct. 7: Virginia Mountain Vineyards (Robin and

Josh Jones, Genevieve and John Goss, Carolyn

and Dan Chrisman).

Oct. 8: Virginia Tech Science Festival (Rene’, Si-

erra and Ray Bradley, Carolyn and Dan Chris-

man).

Oct 11: Mountain View Elementary School (Michael

Martin, Sierra and Ray Bradley, Dan Chrisman).

Oct. 22: Science Museum of Western Virginia’s

Science Spooktacular (Roger Pommerenke, Darien,

Rene’, Sierra and Ray Bradley, Carolyn and Dan

Chrisman). (Eight Continued on page 6)

Omega Outreach: Mark Hodges shields the eyes of a Roanoke College student who is observing the sun through the club's Coronado solar refractor on October 29.

Photo by Dave Thomas

Eight Events in Seven Weeks!

An Outreach Marathon By Dan Chrisman

Alpha Outreach: Ray Bradley introduces a young lady and her father to astronomical software at the Banff Radical Reels event on September 11.

Photo by Dan Chrisman


Photos Wanted!!!

For the Annual Slideshow Have you photographed RVAS members at club activities or other astronomy/stargazing-related activi-

ties during 2016? Your photos are needed for our 5th Annual Slideshow to be shown at the December 19th

Winter Solstice Social. Email your photos to Frank Baratta at [email protected] or call 540-774-5651 for additional

information.

Did you know that the RVAS is on Facebook? Follow the largest

amateur astronomy club in southwest Virginia – just look for the

Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society public group and become a

member! (You must have a Facebook account to access the RVAS Facebook page.)

Also, learn more about amateur astronomy across the nation by

liking the Astronomical League on Facebook!

Oct. 22: Cahas Knob Overlook Public Outreach

(Frank Baratta), cancelled by cloudiness and high

winds.

Oct.29: VAAS 2016 Solar Observing (Mark Hodg-

es).

These members invested their time to prepare for

these events. The weather permitted most of

them to bring astronomy outreach to hundreds dur-

ing these seven weeks. Please consider joining us!

[My appreciation to Ray Bradley for his idea that

inspired this article.]

(Eight Continued from page 5)


https://www.facebook.com/groups/262461596251/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/262461596251/

On Saturday October 8th, we participated in the

Virginia Tech Science Festival. Students of all ages

spent the day visiting dozens of exhibits through-

out the Alumni Mall and within the Moss Arts Cen-

ter. Our designated space was strategically lo-

cated outside Henderson Hall near the registration

tent where we found a large assortment of food

and refreshments available to exhibitors and volun-

teers. The morning began at 8:30 am with two

families, Dan and Carolyn Chrisman along with

Ray, Rene’, and Sierra Bradley setting up our ac-

tivities in a drizzle of rain under a pop-up canopy

provided by the college. Our theme – “Exploring

the Solar System”.

We decorated the 10’x10’ exhibit space with RVAS

banners and a lunar poster provided by the Night

Sky Network. The Chrismans brought a LiTel tele-

scope, scale models of the planets, and the ever-

favorite astronomical scales. The Bradleys

brought a planetary shuffle activity (inspired by

Rand Bowden), several handouts, and VAAS promo-

tional material. At the last minute, Rene’ and Si-

erra trekked to a local hardware store and bought

marking flags which Dan and Ray used to pace off

a scale model of the solar system that stretched

from our site to the doorstep of the Lyric Theater

in downtown Blacksburg. As we completed our ex-

hibit setup, the sprinkling of rain stopped and we

all enjoyed fruits and cookies pillaged from the

registration tent while waiting for our first visi-

tors.

At first, a few local families approached sporadi-

cally from the town of Blacksburg. This gave us

time to practice our activities and develop our

shtick which proved very fortunate because, soon

afterwards, school buses loaded with children ar-

rived. They came from Radford City, Norton City,

Buchanan County, Henry County, Carroll County, and

as far away as Norfolk City. Naively, we tried to

keep count of the people who stopped at our exhib-

it. Keep in mind, our exhibit was by far NOT the

main attraction and we were placed on the out-

skirts of the festival. Nevertheless, we lost count

of attendees after about an hour. For much of the

day, it was all the five of us could do to run our ac-

tivities with so many curious minds to feed. Of

course, we did make time to raid the registration

tent of sandwiches and more cookies on a couple of

occasions.

With so much activity and so many passer-byers,

one person can’t tell the whole story. And, no

doubt, each of the five participating members re-

member certain visitors more than others. So, let’s

hear the anecdotes from each one.

Ray Bradley: “Our visitors weren’t limited to

school-aged children. There were many adults

(Science Continued on page 8)

Virginia Tech Science Festival

By Rene’, Sierra & Ray Bradley and Carolyn & Dan Chrisman

Dan Chrisman visits the Science Museum of Western Va.'s table inside the Moss Center as their staff pre-pares. (L-R, Hannah Weiss, Education Manager; Jordan Thayer, Museum Educator & Sarah Van Zele, Marketing & Development Manager.

Photo by Carolyn Chrisman


interested in our ac-

tivities, many of whom

were teachers. A Ko-

rean professor came

by our tent, escorting

a visiting Chinese fam-

ily. After discussing a

few recent discoveries

within our solar sys-

tem, my curiosity led

me to ask how the

planets were named in

both Korean and Chi-

nese. I learned that

the meaning and char-

acters of each planet

are the same in both

languages though the

pronunciations are

slightly different.

Interestingly, the five

naked-eye planets

were given names long

ago that correspond

to the five different

elements thought at

the time to make up

the universe. Star of

Water is Mercury; Star of Metal is Venus; Star of

Fire is Mars; Star of Wood is Jupiter; and Star of

Soil is Saturn. The names of the planets discov-

ered in modern time are translations of the Greek

gods, e.g. King of the Sea for Neptune. Earth is

simply Sphere of Ground or “JeeGoo”. Interest in

astronomy knows no language barrier!”

Rene’ Bradley: “One gentleman who stopped by the

tent was from Germany. He was here for 2 ½

weeks visiting his son who is earning his Master’s

degree at Virginia Tech. In discussing the scales

and how much you’d weigh on the different objects,

I learned that his son also works for the European

Space Agency!”

Sierra Bradley: “It seemed like it was going to be

a cold, miserable day at the festival. Well, it was

cold. A good breeze and light

rainfall added to the cold temperature brought on

by hurricane Matthew. I thought for sure that no

one would show up. To my pleasant surprise, howev-

er, we had a decent crowd at our tent for most of

the day. Our visitors consisted mostly of small

children, though we had quite a few interested

adults come up, too. I remember clearly one par-

ticular boy. He came right up to the tent and

started talking to everyone. He seemed very inter-

ested in each activity, especially the scales. Even

after he finished all the activities, he stuck around

to talk. He seemed to have a passion for science.

We jokingly offered to let him teach the other

kids. Of course, he was ready and willing to do so.

I kept thinking to myself that we’ve got a future

scientist on our hands! No matter how cold or rainy

it was that day, it was definitely worth it just to

see all these kids so interested in astronomy!”

Dan Chrisman: “Often, you could not see the RVAS

banner hanging from the table because children

were packed three and four deep around the scales

and Planetary Board game. Seeking safety, eight to

ten parents stood back on the concrete walk with

me, watching the activity and chatting about the

library telescope, our club, their telescopes and

their favorite dark site.”

Carolyn Chrisman: “At first, we were jealous of

the exhibitors who scored spaces inside the Moss

Center; warm, dry, with bathrooms nearby. Howev-

er, those inside spaces soon became hot, muggy and

crowded. It was much more fun to capture poten-

tial visitors with the offer of “Do you want to know

(Science Continued from page 7)

(Science Continued on page 9)

A little brother checks out his big sister's weight on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as Ray Bradley looks on.


Sierra and Rene' enjoy a break in the action.



Use Our Message Line!

Want to check whether anyone is getting out on a scheduled observing session night or share that you’re

planning to do so? Have questions about the club or need its assistance? Call the RVAS Message Line,

540-774-5651, and leave a message or listen for any information available.

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what you weigh on the moon?” as they passed by.

Then we lead them through exercises in ordering

the planets and guessing the planet’s relative size

and distance (using our newly acquired flags). For

someone new to outreach, I quickly learned the ba-

sics and am grateful to both Dan and Ray for being

available for the tough questions.”

By 3pm, the school buses were loaded for their re-

turn trip and the flow of visitors ended. We

packed our wares and headed for home; tired but

feeling good about the day. In all, the VT Science

Festival had 84 exhibits and 6,000 attendees.

We’ll have to do this again next year, though. I am

sure we missed a few!

(Science Continued from page 8)

Carolyn Chrisman kneels to educate a mother and son with the Planetary Board game.



RVAS from the Past

By Bill Dillon

RVAS 25 Years Ago

The December 14th opening of the Galbraith Tele-

scope exhibit at the Science Museum of Western

Virginia highlighted the December 1991 issue of

the RVAS Newsletter. The centerpiece of the ex-

hibit was the display of a telescope built by the

late Bart Galbraith, a Salem amateur and telescope

-maker, in whose memory and honor the exhibit was

conceived. In addition to afternoon workshops fea-

turing UVa’s Dr. Philip Ianna, RVAS members Ray

Greenman and Gary Close, and Planetarium Director

Britt Rossie, The Science was sponsoring an evening

observing session with its newly acquired 17.5-inch

Coulter Dobsonian telescope seeing “first light”.

RVAS members were “welcomed and encouraged to

participate in the December 14th festivities”, and

asked to bring their telescopes to the observing

session to be held at Explore Park.

A humorous article contributed by Gary Close and

taken from the newsletter of the Back Bay

(Virginia) Amateur Astronomers on Astronomical

Mnemonics described the spectral class sequence O

-B-A-F-G-K-M, with the lesser known R-N-S stars

appended as the commonly known mnemonic, “Oh,

Be A Fine Girl(Guy), Kiss Me Right Now Sweetie”.

Several other mnemonics were offered as substi-

tutes. My favorite is “OddBall Astronomers Find

Generally Kooky Mnemonics Really Nifty Stuff!”

RVAS 10 Years Ago

The lead article for the December 2006 Newslet-

ter submitted by Tom Clarke of Roanoke City Parks

and Recreation, honors our own Frank Baratta for

being one of only two individuals to receive the

Commonwealth-wide Distinguished Volunteer Ser-

vice Award for 2005 presented at the 52nd Annual

Conference of the Virginia Recreation and Park So-

ciety attended by over 1200 delegates. The author

reports that over one hundred applications were

received vying for awards in 14 different catego-

ries. Frank’s frequent outreach, hands-on demon-

strations and observing opportunities appealing to

participants of all ages. “Through his passion and

experience he has provided astronomy education to

over 2,000 participants in the past 14 years.” For-

tunately for RVAS, its members and the Roanoke

Valley, Frank has continued to reach hundreds, per-

haps thousands more since 2005.


The Science Museum of Western Virginia hosted

the October 22 “Science Spooktacular” on the

fourth, fifth and rooftop floors of Center in the

Square (CITS). Representing RVAS was our

weirdest collection of volunteers ever: Schröding-

er’s Cat, a Star Wars Sith Lord, the Flash with

some torn knee cartilage, a Tweety-Bird-footie-

pajama-clad four-year-old, a vegetarian werewolf

and two bespectacled wizards. When we arrived at

this costume-encouraged event, a Science Museum

staff member assigned us a table at the fifth-floor

entrance to the Science Museum (sadly, no nearby

tables for us to exercise eminent domain, our club

standard operating procedure…). With mostly clear

skies, we decided to send the werewolf with one of

the wizards to the windy rooftop to host the club’s

Coronado solar telescope and white-solar-filter-

clad LiTel-in-Training telescope. The remaining

characters acclimated to the warmer environs with

the weight scales and Planetary Board game.

The Flash (Rene’ Bradley) reports: The morning

started off slowly with just a few small children

toddling over to the table, but it soon picked up.

We quickly learned that some of our games were a

little too advanced for the age groups attending

the event. As always, I think I learned more from

our young visitors. While putting the planets in or-

(Volunteers Continued on page 12)

Weirdest Volunteers Ever at

the Science Spooktacular [This article is another in a series about our seven-week marathon of outreach events.]

By Roger Pommerenke, Ray & Rene’ Bradley and Dan Chrisman

Step right up to test your knowledge with the Planetary Board Game” with The Flash and Schrödinger’s Cat (aka Rene' and Sierra Bradley).

Photo by SMWV staff

A 501st Legion Storm Trooper observes the sun with Ray, Darien and Sierra Bradley on the rooftop of the Center in the Square (CITS).

Photo by Dan Chrisman.


der, one young girl sang me a song she learned in

school – a little twist on the mnemonic we were us-

ing to name the planets in order (My Very Educated

Mother Just Served Us Nachos).

After some time when the crowd began to grow, I

enlisted the help of a couple of Storm Troopers. I

sent them to the rooftop to see the solar scope.

When they returned to the table to inform me they

thought it was “cool,” I challenged them to spread

the word. Not only did I overhear them telling the

crowd about the “cool” solar scope, but they also

escorted a few groups to the rooftop! Way to take

a challenge and run with it!

The Dragon Wizard (Roger Pommerenke) continues:

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the

CITS was two Star Wars Storm Troopers interact-

ing with the crowd. And the crowd was happy. Es-

pecially the kids.

I was half an hour early so I had time to view other

exhibits. IMHO, the best exhibits were by Virginia

Tech. The college students were eager to describe

their projects, and they were so young. It made

me wish I was back in college.

Then there was that “I’m getting old” moment. At

the Virginia Tech Microbiology Club exhibit, there

was very poised young woman answering my ques-

tions in a very self-assured manner. It turned out

the’ sweet young thing’ was not a student, but the

professor. I apologized and commented that I

thought cops, airplane pilots, and doctors, also

seemed to be getting younger every year.

Narrator: After a busy playtime from noon until 2

pm of guiding museum goers to our table, the paja-

ma-clad four-year-old (aka Carolyn Chrisman),

ready for a nap, was spelled (bad pun) by a wizard.

The Wizard named Roger continues: At 2PM, it was

time for me to begin my shift. But Ray and Dan

were having so much fun on the roof with the solar

(Volunteers Continued from page 11)

(Volunteers Continued on page 13)

Sierra Bradley and Roger Pommerenke at the Solar Observing Session on the windy rooftop of Center in the Square.

Photo by Ray Bradley

On the fifth floor, Roger Pommerenke answers an inquisitive youngster's question.



telescopes that they declined to be relieved. So I

went downstairs to help Ray’s daughter Sierra who

was apparently dressed in a Halloween costume as

Schrödinger’s cat. Since I didn’t know what Sierra

looked like, I had to ask people if they had seen

Schrödinger’s cat. I’ll never forget the VT student

whom I had previously talked with, who said,

“Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t”.

Eventually I found Rene’ who was happy to take a

well-deserved coffee break. She was showing kids

how much they weigh on earth, and would weigh on

the moon and Jupiter. I learned that very few kids’

mothers want to know their weight on earth --if I

was watching. And none of the kid’s mothers wants

to learn how much they weigh on Jupiter.

The Bespectacled Wizard Not Named Roger (Dan

Chrisman) continues: I learned that wearing a five-

foot-long cape amid gusting twenty mph winds and

$2000 of solar gear was not befitting a wise wiz-

ard. And I learned that fully outfitting those two

Storm Troopers cost them more than all our solar

gear combined. And I learned that my explanation

to second graders of why Sierra was specifically

“Schrödinger’s” cat became an entangled mess…

spooky.

The Vegetarian Werewolf (Ray Bradley) continues:

The rooftop solar observing was well attended with

a constant flow of families and students. Unfortu-

nately, many had to wait for the clouds to get out

of the way long enough to see the sun through our

two scopes. We set up the club’s Coronado scope

that uses an H-alpha filter and, for comparison, an

Orion 4.5” Newtonian with a white light filter. You

had to have pretty good eyesight to see the one

small sunspot visible on the surface of the sun with

the Orion telescope. But the H-alpha filter on the

Coronado revealed coronal mass ejections along the

periphery of the sun throughout the day.

Dan continues: At 4 pm, we completed the event

and headed home, secure in the knowledge that we

had performed admirably as RVAS’ weirdest volun-

teers ever.

(Volunteers Continued from page 12)

Under the watchful eye of a Wizard, a Sith Lord ob-serves one thousandth of the intensity of the sun through a white solar filter.

Photo by SMWV staff

Amateur astronomers just don't use this word enough!

constellate |ˈkänstəlāt|verb literary form or cause to form into a cluster or

group; gather together: [ no obj. ] : the towns and valleys where people constel-late | [ with obj. ] : their stories were never constellated. ORIGIN mid 17th cent.:

from late Latin constellatus, from con- ‘together’ + stellatus ‘arranged like a star.’


Get Connected!

Want to be more in touch with other RVAS members? Join the RVAS Yahoo Group! Share last-minute

observing plans, articles, ideas, astrophotos—you name it. You’ll need to have or create a Yahoo email ad-

dress. Click the link below. Once logged in, provide the information requested, including your real name

since the group is only for members and those invited. You’ll receive an acknowledgement from the mod-

erator.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RVAS_Club/info

For assistance, call the RVAS Message Line (540-774-5651). We’ll have you connected in no time!



https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RVAS_Club/info

Monthly Calendar

MONTHLY MEETING: “Winter Solstice Social”, December 19th, 7:30 p.m., Classroom A, 3rd floor,

Center on Church, Downtown Roanoke. Bring a munchie to share with your RVAS friends as we gather for

our annual fun fest heralding the winter season! We’ll have a variety of activities, including our annual

slideshow, highlights of the night sky, open mic time for anyone who’d like to spotlight a favorite subject and

maybe a game or two to go along with our munching. Be sure to join us at our annual winter bash!

RVAS WEEKEND OBSERVING OPPORTUNITIES: RVAS members observe from various sites. Cahas Knob

Overlook, at milepost 139 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is the traditional location most frequented. For up-

dates on members’ observing plans, log onto the RVAS Yahoo Group (RVAS members only) and/or call the

RVAS Message Line, 540-774-5651, about an hour before sunset on the indicated dates.

-- Friday and Saturday, December 16th and 17th. Sunset is at 5:04 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at

6:38 p.m. The Moon rises at 8:20 and 9:24 p.m., respectively.

-- Friday and Saturday, December 23rd and 24th. Sunset is at 5:08 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 6:41

p.m. The Moon sets at 1:18 and 1:49 p.m., respectively.

-- Future Observing Opportunities: January 20th and 21st; January 27th and 28th.

ROANOKE CITY PARKS and RECREATION PUBLIC STARGAZE: Saturday, December 17th, 6:00 p.m.,

Cahas Knob Overlook, milepost 139, Blue Ridge Parkway. Nonmembers must register with Parks & Rec. at

540-853-2236. Members can call 540-774-5651 for information. (Next session: January 21st, 6:30 p.m., Ca-

has Knob Overlook, milepost 139, Blue Ridge Parkway.)

Astro-Quiz

The ability of a telescope to show fine detail depends on three criteria: resolution, contrast and definition.

Ignoring sky and human factors, and assuming high quality optical components, what two factors of a tele-

scope’s design most influence this ability?

Answer to Last Month’s Quiz: Last month’s quiz question was posed by John Goss, who asked, “What well-

known and prominent star has rarely, if ever, been viewed through a telescope when it was at the zenith?”

With the “zenith” being the point directly overhead of our given location, his question becomes a search for

the remotest sites where such a star is overhead. And, as Harry Montoro correctly concluded, the North

Pole certainly qualifies, making the star in question Polaris, the North Star. Congratulations once again to

Harry! Have an answer to this month’s quiz (or a future question and answer to suggest)? E-mail it to as-

[email protected]!




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