On the web at http://www.nhastro.com/

Observer StaffEditor & Publisher:Paul Winalski

Newsletter of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society

Vol. 2011 No. 5 “All the news that fits in print” May 2011

Aerospacefest 2011PPPrrreeesssiiidddeeennnttt’’’sss MMMeeessssssaaagggeee

The recent rain may have kept usfrom observing, but the sunshine ofOPT has smiled warmly upon ourLibrary Telescope Program. Therecent very generous gift is anendorsement of the program andwill let us expand it hugely.

Congratulations to Marc

Stowbridge for the idea and manythanks to all the “telescope parents”who maintain the library telescopes.

� John Bishop

NHASPresident 2011

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This was a very busy month for ourpublic outreach efforts. We held alarge number of public sky watches,and we had a big presence at theMcAuliffe-Shepard DiscoveryCenter’s Aerospacefest 2011 event.My thanks especially to Ted Blank,who was the NHAS coordinator forthis event, and the key to itssuccess.

John Bishop has the first lightreport of the Rob Teeter truss tubemakeover of his 9-inch DGM off-axis Newtonian reflector. I havepersonally looked at and throughthis telescope and IMO this is afirst-class job well done.

� Paul Winalski

NHAS Secretary 2011

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The McAuliffe-Shepard DiscoveryCenter held its fifth annualAstronomy Bowl competition on 26March 2011. High school-age

contestants answered a gruelingbarrage of questions on theirknowledge of Astronomy in hopesof winning scholarship awards.This year’s competition wasespecially keen. It took thirty (!) tiebreaker questions to determine thewinner. The awards were presentedduring Aerospacefest 2011 byastronaut Lee Morin.

NHAS also presented prizes to thewinners of the 2011 AstronomyBowl. The awards were presentedby Rich Schueller. Each of the topthree contestants received a oneyear free NHAS membership(through October 2012). And also:

First place winner Cameron

Steckler, Nashua High SchoolSouth 11th grade, was awarded a4.5” Orion Starblast telescope (asconfigured for the LibraryTelescope Program) and a LunarAtlas.

Rich Schueller congratulates the

winner of the Astronomy Bowl

(Ted Blank photo)

Second place winner Gregory

Vance, Nashua High School South12th grade, was awarded Tasco10x60 binoculars and a MessierObjects book.

Third place winner Anastasia

Stevens, Contoocook ValleyRegional High School 12th grade,

was awarded a Star Gazershandbook and a planesphere.

Congratulations to all three of the2011 Astronomy Bowl winners fora job well done! We all hope to seeyou at future NHAS events.

� Paul Winalski

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Here are reports from some of theNHAS members who made thisevent a success for us. Many morephotos are posted in the “Meetings”forum on the NHAS website. Mythanks to all who helped make thisevent such as success! Well done,all!

� Paul Winalski

Ready for Friday evening’s

observing session at Aerospacefest

(Herb Bubert photo)

Gardner Gerry demos astrophoto

gear (Herb Bubert photo)

2 The NHAS Observer May 2011

John and Michael Pappas with

the demo reflector (Ted Blank

photo)

Due to the hard work of thesededicated people, hundreds ofmembers of the public were treatedto a real astronomy experience atAerospacefest 2011 at theMcAuliffe-Shepard DiscoveryCenter. Some were active duringthe event, some before or after, buteveryone made a great contribution.Special thanks to Nori for providingdelicious cookies, to Joel Harris

for teaching us how to put up thetent, and to Don Byrne for interiordecoration.

Participating NHAS members:Patrick Adams, Matt Amar, John

Bishop, Ted Blank, Don Byrne,Ken Charles, Joyce Icaza, Brian

Icaza, Gardner Gerry, David

Gilmore, Joel Harris, Marion

Hochuli, John Pappas, Michael

Pappas, Rich Schueller, Melinde

Sanborn, Marc Stowbridge, Mike

Townsend, Paul Winalski.

Mr. T., Soulshine, and Ken

Charles (Ted Blank photo)

The outdoor crew braved a cold,windy cloudy morning, finallybeing rewarded with clear skiesaround 1PM, when lots of solarobserving took place. Threemembers manned the MSDCObservatory the entire day in shifts,while others worked the indoorcrowd, demonstrated howtelescopes worked, handed out

brochures, pitched the LibraryTelescope Program, and justgenerally did us all proud. Thanksto everyone.

� Ted Blank

Dave Gilmore explains solar

observing in the MSDC

observatory dome (Herb Bubert

photo)

I had a great time despite the earlyclouds and somewhat chill wind. Ithink those dampened the public’sspirit because I don’t recall seeingthat many people until the afternoonwhen the sun was more prevalent,though that could simply becoincidence. Good news is the lackof pressing crowds made it easier toengage people in demonstrations,and solar viewing. Kudos to Kenfor the brilliant vanilla smokemachine and Joe Derek for theexcellent laser holding assembly,which improved that demoimmensely.

� David “Rags” Gilmore

Rich Schueller explains the

subtleties of H-α observing (Ted

Blank photo)

A special thanks to all the NHASmembers who selflessly donatedtheir time and talents Friday nightand/or Saturday to help to make thisa great Aerospacefest 2011. Thevast array of scopes and displayshad something to intrigue youngand old, experienced and novice.We also thank the NHAS for thegenerous donation of prizes for the

Astronomy Bowl V winners. Ibelieve the enthusiasm with whichthey were received is indicative ofthe use they will get and theknowledge the students will gain.Let’s look forward to Aerospacefest2012 May 4 & 5, 2012!

� Dave McDonald

Director of EducationMcAuliffe-Shepard Discovery

Center

… always said I shouldn’t look

into the eyes of the Sun. But

mama, that’s where the fun is!

(Ted Blank photo)

We received this message of thanksfrom Jeanne T. Grrulkis, theExecutive Director of the MSDC:

“Thank you everyone for an

EXCELLENT Aerospacefest

2011!!!!

“What a fun day. Things really

came together. Lots of happy people

enjoying the day, enjoying learning.

Hooray!

“Thank you for the parts you each

played. Please forward this to our

volunteers and work-study students

who also helped, as I don’t have

those email addresses. But

volunteers & work-study students,

we treasure you! Thank you for

helping get kids & families excited

about aviation, astronomy, Earth

science, space science, math,

biology, physics – what a great

day!”

� Ted Blank

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One of the organizers countedninety-one attendees. We hadtelevision press coverage, as well.NHAS participants: Ted Blank,Herb Bubert, Tom Cocchiaro,Brian Cossette, Carl Speltz, David

Speltz.

May 2011 The NHAS Observer 3

The event was very successful. TheStratham Library folks countedninety-one embers of the public atthe sky watch. I just know that wehad six or more scopes and lines ateach. Skies were clear. I was ableto help a family who brought theirown scope (one of those 60mmlong-tube refractors on a wobblymount) to find Saturn, which theythought was beyond the power oftheir scope. Once we got the mountstabilized properly, we got a verysharp, albeit small, view of Saturnwith the 20mm eyepiece the scopecame with (looked like a Kellner).Fortunately the focuser took 1-1/4"eyepieces so I could let themborrow my 11mm TeleVue Plosslfor a much better view of Saturn--and three of his moons. They weredelighted to know they could seeother things besides individual starsin that scope.

The Stratham Library Telescopewas there.

We also got to see a ISS pass and anIridium flare.

� Paul Winalski

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I picked up my new Rob Teeterstructure at NEAF last weekendwhere he had been displaying it inhis booth. He said it got a lot ofattention: people would glance at itand then do double-takes becausethere was no secondary spider. Thenthey’d ask him what was going on.So it got traffic for him, which isgood.

John Bishop and his Teeter 9”

OA reflector (Herb Bubert photo)

If enough of those inquirers actuallyfollow-up with him because they

want an off-axis telescope maybe hemight contact Dodgen (though evenif Dodgen were willing to make 9-inch mirrors again, he’d probablyhave to order four mirrors and thatwould be a significant investmentunless he had four solid orders). Sothose of you who want a 9-inchshould speak up!

Speaking of Dodgen, I saw DougReilly of “Punked Astronomy” atNEAF. He still has his Dodgen 6-inch but still has not written areview.

Back to my new telescope! Thewoodwork is beautiful. It’s stained adark cherry and all the hardware isbrass. The shroud fits tautly. Evenat zenith I won’t need to go up morethan one step on a ladder, which is abig improvement over the oldstructure and one of my goals in thisproject. Motions are easy and thetelescope stays where you leave itwhen pointed. The mirror box is agood bit heavier than I expected.Rob had to add weights in themirror box to compensate for theweight of the finder. That's aconsequence of the long focallength (and of his choice of radiusfor the altitute circle). But it willpack up smaller than the oldfiberglass tube and giant dob mount,which was my other major goal inthis conversion.

The telescope isn't 100% finished: Istill need to permanently install thered-dot and 9x50 RACI finderswhen I figure out exactly where Iwant them and I’d like to installlight baffles and screening over theventilation holes in the bottom ofthe mirror box. I like having the air-flow the big holes make possible,but I don't want mice or lightcoming through them!

Last night I attached a Telrad to thefinder board and got “first light”. Iwas in my in-town backyard. Thesky was very clear and stars did nottwinkle. I didn’t run the fans butthey weren't really necessary.

It took me a bit of time to collimate.I marked the truss poles so thatfuture uses will be consistent andfaster though I’ll have to figure outa better marking system than ringsof masking tape for the longer run! I

used a laser to collimate thesecondary and approximate theprimary; then I used the “sliver ofsecondary seen in the image of theprimary in the secondary” methodwhich Dan McShane teaches to geta rough collimation. That wasfollowed by star collimation. Thefirst time I did this process, thecollimation screws bottomed out, soI loosened all three a considerableamount and started over. Bottomingout is easy in this structure becausethere’s a fan installed directly underthe mirror, so downward travel islimited.

Once I got it collimated, it wasgreat. Stars were tiny bright dots.Castor was an easy split at lowpower. I didn't have much sky tolook at due to trees, but I got thebest view of the Eskimo Nebula(NGC 2392) that I’ve ever had, withmottled detail in the disc.

Saturn was up, so I partiallydisassembled the scope to move itout to the sidewalk where Saturnwas visible. Rob’s design attachesthe truss tubes to a ring which isitself attached to the mirror box byfour hand knobs.. so you canremove the ring from the mirror boxand the truss and upper cage staytogether as a moveable unit. Thatmade it much faster to move thetelescope. As a bonus, theconnection is exact enough thatcollimation is preserved!

Saturn was clear. I saw five moons(confirmed by Calsky today). Fromthe preceeding side: Titan, Rhea andDione close together, Saturn,Enceladus dim and just above thering and on the trailing side, Tethys.I didn’t see the Cassini division.

� John Bishop

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I didn’t write down a list ofmembers, but as I recall we had:Ed Ting gave a talk, Ted Blank,Herb Bubert, Ken Charles ,Gardner Gerry; John Rose, Bill

Steele, Mike Townsend, new

4 The NHAS Observer May 2011

member Duncan whose last name Idon't remember.

Sky conditions turned out muchbetter then expected, but, theparking lot lights were brutal. Tobad we couldn’t set up in the ballfield. Not much beyond Saturn anda few bright double stars to show.

� John Rose

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This sky watch was part of an eventcalled “Starfest”. A student clubfocused on the environment and re-forestation had arranged forchaperones, a band and food. Theband was surprisingly good, playingmostly classic rock. There wereabout eighty high school studentsthere, playing frisbee and having agood time.

I arrived at 6:30 PM to give me timeto set up. There was someconfusion about the location. Thestudents told me I could drive on thefield but then the grounds guy cameout and ordered cars off the fieldbecause there were buried pipes.The location chosen for thetelescopes was hundreds of yardsout from the parking lot in abaseball field, with wet grass overmud. I suggested a dryer, firmercorner near the parking lot whichwas somewhat sheltered from thelights and I set up there.

No other NHAS members showedup. No Salem High person had ascope. So I showed Betelgeuse assoon as it showed up, then Algiebabecause it was a double. By then itwas dark enough to find Saturn andI showed Saturn from 7:45 PM to9:45 PM, when the Starfest wasover and I packed up.

The kids were appreciative andorderly; the members of theorganizing club and the teacherswho were chaperoning were helpfulin moving my gear and interested inwhat I had to say about starevolution and doubles. But theydidn’t have much backgroundknowledge–it wasn'’ an audience ofstudents prepared by a sciencemodule on astronomy.

I used my “new” nine-inch off-axisin the new structure. It performedreally well. Even in a sky so hazythat only Titan of Saturn’s moonscould be seen, I could see the ringsas tilted arches and a band on theplanet body.

� John Bishop

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On April 30th the clear sky chartlooked good and I headed over toYFOS to try out something new:galaxy hopping. I had just read anarticle about the Virgo GalaxyCluster in the May 2011 edition ofSky & Telescope in which theauthor claimed that there were somany galaxies in that cluster thatyou did not need to star hop, but canjust move from one galaxy to thenext.

My point of entry for this eveningwas Denebola in Leo. From there Istar hopped to M98, M99 andM100. After another short star hop Iarrived at the bottom of Markarian’schain: M84 and M86. From thatpoint I was indeed able to just movefrom one galaxy to the next. Ibasically just followed the star mapsand directions in the Sky andTelescope article from here on out.

The transparency was good so thegalaxies were showing very nicely.I ended up seeing twenty-eightgalaxies during this tour, includingthirteeen Messier objects. To roundout the evening I took a look at theSombrero Galaxy, the Ring Nebulaand the Great Cluster in Hercules.Not a bad way to spend a beautifuland warm spring evening!

� Stijn Brand

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We had clear skies and excellentseeing for this sky watch. NHASmembers who attended: Ted

Blank, Herb Bubert, Gardner

Gerry, Paul Winalski.

There was an indoor presentation ofvery impressive 3rd grade classprojects on the Moon and the SolarSystem, followed by the sky watch.

Ted and Herb attended the indoorevent.

Uh-oh, Herb, better check that

eyepiece for fingerprints (Ted

Blank photos).

The sky watch started well beforesunset and we mainly showed theMoon (very sharp views at FirstQuarter) and Saturn (Titan triviallyvisible–a couple of other moonswith effort).

Paul Winalski explains lunar

geography.

As it got darker I was able to showalso Castor, Mizar, the Beehive, andM35. Gardner picked up M3 aswell.

A parent brought a scope as well.

There were 50+ attendees. The sitehad a very good view and darkskies, marred only by the school'sfloodlights. This would be anexcellent site if we could get thelights turned off.

May 2011 The NHAS Observer 5

Our host Ms. Sutton (left), with

her student teacher Courtney.

Thanks to all who made this event asuccess--especially to Ted, whotraveled a long way.

� Paul Winalski

Just to expand a bit on the indooractivities at Antrim ElementarySchool:

The student projects were trulyamazing for 3rd graders. Theteacher, Ms. Sutton, and her studentteacher Courtney, encouraged thestudents to go way beyond therequirements for 3rd grade. Eachstudent chose a planet, made ascience-fair-size poster on theirplanet with hand-drawn images andfacts about it. Then each studentadded a personal diagramexplaining why the moon hasphases. Finally, each studentcomposed a Haiku about why theearth was a special place. I willupload photos of these projects tothe forum with the outdoor pictures.

The students then sang a song aboutPluto for the audience, lamenting itsdemise from the pantheon of planetsbut insisting it would always have awarm place in their hearts.

Two of the Student Posters (Ted

Blank photo)

Realizing that the schedule wasgoing to bring the students out quiteearly in essentially full daylight, myoffer to give a thirty minnute talk onwhat people were going to see in thescopes was accepted, and that went

from 7:00 to 7:30. (The schedulewas developed based on earlybedtimes for 3rd graders on a schoolnight, but the parents were veryunderstanding in letting the kidsstay later.) During my talk I waspleased to be able to introduce theauthor of one of my slides. HerbBubert accepted a warm round ofapplause from the audience for hisefforts to image Saturn each year,along with their good wishes forcompletion of his project to imageSaturn for an entire Saturnian year.The students participated in mycompetition to guess the Earth-Moon distance, and I showed a fewslides on lunar craters and Saturn aswell as my favorite, the HubbleDeep Field image. We finishedwith instructions on respecting theequipment and how the telescopesworked.

The student teacher’s fatherbrought his Tasco 5” reflector,which gave very good images of themoon. It's main drawback was themount, an EQ-1 or equivalent on avery shaky tripod. It took a goodfifteen minutes to reverse the finderscope so it pointed up, balance bothaxes, set the latitude adjustment,adjust the rings, center the finder...most of you have been throughthese efforts, and at the end therewas still so much play that using thescope was mostly an exercise infrustration. There’s a reason tospend more money on your mount–it actually makes the hobby fun!Too bad the public so often gets theother impression. For example, thefinder scope mount only had threescrews instead of six, so when youloosened any one of them the finderscope slid down and hit you in theeye. Welcome to Astronomy–ouch!However, we kept it more or lesspointed at the moon all night andpeople did use it and track the moona bit.

The club members who attendedprovided a whole range ofequipment - binoculars on a tripod,an ST-80 on a Portamount, an80mm APO on a minitower, an 8”reflector on a G-8, and two biggerdobs. This helped keep the linesshort, but also gave people a niceoverview of how the same target

looked in different scopes and scopedesigns. So if you are everwondering if an extra scope will behelpful at an outreach event, theanswer is yes for both reasonsmentioned above! I brought bothversions (normal and mirror image)of the S&T laminated map of themoon, and quite a few people usedthem and began to appreciate lunargeography a bit. The terminatorwent right through Sinus Iridum,and I don't think there's a better timefor lunar observing than thisbecause in the north you've got theMaria and in the south the crateredhighlands for contrast. Plato andCopernicus were both easily visibletoo.

One of the students (Molly) tookhome an NHAS application and herparents were supportive of herjoining the club. I will ask theteacher for her parents' contact infoso someone can get in touch withthem.

���� Ted Blank

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Ken Charles, Marc Stowbridge,and Ted Blank set up four solarscopes in the parking lot of theThomas Leighton Cruise Ship forthe 2011 Portsmouth Children’sFestival. We had hundreds ofvisitors of all ages. The sky wasblue and cloudless and lots ofinteresting features were visible onthe sun. Tom Cocchiaro was goingto be coordinator but could not gethome from Florida in time due tothe delay in the launch of the spaceshuttle Discovery, but he kindlymade available his tent, tables, solarposters and other equipment.

(Ted Blank photos)

6 The NHAS Observer May 2011

Barbara Massar, the director of ProPortsmouth who organized the day,stopped by at the end and enjoyed anice long sit-down (her first of theday!) and view of solar prominencesand sunspots. She expressed herappreciation to NHAS and lookedforward to seeing us again atMarket Square Day. Sheila Charles

was also on hand to lend some extrasunshine to the activities.

���� Ted Blank

Sunshine through Soulshine with

Ken Charles

Marc offers both white light and

H-α

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Despite the star-gazing part of theCamporee event being called off forHudson NH, I decided to go anywayas I live just down the road fromwhere it was taking place. Theweather held up and I had over onehundred Scouts look at Saturn andthe moon through my 17-1/2”reflector. I have to say I wasimpressed by the leaders who kept

things well under control as theyorganized visitations by groups ofapproximately ten at a time. I neverfelt overwhelmed.

� Joe Derek

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We had about thirty people attendthe indoor talk at the Weeks PublicLibrary, and then come out forobserving next door at theGreenland Central School. On sitefrom NHAS were Ted Blank, Herb

Bubert. Larry Lopez, Tim Mauro,Don McDaniels, Jim Moe (a friendfrom Portsmouth) , and Paul

Winalski. One of the visitorsbrought his Meade ETX 90, whichgave nice views of the Moon andSaturn. They had no idea how toalign it or use the handset.Unfortunately neither did any of uswho were trying to help them. Isuggested they come to First Fridayat MSDC where there would nodoubt be Meade-a-holics in greatnumbers. Skies were clear and verysteady. The view of Saturn inHerb’s big Starmaster dob were todie for. Don M. had a red filter inhis 8” dob which brought out theMoon craters very nicely. Sevenpeople from the school next dooralso came over.

The librarian was able to get theparking lights turned off, which wasgreat. Unfortunately, we had alltucked back into a corner behind abuilding which ended up havinglights all over it... live and learn.Next year we'll get it right.

Thanks again to everyone who cameout.

� Ted Blank

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The Chairman is still not doing wellon getting things done that need toget done. The subject of how thebuildings at YFOS are fairing, andwhat near and long termmaintenance issues came up at thelast officers’ meeting. As agreed Idid contact a club member in theconstruction trade who is willing to

take a look at the buildings with thisin mind. Replacing a roof forexample is expensive so we shouldstart thinking of setting aside moneyfor such things.

I do have some feedback that theclub tent may need some newbungee cords that hold the tarp tothe frame. Perhaps someknowledgeable member would bewilling to locate replacements?

� John Rose, Chairman

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I delivered the Rye Library Scopetoday, May 10th, with Marc'smodifications, and I will be goingback to provide some additionaltraining for the staff when they canschedule it. This is a picture of meand Lyn Beattie, a member of thegroup called Friends of the RyeLibrary who funded the purchase.

The Library Director, AndrewRichmond, got a quick look at thescope between meetings. It shouldbe circulating shortly.

� Ted Blank

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The April business meeting washeld at the McAuliffe-ShepardDiscovery Center on 15 April, ourPresident, John Bishop, presiding.Attendance was light–lots of ourregulars were at NEAF.

President’s Report

Rob Teeter will be giving a talk at3:00 PM 4 June at MerrimackCollege in Andover MA. The talkis free and open to the public;room/location to be determined.

Aerospacefest 2011 takes place on30 April. Please sign up!

May 2011 The NHAS Observer 7

Board of Directors

John Rose reports that a budget forthe mount for the club’s Lunt scopehas been approved, and might bepurchased this weekend at NEAF.

Membership

No report from chairman Bill

Steele. The email list cleanup hashappened.

Webmaster

No report.

Educational OutreachCommittee

Matt Amar reports that the EOChasn’t had any meetings lately, butis hoping to relocate and to get backto regular meetings.

Aeospacefest 2011: Please sign upfor event duties. We have publicityposters–take them if you candistribute them effectively.

Rey Center Update: The scheduledevents for January-March werecoulded out. 2 April (Matt Amarpresenting) did happen, with amodest turnout of about two dozenpeople. The skies there are verynice. Rich Schueller reports thatwe will commit to another threeevents before we have the review ofthe program with the Rey Centercooridnators.

Astrophotography

Gardner Gerry reports that there isnot much new, but be sure to see therecent postings to the “Pictures”forum for some amazing images!

There was a request for Gardner toset up an Astro 101:Astrophotography class.

Public Observing

No report.

Miscellaneous Business

We need future guest speakers!

Book of the Month

None.

Scope of the Month

None.

OzSky 2011

John Bishop gave a presentation onhis experience at the OzSky 2011event. OzSky is an annual eventhosted by the Australian branch ofthe Three Rivers Foundation (3RF).

3RF is an educational outreachorganization with branches in Texasand Australia. OzSky is presentedby 3RF each year as an opportunityfor northern hemisphere amateurastronomers to enjoy the wonders ofthe southern hemisphere sky.NHAS members Paul Winalski,Rich DeMidio, and Jean Buckley

have taken advantage of this uniqueobserving opportunity in the past,and have reported on howwonderful the sky is. John’spresentation focused on logisticsand other matters.

Things to bring:

• John Bambury’s list of 600southern sky objects

• A red flashlight (dim) to readyour list

• A southern hemisphereplanisphere

• A notebook to recordobservations

• Something to read during theday

• You don’t need a log ofclothes; the motel has a laundryroom

Air travel:

• Quantas is nicer than United

• Upgrade if you can afford it; 14hours in an economy seat isrough

• Get up and move around atleast twice during the trip

• Break up the trip in two days ifyou can

Breaking up the trip in SanFrancisco:

• There’s an OK TraveLodgenear the airport in Millbrae

• A mall with restaurants and soon across the street if youforgot something

• The 5 As is an excellentChinese restaurant

• A hospital with an ER is lessthan a mile away

Hotel in Sydney

• Take the subway from SydneyAirport to “Central”

• The Mercure is an easy walkfrom the subway

• Breakfast at the hotel isexpensive, but there’s a cheap(but nice) place outside(“Michels”).

Sydney

• Go on the optional tours hostedby 3RF

• The Botanical Gardens,especially the succulent garden,is worth a visit, and you canwalk there from the hotel

• Be sure to check out themineral exhibits at theAustralian Museum

• There are good restaurants nearthe hotel–Spice I Am (Thai) isespecially recommended

Australian Food

• Australian coffee is likeespresso. Order a “short black”for the closest thing to UScoffee.

• There are lots of cheap beefdishes, but the meat can begristly.

• They put a lot of white sauceon the beef.

• The fish is good.

• Kangaroo tastes like venison.

• Be sure to try sausage rolls andbeef pie.

• They may ask if you want moresalt–say “no”!

The Train

• Central has two stations: thesubway (tunnel to get there)and the trains (CountryLink) onthe upper level. Make sure youallow at least half an hour toget from the hotel to theplatform where the train leavesto Dubbo; it’s easy to get lost inthe two stations and you don’twant to miss the Dubbo train.

• The upgrade to first class isworth it to get away fromnoisy, poorly behaved children.

• They have adequate food on thetrain, but bring water with you.

• Be prepared to photograph thescenery from the train!

Rental Car

• They drive on the left inAustralia. Beware of turningon the windshield wipers whenyou intended to use the turnsignals.

• Be sure not to rent from theagencies in Dubbo Airport asit’s far from the train station.Ask when you rent where theyare located.

• You won’t be driving much.

8 The NHAS Observer May 2011

• Stop at the Woolworthssupermarket in Coonabarabranand buy groceries for the week.

Motel

• It’s a camping-type motel withlots of beds in each room.

• They don’t do daily maidservice.

• Each room has a kitchen (stove,refrigerator, sink).

• There are clothes lines to drytowels and clothing on.

The Sky

• It’s as amazing as Paul says.

• Don’t miss Thor’s Helmet inthe 30-inch scope!

Evening Presentation

Dave MacDonald showed us amovie on the IBEX mission.

TTThhheee BBBooottttttooommm LLLiiinnneee

Starting Balance: $7367.14

Deposits/Credits:

Membership: 240.00Donations: 365.00Bank Interest: 1.85Total : 606.85

Accounts/Paid:

Cynric (plowing): 234.30Ryhmes Propane 65.78Rackspace Cloud 20.36Total: 320.44

Net Account Balance: $7653.55

Petty cash drawer: $100.00

Cash Balance: $7753.55

Membership: 139

Donations:

Friends of Rye Public Library(LTP) 75.00Kristy Tierney (EOC) 5.00

New Members:

Kristy Tierney, Candia NHStuart May, Weare NH

� Ken Charles

NHAS Treasurer 2011

DEADLINE June 2011 Issue: 5 PM June 13E-mail articles to the Editor.CHANGE OF ADDRESS – Notify the Treasurer of changes to postal or e-mail address.

How to Join N.H.A.S.Write to us: Send E-mail to:NHAS info@nhastro.comP.O. Box 5823Manchester, NH 03108-5823 Use our web site:Attn: Treasurer http://www.nhastro.com/

This month's contributors:John Bishop, Ted Blank, David Gilmore, John Rose, Stijn Brand, Joe Derek, Ken Charles

New Hampshire Astronomical SocietyP.O. Box 5823Manchester, NH 03108-5823

Event Date Time Location

Nashua High School North Sky Watch May 21 8:00 PM Nashua High School North, Nashua NH

Goffstown High School Sky Watch May 26 8:00 PM Goffstown High School, Goffstown NH

NHAS Coffee House Night May 27 5:00 PM YFOS

Astro 101: YFOS Orientation Workshop May 27 6:30 PM YFOS

Gilmanton School Sky Watch May 27 7:30 PM Gilmanton School, Gilmanton NH

Discovery Center Sky Watch June 3 7:00 PM McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Concord NH

Rey Center Sky Watch June 4 6:30 PM Curious George Cottage, Waterville Valley NH

New Boston Cub Scout Sky Watch June 4 7:30 PM Whipple Free Library, New Boston NH

Educational Outreach Committee Meeting June 9 7:00 PM McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Concord NH

Market Square Day June 11 9:00 AM Market Square, Portsmouth NH

Sidewalk Astronomy June 11 7:00 PM Market Square, Portsmouth NH

NHAS Business Meeting June 17 7:30 PM McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

NHAS Upcoming Events

2011 OfficersPresident: John Bishop

Vice President: David GilmoreTreasurer: Ken Charles

Secretary: Paul Winalski