UpNorthLibrarian
sage
Reged: 04/18/05
Posts: 424
Loc: 36.02N / 78.9 W (no longer: 4...
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Hello -
There is a scheduled "Star-Fete Champetre" in Tawas the last weekend of October. (This is 36 hours past full moon) "DobZilla" from SAS will be there as well as other 'scopes and SAS members.
No reservations / no cost / weather permitting.
Where: Tawas Creek Golf Club / Tawas Elks' Lodge
1022 Monument Road
Tawas City MI 48763
When: 10/27 - 1pm: Public Outreach Comet Presentation (indoors!) by Kevin Dehne;
Solar Viewing (wx permitting)
Dusk till . . . Public Outreach Viewing (weather permitting)
The Elk's Lodge will be open (fireplace, 110v a/c, "comfort facilities").
There is a steak-grill @ the lodge that Saturday night - dinner is $10 per person ADVANCE SIGN-UP REQUIRED by 10/24 (r_besancon@hotmail.com).
Camping IS available at the East Tawas City Park - 989-362-5562 and at the Tawas Point State Park - 989-362-5041. TPSP is now open year-round with camp cabins and late night access!
This event is sponsored by an Adult Education Grant from the Iosco Arenac District Library (www.ioscoarenaclibrary.org) and by the Sunset Astronomical Society.
Questions? / Answers?/ Steak Dinner sign-up:
Contact Russ Besancon r_besancon@hotmail.com or 989-362-2651
The goodness of the night upon you, friends!
Othello, I, 2
Russ Besançon, MLS
"Libraries? - YES!"
Reference Librarian
Iosco-Arenac District Library
http://www.ioscoarenaclibrary.org/reference.htm
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UpNorthLibrarian
sage
Reged: 04/18/05
Posts: 424
Loc: 36.02N / 78.9 W (no longer: 4...
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Here is a link to the general area:
http://upnorthlibrarian.googlepages.com/home
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'True observation begins when one is devoid of set patterns'
Li Jun Fan
203mm DBA Certified Dob
AT-80mm Refractor w/Vixen Icarus D Alt/Az Mount
10x30 Canon IS Binos
9x60 Obies
8x42 Obies
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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I'll see you there, sir! 
Let's hope the weather holds out for Saturday. I'm looking forward to gazing through the eyes of SAS's 25-inch "Dobzilla"!! 
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Russ - "Star-Fete Champetre" has received some press coverage.
Check it out 
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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UpNorthLibrarian
sage
Reged: 04/18/05
Posts: 424
Loc: 36.02N / 78.9 W (no longer: 4...
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Niiice -- thanx!!
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'True observation begins when one is devoid of set patterns'
Li Jun Fan
203mm DBA Certified Dob
AT-80mm Refractor w/Vixen Icarus D Alt/Az Mount
10x30 Canon IS Binos
9x60 Obies
8x42 Obies
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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After taking part in my first public astro outreach Saturday, all I can say is "Wow!" What a great experience and what a pleasure it was for me to share our hobby with the public.
About 40 persons attended Saturday's "Star-Fete Champetre" public astro outreach in Tawas for indoor presentations on the solar system, how cold is space, what is a comet and secrets hidden in starlight. And beginning at dusk until midnight, there was a steady stream of visitors who looked through a half-dozen scopes including SAS's 25-inch "Dobzilla."
The skies had a heavy cloud cover throughout the day, but opened up in time for the night time public viewing. Despite being some 36 hours past full moon, there was plenty to see and one of the highlights, of course, was Comet Holmes. We also viewed Jupiter before it disappeared below the horizon, the moon, M13, Owl Cluster, Double Cluster, M31, M27, M57, among others. Despite the glare of Luna, Dobzilla gave up a good view of the Veil Nebula with an OIII filter. And what made it all worth it was the public comments while looking through the scopes such as "look at that", "that's amazing" and "oh my god."
My hat's off to you Russ for coordinating this event and to the Iosco-Arenac Distict Library and Sunset Astronomical Society for sponsoring the event. A lot of people were turned on to astronomy Saturday.
Here's a series of pics from Saturday. The first is of Russ (UpNorthLibrarian) making the "welcome" speech...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Kevin Dehne, an associate professor at Delta College who teaches astronomy, physics, geology and physical science, was Saturday's featured speaker. Using liquid nitrogen, and its temperature of -320 degrees F, he demonstrated how cold space is. Here, he shows liquid nitrogen boiling in a clear pyrex container at room temperature...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Dehne, a member of SAS, also showed how liquid nitrogen freezes water that was in this laboratory flask. Dehne earlier did a slide presentation on the solar system and later made a comet out of household materials and dry ice...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Bill Albe, an SAS officer and co-founder of the group back in 1975, talked about the secrets hidden in starlight - the spectral information that tells what elements a star is made of, how much of each element is present, the overall temperature and whether it is moving toward or away from us.
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Pat Ray, SAS president, foreground, and Dehne, put the finishing touches on setting up Dobzilla, just prior to Saturday's public viewing which was held next to the Tawas Elks Lodge...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Dobzilla was a big hit with the public and these visitors take a look though its EP at the orange moon rising just above the horizon...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Dehne also gave visitors celestial views through his beautiful hand-crafted 10-inch wooden dob. About a half-dozen scopes were available during the public viewing...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Another view of Dobzilla with visitors in line waiting to look at Comet Holmes...I put the camera away after this shot, which was early on during the viewing, so as not to ruin night vision...
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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darklighteditor
Theatre King
Reged: 11/07/06
Posts: 5571
Loc: Land of Sparty
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Last one. I even managed an afocal shot of Comet Holmes with my Nikon D70 through my 2" 30mm GSO SV EP. Although the comet's pinpoint core isn't evident in this pic, it was easily resolved in my 8-inch dob Saturday night.
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John
8" f/6 DBA Dob
"I am not the editor of a newspaper. And I shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one." - Mark Twain
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 26279
Loc: North Texas
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Thanks for the pics, John, looks like it was a big time! 
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Steph
Taking it one day at a time...
I'm in the fight! - Support Liver Disease Awareness
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory 
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Dob Frog
Ninjamphibian
Reged: 01/27/06
Posts: 8599
Loc: Ohio
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Great pictures John! Looks like everyone had a good time. 
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Diane
17.5" Dobsonian f/3.8 "Stella" The hunt is on!
Shine like the stars in heaven
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