roanoke valley astronomical societyrvas nl the roanoke valley astronomical society is a membership...

Roanoke Valley Astronomical

Society Amateur Astronomy News and Views

In Southwestern Virginia

RVAS NL— September 2016— Pg 1 of 10

Volume 33—Number 9 September 2016

President Dan Chrisman opened our August 2016

monthly meeting at 7:31 p.m., greeting 19 members

and 3 guests. Though small in number, the members

enthusiastically welcomed our guests, one of whom,

John Wenskovitch came prepared to join our Soci-

ety, and did so at the meeting. Welcome aboard,

John!

After acknowledging several members, new and old

alike, Dan next asked for observing reports. There

were several, primarily involving the Perseids. Alt-

hough not present at the meeting, Dave Thomas

provided a digital image showing a somewhat fuzzy

Perseid streak. Ray Bradley reported seeing as

many as 50-60 Perseids per hour from a very good

viewing location. Mark Hodges decided that Cahas

Overlook would be the best location for viewing the

Perseids. By 11:00 p.m., while waiting for the moon

to set, about 50-70 people had gathered at the

Overlook. Mark took the opportunity to begin an

impromptu outreach with his telescope. He report-

ed the Perseid viewing to be about average. With

his 360 degree camera, Mark also managed to cap-

ture a few meteor trails, which he shared with the

attendees later in the meeting.

Several announcements followed observing reports,

with Dan first informing the attendees that the

winner of the New Weight Scale voting from the

July meeting was Pluto, and that “we are going to

make Pluto great again!” After the chuckles subsid-

ed, Ray Bradley reported on the upcoming Banff

Radical Reels film festival and outdoor activity

exposition being held on September 11th at the

(Meeting Continued on page 2)

RVAS August Meeting Notes

Summer Daze…Less Haze…More Gaze By Bill Dillon, Secretary

Recently elected to the office of RVAS Member-at-Large, Ray Bradley addresses the group about the Radi-cal Reels and Expo outreach in September.

Photo by Carolyn Baratta

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

Jefferson Center. Ray will be taking the lead on an

RVAS information and outreach booth and is look-

ing for volunteers willing to make a 2-hour commit-

ment. Volunteers are asked to contact Ray.

Dan reported to be working on three potential out-

reach activities. One would be with Boy Scout

Troop 584 in the Bonsack/Botetourt County area.

The others would be in partnership with the Sci-

ence Museum of Western Virginia (SMWV), name-

ly School Preview Day at the Museum (Friday, Sep-

tember 30), and the Virginia Tech Science Festi-

val in Blacksburg (Saturday, Oct. 8). There will be

more information on these outreach programs as

details emerge. Lastly, Dan reported that Frank

had vetted the offer to host an observing session

during the Hollins University Starcropolis. Given

the first year event’s transportation restrictions

and observing location constraints, the logistics for

hosting an observing session proved too burden-

some and RVAS decided to turn the offer down. As

the event provides an intriguing opportunity, we are

hopeful of being consulted earlier in their planning

process next year.

Speaking on VAAS 2016, just 75 days away, Dan

was pleased to report that thanks to the efforts of

Dave Thomas, Frank Baratta and others, the

VAAS2016 website was up and running and open

for registration and pre-payment. Bill Dillon re-

ported to be in possession of as many as 9 items

for door prizes, with some potential big donors

(Celestron and OPT) promising a door prize dona-

tion, but not yet revealing what it would be. Third

requests have just been sent out to Orion, Ober-

werk and Astronomics. Michael Good reported

that biographies have either been received or are

on the way from all four of the guest speakers.

Dan informed all attendees of a special opportunity

to help support the SMWV. On Monday, August

22nd, Chipotle Mexican Grill at Towers Shopping

Center is offering to provide 50% of the proceeds

from anyone mentioning the Museum when placing

their order between 3-8 pm. A great opportunity to

support the Museum.

Dan then began the program for the evening, a

“GearFest”. He introduced Michael Martin who

took the opportunity to speak about his blog and to

(Meeting Continued from page 1)


Michael Martin, one of our newest members describes his use of an iPhone adaptor and his iPhone camera for astro-photography.



mailto:[email protected]









http://rvasclub.org

showcase some of the digital images he has taken

since “getting serious about astrophotography”

about six years ago. These days, Michael uses an

Orion XT8I telescope, an iPhone adapter and an

iPhone to take his images. Then using Photoshop

and Registax-6 software, he produces the final

product. Demonstrating his success, Michael

showed very nice images of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

and a crisp, clear image of the Moon (also published

in the August 2016 newsletter. You can find more

of his work at

www.latenightastronomy.wordpress.co. Check it out.

Next on the agenda were two more “GearFest”

presentations. The first was a very interesting

PowerPoint presentation and talk by member Gary

Hatfield on a decade’s old, home built telescope

that he recently acquired. A 6”, f/9.5 reflector,

the scope has a hard cardboard tube with a metal

pipe mount and a rack and pinion focuser. Members

suspected that some parts were cannibalized from

binoculars. The scope’s secondary is a prism, not a

mirror. The primary mirror is about 1 inch thick and

was covered with decades of dust, dirt and grime.

Gary said that his initial concerns regarding the

condition of the primary proved to be unfounded.

When cleaned up, the mirror provided clear, sharp

reflections from edge to edge. A couple of mem-

bers commented that the dirt and grime had proba-

bly provided an effective protective covering over

the years. After seeing Gary’s images of the scope,

several members commented that the scope proba-

bly saw first light back in the 1950’s or 1960’s.

Immediate Past President Michael Good followed

Gary’s presentation with an enthusiastic follow-up

to a presentation he had made at our May monthly

meeting, touting the advantages of using powerful

binoculars versus a telescope for visual observing.

He presented data showing the much wider field of

view (FOV) with his binoculars, as much as 3 de-

grees true FOV versus the 0.56 degrees he would

get with his 14 inch telescope. In Michael’s words,

he wanted “to walk in space”, a feeling he gets

with his 100 mm APM Binocular Telescope and its

wide FOV. Michael promised to bring in his binocu-

lars and new eyepieces (on order) to the next

meeting.

Moving on to an early report on ALCon 2016, Dan

introduced Rick Rader who had attended the event

in Arlington, VA and had taken many digital photos

of the event. The event having just concluded

about 48 hours previously did not allow time for

Rick to organize his images, but those he presented

clearly demonstrated the breadth and depth of the

event, showing everything from vendor tables to



RVAS member Gary Hatfield speaks to the group about the 1960’s vintage homemade reflector he received and its mirror’s miraculous survival.


(Left to right) RVAS Secretary Bill Dillon and Immedi-ate Past President Michael Good examine a piece of equipment that accompanied Gary Hatfield’s telescope acquisition.



equipment displays and attendee tours, especially

the visit to the Air and Space museum. There will

be further in-depth reporting on ALCon 2016 at a

future RVAS monthly meeting. Dan thanked Rick

for making his very timely information and images

available for the August meeting. The ink was hard-

ly dry!

Frank Baratta was next to speak with his “What’s

Up” for September, 2016. Frank opened by re-

minding everyone that “September is the time of

the autumnal equinox and of changing seasons.” The

days are getting shorter, with sunset at 7:04 p.m.

by the end of September. The calendar and cooper-

ation from conveniently timed Moon phases should

provide three weekend observing opportunities on

September 2nd and 3rd, 23rd and 24th and Septem-

ber 30th/October 1st.

Frank reported some notable September celestial

events, including the nearly first quarter Moon,

Saturn, Mars and Antares clustering within a 10

degree square on September 8th; the Autumnal

Equinox, when the Sun reaches the intersection of

the ecliptic and celestial equator in Virgo on Sep-

tember 22nd; and with the help of a dark sky, be-

ginning on September 28th and for the next two

weeks thereafter is the prime time to view the tall,

broad pyramid of the zodiacal light in the east be-

fore dawn.

Frank concluded by showing the sky as it would ap-

pear on September 15th at 8:30 p.m., with the con-

stellations of Spring setting in the west, Summer’s

centrally located and Fall’s rising in the east.

Frank’s “What’s Up” presentation can be viewed in

its entirety on the RVAS website or by going di-

rectly to http://www.rvasclub.org/page23.htm.

With just a few moments remaining in the sched-

uled meeting time, Mark Hodges displayed his Per-

seid images taken with his 360 degree camera,

astrophotography from a unique perspective.

Bringing the meeting to a close, Dan reminded the

attendees of “What’s Next”:

1. September 11th is the Banff Radical Reels

Outreach from 4:00 p.m. to 6 p.m.; see Ray

Bradley to volunteer for this event.

2. September 19th is our next monthly meet-

ing; topics TBD.

3. October 1st is the Annual Club Picnic and

October monthly meeting at Claytor Na-

ture Study Center from 3:00 p.m. until…

4. October 8th is the Virginia Tech Science

Festival in Blacksburg from 10:00 a.m. to

3:00 p.m. at the Moss Arts Center, College

Avenue, Newman Library (event currently

being vetted).

5. October 29th RVAS hosts the VAAS 2016

conference at Roanoke College from 8:30

a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

With no other business to bring before the mem-

bership, Dan closed the meeting at 9:10 p.m.


Immediate Past President Michael Good describes the specs to consider in order to obtain that “walk in space” visual experience that binoculars can provide.



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 moder-

ator.

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!

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.

Welcome Mat

The Society bids a warm and cordial welcome to John Wenskovitch, of Blacksburg, who became a member at

the August meeting. A Pittsburgh, PA, native son, John grew up in Lower Burrell, in the north east of

Steelertown’s metro area. Previously a PhD student at Pitt, he moved to our area early last month to contin-

ue his doctoral work at Virginia Tech in computer graphics and information visualization. It’s a field working

with many disciplines to create tools needed to render intelligible their exploding masses of data. John has

had an interest in astronomy since his early years, but it’s within the last 5 that he’s become an avid observ-

er, a transformation he attributes largely to his membership in the Amateur Astronomers Association of

Pittsburgh. He owns a 12½” Meade Starfinder Dobsonian and 10” Meade LX5 SCT, and has completed his

Messier observations, along with half of the Caldwells and half of the Herschels. John remains active in the

AAAP and still connected as well to the Oil Region Astronomical Society, the latter group located near

Meadville, PA, and Allegheny College, where he previously taught. When not thinking about his studies or

astronomy, John enjoys long-distance running and traveling.

John, we’re glad to have you with us! Your desire to gain knowledge from and enjoy the camaraderie of oth-

ers who share your interest brings us all together. We look forward to having your company as often as pos-

sible at our meetings and activities.



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

Are You Receiving Your Newsletters

and Other Club Emails? To save having to download newsletters from our website, these and other items of interest are emailed

to members. If you have not been receiving these items by email, please let us know by calling the RVAS

Message Line at 540-774-5651. Please also check whether your spam blocker is intercepting our emails.

RVAS 25 Years Ago

In September 1991, our Society reported 54 mem-

bers on the roles, with almost 30% of the member-

ship having joined since July of 1990. RVAS leader-

ship at the time had hopes of one day counting as

many as 75 members. As members prepared to en-

joy an “astronomy mixer” with food and beverages

provided by the Society for the monthly meeting,

Frank Baratta and Tom Clarke were getting ready

for an “in-town” public observing session at Vinton’s

Fallon Park. The Moon and Saturn were expected to

be the prime viewing attractions.

Astronomy and related topics offered at the Uni-

versity of Virginia were prominent in the Society’s

September Newsletter. An Astronomy course to be

taught by Dr. Philip Ianna and other astronomy pro-

fessors from UVa was being offered around the

Commonwealth “via satellite downlink” beginning in

September. Dr. Ianna was also planning to host the

annual meeting of the Virginia Section of the In-

ternational Dark-Sky Association in October. The

conference hoped “to attract all Virginia IDA mem-

bers, but was open to any individual with an interest

in combatting light pollution”. Lastly, UVa’s Depart-

ment of Astronomy announced the second of 1991’s

semi-annual public events for October 4th. Tickets

were not required for RVAS members.

RVAS 10 Years Ago

Our September 2006 Newsletter opened with an

interesting and atmospherically apropos article ti-

tled, “A Simple Radio Telescope”, by David Thomas.

Based on a NASA program for schools, Radio Jove

“describes how to detect radio bursts from Jupiter

and the Sun.” According to the author of the arti-

cle, “The scope consists of a radio receiver that

can tune to a frequency of 20.1 MHz connected to

an antenna of the correct length to receive signals

at that frequency.” The article goes on to say that

a notebook computer running a program called

“Skypipe” can produce a chart of the graphic repre-

sentation of the signal received. Solar flares can

produce dramatic spikes on the charted signal, and

the good news for Roanoke Valley amateur astrono-

mers, the scope works on cloudy days!

Another interesting article in September 1991 by

Immediate Past President Katherine Hix strongly

encourages members to get more involved in the

Society and its activities. A later Newsletter arti-

cle lists and describes nine different Committees

from Programs to Outreach to Publicity where

members can get involved.

Society president, Mike Overacker, encouraged

members to attend VAAS 2006 being hosted by

The Richmond Astronomical Society (RAS).

By Bill Dillon

RVAS from the Past


By Dan “faux Bill Dillon” Chrisman

LiTel 494 Days Ago

The Dr. Beth A. Brown Science Foundation present-

ed to the Gainsboro Library for circulation an Ori-

on Starblast 4.5” reflecting tabletop telescope.

Club member John Goss provided the necessary

modifications to make this telescope library-

telescope capable. In attendance at this April 15th

event included Foundation Board Members Mrs.

Frances Brown, Ms. Vivian N. Bratton, Mr. Donald

Peery, Mr. John Goss, Librarian Ms. Randi Wines

and RVAS Secretary Dan Chrisman.

This 2015 event is one of many events that pre-

serve the memory of Dr. Beth A. Brown, a Roanoke

native and a graduate from William Fleming High

School (valedictorian), Howard University (B.S.,

Astrophysics) and University of Michigan in Ann

Arbor (M.S., Ph.D., Astronomy). Dr. Brown blazed a

trail as her department’s first African-American

women to earn an Astronomy doctorate: “X-ray

Emission in Early-Type Galaxies Surveyed by

ROSAT”. Then she served as an Astrophysicist at

Goddard Space Flight Center until her sudden

death in 2008.

To date, twenty-two Gainsboro library patrons

have borrowed the telescope. Based on research

that reports that five-to-six family members and

friends utilize a library telescope during each loan,

then approximately one hundred and thirty people

have benefitted astronomically.

LiTel 39 Days Ago

Extracted from their standard Saturday morning

routine of watching cartoons and eating sugar-

fortified breakfast cereal, a few members of the

club gathered in a garage on the side of Lost Moun-

tain to modify five recently-purchased Orion Star-

blast reflectors, preparing them for eventual dona-

tion to local libraries.

Many of the skills required for the morning’s tasks

had been honed and recorded for posterity during

the May 15 LiTel workshop (see June 2016 newslet-

ter). However, this, the second such workshop, (Litel Continued on page 9)

Augmenting their purpose of “providing scholar-ships to graduating high school seniors who will enter a college or university and major in astrono-my or physics”, Dr. Beth A. Brown Science Foun-dation Board Members, Library staff and RVAS club members celebrate the Foundation’s first donation of a library telescope to the Gainsboro Library.

Photo by Irvin Childress. Mere minutes before diving into modifying five telescopes, the group posed for the camera: (L-R) John Goss, Michael Martin, Ray Bradley, Rand Bowden, Eddie Leonard and Dan Chrisman.

Photo by Frank Baratta.

LiTel from the Past


included some new actors and, like the 9/1/2016

SpaceX Falcon-9 launch-pad-fueling failure, includ-

ed plenty of opportunity for chaos.

With patience and attention to detail, the members

modified the five telescopes without mishap in rec-

ord time.

LiTel 4 Days Ago

Presaging the many colors at the height of the Fall

season, the many colors and height of the right-

most bars indicates a heavy utilized library tele-

scope program.

[My thanks to Alan Hale for providing the library data. My most profuse and heartfelt apologies to Bill Dillon for appropriating the theme of his won-derful monthly column: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.]

(Litel Continued from page 8)

Michael Martin, having already disassembled the focuser, carefully unscrews the three primary mirror clips without incident.

Photo by Frank Baratta.

Eddie Leonard taps a new screw hole for a tele-

scope's focuser.

Photo by Dan Chrisman

Adding four telescopes this summer, we have facilitated the circulation of an octet of library telescopes in local libraries. Photo by M. Excel.


Monthly Calendar

MONTHLY MEETING: Monday, September 19th, 7:30 p.m., Classroom A, 3rd floor, Center on Church,

Downtown Roanoke. Ranging from musings about the curvature of the Universe to what the evening skies

have in store for us to more about gear for connecting with the sights of the season, our September meeting

features a variety of activities led by our President, Dan Chrisman, and several RVAS members. We’ll also

have more on last month’s ALCon, the October 29th VAAS convention, Night Sky Network coordination, a ton

of upcoming RVAS outreach opportunities and the low-down on what members have been up to since our last

meeting. Join us for the fun!

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 updates

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, September 2nd and 3rd. Sunset is at 7:46 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 9:17

p.m. The Moon sets at 8:36 and 9:07 p.m., respectively.

-- Friday and Saturday, September 23rd and 24th. Sunset is at 7:14 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at

8:41 p.m. The Moon rises at 12:57 and 1:55 a.m., respectively.

-- Friday and Saturday, September 30th and October 1st. Sunset is at 7:04 p.m. Astronomical twilight

ends at 8:30 p.m. The Moon sets at 7:08 and 7:39 p.m., respectively. (Note: October 1st is the 2016 RVAS

Picnic and Star Party for members and their families at the Claytor Nature Study Center, Bedford,

Virginia.)

-- Future Sessions: October 21st and 22nd; October 28th and 29th. (Note: October 29th is the 2016 Vir-

ginia Association of Astronomical Societies conference. An evening stargaze is scheduled for attendees

that evening at Cahas Knob Overlook.)

ROANOKE CITY PARKS and RECREATION PUBLIC STARGAZE: September’s public stargaze has been

canceled. The next session is Saturday, October 22nd, 7:15 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. (November session: November 19th, 5:45 p.m., Cahas Knob Overlook, mile-post 139,

Blue Ridge Parkway.)

Astro-Quiz It’s well known that of the 88 recognized constellations, Crux, the Southern Cross, covers the least amount of

the sky within its borders. But what constellation is most nearly the average size?

Answer to Last Month’s Quiz: Last month we asked what the dark grey-blue band is that’s visible rising in

the east just after sunset, and what causes it. As member Harry Montoro correctly answered, it’s earth’s

shadow. We see the shadow because our eastward view immediately after sunset is directly along the bounda-

ry between the illuminated and non-illuminated parts of the atmosphere. Take time to observe this atmos-

pheric phenomenon and note the red to orange to yellow changing colors just above its upper edge. Congratu-

lations to Harry for again correctly answering the astro-quiz! Have an answer to this month’s quiz (or a future

question and answer to suggest)? E-mail it to [email protected]!



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