FOCUS DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. Meeting Topic: Annual Holiday Party & Potluck. In the December Issue

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1 1 DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY FOCUS Vol. 63, No. 10, December 2018 DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Next Meeting Tuesday, December 18th, 2018 at 7pm at the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory Meeting Topic: Annual Holiday Party & Potluck Starting at 7PM, The DAS will hold our annual holiday party. The party will feature a potluck so bring some food and drink to share with your fellow members! In the December Issue December Meeting Topic 1 From the President 2 December AP-SIG Meeting 3 January AP-SIG Meeting 4 Photo by Dana Wright 5 DAS Dues- Time to renew 5 Photo by Ryan Gilbert 6 MCAO Volunteers Needed 6 Frank Colosimo s Observatories 7 Photos by Jarrod Bieber 10 Photos by Ron Worden 11 Photos by Mark Mitchell 12 Photo by Nico Carver 13 DAS Loaner Equipment 14 ATM-SIG Information 15 How to Join Yahoo Group 15 New Membership Form 16 DAS Contacts 17 New Members Info 17

2 From the President Rob Lancaster s the sun travels south on its yearly journey, it leaves behind us hardy amateur astronomers to deal with freezing toes, frigid winds, and frosty telescope equipment as we observe out in the snow. But as if in response to the chilling atmosphere, the glorious wintertime milky way shines through the cold clear sky to bring us stunning views of numerous deep-sky objects. From the gorgeous blue color of the Pleiades, to the brilliant reddish nebulosity of the Orion Nebula, to the elusive but distinctive shape of the Horsehead Nebula, the wintertime sky is full of amazing gems whether you are visual observer or an Astrophotographer. But I hope you can take a moment to spare to come inside and join us for good cheer, at the Annual DAS Holiday party this year. We will have delicious deserts, exciting company, and photos on display for fun. We might even have the Sawin Observatory open depending on the weather. The meeting will start at 7 pm, not 8 pm because there is no board meeting this month. We hope everyone got a chance to hear Bob Summerfield last month and thank him for all of his great presentations. Please note that this month, two of our normal Tuesday Informal Astronomy Workshops fall on major holidays, Christmas Day and New Years day. So, we are cancelling those two meetings ahead of time due to the conflicts. Our next AP SIG meeting will be in mid-january and our next book club meeting will be January 8th. There are no outreach events scheduled this month so we don t freeze the little ones. However, keep your eyes out for s from Fred, we may have one or more observing runs to dark sites depending on the weather. Note that while we may have fewer physical events this month, there are two internet-based things that will be happening this month. Please keep your eye out for the switch from Yahoo groups to Groups.io. It should be fairly seamless. And please take the DAS opinion survey that was just sent out. Your opinions are important to us! Thank you, Rob Lancaster 2 Images above: My telescope freezing over as I was imaging the Horsehead Nebula recently

3 3 December 2018 AP-SIG Meeting Bill Hanagan The Astro-Photography Special Interest Group (AP-SIG) met onsite at Dana and Barbara Wright s home on Friday, November 30. Dana provided a pizza dinner for the group of 10 AP-SIG members who attended. After dinner and some discussion, we headed out back to see Dana s observatory. This photo shows two of our newest AP-SIG members Sidney Ocampo and Jarrod Bieber looking in through the doorway as Dana (inside) explained some of the features. I did an extensive photo-review of Dana s observatory beginning on page 10 of the March 2017 FOCUS, which you can find here: Returning indoors, Dana described his new ASCOM compatible motorized focuser system based on Robert Brown s MyFocuserPro DIY project. All of the documentation and files for the latest version of this system (version 2) is found at the link below. arduinoascomfocuserpro2diy/files/ According to the author, version 2 includes additional features and improvements not available in the version 1 design. Both version 1 & 2 are ASCOM compatible and run under Windows 7-10, but only the older version 1 is compatible with MAC and Linux computers. A high quality add-on motorized focuser system for a telescope can easily cost in excess of $500. But, if you have some skill with mechanical and electronic fabrication you might be able to reduce your upfront cost by building your own ASCOM compatible motorized focuser add-on. You ll need those skills for solidly mounting and gearing down your choice of stepper motor and building an Arduino based stepper controller module. Following Dana s presentation, several AP-SIG members presented a wide variety of beautiful astrophotos. Several members showed versions of the galaxy M33, which I ve imaged a couple of times myself. I was particularly impressed by the high quality of new member Jarrod Bieber s version of M33. Nice work, Jarrod! Nico Carver also wowed us with his super wide filed work, this time with an 8 panel mosaic of the Cygnus X emission nebula complex which includes the propeller nebula. We also discussed image acquisitions schemes, including the value of a luminance filter in

4 4 combination with red, green, and blue filters when imaging with a monochrome astronomy camera. The group took a moment to get the photo below, which shows Nico Carver to the left of the flat screen TV that is displaying his 8 panel mosaic of the Cygnus X region. Seated on the right are Mark Mitchell, Dana Wright, and Bill Hanagan. In back are Rob Lancaster, Jarrod Bieber, Ryan Gilbert, Rob Greybill, Sidney Ocampo, and Ron Worden. January 2019 AP-SIG Meeting Bill Hanagan The January AP-SIG meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 19 at MCAO and the DAS observatories. The current plan is to hold an IMAGE ACQUISITION SOFTWARE WORKSHOP. Rob Lancaster will give us a run-down on how to get plate solving to work in your choice of image acquisition software. Nico Carver will demonstrate how to Sequence Generator Pro. I ll be giving an overview of image acquisition software and I ll also talk about BackyardEOS for the DSLR users in the group. I m still looking for other presenters to talk about and demonstrate some of the long-standing image acquisition heavyweights like MaximDL and TheSkyX. Following the presentations, we ll try to work through any problems you may be having with your image acquisition software of choice. As usual, we ll also take a look at everyone s most recent photos. When you come, be sure to bring a USB memory stick with your astrophotos and any related project materials that you would like to show the group. Even if some of your photos have imperfections, it s a good idea to bring them with you to promote the discussion of image acquisition and processing techniques. The exact time, location, and other details of the AP-SIG meeting will be announced a couple of days ahead of the meeting via the DAS Yahoo Group list and by direct to AP-SIG members. Anyone interested in astrophotography, from curious beginner to expert, is welcome to attend! But, if you re a visual observer, please note that while you re always welcome to come out to AP-SIG meetings to learn about imaging, the lighting conditions at our meetings are sometimes less than ideal for simultaneous visual observing because of the computers and cameras in use. The AP-SIG is very good at helping beginners improve their images, so don t be shy about bringing imperfect images along to get some advice on how to take even better images. If you are not an AP-SIG member you can always come to the meeting to see what goes on and sign up later.

5 5 Photo by AP-SIG Member Dana Wright My image of NGC 7023, also known as the Iris Nebula. Imaged 12/6/18 with SBIG ST2000 XM from the J M Wright Observatory, Landenberg Pa. Image is 12 five minute exposure red filter, 12 five minute exposure blue filter, 12 five minute exposure green filter. Processed in Pixinsight. November 1 is past--time to renew DAS Dues! Delaware Astronomical Society 2019 annual membership dues were due November 1. Dues remain $30 for the 2019 calendar year. If you haven t already paid your 2019 dues there are several payment options: 1) You can bring cash, check or money order for $30 made out to DAS to the Tuesday meeting November 20. I will be available at the meeting to collect any payments. 2) You can use your PayPal account to send payment to DASmtcuba@gmail.com 3) You can pay with PayPal using the link below; you don t need to have an account with PayPal, just a credit card. 4) You can mail payment to: Robert Trebilcock DAS Treasurer 3823 Rotherfield Lane Chadds Ford, PA 19317

6 6 Photo by AP-SIG Member Ryan Gilbert Antares rocket launch from Wallops Island last month, which carried supplies and science equipment to the ISS. The launch was at 4am, but the crowd was energized and I thought the drive was worth it. MCAO Volunteers Needed Hello. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Kim Green and I am the secretary at the Mount Cuba Astronomical Observatory. This year we have increased our field trip activity, we have added many additional Public and Family Nights and we added children s programs to our calendar. The community has requested these programs and we are doing our best to accommodate. With that being said, we are looking for volunteers to help out. We are desperately in need of people who are available to help during our day time led trips. But we would also love to have some evening help as well. So keep an eye out for future s from me. If you are interesting in helping out please contact me at or me at KimGreenMCAO@gmail.com.

7 A Visit to Frank Colosimo s Observatories Bill Hanagan Shortly after Thanksgiving, I met up with Frank Colosimo at his Blue Mountain Vista Observatory near New Ringgold, PA to talk to him about the construction details of his two roll-off roof observatories and to get a few photos of his observatories for the FOCUS. Frank has been a member of the AP-SIG for several years, has attended several meetings despite the long travel required, and he has submitted several beautiful astro-photos for publication in the FOCUS as well as for display on the walls of the MCAO lobby. He also allows DAS members and the members of other nearby astronomy clubs free use of an observing field which he created and maintains as his way of supporting amateur astronomy in the region. The photo below shows Frank s two roll-off roof observatories, with BMVO-1 on the left and BMVO-2 on the right. The camera is facing to the northwest and the roofs of both observatories roll of to the north. According to Frank s web site, BMVO-1 (left) has a 10 x 14 footprint and BMVO-2 has a x footprint. BMVO-1 was built in 2007 by Frank and BMVO-2 was built for Frank by Backyard Observatories in The site is protected by a number of motion detectors, cameras, and other security measures. Frank also lives on the site full time. The next photo shows the main structure of BMVO-1 with the roof closed. The exterior of the walls is vinyl siding for maintenance free durability. 7

8 The following two photos show the roof open and over the gantry. Note that having the roof slope down toward the sides of the observatory and over the tracks that the roof rolls on directs residual snow, water and leaves to the side as the roof is opened rather than having it fall into the observatory or into the tracks. However, this leaves one of the pointed ends (a gable) close to the north wall where it acts to block part of the northern sky. To reduce the blockage, BMVO-1 is designed to allow the roof to roll off well past the northern wall. White, ribbed steel roofing was used for durability and to minimize heat buildup in the observatory. In addition, the gabled ends of the roof are equipped with screened vents. When opened, the roof of BMVO-1 is locked in place by a wooden strut attached to the north wall, as seen below. The next two photos show the underside of BMVO-1 s roof and the garage-door-roller structure. The roof is comparatively light in weight because only the steel roofing and a thin sheet of insulation are attached over the supporting framework, yet the structure has survived high winds with little difficulty. Although Frank has always pushed the roof to open it and close it, he has a manual boat winch and pulleys mounted on the wall just in case he has trouble opening or closing the roof. 8

9 Frank s second roll-off roof observatory was built to a different design and some of the design features are noteworthy. A view of the east wall, entry door, and gantry of BMVO-2 appears below. Note that the roof is setup such snow and water on the southern half of the roof runs right into the observatory when the roof is opened or closed. Frank has added a gutter to the south edge of the roof to catch any residual water on the roof, but snow must be removed before the roof can be opened. The next photo shows Frank running the roof of BMVO-2 open using a motor just to the right of center. An iron rack mounted on the inside of the roof is driven by a pinion on the motor shaft, as seen in the next photo. Note that the roof of BMVO-2 is supported by captive V-groove steel casters which run on angle-iron rails mounted on the top of the walls and gantry. This hardware can support considerably more weight than garage door rollers, which is good because the roof is made up of 2x6s sheathed with oriented strand fiberboard as seen in the previous photo, and then topped off with the same ribbed steel roofing material as BMVO-1, making the roof of BMVO-2 quite a bit heavier. 9

10 The top 18 of the southern wall of BMVO-2 seen in the next photo is hinged so the height of the wall can be lowered, allowing scopes in the observatory to see objects farther down toward the southern horizon. Just below the hinges Frank has a roof rake mounted for clearing snow off of the roof. It was a real pleasure to finally get a chance to visit with Frank and see the observatories that he has used to produce such wonderful astrophotos! Photos by AP-SIG Member Jarrod Bieber M33 Tech Details Imaging telescope: Sky-Watcher Pro 80ED APO Imaging camera: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro Mount: Celestron AVX Guiding telescope: Orion 50 mm Guide Scope Guiding camera: Orion SSAG Focal reducer: SkyWatcher 0.85x Filter: ZWO LRGB Accessory:Thousand Oaks Dew Controller Dates:Nov. 22, 2018 Frames: B: 28x120 (gain: 76.00) -15C G: 40x90 (gain: 76.00) -15C L: 120x60 (gain: 76.00) -15C R: 40x90 (gain: 76.00) -15C Integration: 4.9 hours IC The Heart Nebula Tech Details Imaging telescope: Sky-Watcher Pro 80ED APO Imaging camera: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro Mount: Celestron AVX Guiding telescope: Orion 50 mm Guide Scope Guiding camera: Orion SSAG Focal reducer: SkyWatcher 0.85x Filter: Astrodon 5 nm HA Accessory:Thousand Oaks Dew Controller Dates:Nov. 22, 2018 Frames: 120x120 (gain: ) -15C Integration: 4.0 hours 10

11 11 Photos by AP-SIG Member Ron Worden M33 (NGC598) The Triangulum galaxy Technical Information: Date: 11/11/2018, Location: Snobie Observatory/Lincoln Control Center. Bear, Delaware W75* N39* , Telescope: Meade 10 SCT + Meade 6.3 Focal Reducer 1575mm FL, Mount: Losmandy G11 Guided with Dithering, Cameras: SBIG ST4000XCM + ZWO174 autoguider(+-2 arcsec), Temperature: 35*F cooled to 0*C, Filters: OneShotColor, Exposure: 28LFs-300sec subs(2.33hrs), Software: PixInsight, Frame: 33 x 33 arcmin, Calibration with: 50 Bias & 13 dark frames, Observer: Ron Worden M31 (NGC224) The Andromeda Galaxy and M110 in lower right Technical Information: Date: 11/17/2018, Bear, Delaware W75* N39* , Telescope: Orion ShortTube 80mm refractor, 400mm FL, Mount: Losmandy G11 Tracking, Cameras: ZWO174 B&W, Temperature: 35* Ambient, Filters: None, 300 Light frames-10sec subs(50min), Software: PixInsight, Frame: 60.5 x 96.4 arcmin, Calibration with: None, Observer: Ron Worden Barnard 33(IC434), Alnitak, Flame Nebula (NGC2024 & (Sharpless)SH2-277) is an emission nebula Technical Information: Date: 11/17/2018, Bear, Delaware W75* N39* , Telescope: Orion ShortTube 80mm refractor, 400mm FL, Mount: Losmandy G11 Tracking, Cameras: ZWO174 B&W, Temperature: 35* Ambient, Filters: None, Exposure:228 Light frames-30sec subs(1.9hrs), Software: PixInsight, Frame: 60.5 x 96.4 arcmin, Calibration with: None, Observer: Ron Worden

12 12 Photos by AP-SIG Member Mark Mitchell A three hour exposure of NGC 281, the Pacman nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. This image was shot and processed in false color using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope palette, so light from hydrogen alpha is red, oxygen III is green and sulfur II is blue. This is a 2.5 hour exposure of the horse head nebula in Orion from this week, inspired by a recent image by Rob Lancaster. The dark part that looks like a horse s head is dark nebula Barnard 33 and the dramatic wall of red fluorescence behind it is IC 434, part of the huge Orion molecular gas cloud.the bright star at lower left is Alnitak (zeta Orionis), the hunter s right hip, and the blue reflection nebula in the lower middle is NGC The horse head is actually a form of a columnar cool molecular hydrogen/evaporative gaseous globule structure and is an area of star formation. This is more apparent in images taken in infrared. The area is energized by UV photons from sigma Orionis, the blue star about 5 cm above the horse s head in this image. The nebula is 1500 light years away and 13 light years across.

13 Photo by AP-SIG Member Nico Carver This was my biggest project yet: a 46-hour, 8 panel mosaic of a section of sky in the northwestern part of the constellation Cygnus. I started in June and finally completed the project in November. I shot this with my Orion Atlas mount, Stellarvue SVQ86 refractor, and ZWO ASI1600MM-C camera with Astrodon R,G,B, Ha, and OIII filters. More details on my website. 13

14 DAS Loaner Equipment The DAS has several telescopes that are designated for loan to members. Our advice to new members is to take any of these telescope out on loan so you can learn the advantages and disadvantages of the various designs. 80mm Celestron Refractor with a NexStar GOTO mount. (On loan from Bill McKibben) Meade ETX 90mm Special Edition Bushnell Voyager 4 tabletop scope (AstroScan clone) Three Dobsonian scopes: two with 6 aperture, one with 8 aperture. This style scope is very easy for beginners. Meade 8 LX-10 Telescope: This 8 Meade LX-10 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope (SCT) is a good loaner if you have any thoughts about buying an SCT telescope on a GoTo fork mount. Procedure for DAS Members to Sign Out Loaner Equipment Jack Goodwin 1. Inform: Please inform DAS Observatory Chair via -- this is currently how all loaner equipment is being logged/tracked. ( below) 2. Borrower to include: a. Your name and contact information (cell #, , home number, etc.) b. Date equipment borrowed c. Description of all equipment being borrowed d. Estimated return date for each component borrowed e. List any damaged/missing components (if applicable) 3. Damage: If the equipment is damaged while you are borrowing the equipment, please notify the DAS Observatory Chair in a timely manner. 4. A sign out log will be posted in the near term to compliment the notification. NOTE: Currently DAS Loaner equipment is only available for loan to current DAS members. (Which is a great excuse to join DAS) Thank you, Jack Goodwin, DAS Observatory Chair Jack_Goodwin@yahoo.com (cell) 14

15 15 DAS AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP Bill Hanagan The DAS Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) Special Interest Group (SIG) is made up of DAS members who get together to work on their own as well as club related telescope making projects. We get together at times and locations appropriate for whatever projects are currently underway. The general range of activities of the ATM SIG includes all manner of telescope making including Newtonian mirror making, the testing of complete telescopes as well as individual optics, and the making of telescope accessories. In the past, we have made several Newtonian telescope mirrors from scratch and completed some mirrors that members brought in as works in progress, including one that was started in the mid-1960 s! We ve also made new telescope tubes, made secondary mirror holders, tested numerous telescope objectives, made wire spiders for Newtonian secondaries, and made many solar filters for telescopes and binoculars. We also completed the refiguring of the DAS 17.5 Newtonian mirror used in the Big Dob currently housed in the Sawin Observatory. If you re interested in telescope making, feel free to me and let me know what you re interested in doing at verizon.net and include your name, address, and phone number. I m always glad to provide some guidance and information to other telescope makers. How to Join the DAS Yahoo Group DAS FORUM / SITE ON YAHOO This is an service for use by DAS members and our astronomy enthusiast friends. To use this site, go to To join, you must have a Yahoo ID and password; if you don t, you can register on the DAS Yahoo Group site by following Yahoo s instructions. You can then begin the short process to Join the group upon clicking in that box. You must then register for the DAS group and add your profile by clicking on add new profile and completing the form. When adding or editing your profile, you will need to enter your actual name in the Real Name box so you can be identified for approval of your application to join the DAS Yahoo Group, so other members will know to whom they are communicating (Note: you can elect to have your name and address hidden from anyone other than members of the DAS Yahoo Group). Finally, specify your desired address for delivery of messages.

16 New Members Form Please make checks payable to DAS, print out the following form and mail to: Robert Trebilcock, DAS Treasurer, 3823 Rotherfield Lane, Chadds Ford, PA DAS Membership costs $30 per year, which renews November 1st. We pro-rate membership based on when you join, as follows: Month Joined Cost Renewal Due Jan-Feb $30 This November March-May $20 This November June-Aug $10 This November Sept-Dec. $30 Next November NEW MEMBERSHIP FORM Item Cost Sub-total Membership $30/20/10 Astronomy Magazine $34 total: Name Address Street Address Phone Number City State Zip How did you hear about DAS? For questions or concerns, contact Robert Trebilcock, DAS Treasurer at (610) (leave message) or by to DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 16

17 17 DAS CONTACTS Please Call or Us with any Questions or for More Information about the DAS Officers: President: Rob Lancaster, Vice-President: Jeff Lawrence, (302) , Secretary: Bill McKibben, Treasurer: Bob Trebilcock, Board Members at Large: Bill Hanagan, (302) , Amy Hornberger, Dave Groski, Standing Committee Chairs: Observatory: Jack Goodwin, (610) , Education: Ted Trevorrow, (302) , Library: Maria Lavalle and Sue Bebon Observing: Greg Lee, (302) , Publications: Nico Carver, (302) , Other Positions: Amateur Telescope Making Special Interest Group: Bill Hanagan, Astronomical League Coordinator: K Lynn King, klynnking@verizon.net Astro-Photography Special Interest Group (AP-SIG): Bill Hanagan, hanaganw@verizon.net Awards Chair: Amy Hornberger, aehornberger@gmail.com DAS Book Club Leader: Amy Hornberger, aehornberger@gmail.com Elections Chair: Nico Carver, nicocarver@gmail.com Programs Chair: Jeff Lawrence, Jeff@DelAstro.org Webmaster: Rob Lancaster, RLancaste@gmail.com New Members Please see the How to Join page on our website for methods to become a dues-paying member. If you have any questions call any of the member representatives listed. If you re just joining us for the first time, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, and WELCOME to the DAS! It s GREAT to have you with us! DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY