Richmond Astronomical Society
777th Consecutive Meeting
June 10, 2014
Greetings – approximately 50 in attendance at the meeting.
Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room.
Announcements / Share Table
- At the beginning of the meeting, Jim discussed a big decision that was made by the board. Construction is being done on a new Hospice Center next to the Ragland observatory. The board will allow the construction company to park trailers inside our security fence. There is a monetary fee involved. Thanks to Phil for helping with the legal documents.
- Rocket launch from Wallops Island to deliver equipment, food, . . . to ISS has been postponed from tonight to July 1.
Library Report — Virginia Eckert
Events and Individual Observing — RAS members
Welcome Visitors —
April Sopkin, Anne Love Field, Conner S, Nikul Suthar, Claire Racette, Kelly-Jayne McGlynn, Michele and Elizabeth Tuomey, and Emily Wrobelski.
Recent Events:
- Science Museum – fair turnout from a black tie event at SMV, 4 planets in view
- Powhatan State Park – decent turnout, good views of planets, clouds rolled in by 11pm
- East Coast Star Party – good picnic, weather, and observing; no dew during most of 1st night (dew occurred early in the morning), Ray said seeing was so clear that he saw the star in the Ring Nebula.
- Science Pub RVA – Hank Nebel spoke at the latest one. His topic was about Cosmology and the Gravity Wave.
Astrophotolinks: RAS member and master astro-imager Madhup Rathi has created a new website for other imagers — www.astrophotolinks.com. The website is an online library of web content related to astrophotography. Please visit, share and provide feedback. Great photo of M51. Another good website is downrightastrophotography.com
Upcoming Events:
- Skywatch at the Science Museum of Virginia, June 20, 7:30 PM: Monthly skywatch at the Science Museum, weather permitting, following the evening planetarium show at 6:30 PM. Watch for weather updates at richastro.org and the RAS Facebook page.
- Skywatch at Chick-Fil-A Father/Son Camp Out, Friday, June 27, 7:00 PM: Chick-Fil-A at Westchester Commons will be hosting a father/son camping event on June 27th. If you are interested in helping with this event, please contact Jim Browder at president©richastro.org. Skywatch will be adjacent to the restaurant at Westchester Commons.
- Greenbank Star Quest, June 25-28, Greenbank, WV: The eleventh annual Greenback Star Quest will be held this year from June 25-28. More information is at http://www.greenbankstarquest.org/.
- Skywatch at Belmead on the James, June 28, 5:00 PM: Picnic under the stars and night sky viewing with the Richmond Astronomical Society at Belmead on the James in Powhatan County on Saturday, June 28. Weather permitting, we will have a picnic near the Belmead mansion and then view the evening sky. Please bring a picnic and, if you like, some food to share. Belmead and RAS will provide beverages and light snacks. Astronomers and visitors are welcome to set up their telescopes in the paved area near the mansion and observe as long as they like, but no telescope is required, just an interest in the night sky. Please let Jim Browder know if you can participate in this event at president©richastro.org. Belmead is located at 5004 Cartersville Road, Powhatan, VA. A Google Map showing the location is at this link: https://goo.gl/maps/IInF3. In case of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled — watch for updates at http://richastro.org.
- Skywatch at Powhatan State Park, June 28, 9:00 PM: Powhatan State Park has invited us to provide views of the night sky at a camping event on June 28. If you plan to help with this event, please contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net. A Google Map showing the location of Powhatan State Park is at this link:
https://goo.gI/maps/pW57f. The skywatch will be held in the equestrian parking area.
Short Talk: “Science Project Review,” Emily Wroblewski
Emily is a student at the Clover Hill Math and Science School, and is the winner of the 2014 Wilbur Stone award, given out at the Metro Richmond Science Fair for her astronomy project. Her project is “The Effects of Different Focusing Methods on Determining the Critical Focus Zone of a Telescope”. She briefly described many methods that can be used to measure the focal zone. Some of the methods are BahtinovMask, STI Knife-Edge, Hoodman Eyepiece, and manually focusing.
We are looking forward to seeing more of her projects in the future.
Break
Presentation: “Remote Observation Station,” Madhup Rathi
We had the pleasure to hear about Madhup’s remote observatory that he has been using for quite a while. His alternate title explains it all: “How to Automate Dome Operations and Take Pictures from Home”. Madhup explained the planning behind his procedures and the software he uses to perform his tasks. He saves time because he does not have to travel to a dark site and set up his telescope, and then drive back home later. And if it’s too cold, you are safe in your warm house.
He uses Digital Dome Works software to control a dome that is miles away from his house. It was quite a site to see the dome open remotely with a camera inside his dome. The scope has to be centered inside the dome and its window, and must be precisely aligned with the sky. The webcams, CCD equipment, and any cable in the dome needs to be carefully arranged to not ‘choke off’ anything while the scope is moving. He needs to use a weather sensor in the events of different weather conditions from where he lives. Many of his beautiful photos are taken over a span of time. Madhup has to keep in mind when he must stop his recordings – for example, under changing weather conditions, sunrise, or target object getting close to the horizon.
Several of his software programs he uses are: Maxim DL (to control dome), Cartes DuCeil, MaxPoint, TeamViewer, and Images Plus.