Vol. 41, No. 9 September 2010

Saskatchewan Summer Star Party

An enthusiastic group of astronomy fans braved wet conditions at the 2010 SSSP in August, making foranother successful star party. (See page 5 for more.)

Photo by George Charpentier

Saskatoon CentreThe Royal Astronomical Society of Canada

P.O. Box 317, RPO UniversitySaskatoon, SK S7N 4J8

WEBSITE:http://www.rasc.ca/saskatoon

E ­MAIL: wrightb@sasktel.netTELEPHONE: (306) 249-1990

In This Issue:Membership Information / Bottle Drive / Officers of the Centre 2U of S Observatory Hours / Light Pollution Abatement Website 2Calendar of Events / Meeting Announcements 3President’s Message – Barb Wright 4Remembering Bruce Brandell 4The 2010 Saskatchewan Summer Storm Party – Rick Huziak 5Drawing at the Eyepiece – Kathleen Houston 6RASC General Assembly 2010 Report – Rick Huziak 7Observers Group Notes – Larry Scott 8The Planets This Month – Murray Paulson 9The Messier, H-400 & H-400-II, FNGC, Bino, Lunar & EtU Club 10Sky Buys & Mirror Cells 10

To view Saskatoon Skies in colour, see our Website:http://homepage.usask.ca/~ges125/rasc/newsletters.html

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 2

Regular: $77.00 /year Youth: $41.00 /year Associate: $33 /year

The Saskatoon Centre operates on a one-year revolving membership. You will be a member for the next 12 months no matterwhen in the year you join. If you do not want to join at this time, ask to get onto our FREE 3-month Temporary Membership list.You will receive regular mailings of our Saskatoon Skies newsletter and will be invited to participate in Centre activities.Members are encouraged to renew early to avoid disruption in publications. Renew through the membership coordinator, Markde Jong, or renew through the National Office and let Mark know that you did!

Benefits of Membership in the Saskatoon Centre

• knowledgeable & friendly amateur astronomers• use of the Sleaford Observatory• use of the U of S Observatory (after training)• Saskatoon Skies Newsletter• Observer ’s Handbook• The Journal of the RASC (electronic format)• SkyNews Magazine (bimonthly)• use of the Centre library

• rent the Centre's Telescopeshttp://homepage.usask.ca/ges125/rasc/telescopes.html

• discounts to Sky &Telescope Magazine*• free, no-cost, no-obligation, 3-month temporary

membership if you don ’t want to join right now!

*New subscription or renewal of Sky &Telescope? Send new info orrenewal notice, plus credit card # to Norma Jensen, 128 – 4th Street East,Saskatoon, SK S7H 1H8, or email her at norj@sasktel.net .

SASKATOON CENTRE’SMAIN OFFICERS:

President – Barb Wright, 249-1990Secretary – Ron Waldron, 382-9428

Vice-President – Jeff Swick, 373-3902Treasurer – Norma Jensen, 244-7360

Bottle Drive &Canadian Tire $

By Colin Chatfield

If you cannot make it to a meeting butwould like to contribute your Canadian Tiremoney please call me at 934-7046.

Newsletter Editors – Christine Kulyk & Tenho TuomiCopy & Collate – Les & Ellen DicksonLabels & Temps – Mark de JongWeb Posting – Gord SartySaskatoon Skies is published monthly by the Saskatoon Centre of the RASC. Distribution isapproximately 100 copies per issue. Saskatoon Skies welcomes unsolicited articles, sketches,photographs, cartoons, and other astronomy or space science material. Articles can be sent by mail inany format to the Centre’s mailbox. Submitted materials can be returned upon request. Submissionsmay also be sent by e-mail to the editor at clkulyk@sasktel.net – preferred as plain unformatted ASCIItext files without line breaks. Images sent by e-mail should be attached files.

A separate by-mail subscription to Saskatoon Skies is available for $15.00 per year. Saskatoon Skies isalso posted on our Saskatoon Centre homepage as a .pdf file and can be downloaded free-of-charge.Members may choose to receive the newsletter by regular mail or via the Internet. Articles may bereprinted from Saskatoon Skies without expressed permission (unless otherwise indicated), provided thatproper source credit is given. DEADLINE for submissions for each month’s issue is the 20th of thepreceding month. Saskatoon Skies accepts Commercial advertising. Please call the editor 306-858-2453for rates. Members can advertise non-commercial items free of charge.

MEMBERSHIP? IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO JOIN!

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 3

Sep 20 RASC Executive Meeting - 6:30 pm, 175 Physics, U of S Barb Wright 249-1990Sep 20 RASC General Meeting -7:30 pm, 175 Physics, U of S Barb Wright 249-1990Oct 2 Observers Group – Dusk, Sleaford Observatory Larry Scott 934-5801Oct 18 RASC Executive Meeting - 6:30 pm, 175 Physics, U of S Barb Wright 249-1990Oct 18 RASC Annual General Meeting & Elections -7:30 pm, 175

Physics, U of SBarb Wright 249-1990

Nov 6 Observers Group – Dusk, Sleaford Observatory Larry Scott 934-5801

RASC CALENDAR OF EVENTS

PUBLIC STARNIGHT

Wednesday,September 29,

7:00 pmat Lakewood Civic

Centre(Cliff Wright Branch

Library)1635 McKercher Drive

Everyone is invited totake a peek at the night

sky through telescopes setup outside the Cliff

Wright Branch Library,courtesy of members ofthe Saskatoon Centre.

RASC SASKATOON CENTRE GENERAL MEETING

MONDAY, September 20, 7:30 PMRoom 175, Physics Bldg., U of S

“Star Hopping & Other Tricks to Navigate the Night Sky”by Ron Waldron

Are you sometimes lost when attempting to point your telescope or find your way to M13 and othercelestial wonders? Here are some tried and tested techniques and tricks that will help you learn the

basics of navigating the night sky.

Note: There will be an Executive Meeting at 6:30 pm.

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 4

by Barb Wright

A year after our 2009 GA/SSSP IYA extravaganza(even if it did rain on our parade), this year’s SSSPweekend was a little more low-key. We celebrated ourlocal talent: Stan Shadick was our Father Kemblelecturer, with opportunity to have your Skywatchers2011 calendar autographed. Kathleen Houston was ourinaugural speaker for the newly named Under LivingSkies public lecture. Because of the wet weatherconditions, this event was moved from theamphitheatre to the rec hall, which was filled for theBBQ followed by the public lecture. Kathleeninvolved her audience, engaged the children, andrecognized some experts! The rec hall worked out fineas a place to visit and stay dry.

The Friends of Cypress Hills were truly our friends aswell; their tent at the Meadows kept the hot coffeegoing and had a heater and a cozy place to visit. Thankyou everyone for supporting them. This year, we alsotook up a collection for the Maple Creek disaster relieffund, as a reminder to us that a rained-out star party,disappointing though that may be, was not the worstthing the rains inflicted on people.

The hardy souls who stayed and braved the Meadowscampground were rewarded for their stamina andperseverance with glorious skies on Saturday night.This was a demonstration of why people return to

Cypress Hills year after year: our amazingSaskatchewan Living Skies.As my two-year term as President comes to an end,Vice-President Jeff Swick is all set to take over thegavel. I’m sure you will all give him your support andensure Saskatoon Centre is a club to be proud of.

Consider stepping in and taking up one of thepositions available in our October elections. Forexample, with Jeff Swick moving up to President, theCentre Vice-Presidency is up for grabs. We’re alsolooking for a new newsletter Co-Editor, as ChristineKulyk has decided to step down from the job, soTenho will need a hand. Rick Huziak will becontinuing in his term as National Council Rep. Therest of the executive have agreed to let their namesstand for re-election; but as you know, all positions areopen for new or additional nominations! The SSSPCommittee, particularly, is in great need of your help.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all foryour participation over the past two years. It has beena busy time: IYA, GA, public events, art show,planning for Sleaford. Let’s keep the momentumgoing. Activities for new members are being initiated;some of the public events instituted during IYA maycontinue on; development at Sleaford has begun; andthere is much to do. Come be a part of it all!

It is with great sadness that we note therecent loss of one of our Centre’s long-time dedicated members, BruceBrandell, who passed away in earlyAugust at age 83. Bruce’s smiling,warm-hearted presence was a greatasset at Centre events, where he helpedraise funds for our ongoing activities inhis position as Book Sales Coordinatorover the past several years. A greatlover of books, Bruce was always eagerto engage in a lively conversation aboutthe latest astronomical discoveries andtheories.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Bruce earnedhis PhD in Zoology at the University ofMichigan. Upon moving to Canada, hetook up a professorship at the Universityof Saskatchewan, teaching for 29 years inthe Department of Anatomy. In addition tohis love of astronomy, Bruce was an avidmountain climber and skier, for manyyears serving as a guide for blind skiers. Amemorial service for Bruce was held onAugust 16 at the Redeemer LutheranChurch in Saskatoon.

Photo by Tenho Tuomi

President’s Message

Remembering Bruce Brandell

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 5

by Rick Huziak

We had lousy weather at theSaskatchewan Summer StarParty — what’s new this year onthe prairies? I arrivedWednesday evening at dusk. Wehad a few sucker holes filledwith cirrus, but a few folks tooktheir scopes out and looked atwhat they could. Then by aboutmidnight, the rain set in — thenthunder and lightning — andthen hail.

Similarly, Thursday and Fridayalternated between rain andmore rain, occasionally lettingoff and tempting us with a hintthat it might stop and even might clear for a bit. Butthe weather just stayed pretty sorry. Eventually, hopecame: a huge high pressure began working its waysoutheastward from the Yukon, and early Saturdayafternoon, the rain stopped. By sundown, the last ofthe clouds disappeared, and we ended up with a reallynice night of observing right until sunup. It was a bithumid, so we had some dew, but not as much as Ithought we would — it wascertainly tolerable. And the skywas very clear and very steady. Ihad Jupiter in my 10” at 540x,and it was rock-steady — not ahint of swimming around. TheRed Spot was prominent andsteady as it crossed the meridian,and there was a lot of detail inthe NEB and the faint SEB, anda few brown and white spotshere and there.

Despite the poor weather, we didhave great talks (indoors). OnThursday evening, KathleenHouston gave the public Underthe Living Skies lecture to a crowd of ~200 after our(moved-indoors) wiener roast. Friday evening, VancePetriew gave a great 100 years Regina AstronomySociety/RASC retrospective, Chris Beckett talkedabout RASC observing programs and certificates, andI filled everyone in on last October’s signing of theGrasslands DSP.

On Saturday, Alan Dyer gave anexcellent talk about his year ofastronomy journeys to thesouthern hemisphere andelsewhere and filled us in on theevents to come over the next twoyears. Celestron factory repsKevin Kawai and DerikDeVecchio gave talks onCelestron operations, publicoutreach, and telescope tune-uptips. (It is their 50thanniversary.) Stan Shadick gavethe Father Kemble Keynotelecture about how amateurs canparticipate in doing photometry

to study exoplanets. Chris Beckett gave a well-attended binocular starwalk. Saturday talks concludedwith awarding of astrophoto and sketching awards,FNGC pins, 10-year pins, and over 45 door prizesvery generously donated by our vendors and sponsors.The Regina Centre had an excellent public star nightin the Tennis Courts, with 75 to 100 attending.

So, in spite of the rain, the partyended on a good note, with greattalks and a great night ofobserving. Thanks to the ~45volunteers who made this partyhappen, and to the 245 (downfrom 285 usual attendance)strong and wet souls who bravedthe conditions, ~200 beingrewarded with an excellentSaturday night by not bailing outearly (but bailing constantly tode-wet the tents). We thoughtthe rain this year might havetrumped the soggy GA/SSSP’09,but with the clear Saturdaynight, we’re going to have to call

it a tie.

[Ed’s note: The Group Photo from SSSP 2010 isavailable online at:http://homepage.usask.ca/~ges125/rasc/SSSPGroupPhotos.html]

The 2010 Saskatchewan Summer Storm Party

Donuts and coffee helped keep SSSPChair Barb Wright and other star partycampers smilin’ in the rain

Photo by Kathleen Houston

Jeff Swick and faithful companionScooby the astro-dog check thesoggy territory

Photo by Kathleen Houston

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 6

by Kathleen Houston

With three nights and two and a half days of sustainedrain, thunderstorms, hail, and fog at SSSP, we trulyearned our last, but not least, clear Saturday night onAugust 14-15. I decided to do something different formy precious star time, and draw*.

I had a new birthday present toexplore with, a 2” 41mmPanoptic by Tele View. I thinkRick was just as excited as I wasabout the new addition. With this“holy hand grenade” outweighinglast year’s GA swap tablebirthday gift, a 13mm Nagler oldgem, I had to find morecounterweight. I used a 2-poundankle weight that I brought forthe 13mm, added my O’Mearabook, and strapped them both onwith two bungee cords. Not verypretty, but very effective. I amsure Steve would be honoured!

Stephen James O’Meara was the guest speaker at the2009 George Moore workshop, near Edmonton. Hisbook Deep-Sky Companions: The Messier Objects hasbeen my main resource on “how to get there” and thehighlights of any given object. Steve includes a photoof the field, a goto map as viewed through theeyepiece, and his sketches for each Messier. Headvocates spending more time observing each one:“Each drawing was based on several hours ofobserving each object overseveral extremely transparentnights” (p. xi). Steve explainedto me how he works: he beginsin wide field, draws his guidestars and main details, andgradually works up to moremagnification. At each stage,he told me, he “exhausts all thedetails” that he can see. So,Saturday night I was motivatedto try out “the O’Mearamethod.” I wondered, whatcould I see, and how far can Igo?

My 10” truss-tube Lightbridge and 41mm eyepiecestaged for me a wider field of view that is moregrounding, with more guide stars. I felt well orientedbefore entering inside the field with my 22mm and13mm. I started with the Lagoon Nebula to the south

because I like the variety ofdetails, in spite of lingering lightin the northwest. I quicklyrealized how time-consuming thisis, but loved the connection to thestars, diffuse light texture, wisps,and layering in my field. Iminimized exposure to my redflashlight by flattening the headon my paper, to maximize mydark-adapted eyes when I was atthe eyepiece. I was so deeplyfocused on my task that peoplewalking around with relativelybright red flashlights weredistracting, and they soon learned,

Be careful, Kathleen is drawing!

I went into the brightest nebulosity of the Lagoon,then followed the dark dust lane that Rick pointed out,and then across to the star cluster and its fainternebulosity. Was that a smaller dust lane entering thestar cluster? Rick suggested to jiggle the eyepiece toallow the nebulosity to “jump out.” I wanted my eyesand instincts to take me “out there,” to explore anddiscover this object before me.

I changed magnification from my41mm to 22mm, and finished withthe 13mm. I went back to the41mm to zoom out and see how itall “reads” together. I suspect Itook about an hour drawing theLagoon Nebula. Then I moved onto the galaxy trio of M81, M82,and NGC 3077, a fainter fuzzyeasily seen with averted vision. Itried to make sure I moved aroundfrom time to time, because beingperched on Rick’s terrific woodenobserving chair meant that I wasgetting cold. So, instead of storing

my other eyepieces in the Lightbridge base holster, Iput them back on the table in my case so I would have

Drawing at the Eyepiece!

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 7

to get up and walk around. By 1:50 am, it was time fora more sustained break. Waves of light cloud weretrickling in, and contrast was poor. So I packed it in.My third drawing would have to wait until next time.Rick borrowed my new 41mm gift and went offexploring for himself.

For SSSP 2011, I want to propose a drawing workshopled by Jack Milliken (Calgary Centre) and myself. Atthe GA last year, there were two fabulous sunspotdrawing entries, and this year, I was delighted withteenager Jennilea Coppola’s naked-eye full Moonentry. I want to promote this form of seeing andexperiencing the night sky, and invite youth and adultsto enter and share their experiences. I foresee threeSSSP drawing competition categories: naked eye,binoculars (on a tripod), and at the eyepiece. Clearskies, and happy drawing!

Suggested Resources:• “Become a Better Observer: Sketch!” by MarkBratton, in SkyNews July/August 2009.• Deep-Sky Companions: The Messier Objects byStephen James O’Meara, Cambridge University Press1998, ISBN 0521553326.

*What is the difference between drawing andsketching? Steve O’Meara uses the term “drawing” inhis book, while Mark Bratton says “sketching” in hisSkyNews article. I use “draw” instead of “sketch,” andhere is why: A drawing is intended to produce asubstantial standalone work, whereas a sketch is a“quick unrefined drawing” (Wiki), usually as apreparation for something more substantial. Andgesture drawing is somewhere in between!

by Rick Huziak, Saskatoon Centre National Council Rep

Summary of National Council Meeting, July 1, atthe 2010 GA in Fredericton:

Mary Lou Whitehorne, Publications Committee Chair,reported that Observer’s Handbook Editor Pat Kelly isending his term and the search for a new editor (or co-editors) has begun. Finding a good new editor is veryimportant, because the Handbook is a very importantpart of the Society. She also introduced the newprofessionally designed RASC and publicationsbrochures; 30,000 copies will be printed and will beavailable to Centres.

James Edgar, National Secretary, reported that PublicSpeaker Program money is available. Three Centreshave applied and been accepted. James moved thataccommodations be added to the speaker fund to makethe fund more useful for Centres, and the motion wascarried. This fund is for speakers provided the talk isavailable to the public; $10,000 per year is available,issued at approximately $700 per application.

Peter Jedicke, Awards Committee Chair, suggested thecreation of a national award for education and publicoutreach, driven out of the success of the IYA. TheRASC recognized that much work was done by manymembers and the RASC did not have a mechanism fortheir recognition. (There have also been discussionsof joint awards from the RASC, CASCA, & FAAQ.)The suggested purpose of the award is to motivate

members to do more.

Chris Weadick reported for the National LightPollution Abatement Committee on behalf of RobDick. Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia, wasaccepted as Canada’s 12th Dark-Sky Preserve by theRASC on July 1. The park is very dark andencompasses about 300 square kilometres. The actualdeclaration at the Park would occur on August 7.

Dave Lane, outgoing National President, reported onthe Walter Helm Fund. This fund has been removedfrom the RASC books and will be administered as acompletely separate fund, though still by the RASC.The fund was in place to support the David DunlapObservatory, but since the observatory was sold by theUniversity of Toronto and is now being run by theToronto Centre, exactly how this fund is to be used isunknown and is being discussed with lawyers. (Thecosts are covered by the Fund itself, and not by theRASC.)

Jennifer West of the Winnipeg Centre gave a report onGA2011. The GA is to be held at the University ofManitoba on the Canada Day weekend.

Chris Gainer indicated that the Victoria Centre isinterested in being the 2014 GA host, since 2014 istheir 100th anniversary.

RASC General Assembly 2010 Report

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 8

Summary of Annual General Meeting, July 4, atthe 2010 GA in Fredericton:

Twenty-two of twenty-nine Centres were representedat this meeting! Approximately 82 of the 150 GAregistrants attended the Annual Meeting.

The first order of business was acclamation of the newexecutive. Mary Lou Whitehorne became the newPresident of the RASC, and David Lane became Past-President.

The year–in-review was given by Mary Lou. She readout the list of achievements for 2009-10, drivenmostly by IYA planning and activities. Nationally, theRASC, FAAQ, and CASCA programs produced 1.9million Canadian Galileo Moments, double theoriginal goal. In addition, the RASC sponsored fournew Dark-Sky Preserves, bringing the total to elevenin Canada. The RASC National Office HQ propertywas sold and moved to a new leased location, andExecutive Director Deborah Thompson was hired. ThePublic Speaker Program was also revised.

Bill Hydomako was acknowledged during the readingof the names of deceased members, along with LeoEnright, Beginner’s Observing Guide editor, andothers.

Dennis Grey of the Constitution Committee reportedthat the constitution was preliminarily revised andmodernized.

Kim Hay, Chair of the Education Committee, reportedthat IYA planning went well (it started in 2008!) andthanked the committee for doing such a good job. Itwas noted that Starfinders are already available in thee-store and will become a permanent product, but thatNational Office will still provide free ones for Centreactivities.

Mary Lou Whitehorne, Publications Committee Chair,reported that the 6th edition of the Beginner’sObserving Guide and the 2nd edition of Skyways havebeen completed.

Randall Rosenfeld, of the Green Laser Pointer (GLP)Committee, reported that green laser pointer voluntaryguidelines-for-use have been established and are onthe Website. The RASC is concerned about misusereported in the media that might affect long-term use,so a brochure might be produced.

Chris Weadick, reporting for Rob Dick of the LightPollution Committee, reported that the focus of LPAprograms has expanded to protecting fauna and starsto meet broader social expectations.

The only motion of significance at the GA, the motionto change membership fees by increasing OrdinaryMembership by $3, and to maintain current Youthfees, was passed by 110 votes for and 44 votes against.Proxies carried by a few Centre Reps wereapproximately 50/50 for/against. It was recommendedby Denis Grey to begin increased fees on September30 due to iMIS restrictions.

Welcome back, everyone. I hope your summer wasgood and your basements are dry.

We had two Observers Group meetings scheduledover the summer. Two members were out to Sleafordon July 17. Skies were clear with good seeing, poortransparency, and lots of mosquitoes. Conditions onAugust 7 were nearly identical, including themosquitoes, with three members present. There was awee bit of excitement that night as I was getting firstlight on a new-to-me scope, and it did not disappoint.Also got to see Ron’s new legs. Very nice.

As I did get first light that night, I cannot be held

responsible for the weather at SSSP. I suspect it wasother cases of new-scope curse that yielded thefollowing quotes from SSSP 2010: “Those two stormsthat passed earlier were the little ones. There’s anotherone coming at you and it’s HUGE!” and “It’s worse[the weather] than last year” and “The mosquitoes arethe size of grasshoppers.” Congratulations to everyonewho stuck it out till Saturday night to get some well-deserved views.

Next Observers Group is scheduled for October 2,with moonless evenings from the 1st to the 13th. Dresswarm!

Observers Group Notes by Larry Scott

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 9

The Planets This Month, September 2010by Murray D. Paulson, RASC Edmonton Centre

Back from an eventful summer, eclipses, and starparties. Did you get to see Mercury? I caught it at theMt. Kobau Star Party, and it rewarded me with a 8.3”fat crescent. I tried to see details on it, but no luck thistime. This month, Mercury is in inferior conjunctionwith the Sun on the 3rd, and from there, it will swingout with great speed to the September 19 greatestwestern elongation. It will sit 18 degrees from the Sun,rising almost 2 hours before sunrise. On the 19th,Mercury will shine at magnitude -0.3 and will show a7.2” half-disc in the eyepiece. This is a fairly goodmorning apparition, so if you are an early riser andhave a good eastern horizon, give it a try. Regulus willbe 8 degrees above and slightly south of it. After themorning apparition, Mercury will move back towardsthe Sun at a more pedestrian rate to arrive in superiorconjunction in mid-October.

The fall ecliptic is unkind to us, hiding any planetsthat linger too near the Sun. The ecliptic runs at aslight angle to the evening horizon, and the planetVenus compounds it by lying below the ecliptic! Ithink the only way you may catch Venus in twilight isto check right at sunset and hunt about 45 degreessouth of it and just above the horizon. Binoculars willhelp. Venus will shine at magnitude -4.5, and it willonly be 3 or so degrees above the horizon. Good luck.If viewing it in the daytime, it should be an easy huntat such a distance from the Sun. In the eyepiece, youwill see a 33” fat crescentearly in the month, and bythe first week of October, itwill swell to a 51” thincrescent still maintaining that-4.5 brilliance. Do find it inthe daytime; it always is abeauty when it is a thincrescent.

This month, Mars lurks inevening twilight as well, butat magnitude 1.5, it will notbe easy to find. If you couldfind it, you would berewarded with the tiniestMars you will have ever

seen. In the first weeks of September, it is 4.3”, and byearly October, it will shrink marginally to 4.1”. It stilllies a ways from the Sun, but that wicked fall ecliptichas got it and will not easily relinquish it for viewing.

The big thing for this month is the opposition ofJupiter. It happens on September 21, and Jupiter willshine at magnitude -2.9 and show a 49.86” disc. Thelast time Jupiter was larger than this was in 1951 whenit was 49.93” in diameter. By incredible coincidence,we also have Uranus coming to opposition on theexact same day. You will be able to see both of thesegas giants in the same eyepiece field around this time.Uranus will lie just around 1 degree above Jupiter overthe week on either side of opposition. The closestapproach is on September 18 when the two will beonly 49’ apart. Uranus will shine at magnitude 5.7 andwill show you a blue-green 3.7” disk in the eyepiece.Compare it to Jupiter’s moons. Ganymede will show a1.7” disc at opposition. We are also back in the seasonof moon events. I saw some nice Galilean shadowtransits at the summer star party. One was a nice dualshadow event.

This month, Saturn comes to conjunction with theSun on September 30, so we will have to wait till laterin the year when it will make it back into the morningsky.

One last word on moons:Uranus and Neptune havesatellites that are easily foundin a moderate-to-largeamateur telescope. Neptune’smoon Triton shines atmagnitude 13.4 and is aneasy find in a 10” or largerscope. Uranus has threemoons within the reach ofamateur scopes, withmagnitudes 13.9, 14.1, and14.3. Use your favourite astrosoftware to generate anephemeris for the nights youwish to go out, and see if youcan chase them down.

Slim crescent Moon and VenusTaken May 15, 2010 with Nikon D90 and 75-300mm lens.

Photo by Colin Chatfield

SASKATOON SKIES SEPTEMBER 2010 10

Join the Club! Observe all 110 Messier, 110 Finest NGC, 400 Herschel I or II, 140 Lunar, or 35Binocular objects, or Explore the Universe and earn great OBSERVING CERTIFICATES!

MESSIER CLUBCertified at 110 Objects:R. Huziak, G. Sarty, S. Alexander, S.Ferguson, D. Jeffrey, D. Chatfield, B.Christie, K. Noesgaard, M. Stephens,B. Hydomako, T. Tuomi, L. Scott, G.Charpentier, B. Johnson, M. Clancy, L.Dickson, B. Burlingham

Ken Maher Done! 110Norma Jensen 108Ron Waldron 105Kathleen Houston 90Margo Millar 77Wade Selvig 75Garry Stone 57Barb Wright 40Wayne Schlapkohl 36Ellen Dickson 32Jeff Swick 24Bruce Brandell 5

FINEST NGC CLUBCertified at 110 Objects:R. Huziak, D. Jeffrey, G. Sarty, D.Chatfield, T. Tuomi

Larry Scott Done! 110Scott Alexander 97Sandy Ferguson 23George Charpentier 13Ken Maher 10Mike Clancy 7

Chatfield BINOCULARCERTIFICATECertified at 35 to 40 Objects:M. Stephens, T. Tuomi, M. Clancy, R.Huziak, K. Maher

Isabel Williamson LunarObserving Certificate / 140Tenho Tuomi Up! 126Norma Jensen 80Jeff Swick 20

EXPLORE the UNIVERSECertified at 55 to 110 Objects:M. Clancy, T. Tuomi, K. Maher, B.Gratias

Wayne Schlapkohl Done 55Sharon Dice 31

HERSCHEL 400 CLUBCertified at 400 Objects:D. Jeffrey, R. Huziak, D. Chatfield

Tenho Tuomi Done! 400Gordon Sarty 251Scott Alexander 117Sandy Ferguson 18

HERSCHEL 400-II CLUB

Darrell Chatfield 340Rick Huziak 211

The Messier & Finest NGC lists can be found in the Observer's Handbook .The Explore the Universe list is available on the National website.

On-line Messier and Finest NGC lists, charts and logbooks – check out:http://www.rasc.ca/observing

On-line Herschel 400 List – check out the official site at:http://www.astroloeague.org/al/obsclubs/herschel/hers400.html

The Binocular List will be available at each general meeting or can be mailed out on request to distant members.Copies of the Isabel Williamson Lunar Observing Program Guide can be purchased at meetings. Program details can be found at: http://www.rasc.ca/williamson/index.shtml

SKY BUYS & MIRROR CELLSThe Saskatoon Centre’s Swap and sale Page

FOR SALE: Discovery 12.5” f/5 PDHQ Split-Tube Dobsonian. Bought in 2007 and used six times. Madesome modifications to stiffen the box. Nice views from an excellent mirror, but too much scope for me. Willship at buyer’s expense, or willing to deliver for gas money. Scope currently lists for $1,699; I would like$1,000. Contact Norma: norj@sasktel.net

FOR SALE: Celestron 8 with tripod and wedge, AC motor drive, two eyepieces (12.5mm Plössl and 25mmKellner), original box, and manuals. Owned by me for about 12 years, used very little and not at all in the last5 or 6 years. Asking $1,000. Please contact me (Arlow Kraft) by e-mail: adk100@sasktel.net