Just a reminder about the meeting Thursday night.  People's Food Coop,
7pm, the upstairs meeting room (down the hall from Hackberrys).  The
meeting is open to the public so if you know anyone with an interest
in astronomy, please invite them.

Hope to see you Thursday evening,

Rick

On 1/9/07, Robert Allen <allen.robe@...> wrote:
> La Crosse Area Astronomical Society
> P. O. Box 2041
> La Crosse, WI 54602-2041
> January 9, 2007
>
>
> Dear Members and Others,
>
>
> *** JANUARY MEETING ADDED. We don't usually have a January
> meeting, but Phil Yehle helped to organize one. It will be
> held at 7 pm on THURSDAY, January 18th at the Meeting Room
> of the People's Food Coop at 315 S. 5th Ave. in downtown La
> Crosse. The topic will be "Favorite Astronomy Internet
> Sites". Bring along some to share. The room has a video
> projector.
>
> Also, there is now a Yahoo group for the club. It is
> laxastro. Join if you have a Yahoo username. Get a username
> if you don't! They are free.
>
>

Hi guys.  The original message had a meeting date of Jan 25th.  So is
it the 18th or the 25th?

Mike R.


--- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, "Rick KB9TKG" <kb9tkg@...> wrote:
>
> Just a reminder about the meeting Thursday night.  People's Food
Coop,
> 7pm, the upstairs meeting room (down the hall from Hackberrys).  The
> meeting is open to the public so if you know anyone with an interest
> in astronomy, please invite them.
>
> Hope to see you Thursday evening,
>
> Rick
>
> On 1/9/07, Robert Allen <allen.robe@...> wrote:
> > La Crosse Area Astronomical Society
> > P. O. Box 2041
> > La Crosse, WI 54602-2041
> > January 9, 2007
> >
> >
> > Dear Members and Others,
> >
> >
> > *** JANUARY MEETING ADDED. We don't usually have a January
> > meeting, but Phil Yehle helped to organize one. It will be
> > held at 7 pm on THURSDAY, January 18th at the Meeting Room
> > of the People's Food Coop at 315 S. 5th Ave. in downtown La
> > Crosse. The topic will be "Favorite Astronomy Internet
> > Sites". Bring along some to share. The room has a video
> > projector.
> >
> > Also, there is now a Yahoo group for the club. It is
> > laxastro. Join if you have a Yahoo username. Get a username
> > if you don't! They are free.
> >
> >
>

Hi All,

Won't be able to make it to the meeting,  But mentioned this to Bob and
he said spread the word.

So,  here we go,,  Like I said I won't be able to attend the meeting,
but for those of you that are and read this before going,  I'm inviting
you all to the first shorn mini dark Sky Star Party we are putting together.

The
Driftless Zone Star Party
Messier Marathon Edition.

More details can be found at the web site.

http://www.dzsp.org

More details to come,  just looking to see if locals are interested. If
so  Please contact me!

Joe

Okay,  Sorry for the message again.

But now the details of the Driftless Zone Star Party is now ready for
your viewing.

Come on out this March and view some incredible skies.  visit the site
as soon as you can

space is limited,

Joe
http://www.dzsp.org

Hello,

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group.

   File        : /Hello Amateurs.doc
   Uploaded by : geowert <wertwijg@...>
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Regards,

geowert <wertwijg@...>

Three of us are going to the Rochester astronomy club's meeting next
Tuesday, Mar 13.  The topic is Messier marathons and web cam imaging.

We'll be leaving at 5:30pm from the Minnesota visitors center parking
lot.  We'll likely have room for a couple more.

It is likely that someone will be going to the April meeting on high
power rocketry, too.

rick

The April La Crosse Area Astronomical Society meeting will be held at
the UW -La Crosse Planetarium (20 Cowley Hall) at 7pm on Tuesday, April
3rd. Vice President Gordon Stewart will give a talk on "starry Night
Pro Software".

Bob Allen

Phil (and others who wanted to go to Rochester Tues night),

I found out I have a family/school commitment Tuesday night so I won't
be able to go/drive to Rochester for their club meeting.

Rick

Last night (Saturday, May 6) I managed to get out for the 3rd time
this week!  It was quite cloudy through the evening hours but the
satellite radar showed a thinning spot headed our way (Holmen, WI).  I
stepped out at around 9:30pm(?) and sure enough I could see stars!  By
the way, my favorite new tool is the radar display at weather.com.  If
you scroll way down to the satellite picture, click on it, then select
'Clouds & Radar', then select the play button, you can see what's
going on.  But the most useful thing is that you can zoom out to see a
very wide area trend, so you can better tell what's headed your way.

At any rate, I've been trying out 2 new observing aids (in addition to
the pickle-jar-lid focuser).  I've found that I prefer to use the hand
controller in my lap, but it kept sliding off and banging into the
tripod or battery supply.  I just happened to have reflective velcroed
straps that are used for holding your pants legs from getting into a
bicycle chain.  The two of them daisy-chained will reach around my
thigh, and with a patch of velcro on the controller, it stays put.
Unfortunately, the strap tends to slide down when you stand up to
reposition.

The second thing is something I based on an ad in Sky at Night
magazine.  I puchased a 60in by 48in piece of gaberdine (the heavier
polyester version at Hancock Fabrick), cut a horizontal slit for the
eyepiece and focus knob, and voila, no problem from the neighbors
lights (at least at the eyepiece)!  Don't know what the neighbors
would think if they saw me in the back yard with a black sheet over my
head though.

Okay, but what about the view?  Earlier this week, before a very
bright moon arose, I surfed the Messier objects in Virgo.  Mostly
fuzzy blobs but I could make out differences in all but one.  I'm very
impressed with what you can see even in non-optimal seeing conditions.
  I've been inspired by the likes of Dean Johnson, who I swear must go
out even when it's 98 percent cloudy!  Last night I saw the best shape
yet to M81 and M82.  The gaberdine shroud really helps to keep your
dark vision.  Oh, and the new Panoptic helps a little too. ;-)

Hey Red, now that I've used AstroPlanner a little, could I get a
tutorial from you sometime?  Maybe that could be a club meeting demo
if everyone is interested.

Good Seeing,

Mike R.
8" SCT (Celestron CPC 800 XLT)

Hi Mike,,

Mike Rowlands wrote:
{snip}

>  By
>the way, my favorite new tool is the radar display at weather.com.  If
>you scroll way down to the satellite picture, click on it, then select
>'Clouds & Radar', then select the play button, you can see what's
>going on.  But the most useful thing is that you can zoom out to see a
>very wide area trend, so you can better tell what's headed your way.
>
>
I went there and can't seem to find where youre looking ,, can you post
a direct link?

Joe

>
>
>

--- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, Joe <nss@...> wrote:

> I went there and can't seem to find where youre looking can you post
> a direct link?
>
> Joe


You might have to enter your zip code or something before you get the
page that I'm seeing.  I think that some of weather.com features
require a fee, but I'm only doing things that are free after you
register your location.

Here's a link to the main page that I see (for Holmen, WI 54636):
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/54636?lswe=54636&lwsa=WeatherLocalUndeclare\
d

Here's a link to the interactive map after you click on the satallite
view:
http://www.weather.com/weather/map/interactive/54636?from=36hour_map_largeundefi\
ned&zoom=7&interactiveMapLayer=radar

Let us know if this works.

Mike R.

--- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, Joe <nss@...> wrote:

I went there and can't seem to find where youre looking can you post a direct link?
Joe

You might have to enter your zip code or something before you get the
page that I'm seeing. I think that some of weather.com features
require a fee, but I'm only doing things that are free after you
register your location. Here's a link to the main page that I see (for Holmen, WI 54636):
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/54636?lswe=54636&lwsa=WeatherLocalUndeclared
Here's a link to the interactive map after you click on the satallite
view:
http://www.weather.com/weather/map/interactive/54636?from=36hour_map_largeundefined&zoom=7&interactiveMapLayer=radar
Let us know if this works.
Mike R.
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All,

Here are our anticipated observing sessions for May, all are
Friday/Saturday nights:

May 11 / 12
- dark shortly after  9:00, moon doesn't rise until about 3:00am

May 18 / 19
- dark around 9:15, moon doesn't set until 11:30 / 12:15 but it's 2+
days old on Friday

I'll often come about 1/2 hour before dark to setup, chat, etc.

At this point we are going to leave it up to each person as to whether
observing is on or not.  I.e., we will not be posting a go/no-go
message unless the weather is obviously not going to break later.  We
cancelled a couple of observing sessions last year (ususally around
7-8pm) where it did clear up by 10-11pm.  Signing up for the laxastro
yahoo group and e-mailing the group is the best way to find out if
anyone is, for example, planning on going out again on Saturday night
after observing on Friday night.

We will be observing at the Coulee Region Modelers flying field.  The
flying field is on County MM south of La Crosse (the 2nd intersection
of Hwy 14 & Cty MM, almost at the top of the Ten Mile hill, about 10
miles south of La Crosse).  It is a right turn onto MM, then about a
1/4 mile to the flying field which will be on your left.

If you arrive after dark, please turn your lights off.  And park so
your lights are not facing the field when you leave.

You can check at the laxastro Yahoo group page for the Clear Sky Clock
and possible weather-related cancelations at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/laxastro/.  Join if you have a
Yahoo username. Get a Yahoo username if you don't have one! They are
free.

Thanks, Rick Morrison
kb9tkg@...

Hi

Anyone using MAXIM DL that could give a demo at one of the meetings? I have
it but won't be using it for another month or two and would be interested
in a demo so I could get a head start on what to look for the first time.

Hopefully by June or July I  maybe ready to start taking some images if all
goes well, probably will start with the LPI I have.

Gene

We had a trouble free trip down to St. Pete and are renting while we
look for a house.

Glad to see Rick/Phil have scheduled some May observing attempts. Also,
thanks to Phil for agreeing to take on officer responsibilities for the
club!


Bob

Overall a nice night. It did clear up after some early clouds. Seeing
was only so-so which was attributed to the fires up north.

I had my 8" dob and concentrated on objects in Cancer and Leo.  Phil
had his 12.5" truss dob. Mike brought his 8" Celestron and the club's
12" (?) dob. Gordon had his new/old 6" reflector. Red and John were
also there.

What was everyone looking at?  What did I miss after I left?

Rick

--- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, "kb9tkg" <kb9tkg@...> wrote:
>
> Overall a nice night. It did clear up after some early clouds. Seeing
> was only so-so which was attributed to the fires up north.
>
> I had my 8" dob and concentrated on objects in Cancer and Leo.  Phil
> had his 12.5" truss dob. Mike brought his 8" Celestron and the club's
> 12" (?) dob. Gordon had his new/old 6" reflector. Red and John were
> also there.
>
> What was everyone looking at?  What did I miss after I left?
>
> Rick
>

We checked out a few more globulars and did some more eyepiece
experimenting.  I've now seen the difference between a 1.25 and 2 inch
eyepiece (on Phil's 12.5 inch truss scope) and it is awesome.  We
somehow need to convince Phil (and his wife) that a medium power 2
incher is one of his top priorities.  ;-)

Once Jupiter got a little higher, we checked it out, and a 13 mm
eyepiece (122x) was about all we could go.  But we played with red,
green, and blue filters and the blue seemed to bring out the bands the
most.  As usual, I learned more about this hobby/passion, and really
appreciate all the help from everybody.

By the way, we did some major adjusting of the club scope (13 inch I
believe), but with everything else going on, I didn't get to look
through it after dark.  Will check it out more soon and maybe do some
disassembly/cleaning/readjusting if necessary.

Mike R.

Mike,

Thanks for letting me use your 40mm ep. My 32mm may not be as bad as I
say, but your 40, and 32, are much better. I wondered if it was just a
bad match for my scope (I've read that field curvature is somewhat
dependent on the scope type). When I get out next I'll have to try to
determine if it's field curvature or coma.  But most likely I just
have a crappy 32mm.  I will be looking for a somewhat better one - but
my overall cheapness will not allow me to spend much!

Rick

Glad to hear the weather cooperated some for the Friday night
session. You have wildfire/smoke/haze problems there too? We have had
a couple of really bad days since arriving due to the BIG fire in SE
GA and a fairly big one in NE FL. Parts of I-75 and I-10 were closed
yesterday.

The club scope is a 13-inch (13 1/4) Coulter Dob, around f/4.5. Chuck
Groth (tall contractor) bought it new when Coulters were quite a
bargain. A guy from Fountain City who was a U MN student at the time
bought it from Chuck when Chuck got divorced and put his time and
money into hot cars. The other guy sold it to the club for $250 to
get a portable refractor. We asked for donations above the dues at
the time to pay for it. I don't recall who those who donated were.
Chuck bought a nice Tuthill mylar solar filter (blue image) that he
built a sturdy frame for. That filter should be in 218 Cowley. The
2nd guy put a 2-inch focuser on it and a Telrad. It was a "cheap"
plastic one, but worked pretty well. The club eventually put a Novak
2-inch focuser on. The scope was originally blue and very heavy. Mike
Bagneski helped shave some weight off of the rocker box. A few years
ago, Gordon did a major modification/redesign to the mount and tube.
The University's 24 mm 2-inch Nagler usually gave excellent views
through it. M13 near the zenith was a killer sight. Frank Roldan used
to help keep it collimated before the University got a nice laser
focuser. The club added a nice Celestron optical finder. The
University bought a Dob Driver II for it and we used it for awhile.
But, if the mount lost "contact" with the gears, you had to "reboot"
things. I wanted a Poncet platform for it, and probably should have
gone that way. Bruce Klubertanz used to have a nice homebuilt one on
his 10-inch Coulter. If anybody else recalls any other details,
please post them here.

Thanks to all who participated Friday evening.  You made it a pleasant
one by being there and sharing your scopes and thoughts even though
the visibility was quite limited.

Special thanks to Mike and Gordon for bringing the club scope and the
school scope.  I enjoy observing with something different and learning
from those who find objects without the aid of a processor and data base.

I'm game to more of the same next week.  I may go to Eagle Bluff to
spend time with that group.  Anyone care to travel a bit more?

Regards, Red

--- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Rowlands" <fastsedan@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, "kb9tkg" <kb9tkg@> wrote:
> >
> > Overall a nice night. It did clear up after some early clouds.
Seeing
> > was only so-so which was attributed to the fires up north.
> >
> > I had my 8" dob and concentrated on objects in Cancer and Leo.
Phil
> > had his 12.5" truss dob. Mike brought his 8" Celestron and the
club's
> > 12" (?) dob. Gordon had his new/old 6" reflector. Red and John
were
> > also there.
> >
> > What was everyone looking at?  What did I miss after I left?
> >
> > Rick
> >
>
> We checked out a few more globulars and did some more eyepiece
> experimenting.  I've now seen the difference between a 1.25 and 2
inch
> eyepiece (on Phil's 12.5 inch truss scope) and it is awesome.  We
> somehow need to convince Phil (and his wife) that a medium power 2
> incher is one of his top priorities.  ;-)
>
> Once Jupiter got a little higher, we checked it out, and a 13 mm
> eyepiece (122x) was about all we could go.  But we played with red,
> green, and blue filters and the blue seemed to bring out the bands
the
> most.  As usual, I learned more about this hobby/passion, and really
> appreciate all the help from everybody.
>
> By the way, we did some major adjusting of the club scope (13 inch I
> believe), but with everything else going on, I didn't get to look
> through it after dark.  Will check it out more soon and maybe do
some
> disassembly/cleaning/readjusting if necessary.
>
> Mike R.
>
I'd say we all had a very enjoyable night. The wind was a little
severe, cooling us all down to the point that I had to get an extra
jacket.
This is the first time I had my large Dob out in such high wind. It
does get a bit problematical.
It is fun to try other peoples eyepieces since most time they are
better then yours. That's not going to be an issue for Mike any more
with those really nice Naglers you have. Your 13mm seems to have a
great combination of power and field. Especially on those globulars.
I think that Johns 32mm?? Televue would have been great on the Milky
Way and winter open star clusters.
I was really fired up to go out again Saturday night but
unfortunately the weather didn't co-operate. Can't be too mad though
cause we sure needed the rain.

As far as a Nagler in my future? Not for a year or two, there are
other priorities.

--- In laxastro@yahoogroups.com, "red_haines" <WO0W@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks to all who participated Friday evening.  You made it a pleasant
> one by being there and sharing your scopes and thoughts even though
> the visibility was quite limited.
>
> Special thanks to Mike and Gordon for bringing the club scope and the
> school scope.  I enjoy observing with something different and learning
> from those who find objects without the aid of a processor and data
base.
>
> I'm game to more of the same next week.  I may go to Eagle Bluff to
> spend time with that group.  Anyone care to travel a bit more?
>
> Regards, Red
>

Red,

I may be game to go over. I know Rick wanted to at some point and Mike
may want to as well.

If any one else is interested in attending the following events let me
know:

http://www.new-star.org/ This is the Wisconsin Observers Weekend held
at Hartman Creek State Park. Low key observing sessions. No lectures
but a Saturday ice cream social. $12.00 registration still open I
believe.

http://cvastro.org/sf2007.html  This is the Chippeawa Valley Northwoods
Starfest. Very well orgaininzed with lectures and some meals included.
Camping or cabins available.$50.00 registration. some think it's pricey
but if the skies are clear, I think it's worth it.

I've signed up for both.

Phil

There's a "funny" story I tell about the club scope and Cowley Rooftop
solar observing with students. After using it one day, I pulled the
filter off and moved the scope a little to make sure the Sun was no
longer in view. We took some of the equipment into the storage area and
noticed a strange smell when we went back out. The Sun had drifted back
into the scope and the old plastic 2-inch focuser was starting to melt!!


Bob

You've told me the answer to this one before: how far (in time) to Eagle Bluff
observing area?  From downtown La Crosse?  I think you've told me about 1:15 or
so.

Do we have an obligation to either tell everyone what we're planning or have
someone at the flying field next weekend if the weather is favorable?

Rick

>> I'm game to more of the same next week.  I may go to Eagle Bluff to
>> spend time with that group.  Anyone care to travel a bit more?
>>
>> Regards, Red
>>
>
>Red,
>
>I may be game to go over. I know Rick wanted to at some point and Mike
>may want to as well.
>
>
>

Hi, LAAS members and friends;

According to StreetAtlas, Eagle Bluff is about 1:17 from Cass and 4th,
via I-90.  It is about 1:45 via Hokah, Houston, Rushford, and
Lanesboro.  It is nice to stop in Lanesboro with others for a bit to eat
on the way.

I will go there if conditions are forecasted to be good and RAC will
meet there or if the forecast is fair but a number of you wish to go
there instead of to the flying field.  Please keep me posted.

Regards, Red

Thanks Red.  I would have thought it would be longer to take I-90.  I'll have to
take a look at a map.

If the weather cooperates, I will be staying in La Crosse Fri or Sat.  Early
morning family activities will prevent me from staying out late enough to drive
to Eagle Bluff and back.

Rick
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: WO0W <WO0W@...>
Reply-To: laxastro@yahoogroups.com
Date:  Mon, 14 May 2007 22:49:35 -0500

>Hi, LAAS members and friends;
>
>According to StreetAtlas, Eagle Bluff is about 1:17 from Cass and 4th,
>via I-90.  It is about 1:45 via Hokah, Houston, Rushford, and
>Lanesboro.  It is nice to stop in Lanesboro with others for a bit to eat
>on the way.
>
>I will go there if conditions are forecasted to be good and RAC will
>meet there or if the forecast is fair but a number of you wish to go
>there instead of to the flying field.  Please keep me posted.
>
>Regards, Red
>
>

Thanks Red. I would have thought it would be longer to take I-90. I'll have to take a look at a map.
If the weather cooperates, I will be staying in La Crosse Fri or Sat. Early morning family activities will prevent me from staying out late enough to drive to Eagle Bluff and back.
Rick
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: WO0W <WO0W@...>
Reply-To: laxastro@yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 22:49:35 -0500

Hi, LAAS members and friends;
According to StreetAtlas, Eagle Bluff is about 1:17 from Cass and 4th, via I-90. It is about 1:45 via Hokah, Houston, Rushford, and Lanesboro. It is nice to stop in Lanesboro with others for a bit to eat on the way.
I will go there if conditions are forecasted to be good and RAC will meet there or if the forecast is fair but a number of you wish to go there instead of to the flying field. Please keep me posted.
Regards, Red

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StreetAtlas directs, for the fastest route, I-90 from La Crosse to the
Lewiston exit, Co 29 to a mile or so of un-named roads to SR 30 to SR
250 to Lanesboro.  Co 8, 2 mi. west to Co 21, 1 1/4 mile northerly to
Goodview Rd, 2 1/2 mi northerly to Eagle Bluff.  Time is listed 1:22.

It is a bit slower, though shorter distance, from La Crosse via MN 16 to
Lanesboro. Time is listed 1:50, from 4th and Cass.

The coordinates are, as best that I can determine form StreetAtlas, N43°
46.02' and W91° 59.08'.  I'm not certain of those values because
Goodview Rd is not named on StreetAtlas.

Regards, Red