 |
Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. |  Member Astronomical League |
 Member International Dark-Sky Association |
| FirstLight's First Ten Years |
|||
| 29°39' N, 82°21' W Altitude: 50 Meters (more or less) |
Updated Jan. 17, 1999 | ||
| (Click logo for home page) | Founded: September 1987 | (Developed with Netscape 4.x) |
| Club Address |
Club Info |
Club Meetings |
Star Parties |
Special Events |
Club News |
Astro News |
What's Up |
UF Ast Dept |
Astro Links |
| Club Officers |
Club Members |
How to Join |
E-Mail List |
Locator Maps | News Letter |
Club Bylaws |
Club Pictures |
Misc. Info |
Outreach Programs |
| FirstLight is the official, monthly publication of the Alachua Astronomy Club (AAC), Gainesville, Florida USA. Copyright © 1987-99. All rights reserved. |
|
Kanapaha's Moon Walk
by Bruno PancorboWat a craw! I can't believe there were that many people. Before I finished uncovering my telescope, a line formed with about 20 people waiting for me to show them something. To tell you the truth, I was nervous at the beginning with all those people waiting. I looked up to see a possible target, but couldn't think of anything. Pressure, pressure! I finally decided for Mars — bright and high in the sky. I found out later that Mars wasn't a good choice because I had to bump my Dob* every 40 seconds for the rest of the night. I was so busy all night, I didn't even have time to talk to the other members of the group, even less to look at their telescopes.
Lesson—don't show a planet if you don't have a drive!
The people were really nice. Most didn't want to touch the telescope because they were afraid of breaking it, so I had to tell them to refocus every time I centered Mars in the field of view. Many wanted to know how much was the telescope worth. Others wanted to know how I knew that they were looking at Mars, and others asked me why we couldn't see Saturn.
I had a really good time answering all their questions and except for some minor problems—beer spills on the side of the telescope and fingerprints in my eye pieces—everything went fine. I think it would be a good idea to coordinate between members with telescopes which object each is going to show to avoid problems with crowding if we have another star party in Kanapaha.
Great Idea Dave!
*Note: Dob—A Dobsonian telescope, an instrument with an altazimuth mount (up-down, left-right) with Teflon bearings. [Ed.]
 |
Return to AAC Home Page |
 |
For comments and suggestions send e-mail to webmaster@floridastars.org © Copyright 2000-2003 Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. |