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[Newsletter]
[Learning] [Members]
[Activities] [Sky Conditions] [Observations]
[Research]
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THE SIDEREAL TIMES
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VOL. XIV NO.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 1996
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A PUBLICATION OF THE APL ASTRONOMY CLUB
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FROM THE EDITOR
Membership in the APL Astronomy Club is open to all JHU/APL
Recreation members. The Club frequently sponsors astronomical
activities and has a Celestron 11-inch telescope with Nikon
camera, an 8-inch Tinsley telescope, an Astroscan 4.5-inch
telescope, and a pair of 16X80mm binoculars available for use by
members on a weekly basis. The Club also maintains a library of
astronomical literature in room 7-54 which includes a current
subscription to Astronomy magazine. Anyone wishing to join the
Club should contact any member.
Contributions to this Newsletter should be submitted to the
Editor (Rm 6-247, internet e-mail: gef@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu) by the
15th of the month prior to the month in which publication is
desired.
CLUB OFFICERS
President ................ Marty Pittinger .. X8588
Vice President ........... Nick Beser ........X4476
Secretary/ST Editor ...... Gary Frishkorn ... X6825
Treasurer ................ Bernard Kluga .... X7257
Librarian ................ Ray Sterner ...... X3032
EQUIPMENT CUSTODIANS
C-11, Tinsley ............ Bernard Kluga .... X7257
16X80mm Binoculars ....... Marty Pittinger . .X8588
Questar .................. Gary Frishkorn ... X6825
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CLUB NEWS
An Astronomy Club Star Party open to all APL staff and
their families will be held on the Laboratory's front lawn by
the flagpoles at 7 P.M. on Oct. 15 (rain date is Oct. 17).
Stargazers will be treated to real-time looks at galaxies,
planets and their moons, Saturn and its rings, and the comet
Hale-Bopp through a variety of telescopes and viewing systems.
Call Marty Pittinger for more information at X8588.
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APL Observatory Status Report
by Nick Beser - Project Leader
Bernie Kluga has made good progress on the housing and mount for
the TASS (The Amateur Sky Survey) camera. The optical windows
have been installed, and the camera has been mounted in the box.
The feed-through couplers for cooling water need to be obtained.
We are hoping to finish the enclosure by the end of next week.
Marty Pittinger and Nick Beser have configured the first of two
computers for the observatory. The camera controller computer is
a 486 (33 Mhz) with 32 Mbytes of memory, and two 340 Mbyte disk
drives. We have loaded windows 95, and added a CD-ROM and a
network card. Network IP-number and connection has also been
obtained thanks to the FSD network support. Additional testing
of the network and installation of the camera controller card
will occur next week. A power supply for the TEC and the
temporary water pump will also be delivered to the lab next week.
We anticipate camera checkout could begin next week, with roof
testing probably by the following week. We will test with a
temporary cooling pump until the facilities work has been
completed.
Facilities has all of the paper work to order the water pump and
schedule installation for the Building 40 site. The facilities
lead project engineer has told us that installation could occur
from 3 to 6 weeks after the paper work is started.
A great deal of software work still needs to be done in both the
control and data analysis area. We are looking for people from
APL and the surrounding schools to sign up for the following
tasks:
- Home page design and setup (internal lab, remote control, and
external internet)
- Data analysis - image processing to preprocess the images (dark
current removal, TASS camera artifacts, calibration, integration
of existing TASS software, algorithm development)
- Camera Tasking - Planning observing targets, and carrying out
analysis of the captured images
- Remote Control Engineering - Camera, remote power control,
software design and coding
Anyone interested in any or all of these tasks should contact Nick
Beser at beser@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu
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The APL Astronomy Club now has its own Web page, be sure
to check it out:
http://aplwww.jhuapl.edu/department/ASD/rec/astr.html
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Members,
The keys for the Bloomberg Telescope are back; so enjoy.
Contact Keith Peacock to check on their availability.
If you're a new member and you haven't been trained to
operate the Bloomberg telescope you must contact
Ryan Newcomer and complete the training.
Please send your request to train to: Ryan Newcomer's E-Mail
address or call the observatory at 1-410-516-6525
ryan.newcomer@pha.jhu.edu
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Remember to check out Ray Sterner's Amateur Astronomy home page
located at: ftp://fermi.jhuapl.edu/www/amastro/amastro.html.
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