February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 1

Star Gazer News

Newsletter of the Delmarva Stargazers www.delmarvastargazers.org

Upcoming Events: Meeting ! Feb 4

th 7 PM Smyrna Church

Observing ! Feb 7,8th Dusk Eq. Cntr. or Blackbird

Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making 14

Delmarva Star Gazers will host

the Fourteenth Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making Seminar

March 20 through March 23, 2014,

at the Mallard Lodge, Smyrna, DE.

Stop by to help, watch, or grind

For Information and Registration click here:

MMM#14Registration

From the Prez... February!!! Brother it’s cold outside...but, but, but...

Yep...we made it thru January and the Polar Vortex, ice dams, CME’s, Bridge

Gate...let the games begin! The days are getting longer and my asparagus is preparing for

its arrival in late March.

Communications...this was the first topic for discussion in our January meeting be-cause some people did not get the message about our Christmas Party being rescheduled due

to a weather forecast of freezing rain, sleet and snow on the day of the party in Decem-

ber.

In the future all mass Club communications/announcements will:

1. be posted to our website delmarvastargazers.org

2. be emailed to delmarvastargazers@yahoogroups.com...for info...after joining this group any posting by any member will be delivered to your email account. This has

worked well for me over the last 10-15 years; normally there are only announcements

regarding observing, photos, meetings...less than 10 per month so your inbox will not

overflow with messages. Anyone can join the group...if you have problems please con-

tact Jerry Truitt...truittjs@yahoo.com

So...it will be the responsibility of the officers to post the information and the

responsibility of each member to check the website for updates or join delmarvastargaz-

ers@yahoogroups.com so that communications will be delivered to your email account. In addition, I maintain a membership list that normally contains the name, address,

phone number and email address of each member. It is very easy to copy the email ad-

dresses into the “TO” address bar and thus send an email directly to your account. How-

ever, if you have changed your email address or have not provided an address then my info

is incomplete. IF, IF.... my membership list was complete then I could simply send an

email to your account and we would then have THREE ways to provide immediate info on club

activities. So...when you pay your dues for 2014, please consider providing updated info

to Kathy Sheldon...she will send the info to me.

Star Gazers...just like you I am suffering from a terrible case of cabin fever.

Mother Nature has not been kind to us Star Gazers this Nov, Dec & Jan. But, and you know

there is always a “but”, have no fear. The weather will improve for us. Just like a clock

(See Prez on page 8)

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 2

How to Join the Delmarva Stargazers: Anyone with an interest in any aspect of astronomy is welcome NAME_______________________________________________________________New_______Renew___________ ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE & ZIP______________________________________________________________________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS (If any)_________________________________________________________________________ Do you need the newsletter snail mailed to you (Y/N)?___________________________________________________ Please attach a check for $15 made payable to Delmarva Stargazers and mail to Kathy Sheldon, 20985 Fleatown Rd, Lincoln, DE 19960. Call club President Don Surles at 302-653-9445 for more information.

Messier Marathon You have been hibernating all winter

and you got the itch to do some observing.

Should you go out and look at one faint

fuzzy? Or two faint fuzzies? I suggest you

jump in the deep end. Go for the Messier

Marathon! A Messier Marathon is a big

event. In March, you can see all of Mess-

ier's objects in one long night. It works

best with a team, and can take some pre-

planning.

From Wikipedia: “A Messier marathon

is an attempt, usually organized by amateur

astronomers, to find as many Messier ob-

jects as possible during one night. The

Messier catalogue was compiled by French

astronomer Charles Messier during the late

18th century and consists of 110 relatively

bright deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae,

and star clusters).

The first few objects are seen as Sol

sets. With the last objects seen just as

Sol rises the next morning. The observing

site should have low horizons. Observing

will go from dusk in the west to dawn in

the southeast.

Practice in February to observe the

dusk (M74, M77) and dawn (M30, M55, M75,

M72, M73) objects. This practice give you

the experience needed to complete this in

one night.

The night will be long and cold. Wear

the right clothes to stay warm. Remember,

your head, feet, and hands will get cold

first. It is easier to stay warm than try

to get warm at 2AM. Hot drinks are needed,

as well as food for energy.

Charts, a check list, and familiarity

with your scope will help you succeed.

Setup early in the sunlight, you need

to start as soon as the western sky is dark

enuf to spot M74 & M77.

Once you get started, you need to

quickly get the objects in the West, and

work your way East. Around midnight, you'll

get a break as you await more objects to

rise. Below is an all sky chart of the

Messier Objects.

For more info, follow the links be-

low:

http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/

marathon.html

http://www.greenhawkobservatory.com/#!

messier-download

http://www.space-and-telescope.com/

MessierObjects.aspx

Short bio of Messier and the history of his

catalog

Plot of declination vs right as-cension of the Messier objects relative to the modern constel-lations, ecliptic and Milky Way

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 3

Your 2013-2014 Officers Office Officer Phone email President Don Surles 302-653-9445 don.surles@verizon.net President-elect Lyle Jones 302-736-9842 worm1647@comcast.net Secretary Cal Estrada Treasurer Kathy Sheldon 302-422-4695 memomsheldon@comcast.net Past President Chuck Jennings 302-449-3330 chuckjennings33@yahoo.com

Remembering

John L. Dobson Born September 14, 1915

Died January 15, 2014

Occupation: Vedantan monk (1944−1967),

lecturer/popularizer of amateur astronomy

John Lowry Dobson was a popu-

larizer of amateur astronomy.

He is most notable for being

the promoter of a design for a

large, portable, low-cost New-

tonian reflector telescope

that bears his name, the Dob-

sonian telescope. The design

is considered revolutionary

since it allowed amateur as-

tronomers to build fairly

large telescopes. He was less known for his ef-

forts to promote awareness of astronomy (and his

unorthodox views of cosmology) through public

lectures including his performances of "sidewalk

astronomy." John Dobson was also the co-founder

of the amateur astronomical group, the San Fran-

cisco Sidewalk Astronomers.

Biography John Dobson was born in Beijing, China. His maternal grandfather founded Peking

University, his mother was a musician, and his

father taught zoology at the University. He and

his parents moved to San Francisco, California

in 1927. His father accepted a teaching position

at Lowell High School and taught there until the

1950s. Dobson spent 23 years in a monastery, af-

ter which he became more active in promoting as-

tronomy and his own nonstandard cosmology theo-

ries.

Time at the monastery As a teen John Dob-son became a “belligerent” atheist. He said: “I

could see that these two notions cannot arise in

the same being: ‘do unto others as you would

that they do unto’ and ‘if you're not a good

boy, it's into hell for keeps.’… They must be

spoofing us. So I became an atheist, a belliger-

ent atheist. If anybody started a conversation

about the subject, I was a belligerent atheist.”

Over time Dobson became interested in the

universe and its workings. He earned a masters

degree in chemistry at the University of Cali-

fornia, Berkeley in 1943, working in E. O. Law-

rence's lab. In 1944 he attended a lecture by a

Vedantan swami. Dobson said the swami “revealed

to him a world he had never seen.” That same

year Dobson joined the Vedanta Society monastery

in San Francisco, becoming a monk of the Rama-

krishna Order. “One of John's responsibilities

at the monastery was to reconcile astronomy with

the teachings of Vedanta. That job led him to

build telescopes on the side. He took to wheel-

ing them around outside the monastery, fascinat-

ing the neighbors who would congregate around

him.”

Dobson’s interest in telescope building

was in part to better understand the universe,

and in part to inspire in

others a curiosity about

the cosmos. To this end,

he often offered assis-

tance and corresponded

about his work with those

outside the monastery.

Telescope building was

not part of the curricu-

lum at the monastery,

however, and much of his

correspondence was written

in code so as to attract less attention. For in-

stance, a telescope was referred to as a

"geranium", which is a type of flower. A "potted

geranium" referred to a telescope in a tube and

rocker, while a "geranium in bloom" referred to

a telescope whose mirror was now aluminized.

Eventually John Dobson was given the op-

tion of ceasing his telescope building or leav-

ing the order. He chose to stop building tele-

scopes so that he could remain at the monastery.

But one day another monk wrongly accused

him as missing and reported him to the head

swami. Dobson was expelled in 1967. However, he

maintains that the accusation was not the true

reason for his expulsion. The true reason, he

contends, was a result of a misunderstanding.

The head swami read a paper that was pre-

sumably written by Dobson that contradicted the

reconciliation of science with Vedanta, and the

swami thought Dobson had rejected the swami's

teachings.

Amateur astronomy Having left the order in 1967, Dobson co-founded the San Francisco Side-

walk Astronomers, an amateur astronomy organiza-

tion that aims to popularize astronomy among

people on the street, along with Bruce Sams and

Jeffery Roloff. Bruce had built a large tele-

scope but because he was only 12 at the time he

was not eligible for membership in the only lo-

cal club, the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers,

thus the "San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers"

was born. It was also at this time that Dobson's

simple form of telescope, which came to be known

as the Dobsonian, became well known after he

started teaching classes to the public on how to

make your own telescope.

He was later asked to speak at the Vedanta

Society of Southern California in Hollywood, and

has continued to spend two months there each

(John on page 4)

Original Dobsonian

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 4

year teaching telescope and cosmology classes.

He spends two more months at his home in San

Francisco, and spends most of the rest of each

year travelling as an invited guest for astro-

nomical societies, where he speaks about tele-

scope building, sidewalk astronomy, and his

views of cosmology and the scientific establish-

ment.

In 2004, the Crater Lake Institute pre-

sented John Dobson with its Annual Award for Ex-

cellence in Public Service for pioneering side-

walk astronomy in the national parks and for-

ests, "where curious minds and dark skies col-

lide." In 2005, the Smithsonian magazine listed

John Dobson as among 35 individuals who have

made a major difference during the lifetime of

that periodical.

Promotion of astronomy The Dobsonian tele-scope

John Dobson was most notable for being the

originator and promoter of a design for a large,

portable, low-cost reflecting telescope, the

"Dobsonian telescope". The design is a very sim-

ple, low cost alt-azimuth mounted Newtonian

telescope that employs common materials such as

plywood, formica, PVC closet flanges, cardboard

construction tubes, recycled porthole glass, and

indoor-outdoor carpet. This type of simplified

altazimuth mount is also commonly referred to in

amateur astronomical circles as a "Dobsonian

mount". Using this construction method makes the

typical Dobsonian telescope large, portable, in-

expensive, and easy to manufacture.

The design is named after Dobson because

he is credited for being the first person to

have combined all these construction techniques

in a single telescope design. He was reluctant

to take credit, however, pointing out that he

built it that way because it was all he needed.

In his own words, he jokes that he was

"too retarded" to build a more sophisticated

telescope with an equatorial telescope mount.

With its simplicity of construction and use, the

Dobsonian has become a very popular design to-

day, particularly for large amateur telescopes.

Sidewalk astronomers John Dobson co-

founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers

in coordination with two other people, having

cheaply constructed several telescopes that were

easy to use, including a 24-inch (610 mm) tele-

scope that was built for approximately US$300.

Rather than have regular meetings, the organiza-

tion simply set up telescopes on the sidewalk

during clear evenings, offering to show and ex-

plain the night sky to people passing by.

Unexpectedly, the Sidewalk Astronomers

were invited to the Riverside Telescope Makers'

meeting in 1969. The 24-inch (610 mm) Dobsonian

telescope brought by the Sidewalk Astronomers

was unconventional, because most telescopes at

such meetings tended to be smaller, on equato-

rial mounts, and designed for astrophotography

rather than optical viewing. Surprisingly and

controversially at the time, Dobson's telescope

tied in first prize for best optics. It was also

awarded the runner up prize for mechanics, de-

spite the mechanics of the telescope and its

mount being relatively simple.

Sidewalk Astronomers has since become a

prominent organization, recognized for its tak-

ing of astronomy to the public via "sidewalk as-

tronomy". The current organization has members

throughout the world, and continues to promote

public service astronomy by putting telescopes

on street corners in urban areas. Members of the

organization also visit national parks giving

slide show presentations, providing telescope

viewing, and explaining the universe.

Dobson's cosmology Dobson often uses his speaking opportunities during sidewalk and other

observing sessions, at astronomical societies,

and in the media, to promote his own non-

standard cosmology theories, claiming the Big

Bang model does not hold up to scrutiny. Dobson

labels the Big Bang model as "fudge without wal-

nuts". In “The Equations of Maya”, Dobson

writes: “The Big Bang cosmologists want to get

the Universe out of nothing. It’s like asking us

to believe that nothing made everything out of

nothing. But that’s not what shows in our phys-

ics.” He suggests that this model has become

quite “tortured”, likening it to the Ptolemaic

system. He cites the inconsistency of dark mat-

ter that cannot be explained without resorting

to what he considers increasingly complicated,

unlikely, and unsupported theories. In essence,

Dobson claims that physicists have been invent-

ing new physics to match the Big Bang model, re-

cently with a "mystery" called dark energy. He

is also a critic of an educational system which,

he asserts, indoctrinates young scientists in

the Big Bang model “without presenting any of

the problems” with it. He challenges people to

broaden their thinking and to think more criti-

cally.

Dobson advocates a “Recycling” Steady

State model of the universe. His model draws on

Einstein's assertion in special relativity that

energy is interchangeable with matter, and on

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and the Pauli

exclusion principle (aka "Pauli's Verbot"). He

says that cosmologists have, in general, over-

looked what is going on at the edge of the uni-

verse. Dobson claims that at the edge, we know a

great deal about a particle’s momentum, so “by

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, if our un-

certainty in the momentum approaches zero, our

uncertainty in where the particles are must ap-

proach infinity. The hydrogen simply ‘tunnels’

back in.” Dobson contends that although matter

in the universe is forever expanding outward,

matter “recycles” over time in a way comparable

with quantum tunneling. Entropy therefore re-

mains constant, because atoms rebuild their or-

der as they recycle.

In “Origins” Dobson addresses the creation

of life: “For a Big Bang cosmology, in which the

early Universe was extremely hot, a discussion

of the origin of life is of course appropriate,

since life could not have been with us from the

beginning. But for a Steady State model, in

which the Universe is without beginning, perhaps

life itself could be without beginning.” Dobson

also points out the Pasteur-Darwin paradox:

(John from page 3)

(More of John on page 6)

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 5

Telescope Making

Pj Riley—As March approaches we all think

about mirror making. Some of have never

made a telescope, others have made several

telescopes.

Where do you stand compared to Sir

William Herschel? (Editor’s note: His mir-

rors were cast metal, which were ground and

figured).

Gleened from:

Sir William Herschel

HIS LIFE AND WORKS

BY

EDWARD S. HOLDEN

United States Naval Observatory,

Washington

"When I resided at

Bath I had long been

acquainted with the

theory of optics and

mechanics, and

wanted only that ex-

perience so neces-

sary in the practi-

cal part of these

sciences. This I ac-

quired by degrees at

that place, where in

my leisure hours, by

way of amusement, I

made several two-

foot, five-foot,

seven-foot, ten-foot,

and twenty-foot Newto-

nian telescopes, be-

side others, of the

Gregorian form(a), of

eight, twelve, and

eighteen inches, and

two, three, five, and

ten feet focal length.

In this way I made not

less than two hundred

seven-foot, one hun-

dred and fifty ten-

foot, and about eighty

twenty-foot mirrors,

not to mention the Gregorian telescopes.

"The number of stands I invented for

these telescopes it would not be easy to

assign. . . . In 1781 I began to construct

a thirty-foot aërial reflector, and having

made a stand for it, I cast the mirror

thirty-six inches in diameter. This was

cracked in cooling. I cast it a second

time, and the furnace I had built in my

house broke."

Soon after, the Georgian planet(b) was

discovered, and this interrupted the work

for a time.

"In the year 1783 I finished a very good

twenty-foot reflector with a large aper-

ture, and mounted it upon the plan of my

present telescope. After two years' obser-

vation with it, the great advantage of such

apertures appeared so clearly to me that I

recurred to my former intention of increas-

ing them still further; and being now suf-

ficiently provided with experience in the

work which I wished to undertake, the

President of the Royal Society, who is al-

ways ready to promote useful undertakings,

had the goodness to lay my design before

the king. His Majesty was graciously

pleased to approve of it, and with his

usual liberality to support it with his

royal bounty.

"In consequence of this arrangement I be-

gan to construct the forty-foot telescope

about the latter end of 1785. The woodwork

of the stand and machines for giving the

required motions to the instrument were im-

mediately put in hand. In the whole of the

apparatus none but common

workmen were employed, for

I made drawings of every

part of it, by which it

was easy to execute the

work, as I constantly in-

spected and directed every

person's labor; though

sometimes there were not

less than forty different

workmen employed at the

same time. While the stand of the tele-

scope was preparing, I also began the con-

struction of the great mirror, of which I

inspected the casting, grinding, and pol-

ishing, and the work was in this manner

carried on with no other interruption than

that occasioned by the removal of all the

apparatus and materials from where I then

lived, to my present situation at Slough.

"Here, soon after my arrival, I began to

lay the foundation upon which by degrees

the whole structure was raised as it now

stands, and the speculum being highly pol-

ished and put into the tube, I had the

first view through it on February 19, 1787.

I do not, however, date the completing of

the instrument till much later. For the

first speculum, by a mismanagement of the

person who cast it, came out thinner on the

centre of the back than was intended, and

on account of its weakness would not permit

a good figure to be given to it.

"A second mirror was cast January 26,

1788, but it cracked in cooling. February

16 we recast it, and it proved to be of a

proper degree of strength. October 24 it

(See Herschel on page 6)

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 6

was brought to a pretty good figure and

polish, and I observed the planet Saturn

with it. But not being satisfied, I contin-

ued to work upon it till August 27, 1789,

when it was tried upon the fixed stars, and

I found it to give a pretty sharp image.

Large stars were a little affected with

scattered light, owing to many remaining

scratches on the mirror. August the 28th,

1789, having brought the telescope to the

parallel of Saturn, I discovered a sixth

satellite of that planet, and also saw the

spots upon Saturn better than I had ever

seen them before, so that I may date the

finishing of the forty-foot telescope from

that time."

(1)

(2) Old name for Uranus.

From Wikipedia:

In his career, Herschel discovered

Uranus (13 March 1781),

two moons of Saturn, Mimas (17 September

1789) and Enceladus (28 August 1789); as

well as two moons of Uranus, Titania (11

January 1787) and Oberon (11 January 1787).

He did not give these moons their names;

they were named by his son John in 1847 and

1852, respectively, after his death.

In 2007 evidence was cited by Dr.

Stuart Eves that Herschel might have dis-

covered rings around Uranus.

Herschel measured the axial tilt of

Mars and discovered that the martian ice

caps, first observed by Giovanni Domenico

Cassini (1666) and Christiaan Huygens

(1672), changed size with the planet's sea-

sons.

From studying the proper motion of

stars, he was the first to realise that the

solar system is moving through space, and

he determined the approximate direction of

that movement. He also studied the struc-

ture of the Milky Way and concluded that it

was in the shape of a disk.

(Herschel from page 5)

“Pasteur thought that he had shown that life

does not arise from non-living matter but only

from previous life. Darwin seems to have taken

the other view, namely, that it might have

arisen from ‘some warm pool’.”

Publications by John Dobson

Dobson's first book was published with a

unique plywood binding. Dobson authored the

1991 book How and Why to Make a User-Friendly

Sidewalk Telescope (ISBN 0-913399-64-7) with

editor Norman Sperling. This book helped popu-

larize what came to be known as the Dobsonian

mount, and treats the "why" as importantly as

the "how". It covers Dobson's background and his

philosophy on astronomy and the universe, and

his belief in the importance of popular access

to astronomy for proper appreciation of the uni-

verse. John Dobson also published Beyond Space

and Time (2004) and The Moon is New (2008).

John Dobson in the media Dobson is one of

the speakers in Universe: The Cosmology Quest, a

documentary supporting non-standard cosmological

points of view. His life and theories are also

the subject of the 2005 documentary A Sidewalk

Astronomer. He was also featured in the PBS se-

ries The Astronomers, and has appeared twice on

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

18024 Dobson is an asteroid which was dis-

covered on May 20, 1999 by James M. Roe at Oax-

aca. It is named in honor of John Dobson. As-

teroid (18024) Dobson made its closest approach

to the Earth (2.361 AU) on the 30th September,

2012.

From Wikipedia

(More of John from page 4)

Agenda for Feb 4 Meeting

• Welcome to new members, visitors, all

• Current events...outreaches

• MMM#14 Update

• Star Party dates and discussion of events

• Lunar Eclipse - Apr 15

• Constellation...Jerry Truitt

• Filters and viewing the sun...Lyle Jones

• Eyepieces...Doug Norton

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 7

February 2014 Volume 20 Number 8 Page 8

Astrophotos by Members and Friends

I took this picture 2 weeks ago. I

liked it.

Meade 12" f8 lx850, losmandy g11,

cannon es20d 18 sec exposure 3200

ISO.

Ryan Goodwin

pendulum the weather swings both ways. So clean your Naglers, organize your eyepiece

case, collimate your scope. Clear skies are “a comin”.

We have some astro related events coming in the near future...

• Jerry Truitt has an outreach at the Elkton Library, Feb 6, 6:30PM...all are invited

to join him and his guests

• MMM#14 - Mar 20-24 at Mallard Lodge...please consider supporting the event or mak-

ing your own heirloom mirror with “snap to focus”...see this link for more info

http://www.delmarvastargazers.org/archive/mw14/index.html

• A lunar eclipse on April 15

• Delmarva Star Gaze 2014...I think this is #20...it will be at Tuckahoe Equestrian

Center April 24-27

Please consider accessing club info via the website or Yahoogroups. It is easy,

free and will keep you apprised of club activities.

Yahoogroups can be accessed via the info on the left side of the homepage.

So, stay warm, stay dry, watch the sun rise earlier and set later each day...and the tem-

perature slowly warm. Spring is coming!

See you at the next meeting...and BTW, we do meet at 5PM at the Smyrna Diner for a

bowl of their famous chili...and you are invited to join us.

Another benefit of this list is that I can sort it by zip code...which would be the

first step in carpooling for members who may want to share a ride to our meetings. For

security, I do not publish this list...but I can share the name and zip code with indi-

vidual members who may want to carpool.

Don...

(Prez from page 1)