---

There are two Messier objects in Cassiopeia, both open clusters.  M52 (NGC7654) contains about 200 stars within a circle of 12’ diameter.  M103 (NGC 581) is the last object in the original Messier Catalogue.
Other DSO’s in Cassiopeia include NGC7635 (the “Bubble Nebula”), NGC7789, an exceptionally rich open cluster and the galaxies NGC147 and NGC185, distant neighbors of M31 the Andromeda Galaxy.
Cassiopeia is also the location of Tycho’s Star, the great supernova of 1572, the most brilliant nova recorded in the past 500 years and one of the four known supernovae recorded in our galaxy. This “new star” was first seen by W. Schuler on 11/06/1572 and when independently observed by Tycho Brahe on 11/11/1572 it was more brilliant than Jupiter.  It soon became the equal of Venus and was visible during the day.  It was visible to the naked eye for 16 months.  The  dim nebulous
remains do not compare with the expanding nebulosity resulting from the supernova in Taurus in 1054 (M1, NGC 1952, the “Crab Nebula"), but it’s average velocity of expansion, 5600 miles per second, is probably the highest velocity measured in our Galaxy

Program: LXD-55 Mount & Scope
This is Meade’s GOTO Schmidt Newtonian as reviewed by Don Surles.
What is a GOTO drive system?
a) must have RA &  DEC drives;
b) controller must understand and record scope’s location based on Polaris and 1 or more triangulation stars ;
c) system must “find” astro objects given the information in “b”.
The two most popular methods of doing the above is with an optical encoder and drive motor combination that turns motion into digital information, and a stepper motor/controller that counts the steps created by motion and equates the steps to RA & DEC.  The Stepper Motor/controller is the least expensive of the two methods.
The LXD 55 has GOTO capability – in theory.  It has Stepper Motors for RA and DEC drives, software and hand controller to record it’s position, and algorithms to triangulate and activate RA and DEC motors to facilitate “finding the object”.
Robustness – the LXD 55 is lightweight and many people have learned to use it somewhat successfully with small scopes in the 3” to 5” range weighing less than 15 pounds.  As the scope’s weight increases, the accuracy of the GOTO system decreases due to flexing in the mount and the lightweight extruded aluminum tripod.
Shortcomings of the Stepper Motor/controller system – this arrangement demands that any movement of the scope be done via the Hand Controller’s buttons.  Moving the scope by any other method will cause the scope to lose it’s place and it will have to be put thru the “setup” routine each time movement by any method other than the hand controller is attempted.  Even simple tweaking to put an image in the center of the eyepiece vs the edge must be done via the hand controller.  This is similar to drawing a circle with an Etch-a-Sketch  - very tedious.  I find the hand controller buttons are too small for man-size fingers on any night and impossible with gloves for anyone; darkness does not aid the operation.  In my mind I can see the hand controller being tested in a well lighted lab by a person with Non-Gorilla fingers.
 My biased and honest opinion: this system may work for some who :
 (1)  are content to go thru the setup routines several times during an observing session (uh-oh’s are gonna happen; the system will need tweaking)
(2)  who do not get frustrated with tiny buttons in the dark and
 (3)who have small telescopes 12-20” long under 15 pounds.
But, 1,2, & 3 put a lot of limitations on my observing options – plus taking some $$$ out of my wallet.  If the system would track well enuf for photography I might consider it a good buy  - but so far I have found it does not perform as well as a standard fork-mounted SCT.
Basically, I am disappointed in the LXD55.  It could be so much better if some consideration was given for movement of the scope via some means other than the hand controller, if the overall mount was beefier, and if the controller was more user-friendly.  Another improvement that would add some cost and improve the accuracy would be the optical encoder/drive motor combination.  So, we can all hope for an enhanced LXD55…
 
From the President’s Desk.
March 18, 2003
..Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, THE SNOW HAS MELTED!  Did we just finish one of the coldest winters in our lifetime?  There was a sign on Route 13 just north of Dover that defined our February and early March – Road crews had piled snow approximately ten feet high around the base of the sign.  The sign read, “Next year we will shoot that groundhog!”.  Spring is certainly welcome this year.
 
Spring is a time of rebirth, a time of expectations for the coming growing season.  It is my favorite season.  This is a result of my farm-boy background.  Spring was a time when we could finally get out of the house.  We could play baseball in the cow pastures, catch tadpoles, camp out, run barefoot after school.  Later on I learned that spring is the time for preparing the land for planting.  I still remember the smell of freshly turned land in March – can’t describe the smell but it is a pleasing one.  Mother Nature has a way of leveling the playing field.  One weather extreme is followed by a period of calm and then a period of “catch up” to offset the previous extreme.  Lets hope our Spring will be a period of calm to makeup for the extreme Winter weather.
Our Nation could use a Spring season.  We have been through a long and sad season of tension and possible armed conflict.  Maybe this period of negative extremes can be followed by a season of  forward looking positive leadership that will seek to plant a crop for the future peace instead of destroying the fruits of past nerations’ efforts.  Let us hope for the best in the coming days and weeks of this very dangerous
and historic period.
 
Our Third Mid-Atlantic Mirror Makers weekend is history.  We began with snow on the ground and a forecast of six to twelve inches for Thursday night through Friday noon.  Fortunately, Mother Nature is a mirror maker and relented with the white stuff.  We only received a couple or three inches of wet snow and the temps moved into the mid 40’s.  So, She cooperated fully.  We had approximately 14-15 mirror makers and most people finished their very nice mirrors.  Our facilities proved to be sufficient.  And the food was outstanding.  We have received many emails thanking us for sponsoring the weekend.
 
We are planning to produce a video explaining the mirror making process so that the next group of mirror makers will have an idea of what to expect in their short weekend of glass pushing.  Currently, Jim Acker, James Morgan, and I are the entire crew for this endeavor.  If you have talents related to video production and would like to participate, ie, become star, please have your agent contact either of us.
 
Coming Events!  Delmarva Star Gaze IX, April 30 through May 4, 2003, Tuckahoe State Park.  Please register early so that we can make final plans for the star party.  We will have the usual food, make scope coats, mount Ronchii screens for testing the figure of your mirrors, present astronomy related slide shows and videos, enjoy the outdoors, and the company of fellow amateur astronomers.  Oh, don’t forget the swap meet – bring your goodie boxes and be prepared to haggle over the price of the Nagler you must have in your eyepiece case.  The Star Gaze is a little later this year – the weather should be warmer.  So, please put the weekend on your calendar and help us continue the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Delmarva Star Gazers.
 
What is the future of our Star Gazers?  Every day Delmarva Star Gazers is presented with opportunities for growth and improvement.  Most days those opportunities are passed over due to a lack of members who will utter the words “I will take on that responsibility and make it happen”. We have lots of members who “will assist” or will “help out” with a task or event; and your assistance and helping out is essential and appreciated very much.   The success of our events relies on members’ assistance and helping out.  But, yes, there is always a “but”, for years the people who accept the responsibility for making things happen have been the same very few core people.  Some of those people need a break.  We are missing opportunities because we rely on the same few overworked people to spearhead our programs.
 
An excellent example of this is our recent search for someone to assume the duties of assembling and publishing the Star Gazer News (our monthly newsletter).  Two members did volunteer to assist Frank Sheldon with the newsletter and Frank and I thank you for your help.  However, Frank has expressed his intent to cease involvement after many years.  To date, no one has said they will be 100% responsible for the newsletter.  Therefore this may be the last issue of Star Gazer News after ten years of continuous monthly publications. Delmarva Star Gazers must have members step forward and assume responsibility for it’s
activities if we are to continue to exist as Delmarva Star Gazers.  Please consider what our organization means to you and how you can become involved so that DSG continues to improve.
See you at Tuckahoe or the Church.  Don…
 
The Editor’s Quadrant....
I would like to amplify here on the subject of our  four  month search for a Stargazer News Editor as discussed in Don’s President remarks.
I first became involved with the Stargazer Newsletter in 1997, when with Doug Miller, I co-edited the May issue.  At thattime I wrote: “In an effort to relieve Doug of these time consuming tasks, I’m going to temporarily phase into many of the editor’s duties.  I say mporarily because Doug and I want the newsletter to become the voice of the membership with
ALL of the members participating.”
 As my duties increased, the member participation decreased.  Our source of home grown programs decreased to the point where I was doing more writing than editing.
I will never cease involvement with the Star Gazers; I just won’t be the one and only editor.  The summer of 2002 provided some relief with a flood of “Tuckahoe Irregular’s” observing notes and this also gave me an idea of how we could give the newsletter a shot in the arm.  If all the members would contribute material of interest to the website, via email or the Yahoo page, this could be incorporated into the newsletter.  This could include observations, equipment evaluation, outreach projects and also include notices and dates of events, picnics, starparties, other parties, pictures and boiler plate.
The material submitted could be assembled for publication around the last Tuesday before the end of the month.
With the May issue as our target date for the new Newsletter format, I thought we could phase into it as quickly as is practical.  Initially I can have on hand a backup supply of Sky maps, moonsets, and monthly constellations.
I believe Doug Miller will be happy to continue Moondarks and Don his monthly Presidents Remarks.
As the weather gets warmer, we should be getting more and more observing reports. I will be able to  supply more photos and astronomy articles as my time frees up.
My biggest dread in the past, had been trying to record minutes in the noisy meetings.  Presenters will now provide descriptive text that will not have to be reedited. Our earlier newsletters were  locked in a rigid format,  into which I tried to shoehorn text even when there was  nothing to say. That will be a thing of the past Now we can feature more local color like Steve's photo of that big buck in the woods.
I think the preferred venue for submitting the observation reports as well as any new items should be the pages of the Delmarva Stargazer Yahoo group.  Our remaining problems will be nice ones like an excess of material, in which case we would have to
prioritize the contributions. The observing sessions are easy; they will be added in the order received as space permits unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise.
 
Other concerns are the content suitability and source. We must insist on  originality and avoidance of copyright material without permission and full attribution.  There will be many gray areas here so we might even need an acceptance committee. I feel the use of common sense will prevail. This is an initial draft so please feel free to recommend changes, additions and
subtractions.  FS
 
Club Activities..
Club Meetings- We meet in the First Presbyterian Church in Smyrna, DE   (653-8000) on the first
Tuesday of each month from 7-9 PM.  From US 13, turn west at Wendy's and go one stoplight on
Commerce Street; the church is on the right directly across from the Fire Hall.
Future Meetings...The remaining meeting dates for 2003 will be:
  April 01, May 06, June 03, July 05 (Picnic at Tuckahoe),August 05 (No meeting at church - schedule special event) September 02, October 07, November 04 and December 02 The regular meeting format includes discussion of club activities, observing highlights and an advertised presentation. We solicit suggestions for topics and presenters.

Club Observing... Observing is (usually) scheduled for the Friday nearest the New  Moon to
maximize the hours of  deepnight  without the moon in the sky.   Unless otherwise stated,  the
monthly observing site will be at the baseball field in the camping  area at Tuckahoe State Park.
The remaining observing days for the year 2003 will be:April 4, April 30 -May 5 (Star Gaze IX), May 30,     June 27, July 25, August 1, August 29, September 24 - 28 (No-Frills VII) October 24, November 21, December 19.   The cloud or rain date for the monthly Friday observing will be the following Saturday, but don't trust the weather man!  Go outside and look for yourself or check the CNN weather link on our web page.   If  you still can't decide, Call Don Surles (302) 653-9445 or Lyle Jones (302) 736-9842.