Editor's News 'n Views
by Don Saito

As always, lots of things happening or about to happen! A real convergence occurred this month with Barcroft, the Davis Star Show, Bort Meadows, and the Chinatown StreetFest. They're all happening right now, so as I write this, I don't have any details on them at all - I'm hoping y'all will help me out when you come back from some or all of these events with your own pictures and stories (wink-wink, nod-nod knowwhatImean, knowwhatImean?)

One thing that happened that I can write about is EAS' recent television exposure on KQED Channel 9; a group of us, Richard Campbell, Phil Crabbe, Anne and Frank Creese, Debbie Dyke, Mike Hanley, Howard Mangrum, Alan Roche, Dave Rodrigues and myself did volunteer phone duty for one of the public television station's pledge drives.It was fun! First, they fed (should I say 'stuffed?') us with gormet food from a great caterer. Then they briefed us on the forms and procedures. We were nervous at first, but after the calls started coming in, it became quite easy, and since we had an inside man on the camera (take a bow, Harry Betancourt!), we got the best seating in the house, plenty of coverage, and even intimate tours of the different production facilities and sets from Harry; very interesting stuff! Anyone interested in doing this in the future, let me know - there's nothing like repeated exposure to up that brand name recognition with the public.

Chabot will be sponsoring a Leonid Observing Session dusk to dawn Saturday, Nov. 17- Sunday, Nov 18 at Briones Regional park in Lafayette. Tickets to the event will be available at Chabot and through TicketWeb starting in October. $5 gets entrance to a dark sky site, a hot beverage and snacks, roving astronomers to answer questions and telescopes to view other objects through. (Thanks, Denni!)

I have a confession to make: I defected to another observatory, twice, this month. Yes, it's true: I went up to Lick Observatory and commingled with the staff, astronomers, and volunteers up there. Once to attend their "Music of the Spheres" program (combination of music, lecture, and viewing), and again, for their straight lecture/viewing program. It's a little tricky getting tickets; you have to know what time of year to keep an eye on their website to know precisely when to call them for reservations. And then, they use a lottery system, so you still might not get in. Well worth the effort, though - it's a remarkable facility with limited public access (only during the summer). It's too late to even think of trying this year. Go to their website or give them a call to find out how to get tickets for next year.

And here's this month's collection of pictures of various localized phenomenon involving club members and/or Chabot. Enjoy, enjoy! ˜

PS: Don't forget - there's an early morning occultation of Saturn by the moon on September 10th at 4:56am.

News From Chabot
By Denni Medlock

Two new planetarium shows, Cosmic Catastrophes and Other Worlds! Other Beings start August 25. A new movie, The Living Sea, starts in the Tien MegaDome theatre on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, Sept 1-3 - check with Chabot (www.chabotspace.org or 510 336-7491) for exact showtimes. There will be a speaker from SETI for the premier showing of OWOB at 8:30pm.
A low-math Astronomy class for beginners is being offered Tuesday evenings, starting October 2 - November 6 from 7:30 - 9:30pm at Chabot. Guest instructors will lead students through the fundamentals of modern astronomy, with time in the planetarium and observatories. Cost is $55 for CSSC members, $65 for non-members. Class size is limited so early reservations are advised. Reservations may be made through Chabot, through TicketWeb, or by mailing a check made out to: Chabot Space and Science Center, to Chabot Space and Science Center, c/o D. Medlock, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Blvd. Oakland, CA 94619.
The Chabot Vacuum Solar Telescope is currently in Chabot's workshop at Alameda Point. Recently the upper head assembly's exterior was sandblasted and repainted in preparation of installation of the optics located there. Joe Waidl has completed the electronics and optical path design work, and was part of the Chabot team that traveled to the Canary Islands to extract the telescope from the Swedish Royal Observatory.
The original light path of the telescope is too long to fit into Chabot's facility so it has to be "squeezed" down for display in the exhibit area, located in Astronomy Hall. Projected time of completion: late Fall, 2001. The Project Team consists of Kevin Medlock, Joe Waidl, David Sisson and Frank Panza, while Ben Burress is team leader of the exhibit side of the solar telescope. Construction of the exhibit wall was done by EAS' Ken Swagerty.

How did you like having the lecture portion of the July meeting in the Tien MegaDome theatre?

We started at 5:30pm and went until a bit after 7:00pm. The only question is: How did you like it? Let us know what you thought of the new meeting format. If we get a largely positive feedback on it, we'll change it, permanently.
Call, email, or write your response to the Editor at:

Phone: (510) 482-2913 (leave a short message stating only your name, phone number, and your vote: "liked it," or "didn't like it."

Email: donsaito@pacbell.net

SnailMail: 3514 Randolph Ave, Oakland, CA 94602-1228

Debbie Dyke inspects the lens before Ken Swagerty puts on the freshly made brass dewcap.

Dave Rodrigues, Alan Roche Don Saito, Debbie Dyke, Howard Mangrum ready for action in KQED's broadcast studio!

New dewcap for Leah

No doubt about it: theirs is definitely bigger than ours. The 36" Warner Swazey refractor at Lick Observatory makes Rachel look like a matchstick. Rachel is much prettier and much more accessible, though.