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The following activities are planned for this month's Lake Whitney Astro Celebration:
"Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution" by Professor Richard Wolfson,(12 Lecture, Video) courtesy of The Teaching Company. ( starts at 12:00 noon each day )
Waco Tribune Harold Star Gazer columnist Dr. Paul Derrick, will give a slide
show about comets and asteroids. Paul will also give an outside sky tour. ( Saturday evening )
President of the American Association of Amateur Astronomers Ed Flaspoehler, will give a slide show on spring objects. ( Saturday evening )
Fort Worth Astronomical Society President Harry Bearman, will be head judge for the ATM event. ( Award Ceremony , Saturday evening )
Kelly Stripling will make tile tools. ( Saturday )
Thomas Williamson will grind a 14.5" mirror. ( Starts 12:00 noon Friday )
John Dowell will build a scope mount for the 14.5" mirror. ( Saturday )
Free mirror null testing. ( Friday & Saturday )
Door prize drawing. ( Saturday evening )
Public telescope viewing. ( Friday & Saturday night )
Contact Thomas Williamson at distglow@hotmail.com for more details, or check out the website at whitney-astro.com
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The first Star Walk of the season will take place at Copper Breaks State Park near Quanah, Texas on April 6th. We would like to welcome all who wish to participate.
Several large Obsession Dobsonians will be used for the first time so assistance from those familiar with their use or those interested in learning their use would be appreciated. These will range from 15" to 25" in mirror diameter with nine such instruments now available. We will also have available the giant Fujinon binoculars. In addition, we anticipate being able to use a hydrogen alpha filter on a four inch refractor for a new afternoon solar observing program for the public.
Participants will enjoy free park admission and camping privileges in addition to a welcome supper that Saturday evening. We would then ask participants to help set up the instruments and run them for the benefit of the public. The pattern has been that the public enjoys the program and then the observing for two to three hours before departing. The instruments are then made available to the participants for their own pleasure for the remainder of the night.
The Star Walk is a part of the astronomy programs we seek to develop at Copper Breaks to benefit the public and both urban and rural schools. That same weekend, April 4th to 6th, will see astronomy students from R.L.Turner High School in Carrollton enjoying an astronomy camping field trip for the second year in a row. Their service project this year will be to participate as well in the public Star Walk. Club members would be asked to help mentor them as well.
Please contact fellow FWAS member Richard Brown at RABrow@aol.com to sign up. We want everyone who participates to enjoy the evening as much as the public does.
New Flash: In early March there was a fire at Copper Breaks State Park, but it did not burn the area used for the Star Walks. Over 100 firefighters responded from 5 communities to save our park. About 800 acres burned but it was mostly in canyon areas. Three shelters were burned in the remote areas. Thanks to their efforts - the Star Walks will be able to go on as planned!
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