2011
• November 18, Our Annual General Meeting. Our Guest of Honour was Dr. Bill Harris, from McMaster University in Hamilton. He talked about the development and evolution of Globular Clusters, such as M13 and 47Tuk. Annual elections were held and Rick Saunders was elected President by a wide margin. The remaining positions were filled by incumbents.
  
  
• October 29, Cronyn Observatory Open House. A surprising number of visitors showed up at the Cronyn Observatory Open House on Saturday despite mostly cloudy skies. Graduate student Tyler Desjardins began his first slide presentation, Island Universes: the History of Galaxies, shortly after 7:00 p.m. to an audience of 28 adults and children, which increased to an estimated 65 after his second presentation. Graduate student Robin Wing took charge of the 25.4cm refractor in the dome and graduate students Hoda Rashedi and Aycha Tammour assisted. RASC London Centre member Phil Marusaik set up his 127mm Sky-Watcher Maksutov on the Observatory’s roof balcony and Dave McCarter set up the London Centre’s 25.4cm Dobsonian to observe the crescent Moon between clouds in the southwest. Bob Duff and Robin Wing directed the big 25.4cm refractor towards the Moon and visitors scaled the ladder for views. Peter Jedicke was also there talking to visitors. When the Moon finally disappeared behind the Engineering Building they directed the big refractor to view the red lights on the communications tower in south London.
  
  
• October 27, Matthews Hall School CAGIS Group Solar Observing Session. Despite cloudy skies, Western graduate student Emily McCullough Dave McCarter and Bob Duff arrived at Matthews Hall School for a solar observing session. Dave and Emily set up the UWO Physics and Astronomy Department’s 90mm Coronado Solar Telescope on Dave's Polaris mount and Dave’s 80mm Stellarvue refractor with a white-light solar filter. After an introductory talk to 22 girls from the school’s Canadian Association for Girls in Science Group, and 3 teachers they lined up for views through the telescopes. The Sun was a glow in the clouds and invisible in the telescopes. Dave familiarized them with how each telescope worked. In the classroom session that followed Emily described her work as a doctoral student in astronomy and Dave talked briefly about the refractor and reflector telescopes in the room.
  
  
• October 23, Another work force of John Kulczycki, Rick Saunders and Dave McCarter carried on work on the observatory, putting in the roof ties and building one gable. The roof is now a much stiffer structure.
  
  
• October 22, Our Observer's Group Meeting was held at the home of Cheryl and Adam Priestap-Suttis in Mitchell. Nine people turned up and enjoyed the special treats, conversation, and hospitality.
  
  
• October 21, At our Monthly Meeting our Guest of Honour was Randy Attwood, Managing Editor, SPACE Quarterly Magazine, who presented his amazing talk The Space Shuttle - 30 years of winging it into space. We also talked about Center communications and the possible use of forums to unclutter our email.
  
  
• October 17, Dave McCarter and Bob Duff visited Parkhill Library. Dave began his digital slide presentation Asteroids! before a small group of 17 parents and children shortly after 6:30 p.m. Charlie Barbara brought his meteorite collection for display. Paul and Charlene Kerans set up their 30.5cm Meade LightBridge Dobsonian in the grassy field behind the library. Dave took the group outside to observe the International Space Station (ISS) pass at 7:17 p.m. but it was mostly cloudy and the ISS not seen. Dave completed his talk and answered questions. Some of the visitors and 2 library staff members came outside to see Paul and Charlene’s telescope but the sky was completely clouded out.
  
  
• October 17, Dave McCarter visited the kindergarden at Bonaventure Public School and gave 16 children a short presentation on The Sun, and then everyone went into the playground to view some fabulous sun spots through Dave's solar filtered 80mm refractor.
  
  
• October 16, Rick Saunders, Mike Hanes, Dave McCarter, Michael Jager, Craig Levine, Dale Armstrong, John Kulczycki, Robert Atkinson and Mike Roffey all worked hard to prepare the rolling roof, fabricating the sled rails, roof rafters, lifting rafters into place and checking and rechecking that it was all done properly.
  
  
• October 15, Mike Hanes, Rick Saunders, Gaetan Godin, Dave McCarter, Peter Jedicke, Mike Costa, Michael Jager, Craig Levine, Robert Atkinson, Patrick Whelan, Adam Priestap, and Dale Armstrong all worked hard in spite of poor weather to sheath the wall framing with plywood, install the rail supports, fabricate and install the roof rails.
  
  
• October 14, Rick Saunders, Mike Hanes and Dave McCarter assembled and erected the north wall. Mike and Dave also picked up the steel rails upon which the roof of the observatory will roll.
  
  
• October 13, Mike Hanes and Dave McCarter assembled and erected three walls for the Fingal observatory.
  
  
• October 8 evening, Bob Duff, Dave McCarter and Peter Jedicke attended the International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) celebrations at the Cronyn Observatory. About 25 guests took part and listened to talks presented by Bjarni Tryggvason, Phil Stooke, and a graduate student. One family brought their 127mm Celestron scope looking for assistance in setting it up, and Dave and Bob helped them understand celestial alignment of their GEM mount, helped find various objects, and lots of valuable observing was done. Everyone enjoyed views of the moon in the Centre's 25cm Dobsonian and Jupiter was observed through the big 25.4 cm f17 Perkins Elmer refractor. Other objects viewed were M31, M27, double stars Alberio and Epsilon Lyre, M13, and Vega. The event continued until well after it was scheduled to close due to the clear skies and enthusiasm of the visitors and astronomers.
  
  
• October 8 afternoon, Dave McCarter set up an astronomy display in the "Your Place in Space" at the London Regional Children's Museum in cellebration of the National Earth Science and Space Week. A Galileoscope survived the extreme handeling stress at the hands of young boys, and the virtual meteors of the planitarium program Stellarium displayed what was then happening with the Draconid meteors. Bob Duff joined Dave in mid afternoon and helped explain astronomical topics primarily to interested parents while children tested the strength of the ISS and Shuttle displays. One parent reported seeing an amazing fireball two years ago, and Dave identified it as the Grimsby Fall, and showed her the McMaster video and many images of this event. She was thrilled to know that others had also seen it.
  
  
• October 5. Dave McCarter and Bob Duff provided an astronomy talk and Star Party to all 45 Grade 6 students and 35 parents at Byron Northview Public School. The skies cooperated and everyone had fantastic views of the moon, Jupiter with three moons visible including Calisto directly above the planet, Alberio, M13, M31 and various bright stars. Many families brought their telescopes along and benefited from advice on how to ballance and use the German Equatorial Mount. Alex Mochrie (manager at Masonville Mall) brought his telescope and enjoyed the reactions of people seeing Jupiter for the first time.
  
  
• October 3, Windermere Manor Dinner, Star Talk, and Star Gazing. After an awesome buffet dinner Dave McCarter gave his talk "Humoungous Numbers" to 25 people at the dinner and 10 members. After the talk people went out to the dark parking lot and observed through the member's telescopes set up there. Dave McCarter had his 25.4cm Dobsonian, Paul Kerans set up his 56cm Obsession Truss-Tube Dobsonian, Charlene Kerans was using her 30.5cm Meade LightBridge Dobsonian, Adam Priestap-Suttis had his 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian, Cheryl Priestap used Adam's first scope, a 72mm refractor, Mike Roffey used a 80mm Celestron Refractor, Peter Jedicke set up his 40.6cm Truss-Tube Dobsonian, Mike Costa had his 25.4cm Truss-Tube Dobsonian, Bob Duff showed the sky through his 20.3cm Dobsonian, and Roman Dubinski used a 12.7cm Sky-Watcher Maksutov. People viewed the first quarter Moon, Jupiter with four moons showing, Albireo, M57, the "Double-Double" Epsilon Lyrae, Vega, the Double Cluster, M27 the Dumbell Nebula, and M31.
  
  
• October 1, For Fall Astronomy Day London Centre set up a display at Masonville Place in the Centre Court. Paul Kerans showed off his motorized 56cm Obsession Truss-Tube Dobsonian controlled by a hand held remote, John Kulczycki set up his 40.6cm Truss-Tube Dobsonian, Rick Saunders assembled his imaging rig, a 23.5cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain on GEM mount, Harold Tutt brought his portable 80mm Stellarvue Refractor on Vixen alt-azimuth mount, Roman Dubinski mounted his 25X100mm binoculars on a sturdy tripod and Mike Roffey had his Celestron 70mm binoculars on a tripod. Charlie Barbara laid out a small part of his impressive meteorite collection on a table and immediately attracted a large crowd. As well Dan Tremblay, Bill Gardner, Peter Jedicke, Dave McCarter, and Bob Duff talked to people, answered questions, and handed out 100 assembled StarFinder planispheres. It is estimated that over 450 people directly interacted with the display and London Centre members.
  
  
• September 24, Harvest the Stars Star Party attracted over 37 members, family and guests to the reasonably clear skies at Fingal. A moderately bright Iridium flare started the evening, and the skies fluctuated between hazy, completely clear, moderately cloudy, transparent, oh-oh we're going to lose it, and back to clear. Observing Jupiter was a real treat as the variable haze dimmed the brilliant planet and actually sharpened seeing. One young girl who spent considerable time looking at Jupiter was enthusiastic about the colours and detail she could see in the cloud belts.
  We had quite a few guests who enjoyed the night and seeing through various telescopes, and they were fun as they saw various objects like M11, M57, and the Double Cluster for the first time. Thank you to the experienced members who were so willing to share scope time and their enthusiasm.
  A warm and delicious butternut/pumpkin (I think, please correct me) soup was served and went over very well. Thank you! Others brought Timbits and went out of their way to make sure there were chocolate ones available to those who crave them.
  Several bright meteors were seen. Comet Gerrardd was quite easy to find, sporting a faint fan shaped tail. Several imagers were hard at work filling their, or another imager's, memory cards. The Warm Up Room was put to use as the evening got quite chilly.
  
  
• September 17, The Observers Group Meeting was held at the home of Paul And Charlene Kerans. After lovely snacks the group did some observing under the dark and clear skies.
  
  
• September 16, At our first monthly meeting the club reviewed the summer activities, discussed current astronomical news, and formed two new committees, one of which will be formulating a Trillium Grant proposal to further the Public Outreach Activities, and the other will review and prepare material for an Astronomy beginners course to be run at possibly several locations throughout London. Evidence for the need of this course is seen daily by the Centre members.
  
  
• August 25 to 28, Starfest at River Place Campground. About 25 London Centre members enjoyed the friendship, Friday Pot Luck, amazing and amusing talks, observing under mostly clear skies, heavy dew, great swap tables at this year's Starfest.
  
  
• August 10, Bayfield Star Party. London Centre members Paul Kerans, Steve Arenburg, Mike Costa and Peter Jedicke arrived at Pioneer Park in Bayfield, Ontario, before sunset for a star night organized by the Pioneer Park Association. There was a beautiful sunset under scattered clouds to begin the evening. Then Peter gave a 30-minute introductory presentation at the back of the park, where the grass volleyball court is. About 40 persons sat on lawn chairs or blankets. As predicted by the Clear Sky Chart, the sky was 90% clear once it got dark. A nearly-full Moon then brightened the sky like a ghostly dawn. Paul Kerans set up his 56cm Dobsonian, Steve had his 20cm Dobsonian and Peter and Mike used Peter's 40cm aperture truss tube Dobsonian to show the guests Saturn, M3, M13, M51, M57, double stars and M31 as well as the Moon. The guests were enthusiastic and many of them were quite knowledgeable. The star party was over about 23:00, as clouds rolled back in.
  
  
• August 6, the second night of the Quai du Vin Estate Winery Star Night was marred by cloud. A few visitors looked at the first quarter Moon through the telescopes while conditions permitted. Present were Charlie Moher, Steve Imrie, Harold Tutt and Peter Jedicke, all with the same telescopes used Friday evening. Richard Gibbens was also there. Our host Rob Quai estimated 35 visitors sat down to hear Peter's talk, which went on for about 90min since there was no observing to do. The bright star Vega was seen in a small sucker hole once. There were a handful of questions and quite a few of the visitors expressed enthusiasm for our subject.
  
  
• August 5, Quai du Vin Estate Winery Star Night. London Centre members caught a major break in the weather when the sky cleared before sunset. Members set up their telescopes behind their cars to the south of a large wedding tent on the spacious lawn behind the Quai du Vin Winery building, amidst the vineyards.
  At the north end of the lawn was Andy Blanchard from Hamilton Centre with his 56cm Obsession Dobsonian. Mike Roffey had his Celestron XLT150 Newtonian; Dan Tremblay set up his Meade 25.4cm DS-10 Newtonian; Mike Jager had his 20cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian; Harold Tutt used his 80mm Stellarvue Night Hawk refractor; Adam Priestap-Suttis and his mother, Cheryl, had Adam’s 20cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian; Jon Gunning set up his 150mm Intes MK-65 Maksutov; Peter and Dianne Jedicke assembled Peter’s home-built 40.6cm truss-tube Dobsonian; Charlie Moher brought his 25.4cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian; Patrick Whelan and daughter Bridgette, with Patrick's Meade 25.4cm LXD75 Schmidt-Newtonian; Roman Dubinski had his 127mm Sky-Watcher Maksutov; Steve Imrie with his Orion 20.3cm SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian; Glen Spooner set up his home-built 30.5cm truss-tube Dobsonian; and Keith Burr brought his 20cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian. Other members included Bob Duff, Maria Lavdas, Everett Clark, Richard Gibbens, Ron Sawyer, former London Centre Presidents Martin Connors (1971-1973) and Peter Andreae (1974-1976), and former member Chris Essex. In addition, there was a visitor who brought an entry level 75mm Go-To reflector, which he was learning to use.
  Peter Jedicke listed the event on the NASA Web site as officially part of the global Vesta Fiesta. As twilight deepened around 9:00 p.m. Peter made his digital slide presentation on a huge screen, mixing some introductory topics with recent news on solar system exploration. We estimated nearly 150 visitors in the audience.
  The first quarter Moon and Saturn were pleasing sights in many telescopes early in the evening. Peter directed his 40.6cm Dobsonian at globular cluster M4 in Scorpius and then Comet Gerradd (C/2009 P1), just north of M15. Many telescopes trained on comet, which was probably brightest in Andy Blanchard’s 56cm Obsession. Mike Roffey showed a few visitors Saturn and spent most of the evening on the Moon with brief views of globular clusters M22 and M13. Other objects were observed, including Epsilon Lyrae in Harold Tutt’s telescope. The sky clouded over just before midnight and host Rob Quai shared wine and cheese with London Centre members. It was a very enjoyable star night for all concerned.
  
  
• July 15, At our monthly meeting Vice President Patrick Whelan talked Nat. Rep. Craig Levine into being host as Dave was attending a family funeral. Craig got people to talk about who had been observing and what and where, and then recent events and future events were discussed. Pat talked for a bit about the dinner, talk and Star Party at Windermere Manor and showed a few pictures of the event. Pat also shared a few pictures from 2010 Starfest and encouraged people to attend this year. Bob Duff talked about the books and the successful Cronyn Saturday observing nights. Craig brought people up to date on progress on the observatory at Fingal and the ongoing work. Also discussed was the planned Celestial Tent Star Night to be held at Fingal in September. Peter Jedicke gave a good talk about Neptune and the history of it's discovery. The meeting finished at 9pm and everyone went to Kelsey’s for more talk and eats.
  
  
• July 12, London Center celebrated in style with a Happy Birthday Neptune party, held at McGinnis Landing. Seventeen members and guests were present.
  
  
• July 5, The Windermere Manor Star Party occured under clear skies. A super buffet dinner was enjoyed by 17 Rasc members and family and 85 guests keen on good food and astronomy. After desert Dave McCarter gave his illustrated talk Star Gazers and then invited everyone out to the 9 large telescopes assembled in the parking lot. The crescent moon and Saturn were enjoyed by everyone. Despite nearby parking lot lights several deep sky objects were found, including M13, M27 and M57. M51 might have been found as well, but bright skies made it difficult. The organizers wish to thank Bob Duff, Harold Tutt, Mike Roffey, Kelly Manson, Paul and Charlene Kerans, Everett Clark, John Kulczycki, Patrick Whelan, Adam Priestap-Suttis, Maria Lavdas, Roman Dubinski and Robert Ellis for their contributions to a very successful night.
  
  
• July 2, Dave McCarter traveled to Pelee Island to provide a star talk and observing opportunity for Explore Pelee. The talk began inside under threat of thunderstorms, and despite a loss of power the talk was completed with attendees viewing the battery powered lap top screen, which attracted a wide assortment of bugs. The island power remained off until 4am and conditions on the moonless night were very dark, between distant lightning flashes. Pity about the cloud cover, or it would have been an exceptional observing experience.
  
  
• July 2, The star party for the Fanshawe Conservation Area was cancelled due to severe thunderstorms. Rescheduling is being planned.
  
  
• June 25, London Centre members provided a star party at Springwater Conservation Area. Paul and Charlene Kerans brought their 56cm (22inch) Obsession Ultra-Compact Truss-Tube Dobsonian and Hamilton Centre member Andy Blanchard set up his nearly identical 56cm Obsession UC Dobsonian. Harold Tutt had his 80mm Stellarvue refractor and Bob Duff used his 20.3cm Dobsonian.
  There were about 35 adults and children climbing ladders to look through the Obsession telescopes to view Saturn, M13, M57 and M108. Harold showed them Saturn, double stars Mizar/Alcor and Albireo and Bob provided views of Saturn and M57. Harold called everybody’s attention to a bright International Space Station pass at 10:55 p.m. The star night ended with clearing starry skies and everybody was packing up by around 11:20 p.m. It was a very enjoyable evening and many thanks go to everybody who helped out. It is not often that we have two 22-inch Obsession telescopes for star night!
  
  
• June 20, Monday morning Dave McCarter and Charlie Moher arrived at Fingal early, and worked to get everything ready for the concrete delivery. John Kulczycki and Rick Saunders arrived a bit later. Dave drove back out to the gate about 10:30 to wait for the Lafarge truck, which arrived at 10:40 and followed Dave into the work site. The Lafarge guy was named Tom, and he was hugely helpful, delivering the fiber mix wherever we needed it. We raked and hoed and troweled and leveled and pretty soon the three piers and the two footings were done. After everything was washed up and the concrete truck had left we sat and talked about observatory ideas and watched the concrete cure. Peter Jedicke arrived and took some pictures. Rick is going to add an observatory page so you can see the photos of progress.
  
  
• June 18, Charlie Moher, Tiger Bo and Dave McCarter were at Fingal to clean the concrete where the footings will be in preparation for putting on the concrete glue. Dave drilled 2 inch holes in the framing and cut lengths of PVC pipe to insert through the concrete footing which will allow us to eventually run cables for scope and camera power and control from the WUR to both observatories. Charlie used the WUR power inverter to run his corded drill for the wire brushes for concrete cleaning and Tiger ran the shop vac to suck up the dust and dirt. Then Charlie did the painting with the concrete bonding glue.
  
  
• June 17, At our monthly meeting Dave McCarter showed some images taken during the Texas Star Party trip, and Dr. Dale Armstrong talked about Space Weapons and the Popular Imagination, in which he proved to everyone's satisfaction that science fiction writers have been driving the space weapons dreams of the US military, in spite of the technical and scientific difficulties.
  
  
• June 16, Thursday morning Dave McCarter, Everett Clark and Peter Andre moved all the lumber and other supplies from Dave's car port to the Fingal WUR, and were joined by Mike Hanes, Charlie Moher and John Kulczycki. Everyone helped dig out the three pier holes to a depth of 48 inches, widening the holes so they would take the concrete forming tubes. A special tool was designed and developed on site to assist with removal of mostly blue clay from the holes. Nine bags of concrete were mixed and poured into the three holes to make a 15cm thick footing, the rebar cages that were made last fall by Robert Atkinson and Matt Neima were placed into the holes and leveled. Then the pier concrete forming tubes were placed and sand was used to backfill the holes.
  After some frustration with ramset nails splitting our footing framing supports Charlie and Dave drove into town and picked up some Tapcon concrete screws. Mike's and Charlie's hammer drills made quick work of drilling the holes and the screws held the framing in place. Peter and Dave put expanding foam under the framing boards to ensure that concrete does not escape our framing, and it will probably help secure the boards too. Apart from the need for some brushing and vacuuming of the concrete surface between the boards, and some additional backfilling around the pier tubes we are ready for a concrete truck to visit Fingal.
  The power inverter sure made life a lot easier by allowing the use of high speed grinders and drills, and the battery voltage didn't drop in any meaningful way.
  
  
• June 14, Star Night at Mitchell Hepburn Public School in St. Thomas. Clear skies with just a few hazy clouds made for an excellent evening of observing for the Grade-6 class, their parents, siblings and a few neighbours. Harold Tutt set up his 80mm Stellarview refractor and showed the early arriving visitors views of the setting Sun through his homemade Baader film full aperture solar filter. Everett Clark set up his Super Polaris mounted 11.4cm Newtonian reflector while Dave McCarter used his 25.4cm Dobsonian and Bob Duff used his 20.3cm Dobsonian. Dave gave an informal twilight talk to about 90 children, parents and teachers sitting or standing on the grassy school campus, paying particular attention to two 60mm alt-azimuth refractors, one brought by a student and the other by a parent. As twilight gave way to a starry sky, people lined up in front of telescopes to observe the one-day-prior-to-full Moon rising in the east. Saturn was found before it could be seen by eye and caused a lot of excitement with children and adults alike. Throughout the evening many people used their smart phones to take pictures of the Moon and Saturn through Dave's and Bob’s Dobsonian telescopes. Also viewed were several double stars, including Alberio, Castor, and Cor Corelli. Dave gave a short laser guided constellation tour and explained that most of the stars of the Little Dipper could not be seen from a light polluted site. The evening was completed by an excellent pass of the International Space Station which began at 22:45 and several people were able to make out the shape of the ISS through Dave's telescope as he guided on it with his finder. Many thanks to teacher Kristian Levey for inviting us to Mitchell Hepburn Public School.
  
  
• June 11, Longwoods Astronomy presentation and attempted star party. Dave McCarter presented a slide show to a small but attentive group of four. London Centre members Pete and Cheri Raine, Paul and Charlene Kerans, Harold Tutt, Bob Duff, Rick Saunders and Charlie Moher brought their telescopes on the promise of some clear skies, and for short periods the moon was visible, but the skies did not clear and the event was called by 22:30.
  
  
• May 25 to June 7, Six London Centre members travelled to the Texas Star Party near Fort Davis and McDonald Observatory.
  
  
• May 20, At our monthly meeting Raymond Francis spoke about most of the worlds' space programs, who is currently mapping the moon, and in great detail about present and future science at the European Space Agency.
  
  
• May 16, Dave McCarter visited Medway High School and provided his illustrated talk "Asteroids!" to two grade nine classes, a total of 50 students. They were also shown and passed around several meteorites and a few meteor-wrongs too!
  
  
• May 14, RASC London Centre Members set up a Mall Display at Cherryhill Village Mall in cooperation with McKittricks Photo/Video/Astro. Paul Kerans set up his newly acquired Obsession Truss-Tube Dobsonian with its 56cm (22inch) Galaxy Optics mirror. Other members who brought telescopes included Matt Neima, with his 20.3cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain on its Losmandy mount and Harold Tutt and John Kulczycki, with their alt-azimuth mounted 80mm and 70mm Stellarview refractors, respectively. Bob Duff set up the London Centre’s digital slide projector and Bill Gardner got it going to show celestial slides continuously on a screen provided by McKittrick’s. Charlie Barbara arrived, and with an extra table provided by the Mall, set up an extensive display of meteorites, which attracted attention. In all we had an estimated 30 people stopping to chat with members about meteorites and ask questions about telescopes. London Centre members who participated were Charlie Barbara, Roman Dubinski, Bob Duff, Bill Gardner, Peter Jedicke, Paul Kerans, John Kulczycki, Matt Neima, Rick Saunders, Dan Tremblay, and Harold Tutt.
  
  
• May 13, Yes, Friday the thirteenth and London Centre members Bob Duff, Dave McCarter, Matt Neima and Harold Tutt set up telescopes in the playground of the London Regional Children's Museum. Heavy cloud created problems and threatened rain. The hazy moon was poorly seen for a few minutes, and the young children were shown the tops of trees and nearby posters.
  
  
• May 9, Star Night for Jeff Gallant's grade 6 class at Byron Northview Public School. Thirty five students and 15 parents came to the school playground to view the sky through the telescopes of London Centre members Everett Clark, Bob Duff, Peter Jedicke, Phil Marusaik, Dave McCarter, Mike Roffey, and Harold Tutt. Mr. Gallant also had his classroom telescope out and ready to go. Cloud moved through the area, causing some concern that anything would be seen at all. The almost first quarter moon delighted everyone and when Dave found Saturn in the still bright sky the lineup quickly grew behind his telescope. Gasps of joy and shouts of amazement were common and gratifying. As it got darker the skys mostly cleared and allowed everyone to get as much observing as they wanted. Several people managed to photograph both the moon and Saturn through various telescopes using their cell phones. What fun!
  
  
• May 5, Classroom visit and Star Night for the Grade 5/6 class at Orchard Park Public School. Dave McCarter spent the afternoon with 17 interested students, using Stellarium to tour the night sky as if the students were at Fingal. During afternoon recess Dave set up a solar filter equipped 80mm refractor and the students got to see some complex sun spots. After recess the discussion turned to black holes, asteroids and meteorites. Students got to hold several small meteorites.
  
  That evening a hazy sky with some clouds did not dampen the spirits of some 40 children and adults, including 17 grade 5-6 students with their teachers and parents. Harold Tutt set up his 80mm Stellarvue refractor while Dave McCarter had his 25.4cm Dobsonian and 80mm Stellarvue refractor ready. Everett Clark used his 11.4cm Newtonian reflector, Bob Duff had his 20.3cm Dobsonian; and Maria Lavdas assisted and enjoyed the views.
  
  Observing began around 8:00 p.m. with people viewing the two-day-old crescent Moon through hazy clouds in the west. As the sky darkened they observed Saturn, Arcturus, double stars Castor, Mizar and Alcor through various telescopes. It was a fun evening and everyone was gone by 9:45 p.m.
  
  
• April 15, At our monthly meeting Dr. Peter Brown talked about meteor science and what we can learn about the solar system from these small samples that fall freely to earth. He described his latest system that is able to track meteorites in flight through a small telescope and showed some totally amazing videos of meteors that break up and fly apart during their high speed atmospheric entry. This behavour has never been seen before and goes unexplained.
  
  
• April 11, Dave McCarter visited Mitchell High School and presented his talk, Asteroids! to Adam Priestap-Suttis' Grade Nine class. Several meteorites and meteor-wrongs were passed out for students to examine.
  
  
• March 26, At the Cronyn Open house we had a cold and clear evening with 50 to 60 interested people who came to hear the talk and observe the sky. Daylight saving time meant that it took a long time to get dark, but people listened to a description of the observatory telescope, and asked questions about the amateur telescopes, which were all dobsonians. Dave McCarter was the first to find Sirius and then the Trapesium in M42 with the club's 25cm dob. Paul and Charlene Kerans set up their 32cm on the walkway. Mike Roffey also had a 32cm scope on the walkway and Adam Priestap-Sutis and his mother Cheryl set up his 15cm dob on the upstairs patio. Patrick Whelan assisted with the club's scope and answered questions. When Saturn appeared between trees to the east it became the center of attention. Eventually the ringed planet rose high enough for the big refractor in the dome and those who had waited had some great views which were frequently interupted by the steam plume from the heating plant.
  
  
• March 19, Our Annual Banquet: featured Dr. Jaymie Matthews and was held at the Byron Legion. After an enjoyable dinner of roast beef and turkey, Dr. Matthews gave his humorous and fact filled talk "What the Textbooks Don't Tell You." He showed that the History and Science of Astronomy is as much about those who practice the art as it is about the planets, stars and galaxies. Everyone learned something new, particularly when it came to learning who discovered that the sun and stars are primarily Hydrogen and Helium.
  
  
• March 18, At our Monthly Meeting our Guest of Honour was PhD candidate Haley Sapers, from the Geology/ Planetary Science Department at Western. She talked about her research into the existance of bacteria that colonize the glass and shattered rocks that remain after a terrestrial meteor impact. Her talk was detailed and delivered carefully, so that our members understood the science and followed her persuasive discussion.
  
  
• March 16, Matt Neima and Rick Saunders went to Camp Sylvan to give a small star party for a group of cubs that were there for spring break. Approximately 20 cubs and 4 leaders came to the upper field where we had two telescopes setup. It was increasingly cloudy but the the cubs did get some views of the moon, several star clusters and the Orion nebula. A good time was had by all.
  
  
• February 23, Dave McCarter and Bob Duff returned for a second visit to the grade six class at Tecumseh Public School. Dave used the RASC London Centre’s digital projector to show the 21 students and their teacher images of Comet Temple 1, target of the Deep Impact space mission and revisited by the Stardust space mission. He then used Stellarium sky charting software to show them the current evening sky from Fingal, with tours of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus and their moons. The students also viewed the Sun through an open classroom window in Dave’s 80mm refractor fitted with a white light solar filter. There was a small sunspot visible near the Sun’s left edge. Dave had also delivered some back issues of Astronomy magazines to the class a few days previous for use by the students. Dave and Bob were very much impressed by the knowledge and interest displayed by the children. An evening star party was discussed with the teacher with possible dates on the first clear night, April 11th—13th, when Saturn and the First Quarter Moon would be visible.
  
  
• February 18, At our monthly meeting our Guest of Honour was Dr. John Moores, Department of Earth, Space Science and Engineering, York University, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western. His talk was titled:Worlds Enough and Time: The Golden Age of Planetary Exploration in our Solar System. Dr. Moores reviewed what we knew about the solar system before the space age started in 1957, and summed up all the missions to the planets and what we now know. He also discussed the missions ongoing, missions about to launch, and those on the drawing board. A wonderful evening.
  
  
• February 10, Grad student Alexander DeSouza greeted 22 students and 12 parents from the Grade 6 at Tecumseh Public School for Exploring the Stars at the Cronyn Observatory on Thursday evening. It was exceptionally clear and cold so Alexander brought them into the dome immediately where Dave McCarter had Jupiter lined up in the big 25.4cm refractor, using the Meade 28mm Ultra-Wide eyepiece for 157 power. On the Observatory’s roof patio Greg Andres showed them the first quarter Moon in his 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian and Bob Duff showed them M42, the Orion Nebula, in the London Centre’s 25.4cm Dobsonian. Bob used his green laser pointer to identify stars in Orion and other constellations. Returning to the lecture room everybody had a chance to warm up during Alexander’s presentation, “Our Messy Solar System,” and they asked many questions. Another observing session followed with splendid views of the Moon in the 25.4cm refractor and 25.4cm Dobsonian. Greg also showed M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, in his 20.3cm Dobsonian. The sky remained very clear and everybody enjoyed this exceptional evening despite the bitter cold.
  
  
• February 5, The trip up to the David Dunlop Observatory by Dave McCarter and Maria and Michael Lavdas was abandoned due to terrible conditions on the 401, although they got as far as Ingersoll before turning back.
  
  
• January 29th, Cronyn Observatory Open House: The evening began with two guests in attendance, and grad student Emily McCullough distributed several hand-held spectroscopes with which to look at the ceiling lights and streetlights. Then a large crowd of students arrived and joined in the fun as Emily explained how spectroscopy was used to identify the chemical elements in the atmospheres of the Sun and stars. She then launched a the digital slide presentation, “Our Messy Solar System.” Afterwards she gave out Star Finder planispheres and RASC London Centre members Dave McCarter and Bob Duff helped everyone assemble their planispheres with tape. Despite the cloudy skies visitors viewed the communications tower in south London through the 25.4cm refractor in the dome. A star, probably Capella, appeared briefly between the clouds and then vanished before there was a chance to observe it in the telescope. Bob set up the London Centre’s 25.4cm Dobsonian for visitors to view the weathervane on the roof of the Engineering building. Dave talked to several of the visitors about how to use a planisphere, Polaris and the Earth’s precession, the ISS and the Heavens Above Web site and other questions. There were 22 visitors for the enjoyable and interesting evening and everybody gone and the Observatory closed by 9:30 p.m.
  
  
• January 21, Our monthly meeting was primarily a Member's Night. President Dave McCarter began by going through recent events, and then described notible observing opportunities throughout 2011. One item was the recently discovered Comet Elenin, and Dave Clark used his program Clear Sky to show the orbit and the comet's relationship to earth. Apparently the comet will pass almost exactly between the sun and earth, (about 2 degrees above the sun) and there was speculation about the rather remote possibility of the comet tail passing over earth. Peter Jedicke talked about Neptune's Birthday, which London Centre will celebrate on July 12th. and the orbital dynamics that determined that date.
  
  
• January 19, Dave McCarter and Bob Duff provided an astronomy presentation "Asteroids!" for the Grade 6 class at Tecumseh Public School. The children were particularly attentive and asked great questions. They will be going to the Cronyn in February, and Bob and Dave will be returning to the classroom later in February for more astronomical fun.
  
  
• January 9th, Many thanks to Mike Hanes for hosting a Mirror Making Workshop. Present were Glen Spooner, John Rousom, Mike Roffey, Bill Gardner and Dave McCarter. Mike had a fine ground eight inch mirror, tile tool and pitch lap with which we practiced fine grinding and mirror polishing. Then we set up the Foucault tester and learned to look at shadows that magnified the surface features. Then we went into Mike's garage workshop and worked on course grinding techniques with a ceramic tool and blank that Dave brought along. It was a great afternoon and everyone got a lot out of it.
  
  

  2010

• December 21, The skies played hide and seek with the eclipsing moon until about 3:15, with the moon in totality, and then became accomodatingly clear. Many London Centre members had a peek, saw cloud, and went back to bed. But a few hardy fans of the Earth's shadow stayed up all night, caught the clearing, and took lots of pictures.
  
  
• December 17, At our Monthly Meeting we enjoyed a rapid fire prerecorded talk by Dr. Bill Bottke "Exploring the Early Bombardment of the Inner Solar System". Certain members, with loads of questions, were frustrated that they could not quiz Dr. Bottke in person. We also had our usual Christmas Celebration. The Celestron First Scope, donated by Antony Chodis at McKittricks, was won by Steve Imrie, who said he had a young person in mind for it. John Kulczycki donated festive wood book marks which were a hit as well.
  
  
• December 11th, At the Cronyn Open House graduate student Alexander DeSouza gave his digital slide presentation to a total of 38 people. Grad student Robin Wing operated the big 25.4cm refractor in the dome, showing people the crescent Moon, two days prior to First Quarter. Dave McCarter and Bob Duff assisted. People also viewed Jupiter and four Galilean moons through hazy clouds. We talked to several people interested in astronomy and gave out RASC London Centre brochures, “Become a Sidewalk Astronomer,” and “SkyNews.” We closed the Observatory at 9:00 p.m. after a successful evening.
  
  
• December 9, Dave McCarter gave his slide presentation, “The Power of Observation,” to a 30 students, a student teacher and the classroom teacher in a grade-9 science class at A. B. Lucas Secondary School. Bob Duff was also there and gave the teacher and student teacher a club brochure.
  
  
• December 2, Bob Duff gave a digital slide presentation, “Astronomy,” to 14 members of the 31st B Cubs, including 11 children (ages 8—10) and 3 adult leaders, at Calvary Church on Ridout St. The presentation included stars and constellations, how to locate Polaris, planets, nebulae, galaxies and observing with telescopes. Afterwards the Cubs assembled Star Finder planispheres and the leaders were given additional planispheres to take with them.
  
  
• December 4, Cherry Hill Mall Astronomy Display. London Centre members Bob Duff, Bill Gardner, Peter Jedicke, Dave McCarter, Mike Neima, Rick Saunders and Harold Tutt answered questions and discussed astronomical topics with about 50 interested visitors next to McKittricks Photo.
  
  
• November 27, Cronyn Open House, At first clouds completely covered the skies. Graduate student Emily McCullough made her digital slide presentation, “Space Junk,” concerning out-of-service satellites and other space debris and then began a tour of the telescope, showing the 35 visitors the TV tower light. A sudden clearing allowed viewing Jupiter and its four moons. Bob Duff and Dave McCarter assisted with the big refractor and also set up the 25.4cm Dobsonian on the Observatory’s roof patio and showing people Jupiter, Albireo, Vega, the Pleiades (M45), Aldebaran and the Hyades, the Double Cluster in Perseus and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
  
  
• November 19, At our Monthly Meeting New Brunswick amateur astronomer Paul Gray presented his talk titled Observing Nothing - Tales from Dark Nebulae in which Paul spoke about the E.E. Bernard dark nebula. John Kulczycki brought Westerns copy of the two volumn Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way by Bernard.
  
  
• October 30, Cronyn Open House on the campus of University of Western Ontario. Graduate student Sarah Malek made her digital slide presentation The Future of Our Sun before a small group of visitors and Professor Jan Cami showed a few people Jupiter between clouds in the big 25.4cm refractor before the sky completely clouded out. Bob Duff set up the 25.4cm Dobsonian on the Observatory’s roof patio and showed people Jupiter, before it clouded out, and then the weather vane on the Engineering Building. A modest estimate might be about 23 visitors for the open house.
  
  
• October 25th Western Faculty, students, and members of London Centre celebrated the 70th Birthday of the Cronyn Observatory. Present were Greg Andres and son Abram, Eric Clinton, Bob Duff, Mike Jager, Peter Jedicke, Patrick Whelan, Adam Priestap-Suttis and Cheryl Priestap. Bob Duff reports that in total there were 28 people present. Amanda Papadimos gave the slide presentation of the history of the observatory and brought the cakes, Dr. Shantanu Basu gave the thank you and closing remarks after Amanda's talk. Also present were Prof. Jim Moorehead, Dr. Phil Stooke, Dr. Amelia Wehlau, and Dr. Phil McCausland.
  
  
• October 22, London Centre members Bob Duff, Ryan Fraser, Phil Marusaik, Dave McCarter, Matt Neima, Mike Roffey and Harold Tutt set up their telescopes for about one hundred kids and parents of the London Regional Children's Museum. Shortly after sunset Dave spotted Jupiter just above the power lines and all scopes pointed to it to reveal cloud bands and three moons on one side and one on the other. The full moon soon cleared the distant trees and was a hit with the young kids, many under five, most probably because they could reach the eyepiece on the Dobsonian telescopes. A brief sky tour was given by Dave, using a green laser pointer to properly identify various bright named stars. Julie Atkinson, science coordinator with LRCM, learned how to use the Dobsonian telescope, and had fun showing Jupiter and the moon to the kids. Later she was given pointers on constellation identification.
  
  
• October 20, London Centre President Dave McCarter and Sarnia Centre member Charlie Barbera presented a public talk and meteorite display for Coldstream Public Library to 34 library patrons and guests. The Librarian has received many favourable comments, and the number one question is "Will we do another Star Night?" Perhaps in the spring, when Saturn is available.
  
  
• October 15, At our monthly meeting Dr. Sarah Gallagher gave an amazing talk on the black holes found at the centre of most galaxies, quasars, and the development of the jets and extreme winds that help to limit the black hole growth in relation to the size and age of the galaxy. There were many knowledgeable questions from her attentive audience, and some judged it one of the very best talks we have had.
  
  
• October 10, Night 4 of Harvest the Stars Star Party included Dave McCarter, Kelly Manson, Peter Jedicke, newcomers Phil and Paul. The highlight was "Gas Giant Alley," seeing Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter in moments of excellent seeing,
  
  
• October 9, Night 3 of Harvest the Stars Star Party Trevor Chandler and guests from Guelph, Richard Henderson, Peter Jedicke, Dave McCarter, Glen Spooner, Mike Roffey, and several new guests enjoyed another clear night of observing.
  
  
• October 8, Night 2 of Harvest the Stars Star Party Bob Duff, Richard Henderson, Peter Jedicke, Matt Neima, Dave McCarter, Mike Roffey, Glen Spooner, Harold Tutt, and five guests enjoyed great skies with a single period of thin cloud. Bob Duff observed "Jupiter, Uranus and that infuriatingly faint Comet 103P / Hartley in the Perseus Double-Cluster--just visible with averted vision in Glen's 80mm scope and a distinct fuzzy glow in Richard's 25.4cm Dobsonian."
  
  
• October 7, Night 1 of Harvest the Stars Star Party Harold Tutt, Kelly Manson, Ryan Fraser, Gaetan Godin and Dave McCarter shared views all evening. We paid particular attention to the Double Cluster and Comet 103P Hartley, easily visible in 5x70 binos and Kelly's binoviewer on a Celestron 9.5 inch SCT. With a low power wide field eyepiece on Dave's 25cm Dobsonian (two degree field of view) all three objects could be seen together. Jupiter was also pretty darn good in Kelly's binoviewer with the GRS not looking too red, more a pale yellow/pink.
  
  
• September 29, Seventh annual Star Night for Byron Northview Public School. The coastal weather system put us on the cusp of clear skies. Everything to the northwest (Ursa Major, Bootes and Hercules) was visible, while thin clouds overhead obscured Lyra and Cygnus. Everything to the southeast was clouded out, including Jupiter. Ryan Fraser, Mike Roffey, and Dave McCarter set up their telescopes and Peter Jedicke helped out. Following Dave’s outdoor digital slide presentation people observed M13, M51 and a few double stars. They saw two Iridium satellites flare to first magnitude, one after another. Ryan Fraser showed a few people M81 and M82 briefly, despite the poor seeing conditions. There were two grade-6 classes for an estimated 40 students plus about 25 parents. It was a good night in spite of conditions and the teachers were happy. Jupiter made its appearance after 10:00 p.m., after almost everyone had left. There is talk of a star party, minus the slide talk, for April or May with Saturn and the Moon visible.
  
  
• September 18, The International Observe the Moon Night was held under cloudy skies at the Cronyn Observatory, sponsored by the Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration. About 80 people came out with the hope to see the moon in several telescopes, including the large Cronyn refractor. Six RASC London Centre members attended, including Bob Duff, Bill Gardner, Richard Gibbens, Peter Jedicke, Dave McCarter, and Dave Rubenhagen.
  Graduate student Amanda Papadimos was looking after the various displays in the lecture room, Emily McCullough was giving tours and annimated explanations of the various instruments in the observatory dome, and Lora Thomson answered questions with the Lunar globe. Undergraduate students were also there helping out, including Diline Subasinghe, Mat Abado, Patrick Cookson and Neil.
  In room 2022 of the Engineering building a series of slide presentations were given, including Mr. Paul Graham discussing the "Open Luna" initiative (a private venture to send people to the Moon), a presentation on the Aitkin Basin on the Moon by a student, and incredible LRO images of the lunar topography discussed by Dr. Phil Stooke of the Geography Department.
  Back in the Cronyn the Moon photo contest votes from each attendee were counted and announced with great fanfare. The first prize winner was Dave Rubenhagen with his composite photo of the moon near first quarter, the second prize went to Dave McCarter for a crescent moon in twilight, and the third prize winner was Bill Gardner for a lunar eclipse image.
  Amanda Papadimos then began the draw for two door prizes and went through a lot of ballots for people who had not stayed. The book NightWatch finally went to Richard Gibbens and the NASA T-shirt was won by Amanda herself. There was much laughter when she announced that she would keep it. Centre members then went to the Dairy Queen for further discussion.
  
  
• September 17, London Centre's first fall monthly meeting featured Guest of Honour Terence Dickinson. Technical glitches with the built in computer control forced us to relocate the meeting from the fabulously referbished D1060 to our regular haunt, B1073, and it was standing room only for Terry's amazing talk "Seeking the Best Stargazing Location on Earth". Terry answered questions throughout his talk, and after the presentation of upcoming events, a door prize draw was held. Copies of The Universe... and Beyond were won by Sarnia Centre member Dick Perkins, Ben Clinton, son of London Centre Life member Eric Clinton, and London Centre member Suzie Chelco. The astronomical discussions continued at nearby Kelsies until well after closing time.
  
  
• September 11, London Centre members Bob Duff, Steve Imrie, Peter Jedicke and Dave McCarter provided an Astronomy talk for O week at Western's Perth Hall to several first and second year students. Cloud with drizzle prevented observing
  
  
• September 4, Clouds and cool temperatures didn't keep ten London Centre members away from the Stars and Steaks Star Party at Fingal. Rick Saunders set up his telescope, ready to image if the opportunity arose. Mike and Eva Hanes brought a big BBQ and lots of sausages were cooked. Matt Neima cooked up some great shrimp on a stick, salads and KFC were put out, and we all had a great time.
  
  
• August 28, Sarnia Centre members Marie Fisher, Susan Clark, Richard Weatherspoon, Alan Kenyon, Dick and Ernestine Perkins, and Robert Williamson joined London Centre's Dave McCarter for the very successful Petrolia Discovery Park Movie Night and Astronomy event. The official count was "just shy of 100" adults and children who were entertained, educated and fascinated by their views of the night sky. A special thanks to Charlie Barbara for showing his meteorite collection to some very interested guests. In addition, we had several guests bring out their telescopes and they were very pleased by the reception and assistance they received. We observed Venus early on and managed to also find tiny Mars, which was demonstratibly not as large as the moon! A great ISS pass at 21:17 wowed everyone, and after a short talk by Dave McCarter we enjoyed a lot of deep sky objects before the moon, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune became the main targets of the evening.
  
  
• August 26, Peter Jedicke gave an enthusiastic talk on "Canada's Role in Space" to about 70 members and guests of the Kiwanis Club of Middlesex-London on Thursday morning. After the presentation, some members shared memories of activities related to Canada's space program, such as one member who had been a school chum of John H. Chapman. Other members said they were pleased to learn how significant Canada's contributions to the human adventure in outer space have been.
  
  
• August 24, Dave McCarter presented his introductory astronomy show, "Looking Up", to twenty preschool children and five adults at the Arbour Glen Day Nursery on Adeliade St. Many of the children were quite knowledgeable and full of questions. All enjoyed their view through a Gallileoscope of a nearby " it's upsidedown!" car.
  
  
• August 21, The second Elginfield Open House began under cloudy skies and rain, but eager visitors began arriving at 5pm, a full hour early! The event was coordinated by Western Postdoctoral Fellow Alyssa Gilbert from the Department of Earth Sciences, while Physics and Astronomy graduate students Emily McCullough and Amanda Papadimos greeted, assisted and counted visitors. Faculty members present included Dr. Peter Brown, Dr. Paul Wiegert and Dr. Pauline Barmby of the Physics & Astronomy Department.
  RASC London Centre members assisting with the program included John Kulczycki, who set up his 70mm Stellarvue refractor and Adam Priestap-Suttis, who brought his 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian. Patrick Whelan was there with daughter, Bridget. Dave McCarter demonstrated mirror-grinding techniques while Bridget Whelan and Cheryl Priestap presided over the “astro-trinkets” souvenir table and gave away RASC “Star Finder” planispheres and copies of the book, “Mary Lou’s New Telescope.” Charlie Barbara set up his impressive meteorite collection in the Observatory kitchen, while others talked about the telescope and vacuum aluminizing chamber for the 1.2 metre primary mirror. John Kulczycki and Dave McCarter directed traffic for several hours. Steve Imrie greeted visitors in the dome, while Bob Duff took some photographs of the activities.
  Peter Jedicke spent most of the evening demonstrating the big 1.2 metre Ritchey-Chretien telescope in the dome, while Alyssa Gilbert worked in the control room slewing the telescope and turning the dome. Towards 11:00 p.m., the sky partially cleared and the dome was opened. However, the telescope was in Coude mode and time constraints precluded public viewing so late in the evening. Visitors satisfied their curiosity by observing the Moon and M13 through Adam’s 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian telescope set up on the lawn. People continued to arrive right up until midnight. In total we had about 350 visitors, including several who went home to get other family members. One is tempted to ask "What would our visitor total have been on a clear evening?" Many thanks go to everyone who helped make this a successful Open House.
  
  
• August 18, Star Night for St. Mary’s Public Library held at McCully’s Hill Farm. A bright Moon at two days past First Quarter dominated the bright clear sky as London Centre members Bob Duff, Adam Priestap-Suttis and his grandfather, David, Gary Hinks, Peter Jedicke, Dave McCarter, new member Luigi Perzia, and Mike Roffey arrived with their telescopes at McCully’s Hill Farm. Three St. Mary’s Public Library staff members were also there, with the Library’s 76mm Newtonian, which Dave McCarter showed them how to set up and use. There were about 45 visitors to whom Peter Jedicke gave a sky tour with his green laser pointer. Visitors enjoyed good views of the moon, M13, M57, Epsilon Lyrae, Mizar and Alcor and other deep-sky objects such as M31. Later in the evening they viewed Jupiter and Uranus rising in the southeast. The visitors were very appreciative and London Centre members continued observing for a while after they left, until around 11:15 p.m. We stopped for refreshments at Tim Horton’s in St. Mary’s on the way home.
  
  
• August 17, The Star Night for St. Mary’s Public Library at McCully’s Hill Farm was cancelled due to cloudy skies. Matt Neima, Bob Duff and Peter Jedicke as well as the Summer Reading Program Coordinator for St. Mary’s Public Library attended to speak to any visitors who arrived in spite of the poor weather. Daryl Newcombe of CTV Channel A News showed up and interviewed Peter Jedicke about the future of Elginfield Observatory, videoed against the vivid backdrop of a glorious red sunset.
  
  
• August 12-15, About 25 London Centre members attended Starfest to socialize, do astro-imaging, observe, or just keep an eye out for Perseid meteors. Several nights were clear, some were mostly clouded out, and everyone had a fabulous time. Once again the pot luck dinner on Friday night was well attended, including RASC members from other centres who know about this well kept secret of Starfest.
  
  
• July 31 & August 1, Quai Du Vin Winery Star Nights.
  On Saturday evening London Centre members present included Harold Tutt, Glen Spooner, Arthur Oslach, Steve Imrie, Dave McCarter, Bob Duff, Peter and Dianne Jedicke, Mike and Donna Costa and Joe O’Neil and son, Kristin. London Centre President Dave McCarter started fielding questions from the audience around 9:00 p.m., then began his digital slide presentation, “The Power of Observation,” around 9:15 p.m. In spite of cloudy skies there were 22 visitors plus the owner Rob Quai and his wife making for an audience of 24 people enjoying the presentation. Wine and cheese followed for the astronomers around 11:00 p.m.
  
  On Sunday evening, with the promise of some clear skies, London Centre members set up 17 member telescopes, one Galileoscope and one tripod mounted binoculars, including, Adam Priestap-Suttis and his mother, Cheryl, with Adam’s 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian; John Gunning, with his 130mm Astro-Physics StarFire refractor; Roman Dubinski, with his 127mm Sky-Watcher Maksutov; Mike Roffey, with his 80mm Sky-Watcher refractor; Matt Neima, with his 20.3cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain; Bob Duff, with his 20.3cm Starfinder Newtonian on its Dobsonian mount; Harold Tutt, with his 80mm Stellarvue refractor; Peter and Dianne Jedicke with Peter’s Galileoscope; Rick Saunders, with his Stellarvue 102 ED refractor; Tom Czinege, with his 20.3cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain; Mike and Donna Costa, with Mike’s 25.4cm home-built truss-tube Dobsonian; Everett Clark, with his 114mm Tasco Newtonian; Kelly Manson, with his 23.5cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain and 10X70mm tripod mounted binoculars; Glen Spooner, with his 32cm home-built truss-tube Dobsonian; Peter and Cheri Raine, with their 90mm Williams Optics refractor and 25.4cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian, respectively; Dave Clark, with his Clear Skies program on his laptop and his 20.3cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain; and Mike Jager, with his 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian. In addition, Peter Jedicke and Arthur Oslach both had Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium for locating sky objects. Patrick Whelan brought his 10X50mm Vixen binoculars. Other members present included John Dixon, Maria Lavdas, Dave Rubenhagen, Mark Stevens and Jenny Shaw. RASC Hamilton Centre member Andy Blanchard was also there. Two women who were non-members brought their 60mm Bushnell refractor and were assisted with its use. Bob Duff gave them a “Become a Sidewalk Astronomer” booklet, a London Centre brochure and assembled two “Star Finder” planispheres for them.
  
  Shortly after sunset Venus was spotted in the western sky, and using it as a stepping stone, members then found Saturn. The audience observed both planets in a still very bright sky. Then London Centre President Dave McCarter gave his digital slide presentation, “The Power of Observation,” which was well received. Cloudy skies made observing difficult and visitors were able to view only a few objects (mostly in the south) through telescopes. It was not until close to midnight that the skies overhead cleared and members and guests were able to view objects overhead and the waning Moon and Jupiter in the east. Matt Neima got a nice view of Jupiter in his 20.3cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain. Wine and cheese followed past midnight under starry skies. In all there were 27 people from the RASC London Centre and one member from the Hamilton Centre, with an estimated 120 visitors at the second Quai du Vin Star Night. Our deepest thanks go to all guests and members who turned out to make this event worthwhile despite the clouds, and to Robert Quai for hosting the event at the Quai Du Vin Winery!
  
  
• July 24, Elginfield Observatory Open House. The weather cleared for a short time before sunset for the Elginfield Observatory Open House. Postdoctoral Fellow Alyssa Gilbert coordinated the event; while Nicole Kaiser from Let’s Talk Science gave tours of the Observatory; and graduate student Teznie Pugh worked in the telescope control room. Dr. Peter Brown and Dr. Amelia Wehlau were also there. They were asisted by RASC London Centre members included Harold Tutt, John Kulczycki, Richard Gibbens, Patrick Whelan, Peter Jedicke, Charlie Barbera, Bill Gardner, Mike Jager, John Rousom, Joe O’Neil, Matt Neima, Mike Roffey, Steve Arenburg, John Dixon, Ryan Fraser, Suzie Chelico, Roman Dubinski and Bob Duff. Harold Tutt brought his 80mm Stellarvue refractor, John Kulczycki his 70mm Stellarvue refractor and 150mm Meade MTS-SN6 Schmidt-Newtonian and Matt Neima his 20.3cm Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain. People were able to briefly view Venus through these telescopes. Patrick Whelan showed visitors views of prominences on the late afternoon Sun through his 40mm Coronado 40mm P.S.T. hydrogen-alpha solar telescope. Harold Tutt also showed visitors sunspots through his 80mm Stellarvue refractor and homemade Baader solar filter, and then the Moon for approximately half-an-hour until it became too cloudy. Charlie Barbera set up an extensive display of his large collection of meteorites in a room on the main floor of the Observatory, giving a few samples away to enthusiastic young visitors. Peter Jedicke showed a continuous line of visitors the planet Venus (near half-phase) through the big 1.2 metre Ritchie-Chretien telescope in the dome. John Kulczycki showed groups of visitors the aluminizing vacuum chamber used to re-aluminize the 1.2 metre primary mirror every two years. Alyssa Gilbert reported an estimated 500 visitors and that there were many favourable comments from people about how friendly, helpful and knowledgeable everyone was. Charlie Barbera’s meteorite collection was a big hit! It clouded over as the evening progressed, although the Full Moon was visible occasionally through hazy clouds. In all, the evening was a great success.
  
  
• July 16, At our Monthly Meeting Vice President Patrick Wehlan gave a presentation of Virtual Moon software. Members gave personal observing reports. Steve Arenburg showed several websites that featured either star charts on them or huge amounts of star information. Mombers watched a video by Carolyn Porco about the Cassini mission to Saturn. Patrick got people discussing his article for Polaris "Technology Dependency". John Kulczycki handed out an Elginfield Observatory fact sheet to those who would take part in the Open House, and also gave a presentation for his July Pocket Sky Atlas Challenges.
  
  
• June 26, The star night at Springwater Campground had a mix of clear sky and clouds for London members Tom Czinege, Bob Duff and Steve Imrie, who set up their telescopes for between 30 and 40 adults and children and showed the campers Saturn, Epsilon Lyrae, M57, Albireo, Mizar and Alcor. A couple of campers brought small refractors. They packed up around 11:15 p.m., after a very satisfactory evening of stargazing.
  
  
• June 20, This month's Observers Group Meeting was held at Patrick and Bridget Whelan's place, and actual observing occured, mostly of the moon and Saturn. Bob Duff really enjoyed using Ruckel's Atlas of the Moon to identify certain creaters and other features. In the snack department, Cheryl's cheese cake was spectacular and didn't last long. The group also watched the PI welcome to Steven Hawking on TVO, and afterwards a discussion about the nature of Black Holes left people with lots to cogitate.
  
  
• June 19, London Centre held this year's Longwoods Conservation Area Astronomy Talk and Star Party. Dave McCarter gave an illustrated talk "The Power of Observation" and handed around several meteorites with 26 children, parents and guests in the Longwoods Interpretive Centre. Bob Duff, Andy Blanchard, Ryan Fraser, Harold Tutt and Rick Saunders set up their telescopes and provided stunning views of the first quarter moon, Mars, Saturn and other Deep Sky treasures like M27, M51, M57, and M13. Andy had his 56cm (22 inch) Obsession Dobsonian that provided truely spectactular views and observing continued until midnight.
  
  
• June 18 At our Monthly Meeting Peter Jedicke, having recently returned from a two week trip to San Pedro de Atacama, talked with passion and enthusiasm about The Southern Globular Clusters. Dave McCarter showed a few easy star hops to famous and easy to see summer deep sky wonders, and John Kulczycki discussed his Pocket Sky Atlas must see objects in this season's sky.
  
  
• June 16, Dave McCarter presented his new slide show, “The Power of Observation” to five Grade 9 classes at Oakridge S.S. in three separate periods, for a total of 130 students.
  
• June 15, Dave McCarter was the guest speaker at the Windsor RASC Centre and gave his Chile talk .
  
• June 11, Dave McCarter was the guest speaker at the Kitchener–Waterloo RASC Centre meeting, assisted by Colin Haig, to give his Chile talk.
  
• June 3, Many London Centre members went on the Second Biannual Observatory Tour, to visit local amateur observatories. The tour consisted of visiting the Lake Valley Grove Observatory where Charlie displayed his meteorite collection, the Kulczycki Observatory, the Hinks Observatory, the Oslach Observatory, the Pictor Observatory, and the Kennedy Observatory. Danielle and Gerald Kennedy hosted the Hickson Star Party, providing excellent hamburgers, hot dogs, and numerous deserts. Rain prevented any observing.
  
• May 29, At the Sydenham Area Cuboree held at Camp Sylvan we had a Star Night for about 120 Cubs and leaders. We were fortunate to enjoy a memorable star night under clear skies. Bob Duff, Dave McCarter, and Harold Tutt, showed them Venus, Saturn, Mars, Globular Cluster M13, Galaxy M51, The Ring Nebula M57, the famous "Double Double" star Epsilon Lyrae, double stars Castor, and Mizar and Alcor in the handle of the big dipper. We watched an overflight of the X-37B space plane for a few minutes as it reached 42 degrees high in the southern sky. The star night ended for the Cubs around 23h and members observed with a leader and scout for a little while before packing up at 23:20h.
  
• May 28 At the Camp Timken Star Party Steve Imrie, Dave McCarter, Matt Neima, Mike Roffey, and Harold Tutt set up telescopes by the cookhouse, and while listening to a reasonably fair Beatles knock off band do their gig in the big field, provided excellent views of Saturn, Mars, and other objects like M82 to the 200 plus scouters.
  
• May 21, At our monthly meeting Bill Gardner and Craig Levine presented tips for beginners, and reminders for experienced observers who have let their observing and recording skills lapse. Other members contributed as well. Dave McCarter gave a detailed description of his recent meeting with Pinery park officials and presented their suggestions on how to have a less stressful Star Party this summer. Dave then presented a model of a plan to build the observatory, and much discussion followed. While more engineering is required, we are getting much closer to starting.
  
• May 19, Exceptionally clear and mild weather at our Fingal Dark Sky Site greeted about sixty parents and children of the A Different Drum: Homeschoolers of Southwestern Ontario group who came out to view the skies through London Centre Members scopes. Dave McCarter started the night by introducing the Fingal area and providing some history. We asked the children to stay away from the Killdear nest somewhere on the southeast side of the pad, and to watch for but stay away from the fawn hiding in the grass to the west. London members Charles Bonello, Bob Duff, Dave McCarter, Mike Roffey, Matt Neima, and Harold Tutt set up telescopes, and Cheri McCracken and Pete Raine enjoyed all the activity. Newcomer Ryan Fraser brought out a new pair of Celestron 8x56 binoculars to try and they proved fantastic. We looked at Venus, the moon, Saturn and several moons, tiny Mars, and many deep sky objects. One young boy quickly got the hang of taking pictures through the telescope and has a number of great shots of the moon, Venus and Saturn. After our guests left several members stayed to observe until 3am.
  
• May 15, Dave McCarter gave two digital slide presentations on stars and constellations and Earth's moon before 17 children and 5 adults of the 1st Aylmer Cub Pack at Camp Barnabas. Other RASC London Centre members present were Bob Duff, Bill Gardner, Steve Imrie, Harold Tutt and Neil Whyte. Neil set up his Takahashi FSQ-106ED on the stage beside the screen. Bill and Dave distributed Star Finder planispheres and showed the children and leaders how to use them. Despite hazy skies the children observed the ISS pass at 9:33 p.m. The star night was over by 10:00 p.m. with no observing through telescopes due to the hazy sky.
  
• May 3, Dave McCarter presented Peter Brown's show Surviving the "Big One" about the odds of major impacts of asteroids and comets upon the earth to twenty seven members of the Woodstock Naturalists at Huron Park High School in Woodstock.
  
• May 1, London Centre celebrated Astronomy Day at Cherry Hill Mall, in front of McKittricks store. Members Roman Dubinski, Bob Duff, John Kulczycki, Dave McCarter, Dan Tremblay, Harold Tutt and Peter Jedicke, set up a data projector and lap top with hundreds of amazing images, set up their telescopes, and talked to a great many people interested in learning more about the night sky.
  
• April 30, London Centre members Bob Duff and Dave McCarter drove up to Camp Attawandaron, located between the Ausable River Cut and the Pinery Provincial Park, to provide a Star Night for the Can-AM Scouts Jamboree, co-hosted with Marty Cogswell and Joe Clements of RASC Sarnia Centre. We had moderately clear skies and showed well over 200 scouts and leaders Saturn and a little later Mars. The skies were totally clear for a while and M51, M13, M67 and 68, and M81 and 82 were shown at that time. The ISS provided a very high pass about 21:30 and we also had the chance to look at a few deep sky objects when the skies allowed.
  
• April 23, It was Kids First Day at the Cronyn Observatory, and London Centre members helped out by manning telescopes in the dome, the roof patio, and on the sidewalk. Harold Tutt set up his refractor on the sidewalk, while Paul Kerans, Mike Roffey and Adam Priestap-Suttis set up on the patio roof. Dave McCarter operated the big refractor in the dome. An estimated 400 plus visitors of all ages enjoyed the views.
  
• April 19 to 23, To celebrate Astronomy Week London Centre members Everett Clark, Ramona Coutney, Bob Duff, Bill Gardner, Gary Hinks, Paul Kerans, John Kulczycki, Dave McCarter, Matt Neima, Mike Roffey, Harold Tutt, and Patrick Whelan, set up a total of 14 telescopes and one tripod-mounted 10X50mm binoculars at Chapters North Bookstore each night, braving cold and blustery winds. The moon and Saturn were the main views in the brightly lit parking lot. An estimated 317 visitors looked through our telescopes over the five nights.
  
• April 16, At our April monthly meeting Colin Haig from Hamilton Centre and our own Dave McCarter described their March trip to Atacama Lodge near San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. During the local tours led by the trip organizer, Steve Barnes, they took pictures of the amazing landscape, volcanoes, geysers, local wildlife, mountain lakes, ancient ruins, and horribly rough salt flats, as well as the wonderfully clear and contrasty southern skies. The pictures of the southern Milky Way, including Alpha and Beta Centaurus, the Southern Cross, the Eta Carinae Nebula and other unfamiliar clusters and star patterns, taken by both Colin and Dave, were inducement enough to convince others to consider the trip.
  
• April 8, Science Author Dan Falk spoke about his latest book In Search of Time: Journeys along a Curious Dimension at Fanshawe College as part of the Fanshawe College Literary Series. The audience of over 100 paid close attention and asked lots of questions, mostly about time travel.
  
• April 3, The Astro Imaging Workshop held by London Centre at Fanshawe College was a great success, with twelve people, including RASC members from Hamilton and Toronto in attendance. Rick Saunders and Bill Gardner walked us through the use of SLR and CCD cameras, and the subsequent image processing. Many thanks to Mike Costa and Peter Jedicke for setting it up. Look for good things to be shown at future meetings!
  
• March 31, Members of London Centre attended the Nerenberg Lecture given by Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean, president of the Canadian Space Agency. He spoke with feeling about the role that the space program has had on shaping our world, and the future role for Canadian space technology to shape and improve our lives.
  
• March 27,Graduate student Emily McCullough gave her presentation, “Stellar Spectra,” before 31 visitors to the Cronyn Observatory for the Exploring the Stars Open House. By the end of the evening we had 52 visitors. Bob Duff set up the 25.4cm Dobsonian on the observatory roof patio and made ready the refractor in the dome, directing it at the communications tower in south London. as clouds obscured the sky. Bob gave a brief presentation to the group before Emily arrived upstairs to give her telescope tour. She showed them the communications tower and the nearly full Moon through hazy clouds. Adam Priestap-Suttis and Cheryl Priestap arrived and Adam helped with the 25.4cm Dobsonian, showing visitors the Moon through hazy clouds. People kept arriving right up until closing time at 9:00 p.m.
  
• March 26, London Centre members attended the 7th Annual Planetary Science & Exploration Public Lecture at which Dr. Lynn Rothschild from NASA Ames talked about life in extreme environments as an example of where we might expect to find extraterrestrial life.
  
• March 25, At our monthly meeting our Guest of Honour, David Lane, the RASC National President talked about the development of his back yard observatory, Abbey Ridge Observatory, and how his search for Super Novas has evolved into supplying accurate variable star magnitude data to doctorial candidates for their research.
  
• March10, London Centre members held a Siderius Nuncus Party to celebrate the publication exactly 400 years ago of Siderius Nuncus, or Starry Messenger, in which Galileo described his first telescopic observations during the previous two months of the motions of Jupiter's moons, craters and mountains on the moon, and stars of the Milky Way.
  
• March 8, Dave McCarter presented his new illustrated talk Travelling for Astronomy to 27 people at Novack's Travel Store in downtown London. The presentation was well received and several questions were asked.
  
• February 27, At the Cronyn Observatory Open House the cloudy skies and mild weather greeted 10 visitors. Graduate student Alexander DeSouza gave a PowerPoint presentation. After the presentation he took them up into the dome to show them the big 25.4cm refractor and answered a few questions.
  
• February 26, Long time London Centre members were saddened to learn of the passing of London Centre Past President Dr. David Toth, of Spencerville, Ohio, after a year long illness. Flowers were sent and Joe O'Neil drove down to be a pall bearer.
  
• February 25, Dave McCarter braved ice covered roads and strong crosswinds to head down to Springfield Public School, where he was warmly greeted by the Principal, and set up in the gym to give an astronomy presentation to Miss Buchanan's grade five and six class, 20 kids who were having a sleep over. There were some good discussions and a Q&A, and everyone made and learned how to use an IYA2009 Starfinder.
  
• February 24, Dave McCarter visited St. Thomas Public Library and gave an illustrated talk Earth's Moon to two grade three classes and a grade six class, plus five home schooled students, their teachers and parents for a total of 75 people. Many of the questions were very astute and showed a lot of thought about how our earth moon system works. Everyone received a Starfinder, and ten copies of Mary Lou's New Telescope were given for the best questions. Many thanks to the Library staff who hosted the event.
  
• Feburary 19, At our monthly meeting our Guest of Honour was Steve Pellarin of Windsor Centre. Steve set up and enthusiastically described the building of his massive metal monster 71cm (28") f3.6 truss reflecting telescope. The telescope uses a precision Kennedy mirror and tracks the stars and galaxies with a Sidereal Technology drive system. The telescope won accolades at Stellafane and Starfest. Alyssa Gilbert described her interest in preserving the Elginfield Observatory and using it for public outreach and science education. Dennis Gray was present to answer questions about the bdeveloping business plan.
  
• February 9, Dr. Peter Brown gave an informative astronomy talk Target Earth: Impacts Large and Small. as part of Western's “Classes without Quizzes" lecture series at Medway Community Centre. The meeting room was packed with astronomy enthusiasts of all ages, including a number of London Centre members.
  
• On February 8 Phil Stooke gave a talk titled History of the Exploration of Mars at Physics and Astronomy building room 137, UWO campus, hosted by The Space Society of London. Several London Centre members were there.
  
• January 30th, Cronyn Observatory Open House. Completely clear skies encouraged 51 visitors to attend the talk and observing at the January Cronyn Observatory Open House on Saturday evening, despite the bitter cold. Graduate student Amanda Papadimos gave her digital slide presentation, “Planets, Planets, Planets”, and distributed Galileo Moment cards, RASC London Centre brochures as well as several copies of “Become a Sidewalk Astronomer”. Dave McCarter operated the big 25.4cm refractor in the dome, showing visitors views of Mars and the full Moon. The steam plume from the heating plant to the east destroyed the seeing during the early hours, but as Mars and the moon rose above the white clouds the seeing improved considerably. Four amateur telescopes were set up on the Observatory’s roof patio: London Centre’s 25.4cm Dobsonian, Greg Andres’ 20.3cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian and Mike Roffey’s 80mm Sky-Watcher refractor. Paul and Charlene Kerans, not yet London Centre members, impressed visitors with their 30cm Meade truss-tube Dobsonian. Visitors were able to discern martian faint dark features and the polar brightening of the north pole ice cap. We also showed the Moon, although the almost full disk showed more albido features than cratered roughness, and the Orion Nebula (M42) and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) were somewhat diminished by the brilliant moon and city sky glow. Bob Duff, Richard Gibbens, Peter Raine and Cheri McCracken were also there bringing the total of RASC London Centre presence to 7 members.
  
• January 27th, John Kulczycki and Dave McCarter visited the 20th London Beaver Colony at Stoneybrook Public School, and provided low and medium power views of the moon in a cold and hazy sky. Following the observing, which was a big hit with the 15 beavers, 5 parents and 3 Leaders, Dave gave a PowerPoint presentation about the moon, specifically designed for their age group, and answered loads of questions.
  
• January 25th, Harold Tutt and Dave McCarter presented a new astronomy presentation called "Boundless Interest" to 27 members and guests of the Odd Fellows Lodge in Hariettsville, following an excellent pot luck dinner. Harold displayed three telescopes, a wide variety of astronomy books, posters and pamphlets, and answered many questions. Dave and Harold then gave everyone a Star Finder and explained its use. Several copies of Mary Lou's New Telescope and London Centre pamphlets were also given out.
  
• January 23rd, Dave McCarter presented an Astronomy Resources show to 26 scout leaders at Spencer Hall for the London Scouting Oak Tree Conference.
  
• January 15th, At our monthly meeting London Centre Astro-Imagers Bill Gardner, Jon Gunning, Peter Raine, and Gerald Kennedy presented their images, showing raw camera work, described the process of guiding, taking flats and dark frames, image stacking, image processing, the theory and practical side and just totally amazed their audience. Arthur Oslach and Rick Saunders came prepared to show off their work too, and will get their chance as soon as it can be arranged. In fact the demand is so high that a seperate imaging workshop is being planned on a Saturday in the near future, during full moon of course!
  
• January 14th, Dave McCarter visited A.B. Lucas Secondary School and presented a custom program to the first meeting of the Planetary Science Club, which plans to have weekly meetings. There were six students and two faculty present.
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