Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 22:00:22 -0400
To: rjenkins@eng.auburn.edu (Rhon & Joyce Jenkins),
        owsley@alumni.auburn.edu (Larry Owsley),
        screwea@mail.auburn.edu (Allen Screws),
        cscrews@lib.auburn.edu ( Christy Screws),
        gmarfoe@eng.auburn.edu (Gerald Marfoe),
        fodorfe@mail.auburn.edu (Ferenc Fodor),
        lrich@electro.physics.auburn.edu (Luther Richardson),
        bozack@physics.auburn.edu (Michael Bozack),
        wersing@magneto.physics.auburn.edu (Jean-Marie Wersinger),
        jshaw@physics.auburn.edu (John Shaw),
        hammekr@eng.auburn.edu (Rich Hammett),
        russell@strudel.aum.edu (Randy Russell-AUM),
        whighjr@mail.auburn.edu (John Whigham),
        wknock@huntingdon.edu (Ward Knockemus),
        mdschrier@msn.com (Marc Schrier), jclark@yourcall.com (Jeff Clark),
        TheRocks@mont.mindspring.com (Robert Rock),
        chesnutt@aub.mindspring.com (Jim Chesnutt),
        furman@mont.mindspring.com (Furman Smith),
        rwhigham@mont.mindspring.com (Russell Whigham),
        dnewton@auburn.campus.mci.net (David & Raye Newton),
        ronh@mail.wrldnet.net (Ron Hatherley),
        tmiller@wrldnet.net (Tony Miller),
        wsfa@traveller.com (Bob Howell - Channel 12),
        OVERCASHD@scsu.edu (Dan Overcash - Orangeburg SC),
        maf00068@maf.mobile.al.us (Rod & Dorothy Mollise - Mobile Ast Soc),
        75573.1263@CompuServe.COM (Greg Robinson - B'ham Ast Soc),
        sasmith@tiger.net-master.net (Scott Smith - Cullman AL),
        cornutt@hiwaay.net (Dave Cornutt - Von Braun Ast Soc),
        crutland@ccssc.org (Carole Rutland - CCSSC),
        erg@america.net (Eric Greene - AAC),
        aleko@mindspring.com (Alex Langoussis - AAC),
        102745.313@CompuServe.COM (Ken  Poshedly - AAC),
        gre@communique.net (Gloria Erdington - PAS LA),
        yerbyl@aol.com (Yerby Land - Brevard A.S.),
        henryf@freenet.tlh.fl.us (Henry Freedenberg - TAS),
        cshoward@freenet.tlh.fl.us (Scott Howard - editor of the TAS Newsletter),
        rcurry@mailhub.jaxnet.com (Roger Curry - North East Florida Ast Soc),
        praesepe@aol.com (Barry Beaman - AL President),
        eflaspo@aol.com (Ed Flaspoehler - AL Reflector),
        73357.1572@CompuServe.COM (Berton and Janet Stevens - AL Executive Secretary)
From: rwhigham@mindspring.com (Russell Whigham)
Subject: A A S Astrofiles, September'96

Greetings Astrophiles!

*** September Meeting ***

Our September meeting will be this Friday, September 6, at 8:00 PM, in room
302 of the Aerospace Engineering Building on the main campus of Auburn
University.  For those of you who car pool from Montgomery, I'll have to
skip this month (it's Cathy's Birthday) but you're welcome to meet at my
house as usual.
  
As Allen reminded us in the last newsletter, it's time to renew your
discounted subscriptions to Sky & Telescope and Astronomy as well as
membership dues.  Bring the checkbook.


*** August Star Party ***

Marc Schrier, with his brand new Meade 10 inch dobby, Jim McLaughlin and his
8 inch Meade,LX-200, and yours truly with the trusty old C-11, met at
Holley's Field, Saturday, August 17.  As is nearly always the case this time
of the year, the weather was marginal.  But at around 5:00 PM, the sky was
showing some blue, so I called several folks, reached a lot of answering
machines, and decided to give it a try.  It *was* August and it *was* hot
and very humid.  It was typical summer transparency (fourth magnitude).
Heavy dew took its toll on Jim's corrector plate.  We experimented with
various combinations of barlows, eyepieces, and filters on Jupiter.  Seeing
was pretty bad, but the Red Spot was seen in milliseconds of steady air.  We
tried the brighter Messier objects with some success and I spent most of the
evening looking in the wrong place for comet Hale-Bopp.  Re-checking the
orbital elements the next day I found an error in one of my elements. Let's
try again on Saturday, September 14.  With any luck, we'll have that first
cold front of the season to push its way through Alabama, bringing us some
cool dry air and dark skies!


*** DSRSG ***

Robert and I have already sent in our registration for this year's edition
of the Deep South Regional Star Gaze (October 10-13) in McComb Mississippi.
If you think you might like to see what it's like and why we keep going back
every year, let me know and I'll send you a copy of the registration.  Last
year there were two 20 inchers and one 25 inch there.  I'll be very
surprised if someone doesn't try to better that this year.  I'm hoping to
see one of the new Meade ETX's there.  I've heard only good things about
those optics.


*** Lunar Eclipse ***

I received this note from Carole Rutland:

>We are planning a Lunar Eclipse star gazing party at Callaway Gardens 
>Beach area on Sept. 26th. and would love to have some of you come 
>along and bring your telescopes.  I'll be working with the marketing 
>department and don't have much information yet but, I'll keep you 
>informed if  you're interested. It should be a lot of fun and most of 
>us will be there. There will be some logistics to work out because the 
>date falls during the Southern Open but, no one sees that as a problem 
>which can't be solved.

>Carole

I'm sure there'll be some discussion about this at the meeting.

*** Online News ***

Jeff Clark holds the distinction of being the first person to find out about
AAS via our web site.  Jeff lives here in Montgomery.  Dr. Ward Knockemus 
teaches astronomy at Huntingdon College.  Welcome to the group fellas.

What's new on our web site?  The maps to Holley's Field have been upgraded
and current weather is now available from a link under "Our Favorite Web
Sites".  If anyone else here has a prediliction for planetaries, check out
our link to "Bruce Balick's Planetaries".   

If anyone has suggestions for other links or other ideas for our web site,
or if you'd like to submit something for the newsletter (observing reports
etc.), please let me know.

Clear skies,

Russell

Russell Whigham
Montgomery AL
rwhigham@mont.mindspring.com

Auburn Astronomical Society
http://www.mindspring.com/~rwhigham/aas_home.htm