Monthly Archives: May 2017

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Free Astronomy Magazine – May-June 2017 Issue Available For Reading And Download

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (May-June, 2017) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure at www.astropublishing.com (click the link to go directly to the issue).

Free Astronomy Magazine was featured as the first of a series of articles on great free online content for amateur astronomers (see A Universe Of Free Resources Part 1) and we’ll be keeping track of future publications under the Online Resources category on the CNYO website.

You can find previous Free Astronomy Magazine issues by checking out our Free Astronomy Magazine Category (or look under the Education link in our menu).

For those wanting a quick look at what the issue has to offer, the Table of Contents is reproduced below.

May-June 2017

The web browser-readable version of the issue can be found here:

May-June 2017 – www.astropublishing.com/3FAM2017/

For those who want to jump right to the PDF download (27 MB), Click here: May-June 2017

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique: “The Eyes Have It! The Incredible Evolution in Ophthalmic Surgery”

Saturday – May 20, 9:30-11:00am

Milton J Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology – Syracuse, NY


View Larger Map

Please RSVP to jrcafe@tacny.org

Speaker

* Robert W Weisenthal MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Upstate Medical University

Talk Overview

Twenty eight hundred years ago, Sushrata, a physician from India, treated cataracts (clouding of the lens) through couching, i.e., sticking a needle through the front part of the eye and pushing it to the back of the eye. After a perfect operation there “will be shining like the dazzling sun in cloudless sky.” Needless to say we have come a long way from then. Learn how the evolution of modern technology has profoundly changed our ability to help those who cannot see. Find out what this small but incredible part of our body does on a daily basis to allow us to run and play, read and watch.

Presenters

Dr. Robert Weisenthal has spent 30 years studying and treating two 24 mm globes found just above the nose and below the eyebrows. He is presently a Clinical Professor and Chief of the Cornea Service at Upstate Medical University. Why has he devoted so much time and effort to this very small but important part of your body training at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Iowa to learn advanced surgical techniques in order to remove cataracts and perform corneal transplant surgery? Because he feels there is no greater gift than to provide sight. He has personally performed over 30,000 eye operations and believe it or not – he is not yet bored, practicing with the same enthusiasm as he had on the first day. He is the founder of Laserview of CNY, the area’s first center for LASIK in 1995, and the area’s first ambulatory surgery center, the Specialty Surgery Center in 2000. He has been named a Best Doctor every year since 2005 and has been awarded the prestigious Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his work in teaching and writing. Most important he is the father of three boys whom he has been watching closely since they were born.

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique, a program for middle-school students founded in 2005, features discussions between scientists and students about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere and seeks to encourage students to consider careers in these areas. Students must be accompanied by an adult and can explore the MOST at no cost after the event.

Technology Alliance of Central New York

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York.

For more information about TACNY, visit www.tacny.org.

For Sale In Groton, NY: Meade DS-10 And Brandon/Celestron Eyepieces

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

From the Classifieds Department – I was just contacted by Leonard LoParco in Groton (google map), whose looking to sell his Meade DS-10 for $300 o.b.o. The DS-10 is a 10″ Newtonian Reflector with a motor drive attached. Additional details and links below.

For interested parties with questions, feel free to contact him directly at (607) 898-5759.

Meade Telescope, Model DS-10
10″ Newtonian Reflector With Motor Drive

For some info about the DS-10, see the following links:
* deltos.com/reference/astronomy/meademanual.html
* deltos.com/reference/astronomy/Meade_DS-10.html
* excelsis.com/1.0/entry/meade-ds-10-12-181.html
* cloudynights.com/topic/497480-meade-deep-space-telescopes-ds-10-and-ds-16/

Comes with 2 eyepieces:
* Brandon 8 mm EFL Vernonscope (info link 1 | info link 2)
* Celestron 25 mm Ortho 1.25″ Fully-Coated

5 March 2017 Aldebaran Grazing Occultation – Combined Videos On vimeo.com

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

The following came across my email not to long ago from Brad Timerson of ASRAS and the IOTA, featuring the combined efforts of a number of members from the North York Astronomical Association. Five videos of the Aldebaran occultation this past March (posted about on the CNYO website HERE) were aligned and combined by vimeo contributor Andreas Gada into an amazing sequence that shows just how different the occultation looked even for six groups of observers lined up on the same road way up in Mississauga, Ontario.

Direct link to the vimeo: Aldebaran Grazing Occultation March 5, 2017 Combined Videos

Aldebaran Grazing Occultation March 5, 2017 Combined Videos from Andreas Gada on Vimeo.

Video Description: On March 5, 2017 a grazing occultation of Aldebaran occurred. To observe and image this event the North York Astronomical Association organized an outing to Mississauga Ontario. Ten people set up their equipment on Lionhead Golf Road. This movie combines the videos obtained to create a stereophonic visual account of this dynamic event.

Andreas also put together a video combining his own recording station with light curve data from Brad. That video, “Aldebaran Grazing Occultation March 5, 2017,” can be found at: vimeo.com/209855792.

Aldebaran Grazing Occultation March 5, 2017 from Andreas Gada on Vimeo.

The event page itself can be found at:
asteroidoccultation.com/observations/AldebaranGraze_05March2017/

“Upstate NY Stargazing In May” Article Posted To newyorkupstate.com And syracuse.com

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

The latest article in the Upstate NY Stargazing series, “Upstate NY Stargazing in May: A Meteor Shower and Preparations for the Solar Eclipse,” has just been posted to newyorkupstate.com and syracuse.com.

Direct Links: newyorkupstate.com and syracuse.com

* With only four articles to go before the great total solar eclipse on August 21st of this year, we’ve shifted gears in the article opener from great nighttime observing to great daytime observing. You’ll be seeing more and more from all kinds of news sources as the data approaches, and CNYO is figuring out what we plan to do for the event (besides a few scheduled eclipses lectures in the CNY area in the weeks before).

For the record, amateur astronomers reserved their rooms years and years ago in all the best places – if you’ve not figured out your flight plans around the 21st already, there is a seriously good chance that you’ll be stick driving to see the best view of totality.

Caption: The transit of Venus across the Sun on June 5/6, 2012. By NASA/SDO, AIA.

* We continue our look north with Cassiopeia, the third of six constellations that are always visible in the nighttime sky from our latitude (readers then can guess where the next three articles are headed).

* This month, we await the Eta Aquariid (or Eta Aquarid, or eta Aquarid… Halley’s Comet doesn’t care what you call it) Meteor Shower, which peaks on the early mornings of May 5/6. In doing the homework for the article, I found it interesting to note that we’re not entirely sure that this meteor shower originates from particles attributable to Halley’s Comet, the object we most associate with this shower. It is possible that Halley’s Comet is indirectly responsible for the particles by being directly responsible for the redirection of the debris from a different object in to the current Eta Aquariid path.

Caption: The Eta Aquariid radiant, complete with Venus, Saturn, the newly returned Summer Triangle, and one perfectly-placed 5 a.m. ISS flyover on the morning of May 6. Image made with Stellarium. Click for a larger view.