APPULSE

the

Official Newsletter of the Philippine Astronomical Society

PROPELLING ASTRONOMY EDUCATION TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE AMONG FILIPINOS

Vol. 42 No. 70 May - June 2010

NGC 5427 and NGC 5426 are two interacting galaxies with a bridge of exchanging stellar mate-
rial in the constellation Virgo. The two galaxies are collectively listed in Halton Arp’s Atlas of
Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 271.
This 28 minute exposure was taken to further test my newly repaired Gemini Titan mount con-
troller.

DateImaged:May16,2010 Lens : N16 f/4.5

Camera : ST10XME Exposure : 28 minutes
Filter : Astrodon LRGB 28x1min Mount : Losmandy Titan
Location : Stardust Observatory, Baguio
(by John Nassr)

Volume 42 No. 70 
 DSLR Modification by Clem Brazil

I use a Sony A200 DSLR for astrophotography and had to be

content for a while with its limitations. Naturally I wanted to
be able to take images of nebulas with that nice red glow. Ob-
The pink coloured glass is the Baader Planetarium infrared filter.
The black rectangular square is the mount for it.
viously this meant either buying a dedicated astrocam or modify
the camera. First option was too expensive which leaves me the
second one. But alas, most articles on the internet about DSLR’s
modified for astrophotography are Canons. And I couldn’t find any
articles about modifying a Sony. So I found myself on my own in
moding this camera. I did a bit of research and I concluded that the
Sony A200 sensor is similar to a Canon 350D and so I ordered the
appropriate Baader Planetarium filter.

To make the story short I got the sensor off and replaced the origi-
nal filter with the Baader filter with fantastic results IMO. A word
of warning to those who want to try this, doing a thing like this
would void your warranty!

Here is a before and after shot and some photos of the camera. The
image of Orion in the before shot is about 3-5 minutes, no darks,
no flats, a bit overprocessed to bring out the nebulosity. The after
shot is about 1 minute, no darks, no flats. Processed in DSS.

This is the back of the Sony A200 DSLR, opened and the sensor
removed:

The Baader filter glued on the sensor with Weldon glue. I let it dry
for 24 hours before reassembling it on the camera.

This is the CCD sensor with the stock filter removed. Notice the
sticky factory glue. This was easily removed.

This is an old image of the Orion nebula taken with the Sony A200
before changing the stock filter. It was overprocessed to bring out
the nebulosity resulting in a burned out core, not very nice.

Below is Orion again taken with the camera after modification. It

was about a minute of exposure but with the new filter, the Hy-
drogen emission nebula is clearly seen and the core is preserved.
Taken about 40 degrees (or less?) above the western horizon just
after sunset.

Side effects of the project: the camera lost the ability to autofocus
and the light meter has been disabled. So I have to do it manually
if I were to use the camera for normal use. I don’t know how but

Continued on page 3

2 Appulse May - June 2010

DSLR... from page 2

maybe I shorted something out. Anyway, I didn’t go into this with-

out accepting the consequences that something might go wrong.

White balance is a bit off but that is easily managed in the custom
white balance setting of the camera.

All in all I am satisfied with the project.

TELESCOPE PARTS FOR SALE

• Lumicon giant OAG $310
• 56mm 2” Super Pl Meade; 52deg FOV, 1.1lbs/499gr $85 selling $89
@ OPT
• 40mm 2” SWA Meade; ~68deg FOV, 1.47lbs /667gr $98 selling $124.50
@ OPT
THE
APPULSE
• 20mm 2” Nagler Type 2 TeleVue; 2.3lbs/1,044gr $190 Type 5 Selling Editorial Adviser
$415 @ OPT Edna Azucena
• 12mm 2” Nagler Type 2 TeleVue; 1.05lbs/477gr $180 Type 4 selling
$330 @ OPT Editorial Staff
• 8.8mm 2” UWA Meade $98 selling $149 @ OPT Victoria Evarretta
• 6.7mm 1.25” UWA Meade $98 selling $139 @ OPT Editor-in-Chief
• 6.3mm 1.25” UWA Meade $98 na anymore
• 4.7mm 1.25” UWA Meade $98 selling $139 @ OPT John Nassr
Astrophotographer
• ATK16HR cooled astro-camera, Pelican case, USB cable, CD $1,100
$1,895 new Francis Ferdinand Irlandez
• Takahashi 1.6x 2” Barlow for 130TOA AP at f12.8 OPT $220 Layout Editor
• Homeyer Cradle and base plate for C-14, 15lbs/ 6.8kg $499 Erika Valdueza
• Parallax C-11 rings; 7lbs/3.2kg $180 Rodolfo Tangan
• Meade f3.3 SCT Focal Reducer $120 Richard Taylor
• Meade Flip Mirror System 1.25 $98 Clem Brazil
• C-14, GOTO Compustar, fork mount (Mirror dated 11/12/87) $4,200 John Nassr
NAW 2010 Artists and Writers
• Astrophysics 80mm guidescope fl 900mm, made in Japan $360 Camilo Dacanay
• Celestron 8” f/1.2 Schmidt Camera $800
Contributors

The Appulse is published bimonthly by the

Philippine Astronomical Society.
Contact: John Nassr The Appulse © 2010. All rights reserved.
jnassr2010@yahoo.com Please send articles, letters, observations,
reports to

Email: orion278@yahoo.com
Website: www. philastrosoc.org
Forum: www.philastrosociety@yahoogroups.com

Volume 42 No. 70 
 Notes on a Homebuilt 16-Inch Newtonian by John Nassr

deep sky exposures. The mirror is also well suited for high resolu-
tion planet imaging at f/23 with a 5x Powermate at 9,150mm. I
chose the excellent services of Terry Ostahowski to produce the
optics because he is one of very few master opticians who provides
interferometer test results taken from 888 data points yielding an
exquisite primary mirror with a 0.97 Strehl ratio as part and proof
of his work quality. A 3.1” Ostahowski secondary mirror reflects
a fully illuminated and unvignetted image on my KAI3200 CCD
imaging chip. It creates a 19.4% obstruction relative to the primary
mirror’s diameter and only 3.7% obstruction in relation to total
imaging area. This low obstruction ratio favors good contrast for
planet imaging and another reason I chose a Newtonian over other
designs requiring far larger secondary obstruction.

Frank Uroda is responsible for providing me with an impeccably

finished and handsome lightweight carbon tube so stiff it holds
perfect collimation pointing from 15 degrees above the horizon all
the way to the zenith. I chose carbon over fiberglass or aluminum

I n March 2008 I decided that I would never be content with the

image spot sizes and optical idiosyncrasies of my old C-14 tel-
escope and finally embarked on building my own 16 inch Newto-
nian astrograph. I chose a Newtonian configuration because of its
elegant simplicity, low cost, optical speed, and superb perform-
ance compared to other scope designs such as the Ritchey-Chret-
ien, Cassegrain, and Dall-Kirkham. All high end imaging systems
necessitate flatfield correctors in addition to their native optics.
The extremely versatile Newtonian offers at least seven correctors
from different manufacturers to choose from with spot sizes from
12 to 7 microns that yield pin point stars across the wide fields
captured by today’s large CCD chips.

Astrographs are scopes designed to be especially well suited for

imaging as well as visual enjoyment. The following components
are required to attain these objectives: superb optics, a robust back-
lash free focuser, a flex free optical tube with an extremely low co-
efficient of thermal expansion, ability to hold perfect collimation
while pointing to any part of the sky, and an efficient ventilation
system that quickly equilibrates scope temperature to ambient.

I opted for a primary mirror made of fused quartz because of

quartz’s significantly lower coefficient of thermal expansion, light-
er weight, and better price to value ratio over soda glass, borosili-
cate, or Pyrex. I settled on a relatively fast f/4.5 focal ratio for long
Continued on page 5

4 Appulse May - June 2010

Notes on a... from page 4

because of its superior weight,

stiffness, and thermal coefficient
of expansion. Frank even threw in
six vibration free Sunon magnetic
levitation fans mounted on the car-
bon rear end cover.

The 18 point aluminum floating

mirror cell which holds the primary
mirror was made by Dave Ruben-
hagen of DAR Astro Machining,
Canada. Dave specially machined
and lightened his last stock 16”
mirror cell to better conform to my
specifications. The cell works per-
fectly with no pinching of optics.
The primary mirror is attached to
the cell using silicone glue “blobs”
that were allowed to cure a week
with removable 1mm spacers be-
fore finally being mounted in the
carbon tube.

I chose an extremely robust 3”

Feathertouch focuser and radiused
baseplate by Starlight Instruments.
The focuser easily carries my SBIG
ST10 camera, filter wheel, and
AO8 adaptive optics which weigh nearly five pounds. Its operation
is silky smooth and free of any backlash. The unit feels extremely
solid and is a pleasure to use. My sturdy spider, secondary holder,
and secondary digital dew preventer are from AstroSystems. All
three components work extremely well and unobtrusively. A PIC
dual temperature digital temperature meter is used to compare the
primary mirror temperature with ambient. I got it from Electronics
DIY. Mounting rings are by Parallax.
To better accommodate the 114 pound payload (consisting of the
72 pounds 16” OTA, mounting rings, dovetail plates, guide scope,
finder, and Borg 77ED widefield scope), I added a 10” extension
to the counterweight shaft of my Losmandy Titan. The original
stock counterweight shaft fully loaded with six 22lb weights was
not heavy enough to balance the full payload. The installation of
the 10” shaft extension now only requires five instead of six 22lb
counterweights to do the job. Mount periodic error is corrected
using PEMPro.
The full performance of superb optics can only be realized with
nothing less than perfect collimation. Catseye collimation system
provides the indispensible tools to perfectly collimate fast Newto-
nians which are especially sensitive to even slight miscollimation.
The tools are extremely well machined and easy to use. Perfect
collimation takes under five minutes once you get used to doing it.
The importance of perfect collimation can be perused at this excel-
lent site: http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/collim.html. The Catseye colli-
mation tools are extremely sensitive but yet easy to use, especially
since they can be used in broad daylight instead of having to wait
for night and waste precious clear sky time to star collimate the
scope. Further collimation tweaks can be examined and perfected
with the imaging camera attached to the scope using CCD Inspec-
tor from CCD Ware.
A Telrad finder and Borg 60mm finderscope fitted with an illu-
minated reticle are used to aid in pointing the scope since I find
star-hopping to my targets a more intimate way to kiss the sky.
The 60mm finder also serves as a widefield viewer for extended
sky objects.

Several sites were especially informative in helping me com-

plete this project. Sellafane Links Page is a gold mine of ideas
and ATM suppliers. Newtonian Telescope Design Planner, Mirror
Edge Support Calculator, A Treatise on Newtonian Collimation,
and Telescope Optics Topics were also much appreciated sources
of very useful information.

The visual performance of the N16 is quite spectacular and a true

pleasure to observe with. The images of planets are breathtakingly
razor sharp during moments of steady seeing. Faint deep sky ob-
ject brighten up and reveal plenty details with the generous light
gathering area of the fast 16 inch mirror. The scope is also this
imager’s dream come true. The few test images I have taken are
very satisfactory. All in all, the N16 is everything and more than I
had hoped for. Nestled in its roof top observatory at home, it is a
magical portal to the outskirts of infinity.

Volume 42 No. 70 
 A S T RO P H O T O G R A P H Y by John Nassr

Comet 81P Wild 2

I felt like a kid again in a toy store under all the

stars with my newly repaired Gemini mount
controller that had been out of commission
nearly three months! I had a hard time deciding
which object to test my systems on and finally
picked magnitude 10 Comet 81P Wild 2 which
is slowly fading as it recedes further from the
Sun and Earth. A faint tail still trails behind its
distinct coma with a greenish blue glow.

Date Imaged : May 16, 2010

Lens : N16 f/4.5
Camera : ST10XME
Exposure : 24 minutes
Filter: Astrodon LRGB 9,5,5,5x1min
Mount : Losmandy Titan
Location : Stardust Observatory, Baguio

“Little Star Cloud” M24, LDN328, LDN323

The sky unexpectedly cleared last night to reveal

the star clouds of the Milky Way glowing magnifi-
cently in the firmament. I was eventually drawn to
the extremely rich and complex regions in Sagittarius
where the open star cluster M24 aka “Little Star
Cloud” is nicely juxtaposed beside two of Lynd’s dark
nebulae, LDN328 and LDN323.

Coordinates : 18h 19\’ -18d 25\’

Date Imaged : June 15, 2010
Lens : Borg 77ED f/5.5
Camera : Atik 16HR
Exposure : 65 minutes unguided
Filter : Baader LRGB 16,16,16,17x1minute
Mount : AP600
Location : Stardust Observatory, Baguio

6 Appulse May - June 2010

 by Clem Brazil

The Eagle Nebula

The Lagoon Nebula

Volume 42 No. 70 
 THE UNIVERSE: YOURS TO DISCOVER BUT HOW?
A n on-the-spot essay writing contest and
poster-making contest were held dur-
ing the National Astronomy Week last Feb-
ruary. Below are some of the entries. Most
were featured in our March-April issue.
DISCOVERY: INTELLIGENCE OR
COINCIDENCE?
by Kenneth Charles C. Upshur universe a place for change and unity. We
St. Marys Academy, Pasay City
The world is a huge place for discovery
and exploration which made man a ques-
tion-seeker. People love defining things
around them, they rely on their senses to
describe and scrutinize a particular object.
The discovery of man gave science the
limitless concepts either by intelligence or
coincidence.
Who in the world knows that the apple that
fell on Newton’s head would define the so
called laws of universal gravitation? Who
in the world knows that a guy named Leon-
ardo da Vinci would sketch an object called
the helicopter even though decades passed
before building it? And who in the world
knows that man could measure the speed
of light which is approximately 3.0 x 108
m/s? Knowing all these hilarious concepts
and incidence can you determine whether
discovery is really intelligence or just pure
coincidence.
There is a spoonful of ideas and facts that
are hidden in the four corners of the world.
These ideas would somehow create a huge
impact to the lives of many. The impact it
brings may be in the positive note or may
strike a negative impact, but what matters
most is the contribution any of our involve-
ment brings in expanding and breaking the
barriers of learning.
“We are the world,” sung by artists around
the world, explains that it is up to us to dis-
cover ourselves in improving the quality of
life through learning. The world is ours, we
have to unlock explanations, choose opin-
ions, and separate science and superstition.
The real and ultimate question that remains
is how we are going to discover it. We look
forward to a better future and for a cleaner
environment to dwell on, but the problem
is how we are going to start.
There is a quotation that says, “Start now
or never, act now for the better.” Primarily,
everything starts within ourselves. A person
not only intelligent but also equipped with
the proper values is a must in order to plan
and segregate idear for greater discoverry.
8 Appulse May - June 2010
We must have our strong drive for learn-
ing and keep our determination as young
scientists grounded. We must separate fact
from opinion, truth from fiction, and con-
cepts from inferences. Man discovered that
he is the best form of art for the reason that
he stands as a model which then is imitated
by many for the greater good.
“No man is an island,” we can never achieve
anything that big if we work as individuals.
We must work hand in hand to make the
must believe in ourselves and put fear away
that may shatter our basis for scientific ex-
ploration and discovery. The discovery that
will lead us in searching answers for scien-
tific growth.
Discovery may be akin to change, which
stays permanent no matter what. There are
no limits to discover new ideologies, to
nurture wisdom, character and passion for
excellence. Discovery is a never-ending
process for as long as we are here continu-
ing the passion from Aristotle, Galileo, and
other great men that made our lives con-
ducive and comfortable. Who knows that
intelligence and coincidence are part of dis-
covery if we just strive and start discovering
ourselves first then the world will follow. I
know that it is not overnight nor a sunset
away; but if we start and act now with these
ways, we can and we will be able to pursue
scientific dreams, and perhaps the universe
is really meant for us to discover its ruth-
less aggression and put down its limits.
Intelligence or coincidence? Who knows?
JOURNEYS
by Arielle Castillejos
School of Saint Anthony
One thing I always thank God for is our
ability to see and discover new things.
Throughout history, literally countless men
and women have discovered secrets our
planets keep and the mysteries the universe
and the stars hold. Humans have this in-
nate desire to search, to explore, and to see.
And with new knowledge, humans produce
things that will benefit mankind - technolo-
gy. But with the seemingly infinitely many
things we know, the fact remains that man
is yet to discover more.
The world is yours, they say. True enough
we are free to see with our own eyes every
nook and cranny we hold to be interesting.
As young children, we are inquisitive and
searching, asking about the minutest details
of things we see in our own little world.
We dig deep into sandboxes and touch the
most colorful of petals just to see what it
feels like. We then learn things from our
parents and teachers - that the trees are liv-
ing things and that the sun is actually a star.
Knowledge is spoonfed.
But reality kicks in as we grow older. We
step into a larger, grander world - again it
is ours to discover. Curiosity is once again
fanned into flame. But no longer will people
tell us things we have to know. No longer
will we see answers from lecture notes or
learn new things from class discussions.
We are on our own, and we have to take
chances.
There really is no other way. We want to
dive into the deepest of oceans or go as far
as Pluto, we have to set out on our own and
risk it. Seek the things we want and need
to know so as to be able to do exactly what
we want. It would never be easy though.
Exploring new lands can sometimes mean
getting hurt, waiting, and doing things we
have never done before.
We also have to take every opportunity that
comes our way. Opportunities to travel, to
experience new things or learn new skills.
Opportunities to come and go easily, though
we will never know whether or not it will
knock on our doors again. As once said by
a Greek philosopher, one cannot step into
the same river twice.
We must never allow others to dictate upon
us what we should know and do, or allow
them to confine us in a box they themselves
are in. Freely, we should dream and pursue
what we long to see.
The greatest of scientists did not see the
brightest stars with just their telescope or
see the deepest part of the oceans with a
submarine. First and foremost, they set
their hearts on it and tried to see things in
a different light. For some, their journey of
discovery has ended. As for us, we’d better
prepare our hearts now.
We have a long way to go.
KNOWLEDGE AS VAST AS THE
UNIVERSE
by Charmaine Uy
Philippine Buddhacare Academy
Everytime I look at the clear night sky, I
ask myself: When will I get the chance to
spend an evening lying on the grassy field
while staring at the starry sky? That’s what
Continued on page 9
The universe:.. from page 8
that passion. We can’t be ignorant forever.
I’ve been wanting to do for so long. I know Scientists say that the universe is ever-ex-
that one night will not be enough for me to panding and I say - so is our knowledge.
explore the vast expanse of the sky, but the As long as the world is still turning and the
night will be enough to learn at least a lit- universe is still expanding, our quest for
tle about the universe. There is so much to more discoveries will never end. So, when
discover, but how? my chance to lay down on a grassy field
while staring the the starry sky comes, I’ll
Long before NASA and the invention of bear in mind that it will definitely not be the
spacecrafts, the Egyptians, Greeks, May- last time I’ll be doing it.
ans, and other ancient peoples used their
sense of sight and their imagination to
come up with explanations about the oc-
currence of day and night, the motion of
the Earth, and other facts that we are using
in this day and age. This just shows that we
don’t need to own big, bulky telescopes to
see what’s up there. We just need to let our
imagination run free and it will tell us what
we want to know. Then, like little children,
we have to ask and ask, to keep ourselves
motivated to learn more. We must not let
our senses hinder us in the quest to discov-
er the universe. If the ancient peoples could
do it, so can we.

Once our imagination fails us, we have to

try something more scientific. We could
use a little hands-on experimentation just
like looking through a telescope to see first-
hand the heavenly bodies that our naked
eye could not see. We have to be patient
and persevering if we want to arrive with
answers.

There are times when I wonder why we

could still not unravel the mysteries behind
the universe when we have the brightest
minds and the most advanced equipment
working together to find answers. May be
it’s because we keep on looking forward
without noticing that the answer is already
right in front of us, waving its hands so we
could see it. I am no scientist, much less
an astronomer; but I believe that sometimes
the answers that we keep searching for are
right in front of us.

But of course, the most important key to

discover more about the universe and do
well as in everything we do is passion. We
have to have that undying fire to provide
us with unending energy and fuel to keep
us going. Sure, there will be humps and
bumps ahead, but as long as we have that
inexplicable passion within us, it will be
enough to keep us inspired and motivated.
If our religion tells us to be contented with
whatever we have, when it comes to sci-
ence, that is not completely the case. It is
the desire to learn, to discover. and to ex-
plore that made the great thinkers of the
past generations become great thinkers. It
is their passion that drove them to succeed,
and it is their passion that gave us knowl-
edge about the world and the universe we
are living in. Besides, we can’t just let oth-
ers boss us around and tell us to let go of

Volume 42 No. 70 
 CELL PHONE ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY by Richard Taylor

D on’t expect anything to rival the

Hubble, but yes, it is possible to do as-
trophotography using a telescope and a cell
phone camera!

Set up the telescope for visual observing,

and focus for normal vision. If you wear
glasses, keep them on while focusing. Find
the camera lens on your cell phone and hold
it carefully just in front of the eyepiece of
the telescope, aimed directly into the mid-
dle of the eyepiece. You will have to move
it around a bit while watching the screen
until you get the best image. Try to hold it
steady as you click the shutter. This only
works on bright objects like the moon and
some of the planets, and you will probably
have to take many shots before you get a
“keeper”, but hey, it doesn’t cost extra to
take more pictures on a cell phone!

If you can copy the pictures onto your com-

puter, a bit of cropping and brightness ad-
justment can improve the picture.

Here’s Richard Taylor showing off his cell

phone atrophotography technique with his
new Celestron NexStar 5 telescope, and the
results: a picture of Venus showing that the
planet DOESN’T appear round. As Galileo
discovered, it has phases like the Moon.
The moon itself shows Earthshine at the
crescent phase and a closeup shows some
craters.

Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events – 2010

T his astronomy calendar of celestial
events for the second half of 2010
contains dates for notable celestial events

June 26 - Full Moon

June 26 - Partial Lunar Eclipse.

including moon phases, meteor showers,
eclipses, occultations, oppositions, con-
junctions, and other interesting events.
Most of the astronomical events on this
calendar can be seen with unaided eye,
although some may require a good pair of
binoculars for best viewing. Many of these
events and dates were obtained from the
U.S. Naval Observatory, the NASA/God-
dard Space Flight Center, and The Old
Farmer’s Almanac.
May 27 - Full Moon
June 12 - New Moon
June 21 - The Summer Solstice
occurs in the northern hemisphere at 11:28
UT. The Sun is at its highest point in the
sky and it will be the longest day of the
year. This is also the first day of summer.
The eclipse will be visible throughout
most of eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific
Ocean, and the western Americas. (NASA
Eclipse Information )
July 11 - New Moon
July 11 - Total Solar Eclipse. The
path of totality will only be visible in the
southern Pacific Ocean, Easter Island, and
parts of southern Chile and Argentina. A
partial eclipse will be visible in many parts
of southern South America. (NASA Map
and Eclipse Information | NASA Eclipse
Animation)
July 26 - Full Moon
July 28, 29 - Southern Delta
Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Delta
Aquarids can produce about 20 meteors
per hour at their peak. The shower usually
peaks on July 28 & 29, but some meteors
can also be seen from July 18 - August 18.
The radiant point for this shower will be in
the constellation Aquarius. Best viewing is
usually to the east after midnight.
August 10 - New Moon
August 12, 13 - Perseids Meteor
Shower. The Perseids is one of the best
meteor showers to observe, producing up
to 60 meteors per hour at their peak. This
year’s shower should peak on the night of
August 12 and the morning of the 13th,
but you may be able to see some meteors
any time from July 23 - August 22. The ra-
diant point for this shower will be in the
constellation Perseus. The thin, crescent
moon will be out of the way early, setting
the stage for a potentially spectacular show.
For best viewing, look to the northeast after
midnight.
Continued on page 11

10 Appulse May - June 2010

Astronomy... from page 10
August 13 - Triple Conjunction
with the Moon. The planets Venus, Mars,
and Saturn will all be close to the thin,
crescent moon on this evening. Look to the
west just after sunset.
August 20 - Neptune at Opposi-
tion. The blue planet will be at its closest
approach to Earth. This is the best time to
view Neptune, although it will only appear
as a tiny blue dot in all but the most power-
ful telescopes.
August 24 - Full Moon. This full
moon will be the most distant and there-
fore the smallest of the year.
September 8 - New Moon
September 16 - Final Space Shut-
tle Flight. IF all goes according to plan,
this day will see the final flight of the
Space Shuttle. The orbiter Discovery will
depart on mission STS-133 and bring to a
close the 30+ year era of space shuttles as
the work horses of the United States space
program. After this flight, the remaining
shuttle orbiters will find their final resting
places in museums across the country.
September 21 - Jupiter at Opposi-
tion. The Solar System’s largest planet will
be at its closest approach to Earth. This is
the best time to view and photograph Jupi-
ter and its moons. The giant planet will be
a big and bright as it gets in the night sky.
A medium-sized telescope should be able
to show you some of the details in Jupiter’s
cloud bands.
September 22 - Uranus at Oppo-
sition. The blue-green planet will be at its
closest approach to Earth. This is the best
time to view Uranus, although it will only
appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the
most powerful telescopes.
September 23 - The Autumnal
Equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere
at 03:09 UT. There will be equal amounts
of day and night. This is also the first day
of fall.
September 23 - Full Moon
October 7 - New Moon
October 16 - Astronomy Day Part
2. Astronomy day is a grass roots move-
ment to share the joys of astronomy with
the general public. Two days this year have
been designated as Astronomy Day. On
these days astronomy and stargazing clubs
and other organizations around the world
will plan special events. You can find out
more about October’s events by checking
Diagram of the Earth’s seasons as seen from the north. Far right: December solstice
the Web sites for AstronomyDay.org and
the Astronomical League.
October 20 - Comet Hartley 2 will
make its closest approach to Earth, coming
within 11.2 million miles. For a few days
around October 20, the comet should be
bright enough to view with the naked eye
in the early morning sky. You will, how-
ever, need to be far away from the glow
of city lights. Look to the east just before
sunrise. In early November, NASA’s Deep
Impact spacecraft will observe comet Hart-
ley 2 from a distance of about 600 miles.
October 21, 22 - Orionids Meteor
Shower. The Orionids is an average shower
producing about 20 meteors per hour at
their peak. This shower usually peaks on
the 21st, but it is highly irregular. A good
show could be experienced on any morning
from October 20 - 24, and some meteors
may be seen any time from October 17 -
25. Best viewing will be to the east after
midnight.
October 23 - Full Moon
November 6 - New Moon
November 17, 18 - Leonids Me-
teor Shower. The Leonids is one of the
better meteor showers to observe, produc-
ing an average of 40 meteors per hour at
their peak. The shower itself has a cyclic
peak year every 33 years where hundreds
of meteors can be seen each hour. The last
of these occurred in 2001. The shower usu-
ally peaks on November 17 & 18, but you
may see some meteors from November 13
- 20. Look for the shower radiating from
the constellation Leo after midnight.
November 21 - Full Moon
THE WINTER SOLSTICE
December 5 - New Moon
December 13, 14 - Geminids Me-
teor Shower. Considered by many to be
the best meteor shower in the heavens, the
Geminids are known for producing up to
60 multicolored meteors per hour at their
peak. The peak of the shower this year
should occur on the night of December 13
and morning of the 14th, although some
meteors should be visible from December
6 - 19. Some estimates say there could be
as many as 120 meteors an hour visible
from dark-sky locations. The radiant point
for this shower will be in the constellation
Gemini. The Moon will set early in the
evening setting the sky up for a spectacular
show. Best viewing is usually to the east
after midnight.
December 21 - Full Moon
December 21 - Total Lunar
Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible through-
out most of eastern Asia, Australia, the Pa-
cific Ocean, the Americas, and Europe. The
eclipse will be visible after midnight in
North and South America. Since the Moon
will be almost directly overhead from
these locations, this should be an excellent
chance to view a rare total lunar eclipse.
(NASA Eclipse Information )
December 21 - The Winter Sol-
stice occurs in the northern hemisphere at
23:38 UT. The Sun is at its lowest point in
the sky and it will be the shortest day of the
year. This is also the first day of winter.
Source: THE SKY (Please refer to this Source for
the first half of the 2010 astronomical calendar of
events).
Volume 42 No. 70 11
 I N Part
S E 1A: Preparatory
R C H OWorks,
F A Pikit-Mata,
N A S TKisap-Mata,
E R O I DLandU Slides,
L ast May 27-30, 2010, PAS Group 1
composed of Leah Villalon, Ronald
Tanco, Jenny Baltazar, and the undersigned
launched the first leg of the preparatory
works for “In Search of an Asteroid Up
North” Project. This is not a site inspec-
tion or technical report although we had
gathered data we need for the moment (but
which we still have to internalize). But let
me share some sidelights I feel worth men-
tioning somehow.
1.“PIKIT-MATA”
It was such a wise move to meet first John
Nassr in Baguio for such a delicate obser-
vational/analytical project. No one I am
sure could contest that, if only one would
understand the gravity of this project and
the skill and experience of John when it
comes to “space tracking.” The astrophysi-
cal analysis and impact could come later
once the data required of us by NASA are
all in.
Last semester, I was informed by my stu-
dents in astronomy in RTU that the Star-
dust Observatory of John “collapsed.” No
other details were provided. What went
then into my head was that the “structure”
itself “collapsed.”
But no it was not! John explained that it
was some sort of electrical short circuit
that “toasted,” so to speak, some of the vi-
tal electrical “organs” of his brand new 16-
inch telescope. When asked what he’s going
to do with such a problem at hand, all of us
gleaned some deeper meaning of his two-
worded phrase of wisdom -“pikit-mata” he
uttered,”the solution is on its way.”
After getting the details of what he meant
by that, we realized how “strong-willed”
and selflessly dedicated to the science of
Astronomy John Nassr is. The Stardust
Observatory, in a little while and I can bet
you, will bounce back much further than its
original level of glory. Watch it out!
That evening, after a long exchange of
views and experiences, we were given
each by John’s wife, Mae, a book entitled
“Where is God?” which has a separate im-
pact to our trip. I’ll take this up later on a
short separate paragraph.
2. PAS TIME CAPSULE, 110 YEARS OF
AGE PROMISE
May 29 was a beautiful morning in an open
garden over cups of coffee with John, but
the mood was somewhat sort of melan-
cholic for me.
12 Appulse May - June 2010
P N Etc.ORTH
John knew very well about PAS
time capsule and he showed
me pictures how comet Halley
evolved from a mere point in
the Philippine sky to a “fully-
tailed” object when it visited
the inner solar system in 1985.
Great astrophotographs! And
John is the first Filipino astron-
omer to capture such an impor-
tant celestial event.
All of these and other important
social events in the Philippines
that time I suppose are all kept
and embedded in our PAS time capsule.
The next generation of PAS members in
2061 I am sure will open our time capsule
when our generation now will all be pre-
sumably gone. This will not take differen-
tial equations nor calculus that astronomy
students normally do in their studies. Sim-
ple statistics and arithmetic dictate we may
really never be around anymore.
John’s wife strongly protested. The mood
suddenly changed into laughter when she
said: “John promised me he will live till
the age of 110 years old, otherwise, I will
make him roll over his grave.” Ha ha ha!
(In Quantum Physics we have a saying: “If
it is not forbidden, then it is possible.”)
3. FOR THE LOVE OF VICKY, CENTER
OF MASS, AND LAND SLIDES
We left Baguio that morning bound for La
Union and Ilocos Sur. After Ronald has
taken all the positions of the proposed six
observational posts at 6:00 pm, we ventured
to visit Vicky and travelled along Tagudin-
Cervantes-Mankayan-Bontoc highway
in the inner region of Ilocos Sur without
knowing anything about its condition.
by Camilo Dacanay
And there it goes - we encountered several
“land slides” along the way. And the worst
came after passing Barangay Suyo where
the land slide covered entirely the width
of the road at height not normal for a front
wheel drive car to pass.
But for the love of Vicky, we decided to go
on - me behind the wheels, while Ronald,
Leah, and Jenny watched in agony along
the side of the cliff. I rushed and drove the
car fast enough, but its middle frame was in
fulcrum against a boulder underneath and
hanged the front and rear wheels in bal-
ance as if they were planets hanged at their
center of masses. In short, there is no way
for the car to move and it was together with
all of us trapped!
I jacked it up while the two ladies and Ro-
nald grabbed pieces of rocks to support the
wheels underneath. In a little while, Leah
warned of some small stones falling down
until it got into all of us and we all pan-
icked. Some floating boulders are still up
there directly on us. I told myself jokingly
Continued on page 13
In search of... from page 12
those boulders could not be the “asteroids”
we all came up here for. Just few more
ground vibrations and our blue “space
ship” (courtesy of Ronald) will be buried
in Ilocos, only to be retrieved later for PAS
exhibits.
We ran away immediately. And when it
turned quieter for a moment, I went back
inside the car and the three of them together
with the help of some local fellows pushed
the car and we made it. Only after which
we realized, we cannot simply turn our
back for it could be more dangerous since
it was already getting dark. We just can’t
simply go back. It was risky. We were only
mesmerized when we saw planet Venus on
the rise as I continue to drive. South-east,
north-east as we drove our way on a long
zigzag road, while Venus was always up
there that seemed watching us.
Upon reaching Cervantes town proper,
we were warned by the locals not to push
through with our travel as the car won’t
make it over flooded areas. By then I
thought we had pushed ourselves to the
limit. And having no choice, we slept over-
night at Cervantes.
4. WHERE IS GOD, KISAP-MATA, etc.
In the early morning of May 30,
I went inside the car and listened
to some classical music. I went
over the book John’s wife Mae
gave me and read pages 156 to
160. After many years of solely
and almost entirely dealing only
with books in Physics, Engineer-
ing, and Astronomy, I found a
One of the oldest sundial in the Philippiness. Try to
very different inspiring story -
look at the shadow at 5 - it’s really 5 PM that time,
“My Student, My Teacher.”
To my mind, it somewhat de-
fined exactly how it is to be a
PAS member. It tells me why we
found ourselves here in a moun-
tainous region some 1,480 me-
ters above sea level, for prepara-
tory works of three months, just
for a mere celestial event of only
“kisap-mata” or 3 seconds.
Yes, this is how we are at the
Philippine Astronomical Socie-
ty! Together we work and move
as a team with one spirit, as al-
ways!
Thank you very much John,
Mae, Leah, Jenny, Ronald and
the rest of Pasers although not with us in our trip but behind this project.
Volume 42 No. 70 13
 Lunar Occultation of Venus May 16, 2010 Photos by Rodolfo Tangan and Erika Valdueza.

The scene through the 700... lens 200mm f2.8.. I made sure the opening was at
f2.8 to bring out the darkened part of the moon.

The scene from my terrace at 7:30 pm on May 16

Rodolfo Tangan
Photos from Doha, Qatar by Rodolfo “Bubut” Tangan. Bubut
hails from Tuguegarao, but he’s now based in Doha working as
the Sr. Quantity Surveyor of the Dahlak Island Resort Eritrea
Project. He is a civil engineer by profession and is connected
with Qatari Diar Vinci Company (Qatar’s biggest developer).

14 Appulse May - June 2010

Erika Valdueza
Erika took these pictures at the Manila Observatory
rooftop using a digital camera and a refractor tel-
escope

A member of the UP Astronomical Society and Phil-

ippine Astronomical Society, astrophotographer Erika
Valdueza is a geologist and amateur astronomer cur-
rently affiliated with the Manila Observatory as a
project research assistant.

FEEDBACKS
Thanks for sending me a copy of Appulse. I was
looking forward to that. I like the essays written
by Julianne and Jessica. No doubt a bright future
awaits those two. Allen Yu’s poignant article was
quite interesting, too. Meteorite collectors are an
elite few and the challenges that he finds in his ef-
forts to educate the Philippine public is inspiring, if
not heartbreaking.
Kudos to Mr Yu and congratulations to you on a fine
newsletter.
Cheers!

Clem

Thank you once again for sharing the latest issue of

Appulse! This issue should be especially interesting
for so many because of the broad spectrum of par-
ticipants in the activities that PAS conducted.

By best regards and wishes to all,

John

Volume 42 No. 70 15
 Monthly Star Map – July & August 2010

This map shows the sky at 9pm

on July 15, 2010 as seen from
the latitude of Metro Manila,
Philippines with North on top
and the zenith at the center.
The large circle represents
the horizon. Star limiting
magnitude is 5.5. Deep sky
limiting magnitude is 7.0.

This map shows the sky at

9pm on August 15, 2010
as seen from the latitude of
Metro Manila, Philippines with
North on top and the zenith
at the center. The large circle
represents the horizon. Star
limiting magnitude is 5.5. Deep
sky limiting magnitude is 7.0.

Prepared by PAS Observation Committee using SkyMap Pro 9 software.

16 Appulse May - June 2010