The close of another year sees
another issue of DSO upon us. This
is our second colour issue and I hope it finds favour with you.
Although the first colour issue did come out very well, it did not seem
to spark new membership enquiries, which means that the membership numbers are
still smaller than we would like in order to be able to economically produce
colour regularly.
Unfortunately the last issue contained a number of errors and I can only apologise for those, particularly the pricing in Faith Jordan’s advert where the numbers lost a zero on both items. In my article on the halo of Jones 1, the blue image of Abell 78 was omitted. That image is reproduced here in the editorial. The galaxy mentioned in the text is at the nine o’clock position, about half way from the centre to the edge. The galaxy names on the cover of that issue also seem to have got transposed. (For notes on the errata see page 29).
We can now give you advance
notice of the Society’s Annual Meeting for 2003.
It is to be held at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge on Saturday,
17th May. Details of
speakers will be posted on the Society’s website at
www.webbdeepsky.com
as they become known. We are
looking to a slight change to the programme this time by having four short talks
in place of one of the longer ones, an idea we have ‘borrowed’ from the
successful format used at the British Astronomical Association’s exhibitions
meeting.
We have also booked a table
again at AstroFest in London in February 2003 and hope to see members there.
We are currently working on a completely revised and updated Volume 2, Planetary
Nebulae, as a probable two part publication. Hopefully examples of the layout of this book will be on show
there.
My own observing has been
curtailed even more than normal despite, or perhaps because, of a new telescope
purchase. Inclement weather and
increasing foreign travel in my job make it difficult to keep up with some of
the exciting new things happening in the hobby.
Members may well have read of the demise of Lumicon, makers of the most
common nebula filters. This will
obviously create a hole in the field. There
are already manufacturers of alternative brands such as Thousand Oaks and Orion
Optics (US) and there are rumours that Sirius Optics also going to manufacture
narrow band filters in the [OIII] and perhaps H-Beta bands. It might make an interesting project for someone to try and
compare the different types of filters to the older Lumicon ones.
I have an example of a Thousand Oaks [OIII] type filter and if the skies
ever clear I will compare it to my Lumicon one and report back on the results.
Other comparisons reported by Phil Harrington in the latest edition of
his StarWare book suggest it is as good as, or perhaps slightly better
than, the Lumicon.
On a different note, a new member is looking for a copy of the WSDSOH Vol 1. Can anyone sell for a modest sum a copy of the Double Stars Observing Handbook, 2nd edition, by R. W. Argyle, to an active double star observer, and new member of the Webb Society, as it is now out of print and he can’t get a copy. If you are able to help please contact : Gordon MacLeod
Editor: Owen Brazell
