[The background above is part of an image by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Crescent Nebula.]

WHERE: AT EXPLORIT Science Center, 3141 5th Street, Davis.

Join us Saturday night, February 23 at 8:00 when we will open a box containing a telescope donated to Explorit. What kind of scope is it? Are all the parts in working order? The printing on the box advertises it is a 6-inch diameter, commercially made Newtonian design, with a dobsonian mount. This sounds like a fun learning experience with lots of 'hands on' potential. Additionally, if you have a telescope and can't determine how to assemble it, or if you are having troubles using it, bring it in! Come help us assemble the scope and, weather permitting, test it outside.

NOTE: I frequently receive requests for help during the winter holidays from beginners, who have purchased a telescope, but are having trouble assembling or aligning the scope. This is especially true of telescopes with a "German equatorial" type mount. This is a very common problem, so if you are in this situation, bring it in to the meeting and let us help you!

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Report: 26th Meeting. The sky was partly cloudy, with more clouds moving in from the southwest. A storm had moved through Davis earlier in the day. Fears that our meeting at Explorit would be a washout were allayed by the arrival of 15 hardy amateurs. One couple came all the way from Camino, east of Placerville! We took advantage of a break in the clouds to observe Jupiter, the Moon, and the most beautiful object in the sky, Saturn. We warmed up during a slide show on the SOHO project. SOHO is an orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. SOHO was launched in 1995, reaching orbit one million miles sunward of Earth.

SOHO carries 12 instruments developed by European and American scientists. After years of continuous observing, the SOHO has accumulated an unprecedented array of pictures and data on the sun. Primary discoveries from the mission have concerned the internal structure of the Sun, the heating of the Sun's large outer atmosphere, and the origin of the solar wind. If you would like to see the slide show that we saw, it is on the internet at <http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/explore/materials/> Thanks to NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency) we had a large stock of posters, stickers, CD-ROMs and pamphlets on the SOHO project. If you can't get enough fun with the sun, check out this internet site too: http://solar-center.stanford.edu/activities.html

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Were you one of the thousands of attendees at last August's 2-day celebration of astronomy, the second annual DAVIS STAR SHOW event at the Davis Veterans Center and adjoining Community Park? If so, you know it was a great success! I am pleased to announce that the THIRD ANNUAL DAVIS STAR SHOW will be held Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20 2002 at the same location. Better mark your calendar now!

This year the Davis Conference & Visitors Bureau (DCVB) will be assisting the effort in various ways, coordinating the planning and budget work. Participants include Explorit Science Center, Sacramento Sidewalk Astronomers, Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society, TAC, the Davis High School Astronomy Club, and, well, just too many groups to list here! Would you or your group be interested in participating? Contact Yvette Mulholland or Trina Walley of the DCVB at (530) 297-1900

While this year's event promises to be "bigger and better" than ever, some things will be unchanged: world class speakers, a focus on the general public with family and kid related activities; an educational perspective to all presentations, and an appreciation of the Davis Dark Sky Ordinance that allows the star party to be held within the city.

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Clear Skies to All!

To Receive These Bulletins via E-mail Contact Dennis Smith at: d2smith@pacbell.net

The Astronomy Club is hosted by Dennis Smith with the assistance of Tim Feldman and other eager astronomy buffs. The club is for everyone - adults, children, knowledgeable or ignorant. Come to listen, look and learn, or to share your expertise or experience.