Fred Ley

Hi Everybody, Hans Lippershey, circa1570-1619, the person credited with inventing the telescope, applied for a patent for his invention in 1608. His patent was denied by the Dutch Government as the Government thought that the device could not be kept a secret. The following year, in 1609, Galilao Galilei decided to make a telescope of his own and the rest is history as they say. So I guess it's HAPPY 400th BIRTHDAY for the telecope. -Fred

Hi Frank, Visited the site that you pointed out. There certainly are some great images picked out. I can see where it would be difficult to pick out the best image, they all have their merits. Been viewing an auroral activity from your neck of the woods? Stay warm, -Fred

Hi Dimitri, OK, I'm impressed. Looks like you put quite a lot of time into building it. I know that these things take time, especially if you want it to turn out right. Hope to run into you at a starparty one day and see your fine telescope in person. Keep us updated as to your progress. Thanks for sharing the images. Fred

Hello Everybody, There is an image of Comet 8P/Tuttle at www.spaceweather.com taken with a camera. The exposure time was 5 minutes. What is more remarkable is the other objects that are included in the image. So as not to spoil the surprise, go and see for yourselves. Don't forget to "click" on the image to see the whole thing. -Fred

Hi, The page size in the color version of the atlas is 15.5-inches (39cm) high x 20.5-inches (52cm) wide. Hope this helps. I just went and measuered the field edition, which is the loose sheets. They are 13.5-inches (34cm) high x 18.5-inches (47cm) wide. Fred

Hi Dimitri, Well this is most certainly welcome news to hear. Having a permanent place to meet makes life a lot easier for the memebers. I gather that you will be posting updates and images as they warrant. Again, congratulations on obtaining the "place". Fred

I have these three in my collection. Classic Sci-Fi hits from the 50's. Only "Destination Moon" is in color, the other two are b&w. Fred

Hi Panayiotis, I found your article interesting to read. It is difficult for me to try and retain all of the information as I have to mentally translate it into English. When I started doing astronomy in Athens, the year was 1970. At that time I discovered the Evgenidis Planetarium and introduced myself to Peter Rovithis, who was working there at the time. I used to go there in the evenings and look at the issues of Sky & Telescope and check out astronomy books. I also went up to the National Observatory of Athens and introduced myself to the people working there at the time. I believe that all of the people who were there are now retired or no longer with us. There was George and Cosmas Banos, Mr. Contopoulos, and a Mr. Macris. Can't recall anyone else at the moment. I was even allowed to use the dark room which, at that time, was located in the basement of the building housing the offices. I enjoyed going up to the National Observatory in the summer months as the U.S. Air Force Weather Service operated a 10-inch Razdow Ha telescope in conjunction with the Apollo space program. The telescope was mounted in the dome of the observatory. The people there were kid enough to give me copies of the images that they took of the Sun in Ha. They monitored the Sun daily and when a Apollo mission was under way, they would report any CME's (coronal mass ejections) or Flares directly to Boulder, Colorado. The telescope was moved to the Pendeli Astronomical Sation in 1973. At that time there was an organization in Athens called the Elliniki Astronomiki Enosi. I have a copy of their constituion and am enclosing a copy of the cover for you to view. In the Fall of 1972, the Elliniki Astronomiki Enosi had a trip to the Pendeli Observatory. We all met in downtown Athens and went up to the observatory with a rented bus. We were also treated to the presence of Dr. Stavros Plakidis, the former director of the National Observatory, at that meeting. The Enosi gave him a medal, gold in color, with a blue ribbon for his services. We also looked at a few items in the night sky through the 25-inch refractor.I did know a few people then who were observing the sky, mainly doing sunspot observations and variable star observations. Mr. Dimitrius P. Elias, who worked at the National Observatory, gave very generously of his time in helping amateurs. We would use a 4-inch Zeiss refractor that was mounted through the roof and paralell to the earth's axis. It was fed by a heliostat so that white light sunspot observations could be made. In September of 1972 the first European Astronomical Meeting was held at the Pantion School of Political Science. I was able to register and attend the conference. It was very interesting and most of the things that were discussed were above my level-but I enjoyed it. I was 15 and a half at the time. At the closing there was a nice reception held at the Evgenidis Planetarium with the sister of the late Eugene Evgenidis greeting those who were attending the conference. I still have the handouts from that event 35 years ago. Fred

Hi Everybody, Yesterday I received an e-mail from Sky & Telescope. In it they had a link to a digital copy of their November 2007 issue. They asked for me to look at the issue and then answer a short survey in regards to what I thought of the digital issue. Personally, I did not care for it. I find it a lot easier and quicker to thumb through an actual paper issue instead of plodding through a digital issue on the screen. Did anyone else look at the the digital issue and take part in the survey? Any thoughts? -Fred