Posts Made By: Thomas Holst

Fellow Astromarters,

In my ongoing quest to bring interesting guest speakers to Boise, Idaho for our monthly meetings of the Boise Astronomical Society, I called Bend, Oregon today to see if we could bring back the well known authority and author on meteors, O. Richard Norton. His wife Dorothy (who also illustrates his books) answered the phone and informed me that the days of Mr. Norton's personal appearances are over. She tearfully elected not to elaborate but I gathered that her husband isn't doing well (and she didn't seem to feel he was going to get better). I explained who I was and that I had met her and Richard years ago and passed along the best wishes of all our club members. She was very nice with me on the phone and appreciated our interest in Richard's life long work.

For those of you not familiar with O. Richard Norton, he was the director of the Fleischmann Planetarium in Reno, NV, and of the Flandrau Planetarium in Tucson, AZ. His wife, Dorothy Sigler Norton, painted the covers and many of the conceptual illustrations in his books. Mr. Norton has a degree in astronomy from UCLA, and studied meteoritics under the great Frederick C. Leonard. The Nortons live in central Oregon, and produce and market scientific educational slides for use in college and university classrooms.

I first met O. Richard and Dorothy Norton when they appeared at our October 2003 club meeting and I purchased a copy of his book, Rocks From Space which they both autographed for me. Mr. Norton also appeared as our guest speaker at the Idaho Star Party several years ago when he put on a program about reading Lunar craters. He is a very interesting man and his wife is quite charming. It's sad to know we will not see them out in the field again.

In the past I haven't spent much time observing the moon but I just started working on the AL Lunar Club List and discovered the need for a decent moon filter. I'm primarily using my little TV-76 for this purpose, mostly with 9mm and 5mm Naglers.

1. The Meade adjustable polarizer I've used with other scopes is too long and won't allow this scope to focus.

2. At a star party the other night, I borrowed someone else's "moon filter" but upon holding it up to the light, I could see that it was just cheap tinted plastic with severe ripples which distorted the view. I passed on that one.

3. I borrowed another person's "moon filter" (this one marked "Moon" on the metal cell) and it looked to be made of real glass, but when I installed it on my eyepiece, I found it had a distinct sickly green tint.

In an attempt to get my hands on a good quality neutral density "moon filter" to make viewing more comfortable, I ordered (but have yet to receive) a Lumicon 50% transmission neutral density filter, made of real optical glass with optical coatings on both sides. Am I on the right track or should I be looking for something else?

[COLOR="Red"]This post is for you handloaders out there.[/COLOR]

With the price of ammo skyrocketing over the past few months, I recently got back into handloading, primarily for .45 Colt. When I bought my supplies, I went back to the same powder I'd used years ago; "Unique" (Alliant Powders) for moderate target loads in several pistol cartridges. It didn't take me long to realize that it was the same dirty burning powder it was 25 years ago. Since it's a relatively low-volume-per-grain powder, I also had to be careful not to accidentally double charge the big .45 Colt cases. It doesn't even begin to fill the case, causing inconsistent ignition and velocities.

On a recent visit to my local indoor range, a friend recommended I try a relatively new powder call "Trail Boss" (imported from Australia by IMR), which is designed for Cowboy Action Shooting but also works well for many revolver target loads. Its main claim to fame is that it, for lack of a better word, is "fluffy", taking up a lot of space in large revolver cases. In fact, a standard 1 lb. size can of this powder will only hold 9 oz. This has several advantages:

1. It's virtually impossible to double charge a case without noticing the powder overflowing.

2. Its volume keeps powder close to the primer flash hole for consistent ignition and velocities.

3. It's fast burning like "Bullseye", requiring similar charges (by weight) and therefore fairly economical.

4. It's very clean burning with no trace of unburned powder.

5. It produces almost no muzzle flash.

6. It doesn't stink like some other powders.

7. Its silver colored round flat flakes with holes in the middle cannot be mistaken for any other powder.

After testing my .45 Colt handloads with 250 gr. cast bullets and stepped powder charges, I think I've found just the right combination for my revolvers. IMR Trail Boss has lived up to its claims. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.

While attending a club star party Friday night (May 22) in the SW Idaho desert, at about 10:34 PM (MDT) we were all treated to a spectacular fireball traveling from the Northeast in a Northwesterly direction, at an altitude of about 45°. It traversed approximately the middle third of the distance from horizon to horizon, leaving a bright greenish ionization trail. It lasted 4~5 seconds, broke up into several pieces, then it was gone. This had to be one of the best 2 or 3 meteors I've ever seen.

One of our other club members reported the same description from a location about 45 miles Southeast of us. I was just wondering how far away it was seen by others.

This morning I received an email from the White House, challenging me to "roll up my sleeves" and join Obama's "United We Serve" program.

Here is the response I sent back to the White House.

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To: Barack Obama

Re: Your "United We Serve" program

YOU want ME to SERVE?! Give me a break!

I have been serving since I enlisted in the US Marine Corps right after high school in 1968, spending a year in Viet Nam. (When you were 7 years old.)

I served by putting myself through 4-1/2 years of college at my own expense, in order to become a contributing member of society.

I served by volunteering as a YMCA camp counselor and a Big Brother to fatherless boys while working my way through college.

I served by paying taxes all through my working life, with NO free government assistance, ever.

I served by putting my life on the line every day for 25 years as a police officer.

I served by buying and paying my house off with NO free government assistance.

I have served by putting my daughter through college at my expense, so she can also become a contributing member of society.

Since I retired, I have continued to serve through volunteer work with a non-profit science education organization which assists public schools.

And as a reward for all my work and service, you have specifically excluded me and my college student daughter from your "Making Work Pay Tax Credit"?

And YOU want ME to roll up MY sleeves?!

YOU can kiss MY ass!

Thomas R. Holst
Boise, Idaho

...then "bombs" the Moon. Go figure.

... of why I'm glad I had a daughter.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html

Click on the link below.

Obama Phones for Welfare Recipients? Yup.

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx

I'm not much of a radio enthusiast but sometimes when I can't sleep I'll scan the frequencies on my little handheld SW radio. (This usually puts me to sleep.) The other night I ran across a broadcast consisting of a female voice reciting "random" numbers in Spanish for several minutes, then the transmission just stopped. Was this one of those "Numbers Stations" I've read about that is used for sending secret messages to spies?