Meet the volunteers that assist The Star Guide:

       

     Dr. Bob Johnston, retired physicist and optical engineer 
     using his 9 1/4" Celestron Schmidt-cassegrain. 
     He is an accomplished . 

       

       Leonard Higgins, astronomer and retired teacher, with
       his homemade newtonian telescope.  He is an accomplish-
       ed machinist and makes telescope parts at his home
       machine shop.  He has received a significant achievement
       award for his homemade spectrohelioscope at the Riverside
      Telescope Making Conference in 1998.

      

      Meet Dale Rosemeyer, an accomplished .
      He is shown with his 20" Obsession reflector which shows
      gorgeous images of nebula, galaxies, and star clusters. 
      Dale usually brings this gigantic telescope to the observing
      sessions. 

        

        Dan Parker and his daughter Sarah.  Dan is an astronomer
        who is very active in astronomy.  He is shown with his
        Meade LX75 6" refractor.  His daughter uses a Televue
        refractor.  Both instruments show crisp images of the
        planets and Moon.  Dan also has a 20" Obsession
        telescope which he may bring to observing sites.

      I appreciate their services as volunteers to assist in
      observing sessions for the public at Skyline Park and
      other observing areas.  They are all experts in selecting
      equipment for observing.  Their  knowledge of the night
      sky will take you to the edge of our galaxy and to
      distances millions of light years away anytime of the
      year.  You will get a chance to meet them at upcoming
      star gazing events.

refractor

     Napa High School, Napa, California.  Classes were requested by Janet Mendelsohn,
     biology teacher, to present information on "The Origin of the Solar System and the
     Age of the Earth."  Students were 9th graders to 11th graders; 15 students in the
     Early flight class:  7:00 to 7:50am; 29 students from 8:00 to 8:56am; 29 students from
    10:20 to 11:10am.  Information on Relative Dating of the Earth was covered.   
    Geological events of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic deposits using
    horizontal, superposition, cross cutting, inclusion, and faunal succession which
    included the evolution of life fossils correlation to age was presented.  The most
    important information on the Earth's age was discussed using Radiometric Dating
    (Radioactive Dating) using the half life of Uranium 238 (4.5 billion years.)  Also
    discussed was Uranium 235 decay (2.2 billion years), radioactive Nitrogen decay, 
    and Carbon 14 decay which is only used to determine the age in fossils due to its
    shorter half life.  This class was given at no charge to the school since it was part of
    the Solar System Ambassadors Program for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is
    a field center for NASA. 
refracted
                 
Northridge Elementary Students in July 2010
 
 
  

Students learn to identify 
the Color of Stars

Browns Valley Elementary School, Napa, CA

42 students, teachers, and parents were able to observe the planet Saturn and the Color of Stars.  Students learned the colors by remembering the letters OBAFGKM which refers to "Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me" or "Oh Be A Fine Guy Kiss Me" (we do not leave out the other gender.)  Type O Stars are the hottest stars while Type M Stars are cooler.  Our Sun is a Type G star with a surface temperature of about 10,000 degrees f

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Northwood Elementary School, Napa CA - July 18th, 2011 





This is last years photo,  This year 11 students learned the color of stars and were able to observe Saturn and different colored stars.


The planet Saturn as seen through a telescope


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Solar Gazing at Napa High School - 2009 and 2010
Requested by Rob Kohl, science chair

Over 425 science students were able to observe the Sun's prominence, Sun Spots, filaments and minor solar flares in 2009.

During the 2010 school year only 225 science students participated in observing the Sun.

This year a new Meade Coronado SolarMax 90mm II will be used that shows breath-taking detail on the Sun's photosphere.  Prominence will appear to be in 3D as they fold back onto the Sun.

Free programs are available for schools in the Napa Valley Area and other schools.  A discussion on space weather and how it effects the Earth's climate changes will be discussed.  Programs run from 8am to 3pm.  There is no cost for this program.  The Star Guide is your host.

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The Farmers Market at Oxbrow, Napa CA - July 6th, 2011







Photograph shows the Meade Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope) 40mm and the Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90mm Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope piggy-backed on a Meade LX200 8" Schmidt-cassegrain telescope.  The LX200 was not used to observe the Sun - the optics were covered to avoid damage to eyes.




A mother showing her daughter what the Sun looks like through a special telescope.



The booth setup at the Farmers Market.  Overhead fog prevented most visitors from being able to look at the Sun through Meade Instruments Coronado PST 40mm Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope and the new Meade Coronado SolarMax 90mm II Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope.  A total of 1,403 visitors were counted.  82 visitors from other areas picked up free material on the Solar Dynamics Observatory in orbit.  The material was provided by the NASA Goddard Space Center.  56 local visitors asked about equipment and how they were able to see the Sun through a telescope.  They were informed that blocking filters in the telescopes remove harmful light and they are able to see the Sun in a red color which is the result of Hydrogen gas being ionized in the 4th state of matter which is plasma.  Several children with local parents were given free material (posters, post cards, stickers, holograms of the Sun on cards, and DVDs on Cosmic Collisions.)  The fog cleared about 15 minutes before closing time and several visitors were able to see prominence and a large Sun Spot through both telescopes  provided.  This event will continue through the month of September.  Dates will be announced on the calendar below.

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