Editorial
Minor Planet 5038 Overbeek - now there's a fitting name if there ever was one. What a wonderful surprise for all of us, including Danie, when Brian Warner presented him with the plaque after Brian Fraser's description of the part played by the Franklin-Adams telescope in the discovery of some minor-planets.
However, enough from me on the subject - you will be reading a word or two regarding the above event and presentation in the pages that follow. We have tried to present you with a bumper issue of Canopus this month and hope you will agree that, although a little late this month, the finished article has been worth the effort put into it's production.
We have a quick look at public viewing evenings courtesy of Melvyn, and articles on refurbishing the Jacobs Dome, and Sunspot counting, from Frans. Several articles have been gleaned from the NASA web site(s) and these will hopefully be of more than passing interest to you our readers.
Brian has supplied the tables of the state of the heavens, and as we did last year, the January issue will contain a comprehensive listing of events for the whole year. He has also supplied some additional tables and ephemera and these will also be adapted for use on the website. These additional tables include Sun and Moon data ( Moonrise and Moonset ) for the year as well as Sidereal Time, Julian day Number, Solar Transit, and Nutation.….all sorts of interesting stuff that we haven't supplied to our members before.
And, to finish this last Canopus editorial of the 20th century, your committee wishes you all the very best over the Festive Season. May the worst of the next millennium, be better than the best of the last.
NB. Don't forget our Year-end Star Party - "Under the Full Moon" - which will held at our physical address in the grounds of the Old Observatory, Gill Street, Observatory, Johannesburg. We will be lighting the fires at around 17:30 and hope that all of you will be there to enjoy the evening.