Editorial
Was it fun or what? ScopeX 2003 was a visual feast of things Astronomical. The interesting display of telescopes both commercial and home-made was a sight for sore eyes and many comments were made in regard to some of those 'scopes into which a lot of love and care had been taken. Some of the home-made Dobs on display were real works of art, and some of the commercial 'scopes looked like they had been removed from a professional observatory. As this is going to be largely a Scope-X 2003 feedback issue, I think I'd best stop my ruminations at this point and leave it in the capable hands of our reporters. Many great photos are available which we cannot fit into this issue but will available for viewing on our website.
Chris Stewart has submitted a compilation of several reports pertinent to ScopeX 2003 as well as an open letter to all who were associated with this successful venture, and Graham and Margaret Tremeer recall a recent enjoyable visit to a private Observatory in Prince Albert in the Little Karoo. Dave Gordon's beginner’s classes continue running from 19:00 to 19:45 on the evenings of our monthly meetings, and this month he has also submitted an article on the breakfast presentation by Marsha Ivins, as well as what hopefully will become a regular "Chairman's Chat".
Trevor Gould passes on an invitation* from Mensa to visit the n'Kwe Observatory with them, and Eben van Zyl continues with the next in his Variable Stars articles - this one on Eclipsing Binaries. Brian Fraser submits his impressions of ScopeX 2003 as well as the heavenly happenings for June and July. We have also include some snippets from the Space Agencies.
Members, please remember that the 2003 Annual General Meeting is just around the corner. This is the opportunity for you to elect your choice of committee for the Year to come. In fact, this could be just the time for YOU to volunteer for a stint on the committee where some of your ideas may come to fruition.
The Editor - chris@penberthy.co.za
* - Edited from the printed edition due to space constraints