Editorial

Countdown to Eclipse 2002 is progressing and we have some articles and invitations to presentations in this month's issue. For those of you who have left it late, you may still be lucky in getting a place "out of" the Sun on the 4^th of December. Just contact one of your friendly committee members to see where there might me a place for you.

Venus is still up there in the evening sky like a laser pointer, and the other major planets are starting to look pretty good in the mornings. Orion too looks good in the early mornings ( when the clouds don't get in the way ) and at the other end of the night, Delta Scorpii is still looking more like a Beta rather that a Delta as it shines in the Scorpion's Head. Have any of you out there made any measurements of Delta Scorpii lately? If so, pass them on to one of the Variable Star specialists such as Brian Fraser.

After an editorial boo-boo in the last ( October ) issue, Eben van Zyl continues to tell us of Henrietta Swan Leavitt's secrets. Read Tim Cooper's ad for the ASSA 2002 Symposium on the inside back cover and there is also information on how to get your hands on some really good and ( inexpensive ) posters of Solar System objects with emphasis on our outer neighbour Mars.

Brian Fraser has once again supplied us with the monthly tables of all the astronomical events of interest - for November and December. We have also picked up a couple of interesting articles from the NASA email lists regarding the Rosetta Spacecraft as well as news of the largest Solar System object to have been discovered since Pluto was first seen back in the first half of the 20^th century.

ECLIPSE chasers - Once again remember we have a solar eclipse on 4^th December. If you would like to be there, contact a committee member, or Brian Fraser for further details on how to get to the area of interest. Time and accommodation is running out - so don't delay or you will miss this big event.

The Editor - chris@penberthy.co.za

 The 2002/3 Committee of the Johannesburg Centre