THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604190255
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
The ball of gas and matter that sent the astronomy world into a viewing frenzy this spring was traveling out of view as the state's stargazers gathered at the Chesapeake Planetarium April 13.
Close to 50 amateur astronomers came for the 20th annual convention of the Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies at the Great Bridge planetarium. Through nine hours of speeches, equipment swapping and daylight viewing of Venus and the sun, one thing was clear at this year's convention: The celebrity of the telescope set this year was a comet named Hyakutake.
A comet of such intensity hadn't blazed through the night skies in a quarter century, and the wait for the next big comet won't be long.
Comet Hale-Bopp should be at peak visibility next year.
``We were surprised by Hyakutake,'' said S. Kent Blackwell, chairman of the association. ``Hale-Bopp promises to be an even bigger show. Here we go 25 years without a comet, and then we have two in one year.''
Blackwell noted that amateur viewing has been on the rise with the two high-profile comets drawing large amounts of media attention. The association hoped to capitalize on that this year, though Blackwell said attendance wasn't as high as expected.
The association's chairman said astronomy hobbyists are a small but dedicated group, investing hundreds or thousands of dollars for telescopes and other equipment to keep their passion alive.
Many comets are discovered by amateurs whiling away their hours with a lens pointed skyward, said enthusiast Ron S. Neale. Hale-Bopp, sure to be the talk of next year's convention, was discovered by two amateurs.
``Comets are usually in the range of amateur instruments,'' said Neale, a Norfolk commercial artist. ``It's a nice way to immortalize yourself.''
This year, the convention was sponsored by the Chesapeake-based Back Bay Amateur Astronomers, one of several small clubs that are members of the association. The club's sponsorship brought the convention back to the planetarium for the first time since 1982.
Treasurer Glendon Howell said Chesapeake may host the event again in 1997, if plans to hold it in Roanoke fall through.
``It's always nice to share this place with other people from across the state,'' said Robert J. Hitt, Jr., director of the Chesapeake Planetarium. ``You can pick up a lot of new viewing methods or sources of material at these and there's usually a swap table where people sell instruments or equipment they no longer use.''
Hitt delivered a presentation on solar eclipses in the building's observatory. Other speakers included a pair of NASA engineers who delivered talks on the Viking missions to Mars and ideas about the moon's origin and future. Bruce Hanna, director of the Pretlow Planetarium at Old Dominion University, spoke about visiting two observatories.
A caravan left the planetarium at six p.m. and headed far from the sky-dulling city lights to a campground in Coinjock, N.C., with hopes of viewing Hyakutake or Hale-Bopp. The amateur enthusiasts braved an overcast North Carolina evening until the clouds cleared around midnight.
They had missed the opportunity to view the comets, but got in an hour of viewing before the clouds returned. by CNB