I am sorry that I took so long in responding. I would be delighted to be a speaker. I very much enjoy traveling to events and encouraging others.

Keep up the good work! It took me 10 long years to complete "Comet Hunter's Gold" – but at least I have the distinction of being the first woman astronomer to achieve it. The observing clubs are great fun and I'm proud of you!

Best,

~Tammy

I have three observing certificates from the Astronomical League ( Messier, Binocular Messier, and the Double Star) By the end of July I should have the Lunar 100 and the Binocular Deep Sky.

My goal is to have a Master Observers certificate by 2013 when the Rochester Astronomy Club hosts the NCRAL.

Would you like to be the keynote speaker? I do have a little bit of pull.

Clear skies from a big fan!

OK. As for the violet filter… I am not allowed to give you a specific reference to where you may purchase one, so simply google in ME-07516, to look for this Meade product. What you want is the #47 violet filter. On a smaller telescope, the violet immediately snaps out phases without stacking (and does a whale of a job at revealing high albedo lunar features during full or near full moon). Used in a mid-sized telescope, the violet filter will reveal limb darkening on Venus, and large aperture will show some cloud details (when there are cloud details to be seen). If you are asked to pay more than $15 for this 1.25" filter, then look around some more.

And BrianV? I can sympathize. Even though it's a pain getting winter gear on – it's great to be able to do your observations and be back in the house in time for TV and a reasonable bed time. But think of all those great galaxies and then nebulae you'll be missing!!

And I'll see you out there with coffee…

You mentioned in a different article that you use a "deep violet" filter to observe the cloud structure on Venus. Where can I get one, and how much does one cost?

Clear skies!