Ed's Column
Controversy has arrived at AstroTent! WOW! And, now that I have your attention... I was thinking of writing an editorial for this AstroTent when I chanced upon a letter from Mike Jefferson, written in the wake of this year's StarFest. This letter very closely parallels my thinking on the issue of optical quality that has been plaguing amateur Astronomy the last few years. I think that the whole issue has been vastly overblown. Thanks, Mike, for putting things in their proper perspective! Perhaps now we can put the issue of optical quality behind us (say, somewhere in the vicinity of Uranus!) and get on with actually doing some observing.

One comment I received concerning AstroTent was that the power structure shown at the bottom of this page appears to be inverted. Actually, this is a matter of simple inertia and not some sort of political coup! When the table was expanded to add the executive of the NYAA, I simply appended them to the bottom. Of course, since no external force has been applied, this inertia has not as yet been overcome!

Finally, I am always looking for photos (either astronomical or terrestrial) relating to the club for use on the cover or elsewhere in AstroTent. Slides, negatives, or prints are fine. If you have any you'd like considered, forward them to me or Tony. They will be digitized and returned to you.

Clear Skies!

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