Continued from previous message.

 Washington Xing Pk  - - -  3, 24 
 Waterfront Park - - - - - www.aosny.org 
 Wesleyan University - - - www.asgh.org 
 Westchester Amat Astro  -  3 
 Westport Astro Soc  - - -  1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30 
 Wilcox Park - - - - - - - 10 
*York College  - - - - - -  1, 8, 22, 29 

General News
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    Science Industry Business Library will not officiate dates and 
hours for its two astronomy workshops more than a week or so ahead. It 
issues a schedule only week by week, even at the very Library itself. 
The dates and times for one of th workshops are entered above, Sep 
14th and 21st. However, they were given only as 'tentative' with no 
assurance of being firm. 
    There are several star parties running in September within a day's 
drive from New York City. The Black Forest Star Party was already sold 
out by mid July. I include it because by mid August my readers were 
still asking about it. So, altho the event is closed by now, I offer 
the contact for information's sake. 
    The others are the Connecticut Star Party, 10th-12th; No Frills 
Star Party, 15th-19th; South Jersey Star Party, 17th-19th; Arunah Hill 
Days, 17th-19th. 
    Please consider that while these take place in summer, the weather 
can urn hideously against you within hours. Bring rain protection and 
warm wear. It can get REAL chilly, actually cold, in deep night. 
    There are some starviewings at colleges which I know start in mid 
September, but no dates are yet established. Do check with College of 
Staten Island and Columbia University as September gets underway. 
    There's a thoroly nonastronomy music event each month at hayden 
Planetarium on the first Friday of each month. Called, ahem, Starry 
Nights, the September one is on the 3rd. It's free, after Museum 
entry, on the ground floor, among the exhibits, under the Hayden 
Sphere starting at 17:30. Jazz bands play for about two hours while 
you relax, take a snack, and chat away the evening. 
    I mention this because several of us astronomers are starting to 
use these sessions as an informal nonstructured extra meeting. You'll 
usually find a couple of us huddled around a cocktail table. Come over 
and say 'Hi!'. 
    There are two points to keep in mind. First, the snacks are a mite 
rich; I guess you could sneak in a small sandwich if you must nosh up. 
You BETTER get your table at 17h or earlier. These jazz shows are 
very popular and the space fills up quickly. 
    I, like on occasion in the past, throw in a few cultural events. 
These, only the merest sample of the hundreds thruout the City, help 
you become a well-rounded world-wisely home astronomer. And!, most are 
free or low cost. And! All are plain FUN things to do. 

Sky News 
 ------
    August has been overall a miserable month in the City for 
stargazing. Mostly cloudy, hazy, and lots of rain. On top of the 
regular summer rainfall, we got overload from the remanents of 
hurricanes Bonnie and Charley. 
    We had just one good clear night. That was in the predawn hours of 
August 22nd. Tempestuous thunderstorms kicked out the hot humid hazy 
weather to give us skies of deep clarity and darkness. In the outer 
boros we saw stars of fully 5th magnitude, while Manhattan enjoyed 
stars of 4-1/2 to 5th magnitude. There was no Milky Way sighting 
because the far weaker winter reach was then overhead. Yet its 
corridor across the sky was peppered with loads of the smaller stars. 
    Despite the adverse weather, NYSkiers did watch the naked0eye 
sunspot #649 on the occasions when the clouds parted. This group was 
on its second lap around the Sun, grew large and complex, was spotted 
on occasion by protected eyes. It did not, on the other hand, serve up 
many strong aurorae. 

City News 
 -------
    Governors Island was heavily visited in August, altho i suspect 
some sessions were cut short by sudden heavy rain. If you missed the 
chance so far. the last Saturday trips run on the 3rd and the weekday 
trips end on the 25th. 
    Several readers asked about the Brooklyn el rides. I didn't go on 
any of them in August. From what friends tell me, you're in for a real 
treat later this year. First off, none of the four trips ran according 
to plan. Mechanical breakdowns, trackwork along the routing, and a 
jammed bridge on the IND Rockaway line made for wild and weird trips.. 
    Yet, on one trip, the cars were set free from their tows to run on 
their own electric. They actually, after a century, did scamper about 
on short runs. With some further fixup and tuning, the coaches will 
star in festivities on tap for weeks near the subway centennial date 
of October 27th. 
    West Nile disease erupted in the City due to the prolonged hot wet 
summer. Spraying began in early August on Staten Island and will be 
offered elsewhere by the need. Lyme's disease, carried by tics rather 
than mosquitos, is also a hazard all over the City. Both illnesses are 
serious, but curable if caught quickly after infection. Please take 

 Continued in next message.

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