Telescope

A telescope isn't much fun if you don't know how to use it. The TriState Astronomers will host a telescope clinic at Discovery Station in Hagerstown on Saturday, June 4. If you have a telescope and you're not sure what to do next, bring it to the telescope clinic for some guidance. Club members will be there from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. This is a free event; however, there may be a fee to enter Discovery Station. For more information, contact Dan at 301-988-9828 or at Outreach@TriStateAstronomers.org .

HAGERSTOWN ? Jessica Black wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. She got a 4-inch reflector telescope and headed off Saturday afternoon to the Tri-State Astronomers Club's telescope clinic at Discovery Station at Hagerstown. Jessica, 12, of Middletown, Md., said she has caught glimpses of seas and craters on the moon, and she wants to see and learn more. "I want to learn more about what different parts of (the telescope) do, learn more about the lenses and how they work," Jessica said.

Jessica Black wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. She got a 4-inch reflector telescope and headed off Saturday afternoon to the Tri-State Astronomers Club's telescope clinic at Discovery Station at Hagerstown. Jessica, 12, of Middletown, Md., said she has caught glimpses of seas and craters on the moon, and she wants to see and learn more. "I want to learn more about what different parts of (the telescope) do, learn more about the lenses and how they work," Jessica said.

Telescope clinic planned at Discovery Station The TriState Astronomers will be hosting a telescope clinic Saturday at Discovery Station in Hagerstown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The clinic is for people who have a telescope but don't know how to use it. The clinic is free, but there is an admission fee to Discovery Station. For more information, call 301-988-9828. New Year's Eve service to be held at Ebenezer Ebenezer AME Church's New Year's Eve celebration starts with a praise and worship service at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

trishr@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - A child who began stargazing with his first telescope at age 8, Kevin Boles, the Morgan County Observatory Foundation president, has had an interest in astronomy and space his whole life. In the ninth grade in a Prince George's County, Md., school, Boles joined the Astronomy Club and got to run the planetarium machine that projects the sky, he said. "We put on a show that brings the night sky out any time of the day, and you can teach people how to stargaze," he said.

Visible evening planets Venus is bright in the west after sunset. Mars is high in the south. Saturn is in the south at sunset and visible most of the night. Visible morning planets Jupiter rises at the start of morning twilight. For more information about the visible evening planets and nighttime sky, download the planetarium's podcast "Skylights" from antpod.com . Solar system A trio of planets is visible after the sun leaves the sky. From the west to east you may spot Venus, Mars, and Saturn.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Waynesboro WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Almost everyone who descended on the grounds at Renfrew Museum Wednesday night for the comet watch said they were there to see a little history in the making. "I wanted to see it now because I won't get another chance," said Keith Bachtell, 12, of Waynesboro, who joined his friend, Brian Shade, 13, of Waynesboro, who brought his own telescope to view comet Hale-Bopp. The comet watch, sponsored by the Adult Education Committee of Renfrew Institute For Cultural and Environmental Studies, attracted church youth groups, families and senior citizens from Franklin County, some of whom had never looked through a telescope before.

Trains of Christmas O-gauge layout featuring trains operating in a snow scene. Also trains for children to operate. Today through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, 300 S. Burhans Blvd., Hagerstown. $4, adults; 50 cents, ages 4 through 12; free for ages 3 and younger. Call 301-739-4665. 'Cowboy Christmas' Includes a wagon ride, live nativity, square dancing, pony rides, dinner and "Cowboy Christmas" show. Today and Saturday, 6 to 9:30 p.m. Antietam Recreation, 9745 Garis Shop Road, south of Hagers-town.

Planets line up to show off By GUY FLETCHER Staff Writer Look to the southwestern sky early one evening this week and you'll see a celestial show that isn't likely to take the stage again for another century. Eight planets are lined up in an unusual crescent near the moon. Five of the planets are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye; two require binoculars, and one, Pluto, can be seen with a telescope. "It's not unusual to have several planets in the sky at the same time.

1. W.Va. First Friday to host Nashville duo Nashville duo the Twangtown Paramours will perform Friday, April 6. 7:30 p.m., open mic sign-up. A one-hour open mic precedes the featured artists. Trinity Church Orchard House, 4599 Shepherdstown Road, (W.Va. 45) Shepherdstown, W.Va. $10. Call 304-676-4422. 2. Robert Sykes jazz ensemble to perform in Clear Spring The Robert Sykes jazz ensemble will perform with special guest Anita Thomas. 3 p.m. today at L.P. Snyder Memorial Library, 12624 Broadfording Road, Clear Spring.

Jim Stanicek caught a view of Saturn in his telescope. It was during a Tri-State Astronomers star party, a gathering where the public had been invited to a special viewing of the cosmos from Antietam National Battlefield. A young teen was next in line to peer into the telescope. "We've got Saturn here," Stanicek said. The girl took a cursory look and said, "Oh, OK," clearly unimpressed. Stanicek, 62, of Hagerstown, asked whether she really saw it, if she'd viewed the rings.

South Hagerstown High School's Alumni Association will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. in the media center at South High. Topics to be discussed include 2012 scholarships, the 2012 golf tournament and an alumni meet and greet to be held in June All South High graduates and teachers are eligible for membership in the association. For more information, go to www.shhsrebelalumni.org/ . Emma K. Doub Thursday - PTA executive board meeting,  3:30 to 5 p.m. Jan. 18 - Third-graders to visit the planetarium; PTA family night at Chuck E Cheese, 3 to 9 p.m. Lions Club Tuesday - Craig Mac-Lean, executive director and chief executive officer of Goodwill in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, will talk about Goodwill Industries.

A telescope isn't much fun if you don't know how to use it. The TriState Astronomers will host a telescope clinic at Discovery Station in Hagerstown on Saturday, June 4. If you have a telescope and you're not sure what to do next, bring it to the telescope clinic for some guidance. Club members will be there from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. This is a free event; however, there may be a fee to enter Discovery Station. For more information, contact Dan at 301-988-9828 or at Outreach@TriStateAstronomers.org .

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. -- JLG Industries, an Oshkosh Corp. company, announced Thursday that it has received an order to build 492 All Terrain Lifter Army System (ATLAS II) telescopic forklifts for the U.S. Army. The order has a value of $85.7 million, with units scheduled for delivery beginning in the fall of 2010. This is the second U.S. Army contract awarded to JLG this spring. According to a Herald-Mail story published April 1, JLG received $51 million in contracts to construct 311 (ATLAS II)

Visible evening planets Venus is bright in the west after sunset. Mars is high in the south. Saturn is in the south at sunset and visible most of the night. Visible morning planets Jupiter rises at the start of morning twilight. For more information about the visible evening planets and nighttime sky, download the planetarium's podcast "Skylights" from antpod.com . Solar system A trio of planets is visible after the sun leaves the sky. From the west to east you may spot Venus, Mars, and Saturn.

It's Christmas season again. Perhaps you are considering buying a telescope for someone on your shopping list. TriState Astronomers wants to help make stargazing a fun and exciting adventure into the night sky. Following Christmas, TriState Astronomers will conduct telescope clinics to help telescope owners set up their new telescopes and learn how to use them. If you are buying your first telescope and if you are not knowledgeable about them, there are many factors you should consider before you go shopping.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Atlantis' astronauts reached out and grabbed the Hubble Space Telescope on Wednesday, setting the stage for five days of treacherous spacewalking repairs in a lofty orbit littered with space junk. It was the first time anyone had seen the orbiting observatory up close in seven years. "Hubble has arrived on board Atlantis," commander Scott Altman said. "It's great to be back with the telescope," replied Mission Control. Robot arm operator Megan McArthur used the 50-foot boom to seize the school bus-sized telescope as the two spacecraft sailed 350 miles above Australia.

Little League clinics planned Local umpires Denny Hockensmith and Dave Grams will once again be teaching the rules of Little League baseball. The sessions will be held at The Church of Christ on Leitersburg Pike on Tuesdays in February, starting Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. As in the past, they will be covering the basics, as well as changes to the rule book, including new pitch count rules. Also, before you purchase a new bat for your child, you need to know the Bat Performance Factor (BPF)