XXIII Auction

The 23rd annual SJAA auction and swap meet were the most profitable ever for the club! This year the auction raised $1849.01 with 81 items successfully sold. Many people helped to contribute to this record year with 56 donated items.

We sold off the last of the odds and ends donated by the Hewett Estate. Four people bought copies of Bob Hewett's wonderful picture of the full moon rising over Lick observatory 36-inch refractor dome. Dave Kingsley brought an 8-inch f/6 Optical Craftsman Newtonian and mount donated by a friend's estate that sold for an unbelievably low price. Tim Tully donated two copies of his acclaimed The Universe video. Kevin Medlock searched around his house, found, and donated 4 sets of the highly recommended shake enders for tripod legs.

Sam Sweiss of Scope City donated posters, books, software, and star charts. Sky Image Lab donated 4 framed prints. One print was of NGC 1850, (a globular cluster in the LMC with a wisp of a supernova remnant) which auctioneer Jay Freeman pointed out during the bidding was an object he had not seen. After the auction, we gave the print to Jay in appreciation for his great auctioneering skills. He did not know whether to thank us or curse us, with the daily reminder of the object hanging on his wall. Look for a report soon from Jay in the southern hemisphere.

The 4 Jaegers Refractor with a home built equatorial mount, refurbished by Jim Bartolini who built a new wooden tripod for it and fine-tuned by Phil Chambers, sold for only $225. What teamwork! What a deal!

Those who saw it at the Houge Park star party before the auction know what a deal this was with the excellent views of Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon.

Special thanks go to Bill Arnett for updating the Auction website with items preregistered, Dana Crum for manning the registration table, Gary Mitchell for handling the money, and Jim Van Nuland for running his trustworthy auction program (written in BASIC!), keeping everything running smoothly. After the auction, the hall was filled with many interesting items for the swap.

Ralph Seguin brought dial calipers and some of his home made sphereometers. Chris Angelos had binocular heads from inspection microscopes that could be adapted for use with a telescope. Joe Sunseri of Earth and Sky Adventure Products brought his usual assortment of new and used astronomical equipment. Various used books and eyepieces were sold. After an hour, it was all over. The club raised an additional $95 from the swap proceeds. We figured that most people were literally just spent after the auction. See you all again next year!