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Volume 61, Number il PWEEKLY TiMES 650 Eas Claint. and eode 1937Wedne esday, March 19, 1997 History on the move Red Cross biliboard stolen from public works driveway On January lSth the Red Cross billboard used to pro- mote blood donor linics was stolen or removed frorn the public works departrnent driveway in Orono. Spokesperson for the Red Cross 'Jo Harris' sald that the Newcastle Lions Club pre- sented the Red Cross wlth a cheque which they used to purchase two bilîboard signis, consequently one of which was stolen. If anyone has information as to the where-abouts of the bfllboard please oeil Jo Harris at 983-1107 or the Durharn Regional Police in Bowmanville. The Red Cross would like to recover their sign. Cornet Hale-Bopp by 1Bil1 Bunting There is a brand new visi- tor visible in our rnorning and evening skies right now. It began its Journey sunward frorn the Oort cloud possibly rnillions of years ago by a gravitational nudge frorn a passing star. It is the cornet Hale-Bopp, narned for the co- discoverers tatfaiile and' Thornas Bopp, two Axerican amateur astronorners. On July 23, 1995, both rnen located it while scanning the heavens, wlth their tele- scopes, near a well known cluster of stars called M70. Following the astronornical tradition of narning cornets after theie discoverers this cornet was narned Cornet Hale- Bopp. When discovered it was rnore than one-half a billion rniles frorn the centre of the solar systern, well beyond the orbit of Jupiter, the fifth plan- et frorn our sun. Its bright- ness at this distance imme- diately called forth predictions that as it approached the sun. in 1997, it would be one of the bright- est cornets of this century. So far the prediction is being born out. Hale-Bopp is bright enough that people have seen it, without the benefit of binoculars, frorn such light pqlluted cities as Rome, Tokyo and Toronto. At the present tirne the cornet is visible in both the rnornmng and evening skies. Just now the best views are in the morning frorn 4:00 a.rn. to 5:30 a.rn. as the fulrnoon tends to wash out the tail of the cornet in the evening sky. Mardi 26th to April lOth is expected to be the best tîrne for evening viewing, about 90 rninutes"àfter suinset, as the full moon will have left the evening sky. The cornets clos- est approach to the sun will occur on April lst. In the rnorning sky the cornet is in the East well up from the horizon and in the evening sky it is in the North- North West dloser to the hori- zon (north of the setting point for the sun). It is brlght enough that you should not have any problerns seeing, with the unaided eye, what appears t6 be a bright fuzzy star. The best way to vlew the cornet is fro-m as dark a site as you can find, uslng a pair of binoculars 7 to 10 power (l amn uslng a pair with 8x40 opticsj. With these you should be able to see not only the bright head of the cornet but also the tail qulte _plainly. I find the seventh or eighth line north of Orono, using a hili top to get an unobstructed view of the horizon, to be a very satisfactory location. As cornets go Hale-Bopp is a big one. It is estlrnated that the nucleus is 32 miles across. The farnous Haley's cornet is onfly about haif that size. The nucleus is usually described as dirty ice, materi- ai left over frorn the formation of the solar systern. It con- sists rnainly of water ice wlth sorne carbon dioxide and other frozen gases plus a lot of sooty dust. As it approach- es the sun the sun's heat causes the ice and gas tLo begin to vaporize. This gas forms a dense cloud around the nucleus called the "corna". Sunlight, reflecting off this corna is what we see shlnlng so brightly in the skyL The 'Tail" whîch strearns out frorn the cornet is forrned of gas and dust pushied away frorn the cornet by the solar wind. So if you want to see one of the solar spectacles of the century, now is the time to get out and see this cornet. You won't see it again as it will be some 4,000 years before it returns this way.. ULTS 86, 3 - Norma Moffat 84, 4 - Shirley Bubar 82, 5 - Shirley Gordon 81; Low - man; Draws - Bernice Partner, Olive Little, Roy Hayward, Lil Bolderstone, RED CROSS BLOOD DONOR CLINICS There is a Blood Donor Clnic Wednesday, March 19 at the Bowmanville Lions Centre, 26 Beech Ave. from 12:30 to 7:30. Clarke High School is also holding a Blood Donor Clinic on April l8th from 9 arn. to 1 p.m. Other Blood Donor Clinic dates are May 2lst, July l6th, Sept l7th and Nov. 19th. Contact Bowmanville Red Cross for more information. ORONO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 'ST. PATRICK'S SHOW' Thursday, Marçh 2th at 7:30 p.m. Guest speaker - Judy Hurvid. Topic - "The Ecology Garden". Ail wel- come. For additional information caîl Carol 983-5326 or Flora 983-9761. CLARINGTON OLDER ADULT ASSOCIATION The Claington Older Adult program on Tuesday, March 25, 1997 includes line dancing at 9 a.m. and cards at 10. At 10:15 Ruby Knight, 4-K's In Home Beauty Services, will talk about "Skin Care for Seniors" and "Paraffin Treatment" on hands. Square Dancing starts at 1:00 p.m. Lunch a noon and local transportation for a small fee can be arranged when requested in advance by Monday noon. Programs are held at the Lions Community Centre, 26 Beech Ave., Bowmanville. Phone Community Care at 623-2261. CLARINGTON YWCA SPRING SESSION Clarington YWICA is offering a wide variety of fun and excitîng activities for the spring session. Preschool programs are available for toddlers ages 1 to 5. Children ages 3 - 10 mnay also take part in some of the many programs designed for their needs: Programs include Musical Movements, Ballet, Jazz and Jiu-Jitsu. Youth programs include a Gir's Drop-ln, Babysitter Training Course and Jiu-Jitsu. Adults who wish 10 take part in a ftness program, came join us to experience the relaxation of yoga and venture in to our Low-Impact Aerobics classes. For further information please cal us at 623-9922. The Robert McLaughlin Gallery presents-.. THE OSHAWA~ ART ASSOCIATION 29th ANNUAL JURIED EXHIBITION A pril 24th Io May 1 lth with Opening Ceremony on April 24th from 7 to 9 p.m. T'his popular exhibition fea- tures works executed in oil, watercolour, acrylic, pastel and mixed media. Paintings, drawings. prints and sculpture are încluded. Ail entries are from members of the Association or from residents of Durham Region. Most of the works on display may be purchased by contacting the artist. Gallery Hours: Tues/Wed/Fri 10- 5pm; Thurs 10-9pm; Sat & Sun 12 noon to 4pm; For information caîl Alexandra Morin (905) 576-3000. Admission Free. FRED & ADELE ASTAIRE COMING TO TOWN! Smie's Theatre Production presents "Fred & Adele" Saturday, March 22nd ai 7:30 p.m. Plan now to attend. Tickets are $8.00 each available at Rolph Hardware. Come sing and dance along with 'Fred & Adele". Sponsored by Orono Town Hall. ANNUAL KUB KAR CHALLENGE Race day is Monday, March 24 at 7:15 at Orono United Church. Admission is $1.00. Concession items 1 =ervîng 1