The Celestial Observer
Newsletter of the North Shore
Amateur Astronomy Club
June,
2004
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From the President
“We
are now on the eve of the second transit of a pair, after which there will be
no other till the twenty-first century of our era has dawned upon the earth,
and the June flowers are blooming in 2004… What will be the state of science
when the next transit season arrives God only knows.” –U.S Naval Observatory
astronomer William Harkness, 1882
The
words above written by Mr. Harkness 122 years ago refer of course to the
transit of Venus which will occur on June 8. Nobody alive today has witnessed a
transit of Venus. When the sun rises that day the transit will already be in
progress for those of us viewing from the East Coast. In fact, Venus will have
already traveled across 75% of the sun’s surface. We will, however, still be
able to witness at least 1.5 hours of transit. Sunrise on June 8 is at 5:23
a.m., and the transit will end at about 7:15 a.m.
Veasey
Park is the official NSAAC venue for transit viewing. The last quarter moon
rises at 1:30 a.m. If it is a good night for observing I will most likely be
there all night, perhaps napping a few hours after the moon rises. If I just go
for the transit I will arrive around 4:00 a.m. A show of hands at the May
business meeting indicated that there are a fair number of members with solar
viewing equipment planning to attend. I suspect that I don’t need to say this
to our members, but I’ll say it anyway. OBSERVING THE SUN WITHOUT THE PROPER
EQUIPMENT WILL CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO YOUR EYES! For those of you who do not
have solar viewing equipment and would like to observe the transit, come on out
anyway as there should be plenty of members sharing the views.
Three
members of the Board, Lew Gramer, Barrie Sawyer and myself, will be traveling
in May to the Texas Star Party in Fort Davis, Texas for a week of observing in
the darkest skies in America! We’ll be in a party of six, which includes two
members from the South Shore Astronomical Society, and one member of the
Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston. We’ll have an array of instruments with us
ranging from a 36 inch Dobsonian down to a 3.5 inch Questar. Lew and I will be
sharing our experience and showing pictures at the business meeting on June 4.
There
are approximately forty members who have not yet paid their 2004 club dues
which were due on March 1. We continue to send newsletters, but the cut-off
date approaches! Your club needs your support as these dues represent 35% of
our annual income! Please send your $20.00 dues today and help keep NSAAC alive
and viable.
Kevin Ackert
President
NSAAC Welcomes Our New Member:
Bruce Perlmutter of Boston
Minutes of the NSAAC Business
Meeting, May 7th, 2004
President Ackert called the May Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:13PM. President Ackert called for introduction of new guests: there were no guests. There were 17 members in attendance plus 6 board members
Committee Reports:
The president presented to Past President Michael Deneen a model of an 18” Dobsonian telescope for his service to the NSAAC for the past two years.
Secretary: The minutes of the March and April Business Meetings were approved.
Treasurer: Treasurer’s report was approved.
Upcoming Events: Star Con is June 6th in Conn. Discussed having a club event for the transit of Venus at Veasey on June 8th. There will be an upcoming article on the club in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune. Barrie Sawyer has invited club members to Starport June 18-21.
Merrimack College: April 29th entertained the Boy Scouts of troop No 53 from Swampscott. There were 30 people in all. The weather was great for the normal Thursday observing.
Go-On Committee: Had a very good kids night on the 24th of April and the club raffled off a telescope that was won by Melanie Koerth.
Salem State: Weather has been bad and the observatory will be closed until next fall.
Star Parties: Star party at IRWS for Astronomy day. There was a star party in North Andover at the St. Michael’s School on April 20th. Upcoming star parties:
May 13th at Salem School.
May 15th at Friends of Parker River Wildlife refuge
May 21st at Coolidge Reservation in Manchester.
Site Selection Committee: committee has not met yet.
Old Business: The club is buying and installing, with the approval of the Veasey Board, two full spectrum cut-offs to replace the two outside lights. We are looking for someone to help in installation.
Location of the Death Ray Switch was revealed to all members and it is asked that the last person leaving the site to turn the light back on when they leave.
New Business: There are approximately 45 members that have not paid dues for this coming year. Lew Gramer is going to send out e-mails to enlist anyone who wishes to join. The website and the list server have been changed over and the service is going to cost about $120 per year. President Ackert presented the results of the member’s survey. The most interesting thing was that no one indicated that a dark site up North was not important. The Go-on was important.
Next Board meeting was set for Tuesday the 11th May 8:00PM at Veasey.
The program for this evening was a discussion of observing chairs given by various members.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM
Respectively submitted, John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
Respectively
submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
Survey Results
The
results are in for the informational survey which was included with this years
renewal forms. Mostly there were no surprises, but there were a few. An
interesting note is that not one single
person voted that an Up North Dark Sky Site was NOT important! Also surprising
to me was the low interest in an Exclusive Use Clubhouse.
Forty
five people voted, but people could vote on their personal feelings and that of
the club as a whole. The table below combines personal votes and club
votes. Thank you to those who took the
time to fill out the survey.
Majorities
are in bold:
How important is: Not Somewhat Very
Annual Picnic Type events 21 37 7
Club Guest Speakers 2 29 38
Dark Sky Up North Site 0 33 33
Exclusive Use Clubhouse 23 29 17
GO-ON Type Events 4 27 37
Local College Observing Sites 7 28 31
Local Observing Site 6 31 35
Maintaining SHARE System 14 37 14
Monthly Business Meetings 11 24 37
Public Star Parties 5 23 43
Organized Road Trips 18 31 18
Kevin Ackert
June 4 Business Meeting Vote
At the June Business Meeting, there is likely to be discussion and appropriation vote on the expenditure of funds for our continued use of Veasey Memorial Park facilities. The Board of Directors asks that all NSAAC members make every effort to attend this very important meeting. The meeting will start at the usual time of 8 PM.
Using VMP on Non-Friday Nights
We
have worked out a procedure for members
wishing to use Veasey Park for observing on any nights other than Fridays.
Please abide by this procedure so that the relationship we have with the VMP
committee members remains on good terms. Failure to follow this procedure may
lead to our losing VMP as an observing venue. Please note that board members
Barrie, Lew, and myself will be in Texas from May 13 to May 24.
- Call, don’t email,
any of the board members listed below prior to 5:00 PM on the day you wish
to use VMP for observing in the evening. Don’t trust that email or voice
mail will get the message to the board member. If you can’t reach one,
call another.
- Leave the board
member you speak with a phone number to call you just in case there is a
problem. The board member will notify VMP. You will not get a call back
unless there is a problem using VMP that night.
- The location of the
“Death Ray” light switch is not to
be made public and is therefore not published in the newsletter.
The switch location was posted to members via the list server. If you did
not receive the switch instructions ask the board member for them.
- It is very important
that the last person to leave the parking lot turns the Death Ray back on.
Although the switch is on a timer, VMP has requested that the light be on
when the parking lot is vacated. If you are not the last person to leave,
don’t assume that another person is a member or that they know the
procedure. Talk to them; use good judgment. Remember that only NSAAC
members have permission to use VMP for observing. If in doubt, turn the
light back on!
Kevin
Ackert 978-663-5305 office
978-337-0138
cell
Fred
Sammartino 978-392-2341 office
Art
Schneiderman 978-352-2031 home
John
Hobbs 978-887-6082
Barrie
Sawyer 978 744 2688
Lew
Gramer 617-875-1174 cell
Chris Nicholl 617-722-3585 work
603-778-4822
home
Talk for June
Last month’s discussion on observing chairs and accessories was brief, but informative. I’d like to thank all who participated.
Our June talk will be about the 2004 “Texas Star Party”. Our speakers will be Kevin Ackert, and hopefully, Lew Gramer. We might even get an update by Barrie Sawyer, if he wants to join in. They will update us on their road trip to the “Texas Star Party” which was held in May. It is one of the largest astronomical gatherings in the country, and I’m sure that they’ll have lots to tell us about it, including Kevin and Lew driving down with Godzilla in tow. Please join us if you can. It should be an interesting talk.
Please consider volunteering to speak at future general meetings about your scopes and other astronomical subjects. The scope talks don’t have to be positive reviews. You can talk about a scope you really hate. The purpose of these talks will be to acquaint other members of the club with different scopes, binoculars, or scope projects, so that they can make an informed decision as to whether they wish to acquire, or make, one for themselves. We also accept volunteers to speak on other topics, such as mounts, CCDs, photographic techniques, astronomy trips, etc. Giving a talk can be a lot of fun. In addition, we’re looking for non-members willing to do talks on astronomy related subjects. If you know of anyone, please contact me at (781) 438-7375, or at dgudzevich@comcast.net, or at the general business meetings.
Dennis Gudzevich
Program Coordinator
Observatory Notes
Astronomy Day at Merrimack
We hosted an observing night at the Merrimack College Observatory on Astronomy Day, Saturday, April 24. It was a great event and enjoyed by everyone. The observatory dome was a busy place, and at near capacity all evening. About 50 students, public and club members attended. When the first group arrived, it was still broad daylight with the sun above the horizon! We did explain that the observing DOES get better once it gets dark. But it was nice to be able to gave a tour of the facility in daylight and explain all the equipment, various telescopes and cameras on the big mount, clock drive, etc. Luckily, brilliant Venus was easily observable in the early twilight, so we could start early. In fact, Venus is currently a bright, moon-like crescent and looks best with nice contrast during twilight. Saturn, Jupiter and the moon were all crowd favorites. Many of the attendees had never looked through a nice telescope before, and were surprised to be able to easily see Saturn’s rings and the long shadows of mountains inside craters on the moon. Many thanks to club member and Merrimack Dean Russ Pinizzotto who helped to manage the crowd, answer the many questions and run the observatory all evening.
Fred Sammartino
[Jim Foy gets a well-deserved month of relative quiescence on the Star
Party front for June; The next star party is July 10 at the Ipswich River
Wildlife Sanctuary (with more details forthcoming in next month’s issue.) So,
let’s go to the mail bag. Here are two emails that ought to warm the hearts of
the volunteers who participated in these events, as well as make the hearts of
those who didn’t participate (my guilty hand is up) grow
fonder of the idea of volunteering for star parties… -lz]
Letter the first:
Dear Gary, Jim, and the other members of the NSAAC who participated in
the Astronomy Day program on April 24 at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary:
Thank you so much for continuing to present these programs at the Sanctuary. We
had a beautiful night for observing, and a great program by Gary Meehan on the
Northern Lights. 46 people attended, which brought in $230 for the Sanctuary.
Thank you so much for continuing to support the mission of the sanctuary and Mass
Audubon.
Susan Boneblack
Education Coordinator/Volunteer Coordinator
Mass Audubon/Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
Letter the second:
Thank you soooooo much to all the astronomers who generously gave of
their time and expertise on Wednesday night to introduce the wonders of the
night sky to many eager students at St Michael's School in North Andover. Several volunteers traveled quite far to
attend. While this was not the darkest
spot, the sky was clear and the students thought the viewing was great! Some 200 + people were in attendance and the
school was a-buzz with excitement. "Did you see
that!"..."Cool"......"that curly haired Lady knows a
lot". It was nice to witness.
Bob Naeye packed the house at least twice with his riveting
presentation on Mars and the Mars rovers, as did Paul "Galileo"
Manning for his animated performances.
Both were a huge hit with students and parents alike. And seventh-grader Ben Rogge
"finally" learned how to use his 4" Meade from, "people who
really know about telescope stuff."
It was a most enjoyable evening.
Kudos to ATMoB members John Blomquist, Tom Bergman, Bob Cohen, Chuck
Evans, Brewster LaMacchia, Ed Los, Charlie Mc Donald -Trump, and Eileen Myers
(the Lady with the curly hair)........and to NSAAC members Kevin Ackert
(president), Dave Fournier, and Jim Foy for all their help. Thanks again.
Virginia Renehan
GO-ON! Notes
The Kid's Night GO-ON event was held on the cloud date, Saturday, April 24th. The Kid's had the opportunity to view several solar system objects through a variety of telescopes. Each of them were given a planosphere and each family received a copy of H. A. Rey’s book. The scope drawing winner, Melanie Koerth, will be receiving her scope with mount and eyepieces shortly. Everyone attending really appreciated the energy generating refreshments that were generously provided by Ilane Walberg of the GO-ON committee. With our first Kid's Night under our belts, we are already beginning to think about our next one. Any ideas/suggestions and volunteers would be most welcomed.
Get On GO-ON!
Would you like to share your interest in astronomy and observing with others? The GO-ON committee hosts a number of events open to club members and the general public. Events include star parties, special events and specific observing programs. We are looking for ideas for future events and also help in planning and coordinating the programs. Members who have participated in the past say that it is one of the most rewarding and fun things they’ve done with the club. If you’re interested, just send an email to go-on@nsaac.org or call Lew Gramer at 617-875-1174 or Fred Sammartino at 978-392-2341 for more information.
Art Schneiderman
Deep-Space Objects of the Month: 3-in-1!
DSOMs #1 and #2:
Observer: Lew Gramer
Observing skills then: Intermediate
Date and UT of Observation: 1996-06-16, 04:00 UT
Location: Bath, ME, USA (44N)
Site classification: rural
Limiting magnitude: 7.1
Seeing: 2 - medium poor
Moon up: no
Instrument: Reflector 12.5" f/4.8
Magnification: 55x, 85x, 110x, 170x
Filters used: none
NOTE: M12 and M10 are a pair of observations in one log:
--------
Object: M12
Category: Globular cluster
Class: IX
Constellation: Oph
Data: mag 6.6 size 14.5'
RA/DE: 16h47m -01o57m
Description: A very pretty object, and a nice chance to compare and contrast with its near globular neighbor M10. At 85x and 110x, it exhibits a very tight center, along with a more diffuse concentration that is visible over 80% of its surface. There is also a concentration or secondary core of stars to the SW, visible at 55x. Using 170x, six stars were resolved in the granular mass of M12.
--------
Object: M10
Category: Globular cluster
Class: VII
Constellation: Oph
Data: mag 6.6 size 15.1'
RA/DE: 16h57m -04o06m
Description: A complex and pretty object, especially when
compared & contrasted with its near globular neighbor M12. At higher power, it exhibits a poorly defined center, along with a more diffuse concentration that is visible over 40% of its surface. There is also a concentration or secondary core of stars to the NNW, visible at 55x. Using 170x, 10 stars were resolved in the granular mass of M10. Some other clumpings which may have been field stars were apparent at a greater distance from the loose core.
DSOM #3: IAAC Deep-Sky
Observing Log Entry:
Observers: Lew Gramer, Barrie Sawyer, Kevin Ackert
Observing skills then: Advanced (many years)
Date/time of observation: 20/21 June 2003, 0500 UT
Site type: Rural
Location: Starport, Rumney NH (Lat 44N, Elev 400m)
Sky darkness: 6.8 (Limiting magnitude), Some cirrus
Seeing: 7 (1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best))
Moon presence: None - moon not in sky
Instrument: 100mm binoculars on tripod
Powers: 12x; Filters: None
Deep Sky Object: B112, B318
Object category: Dark nebula.
Object class: 4 Ir, 2
Constellation: Sct; Position: 18:50 -06:30
Object data: Sizes 20'x20', 90'x2'
Description:
Found by sweeping S and W less than a full field width, from stunning little big-binocular gem M11.
This Mutt and Jeff of dark nebulae were extremely noticeable against the starry Milky Way background tonight, despite (or because of?) the fact cirrus or haze was evident around much of the sky. B112 was by far the more noticeable of the two "blank spots", at least in the wide field of Barrie's modified 12x100 Border Hawk binoculars. In fact, this squashed oval of darkness really had a distinctly 3-dimensional feeling about it - almost as though I could perceive that it really was a vast body of cool, dark material in space. It had a sharper edge to the W, with the narrower E edge trailing off in to the surrounding stars of the Milky Way.
B318 was noted as a very long extension, diving in to an extensive "estuary" of narrow, meandering dark lanes, deep into the clotted stars of the Milky Way. With the Wild Duck cluster nearby, the sprinkling of resolved and semi-resolved stars all around, and the pleasant distraction of the many small (and probably undesignated?) dark streamers in the field, this was certainly one of the most fascinating bino fields I have gazed on in a long, long time...
New Astronomy Shop in Our Are
Many of you have met one of our newest members; Tony Costanzo. He has opened an astronomy goods shop in
Plaistow, NH. Tony helped us get the
reflector we gave away at the Kids GO-ON star party at his cost. Thanks, Tony. He carries Meade and Orion products and some specialty lines. Tony also does repairs and custom work. He
will give a discount to NSAAC members.
From personal experience I can tell you that he very helpful and
friendly. Visit his website at www.astronomy-shoppe.com or give
Tony a call at 603-382-0836.
Getting to Veasey Memorial Park
From Interstate 95 north, take the Route 133 west (54B) exit, and follow it into Georgetown Center. Go straight through the light, now on Route 97N. Go about 1.5 miles and take a left onto Salem Street (Tea Garden Restaurant at this intersection). Stay on Salem Street and turn left onto Washington Street. VMP is down a bit on the right.
Contact Information
For more information about the club and its activities, contact Barrie Sawyer, Membership Director, email: membership@nsaac.org or contact Kevin Ackert, President, e-mail at president@nsaac.org. If you have no email access, you may phone Fred Sammartino, Vice President at (978) 989-9977.
Our club web site is: http://www.nsaac.org.
The Celestial Observer is edited by Leor Zolman. Feedback, and member contributions are welcome. Contact: newsletter@nsaac.org.
E-Mail Listserve
If you have email access and are an NSAAC member in good standing, you may want to subscribe to the email notification system that Lew Gramer established for the Club in 1996. This is a "members only" system that places you in contact with other members for late breaking news concerning spontaneous observing activities, outings, tech talk, etc. You can subscribe by emailing your request to the address below. Your message should look like this:
To: majordomo@nsaac.org
Subject: Email list (you can put anything here)
Body: subscribe NSAAC Full-Name <email-address>
To remove yourself from the email list send the same message but replace subscribe with "unsubscribe" in the message body.