The Celestial Observer
Newsletter of the North Shore
Amateur Astronomy Club
November,
2004
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From the President
The
Moose Dodge road trip in September was a very memorable event, as they always
are. It was nice to see new faces this year, but I did miss seeing some of the
veteran “dodgers.” It was a treat having Lex
Crosett’s son, Rainer, attend on Saturday night. His enthusiasm as a
budding amateur was inspiring to us all! In addition to dodging moose along the
road where we usually see them, we had one visit our observing site at 2:30 am.
Fortunately for us the young bull was too preoccupied with cleaning his antlers
on a spruce tree to bother entering our clearing.
Another
successful event was the VMP Work Day on September 25. Nine NSAAC members
combined with five VMP workers managed to strip the shingles from the cottage
roof and get it covered with tarps. The job took about five hours to strip and
another two hours to cover. Many thanks to those members who participated. We
once again are in excellent standing with VMP and our rent concerns are behind
us for now.
The
club picnic was on the afternoon of the work day and was modestly attended. I
believe that having it on the same day as the work party was probably a
mistake, but between Moose Dodge and the work day it was difficult to schedule
and almost did not happen at all. I did enjoy sitting with the picnickers after
working, and I now regard this event with a higher degree of importance for our
members. If I am on the Board of Directors next year I will work
enthusiastically to promote this event.
Amongst
our plans at Merrimack College is one to open the observatory to the public an
additional night each month. To do this we need at least one, preferable two,
additional members to be trained on using the telescope and observatory. With
three or four members on the crew we will be able to easily cover two public
observing sessions per month. Please contact Fred or myself to take advantage
of this fun and educational task.
Our
first Star Party at Merrimack College is scheduled for the night of the lunar
eclipse, October 27. This will be a large event with several observing sites on
campus and is expected to be well attended by the students. Several telescopes
are needed. Please contact Jim Foy or Fred Sammartino.
The
clear crisp nights of Autumn are here. Hope to see you under a dark sky some
night soon!
Kevin Ackert
President
NSAAC Welcomes Our New Members:
Carol Grimes of Ipswich, MA
Ken Weeks of Lynnfield, MA.
Minutes of the NSAAC Business
Meeting,
October 1, 2004
Vice-President Sammartino called the October Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:00PM. Vice-President Sammartino called for introduction of new guests: there were no guests. There ere 12 members in attendance plus 3 board members. Because there was no quorum of board members, this business meeting was informational only.
Committee Reports:
Secretary: There was no secretary’s report.
Treasurer: There was no Treasurer’s report.
Membership: Barrie Sawyer introduced Kenneth J. Weeks of
Lynnfield as a new member of the club.
Go-On Committee: Chris Nicholl announced that the Go-On event is scheduled for October 9th at Halibut State Park in Annisquam with a rain date of October 16th.
Merrimack College: Looking for more club volunteers to run the scope at Merrimack co that the observatory can be opened every Wednesday night for observing. Several improvements have been made at the site and several more are planned. Anyone interested in helping at Merrimack contact Fred or Kevin Ackert. There is a Star party scheduled at Merrimack October 7th for a Brownie troop.
Salem State: Dennis Gudzevich reported we were open the first three weeks of the year, which weather wise was amazing considering how bad last year's weather was. That amounted to about half of the entire total open nights from last year. Dennis also said that the attendance has been from four to as many as twelve people during those weeks.
Star Parties: There will be star parties October 13th [now cancelled…-ed.] at IRWS and October 27 at Merrimack College the night of the next lunar eclipse. Russ Pinizzoto has reserved space in the Student Center, Sakowich, for that evening. Fred Sammartino is having chairs and an LCD projector set up so that we can have a presentation rain or shine. We need someone who can so a presentation for this event. Contact Fred for information.
Site Selection Committee: No report
High-Tower Rock Observatory. No report
Moose Dodge: The annual Moose Dodge was a total success. Ten people participated and there was one excellent night of observing and one mediocre night. Two Moose also participated.
Club Picnic: About 10 people attended the club picnic that followed the work party at VMP. Dennis Gudzevich wants to plan the club picnic next year to be a bigger and more attended event. We should try to schedule it separate from a work party.
VMP Work Party: The work party at VMP was very successful with about 10 members who stripped the roofing shingles and covered the roof with tarps. The club members are now heroes in the eyes of VMP committee members. Thanks to all who participated.
Upcoming Events: Sky and Telescope discount on books. Art Schniderman sent an e-mail that there is a discount from Sky and Telescope for part of the month of October. For information call 800-253-0245 or go to www.skyandtelescope.com .
Old Business: VMP wants the club to pay $900/year rent for the office. They are willing to accept work in lieu of rent; the details have yet to be worked out. The full spectrum cut-off lights are still waiting to be installed. Should be installed in near future.
New Business: Barrie Sawyer has volunteered to be the “Site Coordinator” at the Friday Night observing sessions to help new members get integrated into the club activities so that they don’t feel left out and to also introduce them to the members. We could use some more volunteers to help with this function. The Board of Directors is researching how to attract keynote speakers to have for meetings at Merrimack College where students will also be invited to the talks.
Next Board meeting will be October 12th a VMP at 8:00PM.
The program for the evening was member’s summer astro-experiences and observing the full moon afterwards.
Meeting adjourned at 9:04 PM
Notes taken by Fred Sammartino
Edited
by John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
October 16th Deep Sky GO-ON (Special repost for online edition only)
Dark skies, no mosquitoes, good company and plenty of enjoyable targets! That_s what we promise for the next GO-ON event to be held Saturday, October 16th (postponed from the original date of October 9th).
We are planning a tour of some of fall_s deep sky gems, with a group of enthusiastic club-members leading the session. Multiple telescopes will be present to view through, or you can bring your own telescope and follow along. There will be plenty of star-hopping veterans there to help out if needed. We’ll be selecting a list ahead of time - and will try to publish it on the Listserv a few days in advance. We’ll also be providing the list at the GO-ON event, together with some finder charts.
Because of the faint nature of some of these objects, we'll be holding this event under the dark skies at Halibut Point on Cape Ann in Gloucester. Directions will be posted to the Listserv prior to the event (those without internet can call Chris Nicholl at 978/873-0146). For those of you who are unfamiliar with this site, it's about 45 minutes from Veasey, and has beautifully dark skies - significantly darker than what we enjoy at Veasey.
So, come out and join your club members for a nearby dark-sky getaway with a guided tour of some of fall's deep sky treasures. Setup will be at 6:30pm, and the program will begin at 7:30pm.
The GO-ON Committee:
Lew Gramer
Chris Nicholl
Fred Sammartino
Art Schneiderman
Ilane Walberg
Merrimack College Program Expanding
Our
once a month public observing sessions at Merrimack College in North Andover
will soon be expanded to twice a month. The expanded program is part of member Russ Pinizzotto’s (Dean of Science
and Engineering at Merrimack) proactive ideas to work closer with our club,
and to enhance the astronomy programs at the college. Other plans include
facility upgrades to the dome and computer controller on the scope, NSAAC
meetings held at the college with keynote speakers, and star parties on campus
for the students.
We currently have two members handling the public observing on the third Thursday of each month. We are hoping to get at least one or two more interested members trained on using the telescope and dome so that there are enough of us to cover on public observing nights. This would not require a monthly commitment from any one person, but would be a shared responsibility were we help and cover for each other as needed. Arrangements will be made for interested members to have private training sessions. Please contact Fred Sammartino or Kevin Ackert at vicepresident@nsaac.org or president@nsaac.org.
Bird Seed Day
Saturday, November 6, 2004 is the annual “Bird Seed Day” held at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary (IRWS) in Topsfield, MA.
Bird Seed Day is that one day of the year when Audubon members come to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary to pick up their yearly order of bird seed, the proceeds of which go to the sanctuary. Help is requested from NSAAC members from 8AM through 3PM. For the first two hours (8AM-10AM), the bags of bird seed are off-loaded from a large trailer. As there is a lot of seed to be moved, help is particularly needed during this period. During the balance of the day, customers arrive to have the bags of seed placed in their cars by the volunteers. It really is a lot of fun, and a great way to help out a terrific organization while enjoying the fresh air. The event runs rain or shine. Any time that you can give will be appreciated. If you wish to volunteer, just show up that day and let them know that you’re an NSAAC member and what you’re there for. As an added bonus, they usually provide us with coffee, doughnuts, and a great, home-cooked lunch!
The sanctuary is a valuable resource for the NSAAC, as they are gracious enough to allow us to observe from their property. A show of support is a great way to show our appreciation for being allowed to use their property for stargazing on Saturday evenings throughout the year. Please try to help out if you can.
Thanks,
Dennis Gudzevich
Talk for November
We have once again rescheduled last month’s planned
presentations of “Member’s Summer Astro-Experiences” for the October general
meeting.
If you have any astro-related travel, photos or experiences that you'd like to share with other club members, please plan to do that at the November general meeting. We'll have an "open microphone" format, but if you'd like to present something, please send Fred Sammartino an email, if possible, at sammartino@lucent.com to give us a heads up. If you'd like any audio-visual assistance (i.e.: laptop projector, slide projector, overhead) we'll be sure that we're set up for that.
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 dgudzevich@comcast.net, or at the general business meetings.
Dennis Gudzevich
Program Coordinator
NSAAC Picnic Summary
The
2004 NSAAC annual picnic was held on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at Veasey
Memorial Park. It was attended by about nine people this year. The weather
cooperated, and we all had a good time. Tony Costanzo brought a small scope
along and we did some solar observing. It was truly a pleasant experience to
see fellow stargazers enjoying each other’s company, in the light of day, in a
relaxed and friendly environment. We still missed the rest of the club,
however, and hope that we will see more of you there next year.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Dennis
Gudzevich
Star Party News
No star parties
currently scheduled for November.
2004 Calendars
We still have new 2004 Astronomy and Tide-Mark calendars in stock, though their numbers are dwindling. The price of the calendars this year is $8.00 each. We only have one or two Astronomy calendars left, and about seven of the Tide Mark calendars left. As in the past, I would like to clear all the calendars out at the December business meeting. They make excellent Christmas presents, and what self-respecting amateur astronomer would want to be without one? Please remember that purchasing these calendars is one of the ways that you help support this club. A portion of each sale goes back into our general fund to help support other ventures. If you wish to purchase one or more of the calendars, just show up at Veasey at a general meeting, or contact me at dgudzevich@comcast.net and I will put your calendar order aside for you. I have put calendars aside for those of you who requested them. Please note that I will only hold them until I sell all of the remaining calendars, other than these, which probably means the December business meeting. So don't let it go too long.
Thanks,
Dennis Gudzevich
NSAAC Club Hawker
Site Search
Due to the environment at Veasey Memorial Park changing, it has been decided that a committee would be set up to explore new sites for the club’s meetings and observing. We are in no rush to leave a site that has been very good to us and anticipate the search to take quite a while. The following are the criteria for the search.
1. The new site should be within a reasonable distance of our current location.
2. A site where we could both meet and observe would be preferable.
3. A site where we could meet with a nearby site for observing would be O.K.
Even if you do not wish to participate in the site search, if you know of someone affiliated with an organization, State, Non-Profit or Private, that meet these conditions and might be willing to house us, please pass the information on. If you do wish to join the committee please e-mail us at sitesearch@nsaac.org.
Deep-Space Object of the Month
Observer: Lew Gramer
Your skills: Intermediate
Date and UT of Observation: Midnight, mid-October
Location: Savoy, MA, USA (42N, elev 700m)
Site classification: rural
Limiting magnitude: 7.2 (zenith)
Seeing: 7 of 10 - pretty good, intermittent haze
Moon up: no
Instrument: 20" f/5 Tectron truss-tube dob Newtonian reflector
Magnification: 70x, 210x, 420x
Object: NGC206, G52 (in M31)
Filters used: None
Category: Star cloud, globular cluster (in M31)
Constellation: And
Data: mag "vFT", "eFT" size 4'x2', 1"
RA/DE: 00h41m +40o44m
Description: The famous star cloud in the Great Andromeda Galaxy was very bright this morning, with a jagged N edge sloping NE-SW; a more irregular S edge, diffuse especially to the SE, and containing a pronounced dark "indentation" near the center of the edge. A globular cluster in M31, known as "G52" in the Luginbuhl & Skiff Observing Handbook, was readily identified with averted vision to the W. An arcing dark lane was VERY striking to the E, NE, and especially SE of the star cloud, where the dark streak was traced through a *degree* of arc-length, curving S and back NE! Roiling clouds of bright and faint "nebulosity" stretched S of n206, with 4-5 small, stark dark lanes bifurcating to the E and W, amid many stellar and more extended brightenings. Worth every minute spent on this object under such clear conditions! (See also the log for two nights later, where I identified several more constituent objects in the great Galaxy!)
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.
Suggestions regarding the content of the NSAAC web site are also welcome, as I (Leor) am also acting as de-facto webmaster for the site. Do you have a web site you’d like to see listed on the members’ web site page? Suggestions for the Resources (or any other) page? Just email webmaster@nsaac.org with your ideas.
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.