The Celestial Observer
Newsletter of the
Amateur Astronomy Club
February,
2006
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From the President
In
December, Veasey Park Management informed us that they wanted NSAAC to enter
into a rental agreement which would take effect on January 1. We received a
form letter which was sent to all users of the facility, and a proposed
agreement specifically for us. They said their intent was to bring all users of
the facility under agreements, and to even the field regarding compensation.
Their
proposal was for $200.00 per month, plus 100 labor hours per year, for use of
the two offices, the meeting room once a month, and the parking lot on Friday
nights. Yes, they are aware that we are a 501c3 non-profit whose hundred
members each pay twenty bucks a year in dues. This has been brewing for the
past year and I have mentioned it a few times.
The
Board volleyed emails around for a week on this and we met on December 14th.
First, we solidified our contingency plan, which was to hold our meetings at
We
certainly could not afford what they were proposing without significantly
raising dues, and none of us wanted to raise them so that we could pay rent! A
few of us were against paying any rent at all and wanted to go with the
contingency plan. Most of the Board felt that it was very important for the
club to hold its meetings at a location from which we can observe, and that was
the driving thought behind our proposal to them. We also felt that an
underlying motive of VMP was to have us give up the office space.
The
Treasurer had calculated that we could afford $600.00 per year as an annual
expense without raising dues. Three Board members met with VMP on December 20th
and proposed that we pay them $50.00 per month, plus 50 labor hours per year,
for use of the meeting room and the parking lot on Fridays for observing, and
that we would give up our two offices. They accepted this, and I have an
agreement waiting to be signed by us. It is imperative that we have a quorum of
members at our Business Meeting on February 3rd so we can discuss
and vote upon the acceptance of this agreement. VMP may not want to wait
another month to get it signed.
I
will be renting my garage in
It
is election time for your Board of Directors! The slate of candidates will be
introduced by Election Chairman Jim Foy at the February meeting and the
election is in March. Nominations will be accepted for all seven board
positions. I understand that at this time there are three positions without
nominees - Membership Director, Treasurer, and Member At Large. All members in
good standing are eligible to fill these positions. We REALLY need these
positions filled, folks, so please consider serving on the BoD for a year. It
really is a rewarding experience and it’s not that much work. The Member At
Large position is a great way to get involved with the inner workings of the
club! Please contact Jim Foy at starparty@nsaac.org
to discuss being nominated, or even to suggest someone else!
Celestial
events for the month of February include an occultation of Spica by the Moon on
the 17th (supposed to be best in NE), a conjunction of Moon, Mars,
and Pleiades on the 5th, and a conjunction of Saturn and Moon on the
11th.
Clear
skies,
Kevin Ackert
President
NSAAC Welcomes Our New Members:
Tick
Withington of
Brian
Cooney of
Membership Coordinator
Minutes of the NSAAC Business
Meeting,
President Ackert
called the January Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at
Secretary:
The official minutes of the November business meeting were approved by
acclamation.
Treasurer:
Treasurer gave his report
Membership: There were 2 new members since December.
Committee Reports:
Russ Pinizzotto had one evening with several boy scouts. There are efforts underway to get the new
The observatory has not been open due to bad weather and the College
was closed during the Christmas break.
Go-On Committee:
John Boudreau and Jim Foy’s CCD Imaging GO-ON will be rescheduled for
a later date. John Hobbs and Mark Mathews
will present digital setting circles GO-ON at a date to be determined.
Star Parties:
On
Young Astronomers Program:
The planispheres and booklets and bookmarks have been received. Sky and Telescope will give magazines and
other door prizes. The scope and
binoculars will be ordered as soon as we contact Tony Costanzo. The expected date is sometime in March.
Upcoming Events:
The Website has been upgraded by webmaster Michael Deneen. There are now provisions for members to have
a folder for their astro images.
The treasurer has come up with new forms for membership and astronomy
magazine subscriptions.
Old Business:
A vote was taken on the late fee proposal.
The proposal was: “Dues which
are paid later than the date of the March Business Meeting will have a $5.00
late fee imposed. Members with unpaid
dues as of the May Business Meeting will lose their membership benefits.”
After some discussion the Motion was approved.
Positions are still available for members to fill. See the newsletter for particulars.
New Business:
VMP proposed
rental costs. We received notices from
VMP board for a rental contract at our December meeting. At the NSAAC Board of Directors meeting, the
consensus of the Board was to try to keep the observing and meeting place the
same since VMP is located near the geographic center of the membership. Some Board members attended the VMP Board
meeting on December 20 and advised the VMP that we could not afford the $2400
proposed for the use of the office and storage facility. The BOD members proposed a S50/month rental
fee for the use of a room for the business meeting and the board meeting and
observing in the parking lot plus a contribution of 50 hours/year of
contributed labor. We will vote on this
proposal at the February business meeting. In the meantime, Kevin Ackert has
volunteered to rent a garage of his to the club for storage for the rate of $1
for six months
VMP winter
festival will be on Sunday January 29th. VMP has asked our club to be
represented. Jim Foy has volunteered to
be available and could use some help. We
could have someone doing solar observing and hand out fliers and show some
equipment.
Election of
officers comes up in March. Jim Foy has
volunteered to be chairman of the nominating committee. Barrie Sawyer and Kevin Ackert have agreed to
be on the committee.
Entertainment for
the evening was
Board Meeting will be
Meeting adjourned at
Respectively submitted, John Hobbs, Secretary NSAC
Respectfully submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
Annual Membership Renewal
Annual membership dues are payable by the first meeting in
March of each fiscal year. You can download a renewal form from the NSAAC
website or use the one included in the mailed version of the newsletter if you
have previously requested one. Mail or hand-deliver it, along with your
payment, to the Club Treasurer. If you are also renewing a magazine
subscription, please provide a separate check made out to the publication and
include the magazine's renewal form and return envelope with your payment.
The Club has voted to impose a mandatory $5 late fee to all renewals made AFTER
the March Business Meeting. Members who fail to renew by the May Business
Meeting will lose all of their membership benefits until they renew.
Art Schneiderman
NSAAC Treasurer
Late Fee Approved
Members voted at the January
meeting to approve a proposal by the Treasurer to impose a $5.00 late fee on
dues which are not paid by the date of the March business meeting. Please pay
your dues by March 3 or include the $5.00 late fee afterwards. Renewal forms
are available on our website.
Star Party News
The first star party this month is Saturday, February 11, 2006 at
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, 87 Perkins Row, Topsfield, MA. 25 to 50 people are expected. Telescope and program set-up time is
The date for the second star party has not been finalized. Please check the NSAAC website calendar and
list server for the details of this star party.
Directions to
From
From the north: Take Rt. 95 south to exit 53 and follow Rt. 97 south. At the
junction of Rt. 1 and Rt. 97 in Topsfield, stay on Rt. 97 south.
2) Once you have reached the junction of routes 1 and 97, and have traveled
about 0.5 miles along route 97 South towards
3) Perkins Row is a long, windy road. After about a mile, you'll encounter
another, identical, Audubon sign. Shortly thereafter, you'll come across yet
another. This last one marks the entrance to the Sanctuary. Note that at this
entrance is a wooden gate. It is very possible that the gate will be closed. If
the gate is closed simply get out of your car and swing it open. It won't be
locked.
4) As you drive through the gate, you'll find yourself proceeding up the
sanctuary driveway. As soon as you catch sight of sanctuary signs posted along
the driveway, look for an opening for the entrance to a dirt parking lot on the
left-hand side. This dirt parking lot is where you'll want to set up the
`scope.
Help Wanted
Below is a list of positions which need to be filled in
our club. They are listed in order of their need. Please consider volunteering
for one of these positions if you have the means. Please contact any Board
member with questions about these positions. For the three Board positions
please contact Jim Foy at starparty@nsaac.org.
Treasurer: Duties
include attending Board meetings, keeping track of the club’s money, tracking
monies from merchandise sales; updating the club database with new member info.
Membership Director: Duties include attending Board meetings; announcing
new members at meetings; sending new members welcome package.
Member At Large: Duties include attending Board meetings; being liaison with members.
Collins Observatory -
Equipment Manager: This person would be in charge of managing the storage and usage of the
clubs astronomy equipment. At this time, the position would require almost no
effort as we really have little equipment which hardly ever gets used. The
Board has decided to not purchase any new astronomy equipment for the club
until this position is filled.
Young Astronomer Program Volunteers: Volunteers are needed to help with the Young
Astronomer Program which is scheduled to be held sometime between January 1 and
the end of the school year.
Star Party Helpers: As we enter the
Star Party season, please monitor dates, locations, and telescope needs of the
various star parties and help out whenever you can…
Getting to Veasey Memorial Park
From Interstate 95 north, take the Route 133 west (54B)
exit, and follow it into
Directions to all of the NSAAC observing sites are available on our web site's “About” page at:
http://www.nsaac.org/about.htm
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 Kevin Ackert at (978) 663-5305
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; Mike Deneen and Leor Zolman are co-webmasters for the site, with Mike being the go-to guy for “new development” ideas. Do you have a web site you’d like to see listed on the members’ web site page? Candidates for addition to the Resources (or any other) page? Please email webmaster@nsaac.org with your suggestions.
