From the President
A
single nominee running for each position on the Board of Directors allowed
the Vice-President to cast a single vote, thus accepting the slate of candidates
by acclamation. Your 2006 Board of Directors includes five club officers:
Kevin Ackert, President; Russ Pinizzotto, Vice-President; Theresa Earle, Treasurer; John
Hobbs, Secretary; Jim
Koerth, Membership Director; and two Members At Large, Ron Sampson,
and Rick Margolies.
I
am honored to serve the club as President for a third term. Thank you to Russ,
John, and Rob for serving another term with me, and to incoming Board members
Theresa, Jim, and Rick for serving the club by filling these very important
positions! Many thanks to outgoing Board members Tony Costanzo, and Art Schneiderman!
Tony served a year as Member at Large and Art served two very efficient years
as club Treasurer!
Lastly, kudos to outgoing Membership Director Barrie
Sawyer. Barrie has served on the Board in three of the four years
that I have been on it. Before that, he served as President for several years,
and without digging through the club archives, I can safely say that he has
been involved with shaping the development and history of our club for well
over a decade! His wisdom and guidance will be missed. I understand Barrie intends to spend a lot of time at Starport in the next
year which is why he chose not to serve again. Coffee drinkers delight. Barrie informs me that he still intends to attend Business
Meetings and make the coffee and bring us cookies! At least some things don’t
change.
We
have set a tentative date of Saturday, May 6 for the Young Astronomer Program
to be held at Merrimack College. At this time we are awaiting confirmation of the date from Russ. Once
confirmed we’ll begin pulling it together and advertising.
Inspired
by Tony Costanzo’s talk on eyepieces at the March meeting, the GO-ON committee
is putting together an Eyepiece GO-ON. The date and the exact program is yet to be determined.
I’ll
be helping Barrie Sawyer host a Star Party at Starport for NSAAC members and
others on April 28 and 29. Godzilla (the 36” DOB) will be there. There is
plenty of room for equipment and camping. Indoor accommodations are on a limited,
first-come, basis. Here’s a great chance to try your equipment in a really
dark sky! Watch the list server, or contact Barrie or me for more information.
Clear skies,
Kevin Ackert
President
Minutes of the NSAAC Business
Meeting,
March 3rd, 2006
President Ackert
called the March Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:08PM. President Ackert called for introduction of
new members: One new member, Paul Roy. There were no guests. There were 14 members in attendance plus 6 Board
members. There was an official quorum.
Secretary:
The official minutes of the February business meeting were approved by
acclamation.
Treasurer:
Treasurer gave his report
Membership: There were 2 new members since February.
Committee Reports:
Merrimack College:
The observatory is closed for repair and maintenance. The Paramount mount and scope should be all back in the observatory
in about two weeks. Still need a fifth
volunteer for the odd Wednesday night and for substitutions in case of emergencies..
Salem State:
The observatory has been open three weeks in a row. Good views of Saturn. There were 8 guests that last week.
Go-On Committee:
No other GO-ON events scheduled. Rick
Margolis is planning to run the Messier Marathon assisted by Russ Pinizzotto.
The plan is to do it on Saturday March 25th.
See Rick if you would like a list of object orders.
The astrophotography GO-ON will be scheduled at a later date.
Star Parties:
March 8th there will be a star party at River Valley Charter School in Newburyport. On Wednesday March 15th
2006, there will
be a star party at the Sanborn
School in Andover. On March 23rd there will be a event at Salem School Distract. See the Star Party information in the newsletter
for particulars and directions.
Young Astronomers Program:
Colleen Crowley is
working on the registration form to be used for the event. Kevin Ackert and Russ Pinizzotto need to finalize
the date with Merrimack
College. The
expected date is sometime in April or May.
Site Selection Committee:
Committee has not met yet. Discussion of options will be discussed at
the Board Meeting in the coming months.
Upcoming Events:
Barrie Sawyer and Kevin Ackert will host a star party for members of the
club and their family. The date is
April 28th to the 30th.
There are accommodations for people to stay overnight in campers, tents,
etc. Contact Barrie for particulars.
Website has a new main page banner with images by Jim Foy.
There is some interest in possibly attending the Black Forest Star Party
in PA August 25th to 27th. See Barrie Sawyer or Kevin Ackert if interested
and want information.
Old Business:
The rental agreement with VMP was signed and the office has been moved
from VMP to the rental garage.
Positions are still available for members to fill. See the newsletter for particulars.
New Business:
It is Election
Time. Vice President Pinizzotto announced
the selection of candidates. They are:
Kevin Ackert, President
Russ Pinizzotto,
Vice President
Theresa Earle,
Treasurer
John Hobbs, Secretary
Jim Koerth, Membership
Director,
Ron Sampson, Member
at Large
Rick Margolis,
Member at Large
There were no nominations from the floor and the Vice-president
called for a vote by acclamation for the new slate of officers.
The vote was by acclamation. The
Vice-president thanked the outgoing board members for their service and welcomed
the new board members.
Entertainment for the evening was a presentation by Tony
Costanzo on telescope lens and their design.
Board Meeting will
be Monday, March 13th, 2006 at 8:00PM at VMP.
Meeting adjourned at 9:08 PM.
Respectively submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
Star Party
News for April
Our next star party is Friday April 7, 2006 at the Cashman Elementary School, 193 Lions Mouth Road, Amesbury,
MA. About
100 people are expected. Because of
day light savings time, telescope and program set-up time is from 7:00 to 7:30PM. The
program will start at 7:30PM and observations will start about 8:00PM. The
event will not be cancelled for weather.
Directions to Cash man Elementary School, 193 Lions Mouth Road, Amesbury, MA
From 495 heading north: take exit 54/route 150
toward Amesbury. Keep RIGHT at the
fork to go on MA-150 EXT (0.4 miles). MA-150
EXT becomes MA-150 / HILLSIDE AVE (0.4 miles). Turn LEFT onto HIGHLAND ST (.4 miles). Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto LIONS MOUTH RD (0.2 miles. End at 193 Lions Mouth Rd Amesbury.
Jim Foy,
Star Party Coordinator
Star Party
for NSAAC Members April 28 & 29
Barrie
Sawyer and Kevin Ackert will be hosting a Star Party at Starport for NSAAC
members and their friends and family on the last weekend of April. Starport
(for those who don’t know) is Barrie’s mountaintop residence in Groton, NH (12 miles from Plymouth, NH). There is a very large cleared field with a road with
a paved area. The dark skies are there are some of the best in New England.
Accommodations
include a house with several bedrooms and beds, a couch, lots of floor space,
a garage with floor space, a pop-up camper that sleeps four, and plenty of
room to pitch a tent. There are also some motels a few miles away. The house
will be available all night for bathrooms and breaks from observing.
Godzilla, the
monster 36 inch Dobsonian, will be there seeking out galaxy clusters millions
of light years away. You are welcome to bring any instrument of your own,
or just come along and mooch views from someone else! Please contact Kevin
Ackert at president@nsaac.org for
more information
April 7th Business
Meeting Entertainment
After the April 7th general business
meeting, we will have members discussing their favorite astronomy related
books. I am asking anyone who would like to share their thoughts about
a book or two to contact me. Reviews need not be extensive.
Some book topics could be on:
etc. Let me know if you have a book you want to tell people about…I have dibs
on The Night Sky Observer's Guide by Kepple and Sanner.
Clear
skies,
Barrie
Sawyer
NSAAC Messier Marathon
Hello fellow observers,
It is just about springtime in
New England. Besides meaning more snow is probably
on the way ;-) , it also means it is Messier Marathon time.
What is a Messier Marathon?
Charles Messier and company have
given modern day astronomers a list of 110 deep-sky objects (DSO's), many
of which are the best and brightest objects (and some not so!) that amateur
astronomers first turn their scopes on. In the 1970's, some enterprising
observers realized that during the early spring new moon, it is
possible to view most, if not all of the DSO's in the Messier Catalogue in one
dusk-to-dawn session from many locations.
When and where is the NSAAC Messier Marathon?
The Marathon
will be at our primary club meeting/observing location, at Veasey
Memorial Park in Groveland,
MA. It starts at dusk on Saturday,
March 25 and ends the following morning on Sunday, March 26 at dawn.
No alternative weather date is planned.
Who is invited?
All observers are welcome.
This will be my rookie Marathon, so I am certainly
no expert at it, although I have observed around 90 of the 110 Messier objects
over the last 5 years. Club President Kevin Ackert will try to
attend, and Vice-President Russ Pinizzotto has participated in six marathons.
Even if Russ can't make the event, he will be able to provide support through
his experience, including helping to answer questions some folks
may have beforehand. Any experienced marathoners should feel free to
chime in with ideas.
Of course, observers are also
welcome to come for any portion of the evening for a "half-marathon",
as well as just attend for an evening of general observing. We just
ask that everyone observes the customary practice of no bright lights and
dimming headlights when arriving or leaving at dark.
What should I bring?
Is this a competition?
Absolutely not.
This is a fun opportunity to test your sky knowledge and see the heavens change
over a 12 hour period, and to understand where the Messier objects are
located within the constellations. A chance to practice
and improve on your star hopping skills, and to have fun among friends and
associates who enjoy the night sky. Go-To equipment and digital
setting circles are traditionally turned off for a marathon. If
anyone is using their marathon observations to help obtain a Messier
Certificate from a sanctioning organization (e.g. The Astronomical League),
please check with them to see what types of observations/logs you will need.
Do I need to register?
No, but please send an email to
the list server if you think you will be attending so we can get a rough idea
of how many folks to expect.
Feel free to email me directly
with any questions, or send it to the list server.
Thanks, and hope to see you Saturday,
March 25 at sunset!
Clear skies,
Rick Margolies,
Member at Large
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.
Collins Observatory - Salem State: The same two people have been doing this job for years
and are looking for someone to train to possibly give some relieve.
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 continue through 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 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.
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 I (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? Suggestions for the Resources (or any other)
page? Just email webmaster@nsaac.org
with your ideas.
E-Mail Listserve
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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.
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The Celestial Observer