The Celestial Observer

 

Newsletter of the North Shore

 Amateur Astronomy Club

 

 

October, 2006

 

 

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From the President

The work weekend at VMP went very well thanks to a good showing of NSAAC volunteers who wielded admirable painting skills. On Friday, three volunteers (Rick Margolies, Jim Collins, and myself) arrived in the morning and worked four and a half hours doing prep work and cut-in on the upper section of the hallway. On Saturday we had a large crew consisting of me, Ron Sampson, Bob McLellan, Paul Roy, Bob Peters, Ilane Walberg, Tom Rauschenbach, and Justin Walberg (Ilane’s son) and by lunchtime we had completed the upper half of the two color walls. Justin’s small and flexible body (he’s a gymnast) fit very well into all the spots where we adults could or would not fit. The total combined work hours of the painters came to  fifty six, which fulfills our contracted obligation to VMP. Thank you to everyone who participated!

 

Russ Pinizzotto entertained members at a well attended meeting on September 8th with a presentation on Merrimack College’s combined Astronomy, Geology, Biology trip to the Southwest this past summer. Especially interesting to me was the tour of the Very Large Array of radio telescopes, and of Chaco Canyon. Many of the students had never been out of New England, and they had life changing experiences.

 

In this issue of the Celestial Observer, Barrie Sawyer introduces a new feature called Astrotalk. Astrotalk fulfills my desire to include a monthly article on an astronomy topic. Kudos to Barrie for doing this! Although Barrie will be our main Astrotalk writer, all members are encouraged and welcome to submit articles.

 

The Fall Equinox begins at 12:03 this Saturday morning and I intend to mark the passing fourteen feet above the planet’s surface hugging my pet lizard. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you will have to attend the club’s gala event of the year in Starport, NH to find out. We are expecting a gathering of at least fifteen to twenty NSAAC members, and also some friends from the South Shore Astronomical Society and the ATMoB clubs. Barrie will be preparing what sounds to be a real feast for dinner on Saturday. Cool clear air, dark skies, good food, lots of astro friends; it doesn’t get much better! I intend to close the saga which began two years ago at Moose Dodge by hunting down the elusive Einstein’s Cross when Aquarius is high in the early morning sky. Another target for Godzilla’s big eye will be one of my favorite galaxies in the night sky, NGC 253 in Sculptor. Once you see this galaxy in a 36 inch telescope the image will remain burned into your memory forever! Hope to see you there so I can share it with you!

 

Kevin Ackert

President

 

 

Minutes of the NSAAC Business Meeting, September 8th, 2006

President Ackert called the September Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:15 PM. President Ackert called for introduction of new members: There were none. There were 14 members present plus 5 Board members.  There was an official quorum. 

 

Secretary: Minutes of the August Business meeting were accepted by acclamation.

 

Treasurer:

No report.

 

Membership:

There have been no new members in the club since the last business meeting.

 

Committee Reports:

 

Merrimack College:

The observatory has been very active with groups of 20 or more visitors at each session.

 

Salem State:

The observatory will reopen on September 18th.   The mirror of the telescope needs to be cleaned and anyone interested in helping with the cleaning contact Dennis Gudzevich.

 

Entertainment Report:

Russ Pinizzotto will host a naked eye event after the evening business meeting weather permitting.  He will also give a presentation on his astronomy trip to the southwest.  Kevin has a constellation conversation on Cygnus at the next meeting.  John Hobbs will see about getting an invited speaker for a future meeting.

 

Star Parties:

No other star party’s scheduled.     

 

Young Astronomers Program:

The next program will be in March or April of next year and we plan to approach schools directly for participation.  The club will be pursuing grants this fall to fund the program. Kevin will get together with Russ to select a date so the space at Merrimack can be reserved.

 

Telescope Clinic:

One person has contacted the club for help in setting up a new telescope.  A club member has taken upon himself to assist this person.

 

Upcoming Events:

IRWS has sent a list of black out dates for no observing on Saturday nights.  The last date is October 28th.

 

The Connecticut River Valley Astronomy Conjunction was held August 18th and 19th in Northfield, MA.   Kevin Ackert took Godzilla and it was the largest telescope at the event. 

 

VMP work weekend is this Friday and Saturday.

 

There was a star party August 26th at Halibut Point State Park to support GAAC.

 

There will be a star party for the Club hosted by Barrie Sawyer at Starport Sept. 22nd-23rd.  Let Barrie Sawyer know if you plan to attend.

 

Old Business:

Salem State observatory volunteers have been working for a number of years and are growing tired and are looking for someone to receive training and perhaps to take over the program.  See Dennis Gudzevich if interested.

 

 

The Comcast e-mail problems have almost been resolved. 

 

The club now has a Pay Pal account, but it is not yet on the website.

 

Because of the holiday schedules, the October meeting will be on the 13th.

 

New Business:

None

 

The entertainment for the evening was a presentation by Russ Pinizzotto on his astronomy trip to the Southwest.  

 

Board Meeting will be Monday September 18th, at 8:00 PM at VMP.

 

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.

 

Respectively submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC

 

 

Astrotalk

 

This is a new feature in the Celestial Observer.  We hope to have a short article each month discussing equipment, techniques, and objects of interest to share. Members are encouraged to submit articles and suggestions of topics you would featured in this column.

 

There are three accessories I think every binocular user should own; a mount, an observing chair, and a finder.  A mount does more than hold the binoculars steady.  If you are using charts, a mount functions as a sort of placeholder.  In the few seconds you may take to re-acquire your field with hand held binoculars, the image you have of what you saw on the chart begins to lose detail.  With a mount, you can easily and quickly switch between a chart and the binoculars as many times as you need to locate that obscure asterism.  A mount also allows you the time soak in the view and see more detail in the area you are looking at. You get a different perspective when you take time to explore a single section of Milky Way.  I spent almost an hour tracing out the huge IC1396 nebula in Cepheus with my 100MM binocs.  I recommend parallelogram type mounts since you can sit comfortably in a chair with you charts and coffee. A chair greatly reduces the slow accumulation of muscle strain from bending back to look up while you are standing.

 

Why would you want to attach a finder to pair binocs?  I am specifically talking here about telrad type finders that project a red dot or circles onto the sky and used in junction with a mount.  Nothing helps you find a faint object quicker than having the confidence that you are pointed at the exact spot where should be to look for it.  This is not always easy in areas there no bright benchmark stars to help you.  I recommend the Rigel Quikpoint.  Attach it to the mount or bore out one of the bracket holes to a quarter inch and insert it between the binoculars and mount so the bracket goes up and over the binocs to form a platform base to attach the finder using a small square piece of wood.

 

Clear skies,

Barrie Sawyer

 

 

 

NSAAC Picnic

 

Fellow stargazers, the time has come for our annual NSAAC picnic.  We'll meet Saturday, September 30th at 3pm at VMP (Rain date: Sunday, October 1st).  While historically, the picnic has been controversial, we've nevertheless always had an enjoyable time, whether it be the year of the runaway horseshoe or the detour to Vinnie T's one rainy Saturday.

 

This year, bring a picnic lunch and an item to share.  Veasey has picnic tables out back and swings and a jungle gym for the kiddies.  We'll have games and contests.   I'd like a volunteer to set up a scope with a solar filter (I can bring my 4" refractor, but I don't have a solar filter). 

 

I'm also looking for one or two volunteers with portable grills so we can grill some hamburgers and hot dogs -- stay tuned to the listserv for further developments.

 

Volunteers, please post your responses to the list server.

 

Ilane Walberg

 

 

Help Wanted

 

Below is a list of positions which need to be filled in our club. Please consider volunteering for one of these positions if you have the means. Please contact any Board member with questions about these positions

 

Long Term Positions:

 

Merrimack Observatory – N. Andover

One of our Merrimack staff people has resigned and we now have a position open. This new staff person will be responsible for opening the observatory one Wednesday per month if clear. Current staff can most likely alter which Wednesday they have to accommodate the new person. Full training on the operation of the observatory will be provided before the new person would go it alone. Also, a current staff person will attend the first public night with the new person. This is an excellent opportunity to learn a new skill and advance your astronomy hobby to a new level! Interested people please contact president at nsaac.org.

 

Collins Observatory -  Salem State

The same two people have been doing this job for years and are looking for someone to train to take over the observatory.

 

 

October Entertainment

Kevin Ackert will present his Constellation Conversation on Cygnus which was postponed from August. If skies are clear, Russ Pinizzotto may entertain us with an unaided eye tour of the night sky.

 

 

 
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 Jim Koerth,  Membership Director, email: membership at nsaac.org or contact Kevin Ackert, President, e-mail at president at 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 at nsaac.org.

 

New development on the NSAAC web site is currently being coordinated and implemented by Mike Deneen. Suggestions regarding the content of the NSAAC web site are always welcome; Please email webmaster at nsaac.org with your ideas.