The Celestial Observer

 

Newsletter of the North Shore

 Amateur Astronomy Club

 

 

December, 2006

 

 

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From the President

 

Birdseed Day went very well. This was the first year that customers started arriving before we had the truck unloaded, but things settled out and it was a beautiful day to be humping birdseed. Thank you to members Phil Moskowitz, Dave Leclerc, Rick Margolies, Tom Rauschenbach, Ilane Walberg, Jim Bastable, and Dennis Gudzevich for representing the club and making the day go smoothly.

 

Years ago, we used to have a club star party at Evans Notch in NH during November and we called it the Frozen Toe Star Party. I have revived the name, and on November 17 & 18 we will have the Semi-Frozen Toe Star Party at Starport in NH. Why Semi-Frozen? Well, in Evans Notch there was no place to warm up. and at Starport we have the house… Barrie will be serving food, so please let him or me know if you will be attending and if you want to be on the food plan. This is also the weekend of the Leonid Meteor Shower and there is supposed to be a very nice burst for about forty-five minutes. We do plan to set up Godzilla, the monster Dobsonian telescope, for what may be the last time this year.

 

The date has been set for next year’s Young Astronomer Program (YAP). It still has to be approved by Merrimack College, but we are planning to hold the event on Astronomy Day which is Saturday, April 21. If that date proves to be unavailable we will try for the previous or the next Saturday. The program will coincide with Astronomy Day events, so plenty of volunteers will be needed. Please mark the date.

 

We have a couple things to vote on at the December Business Meeting, so it is important that we have a quorum. The board proposed at the November meeting that we purchase twenty copies of Bob Crelin’s book, There Once Was A Sky Full Of Stars, and present them as gifts to both public and elementary school libraries in the Merrimack Valley and North Shore. The twenty books will cost us $234.00, but we will be asking for you to approve a budget of $300.00 to include any distribution charges we may encounter. This “think globally - act locally” endeavor is an investment in the future. By educating the young children about the effects of light pollution we can affect the future of observational astronomy and the ecology of our planet.

 

We will be seeking outside funding for YAP, and the overall scope of the program for 2007 and future years will depend upon it, but we must decide in December what amount we will be contributing specifically for 2007. This amount will determine what we can do in 2007 short of outside funding. It will NOT be an amount that the club should expect to spend every year on YAP, just for 2007. As of today we have no outside funding, and to proceed with the planning process is not logical without a budget. The board will discuss an amount and will make a proposal which we will vote on at the December meeting. I am expecting the proposed expenditure will fall somewhere between $1,000.00 and $2,000.00. This expense, along with the Crelin book purchase, will enable the club to spend down some of our accumulating assets and do work towards fulfilling our mission of educating, and bringing astronomy to the public.

 

Our Vice President and Honorary Member, Russ Pinizzotto (also Dean of  Science and Engineering at Merrimack College), will do a talk on spectroscopy at the December Meeting. Russ’s talks are always entertaining, educational, and very well received. Good attendance may encourage him to do more talks in the future!

 

If all this is not enough incentive to attend the meeting, then how about our yearly Membership Appreciation Awards! Two hard working club members who are not on the board, and who have served above and beyond what is expected of them, will each receive a $50.00 gift certificate! I can only tell you that the recipients will not be Jim Foy or Leor Zolman, who received last year’s awards. You’ll just have to attend the meeting to find out who they are. Don’t let the date sneak up on you as it is on December 1 this year.

 

Kevin Ackert

President

 

 

Minutes of the NSAAC Business Meeting, November 3rd, 2006

President Ackert called the November Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:07 PM. President Ackert called for introduction of new members: There was one new member:  Frank Cook. There were no guests.  There were 17 members present plus 5 Board members.  There was an official quorum. 

 

Secretary:   The president made a correction to the October minutes to reflect that the PayPal link was not yet on the website.  The amended minutes of the October business meeting were accepted by acclamation.

 

Treasurer:

Treasurer gave an abbreviated report.

 

Membership:

There has been five new members since the last business meeting.

 

Committee Reports:

 

Merrimack College:

Theresa and Paul opened the dome the past Wednesday and only had a few visitors.

 

Salem State:

Dennis Gudzevich repaired the motors on the drive system for scope.  It is up and running again.

 

Entertainment Report:

Russ Pinizzotto will do a talk in December on Spectroscopy.  In January John Hobbs will give a talk on keeping warm while observing.  Still want to have more Constellation Conversations.  John Hobbs has contacted astronomer John Briggs who will give a presentation on the history of the telescope at a meeting early nest year.

 

Star Parties:

There will be a large star party at the Sanborn School, Andover MA, Nov 29th. . There will be a star party at IRWS Saturday Feb 3, 2007.

 

Young Astronomers Program:

The next program will be in on April 21, 2007 in conjunction with Astronomy Day.  Kevin will contact schools on the North Shore and schools at which we have given star parties and solicit list of students to attend.  This is a proposed date and if not available, the week before or after will be the fall back dates.  The club will be pursuing grants this fall to help fund the program.   Tony Costanzo has a mirror grinding machine and has volunteered to let the club use it and have mirrors ground for 6 inch Dobs.  The club does not have a facility in which to do this.  We will consider it for future use.

 

Telescope Clinic:

There have been no contacts for the clinic since the last meeting.  The Telescope Clinic web page needs to be rewritten with clearer instructions for participants.

 

Upcoming Events:

Kevin Ackert has been contacted by some NH newspapers regarding the mercury transit.  He put them in contact with Tony Costanzo for information.  Rick Margolies was also contacted by the same newspaper and he supplied some information to them.

 

Frozen Toe Star Party is planned for Nov 17th and 18th at Starport.  Barrier will be providing food.  Warm sleeping accommodations are on a first come first served basis.  Contact Barrie if you are planning to visit Starport and stay overnight.

 

Project Dawn deadline is tomorrow.

 

Bird seed day is tomorrow at IRSW at 8AM.  Let Kevin know if you plan to assist.

 

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.

 

Merrimack needs an additional volunteer to run a Wednesday observing session.

 

The mercury transit viewing at IRWS has been approved.  The transit begins at 2:12 PM. 

 

The Pay Pal account is open.  The website needs updating to allow the use of PayPal and therefore the Application/Renewal form also needs updating.

 

New Business:

The board is proposing that the club purchase 20 copies of Bob Crelin’s book “There Once Was A Sky Full of Stars” to donate to schools where we give star parties and to local libraries.  We will post this idea in the newsletter and have the club vote on it at the next business meeting.

 

Ron Sampson is looking into Long Hill 0rchard and farm in West Newbury as a possible observing venue.

 

Yearly member appreciation awards will be announced at the December business meeting.

 

Lew Gramer is looking into getting a secondary DNS server for NSAAC.  This will help prevent outages such as what happened last week. 

 

Board Meeting will be Tuesday November 14th at 8:00 PM at VMP.

 

Meeting adjourned at 9:08 PM.

 

Respectively submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC

 

 

 

NSAAC Welcomes Our New Members:

Melvin Graham of Allston
John W. Hagerman of Boxford
David L. Hyde of Plaistow,  NH

Frank Cook of Haverhill

 

Jim Koerth,

Membership Director

 

 

Astrotalk

 

by Barrie Sawyer

 

Three favorite Caldwell Objects

 

Here are three objects worth a look. They are all binocular objects in a dark sky.

 

First up is NGC2403, a 8th magnitude barred galaxy in Camelopardalis. It is small but takes magnification well.  To find it, start at Omicron Ursa Major (Muscida). NGC is about 8 degrees NW. The real challenge is finding it since there are no obvious asterisms to guide you.  Use a good star chart and binoculars to find it.

 

Next is the Helix (NGC7293) in Aquarius.  I had a real tough finding this one the first time. One problem is that it is so large, it is easy to miss it in binoculars or a finder. I use the asterisms in Aquarius to loop south and west to it.  Again a good chart will help. This planetary nebula is best seen at low to moderate power. Nebula filters help bring  out the detail. Once you find it, start over and try to find it a second time.

 

Last is NGC253 in Sculptor. I've seen this mag 7 galaxy in 7X50 binoculars in light polluted skies. This is real easy to find.  Just drop  south from Beta Cetus about 8 degrees. This starburst galaxy is huge (26' x 7') and takes magnification well with lots of mottling similar to M82.

 

 

Upcoming Business Meeting Entertainment Plans

Russ Pinizzotto will do a talk on spectroscopy in December.

 

John Hobbs will do a talk on staying warm while observing in January.

 

Jim Koerth and Alan Peters have volunteered to do Constellation Conversations sometime in the future. Constellations and dates to be announced.

 

John Hobbs is working on bringing a guest speaker, John Briggs, in for talks at future meetings. The first one would be on the history of the telescope and possibly one on his work at Apache Peak Observatory.


 

 

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 m_staff 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.

 

Short Term Positions:

 

Star Party Season is upon us. Please watch for announcements by Star Party coordinator Jim Foy for these events. This is a great way to support your club in a fun and easy way, and with a very short commitment! These star parties for local area schools are an important aspect of our club’s commitment to the public.

 

 

 

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.