The Celestial Observer
Newsletter of the North Shore
Amateur Astronomy Club
January,
2007
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From the President
This year’s recipients of the Membership Appreciation Awards were
legacy members Dennis Gudzevich and Barrie Sawyer.
Dennis is one of the founding members of our club and is an omnipresence in
club activities. For as long as I’ve been a member he has been in charge of
handling all the sales aspects of club merchandise. He has also been running
our public observing program at Salem State since its inception. Barrie Sawyer
joined the club about six months after it was founded. He probably has served
longer on the board than any member in our history, and this is the first year
when he has not been on it I am aware of. Barrie’s retirement from the board
must have left a void in his need to serve the club as he soon afterwards
volunteered to write the AstroTalk articles for the Celestial Observer. We also depend on Barrie’s service for coffee
and cookies at practically every meeting! Kudos to both of you for your help in
running our club!
Members approved a budget to
purchase and distribute 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
We approved a budget of $1,400.00
for the Young Astronomer Program (YAP). My
plan was to begin contacting schools about the program in November and I have
done nothing. I unexpectedly became involved in a large business deal in early
November and it has consumed all my spare time and more, and there is little
relief for me in sight. I’m in trouble trying to do this program alone and I
need help from the membership. I can write, print, and mail the letters to
schools; I want to ask you folks reading this to help gather the data for a YAP
mailing database. Although you’d think the data needed would be readily
available on the Internet, it is not always easy to gather as some schools are
secretive about their contact information and others are not. Here’s how we’ll
do it… A member from any given town decides they would like to help by
providing the data for the schools in their town. They will then post a message
to the list server that they will be responsible for Billerica, etc. You then
gather the data and get it over to me. Here’s what we need:
Name and mailing address of
school (middle schools grade 6, 7, 8).
Principals name and/or head of
the science department.
Email addresses would be nice but
are not needed for this initial contact.
I know that this is a busy time
of year, but I believe we can do this and get the letters mailed in January
sometime. We don’t have to reach every town on the North Shore, just enough to
have a successful YAP program.
The Winter Solstice arrives at
7:22 PM EST on December 21st. Saturn will be rising before 9:00 by
late December. At the January 5th Business Meeting John Hobbs will
be teaching us how to stay warm while observing in Winter. I wish you and your
loved ones the best of health, happiness, and clear skies during this solstice
season and throughout the New Year!
Happy New Year!
Kevin Ackert
President
Minutes of the NSAAC Business Meeting,
President Ackert
called the December Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:10 PM.
President Ackert called for introduction of new members: There were none. There
were no guests. There were 13 members
present plus 6 Board members. There was an
official quorum.
Secretary: The minutes of the November business meeting
were accepted by acclamation.
Treasurer:
Treasurer gave an abbreviated report giving the checking account and
land fund account balances..
Membership:
There has been one new member since the last business meeting.
Committee Reports:
Merrimack College:
The 20 inch has been replaced with the 14” 200R on a wedge while
updates are being made to the 20” and the Paramount mount. New member Jeff Hayes has volunteered for the
open position for a Wednesday night at the observatory.
Salem State:
Weather has had the observatory closed for the last month.
Entertainment Report:
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:
The star party at the Sanborn School, Andover MA, has been rescheduled
for March 21 or 21 2007. A scout troupe
in Melrose has asked for a star party for January 5 2007. There re will be a
star party at IRWS
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.
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:
Sue Baeslack from IRWS thanked the club for our participation in
Birdseed Day.
Member Richard Amirault has donated a Coulter 8” telescope to the club
and will be updated by Ron Sampson as a scope to be awarded at next years YAP
program in April
Bob Crelin wrote to say that he thought that our purchase of his book
to give to schools was a great outreach and wanted to thank the club.
Chris McCarthy has been transferred to Whitier Rehab hospital in Haverhill.
His phone number there is 978-556-1842 and he would probably love to
have a phone call from his NSAAC friends. Several club members are planning
to visit him in the next few weeks.
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 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. The President made a motion that the club will spend $350.00 for 20 copies of the book and shipping costs and that these are to be made available to schools and at star parties. The motion was seconded and a discussion followed. A vote was taken and the purchase was unanimously approved.
The President made a motion for the YAP proposed budget of $1,400 for the purchase of three 6” DOB’s at $780 and six pair of 10x50 binoculars at $300 and the balance of $320 for shipping, door prizes, and miscellaneous expenses. The motion was seconded and a discussion followed. A vote was taken and the budget was unanimously approved.
Ron Sampson is looking into Long Hill 0rchard and farm in West Newbury as a possible observing venue.
Member Frank Cook has offered the club server space. This has been initiated.
The PayPal account is open. The website needs updating to allow the use of PayPal. The club application/renewal form also needs updating.
New Business:
Member appreciation awards were presented to Dennis Gudzevich and Barrie Sawyer for their past and continued service to the club.
Use of Halibut Point State Park (HPSP) as an official NSAAC official observing site was discussed. Jim Koerth is looking into this with the park rangers.
Barrie Sawyer has asked to borrow the club’s LX200 to take to Costa Rica. The board has approved this and will draft a letter for him to sign taking full responsibility for damage or loss.
List server instructions will be sent to new members when they join and will no longer be published in the newsletter.
Elections are coming up in March and the Secretary outlined the procedure to be followed. The board will select a Nominating Committee chairman to be announced at the January meeting.
The evenings entertainment was a presentation on Spectroscopy in Astronomy given by Russ Pinizzotto.
Board Meeting will
be Tuesday December 12th at 8:00 PM at VMP.
Meeting adjourned at 9:08 PM.
Respectively
submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
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. First, long-term:
Collins Observatory -
Short Term: 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.
Star Party News
The first star party this month is Friday, January 5, 2007 for Cub
Scout Pack 615. The meeting is held at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church,
355 Franklin St, Melrose, MA. The presentation will start at 8:00PM and
telescope observations will start at 9:00PM.
About 100 people are expected.
Four to five telescopes are needed to support this star party.
Directions to Cub Scout Pack 415 Meeting, 355 Franklin St, Melrose, MA
From 93 south take the Montvale Ave/Stoneham exit. Take a left at the
bottom of the ramp and go under 93. Follow Montvale to the end and take a right
onto Main St/Rte 28. You will go through 1 set of lights right after you take
the turn. Take a left at the next set of lights onto Franklin St. You'll follow
Franklin St for a ways (go through a few sets of lights, pass Stoneham High on
the right, Weiss Farm on the left, you'll go down a long hill and when it
flattens out over a set of train tracks). There will be a block of stores on
the left with a Domino's Pizza, the church is the red brick building just after
the stores. You can park on the church side of the street or in the parking lot
across the street from the church. Go up the stairs and the hall will be on the
left.
The second star party is Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at the Proctor
School, Topsfield MA. Set-up time is 6:30
PM. Program Starts at 7:00PM and lasts
about 30 minutes. Observations will
start for 200+ people around 7:30PM. On
good weather nights, this is a well attended program that includes parents and
children. The NSAAC has sponsored
several star parties at this school.
Please come with your telescope.
This event will not be cancelled for weather. About seven telescopes are
needed for this star party.
DIRECTIONS TO PROCTOR SCHOOL, 60 Main Street, Topsfield, MA
FROM SOUTH OF TOPSFIELD
From I-95 Northbound, take Exit 50 to Route 1 North / Topsfield. Go through a traffic light and past 2 gas
stations. Continue for about 2
miles. After the Topsfield Fairgrounds,
at the intersection of Route 97 (traffic light and FleetBankBoston), turn LEFT
onto Route 97 North. Continue for 1 mile to first STOP SIGN. Turn LEFT onto Main Street. Go about 50 yards on Main Street. Proctor School will be on your right. Turn RIGHT into the parking lot (which is on
the left side of the school.
FROM NORTH OF TOPSFIELD
Take Route I-95 Southbound to Exit 53.
At the top of the exit, turn LEFT onto Route 97 South. Stay on Route 97
for about 2½ - 3 miles. Once you pass
the large, old, hilly cemetery on your right, you are near the center of town:
You will pass the town common (on the left, flagpole) and large white church
(on the right). CONTINUE STRAIGHT.
Go past the gray Victorian Town Hall on your right. Go about 30 yards
past the Town Hall. Proctor School will
be on your right. Turn RIGHT into the
parking lot (which is on the left side of the school). Enter the school through
the double doors facing the parking lot, directly under the roof-mounted
satellite dish. Office is to your left.
Jim Foy
Star Party Coordinator
by Barrie Sawyer
Special Guest Contributor this month: Kevin Ackert
Planetary
conjunctions have always been very exciting to me. Ya got your two planet
conjunctions which seem to occur often, and ya got your very rare five planet
alignments like the one in April/May of 2002 which I will remember the rest of
my life. I’ve been getting up pretty early anyway the last few weeks and today
I was up at 4:30 again.
The first
thing I always do is walk out on my deck and check out the skies. I like
looking at the pre-dawn constellations as a primer on what’s ahead next season.
I remembered the conjunction as soon as I saw that it was somewhat clear. Hmmm…
where do I have a low Eastern horizon. I jumped in the truck, grabbed a
Dunkies, and headed to the ATMoB clubhouse in Westford.
When I
arrived I found clear skies above, but a strong cloud bank in the East, plus
the trees were much higher than I remembered. I enjoyed the Moon in conjunction
with Saturn straight above while I finished my coffee, then headed home
disappointed that I would have to wait forty some years for another three
planet conjunction this close.
As I passed
through Billerica I figured it was worth another attempt. I headed to the
highest point in town, the back of Fox Hill Cemetery. I could see that the
cloud bank had broken up, but there were trees in the way of the horizon. I
went to the very top of the cemetery, past all the recent development to the
highest point. There, in a lot where they dumped material, was a high mound of
grave displacement dirt. With binoculars in hand I clambered up the mound of
grave dirt and found I could see the horizon from the top. There they were!
Like four jewels in the pre-dawn sky, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Beta Scorpii!
Three planets and a star in less than 3° apart. Above me the Moon and Saturn in
a tight embrace. Dawn is my favorite time of day, but enjoying it with our
solar system neighbors has a very calming effect on me. It’s like you know that
no matter what happens in the world today, that everything is working as it
should be.
I headed back down the mound of graveyard dirt and headed
home to arrive before the family had woken. I was satisfied and content. Bagged
another one! Been there done that… December 10, 2006.
Entertainment for January
John Hobbs will do a talk on staying warm while observing at
the January 5th meeting.
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.
If you have a suggestion for an entertainment idea please
submit it to us with no obligation to do it yourself.
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.