The Celestial Observer
Newsletter of the North Shore
Amateur Astronomy Club
February,
2007
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From the President
The January
Business Meeting was well attended. John Hobbs entertained us with a talk on
how to stay warm while observing in the Winter. Of course, with the Winter we
are having now, everyone was joking about it! As some of you may know, skiing
is my “other” hobby (astroskier) and passion. Now, I feel embattled against
“civilization” with both hobbies; fighting light pollution AND global warming…
We will have a guest speaker at our February business
meeting; Dr. John Briggs. Please see the article by John
Hobbs for the details of Dr. Briggs’ talk. We have not had a
guest speaker in quite some time, so let me remind members of a couple things.
First, we allow the guest speaker to talk prior to the business side of the
meeting, so arrive early. We’ll start the meeting around 8:15 to allow for
latecomers. Second, as a courtesy to our guest speaker, please do not opt to go
outside and observe instead of attending the talk. It is for this reason that
we have the talk prior to the business meeting. I am also hopeful that we have
a good attendance at this meeting.
Ron Sampson will soon be contacting the
Orion company regarding the purchase of the Dobsonian telescopes for the Young Astronomer Program (YAP) to be
held in April. Our goal is the have the telescopes purchased in time to
assemble and test them at the March meeting. Our March entertainment will be,
“How to assemble, test, collimate, and modify a Dobsonian telescope.” Anyone interested in learning these skills is
encouraged to attend, watch, and discuss the process. You are also welcome to
bring your own Newtonian telescope to be tested and collimated by the experts.
Please email me in advance if you plan to do this so we are not overwhelmed
with mirrors!
I was surprised that only one member requested one of
the Bob Crelin books, There Once Was A
Sky Full Of Stars, to be donated to their local library. The older I become
the more I am convinced that educating the children is the key to many of our
world’s problems. With our Star Parties being off, we have many of these books
on hand. If you would like to have one donated to your local public or
elementary school library just contact me and I’ll reserve one.
The first paragraph of the NSAAC constitution states
that our mission is to “Educate members and the general public in the study and
practice of observational astronomy.” We do, however, have many members
interested in astrophotography as well as observational astronomy. Those who
are only interested in practicing observational astronomy are sometimes
overwhelmed by the technical aspects of astrophotography. Sometimes, when
listening to John Boudreau and others talking on the
subject, I feel like they are speaking in a different language! The board will
be discussing, in the upcoming months, ways/programs to accommodate the interests
in astrophotography without alienating those who are interested only in
observational astronomy.
Lastly, March is election and renewal time for our
club. The slate of candidates will be announced at the February meeting. I
encourage all members interested in getting involved with the workings of the
club to contact Election Chairman Rick Margolies to discuss the
possibilities. Also, please remembers that you must have your 2007 dues paid by
the March meeting to participate in the elections.
Clear
Skies!
Kevin Ackert
President
NSAAC Welcomes Our New Members:
Michael John, Amesbury MA
Bill Drown,
John Tulik,
Jim Koerth,
Membership Director
Entertainment for February
The entertainment for our February Meeting will be a
presentation by John Briggs, Faculty Astronomer,
Abstract
19th
Century astronomy was revolutionized by grand improvements in
instrumentation. Much of this progress was made in the young
Before his return
to teaching, John was an instrumentation engineer for 14 years based at Yerkes
Observatory of the
Above: The 8
¾-inch refractor at Bogsucker Observatory shown here in the early 1980s was
built circa 1932 by C. A. Robert Lundin. John Briggs, our speaker on February
2nd, restored and re-housed this telescope during early days of his
telescope study and collecting.
Above:
A large 36-inch siderostat at
Entertainment at the March business meeting will be the
assembly and alignment of the telescopes for the Young Astronomers
Program. Future talks will be
Constellation Conversations by Jim Koerth and Alan Peters.
Service
Opportunities with NSAAC!
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
Collins 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.
Minutes of the NSAAC Business Meeting,
President Ackert
called the January Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:15 PM. President
Ackert called for introduction of new members: There was one John Tulick. There
were no guests. There were 16 members
present plus 6 Board members. There was an
official quorum.
Secretary: The minutes of the December 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:
Fred Sammartino had over 50 people on December 6th and about
15 visitors January 3rd . New
member Jay Hayes is being trained on the 20” and is working out very well. He will run a session after training is
complete.
Salem State:
Weather and the college holiday have had the observatory closed for
most of December. It will reopen this
month. Dick Collins and his son have
indicated a desire to help take over operation of the observatory.
Entertainment Report:
John Hobbs has contacted astronomer John Briggs who will give a
presentation on the history of the telescope at the February business meeting.
Star Parties:
The star party at the Sanborn School, Andover MA, has been rescheduled
for March 21, 2007. A scout troupe in
Melrose is having a star party this evening.
There re will be a star party at IRWS Saturday Feb 3, 2007. We were contacted by a scout troop of 7 in
Groton for a star party. We are going to
suggest that they contact the Merrimack dome for a session.
Young Astronomers Program:
The next program will be in on April 21, 2007 in conjunction with
Astronomy Day at Merrimack College.
Kevin has gotten contacts from Newburyport, Haverhill, North Andover,
and Topsfield. He has also a list of
schools where we have done star parties.
If any member can provide a name of any contacts for schools not
listed. Tony Costanzo has provided a
contact at Orion and Ron Sampson will make contact to see if they would donate
telescopes or binoculars. The club will
use the March entertainment hour to assemble and align the scopes.
Telescope Clinic:
New member Jim Tulick contacted the club for help with the new
telescope and he brought it to the meeting for help from the members. The Telescope Clinic web page needs to be
rewritten with clearer instructions for participants.
Upcoming Events:
John Hobbs and Kevin Ackert visited Chris McCarthy at the Whittier
Rehab hospital in Haverhill on Dec 15.
He has since been released and is at home.
The club was contacted by Jeffery Joy, head of the Science Department
at Marblehead High School, regarding a speaker to talk about astronomy to the
students. Russ Pinizzotto has
volunteered to do this
Old Business:
We have 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
Ron Sampson has drafted a letter to send to Long Hill 0rchard and farm in West Newbury as a possible observing venue. He will submit the letter to board for comments before sending.
Jim Koerth is going to talk to the Park Rangers at Halibut Point State
Park (HPSP) about making this facility an official NSAAC observing venue.
Eric Margolies is the election chairman. He and his committee are drafting a slate of
candidates for the March elections.
Anyone interested in running for an office contact Eric if interested or
a current board member to discuss the duties of a particular office you might
be interested in running for.
The list server instructions have been taken off the website. They are given to new members in the
membership packages and if anyone else needs them please contact Kevin Ackert.
The Board has approved the Barrie Sawyer scope loan subject to his
signing a loan agreement to be drafted by the Board..
New Business:
The board will be discussing how to best accommodate the recent surge in interest in astrophotography by club members. Placing astrophotography articles on the website and having related entertainment at meetings will be considered.
The evening entertainment was a presentation on “Keeping Warm While Observing” given by John Hobbs.
Board Meeting will
be Tuesday January 16th at 8:00 PM at VMP.
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.
Respectively
submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
Star Party News
We have a star party
Directions to
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
From Boston and the
south: Take Rt. 95 north to exit 50 and follow Rt. 1 North into Topsfield. At
the junction of Rt. 1 and Rt. 97, turn right onto Rt. 97 South (towards Beverly
and Danvers).
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 Beverly and Danvers, you will
encounter a rather well lit intersection. On the left-hand side of this
intersection you will see the sign of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, a bird
within a triangle. Turn left onto the road marked by this sign. It is called
Perkins Row.
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.
Jim Foy
Star Party Coordinator
by
Astronomical Websites – part1
Most of the sites
below have lots of links to other cool sites.
Keep sending in your
suggestions!
Pictures and info
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comet and observing
info
http://www.weatherman.com/scope.htm
Equipment reviews by
Todd Gross
Includes some nice
atmospheric things, too
Lunar Picture of the
Day
For satellite info
An astronomical
calendar for your specific location
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html
For monthly sky maps
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
The Cassini-Huygens
mission homepage
http://fourmilab.com/earthview/vplanet.html
An Earth and Moon
viewer
The International
Dark Sky Association website
http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/catalog.php?categoryid=3
Lots of equipment
reviews
Barrie Sawyer
barrie_sawyer@yahoo.com
Getting to
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.