The Celestial Observer
Newsletter of the North Shore
Amateur Astronomy Club
April,
2007
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From the President
Although another Blizzard slipped past Southern New
England on March 2, we were able to hold our business meeting and it was well
attended with over twenty people. Prior to the meeting we conducted a telescope
clinic with three customers, the most we have had simultaneously. While an SCT
was being collimated in the hallway with an artificial star, a 10 inch
Newtonian on an EQ mount and a 4 inch refractor on alt/az mount were being
worked on in another room. It was a pleasure to observe the telescope clinic in
action!
Outgoing Vice-President Russ Pinizzotto served two
years on the board. A change in his lifestyle and schedule prevented him from
devoting more time to serving the club. His guidance and wisdom will be missed
at our board meetings. Thank you, Russ!
Ron Sampson also served two years on the
board and was the quintessential Member-At-Large. He brought the feelings and
opinions of the membership to the table as well as any president could expect.
The input he provided to the board was invaluable. He is also one heck of an
envelope stuffer! We told Ron we’d let him off the board as long as he
continued to be the club machinist! Thank you, Ron, for two years of excellent
service to the club!
As I enter my fourth term as President and look back
at my accomplishments of the past three years I feel satisfied, yet
unsatisfied. The programs I’ve initiated and the steering of the club through
rough times has been satisfying, but my biggest goal remains unfulfilled: to
bring the club into a real clubhouse.
John Tulik with his 10” reflector at the Telescope Clinic.
I believe that having a clubhouse where we can store
our equipment, hold our meetings and observe would strengthen us as a
club more than anything. I would like nothing more that to be the
driving force behind its coming to be. We are currently storing our telescope
equipment in the attic of a garage in Lowell. We pay $50.00 per month to hold
our meetings and observe at Veasey Memorial Park. We have to carry whatever we
need for a meeting to and from. I believe we can do better than this and I will
use my fourth and final term as president to work towards this goal.
I don’t believe that the club needs a dark sky site
as urgently as a clubhouse. We have an open invitation to use Barrie Sawyer’s
Starport in Groton, New Hampshire for dark skies. In 2007 I will ask for a
change in the by-laws which will allow the Land Fund to be used for the
acquisition of a facility from which we can hold meetings, store our belongings
and observe. If the conversion of the Land Fund into a “Clubhouse Fund” is
approved, we will form a Clubhouse Committee. In 2008 I will use the time freed
up from my not being President to chair the Clubhouse Committee and work
towards its goal, and to continue supporting both the Young Astronomer Program
and the Merrimack College Public Observing Program.
Clear Skies!
Kevin Ackert
President
Rick
Margolies
assisting
David
Alden-St.Pierre
with his refractor at the Scope
Clinic.
Dues Are Due
Dues for 2007 were due at the March business meeting. If you have not yet paid your dues please send a check for $25.00 ($20.00 dues + $5.00 late charge) as soon as possible.
There
will be a grace period of one month (through the April Business Meeting) for
maintaining membership privileges (voting, member discounts, etc.) and two
months (through the May Business Meeting) for List-Server inclusion for members
who fail to renew their membership on time.
A
$5 voluntary contribution will be requested from each renewing member who
requests mailed hard copy of the Celestial Observer but who has internet access
to the online version. This contribution
will be used to defray the printing and mailing costs.
NSAAC Welcomes Our New Members:
Frank Wroblewski of Danvers, MA
David Alden-St. Pierre of Salem, MA
Jim Koerth,
Membership Director
Minutes of the NSAAC Business Meeting,
President Ackert called the March Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:15 PM. There were two new members:
Frank Wroblewski of Danvers and David Alden-St.Pierre of Salem, MA. There were no guests. There were 18 members present plus 5 Board
members. There was an official quorum.
Secretary: The minutes of the February
business meeting were accepted by acclamation.
Treasurer:
Treasurer gave a brief report. We had a larger than normal number of
membership renewals for this time of the fiscal year.
Membership:
Frank Wrobleski of Danvers
David Alden-St.Pierre of Salem, MA
Committee Reports:
Merrimack College:
Kevin opened the observatory the last Wed and had 8 to 12 people.
Salem State:
Weather has had the observatory closed most of February with only the
last week open with two visitors. Dick
Collins and his son have indicated a desire to help take over operation of the
observatory, but have made no contact with Dennis Gudzevich..
Entertainment Report:
The entertainment of the March meeting will
be the set-up and collimation of the Dobs for the Young Astronomers
Program. Dave Fournier will be doing a
scope review in the spring. Jim Koerth
will do a constellation presentation on the Constellation Canis Major.
Star Parties:
There will be a star party Saturday, March 9th at the
Cashman School in Amesbury MA. There will be a star party at the Sanborn
School, Andover MA, March 21 or 22 2007.
Young Astronomers Program:
The YAP program will be held on April 21, 2007 in conjunction with
Astronomy Day at Merrimack College. The
letters are being sent out to the schools announcing the program along with the
registration forms. We have purchased
the give a ways. With the Astronomy
Shoppe discounts, we purchased the 4 six inch telescopes and 10 pairs of
binoculars. We have 17 Bino booklets, 15
planispheres, and 10 astro bookmarks. We
have gone over our budget and may need to ask the members for more money. Need ideas for hands on events for the
participants.
Old Business:
We have 20 copies of Bob Crelin’s book “There Once Was A Sky Full of Stars” to donate to schools. We have given out a few books. Members are encouraged to take a book and donate it to their local library. See Kevin Ackert if you are interested in doing this.
Jim Foy will host an Astro-Photography workshop to be held at VMP in March at a date to be determined.
The Club will hold a star party
at IRWS for the public on Astronomy Day.
We would like to have an additional person
trained on the Merrimack telescope for back up situations. See Kevin or one of the observatory operators if
interested in such a position.
New Business:
The slate of candidates for the club officers was announced by nominating committee chairman Rick Margolies. The candidates were:
President: Kevin Ackert
Vice President: Rick Margolies
Treasurer: Theresa Earle
Secretary: John Hobbs
Membership: Jim Koerth
Members at Large: Paul Roy and
Tom Rauschenbach.
There were no nominations from the floor and the Secretary called for a vote by acclamation for the new slate of officers. The vote was by acclamation. The President thanked the outgoing board members for their service and welcomed the new board members.
We have a problem with storage issues for the club equipment. We have to clear out the material stored in Kevin’s garage by the end of March. We have to place the equipment in the attic for the time being with the exception of the desk. We can keep the equipment in the attic, but must have the tenet move his car every time we need to get into the attic. Anyone with suggestions on how to dispose of the desk contact Kevin Ackert.
New member John Tulik has made contact with an official at Bradley Palmer State Park and has gotten an agreement for the club to use the site for an observing venue. President Ackert has to meet with the officials to work out the arrangements.
Barrie Sawyer has volunteered the use of Starport for a star party April 13-15. Let Barrie know if you plan to attend.
Board Meeting will be Tuesday March 13th at 8:00 PM at VMP.
Meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.
Respectively submitted,
John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC
by
The Orion Starblast Telescope
When I was in Costa Rica getting a photon fix I had the opportunity to
try this scope. I must say I was very
impressed with it. The Starblast is a
4.5” F4 reflector on a an altazimuth table top
mount. It comes with a two Sirius brand
Plossl eyepieces giving 26X and 74X and a red dot finder. You get a lot of scope for $180 (plus
shipping). The images were fairly good
with only some minor coma. The views of
Jupiter and Saturn were good though we old timers would probably wish for
crisper images. Sky and Telescope review noted the quality of the mirrors in these
scopes was very good considering the short focal length and low price. The movements were smooth and the tension on
each axis is adjustable. The scope tube
rotates and can slide in its holder for a better viewing angle and balance.
Vibrations damped down almost immediately.
The scope was on a sturdy table which helped and I can imagine it would
shake more on a flimsy or wobbly table.
Adjusting the red dot finder was a little tricky, but that was probably
due to trying to align it in the dark for the first time. Once aligned it worked well
for zeroing in on a target. I
would have preferred to the scope mounted on an adjustable tripod. I had to move the chair I was sitting in a
lot as I went from one part of the sky to the next. If I was to buy one of these scopes, I would definitely
build or buy a tripod for it. Astro gear
certainly has come a long way since I bought my first telescope; a Criterion 4”
F10 reflector with substandard eyepieces and nearly worthless finder. I would recommend either the Orion Starblast
or decent 80 – 90mm refractor for the beginner or the old pro looking for
something smaller for when he or she travels or just wants a quick look without
the bother of setting up a bigger scope.
Red Dot Redux
In a previous Astrotalk article Dan Smoody and I recommended the Telrad
or Rigel Quickpoint finders as our favorite 1X finders. I must say I have second thoughts after using
them both recently. The red dot finder
on the Orion Starblast worked better than I would have expected. The Telrad was the only finder to dew up so I
suggest making a hood for it if you buy one.
Avoid buying the cover that swivels over the window. You have to block the window in order to work
the adjusting bolts. I plan to replace the these bolts on my Telrad with larger knobs that are
easier to work with when I am wearing gloves.
A member of our group in Costa Rica had the same model Brandon 94mm
refractor that I own. I had no trouble
acquiring the Quickpoint’s bullseye on this scope but had consider
difficulty using it on the LX200. My
guess is the shorter tube on the LX200 was the culprit. It was much easier to position my head on
Brandon.
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
College Observatory: We
currently have a staff of four which is the minimum. We need a fifth person to
open on “Blue Wednesdays” and to fill in when needed. Operating this
observatory with its twenty inch R/C is a rewarding experience.
Short Term Positions
Young
Astronomer Program: About six
to eight volunteers will be needed to help with the program on Saturday, April
21 at Merrimack College in North Andover.
Astronomy
Day: We will
be hosting a public star party at IRWS on Astronomy Day, April 21. Please watch
for future announcements and plan to help
with a telescope if you are able.
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.
Entertainment for April
The
April entertainment will be a Constellation Conversation presented by Jim
Koerth on Canes Major. Alan Peters has volunteered to do Constellation
conversations sometime in the future.
Dave Fournier will be doing a telescope
review sometime this Spring.
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.