The Celestial Observer

Newsletter of the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club

September, 2003

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From the President

Our next business meeting on September 5 should be noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, and probably most important, it marks the end of one of the most soggy, dismal, overcast, foggy, bug-infested, miserable, hazy, useless observing seasons I can remember. Things can only get better from here on out. Also, our club officers’ terms begin and end in March, but by every other measure – attendance, planned activities, observing conditions – the club year runs from September to June, so this final business meeting of the summer is also the first meeting of a new year. It’s about time.

The evening will also be noteworthy because it should serve as an example of the new expectations we have for our business meetings. I expect this one to be fun. The thought around here – almost universally accepted – is that the true business of the club is learning about astronomy, sharing our experiences and observing the night sky. This means that a business meeting should consist primarily of a mixture of these activities, and as we start up again after the summer I think we’ll see that this has once again become our focus.

Although there hasn’t been as much opportunity for quality observing as we’d like, the club has been active in a number of other areas. We’ve managed to stage a few star parties, and the club is now in possession of a new laptop which should be robust enough to meet our needs for a while. We still need to vote on a couple of issues that didn’t make it before a quorum, so come prepared with an “aye” or a “nay,” but we’ve also got news about the club trip and our annual picnic to talk about, and the evening will feature both a guest speaker and an observing activity planned by our “go out and observe” committee for after the indoor portion of the evening is over. See the rest of the newsletter for details.

The sun sets at 7:15, the business meeting starts at 8:00, and Mars transits at 12:15. We hope to see you there.

Mike Deneen

President

Business Meeting Minutes for the August, 2003 Meeting of the NSAAC

Vice President Bickerton called the May Business Meeting of the NSAAC to order at 8:15PM. Vice President Bickerton called for introduction of new guests: there were no new guests. There were 8 members in attendance plus 4 board members. Since there was not a quorum the meeting was informational only.

Committee Reports:

Secretary: No minutes since there was no business meeting in July.

Treasurer: No report

Upcoming Events:

The chairman of the club outing committee presented a review of the up-coming club outing. The choices boiled down to Starport, Rangeley, and the Dolly Cap campground in NH. Committee did not make one firm recommendation for the site. Decided to let the membership make the choice.

Membership: No report

Merrimack College: No report

Salem State: Observatory is closed for the summer; will reopen after Labor Day.

Star Parties: There was Star party at IRWS on Wednesday July 29 given by Michael Deneen who talked about the Milky Way and the Andromeda Nebula. Barrie Sawyer said there would be an open house at Starport August 23-24. All are welcome.

Share System: No report.

Unfinished Business:

New Business: There was some discussion on whether the current constitution and by-laws are too restrictive for the club and maybe we should look in to rewriting them so that the club can run more efficiently.

Program: Barrie Sawyer indicated that he would give a program on Charts and Atlas’s. Art Schniderman suggested that we have more programs on how to do things.

Meeting adjourned at 8:58 PM

Respectively submitted,

John Hobbs, Secretary NSAAC

Star Party News

NSAAC Star Party for September, 2003

The first star party of the new school year is Wednesday, September 24, 2003 at Mary D. Altavesta School, 990 Main Street, Woburn, MA. We sponsored a star party two years ago at this school and had about 200 to 250 people. The same turn-out is expected for this school wide star party. We plan to have three events, program, constellation observations, and telescope observations. Set-up time is 6:00 PM; the program starts at 6:30 PM; observations start at 7:15 PM and end about 8:30 PM. The program will not be cancelled for weather.

Directions to Altavesta School:

The school is located at 990 Main Street, Woburn, which is Route #38. Route #38 is exit #35 off Route 128 South. Take exit #35 off 128 and go north towards Wilmington. After the second traffic light the school is on the left about 1/3 of a mile and set in behind a soccer field. There is a sign on the driveway entrance.

Jim Foy

MARS MADNESS

Settle down, college hoops fans, I said “MARS madness”.

The September GO-ON event, scheduled for the night of September 5^th (after the business meeting – rain date Saturday, September 6^th) will be a primer on Mars observing. This will be coming only 9 days after opposition, still well into the prime viewing season. John Boudreau has kindly offered to help lead this session, and plans to have a web cam set up to help put names to some of the features that we’ll be able to see in the eyepiece. There will be several scopes set up, and this promises to be a fun event!

This is more than an opportunity to learn about Mars observing and look through some other scopes, though. The primary goal of GO-ON events is to bring us all out together as a club for joint observing. If you’re new to the club, this is an opportunity to get to know some of your fellow club members. It’s also a great time to bring a friend whose mild interest in astronomy hasn’t yet taken hold, to give them a view of what amateur astronomy is all about. Our goal is to provide a format for shared observing, and Mars just happens to provide a great excuse this month!

Hope to see you there.

The GO-ON Committee

(Chris Nicholl, Lew Gramer, Art Schneiderman, Ilane Walberg), who can be reached at go-on@nsaac.org

Stellafane 2003 Recap

Stellafane 2003 was attended by about a dozen club members and their families. I apologize if I left anyone out. Friday was basically a washout, with rain all day and night. A few hearty souls ventured out to attend the Friday night informal tent talks. Saturday started out damp. Because of that I was surprised to see how many people turned out for the swap tables. The grounds were mostly a mud pit. At least a couple of us got to get in a little solar observing during the afternoon, thanks mainly to the kindness of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society. Several members attended the tent talks that afternoon. Beyond that, we enjoyed the Saturday afternoon dinner and the evening talks. Unfortunately the skies never cleared out enough for observing. Sunday morning turned out to be cloudy, but dry. The rain actually held off until the afternoon. Some of us had the pleasure of each other’s company at the famous grease pit for breakfast. Though the weather was a definite disappointment, most of us still had fun, and are looking forward to next year.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dennis Gudzevich

Talk for September

Hello everyone, I hope that you all had a great summer. We begin the fall season with a talk and CD-ROM show by Richard Amirault. His talk will be about Starfest. Which, as some of you know, is a fall stargazing event held in Kennebunk, Maine. This year’s event will be held on September 20, 2003. So this talk will give you a heads up on the general event, if you’ve decided to go, or just want to know more about it. Please make an effort to attend, as your participation is important to help these talks continue.

I am still looking for more volunteers to speak at future general meetings about their scopes and other astronomical subjects. The scope talks don’t have to be positive reviews. You can talk about a scope you really hate. The purpose of these talks will be to acquaint other members of the club with different scopes, binoculars, or scope projects, so that they can make an informed decision as to whether they wish to acquire, or make, one for themselves. We also accept volunteers to speak on other topics, such as mounts, CCDs, photographic techniques, astronomy trips, the ten things that got them interested in astronomy, etc. Giving a talk can be a lot of fun. In addition, I’m looking for non-members willing to do a talk on astronomy related subjects. If you know of anyone, please contact me at (781) 438-7375, or at dgudzevich@comcast.net, or at the general business meetings.

Dennis Gudzevich

Program Coordinator

NSAAC Picnic News

Come one, come all, to the annual North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club picnic. Due to many requests to change the normal August time frame, the picnic this year will be held on the grass, behind the main building, on the Veasey Memorial Park grounds in Groveland Massachusetts on September 13, 2003. Members of the club and their families are cordially invited to attend. The festivities are scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM, and run on to whenever. This is a “bring your own food and drink event”. You are invited to bring an extra tidbit or two that you may wish to share with other folks however. Be advised that there are no alcoholic beverages allowed on the park premises. There may be a small grill available at the event, or you can bring your own along. You are also invited to bring along any game items such as volleyball sets, badminton sets, Frisbees, etc., and don’t forget the mosquito repellent. This should be a fun event, but there is no rain date. If it rains, the picnic is cancelled.

We invite members to bring along their telescopes and binoculars for daytime solar viewing and evening viewing if anyone wishes to stay and play. Mars will still be quite large and bright at that time. We can also discuss the upcoming Starfest and club road trip.

This may be your best opportunity to converse and interact with fellow members of the club in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Though it may be a frightening thought to actually see what we look like in the daytime.

Clear Skies to All,

NSAAC Picnic Committee

Annual Road Trip

Hello again all you adventurous souls. We have decided to do another club road trip this year. This time we will be going to Starport in Groton, New Hampshire, graciously offered by Barrie Sawyer, on the weekend of September 26, 2003. Starport is approximately two hours north of the Veasey site. This will be a “clear weather only” trip, so keep that in mind. All members of NSAAC and their families are invited to attend. Some of us will be going up Friday and staying until Sunday morning, but members can go up as early as Thursday and stay through Sunday, if they wish. Even if you attend one night however, you won’t regret it. Everyone that has observed at Starport has said that the skies are quite dark and inviting, and of course, Godzilla will be there.

There is sufficient room to set up tents on the site and there may even be some room available at the main house. There are also motels and cottages in the general area. There are lots of things to do and see in the daytime as Starport is near all the major White Mountain attractions. There are also restaurants in the area for those of you who don’t want to cook. Don’t forget that the foliage will also be changing in the higher elevations at this time as well. All in all, there is something for everyone at this location.

The directions to Starport as given by Barrie are as follows:

Go North on interstate Route 93 to exit 26 Route 25 just north of Plymouth. Note that the area on Route 93 around Plymouth and on Route 25 to Route 118 often have speed traps. When you come to a rotary (4.2 miles), keep right staying on Route 25. Stay on Route 25 for approx. 7.6 miles. Drive carefully. You will pass the Polar Caves and a state run rest stop. Turn left onto Route 118 (Dorchester Rd.) at the Irving gas station on the right. There is a sign for Route 89 just before you reach the intersection. At approx. 2 miles, you will come to Groton Rd (on the left) just after a small white church on the right. Turn left onto Groton Rd just after the church. There’s a sign for Bailey Hill Motorsports. The paved road turns right at approx. 50 ft. Go straight onto Bailey Hill Road; a dirt road just after the white farmhouse on the corner of Groton Rd and Route 118.

Go to the top of the hill. Be careful as the road can get rough after Bailey Hill Motorsports. Look for the street sign for Ashley Way on the left. The entrance to Barrie’s place is on the right opposite Ashley Way. Look for the Starport street sign on a tree by the entrance on the right.

If you have any questions, please contact me at dgudzevich@comcast.net. You can also reach me at (781) 438-7375.

Clear Skies to All

NSAAC Road Trip Committee

Magazine Renewals

Sky & Telescope is going up on their price. The club discount subscription price for all renewals with an expiration date in 2004 is now $32.95,  up from $29.00. Anyone wishing to renew their Sky & Telescope subscription should send me via mail, or bring to a meeting, your renewal notice and a check made out to NSAAC for $32.95. The only way you can renew your subscription at the old price is if your subscription expires in 2003. While Sky & Tel lets us renew whenever we want, Astronomy requests that we renew all subscriptions in the fall, regardless of what month your last issue is. All subscribers whose last issue date falls in 2004 should renew in September or October of this year. In looking at the list I see some subscriptions which expire in April and some in November. Don’t worry, your new year of magazines will be added onto your last issue date. Astronomy offers us two discounts. A one year subscription is $29.00 and a two year is $55.00. To renew, or to start a new subscription, or to shift a regular subscription to a club discounted one, see me a business meeting this fall, or write to me at the address below.
Kevin Ackert 20 Carline Drive Billerica, MA 01821

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 a short distance down on the right. For more information about the club and its activities, contact Dave Thomas Membership Director at, email: membership@nsaac.org or contact Mike Deneen, President, e-mail at president@nsaac.org. No email, call Richard Bickerton, Vice President at 978-887-8533.

Better yet, visit our Web Site at: http://www.nsaac.org.