The meeting was held at the new Boxford Community Center at 10 Elm Street in Boxford, as well as via Zoom. There were 23 participants (18 in-person and 5 on Zoom). A quorum of members was present, and the Business Meeting was official.

Guests and new club members were asked to introduce themselves:

Guest(s): None

New Member(s): One new member introduced themselves

Officer Reports:

President – Kathi Freeman:

Kathi called for approval of the May Business Meeting Minutes, which were approved by acclamation. One member unexpectedly noted “it was a riveting read”.

Vice President – Justin Murray:

Justin had a couple reminders:

To help the Club with potential donations, Justin worked with Ron to get the PayPal Donation site setup:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SMYH56KHF46LU

Also created a magnet with QR code that links to the donations page – let Justin know if you are interested in a magnet for Star Parties!

Ed Ting had previously donated Keller eyepieces to the club – still some left if anyone needs them.

Treasurer – Ron Sampson:

Ron reported the only recent update is the club renewed the Zoom subscription.

Secretary – Tolga Yazicioglu:

Tolga reported no updates.

Membership Director – John Gall:

John reported there are currently 119 Members, with five new members joining since the last meeting. Of the 119, 9 are Honorary Members.

Collins Observatory at Salem State – Dennis Gudzevich:

Dennis provided an update on the Collins Observatory, which has a Meade LX200 12” ACF. The observatory is typically open on clear Mondays 7pm-10pm when school is in session.

Last scheduled session was 5/5, which was clouded out. Now closed for the Summer.

There is construction at Salem St. that will put another building up, and there are open questions on whether we’ll be able to open in the fall due to construction.

Mendel Observatory at Merrimack College – Brewster LaMacchia:

Brewster provided an update on the Mendel Observatory, which has an Optical Guidance Systems (OGS) 20-inch Ritchey-Cretien reflector. The observatory is typically open on clear Wednesdays.

Merrimack College has asked us to temporarily pause public observing due to a recent injury from a visitor.

Star Parties – Brewster LaMacchia:

Brewster reported clouds, clouds, clouds…and smoke.

Next event is Go Outside at Parker River on June 21st, 10-2. PRNWR sets up tents and table for groups to come show the public what they do. We did this for the first time last year and generated a lot of interest in the club. Signup is at the usual spot on the website.

Scope Clinic – Bryan Stone & Ron Sampson:

If you have anything on your telescope that you need help with, or if you need help with your telescope, Bryan & Ron can assess your scope, making recommendations, and performing some minor repairs.

Ron reported there have been no recent inquiries for the scope clinic.

At Large Board Members – Cyndi Hopping:

Cyndi had no updates to report.

Old Business:

Membership/Dues Discussion:

- Kathi provided a summary overview of the ongoing discussion

Telescope Sales Committee:

- Justin reported still three scopes that are working their way through evaluation by committee members

Club Banner Committee:

- Design has been sent to the printer!

New Business:

Next Board Meeting is Monday 6/16 at 8PM. Reach out to Kathi if you’d like to attend.

Business Meeting was Adjourned by President Kathi Freeman at 7:40 PM

Following the Business Meeting, we were joined by Nazmus Nasir for a presentation on Solar Imaging.

Nazmus Nasir is a Software Engineer at Harvard University by day and an astrophotographer by night—and occasionally by day. Known as Naztronomy, he has been doing astrophotography since 2012 and started hydrogen alpha solar imaging in 2023.

Respectfully submitted,

Tolga Yazicioglu, Secretary

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