MINUTES
Minutes
of the December 14, 2011 meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greater
Hartford
There
were 16 attendees.
President
Francis O’Reilly called the meeting to order at 7:30.
Secretary’s
Report: Minutes of the November meeting are on the website and
were emailed. Hardcopies were made available.
Treasurer’s
Report: Gave amounts in club accounts. There were six
respondents to group emails concerning lapsed memberships.
Public
Observing: The last two public observing sessions were extremely
well attended. Despite adverse conditions in the observatory with equipment
problems relating to the past two storms, we managed to keep targets tracking in
the telescope. The problem has been with the RA clamp. It was locked in the on
position and would not disengage. As of this writing, the problem has been
corrected. It was all electrical issues stemming from the storm
problems.
The university is considering installing a manual RA clamp to match
the manual DEC clamp. The 2012 Public Observing Dates have been submitted for
university approval. Three dates are still in negotiation. It seems we selected
not only Homecoming weekend but Commencement and Spring Break! The next public
session will take place on January 28, 2012 from 8-10pm.
Membership
Committee: No report.
StarConn:
October 2012 is being considered.
Science Fair:
The 48th CT Science Fair is March 15 - 17, and ASGH has been invited to
participate again. See New Business.
Astronomer of the
Year: No report
Nominating
Committee: Francis will assign the committee, with the
stipulation that he not be a nominee.
Mirror
Workshop: Workshop is full with all standby slots taken. This
will be the thirteenth year of the workshop. There are three new attendees and
several continuing projects.
Star Parties:
There is no further word on hosting a Star Party for the Civil Air
Patrol.
Land Acquisition
Committee: No report.
Old Business:
The motion to donate money to Goodwin Park if used for Star Parties was tabled,
pending Secretary issuing an email of the motion to club.
New Business:
A motion was made to approve the clubs' participation in the CT Science Fair.
Club would pick two astronomy entry winners, one senior division and one junior
division. Club would allocate prize money for winners: $150 for the senior
winner and $100 for junior. Each winner would be invited to speak at an ASGH
meeting, receive an ASGH membership and a subscription to Sky &
Telescope.
The motion shall be voted upon at the January ASGH meeting. The
club must respond to the CT Science Fair by February 7.
For the Good of the
Organization: The club will hold a post-holiday telescope
workshop for public in January.
Observing
Reports: On March 3 several planets and their moons, all except
Neptune, will be visible in one night. Sunset is at 5:30 that night. It is also
a Wesleyan observing night.
Cindi bought an Orion Fun Scope and
reports it performs well. Bill had a 4:30am observing of Saturn and saw gaps in
rings. A couple of the recent Geminids were visible.
The
meeting was adjourned at 8:20.
After a short break, Jeff
Patterson gave a presentation on the Maine Solar System Model.
~
Minutes of the November 16, 2011
meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greater
Hartford.
There were 10
attendees.
President Francis
O’Reilly called the meeting to order at 7:30.
Secretary’s
Report: Minutes of the
October meeting are on the website. Minutes were emailed to club as well.
Hardcopies were made available.
Treasurer’s
Report: Account totals
were given. Dues are due, and 26 members are current. A memo was sent out
regarding dues to the mailing list. There are 219 names on the existing listed
on membership list, with 50 of them being active. Dean will do a mass mailing to
former members regarding reactivating their membership. There are “non active”
members who participate a lot in astronomy, just not through club.
Public
Observing: 10 people attended the last Van Vleck session. They looked
at Jupiter and M57.
Membership
Committee: No report. See
Treasurer’s report above
StarConn:
Alan is chair. Discussed possibility of moving StarConn to the 3rd week of
October
Science
Fair: No
report
Astronomer of the
Year: No report
Nominating
Committee: Francis will appoint a committee of one for
this.
Mirror
Workshop: Standby slots are still open.
Star
Parties: Possibility of a future party at Civil Air Control as they
have expressed interest. Site to be determined. Julian has one scheduled at
DePaulo Middle School.
Land Acquisition
Committee: No report.
Old
Business: There is a Motion currently before the club: if the
club elects to use
Goodwin
Park
for star parties, the club would
make a donation of up to $100 to Friends of Goodwin Conservation
Center. This motion was scheduled to be voted upon at the
December meeting, but the secretary failed to notify club of the motion.
Secretary will request the vote be moved to January.
New
Business: no report
For the Good of the
Organization: Roy Kilgarde at Wesleyan says 16 inch Mead scope needs
repair and is looking for help. It was recommended that they look at authorized
service but scope of out warrantee.
Observing
Reports: The power outages made for
good viewing. Suggestions were made for winter viewing on Cape Cod or near Lake
George. Rocket Roberts distributed his time lapse photo of the asteroid flyby.
Francis had his 12.5 F7 out recently and had good viewing.
The Meeting was
adjourned at 8:02.
There was no
presentation. There was an open discussion of ways to beef up meetings:
getting more speakers; make access to Copernicus roof scopes a regular feature;
use Van Vleck when possible. Francis stressed the importance of program:
sidewalk observing; promoting star parties; possible astro-imaging workshops
after business meeting. Club could raise awareness by issueing press releases to
local papers when significant astronomical events are about to occur, such as
the Venus transit in June.
Minutes of the October 19, 2011
meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greater
Hartford.
There were 16 attendees.
President Francis O’Reilly called the meeting to order at 7:30.
Secretary’s Report: Minutes of the September meeting are on the website.
Hardcopies were made available.
Treasurer’s Report: Al gave account balances. Seventeen members have paid dues
for this year. Dues were due in September. An email will go out to the group.
Public Observing: Session at Van Vleck was cancelled last month. Next session
is Saturday, Oct. 22. October is the last month of 9pm start before winter
hours take effect.
Librarian: No report.
Membership Committee: No report.
StarConn: There is now a StarConn committee, but chair is absent. No report.
Science Fair: No report.
Astronomer of the Year: No report.
Nominating Committee: No report.
Mirror Workshop: Dick was absent but reports that workshop is now full. Last
year there were cancellations due to weather or projects being finished, so
this year people can sign up as standbys if a work station becomes open.
Star Parties: Saturday the 22nd there is an invitational Star Party at Henry
Park in Vernon. It will occur the same time as Van Vleck observing. Tom spoke
with Goodwin Park, which is open to letting club use park for star party.
Land Acquisition Committee: No report.
Old Business: Motion before club. Club would discontinue library and dispose of
books. Discussion: Books have always been problematic; books are mostly
outdated; libraries are not interested in large donations; location is
difficult to access for most members.
1: Motion to end the library: 14 in favor, 2 opposed. Motion carries.
2: Books be donated to Alan Hall: 14 in favor, 2 opposed. Motion carries.
New Business: Motion was made: if the club elects to use Goodwin Park for star
parties, the club would make a donation of up to $100 to Friends of Goodwin
Conservation Center. Discussion: Club should schedule a star party at park. Tom
will reach out to park. Previous discussion with park had been regarding club
use, but not about a public star party. Motion will be voted upon next month.
For the Good of the Organization: Julian is hosting a Star Party at Deep Hollow
Middle School.
Observing Reports: Francis saw ISS. John was at Mauna Kea, and performed 124
hours as volunteer, bringing him to 790 total.
Jupiter's moons were visible from Lyman Orchard. The entire run of Night Sky
Magazine is now on DVD (http://www.shopatsky.com/product/night-sky-digital-collection-2004-2007/new-arrivals).
Francis' 12 ½ inch f12 is ground out.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:13.
After a short break, Roy Kilgard, a research professor from Wesleyan, gave a
presentation on the biggest small black holes, and the methods he used to
detect them.
September 21, 2011 Minutes
There were 20 attendees. There were two new members.
Prior to the meeting there was cake and coffee to celebrate Francis winning
the first place optical award at Stellafane. Alan gave a humorous slide show
of Francis' life and the event at Stellafane.
President Francis O'Reilly called the meeting to order at
7:30.
Secretary's Report: Minutes of the May meeting are on the
website. Hardcopies were made available.
Treasurer's Report: Bill reported account totals and reminded
members that dues are due in September. StarConn lost money, mainly due to
increased travel expenses and low attendance.
Public Observing: Saturday session cancelled due to clean-up
at Van Vleck Observatory from storm. The scope not damaged. Trees on the
grounds around the observatory were damaged and are in the process of being
pulled. Once completed there should be a better field of view. Next observing
is Oct 22 from 9 - 11PM.
In November the session goes to 8PM start time.
Librarian: Library still exists. Dick states it is obsolete.
There is no traffic. Alan offered to take the books. The motion was made for
the Club Library to be ended. Dick Parker would donate all books currently in
the library to Alan Hall, who would own them outright, with the intent of
future placement in his planned observatory. Alan would make them available to
club upon request. This motion may be amended for legal issues. This motion
will be voted upon at the October meeting.
Membership Committee: two new members joined over the summer. Welcome packages
were sent out.
StarConn: No report. Julian absent. Committee reported
Starconn lost money. Many reasons are possible. Membership needs to decide if
club will hold a 2012 StarConn before a committee is formed. There was
discussion, including the fact that StarConn used to be at different times of
the year. April is a possibility.
October 23 was discussed
by prior StarConn committee. An exploratory committee was formed to determine
possible dates. Alan, Bill, Scott, Cindy, Dean, and Francis volunteered. They
will set up a meeting.
Science Fair: no report
Astronomer of the Year: John Sillasen won the award at the
last StarConn.
Nominating Committee: no report
Mirror Workshop: Dick reported people are signing up and
website is updated. There is a link on ASGH site.
Star Parties: Club has obtained a permit for an
Oct 22 Star Party at
Henry Park in Vernon. It
is a hilltop park. This
is the same night as the Van Vleck public observing. It will be invitational.
A .pdf of the invitation will be posted on the ASGH website. The Club
maintains a liability policy for such events. Dean will coordinate with Bill
to get a certificate for event.
Land Acquisition Committee: No report. One site was scouted.
In related news, Skyscapers has received a new land grant.
Old Business: Motion made to ratify and allocate up to $200
for portable toilet for star party. Motion carries.
New Business: Motion was made to allocate $200 for any star
party that requires a portable toilet. Discussion. Weather is often bad and
parties are cancelled. Dean has cancelled on short notice before without
difficulty.
Craig needs help getting CCSU's 16-inch mirror recoated. Also needs help with
the dismantling, preferably this semester. Francis suggested committee to
assist Craig in this. Dick, Alan and Francis volunteered. Secretary read
Craig's letter thanking the club for inviting him and his wife to StarConn.
For the Good of the Organization: Dick reported that in
June 2012, Venus will
transit across the sun. It will be the last time for 112 years.
Ed received magazine article regarding IRS tax rules for non-profits and
inquired as to the club's compliance. Francis and Bill assured club that all
federal and state tax payments are up to date.
Alan reported that Astro Assembly will take place
on Sept. 30 and
Oct. 1 in
Scituate, RI. The son
of Nikita Khrushchev will discuss Russian space program. Keynote speaker is
Peter Schultz.
The Wesleyan Colloquia schedule for the season is up on their website.
Dean is building a slate of speakers for ASGH club meetings for this year and
invited interested parties to contact him.
Observing Reports: Dick went to Mauna Kea with John. He made
four trips to the mountain, went inside Keck, took the summit tour with John
as guide. Saw the infrared and submillimeter scopes as well. There was a full
moon on second night. Star tours were given at night to visitors. Mike Brown,
the "man who killed Pluto," gave a talk. Dick suggested him as a possible
speaker for StarConn.
The meeting was adjourned at
8:42PM.
There was no presentation.
View
previous years minutes
Back
to ASGH Info Page
Home