Current Minutes

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 7:35 PM by Allen Hall.

The business part of the meeting was deferred to allow the Br. Guy Consolmagno to give his talk on the color of Kuiper Belt Objects.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes from the April 21 meeting have been posted to the website. Minutes were accepted.

Treasurer’s Report: Carl gave account balances. Carl filed the required non-profit IRS forms in time for the deadline.

Public Observing: VVO Session this Saturday. For the summer, these will open to at 9:00

Membership Committee: Dean reported. Two or 3 members have joined in this calendar year.

StarConn: Al thanked Dean, John & Francis for doing a lot of work this past month. We’re still looking for folks to sign up for the Pre-StarConn dinner. Please sign up to make the event possible. Dean asked for volunteers to help with the membership desk.

Science Fair: Carl reported that the students enjoyed themselves and there was a good turnout.

Astronomer of the Year: Candidate has been selected. The award will be given at StarConn.

Star Parties: Last Toussaint Farm star party was cancelled due to wind. Cherry Springs star party registration is still open. Josh and some others will be going.

Old Business: Uncontested nominations – Josh moved to have the Secretary cast the vote. Motion carried, and Dean Kavalkovich cast the vote for the slate determined at prior meetings:

For the Good of the Organization: Francis will look into a field at a CCC camp at the Shenipsit State Forest for a future star party.
From 2000-2005, John S. hosted a star party at Arunah Hill. He asked if there was interest in another star party there in July. He will bring it up on the Yahoo News group. Allen will begin taking apart the tel. at Seagrave Observatory in RI. Al asked for volunteers to help with cleaning & polishing.

Observing Reports: John S. described observing comets with Tom Hoffelder. Dave Vosgien reported taking photos of Venus & the moon. Dick Parker sent some CCD (webcam) images of Mars & Saturn taken with a 16”. Al Johnson reported observing galaxies in Virgo with a 10” Newtonian on a very clear night. Al Hall reported visiting an antique show, and found the worlds ugliest table, which was actually a 24” 4” thick Pyrex mirror blank on a stump.

April 21, 2010 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 7:31 PM by John Sillasen. The meeting was attended by 19 members. Prospective new member Nirav Shah introduced himself.

Title: “Houston We have a problem, How Coronal Mass Ejections Can Affect Life on Earth.”

Title: “What Forms of Electromagnetic Radiation Emitted by Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun Cause the Most Interference. “

Secretary’s Report: Minutes from the April 17 meeting have been posted to the website, and copies were brought to the meeting. Need to amend last month’s minutes to state that the meeting had 12 members.

Public Observing: John described last month’s elevator failure at Van Vleck. This Saturday is the next session at Van Vleck – the floor has been fixed. This week is 8-10. Next month will be 9-11.

StarConn: Still seeking speakers. Amy Mainzer fell through. Peter Shultz we think has been contacted by Allen and Dr. Shultz has declined. Member reqruested that a pdf file of the flier be posted on the web site. Julian taking reservations until the next meeting for the Pre-StarConn dinner. Dinner fee is $45.

Science Fair: Thanks to Carl and team for bringing in the Science fair winners.

Old Business: Br. Guy coming in next month. Francis will ask the club to reimburse Br. Guy’s rental car expenses. Opened the officers question raised last month: Are there any restrictions in the constitution or by-laws that might prevent an out-of-stater from being a club officer. Dean reported that the constitution and by-laws contained nothing precluding out-of-state residents from being officers.

New Business: F. O’Reilly moved to cover Br. Guy’s auto rental costs not to exceed $75. Motion carried.

Dean moved to approve an expenditure of $200 - $300 to replace the projector bulb. Motion carried.

Dean moved to approve an expenditure for CSP raffle prize of an 8” mirror-making kit not to exceed $200. Motion carries. Dave Vosgien suggested including a reservation in Dick’s mirror-making workshop. Dean stated that we could ask Dick this but could not make any offers without Dick’s consent.

For the Good of the Organization: John showed his “Presidents Award” from the Astronomy Association.

Jeff Patterson spoke about the 3D Imax movie. He didn’t think Norwalk was a 3D theater, but that the New England Aquarium was. He highly recommended the movie. John asked for a volunteer to organize a trip to see the movie.

Scott Tracy has a complete set of Sky & Tel magazines from 73 – 2008 that he’d like to sell.

John spoke with Rob Gendler, who is looking to sell much of his equipment, including Nagler eyepieces. He will make t his available to ASGH members for a limited time.

Bob Vecklund recounted his experience with CL&P, who replaced a nearby street light with a full cut-off fixture that was hard to tell that it was on.

March 17, 2010 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 7:34 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by 12 members. Prospective new members Mike & Donna Kazcinski introduced themselves.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes from the February 20 meeting have been posted to the website, and copies were brought to the meeting. Treasurer’s position was omitted. Add Bill Hurley as treasurer on the slate of officers.

Public Observing: Scott Sendlein has announced that he would retire as committee chair. John Sillasen has accepted the chairmanship. A session at Van Vleck is scheduled for this Saturday 8:00 – 10:00. Allen has been measuring the back-plate of the Alvan Clark to work towards manufacturing a new one that can accommodate a right angle viewer.

Membership Committee: Nothing new to report. Dick asked about certificates. Another way to recognize folks would be to provide certificates for outreach activities.

StarConn: Allen is hosting a meeting this Friday (3/19) 7:30. John Sillasen needs contact information for all speakers. Cindy offered a book as a door prize. She will hold onto it until the event. Allen encouraged all to donate items for door-prizes and raffle prizes. Julian stated that the pre-StarConn dinner will be again at the First & Last Tavern. Menu & prices will be available by the April meeting. Allen encouraged all members to attend the dinner. Spouses invited.

Science Fair: Carl Williams was not present. Dick Parker reported. Committee reviewed the exhibits last week. Astronomy projects focused on solar outbursts. Both awards went to junior (6-8 grade) division. May meeting is already booked for Brother Guy. We may need to schedule an extra meeting.

Astronomer of the Year: Dick and Allen have a couple of nominations and will accept nominations for another month.

See Josh or Allen if interested in being an officer or to make a nomination. John wanted to check the by-laws to see if out of state members can be officers. Dean agreed to check the bylaws to check for any relevant language.

Mirror Workshop: Only one more session coming (this Saturday). Most mirrors are not quite finished. Please stay on the pavement the lawn is unfrozen and can be very muddy. Dick had visited the Delmarva stargazers’ mirror workshop to see how others do this. This other club does a full weekend of mirror grinding. His workshop seems to get mirrors made in about the same amount of time.

New Business: John moved to hold the April meeting on the 3^rd Wednesday of the month and have the members attend the Sturm Lecture on their own. This will accommodate the Science fair winners speaking. Allen will call Carl Williams to contact the fair winners to schedule their engagement. Motion carries.

For the Good of the Organization: John reminded the club of the Annual Astronomy Association is in North Hampton on April 9. He needs a head-count of ASGH members attending before the event. John needs the count a week in advance. John has made some updates to the website including Barlow Bob’s events calendar. Julian reported on the Imagine-Nation Museum event. He presented a thank-you letter from the museum. Six members from the club supported the event. John Sillasen stated that the Planet Quest crew earned a new kit from NASA for “telescope making.” Bob Veklund had a streetlight in his neighborhood replaced with a dark-sky friendly street light. Allen mentioned the appeal to the state to write letters to have the state turn off all lights after midnight. Look for the notice on the Yahoo group for details.

Observing Reports: Dick presented an “Earth Science” obs. report. In Delaware during the rain-saturated weekend, he became stranded at the observatory. Allen noted that Saturn is visible and approaching opposition (March 21).

Dean Kavalkovich gave a presentation as a Solar System Ambassador on “The Cosmic Distance Ladder.”

Feb 17, 2010 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 7:47 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by 16 members. New member Martin Winterling introduced himself.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes from the January 20 meeting have been posted to the website, and copies were brought to the meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Carl Koplin described club’s resources. Ending cash balance: $8,534,

Public Observing: Scott Sendlein was not in attendance, Cindy Barron reported. Skyscrapers event cancelled due to weather. General public observing is this Saturday at 7:30. Allen Hall mentioned March 13 ASGH invitational. He has invited News Channel 8 and all their families. Jeff mentioned that Channel 8’s main offices were in Chicopee MA. Josh mentioned the Astronomy Association dinner: Friday April 9 at 7:30 PM, Hadley, MA Holy Redeemer Church hall. Josh mentioned Cherry Springs star party June 10-13, in north-central Pennsylvania. Register at cherrysprings.org. Exhibit at the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC: Whole Earth Catalog – The Prequel article included one of Rob Gendler’s pictures. Julian mentioned the event at the Imagine-Nation children’s museum – Friday, March 5 5:00-8:00 pm. Julian asked for scopes & volunteers. Dean mentioned the ASNH’s messier marathon in March at the Ashford CSP site.

Membership Committee: Dean Kavalkovich had nothing new to report. Allen wanted to get a certificate together for levels of participation in the Messier Marathon. Show a log of observations for certificate. We also plan to offer a lifetime certification for seeing all 110 during the course of your life.

StarConn: Allen Hall gave the status. We are 1 or 2 speakers short of a full schedule. Allen contacted folks on the JWST team. Posters are being developed. Julian is organizing the dinner on the Friday night before the event. It will be in the Middletown area. Cost of guests invited will be spread amongst club members that attend. Send Dean an email for invitation to Facebook event. Cindy suggested getting publicity to local high school astronomy clubs. Josh is putting together a package for vendors. Francis is organizing food for the event (bagels & donuts). Last talk of the day will be a moderated panel discussion.

Science Fair: Carl Williams was not in attendance. Science fair is next month.

Astronomer of the Year: Nothing new to report. See Dick or Allen to make any nominations.

Mirror Workshop: Bill Hurly said workshop is well attended. Most mirrors are 8”. Only 2 more sessions scheduled. All are welcome to stop in whether or not you’re making a mirror.

Old Business: Allen Hall described some initial efforts to acquire land for club facilities (Soapstone Mountain in Somers).

For the Good of the Organization: Josh has two books to give away: CCD Astrophotography. David Levy’s Variable Stars. He will donate them to StarConn as door prizes. Allen mentioned that Sirtis Major (Mars) will be visible for the next 4 or 5 nights

Observing Reports: Shuttle plume was visible. Francis’ wife has gained new knowledge of stargazing via osmosis. Allen saw some good views of mars last week on his 16”. Separation between Sirius and Sirius B is starting to grow. It may become possible to split again. Julian caught the “Green Flash” on camera in Sanibel, FL.

January 20, 2010 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 7:42 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by 11 members. New member Hugh Whelan introduced himself.

Secretary's Report: Minutes from the December 16 meeting have been posted to the website,
and copies were brought to the meeting. Dick Parker asked to strike the phrase "not very accessible" in the New Business section of the December minutes. Motion passed.

Treasurer's Report: Carl was not in attendance. Allen recalled that we made about $200 at last StarConn. Balance is around $7000.

Public Observing: John Sillasen noted that the next public observing session at Wesleyan's Van Vleck Observatory will be this Saturday, Jan 23. 2010 Observing calendar is approved by the University and is now on the web. Twenty-inch committee members should forward their availability to Scott Sendlein. Allen Hall mentioned special observing events for Sky Scrapers on Feb 13, and another the week later . This weekend we will try to observe Mars, and Phobos and Diemos. ASNH is hosting a Messier Marathon on the New Moon weekend in March at the Norcross Scout Camp (where the CSP is held). Allen proposed that we (Dean and Al) create certificates of accomplishment for the Messier Marathon. Dick Parker noted that the April new moon will be even better for a Messier Marathon than the March new moon.

Librarian: Dick Parker had nothing new to report.

Membership Committee: Dean Kavalkovich had nothing new to report. Tentative meeting for this weekend at Van Vleck.

StarConn: Two speakers are booked. Bob Horton /Brown Univ. will speak. We also have booked Matt Holman/Harvard-Smithsonian. CfA, and hope to make him the keynote speaker.
Francis O'Reilly is working to engage a speaker from the Thirty-Meter Telescope project (TMT). Allen Hall showed one draft poster. Theme "New Eyes on the Sky." We're considering replacing one of the speaker time slots with a moderated panel discussion. Next StarConn Meeting is on Feb 12 7:30 PM at Al's house.

Science Fair: Nothing new to report.

Astronomer of the Year: Nothing new to report. See Dick to make any nominations.

Nominating Committee: Make officer nominations to Josh Cohen.

Mirror Workshop: Dick reported that the workshop is full and is almost full every weekend. Most of the mirrors are 8-inch mirrors. Carpool if possible. Park on pavement if ground is soft.

Old Business: Dick brought up the possibility of dismantling the library. Most of the books in the library have been donated because they're old and not in demand. Dick would like to see the books being used. Last month's motion was to sell the library. Allen stated that the library would not fetch much money. Francis suggested donating them to a library. Jeff Patterson asked if there was another alternative that would encourage the use of the books. Ed Obrien stated that if we replace books, we would replace them with newer books. John Sillasen stated that most libraries don't want old books. Library contains about 200 books. Francis suggested deciding on the books on a case-by-case basis. John Sillasen moved to table the motion. Ed Obrien seconded the tabling motion.

New Business: Dean moved to dedicate part of the budget to purchase new books for the library. John Sillasen
seconded. Jeff suggested waiting until StarConn revenue is set. Allen stated that we should have "a" budget before we have a book-buying budget. Dean amended his motion to the following:
"A motion to establish an operating budget, to be proposed by the president and his delegated budget committee and approved by the membership that could include a line item for
buying books." Motion passed.

Francis O'Reilly suggested a land acquisition effort where we would look for property in the state that becomes available through tax sales or tax forfeitures. "A motion to establish a committee for the purpose of investigating the possible acquisition of land for the benefit of the organization." Motion passed. Al Johnson suggested reaching out to the membership for help on committees such as this.

For the Good of the Organization: Dean mentioned Wesleyan spring colloquia and UConn colloquia Need speakers for Feb and March.

Observing Reports: Jeff Paterson observed the moon's sliver with about 16 people last week. Dick looked at Mars with his 4.5-inch refractor that he made. Could see snow cap & dark
terrain feature. Ran observing session with 6th gr. Class from Sacred Heart elementary school . Entertained 50-60 school kids with views of Jupiter. Jeff Patterson stated that a report of the event appeared in the New Britain Herald.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:50 pm.

Speaker: Al Johnson presented his experiences building a back yard observatory.

December 16, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Called to Order: 7:30pm by President Allen Hall
Recognition of Visitors: Dan and Bill (no last names given) visiting for the first time

Secretary’s Report: Secretary was absent. Minutes are on the website Moved to accept as posted by John Sillasen, seconded by Josh Cohen. Motion passed

Van Vleck Observatory Report: John Sillasen reported. Held a joint IYA program with Wesleyan Astronomy Dept. Over 200 attendees Events included: lectures, observing on the 20” Clark, and the 16” LX200 SCT as well as several personal scopes setup on the lawn outside the observatory. The University was very pleased with the event and a good time was had by all. Next public observing session is to be held on Saturday, December 26, 2009.

Observing Committee Report: Public Observing Event on Thursday, December 17th. Bob Barker reported Sponsored by the 6^th grade class at Sacred Heart Elementary School Thursday 12/26, 4:30 – 6:00pm Orange St., New Britain. Bob previously gave a talk on astronomy to this class
Geminid Party, December 12^{th -}5 attended Tousant Farms, N. Granby. Barn had refreshments, a wood stove, etc. to make event more comfortable.

Membership Committee: Dan was not present. President mentioned Messier observing program and other programs that this committee is working on. Committee is also working on a membership welcome package including a welcome letter.

Mirror Workshop: Dick Parker reported - Workshop to start, Saturday, January 2^nd. Workshop is full. Dick considers the time during the workshop an “open house” and encourages members and interested persons to drop in and see what is going on.

StarConn Committee: First speaker has been recruited and he is Bob Horton Date: Saturday June 5^thTheme: Future Instruments and Amateur-Professional Collaboration. Next committee meeting, Friday, January 8^th at 7:00pm

Astronomer of the Year: Dick Parker spoke on what this award is. Need nominations by the May meeting

New Business: Dick Parker discussed selling the books in our library and putting the money in our treasury. He said that the library gets little use. Moved: to get rid of books in the ASGH library (D. Parker). Seconded by Ed O’Brien. Motion tabled until the next meeting so members could consider the proposal and review list of books (on the website)

Good of the Organization: Jeff Paterson gave out cards (baddaystudio.com). Al Hall proposed a trip to Wellsley College to see their Alvan Clark refractors. Al will send a notice to Yahoo Groups. General discussion on getting land for an observatory as the state is selling off land to raise revenue and prices are very good.

Observing Reports: Jeff Paterson reported on a spectacular Geminid shower that he observed before dawn as he was traveling on RT-8. Francis O’Reilly reported on extra solar earth-like planet (1.5 earth mass) with signs of water by CNN.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm. Following the business meeting, a presentation by Joe Roberts was made on beginning astrophotography. A progression from film to CCD to permanent observatory. The presentation was thoroughly enjoyed by all. (Webmaster)

November 18, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by Cyndi Barron (on behalf of Dean Kavalkovich)

The meeting was called to order @ 7:35 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by 16 members.    No new members or guests attended

Secretary’s Report:   Dean not present.   Allen advised minutes from last meeting posted to website.

Treasurer’s Report: Carl not present.   John advised that he has added a line to the membership form for people to fill in their subscription number for S&T or Astronomy magazines

Public Observing: ·        Public observing for October at Van Vleck was canceled due to weather.

· Next observing at Van Vleck is Saturday, November 21^st, 8:00 – 10:00 pm Event will be held RAIN OR SHINE. This event is being run in conjunction with Wesleyan in observance of IYA.

Event will include both talks and observing. Wesleyan will have both observatories open. Members are encouraged to come and set up telescopes outside the observatory.

· During last meeting, John mentioned a 6th grade teacher in New Britain looking for a speaker. Dean and Bob have both emailed him expressing interest

· John mentioned that a junior high school in Plainville may also be interested in a program or speakers. Will advise once more details are known.

· Julian checking with Josh if Star Party is still on this Friday for his church group.

Librarian: Dick was not present.

Membership Committee: Working on recognition program. One example is recognition certificate for viewing all 110 Messier objects. Once details finalized a presentation will be made to the group.

StarConn: Next committee meeting is Friday, December 4^th at 7:00 at Allen’s house.

Science Fair: Carl Williams not present. Anyone interested in being a judge should contact Carl. During the last meeting it was approved to award Senior Division: $150 Junior Division: $100, and provide subscription to Sky & Tel or Astronomy Mag. to winners.

Nominating Committee: Josh Cohen is accepting nominations. Executive committee members receive free dues and a free subscription to S&T or Astronomy magazine.

Mirror Workshop: Full.

Old Business: Ed O’Brien reported on Public Observing at Buckland mall. Ed spoke with our insurance company in regards to the requirements from Buckland Mall and how that would effect our policy. We would need to increase coverage per event to 2 million which would be an annual increase in premium of $250.00. The mall also requires that we take out worker’s compensation, other accident insurance. This would increase premium by an additional $900.00 (aprox). In addition, they stated that we should have all attendees sign a waiver absolving the mall and ourselves of any liability. In light of the increase costs, it was decided to table the event. The ASGH would like to give a big thanks to Ed for the all the work and time he has already put into this event and we appreciate his efforts.

(On a side note, members expressed interest in doing an event like this in the future but at different venue. Some suggestions made were Evergreen Walk and Cabelas)

· The Connecticut Repertory Theatre is presenting Galileo from December 3-12 at the Jorgensen Theatre at UConn. For tickets call 860-486-4226. For additional information: http://www.crt.uconn.edu

· Skyscrapers (Rhode Island Astronomy club) has invited ASGH members to their Dec 5^th Christmas Party. It will be pot luck. For additional information contact Allen Hall

Observing Reports:
Allen Hall, John Sillasen and several others attended the Star Party on November 17^th at - Toussaint Farm for the Leonid Meteor Shower. They were able to see about 6 meteor grazers which were truly spectacular. Other objects observed double clusters, galaxies, Jupiter. They stayed until they were chased way by coyotes.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:17

Due to technical difficulties Allen Johnson was unable to give his talk on The Home Observatory - "How one club member tackled the task of building an observatory". Talk will be rescheduled.

October 21, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 741 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by 20 members.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes from the September 16 meeting have been posted to the website, the Yahoo group, and copies were brought to the meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Carl Koplin presented a spreadsheet with the club finances. Carl asked that members paying with cash attach a note. He also requested that you include the sticker
from the S&T or Astronomy magazine sticker when renewing as a member. Carl showed how the subscriptions are tracked on the membership spreadsheet. StarConn showed a profit for 2009.

Public Observing: Dean reported: VVO This Sat, SSA Star Party Nov 14, Toussaint Farm Dec. 12. Send ideas for venues to Dean.

Librarian: Dick was not present.

Membership Committee: No news. J. Sillasen asked to convert New Membership form to PDF and send to him.

StarConn: Allen Hall is chairing this year. Fist meeting at Al’s house last Friday, Oct 16. June 5 2010 will be the next StarConn. This will be 2 weeks after Univ. housing closes.
John Sillasen is Wesleyan Liaison, Scott Tracy Emcee, Julian Shull will organize the Friday dinner.: Josh Cohen, Vendor Coordination Dean Marketing & Adv. Francis O’Reilly: Logistical
Operations.

Science Fair: Carl Williams reported. Will be held at Quinnipiac again next year.

Astronomer of the Year: Dick Parker & Allen Hall are accepting nominations. J. Sillasen asked for any recollections about ASOY’s from year’s past to document these on the website.

Nominating Committee: Josh Cohen is accepting nominations.

Mirror Workshop: Dick’s workshop roster is almost full. Email to Dick to register.

Old Business: Ed Obrien reported on Public Observing at Buckland mall. Ed is planning to have something to report next month. Insurance may cost the club money. Dean suggested a comprehensive sidewalk observing outreach effort focusing on high-traffic areas, and bright targets.

New Business: Science fair: Carl moved to fund awards: Senior Division: $150 Junior Division:
$100, and provide subscription to Sky & Tel or Astronomy Mag. to winners.
Dean moved to donate amount to Mt. Wilson Obs. to be determined at the November meeting. Carl suggested increasing monthly speaker fees. Currently at $75. Discussion about a sliding
scale based on expertise. Francis mentioned increased travel fees. He described interactions with speakers who generally do not seem to be motivated by small change to speaker fee.
J. Sillasen. felt that the amount of $100 when compared to the StarConn fee of $150 should set the $100 fee as a cap. Scott felt that an increase was not necessary. Al Hall described the
expenses of a speaker of someone coming from Boston who could easily spend $50 to attend a meeting. Francis asked when this would be effective. Carl amended his motion to make this
effective immediately. Motion carried.

For the Good of the Organization
John S. mentioned a 6th grade teacher in New Britain looking for a speaker. Dean and Bob asked him to forward the email to them.
Craig Robinson mentioned that the CCSU observatory was having public viewing nights 1st & 3rd Saturday of the Month & many special events next week for IYA. See the ccsu.edu/astronomy website for details.
Craig suggested a change of venue for Guy Consolmagno “He’s a big draw.” John. S. Suggested setting up a telescope on Halloween as a way to interest trick-or-treaters
and their parents in astronomy. Al Hall introduced new member Rick Costello who showed his latest astronomy paining of the earth and moon. Dean mentioned Wesleyan Colloquia, and Yale
open courseware.

Observing Reports:
John Sillasen mentioned his lengthy outreach efforts at Mauna Kea.
Al Johnson visited Green Bank Radio Observatory.
Carl Koplin described seeing the Space Shuttle urine dump cloud.
Francis described seeing the rocket plume from Wallops Island. He viewed this from an airfield in NY State. Josh saw the same rocket plume from the Cherry Springs star party. Ernie saw the
rocket from the CSP. Rick Costello saw Europa & Io on Sept 20.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:46

Jeff Orszak gave a presentation titled “A Brief History of the Mount Wilson Observatory” after the meeting.

September 16, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by D. Kavalkovich

The meeting was called to order @ 7:36 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by 21 members. We had new members: Cindy Vaughn Dwight Ragle, Bob Vecklund, Tyler Dunn. Visitor Rick Costello.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes have been posted to the website, the Yahoo group, and copies were brought to the meeting.

Public Observing: Allen Conveyed Scott Sendlein’s Note: Next VVO observing session will be Saturday, September 26 from 8-10 PM. Note that with this session we coming off our summer observing times and reverting to the 8-10 PM schedule we observe when the weather gets colder and the days get shorter. Dean Kavalkovich, Al Johnson, and myself will be staffing. Any other interested ASGH member is welcome to attend. As this is the first meeting of the new season, would you please also extend and invitation, on my behalf, to the membership to join the VVO observing staff? Anyone who is interested may contact me at home at 860-295-9774 or via email at s.sendlein@comcast.net.

Dean Kavalkovich described two star parties planned for coming months: An invitational star party to be held in New Hartford, October 17, and a Solar System Ambassador to be held in Hurd Park, East Hampton on November 14. The invitational star party will require the rental of a porta-potty, to be discussed under new business. Dean is holding the November star party as a Solar System Ambassador event, not an ASGH event, but requests ASGH volunteers to help staff the November party with their equipment.

Librarian: Dick Parker described the library for the benefit of the new members.

Membership Committee: Dean stated that the past year’s efforts resulted in a welcome letter and a procedure to send this to new members. This year’s focus is expected to be on the recognition programs that were just begun last year. Next Membership Committee meeting tentatively set for October 26 at the Van Vleck Observatory Library.

StarConn: Al asked if anyone else wanted to be to be StarConn Committee chairman. Scott Tracy and Josh Cohen asked to be committee members. Al offered to be chairman again if no one else volunteered. Next meeting will be on October 16 at Al’s house.

Science Fair: Expect Carl to activate the committee around February 2010. Every year ASGH gives a free S&T subscription and free membership to contestant in the Connecticut Science Fair.

Astronomer of the Year: Dick Parker described the award & nominating process. Expect active solicitations for nominations in March or April.

Nominating Committee: Al asked if anyone would want to chair the nominating committee. Josh Cohen agreed to chair.

Mirror Workshop: Dick Parker described his mirror-making workshop. It is held in January and February of each year. The sessions are every Saturday morning from 9:00 – 12:00. This is a good time to socialize & visit the library even if you’re not grinding a mirror. This year’s roster is about ¾ full. Send Dick an email to sign up for the workshop. Ed Obrien testified that the workshop is a lot of fun. Francis O’Reilly testified that this is the best mirror workshop around. There is no charge for the workshop.

Old Business: Ed Obrien described the efforts to establish a public observing session at Buckland mall: Arrangements were made with the mall, but the club would have incurred costs to increase the liability coverage. Al recalled a figure of several hundred dollars to increase the coverage to the required level. Discussion was tabled to next month.

New Business: Francis O’reilly described visit by Guy Consolmagno Ph.D, Vatican Observatory. Br. Consolmagno will be speaking at our May meeting.
Dean K. described the site selected for the October invitational star party: it is a primitive site with no water, power or sanitary facilities. The club could rent a porta-potty for about $150 for the event. Dick Parker stated that we should endeavor to find sites with sanitary facilities. Scott Tracy moved to approve the appropriate funding to provide a porta potty for the October Star Party, the amount deemed appropriate by the organizer (Dean K). Dean 2nded. Francis O’reilly asked if it could be locked. Scott Tracy suggested that we hold off renting until a weather forecast is available. Competitive quotes should be sought. Motion carried.

For the Good of the Organization: Josh brought books to donate to club members. Ed Obrien asked about Yahoo group postings. He has not been getting the reports. Bob Vecklund asked about club information on the website. Al stated that most club events get posted before too long. Al Johnson discussed organization of the website, and how areas need to be upgraded. Al suggested that this feedback be presented to the webmaster. Josh mentioned that club members should be responsible for supplying any content that needs to be added to the site. Dwight mentioned that some of the out-of-date postings can make new potential members wonder if the club is still active. Al suggested that we address this again when John S. is present.
Dick Parker alerted the club that this coming weekend is the Connecticut Star Party in Ashford. Online registration is closed.
Scott Tracy mentioned Astro Assembly/ Sky Scrapers – First weekend in October. Premier amateur astronomer group. Al encouraged club members to support the event.

Observing Reports:
Dick Parker mentioned a night a couple of weeks ago where the air was exceedingly still and clear.
Dick also mentioned seeing the “naked Jupiter”
Al asked if anyone saw the space shuttle & space station going overhead.
Francis said that Stellafane was wonderful.
Dean mentioned an impromptu star party at Mohonk Mountain House.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:46
Allen Hall gave a presentation after the meeting on the restoration of an antique telescope clock drive & governor.

May 20, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

The meeting was called to order @ 7:30 PM by Webmaster John Silasen. The meeting was attended by eighteen members. We had two visitors: Jeff Patterson and Holly.

Secretary's Report: Minutes have been posted to the website, the Yahoo group, and copies were brought to the meeting.

Treasurer's Report: John Sillasen reported that there has been little activity. Our new bank is the Savings Bank of Rockville. We need to add a second signer to the checking account. Carl Koplin has spoken to our insurance agent and we now have the appropriate coverage for the events at Buckland Hills Mall; we simply need to give the agent the date(s).

Public Observing: The session on April 18 was clouded out. Upcoming sessions include May 30 and the evening of StarConn

Librarian: No report.

Membership Committee:

StarConn: We have a full slate of speakers, and we're all set to go. As of last week, we have NO preregistered attendees.

Dinner on Friday will be held at the First & Last Tavern in Middletown. Cocktails will be at 6:00pm. Dinner is at 7:00pm. Dinner is $40 per person, and the keynote speaker will be attending dinner.

Rob Gendler has donated two photos for the raffle.

Nine vendor tables have been ordered.

The secretary was directed to send notices to local newspapers, television stations, etc. asking that they add StarConn to their local events sections.

Science Fair: There were no presentations at the May meeting as there were no astronomical projects at the Science Fair.

Astronomer of the Year: Scott Sendlein reported that we are all set for the presentation at StarConn, except that he needs to talk with Scott Tracy regarding the plaque.

Nominating Committee: Nominations for Officers was as follows: President (Allen Hall), Vice-President (Francis O'Reilly), Secretary (Dean Kavalkovich) , Treasurer (Carl Koplin), and Webmaster (John Sillasen). The nominations were accepted and the officers were elected .

Mirror Workshop: Done for the year.

Star Parties: No activity

Old Business: The only old business relates to StarConn.

New Business: The only new business relates to StarConn.

For the Good of the Organization: Julian Shull reported that there will be a star party at DePaolo Middle School in Southington on June 4th from 7:30 to 9:00. Please bring your scopes.

Scott Tracy reported that on the invitational star party on April 18th at Northeast Park in Windsor. There were relatively few light sources. Skies were somewhat stead, and there were some breaks in the clouds. Banding was visible on Saturn, and at least four moons were visible. Granulation was visible in M13. At least twenty non-members attended the star party, as well as gazillions of bugs.

Julian Shull reported that the Messier Marathon in Tolland was attended by Tom Hoffelder, Dick Parker, and Julian Shull. Combined, they found 90-100 of the Messier list.

John Briggs reported that astronaut/moon walker Alan Bean would be the keynote speaker at Stellafane on Saturday August 15th. They will be having a day-long 'History of Astronomy' at Hartness House on Thursday August 14th. On Friday August 15th, there will be a fundraising dinner at Hartness House. You will have a chance to meet Alan Bean at that dinner. Tickets are $150 each.

John Sillasen reported that at Arunah Hill on May 27th, they will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 'Great Refractors'.

Observing Reports: No reports.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm.

John Briggs gave a presentation after the meeting.

April 15, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:07 PM by Secretary Thomas Karpf. The meeting was attended by ten members and was held at Van Vleck Observatory just before the Sturm lecture.

Secretary's Report: Minutes have been posted to the website, the Yahoo group, and copies were brought to the meeting. The minutes were accepted with the following corrections:

Under Public Observing: The Buckland Hills Mall session had not actually been scheduled, and did not occur; and

Under the good of the organization; 'Allen Hall' should have been 'Al Johnson'.

Treasurer's Report: Carl Koplin reported that BANK NORTH lost the deposit; it had been sent via certified mail. Carl still needs replacement checks from several members (mostly for magazine subscriptions). The account at Bank North has been closed and new accounts have been created at Savings Bank of Rockville (which is much more convenient for Carl); a savings account with $5,000 and a checking account with $2,798.77.

Public Observing: The last session at Van Vleck was on March 21st, and was well attended. The next session is on April 18th at 9:00pm. Julain Shull will be running the session on 4/18.

Carl Koplin reported that he has the insurance information that was requested by Buckland Hills.

Librarian: No report.

Membership Committee: Chairman Dean Kavalkovich reported that the next meeting will be on April 18th at 7:30 pm at Van Vleck Observatory. The committee is currently working on a 'welcome' letter for new members. In that letter, the committee would like to include a list of committee chairs with contact information.

StarConn: Ed O'Brien reported that the website has been updated with the current information. Vendors have been contacted. One of the vendors wants SIX tables. Door prizes are to be sent to Ed O'Brien. The following speaker slots have been filled: Keynote, Morning 1, Morning 2, and Afternoon 1. Afternoon 2 remains.

Science Fair: There will be no science fair speakers for the May meeting.

Astronomer of the Year: No report. Please send nominations to Scott Sendlein (observing@...)

Nominating Committee: No report. Please send nominations to Scott Sendlein (observing@...)

Mirror Workshop: The last session was on March 14th. Twenty people attended, working on twenty-three projects. Sixteen projects were completed.

Star Parties: On April 25th at 7:30pm, there will be an invitational star party at Northwest Park in Windsor, CT. Access to the park is off of Prospect Hill Road, Windsor. Dean Kavalkovich stated that he needs a couple of more volunteers; one to help direct traffic, and a second to manage the refreshments (coffee, etc.).

Dean Kavalkovich suggested a possible weekend event the weekend before Memorial Day (i.e. May 16-17).

Dean reported that he had found a nice park for astronomy (Burr Pond, in New Hartford).

Old Business: None.

New Business: Dean made a motion that the club authorize a budget of $40 for refreshments for the 4/25 invitational star party to be spent by whoever ends up handling the refreshments. The motion passed.

For the Good of the Organization: Scott Tracy reported that NEAF is coming up on April 18-19. He also reported that Phil Plaitt (of BadAstronomy.com) would be giving a presentation at Yale on 4/21 at 5:00pm.

Al Johnson reported that Skyscrapers in Rhode Island is planning a trip to the McAuliffe-Sheppard Discovery Center

Observing Reports: Scott Tracy reported that he has been observing Saturn with his 6" refractor and that the moons have been VERY easy to find.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:48pm.

Members headed off to listen to the Sturm Lecture.

March 18, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:37 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by twenty-two members and one visitor: Bill Hurley.

Secretary's Report: Minutes have been posted to the website, the Yahoo group, and copies were brought to the meeting. The minutes were accepted.

Treasurer's Report: Allen Hall reported that Carl Koplin was working to get replacements for the $600 deposit that was lost in the mail.

Public Observing: The next session at Van Vleck is on March 21st at 9:00pm. Julian Shull reported that the session at ImagiNation in Bristol was attended by Julian Shull, Dick Parker, Dean Kavalkovich, and Ed O'Brien. The skies were clear for 2-3 hours. The skies clouded up as the scopes were swung to point to Saturn. In total, 55 children (plus parents) attended the session.

Librarian: Dick Parker reported that the library is still at his house. Feel free to contact him if you'd like to borrow something.

Membership Committee: Chairman Dean Kavalkovich reported that the next meeting will be on March 21st at 7:30 pm at Van Vleck Observatory. Dean intends to have a membership booth at StarConn. The committee would like to be able to give away some sort of 'thanks for joining' gift; perhaps coffee mugs. He also discussed the possibility of some sort of observing club for member recognition: possible lists include the Messier list, the Lunar 100, the Herschel 100, and a binocular list. We'll be looking around to see what other clubs are doing.

StarConn: The next StarConn meeting will be on March 27th at 7:00 pm at Allen Hall's house. The following speaker slots have been filled: Keynote, Morning 1, Morning 2, and Afternoon 1. Afternoon 2 remains.

Allen Hall asked Dick Parker if he could possibly set up a Mirror Workshop display with 5-10 scopes.

Science Fair: Carl Williams reported that the Connecticut Science Fair was attended by Carl Williams and Allen Hall. There were no astronomy exhibits, so no prizes were awarded by ASGH.

Allen Hall suggested that each member consider sponsoring/mentoring a young person towards submitting an exhibit for upcoming science fairs. Children in grades seven through twelve are eligible to participate. For more information, please check out www.ctsciencefair.com.

Astronomer of the Year: No report. Please send nominations to Scott Sendlein (observing@asgh. org)

Nominating Committee: No report. Please send nominations to Scott Sendlein (observing@asgh. org)

Mirror Workshop: The last session was on March 14th. Twenty people attended, working on twenty-three projects. Sixteen projects were completed.

Star Parties: There will be a star party on March 28th at Toussant Farm at 279 Granville Road, North Granby. The site opens at 6:30 and closes at midnight.

On April 25th at 7:30pm, there will be an invitational star party at Northwest Park in Windsor, CT. Access to the park is off of Prospect Hill Road, Windsor. Dean Kavalkovich stated that he needs a couple of more volunteers; one to help direct traffic, and a second to manage the refreshments (coffee, etc.). Dean distributed materials to members.

Old Business: John Sillasen reported that Wesleyan University will not allow us to bring in our own tables for StarConn. If we choose to purchase tables and chairs for our own uses, the tables were $42 each and the chairs were $19 each. The motion to purchase tables and chairs was tabled for later discussion.

New Business: Ed O'Brien made a motion that the StarConn committee make the decision about the tables. The motion did not pass.

For the Good of the Organization: Allen Hall reported that someone he knew was trying to sell a Televue TV85 plus a couple of Televue eyepieces and filters for $2850. The person selling the set is offering a 10% discount to ASGH members. If interested, email the Yahoo group.

Francis O'Reilly reported that he was putting together a trip to the Draper Estate in Hastings on Hudson, NY for either May 2nd or May 3rd. The Draper Estate is home to a 6" Clark Refractor.

John Sillasen reported that he is finding the Kindle (electronic book displayer) to be invaluable for use with astronomy. There are programs that will allow you to convert PDFs to Kindle format.

Dick Parker noted that the weekends of March 21st and April 24th are new moon weekends and would be ideal for a Messier Marathon.

Allen Hall reported that Skyscrapers in Rhode Island is planning a trip to the McAuliffe-Sheppard Discovery Center (Concord, NH) on April 18th leaving at 9:00am from Seagrave Observatory. For more information please go to www.theskyscrapers.org/content5079.html. Please note that in order to get into the Planetarium at the discounted group rate, you need to sign up by April 4th.

Observing Reports: Francis O'Reilly reported that M42 was great on March 17th, and that Saturn was nearly edge-on (edge-on will happen in August).

Scott Tracy reported that he had observed NGC4565, a very large edge-on spiral galaxy. The outer edges of the galaxy extended to the edge of the field of view.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.

After the meeting, Samantha Lawlor of Wesleyan University gave a presentation on KH-15D, the binary star system in the process of forming planets.

February 18, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:44 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by ten members and three visitors: Stu, Charles, and Adam Svenwood.

Secretary's Report: The secretary reported that the minutes have been sent to the Yahoo group and that printed copies had been brought to the meeting, and had been posted to the website. John Sillasen and Craig Robinson expressed concern about too much information being put into the publicly published minutes; specifically that speakers who are being considered should NOT be mentioned by name. The members voted to accept the minutes, with the caveat that those StarConn details be deleted. The members also voted that some details from the December meeting needed to be removed from the minutes posted on www.asgh.org.

Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Carl Koplin reported that a deposit that had been sent to the bank via mail was missing. It contained several check plus $20 in cash. Emails have been sent to all of the people who had submitted checks and new checks are on the way. Carl intends to close the current checking account and open a checking account at a bank that will be convenient for him.

Public Observing: The session at Van Vleck on January 31st was manned by Allen Hall, Scott Sendlein and Ed O'Brien. The dome refused to rotate, so the staff simply gave tours of the observatory. The session was essentially clouded out anyway.

Allen Hall is designing/building a new back to the scope to allow the use of a diagonal.

Allen Hall and Ed O'Brien have been talking to management at the Pavilions at Buckland Hills about doing public observing outside the mall, using the patio by Liberty Tax. Due to severe light pollution, sessions will be scheduled near First Quarter with the intention that targets will typically be the moon and the brighter planets. ASGH will not need to advertise the sessions; Buckland Hills will be doing that. We need to provide an insurance statement of liability with the name of the policy holder (us) and the policy number.

Dick Parker mentioned that he would prefer that this not be the sort of thing where a few particular members do it every session; he would like to see different ASGH members come out for each session.

Librarian: No change. The books are still at Dick Parker's house.

Membership Committee: Per Allen Hall: The committee last met on January 31st. Dean Kavalkovich is currently working on a 'welcome to ASGH' letter that would be sent out to all new members. The ASGH members discussed the possibility of having a variety of recognition programs; things like observing Messier Objects (would need to be confirmed by another member), a 'pin' program of some sort, etc.

Starconn: The committee last met on February 6th at Allen's house. Several possible speakers were discussed. Two slates have been filled at this point. We have one possibility for Keynote Speaker at this point. "Sky and Telescope" and "Astronomy" magazines have been contacted.

Science Fair: No report.

Astronomer of the Year: Scott Sendlein is taking nominations.

Nominating Committee: Scott Sendlein is the committee chair. If you know of someone who might be interested in being an officer, please contact him.

Mirror Workshop: The mirror workshop is going well. There are three weeks left at this point, and everyone is working on polishing. There are five kids working on projects.

Star Parties: No activity.

Old Business: John Sillasen brought up the need for a 'getting started' budget for StarConn. A budget of $1,000 was authorized.

New Business: Ed O'Brien made a motion that the society purchase about 12 folding tables for club or member (no charge) uses (primarily to eliminate the table rental expense for StarConn). Preliminary research indicated that tables could be purchased for about $40 each at Sam's Club. Allen Hall stated that the tables can be stored in his basement. Allen also suggested that the tables could be used to generate income (party rental, etc). John Sillasen asked where will the tables go if Allen moves?

According to Carl Koplin, for StarConn 2004, we rented tables for $8.75 each, and paid $1.05 per chair.

John Sillasen will ask Wesleyan if it is acceptable to them if we bring in our own tables.

The motion was tabled pending determination of actual prices and approval from Wesleyan.

For the Good of the Organization: Carl Koplin mentioned that the Astronomical Society of New Haven thanked us for donations to Connecticut Star Party 18. Carl also mentioned that the 2009 Deep Sky Mysteries calendar is available and inquired if any members were interested in the club purchasing some and selling them to the members at cost.

Craig Robinson told the membership that at 7:00pm in Founders Hall (in the Davidson Adminstration Building) that Dr. Ronald Mallet, physicist and author of 'Time Travel: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality' will be presenting a public talk and will be signing books.

Dick Parker noted that group activity seems to be increasing as membership grows. Members should feel free to put together their own ad-hoc committees (planets, photography, whatever).

Dick Parker mentioned the possibility of a Messier Marathon in March/April Arunah Hill was mentioned as a possible location for such an activity.

John Sillasen mentioned an event coming up in connection with the International Year of Astronomy: Imagination on March 6th at Imagination in Bristol. http://www.imaginenation.org/ events.htm

Allen Hall informed the members that Bob Horton of Brown University is considering doing an Imaging Processing Lab at Brown University. Some software that might be covered includes MaxDL, Nebulosity, Registax, Photoshop, and ImagePlus.

Allen Hall mentioned that he will be doing test runs of the new Van Vleck focuser soon. He stated that when using a refractor that it is important to take three individual color images rather than simply taking one multi-color image due to the chromatic aberration.

The webmaster was asked to add the names of the committee chairs to the http://www.asgh. org/agenda. htm page.

Observing Reports: Ed O'Brien reported that he had observed comet Lulin.

Dick Parker reported that on February 15th, he and Tom Hoffelder observed on a gorgeous night. They observed double stars, clusters, M40, M81 and M82. With the departure of winter, good nights are coming.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:56pm.

After the meeting, John Sillasen gave a talk on Observational Astronomy: Hawai'i. Great job, John!

January 21, 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:40 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by seventeen members and three visitors: Tom Ottman, John Skeggil, and Timothy Lineberry.

Secretary's Report: The secretary reported that the minutes have been sent to the Yahoo group and that printed copies had been brought to the meeting, but not yet posted to the website. The previous month's minutes were accepted.

Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Carl Koplin reported that ending balances were $3415 checking and $4906 savings. There has been little activity other than membership payments and magazine subscriptions.

Librarian: Librarian Dick Parker reported that there is nothing new in the library; the last donations were about 2 years ago. Allen Hall stated that he is willing to host the library if necessary. If you'd like to borrow a book, please contact Dick Parker.

Science Fair: No activity, although the budget was approved at a previous meeting.

Astronomer of the Year: Scott Sendlein is the committee chair. Dick Parker suggested that he send an email to the Yahoo group asking for nominations. Allen Hall asked webmaster John Sillasen to post the committee list.

Nominating Committee: Scott Sendlein was willing to accept the chair of the nominating committee. If you're interested in being an officer for the 2008-2009 year, please contact Scott.

Starconn: There has been no meeting since December. The next meeting will be on February 6th at 7:30pm at Allen's house. The second daytime slot will be filled by Richard Greenberg: Mission to Europa. It's time to start contacting vendors, setting up notices in Sky and Telescope and Astronomy, etc. Julian still has the hats and mugs; he should be added to the committee.

Membership Committee: Dean Kavalkovich will be sending out notices that the next membership meeting will be on January 31st at Van Vleck just before the observing session. Dean feels that the members should receive the 'welcome letter' about the same time their check is cashed.

Mirror Workshop: The Mirror Workshop is again full with most people working on projects in the 6-8" range. There about five youths and a total of 17-18 people working on projects. This year, Dick has both morning and afternoon sessions.

Public Observing: The next session will be on January 31st at 8:00pm. Information can be found at observe.asgh.org.

Star Parties: No activity.

Old Business: None

New Business: John Sillasen asked that funds be earmarked for hall rental, chair, tables, etc. Carl Koplin will send copies of the previous StarConn income/expenses to determine approximate costs.

For the Good of the Organization: John Sillasen suggested that the Secretary should be responsible for sending out announcement to newspapers, and TV stations regarding upcoming Van Vleck sessions, monthly meetings, and StarConn. John will be forwarding copies of his existing lists to Secretary Tom Karpf.

John Sillasen reported that he had taken an Observation Astronomy course while in Hawaii that was taught mostly by Wesleyan staff. The staff mentioned that they would like to work together on some outreach projects.

Scott Tracy reported that he had accepted a donation to ASGH of a pair of 10x50 binoculars from the estate of an amateur astronomer.

Dean Kavalkovich suggested that the membership committee set up a table at StarConn.

Allen Hall reported that Skyscrapers is in the process of organizing a trip in April to Arizona. More information to come.

Observing Reports: John Sillasen reported that when he was in Hawaii that he was the only who brought a telescope from home. John also reported that he was able to get in to see the Keck scopes.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.

After the meeting, Scott Sendlein gave a presentation on Celestial Navigation.

December 17, 2008 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:31 PM by Vice President Dick Parker. The meeting was attended by eleven members.

Secretary's Report: The secretary reported that the minutes have been sent to the Yahoo group, posted on the website, and that printed copies had been brought to the meeting. The previous month's minutes were accepted.

The Treasurer's Report: There was no formal treasurer's report, although Dick Parker reported that there has been no activity on the accounts..

Librarian: The library is available to members at Dick Parker's house. A list of books in the library can be found at http://www.asgh.org/library.htm.

Membership Committee: No activity since October 18th.

Public Observing: The last session which was scheduled for December 6th was cancelled in October.

Star Parties: There was a star party on November 22nd at 6:00pm at the Toussant Farm at 279 Granville Road, North Granby (off Route 189 one mile south of Granville). It was a nice site, but cold. The owner has asked that the site not be visited before scheduled star parties as it is his home.

Astronomer of the Year: No activity.

Starconn: The Starconn committee met again December 12th and there were numerous little things discussed The Date for StarConn will be June 6, 2009 at Wesleyan University, Middletown. The theme will be 'Extra-solar planets'. There will be two morning speakers, two afternoon speakers and the keynote speaker. Pre-registration will cost $20 per person. Registration on-site will be $25. Students will get a $5 discount. We indent to hold a keynote speaker dinner on the Friday before StarConn.

Old Business: None

New Business: None.

Mirror Workshop: The Mirror Workshop is again full. The first session will be on January 3rd at Dick Parker's house.

For the Good of the Organization: Scott Tracy reported that there had been a lot of interest in the 'smiling moon' conjunction of Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon..

Observing Reports: Scott Tracy reported that he just missed the occultation of Venus by the Moon.

There is a meteor shower coming up. Venus is swiftly changing position in the sky.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:53pm.

At approximately 8:00pm, Jen Piatek gave an excellent presentation titled 'Mars Geology Mish Mash'.

November 19, 2008 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:36 PM by President Allen Hall. The meeting was attended by ten members plus four visitors: Siggy Sapinski and his three sons.

Secretary’s Report: The secretary reported that the minutes have been sent to the Yahoo group, posted on the website, and that printed copies had been brought to the meeting. The previous month's minutes were accepted.

The Treasurer’s Report: Starting balance is $8817. Ending balance is $8,420, of which $3,514 is in our checking account and $4,906 is in our savings account. Treasurer’s report was accepted.

Librarian: The library is available to members at Dick Parker’s house. A list of books in the library can be found at http://www.asgh.org/library.htm.

Membership Committee: The committee met on October 18th. So far, the focus is on a welcome letter of some sort.

Public Observing: Public observing at Van Vleck was cancelled in October. The next session will be on December 6, 2008 at 8:00pm.

Star Parties: There will be a star party on November 22nd at 6:00pm at the Toussant Farm at
279 Granville Road, North Granby
(off Route 189 one mile south of Granville). Follow signs down the gravel road for ‘Toussant Farm’. When you get to the end of the gravel road, take a right to go to the barn.

Astronomer of the Year: The astronomer of the year for 2008 is Scott Sendlein. Scott will be the committee chair for the Astronomer of the Year committee for 2009.

Starconn: The Starconn committee held their first meeting on November 13th. The Date for StarConn will be June 6, 2009 at Wesleyan University, Middletown. The theme will be ‘Extra-solar planets’. The next meeting will be on December 12, 2008 at 7:30pm at President Allen Hall’s house. Allen would like to again do a ‘speaker dinner’ as part of StarConn; tickets will be somewhere in the range of $35-40 per person.

Old Business: None

New Business: Carl Williams made a motion that ASGH again give Astronomy prizes for the CT Science Fair in March, 2009. Prizes will be $100 (plus Sky and Telescope subscription) for the junior winner, and $150 (plus Sky and Telescope subscription) for the senior winner. The motion passed.

Carl Koplin made a motion that ASGH continue with their subscription to the International Dark Sky Association in the amount of $100 per year. The motion passed.

For the Good of the Organization: John Sillasen did a presentation titled ‘ASGH Yahoo Group for Dummies’. The presentation was well received, and John will be posting a copy of the PowerPoint presentation somewhere on our website.

John Sillasen brought in a copy of a book titled ’75 Years of Skyscrapers, Inc.’ which featured some of the work of Allen Hall restoring their Alvan Clark refractor. Copies can be ordered for $33 at www.theskyscrapers.org.

Observing Reports: Allen Hall reported on observing through his 16” Cassegrain scope at Stellafane. M-16 looked like jewels on velvet. The beginning of the Io transit that night was extremely clear on the limb of Jupiter.

John Sillasen reported on the public observation sessions on his annual trip to Mauna Kea. They typically get 75-150 people per night as every tour stops at their observing session after watching sunset from the mountain.

Al Johnson mentioned that he is building an 8’ diameter octagonal dome and was interested in anyone who could provide any guidance. John Sillasen suggested Al subscribe to the Yahoo groups ‘Cloudy Nights’ and ‘Observatories’. Allen Hall stated that he is designing an easily-scalable observatory using SolidWorks. He is willing to provide plans to any member who is interested. He will have sets available at the next StarConn meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.

At approximately 9:00pm, Dr. Ed Moran of Wesleyan gave a presentation on ‘Black Holes in the Milky Way’s backyard.

October 15, 2008 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by T. Karpf.

The meeting was called to order @ 7:40 PM by President Allen Hall.

The meeting was attended by thirteen members.

Secretary's Report: The secretary reported that the minutes have been sent to the Yahoo group, posted on the website, and that printed copies had been brought to the meeting. The previous month's minutes were accepted.

The Treasurer's Report: Ending balance is $8,738, of which $3,833 is in our checking account and $4,905 is in our savings account.

Librarian: The library is available to members at Dick Parker's house. A list of books in the library can be found at http://www.asgh.org/library.htm.

Public Observing: Scott Sendlein that the previous public observing session at Van Vleck was well attended. Targets for the evening were the moon, M31, and M27. Both M31 and M27 were found using the setting circles. The new light-pollution filter was used to enhance the view of M27 (the Dumbbell Nebula). We have available a budget of $2,000 from Bill Herbst (Wesleyan Astronomy Department) which can be used for the observatory at Van Vleck. Suggestions for purchases included a couple of eyepieces and possibly a video camera. Allen Hall advised that he was going to be building a new backplane for the telescope, primarily to allow for the addition of a diagonal for high angle viewing.

Allen Hall stated that Van Vleck can be made available for PRIVATE viewing sessions for club members on nights other than those scheduled for public observing. You just need to contact Scott Sendlein so he can arrange for the session to be attended by at least two ASGH members who have been trained to use the observatory/scope.

Membership Committee: Chairman Dean Kavalkovich advised that the was going to set up a membership meeting immediately before the next Van Vleck viewing session. After discussion among the members, it was decided that Treasurer Carl Koplin should send a copy of the membership database to Scott. In the future, Dean Kavalkovich will be sending invitations to the Yahoo group to new members. Discussion ensued about the best way to route new membership paperwork (whether from the treasurer to the membership committee, or from the membership committee to the treasurer), but no decision was made. When members expressed problems with getting connected to the Yahoo group, John Sillasen stated that it was important that the Yahoo ID be created with a password, and that he would provide a Powerpoint presentation showing how to connect to Yahoo for the meeting in November.

Star Parties: Francis O'Reilly is putting together a star party for spring 2009 (tentatively scheduled for May 2nd) in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York (about ten miles north of NYC). The star party will include public observing.

Astronomer of the Year: The astronomer of the year for 2008 is Scott Sendlein. Scott will be the committee chair for the Astronomer of the Year committee for 2009.

Old Business: John Sillasen presented his proposal to create a new ASGH group called 'ASGH-Next', which would consist of children. ASGH needs young people. The model for this group is the Westport Astronomical Society - The Next Generation group, a sub group created as part of the Westport Astronomical Society. John read the following proposal (slightly modified from the previous version) into the record.

I ask the membership to provide a constitutional amendment to the ASGH Charter to allow for the creation of an ASGH Next Generation Group, ASGH-NEXT, for the purpose of the establishment of a junior, ASGH group whose purpose is to have and hold meetings and events related to things and topics in astronomy, astronomical educational and age appropriate public programs, events and/or observing for the sole purpose of providing such a forum for school age (twelfth grade and under) ASGH Junior members.

Parenthetical to this motion, I so move that no less than two (2) adult members of ASGH be appointed by the president (or volunteer and be so accepted), to be the adult peer advisor to this group as an adult advisor and that it further be a requirement for the ASGH-NEXT to exist as an entity under the auspices of the ASGH Charter. This adult position shall be advisory only to help guide the structure and format of meetings and advise as requested or needed by ASGH-NEXT. In addition, ASGH-NEXT members under 12 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. That ASGH-NEXT have 3 officers so as no tie vote should ever come to pass; President, Vice President and Secretary. These being elected positions by the ASGH-NEXT membership which shall be comprised of ASGH Junior members; that ASGH-NEXT can and may create it's own charter subject to ASGH approval as, while somewhat autonomous under adult advisory, they are still subject to the ASGH Charter and hence the governmental 501(c)3 designation of ASGH; that ASGH-NEXT shall have and hold its own meetings and own events if so desired by its membership and that ASGH has or will maintain the appropriate insurance for such events.

Carl Koplin stated that our current insurance policy is 60-70 pages long. It states that sub-groups are covered for 90 days before the insurance company needs to be informed of the creation of the group. Carl stated that he would contact the insurance agent.

There was discussion regarding the question of whether or not ASGH is incorporated, even though we know we have our 501(c)3 designation as a non-profit organization. Francis O'Reilly offered to check into that matter with the state of Connecticut.

Carl mentioned that the Boy Scouts have on-line youth training available for adults.

Allen Hall asked if ASGH-Next would have separate meetings. John Sillasen stated that was up the members of ASGH-Next.

Scott Sendlein questioned why/if we need to modify the charter. Couldn't we consider ASGH-Next to be a 'committee'?

Francis O'Reilly stated that he does not believe that a formal change is needed.

Dean Kavalkovich stated that there are benefits to ASGH-Next being a separate entity: organization, legal protection, formality of relationship to ASGH.

The motion to modify the charter was carried by a vote of 7 to 2 (with four abstentions).

New Business: Allen Hall made a motion the he be authorized to spend $50 to purchase an ASGH gavel. Motion passed.

For the Good of the Organization: Dave Vosgien stated the he knew of a farmer in North Granby (one mile south of Granville, MA) who was willing to make his land available for use for astronomical meetings, as long as he is notified ahead of time of our intention to take advantage of his generosity. He has a 10 acre hay field, with a barn with a bathroom. This site is located on Route 189. Allen Hall suggested that we investigate the dates of the next several meteor showers, and possibly put together observing sessions for then.

Allen Hall presented some products from a company called Deep Sky Printing (www.deepskyprinting.com), who is using Allen's photography to create tiles, cards, and coasters. They also do printing on Kodac metallic paper which gives you REALLY black blacks and shimmering stars. Allen had been contacted by them to ask for permission to use Allen's astro-photography.

Observing Reports: Francis O'Reilly stated that observing was excellent at the last Van Vleck session.

The business meeting started at 8:40 pm.

Craig Robinson opened the rooftop observatory for use by club members.

September 17, 2008 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

May 21, 2008 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

April 2008 Meeting Minutes of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Meeting minutes taken by J. Sillasen.

The meeting was held at the Van Vleck Observatory this month and was called to order @ 7:08 PM by President, Josh Cohen.

Attendees: J. Cohen, Z. Clapper, (guest), E. McNeill, A. Hall, D. Parker, S. Tracy, G. Simmons, T. Simmons, J. Hillmon, A. Johnson, B. Sparrow, D. Kavalkovich & J. Sillasen

The previous month's minutes were accepted as amended. The minutes are to be changed to reflect Dr. Larson as 'she.' No copies were present. No treasurer's report was presented.

New Business: Motions made at previous meetings were briefly discussed and tabled until next year.

J. Sillasen was appointed Webmaster by the President.

Old Business: Committees that were suggested at the last meeting with a discussion that followed. The group feels that it is likely that a committee should be formed to address membership. Should a committee be formed, D. Kavalkovich would agree to chair it and S. Tracy would agree to work on it. The Yahoo group should be used in the interim as a vehicle to share and discuss ideas for attracting new members, providing activities to retain current members and to share thoughts about money making ventures that are astronomy related, such as StarConn.

A program committee would be formed with S. Tracy & D. Parker. This is a current committee formed is at the discretion of the president.

The 3rd motion, making the position of Webmaster a member of the ASGH executive committee will also be tabled until next meeting.

There was some discussion made about the timely processing of membership renewals and S&T subscription handling. The President agreed and advised that he has spoken with the Treasurer about this in the Yahoo group. All members agreed that it needs to be addressed. S. Tracy noted that two members have left the group because of this issue specifically.

It was noted that membership dues are due at the September meeting. Members
can join at any time of the year, however.

For the Good of the Organization: Hurd State Park Star Party on May 3, 2008

D Kavalkovich noted that the fee and the application for the permit for the star party on Saturday, May 3rd, were submitted on Monday to the State DEP. He is expecting no issues with the approval of the permit. Dean presented a member cover letter and flyers that can be personalized and made into a tri-fold flyer for hand delivery to interested participants. Copies were distributed to the membership. Included are general tips on star party attendance, specific rules and directions.

Note: Dean is seeking member volunteers for the star party to help with refreshments and traffic duties. Contact Dean at dean.kavalkovich@comcast.net if you are able to help.

Cherry Springs State Park Star Party

Currently eleven ASGH members are planning to attend the three-day star party at Cherry Springs in Pennsylvania, May 29 - June 1, 2008. Members are encouraged to register on the CSSP website if they are interested in attending. http://www.astrohbg.org/s4/s4_paypal.php. Electronic registration closes on May 10th.

Night Sky Network Awards Presentation

J. Sillasen made an award presentation to D. Parker for his participation in 2007, (a 2008 certificate and pin were presented), in public education in astronomy. Also receiving awards were J. Shull & J. Sillasen.

Officer Nominations

The President opened the floor to nominations for officers of ASGH for the 9/2007 to 9/2008 year.

President: Allen Hall
Vice Presiden: Dick Parker
Secretary D. Kavalkovich
Treasurer: C. Koplin

Elections and final nominations will take place at the May 21, 2008 meeting at Central Connecticut State University in the planetarium.

The meeting was adjourned @ 7:40 PM so that the members could attend what was an outstanding lecture presented by Steven Squyres, Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. He spoke on the topic: "Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity and the Exploration of the Red Planet".

The lecture is part of the Sturm Lecture series held annually at Wesleyan University and is open to the public. The lecture was held at the Kerr Lecture Hall, formerly Shanklin 107 in the Hall-Atwater building on campus. The lecture lasted just over an hour with another 20 minutes opened up for Q&A. The session closed with a very nice reception with food and drink in Woodhead Lounge in the Science Building. Further opportunities to speak with Professor Squyres were possible there.

Minutes of the March 19, 2008 meeting of The Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

Vice-President Dave Cudworth brought the meeting to order at 7:37pm. There were fourteen members in attendance. There were no visitors..

Secretary’s Report: Secretary Tom Karpf brought copies of the minutes for the January meeting to the meeting, which was accepted by the members. Minutes have also been posted to the web and emailed to the Yahoo group.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Carl Koplin reported that our ending balance is approximately $8817.00 with little change in our balance. There is one outstanding authorized purchase: a light pollution filter, with a budget of $250. Scott Sendlein is tasked with deciding which filter to purchsae.

Public observing committee: The session on March 15th was cancelled due to weather. The next event is scheduled for April 12th..

Program Committee: There will be another members+guests star party at Hurd Park in East Hampton on May 3rd. Members, please feel free to invite anybody you like, but please plan on attending if you do invite anybody.

Librarian: Please come and borrow some books. If you contact Dick Parker ahead of time, he may be able to bring books to upcoming ASGH meetings.

Field Trips: There is a society-assisted private session scheduled for a church youth group in Granby on April 4, 2008. More information will be published on the Yahoo group.

Dave Cudworth reported that a girl scout troupe in Litchfield has requested scopes for a session on May 2nd-3rd. This date conflicts with the scheduled club party on May 5th at Hurd Park.

There was discussion of a possible Cherry Springs trip for the last weekend in May (May 29 - June 1). This event is being sponsored by the Harrisburg Astronomical Society. Fees for the event are $37 per person.

Francis O'Reilly reported that he intends to provide spaghetti and meatballs for club members the Saturday of Stellafane.

Skyscrapers is still planning the trip to White Mountain in California from June 28th to July 5th, 2008. There are currently six to seven people planning on attending. If Skyscrapers doesn't end up with at least ten people, the event will be pushed back to 2009. If interested in attending, please contact him at Glenn.Jackson@cox.net.

Allen Hall reported that there is a cruise being planned for the 2010 Solar Eclipse which will be going to Easter Island. Allen is planning a ten day trip which will pass through Santiago Chile.

Nominating Committee: Elections are coming up for the offices of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. Josh Cohen will NOT be returning as President due to other commitments. If you are interested in running for a position, or would like to suggest a possibility of someone who is willing to serve, please come to the April meeting or contact one of the current officers. The vote will occur at the Annual meeting in May.

Mirror workshop: The mirror workshop finished on March 1st, with many complex projects.

Old Business: Outstanding Light Pollution Filter to be chosen by Scott Sendlein.

New Business: Allen Hall made two motions. The first will involve a change to the ASGH constitution. Both of these motions will be voted on at the annual meeting in May. The intention of these two motions is interwoven: cash flow is down, and without membership growth and the income from StarConn, ASGH will eventually wither and die.

The first motion was to add a new position to the Executive Committee: Webmaster.

The second motion was to authorized the president to create a committee to do whatever is required to grow the membership. Possible activities include paying a web designer to enhance our web site to make it more interesting; advertising in a variety of venues (web, etc).

Observing reports: Francis O'Reilly reported that he has been observing lately using the scope he built using the 8" f/6 mirror he made at the mirror workshop. Targets included Saturn, Titan, and Thea.

Allen Hall reported excellent observing at the most recent session at Van Vleck.

Craig Robinson reported excellent attendance at the lunar eclipse event at the CCSU observatory following the February meeting.

Good of the Organization: Carl Williams reported that there were no junior entries in the science fair. Instead, ASGH awarded two senior awards; both entries were from the same High School. The winners will present their entries at the May ASGH meeting. The two winners are:

Laura Van Dyck - Using Color-Magnitude Diagrams to Study Open Star Clusters: Analysis of Stellar Evolution and Distance.

Chris Larson reported that 2009 is the 'International Year of Astronomy' and he feels that we should do some sort of public outreach to high school students, as well as other events.

Dick Parker reported that the Sturm Lecture on April 10th will presented by Steven Squyres, professor at Cornell, and the principal investigator on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission (i.e. the Spirit and Opportunity rovers). The lecture begins at 8:00pm, but will be preceded by the ASGH April meeting at 7:00pm in Van Vleck Observatory.

After the meeting, member Allen Hall gave a presentation on the development of the twin 16" Classical Cassegrain telescopes that he and Dick Parker are working on. Allen intends to bring his scope with him to Stellafane 2008.