Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford
Online & In-Person Meeting
The Dec 17, 2025, meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford (ASGH) was called
to order over Zoom at 7:35 PM by President Chris Markiewicz.
There were twenty people in attendance. Eight people were in the Rocky Hill Community Center
and twelve were online.
The meeting speaker was ASGH Vice President Dean Kavalkovich.
Dean’s talk was on “Celestial Navigation in Practice: The 2019 Marion-Bermuda Race.”
Dean recounted his experience as navigator in the 2019 Marion Massachusetts to Bermuda yacht
race. He discussed the challenges and methods of determining position at sea using the sun,
moon, and stars. Dean walked through the details of his observation method, mapping and
calculations for celestial navigation. He noted that he was able to use the sun and moon with his
sextant and precise time to obtain information he used in his calculations. Noted that he had
practical difficulty with using stars but did get a method to do this in the future from another
navigator after the race.
Dean noted that another input to calculations was an estimated position based on dead reckoning;
a position estimate based on where the boat was before, how fast the boat was going, how long it
had been going that fast, and what direction it was traveling. He explained how he mapped the
dead reckoning position and a line of possible position based on his sextant observations and
calculations and graphically related these to arrive at an estimated position. Thanks again to
Dean for this fascinating talk on one of the essential uses of astronomical and geographical, and
chronological understanding that has been used by mariners in some form for hundreds of years.
The modern method Dean explained has probably been around since the mid-20th century. Also
noted that the Mercury in the Gemini program astronauts used celestial navigation.
Dean’s talk was recorded with his permission. You may see his talk on the ASGH YouTube
Channel at this link: https://youtu.be/CXTb4V2p4Wg.
Talks from prior ASGH meetings can be found on the ASGH YouTube Channel here:
Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford – YouTube,
<https://www.youtube.com/@ASGH_CT>
New Members: Guests attending included Rita, Ira, John, and Alan.
Secretary’s Report: Secretary, J. Benoit, was not in attendance, so the Secretary’s report was not
reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer, C. Barron, was not in attendance, so the Treasurer’s report was not reviewed.
Webmaster’s Report – Webmaster, B De Nio had lost internet connection, so the Webmaster’s
report was not reviewed.
Outreach Events Included
a. Education Outreach – Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School, Chris volunteered
Set up a table to interact with students/families at annual Family STEAM Night
Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School, Hartford, CT
Wednesday 12/17 4:30-6:00pm. Chris M supported.
b. Public Guidance and Outreach during indoor Stargazing – Friends of Northwest
Park, Cindy volunteered.
The Park staff has a Star-Lite Lab which they would set up and run.
They would like someone to speak to and guide visitors outside in identifying objects
in the sky and give a general understanding of the universe.
Northwest Park, Windsor, CT
Friday 01/23 time TBD, for a total of 1-1.5 hours, stipend being offered.
c. Student Education Outreach – Windham Technical High School
Windham Tech High School is setting up an astronomy class for the first time. The
are asking if anyone may be available to meet with the students and talk about the
types of telescopes and possible set one up to observe the sun. (The class has to meet
during school hours).
Windham Technical High School, Willimantic, CT
Tuesday 01/06 time TBD. Chris M will support.
Van Vleck Observatory: There are currently no new observing dates.
Observing News
a. Observing opportunities recent/until next meeting
Check out https://in-the-sky.org/ for a list of observable objects/events in
your area
New Business.
Cosmic Cultures II. The RFP for 2026-2027 was posted by the State of CT at the start of
November. It is substantively identical to our 2025-2026 agreement with CCII. Cosmic Cultures
is one of programs run by CT Science 4 Kids and ASGH acts as their fiscal agent and receives
5% of funding for this. Continued participation in Cosmic Cultures II was approved by a vote of
members present and online.
Good of the organization.
NASA Night Sky Network – John Sillasen, Coordinator for ASGH for the NASA Night Sky
Network, received 6 award pins for ASGH NASA Night Sky Network Award recipients. Award
recipients have volunteered and helped with 3 or more outreach events in the 2025 calendar year.
The 2025 award recipients are Lucas Branco, Jeff Benoit, Christopher Markiewicz, John Allen,
Marty Ollenschleger and John Sillasen. Christopher Markiewicz performed the most Outreach
for the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford. Chris performed 25 activities to support
astronomical education through Outreach!
Astronomy Equipment Beginners Clinic for January 21 st ASGH meeting – Dean provided
posters for advertising. Using Eventbrite for ticketing. Earlier start time for Jan meeting. Club
members can arrive as early as 5:30 to set up. Open to public guests at 7PM with official start at
7:30PM, end at 9:30PM.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:52 PM.