Meeting Minutes

Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford
Online & In-Person Meeting
Apr 15, 2026

Meeting Minutes

The April 15, 2026, meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford (ASGH) was called to order over Zoom at 7:32 PM by President Chris Markiewicz.

There were nineteen people in attendance. Ten people were in the Rocky Hill Community Center and nine were online.

Program

The April speaker was Dean Hartshorn, graduate student in the Astronomy Department at Wesleyan University, who spoke on “Collision Ahead: Probing a Mixing Zone in the Local Interstellar Medium”.

Dean presented engagingly and with great scientific detail defining the Local Interstellar Medium, its sub-clouds, collisions between these sub-clouds, and how we determine what is happening with these collisions and what it tells us about our nearby interstellar environment.  Dean defined the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM) as the warm, low-density clouds of plasma out to about 100 parsecs distance that surround the heliosphere (the local region dominated by the solar wind from the sun). This varied and dynamic region of space forms the outer boundary region of our solar system. Each cloud differs in temperature, velocity, and turbulence.

Two of these nearby clouds, the Local Interstellar Cloud and the G Cloud, are in the process of colliding as the Sun moves further into this region. Dean discussed the use of high-resolution (sub-Angstrom!) spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope to probe this cloud collision mixing zone by examining the spectra of stars that pass through these clouds. 

Dean analyzed these UV absorption spectra to determine the boundaries, composition and motion of two of the clouds in the local interstellar medium.  Dean noted that understanding the LISM is important because it can cause the heliosphere to contract and potentially to expose the planets to interstellar space.  One possible example of this shrinking of the heliosphere may have exposed the earth to the more dangerous LISM about 3 million years ago.  Less dramatic, but also important, is understanding the LISM to ensure our measurements of nearby stars viewed through it are accurate.  

During the Q&A, Dean acknowledged that Voyager II has apparently crossed the heliopause (the edge of the heliosphere) into the LISM and that this provides some limited information on one point in the LISM. 

Dean noted that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the only source of the high-resolution spectra used in studies of the LISM such as his.  Dean also noted that the HST will be shut down and de-orbited within the next decade unless new funding is provided for a service mission that will boost it to a higher orbit and requested that people consider contacting their congressional representatives to voice their support of NASA and of ongoing HST operation. 

Thank you again to Dean for an informative and detailed talk on his work and analysis of the local interstellar medium!

Dean’s talk was recorded with permission. You may see this talk on the ASGH YouTube Channel at this link: https://youtu.be/AB3iSkOwLXQ

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

New ASGH member, Kathy Fine, introduced herself and was welcomed during the meeting. 

Secretary’s Report

The minutes for the March 2026 ASGH meeting were previously posted to the members section of the ASGH website.  A motion to accept the minutes as posted was made, seconded, and unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer’s report was not received. 

Webmaster’s report. 

Webmaster, Bill De Nio, verbally reported no problems with the club website.

Outreach

ASGH President Chris Markiewicz presented the Outreach events below.

• Space Expo 2026 – New England Air Museum
  • Exhibit table, family group interactions
  • Saturday 4/25/2026, 9:00am – 3:00pm (setup/teardown 7:00am – 4:00pm)

• Skygazing – Talcott Mountain Science Center, Avon, CT
  • Stargazing on TMSC telescopes
  • Friday 5/1/2026, 9:00pm – 10:30pm (volunteer arrival 8:30pm)

• Girl Scout Brownie Troop Camporee – Camp Yankee Trails, Tolland CT
  • Badge program for Brownie Girl Scouts
  • (in the process of getting clarification on requirements)
  • Camporee takes place Fri May 1 – Sun May 3, 2026
  • Saturday 5/2/2026, Time TBD

• Ellington Trails Committee – Ellington, CT
  • Star Party & Perseid Meteor Shower viewing
  • exact number TBD
  • Wednesday 8/12/2026, 9:00pm

• Cedar Hill Cemetery – Hartford, CT
  • Star Party for family groups
  • Fund raiser for Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation
  • Tuesday 9/15/2026, 7:30pm – 11:00pm

• Windham Technical High School – Willimantic, CT
  • Windham Tech High School is setting up an astronomy class for the first time.  They are asking if anyone may be available to do a short solar observing session with the class.  (The class has to meet during school hours).
  • Date/Time TBD

Observing & News:

Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) visible pre-dawn for next few days in April low in the East at approximately 8.3 magnitude.

Observing opportunities recent/until next meeting:

Check out https://in-the-sky.org/ for a list of observable objects/events in your area.

Old Business.

There was old new business raised for discussion.

New Business.

There was no new business raised for discussion. 

Good of the Organization

Star Party for club members and family / friends was planned and conducted at Kruger Preserve on Friday April 17^th in cooperation with Middlesex Land Trust in Haddam Neck, who owns and maintains the property and publicized the event.  Club VP Dean put together a video of the star party!  Thanks to Susan Reese for her photos, and Al Johnson for his astro-photos. 
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cM2sKQBV04I&feature=shared

NEAF and Outreach Resources
John Silasen attended the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) and reported on resources from Sky and Telescope available for astronomy outreach efforts.  For example, one can print out simple planisphere a star clock, and a sundial.  Resources available at this link include the handout materials plus podcast links and Moon locations for Jupiter and Saturn, getting started in astronomy booklet, telescope guides and recommendations as well as observing planning for stars, planets and Moons.

https://skyandtelescope.org/outreach-resources

John also mentioned ‘e-finder’ star-finder to use with the finder scope on your telescope, and when combined with the Nexus DSC Pro, makes a great star finder. Can be purchased through Woodland Hills.  These are great for people with mobility issues.    

Restarting our Van Vleck Partnership: 
The Wesleyan University Van Vleck administration is in the process of setting up certification training.  The initial round of classes is planned for the first full week of May.  This will be an evening session and will depend on a clear ‘observable’ sky.  There will be a make up for people who have volunteered but may not be available on this date.

Meeting adjourned at 9:10PM.

Next month’s meeting is scheduled for May 20^th.  Speakers will be the 2026 winners of the Charles Hammond Award for Excellence in Astronomy, awarded by the ASGH to high school students with exceptional science projects in astronomy.  Details to follow in the meeting invitation.

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A couple images from Dean Hartshorn’s presentation: