February 18, 2026
Meeting Minutes
The Feb 18, 2026, meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford (ASGH) was called
to order over Zoom at 7:34 PM by President Chris Markiewicz.
There were 19 people in attendance. 12 people were in the Rocky Hill Community Center and 7
were online.
The February speaker was Theo Chawla, a second-year master’s student at Wesleyan University,
who whose talk was titled “Circumstellar Spirals: Investigating spiral and warp structures in the
debris disk of 49 Ceti” and more generally concerned circumstellar disks and planet evolution.
Theo’s presentation was based on his research on exoplanets, circumstellar disks, and planet
formation.
Theo started with discussion of his background and then with images of dust and CO emissions
of protoplanetary disks. These images showed rings and gaps where we believe planets are
forming. He discussed evolution of these protoplanetary disks from gas and dust to primarily
dust in the later phases. He focused on these later phases and reviewed some images from the
ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS https://arkslp.org/) where
ALMA is the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (an advanced radio telescope
array). A recent press release on this survey related to Theo’s presentation is here : ALMA
Reveals Teenage Years of New Worlds – National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(https://public.nrao.edu/news/alma-teenage-new-worlds/).
Theo explained how these circumstellar disks evolve and are influenced by the developing
protoplanets. He related this to waves seen in some of Saturn’s rings from the gravitational
influence of some of the companion moons. The evolution kinematics of protoplanetary disks
result in warps (varying tilt of different parts of the disk) and spiral structure. His presentation
included images from ARKS, the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope
and compared these to images from mathematical models. He then reviewed images and his
research and modeling of the debris disk 49 Ceti.
Thanks again to Theo for an exciting and in-depth presentation with implications for the past
formation of our own solar system!
Theo’s talk was recorded with his permission. You may see his talk on the ASGH YouTube
Channel at this link: https://youtu.be/LnJQJCaYHpY
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 members, Larry Levine and Brian Joy, introduced themselves and
were welcomed during the meeting.
President’s Statement: President, C. Markiewicz, expressed his thanks, and the appreciation of
the ASGH, to Vice President, Dean Kavalkovich, for initiating and coordinating a very
successful Beginners Clinic at the January meeting!
Secretary’s Report: The Secretary, J. Benoit, reported that the minutes for the December 2025
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. Also noted that
the January 2026 meeting minutes are complete and in the process of being put on the ASGH
website.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer, C. Barron, reported that the balances in the accounts are:
savings $5630.22, checking $2134.23, and T-bills $30k (three 10k bills with maturity dates of
Sept 2026, Oct 2026 and March 2027). Noted that we are awaiting the check from Cosmic
Cultures. Also note that fiscal year runs from August to July of next year. Cindy does federal
tax filing in June. She also submitted the State of CT tax filing that was due in February.
Note that the club may wish to start thinking of where to make some donations next fiscal year
to ensure funds remain below $50k as required. Treasures report was voted on and accepted
as presented.
Webmaster’s Report: Webmaster, B. De Nio, reported that all ASGH web functions are
running smoothly and that he and Treasurer J. Benoit have worked through some file transfer
elements to make them more efficient.
Outreach Events:
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)
C. Markiewicz asked for volunteers (total of 4 needed). Lunch provided. C. Markiewicz and C.
Barron volunteered.
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
C. Markiewicz asked for volunteers. C. Markiewicz and J. Sillasen volunteered.
Ellington Trails Committee – Ellington, CT
Star Party & Perseid Meteor Shower viewing
exact number TBD
Wednesday 8/12, 2025, 9:00pm
C. Markiewicz asked for volunteers and noted that he will not be available for this date. J.
Sillasen noted that we want about three people with telescopes. J. Sillasen and J. Benoit
volunteered.
Cedar Hill Cemetery – Hartford, CT
Star Party for family groups
Fund raiser for Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation
Tuesday 9/15/2016, 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
C. Markiewicz will do.
Observing/News:
Congratulations & Thank You to Joe Roberts for sharing his awesome astrophotography!
C. Markiewicz shared his solar videos of ISS and Chines space station going in front of sun.
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:
Motion to donate $100 to the Dark Skies International organization made by J. Sillasen.
Motion was seconded and approved by vote. Noted that this organization will help individuals
work with their town and state government on laws and regulations to help preserve dark skies.
See https://darksky.org/ for more information.
Star Party for club members and family / invited friends proposed by D. Kavalkovich. We want
to use Krueger Preserve, a land trust in Haddam Neck. Middlesex Land Trust owns and
maintains the property. Contact will be getting back to Dean with dates that work for them.
Apr 17 or 18 proposed with back up in May possible but astronomical twilight starting to late for
younger members of families.
May starts to get dark too late.
Good of the Organization:
Cosmic Cultures II (2025-2026): Our stipend for CCII participation in the previous year 2025-
2026 has not arrived yet but is being followed up by the program administrator and is expected
to be resolved soon.
Restarting our Van Vleck Partnership: President C. Markiewicz noted that we
have had communications with the administrators of the Van Vleck Observatory
(VVO) to determine a path forward to restart ASGH hosting of VVO observing
nights. Elements discussed include telescope operator training requirements,
scheduling of observing dates further in advance, and minimum operator staffing
for events.
Preliminary list of likely volunteers includes J. Sillasen, C. Markiewicz, D. Kavalkovich, C.
Barron, J. Benoit and some others who were mentioned.
NEAF (NORTHEAST ASTRONOMY FORUM & SPACE EXPO) mentioned as upcoming very
valuable, exciting and informative event on April 11 and 12. Many excellent talks in main hall
and many manufacturers and vendors.
Seehttps://www.neafexpo.com/ for more information.
Book Recommendations – Some books recommended by J. Sillasen along with mention of
hardware for sale.
Additional information provided after the meeting and included below the minutes.
Meeting adjourned at 9:36PM
Book and Hardware Recommendations from J. Sillasen:
The Atlas of the Near Side of the Moon, by Frederick toe Laer. Published by Springer January 3,
2026. It has 318 pages filled with images by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or LRO. What
makes this publication unique is the feature labeling on each image. Using the Rükl system of
mapping the near side with 76 sections making exploration easier to follow.
I have the hardcover version. Print on demand having low ratings on Amazon. One critique I
agree with is the lettering and print feature labeling is light and could be brighter for easier
viewability. Cost is $45.
The other book is the Atlas of Solar Eclipses 2020 to 2045 by Michael Zeiler and Michael
Bakich. This compendium of eclipse paths and timings is well organized. It has several pages
for each eclipse. While not as detailed as an Atlas for an individual Eclipse, this Atlas certainly
gives maps with paths and times to assist with your travel plans far into the future.
The eyepiece case he brought was made for simple 1.25″ eyepieces and a diagonal. Made by
Astromania, it measures 10″x6.4″x3.3″. My intended use would not be for standard simple
eyepieces. I bought it to carry 4 medium and high power Tele Vue Delite eyepieces for my
binocular telescope. I had to cut the foam to allow for the eyepieces to lie flat, side by side. At
$32.99 it’s a good way to carry sets of duplicate eyepieces. For anyone with a simple
collection of 1.25″ Plossl, Kellner, Radian, Orthoscopic or other similar size and shapes of
eyepieces, this is a good way to carry a group of eyepieces or filters and a Barlow or diagonal.
There is also a case for 2″ eyepieces for $50.