January 19, 2022
Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford
Online Business Meeting Minutes
Date:
January 19, 2022
This meeting was recorded. It is available now on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/668863487
The January ASGH Business meeting was brought to order promptly at 7:30 PM by President Chris Markiewicz. There were 30 attendees present online which included invited members of regional clubs. There were no new members present.
Following calling the meeting to order, our guest speaker, Dr. Josh Walender, Staff Astronomer at the W. M. Keck Observatory was introduced and began his presentation: Science Highlights from Keck Observatory.
Talk Description:
The talk began with a quick intro to the Keck Observatory and the people who keep it running. The observatory is on Maunakea, a dormant volcano on Hawaii Island at a height of 13,400 feet. The presentation followed with a tour of science highlights from the observatory’s 25+ year history of observations. Keck’s science impacts range from discoveries in our solar system all the way out to the most distant structures in the universe.
His presentation was well received by all in attendance.
Secretary’s Report:
The Secretary’s report of the December 2021 Minutes were approved as published online to the Members Ony section of the ASGH Website.
Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer, Cyndi Barron, reported the balance in the Checking account was $1,024.88 and the balance in the Savings account is $25,025.44. She notes that the Taxes were filed for year end August 31, 2020. (Not a typographical error as our fiscal year ends, the tax report for our 501c3 status is filed in arrears).
Webmaster Report:
No changes to report this month and no outages were reported.
Outreach:
SpaceExpo 2022 is scheduled for August 20, 2022. The event will again take place at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks near Bradley Air Field.
NASA Night Sky Network. J. Sillasen, Night Sky Network Coordinator for ASGH, submitted 5 Outreach reports for 2021. This reporting turned our club to Active Membership again after being an Associate Member. This is in part thanks to changes in rules as to what types of events could be reported for consideration. Sillasen is still waiting to determine if the reports made us eligible for awarding pins to members who participated in events.
Hale Homestead Outreach Initiative. Pending better weather, President Markiewicz and Secretary Sillasen will perform a site visit to further our discussion with the director and site coordinator on ongoing outreach activities with the ASGH.
Cosmic Cultures II contracts for ASGH participation have been received. No substantive changes were made per President Markiewicz who recommeded supporting the initiative. Members were notified in advance of this meeting that a vote to continue our participation would be made tonight.
Old Business:
Contracts and materials related to ASGH continued participation with Cosmic Cultures II were placed in a Folder under Files on the ASGH Groups.IO site for members to review at their leisure in advance of tonight’s meeting.
Member Bill Denio made a motion that ASGH accept the current Cosmic Cultures II proposal and sign the documents for the group. Seconded by J. Sillasen. Motion Carried by all in attendance.
For the Good of the Organization:
NEAF 2022, (North East Astronomy Forum) will be held in person April 9 & 10 at Suffern Community College in Suffern, NY. Advance sale tickets will be available at http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.html. NEAIC – North East Astro Imaging Conference will take place two days prior on April 7 & 8.
Stellafane held annually by the Springfield Telescope Makers, will hold its annual telescope makers convention at their home in Springfield, VT on July 28 – 31.
Connecticut Science Fair: ASGH will again participate in judging the Junior and Senior State Science Competition. We are specifically looking for Astronomy and Astrophysics related projects. Scott Tracy leads this competition for Judging for ASGH. C. Markiewicz and J. Sillasen have volunteered to assist in the judging of this year’s virtual competition. Winners of both the Charles Hammond Memorial CT Science Fair Awards for the Junior and Senior sections are invited to speak at the May ASGH Meeting. If any member is interested in being a judge this year, please reach out to President Markiewicz.
Stars to STEM: Chris noticed a program in Niantic that is assisting in fund raising and supervision of the renovation of the E. Lyme High School Planetarium. As they seek monetary donations he wished to bring it to members attention.
Hartford High School Observatory Status: The complete renovation and modernization of the old Hartford High School’s Alvan Clark Refractor and its new High School location are nearly ready to be open to the students again. The old school’s observatory was torn down and the scope put into storage. After many years, it is nearly open again. Member James Gibson remembers the scope well and it was in operation when he was in High School. He reported seeing Halley’s Comet through it too.
Members Helping ASGH:
Please consider volunteering to do a meeting presentation, or know someone who would be a speaker, (perhaps do one of the NSN PowerPoints? Sec’y). Contact any officer with your ideas. Presentations should be around 45 minutes leaving 5-10 minutes for Q&A.
NSN Presentations for club use: http://bit.ly/nsnpresentations
Pre-made PowerPoint presentations for use on a cloudy nights and other club events.
NSN Handouts
http://bit.ly/nsnhandouts
Handy handouts you can print and give out to visitors, including moon maps, meteor shower observing tips, and star party treasure hunts.
Keep an eye on your ASGH Groups.io emails for up to the minute webinars and presentations including live star parties!
Meeting adjourned at 9:36 PM EST