October 20, 2021
Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford
Online Business Meeting Minutes
Date:
October 20, 2021
This meeting was recorded. The recording is available on Vimeo at this link: https://vimeo.com/647391846
The October ASGH Business meeting was brought to order at 7:35 PM by President Chris Markiewicz. There were 21 attendees present in the online Zoom meeting. There continues to be no change in our physical meeting and public observing status. Two new members were present at the meeting: Derek Drezek of Suffield and Robin Woodbury of Vernon. Robin is unable to drive so is very happy to have found a local resource to him that meets online! There is a 3rd new member who was present at the meeting but not a member at the meeting time. Our October featured speaker, NASA Solar System Ambassador and PharmD, Gregory Shanos of Sarasota Florida has officially joined the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford! Welcome aboard to all of our new members!
Presentations:
Our speaker for tonight, Greg Shanos, is a NASA Solar System Ambassador and a PharmD by training. He has spoken at a club meeting in the past and was welcomed back again. Tonight’s topic was titled: A New Dawn: Vesta and Ceres Revealed. The talk was well received by all and sparked a number of questions at the end of the talk.
Secretary’s Report:
The Secretary’s report from the September 15, 2021 Business Meeting was approved as posted. Secretary’s notes included information about Zoom. Zoom, like most contemporary software companies, is going to support only 5 releases below current as of November 1, 2021. The current Zoom release is: 5.8.3. Releases from version 5.5.0 and newer will be the only supported releases of Zoom. If you use a web only client, be sure to keep your browser up to date. To check what version of Zoom you have, Launch Zoom. Click on your profile picture (if any) or Initials in the upper right corner of the Zoom app. It is right above the settings wheel. From the drop down menu, select Help and then About Zoom for the version number. You may also select from Help and then Check for Updates. At meeting time, Zoom release was at version 5.8.1. Now, a week later, the release version is 5.8.3!
Annual payment to Zoom was done automatically on October 13, 2021 through the ASGH account, setup by the Secretary & Treasurer. The receipt to Zoom for $159.42 was forwarded to Treasurer, Cyndi Baron.
The Antique Telescope Society’s Annual Convention is again online only, free and open to ASGH members. Messages with how to register were sent by John Sillasen to the membership. This year, the conference takes place over 4 days, October 16/17 and October 23/24.
Friday’s What’s Up Webcast by SkyWatcher is on building backyard observatories. Sillasen letthe members know who may be interested to attend live over their YouTube channel at 1 PM ET or immediately afterwards for playback.
Sillasen showed his new copy of the just released 4th edition of the “Backyard Astronomers Guide” by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer. The 412 page 4th edition has been redesigned, rewritten with modern telescopes and software in mind. This edition also includes chapters written by notable astrophotographer, Ken Hewitt-White. It has been 10 years since the 3rdedition was published so much has happened since then in the world of amateur astronomy. The resource is available in hard cover only and is published by Firefly Books. The stated market for this resource is Intermediate and Expert Amateur Astronomers. The retail price is $49.95. Terence Dickinson’s book, “NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe,” continues to be the resource they market to new & beginning amateur astronomers. Available in both hardcover spiral bound and softcover spiral bound, it was last updated in 2006. It is frequently purchased with Brother Guy Consolmagno’s “Turn Left at Orion,” now in its 5th edition, last updated in 2019.
ASGH Night Sky Network Coordinator, (NSN), John Sillasen was one of a dozen Night SkyNetwork Coordinator’s nationwide invited as a result of the survey responses sent to engage with the Night Sky Network top administrators; Vivian White, Director and David Prosper, Administrator and author of many of our posted monthly NSN Articles, as well as the original Night Sky Network Director, Marni Berendsen to discuss how the NSN Resources could help member organizations. Vivian is also the NASA contact for the NSN. Sillasen asked how they could engage with the NASA speakers bureau since meetings are online and travel expenses would not have to be incurred or covered by the club! The 1 ½ hour meeting took place the night after the ASGH October meeting. Sillasen, also learned that due in large part to the pandemic the rules regarding logging of events has been relaxed. NSN Toolkits are still encouraged to be used but not required.
David Prosper, NSN Administrator, provided him with links to PowerPoints that could be usedfor meeting presentations including printable handouts.
Electronic Resources:
Presentations
http://bit.ly/nsnpresentations
Premade PowerPoint presentations for cloudy nights and other club events.
Handouts
Handy handouts you can print and give out to visitors, including moon maps, meteor shower observing tips, and star party treasure hunts.
Treasurer’s Report:
The treasurer’s report was not available at meeting time or at the time the meeting minutes were written. An update will be made when available.
Webmaster Report:
Web Developer, VP Marty Ollenschleger reports that PayPal integration with the ASGH website is going well with $200 currently in the PayPal account. The PayPal money has not yet been downloaded into ASGH accounts. Sillasen provided the NSN Article for November on Measuring the Night Sky. Ollenschleger states he plans to have it posted online by the weekend.
Outreach:
Efforts continue to work on a multi-evening, multi-location, multi-season, agreement with the Hale Homestead in Coventry.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
None. New proposal for Cosmic Cultures II is in the works. More details with a required member vote in the months to come will follow.
Observing Reports:
Observing opportunities until next meeting – more planet ‘stuff’!
October 25 – Mercury at greatest elongation west. Best date to see Mercury in the pre-dawn sky.
October 29 – Venus at greatest elongation east. Best date to see Venus in the evening sky.
November 4 – Super New Moon
November 4 – Uranus at opposition. Best visibility all night, from 11/04 19:39 until 11/05 05:37.
November 7 – Comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko reaches its brightest. A location chart can be found at https://in-the-sky.org
November 19 – Partial Lunar Eclipse
November 19- Micro Full Moon / Beaver Moon
Meteor showers
October 20/21 Orionid Meteor Shower peaks – average 10-20/hour. Moon nearly full.
Northern Taurids begin Oct 20, peak Nov 12. Relatively slow and infrequent ~ 5/hr.
November 17/18 Leonid Meteor Shower peaks – average ~15/hour. Moon nearly full.
For the Good of the Organization:
Please consider volunteering to do a meeting presentation, (perhaps one of the NSN PowerPoints? Sec’y). Contact any officer with your ideas.
Keep an eye on your ASGH Groups.io emails for up to the minute webinars and presentations including live star parties!
Meeting adjourned at 9:41 PM ET