A GLANCE INSIDE
Vice-President Update Page 1
What’s Up in August Page 1
A Look Back at July Page 2
We Want You for Board of Directors Page 2
From the Members Page 3
Astrofest '99 Page 3
VICE-PRESIDENT UPDATE
By Wayne Kuhn
In last month's newsletter we bid a fond farewell to our vice-president, Gary Baier. Gary was accepting a teaching position in Augusta, WI, which would allow him to have greater influence on his students and live closer to his family. But alas, just two days after we printed July's "The Eyepiece", Murphy's Law reared it's ugly head. Gary will be staying with us after all.
Augusta's loss is our gain. Welcome back Gary!!!
WHATS UP IN AUGUST
MONTHLY MEETING - August 11th
Please join us at the Neville Public Museum from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. This month's topic is "Binoculars For Astronomy" given by club members Wayne Kuhn and Gary Baier.
Nominations for the NPMAS Board of Directors will also start. Please read the article on page 2 for more information. Happy Joe's to follow!
PERSEID METEOR SHOWER - August 12th
Several club members are planning to meet at Ron Parmentier's observatory to view the Perseid Meteor Shower. This informal get together coincides with the expected peak of the shower. Anyone interested is welcome to join the fun - weather permitting. Warm clothes, a lawn chair and some hot refreshments are suggested.
For more information about the Perseid Meteor Shower on the internet, go to http://medicine.wustl.edu/~kronkg/perseids.html
NORTHWOODS STARFEST - August 13-15th
You can still sign up to go to the Northwoods Starfest in Fall Creek, WI. The post-August 1st registration fee is $40 per person. The fee includes registration, meals and snacks, lodging or camping fees, and speakers' fees. For more information contact Gary Baier at 920-391-9654 or go the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society web page at http://www.cvastro.org/
NEWSTAR MONTHLY MEETING - August 18th
The Newstar monthly meeting will be at the UW Fox Valley Center. If you are interested in going please call Don DeWitt at 920-405-8534 for more details.
NPMAS 16th ANNUAL PICNIC - August 21st
By Steve Wicker
The Astronomy club annual picnic will be held at Perkins Park on the corner of Bond and Fisk streets. We have the shelter same as last year and there will be a couple grills for everyone to use. Bring your own meat and a snack or desert to pass. A couple telescopes will be set up for solar viewing.
We have the shelter from 2:00pm to 7:30 PM....afterwards we will have
another "Come to the Moon party" so bring your scopes and Moon maps, and
most of all have a great time!
A LOOK BACK AT JULY
POW WITH NEWSTAR
By Ron Parmentier
Friday, July 9th was clouded out but Saturday was clear enough to bring out a parking/observing area full of cars and people. I didn't get home until 5 AM! Some were still at the observatory sleeping in and later driving back to their homes all rested up.
I enjoyed entertaining a few in the observatory. Was there humidity? You bet, but there are those who came prepared for this. It always seems to be part of Wisconsin Summer nights.
I observed Mars at 400x and was pleased to still see the pole region as a pole cap along with some surface markings. But it seemed as though there was somewhat of a dust storm or that the most distinct markings were just not turned my way(close to the planet's meridian). Later I looked at Saturn and Jupiter. They were at their best to look at after 3:00 AM. All in all the seeing was good and transparency was satisfactory+.
The deep sky objects that I observed with Rueben Lear were mostly confined to the Pegasus region. This is a good constellation for galaxies that you might want to check out.
Those that I remember seeing on Saturday included Tom Jorgenson(Newstar), Dan Ankeney, Rueben Lear, Wayne Kuhn, Tony Kroes, Don DeWitt, George McCourt, Mike Monfils, Steve Mofle, Dan Sheber, and a few guests from nearby.
To conclude, I'm looking into getting more of the cornfield for setting up scopes. It is flatter and better suited for our needs. So far I've made one inquiry and it looks positive.
JULY MONTHLY MEETING
Thirty three people were in attendance for July's meeting at the Neville
Public Museum. Club business was carried out in the first hour including
a presentation of a certificate and pin to Steve Mofle for corralling his
first 400 Herschel objects.
Steve started his quest for the Herschels in 1989. He mentioned that it was one way to keep the hobby fresh and enjoyable. He encouraged other club members to do the same by pursuing one or more of the observing awards that are available. Congratulations, Steve!
The second hour featured Jim Sentowski's "What were they thinking?"
talk. This was an informative and light-hearted review of the timeline
of human discovery, particularly in astronomy. Everyone enjoyed learning
about some of the "dead ends" on the road to scientific truth. Great job,
Jim!
WE WANT YOU FOR THE NPMAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS!
By Don DeWitt
Once again the time has come to solicit nominations for the NPMAS Board of Directors. Anyone that is a current paid-member, age 18 years or older is eligible to be nominated. Nominations will be taken at the August and September meetings only. Individuals not at the meeting are still eligible for nomination. However, they will be contacted in order to accept or decline the nomination. Voting for the Board will take place in October.
Nominations will be taken from the general membership. You can either self nominate or be nominated by another individual. Being nominated does not mean you have to run for the Board. Everyone has the option of declining. But we hope that you accept!
If you're unsure whether you'd like to run for the Board, let me tell you a little about what it is and what it does. First off, the Board consists of nine members chosen by ballot by the general membership. Among these nine, the positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer are elected. Each Board member serves a two-year term.
The duties of the Board consist of managing the affairs of the society and developing and scheduling society activities. The biggest job is making the schedule of events for the following year. Included are the planning of Astronomy Day and the 2001 convention to name a few.
The Board generally meets on average four times a year to conduct the business of the club. A few extra meetings such as Astronomy Day and Convention planning meetings are held as well.
This is a great opportunity to get involved with the society. The Board is not a difficult job, nor does it require any special skills or talents. So please, nominate yourself or someone you know for the Board. If you're unsure this month, you have until the September meeting to decide. If you need more information on the Board, please talk to a current Board member. They'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
I'll see you all at the Ballot box in October!!
FROM THE MEMBERS
FEEDBACK WANTED
By Ron Parmentier
Here are two objects in Aquila that I would like some feedback on:
Two planetaries were observed at the observatory with Gary Baier on July 17th before fog forced us to close up. Both were in Aquila:
#1 PK36-1.1
SIZE 107"
LOCATION 19h 02' +2 deg 09'
NOTES large, faint, need OIII
#2 NGC 6741
SIZE 6"
LOCATION 19h 02' -00 deg 27'
NOTES Central star is light green but unless you use enough power you can mistake as a star. It is only a dot of 3" size. What I liked was the star at the edge of the planetary making it the radius from the central star. This planetary is twice as far as PK36(5215 light years). I liked it because it is somewhat unique. Better with OIII filter.
These two planetaries along with three others are all close to Delta
Aquila - between Delta Aquila and M11. Aquila is in Volume 14 of
the Observers Guide series. Check out and let me know what you see.
ASTROFEST '99
From the Chicago Astronomical Society web page
You are cordially invited to Astrofest 1999. The 20th annual Astrofest convention will be held at the 130 acre Camp Shaw-Waw-Nas-See 4-H camp near Kankakee Illinois from Sept. 17 - 19. Astrofest is a nationally recognized convention for observers and amateur telescope makers. The camp has a large field for observing and camping, a limited number of cabins, and a 250 seat dining hall. We offer, catered meals served in the dining hall, a magnificent flea market, and a great selection of commercial vendors.
REGISTRATION
Your registration must be postmarked on or before 8-28-99. For more information and a registration form call Wayne Kuhn at 468-0765 or go to their website: http://www.chicagoastro.org/