Volume 12 Issue 03, March 2000

A GLANCE INSIDE

What’s Up in March
A Look Back at February
Messier Marathon
From the President
From the Membership
For Sale, Want Adds

WHAT'S UP IN MARCH

MARCH 4th MESSIER MARATHON
        Please see the article below. We are planning for a big turn out and we hope to see you there.

MARCH 8th MONTHLY MEETING
        Join us at the Neville Public Museum from 7:00 to 9:00 PM for our monthly club meeting. This month’s talk is "An Introduction to Observing" given by club members Gary Baier, Wayne Kuhn, and George McCourt.
        Happy Joe’s to follow!

MARCH 28th or 30th STAR PARTY
        Katrina DeWitt is giving a to a Brownie troop from Notre Dame Elementary School in De Pere. A total of 6 eight-year olds will be partaking in the event.
        The date is not firm yet – it will be either Tuesday March 28th or Thursday March 30th from 6:30 to 8:0 PM. Katrina will be giving a slide presentation, playing Astro Bingo, and of course using a telescope.
        She is looking for one or two more club members to help out. If you are interested please give her a call at 920-405-8534 ASAP!

MARCH 30th SPACE NIGHT 2000
        For the second year in a row Wayne Kuhn has been asked to set up a telescope at Christa McAuliff Elementary School’s Space Night. Activitys include displays in the school and a helicopter landing on the playground at 5:30 PM.
        It would be great to have a couple more NPMAS members bring their scopes out. If we have them set up by 6:00 PM we should be able to look at Jupiter and Saturn shortly after the Sun sets. Orion should also become a target as it gets darker. The event is scheduled to last until 8:00 PM.
        If you are interested in participating, please give Wayne a call at 920-468-0765 or email him at waylin98@gbonline.com

A LOOK BACK AT FEBRUARY

SCIENCE SATURDAY – February 5th
    By Wayne Kuhn
        A steady stream of curious museum goers visited the activities and displays during Science Saturday. Since the theme was "time" I had the opportunity to follow up on an idea for the display.
        I had often wondered about the origin of the names of the days of the week. "Sunday", "Monday", and "Saturday" seemed to be obviously named after the sun, the moon, and Saturn. Could the other days also be named after the other naked-eye planets?
        After some investigating on the internet I had my answer: YES. The days of the week were indeed named after the seven prominent moving objects in the ancient sky. Thinking this was something the general public was unaware of I thought I would try to change that.
        My display consisted of the origin of the days of the week on a 4’ x 8’ backdrop, handouts with further information on the origin of the modern calendar and the names of the months, a laptop with a planetarium program to show the change of the seasons, and a few other miscellaneous items. Club member Brad DeMain made a homemade sand clock for visitors to play with and handouts on how to build your own. Gary Baier helped man the booth and brought a few books and materials to help explain moon phases and other aspects of astronomy’s influence on time. Thank you booth for your efforts!
        While the attendance was moderate it was a fun way to spend a "Saturn’s day" in winter. Hopefully the club will be asked to participate again in the future.

MONTHLY MEETING – February 9th
        Another good turnout of 38 people attended the NPMAS February meeting. The first hour featured regular club business, a synopsis by Gary Baier on his student’s IDA project in Green Bay, and some wonderful CCD images that Tony Kroes took at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys.
        Steve Wicker discussed his efforts on purchasing T-shirts and sweatshirts with the NPMAS logo. He took orders at the meeting and also by mail until February 18th. According to Steve, orders for 53 shirts were received. If all goes as expected the shirts should be done in two weeks and will be available for pickup at the March meeting. If you ordered a shirt but cannot be at the meeting contact Steve at 920-496-0288 to make arrangements.
        The second hour had Ron Parmentier giving part two of his talk on eyepieces. Ron got into the more technical side of choosing the right eyepiece by discussing magnification, apparent field, true field, exit pupil, and eye relief. Good job Ron!

MESSIER MARATHON

        March 4th and the 12th Annual Messier Marathon is fast approaching. If you haven't done so already, mark your calendars and start dusting off your eyepieces.
        The Messier Marathon is our first scheduled group observing session of the year and we hope that everyone can make it out. I suppose I should back up just a bit for our new members. The Messier Marathon is a dusk to dawn observing party in which it is possible to see all 109 Messier objects-which consist of galaxies, nebula and clusters, in just one night.
        All members of the NPMAS, NEWSTAR and Sheboygan Astronomical Society are invited. It is a "potluck" party and everyone is encouraged to bring a favorite dish or desert to share (the DeWitts are bringing meatballs). You do need to bring your own drinks. The club will provide the plates, bowls cups and utensils.
        You don't need to own a telescope and you do not have to stay all night to come to the Messier Marathon. In fact, new people are encouraged to come out and check out the variety of telescopes and eyepieces that will be there. We will even have the club's 10-inch dobsonian out there for you to try out.
        Gary Baier is in charge of this year’s Messier Marathon. He will be at the Neshota Park shelter around 4:00 to get things started so you can show up anytime after that. If you are going to observe in a marathon fashion, you should be there, set up and ready to observe by 6:00 to 6:15 p.m. The NPMAS will provide an observing form for your use and the rules are as follows:

MESSIER MARATHON RULES

1) A special certificate will be given to everyone who observes 5 or more Messier Objects.

2) Gold stars will be placed on the certificate for every 10 objects observed after the initial 10 objects.

3) All objects must be located by the star hopping method to be eligible for the certificate. You may use setting circles but will not receive a certificate.

4) The NPMAS will provide you with a list containing a suggested observing sequence. You can also make you own list if you prefer.
 

5) You will be required to write down the time you observe each object.
 

6) All observations must be made in either a telescope or binoculars to be eligible for a certificate.

        Please note that these rules are for the people that want to observe in a marathon style. You are not required to observe in a marathon style, nor are you required to stay all night. Remember, this is a PARTY so come on out even if it is cloudy. The date once again is Saturday, March 4th. The place is Neshota Park. Be there or be square!

FROM THE PRESIDENT

A YEAR OF DECISION
    By Katrina DeWitt

        1999 was another year of growth and expansion for the Neville Public Museum Astronomical Society. The average attendance at our monthly meetings was 39 members. This is up 10 from last year's average of 29. A joint meeting with the Packerland Chapter of the American Meteorological Society in October netted our highest turnout with 50+ people in attendance. The lowest attended meeting occurred in January with 30 members attending.
        Last year, many club-sponsored activities were well attended:

    Public events
        All of our events for the public showed our highest recorded attendance to date. Better organization and more public notice helped to drive these numbers up. Continued member support is obviously the biggest contributor to the success of all our activities. Besides these regularly scheduled activities, several other activities were added to the schedule as well. Those included the following:         Besides all the fun activities, the club took time out for more serious matters. First off, was the unanimous decision by both the Board and general membership to host the 2001Astronomical League Regional Convention here in Green Bay.
        The second challenge was creating and deciding upon a club logo. Many months went into this, but by the end of spring, selections were narrowed down and the final vote cast for our new logo. It was proudly unveiled in the April 1999 issue of the newsletter.
        The last and biggest obstacle of the year was soliciting nominations for the new Board of Directors election to be held in October. A record sixteen members ran for nine positions. It was great to see so many wanting to get more involved in club functions. Once elections were over, two new members joined the Board for the first time.
        Several Astronomical League Observing Awards were presented to club members. Steve Mofle and Tony Kroes each received their first Herschel 400 award. Tony Kroes and Katrina DeWitt both received the Deep Sky Binocular Award. Other members are in the process of finishing observing awards as well.
        Our club website averages 50 hits a week. The week the newsletter goes online receives the most hits of the month. It's reassuring to know that many members enjoy receiving the newsletter electronically over snail mail. Not only do these members receive their newsletter timely and undamaged, they are helping to save the club money in postage and copying costs.
        I want to thank each and every one of you. Without your continued support at our meetings and activities, we would not be as successful as we are. As we bravely venture into another year, I hope the successes and accomplishments of our society grow along with its members.

FROM THE MEMBERSHIP

MENTOR PROGRAM?
    By Wayne Kuhn

        I have often thought that new club members may need additional help and guidance than what we currently offer. To me, a new member who knows that they have an interest in astronomy but not much else might get discouraged quickly. While our monthly meetings cover a wide variety of topics they can be "over the head" of most beginners who haven’t developed a basic understanding of the terminology.
        I usually tell newcomers that the best way to learn is to attend one of our observing events like Parmentier Observing Weekends (POW’s). Here they can look through a number of different telescopes and binoculars while asking questions of our more advanced members.
        Still, being new to the club and not knowing any of the other members personally can be quite intimidating. I believe we need to do more to get these people headed in the right direction by giving them easier access to the knowledge, expertise, and guidance they need. One of the ways that I have thought this might accomplish would be some kind of "mentor program".
        I have talked to other members of the club who have also thought along these lines. The basic idea would be to match up a new member with a current member who would act as a sort of "big brother" or mentor to the new member. He or she would be introduced to the mentor and advised that any questions or requests for help outside of the club meetings and events should be directed to this person.
        On the mentor’s part, they would accept the challenge of guiding this new member by providing answers and hopefully a little "hands on" experience with some of the equipment of the trade. Giving new members a specific source for help and information will make it easier for them to build an understanding of astronomy basics. Being able to recognize the brightest stars and major constellations, having some experience with star hopping, and being able to make informed decisions when it comes to purchasing their own telescope, binoculars, eyepieces, etc. is what I feel they are looking to get out of their membership most. All the things they need to know to be able to "leave the nest" and enjoy the hobby on their own.
        To start a mentor program I believe we would need three things:

1. NPMAS board approval

2. A list of guidelines to follow

3. Enough mentor volunteers

        The board needs to be in control of the program and determine how it will be implemented. It can’t be just a couple of members doing it on their own. It has to have the support of the club behind it and be part of the introduction materials given to new members.
        It would also need enough "mentors" from the club to work. Since we get about a dozen new members each year perhaps 6 or more mentors would be enough. I would be willing to handle up to three new members myself. Even though it is strictly a volunteer situation there still needs to be a certain level of experience necessary to qualify as a mentor. For example: all mentors should have at least two years membership in the club and have completed the AL Messier Observing program.
        There should be some written guidelines for the program also. For example: the relationship between the mentor and new member will last approximately one year. In that time the mentor agrees to respond to the new member’s inquiries to the best of their ability. Perhaps a goal of at least one "one on one" observing session should be required.
        I’m sure there are many other ways it can be done, but I think we should take some sort of extra step with helping out new members. I would encourage the NPMAS board and the general membership to consider this idea at a future meeting.
 

NPMAS MARKETPLACE

For Sale:
SBIG ST7 CCD camera- asking $1,500 purchased date May, 1998.  Originally $2,400; sold new up to a couple months ago for over $2,000 before ST7E took over.

Optech MAXfield (f/3.3) 0.33 telecompressor/reducer asking $350.  Originally $400; works on f/10 or f/11 Schmidt Cassegrains only.

I prefer to sell the two items together for $1,800

Contact Tom Jorgenson, 1224 Tullar Road, Neenah, WI 54956  Phone: 920-722-2829  or email at: tpjorgen@vbe.com

For Sale:
Celestron 40mm Plossl eyepiece $30.00; 5 years old, Celestron list price is $96.00

Meade 1.25" prism star diagonal $20.00; 2 years old, Meade list price is $60.00

Contact Wayne Kuhn, 2142 Spring Creek Circle, Green Bay WI 54311 Phone: 920-468-0765 or email at: waylin98@gbonline.com