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: http://www.wro.org/OldM111s/m111-Fall07.htm
Дата изменения: Wed Dec 5 07:16:38 2007 Дата индексирования: Mon Oct 1 20:45:56 2012 Кодировка: Поисковые слова: arp 220 |
Hello, Everyone!
Here's the latest version of the M111 "ONLINE." Tammy's gotten herself a new victim....um, I mean a new editor to try and get things updated and current - me. I'll try to keep the newsletter updated on at least on a quarterly basis...
We've had some exciting things happen over the summer, and even more coming up!
Hmmmm...where to start? Well, although our Astronomy Day (April 7th) was pretty much snowed-out, we had much better results (not to mention a much warmer day) when we teamed up with Astronomy For Youth (AFY) for their Astronomy day at Malabar Farm later in the month! We've had some fantastic Public Nights - although there's nothing unusual about that for RAS. But we'll tell y'all about it anyway. And our "Starry Nights" program for the Hidden Hollow Camp kids was just awesome! We'll tell you about that too!
Apollo Rendezvous was held this past June in Dayton, OH and was attended by three members of RAS. We had a great time, and there was a surprise in store for us at the convention. Read the article below for what it was...
But then things really happened! Thanks to Tammy's diligent work, and a grant from the Warren Rupp Foundation, we now have a portable, inflatable Starlab Planetarium! It's just awesome! I even managed to snag it for our very first educational outreach event! And there's sure to be more to come...
The 2007 Black Forest Star Party was a blast. A bunch of us attended & we had some excellent viewing Saturday night. Read on to find out about it.
And then, there's Hidden Hollow 2007! A simply awesome star party coming up on October 12-14th. It's sure to be fantastic, rain or shine!
RAS continues to have the monthly Public Nights on the 1st Saturday of each month, up through November. Astronomy For Youth (AFY) continues to have their Public Nights at Malabar Farm on the 3rd Saturday of each month, and it's an excellent complimentary program to our own at Warren Rupp. Our Christmas Party is coming up in December, along with our elections. Want to get more involved in RAS?? Here's your chance!
For now? Read on!
Barb Hubal
Public Nights & Starry Nights...
We've had seven public nights so far, and they've been great. There's been great interest in the events - and our ability to provide a program rain or shine has really helped! Tammy's done some great presentations with some relatively simple props. She's illustrated concepts like the relative sizes of the sun and planets; the phases of the moon, Venus and Mercury; and how black holes work. Joe Forster came up with a neat illustration comparing distances using salt. He also put together a great DVD called "Size of Our World." It's an absolute hit with the kids - especially with the rock music background! And we've added the excitement of a raffle to the mixture. Others have also contributed to our success. Barb made a short DVD covering how planetary science has "taken off" since Sputnik; Ken Hubal had a program on the sun; and the club now has a DVD on the workings of the sun, with several different programs available on it.
We also conducted a five-week program called "Starry Nights" which we put on for the kids at Hidden Hollow camp. No, the sky did not always cooperate - but then again, the kids just loved riding the mite-lift! They also loved the video programs we presented, the sky (when the weather cooperated) and, of course, the laser pointers. They were also pretty fond of all the raffle prizes that we were able to present, thanks to various sources.
We really want to thank everyone who helped make both the public nights and the starry nights programs a success this year! And invite the rest of y'all to join in the fun in '08!
Some RAS photos of the Malabar Astronomy Day
Hello, Fellow RAS Members!
It's been a long time, hasn't it? Without further ado I would like to now
announce that member Barb Hubal will revive our newsletter "The M111 On-Line"
once again! It isn't an easy chore, so please help to support her by
providing answers to her questions and content. After all, we had a
terrific time at Black Forest Star Party, so why not share it with others?!
The last few years at the Observatory have seen great change and progress.
Big Blue has returned to its former glory and the Clubhouse beautifully
remodeled thanks to our generous grants from the Warren Rupp Family. But,
their kindness hasn't stopped there. Take a good look around you at new
audio-visual aids, our new StarLab Planetarium and soon-to-arrive Coronado Solar
Scope and Cemax eyepieces! This has all been like a dream come true...
But, that's not all. Warren Rupp Observatory has become one of the leaders in
public astronomy outreach education. If you regularly attend public nights
or outreach programs, you'll see we have great teaching tools that have been
donated to us by the good folks at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific... and
there's even more to come! This is all part of
the NASA Night Sky Network and we're proud to be members - as well as members of
NASA Space Place and the Astronomical Society as well!
If you're interested in learning to do public astronomy outreach programs using
these materials and the Star Lab Planetarium, let's make use of those long
winter months and begin some training sessions. The materials are easy to
use and several of our members are already qualified instructors. Won't
you consider joining us? It's fun!
I would like to also take this time to congratulate our many members who have
kept after their Astronomical League Observing Club Studies. While awards
are given on meeting nights, I'd still like to make sure to recognize Robert
Payne, Carl Payne, John Neumann, Terry McQuistion and Joe Forster for their hard
work. I'd also like to thank all of you for your Astronomy League support!
The next item up for business? Hey. It's time to renew those Club
memberships if you haven't already. Be sure to get your money in to Keith
as soon as possible!
Last on the list for now is our upcoming Hidden Hollow. We have some very
incredible guest speakers this year and more activities. As has now become
our custom, we don't charge RAS members for admission to Hidden Hollow, but let
your conscious be your guide... VOLUNTEER TO HELP!!! I will send out a
group email in the near future to ask for volunteers, but we'll need folks to
spruce up the grounds in advance, help with set up, man the registration desk,
sell raffle tickets, place signs, bring speaker equipment, etc. Some of
our group members work a year in advance behind the scenes to make this awesome
star party happen and they could use your help when D-day arrives! Please
make plans to donate your time generously... the Hidden Hollow Star Party
reflects on our club as a whole and we want everyone to have a great time!
For now? Use that bulletin board. New sections have been added to
make requests for use of the Star Lab Planetarium and as our equipment and
outreach educational supplies increases, other sections will be added so
equipment can be "checked out". While club equipment is there for everyone
to use, please don't just assume it's OK to take things without notifying others
and take responsibility for returning them before the next request. Our
future is so bright we'll need to keep track of those shades!
Keep rockin' the night,
~Tammy
Apollo Rendezvous, Miami Valley Astronomical Society's convention, was held the weekend of June 15-16th at the Boonshoft Museum in Dayton, OH. Tammy Plotner, Barb Hubal & Ken Hubal attended. They put on a good show, with great speakers, vendors, and an ATM telescope contest. My favorite speaker was William Owen, Jr., who talked about "How we Hit That Sucker," a look into the engineering feat needed for Deep Impact's collision with Temple1. It was also great to see Bob and Jerry Stenton there, along with their home-built radio telescope. The 20-inch Dall-Kirkham telescope was also another interesting sight, although (sadly) we didn't get to view through it.
The most gratifying moment of the entire weekend - at least for me - was the awarding of the Great Lakes Region Award to....Tammy Plotner. Tammy's quick to point out that she's just like everyone else, not someone special, but it was great to see someone with the creativity, diligence and enthusiasm of Tammy be recognized. We all congratulate you, Tammy!
Thanks to a generous grant from the Warren Rupp Foundation, Richland Astronomical Society is now the proud owner of a Starlab Portable Planetarium. The planetarium is absolutely awesome, and surprisingly simple to set up. The dome itself is made of a nylon-reinforced, flame-resistant, Latex™-free, industrial-grade fabric that's silver in color. A fan inflates and circulates air throughout the dome, which both inflates it and provides continuous circulation. The projector works using cylinders to project the sky onto the dome. The purchase of at least 9 different cylinders gives the club a diverse number of topics that we can cover. And the educational materials included with the planetarium offers a wealth of programs.
Even more exciting, RAS has already had two chances to use it. The first, was at the last public night, on September 1st. We had several groups of visitors to entertain in the dome, and had loads of fun doing it! Then, Robert and Barb had a chance to take the planetarium to the Brunswick United Church of Christ (Brunswick, OH) on September 7th and do the "Indian Myths in the Sky" program for a group of about 25 children and adults.
2007 Black Forest Star Party
The Black Forest Star Party was held at Cherry Springs (PA) State Park, a fantastic viewing sight. I was awestruck with the dark skies - I'd never seen the Milky Way so bright...
We had a whole contingent there from RAS - Mike Allen, Joe Forster and his son Scott, Terry McQuistion, Robert and Carl Payne, Michael Abrams, Tammy and Ken & Barb Hubal (did I miss anyone?). We all camped out together (even those of us who chose the comfort of a hotel room to sleep in) and had a blast. Friday night was wet and rainy, but Saturday turned out to be a beautiful, if cold, night for viewing. Not even a few passing cloud banks could deter us. And the vendors...well, some of went home a bit poorer than we came (actually, a LOT poorer)...
The door prizes were good, and Tammy managed to acquire a couple of them.. The Celestron Personal Planetarium was an awesome "catch," and the Mars VHS will be a great addition to our educational collection. Many thanks Tammy!
h We told you it was cold on Saturday night!
The legend continues.....
Hidden Hollow Star Party is scheduled for October 12-14th this year, and we hope to make it the best ever! We've got some of the finest guest speakers available - Phil Harrington, Terry Mann, Brent Archinal, Mike Best, Jason Shinn, Tom Whiting, Phil Creed and Ron Ravenberg. And we've got workshops to boot!
But there's lots of work to be done to create such a fabulous party. Tammy Plotner will soon be sending out email asking for volunteers - PLEASE VOLUNTEER! We'll need people for things like sprucing up the grounds beforehand, helping with the set-up, manning the registration desk, sell raffle tickets, placing signs, and getting speaker equipment, etc.
Some 2006 Hidden Hollow Pics...
