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STAR
FIELDS



Newsletter of the
Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston
Including the Bond Astronomical Club
Established in 1934
In the Interest of Telescope Making & Using

Vol. 24, No. 2 March 2012




This Month's Meeting.

Thursday, March 8th, 2011 at 8:00 PM
Phillips Auditorium
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Parking at the CfA is allowed for the duration of the meeting.

Please join us for a pre-meeting dinner discussion at Changsho, 1712 Mass
Ave, Cambridge, MA at 6:00pm before the meeting.



Seeing Stars and More
Professor Alyssa Goodman

This presentation will combine a summary of our current understanding of
how stars form with a demonstration of visualization techniques used in
studying how stars form, as well as how hearts pump blood.

Alyssa Goodman is Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, and a
Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution. Goodman and her research
group at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA
study the dense gas between the stars. They are particularly interested in
how this interstellar gas arranges itself into new stars. Their
investigations use a variety of observational techniques covering the
spectral range from X- ray to radio.

Goodman also has a strong interest in scientific computing. She co-founded
The Initiative in Innovative Computing (IIC) at Harvard, and she served as
its Director from 2005-8. The IIC is a multi-disciplinary center that
fosters new work at the boundary between computing and science. Goodman's
own research in this area focuses on new ways to visualize and analyze the
tremendous data volumes created by surveys. Presently, she is working
closely with colleagues at Microsoft Research, helping to expand the use of
the WorldWide Telescope program.

Goodman received her undergraduate degree in Physics from MIT in 1984 and a
Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard in 1989. She held a President's Fellowship at
the University of California at Berkeley from 1989-92, after which she took
up a post as Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Harvard. In 1997, she
received the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize from the American Astronomical
Society for her work on interstellar matter and became full professor at
Harvard in 1999. In 2008, she served as Chair of the Astronomy Section of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

President's Message

The Sun getting active again! For a few years, people were thinking that
the current solar cycle was going to be a bust. There were predictions that
we may be in for a period of low activity, like the Maunder Minimum, that
70- year period in the last half of the seventeenth century during which
sunspots were observed to be few and far between. The Maunder Minimum also
took place during the Little Ice Age in which the winters in Europe and
North America were especially bitter, and some suggested a connection
between the two events. Maybe an inactive Sun would be just what is called
for to balance the effects of global warming?

[pic]
Image by NASA/SOHO
Clusters of sunspots as seen on February 15, 2012

But the Sun has been much more active recently. It's a big turnaround from
a few years ago, when some pundits were starting to get worried about the
Sun's inactivity. The coronal mass ejection event reported in early January
now has folks concerned about the risks of solar storms on human activity-
this was the cover story of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers Spectrum magazine this month. Solar storms cause enormous changes
in the Earth's magnetic field, which in turn induce huge surges of current
in electrical, telecommunications, and other networks across a large amount
of our planet's surface. Electricity grids are stressed and transformers
burn out, which has led to broad areas of blackouts in the past.

The last time the Earth had a truly powerful solar storm was in 1921-this
was long before developed countries became so dependent on the constant
availability of electricity. That storm of 80 years ago was estimated to be
ten times more powerful than the 1989 event that some of us remember! What
would happen if such a powerful storm happened now? A number of government
panels and industry studies have studied the problem that extreme space
weather poses to power grids. They have concluded that an extreme solar
event, which certainly will happen in the future, will have severe impact,
especially for developed countries.

But to those of us interested in astronomy, views of the corona and solar
flares through an H-alpha-filtered telescope are simply spectacular. Seeing
these flares are all the more awesome because they are happening so close
to us, and have a real possibility to affect our lives and activities.
Another reason the flares are so spell-binding is that they are very
changeable over short human time periods, just like a solar eclipse. We can
see a violent and changeable astronomical event unfolding before our eyes.

So it's time to take out and dust off the solar telescopes and aim them at
the Sun. Members can probably find instruments like this at the clubhouse
on a sunny weekend day now. Drop by then for a great look at our closest
star. If you have a good solar scope, please let the rest of the members
know when and where you'll be setting it up and share your spectacular
views!

~ Bernie Kosicki, President ~


February Meeting Minutes

Minutes of ATMOB meeting held February 9, 2012.

Bernie Kosicki, President: called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM.

This meeting was member's night, where members present a report of projects
which they have been working on.

A short business meeting was held.

Dick Koolish announced the New England Model Engineering Society Show to be
held on February 18, 2012, at the Charles River Museum of Industry and
Innovation, in Waltham, MA.

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Photo by Al Takeda
Virginia Renehan discussing the Starlab planetarium equipment

Bob Naeye presented a report with slides of a trip to Chile held on
September 21-29, 2011 where he visited a number of astronomical
observatories located in Chile.

Virginia Renehan presented a report on the Starlab Observatory which was
given to the ATMOB by the MIT Kavli Institute. Information is posted on the
ATMOB web page, and further information is available at
http://www.starlab.com with additional technical resources and curriculum
at http://www.starlab.com/sl_manual.html

Gerry Sussman reported on work done by Eric Johansson, John Blomquist, Phil
Rounseville, and himself on the Schupmann telescope. The telescope was
simulated on a computer program, was dis-assembled and rebuilt correctly,
and adjusted to reduce astigmatism with the help of Paul Valleli, Phil
Rounseville, and Mike Mattei. John Blomquist machined a new focuser. The
Schupmann is now mounted on the mount in the Knight Observatory, and John
Blomquist took a good image of Jupiter using a digital camera. The
Schupmann needs some additional work, including installation of a dew
shield.

Mike Hill demonstrated with slides how to make a mirror in a small
apartment kitchen.

Ken Launie showed sides of the Steward Mirror Lab of The University of
Arizona, including the spin casting of an 8.4 meter (27.6 foot) diameter
mirror. The mirror is going in the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). This is
the second of seven giant mirrors going into the GMT.

Alan Sliski described his upgrade to a private observatory in Dover
Massachusetts. The telescope is mounted on the roof of a building, the
support structure was improved, and the observatory re-wired and improved.

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Photo by Al Takeda
Mario Motta exhibiting his CO2 mirror cleaning device

Mario Motta demonstrated with slides and his apparatus the technique of
cleaning a mirror with compressed carbon dioxide, CO2. The CO2 is purchased
in a cylinder under sufficient pressure to be liquid. Gas CO2 pressurizes
the liquid, and the liquid is directed by a nozzle at the mirror. Dust is
removed by the liquid and gas with no harm to the mirror. This is a method
used in professional observatories for cleaning a mirror and Mario used it
to remove dust accumulation from his 32 inch mirror.

A short business meeting was held after the member presentations.

The Secretary's Report of the January 2012 meeting was given by Sidney
Johnston.

Tom McDonagh gave the Membership Committee Report. Tom mentioned that quite
a few musicians are members.

Bruce Berger gave the Observing Committee Report. Bruce mentioned that a
program of "stewards for telescopes" will be started.

Steve Clougherty gave the Clubhouse Report. The next work party is
scheduled for March 10. John Maher and Al Takeda worked on one of the Meade
14s, and the other Meade 14 mirror is being coated.

Bernie Kosicki mentioned that several events are coming up on the calendar.

Virginia Renehan mentioned the Harvard University Friends of Scouting Merit
Badge University is coming up on March 23.

Bernie Kosicki announced that Eileen Myers was appointed by the Board to
fill the position vacated by Steve Beckwith when he resigned.

Paul Valleli discussed a school star party for grades four and five that
was clouded out, and so pictures of stars were taped to the end of a hall.
Observations of the pictures through the telescopes delighted the kids.

The meeting adjourned at 10:05 PM.
~ Sidney Johnston, Secretary ~

Clubhouse Report

What whacky winter weather we're having this year. As this report is being
typed, emails are flying around that tonight may be a clear, cool
observable evening to try again for the Messier Marathon first session.
Friday last was tempting; but partly cloudy skies early followed by the
8pm clearing still didn't allow for M32 to be found and M33 was only barely
detectable. But the February 4th work session went off as advertised.
Seventeen members donated their day to tackle clubhouse work projects. A
big thanks go to Sai Vallabha, Al Takeda, Art Swedlow, Sergio Simunovic,
John Reed, Dave Prowten, Tom McDonagh, John Maher, Dick Koolish, Eric
Johansson, Mike Hill, Harry Drake, Nina Craven, Paul Cicchetti, Steve
Clougherty, John Blomquist, and Bruce Berger. Highlights follow:

* A mesh screen of plastic growth inhibitor was placed under the edges of
the home dome deck by Tom Mc. and Mike H. This was secured by many
wheelbarrows of stone dust spread on top. This should keep unwanted weeds
and mosquitos away from the observatory.

* The library inventory effort proceeded with Harry D. inventorying and
boxing more donated Astronomy books; those items outside this category are
also boxed for the monthly meeting where members may look over available
gadgets and monographs. This inventory will then be categorized by
professional assistance for further retention or sale.

* All telescope mirrors in use were inspected by Steve C. and John M.; two
were selected and boxed for immediate re-coating. Transport for this
effort was provided by John R. over to Research Services. It was a
pleasure to view, with Don Jaynes, the recoated surfaces of the recently
donated 10" Newtonian primary and the 3" curved secondary of the 8" Dall-
Kirkham reflector. It is reassuring to see Don and Steve in their new
location on Bay State Road in Wilmington, MA; they have weathered the
economic times and still take care of our amateur coating needs as they
have for many decades. Their address, new phone number, and a google map is
posted on the clubhouse grinding room wall.

* The far barn cleanup was started but the main effort was accomplished
later by club friend Fred Taylor and John R. with chain and circular saw.
Most of the remnants of sheet lumber were cut up and hauled away with
large storm debris pieces from behind the barn. This provided a test of the
rebuilt trailer's suspension upgrade before transporting Brian Maerz's
refrigerator donation to the clubhouse. Another test run will take place
shortly to ensure load stability. Walking in the far barn and retrieving
the wheelbarrows is much easier now. More to do there.

* Dick K. donated an 18" pipe wrench to the club; it is housed with the
floor jacks in the basement to allow periodic leveling. Paul C.'s solar
scope showed current solar activity in H-alpha; changes in edge
prominences were observed. Sergio S. continued work on rebuilding the home
dome rotation and opening motors in the machine shop. Al T., John R., and
Mike H. selected unused monitors for disposal. The work session was cut
short to accomodate the observing committee meeting.

Sai V., Eric J., Art S., Nina C., Dick K. and John R. prepared a tasty
lunch of Bailey Hill spaghetti sauce over low carb pasta, Sai's Super
salad, baked/broiled chicken thighs and Eric's beer can grill roasted
whole chicken, with toasted garlic bread, and cookies for dessert. If the
weather continues to be so mild, the next work party may be the last cold
weather spaghetti lunch. That next work party is on full moon Saturday
March 10th at 10am. If the weather provides frozen ground, outside cleanup
can continue; if mud season starts we'll modify the schedule to leave the
mud outside! In any case come on out and join us. Thursday mirror grinding
continues; Friday night member Astronomy class does likewise; and we always
hope for a clear sky for Saturday nights. WE'LL SEE YOU ON MARCH 10th.
Coffee at 10am.

~ Clubhouse Committee Chairs ~
~ John Reed, Steve Clougherty and Dave Prowten ~


Clubhouse Saturday Schedule

|February |Leacu & Rounseville |
|18 |Messier Marathon #1 |
|February |Myers & Nugent |
|25 | |
|March 3 |Clougherty & Fleming |
|March 10 |Budreau & Burrier |
| |Work Party #3 |
|March 17 |Swedlow & Vallabha |
|March 24 |Hopkinson & Wolf |
| |Messier Marathon #2 |
|March 31 |Paquin & Prowten |
|April 7 |Siegrist & Sonowane |
|April 14 |Takeda & Toomey |
|April 21 |Maher & McDonagh |
|April 28 |CLUBHOUSE CLOSED |
| |NEAF and Clay Center |
| |Astronomy Day |


Thoreau on Astronomy

The earth is still mostly covered with ice and snow. As usual, I notice
large pools of greenish water in the fields, on an icy bottom, which cannot
owe their greenness to the reflected blue mingled with the yellowish light
at sundown, as I supposed in the case of the green ice and water in clear
winter days, for I see the former now at midday and in a rain-storm, when
no sky is visible. I think that these green pools over an icy bottom must
be produced by the yellow or common earth-stain in the water mingling with
the blue which is reflected from the ice. Many pools have so large a
proportion of this yellow tinge as not to look green but yellow. The
stain, the tea, of withered vegetation - grass and leaves - and of the soil
supplies the yellow tint. But perhaps those patches of emerald sky, sky
just tinged with green, which we sometimes see, far in the horizon or near
it, are produced in the same way as I thought green ice was, some yellow
glow reflected from a cloud mingled with the blue of the atmosphere.

Journal, 8 March 1859

~ Submitted by Tom Calderwood ~

Membership Report
Membership count as of 2/19/2012- 282
End of February last year - 284

Membership enrollment changes are coming in that we are planning to offer a
discounted family membership in the near future in response to popular
demand. Details will follow shortly.

Do you have questions about your membership status, Astronomy Magazine or
Sky & Telescope subscriptions? Drop me a line at Membership@ATMoB.org and I
will be happy to provide answers.

Donations to the Club help to defray the cost of special projects such as
the building of a new dome to house our robotosized 14-inch Schmidt-
Cassegrain Telescope. Progress on this project is coming along nicely.
Walls are up; dome is in place, door is being fabricated!

The Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization.
Donations are gladly accepted and are tax deductible to the fullest extent
allowed by law. Consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the club
today.

Please seek out and welcome our new and returning members:

Ed Barden
Eugene McAuliffe
Barbara Klain
Victoria Saucier
Michael Dalterio
Mark Olson

~ Tom McDonagh, Membership Secretary ~

Alcon 2012 Call for materials: Celebrating 150 years of Organized Astronomy

There is a call for materials for a commemorative "Starlight Book," a
booklet of the history of astronomy organizations. Any group that wishes
to, may add one or two pages to the booklet, which will be published at
Alcon 2012.

I was going to contribute some history for this booklet about The Amateur
Telescope Makers of Boston including the Bond Astronomical Society. Does
anyone object to this project?

For more information go to: http://alcon2012.astroleague.org or the
December 2011issue of Reflector, a publication of the Astronomical League.

~ Anna Hillier, Working Group for the Preservation of Archives ~


[pic]
Photo by Fran Edwards, Aldrich Astronomical Society
Member Larry Moss recently completed an 8" mirror. The new objective was
only about 24 years in the making, which he attributes to "lack of
consistent work with long spans between sessions."

Sky Object of the Month
Variable Star R Leonis

On the evening of March 1, 1918, a young Ohio farm boy trained a small
refracting telescope towards the variable star R Leonis. He estimated its
brightness, later forwarding the information to the American Association of
Variable Star Observers. It was the first of over 132.000 variable star
observations the legendary Leslie Peltier would submit to the AAVSO.

Since Peltier's time, R Leo has introduced dozens of amateur astronomers to
the rewarding pastime of variable star observing. R Leo is tailor-made for
the novice for two reasons - it's easy to find and easy to observe. You'll
find R Leo by directing your telescope slightly north of a spot one-third
of the way from omicron (?) Leonis to Regulus (the circled area on the
accompanying map of Leo). An expanded view of that circle shows R Leonis
and the magnitudes of nearby comparison stars, decimals omitted. R Leonis
is bright enough (its average magnitude range is 5.8 to 10.0) to be seen in
binoculars when near maximum and with a small-aperture telescope throughout
its 312-day cycle.

The magnitude range and period attributed to R Leonis are typical of a
class of variable stars known as Mira-type, or Long-Period Variables
(LPVs). Like its kindred LPVs, R Leonis is a cool red giant - a dying star
whose brightness changes result from internal pulsations.

Based on recent observations, R Leonis has a magnitude in the mid-8 area
and is rising to a predicted maximum later this month. The time is ripe for
you to jump in and become acquainted with the variable star that launched
Leslie Peltier's stellar career.

[pic]
Figure courtesy AAVSO
Light curve of R Leonis over a ten-year period

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**************************************************
April Star Fields DEADLINE
Noon, Sunday, March 18th
Email articles to the newsletter editor at
newsletter@atmob.org
**************************************************

POSTMASTER NOTE: First Class Postage





Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Inc.
c/o Tom McDonagh, Membership Secretary
48 Mohawk Drive
Acton, MA 01720

How to Find Us...





Web Page: http://www.atmob.org


MEETINGS: Held the second Thursday of each month (September to July) at
8:00PM in the Phillips Auditorium, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge MA. For INCLEMENT WEATHER
CANCELLATION listen to WBZ (1030 AM)

CLUBHOUSE: Latitude 42( 36.5' N Longitude 71( 29.8' W
The Tom Britton Clubhouse is open every Saturday from 7 p.m. to late
evening. It is the white farmhouse on the grounds of MIT's Haystack
Observatory in Westford, MA. Take Rt. 3 North from Rt. 128 or Rt. 495 to
Exit 33 and proceed West on Rt. 40 for five miles. Turn right at the MIT
Lincoln Lab, Haystack Observatory at the Groton town line. Proceed to the
farmhouse on left side of the road. Clubhouse attendance varies with the
weather. It is wise to call in advance: (978) 692-8708.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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EXECUTIVE BOARD 2011-2012
PRESIDENT: Bernie Kosicki (978) 263-2812
president@atmob.org

VICE PRES: Mike Hill
SECRETARY: Sidney Johnston
MEMBERSHIP: Tom McDonagh (617) 966-5221

TREASURER: Nanette Benoit (978) 290-2802
MEMBERS AT LARGE:
Chuck Evans (978) 649-7157
Neil Fleming

PAST PRESIDENTS:
2008-10 Steve Beckwith (978) 779-5227
2006-08 Virginia Renehan (978) 283-0862
2005-06 Bernie Volz (603) 968-3062

COMMITTEES
CLUBHOUSE : John Reed (781) 861-8031
Steve Clougherty (781) 784-3024
David Prowten (978) 369-1596

NEWSLETTER: Ross Barros-Smith (978) 263-6599

OBSERVING: Bruce Berger (978)-387-4189

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OBSERVING AND PUBLIC OUTREACH
STAR PARTY COORDINATOR:
Virginia Renehan starparty@atmob.org

FIRST CLASS