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

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. 26, No. 6a June 2014

President's Message...
It seems like it was not so long ago I was writing my first ATMoB Presidents message for the newsletter. And here we are ­ two years later ­ and I'm writing my last. Time has a funny way of passing at such different apparent rates and for me this time has passed very quickly. I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve the club in this capacity although I must admit I was a bit hesitant to accept the position. When Virginia Renehan first approached me on the matter I said no. A little arm twisting brought me around, however, because frankly even though I was not too keen on the idea I felt that as a long time member I had a responsibility to accept. This club, and all clubs like us don't run themselves. It takes a lot of work from people that volunteer their time and effort to make the running of our club go as smoothly as it does. As a long time member one should be aware that some sort of service to the club is important. As a very long time member (I first joined in 1974) I felt inwardly that accepting the position as President was something I had to do. So I accepted and am so glad I did. Of course the running of the club would not be possible without the help of so many others and for them I am grateful and would like to take this time to highlight those who have done so much. Al Takeda has done a wonderful job with the newsletter, without much fanfare but I know, having done this task myself in the past, that a lot goes into it every month. I am grateful for the detailed minutes that appear in each months issue thanks to the diligent effort of our secretary Sidney Johnson who meticulously records the events of the meeting and highlights of the speaker's presentation. Tom McDonagh has done a stellar job as Membership Secretary with his upbeat presence at each meeting making new members feel so welcome and his tireless online and personal interaction with members new and old. I am extremely grateful to the work done by Nanette Benoit as our treasurer who has handled our financial assets with such ease and kept our records and reports in such neat order. I want to also thank all the other board members for their efforts and for being at all the board meetings without complaint and responding promptly to email based requests on my part to resolve issues that didn't warrant waiting for board meetings. You all were great and I thank you. Of course there are non board members that are so important to the club as well. The clubhouse committee John Reed, Steve Clougherty, and Dave Prowten and the many members who they solicit for help and without whom the clubhouse would not look as good as it does. Next time you go up there and grass is mowed, the snow removed, the facilities working and the cupboards filled it is them that must be thanked. I extend my gratitude as well to the observing committee - Bruce Berger, Glenn Chaple and Bernie Kosicki whose efforts to keep the members looking up are so important. And I can't forget the Special Events Committee ­ Eileen Myers, Nina Craven, Julie Kaufman and the members they solicit to help them out with

This Month's Meeting...
Thursday, June 12th, 2014 at 8:00 PM Phillips Auditorium Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Parking at the CfA is allowed for the duration of the meeting

History Of the ATMoB

On March 26th, 1934 (80 years ago) the ATMoB was officially founded. At the time the club consisted of a mere 23 members. How far we have come to be what we are today. Our history is long, and interesting and important to pass on to new members. This month's meeting will be a chance to do just that. Three long time members have agreed to talk to the club about some of the more important aspects of our past. Anna Hillier will give a talk titled "Our Quest for the Perfect Clubhouse." John Reed will talk about the past thirty years since we acquired our then "dark sky site" in rural Westford, MA. Paul Valleli will talk about the involvement by ATMoB members in Project Moonwatch, a program whereby amateurs where tasked with tracking artificial satellites before the days of optical tracking stations. Come hear and see the history of your club. There will be many posters with pictures from our past as well as a celebratory cake at the end of the meeting.


picnics, New Years Eve parties and other special events that are enjoyed by so many. Lastly I want to extend one more note of thanks, first to all the members who attend our many public outreach events and star parties and secondly to Virginia Renehan the force behind this important facet of our club and the person who got me here in the first place. As star party coordinator she does so much for the club in such an unassuming way. She coordinates the many public events we are involved with, presents an outward face of the club to the public, and her ideas and perspectives on club related issues have always been solidly rooted in what is important and best for the club Thank you Virginia ­ for your tireless efforts and for twisting my arm two years ago when I was hesitant. I have enjoyed my time as President and look forward to continuing to help out the club in some form or another in the future. ~ Michael Hill ­ President ~

May Meeting Minutes . . .

Dr. Monica Young, S&T Web Editor. *

Minutes of ATMoB meeting held May 8, 2014. Meeting held in Phillips Auditorium, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Mike Hill, President, called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM. The Secretary's Report of the April 10, 2014 meeting was given by Sidney Johnston. Mike Hill gave the Treasurer's report prepared by Nanette Benoit. Tom McDonagh gave the Membership Secretary's Report. Mike Hill introduced the Nominating Committee, consisting of: Bruce Tinkler Steve Clougherty Dick Koolish Mike Hill gave the Observing Committee Report. Steve Clougherty gave the Clubhouse Committee Report Bruce Berger announced that Kelly Beatty needs for Astronomy Day at the Clay Center. Bruce also that the New Hampshire Astronomical Society has telescopes loaned out through their Library Program. volunteers announced about 100 Telescope

Annual Meeting Notice . . .
Thursday, June 12th is the Annual Meeting for the members of the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston. ARTICLE VI, Section 2 of the Bylaws; "Annual Meeting - The first regular meeting of the members in June of each year shall be the annual meeting for the election of officers and the hearing of the annual reports." The 2014 Nominating Committee, (Chair Bruce Tinkler, Steve Clougherty and Dick Koolish), has proposed a slate of nominations to be voted on at the Annual Meeting in June. The nominees are: President: Neil Fleming Vice President: Glenn Chaple Secretary: Sidney Johnston Treasurer: Eileen Myers Membership Secretary: Tom McDonagh Member at Large: Bruce Tinkler Member at Large: Dan Winchell Per Articles IX of the ATMoB Bylaws: Members shall have the right to offer additional nominations from the floor of the annual meeting, provided only that a suitable written notice, containing the name or names of the person or persons to be nominated from the floor at the annual meeting, and the signatures of at least seven members, is filed with the Secretary not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the annual meeting.

Mario Motta announced that he is working on putting a trip together to observe the total eclipse of the Sun on August 21, 2017 from Missouri or places nearby. Glenn Meurer announced that he has taken possession of the Strasbaugh Mirror machine which the ATMoB decided to not take. Glenn also mentioned that he needs help in setting up and operating the machine. Old Business: None New Business: None President Mike Hill introduced Monica Young, Ph. D. from Sky and Telescope as the invited speaker. Dr. Young took a double major at the University of Pittsburgh, first in Physics & Astronomy, and the second major in Journalism. She went on to complete her Ph.D. thesis at Boston 2


University, where she studied how quasars, super massive black holes lurking in distant galaxies, accumulate matter. She conducted part of her research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and graduated from Boston University in 2010 before taking a postdoc at Pennsylvania State University. She is currently the Web Editor at Sky and Telescope. Dr. Young's talk was entitled "Black Holes . . . and the Beast Living in Our Galaxy". A free e-book "Black Holes, Spinning hearts of darkness light the universe", which Dr. Young helped prepare, is available as a PDF file from the Sky and Telescope web page at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/free-ebook-library/ The first Black Hole discovered was 3C273 in which a photograph by an optical telescope showed a jet emanating from the object. Spectra indicated a red shift which put the object at cosmological distances. 3C273 is located in the Virgo cluster of galaxies and was one of the first objects to be given the name "quasar", meaning a very bright luminous body at cosmological distances. It is also a radio and an X-ray emitting object. In a slide, Dr. Young showed the discovery photograph of the 3C273 black hole, and the caption stated: "The only objects seen on a 200-in. plate ... are a star of about thirteenth magnitude and a faint wisp or jet ... The explanation in terms of an extragalactic origin seems most direct and least objectionable." -- Maarten Schmidt, 1963 According to a Hubble web page,
http://www.spacetelescope.org/science/black_holes/:

thought to be responsible for much of the radiation coming from the black hole and its surroundings. The spinning black hole interacts with an accretion disk to produce the jet and its attendant radiations. Methods that astronomers use to observe black holes or quasars include: Hubble images, x-ray images, infrared images and radio wave images. To achieve better angular resolution in the radio spectrum, arrays of radio telescopes operating as a phased array are used. Milli-arcsecond resolution is possible with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observatory in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. Also the National Radio Astronomy (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA), on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, has multiple radio telescopes operating as a phased array and has milli-arc second resolution. Both of the phased array radio telescopes are being used to study black holes and their quasar emissions. Phased arrays of radio telescopes placed on different continents may have micro-arc second resolution. Such arrays will give more detail on distant black holes. A 4 million solar mass black hole has been discovered at the center of the Milky Way in Sagittarius and is known as Sagittarius A*. A sequence of photographs shows stars orbiting a region that shows nothing at the center of motion. Timing of the orbiting stars shows the invisible body to be about 4 million solar masses. Presumably this data indicates a black hole. Sagittarius A* is 27,000 light years away and so presumably it will not pull the Sun or the Earth into itself. Dr. Taylor mentioned the effect of a person falling into a black hole. Tidal forces would stretch a person into a spaghetti form. Tidal forces are so named because gravity of the Sun squeezes the Earth including the water of the oceans. As the Earth turns, the squeezed water flows toward and away from the Earth and causes the tides. Newton discovered the cause of the tides. Similar projections of force squeeze any object near a source of gravitation, and near a black hole the squeezing effect becomes so great that it will severely distort objects such as a person. In the far distant future a black hole in the Andromeda Galaxy could combine with the Sagittarius A* black hole in a collision between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. Such an event is estimated to be 3.75 billion years from now. A collision of black holes was illustrated by a simulated sound played through the room's audio system. Gravity waves should be produced by such a collision event. An active area of research is to try to detect gravity waves from black hole pairs which collided in the past. Another active area of research is black hole evaporation. Steven Hawking predicted that black holes would evaporate slowly due to quantum effects. President Mike Hill adjourned the meeting 9:23 PM. ~ Sidney Johnston, Secretary ~

"Today most astronomers believe that quasars, radio galaxies and the centers of so-called active galaxies just are different views of more or less the same phenomenon: a black hole with energetic jets beaming out from two sides. When the beam is directed towards us we see the bright "lighthouse" of a quasar. When the orientation of the system is different we observe it as an active galaxy or a radio galaxy. This `unified model' has gained considerable support through a number of Hubble observational programs."

3C273 is described in Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3C_273. A Hubble photograph is captioned: "Gas flowing into the gaping maw of super massive black hole heats to more than 10,000°, outshining the entire host galaxy in visible/ultraviolet light." The curvature imposed on space in the Einstein theory of general relativity was illustrated by a deformed two dimensional mesh. A black hole has so much mass in a small volume that space is curved so much that light cannot escape. The formula for the size of a star from which light cannot escape was first discussed by an English writer in the late 1700s using Newton's model of gravity. Surprisingly, the formula is the same as the formula given by general relativity. Jets are apparently generated by rotating black holes. The jets point in opposite directions from the black hole and may extend many light years into the interstellar, or intergalactic, medium. Interaction of material of the jet with the interstellar medium is

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Clubhouse Report . . .
May 2014

and continued repair of the evaporator room floor are in need of your help. Please join us.

John Blomquist working on the telescope adapter plate. *

The Clubhouse parking area filled with packer material. No more mud! *

Warm 65 degree F. cloudy conditions met 17 members who donated their time to continue our monthly Clubhouse repair program. Thanks to: John Blomquist, Steve Clougherty, Karl Dean, Joe Henry, Eric Johansson, Dick Koolish, John Maher, Eileen Myers, Dave Prowten, Cheryl Rayner, John Reed, Dean Shaddock, Art Swedlow, Al Takeda, Bob Toop, Bill Toomey and Sai Vallabha. As one group tackled the transition from winter to spring maintenance duties, the other tackled observatory and stowage cleanup tasks. The "Shed" electrical upgrade, repair and maintenance were tackled by Joe H., Steve C, and Dave P. This included reinstalling the repaired ramps (for moving heavy telescopes) onto new accessible racks. Excess project lumber was moved from the porch to the far barn. The seasonal swap of mowers and snow blowers was performed between the metal shed and far barn and snow shovels were shifted to the barn loft. The barn was cleaned by the team led by Bob T. and John R. The clamshell observatory cleanup and mount testing was continued by John M's team. The 17" hutch was tended to by Sai V.'s team. Al T. and John B. fabricated a tripod adapter plate for an Alt/Azumith, GoTo Celestron C5 Schmidt-Cassagrain telescope (donated to the club by Lou Cohen's wife). After lunch the lawn was push mower cut by Cheryl R., Dave P., Steve C. and John R. Lunch was prepared by Chef Cheryl, salad master Sai, and presented by Eileen M., Art S., Dick K., and several who passed too close to that activity. As darkness fell, all of the observing pads seemed to be filling with telescopes. 11:30 pm came and went with that morning's work still showing fruit. The skies cooperated and the observing session continued into the early morning. The next work party is scheduled for June 14, 2014 starting at 10 am. Repair of the field outlet boxes damaged during the winter, installation of a new mount in the clamshell observatory

~ Clubhouse Committee Directors ~ ~ John Reed, Steve Clougherty and Dave Prowten ~ Clubhouse Saturday Schedule June 14 Dave Prowten and Al Takeda WORK PARTY # 6 June 21 Brian Leacu Phil Rounseville June 28 George Paquin John Small July 5 Joe Henry Cheryl Rayner July 12 Bill Robinson and Rich Burrier WORK PARTY # 7 July 19 John Maher Glenn Meurer July 26 Clubhouse Closed STELLAFANE CONVENTION August 2 Henry Hopkinson Eileen Myers

Membership Report . . .
Membership count as of May 29, 2014 is at 319 individuals. Please welcome our newest and returning members: Rosemary Folsom, David Holbrook, Sean Brown, Steve Pinner, James DeCamp, Michael Deneen and Jai Gupta. The club's fiscal year begins June 1st. The membership renewal period begins at this time. Please renew today! Many members' subscriptions to S&T and Astronomy magazine are tied to their last renewal date. You can avoid interruption of subscription delivery by renewing now! Please follow the instructions outlined below: On or after June 1st, please log into the www.ATMoB.org website using your email on record with the club as your login ID. If you cannot access the website or have forgotten your password, please contact me via email at membership@atmob.org.

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Once you have successfully logged in, click the "Your Details" tab found on the top right portion of the page. In the middle of the page, click on the "Renewals" tab. Click on the "Renew your membership" tab and follow the instructions. One can pay using PAYPAL or personal check. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or issues. New members on record in 2014 are not required to renew at this time. Our communication lifeline includes the ATMOB-Announce and ATMOB-Discuss mailing lists as well as our fantastic newsletter. Please refer to these tools for up to date information on club openings, events and interesting astronomy related discussions. Contact me with questions regarding accessing these options at: membership@atmob.org. 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 during your estate and tax planning this year. Many companies make matching contributions at an employee's request. It is a simple way to make your donation go twice as far. ~ Tom McDonagh ­ Membership Secretary ~

Al Takeda (right) showing the Sun. Photo by Bruce Tinkler using Al T's camera

Phil Levine (right) talks about Hydrogen-alpha solar observing. *

Astronomy Day 2014 . . .

While observing between the clouds, members with solar telescopes allowed the kids and their parents to safely view the Sun in both white light and in Hydrogen-alpha wavelengths. Phil Rounseville and Brian Leacu showed the sun with a white light Mylar filter setup. Al Takeda used a Herschel-Wedge to also view the sun in visible light. Phil Levine used a Hydrogen-alpha telescope to view the Sun's prominences. Dick Koolish manned the Telescope Advice Table and answered many equipment questions.

Julie Kaufmann (right) showing the visible Sun. *

On Saturday, May 10th the ATMoB, in collaboration with the Dexter Southfield School, held its 10th annual Astronomy Day at the Clay Center Observatory.

Dick Koolish (right) at the Telescope Advice Table. *

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Sky Object of the Month . . .
June 2014 M 97 (NGC 3587), the "Owl Nebula" Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major

Brian Leacu (right) setting up for white light solar viewing. *

Thundershowers forced us to retreat into the building where a few of us continued to answer questions about telescopes and astronomy. Inside, Eileen Myers set up glass and grit and some of her own equipment to demonstrate mirror making and how a telescope works. Bruce Tinkler brought and displayed his supply of beginner astronomy material and answered general questions about astronomy.

freestarcharts.com

Last month, we paid a visit to the spiral galaxy M108. I promised to feature its neighbor, the planetary nebula M97, this month. Did you take a sneak peek? I don't blame you. Just ѕ degree southeast of M108, M97 can be glimpsed in the same low-power field. Their seeming nearness is an illusion. M108 lies some 45 million light years distant, while M97 is ensconced within the bounds of our Milky Way Galaxy at a distance of around 2000 light years. Like M108, M97 was discovered by Messier's contemporary Pierre MИchain in 1781. Described as one of the fainter of the Messier objects, M97 can nonetheless be glimpsed with small aperture scopes. I first saw its ghostly 10th magnitude, 3.3 arcminute-wide form with a 3-inch reflecting telescope and magnifying power of just 30X. In 1848, Irish astronomer William Parsons, the 3rd Earl of Rosse, studied M97 with his colossal 72-inch reflecting telescope (the "Leviathan of Parsonstown"). He noted and sketched a pair of dark circular areas within the nebulosity that gave M97 the appearance of an owl's head, hence its modern-day nick-name the "Owl Nebula." Fortunately, you won't need Parson's Leviathan to see the Owl eyes. With patience and a magnification of 138X, I once captured fleeting glimpses with a 10-inch reflector. The limiting magnitude that night was about 5. From a dark-sky site, a smaller scope should be able to do the trick.

Eileen Myers (right) showing kids how to grind a telescope mirror. *

Thanks to all of the members that made this event a success. Thanks to Julie Kaufmann, Dick Koolish, Brian Leacu, Phil Levine, Eileen Myers, Robert Phinney, John and Monique Reed, Phil Rounseville, Al Takeda, Bruce Tinkler and Joe Wolfe. My apologies if I missed anyone. ~ Submitted by Al Takeda ~

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For Sale, II . . .

M97 photo by Mario Motta, MD

~ Glenn Chaple ­ Member at Large ~

Images by Peter Bealo.

For Sale . . .

Televue 15mm plossl $60.00 Televue 20mm plossl $60.00 Both in excellent like-new condition with end caps. No boxes. I'll be at June ATMoB meeting. Cash or paypal only. pbealo@comcast.net ~ Submitted by Peter Bealo ~

Images by Peter Bealo

Orion 8XTi Intelliscope 8" f6 "push-to" dobsonian FOR SALE. Excellent condition. Includes Intelliscope digital setting circles to guide you to deep sky objects and planets, Red dot finder, 2" to 1 1/4" eyepiece adapter, Orion Sirius 25mm Plossl and Orion cover. $350.00 delivered to June ATMoB meeting or mutually agreed upon pickup spot. Cash or paypal only please. pbealo@comcast.net ~ Submitted by Peter Bealo ~

Editor: * Photos by Al Takeda unless otherwise noted.

************************************** July Star Fields DEADLINE Sunday, June 22nd Email articles to Al Takeda at newsletter@atmob.org Articles from members are always welcome. **************************************

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POSTMASTER NOTE: First Class Postage Mailed June 10, 2014 Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Inc. c/o Tom McDonagh, Membership Secretary 48 Mohawk Drive Acton, MA 01720 FIRST CLASS

EXECUTIVE BOARD 2013-2014
PRESIDENT: president@atmob.org VICE PRES: SECRETARY: MEMBERSHIP: TREASURER: Mike Hill Neil Fleming Sidney Johnston Tom McDonagh Nanette Benoit (508) 485-0230

How to Find Us... Web Page 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 see www.atmob.org and check your email on the ATMOB-ANNOUNCE list. 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(978) 505-9169 (617) 966-5221 (978) 290-2802 (978) 597-8465 (978) 456-3937 (617) 448-8285 (978) 263-2812 (978) 283-0862 (781) 861-8031 (781) 784-3024 (978) 369-1596 (978) 387-4189 newsletter@atmob.org

MEMBERS AT LARGE: Glenn Chaple Eileen Myers Nina Craven PAST PRESIDENTS: 2010-12 2006-08 COMMITTEES CLUBHOUSE : Bernie Kosicki Virginia Renehan John Reed Steve Clougherty David Prowten Bruce Berger Al Takeda

Heads Up For The Month . . .
To calculate Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) from Universal Time (UT) subtract 4 from UT. Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun July July July 13 19 21 24 27 4 5 7 Full Moon Last Quarter Moon (Moonrise at midnight) Summer Solstice Venus 1.3 deg. N. of Moon New Moon Pluto at opposition First Quarter Moon (Moonset at midnight), Mars 0.2° S. of Moon Saturn 0.4° N. of Moon

OBSERVING: NEWSLETTER

----------PUBLIC OUTREACH STAR PARTY COORDINATOR: Virginia Renehan

starparty@atmob.org