STM member Francis O'Reily at the Navajo Technical University star party.
STM member Francis O'Reily
Navajo students in Mrs. Chee's MESA program (Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement) who attended the star party.
Navajo students at the Star Party
Stellafane represented at Navajo Technical
University Star Party
[2013-Dec-10]
STM member Francis O'Reily attended a star party in Crown Point, NM
and represented Stellafane at the event. It was manned by The Albuquerque Astronomical Society,
and Francis is also a member of that club. Dee Friesen is the president
of AAS, and Francis attended at his invitation. The party was held at the Navajo Technical University on December 10, 2013.
One of the photos shows the Navajo students in Mrs. Chee's MESA program (Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement).
Francis reports the kids were great. The party was not limited to young students however, College students, families and an old rancher attended as well.
Targets for the night included the Moon and Venus as well as M-31.
As you can see by the student's dress, it was cold, and
I suspect Francis bundled up after that shot of him in
his club shirt was taken. Behind him is a 20-inch
Obsession he operated for a while at the event.
2014 Dates Set, Officiers Elected at Annual Business Meeting
[2013-Nov-02]
The Springfield Telescope Makers held their annual business meeting on Saturday evening at the Fletcher House in Chester;
about 45 people attended. All current officiers and directors were re-elected
to a one year term (names and photos).
The 2014 meeting dates were ratified (see below).
A revised set of bylaws was passed, that now conforms to
current Vermont law without any major changes to the
intent of the bylaws, which date back to the founding of
the club in 1923.
The Cavendish 5th Grade class takes notes on the Porter Sundial at the Clubhouse.
Cavendish 5th Grade at the Clubhouse
Cavendish 5th Grade at Stellafane
[2013-Oct-28] For the fourth year running, the Cavendish Elementary School 5th Grade Class visited Stellafane, to learn about some local history
and do some scientific observation. As has been the case previously, Ken Slater hosted this visit and did a two hour classroom session the preceding week.
The students learned about sundials, the Porter Turret Telescope, the clubhouse and many of the artifacts in it. They had made
astrolabes before the visit, and used them on Breezy Hill
to make sightings of distant objects. Teacher Ann Thompson has done a great job on the astronomy segment of the
curriculum, and the students had many interesting questions and insightful
answers. We hope to continue this program next year.
2013-Nov-20 After hearing a report on the class visit at our November meeting and the children's interest in the Porter Sundial, John Martin
suggested we donate one of the replicas of this
instrument that we make and sell at convention to the
school. Ken Slater delivered the the sundial on November
20th, and spent about an hour explaining to the students
how to convert from 'sundial time' to civil time. The
students and teacher Ann Thompson were quite pleased to get this, and they were fascinated with the historic Dennis di Ciccio
photo of the analemma that Ken showed.
Jeff Lowe uses the Kubot tractor to unload the Bridgeport from the truck and move it into the
Pavilion. Ken Slater and Ray Morits (cut off in photo) watch.
The gloved hand seen at left is the rigger who trucked it up to Stellafane.
Jeff Lowe unloads the Bridgeport
Donated Bridgeport Arrives
[2013-Oct-26] The Bridgeport vertical milling machine is a donation from the Hall family of North Scituate, Rhode Island,
made in memory of Roger Hall, Allen Hall's father. Member Francis
O'Reily was instrumental in arranging for this donation, and member Ray Morits was
arranged to have it moved to Stellafane by a professional rigger. It arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday.
Jeff Lowe operated the Kubota tractor to get it off the truck
and into the pavilion, with Ray Morits and Ken Slater assisting.
The Hall family also donated a 1960's John Deer
backhoe, which arrived after convention and is currently
being refurbished by site manager John Martin. It has
already shown its strength and utility by removing some
tree stumps.
On the lawn at Saint-Gaudens, the Springfield Telescope Makers setting up at dusk.
Setting up at dusk
Saint-Gaudens Star Party Report
[2013-Sep-08] The Saint-Gaudens Star Party was rained out on Saturday,
September 7. By Sunday, September 8, the rain had
cleared out and we set up for that evening, not knowing
how good the turnout might be on a school and work
night. We were thrilled at the end of the event, when
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site superintendent,
event organizer and amateur astronomer Rick Kendal
reported that more than 40 people were in attendance.
The evening started at 8:00 with a talk by STM member
Carl Malikowski and Rick Kendall in the visitors center
about the history of astronomy in this region. As dark
descend, everyone adjourned to the telescopes set up on
the lawn.
The night was cloudless, the seeing was good, and
fall was in the air as temperatures dropped into the
40's. With 7 scopes there, we were able to show our
guests a variety of objects - The Moon, Venus and Saturn
early, and galaxies, star clusters, and nebula later in
the evening. Overall, an excellent event.
Two Free Public Fall Star Parties
[2013-Aug-12]
The Springfield Telescope Makers are pleased to offer two free public star parties this fall:
Sunday, September 8 at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
on Route 12A in Cornish, NH
(Rained out Saturday, September 7th)
Solar Viewing: 2:00-4:00 PM with regular site admission fee. Star Party: 8:00 PM, free admission
There was a large turnout last year in this beautiful
setting - come see the stunning night sky with us.
Viewing will begin when it is dark, there will be a
short presentation on the history of astronomy in the area
at 8:00 PM.
Friday & Saturday, October 11 & 12 at Stellafane
in Springfield, VT 7:00 PM
This year, we will hold this event over two nights -
come for one or both (no rain date, if it rains one
night we will not hold viewing that night, but tours of
the National Historic Observatory will still be
available).
See the historic Stellafane Pink Clubhouse
(1923) and the historic and unique Porter Turret
Telescope (1930) on the site that was the birthplace of
the Amateur Telescope Making movement in the United
States. Viewing through the Porter Turret and many other
telescopes after dark.
Astronomical League President Carroll Iorg presents Stellafane Webmaster & Vice-President Ken Slater with the 2013 First-Place Webmaster Award.
Carroll Iorg and Ken Slater
Ken Slater wins Astronomical League
2013 First Place Webmaster Award
[2013-Aug-10] At the
2013 Stellafane Convention Saturday Evening Program,
Astronomical League President Carroll Iorg presented
Stellafane Webmaster Ken Slater with the First Place
2013 Webmaster Award. The award is given to "acknowledge the club webmaster who does an outstanding job of website design and administration."
This was kept a secret from Ken, and he was quite
surprised when Carroll called him up to the stage right
after Kris Larsen received her award (see below).
2013 Webmaster Award
Webmaster Ken thanks the club and President Dave
Tabor for nominating him, and also for giving him the
opportunity to work with such a rich set of material
about the history, conventions, activities and telescope
making that the club has. Much of the material on the
very large site (currently 922 pages and still
growing) has been contributed by others, and he just
"makes it look good and makes it accessible". He is most
proud of the mirror
making and telescope
making sections he has authored, which makes this
information available for free throughout the world. We
have received photographs of completed projects from all
over the globe, and Ken feels fortunate to be able to
continue to advance the mission of the Springfield
Telescope Makers, which is to preserve the history and
advance the art of Amateur Telescope Making on the
relatively new medium of the web.
Ken is a retired electrical and software engineer and
engineering manager who lives nearby in Chester,
Vermont. At Stellafane, he is also currently the VP,
Mirror Class Instructor and Chief Electrician. He does
long distance hiking in the warm months, and makes
telescopes and adds to the
web site in the cold months of the year.
See the award presentation by Astronomical League
President Carroll Iorg on YouTube
here.
Dr. Kris Larsen wins the 2013 NERAL Walter Scott Houston Award
Dr. Kris Larsen with several telescopes.
Dr. Kris Larsen
[2013-Jul-19] Dr. Kris
Larsen is maybe best known to most Stellafaners as the
person who teaches the Youth Astronomy Program at the
McGregor Observatory during the Stellafane
Conventions. I remember back in 1994 when Dr. Larsen
first started these Astronomy Activities for Kids on
Saturday afternoon with innovative crafts to teach
children the constellations. Over the years she has
expanded the program and this year at Stellafane on
Friday and Saturday she will be teaching four different
one hour classes to children ages 5-12 at the McGregor
Observatory on the Solar System, Starhopping, Phases of
the Moon, How Telescopes Work and "Phun with Photons"
illustrating diffraction and lighting effects. It is
very significant to me that her vision back in 1994 was
to bring more children into astronomy - and now already
almost 20 years have passed for some of her young
students!
Dr. Larsen is also a highly prized Astronomy
Professor at Central Connecticut State University, where
she teaches Cosmology, Planetary & Stellar Astronomy,
Earth Science and Astrophysics and a course on
Contributions by Women to Stellar and Galactic
Astronomy. In addition she runs observational
programs including her "Night Sky" workshops,
Planetarium events, and a "Partners in Science" series
for middle school students. She is particularly known
for her very creative methods of incorporating
movies, science fiction & fantasy, rock music and
popular culture into her educational efforts. Her books
and scholarly writings also strive to bring science into
the mainstream to inspire more girls and boys to be
scientists in the future. Already she is creating a new
history. Her many writing credits include the books
Cosmology 101 and Stephen Hawking: A Biography.
She has also been very active in
the AAVSO for many years as a council member, curriculum
adviser, solar observer and frequent contributor of
articles that are viewable on the AAVSO website. She
recently joined the team as an Assistant Editor for the
Astronomical League's 'Reflector' magazine.
See the award presentation by NERAL Chairperson Maryann
Arien at Stellafane here.
Congratulations to Kris from the Springfield
Telescope Makers, we are proud to have her as a member.
Stellafane at NEAF
[2013-Apr-21]
Once again, Stellafane had a booth at North East Astronomy Forum and we had a great time! This video gives you some idea about the energy and activities at our booth.
Video by Wayne Zuhl
We gave away a 6-inch mirror kit each day to a young person who did some grinding in our booth:
The winners were Zach Berger and Julia Russell.
Senator Leahy visits Telescope Making Museum
U.S. Senator & Mrs. Leahy in our Porter-Hartness
Amateur Telescope Making Museum.
Senator & Mrs. Leahy in the museum
2013-Mar-29 One of the
owners of the Hartness House sent us this report and
photo: "Senator Leahy and his wife stayed at the
Hartness House last night and we gave them a museum
tour. They loved the Stellafane museum and we took some
pictures there." Leahy is a United States Senator for
Vermont, ranks first in seniority in the Senate and is
the President Pro Tempore. He also chairs the Senate
Judiciary Committee. We are honored to have him visit
our amateur telescope
making museum.
The Flanders Pavilion Mortgage has been Paid Off;
Stellafane Thanks our many Donors.
[2012-Nov-16]
The Springfield Telescope Makers are pleased to announce
the mortgage taken out to finance the construction of
the Flanders Pavilion in 2005 has been fully paid off.
We could not have done it without our many generous
donors over the past seven years and the club is
extremely thankful for your support. We believe the
pavilion has markedly improved the quality of the
convention - the pavilion can be darkened for daytime
presentations and yet allow adequate air circulation.
And no one has ever gotten wet feet in the pavilion, unlike the situation
we had to deal for many years in the tent!
We had said every donation, no mater how big or how small, would help - and it did. As we near the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday, please know
that Stellafane is thankful for your long and generous support. Come celebrate our achievement at the 2013 Convention!
