[2017-12-14] New Convention videos, for both the 2017 and 2016 convention have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure. You can find them by clicking here (2017) and here (2016).
And if you haven't already, feel free to browse the 2017 Convention photo gallery which has now been uploaded in full, and relive those cherished memories.
2017 Board Elections
[2017-11-20]November marks the time of the annual business meeting, and with that comes change, and election results. Last year, the board remained the same, save for the one position of Secretary currently being filled by Jay Drew.
This year, we have three position changes. Glenn Jackson becomes Treasurer, taking over from Al Monkowski. Kris Larsen and Francis O'Reilly have been elected as board members at large, respectively replacing Dave Prowten and Jeff Lowe. Congratulations!
We'd like to thank Al Monkowski, Dave Prowten and Jeff Low for their service.
Your new board is as follows:
Dave Tabor President
Ken Slater Vice President
Jay Drew Secretary
Glenn Jackson Treasurer
Gary Cislak Past President
Kris Larsen Trustee
Francis O'reilly Trustee
In the historic photo left to right: Front row: Carlton B. Damon, Everett H. Redfield, Russell Porter. Middle row: unknown, Charles A. Longe, Ernest Noyes Brookings. Rear row: unknown, John M. Pierce, unknown holding hammer, Oscar P. Fullam.
In the historic photo left to right: Front row: Carlton B. Damon, Everett H. Redfield, Russell Porter. Middle row: unknown, Charles A. Longe, Ernest Noyes Brookings. Rear row: unknown, John M. Pierce, unknown holding hammer, Oscar P. Fullam.
Historical Hawks Mountain
[2017-11-14]This 1922 photo show's Porter's Telescope Group (we did not become the Springfield Telescope Makers until December 7, 1923) by the survey tower they erected on Hawks Mountain. Porter is holding a plaque commemorating the event.
In the historic photo left to right: Front row: Carlton B. Damon, Everett H. Redfield, Russell Porter. Middle row: unknown, Charles A. Longe, Ernest Noyes Brookings. Rear row: unknown, John M. Pierce, unknown holding hammer, Oscar P. Fullam.
In what would become a tradition,
club members ever since have hiked up the mountain to the site of
the plaque.
On November 11th of this year, 5 members hiked to the summit to check on the plaque (it is fine). And as Ken Slater puts it, "temperatures in the 20's and light snow on much of the ground. No wind and sunny, as as we had dressed for the weather it was a very pleasant hike."
Hiking that day were: Michael and Heidi Costanzo, John Gallagher, Ken Slater and Tom Spirock.
he plaque with book for size comparison.
The plaque with book for size comparison.
L to R: Tom Spirock, Ken Slater, Michael and Heidi Costanzo. John Gallagher took the photo.
L to R: Tom Spirock, Ken Slater, Michael and Heidi Costanzo. John Gallagher took the photo.
Students record compass directions in front of the Stellafane clubhouse
Students record compass directions in front of the Stellafane clubhouse
Cavendish, VT 5th Grade Class Visits Stellafane
[2017-Oct-04] For the ninth consecutive year, club member Ken Slater has hosted a field trip to Stellafane by the Cavendish, VT fifth grade class. Working with teacher Ann Thompson, Ken visited the classroom for two hours the day before and worked with students to learn about the planets, talk about the retrograde motion exhibited by the 'wandering stars' (which we now know are planets) that so puzzled the ancient Greeks, and helped the students construct a scale model of the solar system on their playground.
During the Stellafane visit, students learn a bit about our history and enjoying seeing the many historical artifacts in our clubhouse - and they always ask: 'Why is the clubhouse Pink?'. We also talk about the south vertical sundial and why it reads an hour slow (Daylight Savings Time at work). The Porter Turret Telescope and (new this year) the Simoni Observatory are visited too, which let's Ken explain how we know what the stars are made of.
We had had a warm (75° F) sunny weather - more like a summer day than fall - but made it quite pleasant to spend time outside on Breezy Hill.
Fall Star Parties
[2017-08-11]Now that convention is over, we start to focus on our Fall Star Parties. The Springfield Telescope Makers are pleased to offer two free public Star Parties this Fall:
Saint-Gaudens Star Party: Saturday, September 16th at 7:00pm, at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, NH. [Press Release for More Info]
[2017-06-27] STM member Dr. Thomas Spirock has published a second article in the Mount Wilson Observatory publication Reflections about
high-resolution imaging of the moon and planets with the 113-year-old Warner and Swasey refractor on Mount Wilson. He discusses techniques used to record sub-arc-second detail
using color filters to overcome the chromatic dispersion of the otherwise excellent doublet objective.
[2017-05-07]
After approximately 25 years since its installation in the 13" Schupmann telescope, at Stellafane, the aluminum coating on the Mangin' mirror needed to be stripped and re-coated. The
Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank Tony Pirera, of Spectrum Thin Films, for generously re-coating the mirror, gratis.
Jim Daley inspects the coatings on the Mangin' mirror.
Jim Daley inspects the coatings on the Mangin' mirror.
Jim Daley works on the Mangin' mirror cell.
Jim Daley works on the Mangin' mirror cell.
Jim Daley inspects the Mangin' mirror, re-installed in its cell.
Jim Daley inspects the Mangin' mirror, re-installed in its cell.
The alignment laser on the center of the Field mirror,
confirming that the Mangin' mirror is properly aligned in the telescope.
The alignment laser on the center of the Field mirror, confirming that the Mangin' mirror is properly aligned in the telescope.
Tony Pirera
Tony Pirera
Jupiter. April 29, 2017 at 01:58 UT. South is up.
13", f-20 Schupmann, wide-band red filter.
ZWO ASI1600MM monochrome camera. Image scale 0.15 arc-sec per pixel.
Average of 2,048 best of 6,000 20 mSec images.
CMI=211.7° CMII=148.6° CMIII=273.4°
Fair seeing.
Jupiter through the newly recoated Mangin Mirror.
2017 Convention Pages are live!
[2017-04-30] Spring has arrived, and so have the 2017 convention pages, which are now live!
If you've ever been interested in the Stellafane convention and never been, perhaps this year's the year. Visit the 2017 Convention Pages and find out how to attend. Please keep in mind that the convention is happening earlier this year due to the 2017 Solar Eclipse.
New and Improved Site Search!
[2017-03-27] Site users will be happy to know that the Google Custom Search that is used for searching within the website has been upgraded to version 2.0. The new version brings many new features
including returning image search results, useful for perusing our site's wealth of images. You will now notice two tabs: Web and Images. Search can be access at the bottom of most pages.
Also of note is the translate feature, also at the bottom of most pages.
Stellafane New Horizons Program results
Lead by Paul Fucile, four groups of teens built four space probes in an effort to mimic the New Horizons Project.
Lead by Paul Fucile, four groups of teens built four space probes in an effort to mimic the New Horizons Project.
[2017-02-13] At the 2016 Convention, a new Teen Robotics Program was put into play. Lead by Paul Fucile, lucky teens got to learn about NASA's historic New Horizons Project
, its mission and the technology behind it. Then in groups of four, each team built its own robotic space probe and watched as the probes traveled a model solar system set up on the Amphitheatre's lawn.
The project was a resounding success! Alan Stern would no doubt be proud.
To learn more about the program and watch a video of the flyby in action, Click HERE!
Happy New Year from the Club!
[2017-01-17]The Club wishes everyone a Happy New Year!
We hope visions of aperture danced in your heads during
the Holidays.
Please note: The current dates on the calendar are tentative. Concrete dates will be voted on at the January meeting, Jan 28th.
