2024 Stellafane News
Scroll down for Events or News from Other Years
Up-All-Night: Spring Edition
[2024-March-21] Time for a Starparty! The Spring edition of the Up-All-Night Starparty will run from May 31st to June 1st. Contact details are on the flyer.
A Look Behind the Scenes
[2024-March-21] Many non-members may not realize this, but STM Members are hard at work nearly all-year-round, keeping the site in tip-top shape. From the end of one convention, to the lead-up of the following year, members are tirelessly devoting their time to make the site ready and in good shape for Convention. Here is a behind the scenes look at our 100th Anniversary Year.
Here is a behind the scenes look from our 100th Anniversary Year.
Total Solar Eclipse Stellafane Banner
[2024-Feb-22] The Total Solar Eclipse on April 8th is fast approaching, and many of you will be heading to various locations for the best views. Why not take a part of Stellafane with you with this beautiful Eclipse Banner, featuring a photo by one of our very own members.
The Road to the 2024 Eclipse
[2024-Feb-19] We're less than two months away from this year's North American Total Solar Eclipse. Many have been asking what the STMs intend to do for this event.
First, there are a couple of things to know. Stellafane is not in the Zone of Totality, and therefore will not be hosting any Eclipse-viewing events on-site. Most of our members will be travelling outside Vermont to have a better chance at not having a cloudy day.
Second is safety: You must be prepared to safely view the eclipse. See the National Park Service 'How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely' web page for important information on how to do so.
Eclipse Glasses can be bought from Sky & Tel at https://shopatsky.com/products/2024-solar-eclipse-glasses. Information on Eclipse glasses can be found at the American Astronomical Society.
The University of Vermont has a good resource of eclipse information, providing eclipse timing information for the Burlington, VT area, and also has a short list of other northern Vermont institutions that are hosting eclipse events.
WCAX out of Burlington has a great video on the subject.
Another great resource, wherever you plan on viewing the Eclipse is TimeandDate.com's Eclipse page. This page has detailed information customizable by location, and shows you how much you'd be able to see from your 'current' location. They will also be broadcasting the event live, for those who do not wish to travel. But do see it in person if you can, preferably in the Zone of Totality, as the next Total Solar Eclipse in North America will be in 2044!
Palomar: A Retrospective
[2024-Jan-28] 96 years ago (or 5 years after he founded the Springfield Telescope Makers) Russel Porter joined the California team planning the 200-inch Hale Telescope.
77 years ago (1947) Porter participated in the "First Light" tests of the Giant Telescope on Mount Palomar, actually looking through it! Now after 75 years of pushing out the frontiers of cosmological research towards the distant edge of the early Universe, the 200-inch continues to serve Astronomy in new and vital ways. It was the largest fully working telescope for at least 40 of its 75 years!
A recent article published on the Cal Tech website details the role of the 200-inch Telescope in probing the edge of the known Universe, and some of the Astronomers who made important discoveries on Mount Palomar. This fascinating article is available HERE.
STMs Celebrate Their 100 Years
[2023-Dec-8] Last night, accompanied by a roaring fire in the fireplace, the STMs gathered at the Clubhouse to celebrate an intimate evening of celebration of their 100th Year as a club. A meal of beef barley soup, beans and bread was had, something that might have been served a century ago.
Member Dennis di Cicco (who took the picture) had this to say:
"It’s worth noting that the photo was taken within an hour or two (maybe less) of exactly 100 years since the original members of the STM gathered to formally establish their club and set a priority of finishing the clubhouse where we were assembled. Imagine if any of them could see this photo with an image of their first club president standing next to our newest president. Do you think any of them could imagine that there would still be a group of STMs using the clubhouse for its original purpose a century later. I can’t think what the future will be like 5 years from now, let alone 100."
Happy Birthday, Springfield Telescope Makers!! Here's to many more!
The Founders: Russell W. Porter + An Important Anniversary
[2023-Dec-7] Today, Dec 7th 2023, is an auspicious day. On this day, 100 years ago, twelve people convened at Oscar Seth Marshall's home, to sign the charter that would bring the Springfield Telescope Makers into being. Most of our Founders would be Jones & Lamson colleagues, and it would become an important place in STM Early History.
This leads us to our 12th and final Founder in this series. Russell Porter was a number of things; an artist, surveyor, explorer, survivor of shipwrecks, architect, prolific designer and inspirational leader. Early in his life, he'd found himself interested in optics, and would often find himself experimenting with them. Springfield, located in what was called Precision Valley, with its machine tool industry, ended up being the perfect place to cement Porter's telescope hobby. With the tools at his disposal, and a recession making commercial telescopes a luxury most couldn't afford, it suddenly seemed that telescope making could be a hobby easily approached by all. On August 17th, 1920, the first telescope making class was organized by Porter, and held at Jones & Lamson. The success of that first class led Porter and others to suggest that maybe there was enough interest to form a club of like-minded enthusiasts. And here we are, 100 years later, and the hobby is as strong as ever, the club with more members than ever.
About our 100th Year, current STM President Cecilia Detrich had this to say in her Centennial Message:
December 7, 2023
Congratulations to the members and supporters of the Springfield Telescope Makers on this centennial anniversary of the founding of our club!
The friendship and camaraderie felt by the club's charter members as they met in the home of Oscar Marshall on December 7, 1923, to hold the first official meeting of the Springfield Telescope Makers continues to draw us all back to our beloved Stellafane. Imagine how these founding members would have felt if they were aware that their actions that evening, as they enjoyed fritters + syrup, and coffee, would reach thousands of amateur astronomers into the next century and around the world!
As we begin the second century of the Springfield Telescope Makers, we extend appreciation to all the club members, their families, and all our supporters who have contributed their talents and resources to our mission to stimulate interest in astronomy and allied sciences by preserving and fostering the skill of amateur telescope making.
We are all looking forward to gathering together on the hill at our next Stellafane Convention, August 1-4, 2024.
Clear Skies,
Cecilia Detrich
President
Springfield Telescope Makers
You can read more about Russell Porter and other Founding Members on The Founders Page. Alternately, if you're interested in reading more about the club's early history, here is some suggested reading:
Early STM History by Russell Porter | Brief History of the STMs by Bert Willard | First Meeting Minutes | History Main Page (with many articles)
Pictures from our archives below:
New Hartness House Workshop Page
[2023-Nov-28] We have a new addition to the website today. The Hartness House Workshop has been a tradition alongside the Stellafane Convention since 2009. But until today, there hasn't been a way to peruse past workshops. You can now view them all in one place, on the Hartness House Workshop page. Alternatively, you can also access the Hartness House page at any time via the Convention menu in the upper-left.
2023 Board Election Results
[2023-Nov-16] This past weekend, on November 11th, was the day of our Annual General Meeting (at the BRIC). After being well-fed by the Wilders, we proceeded to elect a new Board. The result is what you see below. Bob Morse has stepped down as President while previous Vice-President Cecilia Detrich steps up to take up the mantle. Mike Hayes has become Vice-President. Terri Simoni has stepped in as Secretary, replacing Rick Hunter who has stepped down. New to the board is Katie Shusdock who has done a great job with the telescope making class, and who joins us as Trustee. Also joining the board is Bruce Beford as Trustee. We wish to thank both Bob Morse and Rick Hunter for their service to the club.
Events Calendar (Scroll up for News)
Day | Date | Time | Event |
---|---|---|---|
-2024- | |||
Sat | Jan 13 | 1:00-5:00 | 5-Year Planning Meeting BRIC |
Sat | Jan 13 | 6:00-9:00 | Dinner & Club Meeting Presentation: Dr Stephen Sekula: "Astronomy Without Light: Revealing the Unseen Universe" BRIC |
Sun | Jan 14 | 10:00-4:00 | TM Class BRIC |
Sat | Feb 10 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting Club Visit to the SAHS (moved to March if bad weather) BRIC |
Sat | Feb 10 | 10:00-4:00 | TM Class BRIC |
Sat | March 9 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting Presentation: Joseph Houston & John Briggs: "Swords returning to Plowshares: The Challenges of Dual Use Technology" (moved to February if bad weather that month) BRIC |
Sat | March 9 | 10:00-4:00 | TM Class BRIC |
Sat | April 13 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting BRIC |
Sat Sun |
April 20 April 21 |
9:00-6:00 10:00-5:00 |
Stellafane at NEAF Suffern, NY |
Sat | April 27 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Sat | May 4 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting |
Sat | May 25 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Fri-Sat | May 31, Jun 1st | 7:00-9:00 | Up-All-Night Star Party: Spring Edition |
Sat | June 8 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting |
Sat | June 22 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Sat | July 6 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting |
Sat | July 20 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Thu-Sun | Aug 1-4 | Stellafane Convention | |
Sat | Aug 17 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Sat | Sept 7 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting |
Sat | Sept 21 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Sat | Oct 5 | 10:00-4:00 | TM Class BRIC |
Sat | Oct 5 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting |
Fri-Sat | Oct 11-12 | 7:00-9:00 | Up-All-Night Star Party: Fall Edition |
Sat | Oct 19 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Sat | Nov 2 | 10:00-4:00 | TM Class BRIC |
Sat | Nov 2 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting BRIC |
Sat | Nov 16 | 10:00-4:00 | Full Moon Work Party |
Sat | Dec 7 | 10:00-4:00 | TM Class BRIC |
Sat | Dec 7 | 7:00-9:00 | Club Meeting BRIC |
-2025- | |||
Thu-Sun | July 24-27 | Stellafane Convention | |
- Color Key - | |||
Public Event | Everyone Welcome | ||
Mirror Class | Registration Required | ||
Club Activity | Feel Free to Stop By | ||
Special Event | Check for Requirements | ||
Members Only | Visitors Not Allowed |