www.mnastro.org Astronomy Ramblings By Bob Vangen I’ve been thinking quite a bit about responding to the editor’s request for ar- ticles for Gemini, so here is my attempt. My interests range so wide that at times this may appear to be the ramblings of an old guy, which is exactly what it is. I clearly remember the moment when I first became interested in astronomy, and that’s when I picked up the book Our World Changes before I was in kinder- garten. I don’t know where it came from, but it was probably purchased for my older sister. I couldn’t read much, of course, but the pictures, especially the star charts, drew me right in, and I was hooked. In subsequent years, from my back yard in south Minneapolis, I was able to identify the Dippers, Lyra, Scorpio, Hercules and Cygnus, but I especially recall the evening that I first spotted Betelgeuse, Rigel, and the three belt stars of a rising Orion from my bedroom window. What a majestic sight! While attending Ramsey Jr. High, I joined the Jr. Astronomy Club at the Minneapolis Public Library. At that time, the library was housed in a big stone building at the corner of 12th (or was it 10th?) and Hennepin. The astronomy center with its centerpiece planetarium was on the second floor, and I have vivid memories of the Egyptian mummy exhibit on the stair landing between the first and second floors. To get to the library, I rode the Nicollet Avenue street- car downtown and then walked the four or five blocks from Marquette to Hen- nepin Avenue. One of the lectures I recall was given by a Hopkins teacher who told about the observatory and 10'' telescope that was to be placed on the roof of the new Hopkins High School. That building has long since discontinued its role as a high school and is now a community center. I see that the observatory dome is still there, but I don’t know whether it’s still used as an observatory. My first telescope was a 5'' f/11 Newtonian reflector kit (mirror, cell, eye- piece holder, eyepiece, and diagonal) that I bought for $29.00 (just right for a paperboy’s income) from Esco Products in New York. I also purchased a pa- perboard mounting tube from them for an additional $5.00. After assembling it was taller than I was, but with the help of a friend I mounted it on a peach crate (obtained from the back of the local National Tea store at 43rd and Nicollet) us- ing plumbing fixtures for the German equatorial mount. I used a friend’s jigsaw April 2011 Volume 36 Number 2 In the pages of the Gemini A SUMMER INTERNSHIP AT THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM By Kristin Harley…Page 5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CONSTELLATIONS By Ashley Elimar Aaroe…Page 6 MAS BOARD MINUTES By Roxanne Kuerschner, secretary…Page 7 NIGHT IN THE COLD LEAVES TRIO SEEING STARS By Dave Hrbacek…Page 8 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Dave Falkner..Page 9 MAS PATRON MEMBERS…Page 9 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD-TIMER ASTRONOMER by Dr. Sherman Schultz…Page 9 DIRECTIONS TO THE STAR PARTY LOCATIONS…Page 10 2011 STAR PARTY SCHEDULE…Page 11 Stories Wanted: Gemini needs your story of how you first became interested in astronomy, what you have done over the years, what equipment you have used, what star parties you have attended in other states, and how you have encouraged others, especially young people, to get involved in this fascinating hobby. Submit your story to: [email protected]E-mail Update: If your e-mail ad- dress has changed in the past year, chances are that the address MAS has for you is not current. We need to be able to communicate with all of our members on a timely basis. Please sub- mit new e-mail addresses to Bob Brose at [email protected]July 1, 1954 front page of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
Transcript
w w w. m n a s t r o . o r g
Astronomy RamblingsBy Bob Vangen
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about responding to the editor’s request for ar-ticles for Gemini, so here is my attempt. My interests range so wide that attimes this may appear to be the ramblings of an old guy, which is exactly whatit is.
I clearly remember the moment when I first became interested in astronomy,and that’s when I picked up the book Our World Changes before I was in kinder-garten. I don’t know where it came from, but it was probably purchased for myolder sister. I couldn’t read much, of course, but the pictures, especially the starcharts, drew me right in, and I was hooked. In subsequent years, from my backyard in south Minneapolis, I was able to identify the Dippers, Lyra, Scorpio,Hercules and Cygnus, but I especially recall the evening that I first spottedBetelgeuse, Rigel, and the three belt stars of a rising Orion from my bedroomwindow. What a majestic sight!
While attending Ramsey Jr. High, I joined the Jr. Astronomy Club at theMinneapolis Public Library. At that time, the library was housed in a big stonebuilding at the corner of 12th (or was it 10th?) and Hennepin. The astronomycenter with its centerpiece planetarium was on the second floor, and I havevivid memories of the Egyptian mummy exhibit on the stair landing between thefirst and second floors. To get to the library, I rode the Nicollet Avenue street-car downtown and then walked the four or five blocks from Marquette to Hen-nepin Avenue. One of the lectures I recall was given by a Hopkins teacher whotold about the observatory and 10'' telescope that was to be placed on the roofof the new Hopkins High School. That building has long since discontinued itsrole as a high school and is now a community center. I see that the observatorydome is still there, but I don’t know whether it’s still used as an observatory.
My first telescope was a 5'' f/11 Newtonian reflector kit (mirror, cell, eye-piece holder, eyepiece, and diagonal) that I bought for $29.00 (just right for apaperboy’s income) from Esco Products in New York. I also purchased a pa-perboard mounting tube from them for an additional $5.00. After assembling itwas taller than I was, but with the help of a friend I mounted it on a peach crate(obtained from the back of the local National Tea store at 43rd and Nicollet) us-ing plumbing fixtures for the German equatorial mount. I used a friend’s jigsaw
April 2011Volume 36 Number 2
In the pages ofthe Gemini
A SUMMER INTERNSHIP AT THESMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR
AND SPACE MUSEUM By Kristin Harley…Page 5
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CONSTELLATIONS
By Ashley Elimar Aaroe…Page 6
MAS BOARD MINUTES By Roxanne Kuerschner, secretary…Page 7
NIGHT IN THE COLD LEAVESTRIO SEEING STARS
By Dave Hrbacek…Page 8
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Dave Falkner..Page 9
MAS PATRON MEMBERS…Page 9REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD-TIMER
ASTRONOMERby Dr. Sherman Schultz…Page 9
DIRECTIONS TO THE STAR PARTY LOCATIONS…Page 10
2011 STAR PARTY SCHEDULE…Page 11
Stories Wanted: Gemini needsyour story of how you first becameinterested in astronomy, what you havedone over the years, what equipmentyou have used, what star parties youhave attended in other states, and howyou have encouraged others, especiallyyoung people, to get involved in thisfascinating hobby. Submit your storyto: [email protected]
E-mail Update: If your e-mail ad-dress has changed in the past year,chances are that the address MAS hasfor you is not current. We need to beable to communicate with all of ourmembers on a timely basis. Please sub-mit new e-mail addresses to Bob Broseat [email protected]
July 1, 1954 front page of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
to cut the pine pieces for the cradle. It was a little wobbly, but with patience and deter-mination I was able to view planets, M57, M13, M27, plus other objects from my back-yard. I was like a kid with a new toy. Hmmm. I guess I was a kid with a new toy. SinceEsco didn’t provide focal length data for the eyepiece lens (yes, just a single lens), I did-n’t know the telescope’s power, but I would guess around 50-60x.
At that time, the skies in south Minneapolis were pretty decent, maybe a little bet-ter than my present Plymouth location. I also had a competing interest in amateur radio,and during my backyard viewing sessions I frequently had visions of all the radio sig-nals bouncing off the ionosphere F-layer high above me.
Prior to my purchase, for a while I considered grinding my own mirror, but afterreading Amateur Telescope Making, Book 1 by Albert G. Ingalls, I concluded that thisproject was a little more than I could tackle by myself with no workshop or experience.Spending about $35 for the finished components seemed to make a lot of sense andsaved a lot of time. However, from the book’s descriptions I did manage to set up a Fou-cault testing range and did a test of my telescope’s mirror. I determined that the mirrorwasn’t quite a perfect sphere, but it wasn’t too bad either. The images appeared prettygood to my non-critical eye, but 50-60x isn’t much of a test.
The biggest astronomical event of my young life was the solar eclipse of June 30,1954. The totality covered the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The center line passedjust north of the Twin Cities, so to get the best view a friend and I went to an abandonedU of M airport (primarily used during WW II) located east of Hwy 8 and north of theTwin Cities Arsenal in Arden hills; it was right on the totality center line. Totality oc-curred about 8:00 a.m. and was more than five minutes in duration. The skies were blueand crystal clear; Minnesota can have clear skies for rare astronomical events. It bringsto mind the Sinclair Lewis line, “Another perfect day, all jade and sapphire. No place hasmore beautiful days than Minnesota when it behaves.”
There were thousands of people at the airport, but the space was quite large and thecrowd was well spread out. Attached are two photos of the front page of the July 1, 1954,Minneapolis Morning Tribune. You’ll notice that the Minneapolis skyline is dominatedby the Foshay Tower. The sign for the Curtis Hotel is visible at the lower right, and thesign for the Leamington Hotel is at the lower left. Both were the primary luxury hotelsin Minneapolis for many years, but they were demolished long ago. The “StadiumBond” headline refers to the Bloomington Metropolitan Stadium funding. That stadiumhas long since become a memory and was replaced by the Mall of America. The moststriking thing that I recall about the eclipse was the blue-white blaze of the corona em-bedded in the Moon’s dark shadow spread across the sky. Photos don’t do it justice. Thenext total eclipse of the Sun in the Twin Cities area will be on September 17, 2099. Itwill essentially be a repeat of the 1954 eclipse. I can hardly wait!
After high school, it was off for a tour of duty in the Air Force and then on to aseven-year stint at the U of M to study electrical engineering. During this time the am-ateur radio demon dominated my free-time thoughts, but the astronomy bug remainedlatent, although I didn’t have much time for either. After college, most of my efforts wentinto raising a family and working, although there was the astronomical highlight—which turned out to be somewhat of an unimpressive disappointment—of the return ofHaley’s Comet in 1986. For me, the significant thing was that my mother, who saw it in1910, got to see it again. Very few people get to see it twice.
Another astronomical highlight I recall was the planetary alignment during the mid-to-late 1970s. This was the only time I’ve ever seen all five visible planets simultaneously. Theywere lined up in the evening sky from the western horizon to overhead, and farther on tohalfway to the eastern horizon. It was this alignment that permitted the two Voyager space-craft to make their grand tour of the outer planets. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2). There was only a limited launch window and Voy-ager 1 nearly missed it due to technical delays (Voyager 2 was launched first). But bothspacecraft provided jaw-dropping images and are still transmitting useful scientific infor-mation from the outer solar system far beyond Pluto’s orbit. I would rank it as one of thegreatest engineering feats ever because they used what was essentially 1960s technology,and yet both have endured over 30 years and continue to function. The Moon landings prob-ably rank higher due to the great feat of keeping frail humans alive for the entire mission.
Originally, both the Voyagers were to tour Uranus and Neptune, but the Voyager 1craft was diverted to make a close study of Titan, and its resulting trajectory didn’t per-mit redirection to the outer planets; in fact, the trajectory sent it far out of the plane of
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EditorsBrian LiteckyEugene Brown
WebmasterTom Dantona
Forums AdministratorCraig Cotner
E-mail List AdministratorBob Brose
Monthly Meeting Presenter CoordinatorLauren Nelson
CirculationJohn Treadwell
Gemini is published 6 times annually bythe Minnesota Astronomical Society.
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Minneapolis, MN 55414Send all MAS membership dues,change of address cards, subscrip-tions and renewals to the currentMAS Membership Coordinator. See“How to pay your dues” on the lastpage of this newsletter.
the solar system. Today, the distance to Voyager 2 is 95.002 AU(9 billion miles), and to Voyager 1 is 116.478 AU (nearly 11 bil-lion miles). The radio propagation times over that distance areabout 16 hours. This feat is a particular marvel because theirtransmit power is only tens of watts; the entire spacecraft powerbudget is 420 watts. Of particular interest to me as an engineeris that this is made possible by Forward Error Correction (FEC)that uses message-coding methods to permit correction of er-rors in the received messages. The use of FEC coding now al-lows amateurs using only modest equipment to communicate bybouncing signals off the Moon.
My present astronomy renaissancebegan about 20 years ago when, mostlyout of curiosity, I started looking throughthe classified ads for telescopes to seewhat was available and prices. Then onefateful day I saw an ad for a Meade 212010'' SCT plus fork mount and clock driveon a sturdy tripod. The price was rightand the owner threw in a few extras, so Iended up its proud new owner. It workedout very well, but I was a little annoyedby the time it took to star-hop to dim ob-jects. Since my main interest is dimfuzzies, this was a problem. Subse-quently, I saw that JMI sold a computerand encoder kit that retrofitted the 2120,so I added one. Even though it’s a “pushto” arrangement rather than fully auto-matic “go to,” I found that I could viewany object within the 10'' capability intens of seconds. I’m a hacker at heart, soI like the modest amount of skill involvedin setup and the manual steps it takes tomake it work.
It was then I decided to join MAS,
mainly to use the sites and learn from others. My first trip wasto the Cherry Grove site, and I was impressed on how clear andbright the Sagittarius-Scutum star cloud was. Viewing the sum-mer deep-space objects with so little effort was a new-found joyand thrill. It was like being a kid again, but with better toys. Itsonly downside is the long trip to and from my Plymouth home.Going is not bad, but the trip home at 5:00 a.m. is a battle withthe Sandman. Over the following weeks and into the next yearI went to the other MAS sites, mainly Onan because it’s theclosest to my Plymouth location. It does not have quite the ob-servation quality of Cherry Grove, but it’s quite good especiallyto the west and south. I remember the throngs that were therefor the Mars oppositions.
Since my primary interest is testing my vision hunting dimfuzzies, Cherry Grove remains my favorite MAS site; I haven’tyet been to LLCC. My favorite eyepiece is my 24mm TeleVuePanoptic with its magnification of just over 100x. For a widerfield I use a 35mm Meade at about 70x. For closer looks I use17mm and 13mm Orion Stratus eyepieces at about 150x and190x respectively. For close planetary viewing I use an 8mmOrion Stratus at 312x, but typical Minnesota seeing conditionslimit its usefulness. All of these have 68 degrees or larger fieldsand good eye relief, and they provide eye-popping views ofopen clusters and the brighter galaxies.
To maximize my observations of dim objects, a major fo-cus of my efforts has been to develop the skill of observingthese objects. There are several tricks that are effective, buttheir use takes time and patience. These techniques includeaverted vision, slight movements of the telescope, use of dif-ferent-power eyepieces, and knowing what to look for. In mythinking, each photon has a story to tell.
Preparing for an observation session is almost as fun as thesession itself. To aid in preparation, I’ve assembled my ownhomemade toolbox; since I’m a computer programmer by pro-fession, and somewhat of a math geek, I write my own prepa-ration programs. They are based on the deep-sky database that
I downloaded from the Saguaro AstronomyClub (http://www.saguaroastro.org/), andeven after removing all objects farther souththan -40 degrees declination, almost 9,000objects remain. I’m using version 7 that Idownloaded several years ago, but I see thatthey now have a version 8 available. I had toclean up version 7 a bit prior to importinginto Excel, mainly removing the annoyingextra spaces from the data entries, thanksto the Perl programming language. I re-cently gave version 8 a quick look, and thebasic content of about 10,300 objects isidentical to version 7, but it’s been cleanedup significantly. One of the files is acomma-separated text file that can be im-ported into any spreadsheet program.
Once the Excel file is ready, I can sorton attributes like object type, constellation,RA, declination, object brightness, surfacebrightness, and other things. One of my fa-vorite self-created tools is a Perl programthat transforms sidereal time of observationand object coordinates into object azimuth
and elevation at that time. I then import thisdata back into Excel and re-sort to give an in-
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The author’s first telescope.
The author’s Meade 2120 10'' SCT getting readyfor spring, and maybe the Messier Marathon.
dication of the best times to observe objects. After sunset I firstobserve objects to the southwest, and then I proceed toward thenorth and east as the night progresses. To illustrate the efficacyof this system, my last trip to Cherry Grove was a few years agoin early autumn so I could look at winter-sky gems in the earlymorning. While I was waiting for Orion to rise high, I spottedabout 20 galaxies in Eridanus plus many objects in Auriga, Tau-rus, Gemini and Perseus.
My usual procedure for making an observation list is tofirst look through back issues of Sky and Telescope and As-tronomy magazines to make a preliminary list of 20 or so in-teresting objects. I then extract a list of 100 or so objects frommy Excel database, making sure that my preliminary list is partof this. From this list I assign priorities: from ten to twenty ob-jects I assign “must see,” and then from ten to twenty more I as-sign “best effort,” and so on. Realistically, I seldom get pasttwenty-five objects before 1:00 a.m. because I talk to others, letothers observe, etc. However, if I’m alone I can routinely dou-ble this. During sessions I usually jot down my impressions ina notebook, and in the days after observing sessions I try to up-date my Excel file by adding a brief entry for each object I ob-served.
I haven’t quite got the astro-photography bug yet, but I haverespect for the skill, the patience and the equipment it takes toproduce a quality image. For the time being I’ll continue tomake the excuse that it’s not real astronomy unless the photonsstrike my retina. Besides, there are still a lot of objects I’d liketo study visually; I haven’t completely covered the Virgo clus-ter. And there are thousands of objects in my Excel database yetto be observed.
In more recent years, all my observing has been from thedock of a friend’s cabin about 30 miles north of the Brainerdarea. The cabin is about 30 miles west of the LLCC site and the
skies are very good, but it’s limited by trees along the shorelineto the south and west. With my 10x50 binoculars I can easilyspot M33 and the M81-82 pair. So far I haven’t had the oppor-tunity to make the trip over to the LLCC site, but that’s some-thing I’d like to do in 2011. My interests tend to go in cycles,and in recent years I’ve drifted on to other things, but I’m be-ginning to think it’s time to again become a more active ob-server. I’d especially like the opportunity to take a look throughthe large-aperture scopes that MAS has acquired. Also, I’venever been to a major star party, but I’ve seriously contemplatedgoing to the Nebraska Star Party. Maybe 2011 will be the year.
My dream would be to go somewhere in the southern hemi-sphere, maybe Chile. Australia or New Zealand would be nice,but the long trip is pretty daunting, and adjustment to jet lagtakes up valuable observing time. The distance to Chile is aboutthe same as to Germany, and jet lag is not a factor.
One of the great pleasures of my life is teaching my grand-children all the wonderful things about the world around us,and astronomy is a part of that. A few years ago when Saturnwas at opposition, I set up the scope in the backyard and letthem take turns looking. Even the four-year-old was pulled in.Sometime later that evening, Jupiter was high enough to ob-serve. It was a great evening. Now they are getting so good atspotting satellites that they often beat me at picking them out.When they’re over to the house, we often watch for ISS, othersatellites, and Iridium flares. One year, my daughter and grand-son came with me to Onan. He was pretty young at the time andretired early to a sleeping bag in the car while my daughter andI continued to observe.
One other event that deserves mentioning is the 2009Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s house when all of us, includ-ing the kids, went out in the early evening to look for ISS. Thebig bonus was a trailing Space Shuttle Atlantis that had just de-coupled from ISS. After I explained what we were seeing, thekids asked me, “How do you know all this?” I answered, “Hey,I’m Grandpa Bob. I know everything!” Sometimes I crack my-self up.
Well, that’s my astronomy story. I hope that it was infor-mational and of some interest to most members. I’ll be inter-ested in reading your story in a future issue of Gemini.
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M81 & 82 in Ursa Major
NCG4565 in Coma Berenices
M104 Sombrero in Virgo
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A Summer Internship at the Smithsonian National Air and Space MuseumBy Kristin Harley
If one cannot be an astronaut, be an astronomical archivist!That was the little joke that I told myself in February 2010 as Isubmitted my application for the summer cataloging internshipin the Archives Division of the Smithsonian National Air andSpace Museum in Washington, D.C. I dreamed of being an as-tronaut as a teen-aged girl, and I had always been a big fan of thespace program. As I completed my Master’s in Library and In-formation Science at St. Catherine University, I was intrigued bymy science librarianship coursework and hoped to work at myfavorite museum in D.C., the most popular museum in the world.
When I received the call early one morning that I was theirtop candidate for the Archives Division, I accepted immedi-ately and then spent the rest of the day pinching myself. I de-clined a job interview for the same position with HennepinCounty Libraries that I now occupy.
My internship began in June 2010. At Air and Space, mysupervisor Patti nicknamed me “space girl” and chose espe-cially for me projects that she thought I would enjoy. There wasmuch to do, as the Archives Division was moving from its of-fices on the National Mall to its new wing at the Udvar-HazyCenter near Dulles Airport, where the space shuttle prototypeEnterprise is housed. My job was to create accession records inFileMakerPro, associate donor records to them, research anddescribe the collection, and re-house often fragile documentsand photographs into acid-free folders and sleeves. Mostarchives have a backlog of uncatalogued materials, and Air andSpace was no exception; I was needed to help complete their in-ventory before the move.
Most of my work was with early aviation records, whichwere exciting to describe. I discovered letters from RudyardKipling and Charles Doolittle Walcott to the industrialist JamesMeans. Patti also had me catalogue test films from the Ameri-can Rocket Society (ARS) and the Allegheny Ballistics Lab(ABL). I worked on declassified records relating to the Avrocarprototype that now resides at the National Museum of theUnited States Air Force; a German extra newspaper edition fea-turing the Apollo 11 Moon landing; communication satellitedesign training materials from TRW Inc., which included atimeline for the ill-fated Challenger shuttle flight; films from
the museum’s “25 Years in Space” exhibition (which included16mm, Betacam, U-matic, S-VHS, and Type-C formats), andthe manuscript, “Mr. Space: the Humor and Humanity of Wern-her von Braun,” a first draft that ultimately was published un-der the title Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun.
The most exciting collection that I catalogued was the orig-inal manuscript of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal paper, The Space-Station: Its Radio Applications, in which he proposes thegeostationary satellite. I was thrilled to actually handle such animportant document by the man who had pushed so hard for anAmerican space program and who had been the first science-fiction author I had ever read.
Being an intern at NASM (as the museum is abbreviated)had its fringe benefits. I was invited to privately view an exhi-bition of Norman Rockwell paintings and sketches owned byfilmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. I also managedto talk my way into a private tour of the meteorite collection atthe Museum of Natural History given by geologist Cari Corri-gan. Despite the fact that I was not a Natural History intern, Iwas the one answering Corrigan’s questions and was also theonly intern to have visited the meteor crater near Winslow, Ari-zona. With gloves on, we handled a piece of the meteorite thathad made the crater.
Toward the end of my internship I catalogued an ApolloLunar Module Cutaway brochure which entailed some deep re-search: I was attempting to date the brochure, and to do this Iconfirmed that there were no RCS plume deflectors on thedrawing, which would indicate that the brochure was producedbefore 1969 but some time after Apollo 9.
Knowing that I was also a “jet girl” (I am the only womanI know who had a poster of the Blue Angels on my wall at age14), Patti assigned me a collection of photos to identify from thejet-aviation gallery and an unpublished autobiographical man-uscript by Robert C. Truax.
I loved working with the archivists, who were friendly andsupportive, and I also made friends in other areas of the mu-seum, such as planetary explorations program curator RogerLaunius; David DeVorkin, senior curator in the history of as-tronomy and the space sciences department; and Brian Nicklas,museum specialist, aeronautics, in the Archives Division. Allthree are writers, and Brian’s American Missiles: the CompleteSmithsonian Field Guide, which he was completing during myinternship, has finally been published. I am saving my pennies
My temporary work table at the Paul E. Garber Facility, where I describeda series of scrapbooks on Charles Lindbergh.
Rows of acid-free containers at the Paul E. Garber Storage Facility, Suitland, Maryland.
for a copy.The Archives Division hopes to move into its new space
sometime in 2011. I am glad to have had the opportunity to workwith them while they were still at their location on the NationalMall. I hope that with my help in cataloging their inventory, thetransfer of their collections will go smoothly, and I look forward
to visiting my friends again someday in their new offices at Ud-var-Hazy. Be sure to visit both museums, on the National Malland near Dulles, on your next trip to Washington, D.C.
A PowerPoint presentation of my internship can be seen athttp://www.slideshare.net/MadCollector/harleys-nasm-internship
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The Gemini IV capsule, used in the first extravehicular activity (EVA), on display in the museum on the National Mall.
Lindbergh’s Ryan NYP “Spirit of St. Louis”; Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis’; and SpaceShipOne, in the museum.
A Brief History of the Constellationsby Ashley Elimar Aaroe
It was silent except for the dull roar of engine turbines on asmall plane heading back from Buffalo, New York, when a youngboy excitedly yelled: “Look, it’s Orion!” I watched as most of thesame side of the plane careened over to look for the constellationhe had described. There’s something about constellations, such asthe easily recognized Orion, that is comforting and intriguing tous. Depending on the season, some of the same patterns are vis-ible no matter what part of the world we find ourselves in.
Our fondness for constellations, shared by astronomer andnovice stargazer alike, is easily explained. As human beings weare programmed to find patterns. Pattern recognition used to bethe key to our survival. But it also means that we see patternswhere there are none, imposing them at will to make sense ofour universe. Perhaps this aspect of human nature provided theimpetus for the naming and describing of constellations by an-cient poets, scientists, farmers and sailors.
Naming and recognizing patterns in the stars was also usefulfor a variety of practical reasons. Aside from navigation, in
largely temperate or tropical environments farmers used constel-lations to determine what season it was. Elaborate mythologicalstories were employed to remember them, as found in Homer’sOdyssey, one of the most famous early works known to referencestar arrangements. However, the Greek (mostly Ptolemaic) no-tions about stars were actually based on references by the lateMesopotamians. It is widely accepted that around twenty con-stellations were described in what is now Iraq, during the inter-val from 1300 to 1000 B.C.E. In turn this knowledge drew fromthe texts of ancient Babylonians. The most famous Babyloniancompendium of constellations, written in cuneiform, is known asthe MUL.APIN. Many named constellations have carried over
The author with her father at the dedication of the Joseph J. Casby Observatory.
A visitor looking through the 10" refractor at the dedication of the Joseph J. Casby Observatory.
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into modern use, such as Taurus, Leo and Gemini. Containing 71constellations, it was based on an earlier text known as ThreeStars Each. The number of constellations described inMUL.APIN and similar Persian and Arabic texts is not far fromthe current number of 88, defined by the International Astro-nomical Union in 1929. This was also the year in which as-tronomers decided that the lines between stars should be straightinstead of curved, a move that turned the role of constellationsaway from the mythical and toward the practical. Before the IAUwas established, lines were used to suggest the artistic shape ofcertain constellations, and such bizarre images as static electric-ity machines and hot air balloons were part of star catalogues.
I find my own experiences with constellations to be em-blematic of the wonder I’ve experienced through astronomy.When I was very young, even before my father showed me theplanets in his telescope and before I was given a children’s bookabout the night sky (which I subsequently lost and painstak-ingly replicated with him by hand), he showed me the stars.Ever since this early introduction to astronomy, I was hooked.Recognizing constellations was for me, as I am sure it is formany children, the gateway to learning about the dimming of astar’s brightness as it approaches the horizon, how length andtime can be the same thing, and many other fascinating con-cepts. By asking me to look up at the sky, unencumbered bytelescopes or fancy equipment, my father instilled in me a fas-cination with astronomy that has led me to join the MinnesotaAstronomical Society this year. Perhaps when the young boy onmy plane comes to be my age he too will go and visit the open-ing of an observatory. Maybe he too will find beauty and asense of the infinite in the movement of heavenly bodies.
The 10" refractor at the Joseph J. Casby Observatory.
MAS Board Minutes • January/Februaryby Roxanne Kuerschner, secretary
Visit by Ben HusetBen stopped in to request permission to judge the Twin
City regional science fair in the name of MAS, with a possiblestudent membership in MAS as a prize. Ben will also attendscience-fiction conventions promoting MAS. Some things toconsider are archiving videos of our general meetings, and pos-sibly live streaming our monthly meetings.
Budget DiscussionThe main discussion was the debate over whether to raise
the membership dues. It was decided to offer two choices to themembership at the monthly meeting: to leave the dues the same,but individually join the Astronomical League, or raise the duesand keep the membership to the Astronomical League as partof the package. Other budget items discussed were insurance,site improvements, and promoting MAS.
Surveying the MAS MembershipThe idea of surveying the MAS membership was brought
up so as to gather information about the use of various obser-vatories, things that MAS could improve upon, improvementsneeded, etc. Dave Olmstead will take on this task, but we needto get it right the first time, so it is a work in progress at the mo-ment.
Science Teachers ConferenceWith one of the goals of the board being to increase mem-
bership, MAS will be represented at the Minnesota ScienceTeachers Conference in Mankato this March. A table will be setup with promotional items of MAS, showing the teachers theincredible things we have to offer.
Parallax Mount SoldThe parallax mount has found a new home! Merle Hiltner
asked the committees of the observatories for a wish list withthe intent of utilizing some of the money from the sale to getsome of the items for each place.
Adding to the Onan SiteMerle Hiltner brought to the board the idea of building an-
other observatory at Baylor. The motion to approve a fundraiserto raise $15,000 for the project was agreed upon by all in at-tendance. Merle will have a presentation about the project at thenext board meeting.
Astronomy DayThe plans are in motion for the next Astronomy Day. There
are some exciting ideas in the works, but it was tabled for an-other meeting.
New Special Interest Group on the ForumsRuss and Dean will moderate a new group on the forums:
an observatory special interest group. This will be for thosewanting to build their own backyard observatory.
Other New BusinessWe will look into taking over our domain name and the
possibility of a Dob loaner program.
8G E M I N I • w w w . m n a s t r o . o r g
Night in the Cold Leaves Trio Seeing Starsby Dave Hrbacek
Reprinted with permission from The Catholic Spirit, February 17What kind of person would drive out into the country on a frigid
winter night, get out of the car and stand in below-zero temperaturesfor three hours? “A special brand of idiot,” quipped Steve Baranski,who did just that during a recent cold snap that saw temperatures af-ter sunset fall to below zero, with wind chills classified as danger-ous.
In this case, there were three such idiots — Baranski, MerleHiltner and myself. We all gathered three miles north of Norwood-Young America on the western outskirts of the metro area at theOnan Observatory, nestled within Baylor Regional Park. Baranskiand Hiltner are members of the Minnesota Astronomical Societyand were there to turn me on to all things celestial. Our plan was toraise the roof — literally — and have our own little “star party.”That’s what they call club events in which they invite members andthe general public to come and observe the heavens through high-powered telescopes that, in some cases, have computers to guidethem to the brightest and boldest objects in the night sky.
After carefully examining the Clear Sky Chart on the Internet,Merle told me that the night of Tuesday, February 8, was a good betfor optimal viewing. Everything needed for a great star show wasthere — cloudless sky, dim Moon phase (crescent) and minimallight pollution. Unfortunately, these conditions would come with ahefty price tag — a minus-20 wind chill. Hence, Baranski’s refer-ence to idiots. Starry sky, chilly night .
Another avid local astronomer has a similar description of thosepassionate about seeing the starry world under such brutal condi-tions. “Amateur astronomers are crazy.” These are the words of Fa-ther Eugene Brown, who was the reason I found myself gazingthrough a telescope on that frigid night. A priest of the New UlmDiocese for 51 years, he is the editor of Gemini, a publication putout by MAS. Like Hiltner and Baranski, he is a club member andavid astronomer. Actually, before going to Onan on February 8, I hadmade two trips there the week before. Father Brown was there onboth occasions and had hoped to give me a view of the winter skywith a powerful telescope he had donated to the Onan Observatory.But on the first night it was cloudy, and on the second we experi-enced technical difficulties — among them, Father Brown’s chilledhands that quickly turned inoperable when it came to adjusting atelescope. Hence, he urged me to try again with a younger and moreskilled astronomer — Hiltner.
Still, this story is not complete without a spiritual perspective onstar gazing from a priest who has always been fascinated by the en-deavor and turned it into a full-fledged hobby in the last five years.As we prepared to brave the chill and observe the sky, I asked himhow he connects his faith to his new avocation, which he has moretime to enjoy now that he’s retired from parish ministry. “From thebeginning of these five years I’ve been interested in astronomy, I’veconsidered it almost a prayer looking through a telescope and learn-ing about God’s creation and just marveling at the beauty,” he said.If Father Brown had any say in the matter, the Onan Observatorymight have a crucifix on the wall instead of a large poster of theOrion Nebula. Yet, as I learned on that night, observing celestialbodies has a way of drawing the mind to the One who created them.
After helping Hiltner and Baranski roll back the metal dome ofthe observatory, the show began. First up was a telescopic view ofthe Moon far beyond anything I had ever seen. The 100-power tele-scope zoomed in tight on what’s called the terminator line on the
Moon, which is where it transitions from the day side to the nightside. The angle of light created a detailed, three-dimensional view ofthe Moon’s surface. It is the closest object in the night sky we ob-served, and it is one of the most spectacular. “The Moon is one ofthe things that stands apart,” Merle said. But, lest I think the best wasnow behind us, he quickly added, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
With a list and a laptop loaded with stellar location data, the twoastronomers went to work finding cool objects in their respectivetelescopes. The observatory has 15 total, one of which Baranskihooked up to a camera and recorded still images. Later that night Idid the same. Near the end of our three-hour session, I asked Merlewhat keeps him coming back to the observatory time after time,even on nights when it feels as cold as the dark side of the Moon.“That’s easy — doing what we’re doing right now,” he said. “I getthe biggest kick showing people stuff they’ve never seen before.”
After several breaks in a small area at the rear of the observa-tory warmed by space heaters, he brought me back out for one lastlook through the telescope. I was hardly prepared for the amazingsight bursting too far away for the naked eye to see in its celestialbrilliance — a cluster of bright stars that backlit a huge cloud of stel-lar dust. It was the Orion Nebula.
“I held off showing you the Orion Nebula until last,” he said.“It’s the grand finale, very spectacular. This is a very good night tosee that nebula. When it spills from one end of the eyepiece to theother, that’s pretty good.” In the end, all of the technical data aboutwhat a nebula is, how far the planets and stars are from Earth, howlong it takes the light to travel to our eyes — none of that matterswhen you’re looking through a telescope. You’re just mesmerized bythe mysterious show of light brought close by a device perfected byGalileo 400 years ago. And you’re pulled into orbitary solidaritywith astronomical enthusiasts, both past and present.
With the first MAS public event scheduled in March, I vowedto return for another look, hopefully with my wife and four kids. Theevents are free and membership in MAS is only $28. That’s lessthan it would cost to take my family to any pro sporting event, andthis would be like having season tickets. I think everyone should ob-serve the heavens through a telescope like those at Onan at leastonce in a lifetime. This was only my second time.
I would like to meet Father Brown again on a night when we areable to successfully see objects in the night sky with a telescope. Ialso would be curious to know: Can a priest say Mass inside an ob-servatory?
Dave Hrbacek is a staff photographer at The Catholic Spiritand also writes a bi-monthly outdoors column.
Father Brown with the 20" Obsession at Onan Observatory.
9 A p r i l 2 0 1 1
MAS Patron Members
MAS offers a patron membership to those members who wish to contribute a little extra to help support MAS activities. Pa-tron memberships are established by constitution at 2-1/2 times the regular membership rate—currently $60 annually for a patronmembership. The $36 additional contribution is tax-deductible. It is used to fund equipment acquisitions, facility improvements,further outreach activities and more. We would like to thank the following patron members as of February 20:
Reflections of an Old-Timer Astronomerby Dr. Sherman Schultz
It all goes back to the early 1930s. My dad had taken me tothe Keller golf course to what may have been the St. Paul Open.Suddenly a voice in the gallery said, “Look at that funny Sun.” Ilooked with my left eye and saw a crescent Sun. On the way homeI asked Dad why I could read the license plate of the car aheadwith my right eye but not with my left. Dad worked as an opticianin the Lowry Medical Arts building in downtown St. Paul. He said
that it was because of looking at the bright Sun and that I wouldsoon get over it. Remnants of that encounter still exist now at age88.
How could the Sun change its shape? Why didn’t the Moonbreak the Sun? These questions came from a 10-year-old kid.Later my dad brought me some ophthalmic lenses from his stockand I put together a reasonable telescope. Today I might be com-plaining that it wasn’t an achromat or corrected to a 20th wavelevel, but there were no optical snobs in those days. After I
President’s Messageby Dave Falkner, MAS president
As the new president of MAS, one of my first duties is pre-siding over the budget discussion. Having been appointed to theposition of board member at large last year, I already experiencedone budget cycle. In 2010 we came precariously close to in-creasing dues but managed to manipulate income/expenditures tobalance the budget without increasing dues.
As we entered this budget cycle, I knew that we built the ob-servatory building at Belwin and acquired a few high-quality butexpensive telescopes. Moreover, we hadn’t done a detailed in-ventory of all of the equipment owned by MAS in a long time.This means that we are probably significantly under-insured.
We also incurred expenses related to filing taxes. We have re-tained our non-profit status but we realize the necessity of usingprofessional tax preparation to ensure that we file correctly everyyear. This will be an expense we have not experienced in the past.
Our membership is stable and annual donations have not gonedown dramatically, but the board found itself with about $2,000more in expenses than income. Since our cost for enrolling every-one in the club in the Astronomical League (AL) runs about$2,000 it seemed reasonable to propose two options to the mem-bers for their consideration:
• Increase the membership dues from $24 to $28 (patron from
$60 to $70) per year to cover the cost of individual Astro-nomical League memberships for all members.
• Maintain the membership dues at $24 ($60 for patron) peryear, but it would no longer include membership in the AL.Optional AL memberships would be $7.50 per year, col-lected with the membership dues and administered by theMAS treasurer.
After some discussion about the merits of retaining the entireMAS membership in the AL to keep dues the same versus rais-ing dues so we can continue this benefit, the members presentvoted unanimously to raise the dues.
I commend the members for making this bold statement.Membership in the AL supports amateur astronomy in all itsforms as well as the Dark Sky Society. It also shows to the as-tronomy community a dedication to astronomy and space ex-ploration. Bear in mind that an AL membership for someonewho is not a member of an AL-sanctioned club is $30 per year.Membership supports the activities of the AL, and members re-ceive The Reflector magazine quarterly. They are also eligibleto qualify for the various AL clubs. For $2 less than the ALmembership, the MAS member not only enjoys membership inthe AL but also has access to knowledgeable astronomy enthu-siasts and the finest equipment of any amateur club in the coun-try. Even with the dues increase, membership in MAS is stillone of the best bargains around.
Continued on page 10
10G E M I N I • w w w . m n a s t r o . o r g
For maps and further details about the sites, please go to our website at www.mnastro.org/facilities.Baylor Regional ParkTo reach Baylor Regional Park, head west on Minnesota Highway 5, through Chanhassen and Waconia, to the town of Norwood-Young America. Turn right onto Carver County Road 33 and continue approximately two miles north. Baylor Regional Park ison the right side of the road, marked with a prominent sign. When entering the park, stay to the right and follow the road approx1/4 mile. When visiting the Baylor Regional Park, MAS members are requested NOT TO PARK OR DRIVE on the grass. Thereis a drive up to the observatory which can be used for loading or unloading or handicapped parking only. For an alternate routefrom the southern suburbs, take U.S. Highway 212 west to Norwood-Young America. Turn right at the second traffic light ontoCarver County Road 33. Continue two miles north to the park entrance.Cherry GroveCherry Grove is located south of the Twin Cities,in Goodhue County, about 20 miles south of Cannon Falls. To reach CherryGrove, head south on Highway 52. On 52 about six miles south of Cannon Falls, and just past the Edgewood Inn, is a large greenhighway sign for Goodhue County Rd. 1 “WEST”. Turn right, and follow County 1 straight south for about sixteen miles untilyou arrive at a “T” intersection with County A. The observatory is immediately at your right, nestled in the shoulder of the“T”. Parking is permitted on the site, or along the road, preferably County A.MetcalfHead east from St. Paul along Hwy. 94. Exit at Manning Avenue ( exit #253) Turn south (right turn) and then almost immedi-ately turn left onto the frontage road (Hudson Road S). Continue east on the frontage road for about 1.5 miles. Turn right ontoIndian Trail, checking the odometer as you turn. Follow Indian Trail south for just about 1.1 miles, where you’ll see an unmarkedchain-link gate on the right, opening onto a dirt driveway with slight up-slope. This is the entrance to Metcalf.Belwin/ Joseph J Casby ObservatoryHead east from St. Paul along Hwy. 94. Exit at Manning Avenue ( exit #253). Turn south (right turn) and then almost immedi-ately turn left onto the frontage road (Hudson Road S). Continue east on the frontage road about 3.4 miles until Stagecoach TrailSouth, then turn right onto Stagecoach Trail and go east about 2 miles until reaching Belwin Conservancy on your left at 1553Stagecoach Trail South. From the Belwin driveway entrance, y travel about 500 feet and turn left at the gate. Travel about1/4 mile through the woods until you emerge at the parking area near the classroom building and the Joseph Casby Observatory.Long Lake Conservation CenterFrom Western Twin citiesTake I-94 west to Rogers/MN 101. Go north/right on MN 101 through Elk River, where MN 101 becomes USA 169. Continuenorth on US 169 approximately 90 miles to Aitkin. At the stoplight in Aitkin, turn east/right onto US 169/MN 210 and go outof town eight miles. Then turn east/right, following MN 210 toward Duluth. Proceed seven miles. A large green highway signmarks the turn off 210 to Long Lake Conservation Center. Turn north/left on County Rd. 5. After three miles, turn east/right ongravel County Rd. 88. It is approximately one mile to the LLCC gate. To get to the observing area turn left before the gate. From Eastern Twin citiesGo north on I-35 to Finlayson/Exit 195. Turn west/left and go one mile to County Rd. 61 and MN 18. At stop sign turn right/northand go two miles. Follow MN 18 west/left and continue 19 miles to MN 65. Turn north/right on MN 65 and proceed 30 miles toMcGregor. Intersect with MN 210 and follow 210 west/left (through McGregor) for seven miles. A large green highway signmarks the turn off MN 210 to Long Lake Conservation Center. Turn north/right on County Rd. 5. After three miles, turn east/righton gravel County Rd. 88. It is approximately one mile to the LLCC gate. To get to the observing area turn left before the gate.
Direct ions to the Star Party Locations
Continued from page 9
brought it to school, the library downtown got wind of it andasked to borrow it, with its crude tripod, for display. I guess theywere impressed that a 14-year-old student had fashioned it. Thenewspaper even ran a story, “St. Paul Boy, 14, Makes Telescope,Views Stars.”
I graduated from St. Paul Central high school in 1940 and en-tered Northern Illinois College of Optometry that fall, graduatingin 1945. I started practice with my dad in the Lowry Building thatsummer. Along with my studies I kept reading anything I couldfind on the subject of astronomy. There was a small telescope/as-tronomy interest group that met at the public library. One of ourmembers, Dr. Waldo Glock, chair of the geology department atMacalester College, offered a lecture hall in the science buildingfor our use. So the St. Paul Telescope Club had a home; as itsmembership developed it became the Twin Cities AstronomyClub.
Macalester began offering a day class in astronomy with anprofessor from the U of M. When they wanted to offer an adultevening class, they decided to ask a club member to take it over.Since it sounded more professional to have someone with letters
after his name, (O.D., Doctor of Optometry), they asked me toteach it. So began my sojourn at Macalester. The man from the Uhad to quit, and I continued my astronomy activities there for 42years. In 1965 a new science hall was built, and I took over dutiesat the Spitz Planetarium. A roll-off roof observatory required in-struments, which led to a January interim term in telescope mak-ing that I offered for many years. All the while I was juggling myoptometry practice and family obligations.
In the late 1960s a call came to me from television stationKTCA. They wanted me to air an astronomy series over that chan-nel. It was to be ten programs to start, half-hour segments, live,called “Astronomy Today.” I said yes. After this series was com-pleted they wanted another twelve half-hour segments, this timetaped. I must admit that the live presentations were easier to do.
I discovered that various astronomy publications werefriendly to my offerings, so over the years I have had many arti-cles, photographs and letters published. This is a partial list:
• The Astrograph, Dec./Jan. 1973, cover photo of Ikeya-Sekicomet.
Continued on page 11
Onan OnanFriday Astro Moon % Public Cherry Star Metcalf/Date Twilight Moon Rise Moon Set Illuminated Night (Sat.) Grove LLCC Party Belwin Notes
Mar 04 07:44 P.M. 06:35 A.M. 06:22 P.M. 0% Mar 05 x
Mar 11 07:54 P.M. 10:06 A.M. 01:38 A.M. 43% Mar 12
Mar 25 08:16 P.M. 01:57 A.M. 10:54 A.M. 53% Mar 26 x x x
Aug 05 10:49 P.M. 01:29 P.M. 11:23 P.M. 48% Aug 5-6-7 x x x
Aug 19 10:14 P.M. 10:15 P.M. 12:32 P.M. 66% Aug 20
Aug 26 09:57 P.M. 04:35 A.M. 06:30 P.M. 5% x x
Sep 02 09:40 P.M. 12:31 P.M. 10:03 P.M. 34% Sept 2 & 3 x x x
Sep 23 08:52 P.M. 03:25 A.M. 04:57 P.M. 15% x
Sep 30 08:37 P.M. 11:26 A.M. 08:43 P.M. 20% Oct 01 x x x
Oct 21 07:57 P.M. 02:18 A.M. 03:24 P.M. 28% Oct 22 x x
Oct 28 07:46 P.M. 11:22 A.M. 07:22 P.M. 3% Oct 29 x x
Nov 18 06:23 P.M. 12:16 A.M. 12:52 P.M. 43% Nov 19 x x x
Nov 25 06:19 P.M. 09:02 A.M. 05:01 P.M. 1% x x
This schedule is subject to change. You can also check the MAS online calendar at www.mnastro.org for a complete schedule of all MASevents. Onan, Cherry Grove and Metcalf/Belwin star parties are held on Friday nights, with Saturday reserved as the backup night if Fridayis cloudy. LLCC star parties are held on both Friday and Saturday night. Onan public nights are generally held on Saturday nights only.In 2011 daylight saving time begins March 13 and ends on Nov 6.
MessierMarathon at CG
April 24 is Easter Sunday
Astronomy Days at Onan
Virgo Venture at CG
Camping with theStars at Onan
Fall AstronomyDay at Onan
Labor Day weekend
Fall Mini-MessierMarathon at CG
Northern Nights8/25-8/28 at LLCC
Minnesota Astronomical Society 2011 Star Party Schedule
F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 1G E M I N I • w w w . m n a s t r o . o r g 11
Continued from page 10
• Astronomy, Aug. 1982, “The Billion to One Chance”;Oct. 1983, “Texas Star Party”; Aug. 1987, “Boston Tea Party.”
• Minnesota Optometrist, July/Aug. 1984, reprint of article inStereo World dealing with problems of viewing stereo sceneswith a free viewing method; related to my response in Mod-ern Astronomy to an astronomical situation seen in eyepieceviewing.
• Review of Popular Astronomy, Feb./Mar. 1964, photo of to-tally eclipsed Moon in a star field; this photo was used twicein Sky and Telescope, Feb. 1964 and June 1982, to illustratean article on lunar eclipses.
• Telescope Making Quarterly, Issue 3, photo of 25'' telescope;Issue 9, article on Ronchi testing procedures; Issue 20, frontcover plus article on glass and grit; Issue 25, article on thestructure and function of the eye.
• Sky and Telescope, Jan. 1961, cover photo and photos of tran-sit of Mercury; Feb. 1964, photo of lunar eclipse at totality;
March 1967, cover photo of aurora; Jan. 1976, 10'' telescopeat Macalester; Sept. 1983, Texas Star Party photos; July 1988,“Star Trails in Time” and many photos; June 1996, book re-view of Making and Enjoying Scopes.
My son and I have designed two observatories on his 30-acrefarm site ten miles south of Mankato. When Macalester removedthe original observatory (also a Schultz design) in 1993, David andI took every one of the telescopes, including a 24'', to this location.Mike Lunch has made several presentations there and has kindly de-scribed the installation as the best of its type that he has seen.
In 1998 there was a dedication ceremony for the new observa-tory at Macalester, named the Sherman Schultz Observatory. It hasan automated dome with a 16'' special correction telescope. Mybiggest surprise at that meeting was the announcement that asteroid#7077 was to be named Shermanschultz. The International Astro-nomical Union accepted it. I consider that the highest level of at-tainment I could ever achieve.
Your MAS membership expires at the beginning of the month shown on your Gemini mailing label. Send your payments to theMAS Membership Coordinator at: Minnesota Astronomical Society, Attn: Membership Coordinator, P.O. Box 14931, Minneapolis,MN 55414. Make checks payable to MAS or you can pay by PayPal on the MAS web page. The current annual membership dues andsubscription fees are: $24 for regular memberships ($56.95 including a Sky and Telescope subscription discounted to the annualmember subscription rate of $32.95), $60 for patron memberships ($92.95 including Sky and Telescope subscription) and $12 forstudent memberships ($44.95 including Sky and Telescope subscription).
To Renew Your Sky and Telescope SubscriptionIf you like, you may mail your renewal notice with payment directly to S&T or renew via phone with Sky Publishing at
1-800-253-0245. This new process will especially be of benefit to those of you who wait until your subscription is about to expire beforerenewing.
You will still need to send in your MAS membership renewal to the MAS Membership Coordinator at the MAS Post Office boxaddress, or renew your membership via PayPal.
If you wish, you can still submit your S&T subscription renewal to the MAS when you renew your membership in the MAS, andwe will enter your renewal on your behalf just as we always have done.
New subscriptions to Sky and Telescope at the MAS member discount must still be sent to the MAS for group membershipsubscription processing. Send new subscriptions to the attention of the Membership Coordinator at the MAS at the Post Office boxaddress shown on the back cover of the Gemini newsletter
NON-PROFITU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDMinneapolis, MN
PERMIT NO. 1407
How to pay your dues April 2011 Volume 36 Number 2
To subscribe to the MAS e-mail list visit:http://lists.mnastro.org/mnastro/listinfo/
and follow the subscription instructions.
There is a general list (MAS) as well as special interest group (SIG) lists. Archives of thelists are also available by visiting the listinfo page for a specific list.
The MAS list has about 40% of the membership on it.
