Snow Flakes

Small crew today, and just a little bit of work to get the hill ready for winter. Ray Burk picked up and stored some wayward tools. I walked most of the trail system to check up on things and clear blow downs where necessary. By early afternoon the overcast skies started dropping snow that was starting to stick. The forecast called for four to six inches of whiteness, so I called it a day early.

We've got a nice stack of firewood and set for the winter observing season. For the moment, he road is still in good shape, but if you are planning to use the hill be sure to check carefully on conditions before trying to drive to the top.

If we get good weather next Sunday, I expect to see some of you up on the hill for Geminds!

-Ed

Late November Observing

I came up to Arunah Hill this weekend for some observing. While both Friday and Saturday nights were both clear, the wind prevented any observing on Friday. This was unfortunate forTom Walker and Kevin Collins who showed up with Kevin's20" Dob.

Saturday night was a great night for observing. Joe Z. opened up the Gaertner for the scout troop he was hosting while Matt Paine, his friend Tom from Seekonk and I were at the summit. Tom was doing some imaging but the dew was winning the battle over his C8. Matt and I were cruising the sky with my 16" scope. M33 showed alot of detail while the Orion Nebula was incredible. We were also able to pick up theHorsehead using an H-beta filter. We also observed M31, M1, M44, M15, the Blue Snowball, Double Cluster and other objects including the California Nebula.

After Tom left and Matt turned in I stayed out until after 4:00 am. I took a look at Mars and Saturn, the Cone and Rosette nebulas and M81/M82 but the highlight came just after 4:00 when a Leonid fireball lit up the sky and ground. I quickly looked up to see the bright glowing trail this fireball left. The smoke trail was visiblefor almost 10 minutes as the upper level winds shaped it into a donut. I then called it a night. All in all a pretty good weekend at Arunah. Matt installed the radio in the clubhouse and it is now up and running. Here's hoping the snow holds off so we can get some observing done in December.

Barry

Cold Rain No Problem to Troop 32

For the second weekend in a row a scout troop used Arunah Hill to prepare for their Astronomy Merit Badge. Troop 32 out of Springfield braved cold blowing rain but didn't let it deter them.

Seven scouts and leaders participated in a "human" solar system, studied the phases of the moon, learned about distances in the solar system and beyond, and learned how to use a planisphere. The asked great questions and demonstrated quite a bit of knowledge about the night sky.

Though the weather was dismal, they were able to glimple the great square of Pegasus, Cassiopeia, and even catch a brilliant meteor before drizzle moved in Friday night.


-Ed

Notchview Public Observing on November 7th

Arunah Hill has concluded it's 2009 public observing program at Notchview. We were blessed with mild temperatures and clear skies well into the night. 20+ people from the hilltowns, and as far away as Colebrook, enjoyed views of Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and a variety of galaxies, clusters and double stars.

Our host Jim Caffrey had the wood stove running and set out hot chocolate to warm the young & old. The Notchview Visitor's Center is an excellent facility that makes late fall observing sessions (at 2000 feet) an enjoyable experience.

In a year of generally disagreeable weather, we had agreeable weather for an unprecedented number of events. My thanks go out to club members who brought their scopes and skills to these events: Ray Burk, Kevin Collins, Ed Faits, Barry Hervieux, Jonathan Klinkowski, Tom Walker and Ron Woodland.

On this night, and after spending the daylight hours at an Arunah Hill work day, Kevin Collins brought his 13" Dob to Notchview. It's good to have different types of scopes so that our visitors can enjoy the strengths of each design. Kevin's full day of commitment to Arunah Hill is much appreciated.

Early next year, we'll work with Colin & Jim to set 2010 Notchview dates. For those that enjoy cross-country skiing, I encourage you to visit Notchview during the winter months.

djc

A Busy November Day... and Night!

A successful workday, public viewing at Notchview, and an Astronomy Merit Badge educational session for a group of Boy Scouts from Ludlow, MA, was pulled off on Saturday, November 7, through a great effort by the Arunah crew and some unseasonably terrific weather.

While Joe Zuraw, Bob Osgood, and Ray Burk split firewood, Matt Paine got a crew to raise a radio antenna. We have an antenna on the Club House and Matt will be installing the radio in a secure locking box soon. A preliminary test with Kevin Collins' 5 watt radio and Arunah’s 2000+ foot elevation allowed us to key up a repeater in Boston loud and clear. The 60 watt radio to be installed next week allowed clear contact with someone west of Albany and a so-so contact with a repeater in Manhattan. Matt will (hopefully!) provide details in a future View from Arunah.

Kevin and Tom Walker also installed the LED solar recharging light in the Telescope shed and completed the folding shelves.

Joe Zuraw and Bob Osgood, and Scott Masey were great with the scouts and those of us who really had no clue in the merit badge department. Dan Carnevale and Kevin set up at Notchview while Steve Herzberg and Matt Paine helped with the scouts. The Notchview crowd was good and the scouts got through a good deal of their requirements (as Joe I’m sure can elaborate). All and all a great day.

For those of you who would like to get a Technician Amateur Radio License, you’ll need the following book which can be ordered online and picked up at Barnes and Noble or Borders… ARRL’s Sixth Edition (with current question pool) Level 1 Technician’s Class License Manual…. http://www.arrl.org/catalog/lm/

-Compiled from reports from Bob Osgood and Kevin Collins. Pictures also by Kevin and Bob (click to view larger images) For more photos, see: http://www.amherstastronomy.org/NovWP.zip

Impromtu Workday a Big Success

With cool rain threatening and washing out any possible "Fall Star Party", a lot got accomplished on the hill on Saturday, October 17.

Dan Carnevale and I arrived late morning to find the portable dome collapsed on the pad, apparently due to a violent wind storm. We got things safely disassembled, dried out, and sent to the barn for winter storage. Dan then turned his attention to the hydraulic wood splitter.

With the able help of Glenn Benscoter and Scout Troop 93 and Ray Burk, by afternoon's end we had a huge wood pile stacked up that should make for a warm comfortable winter.

Matt Paine turned his attentions to cleaning out the warming hut. He filled two large trash bags, and had the place spotless. It really loooks great! Now it's up to all of us to keep it that way. We can't use the hut for storage.

Tom Walker, Kevin Collins, and Jonathan Klinkowski cleaned out the telescope shed, Tom and Kevin built some wonderful folding shelves, then they put it all back together. The "mouseproofing" seems to be working. Great job guys!

Barry Hervieux fired up his chain saw and opened up the Amanda trail. It's clear all the way to Land's End.

We then enjoyed a fine foil dinner, complements of Kevin.

Cold and Clear at Notchview

A cloudy afternoon gave way to mostly clear skies for a nice evening of public viewing at Notchview. About 20 people showed up for public viewing, including some very knowledgable middle schoolers from Dalton. They compared clusters (the wild duck, the great Hercules cluster, and the double cluster), and saw galaxies and marveled at the colorful double star Alberio, and they got a nice view of Jupiter.

Thanks to Dan Carevale for organizing this, and to Ray Burk, Ron Woodland, Jonathan Klinkowski and Barry Hervieux for setting up telescopes, and especially thanks to the Notchview staff for the hospitality... and the wifi!

-Ed