A wintry scene greeted our return to Notchview for Arunah Hill's final 2007 public event. Thanks go out to Jim Caffrey, John Dziegiel, Colin Harrington and Pat Toomey for their efforts to publicize the event and prepare the site.
We set up as cross-country skiers were making their final runs of the day. Some were curious enough to stop by and talk astronomy. A couple of our visitors were quite knowledgeable about the night sky.
After a brief flurry, the evening settled in under a clear and steady sky. Several objects were observed including a still bright and interesting Comet Holmes, as well as a returning Comet Tuttle. The Visitor Center provided a shelter from the cold as we waited for Mars. Our vigil was rewarded when Mars rose high in the sky and it was a fitting final object for the night.
Notchview has all the attributes of a fine observing site. First and foremost, the Notchview staff is very receptive and accommodating to the needs of our event. The hilltown folks have an appreciation for the night sky and we enjoy sharing our views with them. The Visitor Center is an ideal hub for public observing, especially during the cold months. And, the remote and panoramic view from Bates Field has potential as a club event site.
Plans are underway to expand our activities at Notchview during 2008.
Happy holidays,
djc
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Cold, Windy & Lonely Hill
The hill was very cold, very, very windy and very, very, very lonely for Saturday's work party. Arriving at 11:00 AM as advertised, I was the sole occupant of the windswept hill. After lighting a fire in the trusty woodstove, I waited for others to arrive. And waited. And waited. Finally, Pete came to cheer me up, and later, after Pete left, Barry, who intended to observe (clouds, maybe??). Anyhow, the woodstove works just fine, I brought up lots of paper for lighting it, There's enough wood outside to melt the snow inside, and all we need now is kindling. And Spring. The fly paper did its thing, and more flies have arrived to replace those who have gone to Never-Never land. Hi, Ed! Missed you!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Arunah Hill Outreach Event at Notchview
On Saturday (Nov. 10), the Arunah Hill Outreach Program held a public star party at Notchview in Windsor, MA. Notchview offers dark skies and a large Visitor Center kept toasty warm by two wood stoves.
The event was confirmed only a week before. With the help of Colin Harrington, a notice was posted to the Berkshire Eagle. The Eagle featured the event with additional text and pictures. Barry Hervieux and I arrived before dusk and were ready to go when the sky darkened. Our host, Jim Caffrey, turned off all outside white light sources, tended the stoves, and set out hot cocoa and snacks. These efforts were complemented by a nice showing of people from the surrounding hill towns. A combination of interesting objects to observe and the warmth of the Visitor Center made for an enjoyable evening.
The featured attraction was a large & bright Comet 17P Holmes, located in Perseus. Views of the comet improved later in the night as it rose in the sky. Mars rose in the east as the event came to a close. This gave us hope for good weather, and a bigger & brighter Mars, at the final Windsor event for 2007, scheduled for December 8th at Notchview.
djc
The event was confirmed only a week before. With the help of Colin Harrington, a notice was posted to the Berkshire Eagle. The Eagle featured the event with additional text and pictures. Barry Hervieux and I arrived before dusk and were ready to go when the sky darkened. Our host, Jim Caffrey, turned off all outside white light sources, tended the stoves, and set out hot cocoa and snacks. These efforts were complemented by a nice showing of people from the surrounding hill towns. A combination of interesting objects to observe and the warmth of the Visitor Center made for an enjoyable evening.
The featured attraction was a large & bright Comet 17P Holmes, located in Perseus. Views of the comet improved later in the night as it rose in the sky. Mars rose in the east as the event came to a close. This gave us hope for good weather, and a bigger & brighter Mars, at the final Windsor event for 2007, scheduled for December 8th at Notchview.
djc
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Nov 10: Scouts Treated to Spectacular Views
Over a dozen Boy Scouts from Ludlow, MA and another handful from Hadley, MA enjoyed camping and spectacular skies on cold, crisp November weekend. They were rewarded with several fine meteors and great views of the autumn sky, with a memorable view of Comet Holmes. Comet Holmes nearly filled a 1 degree field in my 13" Dobsonian!
Other highlights was the view of the Pliades rising, viewed in a tiny Astroscan telescope, and the double star Albireo seen in the historic Gaertner 6" refractor.
The boys also enjoyed the warmth of the wood stove in the hut with temperatures dropping through the twenties.
Other highlights was the view of the Pliades rising, viewed in a tiny Astroscan telescope, and the double star Albireo seen in the historic Gaertner 6" refractor.
The boys also enjoyed the warmth of the wood stove in the hut with temperatures dropping through the twenties.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
November 3 work party
Great turnout for the November work day, on a cool (low 40's), windy, and overcast day. The remnents of hurrican Noel threatened heavy rains, but we had no more than low racing clouds.
It was a day to clear up some of the blowdown off the clearing at the top of the hill. With Dan Carnevale and Barry Hervieux bravely manning the chain saws and the rest of us on the ropes we were able to get two dangerous "leaners" down to the ground. Both were 40'+ beech trees, partially rotted, and hung up in nearby trees. Looks like we'll have a few more tall beeches to take down by spring if the winter storms don't get them first.
In addtion to Dan and Barry, thanks to Ray Burk, John Davis, Steve Pielock, Glenn Benscoter, Peter Scherff, and Steven Herzberg for their efforts. We've now got a good pile of firewood stacked for the winter.
We had the stove fired up in the warming hut, it was nice to be able to thaw fingers and break the chill.
We also stored the 24" mirror vertically, which hopefully will solve our mouse issue in the storage shed. Barry also did a little of road maintenance on the way out to hopefully minimize any spring erosion this year.
The distant hillsides still had more than a hint of color, unusually late foliage this year.
-Ed
It was a day to clear up some of the blowdown off the clearing at the top of the hill. With Dan Carnevale and Barry Hervieux bravely manning the chain saws and the rest of us on the ropes we were able to get two dangerous "leaners" down to the ground. Both were 40'+ beech trees, partially rotted, and hung up in nearby trees. Looks like we'll have a few more tall beeches to take down by spring if the winter storms don't get them first.
In addtion to Dan and Barry, thanks to Ray Burk, John Davis, Steve Pielock, Glenn Benscoter, Peter Scherff, and Steven Herzberg for their efforts. We've now got a good pile of firewood stacked for the winter.
We had the stove fired up in the warming hut, it was nice to be able to thaw fingers and break the chill.
We also stored the 24" mirror vertically, which hopefully will solve our mouse issue in the storage shed. Barry also did a little of road maintenance on the way out to hopefully minimize any spring erosion this year.
The distant hillsides still had more than a hint of color, unusually late foliage this year.
-Ed
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Plainfield / Worthington Boy Scouts Enjoy Arunah
Brian Hawthorne led a group of Boy Scouts on an overnight campout on Saturday, Oct 20. Despite some rain and drizzle just after sunset, the skies cleared of nicely. Dan Carnevale and Ed Faits showed off the 1st quarter moon, the Plieades, and other wonders of the autumn sky, in the Gaertner and other 'scopes. After a terrific 1st magnitude fireball, the boys retreated to Scout Heaven and camping under a rapidly dropping thermometer. Frost threatened, but Scouts are always prepared!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Astronomy Association Fall Star Party - Oct 12 & 13, 2007
The Red Sox and the weather didn't provide much satisfaction for New England star gazers at the AA's Fall Aruanah Hill Star Party. We couldn't do much observing due to the wind on Friday night. My friend John from Douglas came up Friday night as did Kevin Collins, but the prevailing winds keep us from doing much observing.
The wind calmed down on Saturday, and we hoped to get some observing in. Dan Carnevale and some members from the Amherst club came up but no observing was done as the clouds rolled in after sunset. Another friend of mine Frank from CT also came up Saturday. We were prepared for possible poor observing which is why I brought a portable TV to watch the Red Sox. From the 6th inning on the Red Sox bats were as silent as the Arunah Hill night.
As John and I were packing up Sunday a dead tree at the top of the hill fell onto another tree. A while later another round of trees crashed down. We did a bit of cleanup, and I put some mothballs in a couple of plastic containers with vent holes in them in the telescope shed in hopes of keeping the mice out.
-Barry H.
The wind calmed down on Saturday, and we hoped to get some observing in. Dan Carnevale and some members from the Amherst club came up but no observing was done as the clouds rolled in after sunset. Another friend of mine Frank from CT also came up Saturday. We were prepared for possible poor observing which is why I brought a portable TV to watch the Red Sox. From the 6th inning on the Red Sox bats were as silent as the Arunah Hill night.
As John and I were packing up Sunday a dead tree at the top of the hill fell onto another tree. A while later another round of trees crashed down. We did a bit of cleanup, and I put some mothballs in a couple of plastic containers with vent holes in them in the telescope shed in hopes of keeping the mice out.
-Barry H.
Monday, October 8, 2007
October 6 Workday
Is it really October? We've had snow in on the hill in October, but you wouldn't know it today... summer is still holding on in Cummington. There is even plenty of green left in the trees. It was definitely shorts and t-shirt weather!
Nice turnout with Dan Carnevale, John Davis, Ray Burk, Peter Scherf, and Glenn Benscoter from Windsor. Dan did some mowing then got out the chainsaw, and I got to split wood with his maul, and contrary to Ray's comments, I didn't break a window. Pretty quickly we had added a good load of firewood to the stack near the clubhouse, ready for winter!
We also cleared back some of the brush behind the pavilion and generally did what needed to be done. Thanks to all that helped!
What will the hill look like for the November workday? I suspect much different woods, with signs of the approaching winter.
Nice turnout with Dan Carnevale, John Davis, Ray Burk, Peter Scherf, and Glenn Benscoter from Windsor. Dan did some mowing then got out the chainsaw, and I got to split wood with his maul, and contrary to Ray's comments, I didn't break a window. Pretty quickly we had added a good load of firewood to the stack near the clubhouse, ready for winter!
We also cleared back some of the brush behind the pavilion and generally did what needed to be done. Thanks to all that helped!
What will the hill look like for the November workday? I suspect much different woods, with signs of the approaching winter.
Monday, September 17, 2007
One Week Late, but what a sky!
Barry Hervieux's 16" dob proved to be the gathering point for those of us that took advantage of some great skies to do an "AHDays Makeup" observing this past Saturday. With the dew point in the 30's, transparency was super and the Milky Way was vivid from horizon to horizon. Barry hit all of the Summer Milky way showpieces and then some, with a variety of eyepieces, and popping the O3 filter in for dazzling views of some of the emission nebula.
One of my all-time favorites is M-17, the Sway Nebula... that the O3 showed off pieces of it I'd never seen before. It nearly filled the field of a 24mm eyepiece! With the great transparency, dark nebula abounded in the Sagittarius Star Cloud, and dark lanes (somehow corrupted to "Ducklings") popped out of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Jay, Katrina, John Davis and I pretty much monopolized Barry's scope for a couple of hours(sorry about that Barry, hope you weren't planning on hunting down some faint fuzzies on you own), even taking our shot at Stephan's Quintet. I know I clearly saw 3 in averted vision, and maybe caught the elusive final 2 though I didn't have a photo to confirm my sighting.
Mike and Cher gave there new telescope a good workout, viewing along the Milky Way and studying Jupiter and its moons.
The was also a "mystery truck" parked on the hill that left about 10 PM without a word... hum...
I also enjoy binocular and "naked eye" observing. I think I caught M-33 naked eye because when I turned the binocs to the suspected spot, sure enough, the galaxy was right were I was looking. I thought I saw a bit of faint aurora in the north just above treetops, but alas, it never turned in to anything.
Heading toward midnight, with frost threatening, we all gradually gave in and packed up, but what a great night of observing from Arunah Hill!
One of my all-time favorites is M-17, the Sway Nebula... that the O3 showed off pieces of it I'd never seen before. It nearly filled the field of a 24mm eyepiece! With the great transparency, dark nebula abounded in the Sagittarius Star Cloud, and dark lanes (somehow corrupted to "Ducklings") popped out of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Jay, Katrina, John Davis and I pretty much monopolized Barry's scope for a couple of hours(sorry about that Barry, hope you weren't planning on hunting down some faint fuzzies on you own), even taking our shot at Stephan's Quintet. I know I clearly saw 3 in averted vision, and maybe caught the elusive final 2 though I didn't have a photo to confirm my sighting.
Mike and Cher gave there new telescope a good workout, viewing along the Milky Way and studying Jupiter and its moons.
The was also a "mystery truck" parked on the hill that left about 10 PM without a word... hum...
I also enjoy binocular and "naked eye" observing. I think I caught M-33 naked eye because when I turned the binocs to the suspected spot, sure enough, the galaxy was right were I was looking. I thought I saw a bit of faint aurora in the north just above treetops, but alas, it never turned in to anything.
Heading toward midnight, with frost threatening, we all gradually gave in and packed up, but what a great night of observing from Arunah Hill!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Arunah Hill Days ’07… Starlight and Thunder
Another AH Days is in the books… thanks to all who attended and especially to those whose hard work make these events so special.
Friday began with steady traffic up the hill, and some interesting and large telescopes were set up on the hill.
A mostly clear sky and high temperatures and humidity made for some good seeing, though transparency wasn’t great, especially near the horizons. Still, the rift in the Milky Way was apparent overhead.
Daytime highs in the high 80’s gave way overnight to lows in the mid 60s, more typical for late July than mid September on the hill.
Friday night speaker Brian Hawthorne, a forester with MassWildLife, wowed us down in the speaker’s tent, with a PowerPoint depicting the evolution of a typical New England landscape since the time of the glaciers. The landscape depicted was not all that different from Arunah Hill. Brian stuck around to observe and proved that his knowledge of the natural world extended to the night sky. Brian lives in nearby Plainfield, and hopefully we can get him up on the hill again soon.
Through Brian’s suggestions, expect to see some taller grass next spring and summer on the hill. It won’t be from lazy mowing, it will be to provide nesting habitat to birdlife. We’ll still clear around the heavily used areas, but the the birds have the grasslands at the east and south end of the upper clearing during the nesting season, April through early August.
I’ve already subscribed to MASSACHUSETTS WILDLIFE magazine, at http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/publications/mwmag/mwmag_home.htm
After the tent talk, observing and lively conversations and some good guitar pickin’ continued far in to the night.
Saturday dawned heavy with dew, and the sky quickly turned to high thin clouds, but after some strong Boy Scout coffee, everyone seemed to be in high gear. Bruce Blanchard lead a fun and informative nature walk, then Jim Downing and Gary Cizlak did their usual fine job getting the kids in attendance organized building rockets. Somewhere around 20 rockets were completed.
With Gary loading engines, Jim and his son supervised the launches. Gusting winds created a bit of havoc, with 10 rockets lost when the parachutes carried the reentry pattern into the maples and oaks down the hill. Still, with over 30 successful launches and recoveries, our young rocketeers had a good time.
When I commented that “a ship was safe in port, but that’s not what she’s built for…”, young Jason caught the metaphor but responded that “ya, but we’re not losing the rockets with streamers, only the ones with parachutes”, and choose to take his ‘chute and rocket home to fly again another day. Young Jason should do well in life!
If anyone has some nice digital pictures of the rocket launches (or anything else at AH Days ’07), please email them to me, efaits@comcast.net.
By mid-afternoon rain and a brief thunderstorm moved in, washing out the horseshoe tourney and causing many of us to scramble to put away ‘scopes. Thanks to Alan Rifkin, who brought out Lego cars building and racing up in the pavilion to amuse everyone during the storm.
Thing dried up well enough to hold a lively raffle drawing. Congrats to all the winners, and thanks to all who bought tickets and especially those who donated prizes. AH Days is “free”, but there are still expenses to cover. And sorry I teased “Will” on a couple of his prizes; I really did know that it wasn’t “LLIM” on an up-side-down ticket.
Dr. Rob Gendler showed off his spectacular astro-photographs, and gave a great talk on the skill, planning, and hard work that goes in to making them. I’m now the proud owner of an autographed copy of “A Year in the Life of the Universe”.
Unfortuately, clouds and some light rain prevented any observing Saturday night, but Steve’s screening of “Final Countdown” provided some entertainment. “Final Countdown” might have been too good to qualify for “Bad Sci-Fi Theater”. Steve, you may have to do better (worse?) next year.
The hill stayed alive with music and laughter until at least midnight (I think that’s when I fell asleep, so I can’t comment on after that…”, so despite the weather everyone seemed to have a good time. I couple of thunder booms threatened during the night, but we got no worse than a light shower.
Special thanks to Steve and DeeDee Pielock, for the big and little things they do to pull off this event, to Joe Z, for everything Arunah, this time around especially for work with the scouts running a great kitchen, to Peter Schreff who does more for Arunah Hill than most people ever suspect, to Bruce Blanchard, Barry Hervieux, Dan Carnevale, the Volants and the Downings for doing whatever needs to be done, the Boy Scouts (and their parents!) and all of the rest of the Arunah Volunteers for making this happen.
Thanks too to John Davis, whose enthusiasm for this hobby is a marvel to us all. John, you’ve earned your way off triple secret probation. Just let me or Steve give the driving directions…
Now to plan Star Watch, and then start thinking about AH Days ’08!
Friday began with steady traffic up the hill, and some interesting and large telescopes were set up on the hill.
A mostly clear sky and high temperatures and humidity made for some good seeing, though transparency wasn’t great, especially near the horizons. Still, the rift in the Milky Way was apparent overhead.
Daytime highs in the high 80’s gave way overnight to lows in the mid 60s, more typical for late July than mid September on the hill.
Friday night speaker Brian Hawthorne, a forester with MassWildLife, wowed us down in the speaker’s tent, with a PowerPoint depicting the evolution of a typical New England landscape since the time of the glaciers. The landscape depicted was not all that different from Arunah Hill. Brian stuck around to observe and proved that his knowledge of the natural world extended to the night sky. Brian lives in nearby Plainfield, and hopefully we can get him up on the hill again soon.
Through Brian’s suggestions, expect to see some taller grass next spring and summer on the hill. It won’t be from lazy mowing, it will be to provide nesting habitat to birdlife. We’ll still clear around the heavily used areas, but the the birds have the grasslands at the east and south end of the upper clearing during the nesting season, April through early August.
I’ve already subscribed to MASSACHUSETTS WILDLIFE magazine, at http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/publications/mwmag/mwmag_home.htm
After the tent talk, observing and lively conversations and some good guitar pickin’ continued far in to the night.
Saturday dawned heavy with dew, and the sky quickly turned to high thin clouds, but after some strong Boy Scout coffee, everyone seemed to be in high gear. Bruce Blanchard lead a fun and informative nature walk, then Jim Downing and Gary Cizlak did their usual fine job getting the kids in attendance organized building rockets. Somewhere around 20 rockets were completed.
With Gary loading engines, Jim and his son supervised the launches. Gusting winds created a bit of havoc, with 10 rockets lost when the parachutes carried the reentry pattern into the maples and oaks down the hill. Still, with over 30 successful launches and recoveries, our young rocketeers had a good time.
When I commented that “a ship was safe in port, but that’s not what she’s built for…”, young Jason caught the metaphor but responded that “ya, but we’re not losing the rockets with streamers, only the ones with parachutes”, and choose to take his ‘chute and rocket home to fly again another day. Young Jason should do well in life!
If anyone has some nice digital pictures of the rocket launches (or anything else at AH Days ’07), please email them to me, efaits@comcast.net.
By mid-afternoon rain and a brief thunderstorm moved in, washing out the horseshoe tourney and causing many of us to scramble to put away ‘scopes. Thanks to Alan Rifkin, who brought out Lego cars building and racing up in the pavilion to amuse everyone during the storm.
Thing dried up well enough to hold a lively raffle drawing. Congrats to all the winners, and thanks to all who bought tickets and especially those who donated prizes. AH Days is “free”, but there are still expenses to cover. And sorry I teased “Will” on a couple of his prizes; I really did know that it wasn’t “LLIM” on an up-side-down ticket.
Dr. Rob Gendler showed off his spectacular astro-photographs, and gave a great talk on the skill, planning, and hard work that goes in to making them. I’m now the proud owner of an autographed copy of “A Year in the Life of the Universe”.
Unfortuately, clouds and some light rain prevented any observing Saturday night, but Steve’s screening of “Final Countdown” provided some entertainment. “Final Countdown” might have been too good to qualify for “Bad Sci-Fi Theater”. Steve, you may have to do better (worse?) next year.
The hill stayed alive with music and laughter until at least midnight (I think that’s when I fell asleep, so I can’t comment on after that…”, so despite the weather everyone seemed to have a good time. I couple of thunder booms threatened during the night, but we got no worse than a light shower.
Special thanks to Steve and DeeDee Pielock, for the big and little things they do to pull off this event, to Joe Z, for everything Arunah, this time around especially for work with the scouts running a great kitchen, to Peter Schreff who does more for Arunah Hill than most people ever suspect, to Bruce Blanchard, Barry Hervieux, Dan Carnevale, the Volants and the Downings for doing whatever needs to be done, the Boy Scouts (and their parents!) and all of the rest of the Arunah Volunteers for making this happen.
Thanks too to John Davis, whose enthusiasm for this hobby is a marvel to us all. John, you’ve earned your way off triple secret probation. Just let me or Steve give the driving directions…
Now to plan Star Watch, and then start thinking about AH Days ’08!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Ready for Arunah Hill Days!
As I write this, Arunah Hill Days is just 4 days away and the weather prospects are looking up. I hope to be up on the hill Thursday night with the setup preparations, but with the mowing crew this past weekend, the hill is looking good.
Look for a new feature at AH Days, The Arunah Hill Observing Challenge. There will be two versions, one for anyone wanting to log nine showpiece objects, and one for observers who want to "push the envelop". Anyone who complete the challenge will get their observations posted on this site.
A special thanks to new member Mike from Florence, MA, the first one to show up for the Saturday workday, for generously leaving his weed wackers for the weekend. Thanks also to mowers and trimmers John Davis, Barry Hervieux and his wife Pamela, Gary Cislak, Dan Carnevale, and of course Joe Zuraw and Steve Pielock, who also came up the hill on last Thursday to repair the hydraulic lines on the tractor.
Look for a new feature at AH Days, The Arunah Hill Observing Challenge. There will be two versions, one for anyone wanting to log nine showpiece objects, and one for observers who want to "push the envelop". Anyone who complete the challenge will get their observations posted on this site.
A special thanks to new member Mike from Florence, MA, the first one to show up for the Saturday workday, for generously leaving his weed wackers for the weekend. Thanks also to mowers and trimmers John Davis, Barry Hervieux and his wife Pamela, Gary Cislak, Dan Carnevale, and of course Joe Zuraw and Steve Pielock, who also came up the hill on last Thursday to repair the hydraulic lines on the tractor.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Perseid Shower? ... Sort of.
We had a nice Saturday night on the hill (August 11), though not exactly meeting my high expectations. First off, a beautifully clear morning sky turned in to a cumulus sky in the afternoon, and nightfall brought in some billowing anvils. When they cleared, we could see over-the-horizon lightning way off to the south. The murk over the Ct. River Valley never did clear out, though the Milky Way was vivid overhead by 10 PM.
The meteor rate never surpassed a rate of one every five minutes, though we did see a couple of blazers that left short lived trails.
Rich Volant and Ray Burk provided the entertainment, giving newcomers Mike and Shar from Florence, MA, lots of astronomy facts, cosmology musings, and their overall views of life, the universe, and anything else they could think of. Rich and his "Go TO" setup gave Mike and Shar a wonderful tour of the Summer Sky highlights.
Claudio had his home made refractor set up near the clubhouse, and another car or two joined us on the hill, though I never did figure out who was there.
Rich and I "almost" had the 24" collimated, it delivered "OK" views once I had the TelRad aligned and could find things. The Gaertner did its usual wonderful job on Jupiter, and we got to watch Io hide behind the gas giant.
My son Tyler enjoyed "touring the Milky Way", and counted over 20 satellites before fatiuge and cold (50?) drove him in for a while.
By morning the dew was heavy on the tent, and some clouds were moving in.
The meteor rate never surpassed a rate of one every five minutes, though we did see a couple of blazers that left short lived trails.
Rich Volant and Ray Burk provided the entertainment, giving newcomers Mike and Shar from Florence, MA, lots of astronomy facts, cosmology musings, and their overall views of life, the universe, and anything else they could think of. Rich and his "Go TO" setup gave Mike and Shar a wonderful tour of the Summer Sky highlights.
Claudio had his home made refractor set up near the clubhouse, and another car or two joined us on the hill, though I never did figure out who was there.
Rich and I "almost" had the 24" collimated, it delivered "OK" views once I had the TelRad aligned and could find things. The Gaertner did its usual wonderful job on Jupiter, and we got to watch Io hide behind the gas giant.
My son Tyler enjoyed "touring the Milky Way", and counted over 20 satellites before fatiuge and cold (50?) drove him in for a while.
By morning the dew was heavy on the tent, and some clouds were moving in.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
August Work Party
The 3 weeks of haze and thunderstorms finaly passed, and Saturday August 4 had the prettiest azure skies of the whole summer. As the morning went on, the view of the Holyoke range to the east got sharer and sharper.
By the time I got to the hill, Dan Carnevale had already weed whacked the area around the barn. When I got to the top of the hill, Bruce Blanchard was hard at work at the Gaertner making drawings for counterweights and brackets for the finder scope.
When Steve Pielock showed up that ment it was time to take out the big stuff... the tractor. After a "three stoges" routine, Steve, Bruce, and I had the backhoe off and the mower attachment ready to go. (Next time maybe we'll remember how the three point hitch mounts... chains on the outside.) Steve was soon off happily mowing everything in site. Amazing how the tractor can mow the same amount in 15 seconds as it takes to mow in 1/2 hour with a push mower.
Barry Hervieux and his daughters Steffanie and Samatha arrived on the hill and got to work burying the rest of the conduit between the clubhouse and the storage shed, then took over the push mower from me. Barry also ran some mice out of the shed. Seems like we haven't quite completely gotten over our mice problem.
Ray Burk also helped out, including a run to "Friendly Fred's" for 10 gallons of diesel for the tractor.
Some of us had to leave in mid-afternoon to get to the STARS Club picnic in nearby Buckland, even though this was going to be a fanatastic night on the hill.
Thanks to all those who helped out out. With only 5 weeks to Arunah Hill Days, we've got the place looking good! The road weathered the recent severe thunderstorms just fine, and we had minimal blow-down around the clearing. Driving up though Rt. 112 in Worthington, I saw a 200 year old oak tree took some major damage.
For those of you not going up to Stellafane this year, I hope to see you up on the hill for the Perseids next weekend
-Ed
By the time I got to the hill, Dan Carnevale had already weed whacked the area around the barn. When I got to the top of the hill, Bruce Blanchard was hard at work at the Gaertner making drawings for counterweights and brackets for the finder scope.
When Steve Pielock showed up that ment it was time to take out the big stuff... the tractor. After a "three stoges" routine, Steve, Bruce, and I had the backhoe off and the mower attachment ready to go. (Next time maybe we'll remember how the three point hitch mounts... chains on the outside.) Steve was soon off happily mowing everything in site. Amazing how the tractor can mow the same amount in 15 seconds as it takes to mow in 1/2 hour with a push mower.
Barry Hervieux and his daughters Steffanie and Samatha arrived on the hill and got to work burying the rest of the conduit between the clubhouse and the storage shed, then took over the push mower from me. Barry also ran some mice out of the shed. Seems like we haven't quite completely gotten over our mice problem.
Ray Burk also helped out, including a run to "Friendly Fred's" for 10 gallons of diesel for the tractor.
Some of us had to leave in mid-afternoon to get to the STARS Club picnic in nearby Buckland, even though this was going to be a fanatastic night on the hill.
Thanks to all those who helped out out. With only 5 weeks to Arunah Hill Days, we've got the place looking good! The road weathered the recent severe thunderstorms just fine, and we had minimal blow-down around the clearing. Driving up though Rt. 112 in Worthington, I saw a 200 year old oak tree took some major damage.
For those of you not going up to Stellafane this year, I hope to see you up on the hill for the Perseids next weekend
-Ed
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
August 10 weekend
I plan on attempting a long weekend at the Hill. I'm too cheap to go to Stellafane. Anyone else planning on stopping by? Are there any specific jobs that need to be done up there? Sounds like a few have been very busy lately.
I can bring up the micropolish if you guys want to try to finish restoring the 24 in mirror to a luster. Looking forward to some quality time on the hill after a long hiatus.
Rich
photonfix@yahoo.com
I can bring up the micropolish if you guys want to try to finish restoring the 24 in mirror to a luster. Looking forward to some quality time on the hill after a long hiatus.
Rich
photonfix@yahoo.com
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Thanks to all who worked at the July work party... on a nice party cloudy summer day, temperatures just under 80, a nice day to get things done. Bruce Blanchard cleaned the clubhouse out, John Davis mowed around all the buildings, and Ray Burk was a weed wacking dervish.
I got a start on scraping the Gaertner observatory in preperation for a paint job one of these week ends.
We may get a mention in an upcoming Astronomy Magazine (Thanks Jim Zebrowski!), thanks to John, Ray, and Bruce for posing for some pictures. With Dan's, I've got a stack to send to the magazine, let's see if something makes it to print!
I got a start on scraping the Gaertner observatory in preperation for a paint job one of these week ends.
We may get a mention in an upcoming Astronomy Magazine (Thanks Jim Zebrowski!), thanks to John, Ray, and Bruce for posing for some pictures. With Dan's, I've got a stack to send to the magazine, let's see if something makes it to print!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
June Work Party
Thanks to all those who participated in a productive work day. It was a warm and humid day, but the predicted thunder storms held off and we got a lot done.
Thanks go to Steve Pielock for his non-stop mowing. He kept the tractor moving so he could sun-burn evenly. What Steve couldn't get with the tractor, Dan Carnevale took care of with his weed eater.
Joe Zuraw had the chainsaw buzzing at the bottom of the hill, and with Ray Burk's assistance cleaned out much of the ice-storm damaged brush and small trees along the roadway.
Barry Hervieux did 'pick and shovel' work to get the conduit buried between the solar panels at the warming hut and the telescope storage shed. Meanwhile, his daughters Stephanie and Samantha helped me clean out the remnants of the mouse nests in the telescope storage building and the rocker boxes for both the 18" and 24" scopes. They then proceeded up to the pavilion and sweep out a year's worth of accumulated leaves and dirt.
Peter Scherff added a vintage "Arrunah Hill" (sic) sign to the telescope storage shed, and helped with the 24" mirror cleaning and remounting. With Steve's careful hand and lots of distilled water and alcohol (for the mirror, not the workers!), the 24" mirror is now back to operational if slightly tarnished condition. Pete took the 18" mirror home for a good cleaning.
Thanks to John Davis for his running to Worthington for gasoline for a lawn mower that wouldn't start, and his assistence and alway-wise counsel.
DeeDee Pielock also provided general assistance and helped run the Arunah Hill Days planning meeting. AHDays '07 will be upon us before you know it.
Now that we have easy access to both the 18" and the 24", let's enjoy them! We'll be planning some impromptu star parties this summer, contact me if you'd like to be on the email invites or check back on this blogspace. I think the first will be the weeken of June 15 & 16, the "Short Nights Star Party". Late sunset, but we'll have Venus and Saturn too keep us busy while we swat bugs and wait for the end of twilight. We also have the town of Windsor Star Party that weekend, after th public program we can then head back to Aruanh Hill.
Later this summer look for the kickoff of the work on the telescope restoration building, and the pouring of a couple of observing pads down-ramp from the telescope shed.
All-in-all a fun and productive day on the hill.
-Ed F
Thanks go to Steve Pielock for his non-stop mowing. He kept the tractor moving so he could sun-burn evenly. What Steve couldn't get with the tractor, Dan Carnevale took care of with his weed eater.
Joe Zuraw had the chainsaw buzzing at the bottom of the hill, and with Ray Burk's assistance cleaned out much of the ice-storm damaged brush and small trees along the roadway.
Barry Hervieux did 'pick and shovel' work to get the conduit buried between the solar panels at the warming hut and the telescope storage shed. Meanwhile, his daughters Stephanie and Samantha helped me clean out the remnants of the mouse nests in the telescope storage building and the rocker boxes for both the 18" and 24" scopes. They then proceeded up to the pavilion and sweep out a year's worth of accumulated leaves and dirt.
Peter Scherff added a vintage "Arrunah Hill" (sic) sign to the telescope storage shed, and helped with the 24" mirror cleaning and remounting. With Steve's careful hand and lots of distilled water and alcohol (for the mirror, not the workers!), the 24" mirror is now back to operational if slightly tarnished condition. Pete took the 18" mirror home for a good cleaning.
Thanks to John Davis for his running to Worthington for gasoline for a lawn mower that wouldn't start, and his assistence and alway-wise counsel.
DeeDee Pielock also provided general assistance and helped run the Arunah Hill Days planning meeting. AHDays '07 will be upon us before you know it.
Now that we have easy access to both the 18" and the 24", let's enjoy them! We'll be planning some impromptu star parties this summer, contact me if you'd like to be on the email invites or check back on this blogspace. I think the first will be the weeken of June 15 & 16, the "Short Nights Star Party". Late sunset, but we'll have Venus and Saturn too keep us busy while we swat bugs and wait for the end of twilight. We also have the town of Windsor Star Party that weekend, after th public program we can then head back to Aruanh Hill.
Later this summer look for the kickoff of the work on the telescope restoration building, and the pouring of a couple of observing pads down-ramp from the telescope shed.
All-in-all a fun and productive day on the hill.
-Ed F
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Team effort
To make it easier, once you figure out the correct access to this blog, then go to "settings" then "permissions" and invite yourself as an author with your own email account.
Food orgy
From Rich:
The first annual Arunah food orgy was a riot. Even Bob showed up! Was good to see everyone having so much fun at each others expense.
By the way, those were Johns mega binoculars. They are really huge. We would have stayed all weekend but I caught a bad cold and everyone disappeared by Sunday
so we decided to go home. A couple of other people showed up while we were packing. I guess next time we will plan on a one day event. Was good to see everyone. We had a great time. Here's to next year's potluck.
The first annual Arunah food orgy was a riot. Even Bob showed up! Was good to see everyone having so much fun at each others expense.
By the way, those were Johns mega binoculars. They are really huge. We would have stayed all weekend but I caught a bad cold and everyone disappeared by Sunday
so we decided to go home. A couple of other people showed up while we were packing. I guess next time we will plan on a one day event. Was good to see everyone. We had a great time. Here's to next year's potluck.
Monday, May 28, 2007
State Song
"Massachusetts" by Arlo Guthrie IS the Massachusetts State Folk Song already...
I enjoyed the first annual Memorial Day picnic a lot, got sunburned, and also made it home in time to see my wife. What more could a boy ask for??
RDB
p.s. I also gained 3.5 pounds! Bolide Stew Forever (chili, hot dogs, chips as well).
I enjoyed the first annual Memorial Day picnic a lot, got sunburned, and also made it home in time to see my wife. What more could a boy ask for??
RDB
p.s. I also gained 3.5 pounds! Bolide Stew Forever (chili, hot dogs, chips as well).
Memorial Day Weekend on the Hill
Rich and Debbie Volant may have 'accidental" started a new annual Arunah Hill tradition... the Memorial Day Weekend stargazing and bar-b-que grazing camp out. By Saturday night, the Volants, the Pielocks, the Faits, Joe Zuraw, Ray Burk, Bruce Blanchard, Bob Osgood, and John Davis were cooking up a pot luck storm around the campfire... chilis, hot dogs, ribs, lasagna, a bolide stew and more. It was the first time I had ever eaten bolide stew in daylight.
DeeDee passed around the book "Dutch Oven Recipes", and by the end of the night we were all planning next year's menu.
A clear sunset showed off Venus and a great gibbous moon in Rich's giant binoculars, but the clouds raced in before we could pick off Mercury and Saturn. Rich was setting up a test of some radio observing of Jupiter, results unknow when I left the hill. Rich?
After cloudout, Joe and Bruce entertained with songs around the campfire. We're all going to write our local reps to get Arlo's "Massachusetts" to be the state song!
-Ed F 5/28/07
DeeDee passed around the book "Dutch Oven Recipes", and by the end of the night we were all planning next year's menu.
A clear sunset showed off Venus and a great gibbous moon in Rich's giant binoculars, but the clouds raced in before we could pick off Mercury and Saturn. Rich was setting up a test of some radio observing of Jupiter, results unknow when I left the hill. Rich?
After cloudout, Joe and Bruce entertained with songs around the campfire. We're all going to write our local reps to get Arlo's "Massachusetts" to be the state song!
-Ed F 5/28/07
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