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As they move onward and upward in their careers, we must bid fond farewells to Mark Harter, and Sandy Miarecki. Sandy is on her way to Travis AFB CA (near San Francisco) to fly the C-5. Mark and his family will be in Omaha NE. Mark writes:
Thanks,
Mark Harter
("Buzz")
Please join me in welcoming Pauline Bechtold
pbecht@jag.af.mil
of Prattville, Darlene Snipes darlenesnipes@mindspring.com
, of Auburn and Rich Maurer the_maurers@email.msn.com
. We look forward to many nights under the stars with our new friends.
For the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, NOVA tells the inside story of one of the most difficult engineering feats of all time and the amazing scientific harvest that resulted, on "To the Moon," a two-hour special airing on PBS Tuesday, July 13, 1999, 7:00 PM CDT (check local listings).
"To the Moon" is the first documentary to cover the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the unsung scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to those astronauts who actually went, not once or twice, but six times, each time going to a more demanding and interesting location on the moon’s surface.
"To the Moon" also features interviews with seven of the 10 surviving moonwalkers, including Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 and the last man to stand on the lunar surface. http://www.pbs.org/whatson/1999/summer/novatomoon.html and http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tothemoon/
Leonids on the Horizon: What’s in store for the 1999 Leonid meteor shower? Experts make their predictions. FULL STORY at: http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast22jun99_1.htm
The Great Leonid Meteor Storm of 1833: This Feature
Story presents a charming, first-hand account of the great meteor shower
that marked the discovery of the Leonids and the birth of a new branch
of astronomy. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast22jun99_2.htm
New State Prison To Be Built Near Springfield, Vermont May Seriously Threaten Area’s Night Skies...
In the northeast US, Vermont remains one of the last—if diminishing— areas with significantly dark skies from which serious (and less serious) amateur astronomers can ply their passions for sky gazing and research. However, with each new development, shopping area or, in this case, institutional structure, the blows to the magnitude limit accumulate.
It has just come to my attention that a new State Prison is to be built near Springfield, Vermont. There are many reasons for objection to such a structure, however the one which will raise many an eyebrow amongst those of us who love Vermont’s night skies, is the potential practical destruction of said skies over Stellafane.
A petition is being circulated to affect reconsideration of the project and/or its impact on the night skies. Text is as follows:
Very few observatories in the United States have been granted National Historic "Landmark" status. As of 1989 the total Astronomical National Historic Landmarks numbered 18. Stellafane is one of 3 National Historic Landmarks located in the State of Vermont. It is the only one of those three that is an astronomical observatory as well as the site of the largest and oldest gathering of amateur astronomers in the entire United States, possibly the world. The attendance numbers over 2000 persons each year. It a cultural phenomenon and has also been a proving ground of many of the advances in astronomical instrumentation in use today.
Please prevent damage to the dark skies over the National Historic Landmark known as Stellafane by any means possible. This is important to countless amateur and professional astronomers across the world.
Tuesday night at the Town meeting in Springfield, Vermont several members of the Springfield Telescope Makers spoke on behalf of the endangered Stellafane Observatory, site of the world famous Porter Turret Observatory and the Stellafane Conventions which have been held over the last 75 years.
The townspeople listened with interest and sympathy to the concerns of the Stellafane organizers, who maintain that the proposed prison would still do severe harm to the night sky at a distance of just several miles. Holding streams of e-mail sent by the astronomical community around the world, I read various excerpts from the writings of Stellafane attendees who have patronized the surrounding businesses in Springfield and the rest of Vermont. The distant origins of some of the e-mail gave particular credence to our case, as well as their notability as scientific institutions. In particular, horror stories of other observatories being impaired by distances of 20 or 30 miles pointed up the problem at hand of a prison in the neighborhood of 4 miles from Breezy Hill.
The State Engineer, Jim Richardson, was aghast at the e-mail he received and admitted that he didn’t know what Stellafane was, so he looked it up. He seemed to be quite relieved that it was actually 4 miles instead of 3. He also seemed to think that since Breezy Hill was higher in elevation, that simple geometrical difference would make it all no problem.
We maintain that this makes not enough difference at all. It is TOO CLOSE. I was particularly amazed at how little is understood about the character of diffuse light in the moisture rich air of Vermont. There are still no plans of the facility or how the lights would be arranged. The Town is expected to vote on the prison with that little information.
The following day (June 23) two local papers (The Rutland Herald and The Eagle Times) carried front page stories about our members perspectives of how the prison would harm the Stellafane Convention, and the resultant loss to the tourist economy by the decreased attendance. It is universally agreed that the dark skies of Stellafane have and are essential to the operation of the convention, which has been the proving ground for astronomical instrumentation and amateur astronomy techniques since it was started in 1926. Estimates of the tourist impact of the Stellafane conventioneers and their families were received with very little surprise. The townspeople seemed well aware of how hard it is to get a hotel within 30 miles of Stellafane when it is near the time of the convention.
The e-mail PETITION and letter writing campaigns at stellafane.com have brought the concerns of Stellafane to the forefront with the most incredible speed and intensity imaginable. My perception is that the Town has thankfully become aware of the seriousness of our problem. As they weigh the negative effect to us along with their many other varied issues and concerns, it is hoped that the Town of Springfield will choose its heritage and future to be preserved by protecting Stellafane from the unwitting damage that will be caused by those Vermont State agencies that never noticed they had a revered National Historic Landmark and Observatory right there in Vermont where they want to build this prison.
Additional press coverage is expected in Friday’s Springfield Reporter, Sunday’s Eagle Times and also National news coverage in the New York Times in both the Saturday and Monday editions. NBC affiliate WNNE Channel 31 in White River Junction, VT did a video news spot on Stellafane’s problem that was aired on local news at 6 and 11pm on June 22nd. The associated press and several radio stations throughout the region are giving air time to the story as well.
The petition to Governor Howard Dean of Vermont has been and is still the key feature of this awareness raising exercise. The participation of hundreds of people in the astronomical community in both writing and disseminating the news story has given us a dearly held hope that the people of Town of Springfield will decide to make the prison go away with the power of their vote on Tuesday, June 29th.
We, like the stars, await the verdict.
Maryann
Arrien
President
Springfield
Telescope Makers
Stellafane
marrien@computer.net
Thanks
for all the support!
Wayne
"Waynbo" Zuhl
Secretary,
Springfield Telescope Makers
http://search.nytimes.com/search/daily/bin/fastweb?getdoc+site+iib-site+94+0+wAAA+Stellafane
Don't forget the meeting time change.
Hope to see everyone at the star party,
Russell