President's Message: October 2011
by Tom Thibault
October has arrived and while most of you may be sad to see summer go, I am not one of them. It’s not that I do not enjoy summer, but the late sunsets really cuts into my time under the stars. To the bewilderment of my wife, I’ve been anxiously waiting for this time of year to arrive. The sky goes dark early and the humidity in the air is low making for improved seeing. I’ve been tweaking my observatory and equipment. Jim Brenek corrected my mount’s pier plate to allow me to improve the polar alignment, so I’m looking forward to getting out and capturing photos of the heavens. I hope all of you find some time to get out and take in the sights the fall has to offer.
Our September speaker, Alan Sliski gave an interesting presentation concerning his latest project. Alan is currently involved in the restoration of a 9.5 inch Warner and Swasey mount built in 1916. Alan talked about the men, Worcester Warner and Ambrose Swasey, their training and the early history of their company. He showed some of their astronomy related works, and then got into the history of the telescope he’s presently restoring. It really looked like Alan was progressing nicely and indicated he would update us on his progress going forward.
October also marks the arrival of our premier event, AstroAssembly. Our 2nd V.P., Kathy Siok has organized a wonderful line-up of speakers this year. Kathy, with the help of numerous volunteers, has been diligently completing all the final details for what will be a memorable event. AstroAssembly has been a Skyscrapers tradition since 1952 and has been held annually with the exception of 1953 and 1954. This will make this year’s event our 57th in the long history of Skyscrapers. This month’s newsletter, as well as our Web Site following link, http://www.theskyscrapers.org/astroassembly/, has a full listing of guest speakers and activities. I urge our entire membership to attend AstroAssembly in support of our society. Come join in the festivities. What better way to spend a weekend than with good friends and those with a like interest of astronomy?
October we will continue with our Members’ Programs. On Friday the 21st we are planning to hold our 3rd installment of the Constellation Program featuring the Fall Season. We are planning to meet at Seagrave at 7:00. So we may plan accordingly, you must pre-register by email or phone by Wednesday October 19th. My information follows below:
Tom Thibault Phone: 1-401-489-1957 Email: Deepspaceviewer@aol.com
The start time for this program will be 7:00 pm. If you need instruction on how to use a planisphere you can arrive at 6:30 pm for training. Please indicate this to us when you pre-register.
We are also planning to hold a Members’ only Observing Night that evening as well. The evening will be closed to the public and all our telescopes will be open for our members viewing pleasure. Uranus and Neptune will be well placed for observing, so if you have never seen these two outer solar system planets, or it has been some time since you’ve observed them, come out and join your fellow Skyscrapers. We are planning to begin viewing at 8:00 PM.
My final note is a reminder to all: 2011/2012 membership dues were payable beginning in April. If you haven’t remitted your dues please do so at your earliest convenience to continue your support of Skyscrapers. Dues can be mailed to Skyscrapers Inc., 47 Peeptoad Road, North Scituate, RI. 02857, Attn: Jim Crawford, or feel free to see Jim personally during any of our functions he is in attendance.
