SMA Board of Directors
Meeting
4 April 2020
By Zoom
After some disorder and technical difficulties the meeting was
called to order by President Rob Burgess called the meeting to order at 1100
hrs. Those attending were Rob Burgess, Forrest Sumner, Ron Thompson, Al
DiSabitino, James Shields, Paul Howell,
Greg Thorup, Bob Dodge and Russ Pinizzotto. Unable to attend was George
Bokinsky, Kirk Rogers and Joan Chamberlin.
This meeting was the previously scheduled March 18 meeting that was
postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
No minutes were presented for review and approval. The minutes of the January 18, 2020 meeting
will be circulated with these minutes.
Committee Reports:
1.
Program Committee – several names were
circulated for possible speakers once normal meetings resumed including Thomas
Baumgarte from Bowdoin, Eileen Yingst, Chris Magri (UMF), and a new club member
willing to talk about his experiment to measure the temperature of the cosmic
microwave background radiation. It was
agreed to try a virtual meeting over Zoom with just the membership. A trial session will be held in which members
will be invited to join to work out bugs a few days before the actual
meeting. The program would be short,
primarily focused on Russ’ constellation program. We’ll see how it works and proceed from
there.
2. Membership:
Bob reported logo’s products from LL Bean were in. The
club will reimburse Bob and club members will pay their share to the club.
3.
Outreach:
James reported that the star party for the girls Scouts scheduled for
this month is obviously postponed until further notice. Rob reported that CREA (Cathance River
Education Alliance) requested an August star party at the Highland Green Golf
Course in Topsham. CREA has obtained
permission to set up on the course, next to the club house restaurant (which
will be open prior to). Decent
parking. It was decided that under current proclamations no star parties can be
held and must await lifting of such restrictions. Nevertheless, Greg offered to follow up with the outgoing president of the Cumberland
Fairground operation to meet the incoming president and retain our right to
use the facility for star parties. James presented the publicity poster his
daughter created for SMA and it was received with great enthusiasm and high
praise. It can be used to publicize
recurring SMA meeting and special events and is suitable for community bulletin
boards in colleges, libraries, etc.
4.
Equipment: It was again agreed that the
club needs to decide which of its unused equipment it should sell, which to
keep for lending within the club, and which to utilize for club star
parties. Ron will recirculate the list.
Forrest will get pictures of the
equipment he has. (Not discussed,
but the same should be done by Rob and Ron so that we can advertise items to be
sold).
5.
Dark Sky Advocacy: No report.
6.
Finance:
Ron reported the club has 36 paid members.
Included with these minutes is a
listing of club committees and their areas of responsibility and current
membership. Bob Dodge stated that
without a point person to act on recommendations from the Board nothing will
get done. The original design of the
committee assignments is that at least two directors would have responsibility
for each substantive area so that there would be accountability. That hasn’t worked as well as planned on
paper. Rob asked for thoughts on a new design or approach. Absent any change what will be needed is a
recommitment by Board members to effectively execute their committee
assignments. With the new board coming
on there should be three or four new directors who could be paired with
existing directors to fulfill these committee assignments.
In that vein, it was widely recognized
that Ron has performed many duties of other committees and that without his
effort the club wouldn’t be where it is today.
Ron is looking for relief from
all these tasks, particularly as to Membership.
He will prepare a list of all activities he is currently handling so
they can be properly reassigned/re-assumed by the respective committees.
Annual Meeting: Rob
reported that the annual meeting to elect new directors will have to wait until
we physically reconvene. At least three
directors (Greg, Joan and Paul) have offered to step down from the Board to allow some new directors to join. Rob
asked that names of possible candidates be forwarded to him to be considered by
a nominating committee he will appoint.
Adjourned at 1200 hrs.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Burgess
_________________________________________________________________________________
SMA Board of Directors
Meeting
18 January 2020
Norway Savings Bank
Falmouth, ME, 04105
President Rob Burgess called the meeting to order at 1000 hrs.
Those attending include Rob Burgess, Forrest Sumner, Ron Thompson, Al
DiSabitino, Joan Chamberlin, James Shields, and George Bokinsky. Unable to
attend: Kirk Rogers, Russell Pinizzotto, Paul Howell, and Gregory Thorup.
Approval on minutes of Board of Directors meetings on 9-21-2019
and 11-16-2019: The minutes were circulated and approved as amended.
Nomination of James Shields to replace Robert Page due to poor
health. James Shields described his developing interest in astronomy and work
with boy and girl scouts in astronomy projects as well as willingness to
participate in board of directors’ activities. His nomination was seconded and
approved by those present. Bob Page is thanked for his years of service to SMA.
Report of Dark Sky Advocacy Committee: Rob Burgess informed the board of his
discussion of dark skies at the annual meeting of the Friends of Merrymeeting
Bay, an organization of 450 members focused on educating about and preserving
the ecology of the bay. About 30 members
were present at the meeting. Rob complemented the group for its well-organized
fall to spring speaker series, holding it up as something SMA should emulate. Opportunities
for direct interaction with SMA are limited because of the different club
missions, but FOMB is interested in efforts to control light pollution and also
in collaborating on a star party, much like local land trusts.
Rob reported that the Brunswick Planning Board finally approved
amendments to its zoning ordinance limiting the correlated color temperature of
new outdoor lights to 3000°K,
and requiring full cut off fixtures for any outdoor lamp above 1800 lumens. Final approval by the Town Council is still
required and will be presented shortly.
SMA is invited to join “Dark Sky Maine” website being developed
by Colin Cassie of the CMAS (Central Maine Astronomical Society) of Whitefield,
John Meader of Northern Skies Planetarium in Fairfield and a woman from the Mt.
Desert area.
Rob shared a copy of a Technical Assistance Bulletin “Promoting
Quality Outdoor Lighting in Your Community” prepared by the State Planning
Office as part of its January 14, 2010 report to the Business, Research and
Economic Development Committee of the 124th Session of the Maine
Legislature. The report was in response
to LD 11, “Resolve To Encourage the Preservation of Dark Skies,” signed by Gov.
Baldacci on May 4, 2009. Unfortunately, with the election of Paul LePage as
governor later in 2010 the State Planning Office was abolished and the report
has sat on a shelf ever since. It does
represent a good planning tool that can be used in our advocacy effort with
various towns and members were encouraged to share it with their
representatives.
Russell Pinizzotto’s letter to Elon Musk regarding swarms of
micro-satellites adversely affecting astronomy in multiple forms was briefly
discussed. More signatures are being gathered at this time.
Report of Program Committee: Joan Chamberlin and George Bokinsky as members
of the committee sought feed-back regarding recent meetings. The pre-meeting
gathering over coffee at 18:30 appears to be popular allowing mixing and casual
conversation among members and visitors. This should be continued. Some
expressed hope that Edward Gleason would provide more publicity of SMA meetings
at the Southworth Planetarium. Ron Thomson reports that internet service in the
facility has greatly improved through installing a router on site. This opens
the possibilities for expanded presentations.
Recent presentation including “forgotten astronomers,” book
reviews, astro-shorts including “top 10 of 2019 in astronomy” received support.
Russell Pinizzotto’s constellation of the month drew high praise. Whether to
not these presentation can be placed on the SMA website is uncertain for
reasons that appear to be complex and worthy of further discussion.
Future topics pending for presentation at the monthly SMA
meetings include: Astro-year in review, black-hole imaging, gravitational
waves, recent article on a statistical solution to the chaotic non-hierarchical
3- body problem, etc. Rob will resend
the list from a popular astronomy magazine and encourage all directors to take
one of the topics for discussion at future meetings
The state of current invited speakers appears unsettled. Rob will
contact several local professors; Joan offered to reach out to Prof Julie
Ziffer at USM. James suggested his wife,
Linda Shields, on Girl Scout Astronomy;
George - Dr. Carl Rodriguez of Harvard-Smithsonian CFA on BH dynamics, and Kirk
Rogers on mythology of the constellation.
With quality internet accessibility Rob will contact Dr. Ryan Hickox at
Dartmouth for a possible Skype presentation.
Rebroadcasting TED talks on astronomy was also discussed as topics for
future meetings.
Report of Outreach Committee:
Rob Burgess asked James Shields to join Ron Thompson on this
committee and James agree to do so. Scheduled events status was discussed by
Ron including cancellation of the Scarborough HS event, the Westbrook High
School event scheduled for 1-20-2020 is still on and may be at the football
field. Members are asked to participate. An event at Cape Elizabeth High School
is tentatively set for 1/30/20, starting with a talk at the HS and observing at
Gull Crest field.
Jon Wallace’s presentation
of micro-meteorites at the Freeport, ME library is still scheduled for
2-3-2020 at 1700-1900 hrs.
Ron Thompson discussed the state of Cornerstones of Science
library lending program for telescopes. Over 300 telescopes are now available
for the public nation-wide. Cornerstones
has a grant for a program at Maine State Parks and Ron was interviewed
by the Portland Press Herald regarding it. The kick-off of the program will be on the UM
Orono campus. Ron will keep SMA apprised
of further developments and how we might participate.
Report of Equipment
Committee: Forrest reported he and Kirk Rogers have been unable to get
together to make recommendations on what equipment should be sold, and then how
to sell it, as well as lending policies for club equipment.
Report of Membership Committee: Al DiSabitino was
nominated and agreed to join Bob Dodge on the Membership Committee. The process of getting products with SMA logo
from LL Bean was described and will be made known to the membership.
Suggestions regarding improving the membership experience were solicited
including greeting and following-up with first time attendees at meetings,
recognition awards for contributions to astronomy by members. Supporting young
members’ growth in astronomy was a focus.
The Membership Committee was tasked with reviewing the Sept 2019 Reflector article on ways to grow a club
and to report to the Board at its March 21st meeting with its
recommendations.
Annual Meeting: The
difficulties of attending director meetings was discussed by Rob Burgess due to
available time, distance of travel, health, and other commitments. Rob will
canvas existing directors who have missed multiple meetings to learn their
intentions and to ask them to consider other ways of helping the club other
than as a director. It is expected that
as many as 3-4 new directors may need to be recruited and a nominating
committee will be appointed to develop a slate of interested members for any
positions that open up.
Directors’ planning
retreat: Rob proposed the idea of
an informal gathering of Directors for a few hours to evaluate the club’s
mission and direction, given our recent 15th anniversary. Are our founding objectives still relevant
today? Do we want to commit to finding a
permanent location for placement of our equipment or should we remain
“stateless” and focus more on monthly meetings and occasional star
parties? Should we focus on recruiting
younger members? If so, how would that
be accomplished? A list of such
questions would need to be developed beforehand to make a retreat effective.
Home-base for SMA: There
was insufficient time to explore options regarding Hurricane Valley in
Falmouth and the former BNAS facility in Brunswick. Rob met with the Executive Director of the
Cathance River Education Alliance in Topsham to discuss such options. Logistically there was no fit in terms of
their site, access for equipment, etc..
Rob will pursue Tom Wright for possibilities at the Brunswick site.
Next Meeting: Saturday, March 21, 2020, 10 am, Norway
Savings Bank, Falmouth.
Adjourned precisely at 1200 hrs.
Respectfully submitted,
George Bokinsky
_________________________________________________________________________________
SMA Directors Meeting
16 November 2019, 1000 hrs
Norway Savings Bank Community Room
Falmouth, ME
President Rob Burgess convened the
meeting at 1000 hours with the following Directors present: Forrest Sumner, Bob
Dodge, Ron Thompson, and Joan Chamberlin.
Also present was club member Russ
Pinozzotto. As the number of directors
has shrunk to nine, a quorum of five members was present.
Report of committees and
discussion follows:
1.
Dark Sky
Committee: Rob Burgess reported that the Town of Brunswick is finally
taking up amendments to its ordinance relating to outdoor lighting. The next meeting is Nov 26 at which Rob
intends to press the case for amendments, including a 3000k standard (or less)
for LEDs.
2.
Equipment
Committee: Ron
Thompson provided an updated list of club owned assets and their location. Forrest
Sumner reports no progress in developing a plan to sell or trade unused SMA
telescopes. He plans to meet with Kirk Rogers to develop a plan for liquidating
unneeded equipment and establishing protocols for the lending out of club
equipment.
3.
Program
Committee: There
was no formal report so those in attendance discussed ideas for future meetings
and settled on the following:
·
December –
largely a social event/open house that will be coordinated with Ed Gleason,
asking for his publicizing the event through his list as well as by SMA. The SMCC Astronomy Club will be specifically
invited. Russ Pinizzotto will present on
the winter solstice.
·
January – in the
vein of So Santa Brought You a Telescope the club will offer a program aimed at
beginners with Astronomy 101 and basic tips on observing. Individual telescope assistance will be
offered. Outreach efforts will be
intensified, reaching out to newspapers and community calendars. Bob suggested
we seek out some form of “Astronomy Year in Review” at present it at this
meeting (or Feb) to educate and highlight all the amazing developments in the
past year.
·
February / March
– Rob will reach out to Dr. Thomas Baumgarte and Dr. Aileen Yingst to see if
they could come during this period. It
was suggested that Prof Julie Zipher at USM should also be approached. Russ indicated he had a friend at Sky &
Tel who might also be approached to present to the club. Joan’s contact at CFA
might be able to return, or might be able to suggest another grad student who
might welcome the opportunity to present to a club like SMA.
4.
Outreach: Ron Thompson reported that
three new star party/outreach events had been received through Night Sky
Network: Westbrook HS in December; Manchester
Elementary School in Windham (in class to young students); and another event in
Scarborough Marsh on 12/30 with the Eastern Trail Association. Ron stated he will see if member James
Shields will join the Outreach Committee as James enjoys organizing these kinds
of events.
There was general discussion of Outreach
techniques. Rob pointed out that thee
club in its early history sent news releases to a variety of newspapers and
other organizations and that a robust outreach effort would require something
similar, supplemented by communicating with more modern-day social media
platforms. The club should seek
assistance from younger, more tech and social media savvy members to assist
with this outreach effort. Bob
recommended that the club develop some form of poster that could be placed
around local campuses and through local organizations (banks, libraries,
grocery stores) that advertised SMA and provided contact information. (The
last-used media contact list is appended to these minutes for reference.)
5.
Membership:
Several of
the points on growing membership raised in the latest issue of Reflector
magazine (pp. 20-21) were discussed. Out
of 28 suggestions it was agreed we were doing about 8 or 9 and there were good
ideas we could adopt. This discussion
will continue at the next Directors’ Meeting as the article offers a
comprehensive template for improving and growing any astronomy club.
Russ expressed his desire to see the AL Observing
Clubs gain a higher profile in SMA. The
programs are exceptional learning opportunities to know the night sky. If more SMA members were participating in
these programs and sharing their experiences there would no doubt be more
enthusiasm and “dark-sky competency” in the club, and probably a greater
willingness to participate in and support club outreach efforts, especially
star parties.
6.
Website: In prior email
communication Rob had reported that our student designer, Vivian Gordon, was in
Sweden this semester/school year, and while she professed an ability to make
other refinements it was his view such would be difficult at this stage of the
project. Bob Dodge suggested that the project
be back-burnered at this point. Bob’s
concern was based on the lack of internal talent to maintain something
new. He felt there was utility in the
current system such that we could live with its insufficiencies rather than
taking on more responsibility without the talent infrastructure to maintain
it. Bob felt more and better
communication to the membership about what we have would address many of the
concerns previously expressed by members.
7.
Director Engagement: There
was general discussion about expectations of Directors to attend board meetings
and fulfill committee assignments. Bob
stated SMA operates much more as a hobby club than a non-profit in that
participation appears to be less of a priority.
There was discussion about what can be expected from all volunteers;
many reported similar challenges in other organizations they have worked with
in the past. Life changes and no one
can predict when new demands will befall someone who had the best of intentions
to serve SMA. However, SMA is a
501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and the duties owed to it by its board are set
forth in statute. They include a duty of
loyalty and care in the administration of its functions. It was agreed that Rob would have a
discussion with all directors about their ability to carry on their director
role given their other life responsibilities such that if circumstances or
changing interests have lessened their ability to serve the club, then they
might consider ceding their seat to a new director come the April 2020 annual
meeting. A case in point is Bob Page’s recent decision to step down, a decision
that was communicated to Rob. Rob
expressed his appreciation for Bob’s service to the club and the manner in
which he explained and communicated his decision.
8.
New Director: Rob reminded the Board that we were down two
members. The bylaws allow replacement
members to be appointed by the Board.
Rob had spoken to Al DiSabatino about filling the role as Al has been an
active participant at meetings and star parties and has a genuine interest in
the club. There was unanimous acceptance
of this recommendation, so with a quorum bring present, Al was approved as a
new board member completing the term of Bob Page.
Rob will
try to reach Kerry Kertes to see if he wants to resume his role as Director
since he did not end up undertaking a job in St. Petersburg, Russia.
9.
Next Meeting: January 17, 2020.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Burgess
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
SMA Directors Meeting
21 September 2019
The scheduled meeting of the SMA Directors was convened at 1000
hrs by Rob Burgess, President, with attendees including Forrest Sumner, Bob
Dodge, Ron Thompson, Kirk Rogers, Dwight Lanpher, and George Bokinsky.
Committee Reports:
1. Dark Sky Advocacy Committee:
Subjects discussed include Rob Burgess communications with Town
of Brunswick regarding plans to replace all street lighting downtown with LED
and arguments regarding color/temperature to be installed.
2. Program Committee:
Joan Chamberlin was unable to attend this meeting and the plans
for the October, 2019 SMA meeting were discussed including a review of the book
“Zwicky” describing the life and work in multiple areas of Fritz Zwicky. This
may provide a future option to add astronomy focused book reviews as part of
the “famous” astronomer topic series.
Potential future speakers mentioned include Irene Yingst for the
November meeting, Chris Maggery for a discussion of the radioastronomy of
near-Earth asteroids, Ryan Hickocks of Dartmouth University via Skype. Problems
with remote connections at the Southworth Planetarium would be of potential
concern.
3. Outreach Committee:
Upcoming potential events for club participation include an event
at Wolfsneck Oceanfront, LL Bean on
October, 26 to include both solar and night sky viewing at the Freeport site,
Crystal Springs Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust also in November. Also a possible
relationship with Camp Sunshine as a year-round camp for children and families
with disabilities. This may also be a day sky site.
Dwight Lanpher described programs in place by other clubs in
Maine including scheduling monthly events monthly around the time of the new
Moon. Weather being the main obstacle, notification practices range from
spur-of-the moment e-mail, text messaging alerts, or nothing.
4. Equipment Committee:
Forrest Sumner and Kirk Rogers described options for finding new
owners for under-used SMA telescopes including the 15” Dobsonian and the 16”
Newtonian through Astromart. The mirror of the 16” telescope may be more of use
to a potential buyer.
5. Membership Committee:
SMA club featured items can be offered through LL Bean.
6. Financial Report:
Ron Thompson reports the SMA account as of August, 2019 to be
$5297.35 balance with expenses to include $105.85 for the Go-Daddy domaine,
$134.00 for SMA postoffice box in Cumberland, ME, and $250.00 for annual
Astronomical League membership. SMA contributions to BTLT were $50.00, Dark Sky
Network $50.00, and monthly expense for coffee and snacks at meeting about
$30.00. Liability insurance is $438.00 per year.
7. SMA Webpage:
Vivian lead a discussion of the modest goals and philosophy of
the website, a desire to make it easy to use as a means of communication with
the public, and the complexity of seeing it current.
Meeting adjourns at 1200 hours.
Respectfully submitted,
George Bokinsky
_______________________________________________________________________________
Board of Directors Meeting
18 May 2019
Present: Rob Burgess, Bob Page, Bob Dodge, Paul Howell, Kerry Kertes, George Bokinsky. Absent: Forrest Sumner, Ron Thompson, Joan Chamberlin, Kirk Rogers, Greg Thorup.
SMA Website: The majority of the meeting was devoted to the status of development of a new SMA Website currently in development by Vivian Gordon of CEHS mentored by Kerry Kertes. The purpose of the changes are to improve connectivity to the Night Sky Network, lessen the use of Yahoo Groups as some members are not users of this social network, and to make the SMA website more attractive and useful to younger generation of potential astronomers or current astronomers a demographic that SMA seeks to attract. This scribe confesses that terms used during the presentation required translation at times being unfamiliar and found himself recording as fast as possible in cursive but three sentences behind the conversation at many times. Delays in getting the projector to connect to the computer were however amusing is this high tech environment but was pleasing to see speaker and members coming to a solution.
The prototype website was shown in the mode that can be currently viewed on the internet. Functions and flow through the site were described by the speaker prompting questions and suggestions from those in attendance. These include connections to commonly used social media, calendar of events, administrative privileges, options for comments by viewers, “chat” of blog features, ability to post images, and links via NSN to sky clock, APOD, and educational resources of the NSN. 🌌 The presentation by Vivian was OMG🎆.
Decisions made during the meeting were to opt for the nighttime mode rather than day time, and work toward abandoning Yahoo Groups after discussion of subject at the time of the June meeting when Ron Thompson will present the current SMA website for comparison.
Program Committee Discussion: The June meeting will feature a discussion of the SMA website. July meeting will occur on the 11th of the month due to the holiday and be devoted to recollections of Apollo 11 mission 50th anniversary. The August meeting will be cancelled as would have occurred only two weeks after the July meeting. September’s meeting may have as featured speaker Morgan McLeod currently at Harvard CFA and a Maine native and Bowdoin graduate. Continuing the format of what’s up in the sky as developed by Russ Pinizzotto have been very favorably received and incorporation of “tools of astronomy” practical astronomy sessions as a new feature.
Star Parties: Recent star parties at Cumberland’s Twin Brooks on April 25, and at the Portland Yacht Club on May 6 were discussed. The participation at the Portland Yacht Club involved 6 members of SMA and hosted members of the PYC and neighbors of the PYC. The skies were cooperative, sessions on the night skies and use of star maps applies in the outdoor classroom, viewing through binoculars and telescopes demonstrated the strengths of these tools. The reception was:👍👏😀
The use of emojis changes the script irreversibly.
Rough draft,
George Bokinsky
_______________________________________________________________________________
Business Items:
Dark Skies: Paul Howell. Rob Burgess Equipment: Forrest Sumner, Kirk Rogers
Program: Rob Burgess, George Bokinsky
Membership: Greg Thorup, Bob Dodge
6. SMA Polo Shirt: Rob Burgess showed a SMA polo shirt that can be obtained from LL Bean.
Board meeting will be scheduled quarterly
George Bokinsky
____________________________________________________________
SMA Directors Meeting
16 March 2019, 1000 hrs
Norway Savings Bank
Community Room
Falmouth, ME
President Rob Burgess convened the meeting at 1000 hours with
Directors present including Forrest Sumner, Robert Page, Bob Dodge, Kirk
Rogers, Paul Howell, Ron Thompson, and George Bokinsky.
Report of committees and discussion follows:
1. Dark
Sky Committee: Rob Burgess lead the
report beginning with Town of Brunswick events including Cooks Corner Shopping
Center renovations failing to meet standards regarding lighting of parking lot
and measurements made by SMA member Dwight Lanpher of light intensity, forward
directing cut-off lamps as possibly violating town ordinance. A letter was sent
to the town regarding this matter but may be moot as the shopping center is
“grandfathered” under previous standards. The town ordinance regarding lighting
standards appears to be limited and in need of reconsideration. Issues such as
“light trespass” appear to be frequent. Efforts to work with State of Maine on
making the state or its parks designated as dark sky sites may be of economic
value promoting tourism have not yet begum.
2. SMA
Equipment Committee: Forrest Sumner reports no progress in developing a
plan to sell or trade unused SMA telescopes. A storage plan for these assets
currently at the homes of Directors Forrest Sumner, Ron Thompson, and Rob
Burgess is limited by the costs of rental storage units depleting club cash
flow. Possible sites at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station or SMCC were
briefly discussed by Paul Howell. This may allow shared use of the equipment by
students and faculty. George Bokinsky offered to contact the Town of Falmouth
Land Trust regarding using their facilities for both storage and as potential
shed-observatory space.
3. Program
Committee: The format of the 7 March 2019 SMA meeting involved the first
hour presentation by Dr. Elizabeth McGraft of Colby College, followed by a
brief break, and ending with Dr. Russell Pinizzotto discussing the Gemini
constellation. The format received favorable reviews. Dr McGraft
described her work on the evolution of large scale structures including
galaxies and the differentiation of star forming blue spiral galaxies from old
red elliptical/globular non-star forming galaxies as being a continuum over
time. The relationships of dark matter and dark energy to this process
enlivened the productive discussion that followed. Dr. Pinizzotto
presented the Gemini constellation from a historical perspective and it
relationship to the ecliptic and as being the constellation in which Pluto was
first imaged by Clyde Tombaugh. Asterisms and images of nebula found within or
near the confines of the Gemini were shown as targets for viewing. This
presentation was also well-received. Several members asked for copies of his
presentation which he kindly shared. Attendance at the meeting was 29 members
and others. Ed Gleason provided notice to followers of his astronomy
column. The cost of coffee and pastries was also discussed. Projector quality
problems lead to revisiting the issue of using a high definition TV screen
which was felt to be too small for the space and using SMA’s screen and a
better projector.
4. SMA
Website: Rob Burgess reported that he had met with Kerry Kertes and
high school student Vivian on the status of the website. This will be
accessed through the Night Sky Network. She may join us at the May meeting to
discuss the project.
5. Outreach:
The challenge of responding in meaningful manner to requests for club
participation in community events was revisited. Full moon observing in
February, 2019 at Bradbury State Park apparently consisted of one SMA member
but was a success per Ron Thompson. Other requests include the
Brunswick-Thopsham Land Trust in August, Town of Cumberlan at Twin Brooks park
in April, and S. Portland Parks and Recreation in May, 2019.
6. Membership:
Bob Dodge continued the discussion of the questionnaire given to members to
determine their wishes for content and meetings and for other club activities.
The audience varies in interests and expertise. Developing programs to help
members new to astronomy. Creating space at the meeting site to teach the
basics of astronomy as has been done by Joan Chamberlin will serve as a
model with a curriculum developed.
7. Annual
Meeting: Rob Burgess discussed the format for the election of new Directors
at the annual meeting next month. Half of the current board will be nominated
for one year terms and the other half for 2 year terms so the the board can
overlap with new members. Kerry Kertes plans to resign his board
membership given his plans to relocate in the near future. A nominating
committee will be formed to seek a replacement. Notice of the meeting will be
sent within the week to members via Night Sky Network.
8. Treasurer’s Report: Ron Thompson reported
the club’s account to be $6475.84 at the end of February and that since then he
has payed insurance of $438.00.
Respectfully submitted,
George Bokinsky
_______________________________________________________________________________
SMA Directors Meeting
2 February 2019
Norway Savings Bank, Falmouth, ME
The meeting convened at 1000 by President Rob Burgess. Those present Forrest Sumner, Ron
Thompson, Greg Thorup, Bob Page, Bib Dodge, and George Bokinsky. Absent members
include Joan Chamberlin, Kirk Rogers, Paul Howell, and Kerry Kertes.
Committee Reports:
1. Dark Skies Committee: The committee plans to communicate with Governor Janet Mills
and Commissioner Amanda Beal through a “concept” letter regarding use of certain state
parks as “dark sky sites” to promote night sky viewing to promote eco-tourism. The
committee will continue to follow Maine towns and cities efforts to convert municipal lights
to LEDs. Forrest Sumner reported the different approaches being used by small towns
compared with the plan being used by Portland.
2. SMA Equipment Committee: An inventory of SMA astronomy assets is provided by Ron
Thompson and is attached to these minutes. The wide distribution of these assets and
other issues makes use of telescopes by SMA members difficult. The costs and
advantages of renting storage with combination lock or key access were discussed in brief
in the context of impact on the SMA budget. The Committee will explore options and
report costs as part of this planning. Various locations including Cumberland Fair Grounds
and former BNAS facilities were mentioned. The Committee will also develop a plan for the
disposal of unused or underused assets. Relocating the SMA projection screen was also
discussed.
3. Membership Committee: Bob Dodge reported the results of a membership survey with
40% response regarding various topics of interest. The top two request were a more user
friendly web site and the addition to monthly meetings of “how to” sessions on a variety of
potential topics. The Committee was asked to create a short list of potential topics to
present at SMA meetings regarding specific interests. (Viewing the skies through binoculars
being one such topic.) An extended discussion of the SMA web site followed with
recognition that most directors were unfamiliar with the functionality of the Night Sky
Network or Yahoo Groups. The development of the current web site changes through Kerry
Kertes and CEHS student Vivian remains uncertain. General agreement exists that SMA
access via the internet should be simple and that SMA lacks the resources to develop and
maintain this functionality internally. Night Sky Network (NSN) may be of assistance in
supporting SMA website development and serve as a portal for communication with the
public and membership. Ron Thompson will explore these possibilities with NSN and the
Committee will explore elimination of Yahoo Groups as a primary means of contact.
4. Program Committee: Programs for meetings through July, 2019 are established. The
February meeting will feature bluShift Aerospace; March: Dr. Elizabeth McGraft of Colby
College topic TBA; April: Dwight Lanpher to discuss the Leviathan of Parsontown, Ireland;
May: Jon Wallace topic TBA; June: NSN tutorial, and July: Open Mic - Reminiscences of
the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing - 50 years later.
5. Outreach Committee: Ron Thompson reported on the 2/1/2019 star party with the
Cornerstones of Science and Bath Public Library in Bath, ME on a very cold night. There is
also an opportunity to participate in a full moon event at Bradbury State Park on about
February 23. These outreach events have been supported by only a limited number of SMA
members for a variety of interest, logistical, and scheduling reasons along with the
unpredictable nature of weather. Most effective participation has been with various existing
organizations such as land trusts, libraries, and other established community organizations
with support of the communities and appropriate sites. The club President suggested that
SMA reassess its internal commitment to the support of this kind of outreach or not
promote it but rather respond to requests ad hoc.
6. Finance: As of 12-31-2018, the club had $6,190.47 on deposit. Dues generated $1,144.50
in 2018 with expenses exceeding this by $200.00. Potential options of raising dues or
recruiting more members were discussed to cover the overhead. 42 members were
recorded as of that date some of whom were honorary members not expected to pay dues.
Reducing costs and the costs of checks and post office box were discussed.
7. Annual Meeting: The Annual Meeting of Members and the Annual Meeting of Directors will
occur during the regular meeting on April 4, 2019 at the Southworth Planetarium at USM. In
order to stagger the termination dates of the Directors’ two year terms, five Director names
will be randomly drawn to be nominated for new 2-year terms at this April meeting so that
half will expire in 2020 and half in 2021. Once the Directors are elected, they will elect
Officers of the club with the President and Vice President serving one-year terms up to a
maximum of six consecutive terms. Notice to membership is required no later than 14 days
in advance of the meeting. Members will be invited to self-nominate for the vacancy
created by the resignation of Kerry Kertes due to work relocation. Rob Burgess will get a
Notice of Annual Meeting to the Club Secretary for emailing to membership.
8. Directors. Meetings: General agreement among the Board members exists that quarterly
meeting of Directors is too infrequent to maintain momentum for progress on issues of
concern. Meetings every other month is determined to be a potential solution with Rob
Burgess publishing a new list no later that the first Saturday so as the precede the next club
meeting, allowing time to better craft content for the meeting.
9. Club Wardrobe items: The Membership Committee is asked to contact LL Bean regarding
minimum order size and pricing for a variety of the “logo-grammed” items they offer and to
report this information back to the club. Other items such a bumper stickers and pens
featuring SMS logo that might be distributed to promote the clubs were briefly mentioned.
Meeting adjourned at 1200 hrs.
Respectfully submitted,
George Bokinsky, Secretary.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Southern Maine Astronomers
Board of Directors Meeting
9-8-2018
Attending: Robert Burgess (President), Forrest Sumner (Vice President), Ron Thompson
(Treasurer), Robert Dodge, Kirk Rogers, Joan Chamberlin, Bob Dodge (by telephone), and
George Bokinsky (Secretary). Absent: Greg Thorup, Paul Howell, and Kerry Kertes.
The May, 2018 minutes were discussed and accepted.
Committee Reports:
1. Dark skies: Recent efforts in Falmouth, ME (Nathan Poore, Town Manager) and in Portland
were discussed along with recent extended article in the Portland Press Herald regarding
efforts to designate certain State Parks as Dark Skies Sites along with the recent National
Monument in Northern Maine. Discussion followed regarding releasing a SMA position
paper on this subject with goal of promoting dark skies as reason for visitors to come to
Maine along with the State’s other better known attractions.
2. Club Equipment Assets: The various SMA telescopes listed as being “keepers” include
those intended to continue to be used including the 8”, 9.25”, and 11” diameter telescopes
while the large Dobson was deemed too cumbersome and best sold with proceeds used to
purchase a more user-friendly instrument. The ultimate goal is to train and “qualify” members
so that the telescopes could be used by the wider membership. The inventory of other club
assets was also discussed as well as locations.
3. Membership Committee: Rob Burgess, Greg Thorup, Bob Page. Goal of attracting younger
member prompted Kerry Kertes and a Cape Elizabeth High School student to review SMA’s
presence on the “web” the results of which are still pending. Other items brought up in the
discussion include announcing SMA meetings on the Night Sky Network, the status of internet
access in the Southworth Planetarium, and re-instituting the use of name tags for club
meetings.
4. Outreach Committee: Status report on work by Kerry and Vivian (CEHS student) is pending.
Ron Thompson announced tentative plans for a Star /Solar Party at LL Bean for either
10-6-2018 or 10-13-2018.
5. Program Committee: Joan Chamberlin is seeking visiting speakers from within the Maine
community and has contacted a Colby College professor whose schedule for October in not
certain. George Bokinsky volunteered to speak on June 2018 Nature article on macromolecules
in the plume of Enceladus and introduce a “forgotten” astronomer whose name should be
remembered.
Treasurer’s Report:
Ron Thompson reports the club’s account is $5395.98 as of the meeting time.
Respectfully,
George Bokinsky
_____________________________________________________________
Southern Maine Astronomers
Board of Directors Meeting
5 May 2018, 1000 hrs
Present: Rob Burgess (President), Forrest Sumner (Vice. President), Greg Thorup, Kerry Kertes, Kirk Rogers, Bob Dodge, Joan Chamberlin, Paul Howell, George Bokinsky (Secretary). Absent: Ron Thompson (Treasurer) and Robert Page
Business Items:
1. SMA Mission Statement: Rob Burgess reviewed the by-laws and the stated mission of SMA as being science, education, public outreach, and social events for members and guests including viewing of night skies.
2. An additional item of interest that was discussed includes dark skies advocacy to the public and local governments by sharing knowledge of health effects, safety concerns, and esthetics of light pollution as well as the fiscal benefits of lowering light pollution. This activity would best be part of a coordinated efforts with other astronomy clubs within Maine and beyond. Paul Howell volunteered to coordinate this effort and measure night light levels in various locations in Maine. Identifying locations in Maine as a dark-sky sites will be of potential commercial benefit in promoting tourism.
3. Committees within SMA (current and discussed): 1. Membership Committee. 2. Dark-skies Advocacy committee. 3. Executive Committee of club officers. 4. Nominating Committee of officers. Program Committee. 5. SMA Equipment committee. Outreach Committee: Includes education outreach at Cape Elizabeth High School, liaison with other clubs, media, and the public.
4. SMA astronomy assets: Telescopes owned by the club were reviewed with intent to sell telescopes difficult to transport and use and use the moneys to buy a newer and more adaptable Dobsonian telescope. Explore Scientific truss telescope’s cost and details was discussed along with other items including SMA projector and screen, flat-screen TV, imaging video equipment, and options for storage as well as making equipment available to SMA members.
5. Committee volunteers:
Outreach: Kerry KertesDark Skies: Paul Howell. Rob Burgess Equipment: Forrest Sumner, Kirk Rogers
Program: Rob Burgess, George Bokinsky
Membership: Greg Thorup, Bob Dodge
6. SMA Polo Shirt: Rob Burgess showed a SMA polo shirt that can be obtained from LL Bean.
Board meeting will be scheduled quarterly
George Bokinsky
____________________________________________________________
SMA Board of Directors
13 January 2018, 1000 hrs
almost all of the accumulated snow to properly welcome the assembled directors. Attending
the meeting were President Forrest Sumner, Treasurer Ron Thompson, Director Greg Thorup,
Director Kirk Rogers, Director Rob Burgess, and Secretary George Bokinski.
Unable to attend include Director Joan Chamberlin, Director Paul Howell, Director Robert Page, Director Kerry Kertes, and Vice President Russell Pinizzotto.
President Forrest Sumner convened the meeting and reported the Vice President Pinizzotto
had accepted employment in PA as University Provost and will be teaching astronomy as partof his duties. As such, he will be unable to continue as VP of SMA.
1. Discussion of Annual Meeting of SMA
Rob Burgess briefly reviewed the by-laws regarding election of Directors and the necessity for
sending advances notice to the membership regarding the annual meeting. The last annualmeeting was in March 2017. A date later than March, 2018 was deemed desirable to lessen the
risk of canceling the meeting due to a snow storm. Thursday, 5 April 2018 was selected to allow sufficient time to send notice and for a nominating committee to be formed and identify a slate of candidates for the one vacant Director position.
2. Program Committee:
The creation of a program committee for monthly meetings was discussed at the last annual meeting but had gone no further than that. Monthly presentations, alternating between invited speakers and club members, was again discussed with the thought that club budget could support invited speakers, perhaps for half of the meetings. A list of potential speakers drawn from Maine and New England colleges and universities as well as business involved in launching cube satellites. Names mentioned include Ilene Yingst living in Brunswick and employee of the Planetary Science Institute in Tuscon, AZ; Chris Magri at UMF on radio astronomy, David Batuski and Neil Comins at UMO, and Jerry LaSala at USM. Club members would alternate with subjects including famous astronomers from the past, new discoveries in astronomy, and other topics of interest.
3. ASNNE:
3. ASNNE:
Some members of SMA are also members of ASNNE and opportunities for collaboration were discussed. This might involve support for invited speakers, observing sessions, and the current location of ASNNE meeting at the New School in Kennebunk, ME. The impact of having meetings of SMA on Thursdays and ASNNE on following Fridays as discouraging joining both clubs was discussed. No decisions were made at this time.
4. Southworth Planetarium:
Meetings at the planetarium are encountering fewer scheduling problems. Problems exist with Internet access may affect ability to engage in such activities as remote observing programsand showing Internet video. Providing a high-definition flat screen monitor would facilitate some presentations. The status of AV equipment and the planetarium projector ongoing problems was discussed.
5. Treasurer’s Report:
5. Treasurer’s Report:
Ron Thompson reported SMA having 35 fully paid members and a check book balance of $6564.94 with ongoing liabilities including insurance ~$500.00, Astronomical League ~
$250.00, Club P.O. Box ~ $112.00, Night Sky Network $50.00 and annual contribution to the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust of $50.00. Annual dues meets these obligations but limits growth of account.
6. Inventory of SMA Assets:
Discussion of possible sale of the 15” Discovery Dobsonian telescope with Telrad and extension tube for eyepiece as being too heavy and/or bulky for easy use lead to inquiry into the status of these SMA assets stored at members’ homes. The funds from the sale would allow purchase of another large telescope that would be truss-supported and better suited for transport to viewing sites. Astro-Mart is proposed as a site to assess value of the SMA telescope and potential sale and purchase of replacement.
This telescope is stored at home of Rob Burgess where the SMA 9.25” Celestron GPS
Schmidt-Cassegrain GOTO with manual, star diagonal, 26 mm eyepiece, and tripod along with
5 foot step ladder are stored.
Additional equipment are stored at homes of Ron Thompson and Forrest Sumner including
video imager, projected screen, and other telescopes with accessories to be catalogued in final
minutes.
These items are hereby updates as of 3/12/2018:
15” Discovery Dobson telescope and ladder
11” GPS Celestron SC GoTo and mount/tripod (D)
9.25” GPS Celestron SC GoTo (D)
8” Celestron SC fork mount with wedge (D)
5” Celestron SC single arm mount with wedge and accessories in a case (D)
16” Meade Newtonian on early generation German Equatorial mount (D)
Two ETX Meade Telescopes; 70mm Refractor and 105mm Mac, (motors not functioning) (D)
4.5" Konos Newtonian Reflector on EQ Mount (D)
Revolution video-imaging system with 7’ (diagonal) screen
Eyepiece case with 3 eyepieces (FS has details)
Image projection screen
3 Celestron 3” table-top Dobson telescopes
7. Space Week Activities:
Sharron Eggleston, retired engineer at Lockheed-Martin is coordinating for presentations during Space Day, in Brunswick, on 4 May 2018 which falls on Friday. Opportunities exist to participate.
8. Astronomical League Awards:
Brief discussion of this program of interest to club members was held.
Respectfully submitted,
George Bokinsky
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Meeting of Directors
Minutes (rough draft)
2018: Upon due Notice the Annual Meeting of Directors of Southern Maine Astronomers took place on April 5, 2018. In attendance were Forrest Sumner, Ron Thompson, Rob Burgess, Robert Page, Paul Howell, Kirk Rogers, Kerry Kertes, Joan Chamberlin, Gregory Thorup and our Secretary, George Bokinski.
2018: A quorum having been determined President Forrest Sumner called the meeting to order at 7:00PM. The purpose of the meeting was to nominate a Director and elect officers for the current year. At the Annual Meeting of Members in January, the existing slate of directors was reelected.
· President: Robert Burgess
· Vice President: Forrest Sumner
· Treasurer: Ron Thompson
· Secretary: George Bokinsky
An individual vote was taken on each nominee and each was unanimously elected to the position for which each was nominated.
With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting concluded.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Burgess
Clerk
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