Starlight Astronomy Club Meeting held 3rd Thursday each month
Starlight Astronomy Club Meeting held 3rd Thursday each month
Date: Thursday 4/15/2021
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Eastern
From: takasner@aol.com
Tom:
Starlight Astronomy Club Meeting Jan 20
NEW LOCATION,,,
Church In the Middle-The Block
217 5th Ave #19, Altoona, PA 16602
7:00pm
some parking in the back... more @ the Bethany Lutheran Church 4th av @ 2nd st
LINK
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Church+In+the+Middle-The+Block/@40.5207955,-78.3873558,3a,75y,170.91h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sn8Ym6ugxRyXWYRc9-cOSJQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dn8Ym6ugxRyXWYRc9-cOSJQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D224%26h%3D298%26yaw%3D170.91385%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m5!8m4!1e1!2s117090786937289980712!3m1!1e1!3m6!1s0x89cb91f6f9910afd:0x329aba3f413e3cb3!8m2!3d40.5207017!4d-78.3873039!14m1!1BCgIgAQ?hl=en-US#
Tom Kasner
Starlight Astronomy Club
217 5th Ave #19, Altoona, PA 16602
READ BELOW
===============================================================
The History of the Starlight Astronomy club & the chuch in the middle of the block
=============================================================
History of the Starlight Astronomy Club
As Presented to the Club on July 19, 2007
By Thomas D. Cooney
I suppose the story of the Starlight Astronomy Club begins in my early youth. I was the first born
grandchild on my father's side of the family. My Grandmother and Dad's two sisters, Kathleen and Anna, lived in Portage, PA where they taught school. Kathleen went on a cruise to Europe and was returning state side on the RMS Berengaria when I was born. She could hardly wait to get home to see the new nephew. Kathleen had a love of life and a wide range of interests and while shipboard she attended astronomy classes. As soon as they could wrest me from my mother's arms I was spending lots of time with the Portage connection. Kathleen, more than anything, wanted a child but was never able to have one of her own, consequently I became that child.
The hill behind the Portage Slavish Church was a cow pasture and on clear evenings, at the age of four, she would take me for a walk and would tell all she knew about planets and stars. She pointed out Castor and Pollux and told me about the Gemini Twins. I heard about the moons of Jupiter and the shimmering rings of Saturn and the beautiful Venus. She had seen the 1910 apparition of Halley's Comet when she was 9 years old and said how all the neighbors congregated to see this exquisite sight. "Halley will return in 1986", she explained, "but I won't be around to see it; you will have to see it for me." "Why, I asked?" "Because I won't live that long." That was a difficult concept for me to understand.She said she didn't want
1
to get old. She got her wish and died in 1950 at the age of 49 after a lifelong battle with diabetes.
Because of this early intervention I have always had an interest in telescopes and the skies. When I was 6 years old my Dad took me to a carnival on Gamble Hill where we found a man with a 6 inch refractor. He had a sign that said "See the rings of Saturn, 5 cents". During the depression 5 cents was a lot just for a look in a telescope and we weren't even sure that it was for real. I asked Dad to let me look in the telescope, he paid the 5 cents and I saw that beautiful planet with the rings as I had never imagined them — The kind of sight that you never forget. It makes you wish that everyone could experience this at a young impressionable age.
Naturally, when it came Halley time again I just had to follow its path across the sky, with and without binoculars, until it was no longer visible. The first naked eye return was in Taurus in November of 1985 by January in Aquarius inbound to the Sun. In February, 1986 it was behind the sun and not visible until about February 21st. Now the tail was reversed and was ahead of the direction in which it was moving. In March the comet was in Sagittarius and at its brightest but very low in the sky just before dawn. Then in April it moved to Scorpius traveling very fast now (122,000 mph) on to Centarus, Corvus, and Crater; then by the first of May in Hydra. During the later months of its apparition Halley wasn't very bright so to track it one had to use the published charts and follow it through the various constellations.
2
Hardly realizing it, I was finding my way around the sky and learning constellations and some stars by name that I had never known. By the time Halley faded from view I knew my way around the sky enough that I was hooked. Kathleen's inspiration had finally worked its magic.
Next I bought books, star charts a good pair of binoculars and finally in April of 1987 I bought an 8 inch Celestron Power Star Schmidt cassegrain telescope. Soon I began photographing the night sky wonders. About this time I also began reading each issue of Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines cover to cover. I joined the Astronomy League as a member at large, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and started attending the annual meetings of both. At each meeting there was an amateur club that hosted an evening of food and viewing. It really bothered me that these places had such great clubs while we in Altoona had nothing. Even State College only had a student club and to the best of my knowledge the closest club was Harrisburg or Pittsburgh. I was later surprised to learn that Kane, PA has had a club for
a long time.
I felt my enjoyment of the hobby would be so much greater if I had others to share it with. Start a club in Altoona, but how to go about it? How to find others with similar interests willing to help form an organization?
The first break came while visiting Mountain Research, Inc. where I was introduced to Sam Dietze and was told he had two master's degrees in astrophysics. The next place to look was the High Schools, Altoona and Hollidaysburg, since both had planetariums and astronomy programs. My
3
two sons had taken astronomy at Altoona High from Regis Huschak so he was a likely candidate. Bob Gaydis the Hollidaysburg teacher was another. Regis brought Al Stoner who had a PhD in astronomy and was in charge of the planetarium at Rutgers University. The five of us met regularly for six months starting in October of 1991. One of the members volunteered to write the bylaws but kept putting it off and said he would have the bylaws completed by Easter. That didn't happen and as a result interest faded and the club never got started.
Fast forward if you please, to the summer of 1999 when I learned that Ted Holland and John Rita had a sizable telescope. I knew Ted because of my involvement with the Railroad Memorial Museum of which he was the curator. Ted and John were interested in the idea of a club and were happy to offer their building, the Church in the Middle of the Block as a meeting place. Several cohorts of John joined in and the group began to form, however, the bylaw problem persisted. In January, 2000 we appointed temporary officers: Thomas Cooney, President; John Rita, Vice President and Ted Holland. Secretary/Treasurer. Meanwhile, Eric Hilbert was working on the website and I was able to get the Altoona School District to host a list sery at no charge.
We secured copies of bylaws from a number of sources including the Houston Astronomical Society of Houston, Texas and the Sir Isaac Newton Astronomical Society of Kane, PA. We cut pasted and modified sections and features to arrive at the final wording. Most of this effort was coordinated by Ted Holland. Attorney Frank Hartye reviewed the results and made recommendations.
4
How was the club name selected? Before the bylaws were adopted we asked for and received a wide variety of names, anyone of which could have been used but none that seemed to have any emotional connection to the hobby of astronomy. Ted and I were the ones most active in the organizational process and since there was no consensus I asked Ted if he could accept my offering. He said "yes" and when the bylaw draft was presented to the proto club for approval on August 2, 2000 the name shown was Starlight Astronomy Club. First officers elected were: Thomas Cooney, President; John Rita, Vice
President and Theodore Holland, Secretary — Treasurer.
So you ask where is the emotional connection with astronomy. I read the book Starlight Nights by Leslie C. Peltier and I must say that it will be hard to find a more dedicated amateur than Peltier. He was the kind of person that we all could strive to imitate in our quest for knowledge and appreciation of the magnificent universe that surrounds us. Like everything in the cosmos words fail, adjectives do not allow us to adequately express what we feel. One must read this book to gain a feel for Leslie Peltier's life of dedication to science and to our hobby.
Starlight Nights was out of print for a long time but recently Sky Publishing has reprinted it and I am offering a copy of it to the club. I hope a lot of members find time to read and enjoy Peltier's story and be inspired by his words.
5
Leslie C. Peltier
Born January 2, 1900 in Delphos, Ohio; died 1980. He was a variable star observer and comet hunter
with 12 discoveries.
6
Tom Kasner
Starlight Astronomy Club
Starlight Astronomy Club Meeting held 3rd Thursday each month
Date: Thursday 4/15/2021
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Eastern
From: takasner@aol.com
Tom:
Starlight Astronomy Club Meeting Jan 20
NEW LOCATION,,,
Church In the Middle-The Block
217 5th Ave #19, Altoona, PA 16602
7:00pm
some parking in the back... more @ the Bethany Lutheran Church 4th av @ 2nd st
LINK
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Church+In+the+Middle-The+Block/@40.5207955,-78.3873558,3a,75y,170.91h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sn8Ym6ugxRyXWYRc9-cOSJQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dn8Ym6ugxRyXWYRc9-cOSJQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D224%26h%3D298%26yaw%3D170.91385%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m5!8m4!1e1!2s117090786937289980712!3m1!1e1!3m6!1s0x89cb91f6f9910afd:0x329aba3f413e3cb3!8m2!3d40.5207017!4d-78.3873039!14m1!1BCgIgAQ?hl=en-US#
Tom Kasner
Starlight Astronomy Club
217 5th Ave #19, Altoona, PA 16602
READ BELOW
===============================================================
The History of the Starlight Astronomy club & the chuch in the middle of the block
=============================================================
History of the Starlight Astronomy Club
As Presented to the Club on July 19, 2007
By Thomas D. Cooney
I suppose the story of the Starlight Astronomy Club begins in my early youth. I was the first born
grandchild on my father's side of the family. My Grandmother and Dad's two sisters, Kathleen and Anna, lived in Portage, PA where they taught school. Kathleen went on a cruise to Europe and was returning state side on the RMS Berengaria when I was born. She could hardly wait to get home to see the new nephew. Kathleen had a love of life and a wide range of interests and while shipboard she attended astronomy classes. As soon as they could wrest me from my mother's arms I was spending lots of time with the Portage connection. Kathleen, more than anything, wanted a child but was never able to have one of her own, consequently I became that child.
The hill behind the Portage Slavish Church was a cow pasture and on clear evenings, at the age of four, she would take me for a walk and would tell all she knew about planets and stars. She pointed out Castor and Pollux and told me about the Gemini Twins. I heard about the moons of Jupiter and the shimmering rings of Saturn and the beautiful Venus. She had seen the 1910 apparition of Halley's Comet when she was 9 years old and said how all the neighbors congregated to see this exquisite sight. "Halley will return in 1986", she explained, "but I won't be around to see it; you will have to see it for me." "Why, I asked?" "Because I won't live that long." That was a difficult concept for me to understand.She said she didn't want
1
to get old. She got her wish and died in 1950 at the age of 49 after a lifelong battle with diabetes.
Because of this early intervention I have always had an interest in telescopes and the skies. When I was 6 years old my Dad took me to a carnival on Gamble Hill where we found a man with a 6 inch refractor. He had a sign that said "See the rings of Saturn, 5 cents". During the depression 5 cents was a lot just for a look in a telescope and we weren't even sure that it was for real. I asked Dad to let me look in the telescope, he paid the 5 cents and I saw that beautiful planet with the rings as I had never imagined them — The kind of sight that you never forget. It makes you wish that everyone could experience this at a young impressionable age.
Naturally, when it came Halley time again I just had to follow its path across the sky, with and without binoculars, until it was no longer visible. The first naked eye return was in Taurus in November of 1985 by January in Aquarius inbound to the Sun. In February, 1986 it was behind the sun and not visible until about February 21st. Now the tail was reversed and was ahead of the direction in which it was moving. In March the comet was in Sagittarius and at its brightest but very low in the sky just before dawn. Then in April it moved to Scorpius traveling very fast now (122,000 mph) on to Centarus, Corvus, and Crater; then by the first of May in Hydra. During the later months of its apparition Halley wasn't very bright so to track it one had to use the published charts and follow it through the various constellations.
2
Hardly realizing it, I was finding my way around the sky and learning constellations and some stars by name that I had never known. By the time Halley faded from view I knew my way around the sky enough that I was hooked. Kathleen's inspiration had finally worked its magic.
Next I bought books, star charts a good pair of binoculars and finally in April of 1987 I bought an 8 inch Celestron Power Star Schmidt cassegrain telescope. Soon I began photographing the night sky wonders. About this time I also began reading each issue of Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines cover to cover. I joined the Astronomy League as a member at large, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and started attending the annual meetings of both. At each meeting there was an amateur club that hosted an evening of food and viewing. It really bothered me that these places had such great clubs while we in Altoona had nothing. Even State College only had a student club and to the best of my knowledge the closest club was Harrisburg or Pittsburgh. I was later surprised to learn that Kane, PA has had a club for
a long time.
I felt my enjoyment of the hobby would be so much greater if I had others to share it with. Start a club in Altoona, but how to go about it? How to find others with similar interests willing to help form an organization?
The first break came while visiting Mountain Research, Inc. where I was introduced to Sam Dietze and was told he had two master's degrees in astrophysics. The next place to look was the High Schools, Altoona and Hollidaysburg, since both had planetariums and astronomy programs. My
3
two sons had taken astronomy at Altoona High from Regis Huschak so he was a likely candidate. Bob Gaydis the Hollidaysburg teacher was another. Regis brought Al Stoner who had a PhD in astronomy and was in charge of the planetarium at Rutgers University. The five of us met regularly for six months starting in October of 1991. One of the members volunteered to write the bylaws but kept putting it off and said he would have the bylaws completed by Easter. That didn't happen and as a result interest faded and the club never got started.
Fast forward if you please, to the summer of 1999 when I learned that Ted Holland and John Rita had a sizable telescope. I knew Ted because of my involvement with the Railroad Memorial Museum of which he was the curator. Ted and John were interested in the idea of a club and were happy to offer their building, the Church in the Middle of the Block as a meeting place. Several cohorts of John joined in and the group began to form, however, the bylaw problem persisted. In January, 2000 we appointed temporary officers: Thomas Cooney, President; John Rita, Vice President and Ted Holland. Secretary/Treasurer. Meanwhile, Eric Hilbert was working on the website and I was able to get the Altoona School District to host a list sery at no charge.
We secured copies of bylaws from a number of sources including the Houston Astronomical Society of Houston, Texas and the Sir Isaac Newton Astronomical Society of Kane, PA. We cut pasted and modified sections and features to arrive at the final wording. Most of this effort was coordinated by Ted Holland. Attorney Frank Hartye reviewed the results and made recommendations.
4
How was the club name selected? Before the bylaws were adopted we asked for and received a wide variety of names, anyone of which could have been used but none that seemed to have any emotional connection to the hobby of astronomy. Ted and I were the ones most active in the organizational process and since there was no consensus I asked Ted if he could accept my offering. He said "yes" and when the bylaw draft was presented to the proto club for approval on August 2, 2000 the name shown was Starlight Astronomy Club. First officers elected were: Thomas Cooney, President; John Rita, Vice
President and Theodore Holland, Secretary — Treasurer.
So you ask where is the emotional connection with astronomy. I read the book Starlight Nights by Leslie C. Peltier and I must say that it will be hard to find a more dedicated amateur than Peltier. He was the kind of person that we all could strive to imitate in our quest for knowledge and appreciation of the magnificent universe that surrounds us. Like everything in the cosmos words fail, adjectives do not allow us to adequately express what we feel. One must read this book to gain a feel for Leslie Peltier's life of dedication to science and to our hobby.
Starlight Nights was out of print for a long time but recently Sky Publishing has reprinted it and I am offering a copy of it to the club. I hope a lot of members find time to read and enjoy Peltier's story and be inspired by his words.
5
Leslie C. Peltier
Born January 2, 1900 in Delphos, Ohio; died 1980. He was a variable star observer and comet hunter
with 12 discoveries.
6
Tom Kasner
Starlight Astronomy Club
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Eastern
Location:
Church In the Middle-The Block
217 5th Ave #19, Altoona, PA 16602
40.5206533 / -78.3872001
Altoona, PA 16602
