Newsletter - Custer Observatory

Spring 2014
Annual Meeting, Nominations, & Elections
The Annual Meeting and elections for Custer Institute
are scheduled Saturday June 7, 2014 at 6pm at the
Custer Institute.
The Election Committee this year is John Speroni
(chairperson), Rich Huber, and Annette DeGiovineOliveira. Nominations will be accepted through April 23
for all open positions:
• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Chairperson of the Finance Committee
• 2 Directors-at-Large
Please email nominations to jvsperoni@yahoo.com.
Include your name, mailing address, phone number,
the name of the member being nominated (which can
be yourself), and the position. (The Election Committee
will confirm receipt of your nomination; if you do not re-
ceive that confirmation within 3 days please contact us
again). Email is greatly preferred, but you may also use
paper mail addressed to PO Box 1204, Attn: Custer
Election Committee, Southold, New York 11971.
A list of all nominees will be published online after
nominations close, followed by a paper mailing of election information.
Note that the membership voted to change election
procedures at the 2013 Annual Meeting. Nominations
from the floor are no longer permitted. If you plan to
nominate yourself or another member, you must notify the Election Committee by 4/23/14. Any questions
about this email or the election process can be sent
directly to me at jvsperoni@yahoo.com or 631-547-0912.
Sincerely,
-The Custer Election Committee (John Speroni,
Rich Huber, Annette DeGiovine-Oliveira)
President's Comments
If you’re like most people around here, you must have
joyfully greeted the change in weather that has finally
come to us here on Long Island. It has been notably
one of the longest winters that we’ve had in quite some
time. I hope that it’s not going to be the new norm here
because it was so bad that my observing time was
severely restricted for the last 6 months. Our Spring
hopefully will run for a while more so that we can enjoy
the weather for a time at least.
Now that it is Spring, it’s time to think about nominations
for the election to be held at the Annual Meeting on
June 7th at the end of the season. Nominations were
accepted through April 23 for all open positions. You can
contact any one of the three election committee persons,
John Speroni, Annette DeGiovine-Oliveira or Rich Huber,
with any questions. John has been holding his cards
close to the vest even with me, but he did reveal that we
have at least one person running for each of the open
positions and one contested position so far. It is noteworthy that there has been one change in the constitution to allow for the process to be more transparent and
that is the part that basically says that all nominations
have to be done before the annual meeting so that members will have time to know who the candidates are well
in advance of the vote.
There will be one notable change and that is the position of secretary, Justine Haupt has graciously taken
over the helm of Custer Jamboree Chairperson and is
dedicating herself to putting on another great event in
the Fall. Thanks Justine and if there is anyone else out
there who would like to get in on the action and hasn’t
said so already, please contact her. Let’s not forget to
give George Lamonga a big thank you for getting the
ball rolling for the last two years either. It’s not easy and
at times probably quite a stressful responsibility.
Despite the weather there have been a few new things
by Bill Bogardus
happening. Our invitation to the Amateur Radio enthusiasts to come share their passion with us at Custer has
been accepted. In much the same manner as we share
space and fellowship with AOS and ASLI, the members
of PARC (Peconic Amateur Radio Club) will be present from time to time using the radio equipment and the
tower to put antennas. We’ve been working out a few
minor details as things have been going well so far. We
need to remind ourselves that we do more than just
astronomy and in fact, the amateur radio has been a big
part of Custer in the past. PARC recently made a $200
donation to Custer and we are truly appreciative to them
for their generosity.
Another big thank you goes to Dave Barnett for taking
the lead in getting our new telescope storage shed for
all those extra telescopes that we are blessed to have
around for outreach. We now have a place to keep yet
another Obsession “Big Dob” telescope at our facility. In
addition to the 25” in the Dome loaned to us by Suffolk
Community College, we have a mutual agreement that
allows us to use Tom Pennino’s 20” on the grounds too.
This is great to have another big scope to help with the
crowds.
Another project that is in the works, is to finally have live
video using the Mallincam on the Rowan scope which
is now mounted in the North Bay, With a little help from
others, Dave Barnett has done it again and gotten it all
together and running.
Finally, slowly but surely, Ricco has been getting his
twin refractors back together after the long hiatus.
Here’s hoping that it won’t be much longer. With all of
this, it’s fair to say that things are looking up at Custer.
Join Custer Today
or give a membership as a gift!
Several ways to join!
Download, print, and mail it in:
http://custerobservatory.org/docs/membership.pdf
Join online through PayPal:
http://custerobservatory.org/membership.htm
Read how becoming a member
and supporting Custer
http://custerobservatory.org/mem-info.htm
Better yet, stop by and ask a staff member
on a Saturday night!
Calendar of Celestial Events
May 5, 6 - Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower.
The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower. In the
Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30
meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left
behind by comet Halley, which has known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually
from April 19 to May 28. It peaks this year on the night
of May 5 and the morning of the May 6. The first quarter moon will set just after midnight leaving fairly dark
skies for what should be a good show. Best viewing
will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will
radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear
anywhere in the sky.
May 14 - Full Moon.
May 24 - Possible Meteor Storm.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 24, the
Earth will pass through the debris field left behind by a
small comet known as P/209 LINEAR. Astronomers are
predicting that this interaction may result in a brief but
intense burst of meteor activity that could range from
dozens to hundreds of meteors per hour. Nothing is
certain, but many mathematical models are predicting
that this could be the most intense meteor shower in
more than a decade.
May 28 - New Moon. (Nice and dark for observing!)
May 10 - Saturn at Opposition. The ringed planet
The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the
will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This is the best
be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to time of the month to observe faint objects such as
view and photograph Saturn and its moons. A medium- galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonsized or larger telescope will allow you to see Saturn’s light to interfere.
rings and a few of its brightest moons.
May 30 - Members Night
May 10 - Astronomy Day
A Members-Only (and their guests) evening for mingling,
Astronomy Day is an annual event intended to provide observing, enjoying the observatory and its resources.
a means of interaction between the general public and Bring your telescope or binoculars!
various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals. The theme of Astronomy Day is “Bringing Astrono- June 7 - Conjunction of the Moon and Mars. The
my to the People,” and on this day astronomy and star- Moon will pass within two degrees of the the planet Mars
gazing clubs and other organizations around the world in the evening sky. Look for both objects in the western
will plan special events. You can find out about special sky just after sunset. The pair will be visible in the evelocal events by contacting your local astronomy club or ning sky for about 6 hours after sunset.
planetarium. You can also find more about Astronomy
Day by checking the Web site for the
June 13 - Full Moon.
Astronomical League.
Springtime
Visitors
by John Speroni
Astronomers aren’t the only evening vistors at Custer!
A sneak peek at the Jamboree and a message from the Jamboree Chairperson...
I’m excited to be leading the Jamboree organization
this year and I expect it to be a noteworthy event. I’m especially
pleased to announce that this year (and possibly subsequently), we will place an emphasis on radio astronomy. While the
momentum that led to this change could be described as happenstance, I believe this might have the effect of carving out a
niche for the Custer Jamboree in a region that already has access to events like NEAF and Stellafane. This may be particularly timely considering Custer’s new affiliation and friendship
with the Peconic Area Radio Club, which while not astronomyrelated per se, represents a parallel and engaging avenue for
STEM interest and outreach.
festivities would return to Custer before the last talk of the day,
which will take place immediately following a banquet catered
in Stokes Hall at Custer, and not at a restaurant as has been
past tradition.
The main Saturday events will once again take place at
the Eastern Campus of Suffolk Community College, and talks
throughout the weekend will entail a mixture of both radio and
visible light astronomy. What’s more, after a recent productive
Jamboree planning meeting, it was decided that the Saturday
I hope to see everyone there October 17-19th, and if
you have an interest in helping make it a success please contact me or attend our next meeting (keep an eye out on the
“listserv”: http://www.custerobservatory.org/yahoo.htm).
The weekend will naturally kick off on Friday evening,
at Custer, with a group poetry reading by Bob and Steve Chapin (bring your favorite astronomy poems, or write one of your
own), and will conclude on Sunday with a relaxed day of talks
and solar observing at Custer, including a bagel breakfast. Personally, Sunday was my favorite day last year and I hope we
can recapture that air for this year.
Justine Haupt
Altough some things are being developed and added, this is where things are now.
Watch http://custerobservatory.org/jamboree for the latest information!
Friday: Custer Observatory An Evening of Friendship
6:00pmRegistration
7:00pm
Poetry reading led by Bob and Steve Chapin. Bring your favorite astronomy poems.
8:00pm
Break, snacks
8:30pm
The Astronomer's Drinking Song.
9:30pm on
Stargazing
Saturday: Suffolk County Community College Eastern Campus, Shinnecock Building
Concurrently: Chinese Auction, Solar Observing, more being scheduled...
9:00amRegistration
10:30am
Helio Takai: Radio Observations of Meteors and Other Phenomena
10:30am
Planetarium show (concurrent with talk)
12:00pmLunch
1:00pm
Solar imaging demonstration (tentative)
1:30pm
Welcome by president of Custer and SCCC
2:00pm
Talk: Robert Zinn, Professor, Astronomy, Yale
3:00pm
Planetarium show
3:00pm
Event concurrent with Planetarium show
4:00pm
Conclusion of Chinese Auction
4:30pm
Fred Hess Memorial Lecture (keynote): Christina Lacey: More Explosions Than a Hollywood Movie: Radio Supernovae
Saturday Evening: Custer Observatory
7:00pm
Banquet begins at Custer (Custer closed during event)
8:00pm Dinner talk
SUNday: Custer Observatory
Concurrently: Solar observing
9:00amRegistration
9:30am
Breakfast (bagels, etc)
10:30am Talk presented by Peconic Amateur Radio Club. Topic TBD
11:30am
Talk TBD (possibly on meteorites)
12:30pm
Break, coffee, tea and snacks
1:00pm
Talk Topic TBD
2:00pm
Solar observing and solar system walk (self guided)
The Peconic Amateur Radio Club
(PARC)
have set up a base station at Custer!
The Peconic Amateur Radio Club
is a group of individuals devoted
to the hobby of HAM radio.
We are located on the North Fork of Long Island
in New York State.
http://www.peconic-arc.net
Monthly meetings at
Mattituck Library, Mattituck, NY
Currently, Jeffrey M. Lichtman is the Owner and Founder of Radio Astronomy Supplies (Late 1994). His function is in the, Marketing and Engineering areas and the development of new business and new product areas
with the engineering staff.
Jeff has been involved with Radio Astronomy since 1964. The years following, Jeff has added to his knowledge of many subjects in this area. In
addition, he has authored many articles as well as books and publications.
radioastronomysupplies@gmail.com
Type 1A Supernova, SN2014J,
in Galaxy M82 (NGC 3034)
For the first time, since 1987, a star has
exploded in a “nearby” galaxy!
The supernova in 1987, SN1987A, in the nearby dwarf
galaxy, the Large Magellenic cloud, was an important
step in the understanding of the physics inside of stars.
It was the first, close supernova since the invention of
the telescope. There were theories that many neutrinos would be released during the core-collapse, and
should have reached earth prior to the photons (visible
light). This was confirmed by looking back at the data
collected, on dates before the light of the supernova was
discovered, from three underground neutrino detectors,
Kamiokande II under the Japanese Alps, IMB in a salt
mine in Ohio in the United States, and Baksan under the
Caucasus. The supernova was discovered by Ian Shelton and Oscar Duhalde at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile on February 24, 1987. It brightened to
magnitude 3 and was visible to the naked eye for those
in the Southern Hemisphere.
Of the 1058 neutrinos produced inside the star, and
1015 per square meter that passed through the earth,
only 12 neutrinos were detected by Kamiokande II, 8 by
IMB ad 5 by Baksan, for a grand total of 25 neutrinos.
That’s it. 25 neutrinos. And all over a span of several
seconds. But that was all that was needed to prove the
by Steven Bellavia
theory. It could have easily been missed.
This recent supernova, SN2014J (“J”, for the 10th supernova discovered in 2014) was discovered by accident
on January 21st, 2014, by astronomer Steve Fossey, of
University College London while training four undergraduate students, Ben Cooke, Guy Pollack, Matthew Wilde
and Thomas Wright, on the use of a 14-inch telescope
and CCD camera at University of London Observatory.
This new supernova may also provide valuable data,
through spectroscopic and visual analysis. I don’t know
if neutrinos have been detected. Though the galaxy
M82 is close, at “only” 12 million light years away, it
is still much further than the Large Magellenic cloud,
which is only 168,000 light years distant. At 70 times the
distance, we would be 5,000 times less likely to capture
the neutrinos. And for SN1987A, only 25 neutrinos were
recorded. I am sure much data will be pouring in over
the next several weeks.
I was fortunate that I had just imaged galaxy M82 just
three weeks prior to the supernova in M82, so I have a
“before” and “during” photo. The recent photo was taken
on January 23rd, when the supernova was about magnitude 11.5. It is predicted to brighten to as much as 8.0
by January 29th.
Types of Supernovae
Supernovae are divided into two basic physical types:
Type Ia.
These result from some binary star systems in which a carbon-oxygen white dwarf is accreting matter from a
companion. (What kind of companion star is best suited to produce Type Ia super novae is hotly debated.) In a
popular scenario, so much mass piles up on the white dwarf that its core reaches a critical density of 2 x 109 g/
cm3. This is enough to result in an uncontrolled fusion of carbon and oxygen, thus detonating the star.
Type II.
These supernovae occur at the end of a massive star's lifetime, when its nuclear fuel is exhausted and it is no
longer supported by the release of nuclear energy. If the star's iron core is massive enough, it will collapse and
become a supernova.
For more informationon Supernovae, visit http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/supernovae.html
Photos by
Steven Bellavia
Galaxy M82, December 31st, 2013
Galaxy M82, January 23rd, 2014, after Supernova SN 2014J
Video Astronomy Installation
On Saturday April 5, 2014, visitors to Custer
were introduced to Custer’s reconfigured
north bay in the white Observatory Shed. A
Mallincam video camera was installed on the
north bay pier. The Mallincam takes the place
of an eyepiece and allows multiple people to
simultaneously view the same target on a
television.
by John Speroni
sky. Visitors with limited mobility who have
difficulty climbing two flights of stairs to the
main dome, or cannot safely enter the small
doorways of the ASLI and AOS domes, may
be able to access the ground-level Observatory Shed.
The original Mallincam installation was done
using a Schmidt-Cassegrain Telecope (SCT)
and f3.3 focal reducer. This setup functioned
but Custer volunteers concurred that the 8”
fast Newtonian astrograph built by Steve Bellavia would be a better pairing with the Mallincam. The astrograph was relocated to the
north bay on April 19 and successfully used
for views of Jupiter, Mars, and double stars in
spite of hazy observing conditions.
Continuing improvements include painting
the walls black and adding curtains at the door
to keep light from the television from interfering with observing on the south lawn. We are
also considering adding a second telecope
to the mount, so visitors can view the same
object on the television and through an eyepiece to directly compare video astronomy to
visual astronomy.
This new video astronomy installation benefits Custer guests in many ways. Visitors now
have one more instrument to look through on
busy nights, decreasing queues at other telescopes. Video astronomy can display deep
sky objects that are to dim to see in an eyepiece. Custer lecturers can point out details
on the screen while talking about the night
Many Custer members assisted with this
project. Thank you to all who helped with
planning, cleaned clutter from the north bay,
and installed equipment. This progress is especially welcome after the cold, icy winter.
The remainder of the shed is also being improved. Rico Verticchio’s homemade big
binoculars (“big” is an understatement; see
photo) in the center bay were recently refurbished due to damage from Long Island
humidity. We also plan to improve the flow
of foot traffic and refurbish the south bay 14”
Schmidt-Cassgrain telescope.
The Man, the Myth, the Legend....Rico Verticchio
Keith Rowan
(9/8/1960 – 4/8/2010)
Astronomer - Teacher - Friend.
I met Keith in Holy Ghost elementary school, on 46th
street and 17th avenue in Brooklyn.
I don’t remember what grade we became friends. I think
it was around 6th grade. We both had an interest in
science and astronomy. There was another friend, Gary
Laverty, who also had this same interest. The three of
us quickly bonded and spent much time together. People called us “The Three Musketeers”.
by Steven Bellavia
For all of us, astronomy was our passion. I kept it as a
hobby, but Keith followed that passion much further, and
earned his bachelors and masters in astronomy, going
to school at night while working as a park ranger by day.
Keith ultimately became an astronomy professor and ran
the observatory at the College of Staten Island.
We made our own telescopes, purchasing Pyrex mirror blanks from Edmund Scientific Company, along with
grinding powders and books, etc. We made our own
equatorial mounts out of plumbing pipes. Even under
the light-polluted skies of Brooklyn, we would observe
the planets, the moon, the sun, and sometimes even the
Orion nebula.
We entered science fairs together, taking many firsts,
always as a team.
I know all the students and faculty had tremendous
respect and admiration for Keith. His thoroughness and
enthusiasm, in everything he did, was inspiring.
His license plate and E-mail were both “SKYGAZER908”, 9/08 being his birthday, which oddly enough
was the last time I spoke to Keith in 2009.
We would take train rides into Manhattan to go to the
Hayden Planetarium. We tried to watch every science
show there was on television, usually annoying our
parents and siblings, who would rather watch something
else, and we would have to negotiate which house we
would watch them at, often taking turns.
As we grew older, we went our separate ways. Gary
went to California, I moved to Long Island to work for
Grumman Aerospace, and Keith became a New York
Park Ranger. I heard that many of the manuals and
books he produced, cataloging and describing various
aspects of fauna, flora and geology of the state parks,
are still used as training material for new hires as well as
reference sources for seasoned veterans.
Gary left us very early in life, and that was sad for Keith
and me. And in 2010, Keith left us too. He was only 49.
He had planned a trip to China for the July, 2009 eclipse,
but a heart problem kept him from going. He had successful bypass surgery, but died, unexpectedly less than
a year later, in his sleep.
I built the 8-inch astrograph in dedication to Keith, my
first and oldest friend on this earth.
A look back at last year’s Successful & Fun
Custer Jamboree!
Photos stolen from
Annette DeGiovine-Oliveira and
Steven Bellavia
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A few of the astronomy Jamboree raffle prizes!
See you at this year’s Jamboree
October 17-19th
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Alan Cousins with the Unitron 4” f/14.7 and the 3.5” Bausch & Lomb refractor, f/13.7
He restored these wonderful telescopes, giving them life again under the stars.
They are often out for you to look through during our public Saturday night observing sessions.
A big thanks to all those who helped with this issue of the Custer Comment!
• Dave Barnett
• Annette DeGiovine-Oliveira
• Steve Bellavia
• Jeffrey M. Lichtman
• Bill Bogardus
• Justine Haupt
• Alan Cousins
• John Speroni
President, William Bogardus:
president@custerobservatory.org
Vice President, David van Popering:
dobsoniandave@gmail.com
Secretary, Justine Haupt:
justine.haupt@gmail.com
Treasurer, Barbara Lebkeucher:
barbaraleb@aol.com
Finance Chair, George Lomaga:
lswpubgl@erols.com
Directors-at-Large:
Alan Cousins: Alan.Cousins@xerox.com
Bill Crispino: wcrispino@verizon.net
Bill Funke: bllfnk@yahoo.com
Alarico “Rico” Verticchio: akam10@optonline.net
Editor & Layout: David van Popering
The Custer Observatory's phone number is
631-765-2626
We are located at
1115 Main Bayview Road
Southold, New York 11971
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 1204
Southold, New York 11971
If you think you have something that might be of interest to
the readers of the Custer Comment, please submit the idea to
dobsoniandave@gmail.com Some guidelines: 600 words, 1
or 2 photos/graphics, keep it related to Custer or Astronomy.
Articles relating to Custer take priority.