The following summaries, from 1979-1995, were contributed by Glen Howell (BBAS), who has been nicknamed "The Father Of VAAS."
When our club first formed back in 1978, there were many of our members who
participated both in
our group, as well as attended gatherings of the Tidewater Amateur Telescope Makers and
the now defunct Astronomical Society of Tidewater. In fact, the groups often observed
together. It was probably at one such gathering that I overheard TATM member Joe Guth
enthusiastically discussing the events of the 1979 Virginia Association of Astronomical
Societies (VAAS) convention held at
NASA Langley Research Center. His enthusiasm, in fact, convinced me to go to my first
convention in 1980! Since then I haven't missed a single convention!!! If you have never
been to one please by all means plan to attend the next one April 1 in Roanoke! Here is an
overview of the highlights of each!
The 1980 convention was held May 16-18 at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond. Hosted by the Richmond Astronomical Society, this 3-day convention began Friday night with a tour of the RAS Ragland Observatory housing a 7-inch refractor where we observed Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, M13, and a few double stars. Clouds rolled in Saturday though, thwarting plans for viewing the sun at the Observatory using a Hydrogen Alpha filter. Of the 8 papers presented, Bill Priday's (RAS) demonstration of an amateur built blink comparator built for the PROBLICOM observing program to search for novae, variables, comets, and asteroids, and veteran eclipse chaser Fred Espenak's (NCA) eclipse slide show put to the music of Cat Steven's Moon Shadow and George Harrison's Here Comes The Sun were very impressive. Veteran astrophotographer Walter Hamler (NCA) was also there displaying quite a bit of his deep sky work. The BBAA won second place for its club poster depicting club activities, and I also received a second place certificate for a color photo of the sun showing sunspots.
The 1981 convention was held May 30-31 in the Chandler Hall auditorium of Old Dominion
University in Norfolk. Hosted primarily by the Astronomical Society of Tidewater, with
help from both the Tidewater Amateur Telescope Makers and the Back Bay Amateur
Astronomers, this 2-day convention is memorable for Walter Hamler's (NCA) talk on
equipment requirements to
do deep sky astrophotography, and for Dr. J. U. Gunter's (Tonight's Asteroids) talk on
popularizing the search and recovery of asteroids by amateurs. An observing session was
held Saturday night at Chairman Leonard Scarr's (AST) observatory in Suffolk. Sunday,
talks resumed with highlights including Jean Prideaux's (RAS) history of Stellafane, and
Gary Sydnor (RAS) and Mark Gibson's
(BBAA) talk/slide show about their trip to witness the launch of the first Space Shuttle!
Dr. Gary
Copeland of ODU also gave quite an interesting talk on a possible correlation to sunspot
maxima to the distance of the solar system barycenter
from the center of the sun!
In 1982, the convention was held May 15 at Chesapeake Planetarium in Chesapeake. Hosted by the Tidewater Amateur Telescope Makers, this convention sported our first astronomical vendor --- Willman-Bell of Richmond --- there selling books! Talk highlights included doing stellar spectroscopy with amateur equipment and my slide show on the previous year's and that year's VAAS where I had developed my morning slides during the lunch break for viewing that afternoon, showing the advantages of slides! In contests, I also won first place overall for a black and white photo of the Horsehead Nebula taken through a 400mm telephoto on hypered Tech Pan 2415. The chairman Don Wright (TATM) made the decision to use the $2.00 dues collected that year to fund the first VAAS cookout that evening, held at Northwest River Park, were we observed until 2 AM when clouds rolled in!
The 1983 convention, held May 21 at the Virginia Science Museum in Richmond, was hosted
by the
Richmond Astronomical Society. Featured at this convention was the newly opened Universe
Planetarium, where attendees were given a demonstration on the capabilities on the
digistar sky projector, and were shown an omni-max movie taken from an airplane on plate
tectonics that
really made you feel like you were flying! Observing that evening was done at the RAS
Ragland
Observatory, with views appreciated of Venus, the Moon, and Saturn through the 7-inch
refractor between clouds.
In 1984, the Tidewater Community College Astronomical Society hosted the convention May
19 at
the TCC Frederick Campus in Portsmouth. Norman Guenther (RAS) gave a very nicely done
"Lecture By Charles Messier", and NASA Speaker Frank Kopriver talked about
upcoming
NASA mission plans, among others. A cookout and observing session were held that night at
the
TCCAS Observatory on campus.
New blood moved onto the scene in 1985, with the Piedmont Astronomy Club hosting the
convention for the first time on May 25 at the Patrick Henry Community College in
Martinsville. I displayed more of my astrophotography and an album of my own astronomy
programs written in
Basic on a Timex Sinclair 1000 computer which I won awards for both. Talks were given on
the PAC's effort at putting an observatory into service at a local museum, prospects for
Halley's Comet,
and what it's like to go to a Stellafane convention. That night, the PAC really put on a
feast with
the largest grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad, and garlic bread plate you could
ask for! Then it was out to the field behind the building where 7 telescopes from 17.5
down to 5 inches were set up, with all but one home-made!
The 1986 convention was again hosted by new blood, with the Roanoke Valley Astronomical
Society holding the meeting at the Science Museum of Western Virginia,
Center-In-The-Square in Roanoke on May 10. Willmann-Bell, Inc. was there selling books.
Memorable presentations were given by Reed Thompson (RVAS) on the history, construction
and use of the Arecibo radio
telescope, Dave Fox (RAS) on running a Messier marathon, and Gary Close (RVAS) on viewing
Halley from New Zealand. John Barnett (RAS) I thought gave a convincing illustration on
why an observer can see so much more detail on Mars at different oppositions. Then it was
up to Devil's Backbone Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, where the RVAS treated us to a
fried chicken with all of the fixings picnic. Observing highlights included viewing done
through Ray Greenman's (RVAS) 20-inch Newtonian and the easy sighting of the globular
cluster Omega Centauri with Mark Gibson's 13-inch Dobsonian from a site with no horizon
obstruction!
In 1987, the convention was again hosted by the Richmond Astronomical Society at the
Science
Museum of Virginia on May 2 in Richmond. Willmann-Bell, Inc. was there selling books. Jean
Prideaux (RAS), Don Wright (TATM), and Jerry Wright (TATM) gave an interesting joint talk
on their experiences in building amateur refractors. Jim Blowers (RAS) gave an interesting
talk on sky photography and displayed a home-made guiding platform that was geared so that
one revolution per minute on a crank handle corresponded to the position of the second
hand on his timing
watch! Perry Remaklus (RAS) of Willmann-Bell, Inc. also gave us an interesting talk on the
history of star atlases, ending with his soon to be released Uranometria 2000.
Unfortunately, a late evening thunderstorm ruined plans to observe that evening at both
the Ragland Observatory and the RAS Powhatan site.
In 1988, our club, the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers with the help of the Tidewater
Community
College Astronomical Society, hosted the convention May 14 at the Frederick Campus of TCC
in
Portsmouth. I served as chairman. Marcia Bartusiak, author of the book Thursday's
Universe, gave an informative talk on cosmological theory. Mark Gibson (RAC) gave
informative talk on the Raleigh Astronomy Club's problems in building a club observatory.
Dr. Leonard Scarr (AST) gave a talk on his bag of tricks he used to save valuable
observing time. This entire convention was video taped by Gary Sydnor (RAS). An observing
session that evening was held at Northwest
River Park in Chesapeake.
The 1989 convention was held May 6 at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in
Martinsville.
Hosted by the Piedmont Astronomy Club, it featured demonstrations on hand mirror grinding
and mirror grinding equipment, a home-built stepper motor telescope drive, and astronomy
software. A meteorite was on display, as well as a lunar sample courtesy of NASA. An
optional steak dinner with all the trimmings was served. Severe storms had occurred all
day long, but just before
sunset it cleared enough that we went down to the PAC observing site on a farm and
observed for several hours that evening.
The 1990 convention was held May 19-20 at the TCC Frederick Campus in Portsmouth. Hosted by the TCC Astronomical Society, highlights included talks by Dr. Ted Taley (NASA) on the history of NASA, and Dennis Rowley (TCCAS) on Jupiter moon eclipse timings. An optional steak dinner with all of the trimmings was provided that evening. A demonstration was also done on using the Star I CCD camera at the club observatory on campus that night at an observing session. Members of a local Trekker club also attended.
In 1991, the Richmond Astronomical Society hosted the convention June 8 at the Science
Museum of Virginia in Richmond. Highlights included viewing the IMAX movie Blue Planet at
the Universe
Planetarium, talks by Perry Remaklus (RAS) of Willmann-Bell, Inc. on astronomical catalogs
and
databases leading up to the soon to be released Deep Sky Field Guide to the Uranometria
2000, Dr. Phil Ianna's from UVA's talk on the International Dark Sky Association's effort
to reduce sky glow from artificial lighting, and Dr. Robert Harrington of the U. S. Naval
Observatory's talk on the search for Planet X. A picnic dinner was offered that evening at
a local city park,
followed by viewing at the RAS Ragland Observatory. Kent Blackwell set up his 5-inch
binoculars equipped with solar filters for some solar observation there. Then it was off
to the RAS Powhatan observing site where I got to use Jean Prideaux's (RAS) homemade
5-inch refractor to view Saturn and some other deep sky objects. Unfortunately, this would
be Jean's last VAAS, with his passing away in 1992.
In 1992, the Charlottesville Astronomical Society hosted the convention May 30 at Clark
Hall on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Exciting talks were
given by UVA's Mercedes Richards on here research into Algol type eclipsing variables, the
1991 total solar eclipse by Chris Mullens (CAS), the new Greenbank Telescope by UVA's Ed
Murphy, and by UVA's Dr.
Phil Ianna on the history and current prospects for McCormick Observatory. Gregg Tennefoss
(BBAA) won the door prize --- a piece of the collapsed "Big Ear" radio telescope
from Greenbank. It rained all day, so plans for observing up at Fan Mountain Observatory
were cancelled, but a tour was given of the Leander McCormick Observatory and the student
"doghouse" observatory featuring a well constructed roll-off roof system.
Unfortunately, there were no conventions held in 1993 or 1994.
In 1993, the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club was supposed to host it, but no one took responsibility to continue plans when the nominated chairman left.
Again, in 1994, the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society agreed to host the most
ambitious convention yet on October 1, but backed out for fear of financial loss when no
clubs
responded to convention mailings. Upset with their cancellation and that of the previous
year, I fired back a letter to all clubs in Virginia sighting their too grandious format
and cost as reasons for their cancellation and requested that they please reconsider
hosting a much simpler format convention.
They agreed, and now the 19th VAAS convention is again set for April 1, 1995 in Roanoke. A case containing guide lines on conducting conventions and containing the past history of VAAS has apparently been misplaced since our 1988 convention. I met up with Britt Rossie and Gary Close of the RVAS last October 1 at a starparty on the Blue Ridge Parkway and we discussed the situation, and since then I have mailed to Britt a letter containing a synopsis of how previous conventions were conducted.
The 20th convention of the Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies (VAAS) was held Saturday, April 13, at Chesapeake Planetarium in Chesapeake, VA. While primarily a statewide get-together of Virginia astronomical societies, the event usually draws participants from neighboring states as well. This year, we had participants from Maryland and North Carolina. The convention was hosted this year by the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers. The day began with clear skies and telescopes were set up in front of the Planetarium for solar observation and Venus by day. Instruments in use included the Planetarium's Celestron-14 SCT, and Kent Blackwell's 20x120 W.W. II Japanese Battleship binoculars, and his 12.5-inch Newtonian.
While the Sun was disappointedly spotless, Venus nicely showed a quarter phase. Fresh brewed coffee, and Dunkin munchkins were put out for the consumption of attendees that morning, with the munchkins cleverly identified as "black holes", "white holes", and "brown dwarfs". Bags of chips where also put out for consumption. Tables were set up with literature from various sources. We had telescope catalogs from Meade Instruments, Orion Telescope Center, Willmann-Bell, and the Starry Messenger. Several of the companies contacted for catalogs were willing to provide us with door prizes; Orion provided us with their 8-piece Deluxe Color Filter set, the Starry Messenger gave away a free 1 year subscription, and Willmann-Bell came down, sold astronomy books at the convention, and provided 2 books as yet another door prize. Our grand door prize was a free weekend for two at the Wilson-Lee House, an historic Bed and Breakfast just opening on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
While we had planned competitions in astrophotography, astrocomputing, space art, and
telescope making, our only entries were in astrophotography. Entries included recent shots
of Comet Hyakutake, a night-time thunderstorm, and an aurora display. We had 4 featured
speakers. Bruce Hanna, director of Old Dominion University's Pretlow Planetarium gave a
talk on what it was like to tour and use the instruments at Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and at
NRAO in Greenbank, WV. NASA Langley Research Scientist Bob Mack presented theories on the
origin of Earth's Moon, and on future missions to return there. Former NASA Research
Scientist Cary Spitzer talked about the Viking missions to Mars and on future missions.
Chesapeake Planetarium Director Robert J. Hitt, Jr. gave a talk and slide show on his many
excursions around the world to view total solar eclipses
from aboard cruise ships. In the business meeting, Chairman Kent Blackwell mentioned the
significance of the next convention falling precisely at the peak of the Hale-Bopp
apparition, and with no takers, suggested that the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society
(last year's host) hold the convention again next year since they possessed an
unobstructed observing site on the Blue Ridge Parkway; otherwise, the Back Bay Amateur
Astronomers may do it again next year. RVAS member Dewey Spangler will present this to
their membership at their next business meeting. Awards for astrophotography were then
presented. Kent Blackwell won first place for his 7 minute exposure of Comet Hyakutake
using a 50mm f/2 lens. Ron Robisch and Glen Howell tied for second place for their photos
of night-time lightning, and an aurora sequence. Ron Robisch also received an honorable
mention for his photo of Comet Hyakutake. As final business, the door prize drawings were
done. Ken Wilson of the Richmond Astronomical Society won the year's subscription to
Starry Messenger. His wife, Betty Wilson, won the two books donated by Willmann-Bell.
Scott Babbitt of the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers won the Orion Deluxe Filter set. Scott
Child of the Tidewater Amateur Telescope Makers won the free weekend for two grand prize.
In a surprise move, Scott Babbitt gave up half of the filter set since he already had that
half, and these were drawn by Maurice Browne.
An observing session was planned to be held at Hampton Lodge Family Campgrounds, located near Coinjock, NC. Unfortunately, clouds rolled in at sunset, thwarting planned observation of Comet Hyakutake. Most observers left early, but the diehards that remained were rewarded for their vigilance by skies that cleared about midnight. The sky remained clear for about an hour before clouding up again. Attending a VAAS convention can be a lot of fun as you meet a lot of other people around the state and elsewhere sharing a common interest, learn new ideas, and forge lasting new friendships. This year in that respect was no different. What was disappointing this year was attendance; while a few others attended the convention, we had only 33 register. The $5.00 registration charged this year is used by the host society to offset convention costs of printing advertising flyers, mailings, certificates, refreshments, and more. We were very lucky to have had so many vendors willing to donate door prizes to us this year.
Otherwise, we would most likely have suffered a significant financial loss instead of
barely breaking even this year. Why was attendance off this year? Last year, over 70
attended in Roanoke. We mailed close to 100 requests for information on the convention.
Announcements were faxed
last September to Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines; while Sky & Telescope
disappointed us by only advertising us once, Astronomy magazine carried us in each of
their convention calendars. A preliminary announcement on the convention was mailed to
each of the 17 known state societies in mid-February, and a final announcement at the end
of March detailed the speakers and accommodations. Announcements were also posted on local
bulletin boards, the Internet Usenet Newsgroups sci.astro and sci.astro.amateur, the GT
Astronomy Echo, CompuServe Astronomy Forum, and for two weeks in the local newspaper.
Ours should have been the most advertised convention ever. Certainly we covered the bases! In any case, the Chairman Kent Blackwell and I would like to thank all who attended this year's convention for your interest and support. A lot of effort and planning went into our convention and we hope it showed. Special thanks should go to BBAA members Ron Neale, Ron Robisch, and Barry Ferrell who helped in the convention planning and manning of the registration desk and other duties the day of the event.
By DIANA MITCHELL
Hanover Herald-Progress Staff Writer
"How many of you during Hale-Bopp would be showing somebody the comet and have somebody ask if you could tilt your telescope a little bit to show them the UFO," Dr. George F. Spagna Jr. of Randolph-Macon College asked attendees at the Sept.27 Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies.
"How many saw it," an audience member asked Spagna. People in the room made it roar with the sound of laughter.Scientific illiteracy exists in this country, Spagna told his audience of about 50 professional and amateur astronomers.
Spagna, an associate professor of physics and director of the Keeble Observatory at Randolph-Macon College where the VAAS held its convention, spoke on a subject concerning public education titled "Astronomy from the Trenches."
The trenches are where the battles of war are fought and the trenches are where we're living today, Spagna said. 'Scientists are in a battle to educate the public, he said. To illustrate his point about illiteracy, Spagna told the audience about a colleague's exam question that asked students where craters on the moon originated. The student wrote that they fall from the sky. The instructor, who was not above embarrassing students, first returned the student's paper to him and then handed him an umbrella, Spagna said.
"Again we laugh, but there are many people out there for whom the notion of impact cratering is a foreign notion even though they may have seen in their own lifetimes the Schumaker-Levy effects in the atmosphere of Jupiter," Spagna said. Continuing he said, "Even though they may have seen in their own lifetimes the kinds of damage that those craters can do." Institutions known for science and higher learning have a responsibility to help educate the public through public outreach activities, Spagna said.
Observatories, museums, planetariums and astronomy clubs that hold public viewing sessions have a role to play in public education. "Every person in this room knows what it means to look at an object through a telescope and say 'wow'", he said.
And that's an experience they can help others enjoy, Spagna said. "That's where the battle is fought, showing people that there are wonders in the sky to be seen ... showing people that there's more to astronomy that learning the constellations and the names of the stars and the legends that go behind those names," Spagna said
.Thanks to all those who attended VAAS Saturday, November 6 at the Chesapeake Planetarium. I want to especially thank Glen Howell and Ted
and Adam Forte for all their work in helping me organize it, and helping the day of the event. I surely couldn't have done it all alone. I wish
more astronomy clubs in VA would have attended, but since we're at the
end of the road in VA (as you might say) crowds seem to always be smaller than when VAAS is held mid-state.
We did have 34 register at the Planetarium, composed of members of the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers, Tidewater Amateur Telescope Makers, Richmond Astronomical Society, Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society, along with members of the interested public.
Ross Gersten traveled the furtherest, from Ocracoke, NC, and was given special recognition and an IDA t-shirt. Three talks and a Planetarium show were given. Eric Douglass, an amateur astronomer, discussed observing volcanic features on the Moon and the possibility of seeing Leonid impacts during the potential meteor storm.
James E. Byrd from NASA talked about observing earth satellites. Jonathan Cruz also from NASA discussed the International Space Station. Planetarium Director Bob Hitt presented the program "Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico."
We had a huge crowd at Coinjock for observing, however, where 6 more registered. I estimate between 50-60 people showed up, some from VA, MD and NC. It was nice and clear, though the seeing was rough. Big aperture was the rule, as we had 2 25" scopes, and an 18" Obsession, not to mention Kenny Broun with his 8" SCT and CCD camera, plus dozens of reflectors, SCT's and refractors!
Those of you who traveled to Charlottesville the weekend of Sept. 22 for the VAAS convention no doubt had an excellent time. There were talks and presentations on both Saturday and Sunday. And to round off the fun, there were door prizes galore. Our own Betty Wilson walked off with an Edmund Astroscan telescope, a $300 value!
RAS was there in full force, as I counted 13 members from our club. In addition, presentations were given by RAS members Joe Hetmanski (mirror grinding), Sam Bruce (CCD photography), Eric Douglass (Mars geology), and Ken Wilson (cleaning optics).
Some familiar faces from our 1997 convention were Dr. George Spagna, from Randolph-Macon College, and Dr. Marc Sher, from William and Mary. The observing was a bust all three nights, but the daytime activities more than made up for it.
Altogether, there were more than 100 people who attended. A very good showing, and give us some good momentum for the 2001 convention, which will be hosted by the Roanoke club.
The 2001 VAAS convention was held at Virginia Western Community College's Whitman Auditorium in Roanoke, VA on Saturday, October 13. Each year a different Virginia astronomical club sponsors the event, and this year the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society took on that responsibility. We thank those in the club who made it all possible, in particular, John Goss, the VAAS coordinator this year.
Six lecturers rounded out a very informative and productive day. First up was Dr. Brett Taylor talking about wormholes and time travel. Next, Eric Douglas discussed impact structures on the moon and other worlds. Mike Good talked about discovering extra-solar planets. After lunch I spoke about observing October deep-sky objects, which hopefully would be a precursor to an observing session planned that evening on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had high hopes to be able to view some of the objects about which I spoke, especially since Kelly Proffitt, an amateur near the Tidewater, VA area had brought his brand new Obsession 20" f/5 Dobsonian. Later Dr. Roger Chevalier gave a concise discussion about exploding stars, followed by a discussion of good and bad lighting by Ted Ake.
The day was rounded off by one a favorite activity of these conventions, the drawing of door prizes. This year's prizes included donations from the Lumicon, Ted Ake, the Planetary Society, Kalmbach Publishing, Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society, Software Bisque, Orion, TeleVue, and included a grand prize of a 8.8mm Meade Ultra-Wide eyepiece from Meade Instruments. Congratulations to the winners, and special thanks to Greg Dillion. Greg won The Sky computer program from Software Bisque. When the grand prize was drawn he once again had the winning ticket, but suggested another raffle ticket be drawn in fairness to others.
Plans for an evening observing session were thwarted by clouds, which seemed to increase more and more as the day went on. By the end of the convention the sky remained mostly cloudy. Attendees were given the option of driving to the observing location in case the skies cleared. While waiting for the sky to get dark I went to dinner with Bob Hitt, Ray Moody, Glen Howell and a friend whom I hadn't seen in 20 years, Bill Dickinson. After dinner the sky looked worse so most of us decided to head for home. I spend the night near Roanoke, hoping it might clear but it never did. Nevertheless, the VAAS Convention was still fun.
It's always nice to get together with other amateurs, if not under the starry sky at least at such conventions. As we parted several said they would see me again the following weekend at the private The East Coast Star Party in Coinjock, NC.
Thanks again to the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society and to Virginia Western Community College for allowing us to hold the convention in their beautiful Whitman Auditorium.
We had a great day last Saturday, as representatives of clubs all over Virginia attended the annual VAAS convention in Ashland. Fifty eight people attended (55 paid, 3 speakers), which is short of RAS’s 1997 convention (75), but hey, no one’s complaining. Jim Blowers, president of the hosting club (RAS), gave us a quick overview of an Indian legend of how the Milky Way was named, and then listed some of the highlights of RAS’s history—this club has met continuously since 1949!
Two of the talks focused on radio astronomy—even complemented each other, through a wild coincidence. Dr. George Spagna of Randolph-Macon had a student who built a working radio telescope using a satellite dish for the collector. With only one year of effort, he got the same primitive result that Jansky, the discoverer of radio emission from space, got--the spike in radio noise over a 24 hours period caused by the Milky Way passing overhead. Dr. Spagna playfully named the project C.U.R.T. (Center of the Universe Radio Telescope) because Ashland advertises itself as the center of the universe.
Dr. Robert Rood of the University of Virginia then followed up with his story of the last years of the 140 ft. radio telescope at the Green Bank, WV, National Radio Observatory. This telescope, decommissioned in 1999, concentrated on Helium-3 emissions at 21 cm. wavelengths, the same area studied by C.U.R.T. Dr. Rood titled his talk, "An Old Dog’s Last Hunt," since the 140 ft. telescope, just like the story of his boyhood dog’s last great pheasant hunt, did its best work just before it was retired. One amazing fact about this instrument was the photograph of one of the bearings used to turn it—14 feet in diameter!
Eric Douglass, in his talk on the geology of the moon, gave us all a new appreciation of the seemingly random mix of craters, seas, and mountains on the moon. He illustrated how some of these structures were created, with nice explanations and drawings of, for example, why and how a simple crater forms instead of a complex one.
After lunch, we had multiple workshops—one of the more interesting ones was given by Dr. Robert Hicks, who dressed in period costume and described the instruments sailors used on board a sailing ship in the 16th century. He even showed us how to make a latitude sighting with reproduced wooden instruments actually used in that time period. Dr. Hicks brought home the reality of using hourglasses instead of clocks and trying to make a latitude sighting by looking directly at the sun!
Another time traveler visited us, Charles Messier (RAS member Norm Guenther). Also dressed in period costume, Charles described the general state of astronomy at the time, how he got involved with astronomy, and the reason he created his famous catalog of 110 celestial objects. Norm got a big kick at the end from bowing and at the same time removing his wig instead of a hat!
Other RAS members, and even an RVAS (Roanoke) member gave other workshops on amateur telescope making (Joe Hetmanski), CCD photography (Gary Cowardin), and "Hunting for Herschels" (John Goss of RVAS).
Door prizes are of course, always a big hit at the convention, and this crowd got into the spirit of things right away. One of the items was an aluminum accessory box, and there were many interesting conjectures as to what was inside! Anyway, we had some awfully good prizes, including a three volume set of Uranometra 2000, given to us by Willmann-Bell Books, two carrying cases from Orion, and a 14 mm ultra-wide eyepiece, donated by Meade Instruments.
I was pleasantly surprised to see representatives from 8 of the 12 clubs that I know of in Virginia, including a new one, just formed about two weeks ago, in Lynchburg, called the Blue Ridge Astronomical Society (or Astronomy Club). And we had a couple of people who belonged to more than one club (every club’s dream member)!
And what better way to end the day than with a grilled hamburger and some actual star gazing? We reserved a couple of picnic pavilions at nearby Poor Farm Park, complete with a barbecue grill, so we moved the party about four miles down the road and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, as attendees set up telescopes and binoculars in the grassy area next to the picnic area. We had a beautiful cloudless sky, with temperatures in the mid-70’s, so I have to say it was a perfect end to a perfect day. Chalk up another successful VAAS convention!