History of the

North Houston Astronomy Club

 

1999

 

     The first meeting of the temporary North Houston Astronomical Society was held on April 23, 1999 at 8:00 PM in the teaching theatre of Kingwood College. The meeting was attended by over 200 people. The meeting was planned and chaired by Bill Leach, professor, Kingwood College. The college provided a feast for attendees. Jay McNeil, an author of articles in Sky and Telescope magazine, gave an excellent presentation on “Planetary Nebulae”. Other presenters included:

            Dr. Steve Head – President, Kingwood College

            Don Pearce – President, Houston Astronomical Society

            Katherine Persson – Vice President, Kingwood College

            Dr. Louis Binder – President, Fort Bend Astronomy Club

            Dr. Kendra Woods – Associate Dean, Kingwood College

About 20 students from the college’s astronomy program were in charge of registration, name tags, goals survey and traffic flow. The meeting was efficient and a smashing success. After the meeting twelve telescopes, one as large as 17.5 inches, fascinated attendees with visions of the galaxy.

     The second meeting was held on June 25, 1999 in the teaching theatre at Kingwood College. All persons registered at the first meeting received the first newsletter prior to the 2^nd meeting. The meeting was attended by over 50 persons. The meeting was again planned and chaired by Bill Leach. The first order of business was to vote on a group name. Those present chose the North Houston Astronomy Club (NHAC). The next vote was on officers. Those elected were:

            President: Bill Leach

            Vice President: Ron Carman

            Secretary: Paul Downing

            Treasurer: David Kennedy

            Editor: Juan Carlos Reina

            Co-Editor: Lorrie Patel

            Webmaster: Jill Bowers

            Observation Committee: Jay McNeil

The new officers decided that the elected group would meet at Paul Downing’s house to determine bylaws for the club.

     Monthly meetings continued as the club started organizing. The club purchased the website name “astronomyclub.org”. The observation committee began Thursday night star parties at River Grove Park in Kingwood and Ron Carman started organizing club field trips. The club joined the Astronomical League, The International Dark Sky Association, Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazine discount programs and The Houston astronomy community. A dues structure was enacted in August.

The December meeting was a holiday celebration which witnessed the registration of the club’s 100^th member.

Meeting Presentations:

April 1999 – Jay McNeil – Planetary Nebulae

June 1999 – Election of 1^st Board, Chose club name.

July 1999 – Bill Leach – Black Holes

August 1999 – Jill Bowers – Cyberspace Astronomy

September 1999 – Ron Carman – Telescope Optics

October 1999 – Don Pearce – Thin Moons and Eclipses

November 1999 – Bill Leach – The Temporal and Spatial Nature of the Universe

December 1999 – Bill Leach – Great Moments in 20^th Century Physics

2000

 

     The year 2000 was a year of rapid growth and development. The Executive Board is in full swing now and membership attendance at meetings is increasing. Speakers for the year were:

January 2000 – Keith Rivich – Images From the Hubble Space Telescope

February 2000 – Ron Carman – Time Keeping

March 2000 – Bill Leach – Interstellar Medium

April 2000 – Dr. Larry Pinsky – Measurement of the Expansion Using Type 1 Supernovae

May 2000 – Jay McNeil – Texas Star Party 2000: An Observer’s Paradise

June 2000 – Dr. J. C. Reina – Women in Astronomy and Their Contributions

July 2000 – Eric Rothgeb – The Multi-Element Eyepiece

August 2000 – Bill Leach – Radio Astronomy and the New Green Bank Telescope

September 2000 – Ron Carman – Telescope Optics

October 2000 – Scott Mitchell – Archeoastronomy; The Mystery of the Pyramids

November 2000 – Brent Buckalew – Kuiper Belt Objects

December 2000 – Bill Leach & Paul Downing – CCD: The Digital Revolution

     The March meeting was held at North Harris College where a large crowd of 60 attended. Dr. Pinsky, physics dept. chairman from the University of Houston, brought in our largest crowd yet of 80 at the April meeting. By the end of the first dues period, July 31, 2000, the Club membership had exceeded our wildest expectations with a total of 124 members. By the end of December 2000 the second year of membership, membership had quickly built to 122 members, about 20 over the previous year. The 1^st edition of the New Member’s Kit was assembled.

     The Club started out using a landing strip for observations at a small airfield just west of Cleveland, Texas. In the summer Club observation were switched to the “Sammy Neal Site”, a much darker site north of Cleveland, TX. A novice program was started before the general meeting and sessions were presented by Club members. The Observation committee received a 13.5-in. mirror from Ron Carman and under the direction of Terry Angelich it was converted into the first club-owned loaner telescope.

     In October the Club participated in “Astronomy Day 2000!” and most of the Houston astronomical community learned of our serious existence as an astronomy club. Kingwood College and the Club began to consider plans for a mutual one million dollar “dark-sky” observing site for the year 2004. The Club also obtained their first T-shirts, 4 dozen, which were denim blue with navy blue letters. Later in the year the second batch of T-shirts was ordered, 5 dozen, which were forest green with white letters. Club bylaws were amended twice in 2000 as the Club grew and adapted to its size. The North Star color newsletter vastly improved with the use of the Microsoft Publishing software.

     In November the Club participated in its first elections since the initial election shortly after the Club’s founding. The second official slate of officers was: President – Bill Leach                  

Vice President – Paul Downing

Secretary – Anne Alleyne                         

Treasurer – Richard Horn

Editor – Lorrie Patel                                       

Webmaster – Jill Bowers

Observation committee – Ron Carman

Membership committee – Mike Shelby

2001

 

1.      Speakers for the year 2001 were:

January 2001 – Larry Mitchell – Observation Astronomy Using The Hubble Space Telescope

February 2001 – Barbara Wilson – Diamonds in the Sky

March 2001 – Dr. Louis Binder – Vision and Astronomy

April 2001 – Dr. Reginald DuFour – The Observable Edge of the Universe

May 2001 – Bill Leach – Faster than Light and Back Through Time

June 2001 – Cynthia Gustava – Mars: Up Close and Personal

July 2001 – Dennis Webb – Arp’s Peculiar Galaxies

August 2001 – Jose Sancho – Telescope Collimation and Alignment

September 2001 – Triple Nickel – The Neutrino Problem

October 2001 – Stephen James O’Meara – 19^th Century Astronomer in the 21^st Century

November – Major Larry Ridolfi – Collision Measurements Between Orbits

December 2001 – Brent Buckalew – Jay and Studious Brent’s Great Adventures in NGC 1569

2.      Twenty members of the North Houston Astronomy Club attended the Houston Astronomical Society annual banquet and heard the presentation by Carolyn Shoemaker in February.

3.      Jessica Adams was chosen by the board as the new Program Committee chairperson.

4.      In the spring NHAC received permission from Sammy Neal to use his viewing site two Saturdays each month.

5.      In June NHAC sponsored a “Mars Party”/BBQ at the Sammy Neal site. There were 30 telescopes and about 50 attendees.

6.      In August the club started using the new Kingwood College astronomy lab, the Cosmic Forum, for its novice programs.

7.      The 3^rd batch of T-shirts was ordered in June. They were gray with black lettering.

8.      The 4^th batch of T-shirts was ordered in August. They are red with white lettering.

9.      At the end of the fiscal year, July 31, 2001, the club had 160 registered members, making us the 5^th largest astronomy club in Texas.

10.At the September meeting Sammy Neal was elected an honorary member.

11.On Friday, October 26, NHAC and the college hosted the first city-wide all-clubs meeting as a kick-off for Astronomy Day 2001. Two hundred persons attended the meeting and heard Stephen James O’Meara talk about his discoveries.

12.On Saturday, October 27, the club was well represented at Astronomy Day 2001. Paul Downing was the club coordinator of this event. Bill Leach was the city-wide coordinator.

13. In October the club purchased the new website: www.nhac.info.

14. At the November meeting the club elected its 3^rd Executive Board.

President – Paul Downing       

Vice President – Juan Carlos Reina

Secretary – Bill Leach            

Treasurer – Anne Alleyne

Editor – Lorrie Patel              

Webmaster – Jill Bowers

Observation Committee – Ron Carman

Membership Committee – Robert McMillan

Program Committee – Jessica Adams

15. At the end of the year the club membership was 119 members.

2002

 

1.      Paul Downing, the new NHAC president, chaired the January meeting. The meeting featured speaker Gary Seronik from Sky & Telescope magazine. All four Houston clubs were invited and over 100 persons attended.

2.      The “By Jove” star party was held at the Sammy Neal Site on Saturday February 16. In spite of the fact that the clouds did not clear until 10 PM, 45 persons (31 telescopes) attended and enjoyed the BBQ hamburgers. The use of nametags helped everyone get to know one another.

3.      NHAC signed up on netslyder.com so that it can have its own list server.

4.      The “Opposition” star party was held on August 3.

5.      Don Taylor became the new webmaster in August.

6.      Speakers for 2002 were:

Jan. – Gary Seronik, Inside the Scene at S & T

Feb. – Bill Leach, Black Holes

Mar. – Don Pearce, Comets

April – Phil Inderweissen, Light Pollution

May – Bill Dillion, Asteroid Discoveries

June – Paul Downing & Bill Leach, Why Do We See What We See

July – Larry Mitchell, Volcanoes & Astronomy

Aug. – Barbara Wilson, Globular Clusters

Sept. – Brian Cudnik, Lunar Impacts

Oct. – Scott Mitchell, Southern Skies Star Party

Nov. – James Wooten, Lost Sheep

Dec. – Bill Leach, The Epoch of Stars

7.      The December 7 :Lord of the Rings” BBQ star party was clouded out but we had 30 attendees anyway.

8.      The following members were elected to the 2003 Executive Board:

President – Paul Downing

Vice President – Ron Carman

Secretary – Chris Friedesdorf

Treasurer – Robert McMillan

Editor – Bill Leach

Webmaster – Don Taylor

ALCor – Aaron Clevenson

Observation Committee – Matt Wotipka

Membership Committee – Juan Carlos Reina

Program Committee – Jessica Adams

9.      The club obtained the new domain name: www.nhac.info

2003

 

1. The members of the Executive board were:

            President – Paul Downing

            Vice President – Ron Carman

            Secretary – Chris Friedersdorf

            Treasurer – Robert McMillan

            Editor – Bill Leach

            Webmaster – Don Taylor

            Alcor – Aaron Clevenson

            Membership committee – J. C. Reina

            Observation committee – Matt Wotipka/Jeff Winship

            Program Committee – Jessica Adams

 

2. The annual BBQ/Star Parties:

            April 5 – Jupiter in the Beehive

            June 21 – Summer Solstice

            August 24 – Mars (record 80+ attendance)

            November 15 – Return of the Rings

 

3. The general membership meeting presentations:

            Jan – Katherine Keilty, Supernovae Remnants

            Feb – Brent Buckalew, Galileo Mission to Jupiter

            Mar – Bill leach, The What and Why of Galaxies

            Apr – Larry Mitchell, The When and Where of Galaxies

            May – Paul Downing, Digital Imaging

            Jun – Bill Leach, The Inner Sanctum

            Jul – Dennis Borgman, The Moon

            Aug – Billie Harland, Star Lore

            Sept – Peter Nolan, Mesozoic Mass Massacre Mysteries

            Oct – Skully Skulborstad, Dave Clark, Don Taylor, The Digital Dudes

            Nov – Brian Schmaefsky, Exploring Exobiology: Facts and Myth

            Dec – Aaron Clevenson, A Tribute to Charles Messier

 

4. Major accomplishments:

            Expansion of observing night from 2 to 6 nights each month

            Navigation lights for the observing site

            AC Generator

            Cargo container purchased

            NHAC list server Forum established

            North Star on Website

            171 record membership

            Digital photography becomes a craze

2004

 

1. The members of the executive board:

            President – Bill Leach

            Vice President – Juan Carlos Reina

            Secretary – Ron Carman

            Treasurer – Robert McMillan

            Editor – Lorrie Patel

            Webmaster – Don Taylor 

Alcor – Aaron Clevenson

            Program Committee – Jessica Adams

            Observation Committee – Jeff Winship

            Membership Committee – Geraldina Reina

            Past President – Paul Downing

 

2. The Annual BBQ/Star Parties

 By Jove II – Saturday,  March 20

Double Opp – Saturday, August 14

The November BBQ was rained out

 

3. General Membership Meeting Presentations

            Jan – Dr. David Black, Rice University

“A Taxonomy of the Creatures that Inhabit the Extra-solar Planet Zoo”

            Feb – Eleta Malewitz, JSCAS, “Mars Observations Throughout History”

            Mar – Larry Mitchell, HAS, “William Herschel and the Herschel Objects”

            Apr - 5th Anniversary Celebration –Bill Leach, Paul Downing & Don Taylor

            May – Hernan Contreras, JSCAS, “The History of the Telescope from

1508 until Present Day”

Jun – Steve Edberg, JPL, “Cassini Mission to Saturn”

Jul – Steve Nathan, AL Lunar Observing Club Coordinator, “Lunacy &

Lunatics”

Aug – Bill Leach, Kingwood College, “Cataclysmic Variables”

Sept – Dennis Webb, JSCAS, “To Touch the Light of Faraway Planets”

Oct – Jay McNeil, 4^th Regional Astronomy Meeting, “Serendipity and

Backyard Astronomy”

Nov – Larry Ridolfi, USAF, “Laser Guide Stars and Adaptive Optics for Astronomy”

Dec – Don Pearce, HAS, “Comets”

 

4. Major Accomplishments:

Don Taylor wins the AL Webmaster award

Permanent restroom facilities are obtained for the Neal Site

NGC1 was raised on railroad ties

Ron & Mary Jo Carman & Paul Downing were elected honorary members

Astronomy Day 04 and the 4^th Regional Astronomy Meeting, Jay Mc Neil, NHAC host

NHAC joins NASA’s Dark Sky Network

The North Star is now only available for the club’s website

Postcards are being sent to all members as meeting announcements

The first set of shelves was built in NGC1 by Henry Norton and Aaron Clevenson.

2005

 

1. The Members of the Executive Board:

            President – Juan Carlos Reina

            Vice President – Bill Leach

            Secretary – Sue Wheatley

            Treasurer – Robert McMIllan

            Editor – Lorrie Patel

            Webmaster – Ed Knapton

            ALCor – Aaron Clevenson

            Observation Committee – Henry Norton

            Membership Committee – Geraldina Reina

            Program Committee – Jessica Adams

 

2. BBQ/Star Parties

 

3. General Meeting Presentations:

            Jan – Darrin Lewin, Land, Sea & Sky, “Binoculars”

 

4. Major Accomplishments:

            Website overhauled by Ed Knapton