otaa convention

Our 2013 OTAA Convention — All Good

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Last weekend’s 2013 OTAA Convention was a success, featuring clear skies (for a change) and excellent prizes!

Thanks to everyone who attended our annual convention Saturday at Letha House! In spite of all the clouds and rain we’ve had so far this summer, we were lucky Saturday with a nice afternoon and clear skies at night for our star party. The star party lasted until about 2:30 AM when a cloud bank with big flashes of lightning was seen moving in from the north.

Thanks to everyone who brought all the good food for our potluck dinner and cookout. We had a lot of good things to eat!

Special thanks to our VP Tim Campbell and to the owner of Five Star Brand Meats for the great hot dogs and brats. Once again, the Five Star company sold the meat to us through Tim at half-price. Members who enjoyed the hot dogs and brats can find Five Star meat products at Marc’s and at other grocery stores in the area.

Thanks also to our Secretary Steve Gallant, who solicited all the door prizes and thanks, of course, to our very generous donors for providing the following prizes given away during our August 3 event:

Bob’s Knobs (http://www.bobsknobs.com/)

2 • Red light key rings
1 • gift certificate for a set of thumb screws

Explore Scientific, LLC (http://www.explorescientific.com/ ) 

1 • 70 Degree Series 25mm Eyepiece

JMI Telescopes (http://www.jmitelescopes.com/) 

2 • $50 gift certificates (credit on orders of $100 or more)

Software Bisque (http://www.bisque.com) 

1 • $99.00 gift certificate

Orion Telescopes & Binoculars (http://www.telescope.com/)

1 • Moon map
1 • Orion Star Target Planisphere
1 • AstroGoggles
1 • Skyline Deluxe Green Laser
4 • Rubber Eyeguard, 1.25”
1 • SteadyPix Adapter for iPhone
1 • StarSeek Tel . Connection Cable
1 • 50mm Spotter
1 • SCT Access to Mak Adapter Ring
1 • Observer’s Eyepatch
1 • 2-inch Parfocal Ring
1 • Deluxe Binocular Strap

OPT Telescopes (http://www.optcorp.com/)

1 • OPT Plossl 40mm eyepiece
1 • stack of brochures about company

Sky & Telescope (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/)

1 • Pocket Sky Atlas

Tele Vue Optics (www.televue.com/)

1 • 2X Barlow

Others:

1 • Alan Bean autographed print

1 • telescope donated by CAA Member Susan Petsche

2011 Convention a great night

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Photo: Sunset over the still lake at park. Photo by James Guilford.
The sun sets on a beautiful day, ushering in a clear night sky full of stars. Photo by James Guilford.

It was a great night at Letha House Park! CAA members and invited astronomy club members from the area gathered under gloriously clear skies for an evening of socializing and a night of excellent observing.

Many thanks to all those who attended this annual event, and to those who brought the good food for the pot luck and helped with its preparation!  Special thanks in this regard to Marianne Wadsworth, who helped VP Mike Williams with her grilling skills.

Board member Tim Campbell brought in all the great-tasting wieners, brats, and sausages for the event at an excellent price.  Our thanks to Bob Guttwein, president of Five Star Brand Meats in Cleveland, who offered the high-quality meat at a steep discount through Tim.

Photo: Lecturer with projected image of Saturn's moon Titan. Photo by James Guilford.
Featured speaker Jay Reynolds talks about the NASA Cassini mission, shown here with a projected image of Saturn's moon Titan. The new facilities at Letha House Park were much appreciated.Photo by James Guilford.

We had visitors from the Black River, Chagrin Valley, and Mahoning Valley clubs.  It was nice to host them!

Many thanks to our secretary, Steve Spears, who got a good supply of door prizes in spite of tight economic conditions. Caffeine kudos to Ray and Lynn Paul, who brought a large coffee pot and fixings for coffee lovers.

Special thanks to Gail Korylak, who helped with the clean-up.  Gail cleaned all the tables, moved all the tables and chairs, and then vacuumed the floor.  Earlier during the dinner, she also set up and arranged the food table.  She did a great job.

Our thanks also, of course, to Jay Reynolds, who gave an interesting talk about Saturn and the Cassini Mission.

Photo: Astronomers setting up telescopes in early twilight. Photo by James Guilford
2011 Convention attendees set up their telescopes under the clear skies of early twilight. Photo by James Guilford.

The recent improvements to the park gave telescope owners the opportunity to park on solid pavement and set up their instruments on earth. Adding to the pleasure was the fact that skies over the park were the best they have been in many a year for the CAA’s event. It was a great night, indeed!

2011 CAA Convention coming July 30

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The CAA OTAA convention will be held at the Letha House Park building and grounds the afternoon and night of July 30, 2011. Registration starts at 3 p.m.  There will be an Observatory demonstration session at 4 p.m. to learn about our new “Push To” equipment.  Potluck dinner at 5 p.m., followed by a door-prize raffle, and then our speaker Jay Reynolds at 8 p.m. The subject of Reynolds’ talk will be the Cassini Saturn mission. The Club will provide hot dogs, brats, and lemonade.  Bring a dish to share for the potluck!

Click Here: Google Map to Letha House Park

In addition to reserving our observatory site and the excellent new Letha House building for the day, we have also reserved the pavilion area across the road. The pavilion features an open shelter with picnic tables, plenty of parking space, and a large open area suitable for setting up telescopes. The pavilion area may be even darker than the space around our observatory, which is unfortunately affected by the headlights of cars driving past on Spencer Lake Road and by outdoor lights from a house across the road. With both sections of Letha House Park reserved for our use, we will have plenty of room for telescopes. Now all we have to hope for are clear skies. See the flyer for further details (click here for PDF).