Meeting Memories

Clear skies, moderate weather, a picturesque location, and, above all, two days filled with stimulating talks about some of our favorite subjects! What more could one ask of a weekend!!

It is impossible in the space available to comment on all of the presentations that I found fascinating and that I hope to find in print in upcoming issues of JAAVSO. That said, I must mention a few that stand out in memory. One was John Pazmino's "The Therapeutic Stars," which I found to be one of the best and most rewarding examples of the creative, "public" use of space-age astronomy that I had ever heard of. Who knows how many kids may get interested in the topic who might otherwise not encounter it as a result of a stay in the hospital? I recall that at last year's meeting, John spoke of New York City's plans for and construction of the new Hayden Planetarium, another interesting presentation. It seems that he can be counted on for something "different" and engaging around this time of year.

A second paper vividly recalled was the presentation by Greg Kinne on the "Global Telescope Network Project." This seems to me to be a startlingly ambitious undertaking, but I can hardly wait for it to be completed. The idea of developing a distributed, public telescope utility, whose operations are mediated via the Internet, struck me as a remarkably forward-looking and valuable aid to amateur, as well as professional, astronomical endeavors.

A third memory is of perspectives and feedback on HOA offered by Ray Berg, Andrea Motta, Brian Rogan, and Kristine Larsen. This is clearly a winner, one which, always, when I see it being used and hear it discussed, I wish had existed when I was a student. What a great adjunct to dry texts and difficult-to-understand lectures!

Finally, as a solar observer, I must admit that I particularly liked Margarita Karovska's and Joseph Lawrence's evening talks on the Sun and Solar Division activities, respectively. And, in a related vein, I enjoyed peering though Gerry Dyke's homemade solar spectroscope and seeing Art Stokes' SIDs station in the flesh after reading about the outputs of his and others' stations in the Solar Bulletin. I've decided to try to put one of these stations together to see if I can capture a flare event or two myself. It may be that we on Earth will only have a little over eight minutes left after it burns out, but given the amount of attention the Sun now receives, I think we will get the earliest possible warning of that event and have the opportunity to enjoy most of the remaining seconds!

Carl Feehrer
Massachusetts, USA

From my home in Phoenix, AAVSO annual meetings are held in the opposite end of the country, which means a long plane flight. Since this event was on Cape Cod, we left late Wednesday (a.k.a., "red-eye") in order to get there early to sightsee. Our tour started with downtown Boston. This was an incredible display of construction, and I live in city known for its continuous building. An hour later we eventually found our way out through all the detours! But the weather was beautiful and we weren't in a hurry. From there we went straight to Cape Cod; a beautiful place and not very crowded due to the time of year.

The informal dinner on Thursday night is a good reason to arrive early, which for me is a "can't miss" event. The planned cookout was brought indoors due to cold weather, but it is neither the weather nor the food that makes this special. It is the people! Here you meet old friends and meet new ones and talk about ... well, just about everything (although, according to my wife, just stars). I especially looked forward to meeting Mike Simonsen, one of our newest observers, who I've interacted with via email. For me, however, an AAVSO meeting officially begins when I receive a hug by Janet Mattei!

You can logically divide meetings into the formal and informal. The scheduled events of every meeting include scientific paper sessions, invited speakers, the membership meeting, group photograph, and the Saturday night banquet. I missed part of the membership meeting having been drafted to open and count the ballots for the council election. (And despite this, still didn't get any votes!) There was a special session on Friday for Hands-On Astrophysics with presentations from members, educators, and students, describing its benefits and from in-the-field experiences. For my money, Janet's presentation on VSTAR was the highlight.

On Friday evening, AAVSO member Dr. Margarita Karovska gave a talk, "The Sun in Time." This was possibly the best presentation I have ever heard.

In recent years I've been struck by how VSOing has been effected by advances in technology. Some of the informal discussions made me focus on their effects on the AAVSO. Janet, at the informal dinner, spoke about a future study from five years ago, and there was no mention of the Web! HQ now has to deal with an ever-increasing volume [400 pieces per day?] of incoming email. Increasing web traffic will force more frequent computer upgrades. HQ has a large investment in DOS programs that threaten to become obsolete if not rewritten. In another discussion, it appears that the web itself may indeed change what it means to be a AAVSO member. What happens when every publication is available "free" online? And what about the short-term (maybe many more years) when not everyone has internet access?

I look forward to attending future meetings. I have heard of complaints about the high hotel rates in Cambridge. With the much more reasonable rates on Cape Cod, the first rate meeting facilities, and the beautiful scenery, I would hope it will be considered for future meetings. However, there is nothing that trumps good attendance for making the meetings great.

Gene Hanson Arizona, USA