History of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers

Education/Public Outreach and Service: 2005-2006

From 1999 through 2003 Carl Wenning worked closely with the Prairie Aviation Museum to assist with the development of its proposed Challenger Learning Center. He was named a “champion” in this cause, and took on a number of important leadership roles. Asked to commit to “just a few meetings,” Carl stayed on board long enough to write and secure the CLC charter for central Illinois during October 2001, assisted with fund raising from 2001-2003, and was present for the Center’s opening in December 2003. Just a bit more than a year later, in 2005, the TCAA started off with a “bash” at the CLC with a January 29 mission. Continuing to assist with the growth of the CLC at Prairie Aviation Museum, later in 2005 TCAA members Carl Wenning and Shaukat Goderya were awarded a $50,000 NASA/Space Telescope Science Institute grant to help develop two national curricula for the 50 or so simulators across the USA, Canada, and Great Britain. This effort ultimately would lead Rebecca and Carl Wenning to having dinner with Grace Corrigan, mother of Challenger 51-L astronaut Christa McAuliffe, on Friday, February 24, 2006.

Figure 49: TCAA members on a Challenger Learning Center Mission, January 29, 2005

The year 2005 was a fresh start in many other ways for the TCAA. During the February Annual Meeting, The club conferred membership in the G. Schuette Society of Outstanding Amateur Astronomers upon William Carney. When the award was presented, it was rightly noted that this recognition was long overdue. No member in the TCAA had been named to the Schuette Society since 1997 – eight years. Upon conferring the award, President Lyle Rich noted how William had held several offices, how he had contributed “ceaselessly and tirelessly” to the membership through its numerous education and public outreach activities, and how he had won numerous Astronomical League observing awards such as the Messier, Lunar, Binocular Messier, and Urban awards.

On April 25, 2005, David Levy of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 fame met with club members at SGNC to do some observing; unfortunately, the sky was overcast. Still the membership in attendance benefited from an evening of discussion. The day before and the day after David presented talks at ISU’s Bone Student Center and Milner Library respectively. Several club members were in attendance at these events as well. Just two days before David’s visit with the membership, Duane Yockey traveled to the NCRAL 2005 convention in Sturgeon Bay, WI, an event that would before long have significant “consequences” for the TCAA.

During the spring and summer of 2005, the club was happily moving along providing education/public outreach efforts. President Lyle V. Rich – a member from the earliest years of the club had only recently returned to town⁷⁸ after many years of government and Navy work – died quite unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism. Vice president Kalyanaraman (Kal) Kumar – a temporary employee of State Farm Insurance Company from Chenai, India – became president. Under Kal’s leadership, the club smoothly continued its efforts.

With the ISU Planetarium having been opened on September 1, 1964, the planetarium projector was in dire need of repairs. When Carl Wenning had been planetarium director, he got the College of Arts & Sciences to commit $30,000 to the projector’s refurbishment shortly after the disappearance of Halley’s Comet in 1986. Still, this was not enough. In 2005, with Tom Willmitch as Planetarium Director, the TCAA took the lead in conducting fundraising campaign for ISU Planetarium that consisted of a direct mail campaign and a raffle. An Intes 6-inch f/10 Maksutov telescope OTA from Russia (list price $1,799) was donated anonymously to the planetarium during early solicitation efforts, and this was used as a basis for the raffle. By the time the raffle was held on September 3, the club had raised $2,935 on behalf of the planetarium. Club member Neale Lemkuhl was the winner.

As the year drew to a close, an interesting feature started showing up in The OBSERVER that would also have long-term consequences for the club. During 2005, AL observing club updates started making a regular appearance in the newsletter. Messier, Herschel 400, Asteroid, and Comet reports were made on behalf of William Carney, Jean Memken, Michael Rogers, and Brian Barling. Before long, this small set of notifications would propel the membership on to making significant advances in observing. Despite those things clambering for the attention of amateur astronomers, several members of the TCAA continued to observe the heavens in the old fashion way – they viewed it! During the period from 1995-2005, TCAAers were bedazzled by the observing prowess of William Carney (asteroids and comets), Sandra McNamara (Herschel 400 observing project using non-automated methods), and Rebecca Wenning (provisional Messier certificate completed at 11 years of age).⁷⁹

Starting in 2006, Carl Wenning and Duane Yockey renewed efforts teaching adult education at SGNC. This first course resulted in an overflow registration and a new member by the name of Dave Osenga. Joining the club later that year were Ginnie Underwood and Gail Nelson who also attended the winter adult education course at SGNC. Joining on his own at this time was Lee Green.

Never to be outdone traveling, on March 29, 2006, Roy and Barb Ostberg, Sharon MacDonald, and Carl Wenning⁸⁰ observed yet another total eclipse of this sun, but this time aboard ship in the Mediterranean Sea just northeast of Crete. In addition to traveling through Athens, they visited the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea, and twice traveled to Turkey – ancient Ephesus by ship and Istanbul by air.

During April, eight TCAAers attended the NCRAL 2006 meeting in Appleton, WI. In doing so they were following the lead of Duane Yockey who had attended the year before, and noted the pleasure of doing so. Following his lead, seven club members joined him for this event – Dan Miller, Carl Wenning, as well as Michael Rogers and Jean Memken along with their three children. In discussions at that meeting, the TCAA leadership put forth an offer to host NCRAL 2010 in recognition of the club’s 50th anniversary.

Dan Miller, working with the Challenger Learning Center, helped to organize Family Science Day in cooperation with CLC’s Janet Moore on September 24, 2006.⁸¹ Numerous club members participated in this event, with displays inside and outside the ballroom at the Bone Student Center on the ISU campus. Michael Rogers put up a computer display, Carl Wenning a telescope optics display. Dan set up a telescope for viewing the sun, as well as a new TCAA display stand. Dave Osenga took responsibility for staffing the TCAA display.

Figure 50: Family Science Day in cooperation with the Challenger Learning Center

Starting with the September 2006 issue of The OBSERVER, a new feature – Observers’ Log Book – was started to document the many observations of club members beyond those directly associated with Astronomical League observing programs. Among the first items noted was an August Perseid meteor shower observing program at Weldon Springs SRA at Clinton, now an annual tradition. Carl worked carefully with Park Interpreter Carol Thompson to present this event. Springing from this event was a new member, Marty Morris, a 4th grade school teacher in Clinton, IL. The club would subsequently present annual spring or autumn observing sessions at Weldon Springs that consisted of a presentation, constellation study, and telescopic viewing.

Annual meetings during this time brought back some old memories and presented new ideas. A member from the very earliest days of the club, David B. Williams, spoke about variables during his 2005 presentation, and Dr. Roger Phillips, Director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences in Saint Louis, spoke about the MESSENGER mission to Mercury in 2006.

Next Section: Travels and Recognitions: 2007 - 2009

⁷⁸ Past members have returned in various ways over the years, especially by attending Annual Meetings. Included in this listing are Judy Walker Nonie; Sue Remsburg (ended up working for NASA), Barry Beaman (ended up becoming president of the Astronomical League and variable star observer in Rockford, IL), David B. Williams (notable AAVSO member and twice president from Whitestown, IN), Taylor Cisco (City Colleges of Chicago – District Office, Program Compliance Officer), Lyle Rich (US Navy and government work), Bill Blunk (high school physics teacher who retired in 2005 after working for many years in Joliet, IL), and Warren Light (worked in Houston, TX).

⁷⁹ See Appendix 8 for a complete listing of Astronomical League observing and NASA Service award recipients.

⁸⁰ Agnes Wenning, Carl’s mother, also traveled along as she did back in 1994 to see the total solar eclipse from Potosí, Bolivia.

⁸¹ Janet was hired into the position of Lead Flight Director in 2003 with the opening of the Center. She had worked previously in the ISU Planetarium during her four undergraduate years. Besides presenting more than one hundred programs yearly, Janet almost single-handedly opened the Planetarium’s gift shop – exhibiting precisely those sort of skills needed in her new teaching and administrative positions at the CLC.