History of the Milwaukee Astronomical Society

 

1982-1985 - Build the Z-Scope, First Light, Host ALCON, Finish the Dome

 

 

1982

As the year begins the 26" building looks like completion is near, but a lot of work remains, especially on the dome. The telescope mount parts are starting to come together and it is being reported that the mirror is progressing.

1982 was special because it was the 50th anniversary of the club. To celebrate this the MAS will host two conventions: the AAVSO Spring Meeting and the NCRAL (North Central Region - Astronomical League) convention. It was really hoped that the 26" project would be fairly complete, but at least visually the visitors could see an amazing amount of progress.

Historian Note: We are fortunate to have many pictures from 1982 and 1983 because of John Asztalos photography and almost all of the pictures shown here are his. And this explains why he appears in very few pictures!

Feb 6 Samolyk: Scrape Quonset

Feb 7 Samolyk, Zych: Fix dome

Feb 13 Samolyk: Work on [can't read]

Feb 14 Samolyk: Work

Feb 18 Samolyk, Zych: Haul 2X4'

Feb 20 Samolyk, Zych, Smitka: Work on 26"observatory - building walls

Mar 13 Samolyk, Smitka, Jonathan Smitka, Tom Milner: Work on Quonset.

Mar 20 Samolyk, Asztalos: Lot done on building

Mar 23 Samolyk, Tuerck: Electrical

Mar 24 Tuerck: [electrical?]

Mar 27 Samolyk, Hanson, Luann Zych: Framing

Mar 28 Samolyk, Hanson: Framing

Mar 29 Tuerck: [electrical?]

Apr 10 Samolyk, Smitka, Jonathan Smitka, Thomas Milner, Asztalos, Hesseltine, Borchardt: lifted fork to get upstairs, installed base, finished floor. Paint Quonset.

Apr 14 Tuerck: Electrical

Apr 17 Samolyk, Tangney, Asztalos: [nothing specified]

Apr 18 Samolyk, Asztalos: Painted floor

Apr 21 Tuerck: Electrical

Apr 23 Tuerck, Hesseltine, Ganiere, Asztalos: [nothing specified]

Apr 24 Hanson, Smitka, Jonathan Smitka: [nothing specified]

Apr 29 - May 1 Spring Meeting of the AAVSO hosted by the MAS, specifically by Gerry Samolyk and Gene Hanson. The conference was held at the Holiday Inn Milwaukee West, located on Mayfair Road, just south of Bluemound Road. Click/tap here for the meeting program. Click/tap here for other pictures from the AAVSO Spring meeting.

May 18 Gene Hanson drives the 200 lb. 26" pyrex blank in a wooden crate to Star Instruments in Flagstaff, Arizona, for grinding and polishing. It is delivered in the early morning of May 19th and the owner wants to be sure the blank is okay so he opens the cover to examine it. He is horrified by what he sees and says, "It's solid glass! It should be ribbed!" indicating the blank is far heavier than it need be. The blank is anywhere from half to two-thirds heavier than it should be.

May 22 NCRAL Convention hosted by the MAS and held at Carroll Collage. The main speaker is Michael Turner from the University of Chicago.

May With the mount base installed and the fork delivered, machining for the other parts goes into high gear. They need to machine the polar axis and produce the myriad of pieces needed for the mirror cell, most of these done by Paul Borchardt who was a professional machinest.

Jun 5 Samolyk, Ganiere, Asztalos: Work on dome - 8 hours!

Jun 12 Samolyk, Tangney, Asztalos: Slit work

Jun 19 Samolyk, Ganiere: Dome work

Jun 26 Samolyk, Asztalos, Hesseltine: Work on dome

Jun 27 Samolyk, Roldan, Mark & Luann Zych, Jim Greenwald: Dome work

Jul 31 Samolyk, Asztalos, Luann Zych: Paint new building

Aug
MAS approaches the Astronomical League (AL) about hosting ALCON in 1984 as it looks like the Z-Dome and Z-Scope will be operational. Dan Koehler volunteers to be the chairman. At the time the AL has 155 member societies and around 8000 members.

Aug 1 Samolyk, Asztalos: Painting

Aug 7 Samolyk, Asztalos, Smitka, Hesseltine: Work

Aug 14 Samolyk, Hesseltine:

Aug 21 Samolyk, Hesseltine:

Aug 28 Samolyk, Leroy Simandl, Hesseltine:

Sep 4 Samolyk, Hesseltine, Nichols: Work on driveway and landscaping

Sep 20 Samolyk, Asztalos, Luann Zych:

Sep 21 Board Meeting. Jim Fanson takes pictures - Shown below.

Oct 9 Samolyk, Ganiere: Worked on flashing

Oct 16 Samolyk, Asztalos, Ganiere, Tom Schmidtkunz: Work on roof flashing.

Oct 30 Samolyk, Zych: Work on Dome

Dec 4 Samolyk, Asztalos, Hesseltine, Ganiere: Work on dome.

Dec 14 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Polar Axis delivered

 

 

 

1983

As the year begins, work on the dome slit continues. The parts to complete the telescope mount are basically complete, delivered to the site, and ready to be hoisted to the second floor. The mirror is still in Flagstaff, AZ, at Star Instruments where it is being ground and figured. Technically, we could have just glided until the project's completion, but the clock is now ticking as it must be finished by summer of 1984 because we will be hosting ALCON.

Jan 8 Samolyk, Asztalos, Hesseltine: Work party - Assemble polar axis. This entails attaching the RA disc to the polar axis.

Jan 9 Asztalos: Worked on ground wires.

Feb
Because of the ongoing recession (labeled stagflation because of the usually mutually exclusive high interest rates and high inflation) with increases in magazines, postal rates, printing costs, maintenance materials, utilities, etc. the MAS has to increase the dues, last increased in May of 1974. The new dues: Reg Membership: $30, Family: $30 + $1 per additional family member, Non-Resident: $20, Junior: $15. Membership still includes a subscription to Sky & Telescope. Astronomy magazine is now available for a discounted rate of $12/year.

Feb 19 Samolyk: Work on new dome.

Feb 20 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Work on new dome.

Feb 26 Samolyk: Work on new dome.

Mar 3 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Lift polar axis to the 2nd floor.

Mar 8 Hesseltine: For paint

Mar 12 Samolyk, Hesseltine, J&D Smith, Ganiere, Borchardt, Smitka: Polar axis assembly is lifted onto the base.

Mar 14 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Align polar axis of new scope

Apr 1 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Fork

Apr 2 Samolyk: Fork

Apr 3 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Hang fork.

Apr
John Asztalos drives to Arizona to pick up the the finished 26" mirror (all 175 lbs) from Arizona.

Apr 7 Hesseltine: Spray down dirt.

Apr 9 Hesseltine: Pick up in new building

Apr 12 Hesseltine: Spray down dirt.

Apr 16 Samolyk, Hesseltine, Smitka: Clean up

May 1 Hesseltine: Found shutter door off.

May 8 Hesseltine: Check on shutter.

Jun
The AL selects the MAS to host the 38th Annual Convention of the Astronomical League (ALCON).

Jun 4 Samolyk, Asztalos, Hesseltine: Dome flashing.

Jun 18 Samolyk, Hesseltine: Dome flashing.

Jul 16 Tangney, Samolyk, Borchardt, Toeller, Asztalos.

Aug

Virgil Tangney

Aug 13 Samolyk, Asztalos, Deborah Frey: Wet paint on B door.

Aug 20 Samolyk, Asztalos, Ganiere: Work party.

Sep
Because the 26' telescope building has a brand new dome, the name of our newsletter (Double Dome) is no longer appropriate, they had a contest to rename it and also design a new nameplate.

Sep 12 Dan Koehler, Virgil and Mary Ann Tangney, Roldan, Toeller: ALCON '84 Committee.

Sep 24 Samolyk, Schmidtkunz, Ganiere: Wiring in new building.

Sep 27 Asztalos, Hesseltine: Dirt [???]

Sep 28 Asztalos, Ganiere: Shoveled dirt.

Sep 29 Asztalos: Shoveled dirt

Sep
We got 956 visitors during the 1983 open house season.

Oct 1 Samolyk, Hesseltine, Ganiere, Smitka: Nothing specified

Oct 6 Ganiere, R.L. Wiesen, John Wiesen, Tom Renner, Dan Koehler: AL Convention Committee Meeting

Oct 8 Smitka, John Smitka: 26" Building cleaned, batton house down.

Oct 30 Samolyk, Zych: Dome strips.

Nov 24 Smitka: Delivered metal to 26" building.

 

 

1984

The first half of the year is dominated by preparation for hosting ALCON. All of the buildings and the telescopes are painted and work on the 26" Zemlock Telescope is concentrated on getting the mount (less the clock drive) and the tube assembly finished for first light. Throughout 1983 the telescope committee was making the pieces for that telescope and the optical tube assembly will come together so first light is achieved by August for ALCON.

The big ALCON committee headed by Dan Koehler will do an amazing job getting all the details complete.

Feb
Gerry Samolyk takes over as the head of the Zemlock Telescope project.

Mar
With the end of winter, the buildings and grounds need a lot of work to be ready for ALCON. Work continues getting the Zemlock Telescope ready. The new building needs the electric wiring complete to clear the building permit.

Apr
Longtime member, Joseph Loepfe, dies on Apr. 29th at the age of 68. He joined the MAS in 1932 making him one of the earliest members of the club. The picture at the right shows Joe with his homemade reflector in an era when commercial instruments were few and even fewer could afford one as this was in the Great Depression. The other picture shows Joe and his VW Beetle at the 1980 MAS picnic.

Jun
A new well pump is installed. The parking lot driveway was widened and paved with asphalt.

Jul

The MAS grounds just before ALCON '84

Jul 29 We achieve first light for the Zemlock Telescope. The following is the log book entry written by Gerry Samolyk:

In the July issue of the Focal Point newsletter, they list the entire schedule of ALCON which takes place August 1-4. Click/tap here or on the image to view.

Aug 1-4
ALCON '84, the 34th National Convention of the Astronomical League, was well-planned and well attended by nearly 400 delegates from states near and far, including Hawaii. It was held at Carroll College in Waukesha. It was also a joint meeting with three other national societies including ALPO (Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers).

There were 3 invited speakers (Donald Parker, William J. Parker, and Doug Hall), 27 papers, and 8 workshops. The Astromart was jammed most of the time with many people carrying purchases or ordering items. One good-sized room was crowded with displays including unusual art work, observation recordings, drawings, and a layout showing how the Reflector (that newsletter of the AL) was published.

The big trip of the event was the tour of Yerkes Observatory. There were also nightly star parties at the MAS observatory, which we were proud to showcase.

The event was also a financial success with the MAS netting $1,126.

Oct 19 Samolyk, John Wiesen, Richard Wiesen, Ganiere: Work on dome, carpentry, and chalking.

Nov 19 Paul Barina, Greg Cieslak: Work on 26" RA Drive

Nov 24 Samolyk: Dome work

Nov 26 G Cieslak: Work on 26" Drive

Dec 1 Paul Barina, Greg Cieslak: Work on 26" RA Drive

 

 

1985

 

Feb
The 26" dome is almost completely waterproofed. Though the slit is generally working, it should not be lifted too high or it will bind.

Mar
Electrical will soon begin in the Zemlock Building. (First use of that description for the 26" building.)

May Open House schedule published in the Focal Point.

Jul
Rough wiring of the Zemlock Building is finished and approved. Framing for dry walling is next. Building inspectors will then re-inspect. Trenching for wiring is in progress. Work on the 26" declination drive will soon be done.

Jul 7 Hesseltine: Delivery of drywall

Jul 24 G. Cieslak: Work on drive

Jul 27 Samolyk, Roldan: Drywall

Jul 31 G Cieslak: 26" telescope drive

Aug 3 Samolyk, Ganiere, Asztalos, Jim Elzinga: Drywall

Aug 8 G Cieslak: 26" telescope drive

Aug 14 G Cieslak: 26" telescope drive

Aug 26 Paul Barina, Greg Cieslak: Work on 26" RA Drive. New belt system works great!!!

Sep 14 Samolyk: Work

Sep 16 Paul Barina, Greg Cieslak: 26" Telescope, Jupiter on TV

Sep 22 Samolyk, Asztalos: Drywall

Sep 24 Asztalos, Ganiere: Drywall

Sep 26 Samolyk, Asztalos: Drywall, drywall spray

Sep 28 Samolyk, R. Wiesen: Painted the drywall

Oct 2 Halley's Comet is seen through the A-Scope.

Oct 4 R.A. drive available for the 26"

Oct 5 Samolyk, John Wiesen, Richard Wiesen, Asztalos: Painting and caulked the dome.

Nov 8 Peter Smitka: with Bldg Inspector. BUILDING PERMIT CLEARED! FINAL INSPECTION COMPLETE!!!

 

Name Key

Full names of individuals referenced on this page with their last names only.:

Samolyk - Gerry Samolyk
Asztalos - John Asztalos
Fanson - Jim Fanson
Hesseltine - Chris Hesseltine
Hanson - Gene Hanson
Ganiere - Brian Ganiere
Tuerck - Bill Tuerck
Zych - Mark Zych
Cieslak - Brian Cieslak
Smitka - Peter Smitka
Borchardt - Paul Borchardt
Tangney - Virgil Tangney
Roldan - Frank Roldan