The Importance of Certificates

        I recently came across an observing certificate I had earned in December of 1994. It was awarded to me at the Annual AAAP Christmas Party. (I don’t believe it had been changed yet to the more politically correct, Holiday Party) Looking at it got me thinking…

        I hadn’t heard anything about these certificates in awhile. I know other organizations such as The Astronomical League offer them but I haven’t heard any mention of it in our club lately, the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh.

        Before I bought my first “real” telescope, I joined the AAAP. I hoped to gain some information about how to buy a telescope. Where I could get one? Were there any available near-by that were being sold second hand? What type should I purchase and how big should it should be for a beginner?  There were lots of questions running through my mind.

        Listening to the members, I realized that I only knew a little bit, I had a lot to learn! Thankfully, the members of the club were very open to helping the "newbies". During these early years of my club membership I met many new friends, many of whom are friends to this day!

        In those days the meetings were held in the basement of the Buhl Planetarium and in the lecture room of Allegheny Observatory. Just walking into these buildings gave me a sense of excitement. During the meetings we would often have a guest speaker, one of the club members talking about one of their specialties or a visitor telling us about their job or favorite types of astronomy. It was like going to an astronomy class!

        The meeting would then drift into club business and then another fun part, member’s observations. Fireballs we might have seen, occultations or eclipses or conjunctions. Then…they’d show slides. I really looked forward to this part of the meetings.

        We have some very talented members and their photos showed their expertise. They gave me something to strive for! I started attempting to take star pictures and while they might not have been spectacular, the members appreciated seeing them. This is one of the great things about the club; they never fail to let you know that your pictures were “nice” and if asked, were happy to share hints about how they could be made better.

        Certificates were another way that the club helped its members.  There was the Messier Certificate given to people who observed all 110 Messier objects. Another was the James Mullaney Certificate which involved observing 105 of the finest deep sky objects selected by the author of the list.  He wrote a book describing these objects. The Scanlon Certificate was named after one of the founders of the club and could be achieved without any optical aid. Its list included 62 constellations, five bright planets and 16 bright stars. The purpose of this list was to familiarize you with the night sky. It was a wonderful learning tool!

        You would receive a list of objects along with their positions in the night sky and as you would view them, you would note the time and date along with any other notes you might have. Some lists required more details such as what size scope or binoculars you used and what power eyepiece was needed to see it best. The need for these details helped me to figure out how to keep an astronomical logbook.

        Since the internet was in its beginning stages, I couldn’t do a Google search to find out any details about the objects I was observing so I had to do my homework and look them up in books and magazines. This research helped a lot also!

        Looking back at my old log books they tend to be a bit disorganized. They didn’t follow a set pattern, sometimes they were filled out the day after I did my observing but they are still good reference tools. I recently looked back in one to determine what day I had looked through a certain telescope and what I had seen through it. My memory had led me astray; my logbook brought me back to reality.

        The Observing Certificates give a person a list of objects which need to be found and observed. Once the list was completed you would turn it in to someone who would check your notes. If all was in order you would receive your certificate. In the “old days” it would be given to you during a meeting, a decorative piece of paper that could be framed and hung on the wall. It often included a mention in the club newsletter. The recognition of your fellow club members was important, the certificate, showed me that I had gained more knowledge and that was something to be proud of!

        I have always enjoyed searching for things. (My phone, keys and wallet excluded) I enjoy searching for geocaches hidden in the woods and in guardrails.  It is always fun to participate in scavenger hunts! I have spent countless hours searching for faint radio waves on my Ham radio and also faint bits of light in the dark sky with my telescope. Maybe it is part of my desire to collect things…

        I guess it is a part of life, human nature requires it of us, the need to search and the need for gratification. And when we find things, if we are lucky, we will get a certificate to show for it!

Note:  I went out on Monday night, the 18th, with my telescope to watch as Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s brighter moons, finished its transit across the planets disc. I watched as the small moon first showed up as a tiny bump on the planets edge and then during the next couple minutes slowly pulled away from the planet. It took about 6-7 minutes for the moon to get twice its diameter away from the planet’s surface. Some might think it was like watching paint dry but I thought it was really cool to watch movement in the night skies. Motion is always cool to see in our “fixed” sky. And of course, it was all duly recorded in my log!