DDA Newsletter #81 - February 1996

Contents

• 1996 Meeting:
  • Executive Summary
  • General Information
  • Lodging Arrangements/
  • Arrival Reception and the Banquet
  • Abstract Submission Instructions
  • Expected Participants
  • Registration Form
• Nominations for DDA OFFICERS
• American Astronautical Society 1995 Dirk Brouwer Award
• Future Meetings

DDA to meet in Washington, DC on 15-17 April 1996

Executive Summary

• A registration form is included at the end of this Newsletter.
• The registration deadline is 11 March 1996.
• Registration fee checks should be made payable to AAS/DDA.
• Registration forms should be send to Alan Fiala.
• The abstract deadline is 11 March 1996.
• Abstract fee checks should be made payable to AIP.
• Abstracts should be sent to Chris Hunter.
• The hotel block reservation expires 14 March 1996.

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General Information

Spring is just around the corner! Budget battles nothwithstanding, the DDA Annual meeting WILL be held in Washington, DC April 15-17. The U.S. Naval Observatory is the site and the host institution. This historical site, an isolated farm when we arrived just over 100 years ago, is the current home of the oldest scientific institution in the Navy. It is also now host to the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.

The meeting starts a week after Easter, and at the conclusion of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The Festival parade will be Saturday April 13, for those who wish to come in early on the weekend. It's the most beautiful time of year in the nation's capital, usually the time when cherry trees, dogwoods, and azaleas are in full bloom, and there will be many things to see and do.

Special speakers and guests at this meeting are as follows: Brian Marsden will deliver the Brouwer Award lecture, entitled "A Million Observations, Thirty-Thousand Orbits." Invited speakers are Alan Boss, who will lead a special session on binary star formation, and Ken Johnston, who will lead a session on optical interferometry. Gerald Hawkins will entertain at the banquet with "Unpublished Stories of the Space Program." And MAYBE the Observatory's most noteable current resident, Al Gore, will make a brief appearance at the meeting.

The program committee chair is Chris Hunter (904-644-8704/hunter@math.fsu.edu); the LOC Chair is Alan Fiala (202-653-1274/adf@newcomb.usno.navy.mil).

We had good response to the request in the last Newsletter for an indication from people as to whether or not they intended to come to this meeting. 39 people have said that they intend to come and another 8 have said that they may attend. A list of these people, along with any available information on the talk(s) they may give, appears at the end of this article. Among these responses was Don Osterbrock's who would like to challenge other DDA members to give historical papers at this meeting.

The registration fee for this meeting is $25 per person. The registration fee includes not only refreshment breaks, but also a reception and a lunch.

*** A registration form is included with this newsletter ***

Please complete the form and mail it with your check to Alan Fiala, Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC. 20392-5420. Checks should be made payable to AAS/DDA. The registration deadline is March 11 and please note that banquet registration is limited to 85 people.

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Lodging Arrangements

The hotel for the meeting is The Savoy Suites, the closest hotel to the main entrance of the Observatory. On Wisconsin Avenue just north of Georgetown and south of the National Cathedral, it is about a half-mile walk from there to the meeting room. Many rooms have views over the city from on high. Some rooms have jacuzzis or king-sized beds available. Transportation to airports and metro is available. There is a fine restaurant in the hotel and many other restaurants, delis, and groceries in all price ranges within a short distance; Georgetown's shopping and night life is just a short walk or bus ride away as well.

We have reserved a block of 50 rooms at the academic rate (less than government): single $94/night; two people 104.00/night.

****** This block expires March 14 *************

This is also peak tourist season, so if you miss this block you may have difficulty finding other hotel space nearby. Please call the hotel directly at 202-337-9700. The group name is Division on Dynamical Astronomy.

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Arrival Reception and the Banquet

There will be an arrival reception with heavy hors d'oevres at the Observatory on Sunday evening. If the weather is clear, we may be able to observe the new bright comet 1996 B2 (Hyakutake).

The banquet will be held Tuesday evening at the award-winning Old Europe restaurant, just outside the Observatory and near the hotel. The cost of the banquet is $30 per person. We have reserved the meeting room of the German Club, and it promises to be a memorable evening. A cash bar starts the gemutlichheit. For dinner, there are three menu selections, and any special diet requests can also be accommodated.

1. Old Fashioned Sauerbraten with potato dumplings and red cabbage. (Marinated beef smothered in sweet and sour sauce.)
2. Wiener Schnitzel with home-fried potatoes and vegetable. (Veal steak lightly breaded and sauteed.)
3. Poached filet of salmon with Riesling sauce, parsley potato, veg.

All include green salad w/ German dressing, apple strudel, coffee, etc. Fine wines by the bottle, beer, etc will be available for purchase.

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The Abstract Deadline for this Meeting is 11 March 1996

You have four options for submitting your abstract. You are strongly encouraged to use the World Wide Web-based submission system. It is the easiest for you and for the AAS.

1. Electronic Submission via the World Wide Web
   You can submit your abstract electronically just as for an AAS meeting anytime before March 11. There is a World Wide Web based form available at the following URL: http://www.aas.org/divisions/dda/absform.html
2. Electronic Submission via LaTeX and E-Mail
   >Alternatively, you may use the LaTeX template available through an anonymous FTP logon at the AAS Executive Office or the short form at the end of this section. To retrieve the DDA abstract materials, use the following procedure:
   

   prompt> ftp ftp.aas.org
   Username: anonymous
   Password: your email
   ftp> cd meetings/dda/abstracts
   ftp> mget *
   ftp> bye
   prompt>
   

   If your computer does not know about ftp.aas.org, try typing the number [192.102.234.112] on the FTP command line. Complete instructions for submitting the abstract is available in the file aasabins.txt in the above archive. If you have any questions about electronic submission while you are preparing your abstract, please contact the Executive Office for assistance. You can call the office at 202-328-2010, or send email to absdda-help@aas.org.

   Electronic Acknowledgement of Abstract Receipt
   When you submit your abstract electronically, you should receive the following confirmations:

   If by Web-form - an immediate acknowledgement to your browser; a copy of your submission to your email account and then a later email message including your running id.
3. If by email submission to absdda-submit@aas.org - an email acknowledgement of receipt of your submission followed by a later email message including your running id. Use this form.

Incoming abstracts are processed quickly. The abstracts are accepted and assigned running identification numbers during this stage, and notifying you of the running number. If you do not receive a confirmation, DO NOT RESUBMIT THE ABSTRACT. Please contact the Executive Office by calling 202-328-2010, or by sending email to absdda-help@aas.org. If you submit more than once, you are likely to be charged more than once. Contacting the Executive Office will help avoid this inconvenience.

Submitting Electronic Abstracts for More than One Author
If you are submitting abstracts for a group of people in your institution, please DO NOT submit them in the same e-mail message. We do require separate e-mail messages for all abstracts. If you include more than one abstract in an e-mail message, the additional abstracts are likely to remain unprocessed.

4. Get the Paper Abstract Form Electronically
   You can get a postscript file of the abstract form and instructions directly from the AAS FTP Server. The following instructions will allow you to access it.
   

   prompt> ftp ftp.aas.org
   Username: anonymous
   Password: your email
   ftp> cd /ftp/meetings/dda
   ftp> get ddaform.ps
   ftp> bye
   prompt>
   

   Print the form on your own Postscript Laserprinter and fill it out just as you would for the old printed forms. Printed abstract forms should be sent to: Dr. Christopher Hunter, Mathematics Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306.

5. Get the Abstract Form by Regular Mail
   As a last resort, a printed from may be obtained from the DDA Secretary. This costs the Division money so please use one of the other two methods if possible. Printed abstract forms should be sent to: Dr. Christopher Hunter, Mathematics Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306.

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DDA Meeting in Washington, DC Expected Participants

People who plan to attend:

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Nominations for DDA Officers

The nominating committee of Alan Fiala, Joel Tohline, and Jane Russell has presented the following slate of nominees for the coming year.

CHAIR:
Chris Hunter (Florida State Univesity)

VICE-CHAIR:
Bruce Smith (NASA/AMES)
Jack Hills (Los Alamos)

TREASURER:
Peter Shelus (University of Texas)

COMMITTEE: (6 nominees for 3 positions)
Skip Newhall (JPL)
Jack Lissauer (SUNY/SB)
Dave Merritt (Rutgers University)
Doug Richstone (University of Michigan)
Jim Rohde (USNO/DC)
Bill van Altena (Yale University)

Additional nominations for specific offices or positions are acceptable if signed by at least 12 DDA members and if received by the Division Secretary at the above address no later than 1 March 1996. The ballots will be mailed out in mid-March.

Once elected, the new Committee members will replace John Chandler, Paul Chodas, and Roy Laubscher whose terms of office will terminate after they attend the April 1996 Committee and Business meetings. The terms of office for Hal Levison, Jay Lieske, and Judit Ries will continue through 1996.

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American Astronautical Society 1995 Dirk Brouwer Award

The DDA would like to congratulate Dr. Byron Tapley (University of Texas Center for Space Research and Dept of Aerospace Engineering) who has received the 1995 Dirk Brouwer Award of the American Astronautical Society for his contributions to space flight mechanics and astrodynamics.

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Future Meetings

The 1997 meeting will be held at Lowell Observatory, in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The 1998 meeting will be held at University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Arthur L. Whipple, Secretary DDA
McDonald Observatory
University of Texas
Austin, Texas 78712-1083
Phone: (512) 471-6332
Internet: alw@astro.as.utexas.edu