About Gemini
Gemini is the bi-monthly newsletter for the members and friends of the Minnesota Astronomical Society. A typical issue contains information about the organization and its activities as well as articles and columns by members of the Society. Gemini primarily depends on its readers for content.
Gemini is published electronically as a downloadable PDF document only.
MAS members who have their email address on file with the Society will be notified by email when the newest current issue becomes available. Notify the MAS Membership Coordinator if you are unsure that we have your correct email address on record.
Submit an Article
Anyone is invited and encouraged to submit material for publication in Gemini. Strong writing skills are not required – the editor will help with the mechanics of getting it printed – so don’t be shy!
Submitting an item or idea is easy. Just send an email to the Gemini editor to gemini@mnastro.org. Include your item with the e-mail, or describe your idea for the editor who will gladly work with you to get it published. Thank you for contributing to the Gemini newsletter!
A Little Gemini History
February 19, 1975 – The Twin City Astronomy Club (TCAC) Executive Board and Editorial Board met to finalize plans for the club’s publication, to be called “GEMINI the publication of the Twin City Astronomy Club.” This was later changed to “a publication of…”, on the assumption the TCAC had other publications.
April 1976 – Gemini Volume 1, No. 1 appeared. A 10 page edition with major articles by Hubert “Hub” Brueckner and William “Bill” Larson. The first editor of Gemini was Andrew “Andy” Fraser. The other members of the Editorial Board were Hubert Brueckner, Alan Ominsky, and Carl Harstad.
Editor’s Note by Carl Harstad: Microcomputers would arrive five years later. My first was a 1981 model Morrow Designs MD-1, with 64 KB of memory and 180 KB diskettes. The first and subsequent issues of Gemini were typed by yours truly (and sometimes re-typed and re-typed) on an IBM correcting Selectric typewriter.
January 1980 – Gemini Volume 5, No. 1, the first publication of the Minnesota Astronomical Society.
Missing and incomplete Gemini issues found…
The long story. As many of you know, the roll-off roof of the Onan Observatory has become more difficult to operate over the last several years. I have wanted to do a re-design and repair the roof with the goal of a permanent solution to the problem. I have had a design in mind for a number of years and in the fall of 2019, we had received a grant from the Onan Family Foundation to proceed with the Onan roof repair. The initial step is to have a structural engineer visit the site to offer any advice and design modifications. As part of the structural design process, the engineer was asking for the existing plans to Onan. My search for these plans brought me to the Eisenhower Community Center, where the MAS Library of material is stored. While searching, I found a file cabinet with 15 years of old issues of Gemini dating back to the first issue in 1976. Most of these were addressed to Carl Harstad, MAS member in those early days of the club as well as former secretary, president, and editor of the Gemini newsletter.
Added in January of 2020 were missing and incomplete issues from 1982 to 1992 from Jim Fox and found at the Eisenhower Community Center. Incomplete issues found were February, April, and August from 1990, December of 1991, and August of 1992. Missing issues found were March 1982, April 1985, June 1990, and October 1992.
The remaining issues not found, if they exist, are October 1982, March 1985, September 1995, and June 1999. Of these, I feel the only one that could exist would be the June 1999 issue.
Current Issue
Hint: Use the search tool 🔍 above for the current issue or below to perform a full text search of every Gemini in the archive!