Introduction to Newsletters

NAAPO (North American
AstroPhysical Observatory)

Introduction to Newsletters
Produced by NAAPO
By: Jerry Ehman

To Go Immediately to the Volume Menu

If you have previously read the material below (Introduction, etc.), you may immediately go to the next step in reading a newsletter by clicking on one of the following two links.
Group 1 Introduction and Volume Menu
Group 2 Introduction and Volume Menu

Introduction

Beginning in May 1986 the North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO) began publication of a newsletter which was mailed to a list of persons selected by the NAAPO Coordinator, Dr. Philip E. Barnhart, with suggestions from other members of the group.
The name of the newsletter was "NAAPO News". This name was used from Volume 1, Number 1 (May 1986) through Volume 3, Number 9 (April 1988). Starting with Volume 3, Number 10 (May 1988) the name was changed to "Signals".
Beginning with Volume 18, Number 1 (February 2002) "Signals" was no longer mailed to a list of subscribers. Instead, that and subsequent issues of "Signals" were written for the public and placed in this publicly accessible website (www.naapo.org, where you are now located). However, for the few persons who desired a hardcopy (because possibly they didn't have Internet access), a printed copy was mailed to them.
Thus, this website contains two kinds of newsletters:
Group 1: Those prior to Volume 18, Number 1 (February 2002); and
Group 2: Those starting with Volume 18, Number 1 (February 2002) and continuing to the present.

Below is a description of each of the two groups.

Group 1 Newsletters

These newsletters were available originally only as printed documents; no electronic versions were available. We believe 105 newsletters were published but we could locate only 102 of them (i.e., 3 are missing or otherwise unavailable). Over time, they were edited by a number of different editors and printed using several computers, word processors, and printers. For each newsletter a master black & white copy was printed and then photocopied ("Xeroxed") onto colored paper (the color of the paper was changed from one issue to the next).
I (Jerry Ehman) volunteered to convert the printed issues into electronic versions. After scanning in each page and each photograph, illustration or other graphic I used OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert the scanned images into editable text, which was proofread and reformatted in several stages. The photographs, illustrations and graphics were typically resized (sometimes resized twice to obtain both small and large versions). From these operations an HTML (HyperText Markup Language = browser readable) document was prepared. Then, a PDF (Portable Document Format) version was also created.
Note. On occasion, particularly when there was a spelling error or some other error in the original printed newsletter, I did correct that error. On other occasions, a correction to or an explanation of a statement in the newsletter may have been necessary. I inserted such corrections or explanations using a red font. However, ordinary spelling errors were typically changed without notification.

Group 2 Newsletters

These newsletters were designed to be immediately placed in this website, without the need to be converted from printed versions. I received from Phil Barnhart (our NAAPO Coordinator) typically a Microsoft Word document in electronic form. I then reformatted for the HTML format. I used various color backgrounds to distinguish one article from another. I then also created a printer-friendly document that eliminated the color backgrounds so that a reader who desired to print out the document would not use up much color ink or toner. Note that this printer-friendly version is accessible only from within the regular version of each newsletter.

To View the Newsletters

The two groups of newsletters are accessed separately. Below are two links, one for each group. Each link takes you to an introduction and volume menu for each group. Once a volume is chosen by clicking on the appropriate link, you will be presented with links for the list of all issues in that volume.
In Group 1, for each issue, you will choose whether you want to view an HTML document or a PDF document.
For Group 2, only an HTML documnt is available (although after you are in the document with the color backgrounds, you may then choose the printer friendly version.
Group 1 Introduction and Volume Menu
Group 2 Introduction and Volume Menu

Feedback: E-mail Webmaster

As you read "NAAPO News/Signals" you may have a question or wish to make a comment about the newsletters in general or else about one or more specific issues. Such feedback is desired.
The method for obtaining feedback from your questions or comments is via e-mail to our webmaster. At the end of this section is a link to e-mail our webmaster. When you click on that link, your e-mail program will start a new e-mail from you to our webmaster with the Subject already filled in. Just type in your message, including the question(s) or comment(s) you have. Make sure that a valid e-mail address for you is placed in the FROM line, and also state your full name in the message; (note that if this is not done, our webmaster will not respond).
To make comments or ask questions about "NAAPO News/Signals", click here. Note. Each newsletter should also contain its own link to send an e-mail to our webmaster.

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