Daily Image
22-11-2019
Once upon a Time in the North
| Submitter: | Jan Noordam |
| Description: | There was a time when the yearly Nederlandse Astronomen Conferentie (NAC) was held on one of the islands in the North. The NAC series was started in 1945 to cement the rather unusual family relationship of the Dutch astronomical community, between the different institutes, and between students and senior staff. In the beginning, the tiny family met in a youth hostel, with bunk beds, where a startled student might share household chores with giants like Prof Oort or Henk van de Hulst. One of the great advantages of the remote islands was that the senior staff had to stay overnight. So much mingling went on, and many great ideas were hatched at the bar. Especially in the late seventies, when the wonderful WSRT was at the peak of its fame, and almost everyone was a radio astronomer. In later years, the various institutes each had their own corner in the evenings, while the center was occupied by those that had bonded in the halcyon days of yore. Another farsighted feature of the Dutch family was the close bond between astronomers and ingenieurs. So Jean Casse could be spotted on the back row, flanked by his Dwingeloo staff, trying to translate astronomical presentations into requirements for new instrumentation. The picture shows the magnificent setting of the Strandhotel overlooking the beach of Vlieland. The hotel used to be romantically quaint, but the sea remains an inspiration. For a couple of years, an impeccably diverse crew from Leiden and Dwingeloo rented a flat-bottom sailing boat to reach the island from the Continent, and we braved the treacherous tides of the Waddenzee on the way back. The islands have now become too expensive for the NAC, but it was great while it lasted. |
| Copyright: | Madroon Community Consultants |
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