RAC Outreach Committee Report – July 2024

Recent events:

June 7 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
- Coordinator: Ana V
June 19 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- Volunteers: Tony, Chris, Jesus, Dave, Dean, Susan, and Steve B
- Attendees: ~80
- Recap: Steve B –

We had a good event at The Willard Rooftop summer solstice party tonight. They arranged for some influencers to be photographed looking through our volunteer’s telescopes before dark. The near-full moon was out and the haziness made other objects hard to view, but a crowd of at least 80 participated. We handed out out information sheets on the summer solstice, stargazing, and RAC information. Everyone I spoke to had a good time.

June 29 – Astronomy on Tap Star Party (Cameron)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- Volunteers: Blair, Jesus, and Steve B
- Attendees: 20-30
- Recap: Steve B –

We gambled on the weather and lost. In addition to the oppressive heat, there were mixed clouds and an encroaching rain storm. In spite of that, we were still able to observe a few stars, doubles, and clusters. Roughly 20-30 people attended and were very appreciative, as was the cider house owner.

I spoke with Alex from the Astronomy on Tap group and we will plan another event there later in the fall. There is the potential for very dark skies there when the weather is favorable.

July 5 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
- Coordinator: Ana V
- Canceled due to weather forecast
July 13 – Prairie Ridge Ecostation Star Party (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- Volunteers: Chris, Vincent, Blair, Jim, Doug, Dana, Frank, Hannah, and Steve B
- Attendees: 141
- Recap: Steve B –

Despite oppressive heat and humidity and cirrus clouds, the Prairie Ridge Star Party was a success. 141 attendees got to observe a variety of objects including the Moon and Spica as they slowly approached in the sky before occultation at 11:30PM.

Prairie Ridge would be happy to have us back and we will plan a future event in late Fall/early Winter.

Upcoming events:

August 2 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
- Coordinator: Ana V
- Volunteers registered:
  - telescopes: 0/15
  - floaters: 0/5
August 7 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B (may need a substitute)
- Volunteers registered:
  - telescopes: 0/3
  - floaters: 0/3
August 17 – Artspace Summer Celebration (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- Volunteers registered:
  - solar telescopes: 0/2
  - floaters: 0/2
  - RAC table: 0/2
September 6 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
- Coordinator: Ana V
- Volunteers registered:
  - telescopes: 0/15
  - floaters: 0/5

Notes:

The Outreach Committee is looking for volunteers to coordinate events and assist at events with or without a telescope. To join the committee send a blank email to [email protected]. Any club member is welcome, regardless of experience level. We will train you! To volunteer for an event, register via the RAC Calendar event entry.

Event coordinators: please send an email after the event to [email protected] indicating:

How many RAC members volunteered.
Estimate of how many attendees were present.
Brief synopsis of the event: what interesting things were observed, attendee reactions, host impressions, etc.

outreach