(Updated 2024-11-12)

Recent events:

  • October 30 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Volunteers: Susan, Dean, Tony, Blair, Bill, Steve B
    • Attendees: ~90
    • Recap: Steve B –

The Willard event this evening started out slow but ended with a good crowd of at least 90 participants. We had three telescopes plus a Seestar on hand. Most of the evening was spent showing participants different views of Saturn and its moons, but Alberio, Comet C2023/Atlas, and the Dumbbell and Rosette Nebulas were also viewed. Our position on the roof precluded viewing Jupiter this time. Feedback was very positive and a few people expressed interest in joining the club. A few mentioned that they became aware of the event from a local Facebook page; not sure whether the author got their info from The Willard or from the RAC calendar.

We had a great event tonight. Partly cloudy skies and a half-Moon did not prevent us from viewing a variety of objects, including the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, M31, M13, Pleiades, North American and Ring Nebulas, and others. We had approximately 150 attendees. RAC brought six telescopes and a few others were brought by non-members. The hosts were happy to have us and are looking forward to hosting us again. They expressed interest in having a solar viewing event next summer during the season of late sunset.

  • November 12 – STEAM Night: Salem ES (Apex)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Volunteers: Bethany, Dave, Brian, Doug, Steve B
    • Attendees: 200+
    • Recap: Steve B –

At least 200 students and parents visited our telescopes at STEAM Night at Salem Elementary School. The main attractions were the Moon and Saturn, due in part to the bright moon and other nearby lights. As in years past, the kids were not all well behaved: one running child nearly plowed into Doug’s SeeStar. Note to self: talk to the principal about this issue before participating in this event again. A few teachers stopped by and were said that RAC is always the star attraction (pun intended?).

 

Upcoming events:

  • November 23 – Prairie Ridge Ecostation (Raleigh)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Joint event with Morehead Planetarium
    • Volunteers registered:
      • telescopes: 1/8
      • floaters: 1/3
      • RAC table: 0/2
  • December 04 – STEM Night: Apex Friendship ES (Apex)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Volunteers registered:
      • telescopes: 0/5
      • floaters: 0/5
    • Volunteers must be cleared through the WCPSS school volunteer system: https://www.wcpss.net/Page/55232
  • December 06 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
    • Coordinator: Ana V
    • Volunteers registered:
      • telescopes: 0/15
      • floaters: 0/5
  • December 18 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Volunteers needed (registration opens November 13):
      • telescopes: 3
      • floaters: 3
  • January 29 – STEAM Night: Githens MS (Durham)
    • Coordinator: Matt L
    • Volunteers needed (registration opens December 30):
      • telescopes/floaters: 3
  • February 8 – Astronomy Night at Joyner Park (Wake Forest)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Volunteers needed (registration opens January 09):
      • telescopes: 5
      • floaters: 3
      • RAC table: 1

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.