RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes
January 10, 2025
Co-Chair Dana Bostic hosted the meeting virtually using the Zoom platform because of inclement weather.
Upcoming Events:
- January 29 – STEAM Night: Githens MS (Durham)
- Coordinator: Matt L
- February 8 – Astronomy Night at Joyner Park (Wake Forest)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- February 15 – Stargazing on Tap Star Party (Cameron)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- February 19 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- February 20 – Morrisville Community Library (Morrisville)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- March 6 – Math & Science Night: Washington ES (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- April 4 & 5 – Statewide Star Party
Astronomy Days at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
- February 1 & 2 – Astronomy Days (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Chris C
- Volunteers needed for:
- Solar Observing
- RAC Table & Ask the Astronomer
- Astrophotography
- Telescopes on Display
- Exoplanets
- If Earth Were the Size of the Daily Planet
- Finding the North Star (& Others)
Tonight”s Presentation:
TOPIC: Chasing Awe
Speaker: Sheila Kannappan
After chasing last April’s total solar eclipse to Texas, I decided to make 2024 the perfect Year of Awe by chasing the northern lights for two months in Minnesota in the fall. With solar activity at an 11-year maximum, I was lucky to see the aurora at least five times, depending on how you count. In this talk I’ll share a taste of the wonders we witnessed and what we learned about how to maximize aurora chasing success.
Business:
Current Officers
Co-Chairs: Naveen Malik, Dana Bostic
Treasurer: Steve Izzo
Secretary: Susan Herring
Committee Chairs:
ALCOR: Dean Herring
Outreach: Steven Blake
Webmaster: Barton Meeks
Loaner Scopes: Rob Parsons
Key Holders: Naveen Malik
Education: Anastasia Vail,
Social Media: Anastasia Vail
Imaging: Chris Cole
A/V: Naveen Malik
Reports:
Treasurer’s Report: Steven Izzo
Membership:
- RAC memberships: 450 (includes 93 Expired members that have not renewed)
- Admin memberships: 1
- Cancelled memberships: 56
- TOTAL memberships: 507
Financials:
- Checking: $1,109.91
- Savings: $29,663.27
- Special Purpose: $0.60
Astronomical League: Dean Herring
35th Anniversary Hubble Observing Challenge. (throughout 2025)
- Silver:
- Each month observe at least one of the objects on the list (visually or imaging).
- Compare with the Hubble image.
- Do at least one outreach activity for the year.
- Gold:
- Each month observe at least four of the objects on the list (visually or imaging).
- Compare with the Hubble image.
- Do at least four outreach activities for the year.
AL Awards:
-
- Blair Groden – 2024 Solar Eclipse – Gold Level – Cert (Sleeve) and Pin
- Dean Herring – Carbon Star OP – Certificate (Sleeve) and Pin
- Dean Herring – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Susan Herring – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Doug Lively – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
Outreach Report: Steve Blake
- December 18 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- January 3 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) – Cancelled due to weather forecast.
- January 4 – Starry Night Party (Raleigh)
Reminder: You can always find Outreach Committee reports at the “Outreach Reports” link on the “Members Portal” page of the RAC website.
2024 Outreach overview:
- Food Lion Galaxy Nights series. We did four of them in 2024:
- Sumter, SC
- Tappahannock, VA
- Charlotte, NC
- Pittsboro, NC
- Repeat events:
- The Willard Rooftop: 6
- First Fridays @ 3BA: 4
- Prairie Ridge: 3
- Artspace: 2
- James Creek Cider House: 2
- Volunteer All-Stars (3 or more events):
- Chris C
- Tony
- Jesus
- Dean
- Susan
- Blair
- Doug
- Steve B
- Dana
Upcoming Events:
- January 29 – STEAM Night: Githens MS (Durham)
- Coordinator: Matt L
- February 1 & 2 – Astronomy Days (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Chris C
- February 8 – Astronomy Night at Joyner Park (Wake Forest)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- February 15 – Stargazing on Tap Star Party (Cameron)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- February 19 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- February 20 – Morrisville Community Library (Morrisville)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- March 6 – Math & Science Night: Washington ES (Raleigh)
- Coordinator: Steve B
- April 4 & 5 – Statewide Star Party
- We will decide on which sites we participate with in the next week or so
Membership Policy Update:
- Previously we had family memberships ($35) and individual memberships ($25). The member-approved constitution updates from last year changes this.
- Now we have one type of membership for both, you can think of it as family memberships for all. All family members can participate and earn Astronomical League awards. Each membership will have one subscription to the AL “Reflector” quarterly magazine, either digital or paper.
- By default there is only one login per family. The “primary” member retains the web login, the “secondary” login has gone away (for now).If and when that is a problem, let us know.
- Membership is currently $25 a year for 2025, but subject to a price change (for next year) when we talk about the budget later this spring.
Loaner Scope Report: Rob Parsons
- Celestron Nexstar 130GT Reflector Telescope to be added to the loaner program.
- Procedure to check-out the BIG telescopes ready end of January.
Scopes
Cassagrains: 7 out / 1 available/ 2 in for repair
Dobsonians: 6 out / 5 available
Maksutovs: 2 out / 0 available
Refractors: 0 out / 2 available
Reflectors: 2 out / 2 available
Binoculars: 3 out / 1 available
Keyholder Report:
Rob Parsons is now a key-holder at 3BA!
Imaging Meeting & Report:
- Volunteers needed for the Astrophotography exhibit at Astronomy Days in February.
A/V Report:
- Volunteers needed to help with A/V
Education Committee Report: Anastasia Vail
January’s RAC Class on 1/18 You can register on the club calendar to attend; this class will offer both in-person (at the Cherry Building) and virtual (via Zoom) attendance options.
Date: Saturday, 18 January 2025
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Location: Cherry Building + Zoom
Topic: “AstroLogs and the 2025 NASA Hubble Challenge”
Description (from the instructor):“We will explore various Astro-logs and Astro logging for the A.L. Observing Programs including logging the date, time, location, seeing conditions, weather conditions, and equipment used for both Imaging logs and visual logs. We will attempt to make it easy for one to get over the hump of doing logs. We will have some in class log sheet examples and hands on logging of Messier DSOs. We will do some sketching and basic descriptions during our exercise.
We will also go over the requirements for the Astronomical Leagues NASA Hubble 2025 Challenge. What it entails and how to log it so one can earn a silver or gold award in 2025. We can also do a preemptive log sheet in class for this.”
Instructor: Dean Herring (RAC ALCOR)
No Report:
- Social Media
- Webmaster Team
After meeting Social:
Sammy’s
All First Friday Under the Stars with TLC events in 2025 will be held at Three Bear Acres, until further notice.
The observing 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. To volunteer for an event, register via the RAC Calendar.
