RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2025
Co-Chair Dana Bostic hosted the meeting
Upcoming Events:
- March 27 – Creech Road ES Science Day (Garner)
- April 4 – Statewide Star Party:
- American Tobacco Trail (Apex)
- First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
- Imagination Station (Wilson)
- Stoney Creek Park (Nashville)
- April 10 – Hunter Magnet ES Family STEAM Night (Raleigh)
- April 12 – Girl Scout Camp Graham (Henderson)
- April 14 – Martin MS Solar Science (Raleigh)
- April 16 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- April 25 –Stargazing with Sagan: A Journey Through the
- April 26 – Artspace Arts on the Block (Raleigh)
- May 2 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres
Tonight”s Presentation:
TOPIC: Getting Started in Astronomy, or Starting Small Helps you Learn to See Without Getting Lost.
Speaker: Peter Birren Author of “Objects in The Heavens”
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
NEW Committees
Safety: Steven Blake
Social: Susan Herring
Reports:
Treasurer’s Report: Steven Izzo
Memberships:
- RAC memberships: 501
- Cancelled memberships: 2
- Admin: 1
- TOTAL memberships: 504
Financials:
- Checking: $1,470.72
- Savings: $30,236.98
- Special Purpose: $120.74
Astronomical League: Dean Herring
- Dana Bostic – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver February OP Certificate
- Kevin Fowler – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Kevin Fowler – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver February OP Certificate
- Michael Keefe – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Michael Keefe – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver February OP Certificate
- Anastasia Vail – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Blair Groden – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver February OP Certificate
- Blair Groden – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver March OP Certificate
- Rob Parsons – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Yvonne Varghese – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver Jan OP Certificate
- Chris Wittum – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Mustafa Asif – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Nathan Raynor – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver January OP Certificate
- Christopher Meneses – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver Jan OP Cert
- Naveen Malik – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver February OP Certificate
- Al Hamrick – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver February OP Certificate
- Dean Herring – Hubble 35th Challenge Silver March OP Certificate
- Anastasia Vail – Outreach – Master
- Blair Groden – Outreach – Stellar
- Dean Herring – Flat Galaxies OP Certificate and pin
Outreach Report: Steve Blake
We had 10 events in the past month that were cancelled or postponed due to weather.
- February 26 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- March 06 – Math & Science Night: Washington ES (Raleigh)
- March 8 – Astronomy Night at Joyner Park (Wake Forest)
- March 15 – Stargazing on Tap Star Party (Cameron)
- March 19 – Baucom ES (Apex)
Reminder: You can always find Outreach Committee reports at the Outreach Reports link on the Members Portal page of the RAC website.
Loaner Scope Report: Rob Parsons
Prepping: Celestron Nexstar 130GT (5” f/5) Reflector Telescope
Scopes:
Cassagrains: 7 out / 2 available/ 1 in for repair
Dobsonians: 10 out / 1 available
Maksutovs: 1 out / 2 available
Refractors: 0 out / 2 available
Reflectors: 2 out / 2 available
Binoculars: 1 out / 1 available
Big Telescopes: 2 out / 2 available
Accessories: 6 out / 13 available
Imaging Meeting & Report:
April Meeting Topic:
April Imaging Target Challenge: Galaxy Clusters
(images with three or more galaxies in the field of view)
A/V Report:
- Volunteers needed to help with A/V
Education Committee Report: Anastasia Vail
Date: Saturday April 26, 2025
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Location: Zoom Only
Topic: Narrow Band Imaging with Naveen
Instructors: Naveen Malik
Social:
We had a nice turnout for the March pre-meeting social. Met some new members and guests, ate, socialized and raffled off. a few copies of Objects in the Heavens by Peter Birren. The club is planning on 4 indoor socials for 2025, next one will be at the June indoor meeting.
No Report: committees could use some extra volunteers, if you’d like to help please see an officer!
- Social Media
- Webmaster Team
- Safety
- Keyholders
Upcoming Events Reminder:
- March 27 – Creech Road ES Science Day (Garner)
- April 4 – Statewide Star Party:
- American Tobacco Trail (Apex)
- First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor)
- Imagination Station (Wilson)
- Stoney Creek Park (Nashville)
- April 10 – Hunter Magnet ES Family STEAM Night (Raleigh)
- April 12 – Girl Scout Camp Graham (Henderson)
- April 14 – Martin MS Solar Science (Raleigh)
- April 16 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
- April 25 –Stargazing with Sagan: A Journey Through the
- April 26 – Artspace Arts on the Block (Raleigh)
- May 2 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres
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.
