RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes

Date: November 14, 2025

Co-Chair: Blair Groden hosted the meeting which was held at the NCMNS in Raleigh.

On-going Action Item: Need comments from club members about any updates to web pages or if a webpage is obsolete and needs to be deleted.  See Webmaster Report for more details.

Important Announcement:

The room will change due to the elevator being repaired.  Be on the lookout for a room change.

Meeting Presentation:

  • Meeting Topic: Indoor Meeting: David Shives
  • Meeting Description: Join us for an exploration of David Shives’ 3D Moon Map artwork and experience it up close as he showcases his work for us.
  • Speaker: David Shives
  • Bio:  David Shives is a seasoned designer and visual strategist with over 30 years of experience in EdTech, specializing in science-based technical illustration, animation, and immersive storytelling. A member of the Raleigh Astronomy Club for nearly a decade, David spends most clear nights under the stars at his home near Creedmoor, NC. He now combines his lifelong passions for science and art through museum-quality lunar surface sculptures that fuse NASA data with creative interpretation.
  • Summary:  The presentation was exceptionally good.  The audience was engaged.
  • Give aways

David Shives gave away some of his artwork.  The winners of the give away are

Naveen Milik, Adam Kolokowski, Nance Adcox & Frank Heitmann

Treasurer’s Report:

Memberships:

  • RAC memberships: 546
  • Admin memberships: 1
  • TOTAL memberships: 547

Financials:

  • Checking: $1,541.02
  • Savings: $24,165.72
  • Special Purpose: $0.12

Astronomical League Report:

AL Awards:

Huygens TOES* (Titan Transit) (Certificate + Pin)

  • Adnan Asif, Chris Cole, Blair Groden, Al Hamrick

International Observe the Moon (Certificate)

  • Dean Herring, Susan Herring, Yvonne Varghese, Doug Lively

Hubble 35th Anniversary

  • Dean Herring, Susan Herring, Nathan Raynor, Adnan Asif, Mustafa Asif, Bob Muzzi,                  Chris Wittum, Michael Keefe

* TOES = Transits, Occultations, Eclipses, Shadow Transits

Outreach Report

  • Nov 15 – Scouts at Camp Campbell 
  • Nov 20 – Washington Elementary School + Science Night
  • Dec 3 – The Willard
  • Dec 5 – First Fridays
  • Jan 15 – Museum of Life and Science Teen Science Cafe
  • Jan 24-25 – Astronomy Days

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. Full report on RAC website!

https://raleighastro.org/blog/2025/11/09/rac-outreach-committee-report-october-2025/

Loaner Scope Report

 

Category

 Checked Out In for Repair Available
Cassegrains 6 1 4
Dobsonians 6 1 4
Maksutovs 5 0 0
Refractors 0 0 2
Reflectors 1 1 3
Binoculars 2 0 2
Big Telescopes Moved to “Outreach”
Accessories 9 1 24
Outreach 3 1 2

 Donation:

  • Reviewing Meade LX90 EMC Telescope – To be added to the loaner scope program.
  • Orion Skyview Deluxe 4.5 EQ Telescope to be added to the loaner program

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://raleighastro.org/loaner-telescopes/

Astronomy Days:

  • Date: January 24-26, 2026, 10a – 5p
  • Theme this year: “Passport to the Moon”
  • RAC Exhibits:
    • Astrophotography, same location in the NRC
    • RAC Table/Ask The Astronomer, in the NEC
    • Telescopes on Display, in the NEC
    • Solar Observing, on the fourth floor “Green Roof” of the NRCDeadline for volunteer sign-up:  Jan. 2nd
  • Deadline for submitting a presentation: Nov. 25, 2025

Education Committee Report:  As long as we can get instructors in time, we plan to have another “Getting to Know Your Telescope” session on Saturday, 11/22.

Webmaster Report – No Updates

From Web team: – No Updates

Committee Reports

  • Safety – No updates
  • Social Events

RAC Holiday Social 

December 12, 2025 before the RAC Indoor Meeting

Time: 6:30

Menu: Assorted sandwiches, sides, drinks & dessert 

You will need to register for the social & for the meeting separately

Please sign up by  December 1, 2025 so we can plan for the food.

  • Social Media – No Updates
  • A/V – No Updates
  • Imaging
    • Imaging Showcase
      • December 12th Indoor Meeting
      • Imagers who wish to share their images – You can submit as many images as you want
        • Because this is a wider audience, talk about how the image was taken and NOT   about the image processing
        • Each imager will have 3-5min to speak, depending on the number of   imagers participating
        • Email Chris Cole links or files to your images BY DECEMBER 5th if you would like   to participate:  [email protected]
    • Nov. 20th Imaging Meeting
      • The topic will be Solar Images
      • Naveen Malik and Dean Herring will talk about a simple spectroheliograph called the “SUNSCAN” that allows you to capture real-time data of what the sun looks like
      • After the talk, imagers are encouraged to share some of their own solar images they captured using their setups.
  • Key-Holders – No updates.

Socialize after the meeting at Sammy’s.