RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes

Attendance 

  • In-person: 25
  • Zoom: 11

Date: March 27, 2026

Co-Chair: Blair Groden

Meeting Presentation:

Meeting Topic:

Indoor Meeting: Which Way Is Up?  A whimsical presentation about frame of reference and location

Speaker:  Alex McConahay

Bio: Alex McConahay has been an amateur astronomer for the last three decades with the Riverside (California) Astronomical Society. He has held nearly every office in the club, was on the Board of RTMC Astronomy Expo, the organizer of the Nightfall Star Party, and a founder of The Astro Imaging Channel. He has attended, presented, and volunteered at many regional star parties. His main interests are in Astro Imaging now, but he is also recognized by the Astronomical League as a Master (Visual) Observer (#191) and by RTMC as a merit award winner for telescope making.

Meeting Description: We are all going somewhere……But where?

When you think about it, where we are going is all relative. But, depending on what we are doing, where it is “relative to” changes. No wonder we are confused. We will spend a few minutes exploring the concepts of direction on earth, the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe. In creation, there is no one “up.” So, exploring which way is up can be quite fascinating.

Astronomical League Report:

ALCOR AL Awards:

New/Holdovers:

  • Adnan Asif – Sketching OP – Cert/Pin
  • Adnan Asif – Observer Award – Cert/Pin

Dean’s AL Messier/Caldwell Monthly Challenge for 2026

  • Lijoy Samual – February
  • Blair Groden – March

Upcoming Events:

  • April   3 – First Fridays at 3BA
  • April   8 – The Willard
  • April 10 – RAC Indoor Meeting/Social
  • April 11 – Wild Ideas Expo (with TLC)
  • April 18 – Herring Star Party w/pizza
  • April 22 – Apex Friendship Elementary School STEM Night (Apex)
  • April 24 – Statewide Star Party Events
    • American Tobacco Trail (Apex)
    • White Deer Park (Garner)
    • Imagination Station (Wilson)
    • Prairie Ridge (Raleigh)

Treasurer’s Report:

  • Memberships:
    • RAC memberships: 566 (includes ~100 expired memberships, which will be purged by April 1)
    • Cancelled Memberships: 2
    • Admin memberships: 1
    • TOTAL memberships: 569
  • Financials:
    • Checking: $768.36
    • Savings: $32,659.56
    • Special Purpose: $0.59

Outreach Report

The Outreach report is online: 

https://raleighastro.org/blog/2026/03/08/rac-outreach-committee-report-february-2026/

With the following additions:

  • Wake County 4-H Sky Discovery Night – April 20
  • SWSP Prairie Ridge – April 24
  • How to Become an Ameteur Astronomer – April 28
  • Sycamore Creek ES STEAM Night – May 28

Safety:

Members interested in First Aid/CPR/AED training can register themselves by finding a convenient class here:

https://www.redcross.org/local/north-carolina/take-a-class/cpr-raleigh-nc

Loaner Scope Report – No Updates.

Education Committee Report:

Next Class scheduled for:

  • Topic: Ask the Astronomer/Astrophotographer
  • Date: March 28, 2026
  • Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM
  • Place: Cherry Building + Zoom

Webmaster Report – No Updates

Web team Reports: – No Updates

Committee Reports

Social Events

Our next RAC pre-meeting social will be held at the April 10th Indoor Meeting. The social will start at 6:30 with light snacks & drinks. Please sign up for the social, on the separate social calendar link. You will still need to register for the Indoor meeting also.  

Upcoming events:

Herring Star Party w/pizza – April 18 

Save the date for The RAC Fall Picnic to be held on Saturday September 5, 2026. More details to follow.

Social Media

Introduced Lauren Markley.  She will be helping out with RAC’s social media.

A/V – No Updates

Imaging Report

  • The next Imagining meeting will be held on April 23, 2026.
  • Topic TBD
  • Check the imaging group or the calendar for more updates!

Key-Holders Report – No Updates

Socialize after the meeting at Sammy’s.