RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes

Attendance 

  • In-person: 26
  • Zoom: 7

Date: April 10, 2026

Co-Chair: Susan Herring

Meeting Presentation:

Meeting Topic:

Indoor Meeting: Double Feature –

  • 35th Anniversary of The Hubble Telescope
  • Landing of Artemis on Earth
Speaker: Michael Keefe is a Finance/Accounting professional by day and an amateur astronomer by night, where his real passion lies.

Bio: Mike’s been an active member of the Raleigh Astronomy Club (RAC) since 2006, observing the night sky since 2003 but his interest in space was sparked as a child watching the first Space Shuttle launch. With an eye towards educating others in the field of astronomy, in 2014 Mike achieved the Master of Astronomy Outreach Award by the Astronomical League for volunteering over 250 hours of public outreach. In 2018, Mike was accepted into the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors corp. in order to further expand his outreach and education opportunities.

Mike has presented on a broad range of topics covering amateur astronomy and space exploration. Mike has also supported many educational events and public observing sessions through museums, clubs and schools as well as large events through partners such as NC Museum of Natural Science, North Carolina State-Wide Star Party and The Morehead Planetarium & Science Center. 
 
Mike’s current astronomical pursuits focus around EAA (Electronically Assisted Astronomy) and completing Astronomical League observing programs.

Meeting Description: Discover the story of the Hubble Space Telescope—from its origins and bold repair missions to the groundbreaking science and awe-inspiring images it has delivered. Learn how Hubble transformed our view of the cosmos and what its future holds in the era of next-generation space telescopes.

Took a break from the presentation to watch the Artemis landing on Earth.  Then went back to the main presentation.

Astronomical League Report:

ALCOR AL Awards:

New/Holdovers:

  • Adnan Asif – Sketching OP – Cert/Pin
  • Adnan Asif – Observer Award – Cert/Pin
  • Bethany Bennett- Outreach – Bronze -Cert/Pin (sent)
  • Dean F. Herring – Outreach- Gold – Cert/Pin 
  • Susan Herring – Outreach – Gold – Cert/Pin 

Dean’s AL Messier/Caldwell Monthly Challenge for 2026

  • Bethany Bennett- February (sent)
  • Lijoy Samuel – February
  • Chris Wittum – February

Hubble 35th Gold Laminated Certificate & Pin

  • Adnan. Asif
  • Dana Bostic
  • Blair Groden
  • Al Hamrick
  • Dean F. Herring
  • Susan Herring
  • Michael Keefe
  • Doug Lively
  • Nathan Raynor
  • Chris Wittum

Upcoming Events:

  • April 11 – Wild Ideas Expo (with TLC)
  • April 17 – RACOBS 
  • April 18 – RAC Class @ Cherry Building
  • April 18 – Herring Front Yard Star Party w/pizza
  • April 20 – Wake County 4-H Sky Discovery Night
  • 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)

Treasurer’s Report:

  • Memberships:
    • RAC memberships: 476
    • Cancelled Memberships: 2
    • Admin memberships: 1
    • TOTAL memberships: 477
  • Financials:
    • Checking: $1,417.64
    • Savings: $31,854.28
    • Special Purpose: $0.35
  • Spring membership cleanup
  • Pd Liability Insurance $482
  • Filed IRS 990-N e-postcard for 501-(c) 3 Tax Exempt Organizations 04/06/2026

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

Upcoming events post today from https://raleighastro.org/blog/2026/03/08/rac-outreach-committee-report-february-2026/ are correct, with the following edits:

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

Available Checked Out In for Repair Available
Cassegrains 4 2 5
Dobsonians 6 2 4
Maksutovs 1 0 4
Refractors 1 0 1
Reflectors 2 1 2
Binoculars 2 0 2
Accessories 35 0 15
Outreach 2 0 4
    • https://raleighastro.org/loaner-telescopes/

Education Committee Report:

Next Class scheduled for:

  • Topic: Astronomical League (AL) Observing Programs Explained
  • Date: April 18, 2026
  • Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM
  • Place: Cherry Building + Zoom

Webmaster Report – No Updates

Web team Reports: – No Updates

Committee Reports

Social Events

Herring Front Yard Star Party w/pizza 

  • April 18, 2026 6:00 to 12:00
  • Space is limited to 18 cars (not number of members)
  • so please register on the RAC calendar

SAVE THE DATE!

  • RAC Fall Picnic: Saturday September 5, 2026.
  • More details to follow.

Social Media

Are you subscribed to RAC’s special Media pages? Lauren has been posting new updates to our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Check out The ABC11 Artemis interview with members: Doug Lively, Samantha Pickard and Stefan Wills.

Ihttps://abc11.com/post/artemis-ii-crew-ready-make-historic-mission-moon-inspires-nc-stargazers/18845560/

A/V – No Updates

Imaging Report

  • The next Imagining meeting will be held on April 25, 2026.
  • Topic: Your First and Best Galaxy Images

Key-Holders Report – No Updates

Socialize after the meeting at Sammy’s.