(Submitted 2026-05-03)

Recent events:

  • April 8 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh)
    • Coordinator: Steve B
    • Volunteers: Steve B, Brian, Blair, Lauren
    • Recap: Steve B –

Despite high/thin clouds, we had a huge turnout for observing at the Willard last night. A constant line at least 80-100 attendees for two hours at our two telescopes. People grabbed up our astronomy handouts at the RAC table like they were gas coupons. Good questions and good conversations. Jupiter, Venus, and Castor were observed.

  • April 10 – Martin Magnet Middle School Career Day (Raleigh)
    • Coordinator: Tony V
    • Volunteers: Tony V, Doug

The clouds actually cleared out a 8:00PM as predicted. About 30 parents and kids attended the 4-H event and got a chance to view Jupiter, the Moon, and Mizar through my telescope. A member of staff had a toy refractor that was also occasionally aimed at the Moon. Not having any motor control on my mount was unpleasant (hopefully to be resolved tomorrow). Everyone was excited and 4-H may repeat this event in the future.

  • April 20 – Girl Scout Troop 882 (Raleigh)
    • Coordinator/presenter: Frank H
    • Recap: Frank H –

I met with Michelle Petkovic and another den mother and seven bubbly Brownies ages 8-9 for an hour.  We talked about the Sun and solar observing.  I brought some basic equipment, passed it around, answered some basic and slightly more complex questions, then we went outside… too overcast.  So, no solar observing.

Michelle said it would be nice to have me (or someone) back for another opportunity for solar; and some night-time observing.  I had fun, its an easy drive for me, I have lots of low tech easy equipment, so I’d do it again.

I, Sunil, and his daughter Smirti set up outside the entrance to the school with a RAC table and a table where Sunil should demo his Seestar and refractor. We were right next to Vets to Drones, who were allowing kids to fly their drones until the batteries ran out. We couldn’t win that competition for attention. We still did have a few dozen families stop by to learn more about telescopes and hear our pitch about RAC and the upcoming SWSP event this Friday in Apex.

Rob, Bill and I were set up near the restrooms along with a former RAC Member, John. It turned out to be a good set up.

Paul did not want to set up near the restrooms because he was concerned about the dust settling on his equipment from cars entering the parking lot. Joanne said that she was okay with him being in the field since he was so close to the fence and off of the beaten trail. We had about 200 folks.

Over Friday and Saturday nights (Apr 24 & 25) under direction of Morehead Planetarium, North Carolina SSA’s, RAC, and Astronomers across NC participated in the State Wide Star Party … The largest star party in the Universe !!! Over 200 sites held around North Carolina help simultaneous star parties to treat the public to entertaining science under the night sky.

I was located at White Deer Park in Garner, NC where we had about 100 enthusiastic adults and kids out to observe Earth’s Moon, Jupiter, M44 – Beehive Cluster, M82 – Cigar Galaxy, M81 – Bode’s Galaxy, and more! We had lots of great questions from parents and kids alike. 6 Astronomers from Raleigh Astronomy Club including myself (the only SSA) were on hand to treat visitors to the night sky.

SWSP at Imagination Station in Wilson is always a blast and did not disappoint last night. Clouds dwindled just as we were starting. The Moon was also a big hit with everyone enjoying the detail the scopes afforded. We got those around excited about locating Jupiter when it was still light out. We were joined by someone (I did not get his name) from the Tar River Astronomy Club for a while. Thanks to Naveen, Dean, Susan, and Blair for coming out!

 

I recently had the pleasure of presenting How to Become an Amateur Astronomer at the East Regional Durham County Library as part of their adult education program. It was truly rewarding to see such a strong interest from adults eager to explore this fascinating hobby. Many were actively taking notes, asking thoughtful questions, and fully engaged throughout the session.
One of the highlights was the hands-on planisphere activity, where participants got a real taste of star-hopping—learning how to navigate the night sky to find celestial objects. After the presentation, we moved into the library for a fun and memorable demonstration: using a telescope to view a carefully placed image of Saturn across the room. It was a simple setup, but it captured the excitement of telescopic observing and brought a bit of the night sky indoors.

 

Just offered RAC table handouts to interested parents and students at an outdoor festival with other STEM related community groups present.

Upcoming Events:

Notes:

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 entry.

Event coordinators: please send an email after the event to [email protected] indicating:

  • How many RAC members volunteered.
  • Estimate of how many attendees were present.
  • Brief synopsis of the event: what interesting things were observed, attendee reactions, host impressions, etc.