Attendance 

  • In-person: 26 
  • Zoom: 12

Date: August 28, 2026

Co-Chair: Susan Herring

Meeting Presentation: 

Meeting Topic: Eileen Collins: First US Female Space Pilot and Commander

Speaker: Jonathan H. Ward

Author of:
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission (with Eileen Collins, 2021)
Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew (with Mike Leinbach, 2018)
Countdown to a Moon Launch: Preparing Apollo for Its Historic Journey (2015)
Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center (2015)

Meeting Description: Meet the woman who broke barriers in the Air Force and as the first woman to lead a shuttle mission. (presented by her official biographer and co-author!)

Upcoming Events:

  • Sept 3 – Imaging Meeting 
  • Sept 5 – RAC BBQ/Social (Apex)
  • Sept 11 – 2nd Fridays Under the Stars with TLC (3BA)
  • Sept 11 – RAC Observing Session (RACOBS) 
  • Sept 19 – RAC Class- Which Scope is Best for You?
    • Instructors: Mark Stevens & Mike Keefe
  • Fri Sept 25 – Indoor meeting -The Pleiades is Actually Huge
    • Speaker Andrew Boyle
  • October 2 – First Fridays Under the Stars with TLC (3BA)
  • October 5-11 – Fall SRSP at Staunton River State Park VA
  • October 14 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) 
  • October 16- RAC Observing Session (RACOBS) 
  • October 17- International Observe the Moon Night (Raleigh)

Treasurer’s Report:

  • Memberships:
    • RAC memberships: 555
    • Cancelled memberships: 0
    • Admin membership: 1
    • TOTAL memberships: 556

Financials:

    • Checking: $1,253.38
    • Savings: $24,762.85
    • Special Purpose: $0.27
    • Note: A2Hosting.com $234.99 Website yearly renewal paid August 6th. Club is quickly approaching the 600 account limit with MembershipWorks which will require a decision to stop accepting members at 600 vs paying for a 1200 account cap. Note: membership dues increase to $35.00 for the coming 2027 calendar year. Renewals start in early December and will reflect the new amount.

Astronomical League Report:

Dean’s AL Messier/Caldwell Monthly Challenge for 2026

A yearlong monthly observing challenge to get members(esp those who did the Hubble Challenge) to the AL’s messier and Caldwell Awards. Bonus Bright/Dark Nebula Observing program.

New/Holdovers:

  • Al Hamrick – Asterism Observing program – Pin and Cert
  • Dana Bostic – Herschel 400#691 – Pin and Cert
  • Blair Groden – M102 AL Challenge – Certificate

Dean’s AL Messier/Caldwell Monthly Challenge for 2026

  • Bethany Bennett – July (sent)
  • Blair Groden – July and August

Outreach Report

Safety: Nothing new to report.

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 7 5 3
Dobsonians 10 0 1
Maksutovs 5 0 0
Refractors 1 0 3
Reflectors 1 0 3
Binoculars 4 1 1
Accessories 10 2 37
Outreach 2 0 5

We are testing several of the items that were donated for proficiency in the loaner program. We are also prepping some items to be given away for the raffle at the upcoming RAC BBQ. 

[email protected]

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

Education Committee Report:

  • Education: We don’t have all the details for September’s RAC Class, yet. All we know so far is:
    • Working Title: “Which Scope is Best for You?”
    • Date: Saturday, 19 September 2026
    • Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
    • Format: in-person (Cherry Building) +Zoom
    • Instructor(s): Mark Stevens and Michael Keefe

Webmaster Report – Nothing new to report.  Still informing.

Web team Report: Nothing new to report.

Committee Reports

Social Events:

RAC Family Picnic 

Social Media: 

  • On Instagram, we’re up to almost 1600 followers and got about 7600 views on all posts in the last 30 days. 35% of views are from non-followers.
  • On Facebook, we have 3600 followers, up from about 3100 a few months ago. More than half of all our followers on both platforms are regional (Raleigh, Cary, Durham, etc.). How this may or may not translate into new memberships or participation at outreach events, we’ll have to see.
  • Lauren is planning another batch of Astrophotography Friday/ Outreach posts soon.

A/V – Nothing new to report.  Still recording.

Imaging Report: 

  • August meeting – The August 27th Lunar Eclipse
  • September 24th meeting – TBD
  • October 22nd meeting – Cocoon Nebula and the Iris Nebula.

Key-Holders Report 

  • Big Woods keyholder applications are still open
  • The application process will remain open until July 31, 2026.

Socialize after the meeting at Sammy’s.