RAC – Raleigh Astronomy Club

RAC Outreach Committee Report – September 2024

Recent events: August 14 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Dean, Susan, Mark, Benjamin, Jesus, and Steve B Attendees: ~40 Recap: Steve B – Despite some technical difficulties, about 40 participants got to view the Moon, Antares, and a few other southern sky objects through a telescope and binoculars at the Willard last night, and we distributed out several handouts on astronomy. This was a smaller crowd than typical which is a little surprising given the comparatively…

Meeting Minutes June 28, 2024

Club Reports, Meetings

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes June 28, 2024 Co-Chair Anastasia Vail hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom platform. 21 meeting participants attended in-person, 10 attended via Zoom. Presentation: Peter Birren joined us via Zoom to discuss his book “Objects in the Heavens” and how to use it to get the most out of your observing. Business: Upcoming Events: June 29th: Astronomy on Tap Star Party June 30th: RAC Ladies…

RAC Outreach Committee Report – August 2024

General Interest, Public Outreach

Recent events: August 2 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast Upcoming events: August 14 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Postponed from August 7 due to weather; previous volunteer registrations voided. Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers registered: telescopes: 0/3 floaters: 0/3 August 17 – Artspace Summer Celebration (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers registered: solar telescopes: 1/2 floaters: 1/2 RAC table: 0/2 August 25 – East Regional Library (Knightdale) Coordinator: Doug L Doug will…

RAC Outreach Committee Report – July 2024

General Interest, Public Outreach

Recent events: June 7 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Coordinator: Ana V June 19 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Tony, Chris, Jesus, Dave, Dean, Susan, and Steve B Attendees: ~80 Recap: Steve B – We had a good event at The Willard Rooftop summer solstice party tonight. They arranged for some influencers to be photographed looking through our volunteer’s telescopes before dark. The near-full moon was out and the haziness made…

Meeting Minutes May 24, 2024

Club Reports, Meetings

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes May 24, 2024 Co-Chair Naveen Malik hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom platform. 26 meeting participants attended in-person, 10 attended via Zoom. Presentation: “Catching a Gravitional Wave” given by RAC member Ron Monti We learned more about gravitational waves, which are caused by the collision of two black holes or other cataclysmic astronomical events. Ron explained how the LIGO observatory can detect these…

Meeting Minutes April 12, 2024

Club Reports, Meetings

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes April 12, 2024 Co-Chair Dana Bostic hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom platform. 22 meeting participants attended in-person, 22 attended via Zoom. Presentation: How do Galaxies Grow and Evolve “The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has made recent news, with fascinating observations of distant galaxies whose sizes, shapes, and heavy element abundances puzzle many astronomers. Dr. Shull discussed these observations and what they suggest…

RAC Outreach Committee Report – June 2024

General Interest, Public Outreach

Updated 2024-06-24 Recent events: May 3 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast May 11 – Artspace Galactic Family Day (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Annelies, Tony, Jacqueline Attendees: 111 Recap: Annelies – We had a great day at Art Space today! Expert Tony joined me with his solar telescope. I brought my M1 Polaris with solar filter. Member Jacqueline was able to help as a floater and a new friend by…

RAC Outreach Committee Report – May 2024

General Interest, Public Outreach

Updated 2024-05-23 Recent events: Apr. 24 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: 3 telescopes (Matt, Chris, Bill), 1 floater (Steve) Attendees: 30-40 Recap: After a rainy afternoon, the clouds cleared an hour or so before sunset. We were able to see Jupiter and Uranus briefly after sunset. Orion nebula, globular, and open clusters were also viewed, along with a beautiful near-full moon rising over downtown Raleigh. No luck observing Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the light haze near the…

RAC Outreach Committee Report – April 2024

General Interest, Public Outreach

Recent events: Mar. 23 – Food Lion Galaxy Nights at Tappahannock, VA Mar. 24 – Eclipse 2024 Primer (virtual) Apr. 5 – SWSP/First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres Apr. 13 – Food Lion Galaxy Nights at Sumter, SC Upcoming events: Apr. 24 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers registered: telescopes: 2/3 floaters: 0/3 Apr. 25 – Githens Middle School STEAM Night (Durham) Coordinator: Matt L Volunteers registered: ? Apr. 27 – Astronomy on Tap Star…

Meeting Minutes December 15, 2023

Club Reports, Meetings

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes December 15, 2023 Co-Chair Anastasia Vail hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom platform. 18 meeting participants attended in-person, 8 attended via Zoom. Presentation: “2023 Imaging Showcase” RAC’s Chris Cole lead the club’s imaging group and shared some of their accomplishments from throughout the year! Business Milestones by Co-Chair Naveen Malik Frank – Complete Ring around the sun picture, Moon Dogs Naveen Malik – Got…

Meeting Minutes November 17, 2023

Club Reports, Meetings

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes November 17, 2023 Co-Chair Naveen Malik hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom platform. 26 meeting participants attended in-person, 9 attended via Zoom. Presentation: “Astronomy at Glacier National Park” by Doug Lively Business Nominations and Elections by Co-Chair Naveen Malik Nominations for Co-Chair are open. Dana Bostic has been nominated. Nominations open until elections. Online voting opens December 8, closing at the December 15 indoor…

Meeting Minutes August 25, 2023

Club Reports, Meetings

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes August 25, 2023 Co-Chair Naveen Malik hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom and Facebook platforms. 17 meeting participants attended in-person, 9 attended via Zoom and 4 attended via Facebook. Presentation: “Science Can’t Wait” by Juan Martinez. Business Milestones by Co-Chair Naveen Malik Steve accidentally deleted his Saturn photos off his dwarf II ALCor announcement by Co-Chair Naveen Malik Dana Bostic has agreed to do…

Meeting Minutes July 28 2023

Club Reports

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes July 28 2023 Co-Chair Anastasia Vail hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom and Facebook platforms. 25 meeting participants attended in-person (18 signed the attendance sheet), 16 attended via Zoom and 11 attended via Facebook. Presentation: “Light Pollution – It’s not just bothering the turtles anymore” by RAC member Dana Bostic. Business Milestones by Co-Chair Anastasia Vail Mike Keefe replaced the battery for his EAA…

Meeting Minutes June 09 2023

Club Reports

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes June 09 2023 Co-Chair Mike Keefe hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom and Facebook platforms. 26 meeting participants attended in-person (18 signed the attendance sheet), 7 attended via Zoom and 7 attended via Facebook. Presentation: “Searching for Nuggets” by UNC-CH Physics & Astronomy PhD student Derrick Carr. Business Milestones by Co-Chair Mike Keefe Mike Keefe completed observations for the Caldwell Club. Now he needs…

Meeting Minutes May 26 2023

Club Reports

RAC Indoor Meeting Minutes May 26 2023 Co-chair Naveen Malik hosted the meeting in-person at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as virtually using the Zoom and Facebook platforms. 18 RAC participants attended in-person, 17 attended via Zoom and 8 attended via Facebook. Presentation: “Astrophotography: Solar System & Deep Sky Objects” by RAC Co-chair Naveen Malik. Business Milestones by co-chair Naveen Malik Frank Westmorland shared that he has created more 16″x20″ image panels. Club Elections by co-chair Naveen…