RAC News

General News About RAC Events and Meetings. Will appear on the front page.

November Indoor Meeting: Swap Meet

When:  November 11, 2016, 7:30pm-9:30pm Where:  NC State Crafts Center (directions) Who: The meeting is open to the public! We will have a short business meeting at 7:30 followed by a swap meet and social. There should be quite a bit of gear there available for purchase. If you have spare gear you want to get rid of, be sure to bring it in. If you need a table to display your items, please let us know.  If you have any…

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Recap: October RACOBS, Oct 28 is a GO!!

We had one of the best showings that I’ve seen in a while for RACOBS. Sky conditions were above average and everyone was petty excited to be out there. There were at least 10-15 people there. Some members of the NCSU astronomy club showed up, and we had a chance to talk and help them out. Mike M. offered to do an imaging class for them on campus sometime. Thanks to David K. who spent most of the the evening with…

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October Indoor Meeting: Solar Observing

When:  October 14, 2016, 7:30pm Where:  NC State Crafts Center (directions) Who: The meeting is open to the public!   The October RAC indoor meeting will feature RAC Solar Astronomers presenting some of their latest work. Sit back and enjoy the fascinating beauty of our nearest star. This meeting is intended to be an informal presentation/discussion, a chance to show off some of solar observing talent, and an opportunity to share some excellent solar observing tips and practices! Our own…

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Recap of September RACOBS.

Date:  September 23, 2016 Time:  7:30pm RECAP: About 15 club members and guests ventured out to RACOBS this month.   Once dark, the skies were unusually steady.  Mars, and Saturn were sights for the first hour, but unfortunately Jupiter set soon after the sun.  The milky way was obvious with some structure visible.  Some of the objects observed include M31 Andromeda Galaxy, M57 Ring Nebula, the double cluster (NGC 869/884), NGC 6760, M8 Lagoon, M17, Swan nebula, and more.  Several new…

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Member’s BBQ and Solar Observing – October 15

All RAC members are invited to an outdoor club barbecue.  The club will provide midwestern style pork barbecue, hot wings, homemade ice cream, and maybe hot dogs.   Members are encouraged to bring a side dish to share. Host/Organizer:  Chris Cole When:  October 15, Time TBD (late morning/early afternoon) Where:  Apex, NC (see member’s email listserv for address) Please RSVP via the club email discussion.   We need at least 20 attendees to make this happen and an accurate headcount for…

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RECAP: September 9 Indoor Meeting – Astrophotography

Recap:  What a wonderful meeting where several club members got up in the front of the group and presented some of their favorite photos they’ve taken.  We saw great views of many objects including the Eagle nebula, Orion Nebula, the Sun and Moon, Pleides star cluster, the Shark Nebula, and much more.  What was also impressive was the many different approaches club members take the capturing photographs…  From multi-night LRGB images to very short video captures, to wide field DSLR…

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Recap: RACOBS – August 26

Despite getting off to a cloudy start, last night’s RACOBS was quite enjoyable.  11 people in attendance.  The weather was hot and humid.  However, over the course of the evening the temperatures started to drop and clouds began to dissipate.  The sky conditions were not ideal but allowed for good viewing of Saturn, Mars, nebulae and clusters.  However, transparency was quite bad and limited galaxy viewing. Mike Keefe reported using video astronomy and getting a nice capture of the Eagle…

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Call for Speakers and Topics

As RAC builds our 2016-2017 indoor meeting schedule, we are looking for ideas for meeting topics as well as speakers.  It can be anything astronomy related, from beginner to advanced.This club belongs to us all and we want to make sure you get the most out of it.      If you are willing to give a talk, let us know! No idea is too simple – please tell us what you’d like to hear! Please email any ideas or…

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August 12 Indoor Meeting: NOTE: LOCATION/DATE/TIME CHANGE

All, August promises to be a very special month as Jim Pressley, Carl Moreschi, Al Hamrick and Michael Searle team up to give us their impressions of the OzSky Star Fest held in Australia this April!  They traveled together, roomed together and observed together on an excellent 25″ f/5 Obsession.  The southern skies must have been excellent. Most important, RAC is trying a different location and time.  Plus, this meeting is being moved back to Friday.   Currently, this is only for…

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Recap: Elections and Exoplanets: July 28!

Recap: The July meeting of the RAC featured a talk by special guest Dr. Chris Richardson, Assistant Professor of Physics at Elon University. Dr. Richardson gave a lively and engaging presentation about Exoplanets. He discussed recent results in this popular area of research, especially the enormous amount of data coming from the Kepler Space Telescope. He also discussed the various components of the famous Drake Equation. Dr. Frank Drake created the equation in 1961. It attempts to compute the number…

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Constitutional Amendment [Vote Ended]

At the RAC Indoor meeting on June 23, 2016 a constitutional amendment was motioned, seconded, and the motion was carried on a unanimous vote. The amendment now has to be voted on by the club as a whole. Voting is permitted online – you will see the form below. Voting will be open until July 27, 2016. After that time, votes will be tallied and formally cast (similar to absentee ballots) on July 28, 2016 at the next RAC Indoor…

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RAC Meeting Recap – June 23

Thank you to all who attended the RAC Indoor meeting on June 23. There was no presentation at this meeting as the Ozfest talk was delayed until August. This was an important business meeting primarily to discuss officer elections and future meetings. Constitutional Amendment: A proposed constitutional amendment was discussed, particularly since one of our Co-Chair’s is at his term limit (3 years). Section 5. Limitations of Office‑Holding. No officer shall simultaneously hold more than one elected office. No member…

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In Memoriam: Gerald F. Watson II

22 May 1937- 28 January 2016 The Raleigh Astronomy Club lost a long time member and contributor on January 28, 2016. Born and raised in Erie Pennsylvania, Jerry obtained his Bachelor of Science in meteorology at Pennsylvania State University in 1959 and continued his meteorological studies earning a Master of Science degree from The University of Chicago in 1962 and a Ph. D. from Florida State University in 1971. He joined the faculty at North Carolina State University in 1972…

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Astronomy Days 2016

The Raleigh Astronomy Club and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts Astronomy Days 2016 on Saturday and Sunday, January 30-31, 2016. This years event was very successful with over 15,800 visitors coming out to learn about space and astronomy.

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Unmasking Europa

RAC enjoyed a special pre-Astronomy Days presentation on Friday, January 29 by Professor Richard Greenberg entitled “Unmasking Europa: the Search for Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon”. Professor Greenberg is a Professor Emeritus of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. He discussed his research and that of others in regard to the Jovian moon Europa. Dr. Greenberg’s research team derived the thin-ice model of Europa which describes an active icy crust that covers a liquid saline water ocean of about…

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