RAC – Page 11 – Raleigh Astronomy Club

RAC Meeting Minutes – 27 Jul 2018

Co-chairperson Ann Murphy led the meeting at the NCSU Crafts Center 27 member, 5 guests attended Speaker: Shannon Morgan, RAC member and NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Shannon gave an excellent talk entitled “Mars! Dust Storms, Opposition and Observing”. She explained the history and future of Mars oppositions, the dust storm that is affecting the planet during the present opposition, and some pointers the help observe Mars. Business Treasurer Steve Izzo gave a treasury report: $527.19 in business checking $12,521.39 in…

July 27 Indoor Meeting: Mars! Dust Storms, Opposition, and Observing

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: May 18, 2018 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Talk Title : “Mars! Dust Storms, Opposition, and Observing” Speaker : Shannon Morgan Description: Shannon Morgan, who is a Solar System Ambassador, will talk about Mars. This talk encompasses three sections on Mars and its opposition. The first part will be a brief discussion of the current historic dust event and what that means for the rovers. The second part will be about the upcoming opposition and why 2018…

May 17 Imaging Meeting

Meetings

There will be no formal presentation, but there will be some open discussion about strategies for powering all our imaging gear. We’ll be meeting in the hallway behind the Brickhouse Restaurant on Hillsborough Street at 7pm. We had a lot of new images posted in recent weeks. Bring them by to share.

May 18 Indoor Meeting: Mars at Opposition

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: May 18, 2018 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Mars at Opposition: Historical context and what to expect RAC Member and Associate Professor of Hispanic linguistics at NC State, Jim Michnowicz Gain some background on the upcoming Mars Opposition. Mars won’t be this close again until 2035, so this is the summer to spend some time on the Red Planet. Look at a brief history of Mars observations, as well as what to expect in the eyepiece during…

April 27 Indoor Meeting: Stephen Hawking and his work

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: April 27, 2018 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Abstract: Stephen Hawking and his work: One possible view. Steve Christensen, RAC Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy UNC-Chapel Hill Abstract Steve met Hawking in 1972 and much of his research has been in similar fields, in particular, the nature of black holes. Steve will talk about his interactions with Hawking and his collaborators, his discoveries, and what still needs to be understood related to his work. RAC Business:…

March 23 Indoor Meeting: Getting Started in Astronomy

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: March 23, 2018 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Abstract: RAC Member and Co-Chair Ann Murphy will give a lecture on getting started in Astronomy. The lecture talks about some of the things to see in the night sky and how to start looking at them. RAC Business: After the presentation, we will discuss additional RAC business. We will then adjourn for dinner at a Sammy’s Tap and Grill on Avent Ferry Rd.

February 23 Indoor Meeting: Time Lapse

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: February 23, 2018 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Abstract: RAC Member extraordinaire Mark Lang will demonstrate how the night sky changes over time and how he captures the images using his equipment. His astrophotography catches the motion of objects against the background stars. RAC Business: After the presentation, we will discuss additional RAC business. We will then adjourn for dinner at a Sammy’s Tap and Grill on Avent Ferry Rd.

RAC Email: Logging into the Web Interface

RAC Member Help

Logging In: To use the web interface, you will need to log in. This is optional and not required unless you wish the manage your subscriptions or read messages/archives through the Groups.io webpage. URL for Groups.IO WEb Interface: https://raleighastro.groups.io/ Enter your email address and then “email me a link to log in”. Nearly instantly you will be sent an email with a link that is valid for 1 hour. The social media login options are also available. Once you are…

RAC Email: Footer Links

RAC Member Help

The Helpful Menu in the Email Footer The bottom of each email should including something like the following: This offers a range of ways to reply to the individual message. View/Reply Online – This will redirect you to the web interface where you can compose a reply to the email thread Reply To Group – This starts a reply to the thread using your default email client Reply To Sender – Send a reply to the sender of the email,…

RAC Email: Subscribing and Unsubscribing

RAC Member Help

Subgroups One feature of the groups.io service is the ability to quickly create new distribution lists. These groups typically inherit the user list from the top level group (announcements), so they are called subgroups. The only requirement for a subgroup is that all members are allowed to join if they wish. All members are automatically subscribed to the announcements list (for club announcements, not discussion) and the members list, [email protected]. The members list is the general chat group. The club…

RAC Email: Introduction

RAC Member Help

Introduction to the RAC Email Discussion Groups The Raleigh Astronomy Club communicates primarily through email. The club has email addresses through a service called “groups.io” which act like listserv’s. These lists facilitate club communication. Only members current on their dues are on the distribution list and only a valid email address is required to participate. To use the list, simply send an email to the email address and the service will automatically be distributed to everyone in the group. Messages…

December Imaging Meeting: Plate Solving

Imaging, Meetings

We will be meeting in the usual place in the outside hallway of the Brickhouse Restaurant, Thursday December 21. For this months topic, we will have a brief discussion on plate solving. Plate solving is a technique in which a computer program can identify exactly where your telescope is pointing in the night sky. This allows you to quickly frame photo in whatever orientation you want instead of manually.

December 8 Indoor Meeting: Field Power

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: December 8, 2017 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Abstract: RAC Co-Chair John Sadler will lead a discussion around field power. Portable batteries are needed to run dew controllers at a minimum, and for many, they also power telescope mounts, imaging gear, computers, and more. While some commercial solutions exist, home made solutions are quite typical. Learn what to consider when building the box including the battery, connectors such as the Anderson Powerpole products, amp meters, voltage regulators,…

November 10 Indoor Meeting: Astronomical Spectroscopy

Meetings

Location: NCSU Crafts Center (directions) Date: November 10, 2017 Time: 7:30-9:30pm Abstract: RAC member Matt Lochansky will show how spectroscopy sheds light on the composition and environment of our universe. While human exploration has barely left our solar system, much of our understanding of elements, temperatures, and velocities in deep space have been made through spectroscopic techniques. Amateurs are placing an increasing role in monitoring transient astronomical events and longer term patterns of stellar interactions. RAC Business: After the presentation,…

Meeting Highlight October 2017 – 60th Anniversary of Sputnik

Club Reports, General Interest

Our October 27, 2017 Indoor meeting highlight featured our guest speaker, Dr. Russell Philbrick, was a senior at Cary High School and convinced the owners of WPTF radio station to use their antenna to track the satellite. He gave an excellent talk about the history of not only his career but of the history of the Operation Moonwatch. He told the story of how he organized the Cary High School’s moonwatch club and how he got that call at 3:00…