We had a great indoor session on Friday March 9th 2012. Ian Hewitt presented a very practical methodology for Astronomical Sketching. A separate article detailing Ian’s presentation can be found the following link. On the business front: Astromony Days, begining in 2013 (by popular vote of members present), will be moved back to January.
In this day of multi-mega pixel DLSR’s, dedicated astronomical cameras, and high-tech photo-processing software we often over look one of the cheapest and easily accessible tools in our cosmic recording arsenal: Astronomical Sketching. During our March 9th 2012 meeting, presenter Ian Hewitt taught the club just how easy and effective this useful and often less attempted skill can be to pursue.
In the March Imaging SIG meeting (now the first Friday of every month!), there was a great discussion about processing planetary images with Registax. The group also worked with our own Chris Cole to produce a Mars image from video he had taken the week before.
RAC Treasurer’s Report dated 3/8/2012 Regular checking account activity since the 2/9/2012 report: $ 32.16 to James DellaPenna for the Carla Frohlich speaker dinner. Two deposits totaling $844.76 were made for membership dues. $ 2,985.79———Regular checking account balance. $10.00———Special purpose (PayPal Transfer) account balance. $10,304.83———Savings account balance. $13,300.62———Total balance all funds on hand. Membership Dues: As of this report 83 memberships have paid their 2012 dues. New memberships since October 1st represent 28 of these 83 paid memberships. As of…
At the February Indoor meeting, we were treated to fascinating talk by Dr. Carla Frohlich of the NCSU Astrophysics Department. The topic was the Origin of Chemical Elements and focused on the various nucleosynthesis processes, especially those occurring in core collapse supernovae, that enriched the early galaxy with all the all heavy elements (elements heavier than helium).
It was a very good night of observing on Friday, January 27th! Conditions were mild (for January) and we had about 21 club members and 12 guests attend. Sky conditions were generally good, but the seeing was bit soft for most of the evening. The temperatures started around 56F and dropped to 36F by the time the last members left the site.
In the January indoor meeting Dr Rachel L. Smith, Director of the Space Observation Laboratory at the Nature Research Center (NRC) presented an overview of her research into solar system evolution to record setting 70 attendees. She also provided an overview of the astronomy based laboratory at the new Nature Research Center in downtown Raleigh (opening in April).
On Thursday evening, almost 20 club members went to the IMAX theater at the Marble’s Kid Museum for a special event which featured food, beverages, and two IMAX shows. The first was preview of the independent non-profit film called Outside-in and the second was the main IMAX feature called Hubble 3D. This was a monthly event called Martini’s to the Max that the museum offers to the public.
Regular checking account activity since 11/9/2011 report: $167.36 to Chuck Jaynes – Ipower hosting, domain names, domain privacy. $50.88 to Mike Keefe – Oct. speaker dinners + Staunton River cookout supplies. $94.64 to Doug Lively – Staunton River cookout food. $241.05 to Jerry Watson – 13 months of RAC phone bills. $100.00 to International Dark Sky Association – annual club dues. $127.99 to Jerry Watson – Flower arrangement for Judith Goodman. Three deposits totaling $300.77 were made for membership dues…
December’s observing session officially started at 7:00PM but the gate was opened before that time. A few RAC members were already there (Jim DellaPenna had opened the gate) along with some visitors. The night was quite pleasant and the temperature was in the Low to Mid 50’s. There was a ~5mph breeze coming off of Lake Jordan that made it a little chilly but over all it was still comfortable.
On Saturday, December 17th some of the members held an informal observing session at Big Woods (Jordan Lake). Club member Brian Reasor, the ALCOR, reports it was a short but decent night for skywatching.
On December 9th, the RAC indoor meeting was a club Social. We had a pretty good turnout of club members, guests and visitors who enjoyed the many great tasting items provided by the membership.
November’s Raleigh Astronomy Club Observing Session was a GO! Despite being a holiday weekend, we had a over ten members show up plus two guest observers, including a member from the Chesmont Astronomical Society. The dew was pretty heavy and shut down several observers early. However some late arrivals keep the observing going well past midnight!
Approximately 200 people showed up at the Public Star Gaze held at North Cary Park on the evening of November 12th, 2011. Although the forecast was for clear skies, clouds hampered observing much of the night. However between the over 20 telescopes operated by Raleigh Astronomy Club volunteers, visitors were treated to some great views.
During the November 2011 Indoor Meeting, there were two very special awards presented to Mark and Phyllis Lang for their many years of dedicated service to the Raleigh Astronomy Club. Both Mark and Phyllis have served in both Elected officer and Staff officer roles in the Raleigh Astronomy Club for many years.
