Despite the threat of high clouds early and cold temperatures, a small group of observers showed up at our observing site for the Dec. 14 RACOBS.  Surprisingly, the skies were clear up to around 9:30 giving us a couple of good hours of observing. There were four club members present with telescopes. Jeff M. had his new, fully automated Meade 8″ SCT, Phyllis and Mark L. used a 14.5″ Dob, and Jim D. used his 14″ Dob.  We had five…
16 RAC members and a few guests gathered to watch and photograph the annual Geminid meteor shower Thursday night/ Friday morning. While everyone pursued different activities, all fought dew, frost and cool temperatures that reached into the upper 20s. The sky conditions were just good enough for imaging and visual observers to have some success. We had no clouds, but transparency was surprisingly mediocre due to significant atmospheric aerosols and high humidity. Transparency improved during the post-midnight hours but never…
We often receive questions about viewing meteor showers, such as: Where is the best place to view a meteor shower? When they say the peak occurs at 1AM on the 12th does that mean staying up late on the 12th and viewing into the 13th or waking up early on the 12th? Why do meteor showers peak in the wee hours of the night? You can comfortably watch meteors from many places, assuming you have a dark sky: like your…
The Co-Chairs met with NC Museum of Natural Sciences staff for the first Astronomy Days 2013 planning meeting this past Thursday evening. We were informed that the main speaker for Astronomy Days will be Dr. Jim Green, NASA’s Planetary Science Division Director. We are also hoping that Dr. Green will address the club on the Friday night before Astronomy Days. However, this has not been confirmed. We also discussed the list of possible exhibits as well as the location of…
We had a nice turn out for RAC’s November 9th RACOBS, approximately 20 or so members and about 8 guests were present at one time or another. The skies were very clear and the seeing was quite steady. However dew was a factor later in the observing session. The last of us packed up and headed home about 1:30am.
Astronomy Days Mike Keefe went over the different exhibits from last year. This is located in a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet has the exhibit, the equipment requirements and lessons learned. Contact Mike Keefe for the location of the spreadsheet. We are looking for people to work the exhibits, to give more talks and a coordinator for Astronomy Days. This happens on January 26 and 27, which is Saturday (9am-5pm) and Sunday (1pm-5pm). The meeting for January 25 (Friday) will take place…
If you ever had any questions about the observing lists or even what they are, this was the meeting to attend. Brian Reasor explained about the Raleigh Astronomy club and the Astronomy League lists. He went over many resources and even had props. He went over practical issues. There was a great deal of interest among club members and a lot of useful suggestions. It was a good meeting.
On Saturday, October 20th, RAC held a public observing session at one of Raleigh’s newest parks, the Annie Wilkerson Nature Preserve. Over 75 members of the public came out to enjoy the night skies despite the cloud cover.
Seven members went out to Big Woods for some observing on Friday, October 19. Field conditions were ok – just a little damp and the moon washed out the western sky til 9:30ish but everyone worked around it and there were decent skies by 10:30. Brian Reasor did some list work and sky touring and most everyone else was imaging. The last members left about 1:30 in the morning. One of the big hits was that there was lots of…
Observing conditions were excellent at this year’s Staunton River Star Party. Many RAC members stayed for the entire event and even more stayed for several days of cool, clear observing weather. As usual, the facilities were very good and the skies dark with the Milky Way seen horizon to horizon
The clear weather of fall is back! A large group of amatuer astronomers came out to the Big Woods site on Friday October 12 with approximately 27 people present. There were many good fall objects to be seen and there was a decent passage of the space station early in the evening, followed by simultaneous Iridium flares of magnitudes -3.5 and -5.8. The last observer left by 1 AM.
Officer for the meeting: Phyllis Lang There were many topics brought up for the business meeting. They included the phone line, Public Observing, Big Woods Key Holder summary, the Observer’s Handbook, Astronomy Days planning, the pros and cons of having the meeting in the Daily Planet Cafe and other topics. See below for more information.
The presentation by Matt Lochansky explained the steps used to do spectroscopy, basic theory, what a person could do using spectroscopy, limitations, resources, equipment, data processing, and show some of the interesting objects in our sky. Matt had many examples to help illustrate his points. The presentation was a good one and it generated a lot of questions.
The weather forecast for this month’s RACOBS was truly puzzling. Various club members collaborated throughout the day questioning the suitability of the weather for observing. Late in the day, most parties agreed that observing conditions would likely be decent, but not excellent. The decision to hold RACOBS turned out to be a good one. The gate was opened at 7:30pm for 4 waiting carloads of astronomers and equipment. Several more joined us over the next few hours.
Report Period: 7 Jun 2012 – 31 Aug 2012 Income/Expenses Income Membership Dues 167.45 Interest 1.30 Expenses Speaker Meals (Doug Lively) 60.64 Safe Deposit Box Rental Fee (Wells Fargo) 75.00 AL Annual Dues (Astronomical League) 680.00 Storage Unit Rental Fees (Uncle Bob’s Storage) 1052.00 Executive Committee Meeting (Mike Keefe) 37.68 Scope Refurbish Supplies – NC State (Doug Lively) 104.22 Loaner Scope Accessories (John Irwin) 259.27 Big Woods Lock & Keys (Mike Keefe) 38.37 Account Balances Business Checking 2340.71 Regular Savings…
