SMV skywatch - image courtesy of John Raymond

Last Skywatch: Thanks to everyone who helped out with the last Skywatch at the Science Museum on Friday, February 19.  I understand that the event was well attended as was the January skywatch.  After I sent out the call for additional telescopes, I got a fantastic response from the members which is very much appreciated!.  In fact, the response was so good, I was giving people the wave-off as the number of astronomers responding grew.   We really have a great group of very helpful folks in our club.  Many, many thanks to those who came out for the skywatch.  It represents a commitment of time and effort on our part to support these skywatches, but the value of providing the “eyes-on” experience of viewing distant astronomical objects has made astronomy come alive for many people over the years and we should commend ourselves for supporting this sort of activity.  Thanks again!

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Virginia Skylines: If you have not heard Leslie Bochenki’s weekly audio show on astronomical highlights for the week, please give it a listen.  We have a link to it on the RAS web site.  Also thanks to Leslie for plugging the skywatch event in last week’s show!

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Last Meeting: Ken Wilson presented highlights of the recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January of this year.  Since the meeting was in Washington, DC and close to this area, Ken took advantage of the opportunity to attend the meeting.  Ken discussed highlights of recent research and educational efforts presented by astronomers, which included some discussion of outreach work associated with the 2009 International Year of Astronomy.  Ken covered some of the hot topics discussed at the meeting and gave us a flavor of what it was like to be there.  Thanks to Ken for sharing his experience with us.

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Winter Star Party: At the last meeting John Raymond gave us a live report by telephone from Florida on the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys, hosted by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society in Miami.  It was tough listening to John’s description of the weather in the Keys as we were enduring the unusually snowy weather for this area.  John passed along along the following review of the event:

• I got to see Crux, Eta Carinae, Alpha and Beta Centauri for the first time.
• I got my Televue hat signed by Al Nagler.
• I was camped near Tom Peters of Discmounts. He helped me fine tune the balance on mine. He also has the same scope so we had a lot to discuss.
• The JMI binos were outright awesome. Easy to use, no problems merging images. The bad part : for collimation a hex tool is needed.  JMI makes dobs, why not have spring-loaded thumbscrews for collimation? I told Jim Burr my concerns. Im interested in selling my dob and getting the 10″ JMI.
• I also met Rob Royce of Royce Optical. He tested the mirror in my 8″ f/20 and assured me the optics were good.
• Gayle Rigsbee of Charlotte came up to me and told me about the 8″. He made the tube and rings.
• Sergio of the SCAS showed me the Radio Marti blimp that broadcasts into Cuba.
• The Mike Lockwood 14″ f /2.5. Awesome!!!!
• The AP and TEC refractors. Excellent Mars. I saw the Running Man nebulosity in the TEC 140. I cant see it in my 18″ from home.
• There was an old dude with a homemade dob next to Lockwood. Excellent construction – I forgot the name.
• The Dutch optical engineer was there. I had him evaluate my binos. He also showed me his 25 year-old 80mm binos he completely overhauled. No aberrations detectable at all. It took him six months but well worth the time. He tests imported binos for the Dutch telescope vendor.
• I watched Howie Glatter make and install a cable sling for a 20″ dob.
• Meeting a lot of nice people.

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East Coast Video Astronomy Rendezvous: The East Coast Video Astronomy Rendezvous in Luray Virginia is coming up June 10 – 13th.

A number of video astronomers and those interested in same will be meeting for four days under the stars using video assisted astronomical telescopes in beautiful Luray Virginia at the Country Way Campground.  Reservations must be made for camp space.  Be sure to let them know you are with the ECVAR group to receive a discount.

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Campground location and contact information:

Country Way Campground

3402 Kimball Rd. Luray, Virginia, 22835

Phone 540-743-7222

For reservations only:  888-765-7222

Web site:  http://www.countrywaye.com

Email:  Campers2@countrywaye.com

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For questions about the Rendezvous, please email:

Jim Turner – jturner9@triad.rr.com

Scott Short – sshort1205@gmail.com

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Mars is still showing off: Although it’s getting smaller, Mars is still presenting  a nice apparition in the night sky.  After sunset it appears as an orange point of light in the eastern sky, culminating about 10 PM.  Randy Tatum has been doing some imaging of Mars lately with his 10-inch f/12 Newtonian scope and he caught a night of good seeing evidenced by the image to the left.  Thanks to Randy for sharing this image with us.  I wish my Mars images looked this good.________

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Last meeting:

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Next Meeting: Please join us for the next meeting at the Science Museum.  The meeting will be held in the Eureka Theater at 7:30 PM on February 9.  Ken Wilson will be presenting and, if cell phone connections serve us well, we will have a live update from the Winter Star Party in Florida.  As usual a number of us will be gathering before the meeting at Arby’s across the street from the museum for dinner.  Please join us if you can.  Everyone is welcome.

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Astronomy.FM: A new online astronomy community has been formed – Astronomy.FM.  The website address is, as you might expect,  http://Astronomy.FM.  Many of the principal members of the community are located in the upper Midwest, but several hundred people from parts all over are members of the group, including a few in Virginia.  Central to the Astronomy.FM community is an internet audio broadcast which is now providing a variety of astronomy-related shows on a 24-hour basis including well-known podcasts such as AstronomyCast, Keck Observatory News, Planetary Radio and Are We Alone? Also in the broadcast line-up are several original shows produced by the organizers of Astronomy.FM which include interviews with newsmakers in astronomy and space science.  This new endeavor requires a substantial commitment on the part of those leading the effort and they deserve our support.  When you have chance, please consider directing to your browser to Astronomy.FM and give them a listen.

NightSkiesNetwork.com: Over the past few years, a community of astronomers who broadcast live video images captured through their telescopes has evolved.  The latest outlet for the group is NightSkiesNetwork.com.  On this site are listed names of the astronomers who broadcast with links to each video stream.  When an astronomer is broadcasting live, the astronomer’s name is highlighted.  Definitely worth checking out.

Lunar Occultation of the Pleaides: On December 29, 2009, John Raymond captured the occultation of the Pleaides star cluster on video.  You can view excerpts from his video below or on YouTube.  Thanks to John for sharing his video with us.

Changes in direction at NASA: As many of you know, the President has announced his proposed budget for NASA.  The budget calls for cancellation of the Constellation program, but provides a substantial amount of science funding for NASA.  This budget represents quite a shift from more recent NASA plans.  Some media and commentary articles on the proposed budget are below.  I’m sure that, as some of us are avid followers of space flight activity, this will be a topic of some interest.

Office of Management and Budget

Spaceflight Now

Phil Plait’s blog

Augustine Commission

Next RAS board meeting: The next RAS board of directors meeting will be held at Extra Billy’s restaurant at 7:00 PM on February 15.  Please arrive earlier if you wish to eat with us.  Any member is welcome to attend the board meeting.

I hope everyone is finding some time to get out and observe the sky, although the recent weather has tested our endurance as astronomers.  Please join us at our next meeting and at the next Skywatch/LiveSky event at the Science Museum on February 19.

Regards,

Jim Browder
Richmond Astronomical Society

Greeting & Announcements – approximately 43 in attendance at the meeting.
The RAS blog and newsletter have been updated.  There is a link to the blog on the RAS webpage. http://richastro.org/index.php/category/blog/
Share table:
Terry Barker brought a 2010 Guy Ottewell Astronomical Calendar for people to look at.  He stated he bought it for a couple of dollars through a book club.
Chris McCann also brought one, along with a copy of the RASC Oberver’s Handbook
John Barnette had several items of Mars information, related to his presentation later in the meeting.
Ken Wilson brought a get well card for us to sign for Jane Hastings, who took a bad fall over the Holidays.
RAS members can purchase the Ottewell Astronomical Calendar through a special website,  www.Universalworkshop.com/clubs.htm , or call 800-533-5083.�
It claims the sale price of $19.95 expires on December 31, 2009, but still displays it.  Give it a try.  If not, the regular price is $26.95.
Past Events:
Last month’s skywatch was ’snowed’ out.  That doesn’t happen too often around here!!
Individual observing included the viewing of the Orion and Mars.
The 60th Anniversary dinner in December had a good turnout.  There were a few comments about how good the speaker was.  The speaker was Jim Condon from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Upcoming Events:
Annual dues are due and should be given to Jim Blowers.  Membership is $30.  Observatory memberships and magazine subscriptions increase the amount.
Payment can be made by PayPal at http://richastro.org/ras_payments.htm
See observatory report about an open house for January.
John Raymond is planning a skywatch at the Petersburg Battlefield and at the BonAir residence center.  More information will be coming soon and should be on this website and through mass emails. Please let John know if you can help.
January’s skywatch is Friday, January 15.
Astronomical League report (www.astroleague.org):
Due to multiple laptop and screen issues, the planned Web site demo was postponed until after the break. It was then postponed again until the February meeting, due to shortness of time after resolving the laptop connection issues.

Observatory Report
John Barnette announced that RAS is planning an open house for January 24th, starting at 6pm.  The moon will be visible during the early evening, and Mars will clear the treeline about 9pm.  If you come, dress warmly!

Library Report
Virginia Eckert brought 5 books to the meeting.  Her theme revolved around Mars, the topic of tonight’s presentation by John Barnette.

Visitors
We had 5 visitors and 1 new member. The 5 visitors were:
Cecil Shifflett, his daughter Amy Duffey, Michael Clary, Wade Murray, and Bob Banks.�
Our new member is Ronnie Bailey, who stated visiting our meetings this past October.
Welcome to our visitors and our new member!!  We look forward to seeing all of you again.
Presentation: “The Martian Aphelic Opposition of 2010″ by John Barnette
John Barnette described that the Mars opposition is a great opportunity to get a closeup view of Mars.  The Earth and Mars are in the same part of their respective orbits and are close to each other, relatively speaking.
There were a few interesting facts presented during the talk.  There IS a mathematical equation to determine the synodic period of the Earth-Mars system.   Another fact was that Earth and Mars have a similar axis tilt.  This allows all aphelic and perihelic rendevous to each have its own consistent characteristics.
For example, all aphelic occurences display views of the north pole during a Martian winter.  The threat of dust storms are low and you need a relatively higher power optics to view details on Mars.
On the other hand, perihelic views occur less frequently, and show views of the south pole during the Martian summer.  Dust storms are more frequent during the summer, and you can use lesser power optics to see details, unless the dust storms block your view.
John also showed some Martian drawings dating back to 1659 by Huygens.  Other artists were Shroder, Shaparelli, and Autionaddi.  We also saw photos and drawings by local RAS artists named Bill Dickinson and John Barnette.
Very interesting talk!

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Reminders:
<<The next RAS meeting will be Tuesday, February 9th at the SMV.
<<The next board meeting will be Monday, February November 15th at Extra Billy’s at 7:00 PM (arrive earlier for dinner). Meeting is open to all members.
<<Check out the web site at http://www.richastro.org/

Original RAS charter document

Thanks and good wishes for 2010: Thanks to everyone who attended and who assisted with our 60th anniversary dinner in December.  By all accounts it was a great event.  The Holiday Inn served us good food, Jim Condon with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory presented a fascinating talk and Gary Cowardin and John Barnett helped us to reminisce on our 60-year history as an organization.   A special thanks also to Gary for bringing the audio-visual equipment and to Preston Kirby for locating the facility and for making the initial arrangements.

Best wishes to all of our members and friends in the astronomy community for a great 2010!

Light pollution in Virginia as viewed from space

Laura Graham and dark skies: Laura Graham has been working tirelessly as usual to advance the cause of dark skies.  On December 16, she traveled to Washington, DC along with Johnny Noles, a marine biologist who works with the Navy, and Milt Roney, who is a board member of International Dark Sky Association’s DC council. The IDA DC council specializes in working with legislators at state and national levels on the subject of light pollution. Laura and company met with Congressman Robert Scott’s staff to discuss the issues of light pollution along public waterways. Unshielded lights along shore lines are a serious safety problem when boats are approaching docks and piers, due to glare which impairs visibility of channel markers and other boats.

They requested a congressional proposal to study light pollution impacts on boating safety and environmental quality.  Such a study would lead to recommendations which could form the basis for further legislative action.

They are also in contact with a Maryland legislator, Alfred Carr, who has indicated that he will match a Virginia ordinance with one of his own for his state.

Separately, Laura has been in contact with Virginia delegate Lee Ware to discuss the possibility of working with local power companies and VDOT to assess what financial savings may occur through the use of shielded lighting.

Laura also notes that the city of Richmond will retrofit lights with shields where glare is a problem and that shielded lights could be requested in the vicinity of the Science Museum if we felt that it would be worthwhile to do so.

If you are interested in the preservation of dark skies or can help Laura in any way, please contact her at laura@darkvirginiasky.org.  Also check out the Virginia Dark Skies web site at http://www.darkvirginiasky.org/.

Don Rosenfield with his 100mm binoculars

Donald Rosenfield’s 100mm binos and the skyshed pod: Don Rosenfield gave me a tour of his Skyshed Pod and a short test drive of his new Burgess Optical/TMB Optical f/7 100mm right angle binoculars.  The binoculars are fresh from assembly (this is the only one that exists at this time) and were delivered by Bill Burgess himself.  The views of the skies will undoubtedly be spectacular through these binoculars.  Don also showed me his 10-inch fork mount Newtonian telescope which is also in the Pod and built like a tank.  We look forward to seeing the binoculars deployed under the stars.

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Dues are due: Our treasurer, Jim Blowers, advises that about 40% of our membership has paid dues for 2010.  If you have not already done so, please make payment as soon as possible.  Regular membership is $30.  If paying by check, please send payments to Jim at the address below or provide to him at a meeting:

Jim Blowers
4514 Foxwood Rd.
Chester, VA 23831-8011

Information on observatory memberships and payment by PayPal are on our web site at http://richastro.org/ras_payments.htm.

Upcoming outreach events: John Raymond is providing support to a skywatch at Sutherland Elementary School in Dinwiddie January 27th^. If you can help John out by bringing a telescope, please let him know.

Recent image of Mars captured by Randy Tatum with his ToUcam and f/12 10-inch Newtonian

John Barnett and the aphelic Mars opposition of 2010: Thanks to John Barnett for the great presentation on the upcoming opposition of Mars this month.  Mars will reach opposition on January 29th in the constellation Cancer. On January 24th, John will be hosting an open house at our observatory  starting at 6:00 PM.  The moon will be visible early in the evening on the 24th and for those that stay until 9:00 PM that night, Mars will clear the eastern tree line and treat us to a view of the planet with a disk 14.1 arc-seconds in diameter. Please join us at the observatory if you can and watch the Richastro Yahoo group for last minute weather calls.  John will update us as to whether the weather will permit us to see the moon and Mars that night.

Next RAS board meeting: The next RAS board of directors meeting will be held at Extra Billy’s restaurant at 7:00 PM on February 15.  Please arrive earlier if you wish to eat with us.  Any member is welcome to attend the board meeting.

Science Museum skywatch: Terry Barker, Jim Blowers and John Barnett supplied telescopes and binoculars along with their expertise at the last Science Museum skywatch.  Terry reports that about 300 people showed up for the event.  That’s a lot of people for three astronomers to entertain.  Many thanks to Terry, Jim and John for being there.  The next skywatch/LiveSky will be on Friday, February 19.  Please help out with the event if you can.

Regards,
Jim Browder
Richmond Astronomical Society

It has many colorful illustrations of the sky, diagrams of planet, comet, and moon orbits, ellipse paths, and many other intriguing tables and charts. And oh yes, a calendar of events for the year.

It’s about 80 pages thick, and has custom artwork on the front cover. 2009 was a scene at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, with Galileo near the tower, with his telescope.

Now, the problem with all this is the price–Sky and Telescope is selling it for $26.95, with free shipping. Which is a good deal. And another winner is $19.95 through Universal Workshop. I don’t know about you, but I always look to find a better deal. Last year, I found a deal on eBay, for about $15, but couldn’t find one that way this year. But I did stumble across this deal with a book club–$1.99.

I’m not pushing the club, but this seemed too good to be true. It’s the Scientific American Book Club, and you get three books for $1.99 each, with about $14 in shipping charges. That works out to about $6.50 per calendar (I ordered two), plus I got a book on physics–”Physics of the Impossible,” by Michio Kaku.

I do have to order one book at regular price within a year, but they have a great selection, and I don’t think this is going to affect my assessment of this being a good bargain. Check it out and let me know what you think.

• Jim Browder, President
• Gary Cowardin, Vice President
• Jim Blowers, Treasurer
• Chris McCann, Secretary
• John Barnett, Observatory Director
• Preston Kirby
• Bill Jeffries
• Jeff Pike
• Prashant Reddy
• Tim Streagle
• David Medici
• Betty Wilson
• Ken Wilson

Secretary’s report

• August’s Board meeting was distributed and accepted with no changes.

Treasurer’s report given by Jim Blowers.

Balance Summary:

• General Fund:                $7168.47
• Observatory Fund:           $220.74
• TOTAL:                         $7389.21
• Checking Account:        $2367.19
• Savings Account:           $2857.58
• Certificate of Deposit:    $2164.44
• Pay Pal Acct:                          0.00
• TOTAL:                          $7389.21

Treasurer’s report approved by board.  Charts were presented as part of the report.  It was recommended and agreed that the charts should be presented to the membership at the next RAS meeting.

There was a question regarding the reasons behind the need for insurance, and if the insurance is for injuries occurring at all RAS events.

Observatory Report:

• John Barnett has reported that the fence is still deteriorating and falling down.  Our legal representative has been attempting to speak with Thalhimers Corporation, the owners of the adjoining shopping center.
• Dave Credicott’s son will be spending time patching up the fence as a scouting activity.  Our legal representative states it is OK for now. 
• The observatory staff has 3 new members and recently had a computer donated to the observatory.
• Another Open House is scheduled for Nov 22, weather permitting.  John reported that weather has allowed only 3 RAS open houses this year.
• John and Joe Hetmanski have spent some time speaking with 2 electrical engineers about the use of Solar energy to help complement electrical power to the observatory.  If ever used, RAS will not cancel its account with Dominion Power.  RAS power line runs 0.5 miles through the woods.  The necessary battery arrangement would provide a trickle charge, and would probably not be noticed in the electrical bill.
• This was investigated to provide a means to keep the telescope dry and prevent humidity build-up in the case of a long-term electrical power outage.
• The insurance adjuster inspected the observatory and was impressed with the new flooring around the base of the telescope.

Education Report (Jim Browder) :

• John Raymond is the RAS Outreach coordinator and has scheduled and held several public skywatches at various places including schools, nursing homes, and neighborhoods.  John will continue to provide this service during 2010.
• The regional Science Fair will be held in Powhatan this year.  RAS has an on-going practice of giving monetary prizes to impressive projects that support study into Astronomical research.  David Medici will be the lead RAS representative to judge the projects involving Astronomy and similar studies.  John Barnett and Chris McCann will also attend as RAS judges.

Library Report

• There are several issues regarding the allowed hours for the library to be open, and access to RAS books and manuscripts.

New Business:

Election of 2010 RAS officers from the new slate of board members were held.  Also assignments of monthly presentation responsibilities were decided.  Both will be listed below:

• Jim Browder       President                           December
• David Medici      Vice President                  June
• Jim Blowers        Treasurer                          April
• Chris McCann     Secretary                          August
• John Barnett        Observatory Director       January
• Gary Cowardin                                             November
• Bill Jeffries                                                   October
• Jeff Pike                                                       September
• Prashant Reddy                                            July
• Tim Streagle                                                 May
• Betty Wilson                                                 March
• Ken Wilson                                                   February

• Virginia Eckert was appointed to continue as librarian for 2010.
• John Raymond was appointed to continue as our Outreach Coordinator for 2010.

• There was a brief discussion about the database of past presentations.  It can be accessed through an existing link on the RAS webpage.
• A goal has been set to provide Jim Browder (and the remainder of the Board) with our tentative presentation topic during the first couple of months in 2010.

• There are several issues regarding the allowed hours for the library to be open, and access to RAS books and manuscripts.  We have over 600 volumes of books and manuscripts in our possession.  After board discussion, we will attempt to have 2 RAS representatives meet with SMV officials to discuss our questions and concerns.

Reminders:

• 60th anniversary RAS dinner: Date Friday December 4th.  Place: Holiday Inn on Staples Mill Road, near Staples Mill and West Broad Street.
• The cost is $30 a person.  Provide payments to Jim Browder or Jim Blowers by Nov 30.  John Barnett and others are assembling some historical material for display, while Gary Cowardin is providing audio/visual equipment.  Bill Jeffries has scheduled our speaker for the evening to be Jim Condon from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville.  The topic of his talk will be “Weighing a Black Hole”.
• Thanks was given to all that have helped, including Preston Kirby for researching the possible dinner locations.
• The anniversary dinner will take place of the regular December meeting and will be RAS’s 723^rd consecutive monthly meeting.

• We briefly discussed the group purchase of the RASC Observer’s Handbooks.  After looking at the 2008 and 2009 versions, we decided we needed to approach the membership before deciding.  Motion was table.

• Tim Streagle presented a legal insurance agreement for the RAS Board to consider.  If accepted, RAS would be legally covered for any liability concerns at events held at the Boy Scout Camp in Goochland.  The main concern would be for the allowance of minors at events.  It will be passed on to our legal representative for their approval.

Next Board meeting will be Monday, February 15^th, 2010 at Extra Billy’s at 7pm.  If you want to come early for dinner, come by at 6pm.

• Meeting was adjourned at 8:47pm.

We really could not have the fine organization we do without the directors who handle the administration, planning, accounting and budgeting for our club and without those who coordinate and staff our skywatches, keep our observatory in good shape, take care of our library, prepare our SCC documents, support Astronomy Day and much more.  Thanks also to Leslie Bochenski of the Science Museum for serving as our liaison with the museum, making sure we have the access and audio visual support needed for our meetings.

We simply do not say thank you often enough to those who give their time to the RAS.  So let’s be sure to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all those who share their knowledge and skills with us and to all those who attend our meetings and support our events.

The new board of directors for 2010 is listed below.  The officers for 2010 were elected from the board of directors at the November board meeting in accordance with our by-laws.

John Barnett (Observatory Director)
Jim Blowers (Treasurer)
Jim Browder (President)
Gary Cowardin
Bill Jeffries
Chris McCann (Secretary)
David Medici (Vice President)
Jeff Pike
Prashant Reddy
Tim Streagle
Betty Wilson
Ken Wilson

Image of the Ragland Observatory Telescope in Action from the RAS Archives

Our 60^th anniversary celebration dinner will be held on Friday, December 4^th, starting at 6:00 PM at the Holiday Inn on Staples Mill Road (2000 Staples Mill Road, near the intersection of Staples Mill and Broad Street).  We will be reminiscing about our long distinguished history and enjoying a presentation by Jim Condon on “Weighing a Black Hole.”  Jim is with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory headquartered in Charlottesville.

The cost of the dinner is $30 per person.  This covers a 3-entrée dinner, cost of the meeting room and some wonderful door prizes that we will be giving away.  If you plan to attend, please send your money right away to Jim Blowers at the address below or pay by PayPal through our web site.  If paying by check, be sure to note with your payment that it is for the anniversary dinner and drop Jim an e-mail to let him know your check is on the way at treasurer@richastro.org.  We are required to provide an accurate count of the attendees to the hotel by November 30, so we need your payment right away if you plan to attend and we really hope you do!

Send payments ($30 per person) to:

Jim Blowers
4514 Foxwood Rd.
Chester, VA 23831-8011

(or send payments through PayPal)

Please join us if you can.  It will be a great event and a wonderful occasion to celebrate.  Note that this event will take the place of our regular December meeting.

Dues are due! This is the time of year when we renew our membership dues.  If paying by check, please make payable to RAS and send to Jim Blowers at the address above or by PayPal on our web site.   Standard membership is $30 for the year.  Information about magazine subscriptions and observatory memberships is on the web site.

The Cleveland County, North Carolina Astronomical Society will be hosting “BobFest” on January 23, 2010.  BobFest will be held at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC which is west of Charlotte.  This year’s event will feature speakers, vendors, swap-tables, door prizes and an astrophotography/sketching contest.  More information about BobFest can be found here.

Ted Bethune has gone international! Earlier this year Ted Bethune visited the 40th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing which took place on July 20, 1969. The event was held in Washington, DC with a number of former astronauts attending. Ted was interviewed on Chinese television.  Images of the event are at this link.

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We have added a feature to our web site! Virginia Skylines, a public radio show / podcast is now available on our web site under the “Links” section on the main page of our web site or at this link.  Leslie Bochenski produces the show on a weekly basis to tell us what’s up in the sky.  Check it out when you get a chance – it’s very well done.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jim Browder
Richmond Astronomical Society