May Meeting Minutes

Richmond Astronomical Society

728th Consecutive Meeting

May 11, 2010

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Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka room.

Greeting & Announcements – approximately 31 in attendance at the meeting.

Please check the link to our RAS blog: http://richastro.org/index.php/category/blog/

Share table:

There were several items for sale, including a telescope, a few eyepieces by John Raymond.

There were a few free magazines and photos for anyone to look at.

Past Events:

Astronomy Day was a big success!!!!

Thanks to all members and everyone else who participated and made this another successful Astronomy Day for RAS.  Unfortunately, the clouds settled in and disrupted any solar observing that we were planning.  It appeared all attendees were enjoying themselves and really interested in all aspects of our Astronomy displays.

Science Museum Skywatch
Skywatch at Woodlake
Individual observing

Upcoming Events:

The next Science Museum Skywatch/LiveSky show is May 21.  Please sign-up if you are available to attend and bring a scope.
East Coast Star Party – May 14-15, Coinjock, NC   Expect a review of the party at the next meeting.
Skywatch at Moore Middle School, May 25, 8:30 PM (rain date is May 27, see Richastro calendar). 11455 Prince George Dr., Disputanta 23842.  Contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can help.

Stargazing at City Point May 29, 8:00 PM
City Point Unit, Petersburg Nat’l Battlefield, 1001 Pecan Avenue, Hopewell, VA (see Richastro calendar).  Contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can help.

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

Observatory Report (John Barnett)

John Barnett will be hosting an open house for members and guests on Wednesday, June 16th at 8:30pm.  On the 15th, he will email a weather advisory and a reminder to all members. Contact Jim Blowers to update yours if it has changed.

       Saturn’s moon Rhea (10th mag) will transit the planet’s disc from 7:30pm until 11pm, and Rhea’s shadow may be visible. The 4.5 day old moon, binary stars and a couple globular clusters will be the main attractions.  These monthly get togethers are a good time to bring personal scopes and get advice from other members. We have an artificial star device to test/correct collimation even if it’s cloudy!                                    

Library Report was not given.  The RAS library was moved out of the RAS recently.  At this time, it is in public storage with controlled atmospheric conditions.  An effort is in progress to find a long-term location where RAS members can easily access the library contents.

Visitors

Dennis Slocum

Quincy ?? and his Dad (attended Astronomy Day)

Al ???

Short talk

John Raymond: NEAF (Northeast Astronomy Forum) 2010 Recap

      << Will be completed when I view the video.>>

April’s Presentation:

Tim Streagle: “Outreach:  More Than Showing Off Your Gear”

      << Will be completed when I view the video.>>

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Reminders:

<<The next RAS meeting will be Tuesday, May 11th at the SMV.

<<The next board meeting will be Monday, May 17th 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/