Richmond Astronomical Society
733rd Consecutive Meeting
October 12, 2010
—–
Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka room.
Greeting & Announcements – approximately 28 in attendance at the meeting.
Please check the link to our RAS blog: http://richastro.org/index.php/category/blog/
The nominees for the 2011 RAS Board of Directors was announced:
John Barnett, Jim Blowers, Jim Browder, Gary Cowardin, Chris McCann, David Medici, Jeff Pike, Cal Pletcher, Prashant Reddy, Dave Walton, Betty Wilson, Ken Wilson.
If you are in need of RAS name tags, please contact Jim Blowers.
Check out Jey Jeyasankar’s images and video from his recent trip to Mauna Kea on the Richastro.org web site.
Share table:
- Several members had photos on display.
- John Raymond has eyepieces and a dewstrap for sale.
Past Events:
- Science Museum skywatch / outreach events : successful; Outreach events are being scheduled and are on our RAS calendar. (See upcoming events.)
- Individual observing
- VAAS 2010
- Science Museum skywatch was a success with clear skies and a “decent sized” crowd.
Upcoming Events:
- Brandermill skywatch: October 14, 7:00 PM, Swift Creek Middle School, 3700 Old Hundred Road South, Midlothian, VA. Please contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can bring a scope.
- Science Museum Skywatch / LiveSky show: October 15, LiveSky at 6:00 PM.
- RAS Fall picnic: October 16, 5:00 PM, Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation, 1723 Maidens Rd., Maidens, VA, Goochland County. See http://bradysaunders.net/camp/direct.html for directions. RAS will supply the burgers and dogs. Please bring a covered dish and let Prashant Reddy (ReddyPVA@verizon.net) know what you plan to bring. This is a rain-or-shine picnic thanks to the Scout reservation!
- City Point skywatch: October 16, 7:00 PM, Skywatch at the City Point Unit of Petersburg National Battlefield. Please contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can bring a scope.
- Montpelier skywatch: October 23, 7:30 PM, Montpelier Center for the Arts. Please contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can bring a scope.
- East Coast Star Party: October 29 – 30, Hampton Lodge Campground, Coinjock, NC. Advance registration is not required. Contact Kent Blackwell at kent@exis.net for more information.
- Fall Star Party at Camp: November 6 – The Heart of Virginia Scout Council is hosting a fall star party and the public is invited. Please see http://bradysaunders.net/camp/starparty.html for more information.
Dues announcement:
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):
RAS Observatory Open House: October 17, 8:00 PM at the Ragland Observatory. Please see http://richastro.org/index.php/observatory/ for more information. John Barnett will issue a weather update on the Yahoo e-mail list on the day of the open house if there are weather concerns.
Contact Jim Blowers to update your email address if it has changed.
Library Report: none
Short talk – ”Recognition and Re-burial of Nicolaus Copernicus,” Bill Jeffries
Break – –
August’s Presentation: “Stellar Evolution,” Leslie Bochenski
—–
Reminders:
The next RAS meeting and elections will be Tuesday, November 9th at the SMV.
The next board meeting will be Monday, 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/
Virginia Skylines: Be sure to check out the latest version of Virginia Skylines on our web site. Virginia Skylines is a weekly podcast written by Leslie Bochenski, astronomy educator with the Science Museum and Thomas Jefferson High School.
RAS Café Press store. Please take a look at the online store where you can purchase items embossed with the RAS label. The site can be found at http://www.cafepress.com/RichAstroShop .