Terry Barker, Author at Richmond Astronomical Society

March 2016 Meeting Minutes

November 28, 2019May 9, 2016 by Terry Barker

Richmond Astronomical Society 798th Consecutive Meeting March 8, 2016 Greetings – approximately 30 in attendance at the meeting. Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room Announcements / Share Table: Astronomical League Youth Award (see www.astroleague.org for more information): Youth imaging award — deadline March 31 2016 Mercury Transit and Astronomy … Read more

February 2016 Meeting Minutes

November 28, 2019May 9, 2016 by Terry Barker

Richmond Astronomical Society 797th Consecutive Meeting February 9, 2016 Greetings – approximately 31 in attendance at the meeting. Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room Announcements/Share Table Astronomical League Youth Award (see www.astroleague.org for more information): Youth imaging award — deadline March 31 2016 James River State Park — Dark … Read more

January 2016 Meeting Minutes

November 28, 2019May 9, 2016 by Terry Barker

Richmond Astronomical Society 796th Consecutive Meeting January 12, 2016 Greetings – approximately 25 in attendance at the meeting. Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room Announcements/Share Table Astronomical League Youth Award (see www.astroleague.org for more information): Youth imaging award — deadline March 31, 2016 National Young Astronomer Award — deadline … Read more

December 2015 Meeting Minutes

November 28, 2019May 9, 2016 by Terry Barker

Richmond Astronomical Society 795th Consecutive Meeting December 8, 2015 Greetings – approximately 25 in attendance at the meeting. Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room Announcements / Share Table • 2016 Astronomical calendars are for sale from Jim Blowers, for $6.50 each. Events and Individual Observing: • RAS member observing … Read more

November 2015 Meeting Minutes

November 28, 2019May 9, 2016 by Terry Barker

Richmond Astronomical Society 794th Consecutive Meeting November 10, 2015 Greetings – approximately 41 in attendance at the meeting. Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room Announcements / Share Table • Dues are due: RAS dues for next year are due by the end of 2015. Please pay your dues payment … Read more

Belmead in Peril!

May 7, 2016 by Terry Barker

Big news about Belmead in Powhatan! As many of you know, we have developed a partnership over the past few years with Belmead in Powhatan, a beautiful, historic and relatively convenient dark sky location. We have held joint observing and outreach education events at Belmead near the mansion and at more light-shielded sites on the property. Unfortunately, the owners of the property, Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Philadelphia, have decided to sell the entire 2,200 acre tract. The local Virginia staff at Belmead was not involved in the decision and this turn of events was very much a surprise to them. More information is presented in this article by Laura McFarland in the RTD and Powhatan Today.

A Change.org petition has been created to request reconsideration of the decision to sell. Please consider signing the petition to support efforts to preserve Belmead. A link to the petition is here.

November 2015 Board Meeting Minutes

February 12, 2016 by Terry Barker

RAS Board Meeting November 16, 2015 President Jim Browder called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm. Attendees (10): • Jim Browder, President • Matthew Roy, Vice President • Jim Blowers, Treasurer • Chris McCann, Secretary • Gary Cowardin • Michael Pitchford • John Raymond, Observatory Director • Mike Lico • Ken Wilson • Betty … Read more

Dust off your blink comparators – there may be a Planet Nine!

January 24, 2016 by Terry Barker

When Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, he painstakingly photographed portions of the sky using a 13-inch telescope at Lowell Observatory and compared images from successive nights, looking for objects that showed movement between images. Objects that moved over the course of a night would be within in our solar system.

Mr. Tombaugh used a device called a blink comparator which allows the operator to view two photographic images, rapidly switching between the two. The human eye-brain combination is exceptionally good at seeing changes in the images. Objects that showed movement could be noted for further investigation. Any moving body that appeared where no object was known to exist would be a candidate for an undiscovered asteroids or planet.

2016 Star Parties

January 14, 2016 by Terry Barker

Lots of star party opportunities in the mid-Atlantic region. Below are the ones for which we have information. If you would like another event to be listed, please send a note to president@richastro.org. __________________________ Staunton River Star Party, March 9-13, Staunton River State Park: Registration is now open for the spring installment of the Staunton … Read more

Slooh Community Observatory

January 10, 2016 by Terry Barker

The Slooh Community Observatory recently contacted RAS to make available Slooh’s live video feed on our website. Slooh covers events of astronomical interest, hosts interviews with astronomers and space scientists and presents live telescope views during imaging runs from Slooh’s remote telescopes. Below is the link to the live Slooh video feed: If you want … Read more