Blog Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Richmond Astronomical Society

So what’s the weather like?

June 6, 2010 by Terry Barker

As we all know, astronomy is an extremely weather-dependent activity (unless you happen to have a space telescope at your disposal). As such, most astronomers have an interest in the weather and many of us have gained quite a bit of expertise in gauging weather conditions for a night of viewing. What better subject to … Read more

Yuri’s night at the Westover Hills Library

April 11, 2010 by Terry Barker

RAS had three telescopes at the Westover Hills Library last night, to help them celebrate Yuri’s Night-an annual worldwide party to celebrate Yuri Gagarin’s first flight into space–as well as to promote space exploration. The library highlighted many books on astronomy and space celebration, and held events for the younger kids to celebrate the night. We saw many home made flying saucers around our telescopes later in the night.

RAS and the 2010 Metro Richmond Science Fair

April 11, 2010 by Terry Barker

RAS tries to motivate students to learn about astronomy in several different ways. In addition to holding many skywatches with schools and scouting groups, we also hand out money at one of the bigger science fairs: The Metro Richmond Science Fair. This fair draws students from the greater Richmond area, and usually ends up with two or three hundred projects.

Science Museum Skywatch, Astronomy Day 2010 and Internet Star Ted Bethune

March 28, 2010 by Terry Barker

SMV Skywatch: The last skywatch at the Science Museum of Virginia was very well attended. As Terry Barker noted in his March 20th post on the event, our skywatch coincided with an event at the museum associated with the 2010 FIRST Robotics competition. Bus after bus of participants rolled into the museum parking lot. Many … Read more

Robot kids invade

March 20, 2010 by Terry Barker

Wow, we got quite a bonus at the Science Museum last night. At the beginning of our monthly skywatch, we might see a crowd of 30 or 40 people gathered around the Kugel, waiting for us to set up our telescopes. But, as I pulled up to the entrance last night, I saw a group of about 100 people standing there. And the driveway was full of buses. It turns out that the Science Museum was hosting part of this year’s 2010 FIRST Robotics competition. So, kids had come in from all over the place, including other states.

Astronomical Events for 2010

March 14, 2010 by Terry Barker

Astronomical Events for 2010: Wow! The calendar is already filling up with astronomical events for the year. Thanks to Betty Wilson we have a list of some of the more notable upcoming events. Betty discussed these during her presentation at the regular RAS meeting in March. (Image by David Medici) ___ ___ ___ ___ March … Read more

Winter Star Party Report and Thanks for the Skywatch Help

February 25, 2010 by Terry Barker

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!. … Read more

Next Meeting, New Media for Astronomers and a Lunar Occultation

February 8, 2010 by Terry Barker

Last meeting: Thanks to John Barnett for the informative presentation on the Aphelic Opposition of Mars and thanks to Bill Dickinson for allowing John to show us his outstanding images of the planet. I know I learned a lot. Even though I missed viewing Mars around the opposition, it still is quite a nice view … Read more

Thanks for a Great 2009, Good Wishes for a Great 2010, Dark Skies and More

January 18, 2010 by Terry Barker

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 … Read more

A deal on the Ottewell Calendar?

December 22, 2009 by Terry Barker

If you ‘re not familiar with the Ottewell Calendar, this may be a good way to get introduced to it. For those who are not faimiliar with this treasure, it’s a large (11 x 15 inches) paperbook compilation of information about sky events for the coming year.