Meetings

Richmond Astronomical Society

731st Consecutive Meeting

August 10, 2010

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

Greeting & Announcements – approximately 25 in attendance at the meeting.

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

Thanks to the many email responses who were willing to help with the telescope training for the Midlothian family.

There is a new link on the RAS website about a girl named Sydney, who asked her dad Mark (one of our members) if they could build a telescope.  They are doing that and have set up a web site, http://mysite.verizon.net/mhmabry/Crimson/Telescope.html , to chronicle their adventure and their progress.  Mark has also set up an email address for comments/suggestions:  sydney.telescope.blog@gmail.com.   It looks like they are going to have loads of fun with this project and have already made a lot of progress.  We look forward to the next update.  Be sure to stop by their blog and say hello.

Share table:

Photographs taken by a member; Televue eyepieces; and a lost water bottle from the July meeting

Past Events:

The Science Museum Skyday Night event on July 16^th was very successful.  Approximately 400 people attended the event which included the RAS skywatch.  Several of the RAS members were there to help, including Gary, Jim Browder, Cal, and Alan.  I apologize if I left others out.

Several members mentioned that they had been observing and has viewed several objects, including Jupiter and solar observing using a SunGun.

Upcoming Events:

Perseid meteor shower peaks this coming Thursday night/Friday morning (10/12-13)

Please contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can help with any of these events:

• Bryan Park Meteor Watch – August 12, 8:00 PM.
• Skywatch at the Montpelier Center – August 13, 7:30 PM.  For directions and information see http://www.montpeliercenter.org/.
• Battersea Foundation (Petersburg) Skywatch – August 26, 8:00 PM     For directions and information see http://www.batterseafound.org.
• Dinwiddie on Sept 4.
• Scotchtown in Hanover County on Friday, Sept 24

 

Science Museum Skywatch / LiveSky show – August 20.  LiveSky will be held at 6:00pm.  Please sign up if you can bring a scope.

An open house is scheduled for Wednesday, August 18^th at the Ragland Observatory Open House, weather permitting.  Watch the Richastro Yahoo group for updates.
A job opening was found through Cornell University, for a telescope pointer at Arecibo.  Anyone interested?

VAAS: October 9 at Roanoke College.  More information later.

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):

John Barnett has asked Chris McCann to hosting an open house for members and guests on Wednesday, August 18^th at 8:30pm.  Weather advisory and a reminder will be emailed to all members.

Thanks to Reed and Dave for cutting the grass in July.

Contact Jim Blowers to update your email address if it has changed.

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Richmond Astronomical Society

729th Consecutive Meeting

June  8, 2010

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Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka room.  This meeting was going to have a different format – business first, the main presentation, and then after the break, the short talk.

Greeting & Announcements – approximately 43 in attendance at the meeting.

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

Share table:

Jim Browder is a celebrity.  Jim displayed an ad for Astronomy Technology, and showed us a photo of him, but it’s a small photo in the lower corner of the ad. 

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

There were a few photos for anyone to look at.

A license plate holder that goes on the back of a car was on the table.  It was a recent purchase from the RAS Café Press store.  The shop can be found at http://www.cafepress.com/RichAstroShop .

Past Events:

Science Museum Skywatch was a success on May 21.

Ken Wilson talked about sighting Comet McNaught in the SE sky.

Terry Barker and others mentioned the pairing of Mars and Venus close to each other.

Upcoming Events:

The next Science Museum Skywatch/LiveSky show is June 18.  Please sign-up if you are available to attend and bring a scope.
Skywatch at Willow Oaks Country Club on Friday June 11. Rain date is July 9. 

Cub Scout Twilight Camp at Fairfield Prebyterian Church on Tuesday June 22.  Rain date is June 25.

ECVAR (East Coast Video Astronomy Rendevous) in Luray, Virginia on June 10-13.  Please see http://sites.google.com/site/ecvar2010/  for more information.

Green Bank StarQuest in Green Bank, WV on July 7-10.  Please see http://www.greenbankstarquest.org/  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)

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

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.

June’s Presentation: “News in the World of Weather Forecasting” by John Bernier

John Bernier spoke about many aspects of the weather affecting our lives and environment.  He started off his presentation by asking about a very active political topic:  “Climate Change – Fact? Fiction? Fantasy?”  He used the beliefs of Al Gore to take the side of there is global warming, Ken Cuchinelli to side with no global warming, and Sargent Schultz (from Hogan’s Heroes) to take the middle ground using Schultz’s well-known line of “I know nothing!”.  Very effective!

Since the dawn of time, we have had 7 ice ages, where the warmer periods have lasted longer than the colder periods.  Sometime during the warmer periods, it has been warm enough for the dinosaurs to venture up to the Arctic. 

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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 15^th, he will email a weather advisory and a reminder to all members. Contact Jim Blowers to update yours if it has changed.

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Richmond Astronomical Society

727th Consecutive Meeting

April 13, 2010

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

Greeting & Announcements – approximately 38 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, and a newly purchased telescope and stand by David Medici.

Cal had an interesting planetary chart depicting the relative positions of the planets to the sun, throughout the year.  There were a few free magazines for any interested members.  I did not get to see them, but someone brought a few photos they had taken through their telescope.

Past Events:

Thanks to everyone who helped out with the last Skywatch at the Science Museum on Friday, March 19.  The event was well attended.  There was an estimated crowd of over 150.   Observed objects included Saturn, Mars, and Orion.

Yuri’s Night at the Westover Hills Library was a success with over 200 people.  There was a great turnout with observations made of Orion, Saturn, and Mars.

Metro Richmond Science Fair at Powhatan High – Terry Barker presented cash prizes for 4 good Astronomy projects:

1. Justin Lau, The Effect of Solar Wind Speed on the Strength of Geomagnetic Substorms.
2. Isaac Steincamp, Celestial Motion: The Difference Between Stellar and Planetary Motion.
3. Anisha Rohatgi, The Effect of Distance of the Light Source on the Intensity of Skyglow.
4. Zachary and Benjamin Terner, The Effects of Coronal Mass Ejection on Muon Event Frequency at a Local High School.

Several members volunteered their adventures into their individual observing.  A few mentioned they had observed the Mercury/Venus conjunction, and others had been out to Big Meadows for some dark skies.  One member announced they had been to the Powhatan observing site and was approached by someone saying he was the one who got the site started at Powhatan.

The March 26^th Skywatch at Scotchtown was rained out.  There are 2 more scheduled for later in the fall of 2010.  Contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can help.

Upcoming Events:

The next RAS/SMV LiveSky and skywatch is scheduled for Friday April 16.  LiveSky starts at 6pm, while the skywatch will start shortly after sunset.  Expect a report on the blog page.

Astronomy Day 2010 is planned for April 24 at the Science Museum.  Final plans and the corresponding personnel were announced for door prizes, greeter table, meteorite exhibit, brochures, night sky photography, International Dark Sky Society (Laura Graham), space suit demo, bottle rocket launcher, solar telescopes, radio telescope, making sundials, a starlab planetarium, a scale model of the solar system, and a 2pm presentation by Anne Verbiscer in the forum!  Due to other plans at the SMV, no skywatch will be held for this year’s Astronomy Day. 

Stargazing at FiveForks on April 24 at 8pm.

Skywatch at Woodlake on April 30 at 7:30pm. Contact John Raymond if interested in helping.

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 will be hosting an open house at the RAS Ragland Observatory on April 28, starting at 8:00 PM.  The waxing gibbous moon will be visible during the early evening, and Saturn will be visible.

The property fence around the RAS observatory is expected to be completed by the Hercules Fencing company before the open house.

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Richmond Astronomical Society

726th Consecutive Meeting

March 9, 2010

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

Greeting & Announcements – approximately 29 in attendance at the meeting.

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

Share table:

Several articles about the Moon and about the recent Mars approach, were available for reading.

Several eyepieces were also there for examining and also purchasing.  There was also donated telescope hardware, free to a good home.  Most was gone before I got a chance to see it.

There was an announcement about an annual public study involving dark sky measurements.  This year was from March 3-16. The following description was taken from  www.globeatnight.org :

GLOBE at Night is an annual 2-week campaign in March. People all over the world record the brightness of their night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Orion with star maps of progressively fainter stars. They submit their measurements on-line and a few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide. Over the last four GLOBE at Night campaigns, volunteers from over 100 nations have contributed 35,000 measurements.

If you missed it, keep it in mind for next year.

Reminder:  In a recent meeting, Ottewell Astronomical Calendars were on display. 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:

Thanks to everyone who helped out with the last Skywatch at the Science Museum on Friday, February 19.  The event was well attended as was the January skywatch.  At one point, there were 10 telescopes and 1 pair of binoculars, for use with the crowd of an estimated 150.  

“A great night” was had by all at a recent skywatch at Brandermill.  The estimated 40 people enjoyed the views through the telescopes.

Bill Jeffries was telling us about an extremely clear night on the Duck River about a month ago.  The rough thing about the night was a 24 degree temperature reading.

 

Upcoming Events:

Outreach events: On Friday, March 26^th, RAS will have a skywatch at Scotchtown in Hanover County.  You may recognize Scotchtown as the Hanover County home of Patrick Henry.  It is scheduled to start at 7:30pm.  There are 2 more scheduled for later in the fall of 2010.  Contact John Raymond at raymond7419@verizon.net if you can help.

Astronomy Day 2010 is planned for April 24 at the Science Museum.  We are looking for volunteers to help with the activities.  We are also considering alternate plans for this year’s skywatch.  There are 2 proms scheduled at SMV on the night of our Astronomy Day.  Therefore, we need to move the skywatch to a different location, or possibly a night earlier to Friday night, the 23rd.  More information will be available later.  Probable activities for that day include solar observing through telescopes, making sundials, dark sky information, CCD astro-imaging, a starlab planetarium, a scale model of the solar system, radio telescopes information, light pollution education, a meteorite exhibit, door prizes, a life-like space suit, and the ever-popular soda bottle rocket launch!

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Richmond Astronomical Society
724th Consecutive Meeting
January 12, 2010
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Jim Browder called our meeting to order, in the IMAX Planetarium.

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.

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Richmond Astronomical Society
722nd Consecutive Meeting
November 10, 2009
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Jim Browder called our meeting to order, in the Eureka Room.
Greeting & Announcements – approximately 31 in attendance at the meeting.

Share table: Several members have things to share.
Jim Blowers had an Orion catalog to offer, and also information on a journey to the 2010 total eclipse in Kenya.
Jeff Pike had a solar scope and solar filters to be referenced during tonight’s presentation.  He also had a free camera tripod for whoever wanted it.
John Raymond had a telescope for sale that was good for both astronomical and spotting.
Jim Browder had a coffee mug that was sent to him.  The mug had “Marthatopia” printed on it and was free to anyone who wanted it.
Bill Jeffries read a very nice note from Anne Verbiscer, who wished to thank RAS for the time and attention we gave her at October’s meeting.  She gave a fantastic presentation about her discovery of the largest ring ever found around Saturn.

 

 Past Events:
Last month’s skywatch was ‘weathered’ out.
Individual observing included the viewing of the Orionids, Jupiter, and Mars.  A few members had ‘unplanned’ neighborhood observing parties (usually they are the best kind).  It was also good to hear that the Powhatan police or park rangers are checking on safety of the members at the Powhatan site.
Upcoming Events:
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 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.
Annual membership dues are due to Jim Blowers.  Membership is $30, with an additional $10 if you are on the observatory staff.  If interested in magazine subscriptions, they are $32.95 for Sky & Telescope, and $34 for Astronomy.
November SMV skywatch has been cancelled due to a conflicting event at the museum.
Matoaca High is scheduling a skywatch on Nov 26 at 6pm.
Leonid meteor shower coming soon.
Mini Star party at Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation in Goochland on November 13.
RAS Board of Directors meeting will be 7pm on Monday November 16 at Extra Billy’s. Arrive earlier for dinner.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson will be the opening speaker of the 2009-2010 season for the Richmond Forum, on November 14, 2009.   For more information, go to http://richmondforum.org/
The Cafe Press Shop is functional.  Check it out and and let us know what items you would like to add.    http://www.cafepress.com/richastroshop

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