Richmond Astronomical Society
805th Consecutive Meeting
October 11, 2016
Greetings – approximately 27 in attendance at the meeting.
Jim Browder called our meeting to order in the Eureka meeting room
Announcements / Share Table
RAS Board of Directors – upcoming election
We need some shelves – we could use some shelves at our Belmead outreach facility if someone has an old set they could donate. Thanks!
Staunton River Star Party — volunteers requested to help set up at Staunton River State Park on October 23. Work includes installing red lights and red filters, envelope stuffing and observing field marking with paint and flags.
Library Report: Virginia Eckert
Welcome Visitors:
George Brenner
Events and Individual Observing:
RAS members
Science Museum
Belmead
loaner telescopes available
Science Museum of Virginia Skywatch, Friday, October 21, 6:30:
Please join RAS astronomers at the Science Museum of Virginia for a skywatch in conjunction with the Museum’s Science After Dark event. RAS astronomers will have telescopes deployed in front of the Museum for visitors to see celestial objects visible in the night sky.
East Coast Star Party, Coinjock, NC, October 20-22: Kent Blackwell is kindly hosting his East Coast Star Party again this Fall at the Hampton Lodge Campground which offers casual stargazing in a coastal environment with the most fun-loving astronomers anywhere. Pre-registration is not required. Fees are $20 for star party registration, $20 per night camping fee (additional fee for RN sites). Contact Kent for more information at Kent@exis.net.
Powhatan State Park Skywatch, Saturday, October 22, 8:00 PM: Please join us at the trail head parking area for a skywatch under the dark skies of Powhatan. Once you enter the park drive to the end of the state road maintenance and turn left into the trail head parking area. A Google map to the skywatch location is at https://goo.gl/maps/UWShywTzf5D2
Staunton River Star Party, October 24-30, Staunton River State Park: Registration deadline is October 17! For those that have not previously attended, this is an excellent star party with dark skies, convenient amenities and a state park staff that is very welcoming to astronomers and second to none in their dedication to making this a successful event.
Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies (VAAS),
Saturday, October 29, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM Roanoke College, Salem, VA:
VAAS 2016 will be hosted by the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society, of Roanoke, Virginia, and the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics of Roanoke College at the Roanoke College Colket Center in Salem, Virginia, with a possible observing session afterward.
More info at http://www.rvasclub.org/vaas20l6 .
Please let us know if you are going by dropping a message to president@richastro.org.
Powhatan State Park Skywatch, Saturday, November 5, 6:30 PM: Please join us at the trail head parking area for a skywatch under the dark skies of Powhatan. Once you enter the park drive to the end of the state road maintenance and turn left into the trail head parking area. A Google map to the skywatch location is at https:J/goo.gl/maps/UWShywTzf5D2.
RAS Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, November 8, 7:30 PM, Science Museum of Virginia: Please join us for the meeting and, if you can, for dinner before the meeting about 6:00 PM at Chicken Fiesta across the street from the Museum.
For those that cannot attend the meeting in person, we will stream video of the meeting (internet bandwidth permitting) at:
http://ustream.tv/channel/richastro/
Belmead in Peril! An update on the anticipated sale of Belmead is available on our richastro.org web site at http://richastro.org/index.php/blog/belmead-update/.
A new non-profit organization has been created to hopefully preserve this important site! Information on how you can help is at: http://www.belmeadonthejames.com/contact
Break
Presentation: The Story of the Staunton River Star Party — an Interview with Jayme Hanzak, President of the Chapel Hill, NC, Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS)