Category: Meeting Minutes

by Bill Engberg

-Dollar for Dollar MATCH every donation to CAAS …via PAYPAL

I believe in our amazing group of Amateur Astronomers so much, and us using PayPal to take in Donations , Dues , TShirt money, etc.; that I will personally MATCH every donation $1 for $1, no matter what the size of your donation though Feb28 up to $100.00 total

Simply go to PayPal.com, login, and click on “Send Money” and then send it to treasurer@caasastro.org You can even pay with your Credit Card!

I’ll report to the entire group how much comes in during the next 2 weeks and the names of the donors (unless you wish to remain anonymous).

-Who was at the Meeting?

The best news during the Feb 13^th Meeting was the attendance of 4 new members. Please welcome them the next time you see them.     (p.s. for these new members:  –How do you want your name written on the Name Tags I’m making for everyone?)

There were 16 people at the meeting:

Don Lewis,  Jim and Samantha Dixon, Rocky and Carol Togni, Don and Carolaina Ferren, Lev Guter (New member!), Carl Freyaldenhoven, Rick Friday (New member!), Michelle Stinson (New member!), Paul Deeter, Gentleman in ball cap (sorry missed your name), John Reed, Kevin Krug  (New member!), and me  … your humble scribe.

-DUES via PayPal

If you owe dues, simply go to PayPal.com, login, and click on “Send Money” and then send it to treasurer@caasastro.org -or- mail a check to our treasurer:  

Andy Reed, 312 Maranes Circle, Maumelle, AR  72113

-Photo Log

John Reed took excellent photos of the meeting:    http://tinyurl.com/y8qkhwt

-TShirts

Order your TShirts before 28Feb… buy now, because we are getting a HUGE discount with this first big order. AFTER the initial discounted order is placed, price will probably increase to about $15-$18, so get one now while it is inexpensive!          Mail the check to Andy Reed -or- PayPal the funds as described above.

Tell him the size you want via email (andy.reed72@gmail.com)

$12.10   up to XXL

$14.10   3XL and larger

We passed a motion to buy from our CAAS Treasury funds:   FIVE “Large”,  FIVE “XL” T-shirts for future buyers and members. They will sell for about $15 (so get yours while it is cheap!)

-Hubble Over Flight visible at meeting!

Carl tipped us off that the Hubble Space Telescope was making a flyby. Funny quote of the evening (in best Austin Powers voice) “I’m looking with my naked eye, at a telescope… in space… and I’m not using a telescope…and it’s freaking me out, man!”

We all got to see it travel from West to East in the southern hemisphere of the sky. Thank you Carl!

-Lawn Care Donation via PayPal

Special thanks to Don and Carolaina Ferren for donating $20 for Wade’s project to hire a trimming and lawn care/brush cutter service (about $130 needed?)     I also donated $20 and hope you will to.

Cut all the brush = Better viewing  +  keeps the bugs far away!

Simply go to PayPal.com or mail a check.

-Presentation

I gave a Power Point Presentation on “How to build a telescope”

There were so many great questions, the 20 minute brief took almost an hour. The presentation used images taken by Wade and Danny ( awesome photos, fellas !!! )

Later, an “in depth photo journal” was shared for people that really wanted to get deep into the details and pitfalls of building a Dobsonian reflector with a 24″ mirror.

-Need your ideas for my Radio Show on Wed/Sat nights (Perryville 96.5 KQIX)

Every week I host a radio show, but I need your ideas on ASTRONOMY RELATED TOPICS. Help!

-Driving Directions

I’m making an improved set of driving directions for our members. Hopefully even more will attend our meetings, when they have easy to read/easy to follow directions that can be downloaded from our website!  They will be complete with:

Photos of “turn points/intersections”

Odometer measurements between turn points

Google map

by Bill Engberg

17 Degrees….Kelvin

Tonight was a great night at CAAS for friendship, camaraderie, all the delicious chili you could hope to eat, and to watch an excellent documentary, with a few people doing some winter observing after. In attendance were: Carolaina and Don Ferren, Andy Reed, Carl Freyaldenhoven, John Reed, Eric Walker, Allen Lee, Sandy Pat, Coy Scott, and me… your humble scribe.

Our new President, Carolaina, started the year off right bringing lots of energy and she hit the ground running with club business, fun future goals and projects.

• Club T-Shirts- Allen Lee volunteered to get info on “bulk costâ€? from a T-Shirt printer in Sherwood. We all talked about how nice it would be to all have a cool looking “club shirtâ€? for members only that has “glow in darkâ€? printing as an outline on a 2-color ink design.  Non-members will get to buy a different color or style. Free T to the person who volunteers to be main point of contact for the T-shirt printing! Who would like to get that free T-Shirt and be a club hero for heading this fun project?

• Related to that, does anyone have any contacts with the staff or teachers at a local Middle and High School? We’d like to involve as many schools as possible for “CAASâ€? logo design, which will also be used on the T-Shirt, as well as get a digital image created of the “Red Riverâ€? logo which is on our entry sign. Do we already have a digital “Red Riverâ€? logo?

• 2010 Dues were paid by those attending (http://www.caasastro.org/join-caas ). If you missed the meeting, please mail dues to Andy Reed. Andy, please email your address.

• Calendar events and some future CAAS presentations were determined:
  • Feb 13 (club meeting) –  Bill Engberg will present “How to plan/build a telescopeâ€?
  • Mar 13 (club meeting) –  Don Ferren  will present “How to do a Messier Marathonâ€? which interested parties can do that same night!
  • Mar 20 – Woolly Hollow State Park Star Party (in lieu of club meeting)
  • Apr 10 – (club meeting)
  • Apr 24 – Astronomy Day (Pinnacle Mountain State Park)
  • Email us what other events you think should be put on our calendar.

• Glow in the Dark Name Tag pins for everyone!!   I’ve volunteered to get them made. Need to have everyone who wants one, please email me their “preferred nameâ€? as you want it printed. We will keep the name tags on a foam board in the Club House.   –  It is important that we help break the ice (when we have visitors / new members) and make them feel welcome with everyone wearing their Glow In The Dark name tag during the meetings and when observing. This way, newcomers can relax and call us by name, rather than feel awkward when trying to learn 30 new names in one night and having only “Hey youâ€? to call out to people.

• Jim Fisher provided us an update:   Mayor sent 2 notes requesting that they use IDA Approved lights that are “Full Cut Off.â€?   We learned that the city’s Phase1 (due to budget problems) are planned to have no lights to be installed at all at soccer fields, so we have time to engage them.

The temperatures were legendary last night. 17 Degrees…wow that is cold. It felt like it was 17 Degrees on the Kelvin scale.  We all had to walk around pools of liquid nitrogen to get into the club house. Okay…maybe not…, but the temps felt like it.

We watched a brand new and just released excellent PBS documentary on “400 Years of the Telescope.â€?  (Thank you Jim Fisher for your generous donation to our video library!)

Then, Carl and I did some binocular observing; saw a huge meteor… slow, big, bright and the bolide left a thick orange trail as it arced past Mars to the east.

John Reed brought out his fantastic camera with macho wide angle lens  http://tinyurl.com/ygvgwkz and captured Orion and some other brilliant celestial objects in the nights sky. If you’ve ever seen the scary SciFi movie “The Thingâ€? with Kurt Russell, we think John Reed captured a view ( in image #8 ) of one of those hideous alien creatures standing in front of the “dome observatory.â€? For comparison: http://tinyurl.com/ycpmr5a You be the judge…scary!

A great time was had by all. We can’t wait to see you all out for the next meeting on 13 Feb. I promise it will be warmer by then.

Always remember, CAAS is our family. We stick together as a family should. If anyone ever has good news to share or needs help, we are always here for each other. Come to us in good times and in rough times. On the day we all pass on, what makes us rich isn’t the money in a bank… what makes us rich are the friendships we have made and memories we have created with each other. I’m so proud to be a member of such a great group of people: articulate, friendly, trustworthy, funny, creative and skilled in so many areas.

I wish you all a blessed New Year.

Bill Engberg

Club Scribe

///—  Club Meeting Minutes for 9Jan2010  —///

The 2009 Central Arkansas Astronomical Society (CAAS) Annual Meeting marked the end of the rainiest, cloudiest astronomy season on record. ¹ Eighteen members braved mild weather and darkness to attend the festivities. After socializing and sampling seasonal fare, we got down to CAAS business and elected next year’s officers and board members.

They are as follows:

• President: Carolaina Ferren.
• Vice-President: Jim Fisher.
• Treasurer: Andy Reed.
• Secretary: Bill Engberg.
• Board Members:  Carl Freyaldenhoven, Don Lewis, John Reed,  and Rocky Togni.

After the voting, we also discussed our new membership in the International Dark Sky Association and some other items of interest for the coming year.
We closed the 2009 Annual Meeting at about 8:30.

¹ Based on data collected from a window next to my desk in West Little Rock.