We’ll hold our February meeting on Friday, February 3, at 7:45PM, in room 215 of Davis Hall, the Aerospace Engineering Building.   Our program this month will be presented by Chad Ellington on the topic of occultation timings. Riders from the Montgomery area are welcome to meet at the home of Russell Whigham, 518 Seminole Dr., and carpool over to Auburn.  Plan to be ready to leave for Auburn at 6:45PM. 

February 2-4, Wetumpka Crater Lecture and Tours
February 3, Monthly meeting 7:45PM, in room 215 of Davis Hall.
February 18, Star Party at Cliff Hill’s farm
March 2, March meeting, 7:45PM, in room 215 of Davis Hall.
April 28, Astronomy Day at the W. A. Gayle Planetarium

AAS memberships ($20.00/$10.00 for full-time students) were due in January. AAS members who are current on their 2012 dues are:

1. William Baugh
2. Scott & Rebecca Carnahan
3. Chad & Mary Ellington
4. Dr. Rhon Jenkins
5. J. Everett Leonard
6. Allen Screws
7. Frank Ward
8. Russell Whigham
9. Dr. Ben Wouters
10. John B. Zachry

If you don’t see your name above, and have just let this slip your mind, please make your check payable to “Auburn Astronomical Society”.  Families are covered with a single membership.  If you’re unable to attend the meeting, mail your dues to: 

Auburn Astronomical Society 
c/o John B. Zachry 
501 Summerfield Road 
West Point, GA 31833 

 The W. A. Gayle Planetarium will be 43 years old this year. Replacement parts and qualified maintenance technicians for the Spitz Space Transit Projector are increasingly difficult if not impossible to find.  Planetarium director, Rick Evans, is making a case for upgrading the facility.  He has contacted  Konica Minolta Planetarium Co., Ltd., to assist him in selling the City of Montgomery, Troy University, and Montgomery’s civic and corporate leaders, on a new facility’s ability to draw tourist.  Rick explains that planetariums, like libraries and parks are not intended to be profit driven, but that the local economy is better served if more visitors are attracted to these facilities.   To that end, Rick is planning to have a major Astronomy Day event this year and has invited Montgomery Mayor, Todd Strange, the Montgomery City Council, Chancellor of Troy University, Dr. Jack Hawkins, the Montgomery Board of Education, etc., to promote moving into the new digital age of planetariums.  An Introduction to and demonstration of Digital Full Dome Planetariums will be given by the Konica Minolta factory representative.  Following a private showing for those mentioned above, the demonstration will be repeated for the general public to be followed by telescopic viewing of the Moon and planets, courtesy of the Auburn Astronomical Society members.  Astronomy Day 2012 falls on Saturday, April 28.  Let’s help Rick all we can as this is in the best interest of AAS as well. 

Please join me in welcoming new members, Scott & Rebecca Carnahan of Auburn.

Barbara Smith of Troy, is having trouble assembling her new Celestron AstroMaster 90 equatorial refractor. If you’ll be in Troy soon and think you could help, please drop her a message at:  <barbsmith@troycable.net>

Catch a rare fly-by of near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros
<http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/A-Rare-Flyby-of-Asteroid-Eros-137273448.html>

Dr. David King Jr., Professor of Geology, Auburn University, will conduct a free public lecture on the science of the impact crater in Wetumpka on Thursday, February 2nd at 7:00 pm in the Wetumpka Civic Center, Main Street, Wetumpka.  The last I heard, the Saturday tours were filling up fast, so check before you show up.

Hoping to see everyone at the meeting, 

Russell