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Auburn Astronomical Society E-Newsletter September, 2005 In this Issue
There will be no first Friday meeting. The 25 year anniversary banquet will be this month’s meeting will be on Saturday, September 10, at the W. A. Gayle Planetarium in Montgomery. (See details below.) Our dark-sky star party this month will be on the Saturday before – this Saturday, September 3, at Cliff Hill’s farm, clouds permitting of course. September 2, NO first Friday meeting. The
banquet will be the meeting.
Our 25-year anniversary banquet will be on Saturday, September 10, and will serve as our September meeting. Our speaker, Dr. David T. King Jr., will give a presentation on the latest findings at the Wetumpka meteor crater. Rick Evans is graciously allowing us to use the facilities at the W. A. Gayle Planetarium for the banquet and presentation. This date falls within two days of the actual first AAS meeting, 25 years ago. :-) Arrangements have been made with Capitol Grill , in Montgomery, to cater the event. The meal will be buffet style, offering your choice of grilled chicken or roast beef; sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, and a cauliflower etc. mix; bread; salad; and bread pudding for dessert. The drink will be water or unsweetened tea with sugar or diet sweetener; for $10.00 per person. We will begin eating at 6:00PM with David’s presentation beginning at around 7:00PM. Friends and families are encouraged to attend. Dress will be casual. Wear your AAS shirt if you have one. I gave an estimate of 40 people with a specific number as we receive commitments from the membership. As you can see below, we’re only about half way there. AAS treasurer, John Zachry has sent the owner a $150.00 deposit with the balance to be paid on the night of the banquet. So far, the following members have sent their
payments for the banquet:
Send $10.00 per person to: Auburn Astronomical Society Dave McConnell has the PST, and Ryan Dowdy has the 8-inch. Let Rhon know if you’d like to reserve your time with either. From:
mlewis457@comcast.net
Dear Russell,
Thanks for your note. You are quite welcome to attend our star party next weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend, as I will be in Atlanta for the weekend. I trust that you've already found the map and directions. It's a pretty long drive from Alex City. If the weather is marginal, you might want to check out the Russell Amphitheater. It's bee quite a while since we visited there, but the last time we were there it offered quite a scenic view of the lake and sky. Maps to both are under the "Star Party" link on the navigational menu of the AAS Web page. If you do opt for the Cliff Hill site there should be others eager to join you, since we haven't had decent weather for a star party weekend for several months. If you're familiar with Alabama skies in the summer, you'll know what I mean. I hope you have clear skies, and look us up when you're down this way again. Russell\ Have you been wanting to have your own observatory? Because it’s of little use as a research facility due to the light pollution, Yerkes Observatory, the home of the world's largest refractor about an hour north of Chicago, is under threat of sale and possible demolition. You can help save it. http://www.saveyerkes.com The Deep South Regional Star Gaze, which from its inception in 1986, has been at the Percy Quin State Park in McComb MS, is/was to have a new home beginning next month. That was before Hurricane Katrina passed through. We won’t know if there will be a DSRSG this year, or if anything remains at Camp Ruth Lee, its putative new location. Keep up with the changing events at: http://www.stargazing.net/dsrsg/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Deep-South-Regional-Star-Gaze/ Look very low in the west-southwest as twilight fades to pick up Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets. As of Tuesday the 30th they're just 2.2 degrees apart. On Thursday, September 1st, they're in conjunction 1.2 degrees from each other. That's hardly the width of your finger at arm's length. Venus is the brighter of the two. Much fainter Spica is off to their left: http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance The AAS
History Page is still a work in progress (up through 1997, now), you
may enjoy looking back to see where we’ve been. If you have photo’s
or memories to contribute, please send them to me.
Hoping to see everyone at the banquet, Russell
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