CAS Meeting Minutes

March 5, 2008

Attendance: ~25

Speaker: Dr. Daniel Wik

Topic: Galaxy Clusters

Club Business:

• 63 paid active members

• Checking account: $2,869.55

• Dues were due In December $30 / $35 / $20

• See Larry Saunders for information on discounted subscriptions to Astronomy and Sky and Telescope - There has been a change in procedure -

• 5 Club Scopes available for use by members

- 10” dob [newly rebuilt by master OTMer John Avellone],

- Orion refractor w/Ha filter option,

- Dynamax 8” SC,

- PST CaK

- Meade ETX 90

See Vice President John Dedecker for more information about borrowing a scope.

Coming Attractions:

Mar. 9 – Spring Forward

Mar. 13 – Gamma Normid Meteors

Mar. 20 – Vernal Equinox

Mar. 29 – National Dark Sky week starts

April 25 - Fan Mountain Open House! 7 – 11 pm

April 27 – NRAOP Open House

Club Observing:

Saturday, Mar. 8

Messier Marathon Session at Susan Bender’s House

Club Outreach:

- Mar 6, (tomorrow) Piedmont Regional Science Fair @ UVa

9AM - 2:30PM.

- Mar 14, Cub Scout Pack 222. Dr. Gorman presents, Wes operates Clark, Steve StellaCam.

- Mar 20, Cub Scout Pack 75 at Broadus-Wood Elementary in Earlysville. Rich.

- Mar 28, 40 Uva students, 15 kids from Richmond Boys & Girls Club. John Dedecker presents, Bill & Wes operate Clark.

- Mar 29, KidVention (Discovery Museum) at the Pavilion on the Downtown Mall, 9AM - 2PM. Rich.

- Mar 29, Boy Scouts Camporee at Montpelier, 4 - 10 PM.

Rich & Wes.

Club Projects:

Occultation Team:

Rich Drumm – Coordinator – nothing new to report

Fan Mountain 10” Astrograph:

Bill Phillips – nothing new to report

Light Pollution Action Committee will meet with BOS Sally Thomas

Show and Tell

John Avellone gave a thumb-nail review and passed around a copy of the new “Cambridge Atlas of the Stars”

Up-Coming Speakers:

- April -

Dr. Robert T. Rood:

Topic TBA!

- May -

Dr. Shiv Kumar:

"Star Formation Processes versus

Planet Formation Processes"

- June -

Dr. Greg Black:

Radar Astronomy

- July -

(tentative) Dr. Laurence Fredrick

On Gliese 710

Club Retreat:

Sept 26, 27 & 28 2008

At Bear Mountain Lodge, Highland County, VA

Mark your calendars!

Website of the Month:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL7c3SfFvKw

Atom - The Clash of the Titans - Part 1

Professor Jim Al-Khalili

Door Prize Winners:

Ken Harker – NRAO memory stick

Sterve Layman – NRAO CD

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Layman, CAS Secretary

slayman2528@comcast.net

http://www.cvilleastro.org/