Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Debbi Hayden December 1, 2002 Meeting December's Meeting has no formal program set up, but we have a lot to discuss: finalizing T-shirts, choosing a date for a telescope clinic, setting up viewing sessions both for the public in Wilmington and at Ingram Planetarium in Sunset Beach. We will also make plans for the Holiday Social! Join us before the meeting for dinner at Chili's restaurant on South College Road, at 5:15 pm. Meeting Minutes for November 10, 2002 by CFAS Secretary Terry Herrin President Si Cantwell called the meeting to order at 7:10pm. Voting for officers took place throughout the meeting. All current officers were voted unanimously to continue in their positions. Ronnie Hawes was awarded the David Maness Award and Susan B. was awarded the Society Service Award for her work on the Club Web site. The first item on the agenda was officers' reports. Ben stated that the Astronomy subscriptions have been canceled due to not meeting the minimum requirement of five. Refunds will be issued to those who have already paid. The current balances in the Club accounts are $1,439.84 in checking, $316.11 in savings and $1,129.79 in the CD. Under old business, Alan Hilburn presented the results from the t-shirt meeting that was held at 6:30pm, immediately prior to the business meeting. It was decided the Club would go with the Jacksonville company, and that six colors would be used for the screen. The 20th anniversary logo was also chosen for the shirts, and the official Club logo was voted to change from a drawing of M51 to a photograph. Also under old business, Tom Jacobs said he would look into getting a replacement lockbox for the Yamacraw site. The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the morning of 12/19/02 around 5:30am, and viewing is planned at the Holly Shelter field site, with breakfast at Perkins on College Road afterwards. A public viewing at Ingram Planetarium was discussed, possibly in February when Jupiter and Saturn are visible in the early evening. The Club decided to have the monthly meeting on 12/1/02. At that time the next public telescope clinic will be discussed. Rich Williams invited everyone to his house for a Christmas social on Saturday, 12/7/02. Those attending should plan to arrive around 6:30pm. Under new business, Si invited Thomas Grubb to give a presentation at the February meeting. Mr. Grubb designed the artwork for the centennial First in Flight celebration. His presentation will be on astronomical artwork. Brian Davis may be available to give a presentation on meteorites for January or March. Ronnie will set up a date with Johnnie Horn for a meet presentation, as well as a visit to his observatory. Continuing new business, Alan Hilburn discussed the county fair. Rich Williams and Ronnie Hawes also helped man the booth. They observed the sun and tried to view the moon through the clouds. Tom Jacobs discussed this year's Mid-Atlantic Star Party. It rained Tuesday and Wednesday, but was clear Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday was a washout. The town of Robbins has "adopted" the star party. Tom passed out some bumper stickers the town had made up, along with some flyers. About 350 people attended this year. Next year's is scheduled for 10/21/03 to 10/27/03. Ronnie Hawes also discussed MASP and the Raleigh lighting ordinance. Finishing new business, Tom Jacobs notified the Club that we are invited to a clubs only star party in Greenville, SC on 11/17/02. The meeting broke for fifteen minutes at 8:00pm. Afterward, Alan Hilburn gave a presentation on the Leonid meteor shower. After the presentation, Ronnie Hawes adjourned the meeting at 9:20pm. Congratulations to Our 2003 Club Officers! President - Si Cantwell Vice President - Rich Williams Associate Vice President - Ronnie Hawes Treasurer - Ben Steelman Secretary - Terry Herrin Newsletter Editor - Debbi Hayden News Cluster We will be holding a December meeting on the 1st, in addition to having the holiday social at Rich Williams' home on December 7th at 6:20pm. We have a lot of topics to discuss, including finalizing decisions about the 20th Anniversary T-shirts. Please be thinking of some programs for next year's meetings. It will be the club's 20th Anniversary year, so help make it a great one! We will be planning for a couple of viewing sessions, which will include one at Ingram Planetarium in Sunset Beach. We will also discuss holding a telescope clinic for the public. The space shuttle Endeavor took off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Saturday evening after several weeks of delays. This mission is to install a new girder to the International Space Station and exchange some of the crew members. The lift-off was visible from the beach at Fort Fisher, and from many backyards here in Wilmington! Never Fear - The Geminids are Here! Okay, so this year's Leonids weren't as good as those we saw last year, but it was still a good show. The full Moon and high cirrus clouds pretty much eliminated the dimmer meteors, and we didn't see any, as one our club members put it, "eye-bustin' bolides", but it was worth braving the cold temperatures. We will have another chance, though... The Geminids are coming this month, and will peak at 4:00am on the morning of December 14th. We will have dark skies for this one, as the Moon will set at about 1:21 a.m. The maximum rate expected is more than 80 meteors per hour. As you know, meteors occur when the debris from comets long since passed by us hits Earth's upper atmosphere. The Geminids typically burn up at a rate of 22 miles per second! The dust that creates the Geminids is more dense than that of other meteor showers and, therefore, puts on quite a show of bright streaks and trains visible in binoculars! So, plan to dress in several layers, and get out the hot cocoa, because there's another night to be spent under the stars! See you there!