Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Debbi Hayden December 7th, 2003 - Holiday Social / Meeting In leui of of usual monthly meeting, we will be celebrating with our annual Holiday Social for CFAS members. Les and Connie King have graciously offered to open their house to us. The party starts at 6:00 pm, and those able are asked to bring some type of dish (casserole, dessert, hors d'oeuvres, etc.). For security reasons, directions are not being posted here. Please refer to your December newsletter or contact us at info@capefearastro.org. Meeting Minutes for November 2nd, 2003 - by CFAS Secretary Terry Herrin President Si Cantwell called the meeting to order at 7:05pm. Under old business, Les King volunteered to host the Holiday Social this year. The social will also serve as the December club meeting on December 7th. Also under old business, the nomination for officers was closed and voting will be held at the next meeting. Under new business, the club voted to have t-shirts and sweatshirts made using the standard club logo. Both will be grey. Alan Hilburn talked about the county fair, and asked for volunteers to help man a booth. Under observing reports, Les gave a report on this year's Mid-Atlantic Star Party. He said there were large crowds, with more people there than the last four years. The weather was good most of the week. A wireless LAN was setup, and power and water was available to all campers. Alan gave a quick slideshow of some photos he took of the Aurora Borealis that occurred here on Thursday, 10/30/03. Ronnie talked about a viewing session at Holly Shelter that included Becky Lewis, Tom Puckett and family, and Billy Kidney. The meeting broke for ten minutes at 8:00pm. Ronnie then gave a great presentation on radio astronomy and the various messages to E.T.'s that we have sent into space. After Ronnie's presentation, Si asked if there was any other business, and having none, adjourned the meeting at 9:50pm. News Cluster The Holiday Social will take the place of our usual Society meeting this month, but we will have voting for the 2004 club officers as a brief "meeting" at the social. Ballots will be passed out and you will be asked to vote for each of the positions (President, Vice President, Assoc. Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Editor). There will also be voting for two special awards: - The David Maness Award is for outstanding work in the field of Astronomy in 2003. - The Society Service Award is for outstanding service to the Society for 2003. Kindly bring some type of dish to the social (casserole, dessert, hors d'oeuvres, etc.) Be thinking about programs for 2004! Don't be shy! Looking Back on 2003 This year has certainly had its ups and downs. February saw the terrible Columbia accident which claimed the lives of seven very determined and courageous people. Out of that tragedy came a renewed sense of the importance of the space program and a redefining of NASA's priorities. We also engaged in a very controversial war in Iraq. In August, several amateur astronomers enjoyed some really dark skies as a result of an impressive blackout. Several cities were without power, much to the delight of sky watchers across the northeast! We have sent two Mars rovers on a very long journey, and have to wait only another month or so to see what kind of information they send back. The close approach of the planet Mars prompted three very successful public viewing sessions by our club. I think we may have sparked an interest in astronomy in more than a few participants! The Northern Lights are a relatively rare sight for our area, but we were treated to a very nice show, and Alan got some great pictures to document it! Our 20th Anniversary year also gave us excellent speakers at the meetings, as well as several new members and friends. I for one can't wait until next year!