Cape Fear Skies The Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Debbi Hayden This Month.. CFAS Holiday Social! Sunday, December 4th, 2005 at 6:00pm Hosted again this year by Billy Kidney and his family! Directions (omited from website). We will have a short business meeting to vote in the new officers for 2006. Please bring a covered dish to share! Meeting Minutes for November 6th, 2005 - by CFAS Webmistress Susan B. The November meeting of the CFAS was called to order by President Ron Hawes at 7:15pm. Attendance was small as some members were still returning from the Mid-Atlantic Star Party, and no guests were present. Officer's Reports: Treasurer Ben Steelman reported our bank account is $1350. Old Business: Susan passed out a few copies of the Society's Constitution with the updates voted on through June 5, 2005. This can also be downloaded from our website's Knowledge Page. The "private" viewing session for the retirement community at Plantation Village in Porter's Neck has been changed to Wednesday, November 9th. Ron Hawes welcomes any members who are available to assist him. Chris Suter thinks he may be able to help out. Ron received a letter thanking us for our participation in the Community Cornucopia event held October 15th. Ron, Rich Williams and Alan Hilburn manned our exhibit, which was very successful. Nominations for next year's officers continued, and with no new nominees being named, a motion was carried to close nominations. Voting will take place during the December meeting. The Kidneys have graciously offered their home to us again this year for our annual Holiday Social. Pending their date approval, we are planning to hold it in lieu of the December Meeting on December 4th, at 6:00. Members are asked to bring a covered dish, and food can be coordinated through our club's email. We will hold a short meeting and the election during the party. Ronnie will bring the club banner. It was also decided that Ron should be the keeper of the banner, being the President and a lifetime member of the club, in addition to being our main attender of public programs. Ron will contact the University to reserve the hall for next year. If available, he anticipates the January meeting to be held on January 8th, as the first Sunday is a holiday weekend. Viewing Reports: Terry Herrin reported the Mars Public Viewing at Carolina Beach State Park went very well, and they estimate about 50 people came, which ended around 10:00pm. Ron thanked all who helped out, which included members Terry Herrin, Tom Jacobs, Alan Hilburn, and Chris Suter who brought the club's 10" scope. The viewing was good, but the seeing not great, as Mars was low in the sky and heat from the pavement made for unstable air. There were requests from the public for another Telescope Clinic, and we discussed holding one after the holidays. Ron, Doug Greene and Ernie Mayo had a beautiful night of viewing recently at the Holly Shelter boat ramp from 7:30-10:45. Mars looked especially good through Ernie's 18" Obsession, and no one came by to disturb them. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm, and we then were treated to Part One of the PBS production hosted by Timothy Ferris, "Life Beyond Earth, Are We Alone Out Here?" brought in by Ben Steelman. News Cluster Holiday Social on December 4th at 6:00pm at the home of Billy and Kristy Kidney (directions found on the front of the newsletter). We will be voting for the 2006 CFAS Officers. Nominations are as follows:           President - Ronnie Hawes           Vice President - Terry Herrin           Assoc. Vice President - Alan Hilburn           Treasurer - Ben Steelman           Secretary - Letisha McLaughlin           Newsletter Editor - Ric Longren Write-in votes will also be accepted on the ballot you will receive at the Holiday Social. A big THANK YOU to Ronnie Hawes for securing Bryan Auditorium for our meetings in 2006! Sky Calendar Dec 01 - New Moon at 10:01am EST Dec 2/3 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions Dec 04 - CFAS Holiday Social at 6:00pm           Photo Opportunity! The crescent Moon passes close to Venus at dusk. Dec 08 - First quarter Moon at 4:36am Dec 09 - Venus at greatest brilliancy (mag -4.6) Dec 11 - Moon passes 1.3 degrees north of Mars at midnight EST Dec 13 - Geminid meteor shower peaks, but nearly-full Moon interferes Dec 15 - Full Moon at 11:15am EST Dec 19 - Photo Opportunity! Saturn has an extra "satellite" even brighter than Titan:           7th magnitude SAO 98190, barely 1' north of the planet's center this evening! Dec 21 - Winter Solstice is at 1:35pm EST Dec 23 - Last quarter Moon at 2:36pm EST Dec 30 - New Moon at 10:12pm EST Dec 30/31 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions What's Up Down Under? (News from our Sister Society in Albury-Wodonga, Australia) Members of the ASAW are considering the purchase of the Meade Deep Sky Imager Pro. They will be purchasing a digital projector as the one they are currently borrowing may not be as available in the coming year. We love ours! Latrobe University may be taking over the Wodonga High School Observatory and allow the ASAW to store their equipment there and hold meetings if they agree to help the university with viewing sessions. All were excited about the endeavor. Member Harry Akkerman gave a presentation on the photo-manipulating software Registax, which is available for free on the company website. Beloved Samuel D. Bissette Passes Away (Dec. 14, 2005) A short biography certainly wouldn't do Sam Bissette and his life's accomplishments justice, so I won't try to put this wonderful man's journey on Earth in a nutshell for you. I personally didn't know Sam all that well – we had spoken on the phone a few times and he would send me items of interest for the newsletter – so I find myself in a position probably best held by other society members who knew him for many years. That being said, I think anyone that had spoken to him for even the briefest moments got a sense of his southern gentleman manner, kind soul, immense intelligence, and passion for astronomy. He certainly was an accomplished artist, and managed to combine his talent for painting with his love of the universe – things ranging in size from a crystal of salt to galaxies light years across. Attending his funeral, I also learned of his deep love and devotion to his wife, Ruby, his children Sabra and David, and his grandchildren. I know they are so proud of Sam and miss him deeply, because even as an "outsider", I feel a sense of pride to have known him, as well as a loss upon his passing. He always had a compliment for me regarding the newsletter, and I tried to keep a high standard for myself knowing such a man was actually reading this thing! (smile) We members of the Cape Fear Astronomical Society have benefitted from Sam's presence immensely, not the least of which is our new relationship with an Astronomical Society in Albury-Wodonga, Australia. His colleagues have enjoyed his friendship and valued his expertise in the hobby we all love so much! Even though we all are hurting from Sam's death, we can take comfort in the knowledge that he now knows all the mysteries of the universe he has spent his life pursuing. Thank you for everything, Sam! A Goodbye from your Newletter Editor... Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to produce the newsletter each month! I had a wonderful time and learned a great deal! I am pleased that a great guy like Ric Longren will be taking over for me. It is a difficult job, requiring a decent number of hours to commit, so help him out by sending items of interest his way! Thanks again! I'll see you under the stars! – Debbi Hayden ____________________________________________________________ All content unless otherwise stated Copyright (c) 2002-2005 CAPE FEAR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. All Rights Reserved.