Cape Fear Skies The Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Debbi Hayden This Month's Meeting will be: Sunday, February 13, 2005 Featuring Tom Jacobs and his presentation of a topic found on his personal collection of NASA DVDs. Gastronomy! Join us before the meeting for dinner at Rucker John's restaurant on South College Road in Monkey Junction at 5:15pm! Meeting Minutes for January 9th, 2005 - by CFAS Secretary Billy Kidney Meeting Started at 7:05 by Ronnie H. Ronnie welcomed everyone to the 22nd year of the club's meeting and asked for visitors to introduce themselves. Officer's Reports - Treasurer's: Ben stated that we had a good year, CD up to 1165, PLEASE PAY YOUR DUES! Observing Reports - Comet Machholz has been observed by many club members. NASA is asking for reports from amateurs on Comet Temple, see Deep Impact website for details. Viewing Sessions - Next Friday and Saturday. News - Sam Bissette spoke about the plans with our sister club in Australia being finalized, the plan was approved by the membership. A new club is being started in Myrtle Beach. New Business - Ronnie asked for any new business at 7:35, Alan Hilburn was voted as the club's Historian. The Yamacraw Site was approved for another year but was tabled for a month pending a search for a replacement sites. Business Meeting closed at 8:00. News Cluster Note the change in dates of this month's meeting. The meeting will be held on the second Sunday of the month (13th) due to the SuperBowl and the anticipated low attendance. Please remember to pay your society dues! Membership is only $20 for an individual and $25 for a family. The news release announcing our sister-club venture with the Astronomical Society of Albury-Wodonga (ASAW) has been prepared and sent out by Sam Bissette. A copy has been included with this newsletter. Thank you very much, Sam! We will again be discussing whether or not to keep Yamacraw as our "dark sky site". The land has not been utilized much over the past couple of years, and we will be presented with other alternative sites, if such sites were found by the search group. Sky Calendar Feb 02 - Last quarter Moon at 2:27am EST Feb 4/5 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions. Moon rises between 3am and 4am these nights. Feb 08 - New Moon at 5:28pm EST Feb 09 - Photo Opportunity! The Moon is one day old -           find the sliver of light for a great picture! Feb 11/12 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions Feb 13 - February meeting of the CFAS featuring Tom Jacobs as our presenter. Feb 15 - First quarter Moon at 7:16pm EST Feb 20 - Moon passes 5 degrees north of Saturn at 6:00am EST Highlights for February's Star-Gazers Well, I hope everyone has had a chance to observe the beautiful Comet Machholz with the naked eye! It certainly is stunning! If you haven't had the pleasure, not to worry – you can still find it without the aid of binoculars or telescopes, but that won't be true for long. As it slowly makes its way toward Polaris, it will continue to fade in magnitude. This month, its two tails are easier to see – one bluish in color and the other yellow-white. Saturn is certainly a sight to behold as well! It is dominating the night sky and easily stands out in the east after the sun sets. The shadow of the planet is being cast across the rings, and makes for quite a 3-D effect. Staying up to see Jupiter is also getting easier! It is currently rising before midnight, and always has much detail to enjoy. The recent trend of losing its Great Red Spot will certainly be a topic of interest to many of us. Arguably one of the night sky's most beautiful sights is that of our own orbital companion – the Moon. Especially when it is very "young", with a thin crescent of light and earthshine illuminating its dark face. This will be the view in the evening of February 9th. Yes, February is typically a very chilly month, but there is always a lot to see and enjoy out under the night sky. Bundle up and take in the photons! You won't regret it! Astronomical Society of Albury-Wodonga Some exciting things are happening for our friends observing in Australia this month! The Moon will occult Jupiter on February 27th around midnight for observers in the major cities of Hobart, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. What makes this particularly exciting is that this is the first occultation of any bright planet or star in many years for them! Enjoy! The alpha-Centaurid meteor shower will peak for the southern hemisphere on February 7th, with an average of six to twenty-five meteors per hour. Should be easy to spot a few due to the new Moon on February 8th! The ASAW is considering purchasing a hydrogen-alpha filter and a CCD camera with software for the club's use with their society's funds. They are also very active in increasing public awareness of light pollution. One gentleman's community council has agreed to install a switch on light poles that would allow them to be turned off as desired. There is also discussion in the city council regarding an "Obtrusive Lighting Development Control Plan" for Albury. Great job! ____________________________________________________________ All content unless otherwise stated Copyright (c) 2002-2005 CAPE FEAR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. All Rights Reserved.