Cape Fear Skies The Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Ric Longren This Month's Meeting will be: Sunday, February 12, 2006 The next CFAS meeting was rescheduled to Feb. 12. (Webmistress note: This month will feature a talk by WECT Channel 6's Head Meteorologist George Elliott.) Gastronomy! Join us before the meeting for dinner at Applebee’s on New Centre Drive, at 5:15 pm. Meeting Minutes for January 8, 2006 - by CFAS Secretary Letisha McLaughlin The meeting commenced at 7:15, with 18 in attendance including one visitor - Dorothy, a friend of Becky Lewis. President Ronnie Hawes welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the new year then immediately began discussing club business. Officer's Report: Treasurer Ben Steelman gave an overview of the club's current financial statement then passed copies of it out to members. Also, he informed the club that they would reimburse former newsletter editor, Debbi Hayden, for all mail expenses she paid out of pocket. Finally, he announced that the club would be giving a $300 donation to the physics department of UNCW in the form of a meteorite specimen that will be used for educational purposes. Old Business: Ben reminded all club members that magazine discounts are available through the club, including Astronomy magazine. If you are interested please let him know. Ronnie again thanked Billy Kidney and family for hosting the 2005 Holiday Social. 2006 member dues must be paid [by or during the meeting in] March, otherwise club member status will be terminated. New Business: February's meeting for the 5th has been changed to Sunday, February 12th due to the Super Bowl and a conflict in availability of our speaker, George Elliott. Vice President Terry Herrin recommended the club to make a donation to Glenn Brensinger for his continued help with the email server. A motion was approved to donate $50.00. Ronnie announced the unfortunate passing of an earlier club member, June Way. She attended the CFAS meetings during the 1980s. The club will now give members the choice to receive their monthly newsletters as a paper copy through the mail or via email. If you would prefer to receive it through email, please let Editor Ric Longren know immediately. Following club business, President Ronnie Hawes gave a very interesting and anecdotal presentation entitled Why Haven't I seen any UFOs? A Personal View. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30. News Cluster Ronnie announced at the January meeting that his job at WECT was eliminated in November. He produced the graphics for the WECT Channel 6 News. His career spanned 36+ years. In the interim between now and retirement, he has found a new career driving a Taxi for KATS. The February meeting will be followed by a presentation by WECT Channel 6 Head Meteorologist George Elliott. You won't want to miss this one. Please pay membership dues this month. Dues must be paid by [or during the meeting in] March or club member status will be terminated. From the Editor: You will notice a different format for the newsletter this month. I decided to use a format compatible with both email and snail mail versions of the newsletter. I didn't want those without email to miss anything. Event Calendar Feb 1-7 -Saturn skirts the southern fringe of M44, The Beehive Cluster Feb 03 - Venus is stationary, 2 am Feb 05 - Moon passes 2 degrees north of Mars, 5 pm Feb 4/5 -CFAS Group Viewing Session Feb 06 - Neptune is in conjunction with the sun, 1 am Feb 11 - Moon passes 4 degrees north of Saturn, 10 am Feb 12 - CFAS February Meeting - Speaker George Elliott, Full Moon, 11:44 pm Feb 17 - Venus is at greatest brilliancy (mag -4.6), 3 pm Feb 17 - Moon passes 0.4 degrees north of Spica, midnight Feb 20 - Moon passes 5 degrees south of Jupiter, 3 am Feb 21 - Last quarter moon, 2:17 am,              Moon passes 0.2 degrees south of Antares, midnight Feb 24/25 - CFAS Group Viewing Session Feb 27 - New Moon, 7:31 pm ____________________________________________________________ All content unless otherwise stated Copyright (c) 2002-2006 CAPE FEAR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. All Rights Reserved.