Cape Fear Skies The Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Ric Longren This Month's Meeting will be: Sunday, February 11, 2007 (Webmistress' Note: Presentation topic to be determined.) Gastronomy! Join us before the meeting for dinner at Szechuan 132 on College Road , at 5:15 pm. Meeting Minutes for January 7th, 2007 - by CFAS Secretary Letisha McLaughlin Vice President Terry Herrin commenced the very first Cape Fear Astronomical Society meeting of 2007 at 7:06 PM on January 7th in Morton Hall Auditorium. Twenty-two members attended included the club's youngest member ever- Ms. Annika Grace, daughter of Wayne and Debbie Hayden. No visitors were present. Officer reports Vice President Terry Herrin informed the club that President Ronnie Hawes would be absent due to an illness. He also recognized his duty to take over for the president when he is unavailable and so directed the night's meeting. Associate Vice President Alan Hilburn notified members of his efforts to produce a list of guest speakers for the coming months. He continued that February's meeting is still open to program suggestions so if any member has a preference for a guest speaker or program topic to contact him. Treasurer Ben Steelman gave the group's annual money report: the CFAS remains in the black with approximately $1,800 in checking, $1,180 in CDs, and $420 in passbook savings. He also noted he would review these figures and give the final report at next month's meeting. Editor Ric Longren announced the expense report for the club's newsletter, the Cape Fear Skies, totaled $206.91 for the year of 2006. Compensation for these distribution costs are in progress. Old business The vice president thanked Billy Kidney and his wife Kristy for having the annual holiday social at their house last December. He also announce Morton Hall auditorium is reserved for 2007. New business According to the constitution, member dues are now being collected. In order to have no suspension in membership, all dues must be paid in full by the end of the March meeting. Member Jonathan Guetta has the figures for club t-shirts and accessories. Estimates are as follows: - Silkscreen: setup fee- approximately $80, large logo on front or back- 25 shirts at $5.90 each or 50 shirts at $5.30 each, small logo on front and large logo on back- 25 shirts at $9.20 each or 50 shirts at $8.10 each. - Embroideries: Setup fee- approximately $60, polo shirts with small logo on front- 25 shirts at $10.10 each or 50 shirts at $9.60 each. Embroidered hats are also available for 25 at $5.50 each or 50 at $5.00 each. Jonathan also inquired as to whether the setup fees would be paid by the members or from the club's fund; Terry answered they would be covered by the club. In addition one member noted it may be a good idea to charge a couple of dollars extra for the merchandise in order to increase club funding. This issue will again be raised at next month's meeting. Associate VP Alan Hilburn pointed out an opportunity to increase the CFAS' public relations by perhaps aiding the Friends of Felines. Also he commented there are many ways to be involved in the community. On another note he presented two double convex lenses that may be useful, if anyone is interested in making an offer, please contact him. News Cluster The February meeting will take place on the second Sunday of the month in Morton Hall Auditorium. The delay is due to the Superbowl falling on the first Sunday in February. Next month's program is still up in the air. However, Tom Jacobs did comment he was working on something for April's meeting. Alan Hilburn suggested the idea of using each month's Sky and Telescope centerfold as a guide for collectively learning the night sky. Tom then added that he was planning to present an informal Getting to Know the Night Sky at the next club viewing session. Plans are not yet complete, so he directed the group to keep an eye on the list server. Observing Report Alan Hilburn and Terry Herrin announced the discovery of a new comet which can now be seen in the morning skies. The comet was spotted by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught and as of now is predicted to have a brightness ranging from a +2.1(that of Polaris) to a -8.8 (nearly 8 times as bright as Venus!) Tom Jacobs added the comet may be visible in the morning between the horizon and Venus. Member Billy Kidney informed the group that a new truck stop had been constructed near the Holly Shelter viewing area. Unfortunately the new edition is casting a considerable amount of light into the horizon and sky of the site. The business portion of the CFAS January 2007 meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM. The night's program began with two amazing home videos taken by member Thad Coin of the Nov. 23, 2002 and Dec. 9, 2006 Space Shuttle launches from Carolina Beach. Following was the NOVA video The Elegant Universe- Strings the Thing. The meeting ended at 8:51 PM. The next meeting of the Cape Fear Astronomical Society is February 11 starting at 7:00 pm. No program is scheduled for this month. The Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club (CAAC) will host the 21st annual Southern Star Astronomical Convention in the Blue Ridge Mountains on April 27-29, 2007. This will be an opportunity for southeastern astronomical societies to share their interests and club activities with each other and enjoy a variety of speakers and other events in a secluded mountain setting. A copy of the brochure and registration forms will be available at the February CFAS meeting. For more info visit www.charlotteastronomers.org/southernstar. Don't forget your Membership dues for 2007. Event Calendar Feb 02 - Full Moon, 12:45 am, Moon passes 0.9 degrees north of Saturn, 6:00 pm Feb 07 - Moon at apogee, 7:38 am, 251,651 miles Feb 10 - Last quarter Moon, 4:51 am, good opportunity to see 8 of Saturn's moons Feb 9/10 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions Feb 11 - CFAS February Meeting 7:00 pm Feb 17 - New Moon, 11:14 am Feb 16/17 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions Feb 19 - Moon at perigee, 4:36 am, 224,586 miles Feb 21 - Ash Wednesday Feb 24 - First Quarter Moon, 2:56 am Mar 03 - Full Moon, 6:17pm, total lunar eclipse All times are EST unless otherwise noted. Astronomical History During the Month of February Date - Milestone Feb 3, 1966 - Soviet Union's Luna 9 space probe lands on Moon and takes first pictures of Lunar surface Feb 5, 1963 - Caltech astronomer Maarten Schmitt discovers redshift of quasars, which indicate they are billions of light years distant. Feb 7, 1984 - American astronauts Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart make the first untethered space walk (space shuttle Challenger). Feb 11, 2003 - Nasa's WMAP spacecraft establishes age of the universe as 13.7 billion years and confirms Big Bang theory. Feb 12, 2001 - Near-Shoemaker lands on Eros; first spacecraft to orbit and touch down on asteroid. Feb 18, 1930 - Clyde Tombaugh, at Lowell Observatory, discovers the planet Pluto. Feb 23, 1987 - Brightest supernova seen from Earth in 383 years, in Large Magellanic Cloud Feb 24, 1968 - Cambridge University astronomers announce discovery of pulsars Feb 25, 1972 - Soviet lander Luna 20 returns to Earth with 1 oz (30 gms) of lunar soil, the second sample returned from the Moon. What's Up Down Under? (News from our Sister Society in Albury-Wodonga, Australia) From Allan Henderson, ASAW Secretary: Hi ASAW Inc. and CFAS members, "On behalf of President David Thurley and the Executive Committee members we wish all CFAS and ASAW members a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and hope that you all enjoy good health during 2007 and beyond". Thanks Allan. On behalf of the Officers and Members of CFAS, we wish all the Members of ASAW Inc. the best for 2007 and beyond. ____________________________________________________________ All content unless otherwise stated Copyright (c) 2002-2007 CAPE FEAR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. All Rights Reserved.