Cape Fear Skies The Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Ric Longren This Month's Meeting will be: Sunday, January 7, 2007 (Webmistress' Note: The presentation after the meeting will be an episode of Nova on String Theory.) Gastronomy! Join us before the meeting for dinner at PT’s Grill near UNCW, at 5:15 pm. Meeting Minutes for December 3, 2006 - by CFAS Secretary Letisha McLaughlin The Cape Fear Astronomical Society's December meeting took place on the 3rd of the month at the home of member Billy Kidney as it was the annual Holiday Social. President Ronnie Hawes commenced the meeting around 6 PM by welcoming all and thanking Mr. Kidney and his wife for graciously agreeing to entertain in their home. A large number attended, including many members and members' families. Officer's Report: Treasurer Ben Steelman announced the club's financial status remains solvent. Associate Vice President Alan Hilburn commented on what a great year 2006 has been for the CFAS, not only have amazing astronomical events taken place, but also this year many new members have joined. New Business: Because there was only one officer nomination per position, voting took place by a simple show of hands. The CFAS officers for 2007 are as follows:            President - - - Ronnie Hawes            Vice President - - Terry Herrin            Associate Vice President - Alan Hilburn            Secretary - - - Letisha McLaughlin            Treasurer - - - Ben Steelman            Newsletter Editor - - Ric Longren Susan announced the birth of a beautiful baby girl, named Annika Grace, to proud parents Wayne and Debbie Hayden. The president reminded everyone next year's meetings will occur at the normal time on the first Sunday of each month with the exception of Superbowl Sunday and Labor Day when the meeting should take place on the second Sunday. Also in January the meetings will resume at their usual location in Morton Auditorium. Planning was initiated for a viewing at the site near Moore's Creek battlefield in Currie, NC. All planning to attend will meet at the city's post office. More information for this event will probably be discussed via email. Old News: Treasurer Ben Steelman reported Mr. Clint North has received his check which will enable the CFAS to use his land for one more year of night sky viewing. Viewing Report: The transit of Mercury occurred November 8 and was an amazing site - of course that is if you fortunate enough to see it. Here in Wilmington, NC, a cloudy forecast prevented anyone from enjoying the site. For reference, there are approximately thirteen Mercury transits per century, which is quite an amount when compared to Venus as it transits the solar disc roughly only once per century. Associate Vice President Alan Hilburn informed the club that 2007 looks very hopeful for great meteor showers. One in particular, the Aurigids shower, is expected to take place on September 1st with very bright meteors at an extremely high frequency- over 1000 per hour! The business portion of the CFAS December meeting ended with a motion to eat. That motion was immediately seconded and a few minutes later the house was the most quiet it had been all night as the guest were enjoying a delicious holiday dinner. News Cluster The CFAS Holiday Social was held on Dec 3 at the Kidney home with about 40+ club members, spouses, children and significant others in attendance. Good company and good food was enjoyed by all. A special thanks to Billy and Kristy Kidney and their daughters Shannon and Sami Jo for hosting the party for the third year in a row. Congratulations to Wayne and Debbie Hayden on the arrival of their beautiful daughter Annika Grace. The next meeting of the Cape Fear Astronomical Society is January 7 starting at 7:00 pm. The presentation after the meeting will be an episode of Nova on String Theory. Club membership dues are due in January. Event Calendar Jan 3 - Full Moon, 8:57 am, Earth at perihelion, 3 pm (91,400,000 miles) Jan 6 - Moon passes 1.2 degrees north of Regulus, midnight Jan 7 - CFAS May Meeting 7:00 pm Jan 10 - Moon at apogee, 11:25 am (251,242 miles) Jan 11 - Last quarter Moon, 7:45 am Jan 12/13 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions Jan 18 - New Moon, 11:01 pm Jan 22 - Moon passes 0.4 degrees north of Uranus, 1 am,           Moon at perigee, 7:31 am (227,997 miles) Jan 19/20 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions Jan 25 - First Quarter Moon, 6:01 pm Jan 29 - Asteroid 20 Massalia (mag 8.4) reaches opposition 3 degrees           south of the M44, the Beehive star cluster All times are EST ____________________________________________________________ All content unless otherwise stated Copyright (c) 2002-2007 CAPE FEAR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. All Rights Reserved.