20160206ACAMin

The Astronomy Club of Augusta met for its Club Dark Sky Messier Marathon on March 05, Sat.6:00PM at NMR-DSO. 12-15? members attended.

They all came in to visit Tedda, who is keeping her left foot pointed up to the stars! Otherwise it was cold after dark, and the sky was intermittently clear and cloudy, a good time to to work on getting us and our scopes to track. Messier objects were included as it cleared.
Suzanne & Mara went out periodically to check on their progress, and came in to warm up as needed.
It was finally decided that we would have breakfast at about 1AM rather that waiting until the traditional 6AM. There were eight of us to enjoy waffles, eggs, sausage, fruit, oj, coffee and hot chocolate. Respectfully submitted, Tedda Howard

20160312 ACA hosts Star Gaze with Phinizy Park

ACA Lunar and Star Gaze Outreach March 12, Saturday 6:30 PM at Phinizy Park The Public is invited! Moonrise/set: 0915 22501 Lunar ACA Volunteers: Please arrive at 6:00 PM. Check in with Stan Howard, ACA VP Observing.

There were over one hundred attending. It was muggy, full of biting mosquitoes, and rather cloudy, but everyone seemed to want to stay.

Rest up this afternoon, so you are ready for an evening sky full of wonders: Stars Everywhere! See Mare Crisium and some craters before the crescent Moon sets in the West. Watch Jupiter appear in the East, then Canopus low in the South. Learn the seven stars of the Winter Hexagon above Canopus in the South. Can you name the six constellations too? Share binoculars to see details of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters. Praesepe is also visible naked eye, but pops out with binoculars. See Regulus and Denebola in Leo the Lion. Turn North to catch Cepheus, Cassiopeia, possibly Andromeda, their daughter. See how Merak and Dubhe in the the Big Dipper point to Polaris, at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Arc to Arcturus, and speed on to Spica just after 9PM. Check Jupiter again to see its bands and 4 Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. And there are more clusters, nebulae, and double stars along the way! Please arrive before dark. Park with your headlights toward the road. Bring what you have of planisphere, moon map, binoculars, telescope, towel to lay on. Wear layered clothing. Hot chocolate, tea, coffee, and light snacks, may have been provided by Phinizy Park.

20160315ACAMin
~~Middle School Star Party Outreach~~ - Postponed ! ! ! ~~March 15, Tuesday 6:30 PM at Evans Middle School~~

20160318ACAKBMin

The Astronomy Club of Augusta met for its monthly meeting tonight at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, USC Aiken. About 15 people attended with several guests.

Our speaker, Inseok Song, had a very informative program, with slides, and up to the minute news on Exoplanets.

Kenneth thanked Inseok with a framed appreciation for his presentation and his contributions to our club and to astronomy. We certainly appreciated his coming such a long distance to speak to our club, with a cold of sorts, and understood when he started out for home.

Thanks to Steve and Helen for providing refreshments.
Thanks also to Stan for running the audio/video and videoing the presentation.

Respectfully submitted.
Tedda Howard/Stan Howard

Monthly Meeting March 18, Friday, 7:00 PM at RPSEC The Public is invited! Moonrise/Set: 1429/0331 Lunar Club Business: Nominating Committee Program: Extra-solar planetary systems: Facts, Fallacies, and Prospects Considering that the first exoplanet was discovered only about two decades ago, it is remarkable that we now have nearly 2000 confirmed exoplanets. Some exoplanetary systems show strong resemblance to our Solar System including multiple planets, asteroidal belt, potentially habitable rocky planets, etc. In my talk, I will (1) briefly review the history of the exoplanet discovery, (2) summarize the current results, (3) describe facts and some common fallacies, and (4) predict the near-future discoveries in the exoplanet science. Speaker: Inseok Song was born and raised in Korea. After college he came to the US , and in 2000 received his PhD in Physics from the University of Georgia. He worked as researcher, scientist and astronomer in CA and HI from 2000-2008, when he came back to UGA as Assistant, then Associate Professor of Astronomy. Recently he was appointed the Graduate Coordinator of the UGA Physics & Astronomy Department. Dr. Song has received numerous awards over the years, including a faculty award and a 2009 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize. He has published 80+ articles in peer-reviewed journals, mostly on the topic of young stars and planets. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Song to the CSRA Area. Refreshments: Steve & Helen Miller Lunar Observing after the meeting Bring what you have of planisphere, lunar map, binoculars, telescope. Wear layered clothing.

Observing Option March 19, Saturday _____ PM at Flyers Field For Members only. Contact John White for details and directions.
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Additions and/or corrections are always appreciated.