B.C.A.A.S. MEETING MINUTES
September 20, 2007
Dave Brown called the meeting to order with 18 in attendance. Paul Becker, Dan Davidson and Pete Zdunowski showed the night sky to about 25 visitors at the Kaercher Creek Star Watch. Ron Kunkel and Dave Brown showed pictures from the Black Forest Star Party. Our sister club, LVAAS, is having their 50th anniversary banquet on October 13, featuring David Levy as the speaker. BCAAS members are invited to attend; if interested contact Ron Kunkel, Melody Gardner or Barb Geigle.
An announcement from Bret Cadmus was distributed inviting BCAAS members to attend a joint meeting of the Berks Mineralogical Society and the Mengel Natural History Society on November 13, 7:30 pm at the Reading Museum’s auditorium. The speaker will be Dr. Stan Mertzman from F&M College, and he will be discussing Mars.
Dave announced that he will be at the Flying Field on Saturday night for a club Star Watch.
As part of the training for running Planetarium Shows, Hannah Salvatore assisted with three shows.
Dave scheduled a talk and observing program at French Creek Park to be held Saturday, July 12, 2008, with a rain/cloud date of August 9. They have a new amphitheatre that seats about 100 people and can be used for PowerPoint presentations.
Linda Sensenig announced that her father, Clarence, is in the hospital. He had a mini-stroke. She passed around a get-well card to be signed. There is $$$$$ in the bank, and $$$$$ in a CD. The order for Astronomy calendars will be sent tomorrow, but she can order more if anyone is still interested. She will be publishing an updated club roster in Pegasus. Melody Gardner is working on the Pegasus for October/November/December and needs articles.
Barb Geigle gave an update on the Night Sky Network. She just received the newest Toolkit, Exploring the Solar System, and had it displayed. It includes hands-on activities for relating the sizes of the sun and planets and the distances between them, along with other activities and a PowerPoint. There will be a teleconference on October 2, called “Trip through a Toolkit”. Marni Berendsen and Vivian White, the NSN Administrators with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), will be discussing how the latest toolkit came together. We will be able to ask questions and give suggestions and NSN resources. Please contact Barb for more information. ASP has a new book, “Science Educators under the Stars: Amateur Astronomers Engaged in Education and Public Outreach”. This book examines the amateur astronomer’s role in communicating knowledge and passion about astronomy to the public, and all proceeds will be donated to support the ASP’s education programs, including NSN.
Our speaker tonight was Dr. David Graff. His talk was “Astronomy and the Enlightenment – Nebular Theory of the Formation of the Solar System”.
Our next meeting will be on October 11. The speaker will be Dr. Ruth Daly.
Respectfully submitted
Barbara Geigle, Secretary