BASINGSTOKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Meeting held on 24th February 2004at Cliddesden Primary School Apologies From Alan Lorrain, Chester Bates and Nigel Heath. The Chairman opened the meeting by thanking everyone for turning up, despite the snow. As the Society was using a different room, we were shown the fire exits. In case of power failure emergency lights are bright enough to see by for evacuation. We have moved into the hall as it has a seating capacity of 80. It also has the added bonus of having more flexibility of seating arrangement according to purpose. The Messier Marathon It had been suggested that this event could be moved to May, as the weather at that time of year is better than at present. However, after consideration and the desire to try for all 110 Messier objects, the original dates of 11th/12th March stand. This will be a dusk to dawn event and members are urged to dress for the occasion with several layers of clothing, thick-soled boots and a hat and gloves. Members are advised to bring snacks for munching through the night to keep up energy levels, as well as food to cook on the barbeque. At this point it is prudent to mention that a sleeping bag or blanket will come in handy for keeping warm. Make no mistake…IT WILL BE COLD, so come prepared. Andria has offered to make a huge quantity of soup for us to heat up as needed. Members should think carefully about the equipment they will need for this event. We do not expect to be standing at the telescopes the whole time, so a chair or lounger will be needed. Torches, preferably red light may need spare batteries. About 20 members have decided to participate; some will stay all night, and some will stay part of the night. It is entirely up to each member how long he or she decides to stay. If you are staying all night you may bring a small tent. Members are reminded that if they take their cars onto the playing field, they must stay very close to the hedge. Our intention is to ‘bag’ all 110 objects. A few are only visible for a about 30 minutes before they set in the west, and another handful is only visible as they rise just before dawn. It has been suggested that after we have ‘bagged’ the objects we will not see again, we break for something to eat. The circumpolar and other objects can be found later. No decision has been made on how we record items, but it was suggested that each person be given a laminated tick chart to complete, so that we can total up at the end of the Marathon. Dave Shave-Wall will supply these items. This event is an ideal opportunity to see a large collection of supernova remnants, emission, reflection and planetary nebulae, galaxies of all description and open and globular star clusters. An added bonus if we manage to do this on 11th/12th March, is that Mercury has a very favourable elongation and will be visible about half hour after sunset, with a very young crescent moon; so we have an opportunity of seeing this elusive planet. It was agreed, due to erection of marquee and alignment of telescopes, to try for the objects on 12th March. However, if the 11th looks as if it is going to be a really clear night with good seeing, we should be at the school as soon as possible after 4pm, so that we can get the marquee up and the telescopes more or less aligned before sunset. If, we are ‘rained out’ on the 11th/12th, the next date we can try is 9th/10th April. The reasoning behind this is that at this time is that these dates fall within the ideal window for spotting all 110 objects with little or no moonlight. In May, not all objects will be visible. A reporter from the Gazette attended tonight, and an article saying that an attempt to spot all 110 objects will appear in the Gazette before the event. When we have completed our Marathon we can send our statistics to a website and obtain a logo for the society web page. (We don’t actually know the address of this site at present) Remember, this event is weather dependant. Advertising We need to get information about Basingstoke Astronomical Society to more people. We exist by subscriptions and are solvent, but we should try to boost membership. By asking new members how they hear about us, we will know which method is more successful. At present it appears that our adverts in Astronomy Now are the main source of success. Malcolm Trussler has written to most of the parish magazines in Basingstoke and ‘The Rabbiter’ in Hatch Warren has said that would like a monthly astronomical article to publish. The first has already been sent. John Stapleton has contacted Kestral FM with a view to doing an occasional astronomical topic chat, but has had no response as yet. Members are urged to look for places we can put notices free of charge, and report back. Malcolm has been very busy and has also noted there is a display cabinet in the library in town. Although there is a waiting list for this facility, Malcolm has offered to put a display together. John has contacted the Events Manager at Festival Place with a view to handing out leaflets/ making a display in the complex at some time in the future. Malcolm has contacted Basingstoke Webring and they now have a link to the Society web page. Structure of meetings The Committee suggests that existing members should be encouraged to greet ‘new’ faces at meetings. We do not want a formal procedure, but it makes sense to welcome new and prospective members if we want to keep them. If newcomers have any questions you cannot answer yourself, direct them either to a committee member or someone you know can help them. New members should be asked where they heard about the Society. Starting in September, it has been suggested that we alternate between club night one month and a speaker the next. Election of new Committee Member Members were advised that at our current membership numbers and under the Constitution, we could now elect another member to the committee, and need a willing and enthusiastic member for this purpose to be voted in at the AGM. Paul Moulton has done sterling work on the website and members are urged to elect him on to the Committee officially. Presentation Andria Harbinson, the Secretary, gave a short presentation on the myths and legends associated with Orion and his retinue. Skywatch Andria has been doing this for the past few months and did a short piece showing the area for March. A volunteer is needed to take over this duty. If you are interested make a Committee member aware. Presentations by members Members are urged to share their knowledge. We need members to give short talks on astronomical and astronomically related subjects. These talks do not have to be long, and need not be technical. Those of you that have something to share make a Committee member aware. Jargon Buster The Chairman gave a short jargon buster session concerning telescopes. Solar eclipse March 2006 After showing off his new toy from E-Bay, Bob Trevan has informed members that a Solar eclipse was due on 29th march 2006. Unfortunately, this would not be visible in UK, and he wondered if any members would be interested in travelling to Turkey to observe totality. Several members expressed an interest, so watch this space. Any other business Waterman’s, the book store chain, have informed the Chairman that Dave Scott (shuttle astronaut) will be signing copies of his book ‘Two Sides Of The Moon’ at one of the local branches in the near future. Congratulations to Guy Hurst on being presented with an award for services to amateur astronomy. Herstmanceaux Astronomy Festival 2005 is being held on 9th 10th and 11th September. Unfortunely I am no longer in possession of this poster, so cannot give more details. E- mails have been sent to the secretary from Chester Bates on a variety of subjects. · The Royal Astronomical and Space Groups are holding a number of seminars and lectures, for more details go to www.raes.org.uk/space/ · The 3rd Kielder Forest Star Camp will be held from 8th to 11th September in Northumberland. Pitch fees £10. For more details from The Forestry Commission and Sunderland Astronomical Society. (No web site given) · E-mail from Mike Maunder, friend and visitor of Patrick Moore, saying Patrick is in good health and giving details of some of his forthcoming TV and Radio broadcasts. Next meeting The next meeting will be held on 24th March, and will be a club night. Close 10pm