BASINGSTOKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Minutes of meeting held on March 22nd 2007
Venue: Cliddesden Primary School

Apologies:
Paul Moulton, Lesley Grayson, Helen Mountstephens, Bernie Sullivan

Welcome: 
The Chairman, Dave Shave-Wall welcomed all.

Main Item:
John Murphy “Galaxies”
John gave a fascinating talk about Galaxies featuring many of his own images.  He discussed what is currently known about Galaxies and modern theories about their formation and evolution.  The talk was followed by a lengthy discussion.

Coffee

Admin: 
John Glasgow brought the suggestion of a portable hearing aid loop to the attention of the meeting.
Paul Swift asked if the website could carry a link to the Campaign for Dark Skies site.
A list of outstanding Library books was read out.
The International Sidewalk Astronomy Day was publicised.
It was suggested that purchase of a Cheshire Eyepiece for the collomation of Newtonian telescopes might be a good investment for the Society.

News;
The Chairman reported a collection of news items gleaned from the web and other sources, the Hinode low-angle picture of the Sun, Mars’ South polar cap, the volcanic plume on Io photographed by New Horizons and the possibly 1000 black holes imaged by Chandra. Discussion was included. 

What’s Up?:
Andria Harbinson gave a brief resume of the sights in the night sky for the coming month.

Constellation of The Month:
Leo was described and discussed with particular attention to the groupings of galaxies in and around this constellation.

Next Meetings:
April 13th – Beginners
April 26th –Dr Steve Duncan (Torbay AS) – “433rd Rock from the Sun”

Observing: The weather did not permit any viewing

Close:
The meeting closed and members were invited to reconvene at the pub.