GENERAL MEETING

Saturday  January 30, 2010  7:30 PM
La Sierra University, E. E. Cossentine Hall  (Riverside, CA.)

Astronomy students, and kids age 1 to 100 are welcome.  

Public is invited, and admission is always free!

RAS Board of Trustees Meeting
3:00 PM - Coco's Bakery Restaurant --All Invited

Pre-meeting Dinner
5:00 PM - Coco's Bakery Restaurant  

{mosmap address='221 Palm Canyon Dr., 92004,Borrego Springs, California,United States'|zoom='17'|zoomType='Large'|zoomNew='1'|mapType='Hybrid'|showMaptype='1'|overview='1'|}

10098 Magnolia Riverside, CA 92503
(951) 687-3846

Are you new to astronomy?
Beginner's Corner   Learn more about the sky and how to use a telescope
7:00 PM at the meeting hall

Mark Melnyk

What's Up in 2010

NGC 253 by Mark Melnyk
 

Topic:

Things that Go Blip in the Night:
Finding Planets through Transits      

Guest Speakers     
Rachel Akeson

Rachel Akeson is an astronomer at the California Institute of
Technology and is currently the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute Deputy
Director and the Keck Interferometer Project Scientist.
Her research focuses on the formation of nearby stars and planets,
particulary using the technique of interferometry to combine
the light from many telescopes at once to improve the
angular resolution. Moore info here:

Click

At the end of the meeting, we will conduct our door prize raffle and Show
& Tell session.
We hope you can join us.

MEETING INFORMATION

* RAS general meetings are held monthly, and always on a Saturday
  evening
* General Meetings begin at 7:30 PM sharp. Beginner's Corner starts at
  7:00 PM
* Admission is always free

Meeting Schedule

Directions to Meeting Location at La Sierra University:

Going west on the 91 freeway, exit at Magnolia Avenue. After exiting,
make first right turn onto Pierce St. (at ARCO station) which will become
Riverwalk Parkway. Proceed on Riverwalk for ~0.8 mile to Sierra Vista
Avenue (Sierra Vista is at the traffic signal after the main entrance to
the university). Make a left on Sierra Vista. Proceed through the next
traffic signal at the church (Pierce St. again), and make an immediate
left onto the small campus road adjacent to Sierra Vista Hall.  Proceed
up the road to parking lot "F".  E. E. Cossentine Hall is the building
adjacent to the parking lot. Cossentine Hall is also labeled "The World
Museum of Natural History".

If you are coming from the Corona area, go east on 91 freeway and exit at
Pierce Street. Turn left on Pierce and continue as stated above.

MAP

Club meetings include guest speakers, "What's Up" session, Chief
Observer's Report, star party information, special events information,
show & tell session, and a raffle of several door prizes. The public is
invited (you don't need to be a member to attend).  These meetings are
always educational and fun.  Best of all, admission is free.

Go back  RAS Home Page

The year started with a new Board of Trustees. Frank Boecker, Dan Coley, Bill Vining, Mark Rader and Mark Melnyk joined with returning Trustees Ralph Megna and me in what has been the most extensive reorganization of the RAS Board in decades. I stayed on as President, on the condition that we name a Vice President who was willing and able to serve as President starting in 2010. Frank Boecker was selected, and he is well on his way to taking over for the new year. At the same time, Linda Boecker replaced long-serving treasurer, Bob Stephens. Notable were the additions of Sandi Eastman and Diane Childs to the officer's corps, continuing the fine traditions started* by Pam Malcolm and Paula Lennartz, the original Door Prize Duo. Also notable was Norm Van Treeck as Webmaster and Special Events Coordinator. He has put in many hours in redesigning the webpage (and promises the debut is near!), and we know how well he ran the show at RTMC and PATS! Larry Black pitched in to help in Outreach, and Gordon Tyler picked up where Bill Patton left off in the Beginner's Corner. Although not new to the officer corps a couple of people deserve special recognition: Donna Massey treats us well every meeting (with Ryan Massey's help), and Richard Watts does an excellent job of taking notes and keeping us straight as Secretary. All of these officers and others (Okay— so far I haven't shouted out this month to officers Rick Debus, Al Fink, Steve Meyering, and Ashley McDermott) serve the club in so many ways.

But I want to do more than thank these folks for keeping us together. I want to encourage others to step forward. Eric Elliott, although not an officer saw an opportunity to help with Bahtinov masks, and made a difference. Mike Frasier jumped in to help at the RTMC store and PATS.

People helping out make a better club. If you want to volunteer for something, just tell me what you think needs doing (info@rivastro.org ). Don't worry if somebody else in the club already has that job. Most officers would appreciate the help, and may even step aside and let you take over some or all of the duties. And go ahead make a suggestion if you think of a job this club needs (well, like Historian, Chief Photographer, Music Director(?), Sergeant-at-arms!?!).

Getting people involved is what keeps our club going and growing. People need to know they have a role to play. They need to know there are things to do, and how to plug themselves into it.
The people who get the most out of their club are those who step forward.

The Board has published the calendar of activities for 2010. (See rivastro.org or last month's Prime Focus.) You can see there is something to do nearly every weekend. (And outreach is always
adding more and could use some help) Be part of it. See you in 2010.

Clear Skies,

* When I wrote about Sandi and Diane contnuing a tradition started by Pam and Paula, I was thinking about the "Door Prize Duo" thing. As several people pointed out, we have had door prizes for some time, even before Pam and Paula took over. I even remember the night that Cheryl Wilcox introduced the paper bags and all that after she and Randy came back from some teachers' conference. So, while the Door Prize Duos have certainly made their mark, they are standing on the shoulders of giants! (See, that is what I hate about shout outs.....you always forget somebody!)

Next Star Party January 15-16    at GMARS
More Info. • Map to GMARS • Star Party Etiquette • Star Party
Schedule

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