MAC Meeting Minutes January 8, 2009 SCETV Hap introduced the incoming President for 2009 – Al Parker. Al introduced the 2009 Board members. We had a number of guests, several of whom joined the club. Guests included: Katie Prim, daughter of Pam Prim; Stewart Grinton; and Chelsea Moyers. Guests at the meeting who later joined include Bob Lundgren, Robert Carlson, and Heather Sherbourne. Al asked for a volunteer to serve as Refreshment Committee chair. Prior to each meeting, this person will call and remind members who signed up to bring refreshments each month. Charles Hite volunteered to do this. Al asked for volunteers to serve on the Cookout committee. Responsibilities will include planning and executing activities associated with our Fall Cookout held in October. Hap and Chris Edwards agreed to serve on this comm. Observing Report Paul R., observing chair, noted that he, Bob Maxwell, and Charles Hite attended an outreach activity with a group of cub scouts at Crooked Creek Park at Lake Murray. He noted there were about 7 cubscouts and an equal number of adults. Other observing reports: Hap noted that several members at MAC-Hunter observed satellites moving through M42 – the Orion Nebula during a recent outing. It is not uncommon to see satellites while observing M42 due to its location near the celestial equator. Doug Lybrand described a recent night at MAC-Hunter when he was conducting visual observations when the temperature dropped to approximately 16° F. He noted he was quite comfortable in his observatory in a sleeping bag rated for 20°below zero and a small heater. Hap was also at MAC-Hunter on this night, and noted that the first thing he did the next morning was to check on Doug to make sure he wasn’t an icicle. Main Program – Astro Adventures in Tanzania, by Brian Peterson Brian Peterson provided the main program for the evening. He described his recent trip to Tanzania, to a city named Iringa. Iringa is located about 5 degrees south of the equator, so his view of the southern sky was greatly enhanced. There were very few lights so that the sky was very dark. He saw many objects with his naked eyes, including the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the Southern Cross, etc. His PowerPoint presentation included a number of pictures taken with a portable telescope and camera. They were all spectacular, especially considering the equipment used. This was a fascinating program, not only because of the views of the southern sky as described by Brian, but also for his descriptions of the areas he visited in Tanzania. Show and Tell Hap noted that he had an article in this month’s issue of Astrophoto Insight. The article was about DSLR filter modifications to make Digital SLR cameras capture more astro-imaging data. Brian brought a meteorite he received as a Christmas present. Brian also noted that he had won third prize in a contest sponsored by Williams Optics. His prize was a very nice binocular, 10x50, I believe. Doug brought several books he had received as Christmas presents, including the Encyclopedia of Astronomy, among others. He also received a Telegizmos telescope cover to put over his scope in his observatory. After Show and Tell, the meeting was adjourned and members enjoyed the refreshments provided by Al. Also, Paul R. set up the club’s 10” Dobsonian telescope in the parking lot for a few minutes of observing.