Midlands Astronomy Club Meeting February 5, 2009, 7:30 pm SC ETV Al opened the meeting. Mary R., Treasurer, announced that the Club now has a bank account established at First Citizen’s Bank, with a current balance of approximately $1,072.45. Paul R., Observing Chairman, brought to the attention of members a couple of observing reports published in the Club’s February newsletter. He noted specifically Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) was seen from the Mac-Parnell site this Saturday night (January 31, 2009) at magnitude between 7 and 8. Hap noted that there was a “full house” at MAC-Hunter last Saturday night as well. Saturn is in Leo and the rings are nearly edge on to our view. The last time this happened was in the mid 1990s. It was noted that the Club needed to revive the awards program: Constellation, Messier, Messier Marathon, Lunar List, Herschel, and Double Star. This is an action item for the Board. Charles noted that there was one opening for someone to bring refreshments to the October meeting. Lee Olsen volunteered to do so. Al then noted that the Club needed to consider increasing the amount allowed for refreshments from its current level of $25 to $35, primarily due to the fact that we have a larger number of folks coming to meetings now. Has a decision been made on this issue? Outreach Paul R. requested someone to speak at an upcoming event at Lonnie B. Nelson this coming Saturday (2/7/09). Mark Moyer volunteered for this outreach event. Hap also requested someone to attend a Science and Math night at Manning Jr. H.S. on February 10, 2009. Paul R. and Heather S. represented the club at this event. Hap suggested we include on the Club’s web site something akin to an “outreach request form.” We could include on such a form or page basic information on sunset times, moon rise times, etc. to better help folks plan for such events. Action item for the Board Al asked for a volunteer to contact an embroidery company and obtain prices for various clothing items with the Club’s logo on them. John H. noted that he had a friend he could talk to. Lee O. also volunteered to look into this. Al will also continue looking into potential companies. Charles H. noted he was a “mystery reader” at CA Taylor Elementary school recently. Chris E. noted that MAC may have an opportunity to conduct outreach at Horse Show and Earth Fare in Lexington, if the club is interested. Paul also mentioned that he may have identified a new observing site below the Congaree National Park. It is located on a high bluff overlooking the Congaree River. He will conduct additional investigation to see how accessible this site will be and report back to the Club. Mini-Program Paul R. demonstrated the program Virtual Moon Atlas (http://www.ap-i.net/avl/en/start). Main Program Chris Edwards provided the evening’s main program titled “Scientific Methods: Understanding Our Universe Through Reason and Evidence.” There are two fundamental thought processes: Induction and Deduction. Einstein realized that gravity and acceleration were equivalent. His General Theory of Relativity explained the orbit of Mercury better than Newton’s model of gravity. At large scales, the General Theory of Relativity can explain gravity and movement of bodies, but at subatomic scales, Quantum Theory takes over and does a better job of predicting outcomes. Dark Energy makes up approximately 73% of all known energy. Dark Matter makes up approximately 23% of known matter. This leaves only approximately 4% for normal matter and energy in the visible universe. The Higgs Boson may be the fundamental particle of mass. Scientists are hoping to identify it with the Large Hadron Collider. Show and Tell Joe Rhoad (?) showed club members a copy of the magazine “Space” by National Geographic. It includes many beautiful pictures. Can someone please confirm it was Joe Rhoad who did this. I want to make sure I got the right person. Bob L. showed the Club a planisphere and celestial sphere model he recently purchased. Heather S. told the Club about a battery-powered heated vest that she recently used on a cold night of observing. She noted that while others with her became chilly as the night wore on, she was quite comfortable. Paul W. showed a lightweight tripod he had for sale. Later sold for $50. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.