Club Updates
February 16, 2009
We have a lot of exciting events coming
this year so keep an eye on the calender.
November 17, 2008
Cub Scout PVN this Saturday at Camp
Preston Hunt. They are meeting to
set-up around 5:30pm. Check calendar for
updates on meeting and other events.
September 9, 2008
RRAC in
hosting a Burgerburn September 25-28 2008. All area clubs are
invited. The newly forming Arkansas IDA will have an
administrative/organizing meeting Saturday at 3pm. No cost for
attending. A meal of either burgers or barbeque will be available
Saturday night for a cost of $5.
RRAC will provide coffee, shower, dark skies and limited electricity on
the observing field.
March 10, 2008
We canceled the Public
Viewing Night (PVN)
at Hope, AR due to rain. We will reschedule soon. We got clouded out
Saturday so we will attempt a messier marathon later this month. Check
the calender above for scheduled events.
January
28, 2008
Soon the weather will
get more hospitable and PVN's and cookouts will flood the schedule.
Many members have expressed an interest in a Messier Marathon this
year. The best dates for our latitude are March 8-9 but 29-30 would
work but some objects may be difficult to spot.
Roy will present to the Nashville Rotary at 12pm Wednesday. His latest observatory report is here
.
October
15, 2007
New Meeting Guidelines
We will host club meetings the Saturday
on or after New Moon in Texarkana at 4pm rain or shine. Meeting place
yet to be determined. This will allow time to go to the club property
after a 1 hour meeting, weather permitting if you desire. The meeting
time/place will appear in the Texarkana Gazette. These will be
business/social meetings with some organization.
These new guidelines
come about due to many reasons, low attendance at meetings during bad
weather at the club property, prospective members not
able/willing to make the drive to the dark site. Some meetings will
fall on or just before first quarter. You can go and observe at the
property at anytime.
We will not officially
schedule PVN's before they are discussed at a meeting. So no conflicts
in scheduling arise.
We will try and find a
meeting place to suit our needs.
The next meeting is
November 10.
September
17, 2007
Check the calender we are hosting a Boy Scout Troop from Nashville at
the club property on Saturday October 6. We may also host a cookout
that afternoon before. Check your email for updates.
LSU-S in Shreveport is hosting another free public lecture on September
25.
September
4, 2007
Someone emailed me the other day for
exact details on the September 14
event. I lost a week of email off my computer so I could not respond.
On Friday September 14 we will host a Public Viewing night at the Rick
Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Center. We will set-up around
7:30pm close to the classroom building. If the weather is unfavorable
call 1-877-777-5580 or 903-824-1520 for updates.
Map
with directions
May 5, 2007
We welcome all area
clubs to the property
this next weekend
May 10-12 for an area astronomy club get-together. Saturday May 12 we
will cook burgers for everyone. No admission for camping or anything.
This is a casual get together so we can all get to know each other and
exchange ideas.
If you come early on Thursday or Friday you can park and set up camp
any where around the buildings. Just try to keep the eastside clear for
people who will leave late and not camp.
I will set-up camp on Friday night. We will have movies, coffee and
such in the classroom. Hopefully the sky is clear and we can spend the
time observing.
-Tim
April 13, 2007
We will meet for observing Saturday
at 8pm at the club property. We
will eat at Pablano's in Nashville at 6pm. Pablanos is located just
south of downtown on Main street.
March 6, 2007
The eclipse watch went great. The sky
was clear but breezy and cool.
John Pfister sent in some photos he took during the eclipse. Link
to photos here. Send in your photos of this or any other event to tim@onebigorangecomputer.com.
If you would like to upload your own photos to the gallery email me and
I will email you a user name.
Messier Marathon time is here and this next meeting on March 17th we
will be at the property logging as many as possible.
Check the calendar
for updates. April 13 scout-o-rama in Texarkana we need as many
volunteers as possible.
February 21, 2007
The PVN at Liberty Eylau went well.
Roy did not show his
presentation because of scheduling but maybe next time. Even
under bright street lights I believe folks still enjoyed the views of
the Moon, Saturn, and Orion's Nebula. We will be at the property
Saturday March 3 to observe the lunar eclipse at moon rise. The
club property has a low eastern horizon that is required to view this
eclipse best.
Link
to eclipse map
February 16, 2007
No official meeting this month due to
many members having outside
obligations. The property is still open for observing as usual.
This Tuesday February 20, we will host a public viewing night at the
Liberty Eylau Pre-k. We will meet there around 6pm. Roy will do a 15
minute presentation on the solar system. We will set up outdoors for
viewing if the weather permits.
Liberty Eylau pre-K is located a quarter mile north of hwy 59 on
Robinson rd in Texarkana. See you all there.
January 18, 2007
We postponed the meeting one week
because the weather looks bad for
Saturday night and we need as many folks to come as possible.
Spring is around the corner and it tends to be a busy time for PVN's
and Star Parties. We will plan some of these at the next meeting. See
y'all there!
December 8, 2006
We will hold our December meeting on
the 16th at Dixie Diner in
Nash, TX off I-30 at the Kings Hwy Exit. We all look forward to seeing
everyone there. This is our last meeting for this year and it was some
year. We had a busy year and shared our telescopes with lots of people.
October 20, 2006
We are going out tonight (Friday) for
an observing session. I am going
out late around 10pm or so. A comet, meteor shower, and possible
auroras are on the list tonight. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun.
September 26, 2006
The Second Annual Ark-La-Tex Star
Party was lots of fun. Some pictures
will get posted soon, but until then here is a link to a few Click
Here. We had wind, rain and clouds but Kevin still logged
nearly 25 Messier s I believe. We all got lots of visiting and movie
watching in. Saturday night was the clearest night of all and of course
everyone was tired from all the excitement during the day and crashed
fairly early. Thanks to all the speakers and folks who helped put the
star party together.
There is talk about another state get together in the spring. We cannot
wait!
September
1, 2006
On September 23,
2006, the ArkLaTex Star Party's Special Guest Speaker will be Dr. Matthew
Bobrowsky. Dr. Bobrowsky is
employed by the NASA Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore,
MD. Dr. Bobrowsky will give a presentation to 175 students on Friday to
three NASA Explorer schools in Texarkana, AR. The Saturday evening
presentation at the star party will be "Recent Results From NASA's
Great Observatories". Don't forget our drawing which will include a
Celestron Telescope, Meade Deep Sky Imager Camera and many more prizes
right after his presentation.
August
13, 2006
The
August 12 work session was very
productive. We put the classroom on
its own circuit from the pole to allow more power to the field. This
was made easier with a donation from John Pfister. We fenced out the
cows, mowed, started repair of port-a-pots, various other small task
and planned for the next session.
On Saturday August 26 we will start working at 4pm and have
a meeting/cookout at 8pm.
Roy has started submitting articles to local papers to inform and
gather more interest in astronomy. Here is a recent one.
http://www.rrac.org/members/roy/Horsehead.html
In the future follow the link on the
left side of page that says " Roy's Articles and
Photos"
July 27, 2006
We
canceled the July meeting last minute so everyone would have time for a
break before all the work starts for the Star Party. We need as much
help for the August 12 workday we can get. Everyone is welcome to come
and help.
June 14, 2006
Burger Burn coming up on the 24th
this month. At least it won't be cold out that night.
Sorry about the page looking terrible there for awhile. My web browser
saw it fine, but Internet Explorer did not. I think it is fixed now.
May 28, 2006
The sky turned out wonderful, and we
had the best views of jupiter I
have ever seen. The red spot transited along with Europa which made
jupiter look very exciting.
Here is a pic Roy and I took.
Orion Star Shoot
Camera 30 frames stacked
May 9, 2006
There
is alot happening this month,
something for everyone. We will
look back someday and remember these as the good ole' days.
March 19, 2006
Red River Astronomy Club will be hosting the All State Astronomy Club
Get-together on March 24/25 at our site near Nashville, AR. The two day event
will allow people to view in dark skies and visit with other club members from
through out the state. Our site is noted for being dark and our club for its
hospitality. The event is open to amateur astronomers but not to the public. If
you or your members have someone they would like to bring to the event, they will
be welcome. After dark, light restrictions will be observed.
A tentative calendar follows:
Friday
March 24 Gate open 4:00 PM
Depending on attendance, cookout or meal at a
local restaurant
Saturday
March 25 Burger burn 5:30PM (RRAC's famous smoked burgers)
Introduction and meeting 6:30PM
Depending on attendance: Presentation may include "How
to search for minor planets" and other presentations.
Camping and RV hookups will be available upon request. We will have power on the
field for those needing electricity. Port-a-pots available for men and women.
Endless coffee and cappuccino supplied. The event is free but a kitty to help
offset expenses will be available for those wanting to help out. Please contact
me if you have any questions or suggestions.
February 2, 2006
We will host
a Multi-Club meeting / Messier Marathon in March. We will most likely
make it a two day (Friday night ,Saturday night) event with camping
available for those who want to. More Details to come shortly.
January 25, 2006
The club
will meet this Saturday at 5pm at the Fish Nest in Nashville Arkansas.
We decided to meet and eat because it looks like rain Saturday. We will
still go to the property by 7pm for those who did not get the late
message. This is the first meeting in 2006 so lots to discuss. To get
to the Fish Nest go about 1 mile North on hwy 27 towards Murfreesboro
from the Hwy 371 and 27 intersection in Nashville. The Fish Nest is on
the left in a curve.
January 10, 2006
Yeap, a New
Year and lots of exciting things in the works for 2006. If you sent in
a membership application in November or December you should start
receiving the "Reflector" magazine in March. The "Reflector" is a
quarterly publication. We also started your memberships for 2006.
Come to the meeting and check out our Dark Site.
November 28, 2005
Looks like the Potluck has
moved forward to this Friday December 2 at 7pm. Holidays and such wreak
havoc with schedules. I believe we are planning a PVN this Friday at
5pm for Nashville Arkansas Schools. All this at the club property
Friday. Bring whatever you would like. Someone said they will bring
chili .
November 7, 2005
At the PVN Saturday we discussed
having a get together this winter. Saturday December 3 or that Friday
we could go potluck at the property (we have tables and heat) or go to
a restuarant. What will work best for the majority?
Thanks to all who came Saturday, it was a success.
We have a quick Public Viewing Night
coming up on November 14 at
Fairview Elementary in Texarkana, Arkansas. 6pm till 7pm
October 18, 2005
On Saturday November 5,
2005 RRAC will hold a Mars Watch Public Viewing night at Spillway Park
by Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana. Everyone is invited and admission is free.
Sun viewing : 3:00pm
(through special filters, never look at
the Sun directly)
Sunset : 5:30pm
Mars, Moon and other
object viewing :
6:00pm - 10pm
Directions: From
Texarkana go south on
Highway 59 ¼ mile past the Sulfur
River Bridge. Turn at the first right which is a convenient
store. Go straight ¼ mile. Signs will be posted.
Bring your lawn chairs,
binoculars and telescopes.
September 18, 2005
Some of the presentaions and pictures from the star
party available
here for download.
September 12, 2005
The Star Party went off well considering all
the events leading up to
the weekend. I will put up a page with the presentations for download
and pictures from the event within the week when I get it all in. If
you have any comments or suggestions for next year email me at tim@onebigorangecomputer.com
.
Red River Astronomy Club wishes to thank all who participated and paid
the ridiculous Labor day weekend gas prices to attend. We enjoyed
meeting everybody and sharing stories. We got alot of positve feedback
through email from you all but I did not get around to answering them
all. Hope to see you all next year.
Roy and I would like to thank Dr. Whitlock for visiting us and bringing
her Max Scope 60 out again Sunday afternoon for a second try. The view
was awesome through it.
Links to some pictures of the Star Party
http://www.bautforum.com./showthread.php?t=29740
August 10,2005
We have changed the speaker line up, Tim
Puckett had to cancel. Check
for updates we may add a speaker. We will be out at the property at 8am
Saturday to work. If its clear we will be there Saturday night also.
August 4, 2005
We have over a thousand dollars in door
prizes for the Ark-La-Tex Star
Party. Get your registration in or miss out on lots of fun. Meeting
this Saturday at the club property 7pm.
July 20, 2005
Workday this Saturday call Tim or Roy for the time to meet at the
property. We need general clean up and mowing.
July 1, 2005
We are having a meeting/potluck dinner this
Sunday at 7pm.
We have a video and a presentation you can watch about the Deep Impact
Mission from NASA that comes to a peak Sunday night. Rene' and
Kevin are bringing HOT chili and a few trimmings so if you have
something to contribute you should bring it. We will also have
NASA TV live for Deep Impact mission coverage. The Ark-La-Tex
Star Party menu will be posted very shortly. Menu Here
June 8, 2005
Workday this coming Saturday, all are welcome
to
join in the fun. We
are holding the next club meeting on SUNDAY July 3 in an attempt to
observe the impact of NASA's Deep Space probe with Comet Tempel 1. We
will try to have it live on TV in the Classroom. Some say nothing will
happen to the comet while others predict noticeable change in
magnitude/coma.
May 26,2005
We have a Public Viewing Night scheduled for
June
4th at Lake Greeson
just north of Murfreesboro, AR. click
here for map Short notice but better now then August when it
is HOT!! Should be fun.
May
18, 2005
This coming Saturday we are working at the
property
on the fence, media wiring, set-up in building, and electricity for the
well. Come on and lend a hand there is something for everyone. In the
evening we are cooking something and having a Moon Party. If all else fails we could catch a
movie on the silver screen.
April 20, 2005
A computer malfunction delayed the updates to the webpage, but thanks
to good back-ups it was not too much hassle.
Not a large crowd for Astronomy Day but a good interested crowd.
Everybody had fun and the weather was not bad at all for a PVN.
Everyone got a kick out of seeing the moon on TV live.
Astronomy
Day Pictures click here
Free Software links I promised some folks last month
Celestia-tour
the galaxy in 3-D
Stellarium-planetarium
software
Galaxy Collidor
simulator in German but still usable
Virtual
Moon-map software
Saros-Eclipse
Calculator
Open Projects CD-
email me and I will give you a copy if you can't download large file
www.sourceforge.net
has lots of early release software projects, do some searches and find
some to try.
We are working at the club property this weekend at about 10:30am
everyone is welcome to pitch in. If you plan on coming let Tim or Roy
know so we can get materials.
March 22, 2005
We will hold
the next club meeting on Saturday April 9, 2005
5:00pm at the club property(subject to change to the Rock Station). On
the agenda, final prep for Astronomy Day and some more planning for the
Ark-La-Tex Star Party.
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