B.C.A.A.S. MEETING MINUTES
February 14, 2008
President Dave Brown called the meeting to order with 33 in attendance. He passed a get-well card around for Clarence Sensenig, who is back in the hospital after having suffered another stroke.
On Wednesday, February 20, 2008, there will be a total lunar eclipse. We will have a public watch at the Berks County Heritage Center, starting at 8:30 pm. This will be the last total lunar eclipse until December 2010.
We are encouraging members to participate in the Globe at Night citizen science project. This is a simple program anyone can do, and doesn’t require any equipment. One night during the period of February 25 through March 8, just go out and compare the stars you can see in the constellation of Orion to the charts on the website and report your observation on the website. It just takes a few minutes! See www.globe.gov/GaN for complete details. Our club won a dark sky meter from the Night Sky Network in conjunction with Globe at Night, along with a toolkit with some ways to demonstrate good lighting. Barb had the kit on display. She also noted that National Dark Sky Week will be March 29 through April 4, and Earth Hour will be March 29 from 8 to 9 pm. More details of these events will follow.
Barb handed out Night Sky Network pins and Certificates to Ron Kunkel and Ian Galiyano for giving NSN presentations during 2007.
The Penn. Outdoor Lighting Council will be holding educational seminars on outdoor lighting for municipalities aimed at municipal managers, planners, engineers, zoning board members, etc. They will be held on April 29 at Nolde Forest and May 29 at Lower Macungie Township Community Center. Both run from 7 to 8:30 pm. If anyone is interested in more details, please contact Barb Geigle.
Linda Sensenig reported a balance of $$$$$, along with the $$$$$ CD.
We will try again to have a Board meeting on Thursday, February 21, 7:30 pm at Barb Geigle’s house.
Our speaker tonight was sponsored by Dr. Keith Minnich. Dr. Derek Fox, from the Astrophysics Department of Penn State, Main Campus, spoke to us about “Cosmic Explosions: Those Things that go Bump in the Night”, dealing with Gamma Ray Bursts.
Our speaker for the next meeting on March 13 will be David Graff, “Looking for life on other planets”.
Respectfully submitted
Barbara Geigle, Secretary