July 2008 Lowbrow Meeting Minutes.
as submitted by Mike Kurylo
Printed in Reflections: August, 2008.
7:30pm meeting at the Eastern Michigan University Sherzer Observatory
- Hosted by Norbert Vance
- 1903—EMU Sherzer Observatory was founded
- 1991—Acquired an Astrophysics 254mm (10”) APO refractor
- Roof-mounted Meade LX200 also available for use after the general meeting.
35-40 members in attendance
President Charlie Nielsen
- Asked if a member would contact Rachel from the Student Astronomical Society
- Has asked his campaign manager to do an optics talk in the future
- Possibility of having astronaut Jack Lousma for a presentation in November,
and would require a larger meeting room for the anticipated crowd
Paul Walkowski
-
Raised a motion to donate $250 for 2008 to GLACC and was approved by a
majority vote of the membership
V.P. Mike Kurylo
-
Arranged for the pizza, drinks, and snacks for the annual equipment review
- The ATM group has transferred the 17.5” mirror from the home of Arthur
Suits to Doug Nelle’s home to continue
the refinishing work.
V.P. Jim Forrester
-
The open houses have been well attended when the Michigan weather cooperates
Treasurer Yasu Inugi
-
Stated membership at 96 with $7717.45 in the account
Newsletter Editor Mark Deprest
- The lowbrows have received the latest Night Sky Network toolkit on supernovas
- The newsletter desperately needs articles!!!
Webmaster Dave Snyder
- Goals of International Year of Astronomy 2009
- Increase scientific awareness among the general public.
- Promote widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences.
- Empower astronomical communities in developing countries.
- Support and improve formal and informal science education.
- Provide a modern image of science and scientists.
- Facilitate new astronomy networks and strengthen existing ones by connecting
amateur astronomers, educators and scientists through local, national and
international activities.
- Improve the gender-balanced representation of scientists at all levels
and promote greater involvement by underrepresented minorities in scientific
and engineering careers.
- Facilitate the preservation and protection of dark skies.
Guest speaker was John Kirchhoff from Rider’s Hobby in Livonia, MI
-
As usual he had a wide assortment of items for our annual equipment review:
- Orion Star Blast 6”, f/5 with two eyepieces $289
- Celestron Sky Scout and now two SD update cards are now available
- Meade MySky can link to ETX scopes
- Orion Resolux 7x50 binoculars $299
- Vixen Foresta triplet 7x50 binoculars $299
- Orion Star Shoot Autoguider $249
- Unihedron Sky Quality Meter 45 degree 1/2 angle $119, 15 degree 1/2 angle
$139
- Orion adjustable drawtube focuser $169
- A plethora of eyepieces such as the Televue Ethos 13mm
- Orion Star Blast Astro Imaging System with DMK USB CCD webcam $399
- Orion SkyView AZ Mount, 50 Lbs rating, w/Vixen style dovetail mount $399
- Orion 5-Filter Wheel $169
Additional speaker was Mark Deprest presenting an enjoyable photo sequence
-
Trip to the Green Bank Star Quest #5 in West Virginia
- Met with fellow Lowbrows Yasu and Yumi Inugi who were able to run a 40’
dish
- There is the world’s largest equatorial mounted scope at 140’
diameter with a 16’ diameter steel ball bearing
August speaker is scheduled to be Tom Trusock
Remember, to see more details of our meetings please stop by in person
and bring a guest. It’s better than your job, and
it’s an adventure! GO LOWBROWS!
Photo Credits
All images were provided by Mike Kurylo.
See Also
Additional photos taken at the July 2008 meeting.
Links
Copyright Info
Copyright © 2015, the University Lowbrow Astronomers. (The University Lowbrow Astronomers are an amateur astronomy club based in Ann Arbor, Michigan).
This page originally appeared in Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers (the club newsletter).
This page revised Tuesday, April 10, 2018 7:08 PM.
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