In just a few weeks, The Planetary Society will fly the first solar sail spacecraft. This private venture, sponsored by Cosmos Studios and the Members of The Planetary Society, will be historic. Light sailing is the technology that may someday take us to the stars, but for now the first attempt by a space-interest organization to fly its own mission will simply use the sail in controlled flight to increase our orbital energy.
The group photo will be taken at the usual spot in front of the main building at 1:00 on Sat. – please plan to be there and bring any other member you happen to see along the way with you!
If you want to leave a message for someone, try out our new message board in the OCA booth (and check for messages there yourself periodically!). You just put the name of the person the message is for on the outside of the message (there should be some paper available if you don’t have any) and stick it to the message board. It’s a method that works at conferences – let’s see if it works for us, too!
Just a reminder – the Astrophysics SIG meets tonight at 7:30 in the classroom behind the Centennial Heritage Museum. We’re having a special presentation tonight by Don Lynn of some movies he’s collected from NASA, with more detailed explanations than he gives at the general meetings and some special points of interest. We’ll also be continuing with the two new series of videos, and having our usual fun and discussions – hope to see you there!
For directions, please click on the title to this article.
The complete version of the warning about critters at Anza and Black Star Canyon from last month, and, in the interests of helping members enjoy all aspects of our hobby fully, a primer on dealing with shyness and stagefright.
For those who haven’t yet experienced RTMC, here’s what you can expect (and why you should go). This is an article I did for the Sirius Astronomer last year, updated.
The Beginners’ Class will be held at its usual time and location, even if it rains – so, if you were planning to come, please don’t let the weather stop you! Tonight’s session centers on telescope mounts, eyepieces and other associated equipment – and, of course, answering questions people may have about any aspect of astronomy (or the club). We’ll see you there!
For directions, please click on the title to this article.