A few words from Dave Radosevich, our reigning president...

Messier Marathon:

March has turned out to be a busy time at Anza. On the March star party, we hosted the Messier Marathon, which many of you folks came out to observe. Our sky started out great with 100% visibility, which turned to 0% by midnight! Oh well, that’s March for you. If you go by the list, we should have folks with as many as 72 possible Messier objects up to midnight. So if you got 72, you did pretty well. All and all, it was a great turn out and thanks to all who participated. During the April meeting, we will hand out the certificates and a “special prize” for the most imaged/photographed Messier’s visible that night. Bring your photos for all to see.

Anza Notes:

The March star party also brought some much-needed work. Weather permitted clean up in the lower pads area, which was a great start. Thanks to Bob Buchheim, Don Lynn, Dan Bonus, and an OC member name that escapes me (sorry!). I donated the truck and trailer for hauling which took one load to the dump. We still need plenty of material loaded up and hauled to the dump, so please continue to step up and help. Don Lynn also worked on the South Wall of the Kuhn observatory roof. Tiles needed replacing and Don spent an afternoon repairing it. Don also worked on our water system, which seems to always need tweaking. Vance Tyree has started the Broadband repairs/upgrades. He will be replacing the Cat5 cables with Optical lines for greater reliance and speed. These efforts will make our Anza site more resistant to the harsh conditions our broadband faces. Many Many thanks to all these individuals for their continued support!

Anza House Coordinator:

We have a new Anza house coordinator. Welcome Timothy Hunt who has stepped up to the plate and signed up to help keep the Anza house patron ready. He replaces Larry Carr and (temp) Barbara Toy. Many thanks to Larry and Barbara for passed upkeep of this valuable resource. If you use the Anza House and notice issues or supply shortages please contact Timothy at: hunt_Timothy@msn.com.

Pad Licensees:

Correction to the March Presidents Message: As pointed out by our resident attorney (and I wont mention Barbara’s name), I called out to “Pad and Observatory Owners”. What it should have read was “Pad and Observatory licensees”. Please excuse the slip-up. Now that that’s out of the way - To all pad licensees - Last year a letter was sent out regarding the maintenance and upkeep of your pad / observatory area. Now that the weather is warming up, this is just a friendly reminder that you have until May 31st before the board steps in and takes action. This date is less than two months away! We are really serious about this issue and it will be important to all of us that you comply. Trailers will also need to be moved prior to May 31st.

Scenic Highway:

Anza has seen its 100-year flood this year and while this played havoc to our roads, it will still make for a scenic drive. There will be some time by this publication to go out towards Anza and see the Wild Flowers. This year is very promising. In April, you may need to go to higher elevations but it will be worth it! Take 371 up towards Anza then take 74 towards Lake Hemet. This will take you thru Garner Valley. Take a camera and picnic lunch and enjoy. By mid April it could be over, so don’t delay.

Astronomy Day 2005:

National Astronomy Day this year is Saturday April 16th. Check our website for updates regarding OCA Activities. http://www.ocastronomers.org.

RTMC 2005:

We are in need of an OCA volunteer for this years RTMC. If you are looking for a weekend in the mountains- hanging out with 2000+ astronomers (some professional and some NOT!), then contact me. We need a volunteer to help set up a booth promoting our club and selling books and things. It helps if you have a truck or large vehicle to transport materials to RTMC. Other members will provide some help in transport but we need a Booth Coordinator! Contact me @ Dave.Radosevich@ngc.com for more info.

Last General Notes:

Our general meetings continue to be lengthy and some changes are coming. One of our fundraisers is during the meeting break. We rely on donut sales to fund a service during the break and your patronage is appreciated. Donut sales are falling and in jeopardy of being discontinued. EAT Donuts!! It’s way cheaper than the after meeting meeting at Hoff’s Hut! Also, TRASH-TRASH-TRASH is becoming a real problem in the Irvine Hall. Not sure if we are the culprit but we need to clean up after ourselves. We would hate to lose this great facility over something like TRASH.

Credit where credit is due:

The March SA showed a real nice picture of the Kuhn Telescope with Orion serving as background stars. OCA member Larry Adkins took this photo of the Kuhn. Larry has been using his new toy camera (Canon Digital Rebel) with great results. See Larry’s image album on the website for more great pictures.

Thanks for reading and see you at Anza and the April meeting!

Dave Radosevich

OCA President