The indoor meeting for Sept 4, 2021 has been cancelled due to Covid concerns. We will still have observing on the field, weather permitting.

Meetings have been temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 health crisis. For the current status of our club’s events, please see our calendar. National events from the Night Sky Network are also displayed on our calendar -most of them virtual and free!

For up-to-date information on the  current situation for COVID-19 please visit the Georgia Dept of Public Health and the CDC websites.

This month we are featuring Frank Garner’s Solargraph, an image of the path of the Sun taken with a pinhole camera from March 21, 2014 through June 22, 2014. Congratulations, Frank!

Clear Skies,
Steve Siedentop

Thanks to Jim Soboleski, Jim Sims, Van Macatee, Frank Garner and Theo Ramakers for giving their time on Memorial Day Saturday to install the Solar panels at the Jon Wood Field. It was hot, and the roof surface was scorching!!!! but Jim Soboleski and Jim Sims kept going at it to get the frame and than the panels installed. The wiring and the installation really looks like it is a professional job! We still have to finish some of the inside wiring, and the outside underground wiring, but the panels are delivering power and the battery is being charged. Thanks so much every one for their hard work. We did not leave until after 3:00 PM. But be assured, many will enjoy the result of having the local power that now is available!! Click the image for the gallery.

We have added a new page to our website to make it easy to see all our events (meetings and outreach) in one place. The NSN calendar has been integrated in our website and can be accessed from the home page as well as from the outreach page. This makes it much easier for everyone to check on meeting info and outreach events they want to participate in and to have access to the details of the event without specifically having to go to the NSN site.
Click here to take a look.
Clear Skies,
Theo Ramakers

Today, July 23^rd at  9pm Eastern come along with other Night Sky Network club members for an exclusive telecon all about our upcoming visit to Mars. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory will be landing on the red planet in just a few short weeks. The mission and rover are designed to assess whether Mars was ever habitable. Listen live and ask questions as Deputy Project Scientist Dr. Ashwin Vasavada gives us the highlights and more from this mission.
Then, on Monday, July 23rd at 6:00 pm PDT (9:00 pm EDT) NSN members join the live telecon by calling the toll-free line:  
Call up to 15 minutes before the telecon begins 1-888-455-9236. An operator will answer and:
- You will be asked for the passcode: NIGHT SKY NETWORK
- You will be asked to give your NAME and the CLUB (Charlie elliott Chapter of the AAC) you belong to, and number of people listening with you.
Hope you will be able to listen in.
Download the presentation here.
Clear Skies,
Theo

Although the weather does not look good, we might be lucky and be able to see the event through some holes in the clouds.  All our teams are on the way to their respective outreach locations. Looking forward to see you there.

Charlie Elliott Chapter members are ready for outreach events throughout the region to allow the community to witness a very rare astronomical event:  The transit of Venus.  Venus lines up very seldom in the line of sight between the Sun and Earth, but this coming Tuesday is one of those events.  The events happen in pairs of two, eight years apart, and the last event happened in 2004.  However, the next pair will not happen for another 105 years, well into the next century in 2117.   We will setup our Solar Telescopes around 5:00 P.M, but the transit does not start until a few minutes past 6:00 and will continue for about 6 hours until well after sunset.  All events are free, with the exception of Stone Mountain, with the regular park and lift fees to the top of the mountain.  We will observe until the sun sets at each location.  The locations to witness this rare event are:
Covington:     Sharp Field Drive (Between Sharp Field and Sharp Learning Center off Mill Street
Grayson/Loganville:      Bay Creek Park, 175 Ozora Road
Lawrenceville:     Little Mulberry Park, 3855 Fence Road, Auburn
Stone Mountain:     Top of Stone Mountain
Read the announcement in the local paper The Citizen.

Join us for a teleconference on Wednesday, May 9th to learn all about Our Magnetic Sun with solar scientist and engaging presenter Dr. Bryan Mendez. This summer promises plenty of solar viewing opportunities. Be sure to be armed with sunscreen and solar trivia. And get ready for the newest Outreach ToolKit, Our Magnetic Sun, to be released the same week!
To join the Teleconference on Wednesday, May 9th at 9:00 pm Eastern call the toll-free conference call line: 1-888-455-9236
Call anytime after 8:45 pm the evening of the telecon. An operator will answer and:
- You will be asked for the passcode: NIGHT SKY NETWORK
- You will be asked to give your NAME and the CLUB you belong to, and number of people listening with you.
Find the presentation slides online here or download them here.
Clear skies,
Theo Ramakers

We have  several members who have gotten interested in Astro Imaging.  They have setup galleries on our website that deserve being checked out!!!  Some nice images.  Eventhough that any of them does qualify for our Picture of the Month, we have selected for this month our latest member that setup a gallery.   Help me welcome to the gallery Joseph Seymour by checking out his gallery as well as all the others.

The solar outreach event for tomorrow February 10th for Summerour Middle School has been postponed because of a cloudy forcast.  The new date is February 24th same time.
Clear skies,
Theo Ramakers