Steve Phillips, Frank Garner and Theo Ramakers went to help the scouts of Pack 724 earn their astronomy belt loops. The glass and mirrors kit showed the scouts what is inside telescopes and what happens to the object your watching when you look through the telescope. they learned about the planets and the solarsystem, they saw how big red giants will get compared to other stars and outside they had to setup a scope and focus on the leaves of some trees, because the clouds obsteructed the sky. Over all a very good event. Thanks Pack 724! Click the image to go to the gallery.

This was a repeat for Rock Eagle. Frank Garner and Theo Ramakers presented to the visitors of at Rock Eagle in Eatonton. We presented the latest on the Curiosity Rover and discussed how NASA studies the Sun. Because of the cloudy conditions, we were not able to let the visitors observe the sun. We received some very good questions from the young attendants of the session which made us pretty happy.
Clear Skies,
Theo

The cloud cover on the second day of the event was a little better. In fact we saw the sun every now and then, and the best thing was that all students of the fourth session today were able to see the nice active regions and the very nice prominence. Inside presentations gave the students a better understanding of what happens on our closesed star and they learned what can happen if some of these solar storms are directed at Earth. Click the image to see the gallery.

This is our fourth year at Memorial Middle School in Conyers. Our scheduled program for day 1 was to teach the students some facts about the Sun, and show them how it affects our lives on Earth. In addition we intended for them to observe the sun through our solar telescopes. Unfortunaltely we had a rainy day and instead of observing the sun we did some activities related to it. Click the image to see the gallery.

Telescopes 101 was the topic of the main presentations. Larry gave a great overview and explained how one should setup and align them using his mount and refractor. Several members followed Larry and gave an explanation of their setup. 6 New faces made the meeting even more enjoyable. Jeff Rebitzke received his apron and Chef hat in order to be properly dressed for his presentations when he cooks his comets. The meeting finished with Jon Towne’s monthly “what’s Up“. At the Jon Wood Field the newcomers received a lot of attention in how to use their equipment and also could see what one see through the other telescopes. Click the picture to link to the gallery.

The Chapter reached out to the vistors of Panola Mountain State Park on Hwy 155. The day started with broken clouds and the attendants had to wait in between times when the sun would show its face. Half through the event everyone went inside for a presentation on the Sun, the impact the Sun has on our lives on Earth and how we study the Sun. Some very good questions showed that individuals were interested. Thanks to the staff at Panola Mountain for asking us to come again this year! Click the image for the gallery.

A great meeting in which we viewed the movie “Forbidden Planet”, followed by a few announcements. Several issues were discussed and Larry showed his final timelapse of the Orionids Meteor shower and we finished with John Towne’s monthly “What’s Up”. Because it was overcast, this time no observing at the Jon Wood Field. Click the image to goto the gallery.

Boyscout Troop 282 came out to camp at CE to earn their Astronomy Badge, and we were asked to give them a hand. Frank, Theo and Jack came out and guided them through the requirements, using all the NSN kits we have. Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy send some thin high clouds our way, obstructing a lot what we could see. Despite this, I believe the scouts learned a lot and came pretty far through the requirements for the badge. Click the image to go to the gallery.

We went again to Morgan County Middle School for their Astronomy Club. 18 Students attended the presentation of the Mars Science Laboratory “Curiosity” and also learned about the sun and the solar system. In addition, they got to see the sun live through our white light and H-alpha filtered telescopes and participated in an activity that shows that all energy on Earth originates at the sun.

102 Individuals between the ages of 5 and 60 did participate in our outreach event at the Duluth Library. Following a program in the library about the planets, the group went out and observed the moon and a few deep sky objects such as the Hecules Star Cluster and the Ring Nebula. A great program and those who attended really did like astronomy a lot!! Thanks to the library for inviting us. Click the picture to go to the gallery.