November 28^th Meeting

     This was our second and last meeting for the Fall 2001 semester. We will be posting signs all over campus when we have our first meeting for the upcoming Spring 2001 semester.

     Here is what happened:

          1.  We discussed plans for future club activities such as visiting Lick Observatory, having Sun Observation days, Star Parties, and fundraisers.

          2.  Our Club Officers for the Spring semester will be the same as this semester. If you would like to become a club council member, please email Jessica at danor_of4@hotmail.com.

          3.  We talked briefly about the Leonid meteor shower. There was also the discussion of a star party for the upcoming Geminid shower (Dec. 13 12-4am)

          Reminder: Nasa is holding a naming contest for their new $500 million space observatory. It is currently referred to as SIRTF or Space Infrared Telescope Facility. The requirements are:

• Write an essay of 250 words or less about the name you are suggesting.

• One entry per person.

• Deadline: December 20, 2001

• Essays must be submitted online at http://sirtf.caltech.edu/namingcontest

          The winner gets the pleasure of watching the launch of the space observatory from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July 2002.

          Check the web site via the link above for more details!

          4.  The Vice President, Chris Braniff, gave a presentation about this month's feature constellation, Orion. He showed where the Orion Nebula is located and interesting facts about why and how the Greek alphabet is used to label each star in the Orion constellation.

     Be sure to look for Orion while its cold. It's very easy to spot if you look in the Southern part of the sky this month.

     Also, on December 14 there will be a telescope set up in the Physics & Engineering courtyard for observing the Annular Solar Eclipse. It will start at approx. 12 noon.

Thanks to everyone who came.
Good Luck with Finals!