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ETNA ASTROS MINUTES April 22, 2008 Etna Library
The meeting was called to order by President Chuck at 6:30pm
Chuck talked about TIME. He discussed three theories about time, all three are very hard, if not impossible, to understand. There was a big discussion about this.
Chris told us about our updated web site. He also updated the solar connection and talked about our sun. It now appears to be entering a new eleven year cycle. Chris talked to Jack Eddey (no relation to Alan) about sun cycles. There was a ”mini ice age“ about 1500AD that may have been caused by the sun cycle. Alan said that the northern lights are best during active sun cycles. This coming sun cycle may be the biggest in 400 years.
Our visitor, Kathy Williams, was asked what she wanted from our club. She said that she just wanted to look at stars!
Alan talked about his back. It is coming along well. He also told us about his trip to Mount Bachelor Oregon Star Party. It was a small party, held on s parking lot. There was good food but no showers. This party is put on by the Sun River Observatory. It is in a deep valley and can be very windy. There was an 18 inch Dob and 130mm Takashi scopes among others.
Chris talked about our last Star Party. Kathy Williams said she looked at Saturn and that ”made her day“. Chris stayed until 2:30am and said that we should have more targets at our next Star Party.
Larry told us about his activities. He is working on Astronomical Society’s lists. He is also very interested in the moon. He took some pictures of Saturn with a web cam. He belongs to the Medford Astronomy Club and just likes to look at the sky.
Alan talked about ”binos“ and Chris said he is down to 26 scopes! Chris also talked about Meade. They of outsourced most of their work and went from 400 employees to about 30!! He thinks they won’t be in business long!
Chuck and Chris then got their lap tops out and went on line.
The meeting was adjourned about 8:30pm
Dave Krone - Secretary
Minutes for the March 18th
The meeting was called to order by President Chuck at 6:45pm at the Etna Library.
Chris told us about the Lesotho Project. The telescope is ready to go but we have to raise shipping costs.
Dues were discussed. They are $15 per year and due in June.
A book on ”Digital Astrophotography“ was discussed by Chris. He is reviewing it for the publisher.
Chris gave us a program on Newton’s Laws of Gravity. The laws are; 1. A body is at rest unless force is applied. A body in motion is always in motion unless other force is applied. 2. Force is equal to mass times acceleration (F=ma). 3 Law. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Chris then gave us some demonstrations on these laws. There was much discussion about this subject. Thanks Chris for this demonstration.
Chuck talked about ”Stuff that Glows“. He talked about Nebulas, photons, Gamma rays and how they work. He stated that it takes a photon a million years to get out of the sun, but only seven minutes to get to the earth! He discussed the two types of nebulas, emission and reflection. Chuck discussed the spectrum of light and showed us the spectrum of light coming from the sun. Of the primary gasses, helium was discovered in 1868.and is the second lightest gas, after hydrogen. Each element has its own ”finger print“. Thanks Chuck for this program.
A Birthday cake was presented to Emily for her birthday. Happy Birthday Emily
The meeting adjourned after 9pm. Dave Krone – secretary.
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doesn't use "go to's" for seeing stars. He likes to star hop, as he may run into other nice objects while looking for the star he was targeting. 
As usual, a great time was had by all. We started by catching up on each other's holiday activities. Seems we all made it through the hectic season. The snow has dented our observing time and few of us have been able to get a telescope out.
