SURGING FORWARD INTO 2008 
Determined to make 2008 astronomically even better - thanks to all !

FEDASTRO

Since the last newsletter we have finally received the documentation for our membership of the Federation of Astronomical Societies plus confirmation that we have a third party insurance cover for all of our meetings. It seems that it takes a while for our CNAAG details to be included in all their listings but, like astronomy , patience seems to be the name of the game. The folder with all the details is 'doing the rounds' and it should eventually get to you, it will also be available at our regular monthly meetings. If anyone finds that they have an overwhelming burning desire to urgently see the folder, get in touch and we will get it to you asap .

 

MONTHLY MEETINGS

Our regular meetings at the Fox have been very successful with good attendance and interesting topics - with tea and coffee thrown in as well. Tony and Jane have really provided us with a top notch town centre venue which we hope will continue for a long time. Nigel Moxleys talk on galaxies is one of the recent memorable highlights and was of the quality which we hope to continue into 2008. Our monthly meetings will be on the 3^rd Monday of each month and will only change in exceptional circumstances which will be well announced - PLEASE NOTE THE DIFFERENT MEETING DATE FOR ? more infomation later.

AGM 2008 -Was held at  The Fox,  on MONDAY 21^st January 2008

 

 

GUEST SPEAKERS

An immediate bonus of our Fedastro membership is that we now have access to listings for professional expert speakers which we aim to make full use of throughout the coming years. To start us off in style we have booked astronomer Mr. John Long of Stratford on Avon Astronomical Society for Monday,  FEBRUARY 11^th, 2008. John has been an astronomer for a long time and specialises in solar astronomy. His talk is about the 'Milankovith Cycles' which deals with the Earths orbit, ice ages and global warming - highly topical - and it is anticipated that this talk will attract wide public attention - put this in your diaries asap.

 

OBSERVING

Weather, work and other commitments have continued to play havoc with intended plans for observing meetings and it is appreciated that outdoor meetings, especially at short notice, can prove difficult to take part in with all the other commitments we have to attend to . However we intend to continue to look for available time /weather slots and notify everyone asap - please remember to give a ring first if you are uncertain about the weather. There will be some fixed observing dates throughout 2008 which we hope to arrange for specific purposes. As you can imagine and experience has proven, it is always wise to have an alternative dry venue up our sleeves and with this in mind we will be planning things accordingly and keep everyone updated.

 

VENUES

We still have use of the Rollright Stones site ( many thanks to the Rollright Trust ) along with the recreation ground and pavilion at Long Compton. We will be looking at a few other sites close to Chippy. The Fox, as mentioned , is a perfect venue and   ( just in case they read this ) my superb manager and brilliant director may, at some point, let us meet in the Theatre!  The church rooms at Long Compton are also an alternative venue thanks to Richard. Ideally we need our own plot of land and build our own observatory but that will have to wait for the big lottery win I'm afraid .

 

WEB SITE

David Henderson & Bryan Hunt are our superb webmasters who carry out all the changes and updating necessary - a time consuming task in itself. We had a near disaster in the year when everything seemed to get lost but somehow they worked as a team and resolved everything brilliantly. This did however highlight that it is not always wise to rely 100% on the internet,  text / telephone will always be the backup. If anyone hasn't heard anything from us for a while please get in touch as it may be a technical fault or ( more than likely ) an admin cock up!  If anyone notices anything odd / wrong or just daft, has some news or even just a comment or two please let us know  - our webmasters can perform wonders ( usually for a pie and a pint ! ) .

 

TO SUBSCRIBE OR NOT !

Still undecided as to how we continue  - we need to look at this at the AGM. If anyone has any particular experience or expertise in this area I would appreciate your advice / comments. I am a big believer of fund raising as and when necessary but accept that subscribed status has advantages for the group.

Spring2008:-
Update:  SUBSCRIPTION STARTS IN JULY 2008.

ON THE HORIZON - Some definites,   probables,   possibles and dreams!

Spring - Possible trip to Greenwich or Herschells museum Bath.              
Possible showing of the film 'In The Shadow Of The Moon' at the Theatre with ( possible ) guest speaker - perhaps CNAAG sponsored.

Summer - several public events being looked at including the Wychwood fair later in the year.

The Society for the History of Astronomy summer picnic at Hanwell, Banbury

Autumn - a definite extended meteor watch night if conditions allow tbc.

Throughout the year the Fedastro will continually be letting us know of events which we will pass on to everyone

Finally, a reminder : 2009 is the 'Year of Astronomy' and we are already collecting ideas for how CNAAG will join in.

Robin