October 2010

October 4, 2010 Meeting

Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room

The Astronomical League

By John Land

Last year the Bartlesville Astronomical Society rejoined the Astronomical League, which is the primary national organization of amateur astronomers. The AL offers many benefits, from their quarterly publication The Reflector, to book discounts, to specialized observing clubs. John Land, of the Astronomy Club of Tulsa, will inform our members and visitors how we can make the most of our membership in the Astronomical League.

Words Ya Gotta Know

(http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics/Words_Ya_Gotta_Know.html)

By Alan M. MacRobert

Club Business

October Elections

Arden gave a quick summary of the current status of nominations for our October elections, reminded everyone that there is still time to make additional nominations, and also mentioned that there are non-officer responsibilities that are in need of volunteers.

Liability Insurance

After a review of the important reasons that BAS needs to acquire club liability insurance (notably the legal risks of participating in any public outreach events without it) and a quick summary of the insurance options and quotes, a recommendation was made to purchase a one year policy from Marsh and Seabury for $320. This is the insurance agency recommended by the Astronomical League. There was agreement among the attendees that it was important to proceed with this action, and there was no opposition to the recommendation. The premium check has now been mailed and BAS should be covered within a week. We will soon start talking about plans for future public events.

Dues Increase

The purchase of liability insurance described above is not a sustainable strategy in future years, considering the low level of our bank account. The most obvious way to resolve this is to increase club dues to cover the insurance.

To create enough income to maintain the liability insurance from year to year with our current membership of 20 would require an increase of $16 per member to a total of $28 per year. This is not unreasonable considering the fact that BAS has not increased dues in at least 25 years, and many local organizations have dues nearly twice that amount. However, since we will reevaluate the benefit of our insurance at policy renewal time one year from now, it was agreed during the discussion that the dues should be raised only half the needed amount, in the hopes that during the coming year, we will make up the difference by increased membership and donations through our public outreach efforts.

A proposal for dues increase has been presented to the membership by email. The proposal is as follows:

Dues to be increased to $20 (from $12)

Student Dues to be increased to $10 (from $5)

All dues to be paid on ( or prorated to ) November 1 each year

The email represents a formal proposal equivalent to those presented during monthly club meetings, and members have been asked to respond by September 15. Results will be announced by email once the votes are in.

(Source: http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Entertainment/astronomy-calendar.php)

2010 Programs

BAS Resource Checkout

<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BvilleAstro/app/giveaway/view/table>

Next Meeting

November 1, Monday. Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room (tentative)

Program to be determined.

Newsletter Contributions Needed

Our club newsletter is reaching more people each month, and member contributions in the form of short articles, interesting news items, alerts of upcoming astronomical events or activities, descriptions of personal observations or useful equipment, and observing tips, are encouraged. Recurring columns or multipart articles are also welcome. Please submit your contributions to Mike Woods or to bvilleastro@gmail.com .

For Sale

Celestron NexStar 130 SLT GoTo Reflector Telescope. Includes Soft Case, manual, etc… Can be powered by 8 internal AA batteries or included 12V power cord. Asking $250. Contact Duane Perkins, phone: 336-5096 or email: dperkins@sbcglobal.net .

BAS Public Website: http://sites.google.com/site/bartlesvilleastronomyclub/

BAS Yahoo Group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BvilleAstro/

If you want to have your email address removed from the Bartlesville Astronomical Society mailing list, please send an email requesting removal to bvilleastro@gmail.com