Chairman’s Report – June 2015
Thank you all for coming here tonight.
Last November, the future of the Astronomy Club hung by a thread. Thanks to the support of members who stepped up to form a new committee, we were able to keep it going, and I hope, revitalise it. We have worked together as a team, and every member of that team has made valuable contributions to the committee. I’d like to thank all of them.
We have had presentations by myself on the Star of Bethlehem and on Meteorites. Guillan gave a presentation on the discoveries made and planned for Mars. In between, we have had meetings to look at the fundamentals of a telescope, and how to use a telescope to look at the night sky led by Simon and Neil.
And thanks to the organisational skills of Sue, we have also been fortunate to have two visiting speakers – David Le Conte from Guernsey, on his time in the USA and photographing Apollo 8, and Sue Daly from Sark on night sky photography on a dark Island. It has also enabled us to build closer ties to Guernsey.
An astronomy lecturer from England - Dr Robin Catchpole - is planned for September to give a talk – he was Senior Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich - and we have names of others lined up for next year. We are hoping that we will be able to present to members a full programme for the year in January.
The main dome has, unfortunately, suffered from alignment problems and damp, but that has not prevented us from using telescopes. Neil and club member Jim have brought along their own telescopes, and members have been able to view Jupiter and its moons, and the finer detail of Orion’s belt. We have even taken out the large scope we have here, although that needs a bit of muscle.
Meanwhile, Neil and a small team have also been busy refurbishing the dome, and are hoping to have the larger telescope aligned properly and back in action for the Autumn, perhaps earlier.
And we have also had two cub packs, and one brownie pack visit the club to learn about astronomy and the night sky, which is part of our remit to education.
We now have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a Webpage. I’ve been working on the webpage largely by myself, but if you know any youngsters who are willing to help, I’d be more than happy to let them. We have some breaking news, and some stunning local astrophotography pictures.
As you may have seen, there are two items on this agenda apart from the usual.
The existing constitution was very muddled, and hasn’t in fact been strictly adhered to for years. Jim Drew and myself have rewritten it to make it more in line with other Astronomy Clubs, and this has been approved by the Committee.
The main changes are in the date of the AGM, which now just says “To hold the Club’s AGM each year” so we can hold it in lighter months when observing can only happen late, and to make any future constitution changes to be made at an AGM with a majority of two thirds of votes cast.
We’ve also – in line with other clubs – introduced a slight reduction for joint membership, and with an eye to the future, a junior membership. Junior members would not vote but they would receive all club details, and hopefully materials especially designed for the budding astronomer.
Thank you.
Tony Bellows, Hon Chairman, June 2015
Thank you all for coming here tonight.
Last November, the future of the Astronomy Club hung by a thread. Thanks to the support of members who stepped up to form a new committee, we were able to keep it going, and I hope, revitalise it. We have worked together as a team, and every member of that team has made valuable contributions to the committee. I’d like to thank all of them.
We have had presentations by myself on the Star of Bethlehem and on Meteorites. Guillan gave a presentation on the discoveries made and planned for Mars. In between, we have had meetings to look at the fundamentals of a telescope, and how to use a telescope to look at the night sky led by Simon and Neil.
And thanks to the organisational skills of Sue, we have also been fortunate to have two visiting speakers – David Le Conte from Guernsey, on his time in the USA and photographing Apollo 8, and Sue Daly from Sark on night sky photography on a dark Island. It has also enabled us to build closer ties to Guernsey.
An astronomy lecturer from England - Dr Robin Catchpole - is planned for September to give a talk – he was Senior Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich - and we have names of others lined up for next year. We are hoping that we will be able to present to members a full programme for the year in January.
The main dome has, unfortunately, suffered from alignment problems and damp, but that has not prevented us from using telescopes. Neil and club member Jim have brought along their own telescopes, and members have been able to view Jupiter and its moons, and the finer detail of Orion’s belt. We have even taken out the large scope we have here, although that needs a bit of muscle.
Meanwhile, Neil and a small team have also been busy refurbishing the dome, and are hoping to have the larger telescope aligned properly and back in action for the Autumn, perhaps earlier.
And we have also had two cub packs, and one brownie pack visit the club to learn about astronomy and the night sky, which is part of our remit to education.
We now have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a Webpage. I’ve been working on the webpage largely by myself, but if you know any youngsters who are willing to help, I’d be more than happy to let them. We have some breaking news, and some stunning local astrophotography pictures.
As you may have seen, there are two items on this agenda apart from the usual.
The existing constitution was very muddled, and hasn’t in fact been strictly adhered to for years. Jim Drew and myself have rewritten it to make it more in line with other Astronomy Clubs, and this has been approved by the Committee.
The main changes are in the date of the AGM, which now just says “To hold the Club’s AGM each year” so we can hold it in lighter months when observing can only happen late, and to make any future constitution changes to be made at an AGM with a majority of two thirds of votes cast.
We’ve also – in line with other clubs – introduced a slight reduction for joint membership, and with an eye to the future, a junior membership. Junior members would not vote but they would receive all club details, and hopefully materials especially designed for the budding astronomer.
Thank you.
Tony Bellows, Hon Chairman, June 2015