AAA President Message – August

Dear Members,

It’s already August, can you believe it? Time flies when you’re having a good time. All our public stargazing events are in full swing. The Tanabata Festival, co-organized by Stan Honda and Tom Haeberle, drew scores of people, to experience Japanese culture and folklore which involves the stars and Milky Way.

Autumn Starfest, our largest member outreach event, is scheduled for Saturday, September 22, 2017 at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Gates open around 6:30 PM with presentation activities beginning at 7:00. Mark your calendars. If it’s like last year, you’ll want to be there.

Calls for Observers with telescopes and kits, as well as Volunteers will soon be issued. As the week approaches Starfest, parking arrangements will be announced.

Two AAA Classes taught by David Kiefer have been announced. Registration is open for the early Fall class, Astronomy 101.  This is a great class that covers basic concepts and principles of the science of astronomy. Sign up as early as possible because David’s classes fill up.

The Lectures season starts in October. The schedule is near final and one date has been designated the John Marshall Memorial Lecture. David Kraft  generated the roster of speakers and Faissal Halim began work on updating calendars and the website.

The Eyepiece team has undergone a management change. Jeff Williams has taken the helm of our newsletter as Editor-in-Chief. In the past couple of issues, Jeff has done a lot of heavy lifting while sharing elbow grease with the other editors to get each issue published.

We are grateful to Alan Rude for leading the team during the transition to web-based edition. As Assignments Editor, Alan is now concentrating on gathering content for each issue. Editors Richard Brounstein, Rafael Ferreira, and Chirag Upreti work with the member content to make it publication ready.