Message From AAA’s President

Happy November Everyone!

Yes again, another year has just about gone by. It is certainly true that the more we humans age, the faster time seems to fly past us. I still remember the craze and hysteria of 2000 approaching and Kramer not knowing if the millennium (AKA Kramennium) starts in the year 2000 or 2001. All of our computers were to implode. And we would all be going about our days in flying taxis.

Well, of course our computers did not seize on us, nor are we flying around in personal helicopters. But drones are everywhere. Private companies are dominating space flight. And humans on Mars will become a reality within the lifetime of many of us.

I have been teaching a class on Business Law for many years now. And in each class, I try to relate what the founders of America created with our country 250 years ago, to where our country is today. The bottom line is that our lives now would simply seem like magic to the founders. In fact, if I spoke about advancements in science that we have today, to my class 10 years ago, I would have seemed like a magician. Or not of my right mind.

Humans prepping to walk on another planet. Thousands of stars and planets observed beyond our own solar system. Electric cars becoming the norm, and fossil fuels beginning to see the end of their usefulness. A vaccine created in less than a year, using groundbreaking mRNA technology that may also lead to cures for cancers.

Surely, this is the stuff of dreams and magic. 

But no, it is reality. 

And of course, some people complain that change is moving too fast. Others complain too slowly. 

Regardless of where each of us falls in this amalgam of opinion, what is undeniable is that change is afoot.

Which brings me to the point of this message… I am the President of the Amateur Astronomers Association. It is a position I regard in high esteem and do not in any way take lightly. The advancement, and democratization of science, is perhaps the loftiest of goals in a society where scientific advancement moves at such a rapid pace, yet the general masses are often either confused or unschooled in it.

I have touted all that AAA has to offer in previous messages in Eyepiece, and I will continue to do so. The Board, the Executive Committee, our members, and volunteers are all committed to bringing their love and fascination with science to the public at large. It is what we do and will always continue to do so.

Please see our (fantastic and new) website for information on everything we are engaged in. Attend our lectures. Sign up for our classes. Come out to our public observing. Borrow a telescope from the library. Listen to our podcast. Learn astrophotography. And perhaps most importantly, spread the word. 

If you are not already a member, please consider becoming one. If you already are a member, I hope that you are taking advantage of everything that we have to offer.

Thank you for being a part of who we are.

Brian H. Berg

President