MAS members Lee Cole, assisted by his son Adam, and Bill Wilson helped kick off the Raleigh branch of the Memphis Public Library system's summer reading program for kids on June 4, 2008. Called Starship Adventure at Your Library, it's designed to encourage kids up to the age of 11 to continue reading over the summer in order to maintain and improve the reading skills they gained during the school year. The kids were enthusiastic and as kids usually do, asked great questions.

Starship Adventure was an appropriate theme for the Memphis Astronomical Society. The Coles and Wilson showed the kids, who ranged in age from 7 to 10, how the sun works and how to observe it safely. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast, so direct viewing of sunspots was not possible. However, with charts, a magnet and iron filings, and drawings of the sun, the MAS members gave the kids as much hands-on experience as possible. They and Lavada Wheatley, the librarian who coordinates the Raleigh branch's Starship Adventure, were given the web address of SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, where they can see real-time images of solar activity in several wavelengths. They were also shown a tile from the Space Shuttle and told how it works to keep astronauts safe during their return from orbit, and Wilson showed them with his drawings of the sun over the years what it looked like on or very close to the day they were born.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has proclaimed 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009). 2009 marks the four hundredth anniversary of the first astronomical observation through a telescope by Galileo Galilei. It will be a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with a strong emphasis on education, public engagement and involvement of young people, with events at national, regional, and global levels throughout the whole of 2009.

The MAS is currently planning outreach activities for IYA2009 and would appreciate ideas and recommendations for activities and involvement in local area events. If you have any, please send an email to ric@memphisastro.org

Keep checking our Links and Forum (BLOG) web pages for exciting news and links to resource web pages supporting IYA2009. I will use our BLOG to post the latest MAS plans for local events and activities.

August 3, 2007 - Roy Tucker, famous Asteroid Hunter will make a presentation at the MAS General Meeting.

Come to our General Meeting on Friday night, August 3rd, to hear a presentation by the famous Asteroid Hunter and former MAS member, Roy Tucker on a new astroid observing program. You can follow this link to a recent article talking about Roy's work in Discover Magazine.

May 4, 2007 - Dr. Gerrit Verschuur to speak on "Radio Astronomy" at MAS General Meeting.

Don't miss this treat! Dr. Verschuur is a well known pioneer and author in the field of radio astronomy. Among his books is the recently published The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy.

Dr. Verschuur is a recognized scientist, speaker and lecturer in the field of radio astronomy and cosmology. In addition to his seven books on the subject, he has had numerous research papers and articles published and holds several patents. He has spoken to audiences throughout the world, lecturing on astronomical topics. Dr. Verschuur will be speaking on the subject of Radio Astronomy as well as discussing several of the remaining issues in Cosmology.

November 8, 2006 - Mercury Transits the Sun

Some members of the MAS, including famous solar observer, Bill Wilson (see August 23, 2006 new item below) set up telescopes for a public observation of Mercury as it transited the face of the Sun.

Below is a photo (or part of one actually) that Bill Wilson took by hand holding a digital camera to the eyepiece of his telescope.

Freddie "Mercury" Diaz took some great photos and has them posted on his web site at: http://fdiazhome.tzo.com/Astronomy/Events/Mercury-11-08/

August 23, 2006 - Local observer, Bill Wilson, featured in international news bulletin.

Local solar observer, William (Bill) Wilson is featured in the July 2006 issue of the Solar Bulletin of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).

August 3, 2006 - MAS Newletter available "on-line".

The MAS Newsletter is undergoing some changes. It will soon be available "on-line" and will be emailed to the membership rather than printed and mailed via the US Postal Service. "Snail Mail" will still be available to those who request it. Check the "Newsletter" web page for the latest issue.

July 10, 2006 - MAS member, Dr. William (Bill) Busler to go on speaking tour of Australia (or something like that...)

Dr. Bill Busler, the author of our books on finding Messier objects, is going to Australia so he can observe the southernmost 30 Caldwell objects, the subject of his latest book. Not wanting to lug a telescope to the other side of the Earth, he emailed several Australian astronomical societies to see if they would let me him observe with them, using their telescopes to test out his finding methods. In exchange, he would give them a talk. The net result is that he has hooked up with three societies: Mornington Peninsula (Melbourne), Astronomical Society of New South Wales (Sydney), and Wollongong (south of Sydney).

He's also going to be photographing the southern constellations.

He gave one of the talks at the July MAS meeting; he'll be giving another in September.