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Hi! I’m the president of CCAS, and I wanted to write to you myself and let you know that I am a real person. My favorite telescope is my 8′ Newtonian (pictured right), and I spend about an hour each week just gazing at the sun and moon, not to mention distant objects. First, let me tell you that I’m so glad to be able to share this astronomy passion with you. And most importantly, I’m really happy that you believe astronomy is something worthwhile enough for you to be a part of our group! |
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I joined CCAS about 6 years ago and have also served as a past CCAS newsletter editor. I really do have a satellite-dish-turned-radio-telescope in my backyard, and I constantly give workshops to families in science and engineering (which often includes astronomy).
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CCAS has a lot of different things going on, and there’s going to be something that really hooks you. For example, you might be super-excited about the star parties, but would rather skip the speaker talks. Or perhaps you find the public outreach programs the best use of your energy, but you can’t find time to read the newsletter.
What I want to get across is that whatever capacity you choose to participate in our club is perfectly fine. Our club is here for you, which is one of the reasons we offer so many different opportunities. Feel free to select the ones you want and leave the rest for someone else. Want a sneak peek at what’s coming? Then keep reading… |
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One of my primary goals is to take care of our members. This means you’ll be seeing more astronomy things coming your way, from a noteworthy newsletter to observatory visits to telescope clinics. This is where you come in – feedback. If there’s something you want to see in our monthly meetings, local star parties, or other CCAS activities, just fire me an email and we’ll see how to make it happen. Another important goal of CCAS is Public Outreach. For years, CCAS has spend countless hours doing talks and star gazing events for schools, families, teachers… just about anybody that will listen. We’re going to continue our public education efforts, and if this sounds like something you’d want to help with, then I want to hear from you. If you don’t know an atom from an Ã¥ngström, or even own a telescope, we still welcome you to join us as we hit the schools and sidewalks, bringing the stars closer to a hungry audience. The feedback from these events is worth its weight in GOLD, and we invite you to take advantage of these opportunities as they arise. You’ll be hearing more about these in future emails. |
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| Whether you’re a newbie or experienced scope user, you’re in the right place. What I’ve found over years is that people learn new things without even realizing what they’re doing. It just becomes a part of the fun as they connect with others who are playing at a higher level. I mean, you wouldn’t learn tennis by playing someone who is worse at it than you are, right? |  |
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How to Stay Connected: The CCAS WebsiteAs a member, you now have full access to the ‘Members Only’ area of our CCAS website. Here’s the information you need to access this area:
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What Happens Now?Each month, you’ll find our newsletter, The Celestial Observer, delivered to your email box. The newsletter highlights the club meetings and star-gazing events of the month. You’ll also find scope tips and articles written by our members. |
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Speaking of staying connected, you’ll be getting emails from me just to keep you in touch with the latest CCAS news. I’ll be sure to send along the next star-gazing dates as well as upcoming events for members. If you ever want to unsubscribe from these emails, all you need to do is click the link at the bottom of every email.
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All right – enough talking about the details. I hope you enjoy being a part of our CCAS as we move into action and make it all happen. I really look forward to working with you over this next year, whether it’s shooting me an email or racing me to the next celestial object on star party hill. Our club is what we make it, and this year it’s going to rock! (Meteor shower, anyone?)
Clear skies!
Aurora Lipper
President, Central Coast Astronomical Society
P.S. How long has it been since you attended one of our star parties? I invite you to visit one soon – everyone in our club would love to meet you there.
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