[AANC Contacts] Re-up or Join the AANC

[Kenneth Frank]

Dear Greater Bay Area Astronomy Clubs,

It's renewal time! Now that the Super Bowl is over and IYA 2009 is just getting into full 
swing it's time to pay your dues.

The AANC Board suggests your club join or renew your membership in the AANC:
http://aanc-astronomy.org/Renewal-AANC.html

Purpose: The AANC was created to facilitate the flow of astronomical information among the 
various segments of the astronomical community
(public, amateurs, educators, commercial vendors, and professional astronomers) in the 
Northern California area.

Activities: We help coordinate regional activities such as:

ASTRONOMY DAY— Enjoy participating in a worldwide celebration of astronomy in your area. 
AANC created this "Day" in 1973.

MESSIER MARATHON STAR PARTIES — Try to find all 110 Messier Objects in a single night.

AWARDS — Annually, we choose an AANC Amateur, Commercial, and Professional of the Year, 
honored for enriching the activities of amateur astronomy in northern California.

SPECIAL EVENTS — We help coordinate special activities related to unusual celestial 
occurrences such as comet viewing, close approaches of Mars, spacecraft encounters 
--Voyager, Galileo, etc.

BIANNUAL ASTRONOMICAL CONFERENCES AND/OR WORKSHOPS — We have a big one in the works, along 
with the ASP Meeting September 12th:
http://www.astrosociety.org/events.html

where you can have the opportunity to "rub elbows" with the pros, find out about the 
latest and greatest astronomical discoveries via workshops, symposia, lectures, vendor 
demonstrations and more.

ANNUAL STAR-B-QUE  —  Each year AANC holds a Star-B-Que, again this year at Fremont Peak 
State Park on July 25th, where we present our Annual Awards, hold a astro-gastronomical 
contest, give out door prizes, and enjoy a weekend of observing fun with the 30 inch f/4.8 
Challenger telescope,  mounted on an English cross-axis equatorial system.

REGIONAL STAR PARTIES — Enjoy exciting observational astronomy at a dark sky site.

History:

The Astronomical Association of Northern California was founded September, 1971 at Fremont 
Peak, by local amateur astronomers, John Bally, discoverer of a comet, Doug Berger, 
co-discoverer of a comet, and founder of Astronomy Day, John Dobson, Creator of the 
Dobsonian Telescope Revolution, Frank Miller, an officer of the Western Amateur 
Astronomers, Joe Farkas, President of the Eastbay Astronomical Society, and two very 
active observers of the area, Gerry Rattley, and Bruce Rhodes.   The original guiding 
principles were:

    1. To act as an intercommunication media for various astronomy groups of the area, 
thereby allowing greater participation in activities.
    2. To hold two annual conferences a year, one that would be oriented towards 
astronomy, and one that would be oriented towards telescopes in connection with a star party.
    3. To serve as a coordinator for projects such as seeing testing, occultations, star 
parties, etc.

Organization:

AANC is a "club of clubs" in which delegates from many of the area astronomy clubs, 
educational institutions, and commercial vendors of the area meet every other month at the 
Chabot Space and Science Center, to exchange views and announcements. We also work 
together to organize annual activities and other functions described above.  We maintain 
the AANC Northern California Resource Guide listing astronomy clubs, planetaria, 
observatories, and astronomical businesses in northern California.

To join AANC (cost-what a deal $20), please mail your check to:

AANC Treasurer,
Richard Ozer
2539 Cordova St.
Oakland, CA 94602

Thanks and Happy IYA 2009,

Ken Frank
AANC VP