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AGM 14th February 2009

After some initial hesitation in late 2008, I decided to accept Council nomination for President of the AAQ, succeeding Peter Anderson. Peter served as President in 2008 but could not continue in the role during 2009 due to significant travel commitments. I would like to thank Peter for his assiduous management of astronomical issues during 2008, in particular, his legendary effort in reviewing and revising the AAQ Constitution.

A special highlight of the AGM was the presence of Arthur Page, a founding father of our association. Arthur was invited to attend the AGM in order to personally hand over, and sign, a copy of Arthur's wartime autobiography, "BETWEEN VICTOR AND VANQUISHED", donated by Greg Bond. The book is now part of the AAQ library and can be borrowed by members. Despite advancing years, Arthur was in good health and spoke eloquently about his role in the early years of the embryonic AAQ and gave a brief background to the events that led him to his astonishing role in the eventual surrender of the Japanese Forces in the Pacific. For book details click this link.

For a summary of the AGM, please read Des Janke's article "Annual General Meeting 2009" on the AAQ News web page.

New AAQ Website

Many AAQ members know that I served as President in 2004 and 2005, with the major achievement of my term being the reincarnation of a more functional and complete AAQ website. In a matter of a few years, the website has undergone another major reconstruction that bears little resemblance to the previous version. I urge members to go online and navigate around the various sections and see how powerful the web site is, even at this early stage of its new life. It is now a secure online site where members can log on and use the site as a communications facility, association resource, and even submit their own articles or gallery photos, should they wish to do so. Eventually, the AAQ newsletter will be sourced from the website with members having the ability to view and access a catalogue of archived newsletters and Annual Proceedings. As you can see from this photo, I love my AAQ shirt.....see David O'Driscoll's article regarding obtaining an AAQ logo on the shirt or vest of your choice.

March Brisbane Field Night

The next Brisbane Field Night (formerly referred to as LPO, Lunar and Planetary Observing) is on 7th March and is hosted by Peter and Evon Anderson at Taylor Range Observatory (The Gap). Fortunately, the observatory suffered little or no damage in the November 2008 storms, but their house is currently undergoing substantial repairs. Check the February newsletter for the Lunar and Planetary targets for the night. Remember to call either Peter or Tony Dutton regarding cancellations due to weather; you can check each month's planned Brisbane Field Night (LPO) on the website.

March OGM

The Main Item for the March meeting (14th) will be a Jonathan Bradshaw's presentation about his occultation experiences Waiting for Nothing to Happen, Asteroidal Occulation Timing. Jonathan has enjoyed considerable success (and failures) in recording many video files of his occultation observations and together with his relaxed and entertaining delivery, will be sure to provide an entertaining and educational talk. The meeting starts at 4pm in the theatrette at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.

Remember to check for meeting details of each month.

March DSO

The first Deep Sky Observing night is scheduled for 28th March at a new location. The new site is about the same distance away as Cunningham's Lookout, but is to the east of the highway. Details will be available on the website soon and a map and instructions will be provided at the March OGM.

Please remember to always check the website for details of BFN and DSO nights.

New Members

Welcome to our most recent new members:- Michael Rowlands, Joe Virgona and John and Richard Wainwright.

I look forward to a productive and harmonious 2009, with the AAQ supporting and hosting special events in this International Year of Astronomy.