Texas Astronomical SocietyOf Dallas

P.O. Box 25162 « Dallas, Texas 75225-1162

The Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas (TAS) is a group of individuals sharing and promoting theircommon interest in astronomy. People with all levels of interest are welcome to join us; novice and veteran observers,telescope makers, and "armchair" astronomers can meet and learn from our members. TAS is a member of the nationalAstronomical League (AL).

Meetings are held on the fourth Friday of each month at the Richland College Planetarium, 12800 AbramsRoad, in the Science Building at the west end of the campus at 7:30 p.m. Visitors are welcome, and you need not be amember to attend. The meetings include programs presented by members or guest speakers, a slide show of thecurrent "Constellation of the Month," a travelling library from which members may withdraw books, and items forsale, such as t-shirts, books, and observing aides. Members usually meet at various restaurants after (and announcedduring) the general meeting.

A New Member's/Novice Observer's group meets on or around the second Tuesday of each month. At thesemeetings, newcomers can meet other members of the club in an informal atmosphere, learn more about the club, gettips on observing, and find out more about astronomy in general. The meeting places and times vary, so contact theNew Member Coordinator listed on the back of this page.

The Special Interest Group for Astrophotography (SIGAP) meets bimonthly. These meetings include slideshows, programs, and discussions concerning various photographic techniques, such as piggyback and prime-focusphotography, hypersensitizing films, dark room techniques, and CCD Imaging. For more information, contact theAstrophotography Coordinator listed on the back of this page.

Other SIG (Special Interest Groups) are the SIGFREID (SIG For Rendering Education In Domes) (DCCCDRichland College Planetarium), Amateur Telescope Makers (ATM), Silicon Sig (CCD's), Sketching, Amateur Radioand various other groups. Contacts and phone numbers are listed on the back of this page.

If you have Internet access, the club has current information including a calendar of events, astrophotographyby members, maps to the meeting sites, library listings, and current topics at http://www.texasastro.org and an E-mail address of info@texasastro.org.

The benefits of membership include a subscription to The Spectrum (the club's monthly newsletter) and theAstronomical League's quarterly national newsletter, The Reflector. Dues are $35.00 per year. Family members canbe added as voting members for $4.00 per person (maximum $12.00 per family). The two largest astronomy magazinesoffer discounted subscriptions to members. Sky & Telescope magazine through TAS is $32.95 per year and AstronomyMagazine is $29.00 (subject to change without notice). Dues are prorated on a quarterly basis for the fiscal year.

Membership also allows you access to the club's 40+ acre dark sky observing site in Atoka County, Oklahoma.Located about 100 miles north of Dallas, this site offers a fine location to pursue observational and photographicastronomy. Concrete pads with electricity are available for general use at no charge, and there are also restroomfacilities, city water and ample area to camp overnight. The site is locked by a combination lock, and you will beprovided the combination upon joining.

As mentioned above, members may withdraw books from the club's library. Upon joining, you will be issueda membership packet which contains a partial listing of the books available. The librarian brings a representativesampling of books to the general meetings, but if you want to be sure that the book you are interested in will bebrought, and for more information, contact the Librarian.

Page - 1 Information Packet February 26, 2004

Page 2 Membership Packet February 26, 2004

TAS General Information & Contacts Yearly events to be aware of include: « The Annual Picnic, every September at the Oklahoma (Atoka) observing site, where there is outdoor cooking, door

prizes in some years, and lots of fun. A nominal fee is charged for the cookout. « The club participates in organizing the Texas Star Party, which is known world wide as one of the premier national

gatherings of amateur astronomers. « We hold Public Star Parties at various sites around the Dallas area, where club members can bring their telescopes

and other observing aides, and help the general public discover the universe. « Club members participate in Astronomy Day, observed in the Spring by many organizations in the Dallas area. « A favorite yearly event is the Swap Meet, members buy and sell books, eyepieces, and other accessories. « The annual Christmas Party in lieu of the December general meeting, is a dinner dress up affair held at various

Dallas locations and features a special speaker/presentation. A nominal fee is charged for the dinner. For more information about the club, books, SIG groups, or about joining, contact: Membership Coordinator / ALCor Tammy Caldwell at 972-642-3200 tamela-c@comcast.net

Observing Coordinator Richard Brown at 972-492-7422 RABrow@aol.comSpectrum Editor Warren Waid at 972-867-8538 edwaid@airmail.net Librarian Tim Johnson at 214-696-4655 stargazertj@yahoo.comPublic Relations Coordinator Dave Hutchison at 214-684-4319 davehutch@flash.net New Member / Novice Observer Coordinator Bess Amaral at 214 346-8190 amaralb@smtexas.org Observing Site Lease Coordinator Phil Sanders at 214-826-2527 utcaver@yahoo.comAstrophotography (SIGAP) Coordinator Fred Lusen at 972-393-1528 fl.lusen@verizon.net CCD Camera (SiliconSIG) Coordinator Keith Shank at 972-727-8733 kasism@comcast.net Planetarium (SIGFREID) Coordinator Linda Irby at 972-272-5924

or Joe Vines at 972-596-2206 joevines@dcccd.edu

Telescope Making (ATM) Coordinator Dale Sander at 972-221-2641 Sketching Coordinator Ewell Schirmer at: 972-234-1489 schirmer@airmail.net The Science Place Coordinator Chaz Hafey at 214-428-5555 Ext. 333 ChazEH@aol.com Officers (2003-2004) Directors: (2003-2004) President Linda McCalla (H) 214-553-8170, lmccalla@swbell.net Phil Sanders (214) 826-2527V. President Patsy Patten (H) 972-278-7390, ppatten266@aol.com Tom Raz (H) 972-897-9458 Secretary Warren Waid (H) 972-867-8538, edwaid@airmail.net Jeff Barton (H) 972-412-3993Treasurer Bob Woody (H) 972-680-3110, bwoody@vistatex.com Todd Caldwell (H) 972-642-3200 Membership/ALCor Tammy Caldwell (H) 972-642-3200, tmc@tmc-astro.com John Croft (H) 97-398-0852Observing Site Mgr. Dan Doyle (H) 972-784-8466, starmandan@hotmail.com Howard McCalla (H) 214-553-8170Librarian Tim Johnson (H) 214-696-4655, stargazertj@yahoo.com Sam Gayle (H) 972-289-9370

Date _________/_________/__________

Name of Primary Member __________________________________________________

Names of paid Family Members _____________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________________

City __________________________ State ______ ZipCode _____________-_________

Home Phone (_____)_______-__________ Amateur Radio (HAM) Call Sign _________

Please see the reverse side for more detailed information about finding the correct prorated dues.

Primary Member Dues:($35.00 or less, see next page)…………………………… $_________

Family Member dues: ($4.00 per person to a maximum of $12.00 per family) .................$_________

Sky & Telescope Subscription ($32.95) ............................................................................$_________

Astronomy Magazine subscription ($29.00) ....................................................................$_________

Total: $_________

Please make checks payable to TAS or Texas Astronomical Society and mail with this application to:

Tammy Caldwell TAS Membership Coordinator 2053 Windchime Drive Grand Prairie, Texas 75051-4115

Texas Astronomical Society Of Dallas

http://www.texasastro.org/

New Member Application

The information in this box is not published nor made available to anyone except club officers and directors. It is not mandatory, but can greatly assist them in cases such as short notice of a schedule change to an activity by not requiring them to make all calls in the evening. Check below to authorize release to other members.

OK to Release: Office Phone (_____)________-________________ Mobile (_____)________-________________ Pager (_____)________-________________ E-mail address _____________________________________

Spectrum to be delivered via: Conventional Mail E-Mail Both

Office Use : Check # _______ New Member Pack Membership Card Name Badge(s)

Membership Application Information

Primary Dues:

The TAS fiscal year is from August 1 to July 31. All memberships renew August 1st.Dues are prorated on a quarterly basis as shown in the following table:

Joining: Dues: Paid through:August

SeptemberOctober

$35.00 July 31 of the current fiscal year

NovemberDecember

January$26.00 July 31 of the current fiscal year

FebruaryMarchApril

$17.50 July 31 of the current fiscal year

MayJuneJuly

$35.00 July 31 of the following fiscal year

Family Dues:

Family memberships allow other members of your family all the privileges of TASmembership including the right to vote on club issues and elections. The dues are $4.00 per additionalperson with a maximum family dues of $12.00. Family dues are not prorated. Only one copy of eachissue of the Spectrum and Reflector newsletters is sent to the family.

Sky & Telescope and Astronomy Magazine Discounted Subscriptions:

Magazine subscriptions are independent from TAS memberships and, therefore, can be startedeither when you join or at any later time. Subscription rates are subject to change without notice.

Sky & Telescope Magazine and Astronomy Magazine offer TAS members a discountedsubscription rate. TAS keeps none of this money, but is required to handle all collection andforwarding of funds for these discounted subscriptions. Therefore, you pay TAS and the subscriptionis handled by the TAS Treasurer directly with the publisher.

Sky & Telescope only requires that you be a club member when your subscription starts andthat you subscribe for no less than 1 year. The rate is $32.95 per year.

Astronomy Magazine only requires that you be a club member when your subscription startsand that you subscribe for no less than 1 year. The rate is $29.00 per year.