MINUTES | 2005

The 411th Meeting of the Altrincham and District Astronomical Society, held at Timperley Village Club on Friday 2nd December 2005 at 8pm

Those present were:
Paul Clark, Kevin Thurstan, Mark Crossley,
Tony Aremia, Mike Tyrrell, Philip Masding,
Don Utton, May Stewart, Norman Thurstan,
Geoff Flood, Colin Eaves, Geoffrey Walton,
Graham Sinagola, Nick Dixon, Nick Odom,
Ged Birbeck, John Tipping, John Gartshore,
Roger Livermore, Stuart Oldbury, Adam Oldbury  

(Total 21)

The chairman Paul Clark opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the meeting and announcing that tonight we would start with the club business followed by Phil Masding and Mike Tyrrell with some new software, then we would have a clips and pics quiz followed by the tea break. Finally we would have a discussion on the future of the obs site.

The Business section started with the post, of which we had two pieces, one from Keele University and remittance advice from the forestry commission of £50 for our October evening at Delamere Forest Park. The Treasurer reported that subs were still trickling in.
We then had an update on the Stockport sky beam and a reminder to members who wanted to object of how where and what to include in the objection.

It was then the turn of Phil and Mike to show us their new software and how it turns images of mars into maps. They said that this year’s opposition of Mars has been a good one because Mars was high in the sky and there were a good number of favourable evenings to view on.
They then explained how they transformed the pixels on the two dimensional picture into a set of x, y and z co-ordinates on the surface of a surface of a sphere, showing the formulae used to create latitudinal and longitudinal co-ordinates on the planet for each pixel of the original picture.
They commented on the problems that arose because of the Mars’s axial tilt and position angle, which meant the latitude and longitude co-ordinates had to be transformed to compensate for this before they could finally be turned from latitude and longitude into flat map co-ordinates. They told us how they used only the central strip of many pictures to create a map of the whole planet as it made the transformation calculations simpler and that because of the Mars’s axial tilt and position angle the North Polar Region was missing from the map.

The Chairman then split the room into two teams one captained by the Secretary the other by Graham Sinagola and held a quiz on various pictures, video and sound clips.
The Secretary’s team won.

Then we had the tea break.

After the break we held a discussion on the future of the observatory site.
Over the years the buildings on the site have fallen into disrepair and the observatory itself is hardly ever used these days.
The main issues include: Ongoing costs. At £620 the current overheads are greater than the clubs income from members subscriptions and these costs can only rise.
Maintenance. To maintain the site its self, money needs spending on new equipment, the society building and storage hut are really beyond maintenance and need replacing, the observatory roof is leaking, the telescope mount doesn’t work properly, and the telescope needs an overhaul.
Security. The storage hut has again been broken into, the site can’t be made properly secure without more expenditure and it’s probably only a matter of time until the society hut is broken into and vandalised.
Need. The society does need a base for our weekly and monthly meetings and to store some equipment, preferably where we can occasionally use to observe from.
Comfort. At the moment to get to the obs site you have to walk across an unlit often muddy and fouled field to a cold, damp, draughty hut that has obviously seen better days.
Suitability. Is the obs site still suitable for the society’s needs, At the moment we would be too embarrassed to hold a society or NWGAS meeting there and over the past few years we have had several potential members who after seeing the hut have not turned up again.

The obs site its self is, at the moment, possibly holding the club back from expanding and putting its future at risk.

Three options were put forward to the meeting.
Do nothing. The site will just keep on decaying until it is totally beyond use for the societies needs, we would still have the same maintenance needs, the security issues would be the same and the societies costs would still continue rising well above its income.
Upgrade. To upgrade we would need a large capital injection into the society of around £6000 to £7000, we would still have the maintenance needs and costs, the security issues would be the same and the societies ongoing costs would still continue rising well above its income possibly even faster.
Surrender the site. The society could surrender the obs site and meeting room altogether and set up home in a more suitable single location, the Scout hut across the field from the obs has been put forward as a possible site if the costs of doing so were not prohibitive.
The Scout hut has ample parking, is heated, has kitchen and toilet facilities and there is a separate car parking area to the rear suitable for observing.
If we moved there we would have no maintenance, security or comfort issues and the society may be able to bring its costs more inline with its income.

There was then a period of discussion on the fate of the obs site and a general consensus that we should look further into the possibility of leaving the obs site and moving to the scout hut.

The Chairman, after previous talks with some of the membership, was already in discussion with Trafford Council as to where we stood with the lease on the obs site and it was decided that Stuart Oldbury would enter discussions with the committee at the Scout hut about the possibility and cost of a move there.

The meeting was then brought to a close.