Western Amateur Astronomers

News:
G. Bruce Blair Award recipient for 2012

The Western Amateur Astronomers has awarded the G Bruce Blair Award  for 2012  to Jim Benet

The prestigious G. Bruce Blair Medal is awarded annually by WAA to an individual who has made truly outstanding contributions to amateur astronomy.
Jim Benet is a member of the Orange County Astronomers and is OCA's public outreach program coordinator.

The award will be presented Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday May 26 th during the 2012
Riverside Telescope Makers Conference-Astronomy Expo. at Big Bear, California.

Our congratulations to Jim Benet.


RTMC (Riverside Telescope Makers Conference) is held yearly during Memorial Day weekend, at Y.M.C.A."Camp Oaks".
This is located about 50 miles northeast of Riverside in the San Bernardino mountains east of Big Bear Lake.
Follow Highway 38 east and north off Interstate 10 in Redlands.
Take Lake Williams Road about eight miles east of Big Bear City on Highway 38,  between mile posts 44 and 45.
Follow the telescope and RTMC signs from this intersection to the camp.

News:
Secretarial Announcement

Next WAA board meeting:

WAA Summer Meeting
Time & place TBD
Location: – RTMC Astronomy Expo @ Bose Hall or Annex  ??

WAA sadly announces the loss of John R. Sanford in Dec. 2011

John Sanford was a longtime Orange County Astronomers member, past recipient of the G. Bruce Blair Award and past President of WAA.
John was also the editor of many of the WAA Convention Proceedings and also did editing for other organizations including OCA and RTMC.
 Retiring, in the early 2000s, he relocated to Springville, CA (near Porterville), with several other So. Cal. amateurs in search of darker skies.
He graciously opened his Starhome Observatory to the WAA Board and Representatives for our winter meetings many times between 2002-11.

CLEAR SKIES JOHN !!

Starhome Observatory is now offered "For Sale".          For further information and details of the sale contact:  Mark Sanford

September 17-18, 2011
Pasadena Convention Center

WAA had a booth at PATS
Hope you stopped by while you were there.
6 WAA organizations were represented at the table at various times during the event.

We Welcome our new Commercial Member

Exploe Scientific is the home of the "Astronomy Outreach Network"

Join WAA as a Commercial Member Info


• WAA     Objectives • WAA   2011 G. Bruce Blair Award
• WAA     History • WAA   2010 G. Bruce Blair Award
•WAA  Current Membership • WAA   2009 G. Bruce Blair Award
• WAA      Officers • WAA   2008 G. Bruce Blair Award
• WAA     Membership Requirements • WAA   2007 G. Bruce Blair Award
•WAA G. Bruce Blair Award • G. Bruce Blair Award  past recipients
•The first WAA meeting  (Link)  or  (PDF) •John Goodricke Award     a local award

Questions about WAA should be directed to:

WAA Sec. Tim Thompson
or
your local WAA representative


ASTRONOMY   LINKS

•Astronomy Magazine •SAS •National Space Society •J P L
•Sky & Telescope Magazine •AAVSO •Planetary Society •Night Sky Network
•Heavens-Above •IOTA •Visit a local Planetarium •Astronomy Outreach Network
•Space Weather •ALPO •SETI Institute •Space Science Web Pages
•APOD •Antique Telescope Society •Mars Society •CalTech Astronomy
•Hubble Heratige Site •Citizen Sky •Mars Institute •NASA
•Clear Sky Chart • • •NASA-Missions
•CalSky •MrEclipse •International Dark Sky Association •Weather or NOT
• • • •EARTHQUAKES

Thanks:
                        WAA wishes to extend our thanks and special recognition to some of the
                many people that have provided their assistance in helping us to secure meeting places
                and the additional hospitality extended to the WAA board and WAA representatives
                during recent board meetings.


Crab Nebula - M1

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Site last updated on 22 April 2012