MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD IN THE HERBERT BAKER LIBRARY,
18A GILL STREET OBSERVATORY
ON 9 JULY 2003

Welcome

The Chairman, Dave Gordon, welcomed everyone present and opened the meeting at 20:12

Apologies

The following members sent apologies:  Bruce Dickson, Evan Dembskey, Trevor Gould, Chris and Linda Lubbe, Kevin Pearce, Graham Tremeer, Peter van Laun, Johan van Rensburg, Chris Middleton, Eben van Zyl.

Minutes of AGM held on 10 July 2002

Proposer:   Constant Volschenk
Seconder:   Chris Penberthy

Curator of Instruments’ Report for the year ended 30 June 2003

In the absence of Peter van Laun, Constant Volschenk read the Curator of Instruments’ Report:

Repair and Maintenance - Papadopoulus Dome

Notification was received during November of a loose cable that opens and closes the shutters, hanging outside the dome. It was a simple matter to replace the cable, once it's route had been established. Repaired 30 November 2002.

The wooden entrance door to the dome had sustained many years of weather, and had more or less collapsed, necessitating repairs. A wooden panel was fitted to the lower section of the door to support the main frame, and new fly screen was attached over the louvers. The night latch was refitted, and the door is now in working order, but needs painting. Repairs completed 16 Dec 2002.

The dome drive unit was not turning the dome through 360 degrees, getting stuck on the north and west sides. Examination denoted that the rubber drive wheels had hardened and could no longer provide sufficient traction to revolve the dome. The complete drive unit was removed on 16 Dec 2002 for overhaul. The weather cover for the unit was broken, and lay in the grass below. Electrical wires were connected to the motor, but were exposed to the rain and weather,(very dangerous) The motor is of the "Squirrel cage " type, and cannot withstand bad weather. Two reduction gearboxes connected to the motor drive the dome. The first box was in good mechanical condition, though weathered, and was not opened. The next box had a "Perspex" cover which was cracked on top and permitted the ingress of water. The inside of the box had rusted and a layer of sludge was lying across the bottom. No oil was present. The roller bearings had also corroded, and were unsatisfactory for further use. Thankfully the gears themselves were undamaged, so were salvaged. The main drive shaft had been repaired on two previous occasions and was unfit for further use. The support frame was badly rusted. The repairs required were undertaken during a period when the dome was least likely to be used, though the annual shutdown of many engineering suppliers at year's end delayed the work. Bearing supplies were available for the gearbox, so a new main shaft was machined and fitted, a new cover and a new driving flange made, and the box was assembled, minus it's rubber wheels. The electric motor was checked and had new bearings fitted by Relion Electric as a gift to the Society. The rubber drive wheels were not ready for collection until the 22 Jan 2003. The base frame was painted, and the weather cover repaired. The roller bearings on which the dome revolves were greased and the drive unit was installed in early Feb 2003. An electrical problem arose and needed attention, which was attended to by Dave Hughes.

Tree cutting

The tree cutting on 15 Feb saw 5 members occupied for about 6 hours, and although a fair amount of work was done, it was too big a task for so few people in one day.

Locks

The library door in the Sir Herbert Baker building was found open on two occasions, and it was decided to replace the mortise locks to prevent further problems. The Imperial sized locks were removed, and replaced with metric sized equivalents. The locks were removed on 12 April and the door furniture was polished to enhance appearance, all being replaced on 1 May 2003.

Solstice clean up

A well sized team presented itself for this event, too many names to mention, and a lot was accomplished. Many thanks to Chris Middleton and his team for a well done tree-cutting job.  Everybody pitched in from cleaning to scraping to painting and sweeping (not to mention food and drink which in itself was a mission). That however, was insufficient to complete all the tasks, and a future effort will have to be made.

Peter van Laun – Curator of Instruments

Proposer:   Chris Stewart
Seconder:   Melvyn Hannibal

Librarian’s Report for the year ended 30 June 2003

Submitted after the AGM:

Another busy year in the library!

We cleaned the library at the Winter Solstice party, which took more effort than originally estimated. However, it was well worth the effort.  A big "thank you" to member Angeline Evans for all her help during the cleanup.

A number of valuable books and star catalogues were found to be in bad condition. Steps have been taken to protect them from further damage, and to repair them where possible. A mild fish moth infestation was discovered. Judicious use of appropriate products appears to have eliminated them.

Cataloguing is about 10% finished, and should take another 12 months to complete. This does not include magazines, software, videos or film. The catalogue should be available online before the end of the year.

We exceeded our original goal of eleven new (to the library) books. Thirteen titles were added, including a number of donations from members and also from Exclusive Books. An unused bookcase was appropriated from the ATM class, which has helped to alleviate the shelving space problem.

Unfortunately, the library was broken into. Even more unfortunately, it is difficult to establish if anything was stolen. Two windows were broken, and a number of CDs are unaccounted for. The locks have been changed, and plans to secure the windows have been made.

Evan Dembskey - Librarian

Treasurer’s Report for the year ended 30 June 2003

Dave Gordon – Treasurer

Proposer:   Constant Volschenk
Seconder:   John Somers Vine

Chairman’s Report for the year ended 30 June 2003

Introduction

The year ended 30 June 2003 was a phenomenal one for the Johannesburg Centre. The year started with the challenge of 2 break-ins, in which certain minor items were lost. This served to strengthen our resolve to improve security at the centre.

Your highly energised and motivated committee took it upon themselves to increase and improve the total suite of activities offered to the membership. This came in the form of providing more accessibility to the centre’s equipment, upgrading and improving facilities, providing beginner’s classes, more star parties and practical sessions, more excursions to dark sky locations and more public exposure in the form of shows and exhibitions.

The Johannesburg Centre is committed to improving the total astronomical experience for its members. It remains a challenge to tread the fine line of providing stimulating and refreshing presentations for the advanced amateur and assisting the new amateur with necessary building blocks to enjoy total fulfilment in this dynamic and constantly evolving field of science.

Southern Africa is already one of the more preferred locations for the construction of larger observatories. It is our belief that, as a consequence, the popularity of amateur astronomy in South Africa is going to multiply many times over. We should not entrap ourselves by remaining steeped in the tradition of 85 years (the Johannesburg Centre was formed in 1918) but consider ourselves as young, relevant and fresh as the current year.

Membership

During 2001, paid-up membership dropped to an alarming 55. This posed dire financial repercussions for the Centre. The drive for new members, initiated by the past Chairman, Trevor Gould, and whose momentum was accelerated by your current committee, has shown reward. Membership increased by over 40% this financial year to 206 paid-up members, and a further 20 gratuitous and honorary members. 

 Activities

1            Monthly Meetings

2            Beginner Classes

A Beginner’s Astronomy Tutorial was held at Dave Gordon’s Blue Hills Observatory on 26 October 2002. 9 members attended and 2 new members were signed up at the tutorial.

Beginner classes were started at the 14 May monthly meeting and are scheduled to continue as long as there is an interest and a demand from the members.

3          Public Viewing Evenings

Each month, weather permitting, on the Friday evening closest to first quarter and starting at 19h30.

4          Field Trips

5            Expeditions [Southern African Meteorite Recovery Program]

6            Telescope Making Class

The Telescope Making Class is run in an informal manner. This flexibility makes it a friendly un-intimidating environment for newcomers, accommodates those who cannot attend regularly, allows people to work at their own pace, and keeps it fun for those who are providing the guidance. It is estimated that the average number of students attending at any one time is approximately 10. On busy days the class peaks at about 20, and on quiet times attendance dips to about 5. The youngest member of the current class is 9 years old.

Significant accomplishments of the past ASSA year:

• 12 telescopes have been completed within this period.
• Brian Fraser is about ready to aluminise his 20-inch mirror, which was ground and polished entirely by hand. This is the largest mirror ever to have come out of the class.
• Two 12-inch mirrors are currently in the figuring stage.
• The class built a telescope for Joel Dorfan, in appreciation for his having provided us with significant quantities of optical components suitable for finder scopes and eyepieces.

7            Publications

Our Editor, Chris Penberthy has successfully produced 12 superb editions of Canopus during the year under review. Contributions from members are encouraged to the point that they take precedence over fill-ins from the Internet.

If you would like to see more local articles, why not contribute something about your special interest?

The Editor also maintains our internet site. Contributions and images for display are also needed.

8            ScopeX

The objectives achieved at ScopeX:

• Publicity and recruitment of new members to the Society – 2 new members signed up on the day.
• Recruitment of new members to the Telescope Making Class – the telescope making demonstration was very popular and 12 new students attended the class on the Saturday after ScopeX.
• Education of the public in general astronomy – (attendance was 956 incl. 300 children compared to 1120  incl. 338 children in 2002).
• Gathering of like-minded people interested in astronomy/sky-gazing in general  - general feedback is that the exhibitors and the public enjoyed the day.

Other noteworthy points from this highly successful venture:

• The number of amateur telescope exhibitors grew to 43 from 27.
• There were 10 lectures presented in the auditorium with six professionals presenting talks compared to three last year.
• Commercial telescope exhibitors increased from one to four this year (total of seven commercial exhibitors) and all of them would like to be part of ScopeX next year
• The Raffle is the best way to get income for ASSA. Splitting the Raffle from the Info Desk worked well (350 tickets were sold at ScopeX, 39 at HobbyX, 389 in total)

A complete final report and financial statements of ScopeX are available for perusal upon request.

Relations with Landlords

Our landlords, the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies of South Africa (AS&TS) have ceased to exist. A meeting was held with members from the National Research Foundation (NRF), Foundation for the Education of Science and Technology (FEST) and interested parties on the 14 November 2003. Dave Gordon, acting as representative on behalf of ASSA Johannesburg Centre, presented an overview of the society’s activities and interest in the observatory site.

Dave Gordon was subsequently elected to the steering committee charged with the task of determining the future development of the site for the purposes of scientific education (the formation of a so-called science centre). FEST was to be the new managing body of the observatory site. However, recent developments point towards the dissolution of FEST and the vesting of site interests in a new body known as the South African Agency for Science and Technological Advancement (SAASTA).

In view of the above uncertainties with regards to the site management, the ASSA Johannesburg Committee has decided to suspend rent payments until negotiations with a final management body can be finalised.  

Successes

• Participation in HobbyX – 19 new members were signed up as a result of the event.
• Pre-eclipse gathering on Saturday 16 November with various speakers participating.
• The eclipse after party on the 11 December and visit by the Royal Dutch Astronomy Society. Henk Bril, head of the Occultation Section, presented 2 books to the society:
  • Diskussie van die waarnemingen van Satekkieten I II en II van  Jupiter gedaan te Johannesburg door Dr RT A Innes in de jaren 1908 – 1925 
  • Evolutie in Weer- en Sterrekunde. 100 Nederlans Onderzoek
• Telescope Driving Course 9 November 2002
• Tree Cutting on Saturday 15 February 2003
• Solstice Clean-up on 21 June 2003

Initiatives Begun, but not Completed

• The repainting of the Papadopoulus Dome interior
• Telescope driving courses to run in tandem with the beginner’s classes at every monthly meeting.
• The cleaning, sanding and re-varnishing of the meeting hall floor
• The casting of an adaptor plate to enable the 26 inch refractor in the Innes Dome to accept standard commercial eyepieces
• The establishment of a special projects committee to manage the 2004 ASSA Symposium, to be hosted by the Johannesburg Centre
• Field trip to the Boyden 60 inch
• A visit to SALT in Sutherland

Specific Thanks

The Chairman would like to thank the committee for their outstanding work during the year.

A special thank you must be extended to Lerika Cross for her tireless work, particularly for her organisational expertise with respect to ScopeX 2003.

And finally, thank you to all those members who contributed financially or otherwise during the year.

Dave Gordon – Chairman

Proposer:   Melvyn Hannibal
Seconder:   Chris Penberthy

Election of new committee for 2003/4

The following members were elected to serve on the Committee:

Dave Gordon               - Chairman
Chris Stewart              - Vice Chairman
Lerika Cross                - Secretary
Evan Dembskey           - Librarian
Bruce Dickson              - Assistant Viewing Officer
Brian Fraser                - Special Projects
Tony Halliday               - Assistant PR & Media Liaison
Dave Hughes               - Curator of Instruments
Chris Penberthy           - Membership Secretary/Editor
Sharon Tait                 - PR & Media Liaison
Constant Volschenk      - Viewing Officer

Closing

Dave Gordon thanked everybody for attending and closed the meeting at 21h27.

Minutes by: Lerika Cross
15 July 2003