Comments and anecdotes about the event:
New club president Mike Collver opened the meeting with a segment on the Herschel observations and some of the typical observing lists/challenges taken up by amateurs based on their lists. Mike suggested that the club engage in an effort to tackle the Astronomical League's Herschel Hustle this year, which was enthusiastically receive by several members in the audience. After some discussion about upcoming outreach events, Mike M. ran a video suggested by Louis G. and titled "Space is Way Scarier Than You Think", which was produced by Joe Scott. Some members of the audience found the content of the video to be quite impactful from a scope and size perspective. Mike M. then informed the group that in 2024 the Space Telescope Science Institute produced tactile panels of Stephan's Quintet and the planet Uranus based on Webb images. In the summer of 2024 Mike M. applied to the STSCI group to get the panels and the application was accepted. The panels arrived late fall 2024. The group is now aware of our possession of them and that they can now request them for use in their outreach efforts. Mike M. then continued by outlining the club's new membership in the Night Sky Network, and touched on the benefits of others being able to find our club on the network and learn about upcoming club events, outreach resources available on the network, then finally he distributed NSN outreach award certificates and pins to all the members that contributed to club outreach efforts in 2025. Mike C. then initiated a discussion about rebuilding the club's outdated website, and first steps were determined and members Barry D. and Hal S. offered to take the reins on them. Lastly, Steve L. got up and presented the final outcome of our club's "T CrB Pool", wherein nearly half the membership took guesses at when the impending nova would erupt in 2025. Obviously it didn't, so ultimately Steve was the winner of his own contest with his original guess of "it ain't happening"...congratulations Steve!