RAC is a non-profit organization of amateur astronomers located in the Fredericksburg Virginia area. We invite you to attend our monthly meetings and star parties to learn more about the night sky. Beginners welcome! Contact us if you would like RAC to conduct a public outreach event for your organization or a clinic for scouts.   Next club meeting: Wed. 8 Feb. 2012, 7 PM, CRRL/HQ Branch, Cable Room, 1201 Caroline Street Next star party: Sat. 28 Jan 2012 Belmont; sunset 5:27 PM, Moon Q1 sets 11:08 PM; members only. Star party status:  Check back at noon on Saturday January 28.

RAC Officers Jerry Hubbell President Glenn Holliday Vice-President Tim Plunkett Treasurer Bart Billard Secretary Points of Contact Jerry Hubbell Public Outreach Glenn Holliday Scout Clinics David Abbou School Programs Glenn Holliday Star Parties Leigh Gettier Beginners Scott Busby Yahoo Group Admin Michael Masters Web/Image Editor Don Clark Internet Administrator Tim Plunkett Librarian Glenn Holliday Equipment Loan Jerry Hubbell Astrophotography Click for detailed POC listing Hover mouse for phone # Click name for email form Can't find it? Click for Site Index Become a RAC Member! Attend a RAC Star Party! Request a Public Outreach! Request a School Program! Request a Scout Clinic! Join the RAC Yahoo Group! WeatherUnderground Moon Phase U.S. Naval Observatory SDO/HMI Continuum Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) NASA Mars Today NASA Mars Model Group View Jupiter's Moons Click for Current Position Sky Map by AstroViewer ® RAC News 28 January 2012 - Backup star party at Belmont Observatory. Members only.  Sunset 5:27 PM, Moon Q1 28% setting 11:08 PM. Jupiter Uranus, Venus visible. 8 February 2012 - Monthly meeting at Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Headquarters Branch, Cable Room, back-left of new wing,1201 Caroline St, Fredericksburg. Meet & greet 6:45 PM; Meeting starts 7:00 PM. Program "The Moon" by Myron Wasiuta. Business session follows.  Meeting ends 9:00 PM. 18 February 2012 - Star party at Caledon Natural Area. Sunset 5:51 PM, Moon Q4 11% rising 4:33 AM. Jupiter, Mars, Venus visible. Members only backup Belmont Observatory 25 February 2012 (if needed).   Image of the Month   Jupiter by Jerry Hubbell Recent News 23 January 2012 - January meeting minutes posted. 22 January 2012 - Spectroscopy presentation by Robin Leadbeater. Link posted on Documents page. Similar to Tom Fields January presentation, which was not posted due to presence of copyrighted material. 21 January 2012 - CANCELLED due to weather.  Star party at Caledon Natural Area. Sunset 5:20 PM, Moon Q4 3% rising 5:51 AM. Jupiter Uranus, Venus visible. 11 January 2012 - Monthly meeting at Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Headquarters Branch, Cable Room, back-left of new wing,1201 Caroline St, Fredericksburg. Meet & greet 6:45 PM; Meeting starts 7:00 PM. Program "Spectroscopy" by Tom Field (Internet Video Link). Business session follows.  Meeting ends 9:00 PM. 1 January 2012 - 2012 RAC officers: Jerry Hubbell - President; Glenn Holliday - Vice President; Tim Plunkett - Treasurer; Bart Billard - Secretary. 1 January 2012 - Image of the Month: Jupiter by Jerry Hubbell. 21 December 2011 - December meeting minutes posted. 18 December 2011 - RAC 2011 Annual Report posted. 17 December 2011 - CANCELLED due to weather. Star party at Caledon Natural Area. Sunset 4:51 PM, Moon Q4 50% rising 1:24 AM. Jupiter Uranus, Neptune visible. No backup. 14 December 2011 - Monthly meeting at Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Headquarters Branch, Cable Room, back-left of new wing,1201 Caroline St, Fredericksburg. Meet & greet 6:45 PM; Meeting starts 7:00 PM. Program "Pluto" by Glenn Holliday. Business session follows.  Meeting ends 9:00 PM. 1 December 2011 - Image of the Month: The Hunter by Ranny Heflin. 26 November 2011 - CANCELLED due to weather.  Members only backup star party.  Notification will be done on Saturday AM only by rac_group email; there will be no web posting.  Caledon Natural Area. Sunset 4:51 PM, Moon Q1 3% setting 6:22 PM. Jupiter Uranus, Neptune visible. News Archive Astronomy News NASA News NASA Science Science at NASA NASA Solar System NASA ISS Live TV ISS Tracking NASA Hubble Hubble Site Night Sky Network Sky & Telescope News S&T Observing Highlights Astronomy Magazine News Science Daily Astrophysics Astronomy Picture of the Day Hubble Site Tonight's Sky Discovery Space News Jodrell Bank Night Sky Satellite Tracking Evening Sky Map  JPL  ||  NSF    IAU  ||  USNO ESA  ||  ESO CERN  ||  LHC   Space.com SpaceWeather Universe Today SpaceRef.com Buying a telescope? Download our Telescope Buyers Resource Guide (PDF)! What are RAC members' favorite objects? Visit our Observer Notes page! Want to use our members-only loaner equipment? Visit our Library page! What happens at a star party? Check out our Star Party Etiquette page! Site Navigation? Fair Use Policy? Affiliations? Check out RAC FAQs! Host services provided by Central Rappahannock Regional Library To download a free copy of Adobe's PDF Reader, click here! Weather WeatherUnderground Clear Sky Clock King George, Virginia Clear Sky Clock Belmont Observatory Weather.gov Virginia Graphical Fredericksburg Weather.com Intellicast.com AccuWeather.com USNO Astro Apps USNO/NIST Time NOAA Magnetic Dec NOAA GOES Satellite Visible Cloud Loop Satellite Server Home Intellicast Satellite View Intellicast.com Day/Night View by AstroViewer ® Auroral Oval NOAA POES Satellite Real-time ISS Tracking Space.Cweb.nl

For more information or to request a public outreach event, contact RAC's President via email. Telephone contact info is on the AboutRAC page. Site Index Questions or comments about this web site may be directed by email to RAC's Web Editor. Telephone contact info is on the AboutRAC page.