MAS Happenings – February 24 2026

Do you—or someone you observe with—experience vivid memories of clear, mild observing nights during February in Minnesota?

You may be suffering from Seasonal Observational Recall Distortion, or SORD.

SORD affects amateur astronomers each winter, causing them to confidently recall observing sessions that never actually occurred. Symptoms may include feelings of prolonged nostalgia for imagined sessions, heightened emotional attachment to telescopes stored indoors, and an increased tendency to browse equipment websites “just to look.”

Ask your astronomy club if WaitUntilApril™ is right for you.

WaitUntilApril™ has been shown to reduce false clear-sky memories and improve overall observing outlooks. Most users report symptom relief with the first genuinely clear night above freezing.

Possible side effects include:
refreshing weather apps compulsively, headaches, involuntary squinting, using averted vision on household objects, drowsiness, polar aligning your dining room table, fatigue, phantom focuser adjustments, and spontaneous statements like “maybe tonight.”

Do not take WaitUntilApril™ if you live south of latitude 30° or are currently under actual mild temps and clear skies. Symptoms may worsen during prolonged cloud cover or when exposed to astrophotography images from Arizona.

WaitUntilApril™ is not a cure. Annual recurrence is common.

Ask your fellow astronomers if WaitUntilApril™ is right for you—and remember: spring is coming.

Subject: Gemini in crisis

Dear MAS member:

            As editor of Gemini, I email all members of MAS about once a year, asking them to write an article for our newsletter. Usually, I receive enough articles to last a year. This past November, however, I sent a request for articles to all 700+ members of MAS and received a total of four articles and some promises. Several articles came in later. All of these have been published in the December and February issues of Gemini. As of now, I have two articles for the April issue and none for the rest of the year. We cannot have a newsletter unless members write articles for it.

I have noticed that a small percentage of MAS members write articles for Gemini. The vast majority, even if they have belonged for years, have never written an article for our newsletter.

            I am calling on all of you MAS members who have never submitted an article to consider writing an article for Gemini. The deadline for the April issue is March 10. If you cannot have an article for April, plan to write one for a future issue. Compose the article in Microsoft Word and send photographs, not embedded in the text but in a separate email attachment. Include a description or caption for each photograph.

                        This past year has been a difficult one for me because of my stroke on May 6. I have not always been able to keep the records straight; that is, who has sent an article and whether it has been published in Gemini. If you have written an article and have not yet seen it in any issue, please send me an email and tell me when it was sent. I may ask you to send it again, complete with photographs and captions. That will help me straighten out my records and make sure that all articles sent to me are published, as much as possible in the order in which they are received.

I hope the year 2026 will be the year that more MAS members decide to write articles for Gemini. Then my inbox will be full, and I will be a more content editor.

Thank you,

Father Brown

Gemini editor

padrebrown1934@gmail.com

Click the link below to email a Gemini submission:

Long Lake Conservation Center (LLCC) Book Donations

The MAS/LLCC Committee is collecting used astronomy books for children.

MAS partners with Long Lake Conservation Center to help support their summer Astronomy Camp for youth. One of our signature events is “book bingo”– just like regular bingo but the prizes are astronomy books. We play out the final round of bingo until everyone has won a book.

Children attending Astronomy Camp are ages 11 – 15. Ideal books are juvenile-level astronomy and space exploration books, sky observing guides (any level), and astronomy picture books (Hubble compilations, etc.). We’re especially looking for old copies of “Nightwatch” by Terence Dickinson.

Book donations can be brought to any monthly MAS meeting and given to MAS President Valts Treibergs.

The NCRAL “Eastern Iowa Cosmic Conference” hosted by Cedar Amateur Astronomers is scheduled for May 15-17 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.   The “Early Bird” pricing for Track 1 attendees ends on March 1. Click the button below for full information and to register:

Become a MAS Presenter!

We would like to enhance our monthly meetings and encourage our members to share your work and passion. Put together a 10–15-minute presentation about the astronomy topic that interests you (and quite probably the rest of the MAS).

Topics include – but are not limited to:

* Observing campaigns

* Astronomical objects

* History topics

* Adventures to dark skies and astronomical sites around the world

* ATM projects – show & tell

* Restoration projects

* Outreach projects

* Observing or Imaging techniques

* Research topics

* Software and telescope how-tos

* Manned or robotic space missions

* And even ‘Better Know a Constellation’!

The presentation is best done live at the meeting but can be done through Zoom if you are joining remotely. If you have something to share, please send an email to the Programs Coordinator Ahmed Reda at programs@mnastro.org

MAS on YouTube

The February Monthly Meeting is available in case you missed it. Follow the MAS YouTube channel to watch these meetings and other content you may have missed! Click the button below.

MAS Store

Find MAS logo apparel and items at the MAS Store by clicking the button below.

Email Updates
Emails from MAS will be going out on Tuesday’s but only if there are announcements.  If you have something that needs sharing to all please email secretary@mnastro.org by Thursday/Friday for the following Tuesday notice.

Thank you  -Claire Weaverling, MAS Secretary

The Minnesota Astronomical Society welcomes your tax deductible donation to help fund the operation of our sites and our outreach programs. Use the QR code above or go to https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=CBYSD2Z6339D4
to make a donation. Thank you.