MAS Happenings – March 3 2026

We are just weeks away from the first star parties of the year. I’ve been sitting on my couch for months but I’m going to try—really try—to be ready by the weekend of March 13–14. Below is a quick regimen I put together for myself. I’m sharing it in case you’re in the same boat. I hope it helps!!

Get-in-Gear for Observing Season – Daily Routine!

Agility Course:

Lay extension cords and cables on the floor around your garage. In the dark with your red headlamp, practice stepping across the room without tripping. Rearrange the cables and repeat 3-5 times.

Ladder Climbs:

Using a step ladder or staircase, climb up and down for 3-5 minutes maintaining a consistent speed and heart rate. Work your way up to 10 minutes per day.

Squat & Lifts:

Stand with your feet comfortably apart. Bend your knees as if sitting back in a chair while maintaining your balance. Grasp your gear box handle and lift gently with your legs while keeping pressure off your lower back. Start with an empty gear box and work your way up to lifting large, heavy, unwieldy objects with no good places to grip.

Summer Triangle Stretches:

Place a sticky note on the ceiling labelled “Deneb.” Stand directly beneath the note while slowly and gently rolling your head back to read it. Hold this position for 10 minutes. Repeat 3 times.

Thumb & Index Finger Twists:

Hold on to a freezer pack or package of frozen vegetables for 3-5 minutes until your hand goes numb. Then, do 15 reps loosening and then tightening your eyepiece thumbscrews. If you lose a screw or drop your eyepiece, start over. It’s best to start with a less expensive eyepiece and work your way up to your most expensive one.

Stamina Intervals:

Stand perfectly still for 2 minutes while thinking about turning in for the night. Then set a timer for 3 minutes and stand still thinking about going to bed. When that alarm goes off, repeat with the timer set to 5 minutes. Continue increasing the intervals until you notice astronomical dawn. Then go to sleep. Perform this drill nightly before bed.

Thursday, March 5

7:00-9:00 PM CT

This month’s featured speaker: Dave Falkner

Topic: Stonehenge — History & Mystery

There will also be a member presentation on Planetary Seismology by Greg Hallberg.

Please join us in-person or on Zoom.

More information on the guest speaker and how to attend this meeting can be found here:

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. 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

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to make a donation. Thank you.