General Meetings
ASKC General Meetings are usually held at the UMKC Volker Campus in Royall Hall, Room 111, on the fourth Saturday of each month — except:
- September: Members-only picnic (no regular meeting)
- November: Saturday prior to Thanksgiving
- December: Annual holiday party (no regular meeting)
The night begins with 30-Minute Astronomy (a short program on an introductory topic), followed by a meet and greet with light refreshments. ASKC's library will be open for browsing and material checkout. The meeting format typically includes welcome and introductions, guest speaker presentation, Q&A, and then general announcements and business items.
Meetings are free and open to the public.
This Month's Meeting
Welcome 2025! The Astronomical Society of Kansas City’s 2025 General Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. on January 25, with a presentation by ASKC member Bill Wren. He is retired from University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, Texas, where he spent 30 years advocating for dark skies.
In his presentation, Wren will describe a unique telescope design invented by August Pfund in the 1930s. This telescope features an on-axis fixed focal point achieved through only two reflections and no central obstruction. Notably, Dr. Pfund never constructed a version of the telescope due to the lack of prerequisite software and high-speed computers at the time. Prior to Wren’s involvement, the only operational versions of the design comprised the Infrared Spatial Interferometer at Mt. Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, Calif.
Wren came across a description of the Fundyscope in the August 1992 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, authored by John O. Fundingsland and became fascinated. Wren lead the efforts to construct two of these telescopes. The first was utilized for a search for extragalactic supernovae, while the second was adapted for wheelchair accessibility at the McDonald Observatory Visitors Center. The design’s elegant simplicity has captivated many observers, but the inherent challenges of precision optics, mechanics, and automation have consistently proven prohibitive.
Wren
Schedule
Saturday, January 25, 2025
- 6:00 PM: 30-Minute Astronomy - Radio Astronomy and Ham Radio by Mitch Cloud
- 6:30 PM: Refreshments and Library open
- 7:00 PM: General Meeting and Program
Location
Royall Hall, UMKC, 800 East 52nd Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Free parking is available in the garage south of 52nd Street.
Enter Royall Hall via the east doors under the pedestrian bridge.
Virtual option: ASKC members will receive an invitation to participate via Zoom.
Upcoming Meetings
The next general meetings will be held on February 22, 2025 and March 22, 2025 at Royall Hall.
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