06February 2010:
I wish all our AAQ members and friends a happy and prosperous New Year. Summer is not the best time of year for observing the night sky from southeast Queensland, but if you are fortunate, there are some clear nights available in between the wet season affected nights. After our consolidation and growth during 2009, I look forward to more exciting events and initiatives to make 2010 just as stimulating and productive as 2009. Some members have been active over the summer period, especially Terry Cuttle, who travelled to Africa to witness the Annular Eclipse from Mt Kenya (see the cover photo of the February 2010 newsletter).

AAQ 2010 Calendar
By now, most members who ordered their AAQ 2010 Calendars should have them. Now you can admire each image every month, along with the handy date markers for AAQ events throughout the year. We expect to produce another calendar for 2011, largely under Tony Dutton's control. The 2011 version will source images via a Main Item dedicated to selecting members' images for the calendar. More details related to how Tony intends to select the required images, will be provided in the coming months.

February AGM and Annual Lunch
Thank you to those members and their partners who made the December Dinner at the Ruan Thai restaurant such a well-attended social event. The 2010 AGM will be held at Wordsmith's Cafe at the University of Queensland St Lucia campus at 12:30pm on 13th February 2010. Please try to arrive well before 12:30 to order your lunch before the meeting starts; after the meeting, we hope to visit the Parnell Building so members can appreciate the features of the new meeting venue.
Since no formal nominations were received before the required date (a week before the December OGM), the AAQ Council has endorsed the following office bearers of the AAQ for 2010; years of service are shown (maximum of 5, and 2 as President):
President - John Salini 2nd year
Vice-President - Jonathan Bradshaw 4th year (replacing Tim Napier-Munn)
Treasurer - Tim Napier-Munn 4th year (replacing Peter Culshaw)
General Secretary - David O'Driscoll 2nd year (replacing Jonathan Bradshaw)
Membership Secretary - Geoff Biggs 2nd year (replacing Roy Axelsen)
Technical Secretary - Terry Cuttle 4th year
Councillor - Peter Bester 1st year
Councillor - Tony Dutton 2nd year
Councillor - Allan Cooney 1st year

Change of OGM Venue for 2010
Please note the change in meeting venue from the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium to lecture room 222 in the Parnell Building, University of Queensland.  The first meeting at the Parnell Building will be the March OGM at 4pm.  Further reminders of this change will be provided in the March newsletter.  I publicly thank Mark Rigby and the staff of the STBP for their support and cooperation during the eight and a half years of AAQ meetings in the theatrette.  Thanks also to Tim Napier-Munn who facilitated the arrangements with the University of Queensland.

Membership

It is gratifying to see our numbers climb to 114 during 2009. Our biggest challenge now is to encourage everyone to renew their membership by paying the fees directly to the new treasurer, Tim Napier-Munn (at the AGM), or online using the AAQ account details: BSB 014274, Acc 598680257 . Remember to identify your payment online so Tim knows which member has paid.