The meeting was called to order at 7:30 with 25 people in attendance.

Rolf said that the star party in Quincy on February 27 went well. Five members were there to help with observing. A slide program was shown indoors and about 100 people came to see it.

Bill is arranging star parties at elementary schools in Plymouth starting Tuesday March 9, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm., for four weeks. He needs volunteers to bring their telescopes and help with the evening.

On June 8, 2004, there will be a transit of Venus. Transits of Venus occur in pairs eight years apart. After that, it will be 100 years until the next one. No one alive today has seen a transit of Venus. We will view this event, with solar filters, at Centennial Field as the sun rises on June 8.

Bill told us about upcoming events at the Blake Planetarium. Ed Deveney, a physics professor at Bridgewater State College, will give a lecture “Einstein, Gravity, and Curved Space” on April 1, 2004 at 7:00 pm. Jonn Serrie, a keyboard artist, will perform space music on May 13 at 7:00 pm. On June 21, Aine Minogue will perform an Irish Harp Concert for the summer solstice.

Chuck handed out the Treasure’s Report for 2003. A discussion of expenses ensued. Our largest expense is the insurance which has increased. Chuck is looking into our options.

Tenny thanked Steve his demonstration of a presentation made using a webcam at our February meeting. Everyone agreed it was very impressive. We look forward to Steve’s next presentation.

We are now official members of the Night Sky Network, a partnership of astronomy clubs, including the Astronomical League, the Astronomical League of the Pacific, and NASA. Paul registered our club.

Tenny welcomed all new members in attendance.

We will be holding observing sessions on March 13^th, 20^th, and 27^th at Centennial Field. On the 20^th we will hold a Messier Marathon.

Louis sent flyers about the Astronomy Day telescope essay contest to local schools and newspapers. Members are encouraged to distribute flyers at their local schools. Chuck will order the telescope.

Andy made flyers to welcome new members and invite the public to join us for Astronomy Day. He would like each member to print and post them somewhere.

Andy also printed off suggestions from the Astronomical League’s website on how to advertise our club, promote membership, and hold better meetings.

Andy placed the order for the hats, but they are not ready yet. He has already sold 10 hats for $10 each!

Bruce suggested that we create a flyer to be handed out at Boston Telescope. We discussed what method would be best to convey our information to customers there.

Two comets of second magnitude will be visible this spring. A discussion of how comets are discovered ensued.

It was suggested that we talk to the weathermen on local news stations to see if they would be willing to promote our group.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00.