Thank you to the out going committee for fostering and promotoing amongst its members exciting projects.
Congratualations to the new committee, there are some exciting times ahead. I know at the WSP as a member we have alot of active members, with new ideas, potential milestones and even proposed goals. Their were some constructive ideas that are in the pipeline for the new committee to evaluate. I am sure we will here about them in due course.
I am also sure there are other ideas out there from members that can be thrown into the pot. IFAS has grown dramatically in its 2 years. Its come to a point in its development where we can take the next daring steps, but its up to everybody if they want to participate in those goals. I can understand like many others out there this is going to be a step by step aproach. As a federation of societies/clubs, two years ago the federation just came out of the cradle. At present the baby has started walking with its first few steps, requiring support. If some of these ideas go ahead and are successful the baby has grown and can defitely walk on two feet. After that it would not surprise me that the young person will start running with a clear vision of where it is going.
We appear now to have 3 levels of interest. The first group are beginners. The middle group has formed what I call 'Factor X', this is no mans land, ie this group was thought to be there, but has moved on to the first group, where their are a significant amount of members already who have instrumentation, capabilties even to carry out scientific observations that really can make a contribution. So we have a precarious situation, which by the way is absolutely wonderful. It may mean that the website may have to introduce new sections to cater for this progressive first level.
We have alot of beginners that have an insatiable apetite to know more about the different aspects of astronomy. As beginners read through the threads of the many aspects, they to are learning. Typically a beginner is trying to figure out where am I in all these many debates that are on going. You have armchair beginners, quite content to know more about cosmology and space research to others that are trying to figure out what telescope or binoculars should I use. What star atlas is suitable that I can navigate around those stars. Those that were at the WSP may have got the answers already.
So we certainly have exciting times ahead for Irish astronomy.
Eamonn A
  