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The Royal Astronomical Society, Victoria Centre is part of a national
society dedicated to bringing information about astronomy to the general public.
Contents
Open to everyone with an interest in astronomy. Membership in the Royal Astronomical Society
of Canada
does not require any knowledge of astronomy. We enjoy helping beginners!
Joining the Victoria Centre of the Canada-wide RASC is easy -
Applying for membership
President Nelson Walker -
Email
(250) 477-4820
Info about membership - Sherry Buttnor -
Email (250)
474-0554
Postal mail
RASC Victoria Centre
c/o Nelson Walker, President
3836 Pitcombe Place
Victoria, BC V8N 4B9
| Position & Duties |
Name |
Email** |
Telephone |
President
Overall responsibility for Victoria Centre, its members and Council &
public relations |
Nelson Walker |
President |
(250) 477-4820 |
1st Vice President
Monthly meeting & speakers, major events |
Charles Banville |
VP |
(250) 686-0558 |
2nd Vice President
Special projects, observing events, volunteers |
Sherry Buttnor |
VP2 |
(250) 474-0554 |
Treasurer
Financial, retail sales, AGM, taxes |
Bruce Lane |
Treasurer |
(250) 544-2038 |
Secretary and Recorder
Minutes, official records, correspondence |
Deb Crawford |
Secretary |
(250) 590-1303 |
Librarian
Lending library - periodicals, books, CDs, DVDs & other media in our library |
Michel Michaud |
Librarian |
(250) 477-1414 |
Light Pollution Abatement
Light
pollution abatement |
Mark Bohlman |
LPA |
(250) 598-5944 |
Telescopes & Public Outreach
School telescope program, lending telescopes to members, coordinating
public outreach events |
Sid Sidhu |
Telescopes |
(250) 391-0540 |
Past President
Business continuity, special projects, Nominating Committee |
Lauri Roche |
PastPres |
(250) 652-2361 |
National Representative
National RASC |
Mark Bohlman |
NationalRep |
(250) 598-5944 |
Skynews Editor
Skynews, our monthly publication |
Diane Bell |
Editor |
(250) 382-0271 |
Membership Coordinator
Enquiries from the public & new members, membership roster |
Sherry Buttnor |
Membership |
(250) 474-0554 |
Observing Chair
Vested with authority by the National Observing Chair to review and approve
observing certificate applications |
Bill Weir |
ObsChair |
(250) 478-5873 |
Systems Administrator
Server and email services |
Matt Watson |
Admin |
|
Webmaster
Website content |
Joe Carr |
Web |
(250) 744-9981 |
Members at Large:
Bill Almond (Victoria Centre Historian), Jim Hesser (NRC Liaison), Alex
Schmid (University of Victoria Liaison),
David Lee (Observing), Li-Ann Skibo, Paul Schumacher (2014 GA), Matt Watson
(Observatory Tech Committee) |
** Click on the link to email a member of Victoria Centre's
Council, or alternately build their email address by appending "@victoria.rasc.ca" to the email account listed
above. To contact Members at Large, please send email to
Admin
for forwarding.
To provide first hand experience in using a telescope, new members are
invited to borrow the Centre's telescopes. The Victoria Centre keeps various
sizes of telescopes to suit most needs and these are available to lend. If you
are contemplating buying a telescope of your own, and would like to find which
one you should buy, first think of borrowing from the Centre for a test run.
Here is a list.
Reflectors:
- 150 mm Orion XT6 - SkyQuest, (Dob)
- 150 mm Orion XT6 - SkyQuest, (Dob)
- 200 mm Orion XT8 - SkyQuest, (Dob)
- 200 mcm reflector, f/8 - (Dob)
- 254 mm reflector - f/6 (Dob). Mount under construction
- 500 mm reflector (Dob)
- 114 mm Tasco reflectors (2). Flimsy mounts. Will be converted to Dobs
- 114 mm Omcon reflector - (Equatorial)
- 120 mm reflector, f/9 - (Equatorial)
- 150 mm Criterion reflector with equatorial mount
- 220 mm reflector with heavy equatorial mount
- 220 mm reflector, wooden tube, equatorial mount. Requires a new mount
- 500 mm reflector (at Pearson College)
Refractors:
- 60 mm "Polarex" refractor, f/15.
- 100 mm Takahashi refractor.
All of these telescopes are portable, and capable of being carried in a car,
except the 500mm Dob, which will likely require an SUV or van.
Sid Sidhu,
Co-ordinator of Telescopes
(250)
391-0540
Telescopes
The local members have a wide
range of interests and are happy to share their knowledge and
expertise with others. Some of their talents include astrophotography
(film and digital), telescope making, variable star observing, "planetology", stellar evolution and cosmology.
 | Monthly meetings are held in the Elliot Building, University
of Victoria, at 7:30 pm every second Wednesday in the month,
except for July and August. Visitors are always welcome. |
| Full listing of Events - meetings,
activities, special events. |
| School Program - the Centre reaches out to schools and youth movements with the
objective of furthering education in science and astronomy. Please
contact
Sid Sidhu at
391-0540 to volunteer to
help, or to request a visit to your school or youth group. |
| International Astronomy Day
- held annually each Spring |
In 1868 a small group of amateur astronomers formed the Toronto
Astronomy Club. In 1903, King Edward VII gave his permission for
"Royal" to be included in the title and the Society
became the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. There are now
about 3,000 members in 22 Centres, found in most major cities.
The Victoria Centre was formed in 1914 and quickly developed into
one of the largest Centres in the country. There are currently
about 165 members. Most are amateurs with some being
professionals from the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and
the University of Victoria. Professional astronomers frequently
appear as guest speakers at RASC monthly meetings.
Victoria Centre members often assist as volunteers at
the
NRC-HIA Centre of the Universe - Public Observatory and Astronomy Centre during public observing sessions.
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