Happy Winter Solstice! This year, Solstice occurs at 8:48pm PST; the days begin getting longer, and ever-so-slowly, warmer. I love the clear winter night for observing and imaging, but the cold really gets to me lately. The joys of getting old! Oh well…the winter sky is worth it!
I thought the Annual General Meeting was a lot of fun. Congratulations to all the award winners! A heartfelt thank-you to the outgoing Council members; you did an outstanding job for us! And a warm welcome to the incoming and incumbent Council members. I know you will do a great job, and thank you for serving.
Our Council for 2015-16 is:
President – Sherry Buttnor
First Vice President – Michel Michaud
Second Vice President – Chris Purse
Secretary – Leslie Welsh
Treasurer – Bruce Lane
Past President – Nelson Walker
National Representative – Lauri Roche
Librarian – Michel Michaud
Telescopes and School Programs – Sid Sidhu
Public Outreach – (vacant)
Skynews Editor – Reg Dunkley
Light Abatement Chair  –  Dave Robinson
Membership Chair – Chris Purse
Webmaster – Joe Carr
Observing Chair – Michel Michaud, Jim Stilburn (co-chairs)
Systems Administrator – Matt Watson
Technical Committee Chair – Matt Watson
 Historian – Bill Almond
DAO/NRC Liaison – Jim Hesser, James DiFrancesco
University of Victoria Liaison – Alex Schmid
Member(s) at Large – David Lee
Our next general meeting, Wednesday December 9, features Dr. Alan Batten and his presentation “When did modern astronomy begin?” Dr. Batten’s presentations should not be missed!
Other upcoming activities for your astronomical pleasure:
-UVic observing session: Friday December 11 (all Victoria Centre members welcome)
-VCO: every Saturday evening (open to those on the Active Observers list only)
Weather permitting, of course (and we sure deserve some good weather!).
Just a reminder to use extreme caution while driving on Observatory Hill. We’re now into the season of black ice and slippery conditions, so take care.

Dress warmly, and see you out there.
Sherry.

How about this weather, eh?! I bet many of you wish you had taken up meteorology as a pastime! I can’t remember the rains coming this early, or this heavy, for a long time. I could quite easily float a boat in my backyard as I type this. Oh well…what can you do? Cross our fingers and hope we get some nice, clear skies in time for winter observing. Or take up basket-weaving? Boat-building? At least our very popular Astronomy Cafe is going strong. if you’re bummed by the weather, why not stop by and spend some time with us? Astro Cafe has become a great event on its own, thanks to the efforts of John McDonald, Reg Dunkley, and Chris Purse. Thanks, guys!

It is November, however, and we should focus on the Annual General Meeting, coming up on Sunday, November 22nd. As I mentioned last month, it’s time for our board elections, and also to recognize our members in such fields as service to the Victoria Centre, astrophotography, and so on. Nelson tells me that as of today, we have 41 members registered for the dinner portion; the pub can accommodate 70, so we have room for another 29. Please contact Nelson at pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca or 477-4820. Dinner is always yummy, our guest speaker and topic are terrific (Molecular clouds formed from interstellar gas – Dr Steve Mairs) so sign up soon.

As I mentioned last month, our AGM is also time for our board elections, and also to recognize our members in such fields as service to the Victoria Centre, astrophotography, and so on. Email reminders have been sent by Matt (astrophotography) and Bruno (Newton-Ball award). Here’s the page where you can peruse the outstanding astrophotos from several of our members, and cast your vote:
We really could use help with filling the following board positions:
Vice President
Public Outreach Coordinator
Light Pollution Abatement

Still working on the pizza party. Given that there are so many conflicts with other events around the holiday season, it looks like January is a better month to host that. Stay tuned.
And stay dry!

Cheers!
Sherry.