The Victoria Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society is part of a national society dedicated to bringing information about astronomy to the general public.
Membership
Membership in the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is open to everyone with an interest in astronomy, and does not require any knowledge of astronomy. We enjoy helping beginners!
Joining the Victoria Centre of the Canada-wide RASC is easy – Join Now
Primary Contacts
Victoria Centre Directors
- President – Dan Posey – email
- Overall responsibility for Victoria Centre, its members and Council & public relations
- First Vice President – Kirsten Pedersen – email
- Major events, back up to the President
- Second Vice President – Kevin Bertles – email
- Monthly meeting & speakers, special projects, observing events, volunteers
- Treasurer – Doug Hardy – email
- Financial recording and reporting, taxes and government filings
- Secretary – Oliver Robinow – email
- Minutes, official records, correspondence
- Past President – Randy Enkin – email
- Business continuity, special projects, nominating committee
- Directors at Large – Assist in the operation of the Centre
- National Representatives – National RASC representation and liaison
- Lauri Roche
- Bill Weir
Victoria Centre Officers
- Librarian – Alex Schmid – email
- Lending library – periodicals, books, CDs, DVDs & other media in our library
- Membership Coordinator – Chris Purse – email
- Enquiries from the public & new members, membership roster, email lists
- Observing Chair – Jim Stilburn- email
- Vested with authority by the National Observing Committee to review and approve observing certificate applications
- Progressive Lighting Policies – Dave Robinson
- Liaison and education about effective use of lighting
- Schools Programs – Lauri Roche – email
- School visit and education program
- SkyNews Editor – Randy Enkin – email
- Editor of SkyNews, our monthly newsletter
- Telescope Loans – Sid Sidhu – email
- Lending Centre-owned telescopes to members (please include your RASC Member Number in a telescope request email)
- Victoria Centre Observatory – Reg Dunkley – email
- Victoria Centre Observatory operations
- Webmaster – Joe Carr – email
- Website content and server operation
Advisors and Liaisons
- James Di Francesco, PhD (Director, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, National Research Council)
- Jim Hesser, PhD (Director Emeritus, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, National Research Council)
- John McDonald, PhD (Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta)
- Lauri Roche (Friends of the DAO)
- Alex Schmid (University of Victoria)
- Bill Weir (Pearson College)
RASC Roots
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 around 5,000 members in 30 Centres, found in most major Canadian cities.
The Victoria Centre was formed in 1914 and quickly developed into one of the largest centres in the country. There are currently over 250 members. Most are amateurs with some being professionals from the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the University of Victoria, and Camosun College. Professional astronomers frequently appear as guest speakers at RASC monthly meetings.
Victoria Centre members have a long history of offering public observing sessions to residents of Victoria, and have close and long-standing ties to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.