Intro – Randy Enkin
Solar System (Exploration) Update – Phil Stooke
- Mars Photos
- Psyche Asteroid Mission flyby of Mars
- Mars Express Orbiter (see above banner image)
- Curiosity Rover
- Photos of Jupiter, Thebe (moon), Io (moon), from Juno Spacecraft
- Junocam now failed, but Juno still collecting other data around Jupiter
- Asteroid Photos
- Asteroid 98943 Torifune from Hayabusa 2 Spacecraft
- Asteroid 25143 Itokawa – Hayabusa 1 Spacecraft collected a sample from Itokawa in 2005
- Asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewa – Tianwen-2 Spacecraft
- Chang’e 7 Delayed up to a year – Moon Orbiter, lander, rover, hopper
- Mission will map landing site, land near south pole and deploy rover and “hopper” to search permanently shaded craters for ice
- Timelapse of Yutu 2 rover moving on surface of moon – from Chang’e 4 spacecraft
- Landed on far side of moon in 2019
- Upcoming missions in remainder of 2026
Summer RASC Events Overview – Randy Enkin, Lauri Roche
- Island Star Party August 7-9
- Saanich Fair September 5-7
NOVA Launch – Lauri Roche
- NOVA 1 Program for beginners to Astronomy
- 5 Consecutive Thursdays starting Oct 1 ending Oct 29 at Centre of the Universe 7-9pm
- $40 for all 5 weeks for RASC/FDAO members
- $60 for non-members
- $10 for students age 12-17 that attend with a paying adult
- Looking for someone to volunteer and/or take the course who has a First Aid certification
- Lauri sent an email to SKYNEWS morning of September 14 with details
- Contact Lauri Roche (lauri@victoria.rasc.ca) to sign up
Upcoming Events at the DAO – Lauri Roche
- Vox Humana Chamber Choir Concert – “Vox in the Stars”
- This coming weekend (Fri – Sun) September 18-20 7:30pm
- Vox Humana Tickets
- School programs to restart at the Centre of the Universe
- Always needing more volunteers at the CU
RASC T-Shirts for Sale, all sizes available
- $25 each, email Randy Enkin (pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca)
- Dark colors popular – Black, Dark Green, Dark Blue. Other colors also available
- Order Deadline – Tuesday September 22
Astro Cafe Logistics
- Need hosts!
- Marjie hosting September 21
- Please contact Randy Enkin if you are interested in being a host
- Need Note takers! Joe Carr has been doing it for 6 years straight. Let’s give him a break.
- Thanks to Megan Meraz for taking notes this evening
- Good role for virtual attendees.
- Contact Joe Carr (web@victoria.rasc.ca) and/or Randy Enkin if interested
- No Astro Cafe on Thanksgiving
Volunteer/Outreach Opportunities – David Lee
- Saturday, September 19 is International Observe the Moon night. Nothing formally organized in Victoria but get out and look at the moon!
- Need volunteers at the DAO this coming weekend (Fri – Sun) to bring out scopes for attendees of the Vaux Humana concert
- Need volunteers at the DAO to bring out scopes for the Friday Night Twilight Talks & Telescopes program
- Contact David Lee (david@victoria.rasc.ca) if interested in volunteering for either event to get on the list for entry
UVIC Speaker Series – Kevin Bertles
- First speaker of the season (September 9) was Jon Willis – Pale Blue Data Point
- Next talk on Wednesday, October 14
- Topic/Speaker information to be posted to the RASC Website closer to the day
Astrophotography SIG Collaborative Photo Project – Coma Galaxy Cluster & Dave’s Manuscript Project – Dave Payne
- Zenfolio Image – download image to zoom into the amazing detail
Celestial Summer Happenings – Randy Enkin
- Lunar occultation of Venus – June 17, 2026
- Lunar conjunction with Jupiter – September 8, 2026
- Lunar eclipse crater timing data results – August 27, 2026
- Solar Eclipse & Lunar Eclipse Photos
Astrophotograph – Crescent Nebula in H Alpha – Vince Geisler
- SARAH Telescope – rebuilt from Sid’s telescope collection
- AI is learning how to completely operate the telescope
Astronomy Cafe – Sep 14, 2026
