Intro & new attendees – Lauri Roche; Upcoming Astronomy Cafes – Randy Enkin; Astrophotography and 16″ CU telescope upgrades – Brock Johnston; Geminid Meteor Shower in 2014 – Reg Dunkley; The Week That Shaped Astronomy in Victoria – Dennis Crabtree; Newcombe Singers Concert – Randy Enkin; Mizar (and friends) – binary stars – Randy Enkin
Date/Time: Wednesday December 10, 2025 starting at 7:30PM Location: University of Victoria, Elliott 162. Park in Lot 1 (pay parking) and cross Ring Road – please note the room change!
Much of the universe is very cold, more than 100 degrees below zero Celsius, and cannot be seen by even giant optical or infrared telescopes like Hubble or the James Webb Space Telescope. Instead, we need specially designed telescopes that can detect the cold universe. In this talk we’ll learn about how we can detect cold matter, Canada’s pioneering work in this field, and finally the Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimetre Array (ALMA), a giant telescope in northern Chile, what it’s like to work there, and some of the really cool stuff it’s discovered.
Intro & new attendees – Randy Enkin; Canadian meteorite fall events: Keep looking up – Phil McCausland; Eagle Nebula astrophoto – Dave Payne; “The Fall of Icarus” – Randy Enkin; Announcements – Randy Enkin, David Lee, Lauri Roche; Two Personal Observatories – Garry Sedun
This 6″ Dob is simple, easy to use, and a portable grab-and-go telescope. It’s small enough to fit in most vehicles, and is comfortable to use from an adjustable observing chair – no ladder or step stool needed! I’m offering this ready-to-go kit with brand name good quality accessories.
Intro – Reg Dunkley; RASC Windsor Centre’s 80th Anniversary Banquet – Peter Jedicke; Jack Newton deceased – Reg Dunkley & David Lee; Newcombe Singers Concert and Glass Orchestra – Reg Dunkley & Marjie Welchframe; Astronomy Cafe Buy and Sell on Nov 24th – Items For Sale; Halley Research Station in Antarctica – Natasha van Bentum; Aurora from Saskatchewan – Ben Spiller; Space Missions – Chris Gainor; Thoughts on Electromagnetism Present and Past – Reg Dunkley; Events and Publication Sales – Lauri Roche
Jack Newton’s extensive biography includes a lot of “firsts” in amateur astronomy, including some unique discoveries. Jack has many honours in his (and Alice’s) name, including minor planet 30840, Jackalice = 1991 GC2, and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s (RASC) Chant Medal and Ken Chilton Prize were both awarded to Jack.
Jack was president of three RASC centres: Winnipeg, Toronto & Victoria. Victoria Centre named their service award the Newton Ball Award after Jack and fellow member George Ball. Jack was a Life Member of RASC. Jack published six books on amateur astronomy and astrophotography.
Intro – Jeff Pivnick; Smart Telescopes – Jeff Pivnick; Manned Space Missions – Chris Gainor; New Horizons mission – Phil Stooke; Announcements – Kevin Bertles, Randy Enkin, Lauri Roche, David Lee
Alex Schmid and Joe Carr honoured with minor planet naming; Introductions from new attendees; Newcombe Singers Concert: Sunrise Mass – Kathryn Whitney, Music Director; Events – David Lee, Randy Enkin, Kevin Bertles; Travels In Australia – Chris Gainor; Events – Jeff Pivnick, Randy Enkin, David Lee; Supernovae and stellar nurseries – Dave Payne; A Victory Story from Vince Geisler
Two RASC Victoria Centre members who have long served both our membership and the public to promote astronomy and science have been honoured by NRC astronomer Dave Balam, discoverer of many Minor Planets found within our solar system.
Published today on behalf of the International Astronomical Union by the WG Small Bodies Nomenclature in their Bulletin Vol 5, #25 for 2025 Nov 3: (568092) Alexschmid = 2003 QF117 and (578249) Josephcarr = 2013 YY81.
Intro & New Members – Reg Dunkley; Memories of Sid Sidhu – Reg Dunkley, Marji Welchframe, David Lee, Garry Sedun, Chris Gainor, Susan Grady, Lauri Roche, Dave Robinson; 3I/ATLAS Interstellar Comet from Mars – Phil Stooke; Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon – Reg Dunkley, Randy Enkin, Bill Weir ; WR134 Astrophotograph – Dave Payne; Astrophotos from Vince Geisler; Aldebaran – Randy Enkin