FOR SALE: Observatory Equipment

Posted by as Buy&Sell

RASC Victoria Centre is selling surplus astronomical equipment

FOR SALE BY BID: telescopes, equipment & optics

Due date: April 30, 2018 at 11:59PM

Photo gallery of Victoria Centre’s Observatory

 

  • Each lot itemized below will be sold to the bidder who submits the highest bid price by the due date, providing our minimum bid (reserve) price is met or exceeded.
  • Once a bid is accepted, prompt payment by bank draft or certified cheque is preferred, payable to: RASC Victoria Centre. Payment by personal cheque drawn on a US or Canadian bank is also acceptable, but will cause delays.
  • Tie bids will be decided by the date and time the bids are first received.
  • Local pickup of items is preferred, otherwise successful bidders are responsible for shipping costs in addition to their bid price.
  • All equipment is sold as-is without any warranty or guarantee of fitness for purpose.

Please contact Bruno Quenneville if you need further details about the items offered for sale Email or call ‭(250) 888-3450‬.

Send your bids to Joe Carr

  • Email (web@victoria.rasc.ca)
  • Postal mail or courier: Attn: RASC Victoria Centre, 3046 Jackson St, Victoria, BC Canada V8T 3Z8. Bids sent by postal mail or courier must be postmarked April 27, 2018 or earlier. 
Orion 80mm telescope
Orion 80mm telescope

LOT 1 – Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 apochromatic refractor telescope

  • Includes:
    • William Optics 2″Dielectric diagonal & 1 1/4″ adaptor.- William Optics website
    • William Optics 2-speed Crayford focuser
    • Orion right angle finder scope & mounting bracket
    • Orion mounting rings
    • Orion custom ED80 Hard case
  • No other hardware included
  • Orion’s website
  • $300 reserve
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks
Tele Vue NP127is telescope
Tele Vue NP127is telescope

LOT 2 – Tele Vue NP127is apochromatic imaging refractor telescope

  • Includes (all Tele Vue brand unless otherwise indicated)
    • 2.4 inch diameter Focus Mate dual-speed rack and pinion focuser
    • Sliding dew shield
    • 2 inch accessory adapter with clamp ring
    • photo accessory adapter
    • custom fitted hard shell case
    • Focus Mate Driver FDF-2004
    • 90 Degree Everbrite Diagonal (2 inch diameter)
    • 10 micron position indicator for the 2.4 inch focuser
    • 0.8X Focal Reducer NPR -1073
    • Three 1 Inch Spacers for 2.4 inch focuser
    • One 0.5 inch spacer for 2.4 inch focuser
    • One 0.375 inch spacer for 2.4 inch focuser
    • One 0.25 inch spacer for 2.4 inch focuser
    • SBIG STL Camera Adapter STL-1071
    • Large Field Coma Corrector LCL – 1069
    • Canon T-Ring for EOS dSLR
  • Tele Vue’s website
  • $4,500 reserve
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks.
    • The Focuser is bent, but operating. Replacement cost would be US$350.
    • The optics deliver close to perfect star images visually and for photos taken by APS-C and smaller sensors, however when using a full-frame 35mm sensor, some star elongations are apparent in the corners of the photographic frame. Please view this evaluation done by our members for further details. Tele Vue is able to restore the telescope optics to factory specification for a charge of US$495 plus shipping, however this work would be done at a prospective purchaser’s own expense.

 

LOT 3 – Meade 14” f/10 SCT telescope optical tube

  • Optical tube only – no diagonals or mounting hardware is included
  • Includes
    • Meade standard finder scope
    • Feather Touch ultra fine thread focuser upgrade – see red arrowed item in photo below
    • Dew shield
  • Other accessories available – see below for Hyperstar and cradle mount (both used with this 14″ SCT)
  • Meade’s website
  • $1,500 reserve
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks. Optics need cleaning.
Meade 14" SCT, Feather Touch focuser upgrade (included), WO 2" digital focuser (not included), Meade finder scope (included)
Meade 14″ SCT, Feather Touch focuser upgrade (included), WO 2″ digital focuser (not included), Meade finder scope (included)

LOT 4 – Hyperstar f/2 focal reducer for Meade or Celestron SCT telescopes

  • Reduces optics from f/10 to f/2 for imaging only (not for visual use)
  • Starizona website – verify with Starizona this reducer will work with your telescope!
  • $500 reserve
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks.

LOT 5 – Cradle mount for 14″ optical tube telescopes

  • This heavy duty metal cradle provides excellent support for a 14″ optical tube such as the above Meade 14″ SCT
  • Includes
    • Losmandy style rails suitable for attaching the cradle to a heavy duty tracking mount
    • Two (2) Losmandy style rails  on both sides for mounting additional telescopes or other gear
  • $700 reserve
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks.
Meade 14" SCT with cradle & Paramount ME
14" cracle

 

Total Lunar Eclipse – Jan 31, 2018

Posted by as Observing Highlights

Total Lunar Eclipse on Sep 27, 2015 from Victoria
Total Lunar Eclipse on Sep 27, 2015 from Victoria – photo by Joe Carr

On Wednesday, January 31st, weather willing, we will be able to view a total eclipse of the Moon. The Moon will move into full eclipse in the early hours of the morning and will be in partial phase in the western sky as the Sun rises. The Total Lunar Eclipse will develop over the course of about 3 hours. It’s a perfect opportunity to capture some snapshots of the event. Read further to find out what happens during the eclipse and how to capture it photographically.

 

 E C L I P S E   T I M E L I N E
Moon below the horizon Moon’s eastern limb enters the penumbra 2:51 am PST
Partial eclipse begins – 1st Contact Moon’s eastern limb enters the umbra 3:48 am PST
Total eclipse starts – 2nd Contact Moon entirely in the umbra;
deep orange red		 4:52 am PST
Totality 5:30 am PST
Total eclipse ends – 3rd Contact 6:08 am PST
Partial eclipse ends – 4th Contact Moon’s western limb leaves the umbra 7:11 am PST
Sunrise 7:48 am PST – approximate
Eclipse ends Moon leaves the penumbra 8:09 am PST

 

What’s Happening

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon. During a lunar eclipse the Moon’s position traverses the Earth’s shadow. The Moon’s first contact with the Earth’s shadow is at the outer band of the shadow called the penumbra. The light falling on the Moon is progressively blocked until at the moment of total eclipse the Moon is completely in the darkest central area of the Earth’s shadow called the umbra. At the point of total eclipse the process starts to reverse itself until the Moon is totally out of the Earth’s shadow.

Glossary

  • limb – the outer edge of the Moon
  • penumbra – the outer band of the Earth’s shadow
  • umbra – the darker central area of the Earth’s shadow
  • partial eclipse – the Moon is positioned within the penumbra
  • total eclipse – the Moon is positioned totally within the umbra
Above Eclipse times are for Pacific Standard Time (PST) for the west coast of North America, and are calculated from UT as presented in the Observers Handbook 2018, pages 126-27.

Observing Tips

What do you need?

Everything from your eyes, binoculars and telescope are suitable. Bear in mind this is a long process and at this time of year dress warmly and bring a chair if you want to be comfortable.

Find yourself a location that has a clear horizon view of the west especially if you wish to view during the late stages.

Keep a log of what you see and note the time. Pay attention to how much of the light on the moon is obscured and if there are any colouration changes. During the total eclipse the Moon will take on a deep orange-red colour. The colour of the Moon is a function of contaminants in the atmosphere and varies from year to year.

Photographic Tips

Equipment
Any camera with the capability of setting shutter speeds and aperture settings manually will do fine. The ability to use interchangeable lenses will be an advantage for more detailed images of the Moon. For the darker parts of the eclipse, eg. totality you should use a tripod support for best results. If you have access to a telescope you can try capturing the event using prime focus techniques through the telescope optics.

Settings
Today’s digital cameras are very sensitive to light reflected by the Moon. Use ISO 400 to ISO 800 and a long telephoto lens or zoom setting. Smartphones and point-and-shoot digital cameras will not produce rewarding photos of the eclipsed Moon, but can be useful for taking panoramic shots of your surroundings which include the eclipsed Moon.

Technique
The simplest eclipse pictures can be taken with manual settings on your camera and a normal lens, preferably supported by a tripod. For best results use a cable release to minimize vibration. Images taken in this fashion result in a small lunar image. This is why it is preferable to use a telephoto lens to photograph the Moon. For a 35mm camera try a 200mm lens or something close to this, even better a 500mm lens or higher. You may also use teleconvertors to increase magnification, these typically come in 1.4x and 2x strengths. Their downside is they reduce the effective aperture of your optical system. A 1.4x teleconvertor will decrease your effective exposure by 1 stop, a 2x teleconvertor will decrease your effective exposure by 2 stops. Work out your effective aperture of your optical system ahead of time so you don’t have to think about it on the night of the eclipse.

Example:

 

 Focal Length  Aperture Effective Focal Length
with 2x teleconvertor		 Effective Aperture
with 2x teleconvertor
 180mm  2.8  360mm  5.6
 480mm  6.8  960mm  13.6

 

To achieve any higher magnification than what is stated above you will have to use a telescope at prime focus. For this your manual camera does need to have the capability of using interchangeable lenses. For prime focus you will use the telescope optics as your interchangeable lens. To attach your camera to your telescope you will need two things a T-adapter that fits your camera and a telescope camera adapter that fits your telescope. The telescope camera adapter is designed to fit in the focusing tube of your telescope and is threaded to accept the T-adapter of your camera. With the magnification involved with telescopic optics it is likely that you will need to use a tracking mount. Preferably the mount should be able to track at lunar speed as opposed to sidereal but if the shutter speeds chosen are shorter than 1 or 2 minutes this is not critical.

Exposure times are the next consideration. The following exposure times are based on a medium speed film and an effective aperture that would be common with a long telephoto and teleconverter combination. Exposures may vary with your equipment based on ISO speed of film used and effective aperture. The Danjon Lunar Eclipse Luminosity Scale has been included to provide better guesstimates for totality.

 

Exposure Times: based on ISO 400
Full Moon  1/250 second at f/16
1st Contact 1/125 second at f/16 see note 1.
2nd Contact 2 seconds at f/16 see note 2.
Totality
*see table below
L = 4 : 8 seconds at f16
L = 3: 30 seconds at f16
L = 2: 2 minutes at f16
L = 1: 8 minutes at f16
3rd Contact 2 seconds at f/16 see note 2.
4th Contact 1/125 second at f/16 see note 1.
* Danjon Lunar Eclipse Luminosity Scale
 L = 1 dark eclipse; lunar surface details distinguishable only with difficultly
 L = 2 deep red or rust coloured eclipse; central part of the umbra dark but outer rim relatively bright
 L = 3 brick-red eclipse; usually with a brighter (frequently yellow) rim to the umbra
 L = 4 very bright copper-red or orange eclipse, with a bluish, very bright umbral rim

 

Note 1. 1st and 4th contact times given for the partial phases are biased for the light part of the Moon. Remember you are dealing with vastly different exposures between the light and dark parts of the Moon during eclipse. The bias of about 1 stop minus avoids overexposure of the dominant bright area of the Moon.

Note 2. 2nd and 3rd contact times given for the partial phases are biased for the dark part of the Moon. The bias of about 1 stop plus is a good strategy for negative film not quite so good for slides and digital capture given they don’t tolerate overexposure well.

The exposure times are only recommendations. Remember the cardinal rule about photography … bracket. Always try exposures plus and minus your chosen exposure. This gives you a better chance at getting usable results. Let’s all hope for clear weather. If you have any questions please send email to David Lee at davidflee7331@gmail.com.

David Lee – original image and text
Joe Carr – updated for 2018
Brenda Stuart – illustrations

RASC National Star Party from Victoria

Posted by as Events

RASC Victoria members used the Bob Wright Centre at the University of Victoria for a nation-wide celebration of RASC astronomy in Canada for the last 150 years, from 3-5pm on Saturday, January 27th. We will were joined by astronomy teachers and students from University of Victoria, Camosun College, and Victoria High School. Tours of the 32″ telescope and observing the Sun through solar telescopes was happening outside. Members participated in a series of Youtube “webisodes” from RASC Centres across Canada.

Photo gallery

Solar observing outside
Telescope tour
RASC Victoria members online

Lunar “X” during 2018

Posted by as Observing Highlights

Lunar X feature - photo by Michel Michaud
Lunar X feature – photo by Michel Michaud

by Michel Michaud, RASC Victoria Centre Observing Co-chair & Librarian

The Lunar X is a claire-obscure effect in which light and shadow creates the appearance of a letter “X” on the rim of the Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach craters. The X is visible only for a few hours before the first quarter slightly below the lunar terminator. Near the X, the lunar V is also visible, formed by Ukert crater and several other small craters.

If you never had the chance to view the Lunar X, also known as the Werner X, there are several time this year that feature could be visible from Victoria. The time predict the beginning of the event and all in LOCAL TIME.

  • 23 January 2018, 2042 (8:42 pm) – Tuesday evening event
  • 23 March 2018, 2357 (11:57 pm) – Friday evening event
  • 21 May 2018, 0002 (12:02 am) – Monday evening event
  • 19 July 2018, 2314 (11:14 pm) – Thursday evening event
  • 16 September 2018, 2332 (11:32 pm) – Sunday evening event
  • 14 November 2018, 0059 (12:59 am) – Wednesday evening event

Werner “X” observation – 2014

Victoria Centre’s AGM 2017

Posted by as Meetings

Members soclalizing over dessert
Members socializing over dessert

Victoria Centre held our Annual General Meeting on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at the Cedar Hill Golf Course in Victoria, BC, Canada. An excellent dinner was served by the golf course staff and some pre-dinner drinks; a fascinating speaker; awards were given to members for outstanding service and noteworthy accomplishments; and an election was held for the 2017-18 Victoria Centre Council (Executive).

Event Photos – online gallery opens in a new window

 

Speaker

Chris Willott speaking about his research and the James Webb Space Telescope
Chris Willott speaking about his research and the James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope: the countdown is on – Chris Willott

The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to the prestigious Hubble Telescope. With a diameter of 6.5 m, this infrared telescope will be launched 1.5M kilometres from Earth for a scientific mission lasting 5 to 10+ years. Canada, one of the main partners in this project with the United States and Europe, provides one of the four scientific instruments and the guiding system. The development of Webb is well underway and the world astronomical community is actively preparing for the planned launch in early 2019. This presentation will provide an update on the state of the development of the telescope and give an overview of the scientific program of the Canadian science team that includes observations to detect galaxies in the early universe and determine the composition of the atmospheres of exoplanets similar to Earth.

Chris Willott is a research astronomer at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria. He studies the most distant galaxies in the Universe to understand how stars and black holes formed soon after the Big Bang. In addition to research, he works at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope archive scientist and is the Canadian Project Scientist for the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope.

Awards

The evening started with the award of past outstanding Certificates, due to absent recipients at past AGM’s.

From 2014

Certificate of Appreciation to Charles Banville for 2014 RASC General Assembly Victoria. Charles efforts in managing the logistics in transportation of our visiting members and guests.

From 2016

Certificate of Appreciation to Lauri Roche for Public Outreach at the DAO, for her outstanding support and engagement in the role of ” Person in Charge ” and volunteer coordinator.

Certificates and Awards for 2017

Certificates of Appreciation were presented to the many volunteers “For Public Outreach, Solar Eclipse 2017” for their outstanding support and engagement in Solar Viewing at numerous location in Victoria, including Mount Tolmie, the Royal BC Museum and Metchosin.

Recipients included : Ken Mallory, Jean Mallory, Jennifer Bigelow, Deb Crawford, Dan Posey, Sid Sidhu, Jim Stillburn, Li-Ann Skibo, Michael Wheatly, Marjie Welchframe, Prem Chainani, Fatimah Al Sharyah, Erin Britton, Sherry Buttnor, Michel Michaud and Bruce Lane.

President Chris Purse receiving the Ernie Phanneshmidt Award from Vice-president Reg Dunkley
President Chris Purse receiving the Ernie Phanneshmidt Award from Vice-president Reg Dunkley

Centre Certificates and Awards

Ernie Pfannenschmidt Award for Amateur Telescope Making 2017  presented to Mr. Chris Purse, for his outstanding achievement in designing and the building of a custom Field Power Pack c/w innovative digital and analog features.

Award of Excellence in Astrophotograohy 2017 presented to Mr. John McDonald, for his excellent photography of the Milky Way at the Vista Point of the Caves Creek Canyon, Portal AZ. Captured with a Canon 6D, Ioptron Sky Tracker, Sigma 15mm lens @ f / 2.8.

Certificate of Excellence 2017 presented to Reg Dunkley, in appreciation of his organization, leadership and guidance so capably rendered as the Skynews editor and Astronomy Café host.

Special Awards and Plaques.

Special Award Plaque of Excellence presented to Terry Ryals, for the design and fabrication of the Astro Café TV Cabinet. 2 Plaques were awarded with one to be mounted on the cabinet and the second as a keeper.

Award of Appreciation Plaque was presented to Michel Michaud, for his contributions as Plaskett Telescope Operator for the Summer DAO Star Parties and including the Active Observers viewing sessions.

Newton / Ball Award 2017

Matt Watson and Dan Posey receiving the Newton Ball Service Award from President Chris Purse
Matt Watson and Dan Posey receiving the Newton Ball Service Award from President Chris Purse

This year’s award went jointly to Matt Watson and Dan Posey for their distinguished service to the Victoria Centre. A certificate of appreciation was also delivered stating the following :

A major milestone was reached this year for the RASC Victoria Centre VCO, with the installation of it’s new 16 inch RC truss telescope. Technical planning and installation was a joint effort of Matt Watson and Dan Posey.
For years Matt and Dan have exercised the equipment at the VCO acting as MIC’s tending to the maintenance and creating some of the most beautiful images our centre has seen.

Congrats to both.

Many thanks for this opportunity to serve as awards coordinator, Bruno Quenneville

Minutes of 2016 Annual Meeting (available to Members Only) – Chris Purse

Centre Annual Report for 2017 (14Mb PDF slideshow) – Reg Dunkley

Treasurer’s Financial Report  (available to Members Only) – Bruce Lane

National Representative’s Report – Nelson Walker

Awards – see above

Election of Victoria Centre Council Members: Sherry Buttnor

RASC Council positions for Victoria Centre 2017 – 2018 – no elections required – all acclaimed or appointed

Executive Positions

  • President – Chris Purse
  • First Vice President – Reg Dunkley
  • Second Vice President – Deb Crawford
  • Secretary – VACANT
  • Treasurer – Bruce Lane

Other Positions

  • Past President – Sherry Buttnor
  • National Representative – Nelson Walker
  • Librarian – Michel Michaud, Diane Bell (assistant)
  • Telescopes and School Programs – Sid Sidhu
  • Public Outreach – Ken Mallory
  • Skynews Editor – Reg Dunkley
  • Light Abatement –  Dave Robinson
  • Membership – Chris Purse
  • Webmaster – Joe Carr
  • Observing Chair – Jim Stilburn
  • Systems Administrator & Technical Committee Chair – Matt Watson

Members at Large

  • Jim Hesser
  • Lauri Roche (FDAO Liaison)
  • James DiFrancesco (DAO Liaison)
  • Alex Schmid (UVic Liaison)
  • Jim Nemec (Camosun Liaison)
  • David Lee
  • John McDonald (Astro Cafe)
  • Li-Ann Skibo
  • Chris Gainor (National Officer)
  • Dan Posey

Door Prizes were awarded.

Press Release: RASC Victoria – August 21 Eclipse Viewing

Posted by as Observing Highlights, Special Events

RASC VICTORIA CENTRE ANNOUNCES AUGUST 21 ECLIPSE VIEWING IN VICTORIA

Viewing planned for Royal BC Museum, Mount Tolmie & Metchosin Cricket Pitch

Members of the Victoria Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be setting up their solar telescopes in three locations around Greater Victoria for public viewing of the solar eclipse on the morning of Monday August 21.

Because looking directly at the Sun at any time is dangerous without proper protection, the telescopes at these events will be equipped with shielding to allow members of the public to safely see the eclipse. While the eclipse will be total in some parts of the United States, the eclipse in Victoria will be only a partial eclipse, where parts of the Sun will always be visible. The August 21 eclipse in Victoria will begin at 9:08 a.m. and end at 11:38 a.m. At 10:20 a.m., the Moon will block around 90 percent of the Sun as seen from Victoria.

RASC members will be setting up their telescopes during the eclipse on the morning of August 21 in front of the Bell Tower at the Royal B.C. Museum at 675 Belleville Street in Victoria, at the Cricket Pitch in Metchosin behind the Fire Hall at 4400 Happy Valley Road, and at Mount Tolmie Park off Cedar Hill X Road in Saanich, which can be reached by going up Mayfair Drive to the top of the Mountain, where telescopes will be located on the water reservoir facing south.

The University of Victoria will hold an open house for eclipse viewing that morning open to the public at the UVic Observatory on the fifth floor of the Bob Wright Building.

There will be no public eclipse viewing at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.

For more information on the Victoria Centre of the RASC, please go to our website at https://www.victoria.rasc.ca
For UVic eclipse information, see http://www.uvic.ca/science/physics/about/home/news/current/solar-eclipse.php

-30-

Contact person: Ken Mallory outreach@victoria.rasc.ca 250-598-8628

Victoria Centre Observatory gets a new telescope!

Posted by as News

TPO 16" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube Astrograp
TPO 16″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube Astrograph

On July 12th Victoria Centre’s Council approved a plan to replace the telescopes currently in our observatory with new and improved optics. The Technical Committee’s plan includes replacing our existing Meade 14” SCT and Tele Vue NP 127is apochromatic refractor with a 16” F/8 Ritchey­ Chretien (RC) optical system. The new gear will be mounted on our existing Paramount ME mount, giving us a simpler setup that is actually a bit lighter than the old configuration.

The cost of the new RC telescope and accessories will be about $14,000, depending on the US$ exchange rate. Most of the gear will be purchased from OPT Oceanside Photo & Telescope in California, since they sell their brand TPO Ritchey Chretien telescopes at very attractive prices, and we took advantage of a recent sale price. We expect to eventually sell our surplus instruments and accessories, but will keep the current setup in place until the new gear arrives and is installed, in order to maximize the availability of the VCO to members.

We will fundraise from our members to directly offset the upgrade costs, since Victoria Centre Council originally budgeted $7,000 for the upgrade some months ago.

Benefits

  • Improved cool down time
    • new RC is a truss design open tube giving good airflow around the primary optics,
    • old SCT is a closed tube design with a corrector plate restricting air flow
  • Improved guiding accuracy
    • new RC system will use an in-line off-axis guider,
    • old SCT system uses a piggyback-mounted telescope for guiding
  • Improved pointing accuracy
    • new RC system has a fixed primary mirror,
    • old SCT system suffers from primary mirror flop
  • Improved light gathering and resolution
    • new RC system has a 16″ primary mirror
    • old SCT system has a 14″ primary mirror and a corrector plate
  • Easier operation
    • new RC system is a single optical tube that will be used for guiding, imaging and observing
    • old system included an SCT, a Hyperstar f/2 attachment, a 127mm apo-chromaic refractor, and a guide scope, all mounted piggyback and in a custom cradle
  • We wish to enter RASC’s 150th year in 2018 with a first-rate observatory!

Fundraising

Our target is to raise $5,000 from members over the next few months. Tax receipts will be issued for all donations.

Joe Carr is our fundraiser, so please contact him for questions about the new telescope or to donate – email or telephone 250-294-1992.

Bruce Lane is our Treasurer, who will issue tax receipts and account for all donations to Council and members – email.

The first fundraising event was held at the RASCals Star Party on Saturday, July 29th at 2PM in Metchosin House. Thanks to everyone who donated so generously – we are already over half way to our target!

VCO Upgrade – fundraising slideshow – 1.8Mb pdf

 

New Equipment

Surplus Equipment

  • Meade 14″ SCT $2,000.00
  • Hyperstar f/2 $500.00
  • Cradle $300.00
  • Tele Vue NP127is $5,000.00
  • Total $7,800.00

Estimated Net Cost after sale of surplus $6,800

Please note that proceeds of the sale of used astronomical equipment is highly variable and can take many months. RASC Victoria Centre and then all RASC members will be given first chance to purchase our surplus equipment. Please contact Joe by email or telephone 250-294-1992 if you are interested.

RASCals Star Party 2017

Posted by as Events

July 28-30, 2017

At the Metchosin Municipal Grounds
behind the Metchosin Fire Hall
4440 Happy Valley Road, Victoria, BC, Canada

The observing field at dusk on Friday night
The observing field at dusk on Friday night

Gates will open at 12pm noon on Friday. Camp on the field and setup your telescope.

Cost: Free of charge! RASC members and visiting observers (who stay overnight): suggested donation of $20/Adult one day, two or three.

Everyone who is present is entitled to tickets for door prizes, lectures and access to the observing field. Prizes include telescopes!

Don’t want to camp? No problem…you can drive home after an evening of fun on the observing field.

Staying after dark? Please bring a red light with you – no white lights!

 

Photo gallery for RASCals 2017 Star Party

Schedule of Events

Friday 28th

  • 2:00 pm – Gates open
  • 8:00 pm – Welcome and door prizes
  • 8:30 pm – Speaker – Elizabeth Griffin, PhD (NRC – Hertzberg) Big data, little data, or (Help!) no data
  • 10:00 pm until dawn: observing! No white lights during this time, please

Saturday 29th

  • Solar viewing – all day on the field
  • 1:00 pm – Eclipse Viewing – Michael Webb in Metchosin House
  • 2:00 pm – New telescope for Victoria Centre Observatory – fundraiser & reception in Metchosin House
  • 8:00 pm – Door prizes
  • 8:30 pm – Speaker – Henry Ngo, PhD (NRC – Hertzberg) Exploring Exoplanets
  • 9:30 pm – Public viewing of the night sky with RASC telescopes
  • 10:00 pm until dawn: observing! No white lights during this time, please

Sunday 30th

  • Cleanup – everyone please pitch-in & help
  • 12:00 pm – early departures please!

 Prizes!

PRIZE - Explore the Universe Guide; stainless steel coffee mug
PRIZE - Celstron Inspire 100AZ telescope
PRIZE - Skywatcher Heritage telescope
PRIZE - Eclipse Viewer kit; rechargable hand warmer

Please feel free to camp on the field with your tent, trailer or motorhome and setup your telescope and other astronomy gear. There is some power on the field for astronomy equipment, but no RV plug-ins please! Also, please do NOT park on the field with your vehicle if you plan to leave after dark! In this case, move your vehicle off the field after setting up, and park on the access road beside the municipal hall with your headlights facing away from the field (towards the firehall). The same parking request applies to visitors for the evening – park beside the municipal hall and walk into the field.

 

Speaker: Radio and Microwave Astronomy – Dr. Lisa Locke

Posted by as Meetings

June 14th, 2017, 7:30PM, University of Victoria, Bob Wright Centre A104 – RASC Victoria Centre’s monthly meeting

Event info

Radio and Microwave Astronomy – History, Canadian Involvement, and Interesting Tidbits – Dr. Lisa Locke, NRC Herzberg

Dr. Lisa Locke
Dr. Lisa Locke

Radio astronomy started in the early 1930s as an electrical engineering project and it took many years for the optical astronomy community to include it under the gilded Astronomy umbrella. Early experimentalists had a field day with surplus World War II equipment and the increased world-wide collaboration between researchers. I will explain and guide through this history up to the present, contrasting the new radio astronomy with the classic well-understood optical ideas, highlighting Canada’s significant role in the growing field. Details on current instrumentation projects and observatories will also be presented.

Bio

Dr. Lisa Shannon Locke was born north of the 60th parallel in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada and received the B.Sc (Alberta, 1997), M.Sc. (Cape Town, 2001) and PhD (Victoria, 2014) degrees all in electrical engineering specializing in low-noise microwave astronomy instrumentation.

As a student, she worked at the Canadian Space Agency, CalTech’s Owens Valley Observatory and at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV. After graduating, she spent five years as a receiver engineer at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Then in 2005 she joined the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM building cryogenic receivers for the expanded very large array (EVLA).

Her PhD degree was advised by Prof. Dr. Jens Bornemann and the late Dr. Stéphane Claude of NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Victoria, BC. Her thesis investigated the design and construction of a K-band (18 – 26 GHz) coherent 5×5 phased array feed for use on large radio astronomy reflectors. She is currently employed with NRC Herzberg and leads a multi-disciplinary project to build a S/C-band (2.8 – 5.18 GHz) cryogenic phased array feed receiver system.

SPEAKER: Dark matter: Small scales, big problems – Kyle Oman

Posted by as Meetings

April 12, 2016, 7:30PM, University of Victoria, Elliott Building Lecture Wing Room 167 – RASC Victoria Centre’s monthly meeting

Event info

“Dark matter: Small scales, big problems” – Kyle Oman, PhD candidate, UVic

Dwarf galaxies
Dwarf galaxies

Abstract:
There are several lines of evidence pointing to the existence of an as yet elusive dark matter which is more abundant in the Universe on average than the ordinary stuff of gas, stars and planets. Despite the lack of a plausible particle candidate, the LCDM cosmological theory has been remarkably successful in describing the large scale structure of the Universe. The biggest current challenges to this theory are manifest on the scale of dwarf galaxies. How can we measure a substance we cannot see? What can a handful of puny nearby galaxies tell us about the Universe as a whole? These are the questions I’m tackling with the help of the cutting-edge APOSTLE cosmological simulation suite and observations taken on the Very Large Array in New Mexico.

Bio:
Kyle Oman is a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria. He has worked on topics in theoretical extragalactic astronomy ranging from the smallest dwarf galaxies to the largest galaxy clusters. He completed his BSc and MSc at the University of Waterloo.