Meetings | RASC Victoria

Astronomy Cafe – Oct 24, 2022

Posted October 24, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

The Moon over Paris – Randy Enkin
- A photo tour of Paris featuring the Moon
Sky Brightness Survey 2022 – David Lee
- Preliminary results
- Data cleaning using R programming language
- Next steps
- Spectral response of LEDs and SQM readings
- Discussion
Seeing Beyond video – Nathan Hellner-Mestelman
- Manifesto of what will happen once Artemis 1 is launched
- Colonizing the solar system will change mindsets of the population at large
- Seeing Beyond – better quality video and audio on Nerd Anomaly channel
- Seeing Beyond soundtrack
- Discussion
Gamma Ray Burst – Randy Enkin
- Gamma Ray Burst 221009A – event just happened on Oct 9th
- Initial detection and follow-up observations continuing
- Discussion
Announcements
- Astronomy Cafe next week is Halloween, so no in-person event – Zoom virtual meeting will be hosted by
- Lunar Eclipse on Nov 7/8
- 2023 RASC Calendars – email Lauri Roche to reserve a copy. Explore the Universe and Explore the Moon workbooks are also available.
- Skynews editor has retired and new editor is hired, so combined with printing problems, there will be delayed delivery of the next issue.
- Various reports from Bill Weir

Astronomy Cafe – Oct 17, 2022

Posted October 17, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Finding Asteroids Before They Find Us – Kelly Fast, NASA/Planetary Defence Coordination Office

Finding the asteroid (bigger than 1m in size)
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) that are hazardous to Earth (140m in size or larger)
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to hazardous asteroid Bennu
Search, Detect & Track hazardous asteroids
International Asteroid Warning Network – worldwide effort
Searching for NEOs
- Catalina Sky Survey – Arizona
- Pan-STARRS – Maui, Hawaii
- ATLAS – Hawaii, South Africa, Chile
- LINEAR/SST – Australia
- NEOWISE – JPL infrared space telescope
- Follow-up telescopes also used
IAU Minor Planet Center – observations
JPL Center for Near Earth Object Studies – high precision NEO orbits, impact predictions
ESA Space Missions Planning Advisory Group – potential NEO deflection mission plans
Impact of small asteroid 2022 EB5 – March 11, 2022
U.S. Interagency Tabletop Exercise – 6 month warning time
30,000 NEAs found so far
NEO Surveyor – new infrared space telescope being developed by NASA
Characterizing asteroids using infrared and radar
Asteroid Deflection
- Gravity tractor
- Nuclear explosion
- Kinetic Impact – DART mission tested technique on Didymous/Dimorphos system
  - Change the orbital period
  - Autonomous navigation needed
  - Many ground-based observatories observed impact and resultant changes to Dimorphos
  - LICIACube satellite imaged the whole mission
Questions and discussion

2023 RASC Calendars – email Lauri Roche to reserve a copy

Astronomy Cafe – Oct 3, 2022

Posted October 3, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of the meeting

DART spacecraft impact – Kelly Fast, presenter for Oct 17th Astro Cafe- Jeff Pivnick
- Last 2.5 minutes of mission
Astrophotos from the VCO – Reg Dunkley
- Didymous – looks like Albert Einstein
- Had an MIC training session with poor attendance. We need a couple more sessions scheduled longer in advance.
  - Operating the telescopes and the observatory
  - All the equipment is working very well
  - Can also bring along a dSLR
- David’s planetary imager was used to image the Io transit of Jupiter over the Great Red Spot – LRGB channels – 40,000 frames
- Couldn’t get Registax to work, so used AstroSurface software
- We are now allowed to have up to 15 members, 3 in VCO wearing a mask with new protocols in place
Astrophotos – Brock Johnston
- Io transit of Jupiter over the Great Red Spot
- 4700mm of focal length
- Saturn – Sep 25th
- Jupiter – GRS on the edge
- Using AstroSurface – uses R-L deconvolution and wavelets
- Links to weather conditions and forecasts – Jetstream & ClearDarkSky for Victoria & Upper Winds
Imaging using the Plaskett – Dan Posey
- Just past imaging session happened on Sep 30th
- gPrime & rPrime – good for imaging emission nebulae
- Next Plaskett sessions: Oct 29, Dec 22
- Can have up to two people with Dan in the control room
- No updates on the new camera, which will be about 20′ wide and more square FOV. Jim Hesser expects the camera replacement will take months, but it is progressing.
- Imaging done: Cocoon, Stephan’s Quintet, North America and Dumbbell nebula
- Cruise tour of 30 crashed into the dome – thanks to Dan for interrupting the imaging – Lauri
SIGs – David Lee
- Beginner’s SIG this Tuesday
- Electronically-assisted Astronomy this Thursday
Sky Brightness Survey – David Lee
- Consolidation and cleanup of the data is progressing
- Project meetings on Tuesday 7:00-7:30PM and Wednesday 7:00-8:00PM evenings with the team
- David will show some graphics depicting the data and problems
- Need some people who are colour blind to participate
- Does Jupiter skew the dark sky readings? Bill Weir
- About half the volunteers were new to SQM measurements, the others had done
- How about taking more readings during New Moon in October? – maybe
2023 RASC Calendars – Lauri Roche
- Place an order – email Lauri
- No up-front payment required
- See the RASC website for information about the 2023 calendar. We anticipate the cost will be similar to last year which was $15 each; this is a considerable savings over ordering directly from the RASC eStore
Future of Hubble – Chris Gainor
- 13 years since last servicing mission
- 535 kms above Earth, so good until 2036-37
- NASA and SpaceX may use a Dragon spacecraft to boost Hubble into a higher orbit – 6 month technical study
- Polaris flights being privately funded for next year to high orbit – a second flight might be used to boost Hubble
- Chris’ Space Review article – NASA-SpaceX study opens final chapter for Hubble Space Telescope
Bill Weir
- Vixen 114mm Newtonian telescope donation
  - Parabolic mirror, good quality optics
  - Two school programs might want to use this telescope – Lauri
- Sidewalk astronomy at Metchosin Market
Next Astro Cafe is in 2 weeks on Oct 17th

Astronomy Cafe – Sep 26, 2022

Posted September 26, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Transcript video of the meeting

Sky Brightness Survey – David Lee
- Most data sheets have been received from the volunteers
- Readings taken in the region last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
- Marjie & Susan – a great experience
- Possibly another round of data collection will be needed next month to catch missing readings
- Lauri & Brenda – very interesting to measure the areas, app delivered higher (better) readings than the SQM, Island View Beach is very dark but some urban glow
- John McDonald – different smart phones would probably deliver different readings from the app due to different camera configurations
- Dave Payne – Possibly calibrate the app to the SQMs
- Les Welch – the nature of the lighting determines the light pollution level
- Bill Weir – SQM at Mt. Kobau was 21.8, yet it was very poor seeing due to smoke and other sky obscuration
Astrophotos – Brock Johnson
- Elephant Trunk Nebula – mid-August, Celestron 925, dual-band filter
- Dumbell Nebula – fainter details visible, dual-band filter
- Dark Shark Nebula – dark nebula, dust lanes in Cepheus, some stars reflecting off the dust
- Deer Lick Group of galaxies and Stephan’s Quintet in one widefield frame
- Andromeda Galaxy, M31, M32, M110 – other tiny galaxy PGC2314
- Jupiter & Saturn – taken using a OSC planetary camera
Visual Observing – Bill Weir
- Jupiter & Saturn – great detail visible last night just before midnight
Astrophotography SIG – Dave Payne
- Meeting this Wednesday
- SIG members will be showing their work regularly at Astronomy Cafe
Samantha Jewett, Education and Outreach Coordinator, RASC National
- Planning stage for 2022-23 in-reach and outreach
- In-reach
  - Visits to Centres by Samantha and Phil
  - Attend major star parties
  - Robotic Telescope Project
    - 2022 data release on Oct 1st
    - New projects and volunteers
    - Citizen science research group
- Outreach
  - Tour the Night Sky – Zoom nights for members
  - NOVA – material to centres by end of October – David Lee & Lauri Roche are already hosts
  - High school groups
    - robotic telescope operating and data available
    - astrophotography as well as data acquisition
  - Insider’s Guide to the Galaxy hosted by Chris Vaughan
    - Zoom & Youtube
  - Creating Resources
    - Beginners
    - Short-form on social media
    - Families & under 12 activities
    - Shared with centres
  - Public Events
    - Solar sidewalk outside National office
    - Trade shows
    - Star parties
    - Solar Eclipses in 2023 and 2024
      - Eclipse glasses
      - Education materials for centres
  - Education & Public Outreach
  - World Asterisms Project by Charles Ennis
  - Astronomy software training by Blake Nancarrow
  - GA 2023
    - Early May online
    - Separate from the AGM
- 2023 RASC Calendars available for order on Oct 1st – contact Lauri
- Send local event information to national to publicize
- Observers Handbook
  - Coming directly from publisher this year
  - Members should review your address – go to rasc.ca and click on “Log in”
Young astronomers – Lauri Roche
- School Astronomy Clubs at Oak Bay (forming), Mt. Doug (forming), Vic High (in place
NASA’s DART small spacecraft crashed into small asteroid Dimorphos today – Bill Weir
- Planetary defence test
- Cubesat imaged the event – available in a couple of weeks
- Mission information from NASA
- Official NASA Broadcast
Fall Fairfield Fair – Reg Dunkley
- 400 people came by our table
- Observing the Sun through the Solar scope was popular
- Thanks to the volunteers
Donating telescopes – Bill Weir & Samantha Jewett
- Pearson College is receiving a vintage Questar telescope donation from an estate
- Telescopes can also be donated to National’s Dorner Telescope Museum
Nanaimo’s Day of Reconciliation – Janeane
- Nanaimo Astronomy will be there this Friday

Astronomy Cafe – Sep 19, 2022

Posted September 19, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Concert Sep 25 at Farquar UVic – Jim Hesser
- “Aurora Triptych is a multimedia blend of music, photography, and visual storytelling that follows the Northern Lights on a far-ranging journey from the Sun to Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
- Tania Miller: Science & Symphony
- September 25 @ 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Sky Brightness Survey – David Lee (email)
- Interested in QGIS mapping data work – Les Welch & Jim Cliffe
- Guidance from our meteorologist Reg Dunkley as to what day(s) are best to take readings, since it’s important that good, clear weather conditions are present
- SQM (original, widefield), SQM-L (current, narrow FOV) – Unihedron meters
- Find areas that we should concentrate on due to impending development or other sky quality issues
- Duel readings with app and Unihedron meter
  - iOS Dark Sky Meter app
  - International Dark Sky Association – list of mobile apps
- Ideal dates for taking SQM readings: Sep 23-27 & Oct 23-27
- Methodology
  - Record 4 raw readings, pointing in each of 4 quadrants above your head, pointing straight up
  - Throw away the first reading at each site (so take a total of 5 readings)
  - Readings – fill in form
    - SQM
    - Temperature
    - Location – ID #, Latitude, Longitude
    - Verbose location – “corner of Wallace Drive and West Saanich Road”
    - Date and Time
    - Weather conditions and comments
  - Readings can be done using electronic or audio means, but must be in final readable form before sending to David on the forms provided
  - Sky Brightness Survey Data Entry Chart – MS Word & PDF
  - Sky Brightness Survey Data Fields – definitions
  - Taking readings at new locations is fine, but make it clear it’s new
Astronomy Cafe on Monday September 26th
- Samatha Jewett will be speaking to us about RASC National
- Possibly lunch or dinner with Samantha before the meeting – contact Lauri Roche (email)
- Jim Cliffe will be the Astro Cafe host
Chris Gainor
- ISS Pass at 8:52PM this evening
- Skynews is going to be late due to paper supply issues

Astronomy Cafe – Sep 12, 2022

Posted September 12, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of the meeting

Public Outreach at the Centre of the Universe (CU) – Lauri Roche
- Saturday Star Parties
  - Thanks to all the RASC Victoria Centre members who volunteer
  - Tickets “sell out” quickly
  - Last event on Sep 24th
- Cruise Tours this summer – successful and a source of income for FDAO
- CU open during the day until the end of September
Saanich Fair – Lauri Roche
- 2 nice days – solar viewing
- 3rd day had some drizzle
- Lots of interaction with the public about astronomy
- 1,000 entries for the telescope prize – Melissa Long was the winner, and is thrilled with her new scope
Island Star Party – Dave Payne
- Successful star party – 30 people on Friday, 45-50 people on Saturday
- Speakers were fantastic
- Quite a few campers
- Some members of the public stopped by despite lack of advertising and promotion
- Revenue exceeded expenses
- Cowichan Valley Starfinders no longer have the volunteer numbers to sustain the event going forward
- Cowichan Valley Regional District – arrangements for overnight camping appear to be
- Discuss next steps with Victoria Centre Council
- August 16, 2023 is New Moon weekend for the event next year
Astronomy at Victoria High School – Clayton Uyeda
- New astronomical observing deck being built as part of Victoria High School’s seismic upgrade
- Astronomy 11 is now a course at Vic High
Tour of our new Zoom equipment for Astro Cafe – Chris Purse
- New computer, microphone, webcam
- 2 monitors
- Sound is the biggest issue, and the new microphone seems to be excellent
- Webcam has good coverage of the room’s occupants
- New WIndows personal computer system is easy to setup, and is on rollers
Getting Started in Astronomy SIG – David Lee
- Group met in person at Cattle Point a few times over the summer
- Minima of Algol observed
Sky Brightness Survey – David Lee
- Reviewed our mapping in 2010 (see maps at the bottom of our Night Lighting page)
- Will repeat the survey this September and October
- David to distribute SQMs to volunteers who don’t own one at the next Astro Cafe
- Need more volunteers, so contact David very soon
RASC Board – Malhar Kendurkar
- Malhar is imaging with the Plaskett Telescope
- Virtual meeting of the RASC Board on Sep 14th
- In-person meeting of the RASC Board will happen in October
  - The Robotic Telescope should be better used
VIctoria Centre Council meeting tomorrow – Dave Payne (VP)
Green Laser course offered by RASC – Lauri Roche
- Refer to Transport Canada green laser regulations
- Discussion about the regulations and the RASC course
- Refer to RASC Laser Usage

Astronomy Cafe – May 30, 2022

Posted June 8, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of the meeting

Telescopes – David Lee on behalf of Sid Sidhu
- There are telescopes for loan to RASC VIctoria Centre members
- Members who have spare eyepieces, please contact Sid, since we need more selection for loaners
Kitt Peak – David Lee
- PixInsight workshop review
- Kitt Peak is reopening, offering remote telescope images
- OGS 12.5″ telescope, Paramount ME and 294MC OSC imaging camera – available for rent approximately US300/night for exclusive use
- McMath Pierce Solar Telescope – now a public outreach facility, supporting Noirlab feeds
Brave New World – New Scientist – Ken Atkinson
- TESS images – citizen science opportunities
- zooinverse.org – see planet hunters
Astronomy Public Outreach – Randy Enkin
- Island Star Party – last weekend in August at Bright Angel Park in southern Cowichan Valley – will be co-sponsored by Cowichan Valley Starfinders, RASC Victoria
- Saanich Fair astronomy outreach – need volunteers
Meteor Storm Tonight – May 30, 2022 – Randy Enkin
- Debris from Comet 73P/Schwassman-Wachmann 3, a Jupiter family comet
- No observations after 1930, until 1979 again
- Period: 6.5 years
- In 1995 brightened 400x – Hubble Space Telescope imaged the pieces of the comet
- In 2006 Spitzer Space Telescope imaged
- 2022 apparition could be spectacular
- How about observing this apparition? Cloud cover may be a factor.
Star Parties at the DAO/CU – Lauri Roche
- June 4 – next star party
  - Need some volunteers with telescopes
  - Speaker: White Dwarfs – Simon Blouin
- Last Star Party – thanks to Dave Payne and David Lee for working on the Celestrons, Sherry Buttnor operated the 16″, solar telescopes were operating early in the evening.
- Centre of the Universe displays – many are disabled due to old age. Needs a refresh, but requires funding. Skilled volunteers would be very welcome.
RASC General Assembly – June 24, 2022 – Lauri Roche
- Tickets are now available – $20 for members for 4 days
- Lots of interesting speaker, workshops, social events, and AGM business meeting
- For those of us who live in the Pacific Time Zone – runs between 9AM and 4PM
- Some sessions will be recorded, to be viewed later
Last Astronomy Cafe
- Thanks to the volunteers who have hosted Astronomy Cafe
- Need volunteers when Astro Cafe restarts in the Fall
- Hybrid format is working – in-person and Zoom
- Sep 12th – first Astro Cafe meeting
- Alex Schmid laptop (from UVic), external speakers and microphone
Galactic Poster – Nathan Hellner-Mestelman

Astronomy Cafe – May 16, 2022

Posted May 16, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Special General Meeting for RASC Victoria Centre – Randy Enkin
- Have a quorum of over 25 Victoria Centre members in attendance
- Changes to ensure our bylaws are consistent with the national bylaws and BC Society’s Act requirements
- Call for volunteers to work on more revisions to Victoria Centre bylaws over the next few months
Need volunteers for Astronomy Cafe – contact Randy Enkin
- Zoom host – recording and posting the video transcripts online
- Meeting host – tracks and runs the meetings
Star parties at Observatory Hill – Lauri Roche
- May 21, Jun 4, 18 – hybrid party in-person and online on Zoom & Youtube
  - May 21 – Early Discoveries made by the Plaskett Telescope – Jim Nemec
- Every Saturday night after the July 1st break for the summer
- Volunteers needed: telescopes in the parking lot, RASC welcome table, Plaskett dome tour hosts, 16″ telescope operators, other roles – contact Lauri
- Electronically-Assisted Astronomy – start planning to use at the Star Parties in future – contact Dave Lee
Nanaimo Astronomy – Janeane MacGillivray
- Astronomy From Kitt Peak – David Lee presenting at upcoming meeting
- RASC Victoria members are welcome – send an email
Total Lunar Eclipse reports from members – May 15/16, 2022
- Cloudy photos from Saanich after being skunked at Cattle Point – David Lee
- HDR smartphone photos through eyepiece, join observations from Cosmic Generation group – Nathan Hellmen-Mestleman
- Lunar Crater transits & mare cookies – Randy Enkin
- Cloudy photos from Sidney – Chris Gainor
- Observed from Brentwood Bay while raining – Lauri Roche
- Just a glimpse from Taylor Beach in Metchosin, but spotted ISS – Bill Weir
Plaskett Images – Dan Posey
- Composite image of the images over last few years
- Whirlpool Galaxy, Whale Galaxy, Deer Link Group NGC 7331, Fireworks Galaxy NGC 6946, M100, M63 Blackeye, NGC 3718 Arp galaxy, Hickson 44
- Plaskett nights are for enjoyment and a reward for RASC Victoria members and volunteers
- Review of techniques to process Plaskett image data into nice images
Skynews magazine – Bruce Lane
- Review of upcoming articles
- Please send Total Lunar Eclipse observing reports to Bruce (Editor)
Black Holes – Randy Enkin
- M87 Black Hole – April 22, 2019 – Event Horizon Telescope
- Sagittarius A* Supermassive Black Hole – May 16, 2022 – BBC Science Focus article
- Galactic nucleus observed by Karl Jansky in 1931 – published in Nature, 173, 985-987, 1954
- Angular resolution problem solved by the Event Horizon Telescope
- Motion analysis of objects and energy near the Event Horizon of a black hole
- Lauri Roche’s “black hole” birthday gift

Astronomy Cafe – May 9, 2022

Posted May 10, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Meeting video transcript

Astronomy Day thank you’s to volunteers – Lauri Roche & David Lee
- The in-person interaction was an engaging experience
- The younger volunteers were a real delight
- Sidewalk astronomy from the museum plaza, with very good weather
- History of Astronomy Day at the Royal BC Museum – Sid Sidhu
- UVic, Camosun, Victoria High School, Shawnigan Lake School was a good collaboration
- Galileo Moments
  - Daytime at the RBCM: more than 800 – 231 outside, 654 inside
  - Evening on Observatory Hill: 29 volunteers and more than 100 members of the public
- A lessons learned meeting with leads – David Lee
- Publicity worked pretty well – Chris Gainor
- Hubble history book will be available at Astronomy Cafe next week – Chris Gainor
- Public lectures – about 40 attendees for each of 4 presentations – Randy Enkin
- Video recording for lunar observing national feed – David Lee recorded Randy Enkin and Bill Weir
- Attendance compared with previous Astronomy Days?
  - Despite a shorter day at RBCM, attendance was very good
  - Previous attendance was between 1,700-2,000 at our bigger events
- A high quality experience for attendees and children’s activities front-and-centre was a good idea – Jim Hesser
- Met some interesting people who were very interested in astronomy – Dave Payne
- Offered to help people to make use of their telescopes – Dave Robinson
- Astronomy Day – event info and photo gallery
M33 Triangulum Galaxy image – Randy Enkin & John McDonald
- HII star formation region
  - ionized hydrogen: protons
  - GMC – Giant Molecular Cloud
- Compared with Barnard’s Loop shock wave (10º)
- Bubble is the form the shock wave takes caused by multiple stars
- M33 is a floculant galaxy – clumping of hydrogen material
- What is a “typical” galaxy? – Dorothy Paul
- April 2017 Skynews article (PDF) – Orion’s Aura – Orion Eridanis Super Bubble – Reg Dunkley
James Webb Space Telescope progress report – Chris Gainor’
- Image sharpness check completed for all instruments
- Instrument Modes Check Off – happening next
- Images will likely start in June or July
- Diffraction spikes in the images – causes?
- Difference fields of view for each camera/sensor
Special General Meeting at May 16th Astronomy Cafe – Randy Enkin
- Need a quorum of 25 Victoria Centre members in attendance
- Changes to ensure our bylaws consistent with the national bylaws
- Our Secretary Jill Sinkwich is finding several parts of Victoria Centre bylaws that will need to be changed
- Proposed changes are already sent out to members
Need volunteers for Astronomy Cafe – Randy Enkin
- Zoom host – recording and posting the video transcripts online
- Meeting host – tracks and runs the meetings
Star parties at Observatory Hill – Lauri Roche
- May 21, Jun 4, 18
- Every Saturday night after the July 1st break for the summer
- Volunteers needed: telescopes in the parking lot, RASC welcome table, Plaskett dome tour hosts, 16″ telescope operators, other roles
- Electronically-Assisted Astronomy – start planning to use at the Star Parties in future – contact Dave Lee
National General Assembly – June 24-27 (online) – Lauri Roche
- Speakers, co-current sessions, virtual field trips
- AGM
- Seeking submissions from members to give half hour talks about their passion – submit form by May 15th – contact Lauri

Astronomy Cafe – May 2, 2022

Posted May 2, 2022 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Intro – Randy Enkin
Astronomy Day – David Lee
- Final check-in this Wednesday evening for leads before Saturday events
- International Astronomy Day – May 7, 2022
Vancouver Island Science Fair intro to awardees – Randy Enkin
VI Science Fair: Light At Night – Beata Ariana-Minniti (Cedar Hill Middle School student)
- Creating a bus stop light using natural resources
- Parts: Thermoelectric generator, voltage regulator, LED light
- Heat storage: sand in an insulated box
Canada-wide Science Fair: Lower CubeSat orbit could Protect Space Infrastructure – Nathan Hellner-Mestelman
- CubeSats collide, creating dangerous space debris that orbits the Earth – Kessler Syndrome
- Quantifying the collisions
- Lowering the hazard: choosing best orbits, adding micro-thrusters to CubeSats to change orbit or de-orbit
Astrophotos from southern Arizona – John McDonald & Garry Sedun
- Caldwell 30 galaxy
- M33 Triangulum Galaxy
- NGC 2903 barred spiral galaxy
- IC 433 Jellyfish Nebula
Eclipse Crater Timing – Randy Enkin
- Upcoming Lunar eclipse on Sunday, May 15, 2022
- Lunar eclipse crater timings usually done visually
- Earth’s Umbra seems to be 2% larger than expected from the geometry
James Webb Space Telescope Update – Chris Gainor
- All onboard instruments are now in focus
- Commissioning of instruments next, then science projects begin