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President’s Message – October 2022

Posted October 26, 2022 by Randy Enkin as President's Message

It has been five years since the astronomy bug caught me big. After the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse, I started looking for a telescope to replace my old Tasco refractor. I was close to buying a used C8 Schmidt Cassegrain, but couldn’t figure out how I could fit it in my house (or life). My first “new” telescope was an adequate little Newtonian, and since then I have acquired many telescopes, mounts, and accessories; never spending more than $150 at a time, to make a Frankenscope that works for me.

During that exciting autumn of 2017, I met Lauri Roche at a science outreach event and she invited me to give a talk at the RASC Victoria Centre Astro Cafe about a “gizmo” I developed for my telescope. Soon after, I joined the Society and made friends with many of you at Astro Cafe. With the Pandemic, our online events became important social activities for me. We’ve been doing outreach and in-reach events together. We have been a wonderful supportive community, which I now treasure.

In the autumn of 2020, our then president, Reg Dunkley, sent out a desperate plea for new council members, and in particular somebody who would step up to be our next president. I felt I was still a newbie, but the community was important to me and I did step up. I’ve been having a wonderful time working with this group, and I’m looking forward to many more roles I can take to keep our programs going and growing. But I am approaching the end of my second year as president and according to our bylaws, we need a new person to put their name forward as president. We have several other Council positions to fill as well.

So here is my plea – my desperate plea: please volunteer for our council! The roles are not onerous and we have a strong volunteer base to get things done. The past executives are all very helpful and supportive, so no one needs to feel they are all alone. But our society cannot function without people in the key positions and I know there are several of you reading this not thinking that you could be one of them. You can.

You should directly contact Reg, who as Past-President (pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca) is in charge of council nominations. But we know that few people ever volunteer on their own initiative. Please don’t be surprised or unhappy if you get a call from one of us. We need you. We appreciate you. We’ll have fun with you!

Look Up,
Randy Enkin, President@Victoria.RASC.ca

President’s Message – August 2022

Posted August 25, 2022 by Randy Enkin as President's Message

Summer Outreach

I had the pleasure of spending a Saturday evening with Sherry Buttnor, demonstrating the 16 inch reflector up at the Centre of the Universe. It is humbling being in the dome with her, as Sherry has been operating and demonstrating the 16 inch since 1987! For most of the time, we had the telescope trained on the moon. Once the moon got too low, we moved to M13 – the Hercules cluster. Everybody who looked in the eyepiece exclaimed some version of “Wow!” Sherry often told the people, “You’ll never look at the moon the same way from now on.”

Brock Johnston that night had one of the 8″ Dobsonians set up behind the Plaskett Telescope, with a steady stream of people coming for a glimpse of Saturn. A woman who had never before seen Saturn through a telescope said she was in tears afterwards, she was so awestruck.

Astronomy outreach is fun! The people who come to star parties and other
outreach events are keen to learn, and they appreciate our efforts to help them see the sky. Sometimes it feels like a lot of work, but once you are at it, it is a real high.

So make the decision to help out at our outreach events!

We need people for Saturday nights at the Centre of the Universe (contact Garry Sedun, vp2@victoria.rasc.ca); especially if you are willing to set up your telescope.
We need volunteers for the Vancouver Island Star Party, an hour north of Victoria at Bright Angel Park, August 26-27 (contact Dave Payne, vp@victoria.rasc.ca). Also, plan to go to the star party – Dave has been working with the Cowichan Valley Starfinders Astronomy Club to create an excellent program of speakers and events.
We need volunteers for the Saanich Fair at the Saanich Fairgrounds, September 3-5 (contact Lauri Roche, roche.lauri@gmail.com).
We need volunteers for the Fall Fairfield, Sept. 25, right outside our Astro Cafe venue at the Sir James Douglas School yard (contact Reg Dunkley, pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca).

At these events, you can typically take a shift of a couple of hours and answer questions from the eager public. I have seen members with the whole range of background and experience taking on these roles, and everybody has done well. Just show a bit of the enthusiasm that I know all RASC Victoria Centre members have.

Look Up,
Randy Enkin, President@Victoria.RASC.ca

Ernie Pfannenschmidt Award

Posted November 22, 2020 by Webmaster as

Conditions for Nomination

Ernie Pfannenschmidt, a long time member of RASC died on November 17, 2003. Ernie was well known for his creative skills in building astronomical gadgets and gear from found materials. In the year 2004, the Council of the Victoria Centre of the RASC established the Ernie Pfannenschmidt Award to recognize the achievements of Centre members who have built astronomical equipment through their creative fabrication skills. The award is presented at the Annual General Meeting.

Criteria for Award

Creative use of materials involving machining, wiring, and hand fabrication to build astronomy equipment is essential to qualify for this award. Purchasing astronomical equipment shall not constitute eligibility for this award.

Status of Nominees

Any person nominated for the Ernie Pfannenschmidt Award shall be a member in good standing in the RASC.

Acceptance of Nominations

At a regular meeting held in either December and/or January, or as solicited by email, Council will accept written nominations from the membership. All nominations shall be taken into consideration by Council when deciding who shall be the recipient of the award. Send nominations to our Past President email.

Judicial Authority of Council

A majority vote of Council will decide the winner with the President¹s vote breaking a tie. The Council may decide, at its sole discretion, not to make an award in any one year if it is judged by Council that none of the nominations qualify, or no suitable nominee can be found.

Recipients

2004 – Guy Walton
2005 – Guy Walton
2006 – John McDonald for constructing various optical and electronic devices for use in amateur astronomy
2010 – John McDonald for adapting inexpensive fish-eye lenses to his DSLR camera for use in taking extreme wide field “all-sky” images
2011 – Jim Stilburn for work in support of the Centre
2012 – Matt Watson for work in support of the Centre
2014 – Jim Stilburn for building a 10″ reflector tube assembly
2015 – Miles Waite for building a custom 14″ truss Dob
2016 – Jim Stilburn for building a Poncet telescope tracking system
2017 – Chris Purse for building a custom field power pack
2020 – Ken Mallory for building a solar viewing shield
2021 – Cameron Burton and Lisa Miester for moving and rebuilding the Bill Almond observatory
2022 – Dave Payne for development of the Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch software
2023 – Myles Waite for additions to the 20″ Obsession Telescope located at the VCO

President’s Message – October 2018

Posted October 2, 2018 by Chris Purse as President's Message

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the RASCals Star Party this year. We tried out a new venue in Central Saanich and it looks to have a lot of potential. If only the weather had cooperated! A number of centre members have observed from the site in the past with success. Despite the rainy weather, we did have some great talks and our first attempt at a star party barbecue went well.

I am pleased to report that our application for special project funding was approved. Jim Hesser, John McDonald, and David Lee will be putting together a visual display for the second concert of William Herschel’s music. The application sought funding from the RASC special project fund to cover the costs of some of the equipment needed for the concert. This concert will be part of the fourth season of the explorations in 18^th century music. This year’s offering is called On the Construction of the Heav’ns and will feature a Baroque chamber orchestra. The venue is Christ Church Cathedral again this year and the concert will take place on Friday, November 16. There will be a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. followed by the concert at 7:30 p.m. More information is available on the Christ Church Cathedral website and tickets are $30 each available from Ticket Rocket.

Save the date for our Annual General Meeting on the evening of Saturday, November 17. Evening festivities include a dinner, speaker, annual awards, and election of council. Please let me know if you by email at president@victoria.rasc.ca if wish to attend the dinner. The cost is $40.

We are now accepting nominations for the annual awards. In particular, we are seeking nominations for the Newton-Ball Award. Please see the website for details of the award and how to nominate a member to receive the award.

We will be looking for members to join the council this year. It has been a great experience for me to become part of the council and I encourage everyone, even if you’ve just joined, to consider putting your name forward. Sherry, our past president, will be coordinating the nomination process so please contact her at pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca if you would like more information and to put your name forward.

President’s Message – September 2018

Posted September 4, 2018 by Chris Purse as President's Message

I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer and had many opportunities to enjoy the night sky.

I am pleased to announce that our very own Dr. Chris Gainor was elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at the General Assembly in Calgary. It has been 40 years since another Victoria Centre member, Dr. Alan Batten, was the national president. Please join me in congratulating Chris on his election.

The Victoria Centre had a great summer of outreach events in 2018. Thank you to all everyone who organized and participated. We had another successful season of summer star parties at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory; there were a total of 19 well-attended Saturday evenings offered. A group of RASCals were at the Saanich Strawberry Festival with solar viewing in July. For the second year, members had their telescopes at the Fort Rodd Hill Star Gaze in August. There was an event on Pender Island on the same evening. And, there was the annual participation at the Saanich Fair over the Labour Day weekend. Some members also participated in a number of special events such as instruction and observing offered to guides and cadets. It was a busy and rewarding summer!

It was unfortunate that the Fort Rodd and Pender Island events coincided with the worst viewing conditions that I have experienced. In looking at Saturn, it was a fuzzy football-shaped object instead of its normally stunning planet with a fabulous ring. As I recall, that was one of the first evenings when forest fire smoke was in the skies above us. That really had a major impact and I am concerned that an increase in the severity of our forest fire seasons will make smoke a regular part of our summer.

With the arrival of September, we return to our normal schedule of weekly Astro Cafés starting on Monday, September 10 and monthly meetings resuming on Wednesday, September 12. As a reminder, we will be voting on our revised bylaws at the September 12 meeting.

We have another major event in September this year and that is our annual star party. It is taking place at our new venue on the grounds of St. Stephen’s Church in Central Saanich. That takes place September 7 to 9 and I hope many members are able to attend. Please see the website for the schedule.

Save the date for our Annual General Meeting on the evening of Saturday, November 17. Evening festivities include a dinner, speaker, annual awards, and election of council. We will be posting information about the meal options and cost once that is finalized.

2016 Victoria Centre Council Nominations

Posted October 13, 2016 by Webmaster as Meetings

RASC Victoria Centre

Council (Board of Directors) Nominations 2017

President
- Overall responsibility for Victoria Centre, public relations, conducts meetings
- Nomination: Chris Purse
1st Vice President
- arrange speakers for meetings and events, event preparation
- Nomination: Reg Dunkley
2nd Vice President
- membership, special projects, events
- Nominations: Deb Crawford
Secretary
- minutes, official records, correspondence
- Nomination: Leslie Welsh
Treasurer
- budget, financial records, taxes, retail sales
- Nomination: Bruce Lane
Librarian
- Nominations: Michel Michaud, Diane Bell (assistant)
Director of Telescopes
- Nomination: Sid Sidhu
Light Pollution Abatement Chair
- Nomination: Dave Robinson
School Outreach Co-Chairs
- Nominations: Lauri Roche, Sid Sidhu
Public Outreach Chair
- Co-ordinates and arranges public outreach events and volunteers
- Nomination: Ken Mallory
Past President
- Nomination: Sherry Buttnor
National Representative and Liaison
- Nomination: Nelson Walker
Membership Coordinator
- Nomination: Chris Purse
Skynews Editor
- Nomination: Reg Dunkley
Observing, Co-Chairs
- Nominations: Jim Stilburn, Michel Michaud
Technical Committee Chair
- Nominations: Matt Watson
Webmaster
- Nominations: Joe Carr

Members at Large: Nominations:

Jim Hesser (National RASC Anniversary Working Group)
Lauri Roche (National RASC Anniversary Working Group )
James DiFrancesco (DAO Liaison)
Alex Schmidt (UVic Liaison)
David Lee (Observing)
Li-Ann Skibo (RBCM Liaison)
Bill Almond (Historian)
Chris Gainor (National Officer)
John McDonald (Astronomy Café)

Please contact Nelson Walker (Past President and Nominations Chair – email) to nominate yourself or another RASC member for any office listed above.

2016 Annual General Meeting & Dinner

Posted September 30, 2016 by Sherry Buttnor as Meetings

Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Victoria Centre

Annual General Meeting and Dinner

Sunday, November 27, 2016

at the Cedar Hill Golf Course, 1400 Derby Road, Victoria, BC

Call for Nominations

Event photos for the AGM

Awards presentations

6:00pm – Drinks, conversation

No host bar

6:30 – Dinner

Payment -Cost of the buffet dinner is $37.50 per person, inclusive of all taxes and gratuities. Alcoholic beverages not included.

Payment is only required for the meal.
Attendance at both the speaker presentation and the business meeting is free of charge.
The total number of dinners must be confirmed by Monday, November 14th. Please look over the menu and send your choice of Main Course to:
- Nelson Walker: 250-477-4820 or by email to pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca
- Payment at the door – by cheque (preferred) or cash
- Meals will be pre-ordered and must be paid for, whether you show up or not

7:30pm – Speaker – The secret of Adaptive Optics – Paolo Turri, UVic Astronomy

Abstract:

Since the dawn of optical telescopes, astronomers have been struggling against a serious problem: Earth’s atmosphere. The turbulence in the atmosphere degrades the quality of astronomical images by reducing the spatial resolution that they could achieve theoretically. For centuries astronomers had to live with this limitation, until space flight allowed them to put telescopes in orbit, avoiding the issue entirely. But for the larger telescopes here on the ground, the problem persisted. This was until a technical solution was finally found during the Cold War (but kept secret until few decades ago…).

Adaptive optics is a relatively new technology that allows a telescope to “manipulate” the light distorted by the atmosphere and to restore a clear vision of the skies. I will discuss the tricks that adaptive optics uses to achieve the result, as well as some of its scientific accomplishments. I will also tell the story of how we ended up acquiring this technology in astronomy. It’s a plot made of secrets, spies and mutually assured destruction.

Biography:
Paolo is from Italy and he graduated in Padua and Trieste for his degree in Astronomy. He is currently a PhD student in Astronomy at the University of Victoria and his field of research is in adaptive optics. He has observed at the Gemini South telescope to study the stellar populations of Galactic globular clusters. At NRC Herzberg he is also studying the performance of the adaptive optics system that will be built in Victoria for the future Thirty Meter Telescope.

8:30-9:30 pm Annual General Meeting & Presentations

Call to order: 8:30pm
Minutes of 2015 Annual Meeting: Les.

Secretary’s Annual Report: Les.

Treasurer’s Financial Report: Bruce.

National Representative’s Report: Lauri.

Awards:

Observing Certificate-

Award of Excellence in Astrophotography –

Ernie Pfannenschmidt Award in Amateur Telescope Making –

Newton – Ball Service Award 2016-

Certificate of Excellence –
Election of Victoria Centre Council Members: Nelson-

List of RASC Council positions for Victoria Centre 2016-2017:

Executive Positions

President – Chris Purse (nominee)

First Vice President – Reg Dunkley (nominee)

Second Vice President – Deb Crawford (nominee)

Secretary – Leslie Welsh (incumbent)

Treasurer – Bruce Lane (incumbent)

At large and others:

Past President – Sherry Buttnor

National Representative – Nelson Walker (nominee)

Librarian – Michel Michaud (incumbent) Diane Bell (assistant, nominee)

Telescopes and School Programs – Sid Sidhu

Public Outreach – Ken Mallory (nominee)

Skynews Editor – Reg Dunkley (incumbent)

Light Abatement Chair – Dave Robinson (incumbent)

Membership Chair – Chris Purse (incumbent)

Webmaster – Joe Carr (incumbent)

Observing Chair – Michel Michaud, Jim Stilburn (incumbent co-chairs)

Systems Administrator /Technical Committee Chair – Matt Watson (incumbent)

Member(s) at Large:
Jim Hesser (National RASC Anniversary Working Group)
Lauri Roche (National RASC Anniversary Working Group )
James DiFrancesco (DAO Liaison)
Alex Schmidt (UVic Liaison)
David Lee (Observing)
Li-Ann Skibo (RBCM Liaison)
Bill Almond (Historian)
Chris Gainor (National Officer)
New Business

Door Prizes.

Adjourn.

President’s Message September 2016

Posted September 6, 2016 by Sherry Buttnor as President's Message

Welcome to September! Goodness…is it just me, or did summer go by really quickly?! Maybe it’s because we had such a great time at the DAO and our other public events? In spite of some pretty sketchy weather early on, our Summer Saturday Star Parties at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory were very popular once again. So popular, in fact, that we even had a problem with someone scalping our tickets. LOL…you know your efforts are successful when that happens! We even had a visit from the Lieutenant Governor of BC, the Honourable Judith Guichon. She was so impressed by our programs, she stayed over an hour longer than scheduled and pledged to return with her grandchildren. How about that?
Another major summer event was our annual RASCals Star Party in Metchosin. The first evening was absolutely stunning: clear and warm; the kind of evening we dream about all winter. The second evening was less impressive, with wind all afternoon replaced by clouds in the evening. In spite of that, over 70 people attended with many camping out the whole weekend.
And wrapping up our major public events, the Saanich Fair. Our booth at the Fair is always a hit with fairgoers.
Here are some attendance numbers for you:
International Astronomy Day: 626 (daytime)
Saturday “star parties” at the DAO: 2221.
RASCals Star Party: 73.
Saanich Fair: ~1450.
Huge thanks to everyone who volunteered for these events!! You’re amazing. Very special thanks to David Lee and Nelson Walker for their hard work arranging and scheduling guest speakers and volunteers for the DAO evenings, and Lauri Roche for organizing the Saanich Fair weekend. Many thanks also to our friends at Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, and Science Venture. Well done!
Here are links to some great photos of these events, taken by our members:

DAO Summer Star Parties: http://rascvic.zenfolio.com/p109973364
RASCals Star Party: http://rascvic.zenfolio.com/rascals2016

Saanich Fair: http://rascvic.zenfolio.com/p717179212

Just because those are over doesn’t mean the fun is over. We’re busy gearing up for all of our great regular activities for the rest of the year: regular monthly meetings and Council meetings at UVic with some terrific guest speakers, Astronomy Cafe with its laid-back atmosphere and great discussion topics, Cattle Point and UVic observing sessions (both scheduled to resume in October), and our Annual General Meeting on November 27th. Here’s a schedule of upcoming events:
Council meeting: Sept 7, 7:30pm. (4th floor astronomy lounge, Elliott building, UVic) Everyone welcome.
General meeting Sept 14, 7:30pm: Professor Sun Kwok, guest speaker. (room A104, Bob Wright building, UVic) Everyone welcome.
Astro cafe Sept 12th. 7:30pm. Fairfield Community Centre (annex behind main building) Everyone welcome.
DAO STAR PARTY Sept 24….one last encore event! 7:30pm-11:00pm at the DAO.
UVic observing: TBA October
Cattle Point observing: TBA October
Annual General Meeting: Sunday November 27th, 6:00pm, Cedar Hill Golf Course.

More details on our Annual General Meeting to come shortly, including the menu and guest speaker. Our AGM also includes the election of our Executive and Board of Directors. If you would like to run for a position, please let our Past President know! pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca.
Remember: to keep up to date with Victoria Centre happenings, just go to our website at victoria.rasc.ca.

I see we have several new members to the Victoria Centre. Welcome!! I hope we can help you with whatever your astronomical interests are. Always feel free to join in in any of our activities and meetings, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you need anything at all. We’re here for you.

With Autumn approaching, often with some of the best observing conditions of the year, I hope you will join us at any of our scheduled activities, or just get out there and enjoy the night sky!

Clear skies,
Sherry.

President’s Message November 2015

Posted November 2, 2015 by Sherry Buttnor as President's Message

How about this weather, eh?! I bet many of you wish you had taken up meteorology as a pastime! I can’t remember the rains coming this early, or this heavy, for a long time. I could quite easily float a boat in my backyard as I type this. Oh well…what can you do? Cross our fingers and hope we get some nice, clear skies in time for winter observing. Or take up basket-weaving? Boat-building? At least our very popular Astronomy Cafe is going strong. if you’re bummed by the weather, why not stop by and spend some time with us? Astro Cafe has become a great event on its own, thanks to the efforts of John McDonald, Reg Dunkley, and Chris Purse. Thanks, guys!

It is November, however, and we should focus on the Annual General Meeting, coming up on Sunday, November 22nd. As I mentioned last month, it’s time for our board elections, and also to recognize our members in such fields as service to the Victoria Centre, astrophotography, and so on. Nelson tells me that as of today, we have 41 members registered for the dinner portion; the pub can accommodate 70, so we have room for another 29. Please contact Nelson at pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca or 477-4820. Dinner is always yummy, our guest speaker and topic are terrific (Molecular clouds formed from interstellar gas – Dr Steve Mairs) so sign up soon.

As I mentioned last month, our AGM is also time for our board elections, and also to recognize our members in such fields as service to the Victoria Centre, astrophotography, and so on. Email reminders have been sent by Matt (astrophotography) and Bruno (Newton-Ball award). Here’s the page where you can peruse the outstanding astrophotos from several of our members, and cast your vote:
We really could use help with filling the following board positions:
Vice President
Public Outreach Coordinator
Light Pollution Abatement

Still working on the pizza party. Given that there are so many conflicts with other events around the holiday season, it looks like January is a better month to host that. Stay tuned.
And stay dry!

Cheers!
Sherry.

Victoria Centre AGM & Dinner – Nov 22, 2015

Posted September 11, 2015 by Webmaster as Meetings

Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Victoria Centre

Annual General Meeting and Dinner

Sunday, November 22 2015

at the Moon Under Water Brewpub, 350 Bay St, Victoria, BC

Call for Nominations

6:00pm – Drinks, conversation

No host bar

6:30 – Dinner

Payment -Cost of the fixed, sit-down dinner is $35.00 per person, inclusive of all taxes and gratuities. Alcoholic beverages not included.

Payment is only required for the meal.
Attendance at both the speaker presentation and the business meeting is free of charge.
The total number of dinners must be confirmed by Friday, November 13th. Please look over the menu and send your choice of First Course and Main Course to:
- Nelson Walker: 250-477-4820 or by email to pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca
- Payment at the door – by cheque (preferred) or cash
- Meals will be pre-ordered and must be paid for, whether you show up or not

Menu: fixed sit-down meal. Choices:

First Course – choice of soup or salad

Potato bacon soup
House salad

Main Course – choice of one entrée

Roast beef dinner with seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.
Grilled salmon fillet with dill sauce, seasonal vegetables and rice.
Vegetarian stuffed mushroom cap with seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes.
Dessert: stand-up dessert buffet.
Coffee and Tea included.

7:30pm – Speaker – Where Baby Stars Come From, and Why it’s Important to Know! – Steve Mairs

In this talk, I will examine the birth of a sun-like star and introduce some of the research being performed here in Victoria to further our knowledge on this subject. My main focus will be on the Orion Molecular Cloud, a giant star-forming region in the Milky Way which encompasses the famous Orion Nebula. I will present images of what the Orion Nebula looks like at submillimetre wavelengths and show how these often overlooked observations can provide vital information into the young lives of stars. By studying “where baby stars come from”, we can make links to present day observations of star clusters, supernova explosion rates, the formation of planets, and, in effect our very own origin story.

Bio: Steve Mairs is a 4th year PhD student in astronomy at UVIC. In 2012, he completed his Bachelor of Science degree with honours, majoring in Physics, from the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.

Throughout his undergraduate career, he was involved in a variety of astronomy projects including researching remnants of supernova explosions at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, studying pulsars in an effort to make a detection of gravitational waves at UBC Vancouver, and investigating the evolution of the physical properties of giant star-forming regions in the Triangulum Galaxy.

Steve’s PhD thesis is centred on the formation of stars in the Orion molecular cloud. Specifically, he is using sub-millimetre data collected using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the Combined Array for Research in Millimetre Astronomy to examine how large scale gas and dust structures in our own galaxy relate to the small scale structure which gives rise to the formation of young stars and stellar clusters.

8:30-9:30 pm Annual General Meeting

The agenda.