Astronomy Cafe – Jan 22, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcipt of meeting

  • Intro – Jim Cliffe
  • Space Telescopes – Chris Gainor
    • How Long Will Hubble Last? – Sky & Telescope article
    • US Postal Service issued two stamps with images from JWST – $30.45 and $9.85 for their express service
  • David Lee
    • Inside the Star Factory – book profiling JWST by Chris Gunn (photography) & Christopher Wanjek
    • Makers SIG – meeting online this Thursday
      • Citizen Science – transitioning from analog to digital recording for occultations – IOTA
      • Imaging computing platforms – including Astroberry
    • Astrophotography SIG – meeting online this Wednesday – Dave Payne
      • Camera settings
      • Photo showcase
      • Q&A
  • Canadian stamp for the Total Solar Eclipse – Lauri Roche
    • March 14th issue day
  • Eclipse viewing glasses – Lauri Roche
  • Astrophotos
    • Dave Payne – online gallery
      • Flying Dragon Nebula – molecular cloud in Cygnus – taken last summer
      • Medusa by Garvacchio
      • Medusa Planetary Nebula in Gemini – RGB and narrowband taken earlier this month
    • Brock Johnston – online gallery
      • Christmas Tree and Fox Fur Nebula
      • Network Nebula – part of the Veil Nebula
      • Crab Nebula
    • Astrophoto Processing – discussion by Ken McGill, David Lee, Brock Johnston, Jim Cliffe
  • Astronomy Information Sources – Susan Grady posed the question to the group
  • Panic! Early results regarding the morphological and structural properties of galaxies seen with the James Webb Space Telescope – UVic, Wed, March 13 – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics & Astronomy
  • Young people’s astronomy club? – question by Garry Sedun
    • Some High schools and Middle schools offer astronomy groups
    • Discussion about how to reach out to younger people
    • Youth under 18 need family member who is also a member if VCO visit is desired – Chris Purse
    • Using smartphones on a telescope for imaging – simple mounting platforms work well
  • FDAO – Lauri Roche – roche.lauri@gmail.com
    • Games Night at this Saturday’s Star Party – 6:30-10PM – NRC, FDAO & RASC teams
    • FDAO Strategic Planning coming up
  • Victoria Centre – upcoming events– Reg Dunkley & Lauri Roche
    • AGM – Feb12 7:00PM – online zoom to all members
      • Election
      • Financial Report
      • Awards announcements
    • Social Evening – Four Mile Pub – Feb 28th – sign up with Ken Atkinson secretary@victoria.rasc.ca
      • Socialize with your fellow astronomers and friends over some good food and drink
  • Lunar and Mars Missions – group discussion

Astronomy Cafe – Jan 15, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Intro – Brock Johnston
  • DAO Virtual Reality – Light Wave ObserVR – Darren Delorme
    • Photogrammetric capture using Drone Deploy to create a point cloud of the outside of the observatory site
    • Modelled the telescope and mount inside using Blender from smart phone imagery and archival images
    • Working on windows, dome shutters, viewing platform, surrounding buildings and terrain
    • Unity – star catalog data – currently using 100,000 stars
    • VR headsets and hand motion tracking
    • VR tour starts at Elk Lake built on Lidar data
    • Multi-user experience/star party (up to 64 people), rooms, Meta platform launch
    • Inspired by Loki on Disney+
    • Next step is to create the stories and lessons
    • Perhaps add John Plaskett as a tour guide
    • Discussion of next steps, project milestones, first use, terms of use
  • Games night at FDAO Star Party – Jan 27th
  • The Colours of Uranus and Neptune – Randy Enkin
    • Are the two planets the same colour?
    • Uranus discovered by Herschel in 1781
    • Neptune discovered by several people in 1821, 1845 and 1846
    • Voyager 2 space probe has visited both planets in 1986 and 1989
    • Modelling the seasonal cycle of Uranus’s colour and magnitude, and comparison with Neptune – Patrick G. J. Irwin et al
    • Members relate their observations of Neptune and Uranus
    • Chris Gainor reminisced about being at JPL as a press reporter for the planetary encounters by Voyager 2. Both Hubble and JWST now observe the two planets regularly
  • David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
    • Occultations – citizen science
      • NEO
      • Int’l Occultation Timing Assoc – occultations.org
      • New DIY kits available
    • Makers SIG – Jan 25th
      • Imaging computing platforms – convergence and DIY solutions
  • FDAO – Lauri Roche roche.lauri@gmail.com
    • Star Party on Jan 27th
    • Strategic Planning for FDAO coming up
    • Send suggestions for new activities for the FDAO
  • RASC Victoria Centre Events – Lauri Roche & Reg Dunkley
  • Herschel Museum  – Reg Dunkley
    • Near Paddington Station, London, UK
    • Treadle lathe, mirror grinding, forge for mirrors
    • Catalog of stars
    • Site of discovery of Uranus in the garden
    • Musical instruments

Astronomy Cafe – Jan 8, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Intro – Jeff Pivnick
  • Galileo – Jeff Pivnic
    • Today is the 382nd anniversary of his death in Florence in 1642
    • Taught at Universities of Pisa and Padua
    • Patron of the Medici family
    • Conducted experiments
    • Developed first telescopes based on Lippershey optics
    • Observed the Moon, Venus, Jupiter & 4 moons, Saturn, stars, Sun
    • Sidereal Messenger (1610) documenting his discoveries
    • Planetary motion theories
      • Ptolomaic model – Aristotle, Ptolemy, Aristarchus, Copernicus, Catholic Church
      • Heliocentric model – Galileo, Kepler and Copernicus
    • In 1630 published “The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems”
    • Inquisition in 1633  found Galileo a heretic – put under house arrest
    • Review of his contributions to science
  • APOD for Dec 26, 2023 – Jellyfish Nebula photo by Dave Payne
    • Explanation of the formation of the nebula and the resulting structure
    • Composition and appearance based on materials
    • Stellar Supernova resulting in a Neutron star
    • Well-deserved recognition!
  • Astrophotos – Dave Payne
  • Ravensberger puzzle of the solar system – Randy Enkin
    • Planets and moons
    • From Lee Valley – now sold out
    • Fun to put together with numbered pieces in separate bags
  • Victoria Centre Awards – Reg Dunkley
  • Revealing the Invisible Universe with Radio Telescopes – Dr. Jennifer West, NRC – presentation at UVic – Wed Jan 10, 2024 at 7:30pm
  • AGM – Feb
  • Lauri Roche
    • Victoria Centre social at Four Mile Pub – Feb 26th
    • Astronomy Day – May 18, 2024 Royal BC Museum
      • Need a team to form soon to take leads in the volunteer tasks
      • ⁃ Contact Lauri for more info roche.lauri@gmail.com
    • Games night at the FDAO Star Party – Jan 27 6:30-10PM

President’s Message – December 2022

Posted by as President's Message

We are members of this venerable institution because we share a bond of fascination with the wonders of the sky. I don’t think any of us joined the Centre to worry about the details of how it runs.

These are the opening lines of an email I sent on December 10 to all the Members of the Victoria Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. We are proposing a new Constitution and Bylaws to run the Victoria Centre. Did you receive it? Please read it! I hope we explain well enough why the amendments are necessary and how they will make our centre operate better.

Randy Enkin using his sextant
Randy Enkin using his sextant

The Victoria Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada was founded in 1914. We’ve been through a lot! But all organizations need to ride with the times. The fact that we now communicate electronically has to be acknowledged and embraced by our bylaws. But once we opened the doors to an amendment, then it became clear that there are many other issues to modernize or fix.

Fortunately we have some remarkable members in the Victoria Centre, who understand how constitutions and bylaws are supposed to be worded. The committee which produced the amendments was chaired by our vice president, Dave Payne, who has experience running non-profit organizations. The other members of the committee are our secretary, Jill Sinkwich, who had previously worked for the Ministry of Finance on the BC Societies Act; our Membership Chair, Chris Purse, who participated in writing the previous version of the bylaws and is a font of institutional memory; Dan Posey, who has experience writing provincial legislation; and me, president and cheerleader for this group of awesome hardworking members.

We request that you read and provide comments on the draft Constitution and Bylaws by January 15, 2023 to Secretary@Victoria.RASC.ca. We particularly need to know if there are issues that would prompt you to vote against adoption of the bylaws at the upcoming Special General Meeting, which will be scheduled in February. The Bylaws must be passed with a special resolution of the centre by a 2/3 vote.

We know they are not perfect, but we feel that they are a significant improvement over what we are currently working under.

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

Astronomy Cafe – Dec 12, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Astronomical Society of the Pacific – David Lee’s report from a virtual conference
    • Diversity and citizen science
    • Upcoming solar eclipses
    • OpenStax Astronomy – topics for beginners
    • Mentorship of students, STEM
    • Active Learning
    • NASA Citizen Science
    • Vera Rubin Observatory – public portals to data
    • World Asterisms – RASC Charles Ennis
    • Accessible astronomy for blind people and others
  • Citizen Science SIG/group – contact David Lee
  • “Silent Sky” – a play about Henrietta Leavitt- Langham Court Theatre – Jeff Pivnick
    • Playing Jan 25-Feb 11th, 2023
    • RASC should have telescopes outside – Marjie & Reg
  • Astronomical Images – Real or fiction? – Joe Carr
    • Faked ring detail on Saturn image posted by Jason Guenzel and critical reaction from many on social media
    • Io in True Color from Galileo mission, and a monochrome LORRI image from the New Horizons mission
    • Joe’s 2016 Total Solar Eclipse false colour image processed using HDR, split toning and tone curves
    • Joe’s Prominences on the Sun in Ha using Sobel edge detection filter
    • Dave Payne’s Tadpoles Nebula images in RGB versus a Hubble-like palette using narrowband hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur
    • Ken McGill’s Eastern Veil Nebula images with and without stars
    • John McDonald’s various processing techniques of the Cave Nebula using Dave Payne’s RGBL & Ha, OIII & SI narrowband source image data
    • Lava Flows North on Mauna Loa – Landsat infrared data overlaid on natural colour
    • Landsat NIR, IR and green wavelengths used to depict fine detail in the Columbia Glacier – Prince William Sound, Alaska
    • High Dynamic Range source data and resultant image illustration of process
    • Question to the group: Which astrophotos do you consider fake?
      • Dennis Crabtree’s posts of AI-generated images on Facebook
    • Extra: APOD: An Artful Sky over Lofoten Islands (2022 Dec 13) – Giulio Cobianchi
  • Tributes to Dave Bennett – Randy Enkin
    • Guy Nason was his observing partner
    • Randy visited with Sue and took away Dave’s astronomy gear. Bruce Lane will appraise it.
    • Varsavia occultation – David Lee
    • Dave Bennett Memorial
  • Constitution and Bylaws – Randy Enkin
    • Please read the bylaws as sent out to all members
    • Send any comments to the President and Secretary
    • We will adopt the new bylaws at the Special General Meeting by 2/3 majority
    • Then we will hold our AGM based on the new bylaws (hopefully)
  • Makers’ SIG – happening this week on Thursday – contact David Lee
  • Lunar Occultation of Mars – Brian Barber & David Lee
    • Very tough to photograph from Victoria, and the visual views were spotty
    • Enkin’s Daily Moon is profiling photos of the occultation from around the world on Facebook
  • Artemis I Return – Chris Gainor
    • Splashed down after 26 days in space
    • Entry used a different approach path over the South Pole, landing just offshore from San Diego
    • Announcement of the crew for the next mission is next, including a Canadian astronaut
    • Shorty crater and orange soil in 1972 broadcast from the Moon on Apollo Realtime Playback
    • Bob McDonald’s Frankenstein Rocket presentation

Astronomy Cafe – Nov 14, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of the meeting

  • Island Star Party – Dave Payne
    • RASC Victoria will be hosting ISP in 2023, not Cowichan Valley Starfinders
    • Debriefing from CVSF will happen soon
    • Bright Angel Park will need to be reserved soon with CVRD
    • Volunteers from Victoria Centre will be needed – contact Dave Payne dapayne@shaw.ca
      • Insurance
      • Speakers
      • Advertising
      • Setup on Friday – tents, parking, observing field
      • Cleanup and teardown on Sunday
    • Council approved our participation a year ago
    • Date for 2023 star party needs to be decided upon
      • Nearest New Moon in August is the 16th
      • Good dates for star party is probably Aug 11-13
      • Mt. Kobau Star Party – Aug 12-20
      • Perseid meteor shower peaks on Aug 13
    • Previous star parties attracted a wide selection of amateur astronomers
    • At least 50 attended each night at this year’s star party
    • Discussion
    • Photos from 2016
  • Space Mission Reports – Chris Gainor
  • Observing Mars near Opposition – Bill Weir
    • Weather is clear and stable this week
  • Ken McGill’s observing van conversion
  • RASC National website – problems for members – Bill Weir
    • When renewing membership, subscribing to the email lists can happen involuntarily – Dave Payne
    • Centre affiliation choices are not working properly – Chris Purse
    • Large order for calendars from Victoria Centre placed 3 weeks ago has not arrived – Lauri Roche
    • Brendon Roy from National gave an update on shipping publication orders
  • RASC Victoria Centre Council Meeting tomorrow night – Jill Sinkwich
  • Malcolm from Toronto introduced himself as a new Victoria Centre member
  • Website tour – Special Interest Groups & email lists – Joe Carr
    • SIGs – click on the name beside the one that interests you to sign up
    • Email lists – descriptions on the Members Only area of the website
      • Members Only area is behind a shared password – contact Joe Carr, Webmaster
      • HillObs – special requirements for signup for members who are Active Observers to observe and acquire astrophotos from the Victoria Centre Observatory
  • Public Observing at Observatory Hill – Lauri Roche
    • Public restricted to 150 on Saturday nights – sign ups go quickly when the event is posted
    • Currently scheduled monthly
      • Nov 26 – next star party
      • Dec 17 – Nathan will be presenting
    • Friends of the DAO membership is $25
    • Hosting groups of students and teachers at the Centre of the Universe during the day
    • How school programs work – new team needed from RASC – contact Lauri for info
    • Road construction on Observatory Hill is still underway – be cautious, especially at night
  • UVic Astronomy Open House – Bob Wright Building observatory every Wednesday evening
  • Astrophotography – Dave Payne
  • Gonzales Observatory – query from Larry Manuel
    • Originally a solar transit observatory for time keeping and the historic Noon Gun – Joe Carr
    • Environment Canada weather station
    • Gonzales Hill Regional Park

Astronomy Cafe – Feb 14, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Transcript video of meeting

  • Announcements – Chris Purse
    • 2022 Observer’s Calendar – some available at $15 – contact Chris Purse or Lauri Roche
    • Astro Cafe In Person – Fairfield Gonzales Community Association
      • The portable we have been using is no longer available
      • Other rooms are available, so when we resume in-person meetings, we will be meeting in another room
      • The TV we installed will be moved to our new location
      • Monday is one of their busiest nights, so we may also move days
      • Feedback from members is welcome
  • Standing for election as Secretary – Jill Sinkwich intro
    • Now participating in RASC after 20 years of lurking
    • Interests in music and law, but also astronomy (observing certificates)
  • Quantum Gravity – Duane Weaver
  • Edmonton Astrophotos – Dave Robinson
    • Andromeda Galaxy – Abdur Anwar tried to capture the integrated flux between the galaxies
    • A red rainbow with the Sun very low in the sky – John Wooly
  • Update on James Webb Space Telescope – Chris Gainor
    • First light shared before aligning the mirrors
    • News story about first light
    • One of the more prominent scientists for JWST at the Space Telescope Institute is a black Canadian named Jason Kallirai
  • Lauri Roche
    • 2022 Observer’s Calendars – $15 each – contact Lauri(roche.lauri@gmail.com)
    • FDAO Star Party this Saturday evening, Feb 19th – Intersection of Science and Art – Bob McDonald
    • FDAO wants to open for in-person events, starting on Astronomy Day, May 7th, but dependant on NRC and Federal pandemic rules
  • David Lee
    • Makers SIG – this Thursday
    • Lunar Occultation is coming up  – contact =David if interested (david@victoria.rasc.ca) 
  • Victoria Centre AGM – next Monday – Randy Enkin
    • Speaker: The Life and Times of the Sky Quality Meter – Doug Welch, Dean of Graduate Studies, and on the CFHT and TMT boards
    • Need a quorum, so if you can’t attend, contact our Secretary Barbara Lane (secretary@victoria.rasc.ca) 
    • Link to Zoom meeting sent to members by the Secretary
  • Astrophotos – Brock Johnson
  • Black History – event this Saturday, Feb 19th at 10AM PST – Bill Weir
    • 4 presenters
  • National Report – Lauri Roche
    • 2023 and 2024 eclipse events being planned
    • New NOVA modules available beginning of April – volunteer testers needed
    • 2022 GA being planned – contact Chris Gainor (cgainor@shaw.ca)

Astronomy Cafe – Feb 7, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Transcript video of meeting

  • IAU Small Bodies Nomenclature – Chris Purse
    • Asteroid (10109) Sidhu – 1992  KQ – discovered by Eleanor F. Helin
    • Sid Sidhu was nominated by President Chris Purse back in 2018
    • Quite a few Victoria Centre members are already honoured, along with other RASC members 
    • Sid joined RASC in 1985
  • The Transformative Journey of HD 93521 (Doug Gies, et. al) – Randy Enkin
    • Rapid rotating star between Leo Minor and Ursa Major
    • Blue star 40,000 times more luminous as the Sun, Spectral Type O
    • Only 5 million years old, and burning out rapidly
    • First spectra was published by Plaskett & Pearce in 1931
    • Actually 39 million years old, but nuclear clock was reset 5 million years ago
    • Discussion about black holes, stellar dust, and star formation and evolution
  • Lunar Occultation – David Lee (david@victoria.rasc.ca) 
    • Zubelnelgenubi double star occulted by the Moon on Feb 22, 2022
    • Published times for various locations
    • Altitude of 20º and Azimuth 135-180º from Victoria
    • Prepare ahead of time
    • David can help anyone interested in observing or photographing this event
  • Update on Victoria Centre Observatory – Reg Dunkley
    • 20″ Obsession Dob telescope – visual observing
      • Digital setting circles to be installed
    • 12″ Dob telescope – visual observing
    • Takahashi TOA – visual and photography configurations
    • 12.5″ OGS RC – photography with a new 61 Mpix cooled camera, filters LRGB & narrowband
      • First light of the Moon – photo taken last night
    • Paramount mount still needs some service, but it’s working
    • COVID-19 Regulations – 4 members at the VCO, and 2 more members at the Plaskett parking lot. Active Observers should attest to being fully vaccinated to President Randy Enkin (president@victoria.rasc.ca) and cc to Chris Purse (membership@victoria.rasc.ca)
    • Member-In-Charge (MIC) – 2 spaces available for new volunteers. Training will be provided.
  • Update on James Webb Space Telescope – Chris Gainor
    • Last week, instruments turned on
    • First light on sensors
    • Calibrating the mirror segments is proceeding
  • History of Hubble – Chris Gainor
    • Chris will be receiving copies of the book
    • Requests can be sent to the Hubble Information Center – info-center@hq.nasa.gov
  • Observers Handbook 2022 – free one available from Joe Carr (web@victoria.rasc.ca) 
  • SIGs – David Lee (david@victoria.rasc.ca) 
    • Makers SIG meeting online this Thursday
  • Victoria Centre’s AGM – Feb 21, 2022 starting at 7:00PM PST
    • Speaker: The Life and Times of the Sky Quality Meter – Doug Welch, Dean of Graduate Studies, and on the CFHT and TMT boards
    • Need a quorum – proxies are good if you can’t attend – send to any member in good standing who will attend, or Barbara Lane secretary@victoria.rasc.ca

About Us

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The Victoria Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society is part of a national society dedicated to bringing information about astronomy to the general public.

Membership

Open to everyone with an interest in astronomy. Membership in the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada does not require any knowledge of astronomy. We enjoy helping beginners!

Joining the Victoria Centre of the Canada-wide RASC is easy – Join Now

Primary Contacts

President – Dr. Chris Gainor – email

Membership Coordinator – Chris Purse – email

Victoria Centre Directors

President – Dr. Chris Gainor, FRASC – email

Overall responsibility for Victoria Centre, its members and Council & public relations

First Vice President – Dan Posey – email

Monthly meeting & speakers, major events

Second Vice President – Kirsten Pedersen – email

Special projects, observing events, volunteers

Treasurer – Doug Hardy – email

Financial recording and reporting

Secretary – Oliver Robinow – email

Minutes, official records, correspondence

Past President – Randy Enkin- email

Business continuity, special projects, nominating committee

Directors at Large – David Lee, Myles Morrison, Jeff Pivnick, Lauri Roche, Alex Schmid

Assist in the operation of the Centre

Victoria Centre Officers

Computer Applications – vacant

Server, Email, Online Services Coordination

Librarian – Alex Schmid – email

Lending library – periodicals, books, CDs, DVDs & other media in our library

Membership Coordinator – Chris Purse – email

Enquiries from the public & new members, membership roster, email lists

National Representatives – Nathan Hellner-Mestelman & Bill Weir

National RASC representation and liaison

Observing Chair – Jim Stilburn- email

Vested with authority by the National Observing Committee to review and approve observing certificate applications

Progressive Lighting Policies – Dave Robinson

Liaison and education about effective use of lighting

Schools Programs – Lauri Roche – email

School visit and education program

SkyNews Editor – Randy Enkin – email

Editor of SkyNews, our monthly newsletter

Telescope Loans – Sid Sidhu – email

Lending Centre-owned telescopes to members

Victoria Centre Observatory – Reg Dunkley – email

Victoria Centre Observatory operations

Webmaster – Joe Carr – email

Website content

Advisors and Liaisons

  • James Di Francesco (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, National Research Council)
  • Jim Hesser
  • John McDonald
  • Jim Nemec (Camosun College)
  • Lauri Roche (Friends of the DAO)
  • Alex Schmid (University of Victoria)
  • Bill Weir (Pearson College)

RASC Roots

In 1868 a small group of amateur astronomers formed the Toronto Astronomy Club. In 1903, King Edward VII gave his permission for “Royal” to be included in the title and the Society became the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. There are now around 5,000 members in 30 Centres, found in most major Canadian cities.

The Victoria Centre was formed in 1914 and quickly developed into one of the largest centres in the country. There are currently over 250 members. Most are amateurs with some being professionals from the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the University of Victoria, and Camosun College. Professional astronomers frequently appear as guest speakers at RASC monthly meetings.

Victoria Centre members have a long history of offering public observing sessions to residents of Victoria.