President’s Message – August 2022

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Summer Outreach

Saturn
Saturn

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

President’s Message – February 2017

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It will not be long until our outreach events for begin and planning is in full swing. I hope you will consider volunteering as there are many tasks that need to be done. You may do this by contacting our Outreach Coordinator, Ken, at outreach@victoria.rasc.ca.

One of the areas I would like to emphasize is new member recruitment. This year, we will have complementary copies of the current SkyNews magazine to give out at public outreach events. Centres have been given the option to purchase copies at a minimal cost so we will be giving this a try. If you know of friends and family who share your interest in astronomy, and who are not yet members, you may want to give them a copy! It is my hope that a group of members will take on member recruitment under the coordination of Deb, our Second Vice President, so that there is a presence at all of our outreach events. The goal will be to talk about our society, the benefits of membership, and give out the magazines. Please email Deb at vp2@victoria.rasc.ca if you would like to help out.

Our launch event this year will be Astronomy Day on Saturday, April 29. During the day we will be at the Royal BC Museum where there will be displays, the solar system, and talks about astronomy. We hope the sun will make an all-day appearance so we can look at it this year! That evening will be the first of the Summer Star Parties at the DAO and we hope that clear skies will prevail.

The dates for the remainder of the Summer Star Parties at the DAO are not finalized but we are looking at the Saturdays from Astronomy Day until mid September. More about these dates will be announced as decisions are made.

Ken is also looking for volunteers for the community events we attend such as Buccaneer Days, the Saanich Strawberry Festival, and, of course, the Saanich Fair in September. Again please put your name on the volunteers list if you are able to help out.

We are planning to hold our annual RASCals Star Party from July 28 – 30. The National office has asked all of the centres to organize a public event on Saturday, July 29 in honour of the sesquicentennial so we have decided to hold the Star Party to be part of the national star party. I have been in communication with the District of Metchosin to see if we can secure the cricket field again this year.

One of the highlights this summer will be the solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. Many of the members will be travelling to the zone where totality will occur. However, Victoria, assuming clear skies, is in a good location as around 90% of the sun will be covered when the maximum occurs at 10:20 a.m. We hope to have some of the people who remain in Victoria out with solar telescopes so that members of the public can enjoy the eclipse.

Please be reminded to let me know at president@victoria.rasc.ca if you would like to participate in a bulk purchase of the Explore the Universe Guide as I introduced in my January message.

President’s Message, May 2016

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Off we go! After months of planning, we’re good to go on Saturday May 14th for International Astronomy Day, with public activities at the Royal BC Museum during the day, and our first of thirteen Saturday evening “star parties” at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory that evening.
I want to offer my heartfelt thank you to all the amazing Victoria Centre members who have stepped up once again to volunteer their time at the upcoming events. The public loves what you do, and I deeply appreciate the contributions of each and every one of you. In particular, special thanks go to David Lee (guest speakers and scheduling), Chris Gainor (media relations), Nelson Walker (volunteers and scheduling), Matt Watson and Joe Carr (EventBrite), Matt Watson/Stocksy and Lauri Roche (posters), and Jim Hesser, who is always ready to help us navigate the complexities of working with the NRC/DAO side of things. And speaking of the NRC and DAO, none of this would be possible without the generous assistance of staff on the Hill: Kevin Farris, David Bohlender, Clyde Donnelly, Marilyn Bell, Dave Balam, and Dennis Crabtree. Many thanks also to Kim Gough (RBCM),  Saunders Subaru (posters), and every Victoria Centre member who supports us with their memberships..
THANK YOU, everyone. Let’s have a great summer sharing the universe!

Recently, the Vancouver Island Science Fair was held at UVic, In addition to our guest speaker, we have a special treat for members attending our May monthly meeting (Weds, May 11, UVic): two of the deserving award-winners will be in attendance:

Ines Khouider  Grade 7 St. Margaret’s School   ” Light Pollution: What’s the Solution?”
        Ines’s project was second overall in the Intermediate Division and she also won prizes from the PARC Systems and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC

Nathan Harlan  Grade 6 Home Learner   “Cosmic Ballistics: Trebuchets in Space!”
        Nathan also received a prize from our very own Quarky Science.

They will be set up at the front of our meeting room A104 at 7:00pm. Please come early and congratulate these amazing students!

TRANSIT of MERCURY: don’t forget, Mercury will transit the Sun this coming Monday, May 9th. Unfortunately, the transit will be well underway at sunrise, but several Victoria Centre members will be setting up atop Mt. Tolmie in the pre-dawn hours to observe this transit. All are welcome to join them for this interesting astronomical event.

In other Centre news, Sid Sidhu and Lauri Roche run our school outreach program; Sid reports they have visited local schools 50 times since September, with one more to go, and have shared astronomy with almost 1000 students. Well done!

And just a reminder of our next UVic on Friday, May 13, weather permitting. These sessions are open to all Victoria Centre members, not just VCO Active Observers. The Spring sky is a cornucopia of galaxies; watch for our email notice, and join us!

We welcome new members! If you’re not a Victoria Centre member and would like to be a part of all this fun, or just have a love of astronomy, please join us! Just contact Chris (VP2@victoria.rasc.ca) or myself (president@victoria.rasc.ca) and we will show you how.

Thanks again, everyone, and clear skies!

Sherry.

PS- when you’re talking to people about the Summer Star Parties at the DAO, please remind them that they need FREE tickets for admission this year.
www.summerstarparties.eventbrite.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.