This month a new Council will take over the affairs of the Victoria Centre and move us into the second quarter of this century. Many of the people in the new Council will be the same as in recent years,
President’s Message – Feb 2025

The Night Sky In Chile – Jeff Pivnick; Astrophotos of the Southern Hemisphere – Joe Carr (Costa Rica 2009), John McDonald (New Zealand 2010); Argentina – Patagonia in 2014 – Randy Enkin; New Zealand visit in 2000-2001 – Dave Robinson; How is the Plaskett telescope mirror cleaned? – Marjie Welchframe; Dave Payne’s Astrophotography & Interpretation; Events – Randy Enkin, Lauri Roche, Chris Gainor, David Lee.
Astrophotography – Brock Johnston; Victoria Centre Observatory Report – David Lee & Reg Dunkley; NOVA course, social dinner, Games Night at the CU – Lauri Roche; Astronomy Events for Jan, Feb, Mar 2025 – Randy Enkin
Stars concert – Ensemble Laude; Victoria Centre Observatory; Occultation of Mars by the Moon; Japanese Gifts; 2027 Total Solar Eclipse tour in Egypt; Events; CU star parties; NOVA course.
UVic meeting – Wed, Jan 8, 2025; new members; observing certificates; The Moon Over Italy; astronomy puzzles; events; astronomy discussions.
Our next Astro Cafe meeting is on Jan 6th, 2025. Happy Holidays everyone! Video transcript of the meeting
Sunrise, Sunset, and Twilight – Randy Enkin; Star Formation – Dave Payne; A new member intro with a telescope show-and-tell – David; New Zealand Astronomy – Susan; Upcoming events – Lauri Roche, Kirsten Pedersen, David Lee…..
J.S. Plaskett and the Size of the Milky Way – Randy Enkin; Comet Tsuchishan-ATLAS – Reg Dunkley; Marc Garneau book signing at Bolen Books with Bob McDonald – Wyman Lee, Chris Gainor and Chris Purse; Observers Handbook – David Lee; Upcoming events
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a mission concept for a large UV/optical/near-infrared observatory to search for and characterize habitable planets beyond our solar system. With an expected launch in the 2040s, the mission’s main objective would be to identify and directly image at least 25 potentially habitable worlds.
Astronomy in South America – Ecuador & Galapagos – Jeff Pivnick; Only Bad Astronomers Forget Generally Known Mnemonics (Stellar Classification) – Randy Enkin; The Solar Wind – a follow-up – Marjie Welchframe; Astrophotography – David Lee & Dave Payne.