Astronomy Cafe – May 9, 2022

Posted by 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
    • 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 – Apr 25, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Discussion about Astro Cafe’s new hybrid online and in-person meeting, room characteristics
  • Astronomy Day – May 7 – Lauri Roche
    • Museum 10AM-3PM
    • Online Lunar cross-Canada event – 5:00-6:30PM – RASC National, David St. Jacques (Canadian astronomer)
      • David needs some video clips from members observing the Moon, so he can assemble a short video feed if the weather is bad.
    • Observatory Hill – 7:30-11:00PM
      • Star party with observing
      • Hubble & JWST by Chris Gainor
      • Masks recommended
    • Please volunteer – contact Lauri Roche (email) or David Lee (email)
  • Astrophotos – Brock Johnston
    • Supernova in galaxy NGC 4647, near M60 in Virgo
    • M82 galaxy showing Ha emissions thanks to narrowband filters
  • Astrophotos – Dave Payne
    • M81 Bode’s galaxy
    • Needle galaxy NGC 4565
    • Asteroid 5116 Korsor passes in front of NGC 3384 galaxy
    • M65 & M66 odd couple of galaxies
    • Rejection frame analysis
  • Astrophotos – Martin Gisborne
  • Discussion about Astro Cafe’s new hybrid online and in-person meeting
  • James Webb Space Telescope – Chris Gainor
    • Still about a month away from scientific images and data
  • “The Great Debate” – Lauri Roche & Chris Gainor
  • Ballooning satellite populations in low Earth orbit portend changes for science and society – April 22, 2022 Physics Today article – John McDonald
  • Debate on contentious issues surrounding space tourism and other space exploration – Lauri Roche, Chris Gainor, Martin Gisborne

Astronomy Day 2022 – Victoria

Posted by as Special Events

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the Royal BC Museum present

International Astronomy Day

at the Royal BC Museum, virtual online, and Observatory Hill, Victoria, BC, Canada

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Amazing Astronomical Activities for all Ages!

Press Release – contact Randy Enkin, President (email)

2022 Astronomy Day in Victoria
2022 Astronomy Day in Victoria – poster (88Mb PDF) & poster suitable for printing (3Mb PDF)
Telescope at Astronomy Day 2017

Royal BC Museum – 10AM to 3PM – event

675 Belleville Street, Victoria

  • Interactive activities outside on the plaza
    • View the Sun safely through solar telescopes (weather permitting)
  • Interactive activities inside in Clifford Carl Hall (Museum main level)
    • Telescope show-and-tell – try out telescopes and ask questions
    • Astrophotography – take photos of the night sky with your own camera and see our members’ work
    • Children’s astro crafts – kids make their own astronomy and space souvenirs
    • Ask an Astronomer – find answers to those questions about astronomy and space you always wanted to ask
    • Responsible Lighting – get pointers on how to reduce your own light pollution, and feel better for it

Public Lectures in Newcombe Auditorium

  • 10:30AM – Tracking the Moon for 30 Years – Randy Enkin, President, RASC Victoria Centre
  • 11:30AM – Observing the birth of planets in the universe – Ruobing Dong, Physics & Astronomy, University of Victoria
  • 12:30PM – Cosmic Collisions and the Fate of the Milky Way – Mallory Thorp, Physics & Astronomy, University of Victoria
  • 1:30PM – Demystifying Machine Learning – Karun Thanjavur, Physics & Astronomy, University of Victoria
Public Lecture speaker notes and bios

Please Note:

  • All Astronomy Day activities are FREE and available to the general public. Membership in RASC is not required.
  • Regular admission applies to the Royal BC Museum exhibits and IMAX Theatre.
  • A concise handout for beginners: Interested In Astronomy?
  • After visiting our Astronomy Day in Victoria event, please let us know what you thought – survey – thanks!
  • We host public events with measures in place to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. Please do not come if you are sick or have been recently exposed to someone with COVID-19. We strongly recommend wearing masks while inside buildings with crowds. Wearing masks in public indoor settings is not required by BC public health. Wearing a mask is a personal choice.

Asteroid Hunters – IMAX Theatre (admission applies)

Asteroid Hunters – IMAX

Narrated by Daisy Ridley (Star Wars), Asteroid Hunters ventures into deep space for a fascinating look at asteroids, their cosmic origins and the potential threat they pose to our world.

Written and produced by Phil Groves, produced by Jini Durr and directed by W.D. Hogan, Asteroid Hunters introduces asteroid scientists – the best line of defense between Earth and an asteroid’s destructive path – and reveals the cutting-edge tools and techniques they use to detect and track asteroids, and the technology that may one day protect our planet. The effects of an asteroid impact could be catastrophic and while the current probability of an event in our lifetime is low, the potential consequences make the study of asteroids an incredibly important area of scientific research. Witness the latest in planetary defense and how science, ingenuity and determination combine to explore the world’s most preventable natural disaster.

Asteroid Hunters has a run time of 38 minutes and is presented by IMAX here in Victoria in association with Huahuang Pictures.

Shooting for the Moon – 4-6:30PM – cross-Canada RASC webinar

The party begins at 4 pm PDT on Zoom with a pre-recorded talk and a live Q&A with Canadian Astronaut David Saint-Jacques from the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium in Montreal! Following the Q&A, at 5 pm PDT, we will start our National Livestream on both Zoom and Youtube, featuring live views of the Moon from across Canada (including Victoria), RASC Member’s moon content, and more! Register here

Centre of the Universe and the Observatory – 7:30PM to 11PM

The Hon. Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor looking through Chuck Filnesss' telescope

Observatory Hill, 5071 West Saanich Road, Saanich

Reserve Your Tickets (free) – only ticket holders will be admitted to this evening event. (Daytime events at the Museum do not require tickets!)

  • Plaskett telescope tours
  • Observing through telescopes
  • Presentation – 8:30PM & 9:30PM – The Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope – Dr. Chris Gainor
    • Summary: The stories of the two largest space telescopes: The Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990 and is still operating after 32 years, and the James Webb Space Telescope, which is about to begin operations in space after its launch last December 25.
    • Biography: Christopher Gainor is a historian of technology specializing in space exploration and aeronautics. He has written four books on the history of space exploration and two on Cold War history. His most recent book is a history of Hubble Space Telescope operations published by NASA. Gainor is editor of Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly. From 2018 to 2020, he was President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and he is a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Gainor holds a Ph.D. in the history of technology from the University of Alberta, and has worked as a history instructor at the University of Victoria and the Royal Military College of Canada.
Dr. Chris Gainor, author of Not Yet Imagined: A Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations
Astronomy Day 2022 photo gallery

Press Coverage

Astronomy Cafe – Apr 11, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Transcript video of the meeting

Chris Boar is a self professed Apollo program space nerd, having met 12 Apollo astronauts including 4 moonwalkers. This presentation is about his visit to Johnson Space Center in Houston back in November 2019, interspersed with tales of meeting the Apollo Astronauts. Chris attended the JSC Level 9 VIP tour, which includes visits to NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab, where current astronauts train for spacewalks. Also visiting “Building 9” containing mockups of the International Space Station, Soyuz, and SpaceX hardware. And finally visiting the current ISS Mission Control Center, and personal highlight of the tour for Chris, stepping inside the recently restored historic Apollo Mission Control room, a designated US National historic landmark.

Chris Boar – Apollo Mission Control room

Chris Boar is the President of the Nanaimo Astronomy Society and an avid Apollo space nerd along with being a keen astrophotographer. Chris is a full time professional photographer living in Nanaimo shooting weddings and real estate. 

  • 2019 visit to Johnson Space Center in Houston
    • VIP Level 9 Tour – 4-5 hours
    • Lunar Exploration Module (LEM)
    • Neutral Buoyancy Lab
    • Met Micheal Collins: Gemini 10, Apollo 11
    • ISS Mission Control
    • Saturn V rocket with F1 engines
    • Apollo 8 mission
    • Jim Lovell – Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13
    • Space Vehicle Mockup building – ISS, SpaceX, Soyuz
    • Apollo 9 mission
    • Alan Bean, Apollo 12 LMP, Skylab II
  • 2016 Spacefest
    • Restored historic Apollo Mission Control room – all original and working consoles
    • Apollo 13 mission – Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert
    • Apollo 15 mission – Dave Scott, LEM
    • Apollo 16 mission 
    • Apollo 17 mission – Gene Cernan, the last man on the Moon
  • Q&A

Members’ Reports

  • Edmonton Astrophotography – Dave Robinson
    • M81, M82, NGC 2976, NGC 3077, other galaxies – Arnold Rivera
    • M64 – Tom Owen
  • Astronomy Day – May 7th – David Lee
    • Royal BC Museum – 10AM – 3PM
      • Most activity areas will resume with this in-person public event
      • Speakers in the Newcombe Auditorium
    • Cross-Canada Lunar/Artemis Webinar – RASC National – midday
      • Live feed from Victoria weather permitting
      • Static video of lunar observing needs to be created as a backup in case of poor weather – contact David Lee
    • Public event – DAO on Observatory Hill – evening
  • Volunteers List – Marjie Welchframe
    • Need more volunteers for various events Victoria Centre participates in
    • Have about 25 volunteers already
    • Telescope clinic for new observers – Dave Robinson
  • Artemis Lunar Star Party – April 16 7-9PM – Lauri Roche
    • Co-hosted by RASC and FDAO
    • Ask a selenophile – Randy Enkin
    • Speaker – Chris Gainor
  • Astronomy books to give away – contact Bill Weir
    • Large star atlas, and more
  • Astronomy & space exploration books – recommended by Martin Gisborne
    • Fundamentals – Then Keys to Reality – Frank Wilczek
    • Black Hole Survival Guide – Janna Levin
    • A Man On The Moon – Andrew Chaikin
    • Moon Dust – Andrew Smith
    • Carrying The Fire – Michael Collins
    • The Last Man on the Moon – Gene Cernan
    • Apollo 13 – Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger
  • Henri Van Bentum death – Lauri Roche, Jim Hesser
    • Natasha – Henri’s wife, assisted Victoria Centre with International Year of Astronomy 2009
    • Letter of condolence to be sent to Natasha on behalf of Victoria Centre
  • Astronomy Cafe – TV to be installed tomorrow in our new room at FGCA – Chris Purse
  • No Astronomy Cafe next week due to the Easter weekend – see everyone on April 25th

Artemis Star Party – Apr 16, 2022

Posted by as Special Events

The RASC Victoria Centre and the Friends of the DAO invite you to join us for a “Shooting to the Moon” Artemis Star Party.

Date: Saturday, April 16th, 2022

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm Pacific Time

Guest Speaker: “The Artemis Missions and Canada’s Future Role in space” – Randy Attwood, RASC, Mississauga Centre

  • Send your photos of the Moon into our Tre”moon”dous Lunar Photo Give Away Contest
  • Try your luck in a special Moon Quiz
  • Find out how to take great photos of the Moon with your cell phone
  • Ask an Astronomer your questions with admitted selenophile, Randy Enkin

YouTube Link – watch event

Artemis Star Parties – RASC

Artemis Missions – Canadian Space Agency

Astronomy Cafe – Apr 4, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Meeting transcript video

  • Super PupZ kids’ series – David Lee
    • Netflix series shot on southern Vancouver Island, including the Plaskett observatory
    • Dave Balum an advisor for the series
  • Astronomy Day – May 7th – David Lee
    • Our first in-person event for the last couple of years is being planned
    • Day event at the Royal BC Museum – public welcome, inside and outside
      • Welcome desk
      • Telescopes Show and Tell
      • Astrophotography
      • Children’s Astro Crafts
      • Responsible Lighting
      • Planetarium
      • Solar Observing from the plaza outside
      • Ask an Astronomer
      • Speakers in the Newcombe
      • Friends of the DAO
      • NRC/DAO
      • University of Victoria
      • Science Venture
    • Cross-Canada RASC National virtual event – Victoria to contribute
    • Evening event on Observatory Hill (pending NRC approval for public event)
    • Volunteers are welcome – contact David Lee (email) or Lauri Roche (email)
  • SIGs – David Lee
  • Edmonton Astrophotos – Dave Robinson
    • Solar Sunspots in both Ha & white light – Arnold Rivera
    • Future presentation to Astro Cafe on solar activity and features – Chris Purse
  • Aurora – Randy Enkin
    • Alex Taalman aurora photos from March 30th – pending display
    • Sunspotter viewer
    • Sunspot frequency and historical observations
    • Space Weather Essentials – Sun and Earth
    • How Aurora happens
    • Aurora: Mysteries of the Northern Lights – Robert L. Lysak (Youtube)
    • Aurora stories from members
  • Astronomy Cafe – Joe Carr
    • Astro Cafe mugs for sale for $15 – contact Joe (email)
    • History of Astronomy Cafe – David Lee
    • New room for Astro Cafe will be used for in-person meetings within a few weeks
    • Need volunteers for both hosting the meeting and the Zoom session – contact Randy Enkin (email) or Chris Purse (email)
  • Astrophotos – Martin Gisborne
    • Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights – Dr. Melanie Windridge – Amazon
    • Saving the Starry Night – Patrizia A. Caraveo – Springer
    • Astrophotos – Martin’s gallery
      • Hercules Cluster M13
      • NGC 4565 – edge-on galaxy, and other galaxies
      • M106 galaxy
      • ISS streak
      • Widefield view of many galaxies in Markarian Chain region
      • IC405 nebula
      • M101 Whirlpool Galaxy
      • M42 Orion Nebula – reprocessed 2019 image and recent 2022 versions
      • M81 & M82
      • M81 galaxy
    • Selling his Celestron CGEM mount soon

Astronomy Cafe – Mar 21, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of the meeting

Deborah Lokhost presented to us about the Dragonfly Telephoto Array. She is an Instrument Science Research Associate at the NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre in Victoria, BC. During her PhD in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, she worked with the Dragonfly Telephoto Array to observe and study galaxies. She designed an upgrade to Dragonfly and built a pathfinder telescope based on this design which she then used to study gas in the surroundings of galaxies. She is currently leading the construction of a full-scale upgrade to the telescope which has the ultimate goal of imaging gas in the “cosmic web” of dark matter.

Dragonfly Telephoto Array

  • Reasons for Dragonfly
    • Large galaxies with low luminosity (surface brightness)
    • Light scattering is the main problem
    • Reflecting telescopes don’t help, since they scatter light
    • Refractors have a limit in size
  • Design
    • Canon using nano coatings to reduce light scatter for their long telephoto lenses
    • Using 48 Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L – split between two Paramounts/observatories
    • Mexico Skies Observatory – site
    • Astroplanner – mission planning and execution
    • Been in operation for 6 years
    • Comparison between Dragonfly and Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Diffraction Limited SBIG CCD cameras
    • Intel stick computers talk to a master computer for data collection
    • Filter 1/2 G and 1/2 R (Sloan clone)
  • Science
    • Main target is galaxies
    • What is Dark Matter? 90% of the Milky Way is Dark Matter
    • Dark Matter first detected by Vera Rubin
    • Ultra Diffuse Galaxies – new discovery by Dragonfly team
    • Looking for Globular Clusters in these ultra diffuse galaxies
    • First field images – Coma Berenice cluster of galaxies
    • NGC 1052 diffuse galaxies – very little Dark Matter – unusual!
    • Modified Newtonian Galaxy – alternate theory to Dark Matter
  • What about outside galaxies? – Deborah’s main study
    • Detecting faint gas emissions using ultra-narrowband filters
    • Simulated Ha observations from EAGLE cosmological simulation that should be possible using Dragonfly
    • Mounting the ultra-narrowband filters in front of the lenses would improve the result, and tilting the filter improves performance
    • Discovered a new Ha shell around M81/M82
    • 0.8nm filters will be used on new array
    • 30 new lenses to start with for testing and fine tuning

Members Reports & Presentations

  • Edmonton astrophotos – Dave Robinson
    • NGC 4565 Needle Galaxy with many tiny galaxies in the field – Denis Boucher
    • Comet C/2020 L3 (Atlas) – Alister Ling
    • NGC 281 emission nebula – Tom Owen
  • Galactic Atmospheres gallery – Jim Hesser
  • SIGs – David Lee
    • Astrophotography – Wed
    • Makers – Thu – using Arduino microprocessors
  • Gov’t of Canada Citizen Science Portal – David Lee
  • James Web Space Telescope update – Chris Gainor
    • Pointing, focusing and alignment of the mirrors is complete
    • Now aligning the various instruments and guidance sensors
  • “Not Yet Imagined” History of Hubble – printed book now available from Chris Gainor (email)
  • Next week’s Café on March 28 – Jeff Pivnick
    • Invited a guest speaker. Vickie Siegel of Stone Aerospace who will be speaking about exploration using remote autonomous vehicles.
    • Crybots and AUVs intended for exploring Europa’s subsurface seas

Astronomy Cafe – March 14, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • A printed copy of the Hubble history book “Not Yet Imagined: A Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations” written by Chris Gainor can be requested from NASA by email for no cost. Kindle, ePub and PDF electronic versions are also available for free download.
  • Locating Endurance– Randy Enkin
    • Shackleton’s exploration ship Endurance in Antarctica has been located on March 5, 2022
    • Crew manned a lifeboat from Elephant Island to South Georgia and all crew were eventually rescued
    • Review of navigation in that era
    • Refer to: On the Location of Shackleton’s Vessel Endurance by Lars Bergman and Robin G. Stuart, published in  the Journal of Navigation: 29 July 2021 
    • Endurance had 24 chronometers!
    • Chronometers were referenced to occultations that happened along the route at the time
    • Ship was found 6.4 km south of the original reported position of the sinking
    • The just-completed National Geographic mission was privately funded – about $20 million
    • The Perfectionists by Simon Winchester – describes Harrison’s chronometers – Martin Gisborne
  • Report on construction of new 32″ telescope for Edmonton Centre by Roman – Dave Robinson
  • Astrophoto of NGC 2264 Cone Nebula in RGB – Brock Johnston
    • May use narrowband next time to tease out more detail
  • FDAO Star Parties – Lauri Roche
    • March 19th 7-9PM presentation “Direct Imaging of Exoplanets” – Garima Singh, NRC/HIA
      • Zoom link will be sent out to RASC members
    • April 16th – 2 presentations
      • ARTEMIS mission – speaker from Canadian Space Agency
      • Plaskett’s Star by Dennis Crabtree
  • May 7th – Astronomy Day national events – Lauri Roche
    • Launch of Chris Gainor’s book “Not Yet Imagined: A Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations” on the Hubble History
  • Astrophotos – Martin Gisborne
    • Rosette Nebula – with and without star reduction – Nikon D850 dSLR
    • Flame & Horsehead Nebula
    • M51 galaxy – first attempt using his new big telescope
    • M81 galaxy – small refractor photo from last year
    • M101 galaxy
    • Astronomy book reviews
  • Cone Nebula and Plaskett’s star location – David Lee & Randy Enkin
  • Two photos from the RASC Plaskett night (Mar 5th) processed and posted by Dan Posey – presented by Joe Carr
  • Painting of a tiny Arctic plant by Marjie Welchframe
  • Fr. Lucien Kemble – Roman Catholic Franciscan priest well-known as a visual observer from Alberta and Saskatchewan. Kemble’s Cascade, chain of stars in the northern sky. Photo by Charles Banville – Bill Weir
  • Speaker for Mar 21 Astro Cafe: Deborah Lokhorst will be speaking about the Dragonfly Telephoto Array 

Astronomy Cafe – March 7, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe, Uncategorized

Meeting video transcript

  • Intro – Chris Purse
    • Upcoming speakers
    • Working on hosting Astro Cafe in-person at the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association facilities
    • Welcome to new members
    • Garry Sedun, new VP
    • Dave Payne, new VP2
  • Edmonton Astrophotos – Dave Robinson
    • Orion Nebula, Virgo Galaxy Cluster and other galaxies – Tom Owen
  • Recent Astrophotos – Brock Johnston
    • M78 reflection and dark nebula east of Horsehead
    • M106 galaxy and satellite galaxies
    • Horsehead & Orion Nebulae widefield, starless version
    • Brock’s online gallery
  • Comet 19/P Borrelly is passing by the California Nebula (chart) – March 23-27 – Bill Weir
  • Recent Astrophotos – Dan Posey
    • From recent Plaskett Photography 12-hour session for RASC Victoria Centre members – Horsehead Nebula, more later (data available from Dan through Astrophotography SIG)
    • M81, M82 – VCO Takahashi & Canon Ra
    • Dan’s downtown deck – telescope & CCD
      • Horsehead Nebula, Lagoon Nebula, Swan Nebula – starless versions
      • Thor’s Helmut Nebula
      • Dan’s online gallery
  • Horsehead Nebula – best astrophoto using Garry Sedun’s astro gear
  • Recent Astrophotos – Martin Gisborne
    • Markarian’s Chain of galaxies – 80mm refractor and Nikon D850 unmodified dSLR
    • Rosette Nebula
    • Horsehead & Flame Nebulae with Iridium flare
    • Flaming Star Nebula IC 405 using 8″ SCT
  • Chris Gainor
    • No news with JWST mission
    • We are probably coming to the end of Russian collaboration with the ISS due to the Ukraine war
  • Congratulations to Sid Sidhu on local press coverage for his recent IAU asteroid naming
  • FDAO – Lauri Roche
    • March 19th Star Party
    • April 16th – Artemis Mission speaker
    • May 7th Astronomy Day – may open the Centre of the Universe for a public event
  • Interest in Citizen Science group? – contact David Lee (david@victoria.rasc.ca) 
  • Any interest in staging a Messier Marathon? – Chris Purse (membership@victoria.rasc.ca) 
  • The Last Stargazers book by Emily Levesque – recommended by Martin Gisborne and others

Astronomy Cafe – Feb 28, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Meeting transcript video

  • Lisa Dang, PhD Student McGill – Marjie Welchframe (Women in Astronomy series)
    • 1st principal investigator to use JWST using MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument)
    • Hot Jupiters’ atmospheres gas giant exoplanets with very short orbital periods
  • Erin Gibbons presentation : Perseverance First Year on Mars – RASC Montreal Centre online – Jeff Pivnick
    • Erin is an Astrobiologist
    • Payload specialist for the Supercam remote sensing instrument aboard Perseverance
    • Search for life on Mars – primary mission
    • Ingenuity drone is being used to scout routes for the rover
    • Stromatolites on Mars
    • Perseverance landed on west side, inside of Jezero Crater – indications of flowing water
  • John McDonald
    • Changes at Ross Place – building a construction crane
    • Photo of the Orion Nebula and Lunar surface taken by the new Victoria Centre Observatory’s OGS telescope and QHY camera
  • Cosmic Generation – Nathan Hellner-Mestelman
    • Youth astronomy group being formed
    • First meeting was Feb 13th
    • Next meeting is Mar 13th – sign up
    • Outreach and building members phase
    • Website, magazine and social media coming soon
    • Want to hold monthly webinars
  • OCCULTATION OF ZC2118 on 22 FEB 22 observation report – David Lee
    • High winds and very cold, so used light weight rigs – camera and lens, and small refractor for visual
    • Video of Alpha 1 & 2 Librae stars ingress and egress
    • Observing reports from Sid Sidhu, Nathan Hellner-Mestelman, Chris Purse and Randy Enkin
    • IOTA lists occultations and grazes
  • Lauri Roche
    • Artemis Mission Launch coming up – Canadian Space Agency is looking for promotion to the public by RASC. April 16th FDAO event is proposed with a speaker from CSA.
    • GA is online again this year – June 24-27
      • Virtual observing across the country on two evenings – solar observing from Victoria?
  • Edmonton Astrophotos – Dave Robinson
    • Bi-marathons – Messier & running marathon in the same night
    • Andromeda Galaxy & Ha regions & Cepheid Variable VI – Abdur Anwar
  • Lunar Occultation – 2 photos 48 seconds apart – Mike Webb
  • Chris Gainor
    • James Webb Space Telescope Report
      • Pointing and focusing 18 mirrors progressing nicely
      • Now resolving a single star with completed image stacking
      • More work on focusing required
    • Artemis Mission – probably a May launch – Chris Gainor
      • Artemis 2 mission will take humans around the Moon
    • The Ukraine war will probably affect space launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia. Other space exploration may be affected. Discussion about International Space Station.
  • Bill Weir
    • Equatorial Poncet platform for the 20″ Truss Dobsonian built by Guy Walton is now working again
    • Will be used at the Centre of the Universe for public viewing when restrictions permit events
  • SIGs – David Lee
    • Beginners SIG – tomorrow evening
    • EAA SIG – Thursday – discuss a National RASC public outreach initiative using EAA