The Beyond IYA (BIYA) committee is pleased to announce that our Discover the Universe / À la découverte de l'Univers online astronomy webinar program has been awarded a $3500 grant through the Saint Mary’s University SEEP (Student Employment Experience Program). This will enable the program to hire a SMU student on a part-time term basis to expand the reach and scope of the exisiting program, making it even more successful.
Do you know someone who has done outstanding work in the RASC? Do they qualify for one of the RASC’s national awards? A list of national awards is given below. Please look within your Centre, and among our unattached members, for those bright and shining stars that deserve recognition. Go to www.rasc.ca/awards to check the requirements for these national awards, think about the contributions of those hard working RASC members that you know, and nominate them for an award. Now is the time! Nominations are due on 31 December 2013.
Interested in occultation astronomy? Plan now to attend the 31st Annual Meeting of the International Occultation Timing Association in Toronto from October 4-6th at the David Dunlap Observatory. Occultation enthusiasts from across North America plus remote participants from around the world will be participating in series of informative presentations, a live occultation event in Muskoka and more.
The first anniversary celebration of the signing of the Beaver Hills Dark-Sky Preserve declaration was held in Central Alberta at Elk Island National Park, on September 2, 2007. Whereas the RASC Edmonton Centre did the majority of organizing for last year’s inaugural event: ‘Many Cultures, One Sky’; Parks Canada staff did most of the organizing for 2007. The event was well attended with several hundred guests, a lower key event compared to last year’s gate count of over 2,500!
Congratulations are in order for Chris Gainor, member of the Victoria Centre and former National Council representative who has recently published a new book entitled: Canada In Space: The People & Stories behind Canada's Role in the Exploration of Space.
Canada In Space follows the inventions and people that helped catapult Canada beyond Earth's skies. From the Avro Arrow and early Canadian inventions like the Alouette I to modern day shuttle missions with Canadian astronauts including Julie Payette, Chris Hadfield and Marc Garneau.
Our popular astronomy workshops for teachers are back!
Registration is now open for our workshops starting September 30th. All our programs are offered online, available in English and French, and best of all, completely free! The workshops for teachers, which last three weeks, cover the main astronomy concepts from grades 5 through 8 while providing ideas and resources to be used in class.
Where has the time gone? We are already into September. And it is this time of year we can start observing about 8:30 p.m. local time. As we begin our observing run, the famous Summer Triangle greets us high overhead. The three suns that make up this asterism are Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Deneb in the Cygnus the Swan and Altair in Aquila the Eagle and is the starting point for this month’s article.
Each year between late July and early August, the Earth passes through comet Swift-Tuttle’s debris. The debris (mostly bits of dust) burn up in the atmosphere and the result can be a spectacular meteor shower. One of the best opportunities for viewing will be across the northern hemisphere between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. tonight (August 12). Look toward the northeast (Perseus), but expect to see the meteors in any part of the sky.
Interested in occultation astronomy? Plan now to attend the 31st Annual Meeting of the International Occultation Timing Association in Toronto from October 4-6th at the David Dunlap Observatory. Occultation enthusiasts from across North America plus remote participants from around the world will be participating in series of informative presentations, a live occultation event in Muskoka and more.