Announcements

Looking Up now available

by R.A. Rosenfeld, Toronto

Looking Up, the thoroughly researched and entertainingly written "official" history of the RASC, is now available again. Long out-of-print, and difficult to obtain used, the book has been digitized in its entirety as an initiative of the History Committee working with Walter MacDonald of the Kingston Centre, and this year's recipient of a RASC Service Award.

Hello fellow RASC Members,

The Extended Annual Report has been placed on the RASC Web site at http://www.rasc.ca/private/governance/annualreports.shtml. Use the username and password sent by email to access this information. This is the coloured version, with reports from all the Centres, plus Centre Treasurer' Reports.

James Edgar, National Secretary and
Dave Lane, President

The Observer's Handbook is one of our two chief publications. For many international observers, our Society is that publication. For some, the Observer's Handbook is the leading English-language "pocket" ephemeris, reigning among mid-level ephemera designed for field use, in the class below the grand national ephemera supported by cutting-edge celestial dynamics and the latest astrometry produced by HM Nautical Almanac Office and the USNO, and the Bureau des Longitudes and the IMCCE. It is a proud, useful, and vigorous heritage.

On Friday, October 2, Parks Canada and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be designating the Grasslands National Park as a Dark Sky Preserve (DSP).

The ceremony, to be held at 2 pm at the Larson Prairie Dog Town in Grasslands National Park West Block, near Val Marie, Saskatchewan will celebrate our continued commitment to protecting natural areas from the adverse effects of artificial lighting.

Griffith Observatory, in the interest of stimulating the flow of information between scientists, science writers, and the public, proudly announces the sponsorship by Boeing of an annual offering of awards for the best articles in astronomy, astrophysics, and space science.

Awards will be made in March, 2010, for the articles which best communicate to the average reader, material of current or historical interest in astronomy, astrophysics, and space science.

The Herbert C. Pollock Award was established by the Dudley Observatory to honour the long service of Dr. Pollock as a member and past President of the Dudley Observatory Board of Trustees.

Find new instructions on how to access the private areas of the RASC's web services are here http://www.rasc.ca/loginfaq.shtml

Rick Stankiewicz of the Peterborough Astronomical Association is creating cover envelopes commemorating IYA2009 and the DDO. If you are interested, see Rick's details at www.peterboroughastronomy.com or contact him directly:

(705) 295-6158 Evening
(705) 755-1807 Day
stankiewiczr @ nexicom . net
RASC Member (Unattached)

"Stars Up! Lights Down! Support light pollution abatement in your community!"

To all RASC members:

I am pleased to announce that the first round of funding for 2010 under the newly formed Public Speaker Programme (PSP) is now available.

Go to http://www.rasc.ca/education/programs.shtml to find the important documents relating to the Public Speaker Programme—Programme outline, Application Procedure, and Application Form.

The first deadline of the year closed 2010 April 15.

Watch for the next advice late in June for the second-half of the year application period.