RASC eNews

The Glorious Milky Way

If you have never experienced the true portrait of the Milky Way Galaxy unfold before your eyes far off in the countryside on a Moonless night, you are missing one of the grandest moments of your life. I recently had the chance to rent a cottage by the lake with my family for ten days, around new Moon. By 10 p.m. locally, the stars began to show themselves, one by one.

Come Party under the stars with the members of RASC Winnipeg Centre, at the 2nd Annual Spruce Woods Summer Star Party, Labour Day long weekend, September 1 - 4. Early Registration ends on August 15th, so save a few dollars and sign up now.

In February of this year the Society membership voted to remove the entitlement to receive the Journal as a benefit of membership. The national council subsequently approved a proposal to change the default delivery mode of the Journal to members, from print to electronic. This initiative was undertaken to help correct the Society’s operating deficit.

Taming the Serpent

One of the largest constellations in the sky is Ophiuchus – the serpent holder. Located directly below Hercules, it lies on the meridian at about 9:30 p.m. at the beginning of the month. This huge area of sky covers close to a thousand square degrees and is home to no less than 13 globular clusters equal to or brighter than tenth magnitude. This means on nights of good seeing, you should be able to sweep up these treasures in simple binoculars.