Written by Rick Huziak, Saskatoon on Fri, 2009/10/02
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.
Written by Gary Boyle, Ottawa on Thu, 2009/10/01
A Real Time Lunar Impact
On the morning of October 9th, the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will crash land into the moon. Is this space craft out of control you might ask? On the contrary. This deliberate impact is a planned end to a mission that had a bit of a hiccup last month.
Written by Gary Boyle, Ottawa on Thu, 2009/09/03
The Teapot’s Starry Steam
September nights are ideal for cruising the Milky Way. As the nights get progressively longer and cooler (less mosquitoes), we can now spend more quality time with the sky above. On moonless nights – the mighty planet Jupiter is the first to greet us in the south east within moments of sunset. Once you spot Jupiter, train your telescope on it. The contrasting blue sky allows viewing of subtle detail without eyestrain. Once darkness sets in and the planet brightens to magnitude -2.8, filters are required to soften the overpowering bright image.
Written by Randall Rosenfeld, National Office on Wed, 2009/08/26
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.
Written by Denis Grey, Toronto on Mon, 2009/08/24
In 2009-10, the
Constitution Committee will be working on a process to renew the Society's Constitution. The last major revision to the Society's bylaws was completed in the early 1990s. In 2009-10 the Constitution Committee will be conducting a through review of the Society's Constitution with a view to making it more flexible and modern. Two or three volunteers are needed to work on this project on a part-time basis from September 2009 until about August 2010.
Written by James Edgar, Regina on Sat, 2009/08/08
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
Written by Gary Boyle, Ottawa on Sat, 2009/08/01
Beware the Scorpion
For those who live in the desert, one must always be on guard of the dreaded scorpion. These creepy crawlers are seen on a yearly basis in arid areas of the globe including some parts of southern Alberta during summer. Of the more than 1,500 species know, most scorpions only delivered the equivalent to a bee sting and are not poisonous. However, for Canadian star gazers, the great scorpion makes its brief appearance in southern skies from May to September.
Written by James Edgar, Regina on Sat, 2009/07/18
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.
Written by James Edgar, Regina on Sun, 2009/07/12
The notice of the Society's annual meeting (to take place on August 16) including the Proxy 2009 form and the Essential Annual Report has been mailed out this week to members without an email address in the membership database. The Essential Annual Report contains all those things required by the Society's By-laws.
Written by National Office on Mon, 2009/07/06
The on-line version (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) of the August 2009 issue of the RASC Journal is now available in full-colour, high-resolution format (5.4 MB), plus a low-resolution version (2.5 MB) for those members on dial-up service.
