RASC eNews

Light Pollution Abatement Committee (LPAC) Chair Rob Dick was honored to have the LPAC committee approve unanimously the Dark Sky Preserve (DSP) designation for Kejimkujik National Park in southern Nova Scotia.

Link to the CBC announcement and reader discussions.

Ophiuchus, One Of The Originals

When the astronomer, mathematician and geographer Ptolemy drafted and introduced the original 48 constellations of the night sky to the world, Ophiuchus the Snake Holder made that famous list. Astrology depicts Ophiuchus holding a long snake that actually comprises two constellations – the snake’s head Serpens Caput on the west side and Serpens Cauda, the snake’s tail on the east side.

Corvus The Crow

Spring is a wonderful time of year for many reasons. There is the annual planting of flowers, reseeding the lawn or even painting the house or apartment. It is also known in the astronomy community as galaxy season. With semi dark skies, these distant islands containing hundred of billions of stars each, stretch all the way from Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) in the north, down through Coma Berenices, ending at Virgo in the south. If hunting galaxies is your passion, you have come to the right place. Hundreds of objects stretch across ninety degrees of sky.

The Change of Seasons

Now that our Canadian snow has melted for the most part, we welcome in Spring with open arms. For obvious reasons, those that did not get to do much winter observing over the past months, it is now time to dust off those scopes and enjoy a handful of seasons in one night. As April begins, we find the constellation Orion the Hunter and his wintry friends low in western skies – ready to take the plunge into twilight.