Written by Gary Boyle, Ottawa on Sun, 2007/09/02
The Winged Horse
Looking like a giant celestial baseball diamond, the Great Square of Pegasus stands proudly in eastern skies. Mythology has it that Perseus the hunter, along with Andromeda who he recently saved from the sea monster Cetus, rode off on this winged beast. As early falls nights slowly announce themselves with earlier sunsets and cooler temperature keeping mosquitoes at bay, telescopes should be working overtime, as Pegasus is peppered with faint galaxies.
Written by Gary Boyle, Ottawa on Wed, 2007/08/01
Two Main Events
If you are in the process of planning some vacation this month, make sure you set aside a few days for summer night observing. With the Milky Way in all its glory overhead as seen from the countryside, far from city light domes, you will want to stay up till the first sign of astronomical twilight begins. The observing window for this month in which the Moon will not interfere will last from August 8th to 16th with new Moon occurs on the 12th.
Written by Bonnie Bird, National Office on Tue, 2007/07/31
For the first time in 10 years, the inside of National Office has been painted. Where once were marked, peach-coloured walls, there is now mocha with white trim! The ceiling and some of the walls in the library and shipping area were included in the face lift.
Written by James Edgar, Regina on Thu, 2007/07/26
Written by Randy Attwood, Mississauga on Fri, 2007/07/13
RASC member and Principal Investigator of the MOST telescope project Jaymie Matthews announced at the 2007 RASC General Assembly that proposals are now being accepted from the amateur astronomy community for time on Canada's own space telescope - the MOST microsatellite.
Written by James Edgar, Regina on Fri, 2007/07/06
Arne Henden, Director of the AAVSO, took Vance Petriew by surprise when he asked him to come forward for a special Director's Service Award at the Banquet of Astronomy Roundup 2007 in Calgary, Alberta.
Vance took on the challenge of amassing and converting over 70,000 records at the AAVSO. Here is their write-up from the AAVSO Web site, www.aavso.org/aavso/about/volunteers.shtml
Written by Gary Boyle, Ottawa on Thu, 2007/07/05
The Archer’s Many Targets
As the starry sky slowly changes from night to night, we have a small observing window when scrutinizing the lower most constellations. Opposed to the Big Dipper that is seen all year round, Sagittarius the Archer appears low in the south skies for a few hours per night. With so many interesting open and globular cluster to hunt down, we definitely have our work cut out.
Written by Denis Grey, Toronto on Thu, 2007/07/05
You are cordially invited to the International Dark Sky Association Symposium at the ASTROLab at Mont-Mégantic Provincial Park sponsored by IDA-Quebec. RASC Light Pollution Abatement Chair Robert Dick will be a featured speaker at this event. The RASC will be delivering a paper outlining the evolution of the RASC LPA program and will also be involved with media promotion of this international event. Note that if any Centres wish to contribute their experiences to the RASC program, they are encouraged to contact the LPA Committee Chair prior to August 15th so it can be included in the paper presentation.
Written by Randy Attwood, David Clark & Patrice Scattolin, National Office on Sat, 2007/06/30
The trustees of the Centre Projects Fund announced at the RASC General Assembly the award of three grants totalling $2,034 to the Hamilton, New Brunswick and Winnipeg Centres in support of their public outreach and member services.
Written by Denis Grey, Toronto on Fri, 2007/06/29
At the National Council meeting held in Calgary, AB on June 28th, seven members of the Society were elected to the Board Pilot Committee. These members will join the National Executive in setting strategic direction and priorities for the Society for a one-year trial period beginning June 29, 2007.
Here is the list of the new appointees to the committee:
