RASCals Star Party – schedule of events

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Please download our poster to stick on your fridge and to refer to: Poster (130k PDF)

Event – map and times for your e-calendar

Come join us!  Learn Astronomy and Explore the Night Sky

July 25 to 27, 2014

At the Metchosin Municipal Grounds
behind the Metchosin Fire Hall
4440 Happy Valley Road, Victoria, BC, Canada

 

Gates will open at 12pm noon on Friday. Camp on the field and setup your telescope.

Cost: Free of charge!  RASC members and visiting observers (who stay overnight): suggested donation of $20/Adult one day, two or three.  Everyone who is present is entitled to tickets for door prizes, lectures and access to the observing field.

Schedule of Events  (subject to change)

Friday 25th

12:00pm – Gates open

8:00pm – Welcome and Door prizes     

8:30pm – Presentation: Open University Astronomy, John McDonald

9:30pm –Guided Telescope Walk , followed by viewing of the night sky           

Saturday 26th

Solar viewing – all day

1:00pm – Workshop: 27,000 Km per hour, photographing ISS Passes, Charles Banville

2:00pm – Workshop: Observing Not for the Faint of Heart: The RASC Challenge Objects, Nelson Walker

3:00pm – Workshop: Astronomy 101, Sherry Buttnor

4:00pm – 6:00pm – activities for the kids

8:00pm – Door prizes

8:30pm – Speaker: Space Flight through the Ages, Chris Gainor

9:30pm – Guided Telescope Walk, followed by viewing of the night sky

Sunday 27th 

9:30 am – Farewell to Charles Banville – brunch at My Chosen Cafe (no host)

Cleanup (Please pitch-in & help)

12 noon – early departures please!

 

OUR STAR PARTY THIS WEEK – WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND IT!

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HI RASCals –

Our annual star party is coming up this week, and I urge you to support it. Event details

Here’s why:

1.  It is unique.  It is literally an “urban star party” (“semi-urban?”)

2.  It’s close.  It’s twenty minutes from Victoria.

3.  It’s low key (it is organized by a tiny committee which barely knows who its own members are).

4.  The weather provides plenty of opportunity for excitement.  Up to thirty knots of wind has been recorded on the telescope field.

5.  Good speakers, poetry possibly excluded.  Good workshops.

6.  Lots of prizes.  Lots of prizes for the kids.

7.  It’s free (although some pressure for donations might be applied by the “committee” until the cost of the privies is covered).

8.  Camping, and it too is free.  Many of the campers will be local families.

9.  A good turnout by the locals who are eager to look through your scope.

10. It is appreciated as a community event by the community of Metchosin.

11. There is a good restaurant a five minute walk away, plus pizza.

It is easy to find things to criticize about our star party.  It isn’t dark.  The weather is unpredictable. It isn’t advertised nationally.  But I have been to every one of our star parties since 2005 (lots of members have been to many more), and I have also been to the Oregon Star Party (many times), Merritt Star Quest, the Golden State Star Party, and Mt. Kobau.  None of these akun pro korea is a community star party.  None of these is twenty minutes from my house.  None of these has pizza nearby.  And as to darkness …. I have logged many hundreds of deep sky objects from the Metchosin field.  It is certainly as dark as it needs to be to do any list of double stars, or the Messier list, or the Finest NGC list, or even the H-400 list, all of which you are doubtless working on.

Come and join us at what may be the only star party in Canada which is twenty minutes from your front door.

Event details

2014 General Assembly – it’s over!

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Thanks to the legions of volunteers who made the GA a great success!

 

The Canadian Space blog – the RASC looks back and looks forward

Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) facebook

I had so much fun last night at the DAO. The cake was so realistic – Peter Jedicke
I’d like to offer my sincerest thanks and congratulations to the Victoria Centre for putting on one of the most memorable 5 days that I can recall in either recent or distant memory. The programmes, the spirit, and the people all made for a real sense of community and camaraderie. I can barely imagine the behind-the-scenes work that went into making this such a special event. A special thank-you to the tireless volunteers who ferried fellow RASCals to and from events and the airport. It was greatly appreciated. – Craig Levine

Hear! Hear! Many thanks for a grand time.- David L. Clark

Visits from Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Cambridge, where the Queen knights our own Randall Rosenfeld; Winston Churchill inspires us (Chris Gainor); and Bob MacDonald of Quirks and Quarks pulls us along with his concepts for space travel. Tonight’s banquet was a great end to a successful GA here in Victoria! – Joe Carr

Just got back from tonight’s AGM observing session at the 32″ telescope on top of the Bob Wright Centre. A big thanks to Russ for donating his time so everyone could get in some astronomy on the big scope. – Bruce Lane

RASC, Victoria Centre facebook

I heard many complements about the great job the Victoria Centre did with the 2014 RASC General Assembly, which wrapped up last night. Congratulations to Paul Schumacher, Mark Bohlman, and the rest of the team for a fabulous job. –  Chris Gainor

I also heard many positive comments from guest delegates about our GA, during its four-day run. Well done, everyone! – Sherry Buttnor

Dave Balum wowed the RASC GA 2014 crowd inside the Plaskett dome. Dave was dressed in period costume which Dr. Plaskett would have worn in his day 100 years ago. – Joe Carr

The evening was wonderful and the cake was….Epic !! – Diane Bell

RASCvic email list

Loved it! Sessions were top notch and everyone seemed to be having a good time, with lots of fun moments and humor, especially at the banquet. Congratulations to everyone who helped to make this a memorable GA. – Bill Almond