SPEAKER: The Mysterious Death of Galaxies

Posted by as Meetings

By Dr. Joanna Woo

Wednesday June 13th, 2018 at 7:30 PM

In Room 124 Engineering and Computer Science Building, UVic

Please note the Room Change

Galaxies are vast collections of stars that evolve over billions of years. From surveys of a hundreds of thousands of galaxies, we can see that they fall into roughly two categories: those that are alive and forming new stars, and those that are dead, or no longer forming new stars. Gas is the fuel for star formation, and there is plenty of it in the universe constantly falling into galaxies, so why have some galaxies simply stopped turning gas into stars? This cessation of star formation, called “quenching”, is one of the biggest puzzles of galaxy evolution. Drawing upon my own research, I will give an overview of the different theories explaining the death of galaxies and what the observational evidence tells us.

Dr. Joanna Woo writes: I am an astrophysicist with a focus on galaxy evolution using a variety of cutting-edge observational and theoretical tools. While studying for a B.Sc. in Physics and Astronomy from UBC, I established and became the president of the UBC Astronomy Club which is still active to this day. I also held a part time job at the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre. Being the adventurous type, I decided to pursue graduate studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, receiving my Ph.D. in 2014. Along with a rigorous physics education, I picked up two languages (Hebrew and Arabic). I then spent four years at the Institute for Astronomy of ETH Zurich, where, along with exciting research, I learned the basics of Swiss German. I am thrilled to be back in Canada where I am a postdoctoral researcher at UVic. (I am now trying to improve my French.)

 

FOR SALE – Meade 14″ SCT and accessories

Posted by as Buy&Sell

RASC Victoria Centre is selling surplus astronomical equipment

Meade 14″ SCT telescope, cradle mount & Hyperstar f/2

PLEASE NOTE – ALL ITEMS ARE NOW SOLD!

Photo gallery of Victoria Centre’s Observatory

 

  • Please refer to the asking prices of the items listed below. Items will be sold to the bidder who submits the highest bid price.
  • Once a bid is accepted, prompt payment by bank draft or certified cheque is preferred, payable to: RASC Victoria Centre. Payment by personal cheque drawn on a US or Canadian bank is also acceptable, but will cause delays.
  • Tie bids will be decided by the date and time the bids are first received.
  • Local pickup of items is preferred, otherwise successful bidders are responsible for shipping costs in addition to their bid price.
  • The equipment listed below has been used together for the last 10 years at Victoria Centre’s observatory. Items can be bought separately or together.
  • All equipment is sold as-is without any warranty or guarantee of fitness for purpose.

Please contact Bruno Quenneville if you need further details about the items offered for sale Email (brunoqvictoria@gmail.com) or call ‭(250) 888-3450‬.

Send your bids to Joe Carr

  • Email (web@victoria.rasc.ca)
  • Postal mail or courier: Attn: RASC Victoria Centre, 3046 Jackson St, Victoria, BC Canada V8T 3Z8.

Meade 14” f/10 SCT telescope optical tube – SOLD

  • Optical tube only – no diagonals or mounting hardware is included
  • Includes
    • Meade standard finder scope
    • Feather Touch ultra fine thread focuser upgrade – see red arrowed item in photo below
    • Dew shield
  • Other accessories available – see below for Hyperstar and cradle mount (both used with this 14″ SCT)
  • Meade’s website
  • $1,350 asking price
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks. Optics need cleaning.
Meade 14" SCT, Feather Touch focuser upgrade (included), WO 2" digital focuser (not included), Meade finder scope (included)
Meade 14″ SCT, Feather Touch focuser upgrade (included), WO 2″ digital focuser (not included), Meade finder scope (included)

Hyperstar f/2 focal reducer for Meade or Celestron SCT telescopes – SOLD

  • Reduces optics from f/10 to f/2 for imaging only (not for visual use)
  • Starizona website – verify with Starizona this reducer will work with your telescope!
  • $450 asking price
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks.

Cradle mount for 14″ optical tube telescopes – SOLD

  • This heavy duty metal cradle provides excellent support for a 14″ optical tube such as the above Meade 14″ SCT
  • Includes
    • Losmandy style rails suitable for attaching the cradle to a heavy duty tracking mount
    • Two (2) Losmandy style rails  on both sides for mounting additional telescopes or other gear
  • $650 asking price
  • Condition: Used showing minor wear, but in good operating condition with no marks.
Meade 14" SCT with cradle & Paramount ME
14" cracle

 

President’s Message – May 2018

Posted by as President's Message

May has started with an incredible celebration. The Plaskett Telescope turns 100 this month and the plaque designating the DAO as a National Historic Site of Canada has been unveiled. I was asked to speak on behalf of the Centre at this event. Here is a summary of the speech I made.

In addition to the centenary of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, 2018 marks the sesquicentennial of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada or RASC. Founded in Toronto by a group of astronomy enthusiasts, RASC has grown to be a national, coast to coast organization. With the addition of the Yukon Centre in 2016, the society is moving toward becoming truly coast to coast to coast.

The Victoria Centre joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 1914. Centre historians have discovered that the 1914 founding was not the first attempt by astronomy enthusiasts in Victoria to join RASC. In 1909, efforts were made to start a centre here which were unsuccessful.  However, just five years later, the effort was successful. Why was that?

I think a critical piece that was missing in Victoria of 1909 was an anchor for an astronomy group.  In the pre-information age, the success of societies such as RASC was greatly increased when there were locally available, high quality resources to support the efforts of the amateur members. Typically, this would be a research university. A university would provide faculty and staff members who might have expertise in astronomy, current publications in the library, and, perhaps most importantly, access to high quality equipment. By 1914, what had been missing in Victoria was starting to take shape.

The selection of Victoria as the home of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory meant that Victoria became the centre of astronomy in Canada. Having a top notch research institution is the best possible support a RASC centre could hope for. Just look at the telescope that came with this observatory! No one else had anything like that. As a result, the location of the DAO in Victoria was instrumental in the founding and success of the Victoria Centre. It is likely that Victoria would not have a 104 year old RASC centre had this observatory been built somewhere else.

A particular strength of the DAO continues to be public outreach. From the very early days, the public were welcomed to look through the telescope. A centre member studying its history discovered that the DAO was a leading tourist attraction in Victoria of the 1920s; records show that more than 30,000 visitors per year came to the hill. If you ask almost anyone who grew up in Victoria, they can describe a visit to the observatory so this facility certainly made an impression. For 100 years, it has been part of the fabric that makes Victoria an outstanding place to live.

Our centre benefits greatly from our relationship with the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. From the employees who are active RASC members to the many who volunteer to speak at our monthly meetings, we are a stronger centre because of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. In addition, the Victoria Centre has a larger membership that many other centres in Canada that have greater surrounding populations. I attribute some of that to the interest in astronomy that is generated by the presence of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.

SPEAKER: Peering through Nature’s telescope – Gravitational Lensing as a window into the distant universe

Posted by as Meetings

by Dr. Karun Thanjavur

Wednesday May 9th, 2018 at 7:30 PM Room A104 Bob Wright Centre UVic

Gravitational lensing, the “bending” of light in a gravitational field is one of the many awe inspiring phenomena predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, and which have since been unambiguously borne out by observations. Since the first confirmation of a gravitational lens in 1979 -nearly 45 years after it was hypothesized- the catalog of confirmed lenses now runs to a few hundreds. Aided by the rapid advances in telescope and instrumentation technologies, the magnification boost provided by gravitational lensing – Nature’s telescope – is now being harnessed to probe astrophysical processes in extremely distant, faint objects even in the very early universe with a level of detail that would otherwise be exceedingly challenging. My presentation aims to explain the principles of gravitational lensing using basic physics, trace its development as a powerful observational tool, and present two applications and related results drawn from my own research.

Bio: Karun Thanjavur: As an observational cosmologist, discovering new gravitational lenses and developing innovative techniques to harness them as observational tools are amongst my diverse research interests. As part of my doctoral thesis at UVic in 2009, I developed an automated technique to search for lenses in wide field, pan-chromatic imaging. These explorations of the distant universe come after a full career as a mechanical engineer, specializing in control systems and robotics. Born and raised in a small town in South India, I completed my education up to a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering there, before moving to Canada to pursue graduate studies first in Robotics, and later in Astrophysics. After my PhD from UVic, I worked as a Resident Astronomer at CFHT in Hawaii for three years, before returning to UVic to accept a position as a senior lab instructor in astronomy. Even though undergraduate teaching is the focus of my current position, I continue to pursue various research projects. I also enjoy sharing the excitement of science and my research efforts with the public through several outreach initiatives through the UVic observatory.