The Victoria Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society is part of a national society dedicated to bringing information about astronomy to the general public.

Membership

Open to everyone with an interest in astronomy. Membership in the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada does not require any knowledge of astronomy. We enjoy helping beginners!

Joining the Victoria Centre of the Canada-wide RASC is easy – Join Now

Primary Contacts

President

Randy Enkin Email

Membership Coordinator

Chris Purse Email

Mailing Address

EMAIL US FOR OUR MAILING ADDRESS

Victoria Centre Directors

President

Overall responsibility for Victoria Centre, its members and Council & public relations

Randy Enkin Email

First Vice President

Monthly meeting & speakers, major events

Dan Posey Email

Second Vice President

Special projects, observing events, volunteers

Garry Sedun Email

Treasurer

Financial recording and reporting

Doug Hardy Email

Secretary

Minutes, official records, correspondence

Ken Atkinson Email

Past President

Business continuity, special projects, nominating committee

Reg Dunkley Email

Directors at Large

Assist in the operation of the Centre

Brian Barber
David Lee
Jeff Pivnick
Lauri Roche
Alex Schmid

Victoria Centre Officers

Computer Applications

Server, Email, Online Services Coordination

Matt Watson Email

Librarian

Lending library – periodicals, books, CDs, DVDs & other media in our library

Alex Schmid Email 

Membership Coordinator

Enquiries from the public & new members, membership roster, email lists

Chris Purse Email

National Representatives

National RASC representation and liaison

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman Email
Bill Weir Email

Observing Chair

Vested with authority by the National Observing Committee to review and approve observing certificate applications

Jim Stilburn Email 250-479-4662

Progressive Lighting Policies

Liaison and education about effective use of lighting

Dave Robinson Email

Schools Programs

School visit and education program

Lauri Roche Email

SkyNews Editor

Editor of SkyNews, our monthly newsletter

Vacant Email

Telescope Loans

Lending Centre-owned telescopes to members

Sid Sidhu Email 250-391-0540

Victoria Centre Observatory

Victoria Centre Observatory operations

Dan Posey Email
Reg Dunkley Email

Webmaster

Website content

Joe Carr Email 250-744-9981

Advisors and Liaisons

James Di Francesco (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, National Research Council)
Chris Gainor
Jim Hesser
John McDonald
Jim Nemec (Camosun College)
Lauri Roche (Friends of the DAO)
Alex Schmid (University of Victoria)
Bill Weir (Pearson College)

RASC Roots

In 1868 a small group of amateur astronomers formed the Toronto Astronomy Club. In 1903, King Edward VII gave his permission for “Royal” to be included in the title and the Society became the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. There are now around 5,000 members in 30 Centres, found in most major Canadian cities.

The Victoria Centre was formed in 1914 and quickly developed into one of the largest centres in the country. There are currently over 250 members. Most are amateurs with some being professionals from the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the University of Victoria, and Camosun College. Professional astronomers frequently appear as guest speakers at RASC monthly meetings.

Victoria Centre members have a long history of offering public observing sessions to residents of Victoria.