- HD110067 “could become the most interesting star in the galaxy” – Randy Enkin
- TESS – Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
- Planetary dips in brightness detected for star HD110067
- Several of the 6 planets (b, c, d & e) are in orbital resonance
- CHEOPS – CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite
- Published widely: Science; Nature; Space News – Nov 29, 2023; Scientific American – Dec 4, 2023
- Discovery Alert: Watch the Synchronized Dance of a 6-Planet System – NASA Science
- Scientists search for the soundtrack of the universe– exploring harmonics – Astronomy magazine
- FDAO Fundraising campaign star parties at the Centre of the Universe – Lauri Roche
- Pancake breakfast – Dec 9 9:30am-Noon
- Solstice Party & Pluto debate – Dec 16 6-9pm
- RASC – Lauri Roche
- RASC 2024 Observers calendars ($15) and almanacs ($18) – 3 of each still available – contact Lauri roche.lauri@gmail.com
- RASC Victoria social evening – seeking a venue for February 2024
- SIGs – David Lee
- Beginners SIG – tomorrow evening
- Hubble News – Chris Gainor
- Gyroscope problems – 3 out of 6 have failed
- Hubble could stay in orbit until 2036, but imaging, power or computer systems could fail sooner
- Budget cuts at NASA could end the mission
- Buy & Sell at Astronomy Cafe – review from last week’s event
- About 40 attendees – new and old members, and non-members
- Lots of equipment for sale
- Sid brought lots of equipment to sell and give away on behalf of Victoria Centre
- Astronomy images
- Dave Payne – gallery
- Monkey Head Nebula in Orion
- Bubble Lobster Claw Nebulae in Cassiopeia
- Demo of creating an image – basic processing steps and explanation of colours
- 3-4 nights of image acquisition and several hours of processing
- Brock Johnston – gallery
- NGC 1333 – reflection, emission and dark nebula
- Cocoon Nebula – lots of dust rings the emission nebula along with numerous background galaxies and stars
- Dave Payne – gallery
- UVic Monthly Meetings – 2nd Wednesday of each month – Reg Dunkley
- Next Wednesday – Space-Based Far-Infrared Telescope – Dr Doug Johnstone | RASC Victoria – presentation in B150, Bob Wright
A sale for used (and new) astronomy gear is being hosted by RASC Victoria Centre at our usual venue for Astronomy Cafe at the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association. There will be no Zoom feed for this in-person only event.
Date/Time: Nov 27, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM
We expect more astronomy equipment to be offered for sale, however the following sellers have shared some of the gear they plan to offer:
- John McDonald
- One Manfrotto tripod- $50
- Canon 6D modified by Hutec to capture H-alpha- $900
- Canon EF 100 macro f/2.8 lens- $400
- Canon EF 70-200 f/4 lens-$600
- ZWO Manual filter wheel with set of filters- $100
- Tripod Pan head with 3 axis movement – $150
- Nikon flash -$30
- Doug MacDonald
- Selection of eyepieces – $20 – $300
- Filters
- Several astro cameras ~$1,200
- Explore Scientific 5″ refractor and an i-Optron CEM-60 mount for sale. Will not bring to sale, but we can discuss.
- Joe Carr
- Canon Rebel T2i – Hutech-modified for astronomical imaging – $350
- IDAS EOS in-camera screw-in adapter
- IDAS UIBAR-II 37mm Hα Enhanced UV IR Blocking filter – mounted
- 2 LP-E8 batteries & charger – genuine Canon brand
- 2Gb SD standard memory card
- Camera is in like-new condition and comes with original packaging
- Camera remains capable of conventional photography when using manual white balance, or even when the UIBAR-II filter remains in place using modest white balance adjustment in post processing.
- QHYCCD PoleMaster Electronic PolarScope – $250
- Brand new, never used
- No adapters supplied
- Canon Rebel T2i – Hutech-modified for astronomical imaging – $350
- Terry Flight
- Meade LX-90 telescope, mount & accessories – Asking $3,000
- Meade LX-90 8” f/10
- Telrad
- Kendrick Dew Heater Dual Channel with 3 heaters: Corrector, Telrad and EP Kendrick Battery Pack
- Bob’s Knobs – Collimation
- 2” Star Diagonal (Astro-Tech)
- Baader Hyperion Mk IV Zoom
- TeleVue 55mm Plossl
- TeleVue x2 Barlow
- Meade 9mm EP
- Chinese 32mm Plossl
- 11⁄4” Star Diagonal (Meade)
- AstoTech 10 x 5 RACI Finder and Base
- Illuminated Reticle EP
- Observing Chair
- Comes in a fitted plastic box
- Photos in Buy & Sell listing
- Meade LX-90 telescope, mount & accessories – Asking $3,000
- Dorothy & Miles Paul
- 21mm Ethos (100° AF of V) 2” $1,207 at KW Telescope excellent condition $600
- 3.7 mm Ethos (110° AF of V) 2” $849 at KW Telescope pristine condition $425
- 12mm Nagler Type 1 suggest $200
- 9mm Nagler Type 1 suggest $150
- 4.8mm Nagler Type 1 suggest $150
- 5.0mm Orion Ultrascopic suggest $100
- Orion 10×50 Vista Binocular (5.3° field) $50
- Filters
- Teleview 2” Bandmate OIII $100
- Teleview 2” Bandmate Nubustar $100
- Orion 2” H-beta $100
- Celestron C8 1990 vintage telescope, tripod, setting circles and tracking – not “goto”; many accessories including homemade solar filter
- Sid Sidhu
- 6”, 4” & 60mm Refractors
- 6” Reflector
- Complete 6” mirror grinding kit
- Homemade Binocular Parallelogram mount
- The and most of these are free for the taking – value of these will be based upon a best price offer. Donations go to RASC Victoria Centre.
- David Lee – new RASC publications
- 2024 Almanac $17
- Explore the Moon w Bino $12
- Explore the Moon w small telescope $12
- 2024 Calendars $15
Acceptable payment is to be arranged directly between buyers and sellers. RASC Victoria Centre is not responsible for errors, misrepresentations or non-payment for goods.
Video transcript of meeting
- Victorian Asteroids – Randy Enkin
- Lauri Roche and Chris Gainor now have asteroids named after them
- Peter Jedicke proposed the names to the IAU’s WGSBN
- Lauriroche – Visible in the summer sky, 14 magnitude
- Gainor – evening sky now, spring will be the best view
- Past namings: Sidhu, Bettyhesser, Jamesheasser, JackAlice (Newton), Scarfe, Plaskett, Balam, Tatum, Climenhaga, Plaskett, Kavelaars, Bohlender, DAO, Crampton, UVic, Vicsympho, Makosinski, Kleewyck (Emily Carr), Frasercain
- Congratulations to everyone with named asteroids
- Other Awards and Honours – Victoria Centre members with asteroids named after them
- New members intro – Suzanne, Jerod (both in person)
- Lunar sketches – Randy Enkin
- Cassini over several nights
- Swap and Shop – next week in-person at Astronomy Cafe
- Bring your astronomy stuff!
- Bring your money to buy stuff!
- Send your list of equipment to Chris Purse (membership@victoria.rasc.ca) ahead of time so we can promote the event
- Website Infrastructure – project leader needed – Randy Enkin president@victoria.rasc.ca
- Determine the scope of the project, coordinate the technical details, help Council select a new web provider
- Talk to Joe Carr Webmaster for details (web@victoria.rasc.ca)
- Jeff Pivnick
- A review of Circumstellar Disks by Brenda Matthews, who was our speaker from last Wednesday’s meeting at UVic
- ALMA situated on the Atacama Desert 5,000m / 16,000′ altitude
- Monthly meetings – future list through to March 13, 2024
- Garry Sedun – working at altitude is very difficult
- 134th Birth Anniversary of Edwin Hubble today
- Lawyer, teacher of math and physics
- Graduate work at University of Chicago in physics and astronomy
- Started work in 1919 Mt Wilson observatory on the new 100″ Hooker telescope, studying nebulae and galaxies
- Classification scheme for galaxies
- Founded extra-galactic astronomy
- Red/blue shift gives indication of distance of celestial objects
- Several articles in Skynews by Bruce Lane highlighted Hubble’s work
- Discussion of all topics presented by Jeff
- Observatories Observed in France – Sep 2023 – Brian Barber
- Sorbonne University observatory – 2 domes
- Musee de Cluny – Charles Messier’s observatory
- Brian experienced a detached retina, so he and his wife spent two weeks resting and recovering in Bordeaux before resuming travel
- Bordeaux Astronomical Observatory
- Visited Arcachon, then back to Paris
- Observatoire de Paris – Cassini family
- Paris Meridian – geographical landmark (Arago Medallions)
- Tours are possible at some of these observatories – see links above
- Deep Sky at IMAX, the story of James Webb space telescope is now on – Jeff Pivnick
- Astronomy Day – out-of-date astronomy magazines and Observers Handbooks are good for giveaways, so don’t throw them out. Contact Jeff Pivnick (jeff.pivnick2@gmail.com)
- Calendars for 2024 – some still available
- Victoria Centre calendar (sorry sold out, but waitlist) – Joe Carr (web@victoria.rasc.ca)
- RASC National Observers’ calendar and workbooks – Lauri Roche (roche.lauri@gmail.com)
- Centre of the Universe Events – Lauri Roche
- FDAO Telescope Clinic – thanks to all the volunteered last Saturday
- Dec 9th – fundraising breakfast
- Dec 16th – solstice party
- Nebula from Gamma Cassiopeia, “the Ghost of Cassiopeia” IC59 & IC63 – astrophoto by Dave Payne
- Observing Report
- Fireball spotted by Dennis F’s wife at 6:40AM a few mornings ago. Widely reported in the region, but Sid Sidhu’s All-Sky camera didn’t capture the event.
- Upcoming Events
- Astrophotography SIG this Wednesday – Dave Payne
- UVic speaker for Dec 13 – Far Infrared space observatory – Dr. Doug Johnston – Reg Dunkley
Next Astronomy Cafe on Nov 27th is a Swap ‘n Shop – bring your astronomy gear to sell, and bring cash to buy stuff!
- Even & Michaela Sedman
- Astronomy in Switzerland
- 50 observatories
- 51 astronomy societies
- 10 research institutes
- Societe D’Astronomie du Haut-Leman SAHL
- Created 1970
- About 160 members, ~50 active
- Similar aims to RASC
- Observatory – currently 14″, soon to be 16″ SCT, other telescopes
- Astrophotography
- Dark Sky Switzerland
- Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne emit the most light pollution
- Urban areas are now turning their street lights down or off
- Light pollution is reducing slowly – both private and public initiatives
- Government reacted to energy crisis caused by Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Stars for All – SAHL Working group
- Why – impact on humans and environment
- How – focus on themes with direct impact on communities
- Citizen science – measurement of the quality of the night sky
- Population density affects light pollution levels – Vancouver Island and Switzerland comparison
- Education activities – conferences and roundtables
- Alphi Saves the Night – Alphi Suave la Nuit
- Children’s book
- Profits from the book are donated to the charity – Twinkle
- Supports education and awareness
- Astronomy in Switzerland
- Council meeting – Nov 14 – Randy Enkin
- Meeting is open to all members – link sent to members by the secretary
- Upcoming AGM
- Succession – new volunteers for Council are being sought
- Monthly Meeting at UVic – Reg Dunkley
- Circumstellar disks – Dr. Brenda Matthews | RASC Victoria
- UVic Nov 8th 7:30PM A104 Bob Wright
- SIGs – David Lee – david@victoria.rasc.ca
- Getting Started in Astronomy SIG – this Tuesday – observatories in Europe visited by Brian Barber
- Citizen Science SIG – this Thursday – introduction to data collection
- FDAO Monthly Star Party – Lauri Roche
- Telescope clinic – Nov 18th
- Bring your unused or broken telescope to get help
- Tips on how to observe
- Planetarium and Plaskett dome tours
- Telescope clinic – Nov 18th
- Upcoming Equipment Swap – Nov 27th – Randy Enkin
- Gifts before the holiday season?
- Location: Astronomy Cafe venue at Fairfield Community Association
- Deep Sky IMAX Theatre documentary – Chris Gainor
- Features the James Webb Space Telescope
- Nov 17-26, 2023 – tickets
- Astronomical Images
- Brock Johnston
- NGC 206 – region of Andromeda galaxy
- M33 – Triangulum Galaxy
- Jupiter
- Elephant Nebula
- Fireworks Galaxy
- NGC 7142, 7149 – reflection nebula, open cluster and galaxies in the star field
- Horsehead Nebula
- M31, 32, 110 Andromeda Galaxy – wide-field
- Ken McGill
- V298 Cephei – region in NGC782
- Bubble & Lobster Claw Nebulae
- Heart & Fish Head Nebulae
- M31, 32, 110 Andromeda Galaxy – 3-frame mosaic
- Soul Nebula
- VCO Image – David Lee & Reg Dunkley
- First light with our new Narrowband filters
- 90º away from a Full Moon
- M27 Dumbbell Nebula
- Brock Johnston
- Ghost Crater in Ptolemaeus – the Moon – Randy Enkin
- Process
- Find an area of interest on the Moon – Dial-a-Moon
- 6″ Newtonian, EQ mount
- Sketching technique & tools
- 2H sharp pencil
- Start with a white pencil (from Lee Valley)
- 2B dull black pencil
- Annotate with sharp pencil
- Mare, craters filled in by volcanic basalt rock
- Process
No Astronomy Cafe next Monday due to statutory holiday for Remembrance Day.
- New members
- Matt – astrophotographer
- Ewen, Michaela – Swiss visitors
- Cameron, Lisa, baby Max
- Carlos
- Eclipses – Randy Enkin
- Geometry of eclipses
- Types of solar eclipses
- The Saros Cycle
- Lunar Months – Sidereal, Synodic, Draconic, Anomalistic
- Every 18 years, the solar eclipse cycle repeats, but the track moves a third around the Earth
- Antikythera mechanism (~200 BCE) – predicts Saros cycles
- What is a conjunction? David Lee, Marjie Welchframe
- It’s a conjunction if the two objects share Right Ascension
- derekscope.co.uk – list of all conjunctions to 2025
- A large number occur during daylight
- Discussion of how to observe conjunctions during the day
- Makers SIG – this Thursday- David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
- Telescope Clinic – Nov 18 at FDAO Star Party event at the Centre of the Universe
- Need some RASC volunteers to help attendees use their telescope
- Contact Lauri Roche roche.lauri@gmail.com
- Victoria Centre Observatory – Reg Dunkley, David Lee
- Oak tree encroachment on the observatory is now trimmed back, thanks to NRC
- MICs need to be trained on the new equipment and procedures
- Workflows for imaging are now in place
- Picnic table – new one in the budget
- Amateur Radio and the ISS – Jim Cliffe
- Image broadcast from ISS to amateurs – Slow Scan TV
- Pearson CollegeAstronomy Outreach – Bill Weir
- Westshore Walmart parking lot
- Moon, Jupiter, Saturn
- James Webb Space Telescope – Chris Gainor
- M1 Crab Nebula – Hubble image vs Webb image
- 2024 RASC Observers Calendars – Lauri Roche
- $15 each – still some available – contact Lauri roche.lauri@gmail.com
- Lauri will also distribute calendars at the monthly meeting at UVic on Nov 8th
- Nov 8 monthly meeting at UVic – Reg Dunkley
- Circumstellar disks – Dr. Brenda Matthews | RASC Victoria – Young Stars and Exoplanet detection using ALMA
- Lecture Theatre A104, Bob Wright, UVic
- John McDonald
- ▪ NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe– book review and recommended for beginners in astronomy. Perhaps a Festive season gift?
- Annular Eclipse event at Berwick Elk Lake
- Thanks for the eclipse glasses (Jeff Pivnick)
- Residents hadn’t observed a solar eclipse before, so there was lots of excitement
- Astronomy Outreach and Events – Patrick
- International Dark Sky designations
- Astronomy events near Hope
- Bonneford, Alberta
- Now resides in Victoria
- Nucleosynthesis – Jeff Pivnick
- First neutron star collision observed six years ago
- The origin of the elements: a century of progress | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences – Jennifer Johnson (OSU)
- Element Table showing creation sources
- Big Bang fusion
- Dying low-mass stars
- Exploding massive stars
- Cosmic ray fission
- Merging neutron stars
- Exploding white dwarfs
- Element Table showing creation sources
- Kilonova – created heavy elements from neutron stars in transition
- Planetary Nebula images
- Dave Payne
- Proto-planetary nebula
- Planetary Nebulae visual differences: larger, two explosions, classic, cosmic wind dispersion
- Brock Johnston
- M57
- NGC 7293 Helix Nebula
- M97 Owl Nebula
- NGC 651 Little Dumbbell Nebula
- M27 Dumbbell Nebula
- NGC 6888 Crescent Nebula
- Soap Bubble Nebula
- Use these images at the Centre of the Universe displays? Lauri Roche
- Dave Payne
- Lauri Roche
- 2024 RASC Observers calendars have arrived. Cost is $15 each, with some still available. Contact Lauri roche.lauri@gmail.com
- Thanks to everyone who attended the FDAO AGM a couple of nights ago.
- Special Interest Groups – David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
- Astrophotography SIG
- Makers SIG
- “Fix-It” Clinic at next FDAO Star Party on Nov 18th
- 3D-printed celestial objects, such as Moon surface features, Eta Carina, asteroids. Pre-made designs available for on Thingyverse and NASA 3D Resources.
- Famous Eclipses in History – Randy Enkin
- Some during BCE Era?
- Mar 1, 1504 Lunar Eclipse in Jamaica – Christopher Columbus
- 1868 solar eclipse – Janssen observed helium in the solar spectrum before element was identified on Earth
- 1919 solar eclipse – Eddington confirmed General Relativity
- Eclipses from Enkin’s Daily Moon – Randy Enkin
- Art, photos, juxapositions
- Weather Forecast for just-past Annular Eclipse – Reg Dunkley
- GOES-West satellite cloud cover loop shows the eclipse darkening
- DAO Current Weather – Sky Camera
- Sunspot Groups – David Lee
- Sunspots emerge through magnetic fields
- Individual sunspots and groups of sunspots
- AAVSO sunspot – online reporting
- Resumption of monthly meetings and speakers at UVic – Jeff Pivnick
- First presentation on Oct 11th – NEW EARTH Lab – Find Life on Exoplanets | RASC Victoria – Dr. Christian Marois, NRC, UVic
- Unexpected Results from James Webb Space Telescope – Chris Gainor
- Annular Solar Eclipse from Victoria on Oct 14, 2023 – Randy Enkin, Lauri Roche, David Lee
- Lots of families at FDAO event on Observatory Hill
- Randy gave 10-minute eclipse basics talks
- Pre-eclipse report and time lapse video by David Lee
- FDAO eclipse event report by Lauri Roche
- Streamed images from David Lee’s telescope in lower parking lot
- Streamed images from Time & Date website
- Homemade waffles, fruit and parfaits were popular
- Lots of RASC members
- About 150-200 public attended
- Eclipse Images by members
- Impromptu event from Cattle Point – Nathan Hellner-Mestelman
- Sid Sidhu’s Highlands neigbourhood event – David Lee
- Gordon Head sketches – Dorothy Paul
- Observatory Hill photo series – Brock Johnston
- John McDonald’s photos – David Lee
- Cattle Point – Alex Schmid
- Partial Solar Eclipse 2023 – RASC Victoria online gallery
- Eclipse photos from online sources – Randy Enkin
- Eclipse reports from members
- Total Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024 – Discussion about this upcoming event
- SIGNALS – Star-formation, Ionized Gas and Nebular Abundances Legacy Survey – CFHT – Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, Principal Investigator
- Étoile du Nord – NFB series – French with English translation
- FDAO Star Party AGM, 2024 RASC calendars or workbooks – contact Lauri Roche (roche.lauri@gmail.com)
- Beginners’s SIG – Algol Minima – David Lee
Video transcript of meeting
Fuelling Galactic Powerhouses – Dr. Mallory Thorp
- Mallory is a postdoctoral researcher the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AIfA) at the University of Bonn; MSc & PhD at UVic
- Hubble Deep Field – how do all those galaxies interact with each other?
- Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS)
- Galaxy Zoo – internals to galaxies
- Baryon Cycle – gas, dust, stars
- Inter-stellar Medium – gas and star formation
- Sloan Digital Sky Survey
- huge number of galaxies
- great for big picture studies
- Phangs – high resolution studies of individual galaxies covering the complete Baryon Cycle
- Uses multiple telescopes for source data, including both space and ground telescopes – ALMA, JWST, HST, MUSE
- NGC 628 / M74
- Voids in the galaxy – biggest is The Phantom Void (1kpc across)
- Recently formed stars on the edge of voids at these “shock fronts”
- How stars form has now been observed, thanks to JWST
- Out of 74 galaxies only a dozen are mergers
- NGC 3637 – example merger galaxy
- Catastrophic events impact interstellar medium
- Strong star formation when the galactic structure is essentially destroyed
- Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) – eventual result of interaction between galaxies
- Jets of gas leave the galaxy
- AGN is likely responsible for star formation
- Galaxies turn off – why?
- Try to reconstruct an interaction of galaxies over billions of years
- ALMaQUEST – ALMA MaNGA Quenching & Star-Formation Survey
- How mergers power starbursts?
- Extra stars and extra gas
- Studying post-merged galaxies
- How do mergers trigger the birth of new stars?
- AGN or starbursts when fuel is pulled into the centre of a galaxy
- Q&A
Resumption of monthly meetings and speakers at UVic – Reg Dunkley
- NEW EARTH Lab – Find Life on Exoplanets | RASC Victoria – Dr. Christian Marois, NRC, UVic
- Oct 11th 7:30PM at Bob Wright Centre, Room A104, University of Victoria
- Meeting will not be streamed, so please attend in-person
- After the meeting, adjourn to the Elliott Building 4th floor Astronomy lounge for coffee, cookies and discussion
- Lauri will have solar eclipse glasses to give to members
Annular Solar Eclipse – Oct 14, 2023 – Lauri Roche & David Lee
- Solar Eclipse 2023 — Annular Eclipse, October 14 – Time & Date info page
- Start: 8:03AM PDT
- Maximum: 11:00AM PDT
- End: 1:56PM PDT
- Event at the Centre of the Universe
- Observe the eclipse
- Breakfast snacks supplied
- Kids activities
- Vignette talks
- Event tickets on sale from FDAO through Eventbrite
- Solar telescopes – dependant on RASC volunteers
- Will supply solar eclipse glasses to attendees and other people hosting events can come to pick up the glasses
- Best observing spot will likely be from the lower parking lot, not the Plaskett or Centre of the Universe parking lot
- For observing yourself from other locations, seek a site with visibility to the east, low in the sky
- Use solar eclipse glasses to directly observe the Sun, or use telescopes or binoculars with solar filters
- Practice ahead of time
- Discussion about timing and observing
- Solar Eclipse Eye Safety – American Academy of Ophthalmology
- RASC National 2023 calendars – Lauri has ordered 35 calendars, so contact her to sign up for a copy – roche.lauri@gmail.com
Victoria Centre Observatory (VCO) report – David Lee
- 20″ Obsession – guiding working, collimation is near-perfect
- 12″ Dobsonian also available
- Takahashi – available to members for photography and visual observing
- Discussion about parking issue at VCO – Garry Sedun
Astrophotos – Dave Payne
- SH2-157 Lobster Claw nebula in narrowband
- Shrimp nebula
- Heart Nebula and beyond
Oct 16th is the next time to attend Astronomy Cafe – in two week’s time.
Video transcript of meeting
- Island Star Party report – Dave Payne
- Thanks to all the volunteers
- Need a new leader for the star party next year
- Activities and functions
- Logistics
- Coordinating volunteers
- Coordinating with the Cowichan Valley Regional District & Parks
- Improvements and a new vision for next year’s event
- Astronomical Photos
- New 32″ telescope at Black Nugget Lake Observatory (near Edmonton) – Dave Robinson
- Ron Fisher (online gallery)
- M45 Pleiades Cluster
- M31, 32, 110 Andromeda Galaxy
- Cassiopeia’s Ghost SH2-185 – Gamma Cas star
- The Hebrew Calendar – Randy Enkin
- Jewish New Year on Friday/Saturday just past – Rosh Hashanah
- Based on a Lunar Calendar
- Review of rules to determine the New Year day
- Year number is calculated to when the human world was “created” on Oct 6, 3761 BCE
- Comparing the lunar and solar calendars
- Necessary and Unnecessary Miracles
- Discussion
- Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Updates – Mary Beth Laychak, CFHT Communications laychak@cfht.hawaii.edu
- Land Acknowledgements for both Hawai’i and the DAO lands
- Mauna Kea is one of the darkest sites in the world
- Instruments review
- Science Highlights review
- Planning for the future
- Maunakea Authority
- Maunakea Spectrographic Explorer (MSE) – Pathfinder construction
- New capabilities for CFHT
- Internship offer for opto-mechanical design and production
- Outreach to the community
- Maunakea Scholars
- Summer Interns
- School events
- CFHT Staff
- Q&A
- Announcements
- Makers SIG – upcoming
- Mallory Thorpe – next week’s speaker
- Saanich Fair – Lauri Roche
- Sep 2-4, 3 days
- Thanks to all the volunteers, but we could use more for next year
- 3,500-4,000 people visited the booth and telescopes
- Solar telescopes used to show the public the Sun
- Clear and beautiful weather except for Sunday afternoon rain
- Telescope raffle
- Island Star Party – Reg Dunkley
- Very good attendance 70 + 200
- Dave Payne project lead
- Cloudy skies on Friday but some sucker holes
- Pristine skies on Saturday night
- Zero gravity chairs were popular with cheers from the crowd when the Perseid meteors streaked across the sky
- Volunteers from Cowichan Valley Starfinders did a great job
- Two interesting speakers on Friday and Saturday night
- Next year: 1st weekend of August
- Donations more than covered our expenses
- Grand prize of a telescope and mount
- CU Star Parties – Lauri Roche
- Weekly events – mid-May to mid-Sep
- Good attendance every Saturday event
- Presentations every week – either in-person or virtual
- Monthly events during off-season
- Saturday FDAO Star Party (Sep 16th) – Mary Beth Laychak, CFHT Outreach will be presenting
- Plaskett Observing – Sep 16th
- Contact Dan Posey email
- Starts at 11:30pm
- Must be a member and registered as an Active Observer to participate
- Personal Observing Reports
- Brock Johnston – photos
- Helix Nebula
- Solar disk in Ha – discussion
- Jupiter – good seeing on Saturday
- Saturn – 3 images showing changing ring tilt
- Explore the Universe observing group – Marji & Jill
- 110 celestial objects
- Observe and/or draw at least 55 objects
- There is also an Explore the Moon workbook
- Group of 6 observing from Cattle Point
- Moon – Randy Enkin
- Sinus Iridium & Jura Mountains – comparing Mike Nash’s image & Randy’s sketch
- Island Star Party astronomy images review
- Brock Johnston – photos
- Announcements
- Teacher’s Workshop – Lauri Roche
- Mary Beth Laychak, CFHT Outreach will be leading the workshop
- Monday – 4:30-7:00pm for teachers
- Monday after the teachers – present at Astro Cafe
- 2019 AGM presenter
- Council meeting – Randy Enkin
- Tomorrow night – all members welcome
- UVic Wednesday night monthly meetings restarting – Alex Schmid
- Teacher’s Workshop – Lauri Roche
- Minima of Algol – David Lee
- Eclipsing binary
- Short cycle of 3 days
- Magnitude 3.4 to 2.1
- Dates coming up – ref S&T
- Partial Solar Eclipse – Oct 14th – David Lee and Lauri Roche
- Observe from the Centre of the Universe – 8am to 10:30am
- Solar observing glasses
- Safety briefing
- Breakfast beverages and snacks
- Activities for kids and adults
- $5/person – registration through Eventbrite
- Rain or shine event
- Volunteers needed
- Blake Nancarrow remembrance – Randy Enkin
- Memories from Bill Weir
- Black was Chair of RASC Observing Committee
- RASC Double Star program – designed for small aperture urban observing
- David Dunlop observatory champion
- Memories from Peter Jedicke
- Blake retired to St. Thomas, attached to RASC London Centre
- Blake was the first Astronomer in Residence at York University’s observatory at Killarney Provincial Park
- Blake’s obituary
- Memories from David Lee and Jill Sinkwich
- Stellarium courses
- Double stars tribute – Randy
- Different colours of binaries
- Splitting the doubles, triples and quads – challenging technique
- A Tribute to Double Star Observer and Our Friend Blake Nancarrow –The Actual Astronomer Podcast – Chris and Shane
- Lyra – 3 doubles – Marjie Welchframe
- Memories from Bill Weir