Astro Cafe | RASC Victoria

Astronomy Cafe – April 22, 2024

Posted April 23, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

General Assembly – Lauri Roche
- Invitations sent out by email to all RASC members
- $15 for two days of online activities
- Speaker on Saturday night
- Gather Town – meet and greet
- Sunday Night Astronomy Show – from New Brunswick
Voyager 1 & 2 – Garry Sedun, Chris Gainor
- Voyager 1 now communicating again, once a fix was installed
- Launched in 1977
- Now in heliopause – outside influence of the Sun
Regional Science Fair – Lauri Roche (roche.lauri@gmail.com)
Astrophotography – Dave Payne
- Triangulum Galaxy – by John McDonald
- NGC 2403 – about the same size bur further away
- Markarian’s Chain of galaxies in Virgo
  - 18 hours of exposure
  - Tried 50 hours of exposure to find more Ha data
David Lee (david@victoria.rasc.ca)
- Beginners’ SIG – moved to 14th
Recurrent T Coronae Borealis
- 80 year period, should increase in brightness from Mag 10 to 2 by September
- Photometry is being planned – contact David
- NASA Blog T Coronae Borealis
- Recurrent Nova T CrB AAVSO Webinar
John McDonald
- Some good books by Carlo Rovelli, cosmological physicist
  - Seven Lessons on physics
  - White Holes – time reversed version to Black Holes
  - Books available in local bookshops,online and audio versions
- 2024 Total Solar Eclipse – Composite photo of a series from partial to Totality
Uplands street lighting – update from Dave Robinson
- Met with involved parties in Oak Bay
- Will meet further with mayor and engineer to try to head off the poor choices to try to get responsible night lighting when heritage street lights are replaced
Garry Sedun
- Lava Lake on Io, moon of Jupiter
- Recent Solar Eclipse caused time shifts for satellites
Chris Gainor
- Alan Dyer’s Chasing the Cross-continental Eclipse
  - Texas to Ontario to Quebec to successfully photograph the eclipse
- Being President – odd emails
  - Where is George Ball’s observatory?
  - RASA 14″ telescope – owners want to install it at our site on Observatory Hill
Inflatable planetarium available – contact Lauri Roche (roche.lauri@gmail.com)
International Astronomy Day in Victoria – Lauri Roche
- Posters and other graphics to share event with others
- Contact Lauri or Randy (pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca) to volunteer
Astrophotography SIG – this Wednesday – Dave Payne

Astronomy Cafe – Apr 15, 2024

Posted April 15, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Meeting transcript video

Oak Bay Lighting in Uplands – Dave Robinson
- Resident pressure stopped replacement of existing historic lighting
- Proposed lighting upgrade is a poor idea
- There are good options available for “historic” light fixtures
- RASC Victoria should approach the mayor
- Email to obcouncil@oakbay.ca
Solar Eclipse Reports
- Aboard the Discovery Princess – 125nmi SW from Mazatlan, Mexico
  - Joe Carr
    - John McDonald and Bill Weir and his wife from Victoria were also onboard the ship
    - Pastry chefs served eclipse cookies
    - Princess Cruises and the ship’s officers were very well prepared for this special cruise, giving out eclipse glasses to both passengers and crew, communicating the ship’s position and heading would be, and having two experts aboard to give presentations on the subject and answer questions.
    - Observed a beautiful Green Flash at sunset the night before the eclipse
    - Ships within a few miles: Zaandam, Koningsdam, Sh Diana, and Ruby Princess
    - John and Joe observed from Joe’s balcony, since it was on the side of the ship facing the Sun
    - Eclipse photos and videos
      - Partial phase
      - Projected images of the eclipsed Sun through deck chair webbing
      - Totality, including prominences, plasma streamers, Diamond Ring at C3 and the planets Jupiter and Venus near the Sun
      - Wide field time lapse video of the eclipse
    - A 10ºC temperature drop was measured with a portable weather station during the eclipse
  - John McDonald
    - Eclipse shadows spelling words
    - Lots of great food onboard the ship
    - Observed and photographed partial phases and Totality
    - It was very dark overhead but quite light around us
    - Lots of excitement onboard among the passengers after the eclipse
  - Bill Weir
    - Observed from the top deck with a Coronado PST for Ha and a small Apo refractor with white light filter
    - Night sky viewing with Dr. Matt or Prof. Shelly on the top deck
    - Showed lots of passengers solar images
    - Saw Jupiter, Venus and a glimpse of 12P/Pons-Brooks comet
    - Corona was a spectacular flower-like apparition
    - Enrichment Speakers
      - Dr. Matthew Wedel, Western University (California) – dinosaurs, meteorites and astronomy
      - Prof. Shelly Bonus, UCLA, Mt. Wilson – friend of John Dobson
    - The ship was remarkably stable
- Sherbrooke, Quebec – Alex Schmid
  - Drove to Quebec and back from BC!
  - Problems with telescope tracking and camera
  - Perfectly clear on eclipse day
  - Observed prominences, Venus and Jupiter
  - Lots of traffic on the roads after eclipse
- Miramachi, New Brunswick – Clayton Uyeda
  - Had concerns about all the clouds, but it cleared
  - Observed from a remote site with his wife
  - Twilight but not dark
  - Indigenous smudging, drumming nearby
  - Students are back in Victoria High School. John Geehan trying to start up the trans-Neptunian Objects initiative with the high school’s new observing deck.
- Central Texas – Peter Jedicke
  - Drove from Ontario
  - Weather was iffy, but it cleared for lots of glimpses of the eclipse
  - Enjoyed reports from dozens of people spread out all along the path of totality
- Kingston, Ontario – Marjie Welchframe
  - Cloudy during the eclipse, but usable observing
- Beauharnois, Québec – Chris Purse
  - Drove from Kingston, Ontario to much clearer skies
- Montreal, Québec – Randy Enkin
  - A family visit worked out well, weather-wise
- Photos of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse – by RASC Victoria Centre members
Activities along eclipse path – Randy Enkin
- AirB&B occupancy map
- Traffic maps and delays
- Air traffic
- inaturalist.org submit observations
- Eye pain queries
Victoria Centre Observatory – David Lee, Randy Enkin and Reg Dunkley
- 7 observers at recent observing session on April 13th
- A glimpse of 12P/Pons-Brooks comet just after sunset
- Mike Nash and Randy Enkin observed and photographed the Moon
- Used a half hour on the Takahashi telescope to sketch Theophilius crater
- Some first-time VCO observers had an rewarding experience
Chris Gainor
- Met with Jenna Hinds at RASC National
  - Insurance coverage for VCO will be put in place
  - GA planned for May 4-5
- Shot a video during the eclipse from Colchester Harbour, Ontario – blog
Upcoming Activities
- Council meeting on April 23, 2024
- Astronomy Day planning meeting on April 25, 2024

Marjie Welchframe will host next week’s Astro Cafe on April 22, 2024.

Astronomy Cafe – Apr 8, 2024

Posted April 8, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Meeting video transcript

Total Solar Eclipse 2024 reports

Montreal, Quebec – Brian & Nathan Hellner-Mestelman
- Ice crystal 15º ring
- Travelled from southern Ontario
Montreal, Quebec – Randy Enkin
- Family eclipse experience covered by a CBC journalist
- Ice crystal 15º ring
- Expo 67 island had 150,000 observers
- Interviews: CFAX, Times-Colonist, CBC
- Observed: “pink” fingers coming inward to the Moon
- Temperature drop
- Eclipse cookies
Windsor, Ontario – Chris Gainor
- Drove south to get into the path of totality in Colchester Harbour to observe over Lake Erie
- High cloud didn’t diminish the view
- 1979 eclipse was in bitter cold, 2017 in Oregon
- 1.5 minutes of Totality
- First eclipse for family – they were impressed
- Video of the eclipse experience
St. Catherines, Ontario – Lauri Roche
- Heavy cloud, but saw some glimpses of partial eclipses, but no totality
- Lots of observers at Brock University didn’t see much
- Temperature drop
- Sudden darkening during totality, despite not being able to observe it
30km west of Montreal, Quebec – Chris Purse
- Drove from Kingston, Ontario to western Quebec on 401
- Hazy conditions before totality
- Diamond Ring was spectacular
- Lots of detail visible during totality
- Temperature drop
- Lots of traffic on the roads as they drove back to Ottawa
Ron Fisher
- Daughter in Hamilton reported the sky cleared enough to experience totality through the clouds
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario – Jill Sinkwich
- Unfortunately thick clouds obscured the whole eclipse
- Temperature drop, sounds, darkness
Mazatlan, Mexico – reported by Dave Payne on behalf of Joe Carr
- Photos by Joe aboard the Discovery Princess cruise ship offshore from Mazatlan
- Bill Weir and his wife and John McDonald were also aboard
- Miles Waite was nearby on the sister ship Ruby Princess
- Some thin high cloud, but beautiful conditions
- Eclipse cookies
- Diamond Ring
- Several prominences
- More complete report from Joe and John next week
2024 Eclipse Weather – Reg Dunkley
- Forecast models
- Review of weather conditions and forecasts along the path of totality
- Animation showing the Moon’s shadow travelling across North America
- Review of weather conditions over Victoria
Partial Eclipse from Victoria – David Lee & Kirsten Pedersen
- Despite the weather and 17% eclipse, attendance at the Centre of the Universe event was very good
- Nothing much to see through heavy cloud
- CHEK and CTV interviews by David Lee and Dennis Crabtree
Next Total Solar Eclipses
- 2026 over Iceland and Spain
- 2044 over North America

Astronomy Cafe – March 25, 2024

Posted March 25, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

MMT Observatory – Kali Salmas, Queue Observer
- Mount Hopkins, 55km south of Tucson, Arizona
- Originally had six 1.8m mirrors, 4.5m collecting area
- Now a single 6.5m mirror with 3 secondaries: f/5, f/9, f/15 (adaptive)
- Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory facility on the mountain
- Instrumentation
  - Binospec – wide-field opitcal spectrograph
  - Hectochelle/Hectospec – 300 fibre optic spectroscope, robotically reconfigured
  - MMIRS – Infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen cooled
- Magellan and MMT share instrument designs
- Operating Staff
  - Telescope Operator – 3
  - Queue Observer – 3
- Data acquisition
  - Weather, tracking, seeing, turbulence, lenticular cloud formation
  - 7.5-12 hours observing time
  - Moon phase
- Target Considerations
  - Both manual and automated queue scheduler
  - Sensor being used
  - Magnitude range: 11-26
  - Moon phase
- Setup on Target – telescope operator and queue observer work together
- Taking Data – calibration frames, guide stars, check data, add notes, move to next target
- Q&A
Astro-tourism in Northern Arizona – Dave Payne
- Flagstaff area
- Barringer Crater – Largest meteorite at 150′ across
- Lowell Observatory
  - Many domes
  - Original observatory built in 1894
  - Historic 24″ Refractor
  - Privately financed by Percival Lowell to map Mars
  - History of discoveries and innovations by other astronomers at the site
  - Clyde Tombaugh – discovered Pluto with a 12″ telescope
  - 5m Discovery telescope – currently being used, has 5 instruments
Recurrent T Coronae Borealis – David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
- Should increase in brightness from Mag 10 to 2 by September
- NASA Blog T Coronae Borealis
- Recurrent Nova T CrB AAVSO Webinar
Chris Gainor
- Chandra X-ray space telescope may go dark due to impending budget cuts – 25 years of work done. Save Chandra
- David Lane, past president of RASC has died. He was the author of Earth Centred Universe planetarium software, operated a popular robotic telescope from his home in Nova Scotia, and was on staff at St. Mary’s University until his retirement.

There is no Astronomy Cafe on April 1 due to Easter holiday. The April 8 meeting will be online only, since many members will be away to observe the Total Solar Eclipse from the path of Totality.

Astronomy Cafe – Mar 18, 2024

Posted March 18, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Edmonton RASC’s BNLO Black Nugget Lake Observatory Unyk-Drew 32″ Telescope – Alister Ling
- 32″ 0.8m folded f/4 128″ focal length Newtonian Alt/Az
- Donation from Bob Drew, built by Roman Unyk, and funds from Alberta gamblers
- East of Edmonton, fairly dark site, about 1-hour drive from the city
- County land and camping, surrounded by farm land
- Visual use only for public and member events
- 3 observers at a time inside the dome
- Observations
  - Crescent Nebula NGC 6888 – sketch by Berta Beltran
  - Einstein’s Cross – 17th Magnitude, gravitationally lensed quasar
  - Veil Nebula – amazing detail
  - M36 Pleiades cluster – FOV is too narrow to appreciate star clusters
  - Pease 1 planetary nebula in M15 globular cluster – star hopping required
  - NGC 40 – planetary nebulae are ideal for this telescope – colour apparent
  - M76 Little Dumbbell – lots of detail
  - M1 Crab Nebula – OIII filter reveals detail
  - Planets – not great targets for this telescope, but moons of Uranus: Umbriel, Titania & Ariel can be detected
  - NGC 891 – edge-on galaxy – irregular dark lane is obvious
  - Stephan’s Quintet – not an exciting object, so perhaps airglow and/or aurora degradation
  - M33 – good detail
  - NGC 206 Andromeda starcloud
  - M31 Andromeda Galaxy – core – scotopic & photopic vision – green colour visible
  - Colour of the core of the Orion Nebula – Hydrogen a, b, g, d – green colour visible
- Comments from Bob Drew
Astrophotographs and Sketches
- Observing from Victoria Centre Observatory – Randy Enkin
  - Photos of Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks using 12″ Dob and 20″ Obsession with new tracker
  - Moon sketch using 20″ Obsession
- Mike Nash’s lunar photo compared with Randy Enkin’s sketch – both from their homes
- Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks
  - Mar 18, 2024 APOD – red spiral core of the comet featured
  - Dan Posey’s photo of the comet and beautiful tail
Leap Year 2024 – Jeff Pivnick
- Common Year, Solar Year and Sidereal Year
- Leap Years started with Julian calendar
- Gregorian calendar – more accurate compensation to define leap years
- Accuracy of calendars adjusting for leap years
Events – David Lee, Randy Enkin, Lauri Roche
- Makers SIG cancelled for this month
- Next week’s Astro Cafe – presenter Kali Salmas, Operating the MMT Telescope in Arizona
- FDAO Star Party – March 23 starting at 6:30PM

Astronomy Cafe – Mar 11, 2024

Posted March 11, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Astrophotography – Dave Payne
- Orion Nebula, M78 – reflection, emission and dark nebulae
- Triangulum Galaxy M33
- Monoceros (next to Orion) – Fox Fur Nebula
Barbara Lane 1955-2024
- Memories of Barbara shared by Randy Enkin and other members
- Hosted Astronomy Cafe along with her husband Kurt
- Awarded a Certificate of Appreciation in 2022 for her contributions to Victoria Centre
- Past Secretary of Victoria Centre, creating wonderful annual reports
- Kurt and Barbara were a team, volunteering at public outreach events
New Crescent Moon of Ramadan 1445 – Randy Enkin
- Muslim months start at the first glimpse of the New Crescent Moon – beginning of Ramadan
- Observing a very new Crescent Moon is tricky!
They Promised Her the Moon – Dennis F
- A local play by St. Luke’s Players
- Originally, women were being tested for the Mercury Program
- Chris Gainor added to the history of women in space
Chris Gainor
- Canada Post 2024 Eclipse stamp – available this Thursday from your local post office
- Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks – brightening as it falls apart. It might be visible during Totality on Total Solar Eclipse day.
Discord for RASC Victoria – Darren Delorme
- Private chat room with channels and discussion threads for specific topics
- Useful as an alternative to email
- Post information of interest to everyone
- Join the RASC-Victoria Discord Server!
UVic presentation this Wednesday at 7:30PM – Reg Dunkley
- Galaxies at the Dawn of Time with JWST – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira
- Promises to be a fascinating talk
Volunteers needed
- Astronomy Cafe – Randy Enkin email
- Astronomy Day – Lauri Roche email
- Victoria Centre’s Volunteers List – Marjie Welchframe email

Astronomy Cafe – Mar 5, 2024

Posted March 5, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Transcript video of the meeting

2024 Total Solar Eclipse (TSE) Information and Discussion
- Randy Enkin
  - Observing the 2024 TSE from Montreal, Quebec
  - Review of the cosmic geometry for a solar eclipse
  - Track of Totality
  - Totality versus partial eclipse
  - How long have you been in the shadow?– list of top eclipse chasers
- Joe Carr – 4 TSEs
  - Review of Total Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024 | RASC Victoria
  - 2006 TSE from the Libyan Sahara Desert
  - 2012 TSE from the Coral Sea south of New Caledonia
  - 2016 TSE from the Makassar Strait, Indonesia
  - 2017 TSE from Monmouth, Oregon
  - Observing the 2024 TSE offshore from Mazatlan
- Mike Webb – 8 TSEs
  - Totality flies by quickly, so relax and experience it
- David Lee – 2107 in Oregon
  - Be sure to practice with your observing and photography gear ahead of time
- Leslie Welch – 9 TSEs
  - Be sure to visually observe and experience the whole eclipse
- Neil Banera – 2 TSEs
  - Luckily the cloud parted during Totality when observing from Austria
- Lauri Roche – 2 TSEs
  - Observing the 2024 TSE from St. Catherines, Ontario
  - Solar Eclipse glasses available from the Centre of the Universe – about 100 left – email
  - DiscoverTheUniverse.ca – best Eclipse 2024 resource for teachers and students
  - Eclipse 2024 – RASC National listing of TSE events (scroll down)
  - 2024 Eclipse Ontario Education Bundle – comprehensive eclipse information for teachers and students
- Reg Dunkley
  - Look at this forecast site starting two days before eclipse day – Astronomical Cloud Cover – refer to Eastern United States – 12 UTC
  - Video of 2017 TSE from Western Oregon University’s observing field
- Leah & Cathy – observing 2024 TSE from Niagara-On-The-Lake
SIGs – David Lee
- Beginners SIG – tomorrow night
Chris Gainor
- 2017 TSE from Madras Oregon
- Observing the 2024 TSE from Ontario, near the USA border
- Lauri Roche – CHEK News profile – Inspiring Island Women
- RASC Victoria Centre Council Meeting on Thursday evening
Astrophotography – Matt Neild – Bubble Nebula
UVic Monthly meeting – Reg Dunkley
- Wed Mar 13th 7:30PM – Bob Wright Centre, Lecture Theatre A104
- Presenter: Galaxies at the Dawn of Time with JWST – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira
RASC Victoria Social Dinner – Lauri Roche
- Over 60 attended last Monday, Feb 26th
- Many new people
- Thanks to all the organizers – a fun evening!

Astronomy Cafe – Feb 5, 2024

Posted February 5, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Intro – Jeff Pivnick
Enceladus – APOD Feb 5, 2023 – Jeff Pivnick
- Smaller moon of Saturn discovered by William Herschel
- The Great Forty 48″ reflector in Slough near Windsor – Herschel’s telescope
- Cassini Mission
  - Discoveries: magnetic field disruptions, jets of water from “tiger stripe” fissures, wobbly orbital period caused by loose crust
  - 2:1 resonance with Dione results in elliptical orbit and interior heating of the ocean below the crust
  - Cassini division in Saturn’s rings – named for Gian Domenico Cassini, discoverer
  - Mimas 1:2 resonance with Cassini division
- Diameter 504 kms, 14% liquid water
- Discussion
Randy Enkin
- Moons of Jupiter – Io moves very fast!
- Zoozve on Radio Lab
  - Asteroid appearing to orbit Venus on an Alex Foster poster
  - Orbit of Zoozve – has similar period as Venus
  - Zoozve is now the official IAU name of asteroid 2002 VE68
  - Co-orbital Configurations
  - Asteroid 2002 VE68, a quasi-satellite of Venus – Mikkola, Brasser, Wiegert, Innanen
Annual General Meeting – RASC Victoria Centre – Randy Enkin
- Feb 12 7:00PM – Zoom meeting – info and special link to be sent to members
- Victoria Centre’s Annual Report – contact Randy Enkin with your report president@victoria.rasc.ca
- Financial Report
- Election – Reg Dunkley
  - Chris Gainor has agreed to stand for President
  - We now have a full slate, but further nominations will be sought at the AGM
  - New Council will be seeking involvement from members for volunteering
  - We need a quorum of 25 members. If you cannot attend, contact Randy president@victoria.rasc.ca (or another member attending) to be your proxy for voting purposes.
Social Dinner – RASC Victoria Centre – Four Mile Pub – Feb 26th
- Large parking lot, but please carpool if possible
- Sound system with microphone and speaker will be used for speakers
- Attendees please contact Marjie to RSVP by Feb 21st
SIGs – David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
- Beginners SIG – tomorrow night’s presentation by Randy Enkin on observing the Moon
- Citizen Science SIG cancelled
- Astrophotography SIG – 4th Wednesday – hosted by Brock
Astronomy Books – David Lee
- Observer’s Sky Atlas – Erich Karkoschka
- 21st Century Atlas of the Moon – Charles Wood, Maurice Collins
Astronomy Cafe – March 4th
- Focus will be on the Total Solar Eclipse
- Eclipse glasses are available for free – contact Randy president@victoria.rasc.ca or Lauri roche.lauri@gmail.com
Scitech Daily
- Perseverance Mars Lander – sedimentary layers discovered by ground penetrating radar and samples taken
- Ingenuity helicopter has crashed

Next Astro Cafe – March 4th – none for the rest of February

Astronomy Cafe – Jan 29, 2024

Posted January 30, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Meeting transcript video

Intro – Randy Enkin
FDAO Star Party – Jan 27 – Randy Enkin
- Games Night – Jeopardy – was a lot of fun
  - Teams: FDAO, RASC (Nathan, Randy, Chris Gainor)
  - Emcee: Amy
2024 Total Solar Eclipse – Randy Enkin
- 15% obscuration in Victoria
- Observe first, photograph next
- Eye safety – contact Lauri or Randy to pick up some eclipse glasses
- RASC Eclipse Task Force – Lauri
  - Southern Ontario – mid-afternoon, school kids are being let out early
  - Maritimes – late afternoon, after school
  - Education of teachers in eastern Canada
- Early March – next eclipse presentation at Astro Cafe
- Total Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024 | RASC Victoria
Victoria Centre Events – Randy Enkin
- AGM – Feb 12th
  - Zoom only
  - Quorum of 25 needed
  - Financial Report
  - Election – slate in place except for President – contact Reg Dunkley
- Social Dinner – Feb 26 at ~ Four Mile Brewpub
  - 22 people registered
  - Contact Marjie to sign up by Wed, Feb 21
  - 55 attendees allows exclusive use of the restaurant, so please sign up!
  - Starts at 6PM
  - Drinks and meals at own expense
  - Awards and speeches
  - Victoria Centre report of activities for 2023 – send info to Randy
- Astronomy Day – May 18
  - Venue is the Royal BC Museum
  - Need a working committee
- Island Star Party
  - New Moon weekend is Aug 2-4, but Aug 5 is BC Day so that is a holiday weekend
  - Following weekend to New Moon – Crescent Moon & Perseids – Aug 9-11
  - CVRD has decided no camping and no events outside of park hours, so a new venue probably needed
Space Missions
- Japanese Lunar Mission – now active, despite being on its side
- Helicopter on Mars has crashed, so that mission is over
Good Lighting in Metchosin – Bill Weir
- Bill had success with controlling streetlights with full cutoff fixtures
- Ted White is pursuing International Dark Sky certification for municipality
- Patrick Earl and Dave Robinson will assist
  - Bon Accord, Alberta
Zoozbe “moon” of Venus – Bill Weir
- Radio Lab podcast
- Zoozbe is actually an asteroid!

Next Astro Cafe – Feb 5th, then none for the rest of the month. Monday, March 4th will be the next Astro Cafe after Feb 5th.

Astronomy Cafe – Jan 22, 2024

Posted January 22, 2024 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcipt of meeting

Intro – Jim Cliffe
Space Telescopes – Chris Gainor
- How Long Will Hubble Last? – Sky & Telescope article
- US Postal Service issued two stamps with images from JWST – $30.45 and $9.85 for their express service
David Lee
- Inside the Star Factory – book profiling JWST by Chris Gunn (photography) & Christopher Wanjek
- Makers SIG – meeting online this Thursday
  - Citizen Science – transitioning from analog to digital recording for occultations – IOTA
  - Imaging computing platforms – including Astroberry
- Astrophotography SIG – meeting online this Wednesday – Dave Payne
  - Camera settings
  - Photo showcase
  - Q&A
Canadian stamp for the Total Solar Eclipse – Lauri Roche
- March 14th issue day
Eclipse viewing glasses – Lauri Roche
- Have about 500 available
- Contact Lauri to get a bundle for free or donation – roche.lauri@gmail.com
Astrophotos
- Dave Payne – online gallery
  - Flying Dragon Nebula – molecular cloud in Cygnus – taken last summer
  - Medusa by Garvacchio
  - Medusa Planetary Nebula in Gemini – RGB and narrowband taken earlier this month
- Brock Johnston – online gallery
  - Christmas Tree and Fox Fur Nebula
  - Network Nebula – part of the Veil Nebula
  - Crab Nebula
- Astrophoto Processing – discussion by Ken McGill, David Lee, Brock Johnston, Jim Cliffe
Astronomy Information Sources – Susan Grady posed the question to the group
- Cloudy Nights
- Astro Links | RASC Victoria
- JRASC – The Journal of RASC
- Astronomy Cast – Fraser Cain’s podcasts and videos
- Victoria Centre Library – books available after UVic meetings
Panic! Early results regarding the morphological and structural properties of galaxies seen with the James Webb Space Telescope – UVic, Wed, March 13 – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Young people’s astronomy club? – question by Garry Sedun
- Some High schools and Middle schools offer astronomy groups
- Discussion about how to reach out to younger people
- Youth under 18 need family member who is also a member if VCO visit is desired – Chris Purse
- Using smartphones on a telescope for imaging – simple mounting platforms work well
FDAO – Lauri Roche – roche.lauri@gmail.com
- Games Night at this Saturday’s Star Party – 6:30-10PM – NRC, FDAO & RASC teams
- FDAO Strategic Planning coming up
Victoria Centre – upcoming events– Reg Dunkley & Lauri Roche
- AGM – Feb12 7:00PM – online zoom to all members
  - Election
  - Financial Report
  - Awards announcements
- Social Evening – Four Mile Pub – Feb 28th – sign up with Ken Atkinson secretary@victoria.rasc.ca
  - Socialize with your fellow astronomers and friends over some good food and drink
Lunar and Mars Missions – group discussion