Date/Time: Wednesday May 8, 2024 starting at 7:30PM
Location: University of Victoria, Bob Wright Centre, Lecture Theatre A104. Park in Lot 1 (pay parking) and cross Ring Road.
Transcript video of meeting presentation
The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) is fortunate that John Stanley Plaskett arranged to have the construction of the Plaskett telescope photographically documented. There are approximately 150 8” x 10” glass plates that were taken during the construction. I am in the process of scanning these plates at high resolution and then “cleaning” them in Photoshop.
About three years ago, I discovered a collection of negatives and prints that were taken by John Stanley Plaskett during the period from 1910 to 1914. These images were taken in Pasadena, Wakefield Quebec, England, Germany, and Victoria.
I will show a selection of images from both of these important historical collections. There will also be a surprise show and tell.
We are fortunate to have Dennis Crabtree join us to do a presentation about the photographic legacy of Victoria’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) and John Stanley Plaskett. Dennis Crabtree is a retired astronomer who worked for the DAO for over 35 years, being a former Director of the Observatory. During his career he worked for the Canada-France-Telescope, the Gemini Observatory and at the Space Telescope Science Institute. He is the unofficial historian of the DAO.