2023 INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMY DAY IN VICTORIA SET FOR UVIC ON SUNDAY APRIL 30

Posted by as Events, Special Events


2023 Public Night-Sky Viewing Begins at the Centre of the Universe at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Saturday April 29.

International Astronomy Day events will return to Victoria for 2023 on the weekend of April 29 and 30. The public is invited to daytime activities at the Bob Wright Centre on the Ring Road at the University of Victoria on Sunday, April 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The night before, Saturday, April 29, public telescope viewing will take place at the National Research Council of Canada’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Centre of the Universe from 7:30 to 11 p.m.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Victoria Centre and the University of Victoria (UVic) Department of Physics and Astronomy are proud to sponsor family-friendly Astronomy Day activities, which will begin outside the Bob Wright Centre at 11 a.m. with solar telescopes for safely viewing the sun on the main concourse. The shift of daytime Astronomy Day activities to Sunday means that there will be FREE PARKING for the public at UVic.

Inside the Bob Wright Centre there will be astrophotography and historical displays, and tours of the Bob Wright Centre Observatory. RASC volunteers and Science Venture staff from the UVic will engage children with hands-on activities. All the astronomy presentations, displays, and workshops are free.

There will be free lecture presentations on astronomy in the Bob Wright Centre by Dr. Deborah Lokhorst of the National Research Council (NRC) on the DRAGONFLY Telescope, Simon Smith of UVic on Dwarf Galaxies, Xiaoyi Ma of UVic on Finding Exoplanets, Nathan Hellner-Mestleman of Mount Douglas Secondary School on Life in Space, David Lee of the RASC Victoria Centre on Astrophotography the Easy Way, Dr. Madeline Marshall of the NRC on What’s Been Happening with the James Webb Space Telescope?, and Dr. John McDonald of the RASC Victoria Centre presenting A Photo Tour of the Summer Sky.

The Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the RASC Victoria Centre, and the NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre will host evening activities at Observatory Hill, 5071 West Saanich Road, on Saturday, April 29 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Visitors with tickets will be admitted to Observatory Hill starting at 7:15 p.m. The Centre of the Universe exhibits will be open that evening, and the Observatory, including the historic Plaskett Telescope, will be open for tours. RASC members will have their personal telescopes set up for public viewing if the weather permits. There will be a presentation on the growing issue of satellite constellations by Dr. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The public viewing on the evening of Saturday April 29 marks the beginning of public events at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory for the summer of 2023. Further public events at the DAO will take place this spring and summer on selected Saturdays.

Entry to the Observatory grounds for all public evenings in 2023, is by ticket ONLY. Tickets are FREE but require reservation. To obtain your entry ticket and further information on Saturday Star Parties, please go to www.eventbrite.ca/o/friends-of-the-dominion-astrophysical-observatory-12071364164#events. Tickets will be available starting Wednesday April 19. Current Federal Government Covid guidelines will be followed.

The RASC Victoria Centre is proud of its history and association with both amateur and professional astronomy in Victoria and its mandate for public education in Astronomy. For more information, please continue to explore our website.

Contact persons: Lauri Roche roche.lauri@gmail.com or 250-652-2361 or David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca.

Astronomy Cafe – Sep 19, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Concert Sep 25 at Farquar UVic – Jim Hesser
    • “Aurora Triptych is a multimedia blend of music, photography, and visual storytelling that follows the Northern Lights on a far-ranging journey from the Sun to Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
    • Tania Miller: Science & Symphony
    • September 25 @ 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
  • Sky Brightness Survey – David Lee (email)
    • Interested in QGIS mapping data work – Les Welch & Jim Cliffe
    • Guidance from our meteorologist Reg Dunkley as to what day(s) are best to take readings, since it’s important that good, clear weather conditions are present
    • SQM (original, widefield), SQM-L (current, narrow FOV) – Unihedron meters
    • Find areas that we should concentrate on due to impending development or other sky quality issues
    • Duel readings with app and Unihedron meter
    • Ideal dates for taking SQM readings: Sep 23-27 & Oct 23-27 
    • Methodology
      • Record 4 raw readings, pointing in each of 4 quadrants above your head, pointing straight up
      • Throw away the first reading at each site (so take a total of 5 readings)
      • Readings – fill in form
        • SQM
        • Temperature 
        • Location – ID #, Latitude, Longitude
        • Verbose location – “corner of Wallace Drive and West Saanich Road”
        • Date and Time
        • Weather conditions and comments
      • Readings can be done using electronic or audio means, but must be in final readable form before sending to David on the forms provided
      • Sky Brightness Survey Data Entry Chart – MS Word & PDF
      • Sky Brightness Survey Data Fields – definitions
      • Taking readings at new locations is fine, but make it clear it’s new
  • Astronomy Cafe on Monday September 26th
    • Samatha Jewett will be speaking to us about RASC National
    • Possibly lunch or dinner with Samantha before the meeting –  contact Lauri Roche (email)
    • Jim Cliffe will be the Astro Cafe host
  • Chris Gainor
    • ISS Pass at 8:52PM this evening 
    • Skynews is going to be late due to paper supply issues

Bill Almond – 1933-2022 – in memorium

Posted by as In Memoriam, Memories & history

With great sadness the family of Bill Almond announce his passing.
Lovingly remembered by his wife Janet; children Carol (Dave) John (Barb) Dawn (Mike), Alison (Colin); 11 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and many friends.
He was loved by all and remains forever in our hearts.

Frederick W. Almond – June 12, 1933 – July 03, 2022 – obituary (Legacy/Times Colonist)

Bill became a member of RASC in 1989, and soon became involved in Victoria Centre, sharing his passion for astronomy with both his fellow members and the public. He lead Victoria Centre as President from 1997 to 1998. Bill was awarded the Newton-Ball Award in 2003 for his exemplary service to Victoria Centre. He enthusiastically helped build Victoria Centre Observatory (VCO) atop Observatory Hill, and provided valuable advice about what gear would reliably serve our members’ needs. Bill was thrilled when the VCO officially opened in 2008.

Bill worked with CCD imaging since the early 1990’s and was published in CCD Magazine with his images of M27 The Dumbell Nebula and M8 The Lagoon Nebula. He was an early leader in digital imaging at a time when the technology had very limited capability, and the gear was often beyond the means of amateur astronomers. Bill encouraged members to tackle the learning curve called astrophotography, often hosting members and groups at his home and observatory. Bill’s astrophotography

Bill Almond presents a copy of his Victoria Centre history to RASC Archivist Randall Rosenfeld

In order to commemorate Victoria Centre’s centennial, Bill applied his writing skills acquired during his career with our local newspaper The Times-Colonist, to compile historic records and media, and write and publish the history of RASC Victoria Centre. This was a daunting task, considering our Centre’s long history!

In 2021, Bill decided it was time to wind up his personal observatory, which was built beside the family home in Colwood in 1992 as a “watch tower”, and featured a Meade 10″ SCT, and later a 12″ LX200. Cameron Burton and Lisa Miester took on the considerable task of moving the observatory to their home on Elk Lake, and have rebuilt the observatory in the process. Moving and installing Bill Almond’s observatory – May 31, 2021 AstroCafe – a 1 hour video presentation by Cameron and Lisa.

Bill at the eyepiece
Bill’s observatory
Bill sharing his passion

What a wonderful video of Cameron and Lisa realizing the significance of my fathers hard work and combining that dome with the passion that Lisa’s father passed on to her. Thank you to the RASC Victoria members in this video who spoke fondly of my father.

John Almond (Bill’s son) – May 31, 2021

Bill Almond – in memorium – a collection of photos from Bill’s involvement in RASC Victoria Centre

Victoria Centre members remember Bill

Remembering Bill’s skill and generosity. So sad to hear that Bill is gone. I knew him from his Times Colonist days, from his diaper service, and from the RASC Victoria. Take care. – Sandy Barta

I’m very sad to hear that Bill has left us. He was president of the Centre when I came to Victoria, and of course he wrote the history of our Centre more recently. – Chris Gainor

I too am sad to hear the news about Bill. He did a fine job on the Centre History that Chris mentioned and he was helpful with advice and tips for those of us starting out. He also gave us some excellent advice when we were considering what telescope to get for the VCO. It was that we should pay the most attention to getting a quality mount. He pointed out that telescopes can be replaced but without a good mount no telescope would do a great job. – John McDonald

Bill was a leader for those of us who were exploring taking photographs of the celestial objects in the night sky. He was a great mentor, a good friend, and a generous man. – Joe Carr

I am so sorry to hear about Bill. He was knowledgable and always helpful to RASC members who were new to astronomy. I was privileged to see Bill´s Observatory Dome just last weekend at it´s new home overlooking Prospect Lake. His legacy will continue. – Lauri Roche

When I joined RASC Victoria in the early `90s I remember Bill would often host evenings at his home in Colwood which of course included a visit to his dome. He will be missed. – David Lee

Astronomy Cafe – Apr 25, 2022

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Discussion about Astro Cafe’s new hybrid online and in-person meeting, room characteristics
  • Astronomy Day – May 7 – Lauri Roche
    • Museum 10AM-3PM
    • Online Lunar cross-Canada event – 5:00-6:30PM – RASC National, David St. Jacques (Canadian astronomer)
      • David needs some video clips from members observing the Moon, so he can assemble a short video feed if the weather is bad.
    • Observatory Hill – 7:30-11:00PM
      • Star party with observing
      • Hubble & JWST by Chris Gainor
      • Masks recommended
    • Please volunteer – contact Lauri Roche (email) or David Lee (email)
  • Astrophotos – Brock Johnston
    • Supernova in galaxy NGC 4647, near M60 in Virgo
    • M82 galaxy showing Ha emissions thanks to narrowband filters
  • Astrophotos – Dave Payne
    • M81 Bode’s galaxy
    • Needle galaxy NGC 4565
    • Asteroid 5116 Korsor passes in front of NGC 3384 galaxy
    • M65 & M66 odd couple of galaxies
    • Rejection frame analysis
  • Astrophotos – Martin Gisborne
  • Discussion about Astro Cafe’s new hybrid online and in-person meeting
  • James Webb Space Telescope – Chris Gainor
    • Still about a month away from scientific images and data
  • “The Great Debate” – Lauri Roche & Chris Gainor
  • Ballooning satellite populations in low Earth orbit portend changes for science and society – April 22, 2022 Physics Today article – John McDonald
  • Debate on contentious issues surrounding space tourism and other space exploration – Lauri Roche, Chris Gainor, Martin Gisborne