Please download our poster to stick on your fridge and to refer to: Poster (130k PDF)

Event – map and times for your e-calendar

Come join us!  Learn Astronomy and Explore the Night Sky

July 25 to 27, 2014

At the Metchosin Municipal Grounds
behind the Metchosin Fire Hall
4440 Happy Valley Road, Victoria, BC, Canada

Gates will open at 12pm noon on Friday. Camp on the field and setup your telescope.

Cost: Free of charge!  RASC members and visiting observers (who stay overnight): suggested donation of $20/Adult one day, two or three.  Everyone who is present is entitled to tickets for door prizes, lectures and access to the observing field.

Schedule of Events  (subject to change)

Friday 25^th

12:00pm – Gates open

8:00pm – Welcome and Door prizes     

8:30pm – Presentation: Open University Astronomy, John McDonald

9:30pm –Guided Telescope Walk , followed by viewing of the night sky           

Saturday 26^th

Solar viewing – all day

1:00pm – Workshop: 27,000 Km per hour, photographing ISS Passes, Charles Banville

2:00pm – Workshop: Observing Not for the Faint of Heart: The RASC Challenge Objects, Nelson Walker

3:00pm – Workshop: Astronomy 101, Sherry Buttnor

4:00pm – 6:00pm – activities for the kids

8:00pm – Door prizes

8:30pm – Speaker: Space Flight through the Ages, Chris Gainor

9:30pm – Guided Telescope Walk, followed by viewing of the night sky

Sunday 27^th 

9:30 am – Farewell to Charles Banville – brunch at My Chosen Cafe (no host)

Cleanup (Please pitch-in & help)

12 noon – early departures please!

Victoria Centre’s monthly meeting, to be held on Wednesday May 14, 2014 in room A104 of the Bob Wright Centre, UVic, at 19:30. Directions and venue info.

Presentation: Mapping the Deep: the past and future promise of searches for trans-Neptunian worlds – Dr. Michele Bannister, a postdoctoral fellow at UVic.

The small icy worlds beyond Neptune provide insights into the early history of the Solar System. I am interested in understanding how they formed, evolved and reached their present orbits, and in the landforms of their surface ices.

Victoria Centre’s monthly meeting, held on Wednesday April 9, 2014 in room A104 of the Bob Wright Centre, UVic, at 19:30.

Presentation: Space dust, bugs and Tao: Beneficial Bacteria – Dr. Réal Roy, a biologist at UVic – a talk about the origin of life.

Presentation (82Mb pdf)

Victoria Centre’s monthly meeting, held on Wednesday March 12, 2014 in room A104 of the Bob Wright Centre, UVic, at 19:30.

A Short Bio of Dr. Parvez Kumar, P.Eng., FCASI (this latter is Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautics & Space Institute)

Dr. Kumar is an Aerospace Engineer whose career has spanned over forty years working in the Aviation and Space sectors in Government, Industry and Academia. His twenty years of experience with the Canadian Space Programme covers establishing Canada’s role in the International Space Station (ISS) in the early 1980’s, to establishing the Canadian scientific research programme for enabling scientists to do research in microgravity onboard the ISS, to setting up the first training programme for Canadian Astronauts and being their Deputy Director General.

In his chequered career he was seconded to Aerospatiale in the early 1970’s to be Hawker Siddeley Aviation’s man in France for the development of the first Airbus A300; he then joined the UK Civil Aviation Authority in their Flight Test Department for the certification of civil aircraft; he moved to Canada in the late 1970’s to help design and set up the Flight Test Programme for the Canadair Challenger Business Jet; moved onto Transport Canada in their Airworthiness Branch; Industry Canada as the Manager of the international Airborne Surveillance Systems Programme spearheaded by Canada; in 1982 he was hired by the National Research Council in Ottawa to help establish the Canadian Space Station Programme. Amongst other assignments he was the Space Technology Advisor to Atlantic Canada; Director of the European Space Agency’s Harsh Environments Initiative under contract while he was at C-CORE, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Assistant Research Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa where he set up the first Advanced Space Studies Course and taught Mechanical Systems Design to Final Year Engineering Students; he has lectured to Universities and High Schools all across Canada as well as for Continuing Education Programmes at Carleton University and the University of Victoria. He brings a wealth of hands-on experience to his lectures.

He graduated with an Honours BSc in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College in London, UK, and obtained his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Southampton University, UK. He has lived and worked in seven countries and, now retired, lives with his wife in Sooke.

After several months of being skunked by bad weather, the RASCals of Cattle Point finally had a good night to offer observing to the public from RASC’s newest Urban Star Park.

Our Treasurer Bruce Lane coordinates this event. Here is his report from the Feb 7, 2014 event.

This Friday was the first time the weather has cooperated for monthly astronomy at Cattle Point! Joining me at Cattle Point were Dorothy and Miles Paul, Chris Purse, and Alex (new member). Owing to snow shock (from weather earlier in the day) and cold conditions (still several degrees warmer than being up at the VCO) there were very few people out and about to interact with. The sky was clear, but winds were gusting at about 20km per hour, to add a bit of windchill. There were only two members of the public to have a look through the telescope. I finally packed it in at 9:15pm.

Congratulations to the group, and special thanks to the volunteers who braved the freezing conditions to make this happen!