Upcoming Speaker Series talks are cohosted by RASC and SkyNews.
| Date | Topic and Speaker | Details and Registration |
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November 25, 2021 @ 7pm EST |
Exoplanet hunting from home |
Since confirmation of the first exoplanet detection in 1992, humans have found almost 5,000 exoplanets orbiting distant stars — and detecting them is possible with the same equipment as used in backyard astrophotography. Co-hosted by RASC outreach assistant Samantha Jewett and SkyNews editor-in-chief Allendria Brunjes, learn how Laurie Sibbald began collecting photometry data from suburbia indicating exoplanets. All the skills were developed by doing deep space imaging using some of the excellent software tools and equipment available to consumers. The data quality is high enough to contribute to exoplanet research databases that scientists are using to improve our understanding of worlds outside of our Solar System. |
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December 2, 2021 @ 7pm EST |
Mi'kmaw Moons |
For more than seven years, the Mi’kmaw Moons project has tied visual astronomy and Mi’kmaw storytelling together using the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, embracing both Indigenous and Western traditions in how we view the world. Join Acadia First Nation member Cathy LeBlanc, her niece Holly and long-time RASC member Dave Chapman as they speak about the project as well as lunar cycles, stars and the Mi’kmaw stories and traditions tied to them. This event is co-hosted by RASC and SkyNews. |
| Date | Topic and Speaker | Details and Registration |
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Monday, |
Apollo 13—The Flight That Failed Randy Attwood, President, Mississauga RASC |
Fifty years ago, the third mission was launched to land two people on the Moon. On the third day of the flight, a problem occurred which cancelled the plans for the lunar landing and instead, started a race to get the astronauts home alive. In this talk, the speaker will detail all the things which had to go right to save the Apollo 13 crew. |
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Friday, |
30 Years of the Hubble Space Telescope Chris Gainor, RASC President |
The Hubble Space Telescope has provided amazing images of the universe from its location in Earth orbit for three decades. With the help of space shuttle astronauts, Hubble overcame a major technical defect built into its main mirror, becoming a key tool in making discoveries that have fundamentally changed our view of the universe and transformed the way astronomy is done. RASC president Chris Gainor, who is writing the official NASA history of Hubble operations, will tell this amazing story 30 years to the day that the telescope was launched into space. In his talk, Chris will be joined by Ray Villard, the longtime Public Information Manager for the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore Maryland, who has told the story of HST since it was launched in 1990. |
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Friday, 7:00 p.m. EDT |
Canadian Women in Astronomy Heather Laird |
A brief history of some of the important women actively involved in the advancement of amateur and professional astronomy and astrophysics in Canada over the last century. Heather volunteers her time as one of the Directors of the Ambassador Program for the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Still relatively new to observing and astronomy, however, her passion for the science, history, theory and physics motivates her to continue learning as much a possible. |
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Thursday, 7:00 p.m. EDT |
Truth at the Eyepiece—exploring disjunctions between past and present astronomical imagery Randall Rosenfeld, RASC Archivist |
Since the advent of telescopic astronomy four centuries ago it's been a constant that visual records of observations should only show what is seen at the eyepiece, and no more. The integrity of astronomy as an observational science depends on this. Looking back over the images produced in the course of those four centuries can be an unsettling experience, for many of them don't at all resemble what we perceive at the eyepiece now, despite the claims of the original observers for the faithfulness of their visions. What is going on here? This webinar surveys some of the issues involved through confronting the images, and explores some of the possible reasons why they may look odd to us, and the implications for what "truth at the eyepiece" may really mean. As background to this talk, the sort of images which will be discussed, and questions they raise can be found in this supplement. |
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Thursday, 7:00 p.m. EDT |
Loony Moons Christa Van Laerhoven |
The collections of moons that orbit our giant planets are very like miniature planetary systems, each with their own dramatic history. In my presentation I will talk about the various moons of the solar system and how they have been shaped by orbital shenanigans with their fellow moons and their host planet. |
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Thursday, July 16th |
The Art and Science of Observational Astronomy Robert Conrad, Observing Director, Vancouver RASC |
Check out Robert's resources here! Are you interested in learning how to navigate the night sky? Do you have a telescope or pair of binoculars and not sure how to use them to their full potential? Join astronomer and learning consultant Robert Conrad for a one-hour workshop on Thursday, July 16th. Robert has taught two astronomy courses at SFU and is the observational director and education co-director for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Vancouver Centre. He has coached hundreds of beginners and amateur astronomers to turn a hobby and interest into a passion. He has studied how people learn and has spent hundreds of hours understanding the challenges that many beginners struggle with and filled the gaps that for most enthusiasts, still prevent them from using their telescopes to their full potential. After attending his workshop, you’ll learn that the journey can be more rewarding than the destination and you will be able to:
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Thursday, July 30th |
The Canadian Comet Sleuth David Levy, author and comet hunter |
Comet NEOWISE has been the sensation of our July skies, the first naked-eye comet for the Northern Hemisphere in ages. David Levy knows all about comets that snag the spotlight. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, garnered the “Canadian comet sleuth” media attention around the world, including the headline on the very first cover of SkyNews 25 years ago. Join The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Jenna Hinds and SkyNews' Allendria Brunjes as they sit down with Levy in the next Speaker Series, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 30. Levy has discovered 22 comets, given innumerable lectures and written countless articles and more than 30 books — including an autobiography, A Nightwatchman's Journey. There’s an asteroid named in his honour, and his awards include the Chant Medal of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. |
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Friday, August 28th |
Hawaiian Nights: A Personal Journey from Vancouver Island to Maunakea Cam Wipper, telescope operator and scientific observer, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope |
Growing up in Nanaimo, Cam never imagined he would be spend nearly a decade (and counting) living in Hawai’i and working on Maunakea, the best place on Earth for astronomical observations. In his talk, Cam will tell the story of how he found himself on Maunakea, from his days as a student at Vancouver Island University, to his first night up on the summit of Maunakea, nearly 14.000 feet (4200m) above sea level. This will include a brief history of astronomy in Hawaii, as well as an exploration of how a modern astronomical observatory conducts scientific observations. All will be told from the perspective of a telescope operator and scientific observer; a position Cam has held at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope since 2015. |
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Monday, November 23rd |
The Research Legacy of Lowell Observatory Klaus Brasch |
Abstract: Klaus Brasch Bio: |
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Friday, December 18th |
Star of Bethlehem: The New Discoveries and Solution Bradley E. Schaefer (LSU) |
The nature of the Star of Bethlehem has long been a scholarly question posed by astronomers and planetarium shows. For this particular Christmas season, we have the spectacle of a very close Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on 21 December, harkening back to the claim that a Jupiter-Saturn triple conjunction in 7 BC was the Star. But Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions are rather common (once every 20 years or so), so it was not a sign for the birth of a Messiah. Further, Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions had no astrological meaning for the ancient Middle East, so the conjunction would not have motivated the Magi to make a long perilous trek. It turns out that all of the other prior claims for astronomical solutions (usually of spectacular events up in the sky) can be readily refuted. So it was startling in 1999, when Michael Molnar (Rutgers Univ.) came out with a completely new solution for the origin of the Star, and this convincing explanation has largely swept the scholarly world. (With the usual social-inertia, it will take a while for popular knowledge to catch up.) The solution is not astronomical (well, the event is with the planets up in the sky), but rather astrological. But this makes sense, as the only characters in the Bible that recognized the Star were the Magi, and they were, in part, Persian astrologers. So the Star must have been some planetary configuration up in the sky that indicated, with the astrology of the day, the birth of a very great king in Judea. Throughout the 1990s, I had been following Molnar's excellent work on the astrology history applied to various emperors and kings around the eastern Mediterranean, so I knew that he was the world expert on applying the relevant astrology. When Molnar finally turned to the birth of Jesus, he realized the convincing astrological solution, and it is not what any of us would have imagined… |
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Thursday, January 28th |
Should J.S. Plaskett be a Canadian Icon? Peter Broughton |
John Stanley Plaskett (1865-1941) was one of our country’s first professional scientists, and our first astrophysicist. After getting his start in 1905 with modest equipment at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, he soon persuaded the federal government to establish an observatory (the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory) on the west coast. In spite of World War I, the project was completed in 1918 and it housed the world’s largest operating telescope at the time. With it, he discovered a record-breaking massive star, established the wide-spread presence of interstellar gas, and accurately pinned down the rotation rate of our home galaxy—the Milky Way. Though he was showered with recognition and awards by his colleagues, few Canadians know anything about him. Do you wonder why? |
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Thursday, February 11th |
Astronomy today, Framing the future Sophia Gad-Nasr, Sara Mazrouei, Nicole Mortillaro and Sarah Gallagher Presented by RASC and SkyNews |
Dark matter. Humans on the Moon. Black holes and exoplanets. They’re hot topics in the news, and it just so happens women are discussing them. Join us for a panel discussion that passes the Bechdel Test, bringing four great Canadian minds together to talk about observational astronomy, cosmology, astroparticle theory, planetary geology and the future of science that is out of this world. The panel is presented by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and SkyNews. Hosted and moderated by SkyNews editor-in-chief Allendria Brunjes and RASC outreach co-ordinator Jenna Hinds, RASC Next Gen committee chair Emilie Laflèche and RASC Diversity and Inclusivity committee chair Roland Dechesne will be moderating audience discussion. For more information about the speakers, click here. |
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Tuesday, March 2nd |
Murder at the Observatory: a Forgotten Chapter in the Legacy of Alvan Clark & Sons Clark Muir, RASC History Committee Chair |
During the celebrated history of Alvan Clark & Sons, founded by the legendary lens- and telescope-making family, there was a stunning chain of events that had a profound impact on the business and its future prosperity. Although many of the details were of a highly personal nature, they were not ignored by the media. Among the episodes was an apparent kidnapping within the family, followed shortly thereafter by a death at the Clark’s observatory that led to a sensational murder trial. A series of other litigious matters continued to trouble the family and keep them in the public consciousness for more than a decade. Here, we will review some of the triumphs of the family business and examine the lasting impact these scandals had on its legacy. |