Step Outside and Travel Through Time

Looking up into our night sky takes us on a journey through time as the light from distant objects finally reaches us after years of travelling through space. Find out the closest and furthest objects from us as we step outside and travel through time - with your unaided eyes, and in binoculars and telescopes, and learn how we measure distances across the Universe.

Register here, or watch live on our YouTube channel!

Recreational Astronomy Night (ONLINE)

Wednesday, February 3, 2021 - 7:30pm to 9:30pm

Join us for our monthly recreational astronomy night meeting. This is where our members get to show their latest projects or give tutorials and tips on just about everything to do with astronomy.

• Arnold Brody - The sky this month
• Artash and Arushi Nath - Do it yourself asteroid astrometry using Python
• Blake Nancarrow - Weather forecasting resources for amateur astronomers

https://rascto.ca/content/recreational-astronomy-night-online-0

Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Registration: Not required
Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Link: https://www.youtube.com/rasctoronto/live

Monthly Virtual Meeting 

RASC Ottawa Centre

The next monthly virtual meeting will take place on Friday, February 5th @ 7:30 pm EST.

We are looking for observation images! Send your images to Dave Chisholm (meetingchair@ottawa.rasc.ca) or Chris Teron (chris@teron.ca) before Monday, February 1st to be included in the slides. There is only one speaker for this meeting to allow for more observations. 

The agenda for this meeting is as follows:

- Ottawa Skies - Dave Chisholm

- Space Junk - David Rogers

David has just completed his Masters Thesis at Carleton University on Space Junk (https://curve.carleton.ca/06bb4850-d725-4c1b-8b77-c53faf2332e6)

- M&M Challenge (over the 5-minute break)

- Observations

- Observing Challenges

If you are NOT presenting a talk or observation you will need to register in advance for this Zoom webinar by clicking HERE!

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you are presenting a talk or observation Chris Teron will send you your own private "Panelist" link. You do not need to register.

REMINDER:  All are welcome at our meetings.  Please forward this email to your friends and colleagues who might be interested. Clear skies!

Monthly Meeting

RASC Halifax

In lieu of a face-to-face meeting, we are hosting Members' Meetings using Zoom. You do not require a Zoom account to join in but you are required to register for this meeting. Halifax Centre Members will be given priority for registration. The meeting is limited to 100 registrants - first come, first served. The meetings are being recorded and will become accessible via a link on this website.

Members’ Meeting Agenda:

• Welcome & Members' Photo Montage
• Special Presentation: Glenn Roberts How I Fell into a Black Hole - my journey to becoming an astronomy columnist Glenn Roberts will give an informal talk about his astronomical travels from a young child gazing at the night sky while lying atop a granite mountain in central Ontario back in the 1950s to his present pursuit as a syndicated astronomy columnist. He has had the fortunate opportunity to speak before numerous groups (boy/girl scouts, seniors organizations, public sessions in PEI National Park, school groups, private night sky tours, etc.) which have certainly contributed, not only to the enjoyment of teaching others about the night sky, but also fostered a desire in him to write about the night sky (which he has now been doing for over 30 years). Join us!
• Paul Heath - Outreach/Inreach, Food for the Soul
• Wayne Harasimovitch - Fireside Chat with Uncle Wayne (Book review: "Alien Oceans") Dave Chapman will present the What's up in February?
• Paul Heath - Youth Activity
• Judy Black - News from the Board
• Astro-Chat. Following the Members' Meeting, there will be 60 minutes in which members can stay online for social time. An opportunity to catch up with each other, ask questions, etc. Join us! NOTE: This segment is informal and will not be recorded.

Visit RASC Halifax's Website HERE to find out more and register for the meeting!

The event will take place Saturday, February 6, 2020 @ 1 pm AST (12 pm EST)

DDO: Ask an Astronomer (ONLINE)

Sunday, February 7, 2021 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Join us, from the comfort of your home! Let us help you explore and understand the night sky! A DDO Astronomer will provide accurate and detailed answers to your astronomy and space-related questions in simple language using pictures, illustrations and sophisticated computer simulations during these live video meetings.

Deadline to register for this program is Friday February 5, 2021 at 3:00pm. Prior to the start of the program you will be emailed information on the virtual program links and any specific information relating to your program.

https://rascto.ca/content/ddo-ask-astronomer-online-0

Who can attend: Ages 12 and up
Fee for 15 up to 99 years old: $12.50
Tickets: ActiveRH
Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Celebrate the International Day of Women & Girls in Science

Following the Stars - No Matter Who You Are!

RASC Montreal Centre 

Come join RASC Montreal Centre for an evening of celebration of women and girls of all ages and backgrounds in science! The event will include three short talks by women currently in the field at all levels, followed by a discussion on how to encourage and help others who share the same dream.

All are welcome to this virtual Zoom event on Wednesday, February 10th, 2021 8 pm EST

Join the Zoom Event HERE!

Meeting ID: 839 7024 2423

Password: 092171

Astronomy today, Framing the future

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.

Register here to attend on Zoom, or watch live on our YouTube channel.

Speakers

Sophia Gad-Nasr is a PhD candidate in cosmology and astroparticle theory at the University of California and engages in scientific outreach on a daily basis. She runs her own blog, astropartigirl.com, writing about various topics in physics in an effort to engage the public in science and help people see that science is fun and interesting. Through science communication, she works to break down the stereotype that physics is hard and raise awareness to the difficulties women and underrepresented minorities deal with in the field.

Sara Mazrouei discovered her interest in space and astronomy at an early age, and has used her expertise gained through completing a PhD in planetary geology to share knowledge about space with the public. An advocate for women and people of colour in STEM, her hope is to relay her own passion for discovery into excitement for learning at all ages. She is currently an educational developer at Ryerson University.

Nicole Mortillaro is a senior science reporter at CBC. She has an avid interest in all things science. As an amateur astronomer, Nicole can be found looking up at the night sky appreciating the marvels of our universe. She is the editor of the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, a regular writer with SkyNews and the author of several books, including the 2021 Night Sky Almanac published with RASC.

Sarah Gallagher is the science advisor to the president of the Canadian Space Agency. Her research focuses on studying growing supermassive black holes at the centres of distant galaxies and the interactions between galaxies in crowded environments. She has over 100 refereed papers that include data from 10 different space observatories, and her research has been recognized with an Ontario Early Career Researcher Award and a Western University Faculty Scholar Award. She regularly speaks to the public of all ages about black holes and other wonders of the universe.

Observing the Moon

Anyone anywhere on Earth can see the Moon, even if you live in the biggest of cities! It’s our closest and most easily observed celestial neighbour. Join us to learn a little bit more about how to observe Earth’s only natural satellite, and where to look for extinct volcanoes, scars of recent impacts, whimsical shapes, colourful patches, and more.

Register here, or watch live on our YouTube channel!

Speaker's Night: Indigenous astronomies, stories of the sky and Indigenizing the Drake Equation (ONLINE)

with Hilding Neilson

Astronomy has been practised on the land we call North America since time immemorial and the peoples across this land had and have their own ways of understanding the sky and the Universe. In this talk, Dr. Hilding Neilson will discuss Indigenous methods of science and how sky stories reflect observations and knowledge of different peoples.

Dr. Hilding Neilson is Mi’kmaq from Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) whose work focuses on stellar and exoplanet astrophysics and on indigenizing astronomy. He earned is PhD from the University of Toronto in 2009 on Cepheid atmospheres and mass loss.

Follow Hilding Neilson on Twitter at @astrocanuck.

https://rascto.ca/content/speakers-night-online-0

Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Registration: Not required
Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Link: https://www.youtube.com/rasctoronto/live

See our past meetings on our YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/rasctoronto

Infrared Transmission and Reflection of Titan Aerosol Analogues

Presented by Ashley Walker

RASC Calgary

Saturn’s moon, Titan, is the only body in the solar system with a thick nitrogen atmosphere that may be similar to that of the Early Earth. Photochemistry in Titan’s atmosphere, composed mainly of nitrogen and methane, produces incredibly complex organic materials. The purpose of this work is to understand the composition of these organic materials through the use of laboratory atmosphere simulation experiments. The Planetary HAZE Research Chamber (PHAZER) at Johns Hopkins University operated by the Hörst Lab group has been used to simulate a variety of solar systems and exoplanet atmospheres including that of Titan. In this chamber, nitrogen and methane gases flow past cold plasma in order to create aerosols called “tholins”; experiments such as these have been used to improve our understanding of the chemistry in Titan’s atmosphere for decades. The particles generated in these experiments are deposited as thin films and then analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). FTIR provides information regarding the chemical composition and optical properties of the particles and can be compared to remote sensing observations of Titan’s atmosphere. We review and compare our spectral data to tholins from previous experiments to provide a better understanding of the habitability of Titan.

The talk will take place February 18, 2021 7:30-9:00 pm MST (9:30-11:00 pm EST)

Join the Zoom Webinar HERE! (No registration required) 

Stellarium introductory course

Monday, February 22, 2021 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM EST

Stellarium is a powerful planetarium application available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers. 

Class participants will learn how to setup the software for a specific location, date, and time. They will learn how to view the simulated sky, zoom and pan, and search for and select celestial objects. Features such as gridlines, the meridian, sky settings, and red light mode will be explored. This will provide an amateur astronomer a basic overview of the Stellarium program.

Class sizes are limited to 10 individuals. A waiting list will be kept if additional participants wish to sign up.

This training is not for the paid Stellarium app on smartphones or the Stellarium web app.

https://rascto.ca/content/stellarium-software-introductory-course

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rascto.ca/content/stellarium-training-series

Who can attend: RASC members in good standing
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Stargazers 101

Kitchener-Waterloo Centre

Come out for our astronomy meeting and learn something about the Universe.

Stargazers 101 Meeting Friday, February 26 at 7 pm EST. Online. Everyone is invited to attend.

Gerry will talk about Saturn's moon, Titan. Dr. Norm Hay - The Solar System Walks Project. Mars Rover Update. A hardware presentation (maybe) and the usual gossip about the Moon and comets.

The link will be posted here before the meeting.

DDO: Up in the Sky (ONLINE)

Saturday, February 27, 2021 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Join us, from the comfort of your home! This program provides an illustrated one-hour presentation and discussion about what exciting celestial events to look for each season. The events and phenomena will be explained using simple language, with recommendations about how best to observe and photograph them. All participating family members must be registered. Deadline to register for this program is Friday February 26, 2021 at 3:00pm. Prior to the start of the program you will be emailed information on the virtual program links and any specific information relating to your program.

https://rascto.ca/content/ddo-sky-online-0

Who can attend: Ages 6 and up
Fee for 6 up to 14 years old: $11.33
Fee for 15 or more years old: $12.80
Tickets: ActiveRH
Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

The Search for Life on Mars: From Huygens to NASA's Perseverance Rover

Presented by Dr. Richard Léveillé

RASC Montreal

With the successful landing of NASA's Perseverance Rover, part of the Mars 2020 Mission, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Montreal Centre invites you to learn more about the goals of this Mission.

Join us on Saturday, Feb 27th at 8pm EST as we explore how the scientific mission of Perseverance plans to build on previous studies of the Red Planet.

Since Christiaan Huygens published Cosmotheros in 1698, countless scientists and observers have speculated about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, in particular on Mars. Over the past 50 years numerous orbital, landed and rover missions have revealed that early Mars much different than the Red Planet we observe now.

NASA's Mars 2020 Mission, featuring the Perseverance rover, is set to search for signs of past life as it explores Jezero Crater and its ancient lake deposits, while also collecting precious samples that will be returned to Earth for more detailed scrutiny.

Register to Attend the Zoom Webinar HERE!