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April 2022

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Class

How to Get the Most from RASC's Listservs/Forums

Event Date: 
Friday, April 1, 2022 - 12:30 to 13:30 EDT

How to Get the Most from RASC's Listservs/Forums

RASC National Office

RASC’s new listserv / forum system is a hybrid system that allows a lot of flexibility for users.  However, due to that flexibility it can be somewhat intimidating for new users, and somewhat frustrating for users with a lot of experience in our old listserv system.  In order to help members get the most out of this new system, we are offering new online training sessions.

Join Outreach Coordinator, Samantha Jewett, and Executive Director, Phil Groff, as they take you through this tour of the discussion forum / listserv system, providing tips and tricks to allow you to customize your experience and master these powerful communications tools.

We will be offering this Webinar live, on three different occasions. The sessions will also be recorded and available on demand, afterwards.  Note that this is the same session offered three times, not a three session course.

Please register in advance for this Zoom webinar:

Session 1: March 2, 2022 3:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_leOZL0DTTm2ds_FoAKH1GA

Session 2: Mar 17, 2022 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0XV9AVbbSaKV0I5rPRCEZA

Session 3: Apr 1, 2022 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j5erwKXOSbSV35Zjce9qLg

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

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Meeting

RASC Ottawa: Monthly Meeting

Event Date: 
Friday, April 1, 2022 - 19:30 to 21:30 EDT

Monthly Meeting

RASC Ottawa

Be aware that the premier on-line astronomical confab in the entire Ottawa valley will happen on Friday 1 April 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Anyone looking to look out from this Earth is welcome.

Pre-register for this Zoom webinar (unless you are presenting a talk or observation) at
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9816466943410/WN_yaJK1fJgTCOw7zBOO0KRlA

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

NOTE:  If you are presenting an observation you then will be sent a unique link (from Chris Teron) to join as a panellist and do not need to register.

There may or may not be singing at this next meeting. That said, the agenda might be...

  • Mick Wilson – Introduction and absolutely nothing to do with it being my son's 21st birthday
  • Dave Chisholm - Ottawa Skies for March and no funny stuff at all
  • Dr Nicholas Castle - Mars Rover Science, Planetary Science Institute
  • BioBreak and Astro-trivia of a non-tricky form
  • Randall Rosenfeld - Astronomy and Colonialism
  • Hugo Lama - Apollo 16 Launch, 50 Year On
  • Observation Reports - rarely humorous
  • Monthly Observing Challenges - funny hah-hah if you don't get them
  • Announcements and Free Beer (and, yes, that was a joke from last month but nobody got it)
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Speaker

RASC Montreal: TRAPPIST -1 Through the Eyes of JWST

Event Date: 
Saturday, April 9, 2022 - 19:00 to 21:00 EDT

TRAPPIST - 1 Through the Eyes of JWST

Presented By Olivia Lim

RASC Montreal

The RASC Montreal Centre hosts PhD student Olivia Lim from iREx (the Institute for Research on Exoplanets) for this Free Astronomy Public Zoom Webinar on Saturday, Apr 9th at 7pm EDTRegister in advance: https://bit.ly/JWSTApr9

Seven Earth-sized rocky exoplanets are orbiting a small red star 39 light-years from our solar system, including several in the habitable zone - providing the possibility of liquid water on their surface.
Olivia Lim’s PhD research at Universite de Montreal focuses on the orbital geometry of the system. Olivia will be using the JWST to detect and possibly characterize the atmospheres of the TRAPPIST-1 planets.

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Star Party

RASC Toronto: Artemis Star Party

Event Date: 
Saturday, April 9, 2022 - 19:30 to 20:30 EDT

Artemis Star Party - Canada is going to the Moon

RASC Toronto

Saturday, April 9, 2022 - 7:30pm to 8:30pm EDT

The Canadian Space Agency is joining NASA for a return to the Moon with the Artemis mission. Unfolding over the next several years, Artemis will eventually land a human on the Moon for the first time since the early 1970's and establish a presence and base there.

Join the RASC Toronto Centre for a one-hour online event to learn more about Artemis and Canada's participation. We welcome Dr. Bhairavi Shankar, an expert in lunar science, to tell us more about the Moon. Our resident public education astronomer, Chris Vaughan, will show you how to observe and follow the Moon from your own backyard, balcony or window.

Finally, we will visit the Moon ourselves, courtesy of live views through three telescopes in three different locations (weather permitting!). See the lunar craters and mountains that inspired early telescopic explorers, the locations of the Apollo landing sites as well as the spot chosen for Artemis to touch down.

Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Registration: Not required
Organized by: RASC Toronto Centre, RASC National Society and the Canadian Space Agency
Link: https://www.youtube.com/rasctoronto/live

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Class

Stellarium advanced course

Event Date: 
Monday, April 11, 2022 - 21:30 to 23:30 EDT

Stellarium advanced course (ONLINE)

Monday 11 April 2022

7:30 PM to 9:30 PM Mountain time

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

Participants will learn how to adjust sidereal time, view star alignments (Arc to Arcturus), filter for deep sky objects from additional catalogues, use custom landscapes create by others, and make a custom landscape using photos of ones environment. We will also explore the powerful planning features in Stellarium using the Astronomical Calculations window. This will provide an amateur astronomer a deep understanding of the Stellarium program and allow for customisation of the application.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-level-3

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

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Class

Stellarium introductory course

Event Date: 
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 - 21:30 to 23:30 EDT

Stellarium introductory course (ONLINE)

Wednesday 13 April 2022, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Mountain Time. 

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.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

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

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-level-1

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

 

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Class

RASC National & RASC Montreal: Sketching the Moon

Event Date: 
Thursday, April 14, 2022 - 18:00 to 19:00 EDT

Sketching the Moon

Presented by Bettina Forget, Director of the SETI Institute’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program

RASC National & RASC Montreal

Thursday, April 14th, 2022 @ 6 pm - 7 pm EDT

Register in advance here: https://bit.ly/Craters2022

Learn how to sketch craters on the Moon! This workshop will be led by Bettina Forget, Karim Jaffer (RASC Montreal), and Samantha Jewett (RASC National). Follow along with our step-by-step tutorial, and end with your very own sketch of a lunar crater. Don't forget to share your results on social media by using the hashtag #RASCLunarSketching.

Bettina Forget's Bio:

Bettina is the Director of the SETI Institute’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program. In this capacity, she facilitates the collaboration between artists and SETI researchers, foregrounds art-science research practice, and creates opportunities to disseminate the resulting art projects to a wider audience.

She is currently a doctoral candidate in Art Education at Concordia University, Canada. Her research examines the recontextualization of art and science, and how transdisciplinary education may disrupt gender stereotypes.

Bettina’s creative work focuses on space sciences, inspired by her avid engagement with amateur astronomy. She has exhibited her artwork in the USA, Canada, Germany, Iceland, Russia, Singapore, and Nicaragua.

Born in Germany, Bettina has studied at Central St-Martins School of Art in London, England and at Curtin University in Perth, Australia and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore.

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Star Party

RASC Victoria: Artemis Star Party

Event Date: 
Saturday, April 16, 2022 - 22:00 to 23:45 EDT

Artemis Star Party: “The Artemis Missions and Canada’s future roles in Space”

RASC Victoria Centre and the Friends of the DAO

Date: Saturday, April 16th, 2022

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm Pacific Time

Guest Speaker:

      Randy Attwood

      RASC, Mississauga Centre

And more!

  • Send your photos of the Moon into our Tre”moon”dous Lunar Photo Give Away Contest
  • Try your luck in a special Moon Quiz
  • Find out how to take great photos of the Moon with your cell phone
  • Ask an Astronomer your questions with admitted selenophile, Randy Enkin, President, RASC Victoria Centre

More information, Zoom links and YouTube streaming links for our special Artemis Moon Star Party can be found on our website https://centreoftheuniverse.org/events andhttps://victoria.rasc.ca

Zoom link for Star Party April 16th:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2503633638?pwd=M3BnV3k1dnhWT3l3K3FLR1hhMHY2QT09

Meeting ID: tel:2503633638

Passcode: 06May1918

YouTube Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxdsZiQC7rE

Learn more about RASC's series of Artemis Star Parties here!

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Class

Stellarium intermediate course

Event Date: 
Monday, April 18, 2022 - 19:00 to 21:00 EDT

Stellarium intermediate course (ONLINE)

Monday 18 April 2022

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eastern time

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

Participants will learn how to load additional catalogues, customise the application including setting up specific locations, check Jupiter's Great Red Spot position, load new comets, modify the toolbar, choose landscape textures, use stepping zooming, copy object information, configure eyepiece and camera views, and slew a telescope mount to a target. This will provide an amateur astronomer a deeper understanding of the Stellarium program.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-level-2

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

 

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Speaker

RASC Mississauga: Speaker Night

Event Date: 
Friday, April 22, 2022 - 19:30 to 21:30 EDT

Astrobiology- How strange life might be?

Presented by: Dr Chris Impey Steward Observatory, University of Arizona   

RASC Mississagua

Life on Earth is found in surprising places: in high and arid deserts, on the sea floor near volcanic vents, and even deep within rock. The discovery of biological adaptation to extreme conditions makes it very likely that variations on biology will exist on moons and planets around many of the billions of Sun-like stars in the Milky Way. The talk addresses the issue of even more unusual forms of life, where the biological basis may be different or unrecognizable. 

 

BIOGRAPHY: Chris Impey is a University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. He has 210 refereed publications on observational cosmology, galaxies, and quasars, and his research has been supported by $20 million in NASA and NSF grants. He has won eleven teaching awards and has taught three online classes with over 350,000 enrolled and 5 million minutes of video lectures watched. Chris Impey is a past Vice President of the American Astronomical Society, and he has won its career Education Prize. He’s also been NSF Distinguished Teaching Scholar, Carnegie Council’s Arizona Professor of the Year, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. He has written 80 popular articles on cosmology, astrobiology and education, two textbooks, a novel called Shadow World, and nine popular science books: The Living Cosmos, How It Ends, Talking About Life, How It Began, Dreams of Other Worlds, Humble Before the Void, Beyond: The Future of Space Travel, Einstein’s Monsters: The Life and Times of Black Holes, and an upcoming book on exoplanets, Worlds Without End.

This talk will take place April 22, 2022 @ 7:30 pm EST via Zoom HERE!

 

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Class

RASC DDO: Up in the Sky

Event Date: 
Saturday, April 23, 2022 - 20:30 to 22:00 EDT

Up in the Sky

RASC Toronto & the David Dunlap Observatory

Saturday, April 23, 8:30 - 10:00 PM EDT, online

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. Only one registration per household is required. Deadline to register for this program is Wednesday April 20, 2022 at 4pm. 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.

Register here: https://ca.apm.activecommunities.com/richmondhill/Activity_Search/virtua...

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Star Party

RASC DDO: Sunday Sungazing

Event Date: 
Sunday, April 24, 2022 - 12:30 to 13:00 EDT

Sunday Sungazing

RASC Toronto & the David Dunlap Observatory

Sunday, April 24, 12:30 - 1:00 PM EDT, online

Safely observe the sun with us, from the comfort of your home! During these family-friendly sessions, a DDO Astronomer will answer your questions about our closest star: the sun! Learn how the sun works and how it affects our home planet. Live-streamed views of the sun through small telescopes will be included, weather permitting. Only one registration per household is required. Deadline to register for this program is Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 3p.m. 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.

Register here: https://ca.apm.activecommunities.com/richmondhill/Activity_Search/virtua...

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Class

IGTTG: Leo Deep Dive

Event Date: 
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 - 15:30 to 17:00 EDT

Insider's Guide to the Galaxy 

Hosted by Chris Vaughan and Samantha Jewett

A Deep Dive into Leo

We'll review the cultures that have seen a lion in the stars of Leo, highlight the astrophysics and naming of its major stars, point out other interesting variable stars, double stars, and one referenced in Star Trek! We'll also review its five Messier objects and highlight its RASC Finest NGC, Caldwell, and other showpieces. For Messier Minutes, we'll finish up the galaxies in Coma and Virgo.

rasc.ca/insidersguide

Every other Tuesday at 3:30 pm ET!

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