2018-07-25 Where is Smokey the Bear when you need him?

Forest fires are raging in western Canada, with nearly 600 fires in British Columbia and northwestern Alberta. The dry conditions experienced here continued all the way down the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas. Lightning, dry conditions, and people appear to be the cause of many of these fires.

2018-06-28 to 2018-07-01 General Assembly 2018 - 150th celebration

In Calgary, Alberta, the RASC executive director Randy Attwood and RASC outgoing president Colin Haig (your author) shared more about this special 150th project with a few hundred people in attendance at the conference.

On June 30th, Paul M sent us two images taken the previous night. 

2018-05-30 Software Bug Squashed

A particularly odd software problem was traced to an operating system update. Uninstalling the update and applying the component pieces manually solved the issue.  This wasted nearly a full week tracking down the root cause.

2018-05-29 SBIG CCD Camera ordered

We got started with a borrowed SBIG STL-11000 full-frame CCD camera (thank you Stef C. !). This has helped us with testing and alignment.

2018-04-23 Management Group

Executive Director Randy Attwood, Colin H., and Paul M. started a management group to get the project rolling. 

Plate II from R.K. Young's Gnomonic Star Atlas (JRASC 1915)