Legendary lunar and planetary observer Walter Haas (1917-2015) died on 2015 April 6. Haas was renowned for the skill, integrity, and intelligence he brought to the serious observation of solar-system objects. He also possessed effective organizational and leadership skills, which bore fruit in the founding and sustaining of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO, 1947-), one of the outstanding organizations fostering meaningful amateur solar-system work.

RASC President James Edgar attends historic meeting to announce funding for Canada's participation in 30 meter telescope project!

See the RASC Facebook page with the details and picture here.

Join the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on our adventure to Southern California to enjoy the culture and climate and visit the observatories!

We will have an opportunity to visit the California Space Museum, where the space shuttle Endeavour is exhibited. We will visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, from where many famous space exploration missions such as Voyager, Viking and Curiosity have been controlled. Then the piece de resistance will be to visit the two observatories in the Southern California mountains: Mount Wilson and Palomar.

2015 Board of Directors Election

Nominations Deadline: 2015 May 15

Campaign Period: 2014 May 20 - 2015 Jun 19

Election Period: 2015 Jun 20 - 2015 Jun 30

Participation on the RASC Board of Directors is a leadership experience that provides rich opportunity for personal and astronomical growth!

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is one of the most significant and longest-lived of the currently active space probes. Beyond its rich sceince harvest, its images have captured the international public's imagination like no other space telescope. In its influence on public perception it is arguably the Apollo of our age.

The RASC Board of Directors has approved in principle (subject to budget approval) the engagement of a Co-op student for the summer of 2015. The Society is seeking a Website Architect and Developer who will spearhead an initiative to update and improve all of the Society's web properties (https://rasc.ca, events.rasc.ca and secure.rasc.ca). A key responsibility will be to ensure that the Society's existing website is successfully migrated to the Drupal 7 platform.

Please submit your Centre's Activity/Financial reports here.

The deadline is February 15, 2015.

Thanks!

Visit the General Assembly page for information on this exciting annual event.
https://rasc.ca/ga/2015

Reviewer Tom Trusock, of the Cloudy Nights Web site, says about the 2015 Observer's Handbook "This book is the swiss army knife of reference books for amateur astronomy, and nearly as essential as a red flashlight and eyepieces. Just get one now and thank me later."

Acclaim for the Observer's Handbook continues to pour in, with popular reviews from Trusock, Gary Seronik, and David Eicher.