RASC member and Principal Investigator of the MOST telescope project Jaymie Matthews announced at the 2007 RASC General Assembly that proposals are now being accepted from the amateur astronomy community for time on Canada's own space telescope - the MOST microsatellite.

This opportunity is intended for Canadians of all ages and backgrounds, who share curiosity and wonder for the stars - from students and science classes, to amateur astronomers, to enthusiastic skygazers - to propose ideas for scientific observations with Canada's space telescope, MOST. This is YOUR chance to participate in active research with the MOST space telescope research team!

All the tools you need to submit a proposal are available on their website at: http://most.oracology.net/. The website also features an RSS newsfeed and detailed background information that will help you to create a winning proposal. Anyone thinking about making a proposal should read up on the MOST spacecraft and understand what it can and can not do. MOST is used to measure the light coming from stars - it is a exquisitely accurate photometer. What makes MOST special is that is can observe certain stars continuously for weeks at a time. These stars must be in a certain area of the sky—MOST's Continuous Viewing Zone (CVZ). Observing proposals could observe stars to understand more about the star in general or to attempt the detection of an orbiting planet.  Many other projects are possible.

MOST is a joint project of the Canadian Space Agency, several Canadian universities and industries that recently celebrated its 4th birthday in orbit. For more details on the mission and discoveries to date check out: www.astro.ubc.ca/MOST/. For even more information on MOST, please see the December 2002 and February 2003 issues of the Journal of the RASC.