Jaymie Matthews, member of the Vancouver Centre and Associate Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of British Columbia was appointed to the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on February 20th. The Society congratulates Mr. Matthews, OC on this honour which was effective October 5, 2006.

The Bear and the Dog

With spring now upon us, nature is joyfully coming out of hibernation. Warmer weather settles in as animals such as the bear awaken from their winter slumber. Just like its shaggy hair cousin, the great celestial bear is up and about in northern skies. Even though it is circumpolar meaning it never sets, the Big Dipper in nicely overhead all night long.

Canis Major

Many of our nightly constellations are bright enough to be located from semi-urban areas without a problem. On the other hand, practice does make perfect when trying to spot dimmer groups such as Cancer the Crab, the Little Dipper along with other fainter shapes. However, when it comes to Canis Major – one of Orion’s hunting dogs, there is no denying as to its location in the sky.

A new newsletter is now available from the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy highlighting progress with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Thirty-Metre Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). [Ed. A cope was formerly available in the CASCA Astronomy News NOV 2006, which is no longer found].