STANDING COMMITTEE FOR OBSERVATIONAL ACTIVITIES

                                                             Bulletin No. 2


It is more than a year since the establishment of a National Observing
Programme. Since that time there have been encouraging results, a few
of which are summarized below. To date, four of the eleven observing
disciplines are active in varying degrees and observations are being made
and reports sent to the National Co-ordinators.


According to records at hand, the Planetary Section, with Mr. Gaherty as
National Co-ordinator, has issued four Bulletins and a number of observing
instructions and report forms. At last count, fifteen of the sixteen
Centres have appointed representatives for Planetary work and several
Centres have started to engage in the programmes outlined by Mr. Gaherty.
Among the immediate products of the section are Jovian Central Meridian
transits which have been transmitted regularly to the Jupiter Sections of
the A.L.P.O. and the B.A.A.


Lunar work, under Mr. Thompson as National Co-ordinator, has nine Centres
reporting interest and several projects now under way. In addition to
three Bulletins issued, Mr. Thompson has prepared a series of helpful in-
structions covering such topics as sketching technique, use of selenographic
colongitude, what to observe, and several others. An early result of the
Lunar progran has been a catalogue of 95 lunar domes, confirmed and/or
suspected, which has come about as a result of co-operation between Montreal
and Toronto observers. Mr. Thompson has requested that observers in other
Centres aid in confirming these observations.


The Comet and Nova Section has also been quite active: three Bulletins and
four announcements have been issued; observations of comets Seki-Lines and
Humason have been received by the National Co-ordinator Mr. Low and an
excellent Nova search programme is functioning, largely due to the Montreal
Centre, which has been active in this work for some time. Ten Centres have
indicated an interest in the work of this Section.


The Aurora Section, with Earl Milton as National Co-ordinator, has issued
its first Bulletin and it is anticipated that this field will flourish due
to the interest which already exists in Edmonton and Montreal.


The first fruits of the National Programme were evident at the General
Assembly in Edmonton this past May when three Sections - Lunar, Planetary
and Comet and Nova, had displays showing what had been accomplished up to
that time. This, we hope, will set the trend for the displays at future
General Assemblies.


We cannot do justice here to the amount of effort expended during this first
year by the Co-ordinators in preparing programmes, bulletins and reports,
and in keeping up with correspondence. We wish to express our appreciation
of their efforts on behalf of the observers.

                                                       R. V. Ramsay,
3 Medici Court,                                      National Chairman,
Scarborough, Ontario,                Standing Committee for Observational Activities
30 October, 1962.