Create a Logo for CASTOR and Win!

New deadline: March 1, 2019                       All Canadians are invited to enter.

Canadian astronomers have established themselves in space-based astronomy by using space telescopes such as Hubble and Chandra. In 2003 Canada’s MOST (Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars) space telescope was launched, and now Canada is a full partner in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Hubble and Chandra are nearing the end of their lifetimes, and JWST won’t have the long lifetime of Hubble, so Canadian astronomers are already looking at what comes after JWST. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is developing WFIRST (Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope) and the European Space Agency is building Euclid.

Since both WFIRST and Euclid will operate in the infrared like JWST, ultraviolet and visible light capabilities in space will be lost when Hubble ceases operations. Because of this problem, many Canadian astronomers are supporting a proposal for a new Canadian space telescope, CASTOR, the Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and ultraviolet Research.

CASTOR is planned to have a primary mirror of a metre in diameter inside a spacecraft weighing about 500 kg. Its camera is planned to have a similar resolution to Hubble, but it would be able to cover a much larger part of the sky than Hubble. 

CASTOR would provide unique data in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum to complement data from JWST, WFIRST and Euclid, assisting in the search for dark energy. It would also challenge and stimulate Canadian industry and Canadian science.

The Canadian Space Agency is conducting a study of CASTOR that Canadian astronomers hope will lead to approval of the mission. While CSA would lead CASTOR, other space agencies would be involved, including NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, which would provide the launch vehicle.

Now Canadian astronomers are seeking a logo for CASTOR, whose name pays tribute in French to Canada’s national animal, the beaver.

All Canadians are invited to submit their designs for a CASTOR logo.

Entries can be sent before March 1, 2019, to: RASC National Office at 203-4920 Dundas St West, Toronto ON M9A 1B7 or at nationaloffice@rasc.ca

They will be judged by a panel of astronomers selected by mission scientists, RASC and FAAQ.

The winner will receive a prize of merchandise from Ingenium: Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation.

The CASTOR website is at https://www.castormission.org