Well 2011 for myself started off with a Bang! I should say for my daughter, Kathryn Aurora Gray it started with a Bang and for me began a ride of a lifetime. You see on January 2^nd of 2011 Kathryn discovered her first supernova, 2011lt, at the ripe old age of 10, yes 10! This would make her the youngest person to make such a discovery and would lead her on a path we could not have imagined.

My interest in Astronomy and astrophotography began 32 years ago.  I was taken by the night sky, and a special uncle and my mother provided me a small refractor.  Truth be told, I never saw a star through that telescope, save our own, but I was never the less pleased with it.  

In 2003, I was the recipient of the Bryce Heartwell Memorial Award for Excellence in Astroimaging from the Edmonton RASC. This was the same year I had this photo published as Astronomy Picture Of The Day - which was taken with an "old school" film camera (remember those?).

Aurora Over Edmonton
APOD: November 4. 2003 by Lance Taylor
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031104.html

RASCals who are using the Personal Astronomy Blog features on the National Website will now find that there is a new option under the "My Account" settings where you can give your Blog a name and also a description of your particular take on the universe. Note that Blogs are combined with your photo so to have a complete "profile" you should update all of the settings under "My Account" that you can.

Enjoy and do provide feedback at rasc.ca/contact

Choosing my top astronomical experience for 2011 is easy for me, as my wife and I spent 5 weeks in New Zealand, travelling all over, often staying in places away from large cities. The view we had of the far-southern skies almost defies description.