Stellarium introductory course (ONLINE)

Tuesday 4 April 2023, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Mountain Time (note the time zone!)

Stellarium is a powerful planetarium application available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers.

Class participants will learn how to setup the software for a specific location, date, and time. They will learn how to view the simulated sky, zoom and pan, and search for and select celestial objects. Features such as gridlines, the meridian, sky settings, and red light mode will be explored. This will provide an amateur astronomer a basic overview of the Stellarium program.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

This training is not for the paid Stellarium app on smartphones or the Stellarium web app.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-level-1

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

Stellarium advanced course (ONLINE)

Thursday 6 April 2023

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eastern time

Stellarium is a powerful planetarium application available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers.

Participants will learn how to adjust sidereal time, view star alignments (Arc to Arcturus), filter for deep sky objects from additional catalogues, use custom landscapes create by others, and make a custom landscape using photos of ones environment. We will also explore the powerful planning features in Stellarium using the Astronomical Calculations window. This will provide an amateur astronomer a deep understanding of the Stellarium program and allow for customisation of the application.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-level-3

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

Date and time: Sunday, April 9, 12:30 - 1:00 PM EDT

Sunday Stargazing

RASC DDO & The David Dunlap Observatory

Sunday, April 9th, 12:30-1:00PM EDT, online

Safely observe the sun with us, from the comfort of your home! During these family-friendly sessions, a DDO Astronomer will answer your questions about our closest star: the sun! Learn how the sun works and how it affects our home planet. Live-streamed views of the sun through small telescopes will be included, weather permitting. Only one registration per household is required. Deadline to register for this program is Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 3p.m. Prior to the start of the program you will be emailed information on the virtual program links and any specific information relating to your program.

Register here! https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/richmondhill/activity/search/detail/85225

Stellarium Mobile introductory course (ONLINE)

date: Monday 10 April 2023 - 7:00 PM EDT start

Stellarium Mobile is a planetarium app available for iOS and Android smartphones.

Participants will learn how to setup the mobile app for a specific location, date, and time. They will learn how to view the simulated sky, zoom and pan, and search for and select celestial objects. Features such as gridlines, sky settings, and red light mode will be explored. Finding an object using the phone sensors will be demonstrated. This will provide an amateur astronomer a good understanding of Stellarium Mobile.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-mobile-plus-level-1

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

Stellarium intermediate course (ONLINE)

Thursday 13 April 2023

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eastern time (note the time zone!)

Stellarium is a powerful planetarium application available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers.

Participants will learn how to load additional catalogues, customise the application including setting up specific locations, load new comets, modify the toolbar, choose landscape textures, use stepping zooming, copy object information, configure eyepiece and camera views, and slew a telescope mount to a target. This will provide an amateur astronomer a deeper understanding of the Stellarium program.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

Class sizes are limited. A waiting list is maintained for when courses are full.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-level-2

Part of the Stellarium Training Series.

https://rasc.ca/stellarium-training

Who can attend: active RASC members
Fee: Free
Registration: Required
Organized by: RASC national office

Date and time: Saturday, April 29, 9:00 - 11:00 PM EDT, in-person at the David Dunlap Observatory

A Search for Dark Matter in the Cosmic Web - Presented by Dr. Keir Rogers

RASC DDO & The David Dunlap Observatory

Saturday, April 29, 9:00 - 11:00 PM EDT, in-person at the David Dunlap Observatory

Visit a unique historical site in Richmond Hill and experience an engaging presentation led by experts and researchers in astronomy, covering a variety of exciting astronomy topics. After the presentation, participants will tour the observatory and see a demonstration of the 74” telescope pointed to an interesting celestial object for the visitors to view (Weather Dependent). Please wear / bring appropriate supplies for being outside. A registered adult must accompany all registered participants under the age of 16. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the program start time in order to be signed in. This program runs rain or shine.

Register here: https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/richmondhill/activity/search/detail/85218

The fact that we cannot directly see four-fifths of the Universe's mass -- dark matter -- has baffled astronomers for a century. For the last half-century, the leading theory has been that there is a new, as-yet-undiscovered zoo of massive but weakly interacting particles called WIMPs. Billion-dollar experiments like the Large Hadron Collider were built to detect these particles. Despite the triumph of the Higgs boson discovery, the WIMP so far proves elusive. This has led to a paradigm shift in the search for dark matter. Dr. Rogers will discuss the consequences of this shift and the extraordinary yet compelling idea that dark matter is made of extremely light and "fuzzy" particles called axions that have wavelengths the size of the Universe. He will present state-of-the-art research searching for axions in the complex network of galaxies and inter-galactic gas that forms the cosmic web.

Dr. Rogers is a Dunlap Fellow at the University of Toronto, where his research tackles the search for elusive dark matter using observations of the cosmic web and the relic radiation from the Big Bang. He develops machine learning tools to make more powerful use of the data that we collect. Dr. Rogers grew up in the Ancient Roman capital of Britain, Colchester, where his love of human and cosmic history was kindled. He was educated at the University of Oxford and the University of London, before taking up research fellowships in the northerly cities of Stockholm, Sweden, and, latterly, Toronto.

Date and time: 2 sessions - Sunday, April 30, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM & 2:30-4:00 PM EDT

Planetarium Day

RASC DDO & The David Dunlap Observatory

2 sessions: Sunday, April 30, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM & 2:30-4:00 PM EDT, in person at the David Dunlap Observatory

Enter a Digital Portable Planetarium and take a journey through the universe led by a DDO astronomer. We’ll tour the night sky, travel through space, and see immersive full dome movies. The unscripted format will allow guests to experience a variety of topics. Ask our astronomer questions and see the answers in a planetarium setting. Please note that all guests will sit on a clean floor. A registered adult must accompany all registered participants under the age of 16.

Register using the links below!

1st session

2nd session