2018 RASC General Assembly

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is a nationwide collaboration of more than 5000 people united by their passion for the sky.  It was founded in Toronto on December 1, 1868; a year after Confederation.  In 1903, Edward VII, King of England was "graciously please to grant permission to the astronomical society to adopt the title of Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.  Since the beginning of the 20th century, the RASC has continued to expand and there are 28 centres across Canada.

One of the main missions of the RASC is to provide public education and hands-on experiences.  We want as many people as possible to explore the wonder of space.  Anyone can join the society and become involved in this great mission.  A link is provided below.

https://secure.rasc.ca/Portal/Membership/RASC/Membership/JOIN_10_MemberType.aspx

The benefits of membership include a full subscription to SkyNews magazine and the RASC Journal.  An annual copy of the internationally renowned Observer's Handbook is also provided.  The membership will also provide you with access to observatory facilities you can use for your own personal tour of the sky.  Informative lectures and social events are provided several times a month and many people are there help you learn the sky.

This year we celebrated the 150th year of the founding of the Society right here in Calgary.  It was a fun filled weekend with many lectures, great food and a wonderful exchange of ideas.

Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - 150 Years

To celebrate the 150th anniversary the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a commemorative coin that contained a real meteorite.

Also, Canada Post surprised us with a commemorative stamp set created specifically to celebrate 150 great years of astronomy across our nation.  (The Calgary Centre's own Alan Dyer (http://www.amazingsky.com/) was the photographer for the beautiful aurora stamp.

Canada Post Commemorative Stamp with Alan Dyer

The stamps are photographs of the Aurora and the Milky Way with the constellations laid across them.  They are available at most post offices across the country; be sure to pick up a set!

Aurora and Milky Way Stamps

Unfortunately I missed the Friday Morning session where Dr. Robert Thirsk gave an amazing address to the delegates.  However, in the afternoon, I had the opportunity to take a class from Alan Dyer on processing nightscapes, deep-sky objects and timelapses.  This three and a half hour class was intensive and extremely useful.  I would suggest that if you have the opportunity you must take a class from Alan.  Workshops are posted on his webpage below.

http://www.amazingsky.com/

Later in the evening, Dr Fereshteh Rajabi gave an excellent talk on Dicke's Superradiance in Astrophysics.  It was wonderful to go back to my roots in Quantum Physics and see it applied to my new hobby of astronomy!  The papers she collaborated on used for the talk are on the free arXiv owned by Cornell University.  For those interested in learning more I have provided a link to all of these papers through Google Drive below.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RpIk55kJKZQxzDI68SLtpEmumy8aF01g

Although we were unable to make it the next day had poster and paper presentations throughout the greater part of the afternoon.  Members of the youth were involved in some of these posters and they were fabulous.

We joined the assembly again for dinner and I had the opportunity to sit next to our Helen Sawyer Hogg Lecturer, Emily Lakdawalla.  Emily is a planetary geologist working with the Planetary Society (http://www.planetary.org/).  She is an internationally admired space communicator who works tirelessly to share the wonder of science.  This made her a perfect fit for speaking to the RASC membership and the public of Calgary.  At dinner she spent time teaching us all the details about the moon rock I had at the table.  It was amazing to see the passion in her eyes as she performed this 'rock whispering'.  Later in the evening she taught us more about another moon rock.

Moon Rock Analysis

Many people later attended her keynote address about the Golden Age of Solar System Exploration.  We learned about missions to the planets and objects located throughout our Solar System.  Starting at Pluto and moving our way back toward Earth we learned so much about the vast frontiers we are currently pushing in the 21st century.  It inspired us to learn more about our Solar System and excited us for the many upcoming missions taking place in the near future.

Emily Lakdawalla - Keynote Speaker

The General Assembly continued through Sunday with Part 2 and 3 of "A Shared Sky: The RASC at 150".  Following later in the evening was the Banquet with keynote speaker Dr. Tanya Harrison.  Also known as "Tanya of Mars", she too is a planetary geologist who is on the science team for the Mars Opportunity Rover.  Her webpage is a must see and it is linked below.

http://tanyaofmars.com/

We unfortunately were unable to attend the Sunday session of the assembly but understand it was absolutely amazing.

Astronomy is Calgary and Canada is strong and it is my strong desire that you get involved in free local events happening each month.  Turn your eyes to the sky and see the wonder that stretches forever.