The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Sunshine Coast Centre
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The Royal Astronomical Society of CanadaSunshine Coast Centre |
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Welcome to the Sunshine Coast CentreLocated on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, we are the newest centre of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.next meeting & events
FRIDAY, September 10, 2010 @ 7:30 pm @ Chatelech High School / Room 119 (Sechelt) Regular Meeting Amateur Astronomer and former club member, Bill Phillips will talk about the Fourth Rock from the sun, Mars. He'll discuss the evidence for water on this small planet, its geographical features, and some of the successful Martian probes exploring its surface. This will be our next regular meeting. Note that our meetings are held on the second Friday of the month. recent news
On August 14, 2010, another highly successful Astronomy in the Park. The club info booth was busy all day and we never had a chance to look up from the club's Solar Scope as there was always someone there wanting to have a look. When things slowed down late in the afternoon we ordered up some Pizzas to refuel ourselves for the second part of the day. Bill Burnyet, from Vancouver, came up and gave our annual talk at the park amphitheatre. We don't know if we have ever seen such good attendance at the amphitheatre as this year. The place was packed with standing room only. After the talk club members had their scopes set up down by the beach for dark sky viewing. There were long lineups at the scopes and the sky was crystal clear and the air warm. The crowd thinned out at around midnight and we were packed up and out of the park by about 1 am. While we were a little short staffed in some areas the event was certainly well received by the public. Hopefully next year more members will be available to help out and join in on the fun.
You can view the photos at here.
On June 11, 2010, Mike Bradley recently gave an interesting presentation on Serendipity and its role in astronomical discoveries. You can download his presentation here. On May 28, 2010, Dr. David Helfand, head of the astronomy department at Columbia University in New York, spoke on "THE UNIVERSAL TIMEKEEPERS: Reconstructing History Atom". See pictures here.
On October 24, 2009 we celebrated Fall Astronomy Day at the Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons. See all the pictures here. On October 16, 2009, RASC President David Lane came to Sechelt and gave an interesting talk on the observatory he's built in his backyard in Nova Scotia and some of the research he's conducted into variable stars. See all the pictures here. On September 25, 2009, Dr. David Helfand, Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University in New York, and Acting President of Quest University Canada in Squamish, spoke on "Global Warming: What We Really Know, and Don't Know, About Climate Change" at the Roberts Creek Hall. See all the pictures here. On August 29, 2009, we held our 5th annual Astronomy in the Park event on a perfect day at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park. We attracted numerous campers and other visitors, giving away almost 100 star finders while entertaining the kids with a reading, trading cards, etc. Our two new solar scopes were kept very busy. See all the pictures here. On July 1, 2009, we were in the Canada Day parade in Sechelt. Our float consisted of a 20-foot replica of Galileo's 1609 telescope as well as Gary Little dressed as Galileo and Bruce Fryer as Isaac Newton. See all the pictures here. On June 19, 2009, Mike Bradley gave an excellent presentation on the life and accomplishments of Galileo Galilei. You can download his presentation here.
We are a member of the Coast Cultural Alliance. The CCA, founded in 1998, is a network of arts, cultural & heritage groups and individuals working to enhance the economic vitality of the Sunshine Coast through the cultural sector producing a daily interactive website, a weekly e-newsletter, a monthly printed calendar, a monthly coffeehouse & the yearly Purple Banner Studio & Gallery Guide.
clear sky clock Click here to go to the Sechelt Clear Sky Clock at the bottom of this page. Use the links on the sidebar at the left to explore all areas of this Web site. |
On April 30, 2010 the Mission Scientist for the Canadian Spacy Agency's MOST project, Dr. Jaymie Matthews, gave a fascinating two-hour presentation on The real science of real exoplanets — all about the discovery of planets outside our own solar system and how those discoveries are made. See pictures 
On April 24, 2010 we celebrated Astronomy Day at the Trail Bay Mall in Sechelt. See pictures 
On March 27, 2010 we organized a top-notch event to celebrate Earth Hour 2010. About 200 people showed up — including 30 children with their custom-made lanterns — to enjoy music, dancing, telescopes, etc. Mayor Darren Inkster of Sechelt was on hand to throw the giant switch to turn off the lights at 8:30 pm. See pictures 
On May 29, 2009 we were awarded a grant of $2,000 for the purpose of purchasing a Solar Scope Assembly for the Club. The grant comes from the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation and we thank them for their support.