Join us on Friday, May 13, starting at 7:30 PM EDT, as we welcome Montreal RASC amateur astronomer Karim Jaffer will give a presentation on “Two-Eyed Seeing and the Indigenous Perspective“.

Karim has been the Public Events Coordinator for the RASC Montreal Centre since 2016, helping re-establish the I.K.Williamson Astronomy Library and coordinating both public events and outreach activities throughout the Montreal area, cultivating partnerships with the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, the Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx), the Cosmodome, AstroRadio.Earth, Student Astronomy clubs from other post-secondary institutions, and many local amateur astronomy groups. Karim is a member of the RASC National Education and Public Outreach Committee, an Explore Alliance Ambassador, and has recently joined the Lowbrows Astronomical Society and the Astronomical League.

Join us on Friday, April 8th, starting at 7:30 PM EDT, as we welcome Pittsburgh Pennsylvania amateur astronomer Larry McHenry, who will give a presentation on “Observing the Moon for Beginners”, an introduction to our nearest neighbor in the Solar System. 

Larry McHenry has been active in amateur astronomy for over 40 years, and is a member of the Kiski Astronomers, and the Oil Region Astronomical Society (ORAS) in Southwestern Pennsylvania. You can learn more about Larry’s astronomical interests online at his webportal: http://www.stellar-journeys.org/.

The latest issue of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon newsletter is now available for download!

In this issue you’ll find…

• HAA Explorers
• The Sky This Month for March 2022
• What’s Up in Awards? March-April 2022
• An Astronomical Romance
• Earth Grazing Eclipses – I
• Universal Complexity – Part 2
• NASA Night Sky Notes
• Plus More

Download the latest issue or visit the newsletters section for past issues.

Photo credit: Fox Fur and Cone Nebulas in Monoceros, by Rich and Rosemary Kelsch

How do you get the most of a night under the stars? How do you make sure you never run out of things to explore? If you’re looking to broaden your stargazing experience, having a specific set of goals is the way to go. That’s why so many astronomical organizations have observing programs. In this talk on Friday March 11 at 7:30 PM, author and astronomer John A. Read will discuss three programs, common among these organizations: Explore the Universe, Explore the Moon, and the Messier objects. He’s written several books with the goal of simplifying the stargazing experience. 110 Things to See with a Telescope, 50 Things to See on the Moon, and Learn To Stargaze – No Telescope Required (coming summer 2022). With the use of these simple guides, you’ll be accomplishing your stargazing goals before you know it.

Join us online this Friday February 11 at 7:30 PM EST as we feature several fantastic guest speakers on our agenda!

We have our very own Jo Ann Salci and John Gauvreau with John Hlynialuk of the Bluewater Astronomical Society speaking about their ‘Love of Astronomy’ moments as well as Brett Tatton speaking about his Bowling Ball Telescope. You won’t want to miss out!

The latest issue of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon newsletter is now available for download!

In this issue you’ll find…

• HAA Explorers
• The Sky This Month for February 2022
• What’s Up in Awards? February-March 2022
• Confirmation of the First Exo-Moon
• Universal Complexity
• NASA Night Sky Notes
• Plus More

Download the latest issue or visit the newsletters section for past issues.

Photo credit: Globular cluster M13, by Peter Wolsley

Peek-a-boo: The Value of Astronomical Occultations

Join us online this Friday January 14 at 7:30 PM EST as we welcome Dr. Paul Delaney and his presentation “Peek-a-boo: The Value of Astronomical Occultations”.

As amateur astronomers, there are countless ways that your observations are invaluable to the pursuit if our understanding of the universe. Planetary and stellar occultations can provide us with insights into orbital parameters, dimensions and thus object shape, the presence of rings and atmospheres, etc. This talk will highlight some of the more famous occultation observations of the past while revealing how just a little time and effort can be both scientifically rewarding and personally very satisfying.

Join us this Friday December 10th as we welcome Bill Burnyeat Program Manager from Canadian Planetariums, as he discusses “The First Astronomers”.

“Today’s highly complex and mathematical astronomy, an outcome of modern society, is often seen as distinct from folk tales, star myths and the astronomical notions found in traditional society or historically remote epochs. Although some of these “perspectives” are mentioned, from time to time, the impression is given that only modern western based astronomy has any traction in reality and that the astronomy of other peoples and epochs are “just” fairy tales. 

“What is missing from this simplistic model is the marked continuity that is evident from the earliest notions of the sky, leading, in ever increasing steps, to the current picture of the cosmos based on technical tools and astrophysical insights. The first notion, encountered in the earliest astronomy is a division, both of time and space, which leads to an increasing set of subdivisions, as the sky becomes networked by horizon and then meridian based subunits. The constellations are one example. As divisions become more general, and complex, as in the Astrology of Chaucer’s time, the very units used to make these divisions take on a life of their own and become a set of commonly held values that help organize life in the community. 

Join us this Friday November 12 for our November members meeting. This month we have Simon Poole who will discuss “The voyages of Nicolas de Lacaille”, the 18th century French astronomer who catalogued almost 10,000 southern stars and named 14 southern constellations, including Fornax, Mensa, Octans, Pictor and Telescopium. 

Simon was a first VP of the RASC (and president of the Calgary Centre) and an advocate of outreach and inclusion in astronomy.

Join us this Friday for our October members meeting. This month we have an exciting guest speaker that you won’t want to miss – astronomer Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, who is currently in residence at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.

Dr. Rousseau-Nepton is the principal investigator for SIGNALS, the Star formation, Ionized Gas and Nebular Abundances Legacy Survey, a very ambitious project which is exploring 50,000 star forming regions in nearby galaxies, the largest and most comprehensive database of these regions ever assembled.  This is an extraordinary opportunity to hear from a remarkable scientist and an evening not to be missed!

And of course, we will also have an installment of The Sky This Month, with Matthew Mannering to guide us through the October sky.  

And as always we will have door prizes to hand out for club members!

This is also our annual general meeting and we will conclude the meeting by introducing the upcoming year’s council and providing some info on the club’s accomplishments of the past year.

This will be an online Zoom meeting and all members are invited to join in and enjoy the presentations. Alternatively you can view it on our YouTube channel here.

We hope to “see” you there!