Thursday, May 5, 2016

Summer Star Parties 2016

I'm very excited to share the news that "Summer Star Parties" are back at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. All the details are on the poster below. These free events will "sell out" so be sure to reserve your tickets beforehand. They are available for reservation one week before the party date.


THE RASC VICTORIA CENTRE PRESENTS INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMY DAY 2016 on May 14

At the Royal BC Museum and the Beginning of 2016 Public Night-Sky Viewing at the Centre of the Universe
International Astronomy Day 2016 takes place in Victoria on Saturday, May 14th, with daytime activities at the Royal BC Museum from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and public telescope viewing at the National Research Council of Canada’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Centre of the Universe from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm in the evening.
Astronomy Day activities will begin at 10 am at the Royal BC Museum with solar telescopes for safely viewing the sun and the RASC’s famous “Walk among the Planets” display outside on the main concourse.
Inside Clifford Carl Hall there will be telescope, mirror grinding, astrophotography and historical displays.  RASC volunteers and Science Venture students from the University of Victoria will engage children with hands-on activities.   
There will be two lecture presentations on astronomy in the Newcombe Conference Hall, one at 1:00 p.m. and a second at 2:00 p.m. All of the Astronomy presentations, displays and workshops are free, but regular admission charges apply to the permanent galleries of the Royal BC Museum and the IMAX theatre.
The RASC’s Victoria Centre and NRC Herzberg will host evening activities for International Astronomy Day on Observatory Hill, 5071 West Saanich Rd., from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm, rain or shine.  The co-hosts will welcome visitors with tickets to Observatory Hill starting at 7:30 pm. 
The Centre of the Universe exhibits will be open and tours of the Observatory will be given every half hour.  The historic Plaskett Telescope will be open for tours, and RASC members will have personal telescopes set up for public viewing if weather permits. Astronomer Ivar Arroway will present a public lecture on the Kuiper Belt at the edge of our solar system at 8:00 pm.
Astronomy Day 2016 marks the beginning of 2016 public events at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory put on by the Victoria Centre of the RASC. Further public events at the DAO will take place this spring and summer on the following Saturday evenings: May 21 and 28, June 4 and 11, July 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, and August 6, 13 and 20.
Entry to the Observatory grounds for all public evenings in 2016, including May 14, is by ticket ONLY.   Tickets are FREE.  To obtain your entry ticket, please go to: https://summerstarparties.eventbrite.ca
The RASC Victoria Centre is proud of its history and association with both amateur and professional astronomy in Victoria and its mandate for public education in Astronomy.  Come celebrate International Astronomy Day with the RASC on May 14!
For more information please go to our website at www.victoria.rasc.ca
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 Contact person: (not for public release) Sherry Buttnor  president@victoria.rasc.ca  250-474-0554