Category Archives: Event

Northern Prairie Star Party 2019
September 24 – 29, 2019
Black Nugget Lake

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The sixteenth annual Northern Prairie Star Party will be held at the Black Nugget Lake campground south east of Tofield from September 24 to 29, 2019. Most of our group activities will occur on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28.

This event is open to the public – registration fees apply. Camping fees apply if staying overnight.*

For more information, please review the schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) and the Northern Prairie Star Party main page.

If you need more information or have questions, please email Rick Bramm.

Saturday Afternoon Program (September 28)

1:45 pm
Project-based astronomy: a fantastic way to ignite students’ interest in science
Ian Doktor, Jasper Place High School physics and math teacher (with students)

2:45 pm
Liftoff! The Story of the First Made-In-Alberta Satellites
Callie Lissina, Project Manager, AlbertaSat, University of Alberta

3:45 pm
Solar system dynamics and the remaining outstanding puzzles in our understanding of planetary formation
Brett Gladman, Full Professor, UBC and Canada Research Chair in Planetary Astronomy

More details will be posted in the coming months.

Telescope Clinics

Are you going to NPSP and are you going to bring your telescope? Are you confused about using your telescope? Then keep reading.

More details will be posted in the coming months.

Observing Certificates

More details will be posted in the coming months.

T-Shirts

More details will be posted in the coming months.

Spectacular Prizes!!

More details will be posted in the coming months.

Interested in Donating a Prize?

If you would like to donate a prize, please email Rick Bramm.

* It is highly recommended that star party attendees who are planning to camp overnight reserve a site in the northern portion of the campground as soon as possible. Starting May 1, call the campground operator at 780-663-2421 to reserve, stating that you are attending the Northern Prairie Star Party.

If you need more information or have questions, please email Rick Bramm.

RASC Regular Meeting April 8, 2019

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RASC Regular Meeting
TELUS World of Science – Zeidler Dome
FREE and open to the public.

7:00 PM Pre-meeting mix and mingle.
7:30 PM Guest Speaker

Globular Clusters and their Weird Binary Stars

Dr. Craig Heinke                       

Globular clusters are old, dense conglomerations of stars, which are also unique physical laboratories.  The denser globular clusters have stars packed so tightly together that stars occasionally collide with each other.  More often, binary stars (pairs of stars orbiting around each other) have their orbits disrupted by other stars, leading to the replacement of one star in the binary with the intruder star and the formation of unusual binaries.   Binaries including extremely dense dead stars, like neutron stars or black holes, can produce X-ray binaries, where the dense star steals mass from its companion. As the matter spirals down from the companion to the dead star, it heats up to millions of degrees and emits X-rays, permitting us to study these exotic systems.  I will discuss what we learn from studying these unusual objects in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, from X-rays and gamma-rays to optical, infrared, and radio waves.

Astro Café
Mar 20, 2019
AstroImaging Community Café

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AstroImaging Community Café

Wednesday, Mar 20, 2018
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Windsor Park Community League Hall*
11840 87 Ave

Members Only event.

* Note: Outside shoes are not permitted inside the hall.

AstroImaging Community Café is a potluck of shorter and longer presentations by astroimagers for astroimagers! Do you enjoy taking and/or viewing pictures of the sky? Are you looking for some pointers to up your skill set or turn that “nice” shot into “calendar image!”? Maybe in the last couple of months you have 5 images, or made 4 time-lapses that are too much for the AstroImaging Corner at our Regular Meetings. Whether you take 4 minutes or want to share a 20 minute backstory for a specially composed a shot, or demo a technique others can benefit from, bring it to our community!

Visit SignUp.com to add your contribution to the self-guided potluck that is AstroImaging Community!
Continue Reading…

Astro Café
Feb 20, 2019
Astronomy Swap & Shop

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Astronomy Swap & Shop

Bring anything astronomical you’d like to sell or swap, or just come as you are and meet your fellow RASC Edmonton Centre members. Star gazers, observers, skyscape shooters, deep sky imagers, solar afficionados – all members are welcome. No matter what your skill level, there is always something you need (OK, maybe want) or something you don’t need anymore or perhaps you just want to see what’s what.

Wednesday, Feb 20, 2019
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Windsor Park Community League Hall*
11840 87 Ave

Members Only event.

* Note: Outside shoes are not permitted inside the hall.

RASC Edmonton Centre Casino
Feb 16-17, 2019

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Our next casino is on Saturday-Sunday, February 16-17, 2019 at Casino Edmonton, 7055 Argyll Rd NW. Note the location is Casino Edmonton (free parking, large volunteer room).

This is our Centre’s largest source of revenue which maintains a large part of our operational and outreach budgets, lets us purchase astronomical equipment (fine examples are in weekly use at the RASC Observatory at TWOSE) and undertake innovative projects (like the Black Nugget Lake Observatory) that bring astronomy to the general public, and helps bring fabulous speakers to Edmonton. Please help out by volunteering for a shift – it’s fairly easy work and you get fed quite nicely!

If you want to work one of the key positions, then please download and complete the Casino Volunteer Worker Application form and return to me. The key positions are: General Manager, Banker, Count Room Supervisor, Cashier. If you want to work a non-key position (Chip Runner, Count Room Worker), then just send me your shift and position preferences and cell number. I will have paper forms at Regular Meetings.

Contact email: Luca Vanzella.

Jan 20, 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse

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On Sunday evening, January 20 our closest celestial neighbour—the Moon—takes centre stage in the skies above Edmonton. Join us we observe a total lunar eclipse—the first visible to us in its entirety since 2015!

The RASC Observatory will be open, weather permitting, 5:30 p.m. until 12 midnight.

  • Access to the observatory is FREE (events inside TWOSE require admission).
  • The observatory is outdoors, so please dress accordingly for the weather.
  • Follow @EdmontonRASC on Twitter for weather and other updates.

Lunar Eclipse Times for the Edmonton Area

8:33 p.m. – Partial eclipse begins
9:41 p.m. – Total Eclipse begins
10:12 p.m. – Mid-Eclipse
10:43 p.m. – Total Eclipse ends
11:50 p.m. – Partial Eclipse ends

Astro Café
Jan 16, 2019
How to Use A Telescope

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Did you get a telescope for Christmas but you aren’t quite sure how to use it?

FREE event open to the public.

It’s a common complaint among first-time telescope owners: “I’ve got this new telescope and I can’t see a thing through it”. The aim of this Astro Café is to help you get the most out of your new telescope.

Bring your telescope to the How to Use a Telescope workshop and experts from the RASC will help you learn how to use it. Let us show you how to make the most out of your telescope. Discover how to properly set up your telescope, how to find objects in the sky, what accessories would be useful to you and how to take care of your telescope.

If skies are clear and if people are willing, they can bring their telescope outside the hall and learn how to use it under the real sky with help from expert RASC members. The Moon, Mars and Uranus will be nicely placed in the sky this evening.

Astro Café – How to Use a Telescope

Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Windsor Park Community League Hall*
11840 87 Ave

FREE event open to the public.

* Note: Outside shoes are not permitted inside the hall.