BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – Mississauga Centre - ECPv6.15.11//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – Mississauga Centre X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://rasc.optunia.me X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – Mississauga Centre REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Toronto BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20220313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20221106T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20230312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20231105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20250110T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20250110T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132854 CREATED:20250101T143429Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250108T012909Z UID:4278-1736539200-1736546400@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri - January DESCRIPTION:Various talks by our members:\nWendy Belcher – Travel story \nEgypt and the stars \nAnagha Samaga – Calculating the age of the universe! \nA layman’s guide to calculating the age of the universe using nothing but Excel and the InternetElijah D’Souza – York University Visit \nRagav Dewett \n“Kahoot: Put your knowledge of night sky and space facts to test in a MCQ format trivia and learn something new.Smartphones & Internet connection required” URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-2/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20241206T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20241206T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240828T135145Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241203T193307Z UID:4042-1733515200-1733522400@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:December Potpourri Meeting DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – various talks by members\nSwapna Shrivastava – Ireland from the perspective of the Neolithic and Star Wars Mayank Ghai – Wind tunnels: Wind Engineering giving wings to fly Dennis Gasparotto – Dwarf Galaxies: The mystery of Leo Dwarf Galaxy \nHoliday Celebration with Moon cookies and more! \nRyan Zhu (Svbony) & Kevin and Noor (Telescopes Canada) – The Svbony telescope donation & telescope equipment discussion URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/december-potpourri-meeting/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20241122T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20241122T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20241104T170404Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241124T184817Z UID:4169-1732305600-1732312800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Speaker Night: Asteroids and Spacecraft Missions to Asteroids DESCRIPTION:Talk Synopsis\nInterest in spacecraft missions to asteroids has been steadily increasing in recent years. The talk will start with an introduction to the fundamental characteristics of asteroids and the reasons behind the current interest. This will be followed by a description of the past and current asteroid missions. One of the necessary elements in designing an asteroid mission is the understanding of the dynamical behaviour of the spacecraft in the vicinity of the asteroid. This behaviour can be quite complex and sometimes very different from that around a large body such as the Earth or another planet. This is so because the highly irregular shape of an asteroid along with its rotational state can lead to a gravitational field that can be significantly different from the standard inverse square field. A brief discussion of the dynamics of a spacecraft orbiting either a single asteroid or a binary asteroid system will be presented. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bio:  Prof. Arun K. Misra is currently the Thomas Workman Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering as well as a member of the Institute for Aerospace Engineering at McGill University in Montreal. His research interests are in the areas of spacecraft dynamics and control\, tethered satellites\, space debris and space robotics. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as well as of the American Astronautical Society (AAS). He has been elected to the International Academy of Astronautics and to the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is a Co-Editor of the international journal Acta Astronautica. He has received several awards such as the Dirk Brouwer Award of the American Astronautical Society and the Distinguished Service Award of the International Astronautical Federation. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Banner Credit:  NASA URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/speaker-night-asteroids-and-spacecraft-missions-to-asteroids/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/banner_asteroid_missions.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20241108T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20241108T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240828T134855Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241031T225137Z UID:4036-1731096000-1731103200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:November Potpourri DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting \nUTM student talks:\nJoseph Tang:  Searching for Stellar Streams with 10 Million Stars in the Milky Way \nAlyssa Atkinson: Very Long Baseline Interferometry Timing for Localizations \nMember talks:\nDalisay Perez: Northern Lights from an airplane \nKeith Jarvie and Fred Benedikt: Light Pollution Abatement – As Easy as a Walk in the Park?  URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/november-potpourri/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20241018T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20241018T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240919T231016Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241104T170032Z UID:4075-1729281600-1729288800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:In the footsteps of Edmond Halley - Dan Falk DESCRIPTION:Talk Synopsis\nHalley’s Comet has become so well known that it overshadows the English astronomer’s other work — but Edmond Halley (1656-1742) made important contributions to many branches of science. He worked out the size and shape of the Earth\, as well as the size of the solar system; he mapped the Earth’s magnetic field\, and studied the tides and monsoons; he tried to solve the problem of measuring longitude at sea; he predicted eclipses. And he was no couch potato: Halley sailed to St. Helena\, a remote island in the South Atlantic\, to chart the southern stars. On a recent visit to England\, Dan Falk walked in Halley’s footsteps in an effort to learn more about his life and legacy. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bio:  Dan Falk is a science journalist and author with a particular interest in astronomy and physics. His freelance writing credits include Smithsonian\, Scientific American\, New Scientist\, Discover\, Undark\, Nautilus\, Quanta\, and many other publications. He’s the author of three popular science books: The Science of Shakespeare\, In Search of Time\, and Universe on a T-Shirt. He’s also worked extensively in radio\, and co-hosts a podcast called BookLab\, which reviews popular science books. As well\, asteroid “20039 Danfalk” is named after him. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Banner Credit:  Edmond Halley – Public domain image -wikimedia.com; Comet: March 8\, 1986 by W. Liller\, Easter Island; Wikipedia URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/in-the-footsteps-of-edmond-halley-dan-falk/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/banner_oct_18_2024_halley.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20241008T073000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20241008T210000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240424T013723Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240424T015909Z UID:3635-1728372600-1728421200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-10/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/starparty_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20241004T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20241004T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240828T134557Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240930T180626Z UID:4029-1728072000-1728079200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:October Potpourri DESCRIPTION:Raghav:  Building a Dobsonion base (15 mins) \nDavid: Yerkes Observatory (15mins) \nPurvesh Dev: Common myths in astronomy \nRaghav: Kahoot (15-20 mins) URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/october-potpourri/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240920T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240920T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240819T004429Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240904T131925Z UID:4009-1726862400-1726869600@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Climate conditions on Mars - Alex Innanen. PhD Candidate. York University DESCRIPTION:Talk Synopsis\nMartian methane has been an intriguing mystery since its first detection 20 years ago. Since then\, we’ve uncovered a seasonal cycle and seen occasional methane plumes\, however the origins of this gas remain unclear. We can study methane here on Earth to learn about how it might behave on Mars\, and to figure out how to study it on the red planet. This talk will give a history of methane detection on Mars\, the questions that still need to be answered\, and how spending three weeks in the Canadian arctic might help us answer some of these questions. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bio: Alex is a planetary scientist completing their PhD at York University studying the martian atmosphere. They are a collaborator on the Curiosity rover and take part in science operations planning as well as being a lead on the environmental science team. Alex has also been helping to develop an instrument which will study the origins of mysterious Martian methane. In addition to their studies\, Alex is a member of the organising committee for ComSciConCAN\, a science communication workshop for Canadian graduate students. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Banner Credit: https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/the-deep-mars-colony-93c2290d5733 URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/climate-conditions-on-mars/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/mars_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240910T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240910T213000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240424T013554Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240424T013806Z UID:3633-1725998400-1726003800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-9/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240906T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240906T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240828T134328Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240902T224046Z UID:4026-1725652800-1725660000@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:September Potpourri DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – various talks by members\n  \nRandy Attwood: Canada’s First Astronaut – 40 year anniversary \nOn October 5\, 1984\, Marc Garneau became Canada’s first space traveler when he was launched on the Space Shuttle Challenger during the 13th Space Shuttle mission\, STS 41-G. Randy will show some pictures of the event to celebrate this special anniversary.\nChris Malicki: A solar system project in Anstruther\, Scotland \nSwapna Shrivastava: My experience with my new telescope: the Seestar S-50\nSmart All-In-One APO Telescope \nKeith Jarvie: Starfest experience URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/september-potpourri/ LOCATION:DV2080 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240816T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240816T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240605T153943Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240813T151354Z UID:3917-1723838400-1723845600@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:August Potpourri DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – various talks by members\n\nRizkallah Botros – First observations to successful astrophotography from an aspiring astrophysicist\nRaghav Dewett – Starfest 2024 highlights and A two wheeled journey to Aurora\nStarfest talks from various members  URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/august-potpourri/ LOCATION:UTM Davis (DV) 3140 CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240813T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240813T223000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240424T013341Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240424T013454Z UID:3631-1723582800-1723588200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-8/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240719T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240719T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240605T153804Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240701T154431Z UID:3912-1721419200-1721426400@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:July Potpourri DESCRIPTION:Kirby: update on dark sky observing sites for the Centre\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n John and Leslie: Starfest 2024\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Randy: a talk on the 55th anniversary of the Apollo mission.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Raghav: Trivia quiz using Kahoot (requires smartphones) URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/july-potpourri/ LOCATION:UTM IB 120\, Instructional Centre\,\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5L 1J7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240717T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240717T223000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240424T013052Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240717T175534Z UID:3629-1721250000-1721255400@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nWe’re a GO FOR TONIGHT (WEDNESDAY)!\n\nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-7/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240621T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240621T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240515T223749Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240605T153154Z UID:3726-1719000000-1719007200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:To Bennu and back: The OSIRIS-REx mission and the significance to Canada DESCRIPTION:Talk Synopsis\nThe OSIRIS-REx mission is a NASA-lead mission to a carbonaceous Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu and return the sample back to Earth in September 2023. An extended mission will take the spacecraft into orbit around near-Earth asteroid Apophis in 2029. OSIRIS-REx was launched on September 8\, 2016 and rendezvoused with Bennu on December 3\, 2018. It then spent a significant time analyzing the surface of the asteroid\, which several instruments\, including OLA a Canadian instrument. On October 20\, 2020 OSIRIS-REx touched down on Bennu and successfully collected a sample. As part of Canada’s contribution to the mission\, it will receive 4% of the returned mass\, for which we are actively preparing for. As the initial letter in the acronym OSIRIS-REx signifies one of the core mission objectives is to return a sample of an asteroid to help us better understand the origins not only of the solar system but perhaps also ourselves. The material returned is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the solar system\, its initial stages of planet formation\, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bio: Dr. Tait is the Senior Curator of Mineralogy and oversees all the collections and research programmes related to meteorite\, gem\, mineral and petrology at ROM. She is also a cross-appointed Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto. Dr. Tait started studying geology at the University of Manitoba\, and although many aspects of geology interested her\, her second-year mineralogy course stuck out as her favorite. It gave her the opportunity to learn about different types of minerals\, how to identify them\, and the chemical formulas that apply to each of them. She leads a research program employing diffraction and spectroscopy to characterize phosphate and phosphide minerals and analog synthetic phases at ambient and extreme conditions in terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials. Her program currently has a strong focus on Martian meteorites\, but she is interested in rare achondrites and lunar samples. She is a member of the Mars Sample Return Campaign group\, a joint NASA-ESA group which is planning for the return of Mars samples in the 2030s. She is also a co-investigator on the science team for the Canadian instrument OLA on the OSIRIS-REx mission. \nPhoto credit: ROM/Paul Eekhoff \nBanner Credit: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/osiris-rex.html URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/to-bennu-and-back-the-osiris-rex-mission-and-the-significance-to-canada/ LOCATION:UTM Davis (DV) 3140 CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/osirus_rex.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240618T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240618T223000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240424T012342Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240618T155709Z UID:3627-1718701200-1718749800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-6/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/polaris_double_star.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240607T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240607T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240602T180301Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240608T004458Z UID:3897-1717790400-1717797600@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:June Potpourri DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – various talks by members\n\n2023 Astrophotography Contest\nAurora Chasing\nAurora Photos\nPlanning your astronomy sessions. URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri/ LOCATION:UTM IB 120\, Instructional Centre\,\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5L 1J7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/potpourri_meeting_banner.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240524T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240524T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240311T212618Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240321T192305Z UID:3539-1716580800-1716588000@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Speaker Night - John E. Moores - Our Celestial Rosetta Stone DESCRIPTION:JOHN E MOORES\, York University\nOur Celestial Rosetta Stone:Exploring our Family of Planets to Understand Processes Across the Cosmos \nIn the past 30 years\, telescopes in space and on the ground have discovered thousands of extrasolar planets\, providing us with a representative sample of the worlds that orbit other stars in our galaxy for the first time. However\, our knowledge of these planets is limited to no more than a few datapoints for each one by the vast distances that separates us. Yet\, though these places live mainly in our mind’s eye\, we can construct remarkably accurate pictures of the processes which dominate their environments. We can do this because of our understanding of planetary processes that we have gained through 62 years of robotic solar system exploration. This hard-won experience\, like a celestial Rosetta Stone\, allows us to translate our sparse information about the exoplanetary realm into the language of our familiar solar family of planets. However\, unlike the famous artifact\, we can still write new chapters to the translation. Exoplanets tell us about the full diversity of worlds and their circumstances while robotic space exploration missions consider a single representative world from that set up close. Thus\, exoplanetary astronomy and solar system exploration are disciplines in dialogue. By deeply interrogating our nearest neighbors we can expand our understanding of planets everywhere. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n John E Moores is the York Research Chair in Space Exploration and the Director of the Technologies for Exo/Planetary Science NSERC CREATE. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars\, Artists and Scientists and the recipient of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute’s 2022 McCurdy Award. John holds a B.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Planetary Science. An author on nearly 80 peer reviewed publications in planetary science\, John has also been a member of five NASA and ESA-led space mission teams. The contributions of his research group to robotic space exploration have been recognized with sixteen NASA group achievement awards. His first popular science book\, Daydreaming in the Solar System\, co-authored with colleague Jesse Rogerson\, will be published by the MIT Press in October. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This will be an in-person meeting only. \nPhoto by Shakeel Anwar \n  URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/speaker-night-john-e-moores/ LOCATION:DV3130 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/saturn_jupiter_shakeel.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240514T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240514T223000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240424T011838Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240515T190604Z UID:3621-1715677200-1715725800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nWEDNESDAY – IT’S A GO! We will also have a table with monitors showing recent eclipse and aurora images! \nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-5/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Riverwood-Aug-28.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240510T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240510T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240311T212418Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240410T175536Z UID:3535-1715371200-1715378400@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri Meeting DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – Eclipse Experiences by members\nWe’ll have a number of short talks by members relating their eclipse travel experiences! \nThere will be snacks at the break. URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-meeting-26/ LOCATION:UTM Davis (DV) 3140 CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/rasc_logo_mississauga.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240426T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240426T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240311T212139Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240422T020822Z UID:3528-1714161600-1714168800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Speaker Night - Jellyfish in the Sky: Ram-Pressure Stripping in Galaxy Clusters DESCRIPTION:Jellyfish in the Sky: Ram-Pressure Stripping in Galaxy Clusters\n\nGalaxies are shaped by the environments around them\, resulting in an infinite variety of shapes\, colors\, and dynamics.  Galaxy clusters are one of the most extreme environments in the universe\, whose member galaxies are transformed by the cluster as they fall into its gravitational field. When encountering these dense environments\, interactions with hot gas between members of a cluster can push gas out of a galaxy in a process called ram-pressure stripping\, which results in a metamorphosis into a jellyfish galaxy before shutting off star formation. Jellyfish galaxies keep their stars and dark matter untouched\, but the gas is pulled away from the galaxy resulting in a morphology similar to jellyfish tentacles – beautifully marking the transition between an isolated galaxy and a member of a cluster. This talk will discuss the processes surrounding ram pressure stripping and the dance of galaxies\, dark matter\, and intra-cluster gas\, and will include an interpretive dance performance! \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bio: Dr. Leo Yvonne Alcorn is a postdoctoral researcher at the David A Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at University of Toronto and received her doctorate from Texas A&M University in 2019. Her research focuses on all aspects of galaxy clusters\, but particularly the effects of the cluster environment on the properties of their member galaxies. She is expanding her areas of expertise into astronomical pedagogy and the relationship between astronomy and speculative fiction. In her free time\, she screams into the abyss of the night sky\, reads and writes tomes of horror and wonder (she is a cosmic horror fiction enthusiast)\, and dutifully serves her two feline companions\, Eris and Kobu. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This will be an in-person meeting only but will be available on our website a few days later. URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/jellyfish-in-the-sky-ram-pressure-stripping-in-galaxy-clusters/ LOCATION:UTM Davis (DV) 3140 CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/galaxy_shape.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240416T203000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240416T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20231101T134153Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240207T193451Z UID:3142-1713299400-1713304800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Riverwood Star Party DESCRIPTION:Public Star Party at The Riverwood Conservancy \nPlease register on the Riverwood website URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/riverwood-star-party-4/ LOCATION:Riverwood Park\, Mississauga\, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane\, Mississauga\, Ontario\, L5C 2S7\, Canada CATEGORIES:Star Party ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Riverwood-Aug-28.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240412T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240412T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240311T211900Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240412T191658Z UID:3523-1712952000-1712959200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri Meeting DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – Special Eclipse Recap by members\n***** NOTE ROOM CHANGE TO DV2072 ***** \nThis meeting will feature a number of reports from members on their total solar eclipse experiences. \nThere will be snacks at the break! \n  URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-meeting-25/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240322T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240322T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240227T210440Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240311T211329Z UID:3432-1711137600-1711144800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Speaker Event - Astrosleuthing an Aurora: Robin Metcalfe DESCRIPTION:Historical records as old as the first millennium BCE contain reports of mysterious glowing lights in the night sky\, some of which have been attributed to aurorae. But how do we know that celestial phenomena described vaguely as an “unusual red glow”\, “a pre-dawn rainbow” or “a five-coloured light” can definitively be connected to auroral activity? In this talk\, I will explain the science behind the production of an aurora – from its origins at the Sun’s surface to the light show in Earth’s atmosphere – and in the process we will see how the evidence left behind by an aurora can be used to sleuth out its connection to ancient records.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bio: Robin Metcalfe is a professor in the Division of Natural Science at York University\, where she has been teaching physics and astronomy courses for over 20 years. Robin’s PhD research pertained to extragalactic astronomy but her current interests are in the search for life beyond Earth and the implications of such a discovery on humanity. Through her teaching\, Robin shares her passion for the night sky and the outdoors. She teaches students to appreciate what the night sky has to teach us\, to gain perspective from our place in the Universe\, and to value our precious planet Earth. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This will be an in-person meeting only. URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/speaker-event-astrosleuthing-an-aurora/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Aurora_banner_2.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240308T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240308T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240207T193800Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240304T160743Z UID:3417-1709928000-1709935200@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri Meeting DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – various talks by members\n\nGetting Ready For the Solar Eclipse – Randy Attwood – This talk will review a few things we can do to get ready for a solar eclipse.  This is a talk mainly directed at those who will be seeing their first total solar eclipse.\nA Book review: The Origin of Time\, Stephen Hawkings Final Theory by Thomas Hertog – Reviewed by David Maynard\nSolar filters – Allan\n2017 eclipse journey – Shakeel Anwar\nInteractive component – Centre’s Solar scope demo – Shakeel Anwar\nIntro to Astrophotography course– Dennis Gasparotto URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-meeting-24/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MRASC-COLOUR-250.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240223T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240223T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240207T191335Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240219T211449Z UID:3410-1708718400-1708725600@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Speaker Night / Annual General Meeting DESCRIPTION:A short presentation followed by the Centre’s 2023 Annual General Meeting \nSpeaker : Randy Attwood\, President\, Mississauga Centre \nTopic: Some recent solar eclipses. \nWith the April 8 solar eclipse fast approaching\, the speaker will look back at some past solar eclipse many RASC members have witnessed. \nAnnual General Meeting – Members can download the Agenda\, Financial information\, 2022 AGM minutes\, 2024 Council Slate and Secretary’s Report here:  MRASC AGM 2023 Meeting  (Members only – password required) \nZoom info\nMeeting Link \nMeeting ID:  889 0586 7458 URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/speaker-night-annual-general-meeting/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/230623142359-05-solar-eclipse-2017-file-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240209T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240209T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240112T162913Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240205T181001Z UID:3391-1707508800-1707516000@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri Meeting DESCRIPTION:Dr Chris Malicki  “Observing the flash spectrum at a solar eclipse”    \nRon Macnaughton     “How Ancients Predicted Eclipses”. It describes patterns observed by Babylonians and Greeks\, with comments on modern techniques. \nMatteo Statti   I have put together a presentation about the Antique Telescope Society Convention I attended in Italy in October. \nJohn Marchese   An update on the Centre’s Solar Eclipse Group’s plans to drive to the US to see the eclipse URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-meeting-23/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/230623142359-05-solar-eclipse-2017-file-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240126T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240126T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20231013T132411Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240122T233625Z UID:3107-1706299200-1706306400@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:The Search for Life on Mars: NASA's Perseverance Rover Mission DESCRIPTION:The Search for Life on Mars: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Mission\nThe talk will provide an overview of the goals of the NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission\, progress thus far\, and plans for returning samples from Mars. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Short Biography of Chris Herd \nChristopher (Chris) Herd has had the dream of studying rocks from Mars since the age of 13. After an undergraduate degree in Geological Sciences from Queen’s University in Kingston\, Canada\, he studied meteorites from Mars for his PhD at the University of New Mexico\, and then worked at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Since 2003 he has been a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta. His research includes studies of meteorites of a variety of types\, as well as ways of curating meteorites and future returned samples under cold and clean conditions. He is the curator of the University of Alberta Meteorite Collection—the largest university-based meteorite collection in Canada\, and home to the world’s only meteorite curation facility that operates at cold temperatures. He is a Returned Sample Science participating scientist in the Perseverance rover mission.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This is an in-person meeting at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Dr. Herd will be joining us via ZOOM. URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/the-search-for-life-on-mars-nasas-perseverance-rover-mission/ LOCATION:DV2072 William Davis Building UTM CATEGORIES:Speaker Night ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/search_for_live_mars.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20240112T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20240112T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20240106T215706Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240112T154820Z UID:3339-1705089600-1705096800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri Meeting DESCRIPTION:Meeting cancelled due to inclement weather. URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-meeting-22/ LOCATION:UTM Davis (DV) 3140 CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/230623142359-05-solar-eclipse-2017-file-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20231208T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20231208T220000 DTSTAMP:20260419T132855 CREATED:20230812T153411Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231206T214451Z UID:3021-1702065600-1702072800@rasc.optunia.me SUMMARY:Potpourri Meeting Friday December 8 DESCRIPTION:Potpourri Meeting – various talks by members\n Talk information to come\n Location information to come \n ZOOM link to come   URL:https://rasc.optunia.me/event/potpourri-meeting-friday-december-8/ CATEGORIES:Potpourri Meeting ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://rasc.optunia.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MASLOGOOVAL-RASC.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR