A busy summer

Hard to believe that I last posted two months ago. Time flies.

This summer, considering the long dry spell and reasonably clear sky, I've been busy astronomically. The new Trottier observatory at SFU has taken some of my time, along with a number of public astronomy events organized by both SFU and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Vancouver centre. These events, for instance "Starry Night" at SFU, the Regional Parks' Perseid Meteor shower watch in Aldergrove, Deas Island Park, and other local activities all involved the RASC and it's various volunteers.

During the last couple of months, we set up our telescopes for the public to see objects such as the Moon, the planets Saturn, Venus, and Mars, open and globular star clusters, far-away galaxies, nebulae, and exploded stars. Many thousands of people took part in these activities. The Public has a deep interest in things astronomical. It is particularly gratifying to see so many young people show up at these gatherings. It is the first step to get involved in science, because astronomy involves many disciplines (physiscs, chemistry, biology, geology, for example).

Here is a link to an article, as it appeared on the website of the RASC (http://rasc-vancouver.com/) regarding the opening of Simon Fraser University’s Trottier Observatory and Science Courtyard. It describes the manifold purposes of this great addtion to the university and the co-operation between SFU and the RASC, written by professor Howard Trottier:

http://rasc-vancouver.com/trottier-observatory-and-science-courtyard-at-sfu-wheels-up/

Many thanks are owed to the Trottier family, whose generous gift contributes so much to the scientific community.