RASC—Eyes on the Universe for 150 Years

Opening event

The National Star Party! 2018 January 27

The celebration of the RASC's sesquicentennial begins on 27 January, 2018. The RASC 2018 Working Group has been organizing a cross-country Star Party that combines solar and lunar observing, and local Centre exhibits and displays, as well as many other festive events starting on the Atlantic coast, and reaching westwards (and of course northwards) to encompass many of our Centres, and thus our membership. Unattached members will also be involved. We invite everyone from all corners of Canada to join us for this Opening Event!

Starting at 3 PM in Atlantic Canada, and then as each Canadian time zone reaches 3 PM local time, RASC Centres will join the internet gathering.  We will link and showcase the activities of each Centre’s Star Party via Google Hangouts, and the link will be shared publically, allowing anyone in Canada to witness the Sun, Moon, and the local celebrations. The the public link can be found here!

Towards 5 PM EST we will provide 3 minutes of time per Centre starting on the Atlantic coast and again working westwards to send greetings across the country to all astronomy enthusiasts. We will intersperse these messages with pre-recorded messages from prominent figures in the astronomical world.

By 6:00 PM EST all Centres who wish to join the Star Party will be active and online. At 6:15 PM EST the president of the RASC will deliver greetings, and announce officially the commencement of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the RASC. The cross country link-up concludes at 8 PM EST.

If you have any questions or suggestions concerning the Opening Event, please feel free to contact Paul Delaney (pdelaney <at> yorku.ca).