Stargazers converge on Calgary as Royal Astronomical Society of Canada celebrates milestone

Some of them own the nerd label.

"They are the most enthusiastic, nerdy, astronomy lovers you will ever meet [and] are all members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). They specialize in showing and teaching people about the sky," Phil Langill told CBC News.

He's the director of the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory and this weekend is Christmas to him, as the astronomical society converges on Calgary for its annual general assembly and to celebrate a milestone.

"The RASC is 150 years old, so I don't know if you can find a Canadian organization older than that. I think that's the one," he said.

"Every year, they have an annual general meeting somewhere in Canada. They travel around, visit each other, see what other organizations are doing so they can beat each other next year and do more cool things."

Don Kelly came from New Brunswick to attend. He's been looking up most of his life and it sustains him.

"I have been interested in astronomy since Grade 5," Kelly explained.

"My grandmother gave me a telescope in Grade 7. Over the years I have had a number of telescopes. I have a 10-inch Dobsonian that allows me to do public outreach.… I get a chance to meet with school kids, just show some of the very basic things from the sky."

Introducing someone to astronomy for the first time is a thrill, he says.

"When you can see the moons around Jupiter or the rings around Saturn, it's always a thrill. Usually people say 'Wow.' People are blown away when they see the moon through a telescope as opposed to just looking up in the sky."

And, Langill says, that's understandable.

"I am not biased or anything, but inside everybody is a little astronomer, and sometimes you have to give that little person a kick in the pants to come out. When you get together with other people who are like-minded, then your inner astronomer comes out. It's a lot of fun," Langill said.

Don Hladiuk, a regular CBC contributor, says the annual meetups can be a great way to learn new stuff, even for a seasoned veteran.

"You get so inspired when you hear what people are doing in other centres across Canada," he said.

"It just blows you away how talented and how much experience they have in observing planets or deep-sky objects. It inspires you to try some of these observations when you get home and back to your telescope."

Robyn Foret, a vice-president with the RASC, says this year's general assembly has a focus on the unrecognized.

"There are a lot of women in science and a lot of them in the past have been unrecognized, and we are recognizing that lack of recognition," Foret said.

"All of our guest speakers this weekend are women. Hopefully the young women who participate will see what they can do with science."

At the top of that list is the Helen Sawyer Hogg Public Lecture featuring Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society.

It's a free public event that goes Saturday at the University of Calgary's Science Theatre 148. It starts at 7 p.m.

The society is using an online registration to ensure the crowd size is manageable.

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