May 2016 Meeting
By Ed Mizzi
The May meeting was
another “Blockbuster” event, with several special announcements and two, yes, TWO guest speakers!
Gary Bennett welcomed everyone, presented a breakdown of the meeting agenda and then introduced Bob Prociuk. Bob is in charge of memberships and indicated that our numbers are very healthy and stable.
Andy Blanchard was next. He spoke about CAPS (Canadian Astrophotography School) taking place alongside AstroCATS and the National
GA. He was excited to inform us about the special teachers who will be sharing their wealth of knowledge and skills with students of all levels. He also talked about AstroCATS and that enough volunteers had come forward to help out for both days.
Ed Mizzi announced an Outreach event that would take place on May 9. He had arranged with a teacher, Claudia Amendola, at a local elementary school, Canadian Martyrs in Burlington to show the student body the Transit of Mercury.
Gary Bennett spoke briefly about the ongoing work on refurbishing the club’s 17.5 inch telescope.
Gary Bennett talked about our new partnership with the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) and asked for volunteers to help with their grand opening events over the next 2 weeks. In addition, he mentioned our Outreach event at the Westfield Heritage Village where we would be a major player in their Star Party on May 13.
We were then treated to a talk about “The Secret Life of Galaxies” by Dr. James Wadsley from McMaster University. His talk was both informative and enlightening and he gave us a new and better understanding of the life cycle of galaxies and dark matter. Very intriguing and eye-opening.
Our second speaker, Board/Club member Chris Talpas, spoke about “Stellar Evolution” and once again, we were educated on a topic that interests all astronomers, both amateur and professional. His talk dove-tailed very well with Dr. Wadsley’s and by the end of the evening audience members walked away with a plethora of knowledge that would move us along in our understanding of the cosmos.
We look forward to our last meeting of the year, on Thursday, June 2, when we will here from Physicist Cliff Burgess about Gravitational Waves, a topic that has recently gone viral in the astronomy world.
