So many Good Reason to Join
the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada centre in Ottawa
Join our community of astronomy enthusiasts. The only equipment required are your eyes . The only investment to make is a love of the skies!
When you join, you are both a member of the National organization and are affiliated with the Ottawa Centre with access to the Ottawa member benefits.
Why join us??
You'll meet so many motivated and knowledgeable people - members and invited experts. Each shares your enthusiasm for all things astronomical, and they are all willing to share their expertise, experience and enthusiasm. Astro-imaging. Visual astronomy. Planetary science. Sketching. Advanced research. Astrophysics. We have a nerd for every occasion.
Ottawa members of the Royal Astronomical Society have access to our very own members-only rural observing site - the Fred Lossing Observatory out near Almonte. Bring your own gear or learn how to use our advanced equipment. Chat with and learn from other observers
Our club has an extensive telescope loan library. Members may borrow telescopes, binoculars, eyepieces and other gear from our Ted Bean Telescope library. At no cost! Check out a beginner scope to start your astronomical journey. Borrow advanced gear to evaluate before spending big bucks.
The club also maintains a library of astronomy books and DVDs. Beginners guides , observing, charts as well as standard reference works, are all avaible from our Stan Mott library.
Members will also receive several publications from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada throughout the year.
- Ottawa's own monthly newsletter AstroNotes, full of local and community news;
- the bi-monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, which include current star maps, and articles of interest to the science and astronomical community
-the world-famous annual Observer's Handbook.
The Royal Astronomical Society encourages members to complete observing certificate programs. They are designed to inspire observers - novices, visual observers, advanced astro-imagers - to develop and hone their skills and earn serious bragging rights.
RASC Ottawa members have free access to the Pro version of Astrospherics, a great app for observers assessing 5-day forecasts for seeing, transparency etc. based on 5 models from EnvCan. Normal license cost is ~$60 Canadian per year. It's gotta be a bargain, right?
Members of RASC Ottawa are entitled to join out Discord server and take part in many free-wheeling and informal channels amongst observer, astro-imagers, sketchers, flea trainers and polyglots.
Just click below and you'll be on your way to the national website of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada where you can select Ottawa to be your local centre.
