Upcoming Events

National Science Art Exhibit 2012

Submit your artwork to be a part of the National Science Art Exhibit 2012!

In February 2012, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)will host its annual meeting and for the first time in decades, the meeting will be held here in Canada! For more information about the National Science Art Exhibit consult the following web page.

Recent Events

Friday, September 9: Vox Humana (7:30 pm)

Join Victoria’s premier chamber ensemble for a night of music under the stars! Gather around the historical Plaskett telescope where Vox Humana will perform the inspired work, Gloria Patri, by Estonian composer Urmas Sisask. Make sure you buy your tickets soon because this will be an unforgettable night.

Conducted by Brian Wismath

Tickets available at Long & McQuade Music
756 Hillside Ave.
and online at
www.voxhumanachoir.ca
$20 (limited seating)

Duration: 1.5 hours

Movie Night: August 27

Join us on Saturday night August 27th as we celebrate our 3rd annual movie night, lawn chair sit-in and guest lecture.

Enjoy a warm summer evening under the stars as we project the 1979 movie The Black Hole against the big observatory dome. This will be followed by an examination of the science of the fiction by HIA’s own Dr. James Di Francesco.

Bring a lawn chair and blanket and come early to reserve your spot. Gate will open at 7:30 and movie starts at 8:30.

The Black Hole was nominated for two academy awards and follows the crew of the USS Palomino as they journey towards one of the greatest mysteries in the universe.

Summer lecture series

September 3: A Century of Large Telescopes (8:30 pm)

The Plaskett telescope here at HIA was once among the largest in the world! What were telescopes like before it, and how have they changed since? We’ll look at a few of the best telescopes in the world today, and highlight the plans for the Thirty Meter Telescope, to be built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. HIA scientists and engineers are hard at work on the designs of many parts of this observatory, including the adaptive optics system, which will be built and tested at HIA.

About the Presenters:

Joeleff Fitzsimmons is a senior mechanical engineer with the National Research Council's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. With prior experience in the bio-medical and aerospace fields, Joeleff has worked with colleagues at HIA since 1998 to design, construct and deliver precision astronomical instruments for many of the world's leading telescopes. He is currently working on the mechanical engineering of the infrared adaptive optics system ("NFIRAOS") for the Thirty Meter Telescope project.

Jenny Atwood is an optical designer with varied experience ranging from astronomical instrumentation to semi-conductor equipment to high-powered laser systems. She presently works as an optical engineer for the National Research Council’s Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, designing optical systems used on telescopes in different parts of the world. Outside of work, she enjoys ice hockey, cycling and travelling.

August 20: The Secret World of Instrument Design at HIA

The “covert” activities of instrumentation designers at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics will be unveiled, including how party balloons kept an instrument from exploding, how cold viruses give us a sense of scale and how breaking a mirror into pieces can help us to see the universe more clearly.

About the presenters:

Alexis Hill is a mechanical engineer with experience in design of instruments for astronomy. She currently works as an engineer for NRC-HIA designing and building the tools and instruments scientists need to study the universe.

Andre Anthony is a mechanical engineer with varied experience ranging from astronomical instrumentation to heavy industry, structural steel and machine tooling. He presently works as a senior mechanical designer for NRC-HIA, designing instrumentation and optical systems used on telescopes in different parts of the world. He also enjoys teaching courses in Engineering Drawing, Mechanical Components and Computer Assisted Design.

August 6: The Birth and the Death of the Universe (8:30 p.m.)

How did the universe come to be? What theories do we have? The Big Bang? The Big Burp? The Big Wheeze? And will the universe ever end? When? How? With another crushing bang, or a quiet, heat-death whimper? In this two-part talk, Dr. Doug Johnstone has the answers.

About the presenter:

Doug Johnstone (PhD, University of California at Berkeley) researches interstellar medium and star and planet formation. He also has experience with ground and space-astronomy instrumentation and is involved with the ALMA telescope project and JWST.

July 30: The Equation of Ignorance and the Search for Life (8:30 p.m.)

Are we alone? This fundamental question of whether there is life beyond the Earth, has intrigued humanity throughout history. Only in recent decades have we started to develop the technology to tackle this question. This story begins in 1961 with astronomer Frank Drake. Drake developed an equation predicting the number of technological civilizations that could exist in our galaxy. To some, this equation has become known as the "equation of ignorance". Guided by this enigmatic equation, my presentation will explore the boundaries of our knowledge for exoplanetary systems and further speculate on what remains to be learned for us to find ET.

About the presenter:

Mark Booth studied for his PhD at the University of Cambridge in the UK where he worked on theoretical modelling of asteroid and comet belts around other stars. He moved to Victoria in September to apply his modelling skills to recently acquired images from the Herschel Space Observatory in collaboration with scientists from all over the world.

July 23: Space Telescopes (8:30 p.m.)

Many people are aware of space-based astronomy through the amazing images returned by the Hubble Space Telescope. Why do we put telescopes in space? This presentation discussed the advantages and challenges of space-based astronomy and revealed how Superman saved the Hubble!

About the presenter:

Tim Hardy, Imaging Detector Specialist at NRC-HIA, has worked on a number of imaging systems for both ground-based and space-based telescopes.