Ian Levstein, Editor

We welcome your comments on the Bulletin. Email them to the Editor at bulletin@rasc.ca.

President's Corner

by Mary Lou Whitehorne, RASC President Have you read your Journal lately? Do you know what's on its pages? This is not your father's JRASC! Every culture has its own interpretation of the stars and the skies. There are rich troves of sky lore all around the globe. We have only to look on our own bookshelves to know that we, as a species, are storytellers. So, let me tell a story! Once upon a time, in a fair and kindly country called Canada, there was an organization of astronomers called The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). Theirs was an old and noble learned society of astronomers, with a long, vibrant history and an international reputation for quality, accuracy, and integrity about all of their good works. These astronomers were storytellers, too. They told many stories of different kinds in their own storybooks. One of their storybooks is called the Observer’s Handbook, and after 100 years, it is still a best seller. It is filled with star stories. Some of the stories are narratives and others are tabular, graphical, or numerical. But, for astronomers who know the language, these stories tell us a great deal about the stars in the sky. But, there is another storybook from the RASC. It is called the Journal, or JRASC for short. This storybook is a periodical and is published six times each year. JRASC has been around for 100 years too! That’s pretty amazing! Have you read the Journal lately? Your Journal. It’s full of interesting star stories that you will enjoy. It used to be a peer-reviewed academic publication filled with research papers that appealed mostly to professional astronomers. Now it is focused on amateur astronomers who want to learn more about astronomy, the Universe, and how our favourite science works. It has a much broader spectrum of coverage, with popular articles, interviews, regular columns, reviews, research papers, and scholarly articles on a variety of subjects, as well as Society news and astro-images. There’s no fluff and lots of solid astronomy to sink your teeth into, be inspired about, and to learn from. How can any self-respecting RASCal resist? Every two months, the Journal’s Editor and team of 30 RASC volunteers work hard to bring you a mix of contributors and content that is designed to appeal to the full breadth and depth of interests of RASC members. The Journal remains Canada’s only astronomical journal of record. It is a publication of which we can be justly proud. So go ahead. Open the Journal, browse through its rich assortment of content. There’s something for everyone in its pages. This is no ordinary astronomy magazine. It’s our Journal. It is written by us, for us. It’s the story of our Society. And, the RASC astronomers opened their Journals, and read of its pages, and they all lived happily ever after!

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
203 – 4920 Dundas St W, Toronto ON  M9A 1B7  CANADA
Tel: (416) 924-7973,   Fax: (416) 924-2911

Member Service: nationaloffice@rasc.ca
Visit Us at: www.rasc.ca

The Bulletin of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
is a benefit of membership in the Society.
© 2010 Royal Astronomical Society of Canada