Prix Qilak 2023 : Wilfred Buck

La CASCA et la Société Royale d’Astronomie du Canada ont le plaisir d’annoncer que Wilfred Buck est le lauréat du Prix Qilak 2023 pour la communication, l’éducation et la sensibilisation du public à l’astronomie. Ce prix récompense les efforts de sensibilisation exceptionnels déployés au cours d’une carrière, en particulier l’impact incroyable que M. Buck a eu en partageant le savoir autochtone du ciel avec les peuples autochtones du monde entier et le public canadien. Wilfred Buck, membre de la Nation crie Opaskwayak, est un expert autochtone réputé en matière d’astronomie. Il a travaillé pendant plus de dix ans comme animateur scientifique au “Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre” et a mené des recherches et consulté des aînés pendant plus de 15 ans pour en savoir plus sur les connaissances astronomiques des peuples Cris, Ojibwés et Lakotas. Il est reconnu à l’international pour ses efforts de communication de ces connaissances avec les éducateurs et les chercheurs, ayant partagé son expertise dans le cadre d’expositions, de films, de tables rondes et de nombreuses conférences publiques. Depuis près de vingt ans, Wilfred Buck utilise des planétariums portables pour enseigner aux élèves des Premières Nations les étoiles (« atchakosuk » en cri) visibles dans le ciel nocturne. Il est l’auteur de deux livres qui explorent le ciel nocturne d’un point de vue autochtone. Son troisième livre et autobiographie, « I Have Lived Four Lives » (J’ai vécu quatre vies), retrace un parcours bouleversant, d’un milieu modeste à la poursuite d’une carrière dans l’enseignement, et parle de découverte et de guérison pour la jeunesse autochtone. En 2018, la Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants lui a décerné le prix «Outstanding Indigenous Educator Award» et il fait l’objet d’un documentaire à paraître parrainé par l’Office national du film, « Wilfred Buck”.

La CASCA et la Société royale d’astronomie du Canada sont ravies de reconnaître les efforts de Wilfred Buck en lui décernant ce prix.

Cette annonce est faite séparément des autres prix CASCA communiqués plus tôt cette semaine pour coordonner une annonce simultanée avec RASC.

l’assemblée générale annuelle 2023

Il s’agit de la troisième et dernière annonce générale de l’assemblée générale annuelle 2023 de la Société canadienne d’astronomie, « Le vaste spectre de l’astronomie canadienne.

La réunion aura lieu à Penticton, en Colombie-Britannique, sur le territoire non cédé du peuple syilx (Okanagan), au Penticton Lakeside Resort and Conference Centre. Il sera co-organisé par l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique et le Conseil national de recherches.

La date limite pour réserver des chambres dans les hôtels au tarif réduit de la conférence est le 30 avril : https://casca2023.ok.ubc.ca/fr/voyage-et-logement/

L’inscription à l’AGA de la CASCA est maintenant ouverte. La date limite d’inscription régulière et la date limite des résumés d’affiches est le 31 mai : https://casca2023.ok.ubc.ca/registration

Les inscriptions tardives resteront possibles après le 31 mai à un prix plus élevé, mais les billets pour la réception de bienvenue, le banquet et les déjeuners peuvent ne pas être disponibles.

L’horaire provisoire du bloc de la réunion sont maintenant disponibles sur notre site Web : La liste des présentations contribuées sera disponible d’ici un jour ou deux.

Nous avons hâte de vous voir à Penticton ou en ligne pour CASCA 2023 !

Alex Hill et Roland Kothes
Coprésidents, Comité d’organisation local
Tim Robishaw et Jennifer West
Coprésident et Coprésidente, Comité d’organisation scientifique
casca-contact@lists.ubc.ca

AstroEDU Conference Announcement

par Michael Reid (University of Toronto)
(Cassiopeia – printemps 2023)

Join us in Toronto, May 10-12 for AstroEdu—the astronomy education conference

AstroEdu, the astronomy education conference, is coming to the University of Toronto, May 10-12, 2023. Registration and abstract submission are now open at the conference website. This international conference will feature experts and practitioners in the fields of astronomy and astronomy education, discussing all of the latest research and best practices in astronomy education at all levels. We warmly welcome the Canadian astronomy research community to participate. If you’re interested in finding out how your students learn astronomy, or how your colleagues teach it, this is the conference for you. If you’ve developed an innovative way of teaching astronomy or have studied how your students learn, we invite you to submit an abstract for a poster or talk.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format, both in-person in Toronto and online. To facilitate the widest possible participation, registration fees are indexed to Gross National Income and there are discounts available for virtual participants and students, so please pass this notice on to your colleagues worldwide. We encourage all participants to consider the climate impact of their participation, choose lower-carbon transportation options where available, and consider virtual participation.

We thank the Dunlap Institute and the International Astronomical Union for their generous sponsorship of the meeting.

la médaille d’or Harvey B. Richer 2023: Dr Kiyoshi Masui

La CASCA a le plaisir d’annoncer que le Dr Kiyoshi Masui est le récipiendaire de la médaille d’or Harvey B. Richer 2023, en reconnaissance de contributions de recherche majeures en astrophysique en début de carrière.

Dr Masui a obtenu son doctorat à l’Université de Toronto et est actuellement professeur adjoint au Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Il a joué un rôle de premier plan dans les collaborations CHIME et CHIME/FRB, tant sur le plan technique que scientifique, et a largement contribué à la réussite de ces projets d’envergure mondiale. En même temps, il a fourni un encadrement et une formation exceptionnels aux jeunes scientifiques travaillant sur ces projets. Ses contributions ont été d’une ampleur impressionnante, allant du développement d’instruments à l’analyse, la théorie et l’interprétation des données scientifiques, et de la cosmologie avec cartographie d’intensité à 21 cm aux sursauts radio rapides (FRB). Le Dr Masui a apporté des contributions majeures à notre compréhension du phénomène des FRB, par exemple en dirigeant la publication du premier catalogue CHIME/FRB qui a permis la découverte de propriétés essentielles de la population des FRB. En tant que scientifique du projet, il dirige actuellement le prochain effort d’instrumentation majeur de CHIME, CHIME/FRB Outriggers.

La CASCA est ravie de souligner les réalisations de Dr Masui en lui décernant ce prix.

la lauréate de la médaille J.S. Plaskett 2023: Dr. Deborah Lokhorst

CASCA is pleased to announce Dr. Deborah Lokhorst as the recipient of the 2023 J.S. Plaskett Medal for the most outstanding doctoral thesis in astronomy or astrophysics.

Dr Lokhorst a obtenu son doctorat en 2022 sous la direction de Roberto Abraham à l’Université de Toronto, et elle est maintenant chercheure postdoctorale en instrumentation au Centre de recherche Herzberg en astronomie et en astrophysique. Sa thèse intitulée « Ultra-Narrowband Imaging with the Dragonfly Telephoto Array: Toward the Cosmic Web » est un tour de force combinant théorie, observation et instrumentation. Dr Lokhorst a joué un rôle central dans la construction et l’exploitation scientifique de Dragonfly, ouvrant une nouvelle fenêtre sur l’univers à faible brillance de surface. Sa thèse a débuté par une analyse de simulations hydrodynamiques afin de comprendre les limites observationelles nécessaires pour détecter directement le gaz « invisible » dans le milieu circumgalactique autour des galaxies proches. Elle a ensuite conçu, usiné et assemblé le prototype d’un nouveau composant de Dragonfly, le « Filter-Tilter », pour permettre d’atteindre les limites requises. Enfin, elle a obtenu les premières observations scientifiques réalisées par un prototype de base d’un imageur à bande étroite pour Dragonfly, découvrant un nuage de gaz ionisé géant dans le milieu circumgalactique de la galaxie à sursaut de formation d’étoiles M82.

La CASCA est ravie de souligner les réalisations de Dr Lokhorst en lui décernant ce prix.

le lauréat du Prix Peter G. Martin 2023: Dr Erik Rosolowsky

La CASCA a le plaisir d’annoncer que le Dr Erik Rosolowsky est le lauréat du Prix Peter G. Martin 2023 pour les réalisations à mi-carrière.

Le Dr Rosolowsky a obtenu son doctorat à l’Université de Californie, Berkeley, étudiant la formation des nuages moléculaires dans les galaxies proches, et il est actuellement professeur d’astrophysique à l’Université de l’Alberta.

Au cours de sa carrière, il a été un leader international dans l’étude de la formation stellaire dans les contextes galactiques et extragalactiques et a apporté plusieurs nouvelles contributions aux techniques d’analyse des données qui ont permis à d’autres de mener des recherches importantes. Le Dr Rosolowsky a fait preuve d’un leadership croissant dans ces domaines, notamment dans le cadre du mégaprojet international multi-observatoire « Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies » (PHANGS). Ses travaux antérieurs sur la formation stellaire galactique ont donné lieu à plusieurs publications clés qui ont ouvert la voie à de futures études à grande échelle de l’émission des nuages de formation stellaire et ont introduit les « dendogrammes » comme nouveau moyen de définir la structure dans les systèmes hiérarchiques, une méthode désormais largement utilisée dans la communauté. Ses recherches sur la formation stellaire extragalactique ont suivi un schéma similaire, en menant ou en contribuant de manière importante à des études fondamentales qui ont profité de l’essor des instruments à haute résolution au cours de la dernière décennie pour faire progresser notre compréhension de la formation du milieu interstellaire moléculaire et des étoiles dans les galaxies lointaines.

La CASCA est ravie de souligner les réalisations de Dr Rosolowsky en lui décernant ce prix.

la conférencière R.M Petrie pour 2023: Dr You-Hua Chu

La CASCA a le plaisir d’annoncer que Dr You-Hua Chu, chercheuse émérite à l’Institut d’astronomie et d’astrophysique de l’Academia Sinica (ASIAA), sera la conférencière R.M Petrie pour 2023.

Dr You-Hua Chu est une leader internationale dans l’étude du milieu interstellaire, de la formation des étoiles, des étoiles progénitrices de supernovas et de l’environnement des supernovas, et des disques de poussière autour des naines blanches. Elle est une experte de la Voie lactée et des Nuages de Magellan, ayant mené des recherches approfondies sur l’ensemble de la population de ces galaxies tout au long de sa carrière. Elle utilise des observations multi-longueur d’onde (radio, infrarouge, optique et rayons X) et la modélisation pour répondre à des questions fondamentales sur le destin des étoiles, leur interaction avec le milieu interstellaire et l’évolution des galaxies dans l’Univers proche. Tout au long de sa carrière, Dr You-Hua Chu a fait preuve d’un leadership exceptionnel au sein de la communauté astronomique sur plusieurs continents et a notamment été la première femme à assumer la direction de l’ASIAA.

La CASCA est honorée que Dr You-Hua Chu présente la conférence du Prix Petrie.

Report from the LCRIC

par Sharon Morsink (LCRIC chair)
(Cassiopeia – été 2022)

The Long Range Plan Community Recommendations Implementation Committee (LCRIC) has been meeting weekly from March – May this spring and is now taking a summer recess. We thank Chris Wilson (LCRIC Chair June 2021 – May 2022) and LCRIC members Shantanu Basu, Michael Reid, Etienne Artigau, and Hilding Neilson for their work on this committee over the last year. Brenda Matthews, Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, and Sharon Morsink (LCRIC Chair June 2022 – May M023) will be continuing to work on this committee over the next year along with new LCRIC members.

In the months since the vernal equinox, LCRIC has written and released to the CASCA community a document on Land and Consent, in response to Recommendation #1 of the Long Range Plan (LRP2020). We thank the CASCA members who gave us thoughtful comments and feedback at the CASCA AGM or privately. We will release a final revision of this document in Autumn 2022 and look forward to working with the CASCA Board on issues related to Land and Consent in astronomy.

We have made excellent progress on developing terms for the creation of an Indigenous Engagement Committee, in response to Recommendation #46 of LRP2020. We are interested in consulting with the new President’s Indigenous Advisory Circle to get their input before presenting plans for a new committee to the CASCA Board.

On March 31, 2022, we hosted a webinar titled « Including Indigenous Voices in Astronomy Education ». This webinar included panelists Jason Bazylack (Professor of Engineering at University of Toronto), Samantha Lawler (Assistant Professor of Physics at University of Regina), Ismael Moumen (Researcher at Universite Laval/CFHT), and Laurie Rousseau-Nepton (Resident Astronomer at CFHT). The panelists discussed their work on bringing Indigenous perspectives to their classrooms, outreach with Indigenous communities, and facilitating an inclusive environment. We hope that the CASCA community who were able to attend this webinar found it educational!

Over the last 3 months, we have met with the Sustainability Committee and the Graduate Student Committee to discuss their concerns and LRP2020 recommendations related to these specific committees. In the coming months, we plan to meet again with the Postdoc, Equity and Inclusivity, and Education and Public Outreach Committees to discuss progress on LRP2020 recommendations.

Over the next few months, we will be carefully examining progress on the LRP2020 recommendations in collaboration with the Ground-based Astronomy Committee, the Joint Committee on Space Astronomy, and the CASCA Board to make sure that all recommendations receive attention, and that we have a detailed plan and timeline for acting on the LRP2020 recommendations.

The LCRIC recognizes that transparency and consultation are very important as our community moves forward to implement the recommendations of the LRP. We will be seeking input from a diversity of perspectives, recognizing that astronomy and astronomers exist in a broader societal context. We welcome feedback and comments at any time, via email to the LCRIC chair. Communications will be kept confidential if requested.

President’s Message

par Chris Wilson (CASCA Acting President)
(Cassiopeia – été 2022)

I would like to start this President’s report by welcoming the new members of the CASCA Board: Adam Muzzin as Vice President, Rob Cockcroft as Secretary, and Renee Hlozek and Karun Thanjavur as new Directors. Lewis Knee has been acclaimed to a second term as CASCA Treasurer, while Laura Parker and Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo are continuing in their third year as Directors. Thanks to all of you for being willing to serve! Thank you also to the outgoing Board members: Judith Irwin (Secretary), Ivana Damjanov (Director), and Etienne Artigau (Director). A special thank you to Erik Rosolowsky (Acting Vice-President) and Rob Thacker (Acting President) for stepping up to serve in these important CASCA roles last summer.

As those of you who attended the CASCA Business Meeting in May will know, I have agreed to step in to serve as CASCA Acting President for 2022-2023. Like Rob Thacker this past year, I am in this position under Bylaw 9.1, and will not be continuing in this position beyond the 2023 AGM. Thus, in 2023 we will look to elect a new President, as well as two new Directors. More information about the elections, including how to nominate someone or be nominated yourself, will be circulated later this year.

As I have been in the Acting President position for just over a month, this message will provide a short update on a few key areas. I plan to provide a more extensive discussion in my fall message, once I have had more time to review what the CASCA Board has on its “to do” list.

Coalition activities continue to focus on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), where things appear to be progressing well. The SKA is now one year into construction of SKA Phase 1 and continues to evolve rapidly. Canada’s scientists and engineers are participating in SKA through March 2023 via a co-operation agreement between NRC and the SKAO. To continue our leading role in SKA construction deliverables such as the SKA1-mid correlator will require the Canadian government to commit to construction and operations funding quite soon. Please refer to the excellent article by Kristine Spekkens for more information on the SKA.

Another important initiative that is gaining significant momentum is CASTOR, a Canadian-led optical-UV space telescope and the highest priority in space astronomy in the 2020 Long Range Plan (LRP2020). The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) held a virtual Canadian Space Exploration Workshop June 14-16, 2022, which I am sure many of you attended. The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss ideas for Canadian space exploration over the next 30 years and will serve as input to CSA’s planning process.

The LRP Community Recommendations Implementation Committee (LCRIC) has continued their hard work over the past three months. They hosted a well-attended webinar on “Including Indigenous voices in astronomy education” at the end of March. They have drafted a very important policy paper on land and consent (LRP2020 Recommendation #1) as it relates to new astronomical facilities that has been circulated to the community and was presented and discussed in a special session at the CASCA AGM. Sharon Morsink has taken over as chair of LCRIC for 2022-23 and I look forward to working closely with her and the rest of the LCRIC as they work to move the societal recommendations from LRP2020 forward.

I hope everyone has a healthy and productive summer,

Chris

President’s Message

par Chris Wilson (CASCA President)
(Cassiopeia – l’automne 2022)

The summer is generally a quieter time for society business, as many of us take the opportunity for some vacation and to attend conferences and (dare I say it) do some research. Many of our committees do not meet unless something urgent comes up. The Board skipped its July meeting but had a productive meeting on August 17.

As a regular feature of these reports, I plan to provide a short summary on the steps that the Board is taking to improve and clarify CASCA procedures and governance, for itself, for its committees, and for the membership as a whole. Over the past 3 months, the Board has re-constituted its Action Items list and is starting to work its way through items systematically. There are a lot of items, many of them simple housekeeping, but everything takes some time and attention. The Vice-President and I are each circulating a written report to the Board ahead of the monthly Board meeting, so that the meetings themselves use less time for simple reporting of events and have more time for discussion. CASCA committee membership is now mostly complete, with just a few members remaining to be finalized for LCRIC and CATAC.

The Coalition for Canadian Astronomy has been fairly quiet over the summer. We took the opportunity of the extensive media coverage around the JWST early images to send LRP2020 and a cover letter to about 40 ministers, staff, and department officials in July. As we do every year, we are working on a 2023 pre-budget submission, which is due October 8. When Parliament resumes Sept 19, I expect Coalition activities will ramp up; we had no meetings with government over the summer.

In TMT news, the National Science Foundation announced the beginning of the scoping process for the TMT project. To quote from an AAS email August 22, “The scoping process is a public comment period for identifying issues to be analyzed during the creation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and for consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to evaluate anticipated effects on historic properties on the summit of Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, Hawaiʻi. While the scoping process is a standard procedure for all NSF large facilities construction, NSF is also working to implement the community astronomy model outlined in the most recent decadal survey. To that end, NSF also invites the public to comment on NSF’s plans to engage the public in its EIS and Section 106 compliance processes through review of and comment on NSF’s Draft Community Engagement Plan.”

Other reports on progress with our major new initiatives (TMT, SKA, CASTOR, etc.) can be found elsewhere in this issue (or the 2022 Summer Solstice issue).

I want to close this article with a few thoughts on the subject of land and consent, a topic that is the focus of Recommendation #1 from LRP2020 and was the focus of a policy document that the LCRIC shared with the membership in advance of the May 2022 CASCA AGM. It is important to acknowledge my own settler background, as that background affects my perspective on this topic.

LRP Recommendation #1 states (in part): “We recommend that the Canadian astronomical community (e.g., ACURA, CASCA, and NRC-HAA) work together with Indigenous representatives and other relevant communities to develop and adopt a comprehensive set of guiding principles for the locations of astronomy facilities and associated infrastructure in which Canada participates. These principles should be centred on consent from the Indigenous Peoples and traditional title holders who would be affected by any astronomy project. “

In thinking about the topic of land and consent in the context of LRP Recommendation #1, probably the most important question that arises is who gives consent for a new facility to be built on Indigenous lands.

UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, gives the answer: Indigenous peoples and communities. This is admittedly a very general answer and does not attempt to answer questions such as: which Indigenous peoples and communities; who speaks for those Indigenous peoples and communities; what to do if there are disagreements between the groups who are asked to consent to a project; etc. But it is appropriate that UNDRIP does not address these details: it is up to the Indigenous peoples and communities to decide if and how they wish to give consent.

A secondary question that follows from the question “who gives consent” is who decides/judges/acknowledges that “free, prior, and informed consent” has been received from Indigenous peoples and communities for a new facility to be built on Indigenous lands.

In Canada, the act that established the National Research Council (NRC) mandated that NRC should “operate and administer any astronomical observatories established or maintained by the Government of Canada”. So, for projects in which Canada is involved at a national level, the decision on whether consent has been given belongs with the Government of Canada and its agencies such as the NRC.

So you may ask, what is our role, as Canadian astronomers, in the process of land and consent? Personally, I feel that it is important that Canadian astronomers be reasonably confident that consent has been given for a new facility. This confidence helps to ensure that Canadian astronomers continue to support the facility that is being constructed. Confidence can be gained by educating ourselves: by reading reports and emails shared by the facility, by CASCA and its committees or by NRC; by attending informational webinars; by participating and asking questions; and so on. As a community (through CASCA and its committees, for example), we also have a role to play in working with Indigenous peoples and communities, as well as other organizations such as NRC, ACURA, etc., to help develop the guiding principles called for in LRP Recommendation #1. The policy document circulated by LCRIC in spring 2022 is an example of the type of work that is required from our community.

But ultimately it is not up to us as individual astronomers to make the call that consent has been given. We don’t have the necessary expertise (social, political, etc.) or resources. We don’t have the connections with the local Indigenous people and communities, certainly not for new telescope facilities that will be based in distant countries.

I think the important point is that we, the Canadian astronomical community, have said through LRP2020 Recommendation #1 that it is essential to obtain consent from Indigenous peoples and communities for new facilities that Canada is involved in. The Government of Canada, through NRC and other avenues, is taking this statement from our community very seriously in evaluating potential new national telescope facilities. Our role as individual Canadian astronomers is to stay informed about what is going on, to participate and ask questions, and to continue to educate ourselves.

Wishing you all a safe fall semester,
Chris