The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in the 2020s

In the last weekend of June, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada completed its second Virtual General Assembly, a socially distanced version of its annual get-together whose history goes back more than 60 years. This virtual event marked a major turning point for the RASC, heralding the arrival of a new and younger generation of astronomers who will lead the society well into the 21st century.

Its keynote speaker, Emily Calandrelli, may not be known to those of us who came of age during the Space Race, but she is a rock star to younger space enthusiasts. Calandrelli hosts and produces a hit series on Netflix, Emily’s Wonder Lab, and she has a major presence on social media. She spoke about the importance of attracting women and girls to science and technical occupations and outlined the often difficult history of how they were ignored and marginalized in the past by NASA and other space organizations. Calandrelli appeared on the General Assembly’s first day, specially designated as Youth Day. The following day another powerful woman in astronomy was also featured: astrophysicist Katie Mack, who laid out scenarios for the future of our universe.

A presentation that will be long remembered came from Hilding Neilson of the University of Toronto, whose work includes integrating indigenous knowledges and methods into how we view the universe. His thought-provoking and timely talk on astronomy and colonization not only spoke to how indigenous perspectives of our universe have been missed, but also to how colonization is taking away our skies in the form of light pollution and satellite constellations. Front and centre at the General Assembly were young members of the RASC’s new Next Generation Committee, notably Emilie Lafleche, a talented student who hosted many sessions.

The RASC is especially close to my own heart because I first joined it when I was young, and I served as its president from July 2018 to June 2020, taking office just as the RASC was marking its 150th anniversary. During the early months of my term I had time to write a couple of blog entries about the society, but the responsibilities of that job took me away from this blog. Since I remain on the board of directors, my RASC work continues, and now I am finally getting back to writing about the experience of leading the RASC in this time of change and challenge.

In June 2019, the Society held an in-person General Assembly at York University in Toronto, a successful event that included announcements of new programs including the Rudolph Dorner Telescope Museum at the RASC National Office in Toronto. The GA featured a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 with James Hansen, the author of First Man, the acclaimed biography of Neil Armstrong.

It almost goes without saying that the final months of my time as president in 2020 were taken up meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our executive director Phil Groff and his staff helped shift our activities from in-person to virtual formats, and our 30 centres all across Canada did likewise. These measures have helped keep our society of 5,300 amateur and professional astronomers active amidst the public health measures that have become all too familiar to all of us. Our 2020 General Assembly was supposed to take place in Vancouver, but the organizers of that event managed to overcome the jarring challenges of the pandemic to create a successful and memorable Virtual General Assembly featuring Canadian Astronaut Josh Kutryk, exoplanet expert Sara Seager, and CBC’s Bob McDonald, amongst others.

Even without the pandemic, there was a great deal of work to do at the RASC. As president, I was involved in renewing our flagship publication, SkyNews, by bringing a young new editor, Allendria Brunjes, on board after I served as interim editor for a single issue. When Randy Attwood retired as executive director after an unmatched career of service to the RASC, we selected Phil Groff as his successor. With the help of expanded fundraising, the society has been able to increase the services it provides to astronomers around Canada. A remote telescope located in California for RASC members and those learning about astronomy has come on line.

Over the past few years, the RASC has been engaged in making itself more welcoming for women, visible minorities and LGTBQ+ people through measures such as an anti-harassment policy and an Inclusivity and Diversity Committee. Both of these actions have won wide support around the society, but opposition came from a handful of individuals. Their actions caused unexpected and unwelcome challenges to board members and others, including many of our younger members, whose response inspired and sometimes prodded us on the board to work harder to make inclusion and diversity a reality in the RASC.

My successor as president of the society, Robyn Foret, fostered the creation of the RASC’s Next Generation Committee, whose members provided much of the energy and ideas that made our recent Virtual General Assembly a success. Our work continues, and much more remains to be done to ensure that the RASC reflects the face of Canada in the third decade of the 21st century.

The legendary Canadian astronomer Helen Sawyer Hogg once wrote a book called The Stars Belong to Everyone. That title was adopted for the RASC’s 2021 Virtual General Assembly, and it is the rallying cry of the Society as it enters the post-pandemic world.