Message from the President

Dear CASCA Members,

Undoubtedly the most important item of interest for our Society during this quarter will be the release of the draft report by the Long Range Planning Panel (LRPP). Ralph Pudritz, Chair of the LRPP, expects the draft to be available on the web by mid-to-late April. (An announcement will be made via the CASCA exploder when it's ready.) It will then be the responsibility of every member to read the document and to send well-focussed comments to the LRPP. In the interim, you can follow the on-going discussion or post your own views on the LRPP's website.

In June 1998, the IAU urged national agencies to pursue issues of electromagnetic pollution, especially at radio wavelengths, through their representatives on the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, COPUOS. Only an immediate and concerted lobbying effort on an international scale may be able to check the proliferation of "dirty" satellites in low-Earth orbit, for example, something of great concern to the radioastronomy community. Thanks in large part to Ken Tapping, CASCA's Spectrum Manager, a letter was prepared late last year and sent to officials with Industry Canada, Canada's connection to COPUOS, which articulated our community's explicit concerns in this area as well as described possible solutions.

Scientists certainly appreciate threats posed to the radio spectrum chiefly by powerful international telecommunications interests. What is astonishing is that, according to a recent IAU policy statement, "at this moment, no international regulations exist to prevent uncontrolled private and other enterprises from launching objects into space that would ruin the night sky for people of all nations, potentially for many generations." Of similar concern is space debris or "space junk" that directly threatens astronomical and related scientific satellites.

We have to be honest; the problems we face at radio wavelengths do not resonate well with the public, though I think something could be made of the "SETI card" in the right circles. The (failed) Russian "Znamya 2.5" experiment that took place in early February, however, did capture the public's and media's attention. This experiment has provided astronomers with an excellent opportunity to convey the seriousness of electromagnetic pollution to the public in a context that everyone understands; visible-light astronomy. Indiscriminate pollution of the night sky not only threatens ground-based astronomy, but it also jeopardizes the night sky that has been humankind's heritage from the beginning. It is CASCA's firm intention to take a pro-active role in lobbying governments to protect the night sky for us all.

A few months ago, many members of our community--those currently seeking a permanent position as well as those who are well established in their career--expressed a concern to CASCA Board with the process followed by NRC to fill three permanent astronomy positions. After consultation with the Board, I wrote a letter to Jacques Lyrette, Vice-President of NRC, describing the level of disaffection within our community on this matter and encouraged the Council to explore ways of making future searches open to a broader community, while at the same time recognizing the nature and importance of existing collective agreements with unions.

It certainly goes without saying that I hope to see many of you at CASCA '99 in Halifax for the 30th annual meeting of our Society from June 27-30, 1999. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the astronomy programme at St. Mary's University, as well as the 250th anniversary of the founding of the city of Halifax. Where better to celebrate such a triple-header?

Finally, speaking of round numbers, readers are probably aware that this is the 100th edition of the newsletter of our Society, Cassiopeia, or E-Cassiopeia as it's now known. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our editors, past and present, for contributing so much to our Society over the years.

Mike,the Prez  Michael De Robertis 
President of CASCA
     <mmdr@yorku.ca>

Michael, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at York University, is the current President of CASCA. He obtained his BSc at the University of Toronto (1997), his MSc at Queen's University (1979) and his PhD at the University of Victoria (1983). De Robertis completed two years of postdoctoral work at the Lick Observatory (UC Santa Cruz) before taking up a University Research Fellowship at York University in late 1985. 

His research interests focus primarily on the activity in galactic nuclei using optical and near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic techniques. He has also developed an interest in Galactic structure and the low-mass end of the main sequence. 

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