Monday, December 14, 2009 — Galileo, the IYA, and Our Place in the Universe by Roy Bishop. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first use of a telescope in astronomy, the International Astronomical Union and the United Nations have designated 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). The central figure in this story is Galileo Galilei, renaissance physicist and the founder of modern experimental physical science. Galileo initiated telescopic astronomy, a quest that from his time to ours has revealed the universe to be far more strange and awe-inspiring than anyone ever imagined. Yet, paradoxically, most people today are probably less familiar with the night sky than were our remote ancestors.

Roy Bishop is a retired physics professor from Acadia University. He served a 3-year term as the BNS president from 1994–1997) and, over 35 years ago, was one of the founding members of the Society, co-authoring the constitution with Larry Bogan. He has been both president and honorary president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, as well as being the honorary president of the Halifax Centre of that Society. He was the editor of the Society’s Observer’s Handbook from 1982–2000. Asteroid 6901 was named “roybishop” in his honour.