benefits of membership

I had essentially promised myself that I would join the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Toronto Centre chapter in the new year. So I revisited the web site today, carefully reading the membership page, and I downloaded the membership application, checking it closely. This is a pretty incredible deal.

You get 6 issues, an annual subscription, to Canadian SkyNews. This ordinarily costs CDN$26. I'm very interested in following this magazine for a year, for several reasons...

As a RASC member you also get the Observer's Handbook. This costs CDN$26 retail (at least it does at Efston Science). I used to faithfully buy this publication. I miss it. I have wanted to get a current copy again.

These 2 items alone tally $52. When the RASC membership costs $55. Wow. One of the reasons why they're pushing to paperless delivery of The Journal and SCOPE, I guess.

They say you can get the RASC wall calendar for $18 (including shipping). Curiously, this calendar is available at Efston Science for $17. But you'd have to ride your bike there to save the buck! Mind you, ScienceCity notes on their web site that calendars are deeply discounted. I used to get these calendars for friends. Be nice to have one.

More intriguing is the comment that you can get a discount on a Sky & Telescope subscription. But on checking the US magazine site, I learned that they're charging $50 (including GST). What's the benefit? I sent an email to the membership person to clarify this. This however is not a deal-breaker for me. I don't think I'd buy this mag, given I will get SkyNews, that I probably wouldn't be able to keep up, and it would just mean more paper in my life...

Regardless, the ability to access the Carr Observatory is very attractive. You can buy an annual "permit" for $50 or pay-as-you-go from $5 (when camping) to $10 (when sleeping inside) per night. So, clearly, the annual access would pay for itself if you stayed more than 3 weekends (i.e. sleeping inside Friday and Saturday nights).

I'm also curious if memberships are annual on the person's anniversary or prorated to a common date. Thought I saw a note somewhere about that. Can't find the paper brochure. Hopefully I'll learn the answer to this in short order. In the meantime, I'll print the completed form and get ready to mail it.

I trust that this membership will help me learn more about astronomy, my telescopes and accessories, about film and CCD photography, and—in the end—get me observing more.

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I heard from back from the Toronto Centre RASC membership secretary (and past president, no less).

Q: Is affiliation an extra charge, above the regular member fee?
A: Yes. Affiliate memberships allow you to belong to two Centres without paying full fees to both and getting two sets of publications.

Q: Is there an inter-chapter affiliation between London and Toronto?
A: It's done on a case-by-case basis. I would not expect that there would be a problem with setting it up for you either way.

Q: Is the membership 12 months long or prorated from a common date?
A: Your membership is for 12 months from the month that you join. We don't prorate to a defined membership year.

Q: Finally, what is the RASC member discounted amount for a Sky & Telescope subscription if they're charging $49.95 direct to Canadians?
A: The discounted subscription fee is US$39.95. It can be paid by providing a credit card number which will be charged by Sky Publishing upon receipt of your subscription order, or we can buy the money order for you and the cost is CDN$50. In order to maintain the discounted subscription fee, you have to be a member in good standing and submit payment through the Toronto Centre.

I don't get it. At the exchange rate of 1.17, the subscription would cost CDN$46.75. OK. That's like one free issue... Again, not that I'm going to pursue it but what's the benefit?

Oh... Maybe this was crafted some time ago, when the US dollar was much stronger...