NO

VAN

EW

SLE

TTE

RO

FTH

EVA

NC

OU

VE

RC

EN

TRE

RA

SC

VO

LUM

E20

12IS

SU

E5S

EP

TEM

BE

RO

CT

OB

ER

2012

FRID

AY N

OV. 1

6 SF

U HA

RBOU

R CT

RDr

. Sa

ra S

eage

r, Pr

ofes

sor

of P

lan-

etar

y Sc

ienc

e &

Phys

ics

at M

IT. N

OTE

DATE

CH

ANGE

! Ro

om

TBA

(see

M

eetu

p fo

r det

ails

).

SE

PT

EM

BE

R 1

3 U

BC

Dr.

Harv

ey R

iche

r of

UBC

: Ex

plor

ing

Anci

ent S

tar C

lust

ers

with

the

Hubb

le

Spac

e Te

lesc

ope.

See

map

on

page

4.

My

Tele

scop

e Up

grad

e Pr

ojec

tby

Ste

ve C

oleo

pyI

had

alw

ays

had

an i

nter

est

in

astr

onom

y, sin

ce I

was

qui

te y

oung

, an

d I

had

boug

ht a

che

ap r

efra

ctor

te

lesc

ope

from

a f

riend

of

min

e in

hi

gh s

choo

l. I

got

a lo

t of

yea

rs o

f en

joya

ble

use

out

of t

he t

eles

cope

, lo

okin

g at t

he m

oon,

pla

nets

, dou

ble

star

s, st

ar c

lust

ers,

etc.

How

ever

, I

wan

t to

do

mor

e se

rious

obs

ervi

ng

and

som

e ph

otog

raph

y no

w. Th

at

tele

scop

e ha

d a

very

che

ap m

ount

, an

d 1-

inch

eye

piec

es,

and

as t

he

stan

dard

eye

piec

es a

re 1

¼ i

nche

s, up

grad

ing

it di

dn’t

seem

fea

sible

. I

ende

d up

giv

ing

it to

a c

o-w

orke

r w

ho is

just

dev

elop

ing

an in

tere

st in

as

tron

omy.

Som

e ye

ars

ago,

I w

as g

iven

a

tele

scop

e by

so

me

frie

nds.

Th ey

ha

d bo

ught

it

from

the

Nat

ional

Ge

ogra

phic

mag

azin

e fo

r th

eir

daug

hter

to

use,

but

it sa

t in

the

ir ho

use n

ot g

ettin

g use

d fo

r a n

umbe

r of

rea

sons

. Th

ese

frie

nds

knew

of

my

inte

rest

in

astr

onom

y, so

the

y off

ere

d it

to m

e.Th

e te

lesc

ope

is a

New

toni

an

refl e

ctor

, with

a 1

14 m

m (4

½ in

ch)

prim

ary

mirr

or

and

a 90

0 m

m

foca

l le

ngth

. Th e

tel

esco

pe h

ad a

n in

expe

nsiv

e al

t-azi

mut

h m

ount

and

pl

astic

par

ts (

see

phot

o 1

belo

w).

Th e t

eles

cope

wou

ld li

kely

hav

e sol

d

for

som

ewhe

re a

roun

d th

e $1

00.0

0 m

ark,

so

I kn

ew t

he q

ualit

y w

ould

no

t be v

ery h

igh,

but

at le

ast a

s goo

d

as t

he r

efra

ctor

use

d to

hav

e (a

nd

easie

r to

upgr

ade)

.Th

e m

ount

was

ver

y fl i

msy

, and

I

foun

d it

very

fru

strat

ing

tryi

ng

to fi

nd a

nd f

ollo

w c

eles

tial o

bjec

ts

usin

g th

is m

ount

. I

had

hear

d th

e qu

ality

of

the

mas

s-pro

duce

d m

irror

s com

ing o

ut o

f Chi

na (w

here

th

e te

lesc

ope

was

m

anuf

actu

red)

w

hen

this

tele

scop

e w

as m

ade

is qu

ite ac

cept

able

, so

I fi g

ured

I w

ould

tr

y to

upg

rade

par

ts o

f the

tele

scop

e un

til I

cou

ld a

ff ord

to

purc

hase

a

bett

er q

ualit

y one

.M

y fi r

st u

pgra

de w

as t

o ob

tain

a

bett

er

mou

nt,

and

pref

erab

ly

an e

quat

oria

l m

ount

. I

had

neve

r us

ed o

ne, b

ut th

e eq

uato

rial m

ount

al

way

s sou

nded

like

it w

as e

asie

r to

fo

llow

obj

ects

as t

hey

mov

ed a

cros

s th

e ni

ght s

ky. I

dec

ided

I w

ante

d to

tr

y m

akin

g on

e, so

I d

id s

ome

on-

line r

esea

rch

and

foun

d a s

et o

f pla

ns

for

a G

erm

an e

quat

oria

l m

ount

, m

ade m

ostly

of w

ood.

I do

wnl

oade

d th

e pl

ans

and

built

the

mou

nt (

see

OC

TO

BE

R 1

1 B

CIT

Chris

Lew

icki

, CE

O of

Pla

neta

ry R

e-so

urce

s: S

pace

Roc

ks in

to S

pace

Re-

sour

ces.

Roo

m T

BA (

see

Mee

tup

for

deta

ils).

Follo

w u

s@

RASC

Vanc

ouve

ron

Twitt

er!

cont

inue

d on

pag

e 7

2 ra

sc-v

anco

uver

.com

S

EP

TEM

BE

RO

CT

OB

ER

2012

Ophi

uchu

s by

Bill

Bur

nyea

tO

phiu

chus

is t

he s

nake

cha

rmer

, fi r

st d

octo

r, an

d so

n of

the

god

A

pollo

. In

shap

e, he

is

a bo

x th

at

stan

ds

abov

e th

e Sc

orpi

on

and

is fl a

nked

by

two

angr

y sn

akes

. H

is po

sitio

n is

not

for

the

nerv

ous.

Oph

iuch

us i

s a

very

ric

h co

nste

llatio

n in

obj

ects

. N

o fe

wer

th

an 2

0 gl

obul

ar c

lust

ers

are

liste

d in

Bur

nham

’s ha

ndbo

ok a

s re

sidin

g he

re.

M10

and

M12

are c

lose

enou

gh to

be

vie

wed

at t

he sa

me

time

in a

pai

r of

bin

ocul

ars.

Clo

udy n

ebul

a, b

right

do

uble

s, an

d ric

h fi e

lds o

f cou

ntle

ss

star

s are

all c

omm

on h

ere.

Th e s

nake

ch

arm

er is

a fa

vour

ite c

onst

ella

tion

for

thos

e w

ith

tele

scop

es,

eith

er

larg

e or s

mal

l.M

10 i

s a

glob

ular

sta

r cl

uste

r sit

ting

amid

the

vas

t st

ar fi

eld

s of

th

e O

phiu

chus

Milk

y W

ay.

M12

, its

nei

ghbo

ur, i

s jus

t 3 d

egre

es to

the

nort

hwes

t and

bot

h th

ese M

obj

ects

ca

n be

vie

wed

at

the

sam

e tim

e in

a

pair

of

bino

cula

rs.

Tele

scop

es,

how

ever

, with

a sm

alle

r fi e

ld o

f vie

w

can

usua

lly s

ee o

nly

one

at a

tim

e. St

ill, b

y se

lect

ing

the

low

est

pow

er

eyep

iece

and

pay

ing

atte

ntio

n at

the

fi nde

r sco

pe, b

oth

may

be c

ompa

red

by c

aref

ully

mov

ing

the

inst

rum

ent

the s

mal

l am

ount

bet

wee

n ea

ch o

ne.

M10

is

seen

as

a m

ediu

m-ri

ch

glob

ular

w

ith

a sm

atte

ring

of

fain

t st

ars

abou

t it.

Alth

ough

eac

h gl

obul

ar c

lust

er i

s un

ique

, M

10 i

s m

ore

typi

cal t

han

mos

t and

bea

rs a

st

rong

rese

mbl

ance

to o

ther

clus

ters

. Th

e gl

obul

ars,

unlik

e op

en c

lust

ers,

have

a s

tron

g fa

mily

res

embl

ance

an

d M

10 lo

oks l

ike a

n M

13 o

r M22

bu

t sm

alle

r in

scal

e.

M19

is

anot

her

fi ne

glob

ular

cl

uste

r in

Oph

iuch

us.

Man

y ot

her

glob

ular

s ar

e fo

und

here

but

M19

is

unus

ual i

n th

at it

is m

arke

dly

out

of r

ound

—its

sha

pe i

s no

t un

like

a fo

otba

ll. M

ost

glob

ular

s, as

the

ir na

me

impl

ies,

have

a c

entr

e lik

e a

ball.

Not

M19

. No

reas

on is

kno

wn

for t

his d

epar

ture

from

the n

orm

but

it

mak

es M

19 st

and

out a

nd p

reve

nts

its b

eing

mix

ed u

p w

ith o

ther

dee

p sk

y tar

gets

.M

19 is

see

n as

an

obje

ct in

a 7

0 m

m t

eles

cope

and

it d

issol

ves

into

nu

mer

ous

poin

ts o

f lig

ht i

n la

rger

in

strum

ents

.M

9 is

a sm

allis

h gl

obul

ar c

lust

er

with

in t

he O

phiu

chus

sta

r fi e

lds,

a fa

vour

ite p

lace

for

glob

ular

clu

ster

s to

be

foun

d. I

n sm

all t

eles

cope

s it

rese

mbl

es a

tiny

lum

py d

isk. B

igge

r sc

opes

, abo

ve 2

50 m

m, s

ee fa

int s

tars

in

indi

stin

ct c

lum

ps. M

9 is

situa

ted

over

the

mid

dle

of t

he d

isk o

f th

e M

ilky

Way

and

, fr

om o

ur e

arth

ly

pers

pect

ive,

we

see

it th

roug

h co

nsid

erab

le d

ust

and

clou

d w

hich

fo

rms t

he in

ters

tella

r med

ium

. M9

is th

eref

ore

fain

ter

and

mor

e di

ffi cu

lt to

see

tha

n its

nei

ghbo

urs,

M10

, M

12 an

d M

14, w

hich

all

shar

e with

M

9 an

Oph

iuch

us ad

dres

s.M

14

is a

smal

l, re

mot

e an

d di

ffi cu

lt ta

rget

. It’

s so

mew

hat

diffi

cult

for s

mal

l tel

esco

pes.

It lo

oks

poor

ly r

esol

ved,

or

out

of f

ocus

, ev

en w

hen

corr

ectly

vie

wed

. M

14

is on

e of

the

mor

e di

stan

t gl

obul

ar

star

cl

uste

rs,

at

poss

ibly

30

,000

lig

ht y

ears

, an

d w

ill a

ppea

r lik

e a

roun

d lu

mp

of o

atm

eal,

with

hin

ts

of f

aint

sta

rs,

in a

ll bu

t th

e ve

ry

larg

est

amat

eur

tele

scop

es.

So f

ar

and

rem

ote

is th

is gl

obul

ar t

hat

if ou

r Sun

wer

e tr

ansp

orte

d m

agic

ally

an

d pl

aced

in M

14 it

wou

ld n

ot b

e vi

sible

to th

e ey

e in

the

fi eld

of e

ven

a 30

-inch

tel

esco

pe. W

hen

Mes

sier

disc

over

ed M

14, h

e cal

led

it a r

ound

ne

bula

“w

ithou

t st

ars”

so

poor

was

hi

s tin

y tel

esco

pe.

Th e

larg

e nu

mbe

rs

of

thes

e w

onde

rful

sta

r as

sem

blag

es f

ound

he

re a

re in

cont

rast

with

oth

er p

arts

of

the

sky.

Urs

a M

ajor

, for

exa

mpl

e, co

ntai

ns

not

one

glob

ular

st

ar

clus

ter

whi

le e

ven

Hyd

ra, l

arge

st o

f al

l 88

cons

tella

tions

, boa

sts

mer

ely

two

such

clu

ster

s, an

d on

ly o

ne,

M68

is

a fa

vour

ite f

or s

mal

l an

d m

ediu

m sc

opes

. Th e

se la

rge

clus

ters

co

llect

mai

nly

in O

phiu

chus

, an

d th

e nei

ghbo

urin

g sig

ns o

f Sag

ittar

ius

with

20

and

Scor

pio

with

sev

en.

Abo

ut h

alf

the

glob

s av

aila

ble

to

back

yard

sc

opes

ar

e fo

und

here

. Ye

t th

ese

thre

e co

nste

llatio

ns

cons

titut

e a

mer

e fo

ur p

er c

ent

of t

he a

rea

of t

he c

eles

tial

sphe

re.

Why

the

disc

repa

ncy?

One

of

the

fi rst

to

unde

rsta

nd t

he d

ata

was

th

e A

mer

ican

Ast

rono

mer

Har

low

Sh

aple

y. H

e m

easu

red

the

dist

ance

s an

d di

strib

utio

ns o

f gl

obul

ars

and

conc

lude

d th

ey f

orm

ed a

sph

eric

al

clou

d ce

ntre

d on

the

mid

dle

of

the

Milk

y W

ay. Y

et o

ur p

ositi

on in

th

e ga

laxy

can

not

be c

entr

al o

r w

e w

ould

see

equ

al n

umbe

rs o

f th

ese

clus

ters

in

equa

l ar

eas

of t

he s

ky.

Th in

k of

it

this

way

. Sup

pose

you

su

rrou

nded

you

rsel

f with

a c

ircle

of

chai

rs. A

s yo

u tu

rn y

ou s

ee c

hairs

al

l aro

und

you.

Now

leav

e th

e ci

rcle

an

d st

and

som

e di

stan

ce a

way

from

co

ntin

ued

on p

age

9

SE

PTE

MB

ER

OC

TO

BE

R20

12

rasc

-van

couv

er.c

om

11

VA

NC

OU

VER

TEL

ESC

OP

E C

ENTR

ES

ervi

ng t

he A

stro

nom

ers

of V

anco

uver

and

Bri

tish

Col

umbi

a si

nce

20

04

Nic

kola

s S

eiflo

w a

nd K

eith

Mac

Nut

t2

58

0 B

urra

rd S

tree

t, V

anco

uver

, BC

V6

J 3

J7Te

l: 6

04

-73

7-4

30

3 e

mai

l: in

fo@

vanc

ouve

rtel

esco

pe.c

om

Dum

bbel

l Neb

ula

(M27

)Sk

etch

by

Harv

ey D

ueck

10

rasc

-van

couv

er.c

om

SE

PTE

MB

ER

OC

TO

BE

R20

12

cust

om s

oftw

are

to ru

n yo

urbu

sine

ssis

mor

e af

ford

able

than

you

sus

pect

ed

ww

w.a

ddis

on.c

a

THINK

NGC

457

Sket

ch b

y Ha

rvey

Due

ck

Th e

upgr

ade

was

al

mos

t co

mpl

ete.

Th e

only

ite

ms

left

to

addr

ess

wer

e th

e ey

epie

ce q

ualit

y an

d th

e slo

w-m

otio

n co

ntro

ls fo

r th

e m

ount

. To

test

if b

ette

r qu

ality

eyep

iece

s will

hel

p th

e im

age q

ualit

y, I

borr

owed

a t

eles

cope

fro

m t

he

rasc

loa

ner

scop

e pr

ogra

m a

nd

used

the

eyep

iece

s fr

om th

at in

my

tele

scop

e. Th

e be

tter

eye

piec

es d

o m

ake

a di

ff ere

nce,

so I

will

nee

d to

pu

rcha

se s

ome

for

mys

elf.

And

I

trie

d ou

t a

used

equ

ator

ial

mou

nt

with

slo

w-m

otio

n co

ntro

ls an

d a

batt

ery-

pow

ered

mot

or d

rive

to s

ee

how

that

all w

orks

toge

ther

, so

I will

ne

ed to

pur

chas

e tha

t as w

ell.

Succ

ess!

I n

ow h

ave

a te

lesc

ope

that

pro

vide

s me w

ith a

good

qua

lity

imag

e an

d is

easy

to

follo

w o

bjec

ts

in th

e nig

ht sk

y. M

y la

st ta

sk w

ill b

e to

buy

or

mak

e a

cam

era

mou

nt s

o I

can

star

t at

tem

ptin

g ph

otog

raph

y th

roug

h th

e tel

esco

pe.

2/1

3

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

7

SE

PTE

MB

ER

OC

TO

BE

R20

12

rasc

-van

couv

er.c

om

3

Pres

iden

t’s M

essa

ge

by H

owar

d Tr

ottie

rW

ith

this

editi

on

of nova

we

kick

off

our

fall

seas

on

of

prog

ram

min

g at

ras

c Va

ncou

ver,

and

whi

le lo

okin

g for

war

d to

a se

t of

exci

ting

lect

ures

and

spec

ial e

vent

s in

the

offi

ng f

or t

he r

est

of 2

012,

th

is is

also

a g

ood

oppo

rtun

ity t

o ta

ke s

tock

of

one

of o

ur b

usie

st

sum

mer

s of

rec

ent

year

s! R

ASC

Va

ncou

ver s

tage

d no

less

than

seve

n pu

blic

even

ts in

July

and

Aug

ust,

all

of w

hich

had

to d

o w

ith o

bser

ving

th

e nig

ht sk

y!O

ur

July

12

an

d A

ugus

t 9

mon

thly

pub

lic p

rese

ntat

ions

too

k pl

ace

at b

cit

and

wer

e sp

ecia

lly

targ

eted

to

novi

ce s

targ

azer

s. O

ur

Educ

atio

n C

hair,

Bi

ll Bu

rnye

at,

gave

the

Jul

y le

ctur

e, w

hich

was

al

l abo

ut “

Th e

Sum

mer

Sta

rgaz

er.”

Inci

dent

ally

, Bill

(w

ho a

lso te

ache

s as

tron

omy

at bcit,

just

one

amon

g

his

man

y ot

her

educ

atio

nal

and

outr

each

pur

suits

) ha

d to

aba

ndon

hi

s Po

wer

Poin

t pr

esen

tatio

n w

hen

his

Win

dow

s PC

dec

ided

to

cras

h aft

er

faili

ng t

o lo

ad a

n op

erat

ing

syst

em u

pdat

e, an

eve

nt th

at w

ould

be

a c

atas

trop

he fo

r m

ost

spea

kers

(n

ot t

o m

entio

n th

eir

audi

ence

s!).

How

ever

, Bill

is n

o ord

inar

y spe

aker

, an

d m

uch

to t

he d

elig

ht o

f th

e

Abou

t RAS

CTh

e RA

SC V

anco

uver

Cen

tre m

eets

at

7:30

PM

on

the

seco

nd T

hurs

day

of e

v-er

y m

onth

at

vario

us lo

catio

ns in

Met

ro

Vanc

ouve

r (se

e pa

ge 1

for m

eetin

g lo

ca-

tions

and

pag

e 4

for

map

s). G

uest

s ar

e al

way

s w

elco

me.

In a

dditi

on, t

he C

entre

ha

s an

obs

ervi

ng s

ite w

here

sta

r par

ties

are

regu

larly

sch

edul

ed.

Mem

bers

hip

is c

urre

ntly

$73

.00

per

year

($41

.00

for p

erso

ns u

nder

21

year

s of

age

) and

can

be

obta

ined

by

writ

ing

to

the

Trea

sure

r at

the

addr

ess

on p

age

5.

Annu

al m

embe

rshi

p in

clud

es th

e in

valu

-ab

le O

bser

ver’s

Han

dboo

k, s

ix is

sues

of

the

RASC

Jou

rnal

, and

, of c

ours

e, a

cces

s to

all

of th

e cl

ub e

vent

s an

d pr

ojec

ts.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n re

gard

ing

the

Cent

re a

nd it

s ac

tiviti

es, p

leas

e co

ntac

t ou

r P.R

. Dire

ctor

.NO

VA, t

he n

ewsl

ette

r of

the

Van

cou-

ver

Cent

re, R

ASC,

is p

ublis

hed

on o

dd-

num

bere

d m

onth

s. O

pini

ons

expr

esse

d

here

in a

re n

ot n

eces

saril

y th

ose

of t

he

Vanc

ouve

r Cen

tre.

Mat

eria

l on

any

aspe

ct o

f as

trono

my

shou

ld

be

e-m

aile

d to

th

e ed

itor

or

mai

led

to th

e ad

dres

s be

low

.Re

mem

ber,

you

are

alw

ays

wel

com

e to

atte

nd m

eetin

gs o

f Cou

ncil,

hel

d on

the

fi rst

Thu

rsda

y of

eve

ry m

onth

at 7

:30p

m

in r

oom

P84

45.2

of t

he P

hysi

cs w

ing

of

the

Shru

m S

cien

ce C

entre

at S

FU. P

leas

e co

ntac

t a c

ounc

il m

embe

r for

dire

ctio

ns.

2012

Van

couv

er C

entr

e Offi c

ers

Pres

iden

t Ho

war

d Tr

ottie

r

pres

ende

nt.ra

scva

ncou

ver@

gmai

l.com

Vice

-Pre

side

nt/S

ecre

tary

Al

an J

ones

se

cret

ary.r

ascv

anco

uver

@gm

ail.c

omTr

easu

rer/

Tele

scop

es

Stev

e Co

leop

y

treas

urer

.rasc

vanc

ouve

r@gm

ail.c

omNa

tiona

l Rep

./LPA

M

ark

Ebur

ne

natio

nal.r

ascv

anco

uver

@gm

ail.c

omLi

brar

ian

Will

iam

Fea

ron

lib

rary

.rasc

vanc

ouve

r@gm

ail.c

omPu

blic

Rel

atio

ns

Scot

t McG

illiv

ary

pr

.rasc

vanc

ouve

r@gm

ail.c

om

Mem

bers

hip

Ciar

a M

orga

n-Fe

ir &

Rohi

t Gro

ver

m

embe

rshi

p.ra

scva

ncou

ver@

gmai

l.com

Even

ts

Suza

nna

Nagy

even

ts.ra

scva

ncou

ver@

gmai

l.com

Educ

atio

n Bi

ll Bu

rnye

at

educ

atio

n.ra

scva

ncou

ver@

gmai

l.com

AOM

O Ch

air

Leig

h Cu

mm

ings

ao

mo.

rasc

vanc

ouve

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ail.c

omW

ebm

aste

r Ha

rvey

Due

ck

web

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ter.r

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omNO

VA E

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r Go

rdon

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rell

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anco

uver

@gm

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om

Obse

rvin

g Ol

eg M

azur

enko

ob

serv

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rasc

vanc

ouve

r@gm

ail.c

omSp

eake

rs

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y Sh

anko

sp

eake

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Mer

chan

dise

Di

edre

Spo

rtack

m

erch

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ver@

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Depu

ty IT

Ste

ve M

eigh

an &

Jon

atha

n Ne

ufel

d

it.ra

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ver@

gmai

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Coun

cillo

r Ji

m R

onba

ck

jim.ro

nbac

k@gm

ail.c

omHo

nour

ary

Pres

iden

t Dr

. Joh

n M

acdo

nald

Trus

tees

Sa

lly B

aker

& R

on J

erom

e

Libr

ary

The

cent

re h

as a

larg

e lib

rary

of b

ooks

, m

agaz

ines

and

old

NOV

As fo

r you

r enj

oy-

men

t. Pl

ease

tak

e ad

vant

age

of t

his

club

serv

ice

and

visit

ofte

n to

che

ck o

ut th

e ne

w

purc

hase

s. Su

gges

tions

for

fut

ure

libra

ry

acqu

isitio

ns a

re a

ppre

ciat

ed.

http

://ra

sc-v

anco

uver

.com

or

http

://w

ww

.rasc

.ca/

vanc

ouve

rht

tp://

astro

nom

y.mee

tup.

com

/131

/

RASC

Van

couv

er C

entre

PO B

ox 1

9115

2302

Wes

t 4th

Ave

.Va

ncou

ver,

B.C.

V6K

4R8

On th

e In

tern

etM

ailin

g Ad

dres

s

ntDr

. Joh

non

Je

C o W uv 8in We

We1

x1

x 1

x1

x1

& &

eeenn

tCe

ntre

Ave.re

skeBaBa

kerr

Drkaak

co 9 t B.CA

c 9 t B.g A

ss

@RA

SCVa

ncou

ver

cont

inue

d on

pag

e 4

4 ra

sc-v

anco

uver

.com

S

EP

TEM

BE

RO

CT

OB

ER

2012

Map

s to

Mee

ting

Site

sUB

C

Our

UBC

mee

ting

site

is in

roo

m

201

of t

he H

enni

ngs

Build

ing.

Th

e m

ain

entra

nce

is o

ff Ag

ricul

-tu

ral R

d. (i

ndic

ated

by

the

arro

w

on th

e m

ap a

t lef

t). R

oom

201

is

up th

e st

airs

and

on

the

left.

Pay

park

ing

is a

vaila

ble

at s

ev-

eral

pa

rkad

es

loca

ted

arou

nd

cam

pus

(indi

cate

d as

“P”

on

the

map

).

Main Mall

Cha

nsel

lor

Blv

d. (t

o W

est 4th

Ave

.)

Uni

vers

ity B

lvd.

(to

Wes

t 10t

h Av

e.)

Wesbrook Mall

(to West 16th Ave.)

NW Marine Drive

Lower Mall

West Mall

East Mall

PP

P

P

P

Mus

eum

of

Ant

hopo

logy

Henn

ings

Build

ing

Hosp

ital

Stud

ent

Unio

n Bl

dg.

Chan

Cent

re

Agric

ultu

ral

Rd.

Wal

ter G

age

Rd.

Agro

nom

y Rd

.

How

to Fi

ll a

Pre-

”Go-

To” S

CT w

ith Pe

nnies

(repe

at)

Doub

les th

e val

ue o

f the

scop

e!

by Dan Collier

audi

ence

, he

inst

ead

ad-li

bbed

his

way

thro

ugh

a co

llect

ion

of im

ages

an

d sk

y ch

arts

in

no p

artic

ular

or

der,

deliv

erin

g th

e un

ique

in

sight

s an

d in

spiri

ng a

ccou

nts

of

cele

stia

l tre

asur

e hun

ting

that

mak

e hi

m r

asc

Vanc

ouve

r’s v

ery

own

“Mr.

Ast

rono

mer

!”O

ur A

ugus

t pr

esen

tatio

n, w

hich

al

so t

ook

plac

e at

bcit,

was

a

“Sho

w an

d Te

lesc

ope,”

with

coun

cil

mem

bers

A

lan

Jone

s, D

iedr

e Sp

orta

ck, L

eigh

Cum

min

gs, M

ark

Ebur

ne, a

nd S

cott

McG

illiv

ray,

and

Vanc

ouve

r C

entr

e m

embe

r Te

rry

McC

omas

, sh

owin

g off

a

wid

e va

riety

of

equi

pmen

t, fr

om s

tart

er

gear

to a

dvan

ced

astr

opho

togr

aphy

eq

uipm

ent.

Th is

pres

enta

tion

was

so

su

cces

sful

(w

ith

seve

ral

new

m

embe

rs si

gnin

g up

that

nig

ht, a

nd

a nu

mbe

r of

the

gue

sts

turn

ing

up

at o

ur o

bser

ving

eve

nts l

ater

in th

e m

onth

) tha

t we p

lan

on d

oing

mor

e of

thi

s ki

nd o

f pu

blic

eng

agem

ent

in th

e ne

ar fu

ture

! We

also

hel

d an

aft

ern

oon

of as

tron

omy l

ectu

res a

nd

sola

r tel

esco

pe vi

ewin

g at t

he M

aple

R

idge

Lib

rary

on

Satu

rday

, Ju

ly

21, p

ut o

n by

Van

couv

er C

entr

e’s

long

-tim

e fr

iend

an

d de

dica

ted

volu

ntee

r, W

ayne

Ly

ons,

alon

g w

ith o

ur c

ounc

il m

embe

rs S

uzan

na

Nag

y an

d Le

igh

Cum

min

gs.

Th is

sum

mer

’s sla

te

of ra

sc

Vanc

ouve

r pu

blic

obs

ervi

ng e

vent

s in

clud

ed t

wo

huge

-sca

le e

ditio

ns

of a

nnua

l out

ings

to re

gion

al p

arks

at

the

inv

itatio

n of

Met

ro P

arks

, an

d tw

o in

timat

e ga

ther

ings

at

Bo

unda

ry B

ay.

Abo

ut 1

,000

mem

bers

of

the

publ

ic fr

om th

roug

hout

the

Low

er

Mai

nlan

d ca

me

to

the

Pers

eid

Met

eor

Wat

ch a

t A

lder

grov

e La

ke

Reg

iona

l Pa

rk h

eld

on S

atur

day,

cont

inue

d on

pag

e 5

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

3

SE

PTE

MB

ER

OC

TO

BE

R20

12

rasc

-van

couv

er.c

om

9

the

chai

r rin

g. N

ow, y

ou s

ee c

hairs

co

llect

ed in

one

dire

ctio

n on

ly. T

urn

your

bac

k to

the

chai

rs a

nd y

ou se

e no

ne b

ehin

d yo

u. Th

is

is sim

ilar

to

our s

ituat

ion

as ci

tizen

s of t

he M

ilky

Way

gal

axy.

We l

ive o

n th

e edg

e and

fa

cing

the

sout

h su

mm

er sk

y, fo

r us

nort

hern

hem

isphe

re r

esid

ents

we

are i

nspe

ctin

g the

cent

ral a

rray

of t

he

vast

gal

axy i

n w

hich

we m

ake h

ome.

It w

ould

be

a m

istak

e to

supp

ose

the s

nake

char

mer

has

onl

y gl

obul

ar

clus

ters

go

ing

for

it.

Oph

iuch

us

has

no

brig

ht

fi rst

m

agni

tude

st

ar

like

the

Har

p or

th

e Ea

gle

yet

it is

wel

l re

pres

ente

d by

se

cond

an

d th

ird

mag

nitu

de

star

s of

so

me

inte

rest

. Th

e co

nste

llatio

n is

in t

he s

hape

of

a ki

te

with

a p

oint

y to

p. I

n Pa

radi

se Lo

st,

Milt

on

refe

rs t

o “t

he l

engt

h of

O

phiu

chus

hug

e.”Th

e st

ar

at

the

nort

heas

t sid

e of

th

e “h

uge”

box

is

beta

(β)

. It’

s cal

led

the h

eart

of t

he

Shep

herd

for a

long

with

al

pha

(α)

Oph

iuch

i and

al

pha

Her

culis

a sh

ephe

rd a

nd d

ogs

wer

e at o

ne ti

me i

mag

ined

. Bet

a is

a pa

le o

rang

e st

ar a

nd, e

xam

ined

in a

w

ide

fi eld

, not

e to

the

nort

h ea

st a

fa

int s

catt

erin

g of

star

s jus

t ove

r one

de

gree

aw

ay f

rom

the

brig

ht s

tar.

Th is

is th

e ope

n cl

uste

r IC

466

5. A

s cl

uste

rs g

o, t

his

one

is a

neig

hbou

r at

onl

y 40

0 pa

rsec

s fro

m th

e su

n. A

60

mm

refr

acto

r sho

ws a

bout

15

or

20 s

tars

in a

qui

te la

rge

area

abo

ut

equa

l to

one

ful

l M

oon.

Abo

ut

30 s

tars

are

visi

ble

in s

omew

hat

larg

er s

cope

s. Th

is ta

rget

is

easil

y ov

erlo

oked

and

will

not

show

up

at

high

pow

er. I

t’s ti

me

for

that

35

or

40 m

m e

yepi

ece.

With

low

pow

er,

mov

e th

e te

lesc

ope

back

and

for

th

over

the

clu

ster

. Th i

s al

low

s yo

u to

no

te th

e slig

ht co

nges

tion

of st

ars b

y co

ntra

st w

ith th

e few

er n

umbe

rs ju

st

away

from

the

clus

ter.

Th is

obje

ct is

a t

est n

ot so

muc

h of

the i

nstr

umen

t bu

t of t

he sk

ills o

f the

obs

erve

r. Ye

t, lik

e fi s

hing

, it’s

no

disg

race

to

end

up em

pty

hand

ed. I

t’s th

e fun

of t

he

hunt

that

is a

port

ion

of th

e ple

asur

e.Fo

r th

ose

who

ca

n’t

fi nd

the

IC c

lust

er t

here

is

an e

asie

r, or

, if

you

like,

com

pens

atio

n ju

st t

o th

e ea

st.

On

the

east

ern

edge

of

the

Oph

iuch

us st

ar c

loud

s not

far f

rom

Be

ta i

s a

smal

l tr

iang

le o

f fo

urth

-m

agni

tude

sta

rs n

umbe

red

67,

68

and

70 o

n st

ar c

hart

s. Th

is tr

io,

alon

g w

ith a

sca

tter

ing

of s

light

ly

fain

ter

star

s, re

sem

bles

a m

inia

ture

Hya

des.

Bino

cula

rs, fi

nder

scop

es, o

r ev

en O

pera

gla

sses

show

it w

ell.

Th e

rese

mbl

ance

to

the

face

of

Taur

us

the

Bull

is pa

rtic

ular

ly c

harm

ing

whe

n on

e co

nsid

ers

the

diff e

renc

e in

tem

pera

ture

like

ly p

rese

nt w

hile

ob

serv

ing.

A w

arm

coa

t is

need

ed

for

the

true

Hya

des w

hile

this

false

on

e can

be e

njoy

ed in

sum

mer

shirt

s.Th

e Bu

ll’s f

ace

here

was

see

n by

M

artin

Poc

zobu

t, di

rect

or o

f th

e R

oyal

Obs

erva

tory

in V

ilna.

In 17

77,

he p

ropo

sed

the

star

gro

up a

s its

ow

n lit

tle c

onst

ella

tion

calle

d Ta

urus

Pon

iato

vii.

Th e

Bull

of P

onia

tow

ski

hono

ured

Kin

g St

anisl

as

II o

f Po

land

. In

oth

er

wor

ds,

Pocz

obut

w

as

hono

urin

g hi

s bo

ss.

A

fi gur

e of

a B

ull

at t

his

loca

tion

fi rst

ap

pear

ed

in 1

779

on a

sta

r gl

obe

mad

e by

th

e Fr

ench

A

stro

nom

er L

alan

de.

It w

as s

till

desig

nate

d as

th

e Bu

ll a

cent

ury

late

r bu

t w

as d

ropp

ed f

rom

fa

vour

an

d no

w

thes

e st

ars

are

decl

ared

to

be

with

in O

phiu

chus

. Th

e no

tion

of

rew

ardi

ng

som

eone

, w

ho w

as j

ust

a po

litic

ian,

with

sta

rs i

n th

e sk

y se

ems t

o co

ntem

pora

ry ta

stes

a gr

oss

exag

gera

tion

of th

eir m

erit.

Befo

re le

avin

g th

e Bu

ll, n

ote

the

star

num

ber

70 o

f the

onc

e-Bu

llish

tr

io.

Th is

is a

fam

ous

doub

le s

tar

with

a pe

riod

of ab

out 8

0 ye

ars.

Th e

com

pone

nts

have

a c

olou

r co

ntra

st

desc

ribed

as y

ello

w a

nd re

d or

som

e su

ch va

riatio

n. Th

e d

oubl

e is s

uita

ble

for m

ediu

m si

zed

tele

scop

es.

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

2

8 ra

sc-v

anco

uver

.com

S

EP

TEM

BE

RO

CT

OB

ER

2012

Obse

rvin

g Re

port

by

Ole

g M

azur

enko

July

1. V

enus

–

early

m

orni

ng

brig

ht

brill

iant

! Jup

iter

in th

e m

orni

ngs

as w

ell.

Mar

s & S

atur

n al

so vi

sible

2. B

ound

ary

Bay

obse

rvat

ion

– Ju

ly

28th

Sat

urda

y at

Bou

ndar

y Ba

y –

Suza

nna,

Har

vey,

Scot

t w

ere

on s

ite. 1

5 pe

ople

cam

e –

grea

t su

cces

s. Th

ank

you

all!

Nex

t – 2

5 A

ugus

t – S

cott

on

site.

3. V

enus

Tra

nsit.

Ole

g po

sted

dra

ft ex

pedi

tion

vide

o: h

ttp:/

/you

tu.

be/J

7mX

ic6v

5mg.

Jo

nath

an

wor

king

on

shor

ter p

ro-v

ersio

n to

be

pos

ted

on ras

c w

eb si

te.

4. Th

ere

is a

gra

zing

occ

ulta

tion

31

July

201

2 an

d it

is ru

nnin

g rig

ht

thro

ugh

Sout

h O

kana

gan.

5. G

razi

ng o

ccul

tatio

n at

Brit

anni

a Be

ach

(just

bef

ore

Squa

mish

on

Sea-

to-S

ky H

ighw

ay)

on 6

Aug

20

12

at

3:23

pst,

st

ar

6.8m

, M

oon

80%

.6.

All-

Sky C

amer

a:A

) O

leg

is se

ttin

g up

Rem

ote

Des

ktop

Con

nect

ion

to t

he

PC. W

aitin

g fo

r Adm

in lo

gin

cred

entia

ls fro

m V

ic to

setu

p rd

c se

rver

. Th i

s is t

o sp

eed

up

conn

ectiv

ityB)

Ole

g is l

earn

ing t

he V

Sent

inel

so

ft war

e an

d C

D’s,

w

hich

co

ntro

ls th

e cam

era.

C)

Ole

g re

gist

ered

at

All

Sky

Cam

era g

roup

.D

) O

leg

is ch

ecki

ng th

e U

PS fo

r 2

PC’s

– ho

w m

uch

cost

and

ca

n be

bud

gete

d w

ith sfu

O

bser

vato

ry b

udge

t.

Augu

st1.

Jupi

ter

clos

e to

th

e M

oon

Sept

embe

r 7t

h, V

enus

and

M44

cl

ose

to

Moo

n on

Se

ptem

ber

12th

.2.

With

few

frie

nds

spen

t se

vera

l da

ys

and

nigh

ts

durin

g th

e Pe

rsei

ds

show

er

max

imum

at

th

e ca

mp

in O

kana

gan.

Th e

re

wer

e fe

w b

rillia

nt m

eteo

rs w

ere

obse

rved

.3.

Bou

ndar

y Ba

y ob

serv

atio

n –

Aug

ust 2

5th

Satu

rday

at B

ound

ary

Bay

– Jim

, Har

vey,

Scot

t wer

e on

site.

Man

y pe

ople

cam

e –

grea

t su

cces

s. Th

ank

you

all!

Nex

t – 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

at 7

PM –

Har

vey

on

site.

4. A

ll-Sk

y Cam

era:

A)

Ole

g di

d se

t up

R

emot

e D

eskt

op C

onne

ctio

n to

the

PC

. It s

peed

up

conn

ectiv

ity,

but

ther

e is

som

ethi

ng

requ

ired

for

vide

o sc

reen

re

solu

tion

rem

otel

y.B)

Ole

g is l

earn

ing t

he V

Sent

inel

so

ft war

e an

d C

D’s,

w

hich

co

ntro

ls th

e cam

era.

C)

Th er

e w

as

an

inte

rrup

tion

beca

use

of P

C s

hut

dow

n,

need

a ups

. Ole

g is

chec

king

th

e ups

for 2

PC

’s – ho

w m

uch

cost

and

can

be b

udge

ted

with

sfu

Obs

erva

tory

bud

get.

D)

Disc

uss

poss

ible

m

ovem

ent

the

cam

era

to

futu

re

Obs

erva

tory

lo

catio

n,

and

have

a s

econ

d PC

to

cont

rol

it. S

econ

d PC

will

be

also

as

a

back

up

PC

for

sfu

O

bser

vato

ry.

Sket

chin

g at

Kob

au

by H

arve

y Du

eck

One

of t

he b

est t

hing

s abo

ut st

ar

part

ies i

s the

peo

ple y

ou m

eet.

At l

ast y

ear’s

Mer

ritt S

tar

Que

st,

John

Kal

dors

son

show

ed m

e so

me

of h

is fa

bulo

us sk

etch

es. Y

ou ca

n se

e a

few

exa

mpl

es a

t ra

scoc

.zenf

olio

.co

m.

John

’s sk

etch

es

port

ray

astr

onom

ical

obj

ects

muc

h m

ore

near

ly a

s I

see

them

thr

ough

the

ey

epie

ce th

an an

y pho

to I

have

seen

.Jo

hn’s

enth

usia

sm i

s co

ntag

ious

, so

I d

ecid

ed t

o tr

y m

y ha

nd a

t sk

etch

ing

at

the

Mou

nt

Kob

au

Star

Pa

rty

this

year

. A

dapt

ing

John

’s su

gges

tions

, I p

ut t

oget

her

a sk

etch

ing k

it co

nsist

ing o

f:•

a gra

phite

stic

k•

smud

ge s

ticks

to

pick

up

the

grap

hite

and

draw

neb

ulos

ity•

a gum

eras

er•

pens

with

seve

ral t

ip si

zes t

o us

e fo

r dra

win

g sta

rs.

Th e

grap

hite

stic

k is

used

to

lay

dow

n a

rese

rve

of g

raph

ite.

You

can

then

pic

k up

the

grap

hite

with

a

fi nge

r, tis

sue

or s

mud

ge s

tick

to

add

nebu

losit

y.  Th

e g

um er

aser

and

smud

ge st

icks

are u

sed

to p

ut d

etai

ls in

the n

ebul

ous a

reas

.I m

ade t

wo

sket

ches

: one

each

on

two

succ

essiv

e nig

hts.

Each

took

me

abou

t an

hou

r an

d a

half

to d

raw.

Th

e pr

oces

s of s

ketc

hing

forc

ed m

e to

obs

erve

my

targ

ets

muc

h m

ore

care

fully

tha

n us

ual.

John

say

s he

fe

els

a m

uch

clos

er c

onne

ctio

n to

an

obj

ect a

ft er s

ketc

hing

it; I

felt

the

sam

e w

ay. I

will

defi

nite

ly d

o m

ore

sket

ches

in fu

ture

.

SE

PTE

MB

ER

OC

TO

BE

R20

12

rasc

-van

couv

er.c

om

5

Mem

bers

hip

has

its P

rivi

lege

s!Ne

w m

embe

rs,

did

you

know

? Th

e Va

ncou

ver C

entre

has

8 te

lesc

opes

ava

il-ab

le f

or l

oan

free

of c

harg

e! W

e ha

ve

tele

scop

es r

angi

ng f

rom

60m

m t

o 10

” di

amet

er.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n se

e th

e Di

rect

or o

f Te

lesc

opes

afte

r th

e m

em-

bers

mee

ting.

The

loa

ner

perio

d is

for

on

e m

onth

, to

be r

etur

ned

afte

r th

e ne

xt

mee

ting.

Tel

esco

pes

are

not

allo

wed

to

circ

ulat

e ou

tsid

e of

the

se m

eetin

gs. Y

ou

can

now

rese

rve

two

diffe

rent

tele

scop

es

per y

ear a

nd u

se w

hat i

s le

ft at

the

end

of

the

mee

ting

anyt

ime.

Your

gre

ates

t opp

ortu

nity

as

a m

embe

r of

the

RAS

C is

to

take

adv

anta

ge o

f th

e co

mpa

ny o

f oth

er e

nthu

sias

ts to

incr

ease

yo

ur k

now

ledg

e, e

njoy

men

t an

d sk

ill in

as

trono

my.

The

best

thin

g yo

u ca

n do

to g

ain

the

mos

t fro

m y

our m

embe

rshi

p is

to g

et a

c-

tive!

Tak

e in

the

clu

b m

eetin

gs;

enga

ge

othe

r mem

bers

with

que

stio

ns; c

ome

out

to o

bser

ving

sess

ions

(als

o kn

own

as “s

tar

parti

es”)

, and

, by

all m

eans

, vol

unte

er to

ta

ke p

art i

n ou

r man

y pu

blic

eve

nts.

For t

he u

sual

obs

ervi

ng si

tes a

nd ti

mes

, vi

sit o

ur w

ebsi

te a

t http

://ra

sc-v

anco

uver

.co

m/o

bser

ving

-site

s/ o

r co

ntac

t th

e Ob

-se

rvin

g Ch

air

at o

bser

ving

.rasc

vanc

ou-

ver@

gmai

l.com

.

Aug

ust

11.

A s

urve

y by

Met

ro

Park

s rev

eale

d th

at a

bout

⅓ o

f our

gu

ests

wer

e ki

ds, t

hat m

ore

than

¾

had

neve

r bee

n to

this

even

t bef

ore,

and

that

95%

are

like

ly t

o re

turn

! R

ASC

Van

couv

er e

xten

ds a

hug

e “Th

ank

You

” to

Jill

Deu

ling

and

her

colle

ague

s fr

om M

etro

Par

ks

for

taki

ng c

are

of a

ll th

e lo

gist

ics,

alon

g w

ith

“fi e

ldin

g”

seve

ral

Park

In

terp

reta

tion

Spec

ialis

ts.

RA

SC

Vanc

ouve

r w

as

pres

ent

in f

orce

, w

ith t

eles

cope

s se

t up

th

roug

hout

the

nig

ht t

hank

s to

co

unci

l mem

bers

Ala

n Jo

nes,

Cia

ra

Mor

gan-

Feir,

Har

vey

Due

ck, L

eigh

C

umm

ings

, Mar

k Eb

urne

, and

our

C

entr

e fr

iend

Way

ne L

yons

. Hat

s off

as w

ell t

o se

vera

l vol

unte

ers w

ho

turn

ed o

ut f

rom

the

Fra

ser

Valle

y A

stro

nom

ers

Soci

ety,

led

by t

heir

Pres

iden

t Pau

l Gre

enha

lgh.

Th e

very

fo

llow

ing

Satu

rday

, A

ugus

t 18

, w

as t

he o

ccas

ion

for

Met

ro P

arks

ann

ual “

Star

ry N

ight

” at

Dea

s Is

land

, and

450

mem

bers

of

the

pub

lic (

half

of t

hem

kid

s)

cam

e ou

t, de

spite

com

plet

e cl

oud

cove

r! A

mon

g th

e m

any

com

men

ts

rece

ived

by

Met

ro P

arks

was

thi

s en

thus

iast

ic e

ndor

sem

ent:

“I w

ish

that

eve

ry n

ight

cou

ld b

e St

arry

Nig

ht.”

Imag

ine

the

reac

tion

whe

n th

is bu

ddin

g as

tron

omer

act

ually

ge

ts

to

look

th

roug

h a

rasc

Va

ncou

ver

tele

scop

e on

a n

ight

th

at a

ctua

lly h

as s

tars

in

the

sky!

M

any

than

ks t

o co

unci

l m

embe

r Jim

Ron

back

, and

Cen

tre

mem

bers

K

enne

th L

ui a

nd T

erry

McC

omas

, w

ho w

ere

wer

e ke

pt v

ery

busy

with

th

e la

rge

crow

d. A

s Jim

rem

arke

d aft

er t

he e

vent

, the

y co

uld

only

see

one

cons

tella

tion

that

nig

ht, t

o th

e no

rth,

“Gro

use M

ajor

twin

klin

g on

th

e hor

izon

,” bu

t it w

as n

onet

hele

ss

a gr

eat

nigh

t fo

r ki

ds,

with

Jim

, K

enne

th a

nd T

erry

han

ding

out

st

ar w

heel

s and

sola

r gla

sses

to v

ery

man

y ea

ger f

utur

e ast

rono

mer

s.I’m

also

thr

illed

to

repo

rt t

hat

our

new

pr

ogra

m

of

mon

thly

ob

serv

ing

nigh

ts

at

Boun

dary

Ba

y R

egio

nal

Park

, sc

hedu

led

for

the

last

Sat

urda

y of

eve

ry m

onth

, w

eath

er

perm

ittin

g,

real

ly

hit

its s

trid

e th

is su

mm

er,

with

tw

o co

nsec

utiv

e su

cces

sful

ou

tings

. O

n Ju

ly

28,

abou

t 22

pe

ople

ca

me

out,

led

by c

ounc

il m

embe

rs

Ala

n Jo

nes

and

Suza

nna

Nag

y, an

d lo

ng-ti

me

Cen

tre

mem

ber

and

astr

opho

togr

aphy

ex

pert

, Ja

son

Ric

kerb

y. A

nd c

lose

to

40

peop

le c

ame

out

on A

ugus

t 25

,

an o

utin

g th

at w

as l

ed b

y co

unci

l m

embe

rs J

im R

onba

ck a

nd S

cott

M

cGill

ivra

y. O

ur B

ound

ary

Bay

outin

gs

are

smal

l-sca

le,

low

-key

aff

airs

, pr

ovid

ing

a m

ore

intim

ate

sett

ing

in

whi

ch

to

shar

e th

e w

onde

rs

of

the

nigh

t sk

y w

ith

othe

r st

arga

zers

, w

ho r

ange

fro

m

new

bies

to

thos

e w

ith m

any

year

s of

exp

erie

nce.

If y

ou h

ave

yet

to

com

e ou

t to

one

of

our

nigh

ts a

t Bo

unda

ry B

ay, o

r ha

ven’

t be

en t

o on

e for

a w

hile

, I h

eart

ily en

cour

age

you

to ta

ke ad

vant

age—

this

is w

hat

rasc

Van

couv

er is

all

abou

t! Y

ou

can

get a

goo

d se

nse

of w

hat t

hese

oc

casio

ns ar

e lik

e by r

eadi

ng H

arve

y D

ueck

’s ar

ticle

in t

he J

uly/

Aug

ust

2012

edi

tion

of n

ova

, “M

onth

ly

Obs

ervi

ng at

Bou

ndar

y Bay

.” Bu

t of

cour

se it

’s fa

r bet

ter t

o sh

ow u

p an

d ex

perie

nce t

he re

al th

ing!

For

notic

es

abou

t up

com

ing

Boun

dary

Ba

y ou

tings

, al

ong

with

al

l of

ou

r pu

blic

ev

ents

, pl

ease

su

bscr

ibe

to

our

Mee

tup

serv

ice,

http

://w

ww.

mee

tup.

com

/as

tron

omy-

131/

, an

d fo

llow

us

w

ith r

eal-t

ime

upda

tes

on T

witt

er

@R

ASC

Vanc

ouve

r (t

he

latt

er

bein

g es

peci

ally

us

eful

fo

r la

st

min

ute

advi

sorie

s on

can

cella

tion

cont

inue

d on

pag

e 6

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

4

6 ra

sc-v

anco

uver

.com

S

EP

TEM

BE

RO

CT

OB

ER

2012

Upco

min

g Ev

ents

Sept

embe

r8

- 15

– M

errit

t Sta

r Que

st22

– I

nter

natio

nal

Obse

rve

the

Moo

n Da

y

22 –

Pau

l Syk

es L

ectu

re: D

r. Da

n Du

rda:

“N

ear

Earth

Ast

eroi

ds:

Prot

ectin

g ou

r Pl

anet

from

Fut

ure

Impa

cts.

” SF

U Bu

rn-

aby

Cam

pus,

roo

m C

9001

(so

uthw

est

corn

er o

f the

AQ)

at 7

:30

PM

Dece

mbe

r8

– AG

M

of B

ound

ary B

ay ev

ents

due

to p

oor

wea

ther

).To

co

mpl

emen

t th

e ab

ove

sum

mar

y of

rec

ent

goin

gs-o

n at

Va

ncou

ver

Cen

tre,

I’d li

ke to

dra

w

your

att

entio

n to

our

out

stan

ding

sc

hedu

le o

f pub

lic le

ctur

es c

omin

g up

this

fall.

On

Th ur

sday

, Se

ptem

ber

13

at 7

:30P

M w

e w

ill b

e at

ubc

, in

Hen

ning

s Ph

ysic

s bu

ildin

g R

oom

20

1,

to

hear

fr

om

Dr.

Har

vey

Ric

her,

of th

e ubc

Dep

artm

ent

of

Phys

ics

and

Ast

rono

my,

who

will

ta

lk a

bout

“Ex

plor

ing

Anc

ient

Sta

r C

lust

ers

with

the

Hub

ble

Spac

e Te

lesc

ope.”

Dr.

Ric

her w

as p

rinci

pal

inve

stig

ator

of a

team

that

in 2

010

got 4

% o

f all

the

time

avai

labl

e on

th

e H

ubbl

e Sp

ace

Tele

scop

e fo

r th

at y

ear!

On

Satu

rday

, Se

ptem

ber

22 a

t 7:

30PM

we

will

hol

d ou

r an

nual

Pa

ul S

kyes

Mem

oria

l Le

ctur

e at

Si

mon

Fra

ser

Uni

vers

ity, i

n R

oom

C

9001

, with

spec

ial g

uest

Dr.

Dan

D

urda

tal

king

abo

ut “

Nea

r Ea

rth

Ast

eroi

ds:

Prot

ectin

g O

ur P

lane

t Fr

om F

utur

e Im

pact

s.” D

r. D

urda

is

a no

ted

astr

onom

ical

art

ist, a

utho

r, an

d pa

yloa

d sp

ecia

list

for

Virg

in

Gal

actic

’s En

terp

rise

and

xcor

Aer

ospa

ce’s

Lynx

.A

nd

plea

se

take

pa

rtic

ular

no

te o

f a s

peci

al d

ate,

ven

ue, a

nd

spea

ker

for

our

Nov

embe

r pu

blic

lect

ure,

whi

ch w

ill t

ake

plac

e on

Fr

iday

, N

ovem

ber

16 (

inst

ead

of

the

usua

l se

cond

Th u

rsda

y of

the

m

onth

). R

ASC

Va

ncou

ver

and

Sim

on F

rase

r U

nive

rsity

will

co-

host

Dr.

Sara

Sea

ger,

Prof

esso

r of

Pl

anet

ary

Scie

nce

and

Phys

ics

at

mit

, at sfu

’s do

wnt

own

Har

bour

C

entr

e ca

mpu

s. D

r. Se

ager

is

inte

rnat

iona

lly

reco

gniz

ed

for

sear

ches

for

pla

nets

out

side

our

sola

r sy

stem

tha

t ar

e ca

pabl

e of

ha

rbou

ring

life!

Fur

ther

det

ails

on

on D

r. Se

ager

’s pr

esen

tatio

n w

ill b

e fo

rthc

omin

g on

our

Mee

tup

site.

Befo

re I

clos

e ou

t thi

s edi

tion

of

the

Cen

tre

Pres

iden

t’s m

essa

ge,

I w

ould

like

to re

min

d yo

u th

at ras

c Va

ncou

ver’ s

am

azin

g pr

ogra

m o

f ac

tiviti

es,

whi

ch

was

so

vi

vidl

y ex

empl

ifi ed

this

past

sum

mer

by t

he

man

y am

bitio

us an

d su

cces

sful

arra

y of

eve

nts

that

we

stag

ed, d

epen

ds

vita

lly

on

the

supp

ort

of

our

mem

bers

. If y

ou en

joy p

artic

ipat

ing

in ras

c Va

ncou

ver e

vent

s, bu

t hav

e ye

t to

bec

ome

a m

embe

r, w

hat

are

you

wai

ting

for?

! Tog

ethe

r w

e ca

n do

so m

uch

mor

e of

wha

t we

love

! A

nd if

you

are

a m

embe

r, bu

t hav

e ye

t to

volu

ntee

r for

one

of o

ur m

any

publ

ic f

unct

ions

, I c

an a

ssur

e yo

u an

y en

ergy

you

dev

ote

to p

ublic

ou

trea

ch w

ill b

e re

fl ect

ed b

ack

to

you

man

y tim

es o

ver!

You

can

join

on-

line

thro

ugh

the

Nat

iona

l ra

sc

web

sit

e,

at

http

://r

asc.c

a/—

be

sure

to

sp

ecify

Van

couv

er C

entr

e fo

r yo

ur

loca

l affi

lia

tion—

or d

rop

by o

ur

mem

bers

hip

tabl

e at

any

of

our

lect

ures

and

eve

nts.

To v

olun

teer

, co

ntac

t yo

ur

mas

terf

ul

Even

ts

Coo

rdin

ator

, Su

zann

a N

agy,

at

even

ts.ra

scva

ncou

ver@

gmai

l.com

.A

nd

last

ly,

with

th

is ed

ition

ap

pear

ing

just

ahe

ad o

f our

ann

ual

Paul

Sk

yes

Mem

oria

l le

ctur

e, I

wou

ld li

ke to

take

this

oppo

rtun

ity

on

beha

lf of

th

e m

embe

rshi

p of

ra

sc

Vanc

ouve

r to

ex

pres

s ou

r ad

mira

tion

of P

aul

and

our

grat

itude

fo

r th

e ex

trao

rdin

ary

com

mitm

ent o

f Pau

l and

his

fam

ily

to

our

Cen

tre

and

its

miss

ion.

Pl

ease

tak

e a

mom

ent

to r

ead

the

follo

win

g br

ief

biog

raph

y of

Pau

l, an

d if

you

atte

nd th

e Sk

yes l

ectu

re,

I ho

pe t

hat

you

will

kee

p Pa

ul’s

lega

cy in

min

d du

ring

the

lect

ure,

and

whe

neve

r yo

u m

ight

ha

ve

occa

sion

to r

efl e

ct b

ack

on w

hat

I ha

ve n

o do

ubt w

ill b

e a

stim

ulat

ing

and

info

rmat

ive p

rese

ntat

ion

by D

r. D

an D

urda

.Pa

ul

Syke

s w

as

born

in

H

umm

elst

on,

Penn

sylv

ania

U

SA

in 1

918.

He a

cqui

red

his i

nter

est i

n as

tron

omy

at a

n ea

rly a

ge. D

urin

g hi

s te

ens

he p

ublis

hed

his

own

mon

thly

ast

rono

mic

al c

olum

n an

d ga

ve at

leas

t one

lect

ure.

He

was

an

offi c

er in

the

Uni

ted

cont

inue

d on

pag

e 7

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

5

SE

PTE

MB

ER

OC

TO

BE

R20

12

rasc

-van

couv

er.c

om

7

Stat

es

Air

Forc

e, se

rved

in

th

e Pa

cifi c

dur

ing wwii

att

aini

ng t

he

rank

of C

apta

in. H

e w

as a

war

ded

a Pr

esid

entia

l Uni

t Cita

tion,

the U

.S.

Air

Med

al, t

he O

ak L

eaf a

nd C

lust

er

and

the

Bron

ze S

tar.

Follo

win

g th

e w

ar,

he

atte

nded

ubc

, ea

rnin

g a

degr

ee i

n Ph

ysic

s in

194

8. H

e re

join

ed th

e Uni

ted

Stat

es A

ir Fo

rce

and

atte

nded

the O

ak R

idge

Sch

ool

of R

eact

or T

echn

olog

y, st

udyi

ng

nucl

ear

phys

ics.

He

wor

ked

on th

e

ner

va P

roje

ct,

a nu

clea

r ro

cket

de

velo

pmen

t eff o

rt a

nd ro

se to

the

rank

of M

ajor

. Pau

l was

app

oint

ed

a le

ctur

er

and

adm

inist

rato

r in

Ph

ysic

s at u

bc a

nd re

mai

ned

ther

e un

til

retir

emen

t in

19

83.

Paul

ac

tivel

y pu

rsue

d hi

s in

tere

st

in

astr

onom

y, at

tend

ing

conf

eren

ces

and

join

ing

the ra

sc,

whe

re h

e be

cam

e a L

ife M

embe

r.Pa

ul

Syke

s pa

ssed

aw

ay

in

Oct

ober

200

5 at

the

age

of 8

7, a

nd

thro

ugh

his

gene

rous

beq

uest

, his

com

mitm

ent

to p

ublic

ast

rono

my

outr

each

con

tinue

s in

man

y fo

rms,

incl

udin

g th

e ra

sc

Vanc

ouve

r an

nual

lect

ure

in h

is na

me,

whi

ch

has

beco

me

the

signa

ture

eve

nt in

th

e C

entr

e’s y

earlo

ng p

rogr

am o

f gu

est l

ectu

res.

How

ard

Trot

tier

Pres

iden

t, ra

sc-V

anPr

ofes

sor o

f Phy

sics,

sfu

phot

o 2

belo

w).

Th e

woo

d m

ount

wor

ked

out

fairl

y w

ell,

but

I st

ill fo

und

fi ndi

ng

and

follo

win

g ob

ject

s a

little

fr

ustr

atin

g. M

y ne

xt st

ep w

as to

try

to fi

nd a

way

to m

ake

slow

-mot

ion

cont

rols

for

my

woo

d m

ount

. I d

id

lots

of r

esea

rch,

I bo

ught

a co

uple

of

used

wor

m g

ears

that

wer

e us

ed fo

r po

wer

win

dow

s in

a c

ar to

use

as

a de

sign

tool

, an

d I

trie

d de

signi

ng

som

ethi

ng th

at w

ould

wor

k. I

was

n’t

succ

essf

ul at

des

igni

ng an

ythi

ng th

at

wou

ld w

ork

with

the

woo

d m

ount

. O

h w

ell, o

n to

the n

ext u

pgra

de ta

sk.

Th e

eyep

iece

s an

d th

e Ba

rlow

le

ns t

hat

cam

e w

ith t

he t

eles

cope

w

ere

not v

ery

good

qua

lity,

and

the

focu

ser

was

mad

e of

loo

se fi

ttin

g pl

astic

par

ts. A

ccur

atel

y co

llim

atin

g th

e te

lesc

ope

was

just

not

pos

sible

, so

I f

ound

the

im

age

qual

ity w

as

not

satis

fact

ory.

I w

ent

to

the

Vanc

ouve

r Te

lesc

ope

stor

e an

d ex

plai

ned

my

issue

with

the

focu

ser.

Th e

staff

at

Van

couv

er T

eles

cope

w

ere

very

hel

pful

and

the

y ca

me

up w

ith a

n ol

d te

lesc

ope

they

wer

e go

ing

to d

isass

embl

e fo

r pa

rts,

so

they

sol

d m

e th

e fo

cuse

r fr

om t

hat

tele

scop

e. I r

emov

ed th

e old

focu

ser

and

inst

alle

d th

e ne

w o

ne o

n m

y te

lesc

ope

tube

(see

pho

to 3

bel

ow).

How

ever

the n

ew fo

cuse

r was

long

er

than

the

old

one

, so

I n

eede

d to

sh

orte

n th

e m

ain

tele

scop

e tu

be

acco

rdin

gly t

o ob

tain

the s

ame f

ocal

le

ngth

(se

e ph

oto

on p

age

10).

I th

en

succ

essf

ully

re

inst

alle

d th

e pr

imar

y m

irror

, and

was

suc

cess

ful

in co

llim

atin

g the

tele

scop

e.co

ntin

ued

on p

age

10

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

1

cont

inue

d fro

m p

age

6