Hamilton Amateur Astronomers June 2000 Volume 7 Issue 8 Star Party Report - Star Cruise 2000 Margaret Walton I left Dundas around 1pm on g i v e s T Thursday, and drove down via s o m e Hwy 219, a small, very g r e a t his past weekend, p r e t t y h i g h w a y views of June 1 ­ 4, I attended winding through the streams and Laurel Highlands Star Cruise m o u n t a i n s o f s u r r o u n d i n g 2000, hosted by the Amateur Pennsylvania. As I mountains. The Astronomers Association of d r o v e s o u t h , trail led to the Pittsburgh. This was their rhododendrons began to be g r o u n d s o f second annual star party, but c o m m o n f o u n d a t i o n Fallingwater, one of the homes only the first open to the public. plantings in many yards, and designed by Frank Lloyd It was obvious that the they are in full bloom at this Wright. This house is built organizing committee spent a time of the year. Although it over a waterfall and integrates lot of time organizing, as the took a little longer than using the waterway into the design of party was excellent and well the interstate, the drive was the house. It is pretty amazing, run, from the facilities and the well worth the extra time. and house aside, an incredible registration to the speakers and Thursday night was very poor place to live. door prizes. for observing, so I got to get to bed early in preparation for Friday afternoon and evening I the weekend ahead. attended some of the talks. They included sessions on The speakers didn't start until Astrophotography, Sun and Friday afternoon, so Friday S t a r D i a l s , W e a t her, morning I took a long hike at Astronomy on the Internet and the Bear Run Nature Highlights of the Mars Reserve. This is a Pathfinder Mission. The beautiful wilderness session on the Pathfinder was area with many trails. It especially good, given from is full of wild more of a `behind the scenes' rhododendrons perspective, and highlighted by and azaleas and (Continued on page 6) Chair's Report page 2 Constellations for the Summer page 4 inside... Ask Stella page 3 July Star Chart page 7 Links of the Month page 3 Calendar of Events page 8 Page 2 Chair's Report II t's Summer! Well, not so much. officially, but I'm taking the proliferation of This summer there will be many opportunities for you to EE vent Horizon is a publication of the Hamilton Amateur flowers and baby birds as a Astronomers (HAA). solid indication that Summer practice your chosen form of is here. With the arrival of astronomy. The evenings will The HAA is an amateur astronomy Summer comes the birth of be warmer and therefore more club dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of astronomy for people of new ideas, emotions, and conducive to observing. In all ages and experience levels opportunities. We all have our August the Perseids will be at different ways of embracing their splendid best, and what a The cost of the subscription is Summer, and what I look treat they are to behold! At included in the $15 individual or $20 forward to is a break from the the end of August, you will be family membership fee for the year. Event Horizon is published a reality of my everyday life. able to take in Starfest 2000. minimum of 10 times a year. Being hundreds of kilometres Doug Welch is a featured north of Toronto, 30 or 40 speaker there, and Steve HAA Council miles away from the nearest Barnes is a featured retailer. Hon. Chair Jim Winger road, in the stern of my canoe For more details, see the Chair Grant Dixon Second Chair Stewart Attlesey and with my wife in the bow. Starfest 2000 website at http:// Secretary Marg Walton I enjoy these moments nyaa-starfest.com. Treasurer Barbara Wight because of the solitude and Obs. Dir Bret Culver serenity of the surroundings. Each of you will have your Editor Rosa Assalone own particular ways of Membership Dir. Ann Tekatch approaching astronomy in the HAJA Coord Rosa Assalone There are many beautiful things in these wilderness summer. Whether you choose Councillors trips, and many memorable to spend extra time at the Doug Black things as well. From an eyepiece of your telescope, or John McCloy astronomical point of view, attend some of the many star Doug Welch festivals in the area, I wish there is nothing nicer than relaxing with a coffee while you all a very enjoyable Web Site the embers of the campfire summer! http://amateurastronomy.org/ glow faintly, watching the sun Grant Dixon, Chair Mailing Address set and the stars appear one by PO Box 65578 Dundas, ON L9H 6Y6 one ­ all to the music of loons. Eventually the stars stretch from horizon to horizon, and are mirrored in the still surface of the lake. They finally reach a limiting magnitude of greater than 6.5. It's at this moment that I realize why I love astronomy Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 3 Ask Stella : Shake 'N' Bake? Ask Stella : Shake 'N' Bake? TT his month, in addition the center of the universe. Links of the Month to saying "salutations" Furthermore, the sun is a to those scores of common type of star. It's not the serious stargazers in the HAA, biggest, the rightest, the oldest, Here are the last web sites Stella would like to answer two or the most metal-rich. Recently before we take a break for the of Victor Velazquez' seminal we've discovered that the Sun is summer. You really should be questions. Victor writes: not even unique in possessing a outside observing instead of planetary system. browsing the web though. Are there more earthquakes The first site, The Sky Guide, is when the earth is closer to Thus, since our position isn't special, it seems likely that a project of members of the CAS the sun or when its farther humans themselves aren't ( C o l u m b u s A s t r o n o m i c a l Society). The Sky Guide, at away from the sun? special either. If life arose here on this planet, it makes sense http://www.theskyguide.com/ that it could do so in other covers many aspects of amateur I hate to say it, but this one places. Now, speculating on how astronomy, including all levels of actually stumped me. However, often life arises, or how long it observing, equipment and when I asked geologist Bill lasts, or whether it becomes reviews, telescope making, Cannon, who works for the US "intelligent" is very difficult. astrophotography, and news. Geological Survey. : "As far as I People like Carl Sagan have know there is no link betwen written volumes on these topics. Next, the Digitized Sky Survey at frequency of earthquakes and So the best thing for you to do http://archive.stsci.edu/dss/ earth's proximity to the sun." would be to read what other gives you access to the digitized people have written and decide version of the photographic Sky So that answers that. The for yourself which arguments Survey plates from the Palomar second question is a little more make the most sense. As for and UK Schmidt telescopes. global: myself, I prefer to be quietly This was created in order to optimistic and believe that the s u p p o r t H u b b l e S p a c e Is there intelligent life in the universe it teeming with all kinds Telescope operations and universe besides us? of exotic, intelligent life and that provide a service to the sometime soon we might get to astronomical community. Users Now that's a lot tougher. I'd say talk extraterrestrial beings. But can easily retrieve image data that the answer to this question that view is based more on for any part of the sky form this depends a great deal on who imagination than fact. site. you ask. When such a question is directed at me (this does The last site is a collection of the actually happen a fair bit at "Best of Hubble" and is located dinner parties) I invoke the old at http://heritage.stsci.edu. The "non-uniqueness" argument. It images at this site are incredible. goes like this. Depending on your connection speed you can choose from -Stella Stella Humans tend to want to see images less than 100K in size to themselves as occupying a over 7MB. special place in the universe, but when we actually examine the Do you have a question that's See you in the fall, universe closely, we find that our keeping you up at night? Then Stewart Attlesey position is fairly ordinary. In the s e n d a m e s s a g e t o past few hundred years we've ask_stella@earthling.net. found that the earth is not at the center of the solar system, the Ask Stella: your source for astro- sun is not at the center of the facts. galaxy, and the galaxy is not at Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 4 Constellations for the Summer - Vulpecula, Lyra, Saggita, Delphinus Margaret Walton The star Vega has been This is a large, rich cluster of T referred to by various early magnitude 8.8. cultures as some variation on the harp theme. Lyra NGC6823/6820. Open culminates at midnight in Cluster/Nebula. This is an his group of early July. open cluster within a large, constellations, faint, irregular nebula. lined up in a row, may be S a g g i t a i s a n o l d small, but they contain some constellation. The Hebrews NCG6940. Open Cluster. wonderful objects to look at. and Persians, as well as the This bright, large, rich cluster Greeks and Romans have is visible through binoculars. Vulpecula was invented in described it as an arrow. It Magnitude is 6.3. 1690 by the Polish astronomer may be an arrow shot from Hevelius, who named it the bow of Hercules. It can be Cr399. The Coathanger. Vulpecula cum Anser (Fox seen from anywhere in the This is an asterism, with Goose) after a German world except the Antarctica sometimes called Brocchi's children's poem that goes like and its midnight culmination Cluster, and looks very much this: is July 16th. like a coat hanger. It can be seen through binoculars. Fox, you stole the goose, Delphinus has many stories Give her back. attached to it, the most Lyra Or the hunter will get you common being that of a Vega. This is the 5th brightest With his gun. dolphin. In Greek legend, star in the sky and forms the Delphinus is said to be the brightest point of the `summer It probably sounds better in dolphin that carried the poet triangle' (Altair and Deneb German! Vulpecula Arion to safety from his being the other two). culminates at midnight around enemies. It has also been July 25th. referred to as a porpoise by Double-Double (Epsilon the Hindus, a camel by the Lyrae). This is one of the Lyra is named for the harp Arabians and the Great Fish most famous examples of a invented by Hermes but of Johah by the Hebrews. double star in the sky. The played by Orpheus. With it, two stars appear as one to the he had the ability to charm Objects to See naked eye: through binoculars every living creature. He Vulpecula it can be seen to be a double persuaded the gods of the M27 (NGC6853). Dumbbell star. In a good scope each of underworld to give back his Nebula. This is an amazing the stars is itself seen to be a wife, who had died. They object, also visible through close double, separated by agreed, on the condition that binoculars. It is very bright only 2.6" to 2.8". Amateur he not look back until they and very large, with a astronomers often use this as had reached the live world. distinctive `dumbbell' shape. a test of their optics or Unfortunately, he looked back Magnitude is 8.1. collimation, to see if the two at the last moment and his stars can be split into their wife was lost to him forever. NGC6802. Open Cluster. respective doubles. (Continued on page 5) Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 5 Vulpecula, Lyra, Saggita, Delphinus (Continued from page 4) M57 (NGC6720). Ring NGC6791. Open Cluster. This RR Lyrae. This is the Nebula. This is one of the is a large, faint, rich cluster brightest example of a class of best and well- known containing about 300 stars. pulsating variable stars with examples of a planetary Magnitude is 9.5. periods of less than 1 day. nebula. It is found between This star has a period the two southern stars of the Saggita of .566837 days and varies parallelogram of the M71 (NGC6838). Globular from a magnitude of 7.1 to constellation and has a Cluster. This is a very large, 8.0. magnitude of 9.0. Through a rich, condensed cluster of telescope, it looks just like a magnitude 8.3. M56 (NGC 6779). Globular donut. Cluster. This is a bright, large, Delphinus rich, condensed cluster of NGC6703. Galaxy. This is a NGC6905. Blue Flash Nebula. magnitude 8.3. This can be bright, small, round galaxy of This is a bright, small, round seen through binoculars. magnitude 11.4. nebula of magnitude 11.1. It h a s a d i s t i n c t i v e blue colour and as per the NGC this is a ! ! r e m a r k a b l e object. NGC6934. G l o b u l a r Cluster. This is a bright, large, globular of magnitude 8.9. NGC7006. G l o b u l a r Cluster. This is a bright, large, round cluster of m a g n i t u d e 10.6. It is one of the most r e m o t e globulars in Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 6 Star Cruise 2000 (Continued from page 1) on refurbishing a telescope, the thunder and lighting show Hubble, revelations from outside the speakers tent. robotic explorations in the Needless to say, there was no solar system, and the robotic observing that night! search for meteorites in Antarctica. Saturday night it Saturday morning there were cleared and we observed until Cosmology `extracurricular' activities about 3:30am. including a Bicycle Cruise Discussion and a model rocket launch. Ongoing throughout the star Many different rockets were party were several contests ­ Group launched from the observing am amateur telescope making field, some of which obtained contest, various observing quite a good height. There contests, a chi ldren's Presents our own Doug Welch was also a scope set up for scavenger hunt and a who will speak on Modern solar observing with a sketching contest. Saturday C o s m o l o g y S a t u r d a y , hydrogen alpha filter. A large night the door prize drawing September 16th, 2000, 8pm. prominence was visible was held and there were In McMaster's Burke Science through this, along with several doorprizes ranging Building room B148. There smaller prominences and from the ridiculous (party will be free coffee, ginger ale, several sunspots. There were lanterns for your trailer) to cola, and timbits. We more talks Saturday afternoon some really nice prizes (15 welcome our members to and evening. The best talk of mm Panoptic). The site itself bring a small entree. the party was `Astronomical is very nice. Tall Oaks Everyone welcome, open Events that may Have Campground was the site for discussion. For further Changed History'. The the party and they have all the information call Larry at 529- speaker showed how comets, facilities needed including 1037. lunar eclipses, solar eclipses showers. A large open field and other astronomical events was the official camping/ had an influence on people observing site, with a great and events in history. His talk southern horizon. If you was excellent and the only wished, you could camp in downside was that he didn't one of their regular have enough time to go campgrounds and have a great through all of his material. shaded, private site for Perhaps one of the most sleeping all day after original talks was `Why observing all night. Shakespeare's Hamlet is all about Astronomy'. The About 170 people in total speaker has some powerful attended the star party, and a reasons to back up his theory, large percentage of these had and apparently is no longer large telescopes. The largest welcome in the English there was a 30" homebuilt Department of his university! scope, and there were several Other talks included sessions scopes larger than 15". All in Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 7 Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 8 Did you know that... Journey through the Galaxy the Greeks had two Saturday, June 17, 2000 names for Venus: Journey through the galaxy at Phosporus as a S t o n e c h u r c h V i n e y a r d s , morning star and Niagara-on-the-lake. Stargaze Hesperus thorough large telescopes and as evening. travel millions of miles in our Star Theatre. Come, Where were we? experience the excitement Rob Roy 7:30pm to 11pm. Feel free to Since no one was able to help us bring your binoculars and find ourselves, we had to stay an telescope. http://www.nemy. extra week. N18 deg 24.644' com Stargazing, Winetasting. W77 deg 08.367' is two metres from the high water mark at Turtle Beach, Ocho Rios, Carol Legate & John Nemy Jamaica. You can understand The Pacific Observatory now why we did not make a fuss http://www.nemy.com having to stay the extra week. 905-892-4531 Oksana and Lou Darcie Astronomaires Extraordinaire. CALENDAR OF EVENTS * Saturday, June 17, 2000 7:30 pm JOURNEY THROUGH THE GALAXY - At Stonechurch Vineyards, Niagara -on-the-lake. Contact Caro l Legate & John Nemy at 905-892-4531. See article on page 10. * Tuesday, June 20, 2000 7pm HAJA - We will meet at McMaster University, in the Burke Science Building, room B148. For more information contact Rosa Assalone 540-8793 * June 23, 24, 30, 2000 ~ 8pm BINBROOK OBSERVING NIGHTS - For confirmation or directions call July 1, 28, 29 ~ 8pm Bret Culver 575-9492, Marg Walton 627-7361, Rob Roy 692-3245 * Friday, September 8, 2000 7:30pm HAA GENERAL MEETING - At the Spectator Building auditorium. * Saturday, September 16, 2000 8pm COSMOLOGY DISCUSSION GROUP - Doug Welch will speak about Modern Cosmology. Contact Larry at 529-1037 for further information. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers