Hamilton Amateur Astronomers March 1999 Volume 6 Issue 5 Constellation of the Month: Canes Venatici - The Hunting Dogs - Margaret Walton visible through binoculars and is elongated, spiral galaxy with a TT one of the three brightest magnitude of 8.6. globulars in the north. Magnitude is 6.4. As per the M 9 4 ( N G C 4 7 3 6 ) : Bright, hese are the hunting NGC this is a (!) remarkable elongated, spiral galaxy with a dogs of Bootes, and lie object. magnitude of 8.7. This is very to the west of that constellation, bright and appears round. It is beneath the tail of Ursa Major. M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy: This quite easy to locate. The two main stars are said to object is composed of two be the dogs that guided the interacting spiral galaxies; M106 (NGC4258): Very bright, daughter (Virgo) of Bootes NGC5194 and NGC5195. As large, elongated galaxy of (Icarus) to his dead body. This per the NGC this is a (!!) magnitude 8.3. constellation is well worth remarkable object. spending an evening exploring, NGC4143: Bright, round galaxy of with several nice galaxies. Its M63 (NGC5055) The Sunflower magnitude 10.7. midnight culmination is in April. Galaxy: This is a bright, large, (Continued on page 3) Stars Cor Caroli: Halley named this star in honour of King Charles II of England. It also marks the position of Chara, one of Bootes hunting dogs. This is a good double star f o r s m a l l telescopes. Objects M3 (NGC5275): An extremely bright, large globular cluster containing thousands of stars. This cluster is Chair's Report page 2 Did you know that... page 4 inside... What are Variable Stars? page 3 Calendar of Events page 6 Who Said It? page 4 April Star Chart page 7 Page 2 O Chair's Report com/, "The Bad Astronomy web pages are devoted to airing out n March the 4th the myths and misconceptions in Hamilton Centre of the astronomy and related topics.". The RASC held their monthly meeting at next two sites were chosen because Saltfleet High School. One of the I recently had someone ask if I evening's activities was a tour of the knew where to get plans for a Barn new observatory that I last mentioned Door mount. This is sometimes in the January newsletter. After the called a Haig or Scotch mount. A EE vent Horizon is a publication of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers (HAA). meeting adjourned we were split into Barn Door mount is a device that groups of eight and patiently waited you place between your camera and The HAA is an amateur astronomy for our turn to go into the observatory tripod to compensate for the Earth's club dedicated to the promotion and that is located on the roof of the rotation in long exposure enjoyment of astronomy for people of school. Carmen Martino, Chair of the astrophotos. The first site, at http:// all ages and experience levels Science Department of Saltfleet High www.u-net.com/ph/mas/projects/ School, was operating the scope for scotch/scotch.htm, is titled A The cost of the subscription is us. The telescope, housed in their 12 Quartz Controlled Scotch Mount included in the $15 individual or $20 ft Ash dome, is a Meade 16" LX200 and has some excellent information family membership fee for the year. equipped with a CCD camera. For on building and using a simple Event Horizon is published a those of you not familiar with the motorized mount. The next site at minimum of 10 times a year. LX200 series of scopes it is a http://www.meteor.dotstar.net/haig. Schmidt-Cassegrain design and htm is one of the ugliest I've seen. HAA Council comes equipped with a computer to However, it does have some good Chair Stewart Attlesey locate and track objects. As I plans for building a manual Barn Second Chair Doug Welch mentioned previously, the HAA will Door mount. Secretary Marg Walton have access to this observatory one Treasurer Barbara Wight day a week. (I have requested that we I'm sure that this will be mentioned Obs. Dir Rob Roy get the clear days.) I expect that we elsewhere in the newsletter but it is Editor Rosa Assalone will be setting up activities for the worth repeating; the April meeting Membership Dir. Ev Rilett HAA at the site sometime this spring. will not be held on the second HAJA Coord Rosa Assalone Friday but on the 16th instead due to As usual I have some web sites for a booking conflict at the Spectator Councillors you to check out this month. I'm sure building. Dr. Ralph Pudritz will be Ann Tekatch most of you have seen examples of talking to us on "The Golden Age of Ray Badgerow bad astronomy information being Astronomy: Will Canada be in it?". Steve Barnes handed out to the public via radio, John McCloy television, the web, et cetera. To Stewart Attlesey Gary Sutton quote the author of the website attlesey@interlog.com located at http://www.badastronomy. Web Site http://amateurastronomy.org/ Editor's Report N N ote that the next general write something for the next issue, meeting is Friday, April remember that all articles are 16th, 1999. Of course, this means welcomed. that everyone has a bonus week in which to write articles for the April Send articles to me via e-mail or Event Horizon. mail them via regular mail. Thanks to everyone who submitted Rosa Assalone articles for this issue. If you want to 540-8793 assalor@mcmaster.ca Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 3 What Are Variable Stars? V V the eclipse of one star by another Professional astronomers have or by the effects of stellar neither the available time nor the ariable stars are stars rotation (eclipsing binaries and unlimited telescope access that change in rotating variables). needed to gather data on the brightness. These brightness brightess changes of thousands changes can range from a few Famous Variables of variable stars. But amateur hundredths to as much as twenty astronomers utilizing visual, magnitudes over periods of a Some of the more famous photographic, photoelectric, and fraction of a second to years, variable stars include supernovae now CCD techniques, are depending on the type of (such as the supernova in the making a real and highly useful variable star. Stars change in Large Magellanic Cloud in contribution to science by brightness when they are very 1987) and Cepheid variables observing variable stars and young, or when they are very old (helpful in determining distances submitting their observations to or dying. to far away galaxies and the age the AAVSO International of the universe), the long period Database. There are now over 28,000 stars stars like Mira, and eclipsing known to be variable, and binaries, such as Algol (the 14,000 more that are suspected demon star) in Perseus. to be changing in brightness in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Research on variable stars is Variable stars are classified as important because it can provide either intrinsic, wherein much information about stellar variability is caused by physical properties, such as mass, radius, changes such as pulsation or luminosity, temperature, internal eruption in the star or stellar and external structure, system (pulsating variables and composition, and age. This eruptive variables), or extrinsic, information can then be used to wherein variability is caused by understand other stars. From http://www.aavso.org Constellation of the Month: Canes Venatici - The Hunting Dogs (Continued from page 1) elongated galaxy of magnitude NGC5033: Bright, large, elongated 9.8. It forms an interacting pair galaxy with several filamentary NGC4214: Bright, large, with NGC4485. Both are bright arms. Magnitude is 10.1. elongated galaxy of magnitude and are easy to locate. This is a 9.8. very nice object. NGC5350, 5353, 5354, 5355, 5358. Hickson Galaxy Group 68: NGC4244: Bright, large, NGC4656: Bright, large, This is a group of 5 galaxies elongated edge-on galaxy of elongated galaxy of magnitude located SE of M51. Three of the magnitude 10.2. 10.4. A companion galaxy five can be seen with an 8" scope, (NGC4657) is located at the NE the rest require a 10-12". NGC4449 The Box Galaxy: end. Bright, large, elongated irregular galaxy of magnitude 9.5. It is NGC5005: Very bright, large, possible to see bright and dark elongated, spiral galaxy with an areas surrounding the stellar extremely bright nucleus and nucleus. circular dust lanes. Magnitude is 9.8. NGC4490: Very bright, large, Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 4 An experience of a lifetime of experiences. O O Why would anyone want to give bit of a ham. n Saturday March 27 at Planetarium shows? This is a very 2:00 p.m. I will be good question. The short answer is Not that I am foreseeing a massive doing my last official that over half of all of the club's turnout, but if there is, this is how the public show at the William J revenue comes from these shows show(s) shall be run. Children first, McCallion Planetarium. and therefore we are able to keep trainees next, followed by members our dues down and still offer a great and their families, and finally the The show has three reasons for its value to our members. However, general public will be seated. I will existence. First it is a show for a this is not the reason that I do the not leave anyone out even if I have to small group of children. If you have shows. Firstly, whether my public do a dozen shows! children bring them along. is eight or eighty, I really like Secondly it will be a training getting out, meeting people and What better way to cap off over 21 seminar for all those who would like passing on my love for astronomy to years of giving public shows than by to attend. Anyone that thinks that them. Public nights have become a giving another public show? they might like to do shows in the sort of learning discipline; it gives future are strongly urged to attend. me a direction in my astronomical Grant Dixon Finally, to anyone who has ever studies, for in order to keep the said, "Boy, I would really like to see shows lively not only must I keep dixon@netaccess.on.ca how that Grant fellow gives his current, I must also know my basics. 627-3683 planetarium shows", this is your last I am not big on television; I would chance. rather be active than passive. Finally, I must confess that I am a WHO SAID IT? map, you can quite leisurely fix the eternal figures of the T here is no better o p p o r t u n i t y o f enjoying the starry constellations in your memory sky in peace than on a the pitch- and identify them..... Did you know black foredeck of a ship sailing through southern waters. In the It has always irked me as that... balmy night you can stretch out improper that there are still so on your back on a tarpaulin, and many people for whom the sky is if you increase the if you have a flashlight and a star no more than a mass of random limiting magnitude of points of light.... It is quite possible for a layman in the field a photograph by of astronomy like myself to enjoy 1 magnitude, the recognizing all those noble, number of stars striking figures, which become all recorded will the more real as you get to know approximately them better. triple. . Submitted by Rob Roy Rob Roy See page 6 for the answer. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 5 Letter to Terence Dickinson January 1999 apochromat at powers below 70, workmanship that is evident in given that the achromat is the Questar. You mention the Dear Sir: smaller than the Questar and the solidity of the feel of it which is ETX. It is, as you indicate, that just not there in the ETX. In my Although your review of the the performance between the 2 estimation, the mechanical Meade ETX in the February Maksutovs spreads farther apart details and the metal work, issue Of Sky News was very fair as the power of magnification alone, in that telescope have to as far as the ETX is concerned, I increases beyond the 'low' and cost about Cdn. $3000. How feel that it cast the 30 year old the 'moderate'. I would also anyone can produce that quality- Questar in a somewhat shady argue that the differences would self-clutching stainless steel light. become very much evident as friction drives and the rest of the the two were pushed beyond the flawless lathe work for this First of all, the ETX is a brand 160 or 180 range. Some number of present-day dollars, is new off-the-shelf unit and the dimness of image would set in, amazing. Handling the two comparison instrument is 3 in both cases, but the quality of instruments would reveal a decades old. What is its past the Questar image would remain tremendous disparity in quality. history? Did it fall down a flight long after the Meade's began to A shaky mount is going to make of stairs? Were the optics clean deteriorate. This deterioration high-power focussing all but or dirty? Was it a sell-off from a would most likely be exponential impossible. bankrupt university physics or 'geometric' rather than simple department? We know nothing linear fall-off. Finally, we come to the topic of of the history of this telescope. Questar's inventor, Lawrence And yet it is held up as a fair How Meade produces the Braymer, a portrait painter, who comparison with a brand new telescopes it does and has wanted each instrument bearing unit. To be fairly done, it should become, arguably, the largest his 'stamp' to be a work of art. have gone back to Questar for an optical company in the world in This amateur natural historian inspection-overhaul and then the so short a time is very puzzling. worked very hard to maintain comparison would be more They charge domestic prices for this tradition and 50 years later, valid. What would be the results instrumentation that should cost his company still does. I believe with a 30 year old ETX? as much, as a luxury automobile. that around 20% of Questars go And still them purport to have as to amateur users and the rest are You state that very little high a quality as much more built for industrial and military difference could be seen below expensive equipment! How is applications. The quality is 110 diameters. I would argue this possible? There is no such definitely there. that there would be very little thing as a 'free lunch', so clearly difference between the optical there has been a relaxation of If the ETX and the Questar were performances of a garden-variety standards somewhere. If optical free or were the same price, do 60mm refractor and a larger elements are being 'sucked' into we have to ask which one people shape and then ground, the would automatically take? optical figure is going to show its shortcomings when `the heat' is turned up and image Yours very truly, d e t e r i o r a t i o n b e c o m e s Michael Jefferson noticeable. Another thing becomes apparent as you look at the two telescopes in the same picture. That is the Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 6 WHO SAID IT? M. C. Escher commenting on his October 1948 wood engraving entitled "Stars". Submitted by Rob Roy FOR SALE: Bushnell Binoculars / Explorer II 10 x 50 / 8o field / Insta Focus Carry Case Will include tripod mount free- for easy steady viewing Excellent Condition. Asking $150.00 firm. FOR SALE : 4 1/2" / f 6.5 Telescope Approx. 760mm focal Length Newtonian Reflector Lightweight Dobsonian Mount 16mm Erfle Eyepiece - 45x Ideal for any beginner or family. Very light, portable and easy to use. Excellent Condition. Asking $250.00 firm Please call Ev @ 319-8864 (home after 5:00 pm) or email ev@bestnet.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS * March 12, 13, 19, 20, 8:00pm BINBROOK OBSERVING NIGHTS - For confirmation or directions call Rob Roy at 692-3245 or Bret Culver 575-9492 or John McCloy 523-4359. * Tuesday, March 16, 7:00pm HAJA MEETING - McMaster Burke Science Building, room B148. For more information contact Rosa Assalone at 540-8793. * April 9, 10, 16, 17 8:00pm BINBROOK OBSERVING NIGHTS - For confirmation or directions call Rob Roy at 692-3245 or Bret Culver 575-9492 or John McCloy 523- 4359. * Friday, April 16, 7:30pm HAA GENERAL MEETING - At the Spectator Building auditorium. Speaker is Ralph Pudritz from McMaster University. Topic is "The Golden Age of Astronomy: Will Canada be in it?" Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers