Newfoundland 2004 GA 1 The Beautiful Planet 2 Presidents Message 3 Observing Sites 4 Upcoming Events 6 Venus Transit from Arabia 7 Cassini Images 8 RASC GA 2004 Report 10 Looking Ahead Remember, you are always welcome to attend meetings of Council, held on the first Tues- day of every month at 7:30pm in the G.S.O. July 13: Anna Sajina of UBCs Astronomy Dept.: Infrared As- tronomy and the New Spitzer Space Telescope. Aug. 10: Jaymie Matthews of UBC and MOST Mission Sci- entist: Unpacking a Suitcase Full of Science: First Results from the MOST Space Tel- escope. Next Issue Deadline Material for the September Nova should submitted by Monday, Sept. 6, 2004. Please send submissions to: Gordon Farrell ([email protected]) Newfoundland 2004 GA by Bill Ronald continued on page 8 NEWSLETTER OF THE VANCOUVER CENTRE RASC VOLUME 2004 ISSUE 4 JULY/AUGUST 2004 The General Assembly in Newfoundland was well attended by members of the Vancouver Centre. Four Council members Ron Jerome, Doug Montgomery, Bob Parry, and Bill Ronald and our outgoing National President, Rajiv Gupta, made the trip to The Rock. Bob and Doug will give you more details about the results from the GA, including the $6 fee increase. I will just mention now that the Vancouver Council has voted to reduce the impact of this increase by decreasing our surcharge from $7 to $5. This means that the Vancouver Centre membership has been raised to just $55, instead of $57. This decision was made because our predicted budget costs are covered by our present revenues and the $6 rise includes a $2.40 return per member to our Centre. In other words, we dont currently need the fee increase locally; the increased costs are at the National level. However, because a youth membership loses money at the National level and has b e e n additionally subsidized by our Centre, we have voted to set our youth fee at the same level as Nationals. In other words, it will increase from $26 ($27.50 $1.50) to the new National level of $31.25. Hopefully, this will not be a hardship for anyone. Fred Smith presents the Winthrop memorial plaque Photos by Linda Ronald
Transcript
Newfoundland 2004 GA 1
The Beautiful Planet 2
President�s Message 3
Observing Sites 4
Upcoming Events 6
Venus Transit from Arabia 7
Cassini Images 8
RASC GA 2004 Report 10
Looking Ahead
Remember, you are alwayswelcome to attend meetings ofCouncil, held on the first Tues-day of every month at 7:30pmin the G.S.O.
July 13: Anna Sajina of UBC�sAstronomy Dept.: �Infrared As-tronomy and the New SpitzerSpace Telescope.�
Aug. 10: Jaymie Matthews ofUBC and MOST Mission Sci-entist: �Unpacking a SuitcaseFull of Science: First Resultsfrom the MOST Space Tel-escope.�
Next Issue DeadlineMaterial for the SeptemberNova should submitted byMonday, Sept. 6, 2004. Pleasesend submissions to:Gordon Farrell([email protected])
Newfoundland 2004 GAby Bill Ronald
continued on page 8
NEWSLETTER OF THE VANCOUVER CENTRE RASC
VOLUME 2004 ISSUE 4 JULY/AUGUST 2004
The General Assembly inNewfoundland was well attendedby members of the VancouverCentre. Four Council members�Ron Jerome, Doug Montgomery,Bob Parry, andBill Ronald�and our outgoingN a t i o n a lPresident, RajivGupta, made thetrip to �TheRock.� Bob andDoug will giveyou more detailsabout the resultsfrom the GA,including the $6fee increase.
I will justmention nowthat theV a n c o u v e rCouncil hasvoted to reducethe impact ofthis increase bydecreasing our surcharge from $7to $5. This means that theVancouver Centre membership hasbeen raised to just $55, instead of$57. This decision was made
because our predicted budget costsare covered by our presentrevenues and the $6 rise includesa $2.40 return per member to ourCentre. In other words, we don�t
currently needthe fee increaselocally; theincreased costsare at theNational level.H o w e v e r ,because a youthm e m b e r s h i ploses money atthe Nationallevel and hasb e e na d d i t i o n a l l ysubsidized byour Centre, wehave voted to setour youth fee atthe same level asNational�s. Inother words, itwill increase
from $26 ($27.50 � $1.50) to thenew National level of $31.25.Hopefully, this will not be ahardship for anyone.
Most experienced observers, evenafter years of practice, cannotresist the temptation of looking atit for at least a few minutes whenthere is an opportunity. The paradeof the jewels of the Solar Systemcontinues this summer. Last yearit was Mars. This year, Springoffered us the very rare spectacleof a transit of Venus. Not all of uswere fortunate enough to see it, butthe Internet was a great help�asgood as being there. And nowCassini-Huygens has arrived at itsdestination. I regularly checked itsprogress on the website, but thatchecking started 7 years ago.Cassini approached its target very,very, slowly�this checkingrequired patience. After leavingthe Earth, Cassini completed twoorbits around the Sun at a distanceapproximately like the Earth�s orVenus�. It approached both planetsclosely, and this approach set it ona path in the direction of Saturn.In the popular press, this isdescribed as a �slingshot effect,�
as if the planet gives an extra pushto the space probe. This is ofcourse not so. I suppose that someof NASA�s press terminology addsto the spread of this concept. Whenthe space vehicle leaves the Earth,it has already all the energy whichit is going to get, apart from somevery minor corrections to the orbiteffected by on board engines.When the space vehicle leaves theEarth, it will have considerablepotential energy with respect to aplanet far away. When it moves inthe direction of that planet, it willfall towards it and gain speed. Thisextra speed can change the orbitof the space ship around the sun.Cassini ended up with anelongated ellipse which couldbring it near Saturn seven yearslater.
I am not a fervent fan of spaceexploration, but we must admirethis masterpiece of spacetechnology that brought Cassini toexactly the right position so that itcould move in between the F-ringand the G-ring and than begin itscomplicated insertion into its orbit
around Saturn. It is first anelongated ellipse which willbecome more circular after thelaunch of the Titan probe,Huygens. I will be just asfascinated as anybody with theimages from Saturn. The bigmoon, Titan, has already drawn alot of attention. We have seenphotographs that give actuallysome detail on the surface of thebig moon. Let us not get carriedaway too fast and with too muchhype. The press talks already aboutsolving the mystery of life on Earthby what we see on Titan. That is alittle bit of a broad conclusion atthis moment. The general pressalways has the tendency to lay iton heavily, but the specializedastronomy periodicals also lean alittle bit to the sensational. Suchstatements are in general not trueor at least they are stronglyexaggerated and they underminethe belief we can have in thequality the real discoveries.
But the major interest must bein the rings. They are by far the
meets at 7:30 PM in the auditoriumof the H.R. MacMillan Space Cen-tre at 1100 Chestnut St., Vancou-ver, on the second Tuesday of everymonth. Guests are always wel-come. In addition, the Centre hasan observing site where star par-ties are regularly scheduled.
Membership is currently $51.00per year ($26.00 for persons under21 years of age) and can be ob-tained by writing to the Treasurerat the address below. Annualmembership includes the invalu-able Observer�s Handbook, six is-sues of the RASC Journal, and, ofcourse, access to all of the clubevents and projects.
For more information regardingthe Centre and its activities, pleasecontact our P.R. Director.
NOVA, the newsletter of theVancouver Centre, RASC, is pub-lished on odd numbered months.Opinions expressed herein are notnecessarily those of the VancouverCentre.
Material on any aspect of as-tronomy should be e-mailed to theeditor, mailed to the address onpage 5, or uploaded toSpaceBase� at 604-473-9358, 59.
AdvertisingNova encourages free use of itsclassified ads for members withitems for sale or swap. Notify theeditor if you wish your ad to run inmore than one issue.
CommericalRates
1/2 Page: $25.00 per issueFull Page: $40.00 per issueRates are for camera-ready, orelectronic files. Payment, bycheque, must accompany ad ma-terial. Make cheque payable to:RASC Vancouver Centre.
President�sMessage
continued on page 6
This is often a limitedobserving time for many of usbecause the long days meanstaying up very late to experiencedark skies. For those that work, itcan be a real sacrifice to enjoy thispart of our hobby. Outreachactivities, such as the Fraser RiverFestival where we observe the Sunand talk to the public, can be anenjoyable substitute. It also has theadvantage of not being botheredby light pollution; the onlyproblem being occasional cloudpollution, which we can�t do muchabout. I have been away for the lastmonth so unfortunately, for thefirst time in many years, I missedthe Fraser River Festival. Thanksto the members who turned out andto the Council members whoorganized it this year, particularlyRon Jerome who filled in for me.
I am leaving town again, toattend the General Assembly inNewfoundland, so I will have tomiss another event, the SCI101 incooperation with UBC and thePlanetarium, at the GMSO on June28. I am writing this messagebefore the event, so thanks inadvance for those who turn outwith their telescopes. Finally,another upcoming event toremember is the Perseid Star Partyat Aldergrove Lake on the eveningof August 12.
Going back to the topic oflight pollution, I would like tothank Chris Dolman and the LPACommittee for preparing displays
4
Observing Sites
Dale McNabb Observatory inAldergrove Lake Park (RASC Van-couver Centre's regular viewingsite)Contact Mike Penndelton (604-888-1505) or Howard Morgan(604-856-9186)
Site of the annual star party organ-ized by the RASC Vancouver Cen-tre
Site of the annual Mt. Kobau StarParty organized by the MountKobau Astronomical Society
Site of the regular Thursday nightstar party. On the dike at the footof 72nd St.
5
ASTROCOMPUTINGSpaceBase� (604-473-9358,59).Affiliated since 1992 with RASCVancouver, our link to RASC Net,RASC Members only chat area.Future data distribution hub forCARO Project. Features includelatest HST images, current worldspace news and astronomy pro-grams. Provides a file uploadingfacility for submitting articles andimagery to Nova.
LIBRARYThe centre has a large library ofbooks, magazines and old Nova�sfor your enjoyment at the GSO.Please take advantage of this clubservice and visit often to check outthe new purchases. Suggestionsfor future library acquisitions areappreciated.
RASCVC on the Internethttp://members.shaw.ca/rascvan/or http://www.rasc.ca/vancouver
H.R. MACMILLANSPACE CENTRE
The Pacific Space Centre Societyis a non-profit organization whichoperates the H.R. MacMillan SpaceCentre and Gordon M. SouthamObservatory. Annual Membership($30 Individual, $65 Family) in-cludes a newsletter, Discounts onSpace Camps, special programsand lectures, Vancouver MuseumDiscounts, and free admission tothe Space Centre. Admission to theSpace Centre includes: Astronomyshows, Motion Simulator rides,multimedia shows in GroundStationCanada, and access to the CosmicCourtyard Exhibit Gallery. For Mem-bership information, call MahiJordao at 604-738-7827, local 237for information. You can also reachthem on the Internet at http://www.hrmacmillanspacecentre.com/
MEMBERSHIPHAS ITS
PRIVILEGES!New members, did you know?
The Vancouver Centre has 8 tel-escopes available for loan free ofcharge! We have telescopes rang-ing from 60mm to 10" diameter.For more information see Phil Mor-ris, Director of Telescopes in thelobby of the GSO after the mem-bers meeting. All telescopes areto be picked up and returned at theGSO. The loaner period is for onemonth, to be returned after the nextmeeting. Telescopes are not al-lowed to circulate outside of thesemeetings. You can now reserve 2different telescopes per year anduse what is left at the end of themeeting anytime. Phil can bereached at 604-734-8708.
Your greatest opportunity as amember of the R.A.S.C. is to takeadvantage of the company of otherenthusiasts to increase your knowl-edge, enjoyment and skill in as-tronomy.
The best thing you can do togain the most from your member-ship is to get active! Take in theclub meetings; engage other mem-bers with questions; come out to ob-serving sessions (also known as�star parties�), and, by all means,volunteer to take part in our manypublic events.
Observing takes place at theDale McNabb Observatory in theAldergrove Lake Park, located inLangley, on 8th Avenue, just eastof 272nd Street. We are there mostclear nights. Contact MikePenndelton at 604-888-1505 orHoward Morgan at 604-856-9186.
RASC1100 Chestnut Street
Vancouver, B.C.V6J 3J9
604-738-2855
most striking feature of the planetand they raise many, manyquestions. I would have assumedthat specialists in celestialmechanics had a very good ideaof how this ring system works. Notso. The origin or age of the systemis not clear. There seems to be aconsensus that the ring systemcannot be as old as the planetbecause over such a long periodof time the rings would haveeroded much more. This is sobecause of the internal collisionswithin the rings and because of thetorques to which the rings aresubject. So the rings must have anorigin? A collision betweenasteroids? Possibly, but one mustthen describe the mechanics of allthe debris of the collision endingup with coherent velocities nicelygoing around Saturn in a verysymmetric set of rings.
The stability of the rings is anunsolved problem. We are used todescriptions of the origin of thesolar system where one starts witha disk around the Sun. Thematerial in the disk will startclustering around spots with asomewhat higher density than theaverage. Once that process starts,it is easy to understand that suchproto-planets will eventuallysweep up most of the material inthe disk. So, why does such amechanism not work in the Saturnrings? Or, at least, why is such amechanism sufficiently repressedsuch as to give the rings a long lifetime. We do not know how stableor unstable the rings are. It is
September10-12 � Fall Merritt Star Quest.25/26 � Sidewalk Astronomy.
October9/10 � Sidewalk Astronomy(alternate date).
December14 � AGM
possible that they are slowlydisintegrating, that they have afinite life time. The new images ofthe ring system should help usunderstand at least a little bit betterwhat mechanisms are at work here.It was already known that the smallshepherd moons play a vital rolein keeping the system in place.And maybe there will be moresuch small moons, not visible tous with earth bound instruments.
But the first photos also clearlyshowed density waves. So therecould be a complex mechanism atwork here with the interactionbetween the rings as a whole, themoons and density waves. Toreally fully understand themechanical theory that eventuallywill be developed one would haveto dig deep into celestialmechanics. Most of us have not thetime to do this. One can onlyfollow that closely one or two
for Astronomy Day and the FraserRiver Festival, and for Chris�sattendance at a Vancouver sports-lighting proposal meeting. On myrecent trip to Cyprus to tape,photograph and time the Transit ofVenus, I got a real eye-opener intothe effects of uncontrolled lighting.We chose to go to Cyprus becauseit has wonderful historic sites, wehadn�t been there and Iremembered descriptions, someyears ago, of scenic villages withbeautiful dark skies. I had packedalong an 80mm ED f/7.5 refractorwhich I couldn�t wait to turn looseon those southern beauties(celestial of course). Our flightwas a late one, arriving in Larnaka
subjects. But I do hope there willbe enough articles to read to get atleast a good, more intuitivedescription of this major andfascinating mystery of the solarsystem.
The rings are a display of aprecarious, delicate balance. Theylook as fragile as porcelain. Theygive a delicate beauty to themagnificent planet, themasterpiece of our solar system.A beautiful planet. !
at 2:30 AM, so it was with greatdismay that I looked out thewindow as we flew along the southcoast from Paphos to Larnaka andsaw that it was outlined bythousands of lights. Scenic, rusticCyprus has become a holidaydestination and it seems like thewhole coast is becoming a wall ofluxury hotels. Needless to say,when I looked at the sky from the�quaint, scenic fishing village� ofKato Paphos, the only celestialobjects that I could pick out wereJupiter and Arcturus. When I usedmy 10x50 binoculars, I think Ifound the Big Dipper.
This experience made theactivities of our LPA Committeebecome much more important for
me. Cyprus produces its electricitymainly with Diesel generators soyou would think that energyconservation would be high ontheir agenda. However, tourismbrings in the big dollars and thatis where they are placing theemphasis. Imagine how the LowerMainland, with its potential accessto cheaper energy sources, mightend up if it was decided that ittourism and entertainment mustbecome the primary industries atthe expense of our dark skies. Atthe moment, I still have mag 4 to4.5 skies from my back deck,which faces the UBC woods, butfor how much longer?
� Bill Ronald !
continuted from page 3
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Venus Transit from Arabiaby Andy Moore
I�m currently living in Ras AlKhaimah in the United ArabEmirates and had the ideal viewinglocation for this twice in a lifetimeevent. Like many of us, I waslooking forward to June 8th withgreat anticipation. The day dawnedas it does everyday�clear andwarm. I sent an email around thecollege advising anyone interestedto come by between 9:30 and
14:30. I loaded in 100 ASA andset up my Nikon F4 with a 500 mmreflector and 2X on a sturdy tripodjust outside my office. Over thenext 5 hours, I took about 36 shotsat different exposures recordingVenus� slow movement; the transittook place at the perfect time. TheSun was well up when the transitbegan and continued rightoverhead and high into the Westbefore finishing. It was 38 degrees
at high noon, the mid-point of thetransit. The students gasped asthey spotted the black spot on theSun. Celestial events are normallyconnected to the beginning andend of religious holidays so manyfelt there must be some kind ofdeeper meaning to this apparition.All in all, it was an amazing sightto behold... looking forward nowto 2012! !
Venus transit from second contact to mid transit, by Andy Moore
Venus mid-transit,by Bill Ronald
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continuted from page 1
The theme of the 2004 GAwas a celebration of the Transit ofVenus. TheH e l e nS a w y e rH o g gLecture wasgiven by Dr.S a r aSchechnerof HarvardUniversity,w h odescribed ingreat detail the 1761measurements made at St. John�s,Newfoundland, by John Winthropof Harvard College in theMassachusetts Bay Colony.Following the lecture, we alltrouped out into the dark to the sitewhere a memorial plaque will bemounted. In a small ceremony,
Fred Smith and Peter Broughtonpresented the plaque, donated bythe RASC, to the Memorial
Universityo fNewfoundland.
T h eWi n t h r o pp l a q u epresentationwas not theo n l yc e r e m o n y
conducted atthis GA. Allof ourm e m b e r shad toundergo theceremony oft h e�Sc reech -
in,� where they were madehonorary Newfoundlanders, or�Newfs� as the Grand Master ofCeremonies, Gary Dymond, calledthem. I think for some, this was thehighlight of the GA. In particular,Bob took wholeheartedly to theidea of screech [photo at left], butI have to admit that Raj [photobelow] looked a bit apprehensivewhen Gary made him sit upon the�throne.� In all, this was anothergreat GA and I recommend that
you startp l a n n i n gy o u rattendanceat GA 2005,which willbe just nextdoor inKelowna. !
Cassini Images of Saturn�s RingsAll images: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Density waves in the A ring(290m per pixel)
Encke gap, showing scallopedinner edge (1km per pixel)
Outer edge of the Encke gap(270m per pixel)
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RASC GA 2004 Reportby Bob Parry
This will be a rather briefreport of the highlights anddecisions made at this year�sGA in St. John�sNF. There wasone decision to bemade at the GAthis year thataffects everyone,and that of coursewas the $6.00increase to theannual dues.There was somedebate on this,however most ofit had been doneat previousmeetings. Theend result wasthat the increasep a s s e doverwhelmingly.This means thatthe cost ofmembership willincrease from $44+ local surchargeto $50 +surcharge. ForV a n c o u v e rCentre, whichcurrently has amembership costof $51, the costwill increase. This has beendiscussed on the local counciland Bill will have an
announcement at this monthsmembers meeting.
The other proposal to voteon was the change in the
National Reps� terms of office.They currently are a maximumof three one-year terms. This
was not an enforced rule untilrecently. However, Nationalhas decided to push the issue.National Reps from across the
country wantedchanges to thispolicy and aproposal of threetwo-year termswas proposed.This would allowReps to be onCouncil for up to6 years total. As ittakes about threeyears to get toknow the ropes atNational, thisseems reasonable.The motion wascarried.
There will bea more completereport in thefuture as there isnot enough timebefore deadline ofthe Nova to allowmore time to writea report.
I want to saythat theo r g a n i z i n gcommittee for theSt. John�s Centredid a superb job.
Garry Dymond was a fantastichost and the head of theorganizing committee. Yes, that
continued on page 11
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is Garry in the slicker andSou�Wester on. His �award�ceremony at Murphy Night was
the highlight of the GA for me.!
continuted from page 10
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