Malcolm's Astronomy Blog

Section of bridge collapses after struck by rocket vessel

2012-01-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

The ocean-going cargo vessel used to transport rocket stages from the manufacturing factory in Alabama to the two primary U.S. launch sites in Florida and California struck a bridge in southern Kentucky Thursday night, causing a section to collapse.

The Eggner's Ferry Bridge, which crosses Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River, was opened to traffic in 1932.

File image of the Delta Mariner. Credit: ULA video

Known as the Delta Mariner, it is owned and operated by Foss Marine. The shipping firm transports United Launch Alliance Delta 4 and Atlas 5 components to Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The ship was carrying rocket parts to Cape Canaveral from the factory in Decatur, Alabama, when the crash occurred at U.S. Highway 68 and Kentucky Highway 80 over the Tennessee River Thursday at 8:15 p.m. Central Time.

"There are no injuries on the Mariner or the bridge. Initial inspections have shown that the flight hardware being transported was not damaged," ULA said in a statement.
The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation.

Local news reports say there were cars traveling across the bridge when the accident happened, but no one was hurt.

The 312-foot roll-on, roll-off ship was commissioned in 2002.

Moon Phase Application

2012-01-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

I recently came across this very handy Moon Phase application that can be inserted into you blog or website. For more information, do visit there website to learn more.

I would like to thank The Night Sky Observer's blog for directing me to this.

SpaceX to launch Feb. 7th and dock with ISS

2012-01-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

NASA has announced the launch target for Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) second Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flight will be Feb. 7, 2012, pending completion of final safety reviews, testing and verification. NASA also has agreed to allow SpaceX to send its Dragon spacecraft to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) in a single flight.

"SpaceX has made incredible progress over the last several months preparing Dragon for its mission to the space station," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "We look forward to a successful mission, which will open up a new era in commercial cargo delivery for this international orbiting laboratory."

Gerstenmaier said, "There is still a significant amount of critical work to be completed before launch, but the teams have a sound plan to complete it and are prepared for unexpected challenges. As with all launches, we will adjust the launch date as needed to gain sufficient understanding of test and analysis results to ensure safety and mission success."

During the flight, Dragon will conduct a series of check-out procedures that will test and prove its systems in advance of the rendezvous with the station. The primary objectives for the flight include a fly-by of the space station at a distance of approximately two miles to validate the operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous and approach. The spacecraft also will demonstrate the capability to abort the rendezvous, if required.

Dragon will perform the final approach to the ISS while the station crew grapples the vehicle with the station's robotic arm. The capsule will be berthed to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node. At the end of the mission, the crew will reverse the process, detaching Dragon from the station for its return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of California. If the rendezvous and attachment to the station are not successful, SpaceX will complete a third demonstration flight in order to achieve these objectives as originally planned.

"SpaceX is on the forefront of demonstrating how a partnership between the government and private industry can lead to new capabilities and provide a large return on investment," said Alan Lindenmoyer, program manager for COTS at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"SpaceX is excited to be the first commercial company in history to berth with the International Space Station. This mission will mark a historic milestone in the future of spaceflight," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. "We appreciate NASA's continued support and their partnership in this process."

Begun in 2006, NASA's COTS program is investing financial and technical resources to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate safe, reliable and cost-effective space transportation capabilities. In a multiphase strategy, the program is spurring the innovation and development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles from commercial industry, creating a new system of delivering cargo to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Through Space Act Agreements, SpaceX will receive up to $396 million and Orbital Sciences Corporation, NASA's other COTS partner, will receive up to $288 million for the successful completion of all milestones in the agreements. To date, SpaceX has received $376 million for completing 36 out of 40 milestones and Orbital has received $261.5 million for completing 23 out of 29 milestones.

For more information on SpaceX or the

Dragon spacecraft, visit: http://www.spacex.com

2012-01-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

The BTA-6 or Large Altazimuth Telescope) was for several years the world's largest solid-mirror reflecting telescope. The BTA-6 has a prime mirror diameter of 6 m (236 in) and is housed in a 48 m (157.5 ft) diameter dome at an altitude of 2,070 m (6,791 ft). Seeing first light in late 1975, it held the record from its completion until 1993, when it was surpassed by the Keck 1 telescope, Hawaii. Telescopes of comparable or larger size have subsequently employed flexible or segmented mirrors, and the BTA-6 remains the world's largest rigid-mirror telescope until the advent of spin-casting technology (which produced, for example, the single 8.4-meter primary mirror of the Large Binocular Telescope in the late 1990s). Its altazimuth mounting dictates the need for a field de-rotation mechanism to maintain the orientation of the field of view.

Initial results were disappointing due to cracking of the first borosilicate mirror, which was replaced in 1978. The large housing dome and massive 42 tonne mirror make it difficult to maintain the telescope at a suitable constant temperature during observing sessions. Atmospheric turbulence caused by windflow over the nearby Caucasus peaks can lead to poor "seeing" at the site, and observations with an angular resolution better than an arcsecond are rare. Despite these shortcomings, the BTA-6 remains a significant instrument, able to image objects as faint as the 26th magnitude.

Along with the BTA-6, the SAO operates two smaller telescopes at the BTA site, both built by Carl Zeiss. Both instruments are used in support of BTA-6 programs, as well as independent observation runs. On the advice of the SAO, programs originally booked for the BTA-6 can be moved to these telescopes, which takes up about 10% of their time.[1]

The larger instrument, the 1 m Zeiss-1000, is located a few hundred meters from BTA-6 in its own building, which consists of a series of offices surrounding the main cylindrical instrument building with the dome on top. First light on the Zeiss-1000 was in 1990, and the installation, including additional instrumentation, was fully completed since 1993.

In 1994 they were joined by a 60 cm Zeiss instrument, formerly part of the Kazan State University's observatory. This is located only a few tens of meters from the Zeiss-1000, in a much simpler building consisting only of the dome and supporting masonry walls.

The site is located near the Black Sea.

Watch for Venus in the New Year

2011-12-25T15:46:00.000-08:00

Size comparison of terrestrial planets
(left to right): Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

Venus is the focus in the Western sky after sunset in the coming months and shines brightly. It is very close in size to our own planet but the atmosphere of Venus would not be kind to life. It is mainly made up of dense Carbon and Sulfur Dioxide and would quickly suffocate any human being or any other forms of life there. The atmospheric pressure is about 92 times that of our own planet and that would feel like being pressed on by a kilometre of water. If the pressure doesn't kill you then the temperature of 460 degrees C might in about 10 minutes. Not exactly a holiday vacation hot spot!

Studies of Venus have suggested that several billion years ago Venus was much like our own planet with liquid water on the surface, but a runaway greenhouse effect caused the evaporation of all the liquid water to evaporate into it's atmosphere.

Venus will be having some nice pairing in the sky in the coming months with the Moon, Jupiter and Venus in the coming months. These are excellent for observers and photographers alike, so be ready with your telescope or camera.   Find a nice setting with a foreground object like a tree or building which would make make a nice picture. Always use a tripod when you can so your picture can be as sharp as possible.
When to look:

Jan 26th 7º S of Moon
Feb 25th 3º S of Moon
Mar 12th 3º of Jupiter
Mar 26th 1.8º of Moon
Apr 2nd   0.5º of Pleiades, M45
June 5th   Transit of Venus in front of the Sun !!!

Video of Comet Lovejoy from Chile

2011-12-25T08:33:00.001-08:00

I came across an amazing video of Comet C/2011 W3 LoveJoy rising. It was taken from the VLT, Cerro Paranal, in Chile.

Simply awesome. View the video by visiting here.

Comet LoveJoy Survives passing our Sun

2011-12-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

Comet Lovejoy C/2011 W3, which was predicted to vaporize within the atmosphere of our Sun, passed very close to the Sun's surface. Comets are made up of dusty and cold material from our outer solar system that when they get close to our sun begin to vaporize material that gives them a distinctive dusty glow and sometimes show a characteristic tail.

C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) is a periodic comet, classified as a Kreutz Sungrazer. It was discovered on 27 November 2011, by amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.

The comet's perihelion took it through the Sun's corona on 16 December 2011 at 00:35 UTC, at a distance of approximately 510,000 miles (820,000 km). It was not expected to survive the encounter, but the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), as well as other Sun-monitoring spacecraft, observed the comet emerge from the corona intact. Before perihelion, the comet nucleus of Lovejoy had been estimated to be between 100 and 200 meters in diameter, but after surviving perihelion it has been estimated that the nucleus could have been as large as 500 meters before the perihelion passage. At its brightest the comet had an apparent magnitude of around mag. -4 and was about as bright as the planet Venus. It is likely the brightest comet to appear since Comet McNaught of 2007, which shone at visual magnitude -6. However, Lovejoy is largely invisible to the naked eye owing to its proximity to the Sun.

The comet first became visible to the STEREO-A spacecraft on 3 December, and to the SOHO spacecraft on 14 December. Before the comet passed through perihelion, it was the subject of observation campaigns by eighteen instruments on five satellites: STEREO, SOHO, SDO, Hinode and PROBA2.

Terry Lovejoy is an amateur astronomer, from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Lovejoy is known for his modifications to consumer-grade digital cameras for digital camera astrophotography. All digital cameras come with built-in filters that cut off infrared light. Unfortunately, they also cut off some of the red light that many deep space objects emit. After he published procedures to modify those filters, many amateur astronomers were able to improve their deep space photography.

On 15 March 2007, he discovered a new comet with one of the cameras. After confirmation by the IAU, the comet now carries his name.

On 27 November 2011, with the discovery of C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy), he became the first astronomer in over 40 years to discover a Kreutz Sungrazing comet from a ground based observation. This discovery also makes him the only person to have discovered Kreutz sungrazers both from ground based observation and from images obtained by spatial telescopes. The discovery was made using a C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope working at f2.1 with a QHY9 CCD camera.

The asteroid 61342 Lovejoy is named in his honor.

Visit www.spaceweather.com for updated videos and photographs of the comet.

Comet C/2009 P1 Barradd

2011-08-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Comet C/2009 P1 Barradd

On August 31st I took a picture of C/2009 P1 Garradd from Little Saanich Mountain in Victoria, BC where the RASC, Victoria Centre has it's Observatory. The picture was taken using a Nikon D70s using a 300mm telephoto lens. 1 minute exposure @ F/5.6 and tracked piggyback atop a telescope.

Comet Elenin

2011-05-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

Comet Elenin to Visit this Fall

May 4th 2011

You may have heard the news: Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this fall. Comet Elenin, C/2010 X1), was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery "remotely" using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico.

Comet Elenin should be at its brightest shortly before the time of its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 16 of this year. At its closest point, it will be 35 million kilometers (22 million miles) from us. Can this icy interloper influence us from where it is, or where it will be in the future? What about this celestial object inspiring some shifting of the tides or even tectonic plates here on Earth? There have been some incorrect Internet speculations that external forces could cause comet Elenin to come closer.

"Comet Elenin will not encounter any dark bodies that could perturb its orbit, nor will it influence us in any way here on Earth," said Yeomans. "It will get no closer to Earth than 35 million kilometers [about 22 million miles].

NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing relatively close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and predicts their paths to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch , and on Twitter: @asteroidwatch

2011-05-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

The Sky for May

In the Spring skies between Leo and Bootes the Constellation Coma Berenices holds one of the nearest open clusters, Melotte 111.

At a distance of 300 light years away Mellotte 111 spans more than 5 degrees and it’s collection of stars range in brightness between 5th to 10th Magnitude. It will nicely fill the view of a pair of 7x50 binoculars but may also be seen visually without binoculars under dark skies. The cluster is also your guide to the spring cluster of Galaxies that can be found with small to medium sized telescopes. In an 8 inch or larger telescope NGC 4565 should be your first Galaxy to look for. Here is good list of objects to find at this time of year.

NGC 4565 is a well-known edge-on spiral with highly visible dust lane from end to end. It's the largest galaxy of its type and has a visual magnitude of 9.6. The galaxy is found one degree due east of 17 Coma Berenices.
M64, the Black Eye Galaxy, is a bright (8.5) compact spiral one degree east-northeast of 35 Comae. The "black eye" can only be seen under ideal conditions with large telescopes. The galaxy is over 20 million light years away.
M53 is a globular star cluster one degree northeast of alpha Comae. The brightest Messier in the constellation (7.7), it tends to be most impressive with larger telescopes, which are needed to resolve the individual stars. The cluster is thought to be 65,000 light years away.

Malcolm Scrimger

2011-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Meteors From Halleys Comet

April 27, 2011: Looking for an adventure? Get up in the wee hours of the morning May 6th and head out into the country, far from the city lights. You won't be alone. The birds will be up and singing about the coming dawn, and, of course, about the eta Aquarid meteor shower.

The eta Aquarids are best viewed from the southern hemisphere, but there's something special about them no matter where you live: "Each eta Aquarid meteoroid is a piece of Halley's Comet doing a kamikaze death dive into the atmosphere," explains NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. "Many people have never seen this famous comet, but on the morning of May 6th they can watch bits of it leave fiery trails across the sky."

A messenger from the dawn of the universe, Halley's Comet orbits the sun once every 76 years. Each time it swings by the sun, intense solar heat vaporizes about 6 meters of ice and rock from the nucleus. The debris particles, about the size of sand grains, spread along the comet's orbit, filling it with tiny meteoroids.

"Although Halley's Comet is deep in the outer solar system at the moment and won't return to Earth until 2061, it treats us to a meteor shower twice a year as our planet passes by the debris cloud," says Cooke. "In May we have the eta Aquarids, and in October the Orionids." And there is something especially significant about the 2011 eta Aquarids.

"This is your one chance this year to see meteors blaze across the sky without glaring moonlight dimming them."

A thin crescent moon will vacate the sky in the early evening, leaving a dark canvas for the display. Early risers are in luck, as the best viewing is an hour or two before dawn. Lie down where you can see as wide an expanse of sky as possible to catch more meteors with your peripheral vision. Look up into the darkness and relax.

The radiant for the eta Aquarids is in the constellation Aquarius:. But you don't need to look toward the radiant to see the meteors.

"Meteors can appear in any part of the sky," says Cooke. "In fact their trails will tend to point back toward the radiant, so if you look that way the meteor may appear somewhat stubby. They'll appear much longer going by you than coming at you."

You won't need binoculars or a telescope to observe eta Aquarid meteors. The naked eye's field of view is usually best for seeing meteors, which frequently streak more than 45 degrees across the sky.

"Eta Aquarids are fast, moving at 66 km/s (148,000 mph!), and often trace long paths across the sky, sometimes leaving glowing, persistent trains. In the northern hemisphere, depending on your latitude [the closer to the equator the better], you should see from 10 to 40 meteors just before dawn."

Remember to pack a reclining chair or an old blanket to lie on, and a thermos of hot coffee would be nice. After all, you'll be up mighty early! The spring night air may be damp and chill, so bring along another blanket--or better yet, a big furry dog, both for warmth and company. Golden Retrievers work nicely.

It's sure to be a memorable experience. A night breeze caressing your cheek, the aroma of hot coffee in the predawn air, a gently rising chorus of birdsong accompanying your own personal light show -- and your greatest admirer by your side. It just doesn't get any better.

Author: Dauna Coulter | Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

Lunar "X" feature on the Moon

2011-03-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is a famous "optical feature” on the Moon, which appears like the letter "X" when the terminator is at a suitable position. It is a fine example of how the combination of lighting and topography can combine to produce a pattern that repeats on each lunation, but only for a short time. The illusion of the "X" is created by sunlight falling on the rims/ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach.

A telescope is required for viewing this feature. Here is a scheduele for dates in 2011.

The "X" is observable for about 4 hours around the lunar First Quarter.

The start time is for a fully formed “X”. The end time is subjective. To watch the formation from darkness subtract 2 hours from the start times below

Astronomy Day 2011

2011-03-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Astronomy Day

In 2011 Astronomy Day is Saturday, May 7 and gives astronomy-lovers a chance to share their passion with the general public.

The event was started in 1973 by Doug Berger, the President of the Astronomical Association of Northern California. His intent was to set up various telescopes in busy urban locations so that passersby could enjoys views of the heavens. Since then the event has expanded and is now sponsored by a number of organizations associated with astronomy.

Astronomy Day also forms part of Astronomy Week, which begins on the preceding Monday.

The RASC Victoria Centre and the University of Victoria will be hosting this years events. There will be a series of lectures, films, static displays and observing sessions at the new Observatory on top of the Bob Wright building.

So come and find out all about it. Further information can be found on the RASC Victoria website

A Movie on the Observatory Dome on top "Little Saanich Mountain"

2010-09-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Celebrate National Science and Technology Week 2010 with a FREE Movie Night

The Centre of the Universe, located atop "Little Saanich Mountain" where the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory is located will be screening the 1953 version of “War of the worlds” on the observatory dome. The film will be moderated by Dr. James Di Francesco, who will examine the facts and fictions that underlie this Sci-Fi classic. Bring your lawn chairs, plenty of warm clothing with your friends and family and enjoy the show. Should the weather cooperate members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be on hand with telescopes to observe both the moon and Jupiter. Should the weather prove inhospitable we will adapt and watch the movie indoors.

COST: FREE

AUDIENCE: FAMILY ORIENTED

DATE: Friday, October 15^th 2010

LOCATION: 5071 West Saanich Rd (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory)

TIME: 6:30 p.m. * The movie will start once it is dark enough to project on the dome *

Canadian Space Agency to Stream the Northern Lights Online

2010-09-20T22:12:00.001-07:00

Neil Haesler, Postmedia News · Monday, Sept. 20, 2010

The Canadian Space Agency usually turns its eyes toward the heavens, but starting Monday night CSA will be looking a little closer to home.

The agency has announced a new window on Canada’s northern lights which begins broadcasting live on the Internet. The AuroraMAX observatory begins streaming images Monday of the dancing lights at www.asc-csa.gc.ca as part of a collaboration between the agency, the University of Calgary, the City of Yellowknife and Astronomy North.

“Armchair skywatchers everywhere can now discover the wonder of the northern lights live on their home computer screen,” CSA president Steve MacLean said in a news release.

“We hope that watching the dance of the northern lights will make you curious about the science of the sky and the relationship we have with our own star, the sun.”

Mr. MacLean said the idea is to demystify the science behind the phenomenon of the northern lights and offer tips for seeing and photographing the auroras.

The website will include live streaming pictures of the lights along with still photos and movies from previous nights.

According to the agency, the lights occur as charged particles from the sun collide with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

“The aurora is a phenomenon that takes place in the upper atmosphere. The Earth’s magnetic field acts like a huge magnet, and is responsible for attracting electrically charged particles to the north and south region of the globe. The Earth’s magnetic field attracts the particles found in the aurora. When these particles hit the upper atmosphere, they cause a spectacular spectrum of colours to shower the nighttime sky,” the agency says on its website.

The aurora season in Canada usually begins in September and ends in May.

Discovery Readied for Evening Rollout

2010-09-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:41:07 AM PDT

Space shuttle Discovery, joined to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, is standing on its mobile launcher platform inside the Vehicle Assembly Building today as technicians get ready to move it to the launch pad this evening. A crawler-transporter has been positioned just outside the VAB's mammoth doors and will move inside later today so the stack can be placed on its sizeable back for the move. The rollout at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will take about six hours.

Discovery's crew of six astronauts are to perform an integrated entry simulation today at their training base at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA TV will cover the rollout this evening beginning at 8 p.m. Coverage will continue until it gets dark at Kennedy.

During space shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight, the STS-133 crew members will take important spare parts to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier-4. Discovery is being readied for flight inside Kennedy's Orbiter Processing Facility-3 while its solid rocket boosters are stacked inside the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building. STS-133 is slated to launch Nov. 1.

Recently Joined the Blogsphere

2010-09-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

In wanting to learn more about finding a wider audience for my blog I recently did some research on a few blogging directories on the Internet.

My first visit was to - don't cringe - Wikipedia to find out about the history of the blogging phenomenon. I won't go into it here but here were some interesting highlights. A Blog is the short for of Web Log and can consists of regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

If you have a Blog and want to find out about getting more exposure consider adding it to a Blog Directory. Here are some interesting ones that I have come across so far Technorati and BlogCatalog.

If you know of others please feel free to list some by commentating.

tnx.

International Observe the Moon Day

2010-09-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

International Observe the Moon Night! - Saturday, September 18, 2010
7:30 to 9:30pm - St. Stephen's Anglican Church, Mt. Newton X Rd, Saanichton, BC

	Members of the Royal Astronomical Society will be in attendance with telescopes
	Bring along your own 'scopes or binoculars if you have them.
	Refreshments will be provided in the church hall.
	There will be an alternate program given in the church hall if the weather is inclement for observing.

Everyone is welcome to come to this local event. You can be part of the huge International Observe the Moon Night right here in Victoria.

NCT3MJYY2HGV

Amazing Space Shuttle Poster Series Available for Download

2010-09-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

NASA has put out a collection of tribute posters to the Space Shuttle fleet that celebrates the contributions to human space Flight of Columbia, Atlantis, Discovery, Challenger and Endeavour. Large versions of these posters now hang in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Visit this link for information.

03P/Hartley coming this and next Month

2010-09-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

03P/Hartley: An evening comet to become visible in binoculars

This comet begins the month in Lacerta at magnitude 11.5.

The comet has reached 9th magnitude and is brightening by 0.1 magnitude per day. So right now, before the Moon washes the sky with light, is an especially good time to look for this faint visitor.

Look for a 2.5' coma. It should brighten rapidly, moving into Cassiopeia by month's end.

2010-09-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Named Historic Site

On a 230-metre mountain just north of Victoria, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO)ʼs 1.8 metre reflecting telescope has probed the night skies for 92 years. Itʼs apt now that Parks Canada should designate the observatory as a national historic site to recognize its importance to Canadian astronomyʼs development.

“The DAO and its early staff helped bring Canadian astronomy to an extremely high level of international regard,” says its director, Dr. Jim Hesser. He adds that the Parks Canada designation allows NRC to maintain the Observatory as a working scientific instrument while respecting its historic architecture.

The 1.8 metre diameter Belgian-cast glass primary mirror that first caught starlight on May 6, 1918, was replaced in the mid-1970s with one that is unaffected by temperature changes. The original spectrograph - an instrument that breaks down a starʼs light to determine its chemical composition - has been upgraded many times. Digital cameras and a new polarimeter developed by the NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC-HIA) have taken advantage of emerging technologies. But the building, Observatory dome and nine-metre steel telescope frame remain original. According to Dr. Hesser, the Observatory buildingʼs design may still say “1918” to casual eyes, but nearly a century of accumulated upgrades make the telescope 10,000 times more sensitive than it was when new - and thus capable of contributing to 21st Century astronomical research.

“Itʼs pretty remarkable that after all these years, weʼre still using much of the same equipment,” says Dr. David Bohlender, the NRC-HIA research officer in charge of the telescope. “We have plans to continue to enhance its operation over the coming years and look forward to carrying on the reputation of the Observatory.”

While much of Canadian astronomyʼs focus has shifted toward larger and newer facilities such as the Canada- France-Hawaii and Gemini telescopes, such upgrades keep the DAO “in the picture.” Dr. Bohlender says the Observatoryʼs main strengths include hosting long-term observing programs, providing long blocks of uninterrupted observing time, and training next- generation astronomers for their scientific careers. Dr. Hesser adds that the telescopeʼs original tracking mechanism - a “very beautiful” gravity-driven brass clock drive - remained so accurate that it was only disconnected in the late 1980s, in favour of a new computer system that automates telescope guiding and improves the accuracy of its pointing.

RASC Victoria Star Party, 2010

2010-09-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

Our recent RASCals Star Party which was recently held at a rural dark site near Victoria on southern Vancouver Island was a success on all counts.

We had a superb dark site and combined with the great weather, allowed the astro-photographers to image objects we normally canʼt manage from more urban settings. Visual observers were knocking off objects from their lists, and we were all busy showing the general public familiar objects both during the night sky viewing and also solar viewing during the hot, clear days. Night low temperature was running 11.4°C and daytime highs were 27.7°C, with no bugs, no dew, and no dust.

We heard from two terrific speakers from the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics for both Friday and Saturday; held workshops under the shade of the oak trees; and generally had fun meeting new people and old friends alike.

The kids had a blast just running around, taking part in astro-art activities, and observing on their own terms. Our corporate sponsors were very generous with prizes for both the adults and kids, making the star party experience fun for all.

Our new location in Metchosin BC this year worked out very well. We found a rural municipality who takes LPA seriously and worked with us to make this event attractive for everyone. This yearʼs attendance was over 200 people, so we did very well as compared with previous years.

Iʼm sure we will be back next year for the 2011 RASCals Star Party, and it will be even better!

Reported by Joe Carr

Images can viewed at the links below.

General pictures Astrophotos

Editor for the Victoria RASC again.

2010-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have been involved with the Victoria Centre RASC Royal Astronomical Society of Canada off and on for a few decades. Last year an opportunity presented itself to become involved in the Newsletter once again and I put my hand up to assist the current editor since he wanted some help with it. Little did I know at the time that I was going to become the Editor for the 2010 year. I simply wanted to help out with a few articles. Never-the-less I was to be thrust into the editorship with much fanfare and delight of the previous editor and from friends and members alike.

The last newsletter will be three issues that I have produced for the Victoria RASC. I have a passion for making a quality product and put lots of interesting reading material for members to read.

For more information on the astronomy club visit their website. Victoria RASC Web Site

Sun Spotless

2009-12-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

Sun Report
December 9th 2009

Spotless Days

Current Stretch: 16 days

2009 total: 259 days (76%)

Since 2004: 770 days

Typical Solar Min: 485 days

The Movie "Contact" projected on the DAO observatory

2009-10-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

I was at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, B.C tonight watching the Movie "Contact" with Jodie Foster in it. The DAO staff projected the movie on the giant Observatory Dome with about 40 members of the public in attendance. This was part of Science and Technology week in Canada. It was so cool to see it that way and under the stars as well.

Contact movie to be shown on Observatory Dome.

2009-10-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

FREE Family Movie Night
Monday, Oct. 19th - 6:30 p.m.

If you love the movies and want to learn about the science behind the classic film "Contact" starring Jodie Foster, be sure to come out to this theatrical event at the National Research Council's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. This event will take place rain or shine, so make sure to pack appropriate clothing for what's sure to be an experience that is "out of this world!"

Location
5071 West Saanich Road
Victoria, British Columbia, V9E 2E7
Canada

Canadian IYA Stamps

2009-04-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Canadian International Year of Astronomy stamps are out. These amazingly beautiful looking stamps come as a booklet of 10 or as a collectors edition.

Messier Certificate

2009-03-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to cleaning house. Now what this means is sorting out all my Astronomical observation logs since I began doing that. Notes and logs that dated back to 1982. They included logs without dates and telescope used. Those will unfortunately be turfed. I am working on a Messier Certificate provided by the RASC,
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Charles Messier was a French Astronomer who classified and logged 110 object that he discovered while searching for Comets. I am working to see and log his catalog of objects, I haven't yet

HamIYA website gets listed on main IYA website

2008-07-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm excited.

Today, my website, http://www.hamiya2009.info
just got listed on the main International Year of
Astronomy website.

http://www.astronomy2009.ca

That is a huge step forward towards it's goal of becoming
a more popular website.

International Year of Astronomy 2009 and Ham Radio

2008-07-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Activities for Canadian Amateur Radio Operators during the International Year of Astronomy in Canada during 2009

I am very excited to announce that Canadian Amateur Radio operators in Canada will be able to use a Special Event Prefix to be used as part of their Amateur Radio Callsign during January and February 2009

The use of a Special Event Prefix callsign has been approved by Industry Canada and can be used by all Canadian Amateurs. It commemorates Galileo's first use of an optical telescope and the subsequent discoveries he made in his lifetime.

Starting January 1st until February 28th 2009 all Canadian amateur radio operators may use the special prefix.

VE changes to CG
VA changes to CF
VO changes to CH
VY changes to CI

For Example

VE7DAO = CG7DAO
VA3DAO = CF3DAO

This will certainly attract hams around the world to call and find out what the new callsign is all about and will promote the International Year of Astronomy.

VE7IYOA

The Westcoast Amateur Radio Association will be setting up a Special Event Station VE7IYOA in Victoria, BC and will cover period of June 2009. By setting this event in June 2009 it is expected to cover the International Field Day contest. It would also be advantageous if there were other similar stations in each province in Canada or in the USA as it would cover a much more greater audience in the world than if there were just one Special Event Station.

Involving as many ham radio enthusiasts around the world will certainly get "The Word Out" about the International Year of Astronomy. Hams who are not familiar with the event will hear about it and want to call the Special Event Stations for the unique QSL card (receipt of contact) that will be sent to those radio stations that contact them.

Amateur radio operators are located throughout the world and tend to be volunteers to emergency communications, educators, students and hobbyists. Amateur Radio stations have been installed by keen, active professionals in places such as Museums i.e. The Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, VE3JW in Toronto, VE3OSC is located within the Ontario Science Centre and other science centres around the world. Planetariums and Professional Educational Institutions such as Universities and Observatories. High School ham stations are also found throughout Canada, the USA and all around the World will it is hoped, participate.

Ham Radio Field Day is an International annual amateur radio exercise sponsored by the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) which encourages emergency communications preparedness. It is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country with over 30,000 ham radio operators participating each year.

am looking to encourage a list of interested Amateur Radio enthusiasts to contact me that wish to participate in this unique project. If you would like to help or setup a similar Special Event Stations in your Province or Country similar to VE7IYOA please feel free to contact me.

Malcolm Scrimger, VE7DAO

I can be contacted at ve7dao@rac.ca

Dominion Astrophysical Observatory's Anniversary

2008-05-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Celebrating 90 Years of Observational Astronomy at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

On the evening of 6 May 1918, a remarkably short five days after the arrival of the already silvered 1.83m (72”) primary mirror in Victoria, J.S. Plaskett and R.K. Young obtained a spectrum of the bright star β Canum Venaticorum, “first light” for the new reflecting telescope on Little Saanich Mountain (now officially Observatory Hill) just north of the city of Victoria, British Columbia. The telescope, briefly the largest operating telescope in the world, was the result of John Stanley Plaskett’s efforts to convince the Canadian government to provide funding for a major facility to replace the primary astronomical research instrument in Canada at the time, the modest 0.38m (15”) refracting telescope at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. He envisioned a facility capable of doing frontier astrophysics through spectroscopy, rather than positional and time keeping astronomy.

The new Dominion Astrophysical Observatory’s (DAO) telescope was equipped with (for the time) an efficient spectrograph which Plaskett and his staff of two astronomers and an observing assistant used to begin an extensive program to measure radial velocities (the speeds along the line-of-sight) of hundreds of hot, massive stars. These were used to compute orbits and determine masses for hundreds of binary stars, confirm theories about the rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy and measure the Galaxy’s size, mass, rotation period and the location of the sun within it, and establish general acceptance of the existence of the rarefied interstellar medium between the stars. The 1.83m telescope quickly enabled Canadian astronomy to achieve worldwide recognition and made Victoria the focal point of Canadian astronomical research until 1935 when the 1.88m (74”) telescope of the David Dunlap Observatory at the University of Toronto was completed. The latter was the first of many telescopes built until the 1960’s patterned upon Plaskett’s design for the DAO 1.83m telescope.

Studies of stellar astrophysics and the interstellar medium dominated the research carried out in the first 50 years of the DAO and the desire for still higher spectral resolution culminated in the construction and first light of the DAO 1.2m (48”) telescope and high-resolution coudé spectrograph in March 1962. Until late in the 1970’s both telescopes were used much of the time by resident staff which made it possible to develop programs that required large amounts of observing time extending over years. Today the telescopes are operated as national facilities open to all qualified researchers through a peer-review process. They are scheduled quarterly and continue to welcome long-term and thesis projects.

Upgrades to the telescopes over the last several decades have included the installation of a new all-reflective Cassegrain spectrograph in 1967, a new low-expansion Cervit 1.83m primary mirror in 1974, a photoelectric radial-velocity scanner for the 1.2m telescope in 1982, the addition of a modified f/5 Newtonian secondary to permit imaging programs on the 1.83m telescope in 1991 and new encoders and computerized control systems on both telescopes. The National Research Council of Canada’s Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics’ (NRC-HIA) current world-renowned expertise in astronomical instrument

Development owes much of its heritage to such development for the DAO telescopes. These facilities still act as test beds for novel instrument and technology development by NRC-HIA staff.

Today competition for observing time on both DAO telescopes continues to exceed the number of nights available. This is largely a result of the continued efforts by a small number of dedicated NRC-HIA staff members to enhance the observing capabilities of both telescopes. Improvements made to the venerable 1.83m over the last few years have included commissioning of a larger 2048 × 4096 pixel CCD camera at the Newtonian imaging focus, high-reflectivity coatings on the secondary and spectrograph mirrors, upgrades to the observing control system, installation of much more sensitive acquisition and guide cameras at both telescope foci and the development of a new polarimeter module for the Cassegrain spectrograph. Spectra can now be obtained of objects 10,000 times fainter than was possible in Plaskett’s time. Development efforts for the 1.2m telescope have been focused on the implementation of fully automated observing capabilities for the telescope. This has been so successful that 50% of the observing time scheduled on this telescope has been performed in an automated fashion in recent observing quarters.

While observers on both telescopes continue to carry out the 90-year tradition of radial velocity and interstellar medium studies at the DAO, recent observing programs include research by many NRC-HIA staff and visiting astronomers in such areas as comets and asteroids, variable stars, spectroscopy and polarimetry of peculiar stars, supernovae, post-asymptotic giant stars, globular clusters and active galactic nuclei. More than 40 papers, including 20 refereed manuscripts, based on data acquired with the telescopes were published in 2007. The DAO telescopes clearly still serve an important and productive role in Canadian astronomy, and continue to provide the opportunity for astronomers to obtain large blocks of observing time for major surveys, long-term monitoring programs, and thesis projects. As was the case in Plaskett’s day, the 1.83m telescope also still serves a very prominent role in public outreach activities. Recognizing that it is the centerpiece of the NRC-HIA’s Centre of the Universe (CU) it is made available for very popular public tours until 23:00 five nights a week during the spring and summer months.

In 1993, the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) commemorated the 75th anniversary of first light of the 1.83m telescope, officially renaming it the Plaskett Telescope in a celebration held at the end of the Society’s annual general meeting in Victoria. During 20-23 May 2008, the University of Victoria and NRC-HIA are again hosting CASCA’s annual general meeting. Approximately 250 astronomers will attend the conference and many of these will enjoy the 90th anniversary of the 1.83m telescope during a special tour of the CU and the DAO at the conclusion of the meeting.

In 1975 in his review of the DAO from 1918-1975, K.O. Wright predicted “the Victoria telescopes will be useful for research purposes for twenty years or more.” We have already exceeded these expectations by almost 15 years and the staff at NRC-HIA look forward to celebrating 100 years of original astronomical research with the Plaskett 1.83m telescope (and more than 50 with the 1.2m) in 2018!


David A. Bohlender,
NRC-HIA

Astronomy Day May 10th

2008-05-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

This year Astronomy Day starts May 10th 2008 at 10am at the Centre of the Universe on Little Saanich Mountain and goes past sundown when telescopes at the summit will reveal celestial wonders to those who attend this once a year event. Astronomy Day consists of members from various local Astronomy Clubs in the Greater Victoria area working together to demonstrate telescopes, show exhibits of pictures and demonstrations of telescope making. There is usually Solar viewing throughout the day and presentations from Professional astronomers that make up this exciting activity and then it all wraps up with a Star Party at night with telescopes and members showing the public the wonders of the night sky.

Malcolm Scrimger.