Observer's Handbook 1985
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OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK 1985 EDITOR: ROY L. BISHOP THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA CONTRIBUTORS AND ADVISORS A l a n H. B a t t e n , Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria, BC, Canada V8X 4M6 (The Nearest Stars). R o y L. B is h o p , Department of Physics, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada B0P 1X0 (Editor). Terence Dickinson, R.R. 3, Odessa, ON, Canada K0H 2H0, (The Planets). D a v id W. D u n h a m , International Occultation Timing Association, P.O. Box 7488, Silver Spring, MD 20907, U .S.A . (Lunar and Planetary Occultations). Alan Dyer, Queen Elizabeth Planetarium, 10004-104 Ave., Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 0K 1 (Messier Catalogue, Deep-Sky Objects). Fred Espenak, Infrared and Radio Astronomy Branch, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Centre, Greenbelt, MD, U .S.A . 20771 (Eclipses). Marie Fidler, The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, 136 Dupont St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5R 1V2 (Observatories and Planetaria). Victor Gaizauskas, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Solar Activity). R o b e r t F. G a r r is o n , David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto, Box 360 Richmond Hill, ON, Canada L4C 4Y6 (The Brightest Stars). Ian H alliday, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Miscellaneous Astronomical Data). W illiam Herbst, Van Vleck Observatory, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, U.S.A. 06457 (Galactic Nebulae). H e l e n S. H o g g , David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto, Box 360 Richmond Hill, ON, Canada L4C 4Y6 (Foreword). B a r r y F. M a d o r e , David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto, Box 360 Richmond Hill, ON, Canada L4C 4Y6 (Galaxies). B r ia n G. M a r s d e n , Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA, U .S.A . 02138 (Comets, Asteroids). J a n e t A. M a t t e i , American Association of Variable Star Observers, 187 Concord Ave., Cambridge, MA, U .S.A. 02138 (Variable Stars). P e t e r M. M i l l m a n , Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Meteors, Fireballs and Meteorites). A n t h o n y F. J. M o f f a t , Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, PQ, Canada H3C 3J7 (Star Clusters). John R. Percy, Erindale College and Department of Astronomy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada MSS 1A1 (Sky Month by Month). P. Blyth Robertson, Earth Physics Branch, Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0Y3 (Meteorite Impact Sites). Akio Senda, International Lunar Occultation Centre, Geodesy and Geophysics Division, Hydrographic Department, Tsukiji-5, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104 Japan (Total and Grazing Lunar Occultations). Ken Tapping, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Radio Sources). G o r d o n E. T a y l o r , H.M. Nautical Almanac Office, Royal Greenwich Observa tory, Herstmonceux Castle, Hailsham, East Sussex, England BN27 1RP (Plane tary Appulses and Occultations). J o s e p h F. V e v e r k a , Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, U .S.A. 14853 (Planetary Satellites). C h a r l e s E. W o r l e y , U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20390 (Double Stars). PRINTED IN CANADA BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK 1985 EDITOR ROY L. BISHOP SEVENTY-SEVENTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION © THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 136 DUPONT STREET, TORONTO, ONTARIO M5R 1V2 ISSN 0080-4193 IN PRAISE OF CELESTIAL OBSERVING We who have worked on the Observer’s Handbook for many years are glad that you read it. We hope that you also study it and use it, for it is a true pathway to the heavens and the beautiful and exciting sights therein. You can learn a great deal of astronomy from reading, but the aspects of it that are likely to remain longest in your memory are some of the sights you yourself see in the skies. The year 1985 is sure to bring forth a verbal flood of such memories. These recollections will come from the people who had the good fortune to see Halley’s comet at its last return in 1910. In am among them. As a child o f four then, my scientific description of the comet is of limited value, but the awesome delight of my family in the event made a profound impression on me. Halley’s comet was one of a series of sky phenomena of great importance in my life, as it must have been to many others. Fifteen years later came another which helped to turn me to astronomy as a lifetime career— the total eclipse of the sun on January 24, 1925. This I viewed with other Mount Holyoke College students from the vantage point of a golf course in Connecticut, standing with painfully cold feet in deep snow, with my eyes gazing on a spectacle so revealing and beautiful as to defy description. Eclipse chasers understand why it may be worth going halfway round the world for those few glorious minutes. Other events, memorable but of less scientific importance, came along. On a clear August night the Perseid meteors held me fascinated with their brilliant blue-white streaks across the sky. Just with my naked eyes I watched a star in Perseus fade to less than half its normal brilliance, the eclipsing binary Algol, the Demon Star. On some nights the sky lit up with the undulating brilliant red or green arcs or draperies of the Aurora Borealis. Then on October 4, 1957, a new type of sky object astonished us when Sputnik, the first artificial satellite of Earth, moved across the sky, and we suddenly and firmly entered the Space Age. Thousands of pieces of man-made material now circle our planet. Some of them are easily visible from time to time, but it is beyond the small confines of this annual Handbook to guide us to them. A year or so after the Observer’s Handbook for 1985 comes into the hands of its readers, millions of sky watchers will reminisce about Halley’s comet, but this time the talk will be about the return of 1985-86. To an observer located under a really dark sky, how will Comet Hailey look at this approach? We will soon know. H e l e n S a w y e r H o g g COVER PHOTOGRAPH With its shifting symmetry and haunting light, the Moon is a celestial object of singular beauty. The cover photograph is by Real Manseau of Drummond- ville, Quebec. (February 26, 1982; f/6.7, 200 mm Newtonian reflector, 6 s exposure on ASA 100 Fujichrome.) 2 EDITOR’S COMMENTS The existence and usefulness of the Observer's Handbook owes much to the several people who voluntarily contribute their time and expertise (see the inside front cover). On behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, I especially wish to acknowledge the past contributions of Yoshio Kubo (Total and Grazing Lunar Occultations) and John Galt (Radio Sources, and a contributor to this Handbook for 20 years), and welcome Akio Senda and Ken Tapping, respectively, who have taken over these sections. The 1985 edition has grown by 8 pages. Among the several changes and additions are: The tables of orbital and physical elements of the planets have been updated using the 1985 Astronomical Almanac. Joseph Veverka has made several revisions to the table of planetary satellites. On the suggestion of Leo Enright (Sharbot Lake, Ont.), the “Telescope Parameters” table has been expanded to include “light grasp”. The compilation entitled “Some Astronomical and Physical Data” has been reorganized and expanded. Information, including two maps, has been added to cover the arrival of Halley’s Comet in the inner solar system in 1985. Robert Garrison has revised the parallax and radial velocity data in “The Brightest Stars” table. Alan Batten has completely revised the section “The Nearest Stars”. Anthony Moffat has expanded the “Star Clusters” section to include material on two representative clusters. Ken Tapping has revised and expanded the section “Radio Sources”. The six all-sky maps at the end of the Handbook have been revised, and, as a further step in extending the geographical range of usefulness of the Observer’s Handbook, a new star map, “The Southern Sky”, has been added. In the latter instance, I wish to thank Larry Bogan (Acadia University, N .S.) for advice on deep-sky objects in the southern sky. As always, the Nautical Almanac Offices of both the United States Naval Observatory and the Royal Greenwich Observatory have provided invaluable help in the form of pre-publication material from The Astronomical Almanac. Predictions of most events within the Solar System are based on this source. Randall Brooks (St. Mary’s University, N .S .) prepared photographic copies of the star charts used for the maps of Pluto and the August— October track of Hailey’s Comet. Rosemary Freeman, Executive-Secretary of the R .A.S.C ., efficiently handles the advertising and sales of this Handbook. And finally, particular acknowledgement is due to Acadia University and its Department of Physics for support in the form of many weeks of the Editor’s time and continuing secretarial assistance. Comments and suggestions are always welcome, and should be sent directly to the Editor at Acadia University (address on the inside front cover). Good observing quo ducit Urania! R o y L .