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Fifty Times Around the Sun
A HISTORY OF THE MONTREAL CENTRE THE PROPERTY OF: THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 252 COLLEGE ST. TORONTO 2B FIFTY TIMES AROUND THE SUN THE PROPERTY OF: THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 252 COLLEGE ST. TORONTO 2B ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY of CANADA FIFTY TIMES AROUND THE SUN A History of THE MONTREAL CENTRE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 1918 to 1968 Committee: Vincent Ladouceur James Low Karl McNamara Rita Prezament Walter Jutting - Assistant Editor Isabel K. Williamson - Editor Cover Design: Joe and Rita Prezament Illustrations: Rita Prezament Page List of Photographs - Introduction 1 Chapter 1 How the Montreal Centre Was Organized 3 Chapter 2 The Early Days 5 Chapter 3 Fifty Years of Growth 13 Chapter 4 The Dollar Story 17 Chapter 5 The Lecture Meetings 21 Chapter 6 Books - and More Books 23 Chapter 7 From Telescope to Observatory 25 Chapter 8 Quo Ducit Urania 29 Chapter 9 Meteor Trails and Trials 33 Chapter 10 The Messier Club 35 Chapter 11 When the Sun Is Eclipsed 37 Chapter 12 Star Nights 39 Chapter 13 You Saw It First in 'Skyward' 41 Chapter 14 The Hobby of Telescope Making 43 Chapter 15 Here, There and Everywhere 45 Chapter 16 The Montreal Centre Is Host 47 Chapter 17 R.A.S.C.Awards to Members of Montreal Centre 49 Chapter 18 Potpourri 51 Appendix I List of Officers of Montreal Centre 55 Appendix II List of R.A.S.C. Awards to Members 59 Appendix III Chronological Table of Memorable Events 61 Facing Page 8 Top Photograph: DeLisle Garneau's Observatory on Wilson Avenue Lower Left Photograph: DeLisle Garneau at 6-inch Refractor Lower Right Photograph: A.V.Stroud, I.K.Williamson, A.R.MacLennan, C.W.S.Yamell at Wilson Avenue Observatory Page 16 Top Photograph: Centre’s Council 1950. -
Download This Article (Pdf)
244 Trimble, JAAVSO Volume 43, 2015 As International as They Would Let Us Be Virginia Trimble Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4575; [email protected] Received July 15, 2015; accepted August 28, 2015 Abstract Astronomy has always crossed borders, continents, and oceans. AAVSO itself has roughly half its membership residing outside the USA. In this excessively long paper, I look briefly at ancient and medieval beginnings and more extensively at the 18th and 19th centuries, plunge into the tragedies associated with World War I, and then try to say something relatively cheerful about subsequent events. Most of the people mentioned here you will have heard of before (Eratosthenes, Copernicus, Kepler, Olbers, Lockyer, Eddington…), others, just as important, perhaps not (von Zach, Gould, Argelander, Freundlich…). Division into heroes and villains is neither necessary nor possible, though some of the stories are tragic. In the end, all one can really say about astronomers’ efforts to keep open channels of communication that others wanted to choke off is, “the best we can do is the best we can do.” 1. Introduction astronomy (though some of the practitioners were actually Christian and Jewish) coincided with the largest extents of Astronomy has always been among the most international of regions governed by caliphates and other Moslem empire-like sciences. Some of the reasons are obvious. You cannot observe structures. In addition, Arabic astronomy also drew on earlier the whole sky continuously from any one place. Attempts to Greek, Persian, and Indian writings. measure geocentric parallax and to observe solar eclipses have In contrast, the Europe of the 16th century, across which required going to the ends (or anyhow the middles) of the earth. -
NORTHERN RESEARCH REPORTS and the Arctic Institute Research
? NORTHERNRESEARCH REPORTS MedicalInvestigation at were 6 cases of tuberculous disease of SouthamptonIsland bone. Intradermaltuberculin tests gave Duringthe summer months of1948 positive results in 81% of the population. thesecond Queen’s UniversityArctic During 1947 work done on intestinal Expeditioncontinued the study of the pamsitism showeda high incidence of morbidity ratesand nutritional status infectionwith the thread worm (E. among the Eskimo population of South- vemicularis) and also showedthe pre- ampton Island, N.W.T., which was be- sence of Endamoeba coli and of Diphyl- gun in 1947. A party of five under the lobothrium inthe feces of a limited direction of Dr. Malcolm Brown, Asso- number of subjects3. ciateProfessor of Medicine, Queen’s In 1947 the possibility of trichinosis University, remained ,on the island from was suggested by the marked incidence late June to mid-September using an air- of eosinophilia and by certain stories of strip at Coral Harbour as their base of illnesses whichwere obtained, and this operations. pastyear this possibility was explored With the assistance of anexcellent fairlythoroughly. Two-thirds of the nativeinterpreter, complete clinical population was skin tested with Trichi- assessment of over 200 Eskimoswas nella antigenand 51% of themreacted possible, andthe information so gained positively.Specimens of serumwere whentaken with the information col- collected for testing and these also show lectedin 1947,is sufficient to permit a highincidence of positivereaction. certain general conclusions. Clinical evi- The source of the infection was sought dence of ascorbic acid deficiency was bygathering samples of muscle from seen in almost one-third of the popula- thepolar bear, walrus, seal and the tion, and corroborative biochemical evi- whitewhale, and examination of these dence was providedby assay of levels by Dr. -
Index to JRASC Volumes 61-90 (PDF)
THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA GENERAL INDEX to the JOURNAL 1967–1996 Volumes 61 to 90 inclusive (including the NATIONAL NEWSLETTER, NATIONAL NEWSLETTER/BULLETIN, and BULLETIN) Compiled by Beverly Miskolczi and David Turner* * Editor of the Journal 1994–2000 Layout and Production by David Lane Published by and Copyright 2002 by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 136 Dupont Street Toronto, Ontario, M5R 1V2 Canada www.rasc.ca — [email protected] Table of Contents Preface ....................................................................................2 Volume Number Reference ...................................................3 Subject Index Reference ........................................................4 Subject Index ..........................................................................7 Author Index ..................................................................... 121 Abstracts of Papers Presented at Annual Meetings of the National Committee for Canada of the I.A.U. (1967–1970) and Canadian Astronomical Society (1971–1996) .......................................................................168 Abstracts of Papers Presented at the Annual General Assembly of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (1969–1996) ...........................................................207 JRASC Index (1967-1996) Page 1 PREFACE The last cumulative Index to the Journal, published in 1971, was compiled by Ruth J. Northcott and assembled for publication by Helen Sawyer Hogg. It included all articles published in the Journal during the interval 1932–1966, Volumes 26–60. In the intervening years the Journal has undergone a variety of changes. In 1970 the National Newsletter was published along with the Journal, being bound with the regular pages of the Journal. In 1978 the National Newsletter was physically separated but still included with the Journal, and in 1989 it became simply the Newsletter/Bulletin and in 1991 the Bulletin. That continued until the eventual merger of the two publications into the new Journal in 1997. -
Not Yet Imagined: a Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations
NOT YET IMAGINED A STUDY OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER GAINOR NOT YET IMAGINED NOT YET IMAGINED A STUDY OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER GAINOR National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Communications NASA History Division Washington, DC 20546 NASA SP-2020-4237 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gainor, Christopher, author. | United States. NASA History Program Office, publisher. Title: Not Yet Imagined : A study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations / Christopher Gainor. Description: Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Communications, NASA History Division, [2020] | Series: NASA history series ; sp-2020-4237 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Dr. Christopher Gainor’s Not Yet Imagined documents the history of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from launch in 1990 through 2020. This is considered a follow-on book to Robert W. Smith’s The Space Telescope: A Study of NASA, Science, Technology, and Politics, which recorded the development history of HST. Dr. Gainor’s book will be suitable for a general audience, while also being scholarly. Highly visible interactions among the general public, astronomers, engineers, govern- ment officials, and members of Congress about HST’s servicing missions by Space Shuttle crews is a central theme of this history book. Beyond the glare of public attention, the evolution of HST becoming a model of supranational cooperation amongst scientists is a second central theme. Third, the decision-making behind the changes in Hubble’s instrument packages on servicing missions is chronicled, along with HST’s contributions to our knowledge about our solar system, our galaxy, and our universe. -
Rudolph Minkowski Was an Outstanding Ob- Servational Astronomer and Astrophysicist
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES R U D O L P H M INKO W SKI 1895—1976 A Biographical Memoir by DO N A L D E . O STER BROCK Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 1983 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON D.C. RUDOLPH LEO BERNHARD MINKOWSKI May 28, 1895-January 4, 1976 BY DONALD E. OSTERBROCK UDOLPH MINKOWSKI was born in Germany near the end R of the last century and died in California during the final quarter of this century. He was trained as a laboratory physicist, but worked most of his life as an observational astronomer. Using the largest optical telescopes in the world, he made important contributions to nearly every branch of nebular and extragalactic astronomy, but his most important contribution of all was to the identification and interpretation of cosmic radio sources. His monument is the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. He guided, encouraged, and counseled a generation of radio and optical astronomers. Minkowski was born in Strassburg, then part of Germany, on May 28, 1895. His grandfather had hurriedly moved his family to Konigsberg from their native Russia less than twenty-five years before to escape the policy of anti-Semitic persecution adopted by the Czar's government. Rudolph's father Oskar, educated in Konigsberg, became a physician, and at the time of Rudolph's birth he was a well-known pathologist on the Strassburg University medical faculty. His research had played a very important part in understanding the causes of diabetes. -
A Topical Index to the Main Articles in Mercury Magazine (1972 – 2019) Compiled by Andrew Fraknoi (U
A Topical Index to the Main Articles in Mercury Magazine (1972 – 2019) Compiled by Andrew Fraknoi (U. of San Francisco) [Mar. 9, 2020] Note: This index, organized by subject matter, only covers the longer articles in the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s popular-level magazine; it omits news notes, regular columns, Society doings, etc. Within each subject category, articles are listed in chronological order starting with the most recent one. Table of Contents Impacts Amateur Astronomy Infra-red Astronomy Archaeoastronomy Interdisciplinary Topics Asteroids Interstellar Matter Astrobiology Jupiter Astronomers Lab Activities Astronomy: General Light in Astronomy Binary Stars Light Pollution Black Holes Mars Comets Mercury Cosmic Rays Meteors and Meteorites Cosmology Moon Distances in Astronomy Nebulae Earth Neptune Eclipses Neutrinos Education in Astronomy Particle Physics & Astronomy Exoplanets Photography in Astronomy Galaxies Pluto Galaxy (The Milky Way) Pseudo-science (Debunking) Gamma-ray Astronomy Public Outreach Gravitational Lenses Pulsars and Neutron Stars Gravitational Waves Quasars and Active Galaxies History of Astronomy Radio Astronomy Humor in Astronomy Relativity and Astronomy 1 Saturn Sun SETI Supernovae & Remnants Sky Phenomena Telescopes & Observatories Societal Issues in Astronomy Ultra-violet Astronomy Solar System (General) Uranus Space Exploration Variable Stars Star Clusters Venus Stars & Stellar Evolution X-ray Astronomy _______________________________________________________________________ Amateur Astronomy Hostetter, D. Sidewalk Astronomy: Bridge to the Universe, 2013 Winter, p. 18. Fienberg, R. & Arion, D. Three Years after the International Year of Astronomy: An Update on the Galileoscope Project, 2012 Autumn, p. 22. Simmons, M. Sharing Astronomy with the World [on Astronomers without Borders], 2008 Spring, p. 14. Williams, L. Inspiration, Frame by Frame: Astro-photographer Robert Gendler, 2004 Nov/Dec, p. -
Donald E. Osterbrock 1924–2007
Donald E. Osterbrock 1924–2007 A Biographical Memoir by Gregory A. Shields ©2013 National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. DONALD EDWARD OSTERBROCK July 13, 1924–January 11, 2007 Elected to the NAS, 1966 Donald E. Osterbrock was born in Ohio during the first quarter of the 20th century and died in California during the first quarter of the 21st. His astronomical research showed an exceptional mastery both of theory and observation. After important initial contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and stellar structure, he did outstanding work on emission-line nebulae, on active galactic nuclei, and on the history of astronomy. He was an excellent teacher, and many of his doctoral students went on to distinguished careers in astronomy. He served as director of the Lick Observatory and as president of the American Astronomical Society. Those who worked with him appreciated his style of simplicity and directness, which were likely rooted in his Midwestern upbringing. By Gregory A. Shields Early years Donald E. Osterbrock (or “Don,” as his friends and associates called him), was born on July 13, 1924, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents, William C. and Elsie Wettlin Osterbrock, had lived their entire lives in that city on the bank of the Ohio River. His father’s parents and mother’s grandparents had emigrated from Germany. Don’s father, talented in physical sciences and mathematics, graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1918 and was hired as an instructor in electrical engineering, ultimately becoming chair- man of the department. -
The Discovery of Quasars and Its Aftermath
Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 17(3), 267–282 (2014). THE DISCOVERY OF QUASARS AND ITS AFTERMATH K.I. Kellermann National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22901, USA. Email: [email protected] Abstract: Although the extragalactic nature of quasars was discussed as early as 1960 by John Bolton and others it was rejected largely because of preconceived ideas about what appeared to be an unrealistically-high radio and optical luminosity. Following the 1962 observation of the occultations of the strong radio source 3C 273 with the Parkes Radio Telescope and the subsequent identification by Maarten Schmidt of an apparent stellar object, Schmidt recognized that the simple hydrogen line Balmer series spectrum implied a redshift of 0.16. Successive radio and optical measurements quickly led to the identification of other quasars with increasingly-large redshifts and the general, although for some decades not universal, acceptance of quasars as being by far the most distant and the most luminous objects in the Universe. However, due to an error in the calculation of the radio position, it appears that the occultation position played no direct role in the identification of 3C 273, although it was the existence of a claimed accurate occultation position that motivated Schmidt‘s 200-in Palomar telescope investi- gation and his determination of the redshift. Curiously, 3C 273, which is one of the strongest extragalactic sources in the sky, was first catalogued in 1959, and the 13th magnitude optical counterpart was observed at least as early as 1887. Since 1960, much fainter optical counterparts were being routinely identified, using accurate radio interferometer positions which were measured primarily at the Caltech Owens Valley Radio Observatory. -
Planetary Nebula: from Messier to Abell (What Are They, and How to Observe Them)
Planetary Nebula: From Messier to Abell (What are they, and How to Observe Them) Abell-43 Introduction: Planetary Nebula,,,,,, when I hear that phrase, I think of a specific type of deep sky object. A type of object that’s always interesting and fun to observe or image. They also bring to mind their descriptions: Colorful ephemeral ghosts, luminescent wispy shells of dying stars. Little crystal ball gems in the night sky, delighting amateur astronomers using small or large telescopes. They run from large easily located extended disks showing great detail to tiny almost point- like, challenging to find. Interstellar graveyards giving up secrets of stellar evolution while spreading their wealth of star forged elements across space, swept up by gravity to enrich the next cycle of star birth. Pretty heavy stuff!! NGC2392 NGC6302 NGC7009 So today, I would like to bring these ethereal objects ‘down to Earth’ by discussing what they are, why we call them that, some of the people, both historical and modern, behind these objects, and how to go about observing them. Along the way, we’ll also review a number of my personal observations of planetary nebula. Hopefully, when we are done, some of the mystery around these objects will have been lifted, and you will find them as interesting to hunt as I do. Outline: What are Planetary Nebulae: Where are these Nebulae Located: How Planetaries got their name: How to Observe Planetary Nebulae: Historical and Modern Astronomers and their Planetary Nebula Catalogs: o Charles Messier: o William Herschel: o Rudolph Minkowski: o George Abell: Conclusion: What are Planetary Nebulae? Planetary Nebulae are clouds of interstellar matter, thin shells of ionized gas and dust. -
The Discovery of Quasars
The Discovery of Quasars K. I. Kellermann1 1National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22901, USA Received …………………………………… Abstract. Although the extragalactic nature of quasars was discussed as early as 1960, it was rejected largely because of preconceived ideas about what appeared to be an unrealistically high radio and optical luminosity. Following the 1962 occultations of the strong radio source 3C 273 at Parkes, and the subsequent identification with an apparent stellar object, Maarten Schmidt recognized that the relatively simple hydrogen line Balmer series spectrum implied a redshift of 0.16 Successive radio and optical measurements quickly led to the identification of other quasars with increasingly large redshifts and the general, although for some decades not universal, acceptance of quasars as being by far the most distant and the most luminous objects in the Universe. Arguments for a more local population continued for at least several decades, fueled in part by a greater willingness to accept the unclear new physics needed to interpret the large observed redshifts rather than the extreme luminosities and energies implied by the cosmological interpretation of the redshifts. Curiously, 3C 273, which is one of the strongest extragalactic sources in the sky, was first catalogued in 1959 and the magnitude 13 optical counterpart was observed at least as early as 1887. Since 1960, much fainter optical counterparts were being routinely identified using accurate radio interferometer positions, measured primarily at the Caltech Owens Valley Radio Observatory. However, 3C 273 eluded identification until the series of lunar occultation observations led by Cyril Hazard, although inexplicitly there was an earlier misidentification with a faint galaxy located about an arc minute away from the true position. -
Stefanie Ursula Eminger Phd Thesis
CARL FRIEDRICH GEISER AND FERDINAND RUDIO: THE MEN BEHIND THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MATHEMATICIANS Stefanie Ursula Eminger A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2015 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6536 This item is protected by original copyright Carl Friedrich Geiser and Ferdinand Rudio: The Men Behind the First International Congress of Mathematicians Stefanie Ursula Eminger This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2014 Table of Contents Abstract 7 Acknowledgements 9 1. Introduction 11 2. Carl Friedrich Geiser (1843 – 1934) 15 2.1 Life 15 2.2 Connection with Steiner 33 2.3 Impact at the Polytechnic and on Education 39 3. Ferdinand Karl Rudio (1856 – 1929) 49 3.1 Life 49 3.2 Contribution to Euler’s Opera Omnia 53 4. The First International Congress of Mathematicians, Zurich 1897 57 4.1 Background and Organisation 57 4.1.1 Historical Developments 57 4.1.2 Organising the Congress 62 4.1.3 The Congress Itself 67 4.1.4 Geiser’s Contribution 76 4.1.5 Rudio’s Contribution 77 4.2 The Swiss Organising Committee 79 4.2.1 Ernst Julius Amberg (1871 – 1952) 79 4.2.2 Christian Beyel (1854 – 1941) 82 4.2.3 Hermann Bleuler (1837 – 1912) 83 4.2.4 Heinrich Burkhardt (1861 – 1914) 86 4.2.5 Fritz Bützberger (1862 – 1922) 89 4.2.5.1 Bützberger’s Work on Steiner 92 4.2.6 Gustave Dumas