the newsletter of the centre, rase a nd the edmonton space se;enees centre

.Jebruary / march 198. vol. 2' no. 2 25C • • ,. •

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-----:-:-:-~' ,.L' ------Special Astronomy Lectures This Month ( ** Special Astronomy 'Lectures ** J ------"'The Provincial Museum cordially invites all RASe members to attend a special series of astronomy lectures to mark the opening of a new exhibit on METEORITES Tuesday, Feb. 7, 8:00pm SPEAKER: Dr. Blyth Robertson; Energy, Mines and Resources Canada TOPI C: Meteor Cratering - Impact Effect and Frequencies Thursday, March 8, 8:00pm SPEAKER: John Musgrave; Superintendent, Natural Resources Science Centre TOPIC: An Historical View of Meteors and Meteorites Thursday, March 15, 8:00pm SPEAKER: AJan Dyer, Edmonton Space Sciences Centre TOPI C: Meteors. Comets. and Our Earth Today Thursday, March 22, 8:00pm SPEAKER: Dr. Robert Follinsbee; U. of A Dept. of Ceology TOPIC: Meteorites I Have Known All lectures at the Provincial Museum Auditorium.

The University of and the Edmonton Space Sciences Foundadon PRESENT: "STARDUST MEMORJES" a special lecture on current theories about how the solar system formed. as revealed through recent discoveries in meteorite research. SPEAKER: John A. Wood; Associate Director, Harvard - Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics. Cambridge. Mass. TIME: Thursday, February, 9 . 8:00pm PLACE: Tory "Turtle" Lecture Theatre. U. of A. (north end of campus on Saskatchewan Drive. next to Tory Building) , ~ FREE ADMISSION PR ESI DENT'S MESSAGE: her The Ed monton and Ca lgary Centres 0 the R.A.S.C. have been exchanging guest speakers annually for many, many years now and this idea has proven so popular that, for a few years now, the Edmonto Centre has also arranged to exchange speakers w ith the ',ont various other Centres in western Canada. Th is year we will be hearing speakers from the , the Centre and the Saskatoon Centre. The National Office of the A.A.S.C., at the pager suggestion of the Edmonton Centre, has even set up a Speaker Exchange Fund to help centres pay for these exchanges. Strangely, the fund is seldom used by the centres in ea st ern Canada and not as much as it could be in the west.

You may remember that last spring I had reported than an astronomy student in Pak istan, Mr. Sajid-Masud, had written me asking for books on astronomy. These, he sa id were both scarce and expensive in .his countrY. When I asked members of the Ed monton Centre for donations of books to send to him, the response was so enthusiastic that I was not ab le to send all of them to Pak istan in one shipment. So I sent the first box, weighing nearly 25 Ibs. The box arrived after about six months by sea mail and Mr. Masud, in his acknowledging letter (received in December) was ecstatic. He was astonished at the kindness of Canadians and thanked all those who contributed books over and over in his letter. Well done, fellow Edmonton Centre members! At our January meeting I presented the awards g iven annually by the Edm.onton. Ce ntre . Three of these - The Astrophotographer of the Year Award, which was not awarded this year; the Observer of the Year Award and the Telescope Makers Award, both of which went to Bob Stephens for his contributions in rad io astronomy - are selected by the Council as a whole. But the President's Award is the perogative of the President. This year I felt it was time the Ed monton Centre expressed its appreciation to Alan Dyer, our long-time editor of Stardust, and lias ion person with the Space Sciences Centre. A lan 's willingness to produce our first-rate newsletter month after month and provide other services for the Centre in addition to his responsibilities at the ESSC (before th at, the QEP) is an example for . the rest of us . Thank you Alan ! -Tony Whyte

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: Monday, March 12

COVER PHOTO BY JOHN LEOOER 'nslal eo he screen or It p iMAX thteo!le The closing of t e Queen Elizabeth (maoe by Harkness Screens 0 London. Planetarium is now history. On Dec 31 , the last England) is also sc eouled for Im minent arrival. public performa nce was given, with a number of By late February. the IMAX theatre should be staff members in attendance to bid the old ready to show i s first test films. planetarium farewell. In early January, the In early Febru ary. technicians from the Q.E.P. theatre was sttipped of all but a fe w Vancou er-based Commercial Electronics will essential projectors (such as the Goto star be at the Ce ntre installing the many items of projector and Hoplock pa n system). The lobby audio equipment that have been arriving over furnishings and all rema ining Bookstore stock the last 3 months. Three major sound systems were moved over to the new Centre. A number will be hooked up - the recording st udio, the of Meade and Ce lestron telescopes and IMAX theatre playback system, and the star a (.essory items remain in stock; anyone Theatre playback system. Development of the interested in a purchase should contact Stew at $300,000 automation system by Commercial 455-0119 during weekday office hours. Electronics for our Star Theatre is also The exact fate of the old Planetarium progressing very well, with no major teChn ical remains in limbo. Currently, we are using the hitches. theatre to test out a newall-sky panorama Production is moving ahead at full steam projec Ion system. But later this winter, the on the Centre's first shows. The script for the O.E.P. will be placed into suspended animation first public show has been completed, and with the shutoff of utilities to save money. By much of the photography and artwork for our the fall , we may be able to begin utilizing the first children's program is underway. A great small theatre for astronomy courses and deal of principle photography for next season's s&m ina rs , but th is is st ill uncertain. Christmas show has also been accomplished. On Jan. 12, the staff ratified a new labour Schedules, brochures, and scri pts for our first contract which will govern the operations of the season of school shows are also being taken Ce ntre for the next year. The majority of care of this winter. At the same time, the pr') duction and administration staff '(and schedule of community astronomy events for eventually presentation staff) will not be City the rest of 1984 is nearing completion. The employees but will be employees of the Space design of all the exhibits now budgeted for Sc iences Foundation under a collective completion by July 1 has now been agreem&nt drawn up specifically for the Centre accomplished. Fabrication of the first set of by representatives of the staff, the Civic Service exhibits is being carried out by the various Union, and the Foundation. The staff will contractors here in Edmonton. In January, the continue to be un ionized employees under the mezzanine was installed in Gallery 2 of the Civi c Service Unio!,] No. 52 (the union that Exhibit Hall. governs the City's inside workers), but with our In mid-January, representatives from Zeiss own collective agreement "customized" to Jena of East Ge rmany were at the Centre working conditions at the Centre. checking on technical details of the Star In January, a number of big items arrived at Theatre and projector hoist mechan ism . the Centre: the skeleton framework for the Development of the new Ze iss star projector long-awaited dome (assembly of which is now and its automation system is ahead of schedule. underway ), and the $600,000 iMAX projector. Delivery of the Zeiss is expected in April. Th e huge 70 mm film projector is now being -Alan Dyer I

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA THE 1984 R.A.S.C. AWARDS At t e January 9 meeting , President Tony EDMONTON CENTRE Wh yte presented the Centre's annual awards. CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS The Angus Sm ith Award for ''Telescope Maker of the Year", and the "Observer of the Year" January 1st to December 31st, 1983 Award were both presented to the same individual, and deservedly so. Bob Stephens Receipts was th e surprised recipient. Bob earned the Membersh ips awards through his remarkable accomplish­ Life - 9 $ 72 ments in the field of amateur rad io astronomy in Adult - 108 2,660 1983. Bob's feature talk at the same meeting Yo uth/ Associate - 4/8 124 certainly demonstrated to the re st of the Centre 2,856 his dedication to this very technical field of endeavour and the expertise with which he Donations 50 carries out his projects. Miscellaneous sales 255 The "Pre sident's Award" for service to the RASC Centre was presented to the editor of th is National office (travel grant) 377 newsletter, Alan Dyer. Interest 255 OBSERVER'S CORNERS To al receipts 3,793 START UP IN MARCH A very successful, if crowded, Observer's Disbursements Co rn er "mini-meeting" was held in December National office dues 1,362 after the conclusion of the main meeting. Mark Stardust postage 364 Leenders chaired a casual disc ussion of star Administrat ion expense 125 atlases. In March, the O.C. meetings wi ll Meeting expenses 200 resume their old format, being held on the Insignia purchases 100 fourth Monday of each month. For the Name ta gs and books 216 remainder of the spring and summer, the O.C. T ravel grant General Assembly 377 meetings will be held at the Space Sciences 2,744 Centre classroom. These meetings will be Total disbursements in formal discussions of al l sorts of topics of in terest to observers and astro-photographers, Excess of receipts over expenditures 1,049 both novices and experts. Please plan to attend. Non operating transactions: MEMBERSHIP BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD Donate a star receipts 140 As of this writi ng, 120 members were paid Received from Edmonton Space SC iences up for the 1983/ 84 season, breaking last year's Foundation loan refund 2383 record of 118. As ig usually the case , many Deposit on 1985 General Assembly .( 200) veteran members still had' not rer'lewed, but we Net re ceipts 3,372 ha ve also ga ined many new faces In the Centre. We welcome all our new friends, and hope that Bank ba lance beginning 2,691 we will see you at all our upcoming "regular meetings or at the new series of Observer's Bank balance end $6,063 meetings. -- -'" -.... . '-",,-- .. . .. •.• ~.J. _.:,. NOTICE of GENERAL MEETINGS .... '':..

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13 MONDAY, MARCH 12 Craig Makarowskl Peter Ceravolo Edmonton Centre, RASC Edmonton Centre , RASC

"Computers for Amateur Astronomy" "Optical Design and tvlanufacturing" Craig has had extensive experience with personal Peter works as a professional optician at the U. of A. con'tputers and will be telling us how they can be Prior to his recent move to Edmonton, he also useful to the amateur astronomer. Special worked for a opticl manufacturing firm n southern astronomy programs have been written for some Ontario. Peter is an avid amateur telescope maker, computers, but it is also possible to write your own with many optical projects to his credit. programs. -MONDAY, MARCH 26---- Observer's Comer meeting Both meetings at: 8:00 PM; CLASSROOM, SPACE SCIENCES CENTRE - -. Guests and members of the public are welcome

FEEL GENEROUS? The RASC is still collecting donations from Centre members to put toward the "purchase" fol' of a Centre star in the Space Sciences Centre FOR SALE: 12.5" fl S telescope tube assembly "Donate-A-Star" fund-raising program. The with 4.25" finder (f/ 3.S) & 2"low profile focuser. RASC will match all donations from individual 8 " fl4-fl1S N ewto n i a n-Casseg ra i n members; donations of any amount will be convertible scope with 3" finder, low profile 2" accepted. Please see Bob Carson at the next focuser for prime focus photography, 2" meeting if you are interested. focuser at Casso focus. Coulter Optics. 8" tiS mirror A COMETARY FI ND 6" f/ 12 Cassegrain with 2" focuser Word has reached us that on Nov. 29 RASC 6" f /S.S telescope with heavy duty mount, Kingston Centre member Davi d Levy drive, pedestal base .. independently discovereda new comet. David 4 1/ 4" f / 12 Cassegrain optics. 2 sets used his 40-cm Dobson reflector, housed in his 6" Meade mirror cell backyard observatory near Tuscon, Arizona. 31 / 4" f / 12 Cassegrain tube assembly. The comet was near 12th magnitude at All optics null figured, professionally made. discovery, the fairrtest for any amateur- Send SASE to Peter Ceravalo. 1082078 Avenue, discovered comet. ; . Edmonton, Alberta T6E 1 P8, or phone 433-9680 Unforturlately, DaVid's name .has not been (home) or 432-4645 (office). attached to th is comet; that dist inction was awarded to the IRAS infra-red satellite (the ANNOUNCEMENT: Anyone interested in comet was one of I RAS's last discoveries before planning a trip to the Riverside Telescope its supply of liquid hel ium ran out in November), Makers Conference (California) in May, please and to an astronomer named Hartley. call Peter Ceravo lo at above numbers. DISCOVER Royal Astronomical THE Society UNIVERSE of Canada with the EDMONTON CENTRE

monthly general meetings regular group observing sessions use of the Ellerslie Observatory use of Buck Mountain Dark Site the annual RASe Observer's Handbook S TARDUST the RASC Journal and Newsletter

siden! ...... Tony Whyte (439-9367) asurer ...... Mel Rankin (469-3066) 4}..03 - /o~8 4e

RA SC, EDMONTON CEN TR E MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FO RM Please accept my applicat ion for membership in the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. EDMONTON CENTRE for 1984. Enclosed is a cheque or money order for the appropriate fee : $2 4.00 for Ad ults' $15.00 for Youths 17 and under; $300.00 for Life membership; $8.00 for Associate membership (open to spouse and children of Adult members). I understand that upon receipt of my application and fee remittance. a membership card and a copy of the 1984 Observer's Handbook will be mailed to my address when it is published (or can be picked up at the next monthly general meeting). and that I will be placed on the mailing lists for RASC publications. Name ______

Address ______~ ______~------

Po stal Code ______,--- ______Phone ______o New Mem ber : o Renewal MAil TO: Edmonton Cen tre, RASC, cj o Edmonton Space Sciences Centre , 11 211 - 142 Stree , Edmonton, Alberta, T5M 4A1. Please make all cheques payable to: Edmonton Centre, RASC. THANKS ! e d monton cent r e, rasc c/o edmonton space sciences centre------11211 - 142 street edmonton, alberta t5m 4a1

FEBRUARY SMTWTFS 2 3 5 6 GENERAL MEETING Classroom, Space Sciences Centre 12 • 14 15 16

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Spedal Astronomy Lectures .t U. 26 27 28 29 of A. .nd Pro,",nc&.1 Museum SEI INSIDE COVER FOR DETAILS MARCH S M T W T

4 5 6 7 GENERAL MEETING Classroom, Space Sciences Centre II • 17 I 18 19 20 1 23 24 OBSERVER'S CORNER Classroom, Space Sciences Centre 25 .. 27 28 29 30 31

APRIL " . ,', SMTWTFS I 2 3 4 5 6 7 GENERAL MEETING Classroom, Space Sciences Centre 8 • 10 11 12 13 14 -- \ \ /' J ;' ~ I I ' 15 16 17 L! 8 19 20 2 1 - . .' 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 :)0

HOWARD GIBBONS No ,705 - 9915 115 Street to: . Edmonton, Alberta T5R 189 ~ ____ V~