Newsletter of the Mississauga Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
September 2012 Volume 5 Issue 2 www.mississauga.rasc.ca [email protected]
Member Photo: Chris Malicki
What: Transit of Venus: Venus in front of the Sun at sunset When: June 5, 2012 at 9:15p.m Where: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in front of a funeral home on the great Northern highway (Trans Canada). How: Televue 85mm telescope with Bader filter and Canon EOS camera at 1:1000sec. Notice that Venus is elongated due to refraction of the low elevation at sunset. Venus was setting rapidly and I took many shots in quick succession at various focuses and this was one of the best. I was lucky to have trees far in the distance behind with the sunset. Why: Last chance in my lifetime to image a transit of Venus at sunset.
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I N S I D E T H I S I SSUE September 2012 – Update on MESSENGER
1 Member Photo Did you know that our newsletter is named after the NASA MESSENGER spacecraft now at Mercury? 3 From the President The Mission 5 Meetings and Events: Past and Upcoming To become the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, MESSENGER must follow a path through the inner 10 Centre Members Activities solar system, including one flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus, and three flybys of Mercury. 16 Other Events and News LAUNCH: August 3, 2004 17 Southern Skies—Reporting from New Zealand LOCATION: Cape Canaveral ELAPSED TIME(as of Aug 3/12) 2944 days 20 The Transit of Venus: We Came, We Saw... See the Messenger Spacecraft Update from 34 Reports from the Annular Eclipse 2012 NASA on page 26!
38 Asteroid Attwood—Randy the 'Rock Star'! Rachmaninoff Basin
42 Messenger (the Spacecraft)—Update!
46 The RASC General Assembly 2012
48 Starfest 2012—Say Hello to the Milky Way
52 Telescope Loan Program
52 RASC National
53 Help Wanted!
54 Membership Update
55 At the Centre
Courtesy: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Mississauga Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
The Mississauga Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is one of 29 Centres of the Society across Canada. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) is dedicated to the advancement of astronomy and allied sciences and was founded in 1903. The Mississauga Centre started life as the Mississauga Astronomical Society in 2003 and became the Mississauga Centre of the RASC in 2006.
Messenger September 2012 Page 3 From the President
What a summer this has been for stargazing—clear skies, few bugs, comfortable temperatures— could one ask for more?
It was a great summer for outreach, starting with the Science Rendezvous event at the UTM in May, which brought out over 65 people and gave us a chance to test out our solar filters and scopes. And then the Transit of Venus—more than 1000 people came to look at the slow movement of Venus across the surface of the sun in beautiful weather. Many lined up at every one of the 15 or so telescopes we had set up in a row on the top of the hill outside UTM. People brought supper to eat on the lawn and a few diehards stayed past 10 pm to see stars through the clouds that had gathered. Lots of children came, and even a few babies, some of whom may be lucky enough to see the next transit in 2117. A special thank you goes to the folks at UTM, especially Sue Prior, for handling many of the logistics involved in this major event, and to all the Centre volunteers who brought their scopes or handed out solar glasses. This is one outreach event that we will remember for years to come!
We were well represented at Starfest again this year, with about 22 or so members attending all or part of the conference. The skies were better than normal with only one cloudy evening, but you had to dress warmly to be able to enjoy the sights. We managed to reserve a camping area big enough to hold all of us (thanks to Gord Williams) which made visiting amongst friends easy. If you have never attended Starfest before give some thought to participating next year. It is always a good event.
There have been some changes to Council this summer. Vic Cooper, our Treasurer, has departed to live close to family in New Zealand, and Allan Connery has taken over the books. Andrew Opala has been appointed to one of the vacant positions. He is a very savvy social media person who is using both Facebook and Twitter to promote Centre activities and has been responsible for bringing out many new people to Riverwood through these channels. We still have one Council position vacant, and I would like to fill it with an individual who would take over the important role of organizing observing evenings at the Forks. If you think that this is a role you might like to fill or assist with, please talk to me at an upcoming meeting.
And of course, we now have our Past President with an asteroid named after him! How many other Centres can boast about that? Congratulations, Randy. You deserve it many times over.
Our telescope loan program is finally taking off and the first scope is now out on loan to a member. If you don't currently own a telescope, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to kick start your own observing and become familiar with how a telescope works. Please speak to either Allan Connery or Gerard Foraie if you are interested in borrowing one of the Centre's scopes.
There have been some additions to the benefits that membership in the RASC brings that you should be aware of. A new group home and auto insurance program with discounted rates has been set up with the National insurer, First Durham. Delta Hotels offers a 10% discount off its best rates, and Budget Rent-a-Car has a 25% discount off its lowest discountable rates. Details can be found in the Member Area of the National website.
The fall program is underway and I hope you will join us at one or more of our meetings. The speaker meetings will cover the topics of finding new 'earths', mapping Mars, and Mayan cosmology. Members' nights are for members to give short presentations on astronomical topics. If you have some
Page 4 September 2012 Messenger information you would like to present at one of these meetings, be it a review of a piece of new hardware, a book review, a summary of a lecture you heard or anything else you think would be of interest, please talk to Randy Attwood. We would love to hear from you.
Clear skies, Leslie Strike
Messenger From the Editor
Editor Welcome to Volume 5, Issue 2 published September 2012. Sheila Stephenson A newsletter needs contributors to keep it going and make it messenger@mississauga.rasc.ca interesting. If you would like to write an article, report on an interesting event, review a good science book, or submit a photo you think other members would enjoy, please contact the Editor at [email protected].
Thank you to all of this month’s contributors!
Next Messenger deadline: April 30, 2010
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Upcoming Meetings and Events
Mississauga Centre meetings are held at the University of Toronto Mississauga and are free and open to members of the public as well as members. Members are encouraged to bring along family and friends to meetings. Meetings are held twice a month on Friday evenings at 8:00pm. There are Members’ Nights and Speaker Nights. On Members’ Nights, Centre members make short presentations on various topics of astronomical and observing interest. On Speaker Nights, guest speakers present talks on different areas of Astronomy and Space Sciences. Meetings are held at the University of Toronto Mississauga in Room SE2082 located in the South Building. Park in Parking Lots #4 or #8. Parking tickets are available from machines which accept credit cards or cash ($2 per hour). Place the parking ticket on your front dashboard face up and visible through the front windshield. If you would like to present a talk at Members’ Night, contact Randy Attwood at [email protected] to discuss your presentation.
Riverwood Conservancy, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga The Public Star Parties held at The Riverwood Conservancy serve as Member City Star Parties as well. Members are encouraged to come out and observe with fellow Mississauga Centre members. You can bring your own telescope or look through the telescopes brought by other members. Everyone is welcome! The star party is weather dependent. Please check the Centre website and the Yahoo Group email for information on the day.
Public Star Party: Riverwood - Tuesday, Sept 25 (26), 2012 Public Star Party: Riverwood - Tuesday, Oct 23 (24), 2012 Public Star Party: Riverwood - Tuesday, Nov 20 (21), 2012
Upcoming Events: Riverwood: 2013 - To Be Announced
Thank you to everyone who volunteers their time at our public outreach events.
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MEETINGS
PAST MEETINGS
Friday, April 27, 2012 Speaker's Night Speaker: Randy Attwood, Past President, Mississauga Centre Title: Observing the Apollo Landing Sites on the Moon - From the Earth and From Lunar Orbit
The general areas where the six Apollo lunar missions landed can easily be spotted with backyard telescopes. However, it is impossible to spot evidence of the landings. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbing the Moon for over 2 years. It has taken pictures of all the Apollo landing sites as well other unmanned craft on the surface. Interest in these sites is increasing as we get closer to visiting them with unmanned craft and potentially manned visits in the future. What will visitors to these sites find? What has happened on the Moon in the past 40 years?
Friday, May 11, 2012 Member's Night Host: Randy Attwood Video: Kepler Update James Beckwith - Astronomy in the News Randy Attwood - Observing the Sun and Moon Randy Attwood - The 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs Andrew Opala - Making a Telescope Mirror Out of FIbreglass Randy Attwood - The Sky This Month
Friday, May 25, 2012 Speaker's Night Speaker: Adrienne Erickcek, Postdoctoral Fellow, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics and Postdoctoral Researcher, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Title: Inflation: The Universe's Growth Spurt The Universe used to be hot! The amount of helium in the cosmos tells us that minutes after the Big Bang, the Universe was filled with plasma hotter than the core of the Sun. However, observations of the cosmic microwave background indicate that the Universe was not born as a fireball. Instead, it seems that the Universe started its life devoid of any matter or radiation; in the beginning there was only a mysterious energy source that caused the Universe to expand exponentially. This cosmic growth spurt is called inflation and it provided the seeds that grew into galaxies. Dr. Adrienne Erickcek received her Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 2009 and now holds a joint postdoctoral fellowship at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. She is also a junior fellow in the Cosmology and Gravity program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Her research spans several areas in theoretical cosmology including the growth of structure in the early universe, inflationary origins of statistical anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background, modified gravity theories, and gravitational lensing by dark matter subhalos.
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*Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - Transit of Venus The Centre had, along with the University of Toronto Mississauga, a Public Outreach party for the Transit of Venus on the UTM campus.
Friday, June 8, 2012 Member's Night Host: Randy Attwood Theme: Blocking the Sun: The solar eclipse and Venus transit.
Friday, June 22, 2012 Speaker's Night Speaker: Mubdi Rahman, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto Title: Astronomical Connections: Weaving the Stories of Discovery and the Universe Mubdi Rahman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto and will be starting as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University in September 2012. His primary research interests include understanding the effects of star formation on the environment of the galaxy as a whole. His work on the discovery of the most massive young stellar association, The Dragonfish Association, has recently been featured in New Scientist, Science, Popular Science, and MSNBC. An avid astronomer from even his earliest years, Mubdi is active not only in research but also in the promotion and outreach of astronomy and science as a whole.
Friday, July 13, 2012 Member's Night Host:Terry Hardman Leslie Strike and John Marchese - Starfest Preview: We discussed where to camp / meet and who's going on which days. Ian McGregor of Royal Ontario Museum - Higgs Boson: An introduction to the Higgs Boson and what happened at CERN.
Friday, August 10, 2012 Member's Night Host: Terry Hardman Leslie Strike & Allan Connery - Asteroid Attwood James Beck - Astronomy in the News John Marchese - Video presentation of Astronaut Mike Good's July 2012 talk during Space Day at the University of Guelph. Attending the meeting was Paul and Karen Mortfield from the David Dunlap Observatory, RASC Toronto Centre, and Tom Glinos, the discoverer of Asteroids Attwood and Mississauga.
Friday, September 7, 2012 Member's Night Host: Randy Attwood Keith Jarvie - History of the Determination of the Speed of Light Andrew Opala - Beginner Astrophotography: Equipment, techniques and results you should expect The Sky This Month Allan Connery & Gerard Foraie - Mississauga Centre Telescope Loan Program
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
Friday September 21, 2012 Speaker Meeting Speaker: Paul Delany, York University, Dept of Physics and Astronomy Title: Exoplanets Update: The Search for Earth 2
Friday October 12, 2012 Member Night TBD
Friday October 26, 2012 Speaker Meeting Speaker: Phil Stooke, University of Western Ontario Title: Mapping Mars—A Visual History of Mars Exploration
Friday November 9, 2012 Member Night TBD
Friday November 23, 2012 Speaker Meeting Speaker: Ian McGregor, Royal Ontario Museum Title: Mayan Cosmology
Friday December 7, 2012 Member Night TBD
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Upcoming Centre Events
Please check the Centre website for more information.
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Centre Member Activities
May 1, 2012 - Riverwood Public Star Party - Randy Attwood Sometimes the weather gods are kind. At 6:00 pm the skies were overcast. It did not look good At 8:00 there were blue patches. By 8:30 the Moon was visible through light cloud By 9:30 - it was cloudy in the north and south - but overhead the Moon, Mars Venus and Saturn were all visible The 40 or so people who attended had nice clear views of all. We had 6 member volunteers.
Several families brought their own telescopes along with their young astronomers - we had a chance to help them set them up and use them.
May 12, 2012 - University of Toronto Mississauga - Health in the City Event On May 12th our Centre members supported UTMs 'Health in the City Event'. The Centre volunteers discussed the hobby of astronomy and supplied information on the upcoming Transit of Venus.
Ulli Krull, our sponsor at UTM sent the following message after the event.
From: Ulli Krull Date: May 16, 2012 5:53:59 PM EDT To: Randy Attwood Subject: Re: Thanks - Health in the City event Many thanks for the note Randy - the RASC group was terrific; engaging, informative and entertaining. Please extend my thanks to those who participated.
All the best. Ulli
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May 26, 2012 - Cub Scouts Event On May 26th the Centre participated in a talk and observing session for 100 cubs at the Yellow Briar Cuboree camp at Glen Haffy Conservation Area. The audio-visual presentation covered the requirements for the Cub Astronomy badge. The weather was cloudy up until about 10 pm, but cleared in time to show the Cubs and leaders Saturn, Mars, and the moon. For many of the Cubs, this was the first time they had looked through a telescope. Gerard Foraie, Donald Funston, Terry Hardman and Leslie Strike represented the Centre.
June 26, 2012 - Riverwood - Randy Attwood Good turnout last night - 75 people Weather was pretty good. Some high clouds interfered somewhat. A birthday party was in attendance as well as an 11 year old girl with her new telescope - a birthday present. We got her up and running in no time.
One group Googled "stargazing Mississauga" and found us.
Our surveys showed that most of the attendees found out about the event through Riverwood material.
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July 24, 2012 - Riverwood - Randy Attwood Good turnout tonight. We did a head count at the peak just after 9:00pm and it was 167. So we were easily over 200 with the comings and goings. The little parking lot was full.
Nice views of the Moon, Saturn and Mars A lot of families. Many people stayed until 11:00
We are trying new ways to promote the events - seems to be working with this increase in attendance. We are also setting up online surveys.
Here is my view of the Moon - very clear seeing tonight - crisp clear view
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August 23, 2012 - Oakville Historical Society Star Party - run by Wendy Belcher Some Centre volunteers brought their telescopes to support Wendy's annual star party again this year. The location is beautiful, down by Lake Ontario in Oakville. It was a warm night with a clear sky, even though the transparency wasn't great.
There was a good turnout of the members of the Historical Society and the general public just strolling by the lake on a summer night - about 50 people. Thank you to Wendy for the tasty cookies and drinks. We always have a good time.
Wendy took some photos. Below is Brian Gibson, Leslie Strike, and some passersby stopping for a look and a chat.
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August 25, 2012 - Riverwood - Randy Attwood Randy sent the following information about the Riverwood Public Star Parties.
The astronomy nights are being promoted via a poster which is being posted at the following:
18 Community Centres across Mississauga 3 Newcomer and Employment Centres (we are working on more right now) 2 Adult Education Centres (Peel Board) over 1500 students – Mississauga and Brampton Central Library 3 spots (working on all libraries) Facebook has flyers and event updates that get fed to twitter Community Calendars and SNAP TRC Website that feeds Facebook and Twitter with reminders City Pylon signs and Riverwood Pylon signs at least 5 x per year Working on Celebration Square Sign (interior and exterior signs) Discovery@Riverwood Calendar goes to all members of TRC Posted on signs in 6 different locations through park trails Posted at VAM and inside MacEwan Field Station for all participants to see. Posted at Chappell House and provided to all walk in guest, etc.
Here is the Riverwood poster.
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August 28, 2012 - Riverwood - Randy Attwood Another great evening at Riverwood. Hard to say the exact numbers - well over 200, that's for sure.
The parking lot filled up pretty quickly. We had 12-14 telescopes set up - not exactly sure the final count. We saw the International Space Station.
We need to expand the number of volunteers to control the people flow and ensure everyone is served properly. The enhanced promotion seems to be working!
Andrew Opala collected some statistics on the evening:
Some notes from my records: 18 Telescopes 22 Volunteers and Operators Continuous attendance counts: - About 80 from 8:30-8:45 - About 130 from 8:45-9:30 - About 35 from 9:30-9:45. About 45 listened to the talk at 9:10 while the remainder were at telescopes. Cars continued to drive in and out from the parking lot and I believe Leslie went to keep cars from entering the park later in the evening because parking was full. The sign-in (plus guests) total for the evening was about 150. There were over 180 star-finders given out. Projections from other events would say that there were 220 different people attending throughout the evening.
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Other Events and News
2012 November 13 - Total Solar Eclipse - Total Solar eclipse that can be seen in north Australia and the South Pacific. NASA Eclipse Web Site
2013 July 1 weekend - RASC General Assembly - The 2013 RASC General Assembly will be held in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Check the National Website for more information as it becomes available.
2013 August 8 - 11 Starfest Astronomy Star Party - The North York Astronomical Association invites you to attend its annual astronomy conference and star party.
Messenger September 2012 Page 17 Southern Skies—Reporting from New Zealand by Vic Cooper
Hi to you all,
We had a clear night on the Saturday here [August 18] and I went out to take some pictures. The temperature was about 7 degrees C at about 9pm.
I am limited to my Canon on a normal tripod, so 30 seconds is my maximum exposure time. I used a 28mm Super Takumar lens circa 1967 for the attached shots.
One picture is of the southern sky about 9:30 pm with the Coal Sack in the centre and Alpha and Beta Centauri above and the Southern Cross below (although only 3 of the stars are clearly visible). Below and to the left is the "southern Pleiades" with the Eta Carinae nebula at the bottom just above the trees, which has come out well considering the short exposure and low elevation.
After taking the picture of the southern sky I turned the camera to directly above my head and there was Sagittarius and the centre of the Milky Way so I took another 30 second shot which is similar to the one I took last year.
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You can see from the two identical exposures that the Milky Way is much reduced near the horizon of the southern sky.
I thought you might be interested in this shot which I took at my daughters house. It is over exposed but I wanted to get the trees to show up, and the clouds, and it was already well after astronomical dusk so very dark apart from the moonlight. Sheila asked me to send some upside down shots!!
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My best wishes to all,
Vic
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The Transit of Venus: We Came, We Saw —We Enjoyed the Show with a 1000 Friends! by Sheila Stephenson - Photos by many, many people
On June 5th, 2012 the RASC Mississauga Centre hosted a public outreach evening at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus to watch the planet Venus transit across the face of the sun. A sight that no one on earth will see again until the year 2117.
Would we get 10 people? 100? 1000? Yes, we got the big number! A thousand people over the course of a few hours. And we were ready.
Our members set up approximately 16 telescopes, all makes and sizes, equipped with solar filters. We had handouts, an information board with explanations and diagrams, and 900 solar glasses to give away. The public started to arrive around 4:30 pm with kids, dogs, and blankets, ready for a good show.
I have tried my best to list everyone from our Centre that attended and to capture many of us in the photos posted by our members. If I have missed anyone, my apologies.
Members (and some friends and family) in attendance:
Tom Alloway Ryan Scott and son Michael Connery James Beckwith Pat Gallo Val Connery Betty Robinson Ulli Krull Allan Connery Randy Attwood Wendy Belcher Donald Funston Dairne Boyd Francis McByran Carmen Funston John Boyd Liz McBryan Terence Gui Brian Gibson Gerard Foraie Walter Merino and family John Marchese Leslie Strike Sheila Stephenson Christina Marchese Izabela Rowska-Burza Omar Chijani and family Terry Hardman Victoria Claughton Andrew Opala Carissa Hardman Simon Claughton Pat Gallo Jack Jackson Keith Jarvie Thomas Bernard Jose Alonso Wilfred Morrison Sue Prior Joe VandenDool
...and a DUCK - name unknown.
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Some Centre member comments on the event....
Randy Attwood: Weather: perfect Telescope / volunteer turnout: Exceptional Headcount - around 1000 # of solar glasses left: 0 Overall summary: Memorable
Thanks to everyone who came out to help and enjoy the transit. UTM is already beaming with the experience. See you at the meeting Friday night for a recap of the transit and the recent eclipse. ------Ryan Scott: Excellent work by the centre and its volunteers! You all did a wonderful job and made this a great experience. I'm proud to be a member of such an outstanding organization. Keep up the good work - I can't wait to see what you come up with for the transit in 2117! ------Don Funston: It was a pleasure to be a part of the Transit of Venus event. The reward came in the form of favourable comments from many of those who viewed the transit through my telescope. Unfortunately however, there were still people in line when the Sun set behind the trees. ------Brian Gibson: My experience was equally rewarding with the line of viewers sometimes extending to about 20 people. Many of the younger viewers tried taking photos through the eyepiece (mostly unsuccessful) with their smart phones but what surprised me was one woman who was having a Skype conversation with her husband. She asked if he could have a look and held the smart phone camera lens up to the eyepiece! I'm not sure whether he could see anything. :-) ------Omar Chijani: I was able to take pictures of the transit from my telescope eyepiece without issues, using my smart phone camera. ------Terence Gui: Hi Don - I believe your scope was setup beside mine. By my rough estimation, it looked like you had one of the longest lineups throughout the event :) Aside from the transit itself, I also found it very gratifying showing the Moon/planets to the small - but very enthusiastic - handful of people who stuck around long enough for the clouds to part. ------Matt Grinter: I managed to make it to York University as the observatory there was hosting their own event. I estimated around 400 showed up as I arrived 5 to 6pm and they had ran out of their 200 eclipse glasses at 5:30. They had 6 scopes set up, plus both their scopes in the observatory set up, although 1 was doing "research" and the other had binoviewers ( 1 side streaming online, the other viewing). I was quite amazed at one scope set up to do projection, it was a lot more defined than I had expected. ------Randy Attwood: Just wanted to let Council know that Twitter had a big impact in getting the word out for the transit Tuesday. It is impossible to know how many people attended because of it. (Did anyone ask people how they found out about the event?) But I was tweeting all day and the tweets were being retweeted to thousands of people. Although CTV never showed up—nor did I expect them to—Paul Bliss retweeted our tweet and that was to a lot of other media types. Many others saw our web site.
So again we did well...on promoting an event.
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And Here Come the Pictures for Posterity
Thank you to all the members for their photos, and to Terry and Carissa Hardman for the great Transit Treats.
Setting up...
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The telescope lineup getting ready.
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Here they come...
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Carissa Hardman painted the movement of the transit on her finger nails in case we forgot what was going to happen. We made sure everyone was properly outfitted.
Our feathered visitor flew in for a quick look.
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Our 900 solar glasses put to good use.
We had enough scopes that the lineups moved quickly and people could move from scope to scope for a different experience.
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Setting sun and transit treats...
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And the reason we all came together...
Photo by Brain Gibson
Photo by Andrew Opala
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Photo by Randy Attwood
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Reports from the Annular Eclipse 2012 by Sheila Stephenson
On May 20, 2012 we had an annular solar eclipse that could be seen in North America. Wikipedia gives the following information from the NASA Eclipse website.
This eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 128, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 73 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on August 29, 984 AD. It contains total eclipses from May 16, 1417 through June 18, 1471 and hybrid eclipses from June 28, 1489 through July 31, 1543. Then it progresses into annular eclipses from August 11, 1561 through July 25, 2120. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on November 1, 2282. The longest duration of totality was 1 minutes, 45 seconds on June 7, 1453.[1]
Some of our members reported on their observations here in Southern Ontario where it was a partial, and from farther afield where they had the thrill of seeing the total annular eclipse.
From Chris Malicki:
Five of us: David Makepeace, Allan and Val Connery, Chris and Liz Malicki observed the annular eclipse with great success, 3 miles south of the town of Valle, 35 miles south of the Grand Canyon. The annular phase lasted about 40 seconds. Because we were so close to the southern limit, the north part of the ring was very thin and Baily's beads were prolonged and dramatic. It was a beautiful sight to see the horns of the Sun about 15 degrees apart and suddenly be joined together by a thread of photosphere that materialized between them. For me that was an awesome sight. David got some spectacular video as well.
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From Gerard Foraie: - reporting from the Forks of the Credit
Attached are a few pictures from last night's Eclipse. This was not totally a Mississauga RASC event, but more a GTA event. I did have about 5 people talk to me on attending meetings and maybe joining the club. In total I would have to say there were about 35-40 people out for the Eclipse and later star viewing.
From Wilf Morrison—A good buddy who lives in Florida took [this] once I let him know he would be near the eclipse on his trip. He went to the centerline at Page, Arizona to take the shots. Photo by Fred Brisard of Florida.
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From Brian Gibson—reporting from Thornbury, ON
I am up in Thornbury for the long weekend and managed to catch about ten minutes of the partial solar eclipse before the sun dropped behind the escarpment. I watched it with a pair of solar glasses from Astronomy Magazine and was able to use them in front of my 8X25 binoculars for a closer look. Only a very small piece of the sun (lower right) was covered but it was still gratifying to view. Anyone else see it locally?
From Melanie Maddix—reporting from Japan
We missed the last half due to cloudy weather, but it was decent for the first part. I was visiting my great uncle who is 75 and had never seen an eclipse. He was running up and down the street with his eclipse shades to show all his neighbours.
You would be proud of the news stations in Japan. It was the top story all evening and on the front page of the news the next day. I will scan it and post it when I get back from my trip.
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From Randy Attwood—reporting from Mississauga
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Asteroid Attwood—Randy the 'Rock' Star! by Betty Robinson
On Saturday, July 7, 2012, Paul Mortfield announced that an asteroid has been named after Randy Attwood by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
The announcement took place at the kick-off summer lecture series by the Toronto Centre, RASC, at the David Dunlap Observatory. There were approximately 50 guests at the announcement at the first of two talks by Randy, including five Mississauga Centre members: Randy Attwood, Don and Carmen Funston, Gus Kristensen, and Betty Robinson.
Paul Mortfield gave a general introduction to the evening and began to speak about asteroids and how people and organizations can have one named after them. He mentioned a few from a list of new names that the IAU had just issued. He then said how pleased he was to announce, with the permission of the Mississauga Centre, RASC, that an asteroid has been named for Randy:
“(260235) Attwood = 2004 RU289 Discovered 2004 Sept. 12 at the Jarnac Observatory. Randy Attwood (b. 1957) is a Canadian editor who has served as National President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, editor of Space Quarterly and SpaceRef Interactive. He founded the Mississauga Astronomical Society, and created and hosted the cable television show ‘Astronomy Toronto’.”
Randy was totally and completely surprised, but very happy of course. It was difficult for him to then deliver a 30-minute talk, but he did and he did his usual great job.
After the 9:00 pm talk, more Mississauga Centre members arrived: Gerard and Ella Foraie were nearby and arrived to congratulate Randy, and Val and Allan Connery, who were booked for the 10:00 pm talk. Karen Mortfield announced the asteroid naming at Randy’s 10:00 pm talk as well. Allan Connery took the image below of Randy holding the page of names. (The paragraph with the vertical marking beside it is Randy’s.)
Photo by Allan Connery
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Allan also captured the following graphic of the location of Asteroid Attwood on the 45th anniversary of the first Moon landing, which is the next close approach.
You can see and play with the orbit of Asteroid Attwood using the JPL tool at
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=260235;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb
Allan also added the asteroid on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_planets_named_after_people#Amateur
[Editor:]The following page contains the 'Request to Name an Asteroid' submitted by the Mississauga Centre.
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Request to Name an Asteroid
This request is presented by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Mississauga Centre. The Council of the Mississauga Centre would like to recommend John Randall Attwood (Randy) as a candidate for having an asteroid given his name.
Randy Attwood is a highly-esteemed past president and active member of the RASC Mississauga Centre and we would like to present his qualifications as a candidate for having an asteroid named after him.
Randy has been passionate about astronomy and the space sciences since the late 1960s, and has been involved with astronomy and space education for over thirty years.
Randy joined the Toronto Centre of the RASC in 1970 and has held numerous council positions over the years, including Centre president from 1982 to 1986. He served as president of the National Society from 1998 to 2000. His tireless dedication to the RASC and to public education, in particular, has earned him the society’s highest award, the National Service Award.
During the 1980s, Randy produced and hosted an astronomy and space exploration cable television program called Astronomy Toronto, offering his knowledge and expertise through public outreach.
In 2003, Randy founded the Mississauga Astronomical Society (MAS) to encourage astronomy interests in Mississauga and the surrounding communities. After the group had been active for over a year, he applied to the National Society of the RASC to establish a new Mississauga Centre. In 2006, the MAS became the Mississauga Centre of the RASC, and Randy was president of our Centre until February 2012. Randy has also been instrumental in helping other small astronomy clubs become Centres of the RASC.
Over the years, Randy has taught night school courses in astronomy and contributed as a science writer and reviewer to high school science books (astronomy, space science, climate change). In addition to contributing his expertise to the educational publishing industry, he worked for Scientists in Schools and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). For both institutions, he visited schools in the Greater Toronto area and gave talks on astronomy based on the Ontario school curriculum. When working for the ROM, Randy supported his talks with the ROM’s portable planetarium.
For many years, Randy has been in demand as a media consultant and has often appeared as a commentator on CBC, CTV, Global, and the Discovery Channel, as well as various radio stations.
Randy founded The Earthshine Astronomy and Space Organization, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to building a planetarium in the Greater Toronto Area. He continues to work with the City of Mississauga toward this end. In April 2011, he arranged to have an asteroid named after the City of Mississauga. Randy also developed our Centre’s popular outreach program in partnership with The Riverwood Conservancy, where the Centre has successfully run, for the past three years, monthly events for anywhere from 50 to 800 people and was awarded the Riverwood Shirley Daniels Education Award for 2011.
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Over the years, Randy has travelled to observe nine total solar eclipses, two annular eclipses, several partial solar eclipses, and many lunar eclipses. He has travelled to Florida to view 13 shuttle launches, which he often reports on for local and national Canadian media.
Randy is currently the Managing Editor of Space Quarterly, and the Senior Editor of SpaceRef Interactive Inc.
For all these reasons, the Council of the RASC Mississauga Centre would like to nominate Randy Attwood as a candidate for having an asteroid be named after him.
Sincerely, The RASC Mississauga Council
Lesley Strike PRESIDENT
February, 2012
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Messenger (the Spacecraft)—Update! by Sheila Stephenson -All text and photos courtesy of NASA/John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington( http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/ )
International Astronomical Union Approves Names for Nine Mercury Craters The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recently approved a proposal from the MESSENGER Science Team to assign names to nine impact craters on Mercury. The IAU has been the arbiter of planetary and satellite nomenclature since its inception in 1919. In keeping with the established naming theme for craters on Mercury, all of the newly designated features are named after famous deceased artists, musicians, or authors or other contributors to the humanities.
"All of the nine newly named craters are located in Mercury's north polar region, and MESSENGER team members and collaborators who are researching this area contributed the proposed names," explains Mercury Dual Imaging System Instrument Scientist Nancy Chabot, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. "Mercury's north polar region is of high scientific interest because of the shadowed craters there that host radar-bright deposits that may consist of water ice. All of the nine newly named craters host such deposits."
The newly named craters are:
Uzo Egonu (1931-1996), a Nigerian-born painter who at 13 was sent to England to study art, first at a private school in Norfolk and later at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts. Exile, alienation, and the pain of displaced peoples were recurrent themes in his work.
, after Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), a Spanish architect whose work concentrated largely on the Catalan capital of Barcelona. He was very skilled with ceramics, stained glass, wrought-iron forging, and carpentry and integrated these crafts into his architecture.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a Russian painter and art theorist credited with painting the first purely abstract works.
Titus Petronius (c. AD 27-66), a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian era.
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who is considered one of the major composers of the 20th century. His best-known works include the ballet Romeo and Juliet -- from which "Dance of the Knights" is taken -- and Peter and the Wolf.
John Ronald Reuel (J. R. R.) Tolkien (1892-1973), an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic fantasy novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Nina Tryggvadóttir (1913-1968), one of Iceland's most important abstract expressionist artists and one of very few Icelandic female artists of her generation. She primarily worked in painting, but she also created collages, stained glass work, and mosaics.
Shifu Qiu Ying (1494-1552), a Chinese painter who specialized in the gongbi brush
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technique, a careful realist method in Chinese painting. He is regarded as one of the Four Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty.
Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962), a Japanese historical novelist best known for his revisions of older classics including The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Genji, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. These nine newly named craters join 77 other craters named since the spacecraft's first Mercury flyby in January 2008.
"These latest names for major craters on Mercury are important for two reasons," adds MESSENGER Principal Investigator Sean Solomon of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "The first is that formal names make it easier to communicate scientific findings about specific regions and features. The second, equally important reason is that these designations expand the opportunities to recognize the contributions to the arts by the most creative individuals from many cultures and eras. The names of those individuals are now linked in perpetuity to the innermost planet."
More information about the names of features on Mercury and the other objects in the Solar System can be found at the U.S. Geological Survey's Planetary Nomenclature Web site: http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/index.html.
Comma for Your Thoughts Release Date: August 20, 2012 Of Interest: Picasso crater's comma-shaped pit is fully shown in this monochrome targeted mosaic. Picasso was first seen at close range in MESSENGER's third flyby and since then has continued to be an object of study due to its unusual floor formation. This type of pit has been seen in various locations around Mercury, and is hypothesized to be a location where subsurface magma has evacuated, causing the surface to cave in.
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Inside a Crater Release Date: August 22, 2012 Date acquired: July 09, 2012 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 250306754 Image ID: 2166386 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: 36.24° Center Longitude: 181.8° E Resolution: 25 meters/pixel Scale: The crater floor is 37 km (23 miles) in diameter. Incidence Angle: 83.5° Emission Angle: 54.6° Phase Angle: 138.2°
Of Interest: This unnamed crater north of March crater is seen in this dramatic close up of the crater floor and central peak. The floor, while relatively flat and smooth, is marred by multiple smaller craters. The walls of the crater have collapsed down producing small terraces.
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Hermean AdVENTure! Release Date: August 21, 2012 Date acquired: April 09, 2011 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 210808085, 210808081, 210808077 Image ID: 108224, 108223, 108222 Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (996, 748, 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue Center Latitude: 48.62° Center Longitude: 326.5° E Resolution: 217 meters/pixel Scale: This image is 220 km (137mi.) across. Incidence Angle: 48.9° Emission Angle: 14.2° Phase Angle: 63.2°
Of Interest: The image above shows an unnamed, heavily degraded crater with a volcanic vent at the center, visible as an irregular, rimless depression. In color images, like the one above, volcanic features appear redder than average Mercury.
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The RASC General Assembly—Edmonton Welcomed the Membership, June 28 to July 1, 2012 by Leslie Strike
The annual general assembly of the RASC was held at the University of Alberta on the July long weekend. The annual meeting is usually attended, either in person or on the phone, by representatives of the 29 Centres, the National Executive and members at large. As President, I felt that I needed to be there in person, as it is a wonderful way to meet other Centre executives to share successes and brainstorm ideas for attacking issues that we have in common. Gord Williams and his wife Shirley, who have attended previous GAs, drove out from Mississauga to be at this one as well.
During the business meetings there are reports on accomplishments of the past year by committee heads and executive members, progress on-going projects and discussions on the future direction of the Society.
The biggest item on the agenda this year was the imminent implementation of the Canada Not for Profit Corporations Act, which will have a major impact on how the Society is structured. (Mississauga Centre will be affected by similar Ontario legislation which is expected to be in place by next year.) The National Council gave approval in principle to the structure that the Executive proposed after extensive consultation with legal counsel. Formal National Council approval is expected to occur at the 2013 GA.
The key points of the proposal are: the National Council is replaced by a Board of Directors, elected by the membership of the Society in a nation-wide electronic voting system Centre representatives become part of a National Advisory Council, becoming advisors rather than a voting body the Board of Directors will be small, about 9 people, and will consist of the Executive and 3 regional directors. Positions within the Board, e.g. President, are decided by the Board itself. Under the new act, many of the provisions in the old bylaws now become part of a policy manual, and can be changed by the 9 member Board rather than a vote of the 50 National Council members at a GA.
While these modifications are quite a departure from current practice, I personally think that they are a good thing and will enable the Society to be more flexible and responsive to the changing environment that it operates in.
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The General Assembly is not all about work, or why would ordinary members attend year after year? Like our members' nights, there are many short talks on subjects as diverse as the Society of Radio Astronomers and what they do, night vision and LEDs, Canada's space program, and how to identify cosmic impact sites. External speakers were invited who gave very interesting talks on Earth trojans, pulsars and meteorites.
The highlight of all the speeches, was the Helen Sawyer Hogg Public Lecture, given by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell from Oxford University. Her talk was titled “Will the world end in 2012? The astronomical evidence”. This talk was excellent, and I encourage you all to listen to it on YouTube. The webcast urls are listed on the Edmonton GA website here.
To round out the activities, there are always BBQs, tours of local attractions, and a Sunday evening banquet.
The next GA is in Thunder Bay, over the long weekend in July 2013. If you are looking to expand your astronomical knowledge, camaraderie with people from across the country who share the same interests, or just general good fun, I suggest you consider attending. I certainly plan to be there.
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Starfest 2012—Say Hello to the Milky Way by Sheila Stephenson (Photos: Victoria & Simon Claughton, Brigitte Li, and a helpful camper for the group photo)
Once again, a large number of Centre members made the trip to Starfest, the annual August star party put on by the North York Astronomical Association in a campground near Mt. Forest, Ontario. Some of us camped, some motelled, and some came for a day.
Members arriving early to camp reported that Wednesday night was great viewing. Thursday night brought clouds with a huge rainstorm in the middle of the night. Friday night arrived clear and warm, with a lot of dew, but it was still wonderful to see the Milky Way in all its glory.
There was a nice mix of speakers during the day. Some subjects covered were meteors, severe weather, the Mallincam, and lots more.
Saturday was the usual fun dinner banquet and lucky draw. We had a few lucky winners. Then Saturday night viewing started out pretty good, got hazy just after midnight, and then cleared up beautifully around 1:30am.
All in all a good time was had. Here's a few photos....
Our annual group photo (a few members are missing).
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Gord—guarding his tent.
Jack—getting ready for dark.
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James was apparently a very popular photo star.
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Brigitte Li's first (or close to first ) astro photo. Nice dipper!
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Telescope Loan Program
The Centre owns several telescopes, which were either donated to the Centre or purchased by the Centre. They are to be used to perform public outreach activities and to be loaned to members of the Centre for one month periods. The Centre owns 2 – 8” Orion SkyQuest Intelliscope dobsonians 1 – Astroscan 1 - Celestron Powerseeker 127 1 – Meade ETX 1 – 11X80 binoculars
In order to borrow a telescope, a member must participate in a short one-on-one lesson on the use and care of the telescope. Anyone interested in borrowing a telescope please contact Gerard Foraie at [email protected]. RASC National http://www.rasc.ca/index.shtml
The Mississauga Centre is one of 29 Centres across the RASC. A National Council made up of representatives from each of these Centres meets three times a year to discuss Society business and make decisions on the future of the Society. The Mississauga Centre representative is Centre President Leslie Strike.
The latest news from around the RASC can be found at http://www.rasc.ca/news/
E-mail Discussion Groups
E-mail discussion groups are an excellent way to stay in touch with RASC members from across the country. A number of e-mail groups are supported that are of general interest to most members along with administrative lists designed to assist with the smooth running of the Society.
National E-mail groups bring together members from across the RASC to discuss subjects of general interest. Currently the RASC is offering:
RASCals - The RASC's informal town hall has been operating continuously since November 1995 and has over 300 members who share the latest interesting astronomy news as well as updates on RASC activities and politics. LPA - The National Light Pollution Abatement forum RASCAG - The RASC Astroimaging Group (RASC-AG) brings together RASC members who are interested in sharing the latest techniques and assist each other with astroimaging and processing. Astro-Sketchers - The astro-sketcher group brings together RASC members who are interested in sharing the the pursuit of sketching astronomical objects at the eyepiece.
Messenger September 2012 Page 53 Help Wanted!
It takes the help of many volunteers for an organization such as the Mississauga Centre to be successful. Many people work many hours a month to run the various programs offered as benefits of membership.
We could use help from a few more people.
Writers! Photographers!
Our Editor needs material for each newsletter It is important that Centre events be documented issue—articles, observing reports, interesting via photography. Pictures of meetings, observing trips or events, and astrophotos. If you have sessions, and other events are needed for the something you would like to contribute to the website and for Messenger. If you like taking newsletter, please contact Sheila Stephenson at digital photos and attend Centre activities, [email protected]. please contact Leslie Strike at [email protected].
Web Gurus! Scope Keepers!
The Centre website could use some updating. If Our telescope and binocular loan program could you are HTML/Frontpage literate, please contact use another person to help with the care, Randy Attwood at [email protected] handling, and distribution of the Centre’s equipment. If you would like to help please contact Gerard Foraie at [email protected].
DVD Librarians! Helpers!
The Centre has a DVD library. These DVDs can be It takes several people to run a meeting of the borrowed at Centre meetings for one month. The Centre and the star party at Riverwood. We set current DVD librarian would like to pass the up a welcome table to greet both members library on to another volunteer to handle the visitors. There are several little jobs which must distribution. If you would like the job please be performed for a meeting or star party to run contact Leslie Strike at [email protected] smoothly. If you attend meetings often and would like to help please contact Leslie Strike at [email protected]
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Membership Update
As of September 14, 2012 the Centre has 149 members including youth, associates, and affiliates.
The RASC membership year is from whenever you join until the end of the same month, next year. Contact John Marchese at [email protected] for information on membership renewals.
In this issue of the newsletter we welcome all of the new members to the Centre from May 2012 to September 2012.
Welcome to All!
May 2012 June 2012 July 2012
Mark Rodrigues Menka Walia Anne Marie Papp Joseph Lajeunesse Gregory Nestor Earle Laycock Saleem Pirbuccus Paul Cluer
August 2012 Sept 2012
Kanav Petkar Alfred Smith Robert Hamilton Chuck Robertson Paul Rosborough Jo VandenDool
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At the Centre
Members Only The centre web site has a special area for members only. To access this area use ID mcrasc and Password asteroid.
City and Dark Sky Observing Members are invited to attend the city star parties at Riverwood Conservancy each month. See City Star Parties on the Centre website for the next event.
Around New Moon an announcement is made on the Yahoo list indicating when we will go out to the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park to do some dark sky observing.
Centre Yahoo Email Group The Centre uses a Yahoo email group to discuss events, news, observing tips, and to post astrophotos. To join in the fun, contact John Marchese at [email protected].
DVD Library The Centre has a library of DVDs on astronomy and space exploration topics. DVDs may be borrowed by members at meetings for one month. A list of the DVDs in the collection appears on the Centre website Members’ section.
Observing Certificates Members new to astronomy and observing are encouraged to work on obtaining the RASC Explore the Universe certificate. It is an observing program where the observer identifies several constellations and bright stars, observes the Moon and planets as well as double stars and deep sky objects. A telescope is not needed—just your eyes and a pair of binoculars. For more information, please contact the Observing Coordinator at [email protected].
Centre Archives The centre meetings and Messenger issues are archived on the Centre website. For more information on archives, contact Chris Malicki at [email protected].
Clear Sky Chart The Centre sponsors the Clear Sky Chart for Mississauga. Visit the Clear Sky Chart on the Centre website www.mississauga.rasc.ca.
Club Merchandise Currently in inventory we have T shirts (long and short sleeve), ball caps, and toques. Pictures and prices are on the Centre website in the Merchandise sections. We also have lapel pins ($5.00) and bumper stickers ($2:00 each or 3 for $5:00).
Astronomy Courses. From time to time beginner astronomy courses are available. For more information, contact Randy Attwood at [email protected].
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2012 Mississauga Centre Council
Executive
President: Leslie Strike [email protected] 1st Vice President: Terry Hardman [email protected] Secretary: Chris Malicki [email protected] Treasurer: Allan Connery [email protected] Past President: Randy Attwood [email protected]
Mississauga Centre Councillors James Beckwith Gerard Foraie John Marchese Andrew Opala Sheila Stephenson
Programs
Speakers’ Nights: Randy Attwood [email protected] Observing: Gerard Foraie/Allan Connery [email protected] Telescope Loan: Gerard Foraie/Allan Connery [email protected] Members’ Nights: Randy Attwood [email protected] Membership: John Marchese [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Sheila Stephenson [email protected]
General Inquiries: Mississauga Centre inquiries [email protected]
Mississauga Centre mailing address: P.O. Box 98011 2126 Burnhamthorpe Rd. W. Mississauga, ON L5L 5V4
Meetings are held in Room 2082 in the South Building at the University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd N., Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6
Direction to UTM: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/index.php?id=8709
Park in Parking Lots #4 or #8: Don’t forget to purchase a parking ticket ($2 per hour). Place the picket on your front dashboard face-up. Enter the South Building through the glass doors at the fitness centre, walk up the multiple flights of stairs (or take the elevator down the hall). Room 2082 is through the cafeteria area and down the hall on your right.