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Regulusegulus Concert at Grant Hall (Info Below Left) March 2009 Upcoming Meetings Thursday, March 5, 2008 RRegulusegulus Concert at Grant Hall (info below left). RASC Kingston Centre Friday, March 13, 2008 7:30-9:30 p.m. The One Metre Initiative: A New Major Observatory in Canada Speaker: Frank Roy, Elektra Observatories. Friday, April 10, 2009 7:30-9:30 p.m. The Search for Dark Matter: A New Role for Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Speaker: Dr. Wolfgang Rau, Queen’s University Meetings are held at Stirling Hall Theatre “A” on Bader Lane at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Our meetings are co- sponsored by the Queen’s Physics Department and include astronomy lectures open to the public.« The SLOOH Mission Interface SLOOH.com offers great opportunities for virtual observing—from both hemispheres. Read all about it starting on page 8. The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres KAON Public Observing Special Concert, 8p.m. on Thursday, March 5th at Grant Hall, Queen’s University Saturday, March 14 7:30-9:30 p.m. From the Tafelmusik website: artistic, cultural and scientific world “The Galileo Project: Music of the in which 17th- and 18th-century }IYA 100 Hours of Astronomy Spheres is Tafelmusik’s contribution astronomers lived and did their work. }Saturn to the International Year of We have chosen these [pieces of Speaker: Terry Bridges Astronomy, marking 2009 as the music] because they speak 400th anniversary of Galileo’s profoundly and eloquently of what Saturday, April 11 7:30-9:30 p.m. development and use of the lies at the heart of the International Observing the Moon astronomical telescope. We have Year of Astronomy—a celebration Speaker: Fred Barrett created an event which uses music, of the wonders of the cosmos and the words and images to explore the achievements of the human spirit.”«KAON (Kingston Astronomy Outreach Network) sessions are held at Queen’s Web Link: http://www.tafelmusik.org/concerts/galileo.htm Observatory on the 4th floor of Ellis Hall.« In this issue: }Meeting & KAON Reports . 5 Other Events }More Observing Reports from Globe at Night }A Daily Podcast for ’09. 2 Latitude 26 Degrees . 6 March 16-28 }Directors & Coordinators . 2 }New Home for RASC HQ. 7 March 28 Earth Hour }Regulus Needs You! . 2 }Upcoming IYA Events. 7 April 4 or 5 Solar Observing }Some Wisdom from Lamp- }IYA T-Shirts Available. 7 April 4 Public Observing lighter . 3 }Virtual Observing: Then and }Blast from the Past: A Visit to Now . 8 See kingston.rasc.ca for more Chamberlin Observatory . 4 }Newt . 10 information on these events. A Daily Podcast for ‘09! Regulus Needs You! What is the 365 Days of Items of interest from members— Astronomy podcast? full articles, or even just a couple of paragraphs are always welcome. The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Deadlines for each issue are the last is a project that will publish one day of the month. Send items to: podcast per day, 5 to 10 minutes in walter2 (at) starlightccd (dot) com duration, for all 365 days of 2009. or: The podcast will be made available Walter MacDonald through an RSS feed. The podcast PO Box 142 episodes will be written, recorded the overall theme, each episode will Winchester ON K0C 2K0 and produced by people around the be completely different. world. Each day will have a specific The Fine Print: topic or theme based on a daily [Remember that you do not need an Members of the Kingston Centre calendar of astronomical events, iPod to listen to a podcast! All you receive Regulus as a benefit of themes and ideas created by the IYA. need is your computer and an membership. Non-commercial internet connection. advertisements are free to members Although all the episodes will have a The AAVSO will be producing one of of the Centre. Paid commercial common intro and outtro that ties into the podcasts each month.—Ed.] advertising is also welcome and should be in electronic format. Submitted material may be edited for RASC-KC Board of Directors brevity or clarity. © 2008, all rights reserved. Permission is granted to President: Kevin Kell other publications of a similar nature Vice President: Susan Gagnon to print material from Regulus Secretary: Steve Hart provided that credit is given to the Treasurer: Kim Hay author and to Regulus. We would Librarian: David Maguire appreciate you letting us know if you do use material published in Walter MacDonald Editor: Regulus.« National Council Rep: vacant 2008-09 Committee Chairs/Coordinators Astronomy Day: Kim Hay Amateur Telescope Makers: vacant Awards: Kevin Kell RASC Kingston Centre Banquet: vacant PO Box 1793 Education: vacant Kingston ON K7L 5J6 Equipment Loan: Kevin Kell Fall ’N’ Stars: vacant E-mail: KAON: Susan Gagnon [email protected] OAFTN Instructors: vacant Observing: vacant Infoline: Publicity: vacant 613-377-6029 Relay for Life: vacant Responsible Lighting: Kim Hay Website: Webmaster: Walter MacDonald kingston.rasc.ca Page 2 Regulus, newsletter of the RASC Kingston Centre March 2009 Some Wisdom from Lamplighter Father Lucien Kemble This is an e-mail posting made by suffuse, mirror image of the tapering bored with the real sky, whose Father Lucien Kemble in the 1990s road. Pondering on this years ago I objects are, effectively only in black on the RASCals e-mail list. Just this came to realize that the ditch and and white? I’ll tell you one thing— year some members were remin- fields were reflecting their snow- I'm beginning to find the SPLASH iscing about him (now 10 years after covered whiteness up into the fog. stuff a crashing bore. his death) and about this post in The highway, free of snow and quite particular, so by popular demand, black, was not reflecting and so made I make a plug for the subtle, the here it is in print for all to enjoy. the fog dark. A very nice effect. wonder in little things: the almost imperceptible glow of a small 14th Hi, all you good people: Now what has this got to do with mag galaxy; the tendrils and clouds amateur astronomy observing? A lot. of dark and light in so many of the hope at least some of you are For one thing my experiences with Messiers: the shades of gray in fog; getting in some good observing the phenomenon have made me the ‘non-reflectivity’ of highway fog; I sessions. In Flatland it is quite appreciate, especially yesterday, the shades of gray on the lunar surface; mild, hovering slightly below zero, subtle, the beautiful, the unexpected. bands on Jupiter, etc.; the subtleties with no snow for some time. But lots [The experience will remain long of a Bach fugue; and on and on. of fog and, rather unusual for here, a after I will have forgotten the Granted, computer-enhanced, false- lot of freezing mist and hoar frost congregation, the good singing, my color pictures of astronomical from the dampness. No ice storm, sermon, etc.] And this has found objects are necessary, and more thank God. marvelous application at the power and encouragement to their telescope in helping detect faint practitioners. But are we beginning But some unusual, very subtle effects to lose the small, the unobtrusive, the that I haven't noticed in years. “...are we beginning to lose the simple things? A kid at my telescope Yesterday evening I had to drive to small, the unobtrusive, the [one of the TV bored generation] say Mass at a small town, Southy, NE once remarked on seeing the tiny of here [ironically north of simple things?” image of Saturn, “Is that all?” Regina]—about 45 minutes’ drive. The Sun was not visible, the sky a wisps and clouds, and nebulosity, e.g. I am reminded here of the Old milky white-out, with visibility in the that surrounding the difficult Testament prophet who sought God damp fog about 1 km or less. Now Horsehead, etc. in the huge, the majestic, the mighty those of you who have never driven —of storm and wind and fire and prairie roads and highways may not I wonder at this point just how much tempest [in other words, the spec- know that one can go sometimes for our magazines and their wham-bang tacular]. And you know where he dozens of kilometres in a straight line presentation in startling color finally felt the presence of God? In with only the black pavement ahead contrasts are responsible for us losing the wafting across his cheek of a in a sea of ditch and field of pure sight of the common, often unnoticed gentle breeze as he stepped out of his white, with the occasional farm and things. If one is totally captivated by cave. Or something to that effect—I clumps of bushes. the WOW, explosions, blasts, etc., as never was good at remembering depicted on the covers and pages of book, chapter, and verse. In such a situation, as last evening, by S&T, Astronomy, Discover and careful observation I was able to see others, and the constant assault to the Me? Well I grew up a simple, curious at the end of the tapering, vanishing senses on TV, one will find the rest kid on a simple farm with simple point road ahead a very subtle rather banal and boring. It would delights and have never lost the darkening of the foggy sky just above seem that the big sin today is in being capacity to SEE along the whole the road. This darkening was, like “BORED.” I once read a review of a gamut [or spectrum] of beauty. the strip of road, a very diffuse fan of new book on astronomy in which the only slightly darker fog.
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