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Volume 56, No 2 2017 June ISSN Page0049-1640 1 Royal Astronomical Society Southern Stars of New Zealand (Inc.) Journal of the RASNZ Founded in 1920 as the New Zealand Astronomical Volume 56, Number 2 Society and assumed its present title on receiving the 2017 June Royal Charter in 1946. In 1967 it became a member body of the R oyal Society of New Zealand. P O Box 3181, Wellington 6140, New Zealand [email protected] http://www.rasnz.org.nz CONTENTS Subscriptions (NZ$) for 2017: SWAPA 2017 Ordinary member: $40.00 John Drummond ...... 3 Student member: $20.00 Affi liated society: $3.75 per member. The Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes Minimum $75.00, Maximum $375.00 William Tobin ...... 6 Corporate member: $200.00 Printed copies of Southern Stars (NZ$): Steve Butler FRASNZ ...... 10 $35.00 (NZ) $45.00 (Australia & South Pacifi c) The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whanagaroa $50.00 (Rest of World) Report Grahame Fraser ...... 11

Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 Years Council & Offi cers 2016 to 2018 - A Personal View II President: Stan Walker ...... 18 John Drummond P O Box 113, Patutahi 4045. [email protected] Immediate Past President: John Hearnshaw Dep’t Physics & Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140. [email protected] Vice President: FRONT COVER Nicholas Rattenbury The Department of Physics, Peter Louwman in the midst of his collection of historic The University of Auckland, telescopes at The Hague, Netherlands. 38 Princes St, Auckland. [email protected] Photo: William Tobin Secretary: Nichola Van der Aa 32A Louvain St, Whakatane 3120. [email protected] Treasurer: BACK COVER Simon Lowther 19 Cape Vista Crescent, Pukekohe 2120. [email protected] 2017 SWAPA Students Members’ Councillors: Steve Butler 30 Hoffman Court, Invercargill 9810. Front row l to r: Ella Williamson, Aayushi Verma, [email protected] Laura Li, Lauren May, Rhianna O’Carroll. Bob Evans 15 Taiepa Rd, Otatara RD9, Invercargill 9879. [email protected] Back row l to r: Prof. Sergei Gulyaev, Simon Vincent, Sergei Gulyaev 120 Mayoral Drive, Auckland, 1010. Jack Zidich, Ben Lowe, Ass. Prof. Karen Pollard, President [email protected] John Drummond, Rian Lee, Dr Nicholas Rattenbury, Orlon Petterson Dep’t Physics & Astronomy, Aaron Rumpler. University of Canterbury, Photo via John Drummond’s camera Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140. [email protected] Glen Rowe 23 Stanhope Grove, Korokoro, Lower Hutt 5012. [email protected] Affi liated Societies’ Councillors: Peter Jaquiery 31 Wright St, Dunedin 9010 [email protected] Gary Sparks 67 Meeanee Road, Taradale, Napier 4112. [email protected] Fellows’ Councillor: Karen Pollard Dep’t Physics & Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140. [email protected]

Page 2 Southern Stars SWAPA 2017:- John Drummond

SWAPA 2017

John Drummond Conference

Those who attended the highly successful RASNZ conference in Dunedin in May 2017 will have noticed a number of younger faced attendees. Some of these would be high school students who attended as members of the SWAPA (Students With A Passion for Astronomy) scheme.

This scheme, instigated by Professor John Hearnshaw three Lauren May Year 13, Upper Hutt College, Hutt Valley years ago, invites students from around Aotearoa to submit a My name is Lauren. I go to Upper 300-word essay stating why they have a passion for astronomy Hutt College, and I’m 17 years old. and why they would like to attend the RASNZ conference. Attending the RASNZ’s annual I sent out email invitations to nearly 500 high schools and conference in Dunedin this year was a received 39 excellent entries. Of these, ten were chosen by great opportunity. It opened my eyes John Hearnshaw and myself as winners. These ten SWAPA to the possibilities within astronomy, winners were provided free registration for the conference, free and showed me that I don’t have to be entry to the Saturday night banquet and entry into the Otago one of the top scientists in the world to Museum planetarium show; making a total prize package of make a signifi cant contribution. Two $275 each. In addition, the ten SWAPA students receive a speakers who really stood out to me one year membership subscription to the Royal Astronomical were Jennie McCormick and Maria Pozza. Not only are they Society of New Zealand (2017). women involved with a male-dominated topic, but they were also very interesting to listen to. Jennie’s incredible opening Aaron Rumpler Kaikorai Valley HS Dunedin to the conference made me realise that while I do need to start Aayushi Verma Christchurch GHS Christchurch planning my future, nothing is set in stone, my list of options is infi nite. The amazing achievements she has had within her Benjamin Lowe Mairehau HS Christchurch astronomical career are really inspiring and she is someone Ella Williamson Christchurch GHS Christchurch who I aspire to be like. Maria’s engaging, compelling, and Jack Zidich Christchurch BHS Christchurch well-presented talk about space law also made me aware of the Laura Li Palmerston North GHS Palmerston North endless possibilities of astronomy-related jobs there are in the Lauren May Upper Hutt College Hutt Valley world. It had never occurred to me that space law would be something that we need to worry about. At the moment, I’m Rhiannah O’Carroll Epsom GGS Auckland really interested in astrophysics. I like looking at some of the Rian Lee Rongotai College Wellington amazing things in the universe but what I enjoy most is fi nding Simon Vincent Motueka HS Motueka out how and why these things happen. Next year, I’m thinking about attending Victoria University and doing a Bachelor of On the Saturday morning, the students met with three Science with a major in Physics. But to fi nish off, I want to professional astronomers: Karen Pollard (University of thank everyone who made it possible for the SWAPA students Canterbury), Sergei Gulyaev (Auckland University of to attend the conference, and everyone else too who made us Technology), and Nic Rattenbury (Auckland University), to feel so welcome, and happily shared their knowledge with us. talk about possible careers in Astronomy, Physics, etc. The I have so much to learn about astronomy but I’m also excited questions asked by the students during this pre-conference to see where it will take me. talks breakfast were excellent. Again, thank you so much, I am defi nitely looking forward to During the conference it was so pleasing to see the students next year’s conference. meeting with and discussing astronomy with older professional Lauren May and amateur astronomers. The enthusiasm and maturity shown by them was outstanding. They were also drooling over Aayushi Verma Year 13, Christchurch GHS, Christchurch telescopes, binoculars and other goodies that ASTRONZ had This year, I was fortunate enough at the conference. to be selected to attend the RASNZ Conference 2017 in Dunedin as part of The following are statements made by the SWAPA students the SWAPA (Students With A Passion after the conference… for Astronomy) scheme. This was my fi rst time attending a professional conference and it was an incredibly eye-opening experience for me. I am planning a career in Astrophysics, and

56, 2, 2017 June Page 3 SWAPA 2017:- John Drummond so naturally all the talks during the conference about different Another great aspect of the conference was getting to meet topics like mapping the night sky, occultation, asteroseismology, many other students who all share a similar passion for gamma ray emission, gravitational waves, etc. immediately astronomy. I enjoyed listening to them talk about their various sparked my imagination, prompting me to take down notes and experiences in astronomy and was happy to share my own with research what I couldn’t understand. Prior to this conference, them. I am delighted that I will get to join many of them at the I knew I wanted to be an astrophysicist, but I was not aware University of Canterbury next year, when I pursue a BSc in of the different sub-fi elds within the fi eld. I have now learned Astronomy. about so many different ideas and topics within the fi eld of Astronomy! I am intrigued by all aspects of astronomy, but have a particular interest in the discovery of exoplanets, the search for life on One talk I especially enjoyed during the conference was Jennie Enceladus and Europa, and the study of galaxy evolution. McCormick’s ‘Lost in Space’, where she described her journey to where she is now. It is very inspiring to learn about the Thanks to RASNZ for the opportunity to attend! career path of an astronomer, and the amazing discoveries Rian Lee they make, such as when Ms. McCormick discovered the ‘New Zealand’ asteroid. Another really interesting talk was Dr. Karen Pollard’s talk about asteroseismology and how she uses sound waves to analyse stars. Jack Zidich Year 13, Christchurch BHS, Christchurch My name is Jack Zidich and I am a A key idea I learnt during my time at the Conference is that 17 year old student from Christchurch becoming an astronomer is no easy task, but with the right Boys High School. I greatly enjoyed amount of determination, it is possible and the pleasure of attending the RASNZ conference in doing a job in this fi eld is very rewarding. I have always Dunedin as a SWAPA student and looked up at the stars and wondered about the mysteries of the learnt much about current research universe. and developments in astronomy. In particular I enjoyed Professor Bland- Attending the conference has further strengthened my Hawthorn’s speech on Near Field resolve for becoming an Astrophysicist and I am heading to Cosmology, as well as his public talk the University of Canterbury next year to do a Bachelors’ of on the Galactic Centre, as it showed how little we know about Science in Astronomy and Physics. the Universe and even our own galaxy. This was of particular interest to me as cosmology is my primary fi eld of interest due I would like to thank the RASNZ again for this wonderful to the incredible sense of scale involved and the fundamental opportunity. I am very much looking forward to next year’s questions it raises on the nature and formation of the entire RASNZ conference in Christchurch. Universe. The conference also helped inform me of fi elds Aayushi Verma related to astronomy I never knew existed, such as that of space law, as it shows the broadness of the subject and how it connects with other disciplines in unexpected ways, allowing people to Rian Lee Year 13, Rongotai College, Wellington get involved even if their primary interests lie elsewhere. Next From the moment I found out I had year I plan to follow my interests in astronomy by studying the been chosen to attend this year’s subject at Canterbury University in order to learn more about RASNZ conference, I knew I was in the topics raised at the conference this year and the scientifi c for an amazing experience. All of concepts behind them. As a whole the conference was an my expectations were exceeded as excellent time and I hope to have the opportunity to attend I was introduced to New Zealand’s again next year in Christchurch and meet up again with those I astronomical community, and learned talked with this time. about the current and future state of the Jack Zidich fi eld I hope to make my profession.

While I enjoyed all of the wonderful presentations given at the Simon Vincent Year 13, Motueka High School, Motueka conference, I was particularly impressed by Steve Kerr’s talk When my physics Teacher fi rst asked about the Lucky Star programme and Dylan Paterson’s talk me if I was interested in the opportunity about the Fermi Galactic Centre Excess. I was eager to ask to be part of the SWAPA (Students With astronomers such as Sergei Gulyaev and Karen Pollard about A Passion for Astronomy) programme the details of their work and am grateful to them for giving me which would take me to Dunedin to some of their time. attend the annual RASNZ conference, I immediately said that I was more than I learned a lot at the conference, and was able to expand my just interested. To be able to listen knowledge of many aspects of astronomy. I gained a better to, meet and talk to people astronomy understanding of the key role amateur astronomers have in experience, and a passion for it to rival data collection, the effects of artifi cial lighting on the night sky, even my own, was like a dream come true. I really liked how the fi eld of astrophotonics, and so much more.

Page 4 Southern Stars SWAPA 2017:- John Drummond the conference itself was well structured and set out. About research with us absolutely incredible, and being able to have one and a half hours of talks and presentations and then lots the chance to talk with many of the professional Astronomers of very good food, more talks and then more food etc. But the at the conference, hearing their stories, learning everything food, even though it was very good, wasn’t what I enjoyed the they know, was an inspiration for me. Joss Bland-Hawthorn is most about the conference. The talks and presentations were a good example of this, and in my opinion, he’s an absolutely amazing. I had feared that the talks would all be too complex fascinating person. Not only did I fi nd his talk on Near Field and detailed for me to understand and follow what’s going on. Cosmology absolutely incredible to listen to (it was actually To be entirely honest some of them were, but the vast majority my favourite talk out of everyone else’s), but his stories that he I could follow and I did get at least a rough idea of what was shared with me about his path through his Astronomy career, going on. The conference really opened my eyes to the range and the amount of love, passion and enthusiasm he brings to of different projects Astronomers can have. For example I had his work, is absolutely incredible. The amount of effort he no idea that objects in the outer solar system could be observed has contributed to the science, is just astounding. To this day, using occultations. Similarly the thought had never occurred I still can’t believe that I had talked with one of Australia’s to me that some stars might have sound waves propagating leading Astronomers! I felt in some way privileged to be able inside them, or that planets could be found using gravitational to not only just see him, but talk to him too, and be able to microlensing. Also, the more I fi nd out about dark matter the learn from this incredible person. I’ve found myself realising more mysterious and fascinating it becomes. I will certainly how much I’ve enjoyed talking to all of these amazing people, to continue pursuing my now profoundly increased interest and how much of an inspiration they all are to me. They are in astronomy at a University in Germany. After that it is my the sole reason why I want to pursue my dream in becoming intention to work for ESA, in one of their science teams. an Astronomer, and I’m not going to let anyone else tell me Simon Vincent otherwise. Astronomy is an amazing science, and my love for it has only gained traction after being able to be given Ben Lowe Year 13, Mairehau High School, Christchurch the opportunity to attend such an amazing event such as the Area of Astronomy: I like everything, RASNZ Conference through the SWAPA scheme. I thank but I have a particular interest in everyone for making this possible for us. exoplanets and life beyond our planet. Ben Lowe Future studies: I plan on studying Astronomy at the University of Canterbury

My time in Dunedin for the RASNZ Conference 2017 was an experience that I honestly believe changed my perceptions on Astronomy forever. I found the whole experience of listening to all of the Astronomers sharing their

Comet and Meteor Section 2016 Report Letter of Apology

In the yearly Comet and Meteor Section report for 2016 (Southern Stars, Volume 56, No. 1, 2017 March), I stated that the total number of astrometric observations for Mount John Observatory (IAU Code 474 – observers Alan Gilmore and Pam Kilmartin) was 938. This number was way less than the actual productive rate of Alan and Pam. The total astrometry count for Mount John Observatory was in fact close to 5,000 observations for the year. My sincere apologies to Mount John, and Alan and Pam. In addition, Alan and Pam run a private telescope from their residential observatory (Aorangi Iti, IAU Code R57) and the total for 2016 was 34. I hope that my error in no way diminishes the reputation of the tremendous work that Mount John, and Alan and Pam do for astrometry in the Southern Hemisphere.

John Drummond Comet and Meteor Section director June 2017

56, 2, 2017 June Page 5 The Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes:- William Tobin

The Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes

William Tobin Museum Review

The Louwman Collection in The Hague contains over three hundred historic telescopes from the 17th to 20th centuries, including many by Dutch makers. Antipodean visitors are welcome!

One thing leads to another. My interest in Léon Foucault and in an antique shop or a porcelain dachshund (which dogs they his invention of the silvered-glass refl ecting telescope led me kept as pets). The telescope won out and fi fty years later Peter to the Wolf Collection of 111 historic telescopes. I reviewed is still adding to his collection. its newly-published catalogue in last December’s Southern Stars, along with a brief discussion of the oldest telescopes Collecting is in the Louwman blood. The family business in New Zealand, two of which are by the 18th century British was set up in the 1920s to import cars and later tractors, maker James Short (Tobin, 2016). This in turn led me to the motorcycles and outboard motors. Notably, the company is collection of some 300 historic telescopes put together by Peter now the Netherland’s Toyota importer. Peter’s father began Louwman, a Dutch amateur astronomer. collecting cars, an activity continued by Peter’s brother Evert. In 2010 the car collection moved to a purpose-built museum In his observing days, Peter was especially interested in grazing in The Hague designed by Michael Graves, an American occultations of stars by the Moon. He began collecting in 1965 architect, and attracts some 130,000 visitors a year. Since 2014 when he and his wife Hansje were on a trip to Vienna. They the Louwman Museum also hosts Peter’s telescopes. were hesitating between buying an old telescope they had seen

Peter Louwman standing justifi ably proud in the midst of his collection of historic telescopes. The central case displays binoculars while the cabinet to the left contains speculum-mirror refl ectors. The far rooms present bigger instruments. The 8 m long refractor hanging from the ceiling is unsigned but is doubtless of French manufacture from the end of the 17th century.

Page 6 Southern Stars The Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes:- William Tobin

Enticed by cheap train tickets, my wife Laurence and I spent a few days in Amsterdam in January. This was the obvious opportunity to take a side-trip to The Hague where we met Peter. We fi rst supped coffee (a drink that fuels the Dutch) in the Museum café, which is set up amongst old store fronts (both real and replica), reminiscent of the similar exhibit at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Thus fortifi ed, we climbed the stairs to the galleries where the telescopes are displayed.

In the past the French, Spanish, English and Italians have all claimed to be the inventors of the telescope (Zuidervaart, 2010). However, it is almost certainly a Dutch invention. A younger Peter holding a 3-m long English-made th Certainly, the fi rst name clearly associated with the telescope telescope from the later 17 century. It is reverse- is that of Hans Lipperhey, a spectacle maker from the town of tapered: Peter is at the eye end. The eleven pasteboard Middelburg in Zeeland province in the south-west Netherlands. draw tubes are covered with white parchment. (This is the province after which Dutch map-makers named the world’s oldest surviving telescopes, made in 1613 or 1614. New Zealand in the mid-17th century.) In 1608 Lipperhey went Its trumpet-shaped tube increased to a maximum diameter of to The Hague, the federal seat of the young Dutch Republic, 11 cm to accommodate the objective lens, which was stopped where he demonstrated ‘a certain instrument for seeing far’ and down to only about 15 mm. Unfortunately the original was requested a patent. Lipperhey did not get his patent because destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in February 1945. two other Dutchmen claimed priority. However the telescope’s military potential was clear, and he did receive an order to Galileo’s discoveries exhausted what the telescope, as it then supply three instruments, for which he was paid enough to buy was, could reveal about the heavens. For the next three decades a house in his home town. The contract also required him to or so the telescope was a prestigious, luxuriously-made item keep the secret underlying his invention. for terrestrial use. The Louwman Collection presents several such telescopes. Some are short (~10 cm), housed in fi nely- That a concave and convex lens together could magnify was carved or fi nely-turned bone or ivory tubes. Others are as known before 1608, but the magnifi cation was empty: no long as 60 cm, with collapsible tubes comprising 1, 2 or 3 detail was revealed beyond what the unaided eye could see. draws. Some tubes are made of ivory or wood, but most are Swiss optical historian Rolf Willach has investigated what pasteboard. Marbled paper or embossed leather provide rich Lipperhey’s secret was. I reviewed this work in Southern decoration. Indeed, opulent presentation has been one of the Stars (Tobin, 2010). Briefl y, Willach concluded that it was a criteria adopted by Peter in amassing his collection. combination of selecting the best lenses, something that was practical for a spectacle-maker with lots of lenses to choose By about 1650 lens grinding and polishing had improved from, and then stopping them down to their better central parts. and long focal lengths were adopted to reduce spherical The convex-concave combination then improved resolution, and chromatic aberration. The Keplerian telescope (the so revealing fi ner detail. This was a secret that was easy for ‘astronomical’ form with a convex eyepiece lens producing anyone who had seen a telescope to infer and copy. Within a an upside-down image) had its fi eld of view improved by year instruments were available across Europe, and Thomas multi-element eyepieces incorporating a fi eld lens which Harriot in England and Galileo Galilei in Italy were making could be bigger than the objective. This sometimes led to astronomical discoveries with them. ‘reverse-tapered’ tubes. These improvements led to further astronomical discoveries, this time by a Dutchman. In 1655 Galileo’s discovery of sunspots, lunar mountains and craters, Christiaan Huygens discovered that Saturn had a moon, which the satellites of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and the ‘ears’ of is now called Titan. Later, Huygens understood that Saturn’s Saturn has no doubt encouraged us in the English-speaking ‘ears’ were really rings around the planet. world to associate the telescope with Italy and pay little heed to its Dutch origin. But at the Louwman Collection this is The Museum displays a host of instruments incorporating redressed: the ‘Galilean Telescope’ is justly referred to as the these mid-century advances. Their makers are mostly English, ‘Dutch Telescope’. French, Italian or German. Again, most are luxuriously decorated, and we have the fi rst appearance of shagreen; ray The exhibits begin with some replicas. One is of a printed or shark skin polished fl at and dyed green, grey, red or other French newsletter (a precursor of newspapers) that is too fragile colours. In contrast, Peter has been able to collect only one to display. It reports Lipperhey’s demonstration in The Hague Dutch-made instrument. It is a no-nonsense device, with and comments ‘And even the stars which ordinarily are invisible a plain tube made of sheet iron. The ease with which iron to our sight and our eyes, because of their smallness and the corrodes no doubt explains why such instruments are now rare. weakness of our sight, can be seen by means of this instrument.’ One instrument from the Italian maker Giueseppe Campari has Another replica is of the earliest known representation of a 6 octagonal wooden draws and when extended is 6.7 metres telescope in art, painted by Jan Breughel the Elder in 1611, long. Tubes so long needed hoists to use on the sky. Sometimes probably showing the Archduke Albert of Austria peering at a the tubes were dispensed with. A model shows the tubeless bird through a telescope. A third replica is of what was one of telescope devised by Huygens in the 1680s. Also on display,

56, 2, 2017 June Page 7 The Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes:- William Tobin

A highlight of the Louwman Collection is this lens fashioned by Christiaan Huygens in 1656. ‘PED II’ indicates an 11 foot focal length. (A modern measurement gave 3.65 m.) The inscriptions on many 17th and 18th century Gregorian refl ecting telescope with a speculum-metal lenses are even more prominent than here, but this did mirror and sturdy cabriole legs made in Scotland by th not matter since the lenses were heavily stopped down. Thomas Morton in the mid 19 century. The curly altitude rack gear is found on other Morton telescopes. in pride of position, is a lens fashioned by Huygens in 1656. It was found in a box of loose lenses in an antique shop in Rome an upright image. The Collection further boasts a William by Rolf Willach, who thought it ought to return home. Herschel refl ector from the end of the 18th century, with a 22-cm diameter speculum, and a splendid model of his famous The refl ecting telescope was the next development. Isaac 40-foot refl ector at Bath. Newton was the fi rst to make one that worked, in 1668. He was prompted, no doubt, by a blunder. He incorrectly believed The refl ecting telescope spread to the Netherlands, probably that dispersion, the spreading of light into its component introduced in the 1730s by the English-raised but French- colours, was the same for all materials, with the consequence born clergyman and natural philosopher John Theophilus that no lens combination could ever be freed from chromatic Desaguliers. Dutch makers in the Louwman Collection aberration. The Collection includes a very convincing replica include Wytse Foppes, Sibrand Teekes, Idsaard Gerbens van of the instrument that Newton presented to the Royal Society der Velde, Bauke Eisma van der Bildt and Jan Roosenboom. of London three years later. Telescope length had shortened However two makers from Friesland province stand out by dramatically! The Gregorian and Cassegrain layouts were also their copious representation in the Collection: Jan van der suggested, but few refl ectors were made. This was because of Bildt (who made some 550 telescopes, ten of which are in the the lack of a suitably untarnishable alloy for the mirrors and the Collection), and, from the early 19th century, Syds Johannes diffi culty of shaping and polishing them. Rienks. A fi nal 19th century refl ecting telescope on display is a 12½-cm diameter one made by Thomas Morton of Kilmarnock John Hadley, an English gentleman, began to surmount in Scotland. In due course speculum mirrors would be these diffi culties in the 1720s. He passed his fi ndings on to superseded by Foucault’s silvered-glass ones. Now collectors two London instrument makers, Edward Scarlett and George cannot collect everything, and the Louwman Collection’s Hearne, who became important suppliers of refl ecting astronomical telescopes stop there, with a Dutch exception. telescopes. The Collection includes a refl ector by Scarlett, In 1941 the Soviet optician Dmitri Maksutov devised the another by Hearne, and even two by the Dollond company, meniscus corrector and layout for the refl ecting telescope which is best known for achromatic telescopes (see below). that now usually bears his name. But in the same year Albert However, the most famous British maker was James Short, and Bouwers in Delft patented a similar idea. The Louwman the Collection includes two of his Gregorian refl ectors. Like the Collection contains two small Bouwers meniscus telescopes one recently donated to Space Place in Wellington (see Tobin, made by the Oude Delft optical company. 2016), both have 18-inch focal lengths. However, they are older. Their ‘formulae’ are ‘73/556 = 18’ and ‘119/803 = 18,’ The refl ecting telescope’s supremacy in the 18th century was implying dates around 1747 and 1753 respectively. Scarlett’s short-lived, however. In 1758 John Dollond in London obtained mirror is of 13-cm diameter. It is mounted in an octagonal a patent for the achromatic objective lens comprising a stronger, wooden tube as a Newtonian, indicating it was made for use convex, crown-glass element and a weaker, concave, fl int-glass on the sky. The other makers’ mirrors are mostly smaller and one. The combination is convergent, but the dispersions cancel, mounted in round brass tubes as Gregorians, suggesting they so eliminating, or greatly reducing, chromatic aberration. In were primarily for terrestrial use since this arrangement gives a future issue of Southern Stars I plan to review a couple of

Page 8 Southern Stars The Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes:- William Tobin new books about the Dollond patent and the controversy that ensued. Suffi ce it to say that the Louwman Collection includes several telescopes by Dollond or his son Peter, including the ‘Beauclerc’ telescope from the late 1770s which incorporates the best achromatic lens that Peter ever made (a triplet). Once it was known that an achromatic lens was possible, it was not long before the secret was cracked by a Dutch metal-caster, Carl Ulrich Bley, and instruments were being offered for sale by his associate Jan van Deijl. Several are in the Collection, but production withered during the Napoleonic blockade when Six-cylinder, 3.3-litre Toyoda car from 1936. English fl int glass became unavailable. with a ‘d’). It was discovered in a barn near Lake Baikal in The Collection includes many telescopes made for use at sea. Siberia where it had probably been hidden to avoid requisition They can often be recognised by sturdier, plainer tubes, which during World War Two. sometimes are polygonal to prevent rolling and may incorporate charts of signal fl ags. Large objectives were adopted for night- The Louwman Museum is open every day, but public admission time use. to the Telescope Collection is only on the fi rst Friday of the month. However, Peter said that he is pleased to welcome Also generously represented are the small spyglasses that kiwi visitors by appointment if he is free (email: louwman@ became fashionable in the 18th century. Initially they were historicaltelescopes.com). A sumptuous book describing the monoculars, but developed into binocular opera glasses and Collection is available in the Museum shop (Louwman & lorgnettes in the 19th century. As items to vaunt one’s status Zuidervaart, 2013). If you are visiting the Netherlands, the at the theatre, most are beautifully made and sumptuously Louwman Collection is a rare treat! decorated, often gilded, or sometimes covered in enamel painted with bucolic scenes. The Collection includes two plainer opera glasses made for hire. I remember using the References more recent style in my youth in theatres in Britain. Louwman, P., 2004. Christiaan Huygens and his telescopes. In Fletcher, K., (ed). Proceedings of the International Conference Binoculars are in fact very old: Lipperhey’s three telescopes “Titan – from discovery to encounter”. Noordwijk, ESA supplied in 1608-09 were binocular. The anticipated advantage Publications Division, pp. 103-144. was a better view from using both eyes, but the narrow fi eld of On-line at adsabs.harvard.edu view made alignment of the two tubes tricky, and binoculars were rare until the 19th century. The Louwman Collection Louwman, P.J.K., & Zuidervaart, H.J., 2013. A Certain includes a binocular dated to 1719, made in Milan. The case is Instrument For Seeing Far. Four Centuries of Styling the not the form we now know, but a long rectangular box. Telescope Illustrated by a Selection of Treasures from the Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes. Wassenaar, By the time we’d seen all this (and more), there was only half Louwman Collection. an hour left for the motor cars before the Museum closed. We managed only one of the three fl oors, and there was plenty Tobin, W., 2010. The Long Route to the Invention of the of gleaming chrome and shining paint on display. But what Telescope – by Rolf Willach. Southern Stars, 49 (2), 14-15. touched me most was a battered vehicle from 1936, the oldest known Toyoda car (the company name was initially anglicised Tobin, W., 2016. Concerning Heritage Telescopes. Southern Stars, 55 (4), 21-23.

Zuidervaart, H.J., 2010. The ‘true inventor’ of the telescope. A survey of 400 years of debate. In Van Helden, A., et al., (eds). The Origins of the Telescope. Amsterdam, KNAW Press. Free download at www.knaw.nl

6 rue Saint Louis, 56000 Vannes, France

[email protected]

This blue glass theatre binocular is not what it seems. It is in fact a grog bottle, for alcoholic relief in case the show proves tiresome.

56, 2, 2017 June Page 9 Steve Butler - FRASNZ

Steve Butler - FRASNZ

At the Annual General Meeting of the RASNZ held on the 13th May 2017, during the Annual Conference held in Dunedin, Steve Butler was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Steve is a long time member of the society and Convener of the society’s Dark Skies Group.

Steve formed the RASNZ Dark Skies Group in 2003, defi ning the Group’s vision and goals and potential areas of activity in a formal report, as presented at the RASNZ 2004 AGM. He has been an active and effective leader ever since.

He has provided encouragement, contacts, information, brochures and advice along with submissions and presentations to anyone wanting to publicise light pollution and/or promote good outdoor lighting. His annual newsletter showcases the Group’ activities over the preceding year, publicises upcoming events, and provides links to interesting articles, websites and/ or latest research. He is developing the Dark Skies Group website and the Light Pollution Yahoo Group for email discussion. Steve Butler (left) is congratulated on his election to Wall posters and simple brochures with clear pictures to Fellowship by RASNZ President John Drummond demonstrate light pollution and outdoor lighting are produced. Photo: Jonathan Green: The brochures can be downloaded off the website and are updated regularly. He has and continues to make presentations on light pollution, He is working to make the RASNZ a signatory to the MoE’s mitigation strategies, and successful changes including media NZ Urban Design Protocol in 2005 (to promote effective interviews. outdoor lighting and an urban view of the night sky), and also a contributing member of the International Dark Sky Association He established the annual RASNZ Dark Sky Awards for (IDA). He is supporting an application to the IDA to register excellence in the design of outdoor lighting, which are the Mackenzie Basin as an International Dark Sky Reserve and presented as part of the IESANZ Lighting Awards. is a member of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve (AMIDSR) Working Party. He has deserved the reputation as the “go-to” person in the RASNZ on light pollution due to his long involvement in this He has made numerous submissions to local government area, wide range of contacts and specialist knowledge. He agencies across New Zealand during public consultation provides the RASNZ with a respected and knowledgeable of annual and long-term policy planning processes and has representative on light pollution and the benefi ts of preserving supported others in making submissions. This includes the natural dark night skies. submissions to government agencies on the proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Design, the discussion document Steve’s quiet and collaborative attitude enables him to establish Building a Sustainable Future, the draft NZ Energy Strategy, good relationships, which are very helpful to his efforts in and draft NZ Energy Effi ciency and Conservation Strategy. promoting the value of dark night skies. His election as a Fellow Also submissions to the Australian / New Zealand standards will lend additional weight and credibility to these efforts by Authority on proposed new standards (e.g. AS/NZ1680) showing that the RASNZ has formally acknowledged the value concerned with exterior lighting. of his work and knowledge.

To better defi ne the extent of light pollution and changes over time he has encouraged the monitoring of night sky quality through direct observation and/or with equipment. To raise awareness or respond to questions about bad lighting, light pollution, suitable outdoor lighting, etc., numerous emails have been sent to organisations and agencies.

Page 10 Southern Stars The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser

The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report

Grahame Fraser History

During World War II many radar operators in countries around the world reported strange noise levels on their radar receivers. There was concern that the source might be enemy jamming but any discussion of possible causes was severely limited by security constraints. One notable series of events occurred on RNZAF radar stations on Norfolk Island and in northern New Zealand in 1945. The anomalous noise was eventually identifi ed as radio-frequency noise from sunspots, confi rming observations made from 1933 until the beginning of World War II. The story is well known but there is some confusion in the historical sequence which is resolved here. The New Zealand solar noise research initiated similar studies in Australia but, unlike Australia and many other countries, this did not lead to the development of radio astronomy in New Zealand. Introduction progressed rapidly from the early 1920s, following the Extraterrestrial radio frequency noise (also called cosmic development of radio communication and broadcasting. Radio noise) was discovered by Jansky (Jansky (1933b); Jansky wave propagation in the atmosphere also became a subject of (1933c); Jansky (1933a)) while investigating radio interference great scientic interest. In the 1930s there was much concern to trans-Atlantic radio telephone circuits. He described it as “a in Britain about the danger of bombing from aircraft (Holman, steady hiss type static of unknown origin” and noted that “The 2014) and there began the rapid application of existing radio evidence indicates that the source of this static is somehow techniques to give warning of approaching bombers (Swords associated with the Sun.” His aerial was a broadside array (1986), Penley (1993), Brown (1999)). (Ernest Rutherford i.e. the maximum power radiated/received is in the direction made a scientic contribution to this early development (Latham perpendicular to the plane of the aerial elements. It rotated & Stobbs, 2011, p.58).) By the outbreak of war (3rd September slowly on the fl at, open expanse of a fallow, southern New 1939) there was a chain of 18 early warning stations around the Jersey potato fi eld. “The metal tubes and wooden slats of the eastern and southern coasts of Britain (Swords, 1986, p.195). 30-metre “wing” rolled silently round and round a circular track on four rubber-tired wheels from a Model-T Ford.” A very important feature of the British 1939 network was (Kraus, 1981). Sullivan (2009) has written a comprehensive that, despite the primitive early technology available, the TRE history of radio astronomy from this small beginning. scientists at Bawdsey and the Royal Air Force at Biggin Hill had devised quick quantitative methods for rapidly analysing Extraterrestrial radio frequency noise was rediscovered during the radar information from the radar stations using automatic WW2 by a number of radar operators using, like Jansky, electromechanical calculators (Zimmerman (2013, p.250), broadside arrays rotating about a vertical axis ((Brown, 1999); Marchant & Heron (1946)) and communicating predictions Sullivan (2009)). to the airfi elds so the fi ghters could quickly fi nd the bomber formations. This technique, called the “Dowding System” (Penley (1993);(Zimmerman, 2004, p.384), named after Early Radar the man (Air Marshall Dowding) primarily responsible for Radiophysics is the study of the radio-frequency (low implementing it, is considered to be the beginnings of the new frequency, long wavelength) waves in the electromagnetic science of Operations Research (McCloskey (1987, p.145), spectrum, their generation, detection and propagation. It Zimmerman (2013, p.15)).

Abbreviations used The UK Air Ministry radar organisation had various names at various times and places. The abbreviation TRE (“Telecommunications Research Establishment”) will be used for the organisation situated in succession at Orfordness, Bawdsey, Dundee, Worth Matravers and Malvern (Penley, 1993). RDL is the “NZ Radio Development Laboratory of the Department of Scientic and Industrial Research (DSIR)” which designed and built radars and provided operational support to the NZ military services and the US Navy in WW2. The new radio detection technique initially had various names, including RDF for “Radio Direction Finding”, a term in use since WW1 for a radio navigational aid and a useful cover name in WW2. Eventually the name “radar” was adopted in 1943 (Brown, 1999, p.83). The SI unit “MHz” (MegaHertz) replaces the older “mc/s” (megacycles/second), except in quoted text.

56, 2, 2017 June Page 11 The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser

Radar in New Zealand The fi rst New Zealand contact with Britain’s radar programme occurred in February 1939 when the NZ government received a request from the UK Secretary of State for Air to send a “skilled physicist to Britain for instruction in a new defence device” ((The National Archives of the UK (TNA), AVIA7/672), (Matthews, 1948, p.27)). The head of the NZ Department of Scientic and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ernest Marsden, a physicist, was selected and arrived in Britain in April 1939. He visited TRE at Bawdsey and Royal Navy ships and radar research establishments. He returned to NZ with much technical information and some hardware in October 1939 (Unwin, 1992).

The New Zealand Radio Development Laboratory Marsden’s reports from Britain during 1939 had initiated the establishment of two radar development groups in NZ. One was in the Canterbury University College Physics Department, led by Fred White, Professor of Physics. The other group was at the Radio Section of the Post Offi ce in Wellington, led by Charles Watson-Munro. The two teams were given different objectives. White’s group concentrated on Naval radar and Watson-Munro’s group on coastal warning, gunnery and air- to-surface vessel detection (Unwin, 1992).

In June 1941 the Radio Development Board was established and included the military Chiefs of Staff. The Wellington and Christchurch laboratories were combined to form the Radio Development Laboratory as part of DSIR. The 694 page Figure 1: Dr Elizabeth Alexander Photo: Mary Harris Narrative of New Zealand’s wartime Radio Development “New Zealand elected not to produce their own equipment Laboratory and the radars it designed and built is available as but to import British equipment”. The RDL history remained an eBook in the University of Canterbury Library (Matthews, classifi ed until 1992, by which time Brown had completed his 1948). There is an excellent Chronology on pages 3 to 11. search for information. The only information he had obtained Technical details of their radars are listed in Appendix 1 (pp.613- about NZ radar was from an Australian radar operator who had 625). Radars were supplied to British, NZ and US Navies, heard about only the COL radars from his RNZAF counterparts the NZ Army and the RNZAF. At a time when the Narrative (Brown, 2002). was completed (1948) most countries were widely publishing descriptions of their achievements in radar technology, but for some peculiar reason this Narrative was classifi ed and the New The COL radar Zealand history remained unknown until 1992. The WW2 Once the COL sets arrived in NZ RDL provided assistance activities of RDL have also been discussed by Unwin (1992), with siting, spares and components, mathematical calculations Galbreath & Department of Internal Affairs Historical Branch and operational research, and the production of ancillary (1998), Galbreath (2000a), Galbreath (2000b), and Fraser equipment (Matthews, 1948, p.356). (2005). The British COL (“Chain Overseas Low”) radar was a CHL The NZ RDL set up an Operations Research Section whose (“Chain Home Low”) radar which had been treated for function was to assess the installation and performance of NZ radars. It was led by Dr Elizabeth Alexander ((Orchiston, 2005b); (Matthews, 1948, Chap.29), (Harris, 2017a), (Harris, 2017b)).

The RNZAF ground radar network The RNZAF made use of RDL airborne radars and beacons (Matthews, 1948, p.351) but decided to use British-made COL radars for its ground-based air-warning system in NZ Figure 2: Radar range/amplitude (A-scope) display (Figure 3) and the South Pacifi c. This fact has led to some showing an echo pulse and noise. confusion in radar history. Brown (1999, p.222) stated that (Lawson & Uhlenbeck, 1950, p.203)

Page 12 Southern Stars The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser use in the tropics. Their nominal operating frequency was 200MHz, with a peak pulse power of 150kW, a pulse width of 3 microseconds, and a pulse repetition rate of 400 pulses per second. The aerial array was comprised of 20 full wave centre- fed radiating elements (5 wide by 4 high) with a refl ecting screen of wire netting, resulting in a beam width of about 20 degrees (Taylor & Westcott, 1946). The aerial array rotated at 1.0 to 2.3 rev/min.

There were two types of radar display. The basic one (“A-scope”) plots range on the horizontal axis and echo amplitude on the vertical axis (Lawson & Uhlenbeck, 1950, p.203). A spot of light starts moving at a constant speed as the Figure 4: RNZAF Radar Unit 7 at Whangaroa. transmitter sends out a pulse through the aerial. The speed of Photo: RNZAF Offi cial spot movement is adjusted to suit the maximum range, e.g. if the target is 150 km away, then the echo arrives back in one some enemy activity reported but there was extensive use for millisecond and the horizontal trace needs to be longer than navigational help during and after the war. There were many this, as shown by the echo pulse in Figure 2. aircraft fl ying long distances from the Pacifi c islands, Australia and Norfolk Island (between Australia and New Zealand) and Cathode ray tubes use a phosphor on the inside of the glass there were frequent requests for navigational aid. screen which glows when struck by the electron beam. It needs to glow within a microsecond or so to follow the shape of a The RNZAF radars of relevance here are: single echo pulse. The pulse repetition rate was 400 pulses per Unit 4 Piha second so the trace looked continuous to the eye, but the fi nite Unit 5 Maunganui Bluff response time of the eye resulted in the perceived scan to be Unit 6 Pandora/North Cape/Spirits Bay an average of many actual scans (Lawson & Uhlenbeck, 1950, Unit 7 Whangaroa/Wainui/Mahinepua p.2, p.149). The COL and other NZ coastal warning radars were in very isolated sites on hills, near the coast. The sites were variously named after local geographic features by the various authors of documents, leading to some redundancy. Unit 4 has only one name but Unit 6 and Unit 7 have three.

The book by Sandra Coney (2013) is a very comprehensive (206 pages), well illustrated history of Unit 4, its staff and the local community, before, during and after the war.

Radar Unit 7 at Whangaroa In Figure 4 the Unit 7 mess building is the large building at Figure 3: RNZAF Radar Units in northern New Zealand the roadside on the sharp bend of Wainui Road, with support (Matthews, 1948, p.354A) buildings down the hill behind it. Up the hill on the other side of the road are a generator building, the radar building and the The base line showed a continuous, random fl uctuation (noise) aerial. which is always present in electronic circuits. In old analogue TVs tuned to a channel with no signals present, the noise was heard as a steady hissing sound and seen as random, moving spots fi lling the screen, like snow. More noise is introduced into the receiver from electromagnetic radiation arriving at the aerial from natural and man-made sources. The commonly used phosphor at the time emitted a green glow when struck by electrons and noise was always present. The fuzzy green noise trace was soon given the label “grass” by radar operators and called “animated grass” by Alexander (1946).

RNZAF Radar Units in North Auckland Not all of these Units are relevant to the present discussion. There was a high concentration of radars in this area because it was closest to wartime activity in the South Pacifi c. There was Figure 5: The Unit 7 radar hut and aerial Photo: RNZAF Offi cial

56, 2, 2017 June Page 13 The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser

As all Units had the same design and function, much of the Piha (Alexander, 1945), before the supply of RDL VTVMs. At the Unit 4 story also applies to Unit 7 where the mess building has other Units noise was measured less accurately as the height fortunately been restored, retaining its original plan (Coney, of the fuzzy noise trace along the bottom of the range/time 2013, pp.81-82) and survives as B&B accommodation. display.

The daily life in the isolated coastal radars was very “At one station F/O Marsden, Sgt. Jarvis and Cpl. Sutherland monotonous and there was some (informal?) swapping of staff installed a meter after the second detector and obtained (Ramsey, 2007). A description of Unit 6 Ramsey (2007, p.141) indications of extra input when the aerial was directed at the lists several “Unit 6 staff”, including Tim Marsden and Ernie Sun even when there was no visible increase on the cathode- Jarvis, who were also at Unit 7. ray tube” (Alexander, 1946).

Tim Marsden was Ernest Marsden’s son, who had taken the Tim Marsden’s own version of events was (Marsden, 2006) wartime Radiophysics course at Canterbury University College “We were asked to observe the Norfolk Effect and report to and was then appointed to the RNZAF. Air headquarters. The measurement of “grass” at the bottom of a Radar Screen was obviously going to be inaccurate and unreliable so we made a very small invasion of the Radar Unit The Norfolk Island Effect and inserted a meter such as we had. I was mildly reprimanded RNZAF Radar Unit 51 was installed on Mount Bates at Norfolk for unauthorized modication of His Majesty’s Equipment but Island (between Australia and New Zealand). Norfolk Island is within a short time we received special V. T. voltmeters to do Australian territory but in the disposition of US Forces in World the job with suitable instructions.” War 2 there was a dividing line at longitude 159° E between the South-West Pacic Area (commanded by General MacArthur) The “meter such as we had” would have been the basic test and the South Pacic Area (commanded by successive US Navy instrument supplied to every radio installation - a multimeter, Admirals). Norfolk Island was 9° to the east of that dividing for measuring voltage, current and resistance. line and its defence was the responsibility of the New Zealand Chiefs of Staff.. In her report Alexander (1945) said “A more detailed investigation of the effect was put under way On April 1st 1945, Flying Offi cer Les Hepburn, the Offi cer and observations are about to start. Each of the fi ve COL units Commanding RNZAF Radar Unit 51 on Norfolk Island, and any Army and Navy stations that can take the observations th reported to RNZAF Headquarters that since 27 March 1945 are being supplied with specially designed vacuum tube an increase in noise had been observed on the COL radar range voltmeters and signal generators. The VTVMs are to be display each morning and evening. Equipment checks showed inserted just after the second detection of the radar receivers the noise was coming from outside the set. As the aerial to measure noise voltage. The signal generators are to be was rotated about its vertical axis, the noise was a maximum used to supply standard signals for calibration purposes. The when the central beam was pointed at the azimuth of the Sun. signal generators have all been calibrated against laboratory The aerial could not be rotated about a horizontal axis so the equipment and will be recalibrated on return.” radiation, which seemed to come from the Sun, could not be followed as the Sun rose higher in the sky during the day. The Vacuuum Tube Volt Meters used vacuum tubes (valves) as report was referred to Dr Elizabeth Alexander, Head of the amplifi ers with a very high input impedance to measure voltage Operations Research Section of RDL (Matthews, 1948, p.521). without signifi cant loading of the circuits being measured.

After discussions between RNZAF and RDL, several Units were instructed to How many people knew about cosmic noise “record the increase in noise and the azimuth of maximum before 1939? increase every few minutes and the time observations were Jansky was the fi rst to identify extra-terrestrial noise at radio taken daily so long as the taking of these observations did not frequencies. Reber (1940) followed up Jansky’s work and interfere with the operational requirements” (Alexander, 1945). identied one non-solar source of noise as the Milky Way.

In two of the Radar Units additional quantitative information In Britain, 24 licensed radio amateurs had recorded the solar noise about the noise was obtained by the initiative of the staff. At as members of the Radio Society of Great Britain’s Research Unit 4 (Piha) Flying Offi cer Brook had a Yagi (directional) and Experimental Section (Ham, 1975). Observations were aerial made so that the Sun could be tracked as it crossed the recorded from the 7MHz, 14MHz, 28MHz and 56MHz amateur sky during solar activity in October 1945 (Alexander, 1946). bands. Other amateurs would undoubtedly have heard about Maximum noise was always observed when the Yagi aerial the solar noise from these observers and/or their reports. One of was pointed at the Sun. the observers, Denis Heightman (1975) was in correspondence with Appleton (1945) from March 1936, pointing out that a At Unit 7 Flying Offi cer Tim Marsden (1945b), the Offi cer number of observers had found a clear association between the Commanding, in his report credited Sgt Ernie Jarvis with solar radio noise and visible chromospheric eruptions. Guerlac suggesting the connection of a meter after the receiver’s second (1950) and Brown (1999, p.557) have pointed out that radio detector to make quantitative measurements of the noise level amateurs were a signicant source of radar specialists during

Page 14 Southern Stars The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser

WW2 so it is likely that a number of observations of the solar problems of local application and signifi cance” (Matthews, noise would have been dismissed as a well-known source of 1948, p.654,x7.14). The new DPL section was to be staffed noise in radio communication. Wartime secrecy would also by six ex-RDL staff. Marsden stated that some “Activities have handicapped any further discussion on the topic. to come within purview of a re-established Radio Research Committee” and “It is proposed to bring within its scope The technical knowledge of the radio amateurs was substantial, all Radio research in the Dominion”. The Radio Research as required by international licensing standards. The British Committee was reformed in 1946 (Ellyett, 1946). A DPL radio (RSGB) and US (ARRL) amateur organisations regularly research group occupied rooms adjacent to the radar group. produced instructional handbooks which were reprinted In his discussion of New Zealand Work and Development (Clarricoats (1941); Warner (1942)) in large quantities for in Progress, Marsden specifi cally mentioned the Canterbury training radio and radar engineers and operators during the war. Project being organised by the head of the RDL Operational Research section, Dr Elizabeth Alexander (Matthews (1948, Chap.9), Orchiston (2005a)). Disbandment of the Radio Development Laboratory RDL staff fi nished the war with the same expertise as other radar Ernest Marsden’s omission of the solar organisations around the world. This expertise emphasised noise research the importance of skills and technology which led to the rapid Unfortunately Ernest Marsden omitted to include Alexander’s post-war development of radio astronomy in many countries: other radio research topic at the time, on solar radio (“cosmic”) noise (Sullivan (2009, Fig.1.2, pp.6,84,128-129,); (Munns, • Receivers designed to detect very weak signals. 2013, p.27)). He was certainly aware of his son’s work at • Aerial arrays designed to produce high gain and a Unit 7. narrow beam. • The ability of VHF and higher frequencies to propagate Tim Marsden’s report from Unit 7 had impressed Alexander through cloud and the daytime ionosphere. (1946) because of their initiative in using a meter to • The application of Fourier transforms and statistical quantitatively monitor receiver detector current and the procedures for the quantitative defi nition of both signals excellent technical description of their work, including and noise. electronic functions in the receiver, a data listing and graphical • Skilled observers working 24 hour days noticing plots of the observations. unusual events. Ernest Marsden had sent copies of the Unit 7 (his son’s) report The skilled observers available for continuous radar monitoring to Appleton on 23rd June 1945, to White (through Bowen) on during WW2 needed to be replaced for the day and night 9th July 1945 and to Coop in London on 19th July 1945 ((Bowen, observations made possible with radar. Data recording on 1945a), (Marsden, 1945a)). Alexander’s offi cial report pen recorders, fi lm, paper tape, magnetic tape and eventually (Alexander, 1945, dated 1st August 1945), was subsequently on-line computers became necessary. circulated to a number of recipients. It included the scientifi c analysis she published shortly afterwards (Alexander, 1946) Ernest Marsden’s “Proposals for Post-War Radar Development which included sunspot observations by I. L. Thomsen of the and Research” suggested that RDL be disbanded on Carter Observatory. 1st December 1945 (Matthews, 1948, p.656) and then 3rd January 1946 (Matthews, 1948, p.657). On its way through In reply Bowen (1945a) wrote to Ernest Marsden on 27th July administrative channels, the Proposal was “Approved” saying by Cabinet on 21st February 1946, ”referred” by DSIR on “We were very interested indeed to hear about the radar 22nd February 1946, and “noted” by the Controller and Auditor observations made by your son at Norfolk Island and will General on 22nd March 1946. attempt to repeat them here in Sydney. We are quite mystifi ed by the results because it appears that while thermal noise from Marsden stated (Matthews, 1948, p.655,x7.26) the Sun is expected at radio frequencies and is actually received “There are at present in D.S.I.R. men with a thorough on 10 and 5 cm equipment, one would not expect to be able to knowledge of Radar. Their diversion to other avenues of detect it on C.O.L. equipment at 200 mc/s.” research will result in the disintegration of a source of Radar knowledge and experience, which in view of undoubted advent Bowen’s assumption that Tim Marsden was at Unit 51 is of radar for civil purposes is uneconomic and unsound”. understandable as the Unit 7 report only gives an address as “Unit 7”, with no geographical reference. This error has since He also stated that “cogent reasons are advanced for the propagated through much of the literature. Bowen concluded permanent establishment of a small team of physicists and with technicians for peacetime radar development and research for New Zealand needs and problems”. “If we are able to duplicate your son’s results in Australia, you may be quite certain that we will keep you fully informed of Functions of the proposed Radar Section of the Dominion the work.” Physical Laboratory were to “engage in radar research on

56, 2, 2017 June Page 15 The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser

...and on 6th November (Bowen, 1945b), Chris Adam of the Christchurch Regional Offi ce, Archives New Zealand “I am writing to inform you further of our plans for research on the above subject and to let you know of the interesting results which we have been getting. We have always been interested in the broad question of extra terrestrial radio noise, References but it was not until your report on noise from the Sun at sunrise Alexander, F. E. S. (1945). Report on the Investigation of the and sunset came to hand that we carried out a series of practical Norfolk Island Effect. Technical Report R.D. 1/518 Radio measurements. These were made on a variety of frequencies Development Laboratory. Dated 1.8.45. from 200 to 5,000 Mc/s, and on 200 Mc/s we obtained what Alexander, F. E. S. (1946). The sun’s radio energy. Radio & appears to be a remarkably-good correlation with sunspot data. Electronics, 1 , 16-17. The details of our results are given in.the enclosed copy of a letter which we have just sent to “Nature” on the subject.” Appleton, E. V. (1945). Departure of Long-Wave Solar Radiation from Black-Body Intensity. Nature, 156 , 534-535. doi:10.1038/156534b0. Conclusion Bowen, E. G. (1945a). (ArchivesNZ) CAHG CH135 7/n GO The Australian Radio Physics Laboratory, in searching for a 26/3/11 (previously DSD100/1/68). Letter to Dr Marsden. post-war research role, had considered nuclear physics as a possible research fi eld but eventually decided to follow up the Bowen, E. G. (1945b). (ArchivesNZ) CAHG CH135 7/n GO research in solar radio noise ((Munns, 1997); Munns (2013)). 26/3/11 (previously DSD100/1/68). Letter to Dr Marsden. Brown, L. (1999). A Radar History of World War II. Institute The Unit 7 and RDL 1/518 reports triggered the Australian of Physics Publishing. study of solar noise by the Radio Physics Laboratory ((Munns, 2013); (Sullivan, 2009, p.129)) which remained in existence Brown, L. (2002). Letter to G. J. Fraser. after the war and Australia soon had a radio astronomy programme of international signicance. In New Zealand the Clarricoats, J. (Ed.) (1941). The Amateur Radio Handbook. Radio Development Laboratory was closed early in 1946 and (fi rst reprint of second ed.). Radio Society of Great Britain. the staff dispersed. The consequent struggle to continue radio Clette, F., Svalgaard, L., Vaquero, J. M., & Cliver, E. W. (2014). astronomy in NZ is described by Head (2010). Revisiting the sunspot number. Space Science Reviews, 186 , 35-103. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0074-2. Following the extensive investigation by Covington (1969), doi:10.1007/s11214-014-0074-2. the intensity of solar noise on a frequency of 2800MHz (a wavelength of 10.7cm) has become a quantitative estimate of Coney, S. (2013). On the radar. Keyhole Press. solar activity, replacing the older, crude measure of sunspot Covington, A. E. (1969). Solar Radio Emission at 10.7 cm, number ((Tapping, 2013); (Clette et al., 2014)). 1947-1968. Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Journal, 63, 125. Acknowledgements Ellyett, C. D. (1946). Ionospheric research in N. Z. Break-In, Permission to make a digital copy of the DSIR Narrative 19 , 237-239. publicly available through the University of Canterbury Fraser, G. J. (2005). The antecedents and subsequent Library was given by Archives New Zealand. development of scientifi c radar in New Zealand. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 67, 1411-1418. My thanks to the following: Galbreath, R. (2000a). Dr Marsden and Admiral Halsey. In Mary Harris, a daughter of Dr Elizabeth Alexander, for J. Crawford (Ed.), Kia Kaha (pp.252{263). Oxford: Oxford numerous email discussions on matters generally related to University Press. RDF (both the real variety and that which became “radar”). Galbreath, R. (2000b). New Zealand Scientists in Action: The Ross Galbreath from whom I fi rst learned about the existence Radio Development Laboratory and the Pacifi c War. In R. of the DSIR WW2 Radar Narrative (and made available a M. McLeod (Ed.), Science and the Pacic War (pp. 211-230). copy). He has written extensively on the history of DSIR and Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Press. RDL. Galbreath, R., & Department of Internal Affairs Historical Fred and Laura Barnes for their careful restoration of an Branch (1998). DSIR: Making Science Work for New Zealand: important NZ building of historical scientifi c signicance, and Themes from the History of the Department of Scientifi c and for much local information. Industrial Research, 1926-1992. Victoria University Press. Dr Tim Marsden for a copy of his Unit 7 report and comments Guerlac, H. (1950). The radio background of radar. Journal of on wartime radar. the Franklin Institute, 250 , 285-308. Matt O’Sullivan and Simon Moody of the Air Force Museum, Ham, R. A. (1975). The hissing phenomenon. Journal British Wigram. Astronomical Association, 85 ,317-323.

Page 16 Southern Stars The Norfolk Island Effect and the Whangaroa Report:- Grahame Fraser

Harris, M. (2017a). Rocks, radio and radar: Elizabeth Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, 27, Alexander and the DSIR Radio Development Laboratory, 299-317. 1942-1945. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, .do: 10.1080/03036758.2017.1291437. Munns, D. P. D. (2013). A Single Sky. The MIT Press. Harris, M. (2017b). Rocks, radio and radar: the extraordinary Orchiston, W. (2005a). Dr Elizabeth Alexander: First scientifi c, social and military history of Elizabeth Alexander. Female Radio Astronomer. In W. Orchiston (Ed.), The Imperial College Press. New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding Our View of Planet Earth (pp. 71-92). volume 334 Head, M. (2010). A brief history of radio astronomy in of Astrophysics and Space Science Library. Aotearoa New Zealand. Southern Stars, 49 , 8-19. Orchiston, W. (Ed.) (2005b). The new astronomy : opening Heightman, D. W. (1975). Solar radio radiation. The Radio the electromagnetic window and expanding our view of planet and Electronic Engineer, 45, 309-310. earth : a meeting to honor Woody Sullivan on his 60th birthday volume 334 of Astrophysics and Space Science Library. Holman, B. (2014). The Next War in the Air . Ashgate. Penley, W. (1993). The Early Days of Radar in the UK. URL: Jansky, K. G. (1933a). Electrical phenomena that apparently http://www.purbeckradar.org.uk/story/documents/early_radar. are of interstellar origin. Popular Astronomy, 41, 548. pdf. Jansky, K. G. (1933b). Radio Waves from Outside the Solar Ramsey, O. (2007). Wings over Waipapakauri. Top Print Ltd. System. Nature, 132 , 66. doi:10.1038/132066a0. Reber, G. (1940). Cosmic static. Proceedings Institute Radio Jansky, K. G. (1933c). RadioWaves from Outside the Solar Engineers, 28 , 68-70. System. Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, 21, 1387-1398. Sullivan, W. (2009). Cosmic Noise: a history of early radio astronomy. Cambridge University Press. Kraus, J. (1981). The First Five Years of Radio Astronomy - Part One - Karl Jansky and his Discovery of Radio Waves from Swords, S. (1986). Technical history of the beginnings of Our Galaxy. Cosmic Search, 3 , 8. radar. History of technology series. P. Peregrinus on behalf of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Latham, C., & Stobbs, A. (Eds.) (2011). The Birth of British Radar: The memoirs of Arnold ‘Skip’ Wilkins OBE. (2nd ed.). Tapping, K. F. (2013). The 10.7 cm solar radio fl ux. Space Radio Society of Great Britain in association with the Defence Weather, 11, 394-406. Electronics History Society. Taylor, D., & Westcott, C. H. (1946). Divided broadside aerials Lawson, J. L., & Uhlenbeck, G. E. (1950). Threshold signals. with applications to 200-mc/s ground radiolocation systems. McGraw-Hill. Electrical Engineers - Part IIIA: Radiolocation, Journal of the URL: https://archive.org/details/ThresholdSignals. Institution of, 93, 588-597. The National Archives of the UK (TNA), AVIA7/672 (). RDF Marchant, P., & Heron, K. (1946). Post offi ce equipment for for Dominions: New Zealand,. radar. Post Offi ce Electrical Engineers’ Journal. Unwin, R. S. (1992). The development of radar in New Marsden, E. D. L. (1945a). CAHG CH135 7/n GO 26/3/11 Zealand in World War II. IEEE Antennas and Propagation (previously DSD100/1/68). Letters to Appleton, White and Magazine, 34 , 31-39. Coop,1945. Warner, K. B. (1942). Radio Amateur’s Handbook. (Special Marsden, T. (1945b). Abnormal Interference. Technical defense ed.). American Radio Relay League. Report Royal New Zealand Air Force Unit 7, Wainui. Zimmerman, D. (2004). Information and the air defence revolution, 1917-40. Journal of Strategic Studies, 27, 370-394. Marsden, T. (2006). Letter to G. J. Fraser. Zimmerman, D. (2013). Radar. Amberley Publishing. Matthews, K. (1948). Narrative No. 3 Radar. Copy No. 3 (Archives Reference: AAOQ W3424 16). Department of Scientic and Industrial Research World War 2 Narratives. Department of Physics and Astronomy Archives New Zealand The Department of Internal Affairs University of Canterbury Te Tari Taiwhenua. URL: http://digital-library.canterbury. Christchurch ac.nz/resources/open/ww2_narrative_radar.pdf (Note: This is New Zealand a revised URL). McCloskey, J. F. (1987). The Beginnings of Operations Research. Operations Research, 35, 143-152. Munns, D. (1997). Linear accelerators, radio astronomy, and Australia’s search for international prestige, 1944-1948.

56, 2, 2017 June Page 17 Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 Years - A Personal View II

Stan Walker History

In this part of my review I cover more general aspects of the research at Auckland, often in conjunction with other groups. A wide range of different types of stars and other objects were observed. Our collaboration with the University of Auckland was important: without their backing we could not have maintained the level of observing, but there were others whose help and advice were valuable. The conclusion looks at why amateur research was so successful in the period up to 1990 in contrast to the present time. Are we overawed by how professional astronomy overseas has developed or is it the lack of a strong group of amateurs stimulating research? Or is it the lack of communication between those active observers who seem too busy in this to provide the active core of amateur observers of the 1970s and 80s? University Collaboration sounded like a machine gun. We used to set it running and go to Bob White of The University of Auckland, Physics Department, the kitchen or even outside, checking the centring at 30 minute fi rst contacted us in December, 1968, suggesting collaboration intervals. A paper describing this photometer was presented at in some astronomical areas. This timing was fortuitous as IAU Colloquium 46 in Hamilton in 1978, by Freeth, Griffi ths we were seriously considering embarking on photoelectric and Tan. photometry at that time. Bob, along with Alec Chisholm and various people in the Physics Workshop, were very helpful in By the time it was operating effectively Bruce had completed getting the photometer completed and operating. Other useful his doctorate and fl are stars were not our highest priority. contributions also included a permanent loan of an appropriate Also, a new student had been introduced to us in 1977, Rodger power supply and digital frequency meter; which saved us Freeth, who was more interested in dwarf novae and various having to fi nd funds to purchase these. They also used the aspects of these stars. By late 1977 Brian and I had made the telescope and photometer on a number of nights in the early critical measures of the VW Hydri superoutburst development stages. but were hoping to obtain confi rmation in the May 1978 event. Rodger decided to specialise in this fi eld. Even more important was the ongoing access to the Physics Workshop. When a rare failure occurred we’d drop the The number of dwarf novae able to be observed at minimum offending unit in during the morning, and usually pick it up with NZ telescopes at that time was quite small, barely out that evening. Excellent service! The only time this failed was of single fi gures. Not from the sensitivity of the detector but a cold sensitive hairline fracture in the power supply but an because of the need to position the star in a small aperture using alert technician fi nally used refrigeration to fi nd the fault. the eye. The faintest object we have observed at Auckland was V442 Centauri at V = 16.24 by using offset photometry but About 1970 Bob introduced a student, Bruce Griffi ths, who normally V = 14 or a few tenths fainter was the practical limit. was searching for a useful project in the electronics fi eld. This led to the development of a separate photometer designed for a In an effort to get better cover of the superoutbursts Rodger particular purpose, the monitoring of fl are stars and CVs with made use of the Black Birch observatory operated by Carter UBV options and the on-line recording and reduction of the Observatory and the Mt John Observatory of the University observations. High speed measures down to 0.1 second were of Canterbury. When possible, we would monitor these stars an important aspect. at the same time in Auckland. From these measures we were able to assess the merits of the relative sites. More importantly, All of this took several years to develop and resulted in a however, this two site coverage allowed an assessment of the very reliable set of equipment: but rather more massive than quality of the data being collected. we had envisaged. Fortunately, the Zeiss telescope is built in the same manner so the weight was not a problem, but was CVs monitored in this manner included V436 Centauri, marginal when used with the Carter Observatory’s 16” Boller CU Velorum, EK Triangulum Austrinae, Z Chamaeleontis, and Chivens telescope at Black Birch. VW Hydri and several others.

One frustrating, but amusing in retrospect, aspect was our Up to ~1975 the Auckland Observatory operated at the faintest attempt to buy a tape punch for the output. We ordered it from levels in NZ which was surprising as our skies were not a US fi rm and duly paid the cost, but it didn’t arrive. Some exactly dark. The other aspect was that the seeing was usually correspondence later advised us that it was a banned export, better than at the other sites. When we had unstable weather being a strategic item on the military list. We never got our there was usually a few thousand metres of cloud overhead money back and ended up buying a telecom unit locally. This accompanying it. had a maximum speed of 6 frames per second and at that speed

Page 18 Southern Stars Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker

Bruce’s detection system also allowed photon counting with noticeably. The following evening we repeated the measures. a pre-scaler to keep the numbers within bounds. This worked It had brightened and become a little redder. well on the fainter objects and as the main interests were cataclysmic variables, or faint comparisons for visual observers, We used the relationship L = R2 T4 on the fi rst two nights to this system was the fi rst choice. But we struck problems with establish the change in radius of the expanding dense shell SN1987A. The three fi lter/PM tube combination produced which, at close to 10,000 kilometres/second over the interval, varying sensitivity. But photoelectric photometry always could belong to only a supernova. Measures were then kept up measured the same intervals, usually sets of three in each of at intervals until it fell below the limits of the telescope several U, B and V. The relative sensitivities were ~20:100:35. No years later. trouble to handle all this in the data reduction software. But the colours when the supernovae brightened past V = 4 began to do There were other supernovae. NGC 1316 in 1981 was one strange things, particularly as the star moved lower in the sky. where we made some measures covering maximum brightness of 12.27 on JD 2444683 and a few more on the decline before Some thought encouraged us to determine how many photons it became too faint against that galaxy’s background. There a second we were getting and the spacing in nanoseconds. were many others. It turned out that the average interval was fast approaching the PM tube response of 10-20 nanoseconds. Was this data Novae came along at intervals. We observed a nova in the valueless? Some careful measures allowed us to determine a LMC in 1977 in collaboration with Murray Lewis of Carter, correction factor for what was effectively saturation, to use the Nova Muscae in 1983 (an object with a superoutburst-like term from the CCD observing of today, and correct them to feature on the decline), Nova Coronae Austrini in 1981, (due within an average deviation of 10 to 15 millimagnitudes. Sighs to strong Hα and Hβ emission this nova had the incredible and of relief! Oddly enough, a similar problem occurred later when unreal colours of B-V = -0.75 and U-B = -2.0), the old nova the resistors in the voltage chain were replaced by some of high RR Pictoris, Nova Serpentis 1970. We were fortunate to record accuracy but very slow response time without the observers’ one of the eruptions of the recurrent nova U Scorpii, fi rst seen knowledge. A chastened curator quickly corrected the fault. by Pogson in 1863.

The CV measures continued with Ian Bond also completing Another object of interest was NGC 2346 in Monoceros. a doctorate in this fi eld, largely working on the intermediate Measures were largely carried out by Harry Williams who polar EX Hydrae. But with Rodger Freeth’s tragic death, Brian was Curator of Instruments at the Observatory at that time, Marino’s illness and my shift to the Far North the group broke using photography on his 53cm Cassegrain refl ector at Milton up and the collaboration moved into more theoretical areas. Road Observatory, but some UBV measures were made at the Observatory to establish magnitudes of the comparison stars. Here one star of a binary central pair with a 15.995 day period Targets of Opportunity was itself eclipsed each orbital cycle by a moving cloud of dark These are not described in any order of date or time. Perhaps material in the system. This periodic obscuration went on for the most important was SN1987A, an object where we made almost two years. A few planetary nebulae have these central the fi rst UBV measures a few hours after its discovery. Albert pairs which were once considered as possible progenitors of Jones noticed it and phoned Bateson who passed on the the type 1a supernovae. This pair comprises a bright A type request to Auckland Observatory immediately but used an star and an O subdwarf with a temperature over 45,000K. The obscure location reference which we had to track down. We results were published in IBVS 2286. then measured it for several hours during which time it rose Pluto was expected to occult a faint star in 1988 and the Auckland Observatory received a request from either NASA or the KAO where several of our observers had enjoyed fl ights at times to help observe this. We were concerned about the timing requirements and had one of our computer professionals, David Dix, to assist in this fi eld. The photoelectric equipment was modifi ed to feed pulses into a device which operated at millisecond resolution. All went well except for one thing: David left the special connector at home and our jury-rigged adaptor let in the pulse signals from the sidereal drive controller which corrupted the timing. A beautiful light curve but a little dubious as to the times of critical points of start and fi nish.

We also measured some very bright events involving planetary occultations. Here we used the Clive Rowe A/D converter Figure 1: This covers 476 days of the brightening and fading of SN 1987A beginning from our fi rst measures on 24th February. In all fi gures except the O-C diagrams of Figures 4, 10 and The cooling associated with the expanding shell is noticeable 12 the vertical axis is magnitudes, the horizontal axis is time, for the fi rst month or two then as the expansion continued and expressed as modifi ed julian date (JD - 2400000) or phase. In the shell became more transparent the colours reversed Figures 7 and 8 actual dates (US format) are used.

56, 2, 2017 June Page 19 Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker and reduced the voltage on the PM tube. Extensive testing showed that these rather lower voltages had no effect on the It quickly became clear that it was variable but in an unusual colour response of the overall system: important if monitoring manner. Every third night the magnitude repeated to the in UBV, not so if it was merely a question of event timing. On nearest 0.01: quite frustrating. We presented our original data, rare occasions we stopped down the aperture of the telescope along with the epoch and period, in IBVS 681 in May 1972. by mounting a plywood screen on the front end of the telescope. This created considerable interest and Leung and others Perhaps minor planet Cyrene 133, mentioned elsewhere, was analysed these measures and made radial velocity measures a target of inopportunity. Brian Marino and Dick Hull both which allowed the components to be identifi ed: three O type visually observed CV Aquarii at 12.8. on 31st August, 1980. stars and an early B star arranged in two pairs, one eclipsing, Measures at the Observatory were begun by me as the existence and a total mass of ~92 solar masses. It comprises the slightly of this CV (cataclysmic variable) was doubtful. Here it was at fainter pair orbiting each other in 5.99857 days determined last! But it was uncertain which of two stars it was until Brian from eclipses, and a pair with an elliptical orbit of ~20.73 days arrived later. Then UBV measures were taken of the supposed determined spectroscopically. Each pair must orbit the CV and analysed. At a B-V of 0.7 it could be a CV but this was common centre of gravity. But the only way this period can doubtful and the U-B value was not strong. But why did we be determined is by measuring how early or late eclipses of the not see it moving? The inquest revealed that the photometer fi rst pair occur. Radial velocities are of no use in this. So if had been rotated which hid the movement. A letter to Pam we fi t observe eclipsed epochs to the ephemeris of this star we Kilmartin brought a reply: ‘you know a minor planet when determine early or late times; light time effects (LTE). At some you see one. Your little playmate is Cyrene.’ stage in the future these will recur in that the O-C diagram will begin to repeat itself with the LTE’s following the same path, In 1971 we were concentrating on fl are stars and CVs so it was but much more likely displaced a little as the true period of no real surprise that a group of visual observers were certain the eclipsing pair will differ slightly from what we have. The they’d seen a fl are on eta Carinae. Most unlikely given the system was subsequently designated QZ Carinae. absolute dimensions of the object as seen visually. So this was added to our list of targets The 223 UBV measures for Its eclipse centres slowly move eastward at a rate of 31.4° per the next 31 years are shown in Figure 2. Overall the sytem year. So in 2017 we are close to the fourth anniversary of the appeared to be brightening and cooling as the Homunculus positions when it was discovered. Variable Stars South has slowly expanded. set up a project to measure all aspects of the eclipse, from fi rst contact which can be observed from Chile, to the end of the The overall dataset featured prominently in the determination eclipse to be observed from South Africa and Chile again. All that eta was a binary system with a period of ~2022 days. measures during the 46 years will be reanalysed to update the We apparently began measures just after one periastron and O-C diagram of Figure 4. traces of these can be seen near JD 2444724 and at other appropriate intervals. A strong increase in brightness began near JD 2450850. These were summarised in a joint paper with van Genderen, Stercken and Bill Allen in 2006

Figure 2: Three colour photometry of eta Carinae. The V light curve clearly shows the increase in brightness, the two colour curves both become redder, a feature of a lower temperature. Figure 3: The original 62 measures of QZ Carinae from 1971-72 in green are plotted to the light elements shown Eclipsing Binaries rather than the original period of 6.007 days. A mean Most of these were done as collaborations but the most light curve is shown as black points. Deviations from important began in a different manner. Brian and I had been this are caused by stellar winds, possible activity on one aware that one of the two ‘64’ comparisons for eta Carinae was or more stars, ellipticity effects from the more massive clearly variable, even when observed visually. It ranked high non-eclipsing pair, and possibly some contributions of the on the list of targets once our photoelectric system had been ‘heartbeat’ effect at the periastrons. standardised. So we began measuring this star in March 1971.

Page 20 Southern Stars Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker

us to collaborate successfully using this equipment on other events of a similar nature.

Another NZ collaboration was with Ed Budding of the Carter Observatory. Whilst they were developing a site at Black Birch on Mt Altemarloch we were better able to handle his requirements in measuring eclipsing binaries. These included the Algol star KZ Pavonis, one of a visual double separated by ~5”, which we normally measured as a pair but removed the signal from the non-eclipsing component by a series of measures on nights of exceptionally good seeing.

A more interesting star was W Crucis with a giant companion, Figure 4: QZ Carinae’s two pairs of stars orbit each a period of 198.53 days and a very complex light curve. other in a period which has still to be determined but is RW Doradus was a fairly typical Algol but PW Puppis had close to 50 years. Measures at intervals are fi tted to a a giant secondary which in itself was variable. This was mean light curve as in Figure 3 to determine light time requested by a Korean astronomer through Ed. effects, a measure of whether eclipses are occurring early or late, but also a measure of position in the orbit. Another star with a giant secondary measured at the request The amplitude of this effect is ~14.4 hours, showing a of someone whose name I’ve lost and who did not use the maximum separation of ~103 AU. The vertical scale is in measures was V777 Sagittarii. This is one of a small group days, the horizontal one in Julian Date - 2400000. of stars where a K type supergiant which shows no trace of intrinsic variability has a hot B companion. Eclipses lasting Other Collaborations 55 days occur each 936.07 days. This has recently been the subject of a project by Variable Stars South. The abilities of the Auckland Photoelectric Observers’ Group attracted a large number of requests for assistance on other Other eclipsing binaries in collaborations were BY Crucis, astronomers’ projects. Regretfully, in a series of ‘clean ups’ of HR 6384 and HD 104901B. The results from these have been the observatory’s basement, which area was no concern of the variously published. people who organised these, many of the early records were destroyed over the years. Thus we have references to helping Norman Rumsey of Lower Hutt was interested in cool red on a large number of projects but for whom, and where, if at stars, some of which had barium excesses. We made measures all, the results were published there are no records. of many of these at his request but found few with substantial

light or colour variations. Later a similar project was requested Minor planets come under that heading. We have notes of by John Percy of Canada to look for light variations in SARVs, measures of Betulia 1580, Vesta 4 in 1978, but little else. Our small amplitude red variables, a name bestowed on these by only other involvement in this fi eld were occasional requests Olin Eggen. These were frustrating. There was no doubt of to Pamela Kilmartin to tell us which minor planet had intruded their variability, but it was usually less than 10% and rather into a dwarf nova fi eld and appeared to be a CV in outburst. erratic as to both amplitude and period. Harry Williams made Cyrene 133 was a case in point. Not all the CV charts had the bulk of the measures from his Milton Road Observatory. reliable positions so confusion was possible. The conclusions: almost every giant star of spectral class M is

variable to some extent Penelope, 201, was an interesting exercise. It was mentioned in two IAU Circulars, 3523 and 3527, as having a period of A more local collaboration was with the Auckland visual ~3.75 hours, very short for a main belt object. We monitored observers of the RASNZ Variable Star Section. This took the this in UBV on several nights, at the request of Alan Gilmore, form of making UBV measures of any star that they considered to obtain a light curve and check the possible colour variations. interesting. L2 Puppis was one such, as were Ron Welch’s two These were confi rmed. important photographic discoveries: BH Crucis, and Nova

Sagittarii 1969. In September, 1975, an occultation of the triple system of beta Scorpii by the Moon was observed from Beverley Begg About this time Barry Menzies, a visual observer as well as Observatory in Dunedin by Paul Edwards of Otago University leader of the PEP sequence team, asked us if we could fi nd and at Auckland Observatory using sets of equipment specially YY Centauri, a Mira star which seemed to have disappeared. designed by Paul and distributed to likely sites in New Our problem was, we found two almost identical Mira stars, Zealand. A report is in Southern Stars, 26 (8), December, differing mainly in period. Light curves of the new variable 1976. One unexpected aspect was that the slope of the lunar spanning 13 years are shown in Figure 5 with arbitrary epochs limb changed so much between Auckland and Dunedin that to allow a better presentation of the brighter regions of the light the outer component C was occulted last at Auckland but fi rst curves. The erroneous position on the YY chart was corrected in Dunedin. As well, the B component, very close to A, was and the VSS advised of the new variable but after 45 years it four magnitudes brighter than previously determined by others still lacks a variable star designation. using far cruder instrumentation. These results encouraged

56, 2, 2017 June Page 21 Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker

graph Figure 6 shows V, B-V and U-B during the fi rst four observed cycles when the period was steady at 421 days. The U-B colour is rather unusual. Not long after this, the period began to increase and at the same time the second maximum brightened somewhat so that the fi rst maximum now appears as a semi-permanent hump on the rising light curve. The period has now stabilised in the region of 510 days with the normal fl uctuations around this associated with these stars. At the ‘Research Programs for Small Telescopes’ Conference, Christchurch, December 1985, Philip Keenan drew attention to changes in the nature of this star from an S-C spectrum to C-S. At that time the star was showing the fi rst signs of a lengthening period. Whilst major period changes in Miras Figure 5: A fairly normal Mira light and colour curve for are normally attributed to a helium fl ash event, the few others the new variable which also shows that the star gets quite observed, with the exception of LX Cygni, all show decreasing faint, perhaps V = 17 or so at minimum. periods over a time scale of centuries. So there are two stars where the period has become longer and the change has taken Not all these requests had positive results. A request from place over a few decades. Bateson to observe light variations in the ‘constant’ star TY Velorum showed that it was not variable although the These Miras with dual maxima are quite rare. About a dozen GCVS spectrum of G5 certainly did not match the U-B, B-V are known of which most are in the southern sky. R Centauri colours of 0.13 and –0.17. An unsolved puzzle which needs is another with a period which has shortened by ~60 days in further attention. 115 years. For most of its observed lifetime it has been stable as shown in Figure 7. But in the early 2000s its behaviour became quite erratic, particularly the second maximum as Pulsating & Other Stars shown in Figure 8. Clearly it’s a star worth watching.

Mira Variables The most interesting of these is BH Crucis, a double maximum Mira star which has undergone some interesting evolutionary changes. This star was discovered by Ron Welch, of the Auckland Astronomical Society, in September, 1969, during photographic patrols by him looking for new variables. The

Figure 7: R Centauri is the prototype dual maxima Mira and has shown some interesting changes in its behaviour. Whilst the period is becoming shorter this graph of 5000 days (~13.7years) from 1968 shows fairly constant amplitude and light curve shape.

Figure 8: This graph of a similar interval beginning in 1999 shows a very erratic light curve with the second maximum almost disappearing at times. By 2017 it is back to normal.

Figure 6: The light and colour curves of ‘Welch’s red Another star observed from Auckland was L2 Puppis, a Semi- variable’ BH Crucis, a double peaked carbon Mira star. regular variable which showed an abrupt change in period about It’s noteworthy because of the 2 magnitude B-V amplitude 1967 from 139.0 to 137.4 days. Not of the same magnitude as well as the strange U-B curve showing strong emission but still unexplained. This star is also interesting in that it has at the second maximum but little at the fi rst. deep drops in brightness at intervals. Because it is quite close

Page 22 Southern Stars Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker

Kervella et al and their team have recently produced visual Photoelectric V monitoring of Mira stars is quite pointless evidence of a nebulous region around this star. as the visual observers can provide reasonably accurate light curves, but a set of colour measures will often reveal binarity. Miras and semi-regular stars, along with novae and dwarf novae, It’s needed only once. The low amplitude SR fi eld is a little were the types of objects that the variable star groups were different, particular those with erratic periods. Whilst it has formed to monitor. Their long periods and large amplitudes been said that red stars are better measured in BVRI this merely make them ideal for visual observing where accuracies of a arises from the fact that common CCD detectors are more few tenths of a magnitude are adequate to defi ne periods and effective at those wavelengths. UBV is much better in binary reasonably accurate amplitudes. or strange systems like double maxima Miras: BH Crucis, R Centauri, R Normae, V415 Velorum and others. One aspect of our involvement with these stars was described in the previous article but we were more interested in the The current concept of Mira variability is that it involves colours and measured many in V, B-V and U-B in the hope that the ionisation and recombination of hydrogen, not helium as this would provide information about their physical nature. in Cepheids, in a part of the star where energy transport is radiative. But the outer layers are convective so that the regular The classifi cation of all variable stars has been based pulsation period becomes distorted by its passage through this historically on the period, shape and amplitude of the light region. We see this mainly as an alternation of periods by a curve. Colour does not enter into this area although in the few percent around a mean period. It is interesting to note that fi rst half of the twentieth century there were groups observing Cepheids with long periods have spectral classifi cations which star colours visually: the RASNZ had such a group. This suggest a convective layer less deep than Miras. They also has led to the idea that all changes in the scale of variation, seem to have period alternations but less pronounced. both time and amplitude, can be explained if some stars have one fundamental period, others have multiple periods which We obtained measures of 88 Mira stars from the RASNZ interact to produce the observed behaviour. To some extent VSS in the early 1990s to explore the nature of the apparently this is correct but it’s only necessary to look at the light and random period changes in these stars. This involved the colour curves of BH Crucis to see that this does not explain compiling of O-C diagrams of a period marker, usually the everything. date and time of the star’s maximum brightness. To negate the effects of observational gaps we fi tted the measures to a So we measured a range of Mira and other stars in UBV. The mean light curve, thus obtaining epochs which had less scatter fi rst results showed that some stars had B-V and U-B colours than the traditional bisected chord method. Over 80 cycles of that were not appropriate for the quoted spectral types. These R Normae covering ~110 years are shown in Figure 10. are almost certain to indicate a companion, either line of sight or a true example of an unresolved binary system. R Carinae is one of these as is SY Fornacis, an SR star at one stage suspected of being a dwarf nova due to its large U excess. But it appears to be a system like Mira with a very blue companion, perhaps accreting material from the red star’s solar wind. Measures of R Carinae appear in Figure 9.

Figure 10: Almost all Miras show period variations around the mean, usually on a time scale of decades. They can be shown in an O-C diagram which plots observed epochs against a standard period. The explanation is uncertain but is probably related to convection in the cool outer layers affecting the more regular internal pulsation mechanism. The vertical scale is in days, the horizontal one in cycles of 495.3 days. Some theoreticians suggest that these deviations are merely a random walk but it is clear that this is not the case. The Figure 9: The V light curve is shown at the bottom, U-B data can be fi tted by two periods, alternating in a complex at the top with B-V just below. The B-V colour at ~1.3 manner. It does, however, complicate the task of studying is too blue and the U-B certainly so, as well as being long term evolutionary changes, which may be of the order of inverted. This indicates a hotter companion or a line of a total deviation of one day per century. Our conclusions were sight star in the photometer aperture. presented at the IAU General Assembly, Tokyo, 1997.

56, 2, 2017 June Page 23 Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker

Cepheids Many of these measures have been used in publications or Tom Cragg, the Director of the AAVSO’s Cepheid section presentations. The project is still active, being carried on by approached the Auckland Observatory in about 1980 with a several members of Variable Stars South. A recent star of request that we monitor Cepheid stars in an attempt to detect interest is ST Puppis which has a pulsation period varying from any evolutionary period changes, at the same time collecting 18.46 to 19.2 days in a manner reminiscent of kappa Pavonis colour change data during a cycle. but on a much greater scale.

We began by measuring l Carinae, plus a close group in Crux—R, S, T, X , AD and AG Crucis. This was later extended R Coronae Borealis Stars during the 1990s in conjunction with Harry Williams. Frank These stars are more noteworthy for an aspect other than and Barbara Ives, along with Marc Bos, also became interested, pulsations. At intervals they eject large amounts of surface particularly in two stars in Musca, R & S Muscae. One of the material which causes dramatic declines in brightness. Two more interesting light curves, S Muscae is shown in Figure 11. aspects of this are shown in Figures 13 and 14. Another star of interest was the Type II, or W Virginis subtype Cepheid, kappa Pavonis. An O-C diagram from 1873 to 2006 appears in Figure 12. Epochs from 44000 come from Auckland or the author at Waiharara.

Figure 13: UW Centauri for a two year period prior to a deep minimum showing pulsations which in the case of this star tend to be erratic. These stars are even more evolved than kappa Pavonis, well on the way to the fi nal white dwarf state.

Figure 11: The V light curve of S Muscae. The upper scale is phase, offset to better show the secondary maximum. This feature occurs in stars with periods around 10 days and is thought to be caused by the refl ection of the ingoing shock wave by a layer interface deeper in the star. Whilst it looks similar to the Mira dual maxima the cause is almost certainly different.

Figure 14: RY Sagittarii from 1970 to 1986 showing parts of three major declines in brightness. This star has a more regular period than UW Centauri and deeper minima. There were other stars of this type measured, S Apodis and DY Centauri which is an extremely hot, blue object, but did not show any dimming in the 20 years we measured it. These stars are believed to be highly evolved horizontal branch objects fairly close to becoming white dwarfs.

Figure 12: A plot of the observed epochs of kappa Semi-regular Variables - SR Pavonis, a naked eye Type II Cepheid, against the Norman Rumsey was interested in red stars listed by Herschel average period over 50,000 days (~137 years). This in the nineteenth century. We checked out a handful of these, is a low mass, highly evolved, overluminous star which HR 10, 20, 24, 32, 37 and 43. Most were C, N or R type spectra. accounts for the erratic period. It also illustrates the value One of these is now TW Horologii, varying from magnitude of patient collection of measures over a long interval. 5.52 to 5.95 with a period of 158 days. Of these Numbers 10,

Page 24 Southern Stars Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker

32 and 37 were defi nitely variable, 20 and 24 likely because review. As well, he collected up preprints of many articles and of their B-V colours of 3.4 and 2.5 but the results from HR 43 references to publications which he did not have. were puzzling. There were many people involved in research at the Auckland As well we looked at others. UV Pavonis was supposed to Observatory and not all are named here. Their names were have been a mistake and not exist but we found variations from included in a poster paper presented at the centenary of the 11.25 to 12.10, B-V 1.70, U-B 1.3 with a period ~90 days, AAVSO in 2011 and may be accessed through Variable Stars in a star close to its believed position. SX Pavonis 5.39 to South website. 5.70, 1.53 and 1.30. Y Pavonis was quite red at B-V = 2.8, U-B = 3.3. The reddest star we measured was the bright SR R Sculptoris with B-V = 4.6 and U-B = 3.3. Other stars are Conclusions now NP Puppis and V614 Monocerotis. We even made a few Was what I’ve described in these two articles a unique situation measures of Betelgeuse and Antares. of which we were in the centre? Or were the earlier comments made in the section relating to the PEP conferences a good Near eta Carinae are two low amplitude long period stars, summation. Why was the Auckland Observatory and amateur RT Carinae and BO Carinae which we measured frequently. research in this country so successful then and why do we see Sco X1 or V818 Sco was an international programme as was so little of it these days? RU Pegasi, we even measured 3U1700-35, an Xray source, possibly an ellipsoidal binary. Perhaps the same answer applies to both. At the time during the 1970s and 1980s New Zealand astronomy was working in new and exciting fi elds that many professionals were also and Publications the standard of observing by the amateurs was suffi ciently high We operated in this area along the lines advocated by Ron to encourage them to help us. There were also three active McIntosh: ’Observe, record, publish’. Another guideline was observatories at that time, all with an outgoing attitude which that we had help from many people throughout New Zealand involved the general public in local astronomy. who were interested in what we were doing. The best way of achieving this was to use Southern Stars, where suitable, for The Auckland Observatory is still there and quite active but in describing much of the research and what it meant. an educational and entertainment role rather than discovery. The visit of Stella Kafka of the AAVSO saw the formation of Since most of our research was observational, not theoretical, a small group who hope to revive research there using what is we used the International Bulletin of Variable Stars, IBVS, and the most user-friendly telescope in this country. Young people similar level publications. with fresh ideas initiated a change in astronomical research in New Zealand in the early days of the Observatory, so let us At a more newsletter type level we supported the Auckland hope this group works in the same manner. Astronomical Society’s publications, the Circulars of the RASNZ Variable Stars Section and its ‘Publications’ and the Research forms the main theme of this review but within the circulars of the RASNZ Photometry Section. limited space and the resources available back then education and a strong public presentation were very active. Weekly More theoretical papers usually involved requests from ‘public nights’ on Tuesday were well supported, small groups outsiders who analysed the data as a whole and prepared visited on many other nights and there were school visits the papers, usually for publication in one of the higher level during the day. Not on the present scale but then there was no journals. planetarium and little spare space. But in contrast each week’s talk was a new topic, often preceded with a brief outline of Contrast this with today’s scene where many amateurs are what was happening in the research fi eld at the Observatory. contributing to overseas groups with some quite interesting astronomy but there is rarely any description in this publication. We were fortunate in having several people on the research Occasionally there are reviews at Annual Conferences but the side who could write well and present astronomical research standard request to all who give these talks that they be suitable both in a manner suitable for peer reviewed publications, or at for publication seems to be completely ignored except by one a level suitable for the layman. In the latter area the weekly or two. Herald column which Ron McIntosh had written for more than two decades was continued by Pam Dale, Brian Marino and Brian Marino listed most of these until 1990 but with his illness the author for another two decades until the early 1990s. This it was diffi cult to carry this on and any many cases we were and aspect of research, written communication to a wide audience, are unaware of publications. I’m often surprised at some of the is very important. co-authoships I have. Our concept of public education and entertainment, now labelled with the confusing name of outreach, also differed Acknowledgements from that of today. Whilst we presented classical and modern The late Brian Marino, the author’s co-coordinator of research astronomy in as wide a range of areas as possible we thought it at Auckland Observatory prepared a summary of publications important to present local and New Zealand astronomy as well. and activities which forms much of the framework for this This does not seem to be the case now. We hear little about the

56, 2, 2017 June Page 25 Auckland Observatory Research in the First 25 years - A Personal View II:- Stan Walker research at Mt John where the majority of the large telescopes light years, are so bright that they are diffi cult to measure with of New Zealand are located, nor do the amateur publications CCD equipment. contain much, if anything at all, about amateur observing or practical and theoretical aspects which are being pursued at An interesting aspect of the PEP Conferences described in the our universities. fi rst part of this review is that they were based on a widely used technique, rather than any narrow fi eld of astronomy. Thus Visits from travelling professionals in the 1970s and 80s seemed they attracted a wide ramge of astronomers. Today, apart from to be quite frequent, often in a completely unannounced manner. the RASNZ Conferences, two of our sections hold meetings I remember Graham Hill of the Dominion Astrophysical at times: Occultations and Variable Stars. Perhaps it would Observatory introducing himself at the EWB telescope before be more effective to join these and other active sections in a I gave the normal public evening talk during which he grinned stand-alone conference every three years or so. In this context the whole time; rather alarming, but the UBV measures we it’s worth while noting that the Variable Stars Section has later showed him seemed to prove we were serious. members observing exoplanet transits, binary asteroids and a variety of non-stellar objects, whilst the Occultations Section An unexpected visit from Brent Wilson and Roy Kerr at 2 am is involved in timing minima of stellar eclipses and a variety one morning whilst waiting an overseas connection out of of other things, many of which overlap Variable Stars South Auckland airport was worth remembering. Roy had never activities. These wider interests are good. looked through a reasonable sized telescope so we provided a tour of the southern sky. My own involvement at this stage as director of the Variable Star Section: Variable Stars South, is analysing other people’s Somehow the scene has changed. The infrequent visitors data and encouraging our members to look at interesting seem to be largely talkers, not doers. We hear about massive objects in more detail. Our newsletter is strongly based on telescopes under construction and a variety of proposed current observations and the analysis of these. Judging by the projects but little about results. The most interesting talks I number of downloads and hits it has an interested following. have heard recently came from a pair of Auckland University As I’m not observing these days because of other commitments students who obviously enjoyed what they were doing, even if and the time taken I’m unable to make observations in a wide there wasn’t much in the way of new observations. variety of areas where they would be useful. But with my retirement from this position shortly I may once again get back On the world scene the concept of a small observatory to observing. engaged in a wide range of research areas now seems to have disappeared. The CV observers are provided with monthly target lists by Joe Patterson of the CBA but it’s hard to fi nd anything about results. This is not confi ned to this fi eld alone. [email protected] Specialisation enters into all areas of our lives, with some alarming instances of ignorance and intolerance as a result. More effective use of our local publications such as Southern Stars or the RASNZ monthly newsletter would be good places for better astronomical communication places to start. But they need writers!

One Auckland astronomer, Jennie McCormick, began her research career with an on-loan ST6 CCD camera from the CBA, which thanks to a grant from the Lottery Board to Marc Bos and I to purchase more modern cameras, was available. Initially Jennie was very prolifi c in her measures of CVs but later she became interested in the concept of discovering planets by microlensing techniques and established contact with a US group, MicroFun. Later the Auckland Observatory also became involved in this. Now she has extended her interests to comets and astrometry. Regretfully she is one of the few with such broad interests.

A professional speaker at a recent meeting in Auckland presented a rather gloomy picture of ground-based optical astronomy. Maybe this is real at the upper levels of research where putting telescopes above the atmosphere has major advantages. But stars are the main contributors to galactic evolution, particularly the massive and luminous objects with high rates of evolution. This creates the paradox that amateur observers are seeking the faintest limits possible whereas many of these high mass stars like eta Carinae, even at 8000 or so

Page 26 Southern Stars outhern Stars is published quarterly in March, June, September and December. It is sent to all members and affi liated societies. Institutions and libraries may subscribe. Individuals Smay purchase single copies. Contact the Executive Secretary for information. Contributions The editor welcomes; RESEARCH PAPERS theoretical, observational, technical, historical, etc.; NEWS ARTICLES regarding recent events in NZ astronomy, discoveries, gatherings, awards, etc.; ANNUAL REPORTS from NZ astronomical institutions; REVIEWS of astronomical activities, sections, local/regional groups, personal, books, etc.; OBSERVERS’ FORUM particularly interesting photographs and/or descriptions. All contributions should be original; not (at least widely) having been published elsewhere. All correspondence regarding Southern Stars should be addressed to the editor: 15 Taiepa Road, Otatara R D 9, Invercargill 9879, New Zealand or [email protected].

Appointed Offi cers Electronic Newsletter Editor: Mr A C Gilmore Southern Stars Editor: Mr R W Evans Membership Secretary: Mr S Lowther Web Master: Mr P Jaquiery Publicity Offi cer Ms J McCormick Property Offi cer Mr S Lowther Hon. Solicitor: Mr J McCay Hon. Auditor: Mr A Wheelans Archivist Mr G Hudson

Sections Astrobiology Director Ms H Mogoşanu, 31E Patanga Crescent, Thorndon, Wellington, NZ http://astrobiology.kiwi Astrophotography Director Mr J Drummond, P O Box 113, Patutahi 4045, NZ http://www.rasnzaps.co.nz Comet and Meteor Director Mr J Drummond, P O Box 113, Patutahi 4045, NZ http://www.cometeor.co.nz Dark Skies Group Convenor Mr S C Butler, 30 Hoffman Court, Invercargill 9810, NZ http://www.rasnz.org.nz/groups-and-sections/dark-skies-group Education Section Convenor Mr R A Fisher, 39 Wilton St, Levin 5510, NZ. http://www.rasnz.org.nz/wiki/doku.php?id=education:start Occultation Director Mr S R Kerr, 22 Green Ave, Glenlee, Queensland 4711, Australia http://www.occultations.org.nz Professional Astronomers’ Group Ass. Prof. K R Pollard, Dep’t of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, NZ http://www.rasnz.org.nz/groups-and-sections/professional-astronomers-group Space Weather Director Damian McNamara, 16 Harlech St,Oamaru, 9400. [email protected] Variable Stars South Director Mr W S G Walker, P O Box 173, Awanui 0451, Far North, NZ http://www.variablestarssouth.org

Fellows Mr W H Allen Prof E Budding Mr S C Butler Dr G W Christie Mr R W Evans Mr A C Gilmore Prof. J B Hearnshaw Ms P M Kilmartin Mr B R Loader Ms J M McCormick Ass. Prof. K R Pollard Dr D J Sullivan Mr W S G Walker Prof. P C M Yock

Honorary Members Gerry Gilmore, FInstP, ScD, MAE, FRS Thomas Richards MA(Hons VUW), DPhil(Oxon)

Brian Warner BSc(Hons), PhD, DSc(London), MA, DSc(Oxon), Assoc RAS, FRSSAf, MASSAf

© Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand 2017. Individual articles, illustrations, etc. remain the copyright of the author or photographer, whose permission must be obtained before reproduction.

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