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Visiting Greenwich by Alan Jones in the Fall of 2013, I Travelled and Precision Over the Last Few Mechanical Time Keeping Was to the UK to Visit Family

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Visiting Greenwich by Alan Jones in the Fall of 2013, I Travelled and Precision Over the Last Few Mechanical Time Keeping Was to the UK to Visit Family NOVANEWSLETTEROFTHEVANCOUVERCENTRERASC VOLUME2014ISSUE3MAYJUNEASTRONOMYDAY2014 Visiting Greenwich by Alan Jones In the fall of 2013, I travelled and precision over the last few Mechanical time keeping was to the UK to visit family. We hundred years. still developing and accurate spent an afternoon at the Royal Only three hundred years time of the day was kept by Observatory at Greenwich at the ago, maps of the world were large clocks that could be Prime Meridian. It houses publicly viewed or heard a collection of observing ringing on the hour. Few instruments including a people had watches and section of Hershel’s 50- clocks of that vintage kept foot telescope, clocks, time within 5 minutes a meridian telescopes and day—close enough. Galileo a collection of John had only in the previous Harrison’s timepieces. hundred years shocked the Southern England is not world with his published mountainous so although observations of moons of the observatory is a on Jupiter and the imperfect a ‘rise’ it is hardly what surface of our moon. It was we would call elevation. in the 1600s that Columbus It marks the Prime “proved” that the world Meridian, which means was round! England was it is 0° longitude. It is sending sailing ships to exactly on the opposite faraway lands for trade, side of the world from the imperial conquest and International Date Line. map making. Ship captains The short visit inspired could determine their me to learn a bit more and north and south position appreciate the truly amazing inaccurate or non-existent and in the northern hemisphere rapid progress in knowledge detailed star charts were rare. continued on page 4 JUNE 12 SFU JULY 10 SFU NO MEETING IN MAY Vancouver Centre’s own Kenneth Lui Dr. Phil Stooke of UWO’s Centre for See us at Astronomy Day at will be speaking about the Chinese Planetary Science and Exploration: A SFU on Saturday, May 10th Space Programme. See Meetup for Cartographer’s Guide to Mars Explo- room details. ration. See Meetup for details. Astronomy Day Lectures at SFU Saywell Atrium, Academic Quadrangle 12:00 Mark Eburne Astronomy for Non-Astronomers 12:30 Ted Stroman Moon 101 and the Apollo Missions 1:00 Howard Trottier Adventures in Astrophotography 1:30 Scott McGillvray Tonight’s Stars Were Brought to You by John Dobson 2:00 Rohit Grover NEAR Projects re: Asteroids 2:30 Leigh Cummings 10 Mysteries of the Solar System 3:00 Paul Stewart How to Hack Light Pollution 3:30 Alan Jones Greenwich Observatory and the Prime Meridian Astronomy Day Activities East Concourse, Academic Quadrangle 11:00am to 4:00pm • Mobile Planetarium hosted by Canadian Telescopes • Vancouver Telescope display • Apollo Rockets and Mission display • Jim Bernath and his hands-on science activities (6 tables of fun) • Light pollution display • Solar system and Our Planets display • Solar telescope display • 3 craft tables for the children including alien masks, spaceship portholes, and the Moon with Oreo cookies • Astronomy Bingo 9:00pm until late (weather permitting) • Star Party in honour of John Dobson, on the lawn near Strand Hall, east of the Academic Quadrangle (near the future site of the Trottier Observatory). 2 rasc-vancouver.com MAYJUNEASTRONOMYDAY2014 President’s Message by Mark Eburne Welcome everyone to The the interest to explore the with a pair of binoculars. Or Royal Astronomical Society space above and everything you simply want to feed the of Canada’s Astronomy Day in it. Whether you want to interest of your young son or 2014. know what that bright star daughter. All of the answers Each spring and fall, all is in the night sky or what can be found here today at across Canada and around the type of camera is best to take Astronomy Day. world, there are thousands pictures of the Milky Way, “You don’t have to know of events being hosted that you can find the answers anything about astronomy help promote astronomy here. Maybe you want to to enjoy the wonders of the to everyone who has the understand the speed of light universe above.” questions, the curiosity and or learn what you can see continued on page 6 About RASC The RASC Vancouver Centre meets at the Treasurer at the address on page 5. herein are not necessarily those of the 7:30 PM on the second Thursday of ev- Annual membership includes the invalu- Vancouver Centre. ery month at various locations in Metro able Observer’s Handbook, six issues of Material on any aspect of astronomy Vancouver (see page 1 for meeting loca- the RASC Journal, and, of course, access should be e-mailed to the editor or tions and page 4 for maps). Guests are to all of the club events and projects. mailed to the address below. always welcome. In addition, the Centre For more information regarding the Remember, you are always welcome has an observing site where star parties Centre and its activities, please contact to attend meetings of Council, held on the are regularly scheduled. our P.R. Director. first Thursday of every month at 7:30pm Membership is currently $75.00 per NOVA, the newsletter of the Vancou- in room P8445.2 of the Physics wing of year ($43.00 for persons under 21 years ver Centre, RASC, is published on odd- the Shrum Science Centre at SFU. Please of age) and can be obtained by writing to numbered months. Opinions expressed contact a council member for directions. 2014 Vancouver Centre Officers President Mark Eburne Past President/Telescopes Howard Trottier Merchandise Leigh Cummings [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Vice-President/Events Suzanne Nagy Dir. of Telescopes Kenneth Lui Webmaster Rick Vandenberg [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Secretary/P. R./Observing Scott McGillivary Membership Rohit Grover NOVA Editor Gordon Farrell [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Treasurer Bruce Hutchison LPA Chair Paul Stewart Speakers Barry Shanko [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] National Rep. Doug Montgomery Education Bill Burnyeat At Large Terry McComas [email protected] [email protected] Honourary President Dr. John Macdonald Librarian William Fearon AOMO Alan Jones Trustees Pomponia Martines [email protected] [email protected] J. Karl Miller Library On the Internet Mailing Address The centre has a large library of books, http://rasc-vancouver.com or RASC Vancouver Centre magazines and old NOVAs for your enjoy- http://www.rasc.ca/vancouver PO Box 19115 ment. Please take advantage of this club http://astronomy.meetup.com/131/ 2302 West 4th Ave. service and visit often to check out the new http://www.facebook.com/RASC.Van Vancouver, B.C. purchases. Suggestions for future library @RASCVancouver V6K 4R8 acquisitions are appreciated. MAYJUNEASTRONOMYDAY2014 rasc-vancouver.com 3 A Brief History of the RASC Vancouver Centre by William C. Fearon The Royal Astronomical centre’s membership by 1930 of the H. R. MacMillan Society of Canada was born as the would eventually include Planetarium, the decision was Toronto Astronomy and Physics members who call Vancouver made to move the Vancouver Society in 1868. Later, when the home. Centre to the planetarium, Canadian Government in 1890 In 1930, members in our home until 2011. During decided to build a national Vancouver (and the Lower our time there, we held star observatory for research, a new Mainland) decided that they parties and volunteered at centre was formed in Ottawa. would like to create their own the planetarium (with the With other centres to follow in centre. The National council occasional free planetarium the next decade, it was decided in Toronto granted this, show thrown in). In 1979, the that with the new century that and in November, 1931, the Gordon Southam Observatory reorganization was needed. The Vancouver Centre of the Royal was added to the Planetarium Canadian Astronomical Society Astronomical Society of Canada and opened with Vancouver was formed. was formed. Centre providing the In 1902, the National Council The first Centre President astronomical volunteers to aid of the Canadian Astronomical was Dr. Gordon Shrum (of sfu its operation. Society petitioned King Edward and ubc) and the first meeting The past years have seen VIII for Royal recognition was held in the old Astronomy the Vancouver centre hold and in 1903 the petition was and Physics building at the its meeting around Metro granted and became the Royal University of British Columbia. Vancouver (sorry, not south Astronomical Society of Monthly meetings were held of the Fraser river-yet), but Canada. there until 1968. Activities of this September (2014) we will In 1914, a new centre formed the centre included public star permanently be based at the in Victoria, BC when the parties, articles for newspapers Simon Fraser University’s new Canadian government decided and magazines as well as visits observatory. to build the new Dominion to the national observatories of So, as you can see, we are Astronomical Observatory Canada and the US. still an active centre and will north of Victoria. Victoria In 1968, after the completion continue into the future. continued from page 1 position and ran aground off lowered from a tower that by measuring the angle of the west coast of England on could be seen by ships at the North Star or anywhere the way home. nearby anchor. A warning was by measuring the Sun’s angle What has this got to giving by raising the sphere at noon. But finding their do with astronomy? One halfway at 10 minutes to the position east and west was by of the motivations that hour.
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