Th M A S Bnflitin Published monthly by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society Vol. 2, No. 1 January, 15 Ten Cents

Erwin Arthur de la Ruelle 1879-1934 THE Milwaukee Astronomical Society "Not from the boulevards but from the has suffered a great loss in the pas- ruelles (or lanes) ", acknowledged the sing of its founder and president soldier. Erwin Arthur de Ia Ruelle, on Monday, "Hereafter", said Napoleon, "You shall December 24, 1934. Mr. de la Ruelle be Captain de la Ruelle", and the name was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. May then adopted has been carried with pride 18, 1879. He received his education in down to the present day. Green Bay and Chicago. He had travel- In September 1932 Mr. delaRueile led intensively. Mr. de la Ruelle was an and a few kindred spirits met to form accomplished pianist and was possessed an astronomical society with himself as with a rich baritone voice. He had sung its chairman. Tie next month thirty in opera and was a soloist with the people were present at his home, and Apollo Club of Chicago. Beside his tal- there was born the Milwaukee Astronomi- ent for music Mr. de la Ruelle was inter- cal Society with Mr. de la Ruelle as ested in art and mathematics and espe- president. Membership and enthusiasm cially in the science of astronomy. in the infant society steadily increased. Mr. de la Ruelle taught mathematics Members began making their own tele- at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. scopes and started systematic observing Prior to that he taught at the old Aca- with the result that the monthly meet- demy of Sciences in Chicago, although he ings became semi-monthly affairs. When maintained his -residence in Milwaukee. a highly successful year had passed and Surviving him are his wife, flee Ade- it was time the election of officers, line Cassidv; two sisters, Mrs. Katherine for Mr. - de la Ruelle was unanimously re- Baldwin, Neenah, Wisconsin, and Mrs. elected as president of the organization. Edward Shoemaker, In the second year a Junior Auxiliary sin, and a brother, George, Green Bay, was formed, and at Mr. de lá Ruelle's Wisconsin. home on -Prospect Avenue, a library of His father was a Belgian who was a Astronomical books and periodicals was member of the Waldenses, a religious installed for -the use of the members. sect, founded by Peter Waldo of Lyons, Beginning with the coming year, 1935, France about 1770 in the Western Mr. de la Ruelle had most interesting church. When the elder de la Ruelle and ambitious plans for the work cf the was a boy o-f twelve, he and his father society, and although he did not live to and mother were among a group of see these plans carried out, his ideas will French people who emigrated to the followed the organiza- United States, settling at Green Bay, be faithfully by Wisconsin, where they founded the first tion. - French Pro-testant church in the state. - It has been said -by his friends, that Mr. de la Ruelle's mother was Antoi- Mr. de la Ruelle's greatest interest was nette Courville. the daughter of a full in the society. At the time of his ill- when he should have been sparing blooded Menominee Indian. - ness, One of the legends treasured in- the of his strength, he planned ,a banquet de la Ruelle family is that of the origin at his home for the annual meeting, the of the name. It is to-id that an ancestor last one which he was destined to attend. who- was a private fighting in Napoleon's During his last illness, Mr. de la Ruelle army was accosted by the General o-ne was in constant touch with members of

day: - - the society, approving plans, making sug-

"What is the hour, Captain?" deman- gestions, listening with his usual enthu-. - ded Nànoleon. siasm to any news of astronomical

- Quickly as a flash the young soldier import. seized upon the advantage accorded him. While Mr. de la Ruelle has taken but Straightening up and saluting he asked, one step ahead of the members of the or- "Of what regiment have yo-u made me ganizatio-n of which he was founder and Captain, my General?" - president, he leaves behind the memory Amuse-d and pleased at the young sol- the oldest of the quick wit and boldness, Napoleon of his great love for dier's sciences, his example of systematic re- replied: - "From what walk of life do you come, search and the desire to share with others from the boulevards?" his interest and enthusiasm.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor The M A S Bulletin January. 1935

The official monthly publication of The society is glad to welcome to its mempership Miss Helen Pillans who ma- The Milwaukee Astronomical Society jored in Astronomy at Yerkes Observa- 2046 So. 59th St., Milwaukee, Wisc. tory. Her paper will be looked E. A. de la Ruelle, President forward G. A. Parkinson, Vice-President to with interest. L. E. Armfield, Secretary F. L. Dieter. Treasurer The maximum of the Quadrantid Standing Committees Meteor streams will occur on the 2-3 of Popular Program ...... M. F. Wadleigh January. The meteor section of this Technical Program ...... R. D. Cooke society is planning to continue their pro- Publicity ------H. W. Cornell in- Membership ...... C. P. Frlster gram by observing this shower. All terested in meteor observing should be A. F. BOYD, Editor out. A. L. PECK, Associate Editor G. A. Parkinson, Miss Elizabeth Wight, Frank L. Dieter E. A. Halbach,who is our representa- Ten cents per copy, $1.00 per year. Contribu- tive on the Milwaukee Hobby Council tions are solicited but cannot be paid for. Their will have charge of the M A S exhibit publication, either in whole or in part, is solely at Show which will be held the discretion of the committee on publications. at the Hobby Address all communications to the secretary of at the Y. M. C. A. the first few days in the society at the above address. January.

This, the first issue of volume two of the M A S Bulletin, brings a change in Through The Eyepiece style and an increase in material which .5. F. Loepfe we hope will meet with the approval of J our readers. A rather lengthy article might well be written about the accom- The Sun-Passes from Sagittarius to plishments of our first year and apolo- Capricornus during the month. On Jan. gies made for our errors, but we feel 5th, there will be a partial eclipse of the that it will serve the interests of our sun, invisible here. subscribers to a greater extent by devot- On January 15th the sun will rise at ing that space to items of larger scope at and interest. Just this one word-may The Moon-Phases: New Moon, Jan. we have your suggestions and criticisms 4th, 11:20 P. M.; First Quarter, Jan. 11, whenever you have any? It is only by 2:55 P. M.; Full Moon, Jan. 19th, 9:44 receiving and acting upon them insofar A. M.; Last Quarter, Jan. 27th, 1:59 as we are able that we can publish a P.M. Bulletin of genuine interest each month. Mercury-Evening star, not well placed for observation this month. In conjunc- The regular meetings of the society tion with Venus Jan.. 26th, 11:00 A. M. will be held at the University of Wiscon- Separation 38'. sin-Extension Division on the following Venus-Evening star, visible in the dates: January 3rd, Prof. F. R. Moulton twilight toward the end of the month. of the University of Chicago will speak; In conjunction with Saturn at 6:00 A.M. January 17th, Miss Helen Pillans speak- Jan. 31, and with Mercury at 6:00 P. M. ing on the subject "The Spectrum of the Jan. 31. Sun"; and Fèbruary 7th, Prof. M. J. W. Mars-Morning star in Virgo. It is Phillips will talk on "Early Astronomy". gradually increasing in brightness and is These meetings start at eight o'clock and now first magnitude. In conjunction all members are urged to be present and with the moon Jan. 26, 10:22 A. M. bring their friends. Mars will rise at 11:30 P. M. Jan. 15. Jupiter-Morning star in Libra. In Junior Society papers to be presented conjunction with the moon Jan. ist, at at their regular meetings are-"How the 2:40 A.M. It rises at 2:30 A.M. Jan. Heat of a Star is Measured" by Jack 15. Huennekens, "The Life of Cobleutz" by star in Capricornus. Chandler Jackson, "The Life and Teach- Saturn-Evening Jackson It will be in conjunction with the cres- ings of Pythagoras" by Kern on the evening of Jan. 7. at the January 3rd meeting and "Aster- cent moon Died- Uranus-Evening star in Pisces. On oids and Bode's Law" by George Deci. 100 rich and "Mars" by Robert Bonebreak the 15th is in R. A. 1" 43", at the February 7th meeting. The meet- 06' N. ings are called to order at seven P. M. Neptune-Morning star Ø4,in Leo. On and all Juniors are cordially invited to the 15th is in R. A. 11h Dod. be present. 02' N.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 1935 The M A S Bulletin Questions and Answers DID YOU KNOW? (It is our intention to conduct a column of Edited by E. A. Halbach this sort if the interest in such a column will be sufficient to warrant devoting the space to The Astronomical Discourse, Vol. 2, this puiose You will be the judges-if ques No. 1, December 1934, contains a very tions of genuine interest are received we shall continue, otherwise something else will fill this interesting and unusual article on the -space) . variable star, R Coronae Borealis. Also

- an article of interest regarding sun spots. What Is Polarized Light? . This publication is issued by the Missou- Light vibrates in every direction. ri-Southern Illinois Observers. Copies When a ray of light is passed through may be secured by addressing the M k S one of the faces of a crystal of Iceland Bulletin, 6902 Grand Parkway, Wauwa- spar the property of the crystal is tosa, Wisc. such that only light waves vibrating in one direction plus those which vibrate in On Wednesday evening, Oct. 24th, a direction perpendicular to that of the E. A. Halbach gave an illustrated lecture first, are allowed to pass through; with before the Wisconsin Go Hiking Club at the result that two different beams the Y. M. C. A. His talk was entitled emerge from the crystal, one at the usual "A Hike Through the Universe." Also angle of refraction, the other displaced on Sunday evening, Oct. 21st, he gave a to one side. The first beam is called the short talk on "Our Universe" before a ordinary ray and the displaced beam is Christian Endeavor group at the Calvary called the extraordinary ray. If the Presbyterian Church, 10th St. and Wis- crystal is rotated the first ray remains consin Ave., after which H. L; Gruriwald stationary in a normal way and the showed the audience some of the heavenly other circles around it. This splitting wonders through his 6" telescope. up of a ray of light is called polarisa- tion; the crystal is the polarizer. Other substances have the property of polaris- M. M. Feinsilber, an active worker in ing light, as evidenced by reflection from the Meteor Section and on the staff of glass, or from clouds at a certain angle. the Bulletin, is now in the Pine River * * * C.C.C. Camp, Three Lakes, Wise., where When an extraordinary beam is al- he is employed as a camp foreman. He lowed to pass through a second crystal is continuing his meteor observation with called the analyzer it is also split up and the aid of interested young men of the two rays emerge. If the second crystal camp. is rotated even slightly these rays dimi- nish in brightness while two others a- The Society has recently sent to the pear. As the second crystal continues to Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, a group of rotate, the first two beams continue to six large photographs and a bound copy grow fainter while the second set grows of the first volume of the M A S Bulle- brighter. Rotating this second crystal tin for a display of its instruments and through an angle of 90' causes the first activities as part of the Amateur Astro- set to diminish gradually from maxi- nomy exhibit at the cnvention of the mum to zero and the second set to in- American Association for the Advance- crease from zero to maximum, the amount ment of Science, Dec. 27th to 30th, in- depending upon the distance that the clusive. E. A. Halbach had charge of analyzer is rotated. * * * preparing the exhibit. This phenonemon can be used astro- nomically by rotating the analyzer in a photometer until the varying beam of Members of The Mlwaukee light equals the brightness of the star Astronomical Society being to be measured-the measurement on your the angle through which the analyzer is We congratulate you light fine organization and the commu- turned to make the comparison nity observatory which you are equal to the star's light. planning to erect. May we extend our best wishes Contrary to conventional opinion the your greater part of the diffuse illumination for the continued success of of a clear night sky is not due to the in- undertakings. tegrated illumination of multitudes of Alvan Clark & Sons Co. faint stars in the background of the sky Makers of fine telescopes since 1850 but is a permanent aurora surrounding Amateur Division: the earth. Observations carried on since 59 Day street, W. Sommerville, Mass. 1915 at Lowell Observatory have led to Factory: Cambridge, Mass. this conclusion.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 4 The M A S Bulletiñ January. 1935 American Meteor Society Notes WISCONSIN.NORTHERN ILLINOIS REGION L. E. Armfield The reports of the Leonid Meteors submitted by members of. the Wisconsin- Northern Illinois region clearly illustrates the great value of practical experience in meteor observing. The participating members were arranged in groups and stations, their major objective being duplicate plots for real heights. All totals found in the table given below are of plotted paths only. GROUP NO. 2. Observer and Station 1934 Nov. Began Ended Total Station No. 1 Milwaukee Astronomical So&ety Plotter No.1 E. A. Halbach (Leader) 14-15 12:00 15:00 11 15-18 16:30 17:30 3 No.1 Wm. Liebscher ------14-15 15:00 16:00 8 15-16 13:00 14:00 1 . 16:00 17:00 1 No. 2 L. E. Armfield ------14-15 1Z:00 15:00 12 No. 2 G. V. Gabris ------14-15 15:00 16:00 4 No.2 C. C. Steven ------15-16 11:&0 16:30 36 Station No. 2 Reedsburg Astronomical Society Flotters-Vida .1. Niebuhr (Leader) ------14-15 12:00 17:00 26 Jack B. Vinson P. M. Loofboro ...... 15-16 11:00 17430 55 Fred Niebuhr Lydia Luebke Station No. 3 Madison Astronomical Society J. M.English (Leader) ** 14-15 11:50 14:00 23 15-16 11:00 17:00 87 Station No. 4 Beloit College Students Prof. R. C. Huffer (Leader) 1-i5 12:00 17:00 44 15-16 Overcast Skies Total plots 332 **The following persons participated in the work of the Madison station: Torn Binney, Mrs. Tom Binney, Walter Houston, J. C. Gamroth, Leslie Ketchum, Mrs. Leslie Ketchum, Clarence Draeger, Johil McClain, Walter Foster, Harold Jacobs, Henry Wright, Dr. Supernaugh, and Rev. Lookabill. Twenty-one time coincidences were obtained on the night of the 14-15, and thirty-seven on the 15-16, a fairly good percentage. All stations reported over- cast skies for the 16-17. GROUP NO.1. Station Nr'. 1-Milwaukee Astronomical Scc1ety Plotters No. 1-A. L. Peck ------14-15 12:00 16:00 50 15-16 11:00 17:00 (0 1G-17 15:30 jG:5 27 No. 2 C. P. Frister ...... 115 12:00 16:00 26 15-16 11:00 13:00 3 9 No.2 Wm. Liebscher ...... 14-15 13:00 1:00 15-16 14:0 15:00 7 No. 2 J. V. Gabris ------15-16 12:00 17:00 23 Station Nr'. 2-Chicago Plotter-Miss M. E. Trimmior ...... Report unavoidably detained. Station No. 3-Oak Park 11 Plotter-Edwin P. Martz ...... 13-14 12:00 18:00 Station No. 4-Watertown 2 Plotter-Edward W. Kuensi ...... 14-15 12:00 13:00 15-16 14:00 16:00 9 Station N. 5-Jouet Astronomical Society Frank Preucil (Leader) ...... No meteors plotted Total 230 A. F. Boyd Timer-Recorder for all plotters in Group No. 1 and No. 2 at the Milwaukee station on all three nights.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor The M A S Bulletin Published monthly by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society Vol. 2, No. 2 February, 1935 Ten Cents Recent Work At Washburn Observatory Resume of talk given before the Mi1Vaukee Astronomical Society by Dr. Joel Stebbins, Director of the Washburn Observatory, University of Wisconsin. WE HAVE no means of finding out within two or three degrees of the galac- whether there are any non-lumi- tic equator, and that they are also the . nous or dark bodies in the uni- farthest away. Due to the absorption verse, except as they may, in the form of the dust these B-type stars appeared of small particles like dust, obscure reddened and their brightness was de- light comingto u. If a solid body such creased by two stellar magnitudes. as the sun were halved its eclipsing pow- Hence, their distance is not as great as er would be doubled; similarly, if it formerly thought, thus bringing the size were pulverized its eclipsing power of our galaxy to appreciably smaller di- would be enough to obstruct all the stars mensions. in sight. So when light appears to be Similar observations were made with obstructed, as in certain parts of the globular clusters and it was found that Milky Way, probably the curtain that they are also rednear the galactic equa- blocks it is due; to dust. This matter tor. Absolutely none aré foind in a allows some light to pass through and zone about 7o wide extending along the

the result is a reddening of the light; galactic equdtor. - in much the same way as the reddening To determine what our galaxy is like of thu sun at sunrise or sunset. we should examine others, but it is diffi- The center of our galactic system ap- cult to compare ours because of its size. pears to be- in the Milky Way at a point The great nebula in Andromeda is near between Ophiuch-us and Saggitarius and and large, hence the best for comparison. nèar Scorpio, where there are both bright It is about 800,000 light years distant, star clouds and dark regions. The posi- and according to present photographs; tion of our solar system in the galaxy its diameter seems to be some 40,000 is probably in the median plane about light years. Our galaxy has been con- two-thirds out from the center to the sidered to be 200,000 light years in dia edge. We see a band of light, our Milky meter, but taking into account the fact Way, all around the sky, and in some p1a that the dark material reddens the stars ces it is divided by a dark band. We do in the Milky Way, making them appear not ordinarily think of our galaxy's hay- - more distant and enlarging the diameter ing a central nucleus, similar to the - spi- more than it should be, we should cut to ral nebulae, but this 450;core, according down the size to some 120,000 light years: Hubble, extends some because photo- Besides, if we could prove that the An- graphic plates cover only a comparative- dromeda nebula were larger than it is, on 1 small area the core is not seen the difference between the two would

them as a whole, nor in the sky itself be still less. - except under most favorable conditions. With the photo-electric cell, the pro- The photo-electric photometer, perfec- cedure used was to compare the light of ted at the Washburn Observatory, has areas near the Andromeda nebula with been known in principle for half a cen- degrees distant of the ther- regions of the sky several tury, and the development and the difference between the galvan- mionic tube as used in radio has - made sky - alone and possible the detectioñ of the most minute ometer readings - for the those for the regions near the nebula current. At Madison it was tested by the nebula a candle light placed one mile distant, would give the readings for deflection only. As a result, the area of' the nebula the - galvanometer showing a least twice as greát as, of 10 millimeters. If the amplifier were is believed to be at 100 inch reflector it is shown on i the photographic plate attached to the 80,000 light years would register the light of a candle at a hence it is probably distance of 3000 miles. rather than 40,000 light years in dia-

- study of 723 meter. - With this instrument a to B-type stars of the Harvard classifica- Even though we are uncertain an being used because the size of our galaxy1 we do know it to tibn were made, thése However, As be a - continent amo-ng islands. of their high degree of luminosity. as work progressed in the study of these we are finding that it is not as great stars it was found that the reddest were formerly supposed nor is it the only con- in the region of the Milky Way, usually tinent. -.

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The official monthly publication of cancy existing on the Board. We wish these members a gréat deal of success in The Milwaukee Astronomical Society their new offices and assure them of our 2046 So. 59th St., Milwaukee, Wise. heartiest cooperation. G. A, Parkinson, President R. D. Cooke, Vice-President L, E. Armfield, Secretary F. L. Dieter, Treasurer Of unusual interest is the partial eclipse of the sun which will occur on Standing Committees Feb. 3rd. This eclipse will be visible Popular Program 1". Wadleigh in all parts of the United States; at Technical Program ...... , ...... R. D. Cooke Milwaukee it will start at 9:05 A.M., Publicity ...... R. W. Cornell and end Membership ._ ...... C. P. Fristei' attain its maximum at 10:11, at 11:21. Totality at Milwaukee will A. F. BOYD, Editor reach fifty-seven percent. A. L. PECK, Associate Editor Ten cents per copy, $1.00 per year. Contribu- society welcomes James A. Hender- tions are solicited but cannot be paid for. Their The publication, either in whole or in part, is solely at son, 3003 S. Kinnickinnic, to its mem- the discretion of the committee on publications. bership. Address all communications to the secretary of the society at the above address. For The Month Through The Eyepiece Your Calendar J. F. Loepfe Friday, 1-Mercury, greatest elonga- The Sun-During the month the sun tion east, 18° 20' from the sun; seen will move from Capricornus to Aquarius. in western sky after sunset, above the It rises at 6:50, and sets at 5:23, Feb. sun. Venus sets about an hour and one- 15; rises at 6:28, and sets at 5:41, March half after the sun. 1. Sunday, 3-Partial eclipse of the sun, The Moon-Phases: New Moon, Feb. visible in Milwaukee about 10 A.M. 3, 10:27 A.M.; First Quarter, Feb. 10, Monday, 4-Conjunction of Mercury 3:25 A.M.; Full Moon, Feb. 18, 5:17 A. and the Moon with Mercury 1° 47' south M.; Last Quarter, Feb. 26, 4:14 A.M.; at 5:30 P.M. New Moon, March 4, 8:40 P.M. Thursday, 7-Junior Meeting, 7:00 Mercury-Evening star with its great. P.M. "Asteroids and Bode's Law" by est elongation east, 18° 20', Feb. 1. On George Diedrich and "Mars" by Robert Feb. 17 it will be in inferior conjunction Bonebre:ak. with the sun after which it becomes a Regular M A S Meeting, 8:00 P.M. morning star but too near the sun for "Ptolemy" by H. L. GrunwalcL observation. In conjunction with the Sunday, lO-Aurigid Meteor Shower. crescent moon Feb. 4, at 5:22 P.M., and First Quarter Moon. with Saturn Feb. 13, at 4:00 A.M., Mer- Monday, 11-Jupiter in Quadrature, cury being 5° to the north of Saturn. rising about midnight in the southeast. Venus-Evening star. On the 15th its Thursday, 14-Mira now past maxi- magnitude will be 3.3, and at sunset it mum, located in Cetus-due south about will be about 20° above the horizon. In 7:00 P.M. conjunction with the crescent moon Feb. Saturday, 16-Mars rises about 10:00 4, and again March 6. P.M. Mars-Morning star about 5° north of Monday, 18-Full Moon. Spica in Virgo. On Feb. 23, at 2:34 A. 2:0-Saturn in conjunction M. it will be located 8° 40' north of the Wednesday, moon. Mars begins its retrograde mo- with Sun. P.M., Meeting, 8:00 tion Feb. 27. It rises at 10:10 Thursday, 21-Technical Feb. 15. P.M. "Notes on Photographic Phots me- Jupiter-Morning star in Libra. In try" by Lynn Matthias. conjunction with the gibbous moon Feb. Tuesday, 26-Last Quarter Moon. 25th, at 5:40 A.M. It will rise at 12:45 Wednesday, 27-Mars stationary in A.M. Feb. 15. R. A. Will start its retrograde motion placed for observation C. P. Frister Saturn-Poorly on this date. this month being in conjunction with the sun Feb. 20. sixth to the untimely death of Mr. Uranus-Evening star of the Due magnitude in Aries. On Feb. 15th is in de la Ruelle, which we all deeply grieve, 45rn, the Board of Directors has appointed the R. A. F' Deel. 10° 21' N. G. A. Parkinson as President, Neptune-Appears as an eighth mag- following: 15th is in R. R. D. Cooke as Vice-President, and C. P. nitude star in Leo. On the Frister has beeñ appointed to fill the va- A. 11° 1m, Decl. '7° 19' N.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor February, 1935 The M A S Bulletin 7 eras are used mainly for photometric Questions and Answers work on variable stars. Miss Elizabeth Wight The equipment is driven around the WHAT ARE JULIAN DAYS? polar axis by a 1/50 h.p. shaded pole Because our present system of reck- motor. The motor drives, in addition to oning time by years is not absolutely ac- the telescope, a small inductor type alter- curate:, a system has been arbitrarily nator. At normal driving speed this adopted by which days can be figured alternator generates an e.m.f. of a fre- without bothering about the month or quency of approximately 600 cycles. This

year in which they occured. The system e.m.f. . is fed into a very sharply tuned began on January 1, B. C. 4713 and each circuit, the resonant frequency of which day since that date is one added day. is adjustable over a small range. The For instance the Julian Day correspond- e.m.f. across the tuned circuit is impress- ing to February 1, 1935 is 2,427,834. ed oi the input of a vacuum tube volt- Pickering first used this method for meter which has a relay in its plate variable star work in 1890 and it is easy circuit. This relay controls the power to see the convenience of such a system supplied to the motor. The control oper- when observations over a long period of ates to keep the frequency of the mall time have to be combined, as the use of alternator constant-and hence the peed calendar dates would be awkward. of the driving motor. Push buttons are provided at the telescope for increasing or decreasing the motor speed, indepen' dent of the control, for slow and fast. Twinkle, Twinkle, little star motions in Right Ascension. This Driv- I know exactly what you are, ing system possesses the advantage of For seen through spectroscopie ken requiring only a single motor for both You're helium and hydrogen. the normal driving speed and the slow and fast motions in Right Ascension. This equipment is housed in a small dome constructed of galvanized sheet INSTRUMENTS steel on a wooden framework. The dome (This is a column written by the individual has a 2/2 foot slot with a removable cov- members telling of their particular interests in dome itself revolves astronomy and the development of instruments er, and the satisfy that interest.) rollers which run on a circular steel to track. LYNN H. MATTHIAS Perhaps the most interesting instru- The incentive for building the origi- ment is the modified Schilt microphoto. nal telescope came as a result of an urge meter. This instrument is used for meas- to become familiar with the construction uring linear distances on the plates or of precision optical systems. A 6" re- densities of the star images and is ca- flector was accordingly constructed with pable of highly precise work. It con- the object of using it for photographic sists of two rather elaborate micro- work. This instrument is equipped with scopes, one serving as an. illuminating two flats inside the Newtonian focus; one system, and the other as an analyzer. flat being large enough to cover a 1" x 1" Two photo-electric tubes serve as the plate at the focus without vignetting; light sensitive elements and measure ídi- the other reflects light off the edge of reetly through associated amplifiers &nd the main flat to the guiding eyepiece on a reflecting galvanometer the density of the opposite side of the tube from the plate.. is a minute area on the photographic photographic plate. This telescope The measured area can be varied from mounted on a German type equatorial 0.00000225 to 0.000625 square inches, mount equipped with circles, slow mo- sizes of stai Ascension which covers the normal tions in Declination and Right images. A large micrometer stage holds and a vacuum tube controlled electric are plates up to 4" n 5" and has motions in drive. The telescope and mounting two coordinates. This instrument can,. of all welded construction. Large, ac- with attachments, be used as a recording curately fitted bronze bearings carry the microphotometer for analyzing spectro- moving parts smoothly. All parts are nickel plated. grams. baked enamel finish or this equipment is Two photographic objectives of 3" aper- Needless to say, are used in used entirely for photographic work. ature and 21" focal length photographic meth- cameras carried on the same mount. I am interested in the identical optically od not because of any particular interest These cameras are as such, but because of and are adapted to take photographs in photography of the same the high precision of the method when simultaneously in two colors its flexibility, the area on 4" x 5" plates. These twin cam- applied to astronomy,

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 8 The M A S Bulletin February, 1935 permanence of the record obtained, and been used on a variable star program in also the fact that for most purposes connection with the Harvard Observa- small equipment is more powerful photo- tory. At the present time the work in graphically than much larger equipment progress consists of an investigation of used visually. the Nordmann-Tikhoff effect in coopera- In addition to taking photographs of tion with Dr. Struve of the Yerkes Ob- interesting objects, this equipment has servatory.

An Impromptu Meeting Of The A. A V. S. O. The members of the Milwaukee Astro- the constellation of Hercules and, in ccm- nomical Society had the privilege of at- parison with other novae, it is located tending an illustrated lecture by Dr. Har- at a considerable distance from the equa- low Shapley, Director of the Harvard tonal plane of our galaxy. Its distance Coflege Observatory, and given under the from the earth is not definitely known auspices of the Harvard Club of Mil- at present although it is estimated that waukee on Saturday, January 12, 1935. it is probably on the order of 10,000 Dr. Shapley's lecture was truly indica- light years. tive of his unusual ability to present Dr. Shapley told of the diplomacy items of utmost technical importance in necessary in dealing with the news gath- a manner readily comprehended by the ering agencies in order that the appear- general public. His inimitable sense of ance of the new star would not be con- humour was predominately evident strued by the general public as a recur- throughout the presentation, much to the rence of the Star of Bethlehem. With pleasure of the audience. the new star blazing forth so shortly be- Dr. Shapley greatly pleased the mem- fore Christmas it was only natural that bers and friends of the variable star sec- many people would readily correlate it tion by offering to meet with them Le with the Biblical star. following morning for a discussion of A lively discussion was then conduc- observational problems. Needless to say, ted by Dr. Shapley, punctuated with this opportunity was gratefully accep- many witticisms, with the group concern- ted. ing variable and future. The Sunday morning session was The many observational problems, ineth - opened by Dr. Shaple with a discussion ods and theories which were presented of Nova Herculis, whose appearance and to him were given due consideration and subsequent behavior added much to the excellent suggestions for their solution present knowledge of these rather mys- rapidly given. In the scant hour and a terious stars. According to Dr. Shapley half that he spent with us he cleared up the nova was discovered on the evening every difficulty that was presented for of December 13, 1934, by J. P. M. Pren- discussion and in doing so left such a tice, a meteor observer of the British favorable impression on the members of A m a t e u r Astronomical Association. the variable star section that each and Spectrographs taken shortly after its every one has a new zest for his avoca- announcement revealed a bright band tion. spectrum, which, heretofore had been in- As Dr. Shapley's time of departure terpreted as an indication that the star was rapidly approaching he asked to had passed through the period of maxi- see the equipment which he had glimpsed mum brightness and that its light would in the rear yard upon arrival. Every- gradually decrease; with fluctuations one thereupon retired to the yard for an amounting sometimes to nearly a magni- inspection of the telescopes chart and tude also taking place. auxiliary equipment being used by the Further observation revealed however, members in their variable star work. that this star had been caught on its The splendid meeting ended all too rise to maximum as it continued to in- quickly with Dr. Shap ley kindly consent- crease in brightness after the original ing to pose with the group for a photo- spectrographs had been taken, and, there- graph. fore, at a more early stage of develop- Dr. Shapley styled himself as an "em- ment than any other nova. This then misary from the Harvard Observatory" indicates that the spectrum of a nova at and it is an assured fact that every mem- a given point on its light curve shortly ber of the group was not only highly before maximum is very similar to its pleased with the circumstances which spectrum at the corresponding position permitted his presence but also deeply after the maximum, thus forging another and sincerely appreciated his gracious link in the chain of knowledge. kindness in spending a portion of his This is the first nova to he found in very busy life with them.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor The M A S Bulletin Published monthly by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society Vol.2, No. 3 March, 1935 Ten Cents Proposal Of A Method Of Observing The Solar Corona Without An Eclipse By A. M. SKELLETT Bell Telephone Laboratories Abstracted by G. A. Parkinson for the M A S Bulletin THE problem of observing or photo- From this standpoint it appears that graphing the details of the sun's co- the problem possesses no insurmountable rona without an eclipse has challerig- difficulties, even though the ratio of in- ed the efforts of many able investigators tensities is of the order of hundreds of during the past fifty years. None of times since the various frequencies are them has achieved any degree of success widely separated. From this scanning except Lyot, who on one very clear day the image could be reconstructed in was able to obtain images which showed the usual way from the current. The several faint irregularities of the light new image would now contain the de- around the sun's disc. These irregular- tails of the corona without any sky light apparently were coronal features. glare. If bright stars happen to be in ities the field, they would shine out as dots The excellence of his work leaves little of light the shape of the scanning hole. hope that any appreciable improvement be and further- We would thus be able to reproduce in his method can made, the major features of a solar eclipse at more, his method gives no promise for any time when the sky is clear. The any but the innermost parts of the coro- faintness of the outer corona will set na. a limit on the size of the scanning hole In order to attack the problem, then, which can be used with a telescope of with any hope of success it is necessary given aperture and focal length. With to proceed along entirely different lines. a telescope of 10 centimeters aperture, Due to the intense brightness of the which gives a solar image of 10 centi- limb of the sun and the relative feeble- meters in diameter, a scaiming hale about ness of the light of the corona, it is 2 millimeters square can be used. With necessary to develop a method which this equipment careful computations in- will discriminate sufficiently in favor of dicate that only the inner part of the the feeble light of the corona. It is im- corona will be visible; for the outer co- mediately obvious that no ordinary pho- rona a larger hole can be used advantag- tographic or optical method gives any eously to show up the great streamers. promise of success. It is suggested that For a larger telescope, say with a 100 the mechanism of television can be adapt- centimeter objective, the coronal details ed to this problem. out to about 10 minutes from the rim Let us suppose that the image of the of the sun will be made visible, and for sky around the sun's disc is scanned by a 100 inch telescope the theoretical lim- a small opening behind which a photo- it could be moved out to about 20 min- electric cell is placed, and that the scan- utes, and then by increasing the size ning is done in a spiral path around the of the scanning hole the general form sun, starting from the left. As the spot of the long streamers could propably be passes over the hoods, arches, and observed. streamers of the coronal image, the pho- At the suggestion of Dr. Herbert E. to-electric current will consist of a num- Ives of the Bell Telephone Laboratories ber of components of different frequen- this method was given a test in his labo- cies. Now, if we pass this current ratory, simulating the assumed conditions through appropriate electric filters we as nearly as is possible with the avail- may eliminate the direct current compo- able designs of television apparatus. A nents due to sky light and telescopic lantern slide of a coronal photograph, glare, as well as the lower frequency taken at the eclipse of 1908, was imaged componenl which arrived as the result upon a 72 hole television scanning disc, of the radio progression of the scanning using an illumination sufficient to give hole, leaving, presumably, only the high an image brightness of the order of mag- frequency components due to the corona nitude considered in the preceding dis- and the inhomogeneities caused by poor cussion. Under these conditions an ex- seeing. (continued on Page 12)

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 10 The M A S Bulletin March, 1935 The official monthly publication of Through The Eyepiece The Milwaukee Astronomical Society J. F. Loepfe 2046 So. 59th St., Milwaukee, Wisc. The Sun-Will be moving in a north- G. A. Parkinson, President from Aquarius to Pis- R. D. Cooke. Vice-President eastery direction L. E. Armfield, Secretary ces. On March 21, at 7:18 A.M., the sun F. L. Dieter. Treasurer will cross the celestial equator from south to north. This event marks the beginning Standing Committees of spring. The sun rises at 6:04, and sets Popular Program ...... M. F. Wadleigh at 6:16, March 30th. Technical Program .. ---- _. .... - ---- _.R. D. Cooke The : Moon, March Publicity .._ .... H. W. Cornell Moon-Phases New Membership ....._...... ----- C. P. Frister 4, 8:40 P.M.-First Quarter, March 11, 6:30 P.M.-Full Moon, March 19, 11:31 A. F. BOYD, Editor P.M.-Last Quarter, Maich 27, 2:51 P. A. t. PECK, Associate Editor M.-New Moon, April 3, 6:11 A.M. Ten cents per copy, $1.00 per year. Contribu- The moon will be at its northernmost tions are solicited but cannot be paid for. Their declination, 26° 22.2', March 11 at 7:00 publication, either in whole or in part, is solely at P.M., nearly the time of First Quarter, the discretion of the committee on publications. Address all communications to the secretary of making this month the best time of the the society at the above address. year for its observation. Mercury-Appears as a morning star Your Calendar For The Month during the entire month. Greatest elon- gation west, March 15. In conjunction Friday, 1-Sun is now 80 l south of the with Saturn March 22, and with the moon Equator. April 1. It will be difficult to observe Saturday, 2-Venus now early evening this month due to its southern declina- object in Southwestern sky. Magni- tion. tude about -3.3. Venus-Appears as a brilliant star Monday, 4-Opposition of N e p tu n e. in the west, about 25 ° above the horizon Planet visible all night. New Moon. at sunset, and sets at 8 : 13 P.M. March Wednesday, 6-Mars now visible most 15. In conjunction with the crescent of night. Rises south of east about moon on the evening of March 6, Venus 8:30 P.M. appearing about 7° toward the South. Thursday, 7-Junior meeting, 7:00 P.M. Mars-Reddish star rising in the south- Papers on Jupiter, Globula Clusters, east and is steadily increasing in bright- Sidereal Time, and Ptolemy. ness. Its magnitude is now -0.7. An Regular M A S meeting, 8:00 P.M. "Co- interesting phenomena will take place pernicus" by Frank Dieter. March 22, Mars will be in conjunction Sunday, 10-Algol, eclipsing variable, at with the gibbous moon and with Spica. minima at 10:50 P.M. Spica will be south of Mars and the moon in first quarter. will be south of Spica. Mars will rise Monday, 11-Moon at 8:15 P.M. March 15. Wednesday, 13-Minima of Algol at Jupiter-Morning star in Libra rising 7:40 P.M. in the southeast at 10:54 P.M. March Friday, 15-Mercury at greatest elonga- 15. It will be in conjunction with the tion west. Visible before sunrise. moon on the 24th. Saturday, 16-Moon in apogee, greatest Saturn-Morning star but is still too distance from earth. near the sun for favorable observation. Wednesday, 20-Full Moon. Uranus-On the 15th is in R.A. 1 50m Thursday,21-Technical meeting, 8:00 P. Decl. 10° 46'N. M. "Notes on Photo-electric Photo- Neptune-This is the best time of the metry" by L. E. Armfield. year for its observation because of its Friday, 22-Conjunction of Venus and opposition to the sun March 4. On the Th Uranus, 24' separation. 15th is in R.A. 10" 59m, Deel. 7° 37'N. Sunday, 24-Jupiter now seen in late Sirius will cross the meridian at 7:04 evening. Brightest object in South- P.M. March 15. eastern sky. Nova Herculis will cross the meridian Wednesday, 27-Moon in last quarter. at 6:27 A.M., and will rise at 8:00 P.M. Sunday, 31-Watch time now 4 minutes March 15th. 36.4 seconds faster than the sun. G. P. F'riste'r The recently organized Madison As- tronomical Society is rapidly growing Mr. Edward Dohr of Appleton, Wig., into a functioning organization. Some of has completed an 8" reflector and is the members are now cooperating with busily igaged in learning the technique our meteor and variable star observers of variable star observing. in various programs.

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quarter inches. The back of this will INSTRUMENTS be silvered, returning the light through (This is a column written by the individual members telling of their particular interest in the first face and giving the same disper- astronomy and the development of instruments sion as a 60° prism used in the conven- to satisfy that interest.) tional way. By R. D. COOKE I seem, somehow, to have been born with a fascination for optical instruments Questions and Answers just as some persons are fascinated by Miss Elizabeth Wight dogs or firearms or growing things. It is one of those things that probably re- WHAT IS THE GREAT NEBULA suit from some insignificant chain of IN OROIN? happenings that is difficult to trace, This nebula is visible to the naked eye some childhood incidents that chanced as a hazy patch of light-the middle star to come at impressionable moments and of the three in Orion's "sword." It is doubtless fitted into some congenital pat. 600 light years distant; according to Kap- tern. In my case it may have grown teyn its parallax is 0".0055. Its bright out of an early experience with a dollar part is 1 parsec or 10 light years in dia- Kodak, a mail order telescope and an meter, measuring about 1° across, al- intimacy with a young oculist, now, by though its outer nebulosity is greater the way, one of the leading optometrists than that of the Great Nebula of An- of the State. I recall constructing a dromeda. Its whole mass is ten thousand box camera before I was ten years old. times that of our sun, and its mean den- I do not recall that it ever took any pic- sity is one millionth of a billionth that of tures. Perhaps after it was finished I air-vastly less than the most perfect could not afford to buy any plate holder, artificial vacuum. but at least it was a noble effort. It is receding on an average of 17.5 These leanings were not suppressed by km. per sec., but the upper right hand later experience with microscopes, spec- arm and isolated patch in the lower right troscopes etc. and a more mature fling hand part is receding from 4 to 7 km. at photography. The immediate circum- per second, while the opposite side is stances which aroused an interest in tele- approaching. In the central part there scopes are not on record. About fifteen are differenèes in velocity of 10 km. per years ago I attempted tp make a reflect- sec. If observed radial velocities cor- ing telescope, but with no proper guid- respond to orbital motion, its period of ance in mirror making the project was revolution would be about 300,000 years. aborted. When the first edition of A. Ita proper motion is too small for detec- T. M. came along I took it up again in tion. (Taken from text books on Astro- earnest, and in 1927 achieved a telescope nomy by Baker and Russell-Dugan-Stew- that was ail I had hoped for. But like art.) a city it is never finished. An interest in spectroscopy followed and may be of in- Mr. Theo. Thompson is in the Milwau- naturally enough, it kee General Hospital for a rest. Wm. terest to record some of the details of a Home home made spectroscope designed to Liebscher has eñtered the Soldiers tele- for hospitalization. Both are World attach to a conventional reflecting have been active in scope. The s]it is mounted in a tube War Veterans and of the same size as an eyepiece and is the Society for several years. put in the eyepiece adapter. The light emerging from the slit is turned parallel to the telescope tube by a 900 prism and Can We Help You Build is collimated by a lens two inches in dia- Your Telescope? meter and sixteen inches focal length, We offer: thus maintaining the same f ratio as 1. Parts and supplies of highest quality the telescope mirror. The parallel rays 2. A testing service whereby your optical are received on a replica diffraction parts can be checked with Clark stand- the ards. grating rotable on an axis parallel to 3. An advisory service which has already rulings and after dispersion are returned helped many amateurs over difficult prob- through the same lens to a focus at the lems. Why not send 10e for our large catalogue eyepiece near the slit. This arrangement G-34? It will assist you to get more Out serves adequately for observing promin- of your telescope. ences on the sun in the Ha line, but the grating is too wasteful of light to be of Alvan Clark & Sons Co. the latter pur- Amateur Division: any use on stars. For 59 Day Street, Somerville, Mass. pose a 300 prism is being made up hav- Factory: Cambridge. Mass. ing a clear aperture of one and three

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(ccntinuëd from Page 9) ed in an actual test, and the author is cellent image of the moon's disc and of quite aware that an actual trial in the the corona was rendered at the receiving observatory may uncover unforseen diffi- apparatus. It must be granted that the culties. It is felt, however, that the conditions in this experiment were some- proposal has sufficient promise to justify what more favorable than can be expect- a trial.

American Meteor Society Notes WISCONSIN-NORTHERN ILLINOIS REGION L. E. Arinfleld Exceptionally mild weather and a brilliant sky was enjoed by the Beloit, Madi- son, and Milwaukee groups on the night of the Geminid maximum. Very special commendations are due the observers añd leaders of the three groups mentioned above for their loyalty, perseverence and cooperation. Duplicate observations for real heights was again the major objective. A summary of only plots obtained is given below as the rate derived by counters at Milwaukee was discussed by E. A. Halbach, leader of the M A S meteor section in the January issue of this Bulletin. Observer and Station 1934 Dec. Began Ended Total Station No. 1. Milwaukee Astronomical Society Plotter No. 1. Wm. B. Albrecht 12-13 12:00 13:00 13 C. P. Frister ...... 12-13 13:00 14:00 14 George Diedrich ...... 12-13 14:00 15:00 11 Station No. 2 Milwaukee Astronomical Society Plotter No. 1. A. L. Peck ...... 12-13 12:00 16:00 / 86 Plotter No. 2. E. A. Halbach (Leader) 12-13 13:00 16:00 28 Wm. Liebscher ...... 12-13 12:00 13:00 3 Station No. 3 Madison Astronomical Society Plotter No. 1, J. M. English (Leader) 12-13 12:00 14:00 21 Plotter No. 2. J. C. Gamroth ...... 12-13 12:00 14:00 23 Station No. 4 Beloit College (Prof. R. C. Huffer, Leader) Plotters Beloit College Students 12-13 12:00 14:00 41 Total Plots 240 A. F. Boyd, Wm. H. Liebecher and J. V. Gabris alternated in the timer-recorder position for the Milwaukee station. The Quadrantids were conspicuous only by their absence. The sky was perfect from a standpoint of seeing and very faint meteors could have been readily observed, had there been any. In a three hour vigil by W. B. Albrecht, A. L, Peck, E. A. Halbach, and L. E. Armfield, of the M A S, on the night of January 2-3, between 14:00 and 17:00 hours, only nine meteors were seen. Five of these nine were mem- bers of the Quadrantid stream. A total of six meteors, three of which were Qua- drantids, were seen by L. E. Armfield on the 3-4 between 14:00 and 17:00 hours. Such a scarcity of meteors, shower or strays, and especially during the early morn- ing hours, is certainly rather unusual and warrants further investigation. While in Milwaukee recently, Dr. R. C. Huffer, Professor of Astronomy and Di- rector of the Beloit College Observatory, visited the A. M. S. regional headquarters. Much to my pleasure, we were able for the first time, to discuss meteors verbally, rather than through the medium of correspondence. Dr. Huffer, with the assist- ance of his astronomy classes has contributed much to th A. M. S. programs. He is at present engaged in the computations of real heights, using the data obtained by the observing stations of Group No. Z for the 1934 Leonid network. The de- rived heights will be published in 54 later issue of this bulletin, as well as in Popular Astronomy. The annual summary of the observations contributed by the members of this region during 1934 will not be published in these notes as Dr. Olivier will include them in his yearly report for the A.M.S. as a whole in, a future issue of Popular Astronomy. Nevertheless, I, personally wish to extend my grateful appreciation to each and every member of th Wisconsin-Northern Illinois region for your most valuable contributions during 1934. It is indeed an honor to work with such a splendid group.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor The M A S Bulletin Published monthly by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society Vol. 2. No. 4 APRIL, 1935 Ten Cents Chemistry Borrows From Astronomy H. W. CORNaLL It is an interesting fact, and one which Pallas was a new planet, a great scien- is not known to the average astronomer tific discovery, and Wollaston very prop- nor to the average chemist, that Astron- erly named his new element after it, cal- omy has furnished Chemistry with the ling it Palladium. Today Palladium is names of seven of the chemical elements. used in the making of instruments of No book on Astronomy which the writer scientific precision of the highest grade; has seen makes any mention of this, nor the standard meter at the Bureau of any book on chemistry except two chemi- Standards is made of this metal. cals dictionaries which have the informa- But this was leaving a new plañet neg- tion obscurely hidden away. lected. For on the first day of the new The metal Mercury takes its name century, January 1, 1801, Piazzi, a Sici- from the planet Mercury in allusion to han astronomer, had discovered the first the rapidity of the motion of the planet asteroid, and had named it after Ceres, and the quickness with which globules goddess of fields and harvests, who in of the metal will run about. The metal ancient times had been the patron divin- was discovered some three hundred years ity of the island of Cicily. Why should before Christ, and, in the first century Pallas have a chemical element named of the Christian era, was given the Greek after it and Ceres be neglected ? It didn't name Hydrargyrum, meaning watery seem right to Kiaproth, discoverer of Ura- silver. From this its chemical symbol nium and Tellurium. Soon he had his Hg is derived. In English its original opportunity to correct the injustice, for name was quicksilver, and it was in com- in 1804 he discovered another element paratively modern times, due, perhaps, and lost no time in naming it Cerium. to the influence of astrology and alchemy, It would seem as though Juno and that the name Mercury was applied. Vesta should have received similar recog- was the scientific enthusiasm nition, but such was not to be. Perhaps aroused by the discovery of a new planet the impressiveness of asteroid discovery by Herschel in 1781. Since the other began to decline, perhaps the next gener- planets had mythological names, the ation of chemists was not astronomically name of Uranus, the father of Saturn inclined; anyway, we haven't any Junium in classical mythology, was given to it. nor Vestium. Think how much more Eight years later the German chemist convenient, as well as interesting, such Klaproth discovered a new element, and names would be than, say, Dysprosium with commendable astronomical spirit or Praseodymium or Ytterbium! named it Uranium after the planet. It However, there was soon to be another is indeed fitting that an element which heavenly body honored with a new ele- is today so important in radioactive re- ment, namely our Moon. In 1817 Ber- search should have an astronomical name. zelius discovered a new element and Then, in 1798, Klaproth discovered found its properties to be similar to another new element, and, in contiast to those of Tellurium. As the moon and Uranium, he named it Tellurium, not, earth go together in their orbit around as many suppose, because of any rare- the sun, these two elements go together earth affiliations, but because of the hence he named the new element Selen- Earth's status as the most important ium, from Selene, the Greek word for planet. the moon and also, by personification, the In 1803 Wollaston, a famous English name given to Diana in her role as chemist, discovered a new and important Moon-goddess. Today this element is of metal. A few months before this, in tremendous scientific importance, for it is 1802, Olbers had discovered the second its property of changing its electrical re- asteroid, and, following the mythologi- sistance under the influence of varying cal rule, had given it its classical name degrees of light that forms the very from Pallas, the Greek equivalent of foundation of the science of television. Minerva, the Latin Goddess of Wisdom. The technology of the future is going to At the time the discovery was regarded owe a lot to Selenium. as of the same order of importance as And our final case is a mighty one. the discovery of Tjraaus. It was not Helium, the most important of the chem- until the asteroids became numerous that ically inert and. non-combining gases, they were relegated to a minor status. (continued on page 15)

e S ¿'12 / PDF compression,d7iôpuS. OCR, web optimization by using a watermarkedL evaluation/c( copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 14 The M A S Bulletin April, 1935

The official monthly publication of Saturday, 20-Jupiter's Satellite No. 3 eclipsed at 9:41 P.M. Sun passes The Milwaukee Astronomical Society from Pisces to Aries. 2046 So. 59th St., Milwaukee, Wisc. Sunday, 21-Lyrid meteor shower maxi- G. A. Parkinson. President section. E. D. Cooke, Vice-President mum, see meteor L. E. Armfield, Secretary Monday, 22-Jupiter's Satellite No. 1, F. L. Dieter, Treasurer shadow ingress 12:05 A.M. Transit ingress 12:31 A.M. Standing Committees Tuesday, 23-Jupiter's Satellite No. 1, Popular Program ...... M. F. Wadleigh shadow egress 8:44 P.M. Transit Technical Program ...... R. D. Cooke Publicity ...... H. W. Cornell egress 9:06 P.M. Membership ...... _ ...... C. P. Frister rhursday, 25-Moon in last quarter 10: 20 P.M. A. F. BOYD, Editor Saturday, 27-The sun is now 13° 27' A. L. PECK, Associate Editor 50" north of the equator. Ten cents per copy, $1.00 per year. Contribu.. sunday, 28-Venus about 30° above west- tions are solIcited but cannot be paid for. Their ern horizon at sunset. publication, either in whole or in part, is solely at Tuesday, is now 2°' 40.2 sec. the discretion of the committee on publications. 30-Watch Address all communications to the secretary of slower than the sun. the society at the above address. Sun rises at 4:47 A.M. Sets 6:51 P.M. are held Thursday, May 2-New Moon 3:36 P.M. The regular meetings of the society C. P. Frister on the first and third Thursday evenings of each month, at 8 o'clock, in room 603 Extension Divi- sion. University of Wisconsin, 623 W. State St. Through The Eyepiece At this time we wish to welcome the J. F. Loepfe following as new members to the society; Mercury-Poorly placed for observa- Mr. W. L. Weifenbach, 1822 E. Marion tion this month being in superior con- Street. junction with the sun on April 27. After Mr. Leon Sikorski, 2522 W. Mitchell this it will be an evening star and by the Street. end of - May it will be visible just after Mr. Joseph E. Boehm, 3511 No. Seminary sunset. . Ave., Chicago, Ill. Venus-Evening star in Taurus ap- pearing as the brightest object in the sky excluding the sun and moon. It will Your Calendar For The Month be about 30° above the horizon at sun- Perigee. R.A. of set and will set in the northwest at 9:30 Monday, 1-Moon 40in Sun Oh 38m Dec. 06' N. P.M. April 15. There will be an occul- Tuesday, 2-Minima of Algol (Beta Per- tation of Venus by the moon May 5, sei) at 9:20 P.M. which will be very favorable for observa- Wednesday, 3-New Moon 6:11 A.M. tion due to its northern declination. H. W. Cornell lectures at the Public Mars-This is the best time of the Museum, Around the Year with the year for its observation. It will be in Stars, at 8 P.M. opposition to the sun April 6, and will Thursday, 4-Junior meeting, 7:00 P.M. be visible all night. It reaches its bril- Papers on Nebulae, Comets, Saturn, liancy, magnitude -1.2°' April 9, and is Galileo. nearest the earth April 11. It will be in Regular M A S meeting, 8 P.M. conjunction with the full moon April 17. Friday, 5-Conjunction of Venus and the Jupiter-Morning star in Libra rising Moon at 6:06 P.M., Venus south of at 8:45 P.M. April 15. On April 20, Moon. the following interesting phenomena of Saturday, 6-Mars in opposition, Planet one of Jupiter's satellites will occur. now visible all night in the constella- Satellite III will reappear in eclipse at tion of Virgo, Magnitude about -1.2. 9:41 P.M., will reappear at 11:35 P.M., Monday, 8-Constellations of Leo and will disappear in occultation at 11:44 P. Hydra on meridian about 9:00 P.M. M., and will reappear on the other side Wednesday, 10-Moon at first quarter of the planet at 1:05 A.M. the following 11:42 A.M. morning. Jupiter will be in conjunction Friday, 12-Mars nearest the earth. with the moon April 20. of Neptune Saturn-Morning star in Aquarius ris- Monday, 15-Conjunction 50 and the Moon. Neptune 02' N. ing at 3:40 A.M. April 15. In conjunc- Sun rises at 5:10 A.M. Sets at 6:34 tion with the waning crescent moon April P.M. 28. Moon 3.10 P.M. Uiiianus-On the 15th is in R.A. 1 Thursday, 18-Full 110 Technical meeting, 8 F.M. 56°, Decl. 22' N. the 15th is in R.A. 10" Friday, 19-Moon in Apogee. Greatest Neptune-On70 distance from earth. 56°', Deci. 54' N.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 1935 The M A S Bulletin 15 The mirror is kept covered when not in INSTRUMENTS use. (This is a column written by the individual Many enjoyable hours have been spent members telling of their particular interest In astronomy and the development of instruments observing the Moon, Jupiter with its to satisfy that interest.) four eclipsing moons, Saturn, Mars, Ve- nus, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, sun spots, double stars, nebulae, clusters, My Telescope occultations of the moon, and variable J. F. Loeple stars for the A. A. V. S. O. Since my early years in grade school I have been interested in the sciences, At the present time some forty stu- especially astronomy. The eclipse of the dents of the West Allis High School are sun of 1925 left an impression upon me busy constructing four inch telescopes as which I have since retained. With a projects in the physics classes. constant desire to possess a telescope I H. R. Stamm, an instructor of the West made a refractor using a lens from an Allis High School recently purchased old pair of glasses for the objective and 90 pounds of optical rouge and 20 pounds a lens from a broken down camera for of pitch making available to all those in- an eyepiece. This was airight for ob- terested in constructing telescopes some serving the sun and moon but it was of of the necessary materials which may be little value for observing much else for obtained from him at cost. it was afflicted with both spherical and chromatic aberration. It was two years A STAR SWELLS UP and BURSTS ago, during my last year in high school, by Henry Norris Russell, Ph. D., in that I attemptéd to make a six inch re- Scientific American for March 1935. flecting telescope as a project in Physics. This is a description of Nova Herculis. I obtained from my instructor two pieces On Nov. 14th it was fainter than 13.8 of glass that had been worked on before Mag. It increased by 13m or 160,000 and were spoiled. By turning them over times its original brightness within a on the flat sides I ground myself a six month and probably in much less time. inch mirror. Its spectrum is like that of other novae After the mirror was parabolized I in showing wide bright lines flanked set to work on the mounting. My tube with narrower dark components on the was constructed of white cedar wood and violet side. Shortly after its discovery is in the shape of a duo-decagon. It is the spectrum closely resembled a. hot held together by corregated fasteners star of class A2, later changing to one and glue. The inside is coated with a ofF8. flat black paint and the outside was An enormous liberation of energy took given a coat of light oil stain, then, after place within the surface of the star thoroughly dry, a coat of shellac. It is causing the explosion, and the outside superior to a metal tube in that temper- upper layers were driven outward in all ature changes do not readily affect the directions. That outer layer will turn mirror nor does dew settle easily. The from opacity to transparency, and gra..tu- mounting is constructed of automobile ally fade away into space. parts secured from a junk yard. The Struve concludes from the intensity rear axel housing from a Ford mounted of the K line of calcium that the star on a large brake drum serves as a base i about 1500 light years distant. and the polar axis is made of a piece of boiler tubing. The cradle for the tube George Knott, a Junior member, has is made of Ford brake bands and part recently completed an f-16, 4" reflecting of a Chevrolet carburetor. A babbitted telescope. The instrument is unusual in shafting box serves as the bearing for that its focal length compares with that the polar axis. As for eyepieces, I am of refractors. Because of the unusually using the finder lens from an old camera poor observing weather, it has not been which serves well as a %inch eyepiece. tested to study its performance. Our neighborhood jeweler supplied me with lenses of longer focal length for a (continaed from page 13) few cents. These make eyepieces of low rakes its name from the Greek word He- power. The mirror and flat which are lios meaning the Sun, a name given also silvered and lacquered still retain their to Apollo as Sun-god. Lockyer's discov- refectivity well after nearly two years of ery of this gas in the solar spectrum in use. Fainter than 12th magnitude can 1868 and its naming as a substance exist- still be reached. I have found that the ing in the sun but not on the earth, and collection of dust on the reflecting sur- its discovery in the laboratory by Ram- faces is the greatest obstacle but an oc- say in 1895, and its subsequent great casional dusting with a camel's hair technical importance, will always form brush removes most of the obstruction. one of the romances of Science.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 1935 16 The M A S Bulletin American Mete )r Society Notes Wisconsin-Nort hei n Illirsokis Region of The meteor notes from the American accómplished in such a short period - P. Olivier, time. However, there is every opportu- Meteor Society by Dr. Charles dur- which appeared in the\ March 1935 issue iaity for increasing our productivity included a series ing the coming year; not only in the of Popular Astronomy, observed but also in the observa- , number of meteors of tables which summarized Let us tional results of the members of the the recruiting of new members. A review of endeavor to double our list of active A M S for the year 1934. enlistment of one these tables revealed some rather inter- members through the respect to the new member by each one of us. esting information with Program is activities of the various regions. The Olivier-Hoffmeister Mr. now in full swing; the recording blanks In the list of individual members, are in the hands of the participating J. Wesley Simpson, Regional Director of of ob- region who members and systematic programs the Missouri-Southern illinois servation have been established. The me- resides in Webster Groves, Missouri, Astronomi- and very de- teor section of the Milwaukee achieved the distinction ; cal Society, under the very able leadership servedly so, of having observed the great- chos- He is a most of E. A. Halbach, have voluntarily est number of meteors. en and reserved individually, certain assiduous observer, having obtained a to- for this work. The in 76 nights. nights of each week tal of 2319 observations meteor section of the recently organized Mr. R. J. Wilson of Byron Center, Mich- Society under the a total of 1482 Madison Astronomical igan, was second with guidance of J. M. English have also in- meteors in 26 nights. augurated a pre-determined program of Of the Regional Groups, the Missouri- observation. No reports have as yet Southern Illinois observers were first by been received from our Reedsburg, Chica-. a most comfortable margin; having go or Marshfield stations, but we feel amassed the large total of 9013 obser- confident that similar courses of action vations. The observers located in Cali- are in progress at their respective lo- fornia barely crowded the Wisconsin- cations. The weather conditions during Northern Illinois Region out of second the past five months have been most dis- place by, having 2470 meteors to their couraging for any sort of continuous or credit against the 2415 obtained by the regular work. This, however, makes latter group. The Michigan group sub- it all the more important that every mitted 1793 observations for fourth place. effort be made by each participant Other groups reported as follows: Ken- to observe on the clear nights as they tucky-Tennessee, 1743; Arizona, 1641; occur, rather than waiting for their Colorado, 1198; and the Texas Observ- chosen night and taking a chance of it ers, 1100. being just another cloudy night. We may members of our region; course return to our regular schedule Among the if we may five were listed as having reported more when, as the season progresses, they are: Miss more reasonably assured of favorable than 40 observations, be for longer Trimmier and Mr. Armin Deutsch of observing conditions existing Preucil of Jouet; Mr. Peck periods of time. Chicago, Mr. was observed of Milwaukee and Mr. Niebuhr of Reeds- A most unusual meteor was first in our re- by Edwin P. Martz, Jr., while he was burg. Mr. Preucil morning of gion with a total of 417 observations. observing the Leonids on the of the Milwaukee 14, 1934. At 14:25, while The meteor sdction November height Astronomical Society deserves very spec- watching his area for duplicate efforts in obtaining work his eyes passed over Regulus and ial mention for their a very faint somewhat more than half of the total much to his surprise he saw Th observed and submit- but large body about the apparent an- aumber of meteors moon, proceed- ted to Headquarters by this region. gular diameter of the full only for the ing quite slowly in a northwesterly direc- This analysis was made leisurly over his head determining the status of our tion. It passed purpose of with and disappeared above some trees in the region as a whole in comparison The object was who are similarily engaged direction of Cassiopea. other regions and not round with hazy, indistinct borders, a in this very worthwhile activity, being distinquishable in purpose of developing competi- brighter nucleus for the one con- the center. The whole was a dull, drab, tion between regions. When evidence of burn- a group, have been greenish hue, giving no siders that you, as but rather seemed to be glowing banded together for slightly more than ing train was that three-quarters of your with an inner heat. No visible a year and plot- left. Its passage was utterly soundless, total number of observations were line from Regulus deserve and do receive and was in a straight ted, you. richly Beta Cassiopea.-L. E. Arm field much credit for the splendid achievments to

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor The M A S Bulletin Published monthly by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society VOL. 2, No. 5 May, 1935 Ten Cents The American Amateur Astronomical Association By J. WESLEY SIMPSON Editor, The Astronomical Discourse The United States has many times been within their ranks there may be and usu- referred to as a progressive nation and ally are, a few active individuals who do an international leader in a multitude of worthwhile work but who are handi- fields. America can justly claim this capped by the fact that the rest of their honor in finances, trade, commerce and group are not vitally interested in scien- many of the sciences. This is due to a tific astronomical work. At present, number of things but mainly to organiza- those interested in variable stars can get Ì_" tion, co-operation and leadership of high help from Harvard, those in meteors quality. Once more the time has come from the University of Pennsylvania; for America to come to the front and which are the headquarters for thea show its progressiveness by effectively AAVSO and the AMS, respectively. coping with a problem of pretentious The AAVSO and the AMS in partic- dimensions. ular are engaged in deriving important We have all heard that the future results from the thousands of observa- holds more idle hours for us with no tions which they annually receive from assurance of higher pay. With the re- several hundred alert amateurs in var- alization of this truth, hobbies and many ious parts of the world. Their. main diversified forms of recreation are becom- work is the reduction of observations ing and will continue to become more and and the derivation of invaluable results more important. One of the first stipu- therefrom, since they are the best pre- lations that the average person would pared and equipped organizations in make in choosing a hobby, would be- their- respective fields to do this type of How much is it going to cost me?; others work. To answer the ever increasing thoughtfully will reason-How much will multitude of letters and to meet and cope I benefit by its inception into my life? with the myriads of individual and group These are important factors and ones problems, taxes these two organizations which must be thoughtfully considered. tremendously and thus slows up the We have only to look at the ever in- tedious work that must be done ere the ereasing number of astronomical socie- many abstruse and abstract enigmas in ties, associations, clubs and telescope their fields are resolved into one unified makers organizations to see what a hold chain of knowledge with all links, many astronomy and its allied branches have of which are at present missing, filled upon the people of our nation. Astron- in. Thus it is self evident that the Unit- omy, in the manner that it is usually fol- ed States needs an amateur - astronomical lowed, is quite inexpensive, is intellectual- association which can by itS very nature ly beneficial and is a pleasant hobby; lift some of the load of correspondence thus it has gained a great many follow- off of the shoulders of the AMS and the ers. While thin greät army of sky mind- AAVSO and stimulate greater group ed individuals marches on toward fanci- and individual activity in the programs ful recreation-ever gathering new re- of these two organizations. cruits to its ranks-a few are thinking of more serious things. Out of all of Turn for a moment to Great Britain- these many groups, all interested in the They have their British Astronomical same science, one has only to visit their Association; this association embodies headquarters or to look over the reports practically every prominent and active of the American Meteor Society, the amateur astronomer in Great Britain American Association of Variable Star and some of those from other countries. Observers and other large, active and Its organization is such that its inaugu- specialized international organizations, ration in similar form here in America rapidly in- to see that there are two distinct classes, would offer a solution to the namely, those who are just interested creasing problem of how to take care of enough to satisfy the inherent insatia- the many amateurs and their multitude bility of marl, concerning these empyreal of troubles. It is over this problem and regions above and those who are actively question that several amateur astronom- engaged in valuable scientific work. ers have cogitated for many months. There is, perhaps, one such group of At présent America has no real astro- active amateurs out of every twelve as- nomical association for the active ama- and teur. All present organizations of nat- tronomical societies, associations or clubs that are now in existence yet we ional form are either professional cannot forget the other eleven, since, (Continued on page 18)

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 18 The M A S Bulletin 1935 The official monthly. pablicaìion of Missouri-Southern Illinois Observers, and the Madison (Wisc.) Astronomical So- The Milwaukee Astronomical Society ciety to form the nucleus of the proposed 2046 So. 59th St.. Milwaukee, Wise. - new American Association was the first G. A. Parkinson, President R. D. Cooke, Vice-President step made. The first two groups lead L. E. Armfield, Secretary the country in the field of meteors and F. L. Dieter, Treasurer variable star obseri'ations (that is, among similar groups and as sections of Standing Committees the AMS and the AAVSO) and certainly Popular Program ------Miss Pauline Royt Technical Program ._...R. D. Cooke constitute an excellent backbone for the Publicity _ _...... ,._____H. W. Cornell new organization. Membership P. Frister The aims of the new association are to stimulate active participation of ama- A. F. BOYD, Editor teurs in a number of interesting and väl- A. L. PECK, Associate Editor uable fields, to stimulate participation in Ten cents per copy, $1.00 per year. Contribu- the respective programs of the American tions are solicited but cannot be paid for. Their Meteor Society and the American Asso- publication, either in whole or in part, is solely at the discretion of the committee on publications. ciation of Variable Star Observers, to Address all communications to the secretary of encourage original investigation into the society at the above address. methods of observation and development The regular meetings of the society are held of equipment, to form an instrument on the first and third Thursday evenings of each loan bureau, to form a library añd to month, at 8 o'clock, In room 603 Extension Divi- take some of the burdens of incidental sion. University of Wisconsin, 623 W, State St. correspondence off of the AAVSO and the AMS. Thus the new members of At this time we wish to welcome to the new American Association will soon the membership of the society Mr. James be able to present their problems to the Conklin of the Public Museum Staff. association's sectional leader in the field *** in which the problem presents itself At the Populr meeting of the society without writing to the above mentioned to be held May 2, Mr. John Meyer will societies. The sectional leaders in the talk on the Life and Achievements of various fields will be chosen from the Tycho Brahe and Galileo. ranks of these two organizations (MAS and M-SIO) and are to be men who are The following subjects will be discuss- familiar with the problems presented to ed at the Technical meeting to be held the average amateflt. In the event that Astronomy to on May 16, Application of the sectional leader cannot solve . the Navigation by Dr. G. A. Parkinson, and problem, he will have recourse to the An Interesting Variable Star Study, by national authorities in the particular Lynn Matthias. field in which the difficulty arose. The new organization needs an official (Continaed from page 17) publication through which it could reach specialized such as the AAVSO and the its members for the dissemination of cur- AMS. rent astronomical news and events. It For more than four months Mr. L. E. has also been further suggested and Armfield, representing the Milwaukee adopted that the M A S Bulletin, official Astronomical Society, and the writer, publication of the Milwaukee Astronomi- representing the Missouri-Southern Illi- cal Society; the Astronomical Discourse, nois Observers, have discussed this prob- official publication of the Missouri-South- lem. At first, it was a hopelessly com- ern Illinois Observers and the Madison plex task but within the last month a Bulletin, the official publication of the solution has been found. Why not have Madison Astronomical Society be corn- an American Amateur Astronomical As- bined into one publication, under one sociation? To start from the bottom and name, but still printed separately with work up to a large and efficient organi- careful planning to avoid duplication of. zation would be inexpedient but the sug- material, for the price of one-which is gestion growing out of Mr. Armfield's at present $1.00 a year, post paid. The original idea is both practicable and high- name of this publication shall be "Ama- ly desirable. teur Astronomy." Thus having seen the necessity for With the issuance of this-the first is- such a group, that it is at present work- sue of "The Amateur Astronomy" the ing successfully elsewhere, is practical association's official publication, all mem- and beneficial and that it is adaptable to bers of the three original organizations our present condition, it was mutually and all subscribers to the above three agreed to act at once. mentioned publications become members Mr. Armfield's idea that we combine of the American Amateur Astronomical the Milwaukee Astronomical Society, the (Continued on page 20)

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 1935 The M A S Bullétin 19 Occultatións For Amateurs R.D. Cooke . The prediction, cbservation arid corn- disappearances are used (before full putation of occultations of stars by the moon), this class of observing usually rnoon offers a very fascinating and use- comes in the early evening and seldom ful field of activity for the amateur as- after midnight. stronomer, and with the closer relations We are especially eager to interest a now existing among the amateur groups number of people in the reduction of oc- of the. middle west it is hoped that a co- cultations. This calls for a knowledge operative arrangement can be accom- of the rudiments of geometry and trigo- pushed for furthering this work. This nometry and a certain amount of facili- article is an attempt to provide the ama- ty with the use of tables. It is necessary beurs, unfamiliar with occultation work, to have a copy of the Ephemeris and with such information as will enable Nautical Almanac for the year in which them to decide whether there is an ap- the observation was made and a conven- peal in it for them. It is our hope that ient log and trig table. A slide rule a group can be formed among the so- also helps to a certain extent. Beyond cietie, which, will concentrate on occul- these there are only needed plenty of tation study und thereby make a definite pencils and a certain amount of patience. contribution to the science. An eraser is also a convenience. With In- a few words, the purpose of ob- the accumulation of a little skill the re- serving an occultation is to provide the duction of an occultation can be corn- data for an extremely precise determina- pleted in somewhat less than au hour, tion of the moon's longitude. A large but the beginner should not be discourag- number of such observations taken ed if the first one takes two or three throughout the year at stations all over hours. the earth determine the moon's rate of Amateurs who believe they might be motion in its orbit and serve to facili- interested in either phase of this work tate the compiling of future lunar tables. are invited to communicate with the This :branch of astronomy is under the writer at the address given below. In- direction of Prof. E. W. Brown and Prof. structions and blanks will be furnished Dirk Brouwèr of the Yale University to computers and every assistance pos- Observatory, who compile and publish sible will be available to those interested the final summary each year with due in observing. During 1934 twenty good credit to all who take part in the work. observations were made by members of Of the two distinct branches of occul- the Milwaukee group and the reductions tation work, observing and computing, completed in duplicate. In addition to the greater need is for volunteer comput- this, reductions were computed for seven- ers to reduce the observations of those ty observations from other sources, not able to do so themselves, but persons about twenty of them in duplicate. interested only in observing will certain- The predicted occultations for May, ly not be discouraged. 1935 are -appended. They are for the Observing an occultation consists in vicinity of Milwaukee, but can be used determining the time of disappearance elsewhere if it is remembered that the of the star behind the moon to an accura- times may be off a few minutes. cy of the nearest second. Predictions The occultations of Venus cannot be can usually be furnished accurate within timed closely because it will not disap- a minute or two, which enable the observ- pear suddenly as a -star does, but will be er to be prepared in plenty of time for a spectacle worth watching. The time the actual observation. The necessary for reappearance of this and for Antares accoutrements are- a- telescope, a good are given also because of their unusual clock, a stop watch or other means of interest. First magnitude occultations carrying the time from the telescope to are far more rare than eclipses of the the clock, and means for receiving radio sun. The last was in 1932 and occurred time signals- from Arlington. The time in the - daytime. The occultation of 75 signals from broadcasting stations are Virginis is doubtful. It will pass the not sufficieñtly accurate. It is also nec- moon nearly at a tangent and with the essary to know the latitude and longitude graphic method used it was impossible of the telescope -to within 1" and O.ls to predict whether it will be occulted. respectively. Because only dark limb It undoubtedly will, as seen from points a little farther south. A. Date - Star Mag. Immersion P. A.- Emersion P. 1500 May 5, Venus -3.5 5:48. P.M. - 6:34 P.M. 231° May 10, 83B Leonis 5.9 11:09 P.M. 80°

May 'li, 89B Leonis 6.3 12:34 A.M. 165° -

May 15, 75 Virginis 5.6 6:15 P.M. - 28° May 19, Alpha Scorp 1.2 1:46 A.M. 115° 3:00 A.M. 250°

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 20 The M A S Bulletin 1935 (Continued from page 18) General Instructions to Observers (circu- Association without further payment of lar No. 1) of the AAVSO the asso- dues and henceforth will receive "Ama- ciation is endeavoring to secure observa- teur Astronomy." tions of some 500 variable stars of long period. This plan has been thoroughly probed In an effort to get behind this program into and discussed by both organizations our Mid-Western groups are combining and thus it is that at the kind invitation their bulletins as explained elsewhere in of the Milwaukee Astronomical Society this number. The following recommen- and its representative, Mr. Armfield, I dations are made: Every observer of have herewith outlined the necessity for variable stars should try to join the the new organization, its benefits, scope AAVSO if he is not already a mein- and some of its aims. For the new mem- ber. This will at once entitle him to bers of the new association I have this charts and other assistance from the re- to say-we have all combined to take a gional adviser and he will find further colossal stride toward what we consider assistance by joining the nearest observ- a necessary and beneficial ideal. The ing group, Texas, Missouri, Madison, Th organization is more than its motivating or Milwaukee. force-it is just what the association as After each observer has sent his ob- a whole makes it. We have all heard servations to Harvard or done so through that "A house divided against itself his group, he is to send a list of names cannot stand", and this is thoroughly of observers and the number of their applicable here. W need, and there un- observations to Hans D. Gaebler, Water- hesitatingly ask, each member of these town, Wisconsin, for compiling a month- three groups for their whole-hearted ly report of the whole Mid-Western ac- and unselfish co-operation both in indi- tivities. It will assist the work of com- vidual and group spirit, to assure the work to pilation if these are sent in by the first success of this plan. Let's all of each month. In the first report it make this an event of historical signifi- may be well for each group and each cance in the development of the amateur, individual observer to also indicate the in the science of astronomy. kind and size of the instrument he is Locksley Observatory using. Webster Groves, Mo. It is hoped to include in this section from time to time, articles dealing with variable stars. Amateurs may send their articles here and a committee will take Variable Star Notes charge of them. An effort will also be Hans D. Gaebler made to report on some of the activities There are many amateur astronomy of foreign amateur observers as gleaned associations in the United States, all from their journals. more or less intimate with a number of The following observations have been professional astronomers but none of submitted for the month of March by the them forming a branch or section of the Milwaukee members of the AAVSO and American Astronomical Society. The who comprise the variable star section amateur observer of variable stars has, to the Milwaukee Astronomical Society: however, a direct contact with the pro- D. Armfield, 5; L. Armfield, 197; G. fessional through the American Associa- Diedrich, 49; C. Frister, 12; E. Halbach, tion of Variable Star Observers, with 155; J. Loepfe, 10; A. Peck, 145. headquarters at Harvard. In Europe the situation is quite different but the to amateur observer over there submits Pitch Lap a more rigid program laid down for him A Correctly Made by the professional association. This is essential to obtain a good figure on may accóunt largely for the difference your mirror. in observing program of the amateur Why not be sure you are making it British report in the right manner by getting our in- there and here. In the structions? - covering 1920 to 1924 a limited number Mimeo Sheet I-2 (öl) of long period variables was ob- on Pitch laps ------50c served. Professor B. P. Gerasimovic, in or better yet, get our complete polish- his report on amateur observing in Rus- ing outfit: 1983 number of i Mimeo Sheet I-2 sia says in the April 1 lb. Clark Pitch "Variable Comments" that some 60 se- i oz. Clark Rouge lected long period variables are observed Unit Price ------$1.25 by amateurs. . . "accessible to instru- not included Alvan Clark & Sons Co. ments of medium size and Cambridge. Mass. in the regular programs of the AAV 50 Henry Street SO and other associations". In the

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VOL. 2, No. 6 - June, 1935 Ten Cen

Making Motion Pictures Of An Eclipse R. D. Cooke and E. A. Halbach In view of the interest shown in the lark filter used, which was almost mono- motion pictures of the Feb. 3rd partial thromatic. The film was regular pan- eclipse of the sun shown at the March thromatic 16 inni movie film. meeting of the Society, it is believed it A series of test exposures made the may be worth while to put on record Sunday before the eclipse served to de- some of the technical details of the work termine the best shutter opening and for the benefit of others who may want ;he proper filter. The latter was compos- to do similar things. ed of No. 4 and 7 standard Wallace fil- The idea of making the pictures uas ters used together and was a very dark rihe conceived at such a late date that mere yellow-green. length of exposure was not time to develop the best camera has not been determined exactly but may shutter that might be worked out, and be estimated at about .025 sec. the one used should be regarded as moie Guiding was accomplished by clamp- or less of a makeshi±t. The lens and ing the camera to a motor driven equa- tonal telescope mount and alignment was were removed from an ordi- diaphram maintained by means o an auxiliary lens nary 16 mm portable movie camera, and of 39 in. focal length throwing an image rather than tamper with the original of the sun on a white card with lines shutter it was replaced by a similar one ruled to correspond to cross hairs. The with the centrifugal governor left off. drive was accurate enougn that very A small flat electromagnet was mounted [ittle manual guiding was necessary. within the camera just below the shut- While we may claim that technically ter arranged in such a way that the ar- the expedition was a success, it was cer- mature engaged a stop on the shutter. tainly less so from the artistic stano- A. quick impulse through the magnet point. Of the two hours and ten minutes would release the shutter and catch it duration of the eclipse about one hour after one revolution. It was found to was photographed, and mucn of tuas perate well only within a very limited through fleeting clouds. The resulting range of spring tension on the motor, tnotion picture leaves much to be desired so during the exposures the motor spring pIctorially speaking, but there will be was wound frequently by small amounts. ither eclipses, and we hope the next one Contacts for releasing the shutter were vii1 be in clear sky. placed on a shaft of the equatorial drive IVIore recently it has been possible to running at a convenient speed, which set up a very much more satisractory happened to be 3 1/3 RPM. With two device, which it is planned to use on tne sets of contacts exposures were secured coming eclipse of the moon. An oid mo- at intervals of nine seconds. A 45 volt tion picture camera in bad condition was small cost. was battery was used to operate the release, secured at a very It put in good repair and has been found condenser was bridged across the and a ideally suited to this kind of work. The contacts to absorb the spark. shutter release is made through a type The lens used was a single element of K telephone relay that is very fast and positive. The contactor for operating 16 in. focal length and was stopped down the relay is driven by a separate motor to a .5 in. aperture or f 32. The chroma- whereby a considerable range of time in- dc aberration was not objectionable be- tervals is available. 6911 Cedar Street 2ause of the small aperture and the very Wauwatosa, Wis.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 22 The M A S Bulletin June, 1935 The official monthly publication of The Milwaukee Astronomical Society 2046 So. 59th St., Milwaukee, Wisc. 3hi imnriam G. A. Parkinson, President EDWiN BItANT FROST R. D. Cooke, Vice-President 1866 . 1935 L. E, Armield, Secretary F. L. Dieter, Treasurer Born at Bratleboro, Vt., July 14, 18î8. A B. Dartmouth 1886, A. M. 1889. D. Sc. 1911. Studied at Strassburg and Potsdam Standing Committees Married Mary E. Hazard 1896 ; three ehil- Membership P. Fristei drei,. Taught astronomy at Dartmouth 1887 - 1902. Director of Yerkes Observa- Program ------Miss Pauline Royr - Popular tory 1901 - 1922 ; director emeritus 1932 Technical Program ...... R. D. Cooke 1915. Member National Academy of seien- ....._.._.._.._.___.___.___U. W. Cornell ces, American Philosophical SocIety, Royal Publicity Astronomical Society, American Astrono- mical Society, Astronomische Gesellschaft; A. L. PECK, Editor fellow American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Contributed ar- The Popular meeting of the society tides to Astrophysical Journal of which 6th. At this time he was editor from 1902 to 1932, Science, will be held on June .stronomical Jojrna1, Astronomische Nach- Mrs. Harriet O. Smith will give a talk richten, and wrote in 1934 an autohiogra- on the Life of Galileo. phy entitled "An Astronomer's Life". Died in Chicago May 14, 1935. The Technical meeting will be held on Dr. Frost's place on the astrono- the 20th. Notice of the program of this mical ladder was on the top rung. meeting will be sent to the members of The Milwaukee Astronomical So- the society. ciety is made up of amateur astro- nomers, hence its place is at the The executive board has accepted the bottom, if on the ladder at all. resignation of Mr. A. F. Boyd as editor What in this case was the attitude of the Bulletin. We are sorry to have of the higher toward the lesser? Mr. Boyd leave us as he did a great of the He graciously accepted an honor- deal of work for the best interest He society through his work on the publi- ary membership in the Society. cation. gave his time and effort to deliver to the Society and its friends a received the first numbers of lecture at the Milwaukee Public We have which he set forth his Ehe publication, Southern Stars, published Museum, in by the New Zealand group. This is views on the origin of solar sys- truly a noteworthy publication. Our tems similar to ours. He was host members will find it in the societies' on many occasions to members of library. the Society in his charming home on Lake Geneva. He gave advice According to Harvard College announ- and encouragement to the Society. cement card 334 Nova Herculis increased A high school member of the Jun- in brightness two magnitudes between ior Society wrote him asking for May 7 and May 17. A visual photome- suggestions as to what studies to tric set May 18.24 U.T., gives the mag- pursue in order to become a pro- nitude as 10.8. fessional astronomer, and he an- swered at length by letter writtn CCC Camp workers at Laona, Wisc., longhand on ribbon paper, signed have contructed a nine-inch telescope and with his usual "Edwin B. Frost obtain the correct time on clear evenings (ipse) ", giving practical aid to by observing stars. Enrollment in the this unknown lad-advice which astronomy class hasP increased from six remember- now will doubtless be always to sixty-five, and the youths are followed if only because it making a 22-inch telescope. ed and The Monthly Evening Sky Map. was tendered by the beloved Dr. - Frost. The recent occultation of Antares by When the man at the top reaches the moon was watched with a great deal down from the heights to encour- of interest by several members of the age and give help to those below, society. Although the observing con- "even unto the least", that typifies ditions were far from the best during a true love of mankind and a per- the time of the occultation it was readily sonification of the word "gentle- seen. We wish to call your attention to man." the occultations for June to be found on another page of this Bulletin.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor June, 1985 The M A S Bulletin 23 Finding My First Questions and Answers What point in the celestial sphere has Asteroid both its right ascension and declination I had read about asteroids, heard zero? about them, and talked about them but Ans. The vernal equinox-the first I had never seen one. So one evening Aries. while going through the regular routine What is the right ascension and decli- of observing variable stars I decided to nation of the north pole of the eclipse? "pick up" an asteroid. It had been Ans. 18 h.R.A., and 66° 33' decl. cloudy the evening before so I had traced When the sun is in the constellation, or rather enlarged a map of the region Tarus, in what sign of the zodiac is it? in which Ceres was to be found from a Ans. In Aries, because the motion of smaller map in Popular Astronomy. the pole of the ecliptic, due to 'the pre- At the telescope I found the star, Castor, cession of the equinoxes, causing the in the finder and located it in the eye- equinox to move eastward O".11 per year, piece. Ceres, the asteroid I wished to causes the signs of the zodiac to corres- find was at that time two degrees form pond no longer to the zodiacal constel- Castor. Then I found Rho Geminorum lations, and each sign has backed into from which I was to find Ceres. The the constellation west of it during the map I had didn't have a scale, so I had last two thousand years. to find out how much of the map was Why is it warmest in the United States covered by the eyepiece field. I found where the earth is farthest from the a certain configuration but I couldn't sun? place the other stars because as yet I Ans. When the sun is north of the didn't have a scale and besides there equator, as it is in our summer, sunshine seemed to be an extra "star" in the fleld lasts more than half the day, and the which confused me. This extra "star" mean altitude of the sun while above I later found to be the asteroid, Ceros. the horizon is greater. When the sun's I looked at the field and as my hands rays strike our hemisphere in summer, were getting cold I went into the they strike more directly or vertically, house hence their heating efficiency is greater 'where I studied the map and found that -its heating efficiency is in inverse I baci beyond all reasonable doubt lo- to the surface over which the cated Ceres. I showed my friends the heat is distributed. asteroid and called it a good day's work. How many times does the moon turn I had seen an asteroid. Looking at it on its axis in a year? a few nights later showed me that Ceres Ans. The moon rotates on its axis had moved and also confirmed my "dis- once a sidereal month. A sidereal month covery". I had received no outside help is 27 days. Hence it would rotate about from anyone in the locating this my first 13.5 times a year. asteroid and I considered myself "pretty lucky". George Diedrich unior Auxiliary L. Burmeister Co. Millwrights and Sheet Metal Works Variable Star Notes gans D. Gaebler All size telescope tubes made to order In this month's issue we offer to the readers of the Variable Star Section an article by Pro- fessor C. M. Huffer of the Washburn Observatory REASONABLE PRICES Madison, Wisconsin. While not many amateur observers possess the Draper Catalogue it is al- 3225 W. Burnhain St. MItchell 1477 ways available at the nearest observatory library and Professor Huffer's excellent explanation Milwaukee, Wie. of it should prove a great help when consulting the catalogue. OCCULTATIONS: The following are the occultations visible during the first and second quarter of the June lunation. The data are for Milwaukee and vicinity. Date Star Mag Immersion Pos. Angle Mon's Age June 5 54 Cancri 6.3 8:40 PM 90° 5 days June 7 115B Leonis 6.5 10:19 PM 48° 7 June 14 A Scorp 4.7 6:40 PM 145° 14 June 14 3 Scorp 5.9 6:55 PM 109° 14 June 15 48B Scorp 5.1 12:11 AM 140° 14 June 16 118B Ophiuchi 6.2 1:44 AM 30° 15 R. D. Cooke

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 1935 24 The M A S Bulletin June, THE HENRY DRAPER CATALOG About fifty years ago the Observatory eye visibility. Here the Draper Catalog of Harvard College began a survey of is of value provided comparison stars stars for the purpose of determining ac- brighter than about the tenth magnitude curate magnitudes and to classify them are to be used. Fortunately the position according to their spectra. This work of the Nova was given in Right Ascen- has grown to include nearly a quarter sion and Declination for 1900. This of a million stars. The nine volume makes the task much easier. Otherwise catalog containing their positions, magni- it would have been necessary to look up classification has the changes due to precession and apply tudes, and spectral place. been dedicated to Professor Henry Dra- these corrections to the observed per, who was a pioneer in the art of Care must now be taken to correct back photography as applied to astronomy. to 1900. This catalog is called the Henry Draper But since the Nova is given for 1900, Catalog. we can go directly to the catalog and look for stars in the same field. It is The positions of the stars are given sufficient to start in Right Ascension to the nearest tenth of a minute of time about five minutes preceding the observ in Right Ascension and to the nearest ed positon and look for Declinations with- minute of arc in Declination, and are in say one degree of the Declination of referred to the equator of 1900. They the Nova. The stars found are as listed are arranged in order of Right Ascension; on bottom of page. each tenth of a minute the Decli- j and for These comparison stars are quite satis- nations run in order from north to south. factory. They can be plotted on a scale If it is necessary to use positions for selected by the observer and identified by some other year, say 1935, these posi- the configuration. It would be better if tions will have to be corrected for the we could find some stars brighter than change due to precession and the proper 7th magnitude and fainter than 9th, but motion of the star. For this purpose we have to take what we can find. They no tables are provided in the catalog but are located east and west and north and must be obtained from other sources, south of' the Nova which is very desir- --- such as Burnham's Catalog of Double able And the spectral types satisfy Stars. The Boss Preliminary General nearly all degrees of color, running from Catalog and the Yale Catalog of Bright the white AO, through the yellow F2 and Stars contain this data for all the stars G5 to the red KO. If fainter stars are entered. desired as the Nova fades, it may be The photometric magnitudes are given possible to find magnitudes in other cata- to hundredths of a magnitude for those logs, such as the Bonner Durchmuster- stars which have been accurately ob- ung or wait until lists of comparison served. These magnitudes have been stars are published as has recently been carefully determined by the Harvard done in Harvard Announcement Card332. photometers and are quite dependable. This star, however, is an exceptional For a large majority of stars, however, one. Many new variable stars are dis- these measures have not been made; the covered every year, some of them in magnitudes have been merely estimated reach of the amateur with a small tele- and are subject to large errors, some of scope. The same method of selecting them by a magnitude or more. This is suf- comparison stars can be used by the ob- ficient for the identification of the star server. He may hope to find comparison but is not accurate enough for use as a stars with well determined magnitudes. comparison star. The photographic mag- Also it is desirable to compare stars of nitudes have been derived from the pho- the same color if possible. But this will tometric magnitudes by applying the have to be left to chance, particularly Color Index as explained in all recent if the variable is in a region where stars texts on astronomy. are scarce. Observations for the momth of April, It is sometimes necessary for the ama- stars to make by the Milwaukee group, are as follows: teur observer of variable L. E. Armfield 147, George Diedrich 43 up his own field of comparison stars for variable star. E. A. Halbach 53, W. S. Houston 11, the observation of some Knott 18, J. F. Loepfe 7. For example, suppose he wanted to ob- George serve Nova Herculis with a small tele- 610 Clyman Street, scope after it had decreased below naked Watertown, Wis. rtm. mag. spectr 450 Nova 18h 4m 40.5s 50' 40" H.D. 165523 1.8 46 26 7.98 G5 166067 3.9 46 16 7.46 F2 165718 2.3' 45 41 8.06 AO 166118 4.1 46 46 7.9 F2 166559 6.1 47 6 8.22 KO PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor