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Vice Presidents Report August 2008 Volume 13, Issue 8 Volume 13 Issue 8 Inside this Issue Vice Presidents Report Daniel Ross Secretary’s Column 3 Ophiuchus 4 Good evening and welcome to our August meeting. With our illustrious leader not with us at the minute, I am left to fill a Star Hopping to Messiers 7 big pair of shoes this month. Satellite Passes 9 4 Guardians of Heaven 10 Firstly, we all wish Ian Cook the best and a big “get well” as he recovers from illness and we hope to hear his talk on Black Holes Ain’t Holes 12 “Everybody’s Favourite Star” at a later date. The messages on the forums have been appreciated. MAS Committee President Filling in will be a small talk and update on the Mars Phoenix John Rombi Explorer and the continuation of the DVD “In the Shadow of Vice President the Moon” from last month. Daniel Ross Secretary Secondly, congratulations to all our winners from last month’s Roger Powell guessing competition (winners are published in Rogers Report Treasurer on page 3). Dick Everett Webmaster Next, I would like to thank our speaker for July, Chris Malikoff Chris Malik off for his presentation on the new MAS website; Committee Members Lloyd Wright “www.macastro.org.au” Stuart Graing er Ivan Fox If you have not been to the website yet, I highly recommend it. We have had a fair few members sharing their knowledge, MAS Postal Address expertise and humour throughout the forums. P.O. Box 17 MINTO NSW 2566 All the section leaders have a forum area to help you with particular problems. So don’t be shy, and if you can’t get to a Web: www.macastro.org.au computer, catch them at a general meeting. Prime Focus Editor It appears that the next opportunity for the open night will be Kate John ston cyberpiggy @optusnet.com.au in October, so please visit the website for further information. Volume 13, Issue 8 Guest Speakers Observing Dates For the rest of the year will be August September: Andrew Jacob 18/08/08 General Meeting 23/08/08 The Forest (University of Sydney). 30/08/08 Stargard "Cepheid Variable Stars " October: Dr. Lisa Harvey-Smith, September Postdoctoral Fellow 15/09/08 General Meeting School of Physics, 20/09/08 Stargard Massive Stars: “Live Fast & Die 27/09/08 The Forest Young" October November: Dr. Greg Madsen, 20/10/08 General Meeting University Postdoctoral Fellow 25/10/08 Stargard School of Physics – The University of Sydney. November "How does our Galaxy work?" 1/11/08 The Forest 17/11/08 General Meeting 29/11/08 Stargard Need Help We will be holding our annual Observing night for the December students of International House (Syd Uni) on Saturday 20/12/08 Stargard rd 27/12/08 The Forest August 23 , we need as many scopes on the field as TBA - Xmas Party possible . There will be approx 80 students, as well as Jessica Carroll (director of I.H.) I.H. will provide us with dinner. I hope you can join us as well. While the cats away, Daniel Ross. MAS Website Prime Focus Article Check out the new MAS website Submission http://www.macastro.org.au/ Deadline for article submissions for the Prime Focus now available on-line. September edition of Prime Focus is Take part in the members’ forums Monday 8th September 2008 Keep updated with all Society News All Articles can be submitted via email [email protected] Or via snail mail to the MAS Postal address Thanks to all the contributors for this month………. Volume 13, Issue 8 Secretary’s Column Roger Powell All members will be disturbed at the news of Ian Cook's sudden illness. He has been in Campbelltown Hospital recently, following a heart attack. Ian has always been a very active and knowledgeable member of MAS since the Society's inception in 1996 and was due to be our guest speaker again this month. He will need to take a back seat for a while but we all hope that he makes a full recovery and is back with us again very soon. Meanwhile, the Society was very pleased to make a profit of $523.00 from the recent Guessing Competition. Many thanks to Kate Johnston for being the Competition Organiser. Our winners were drawn at the last meeting and were: First Prize: Don Jephcott (Telescope) Second Prize: Michael Wells (Binoculars, donated by BINTEL) Third Prize: Geoff Young (Book signed by Fred Watson) This month, the Society has received two letters regarding the recent flurry of laser pointer legislation. Firstly, the Ministry for Police provided us with a summary of the recent NSW legislation and MAS is now seeking free registration by the NSW Police as an astronomical society. This will enable our members with laser pointers to be exempt from applying for a personal possession permit. Due to the fact that members of the Society will be covered by the Society's registration, the committee has decided to create a voluntary register of members who possess hand-held, battery operated laser pointers. Forms will be provided and should you wish MAS to keep your details on file, please fill one out and give it to me or send it to: PO Box 17, Minto, NSW 2566. In the event of a problem occurring between a member and the police, such a register may assist both parties. The committee is also discussing the provision of membership cards for next year's membership, to assist in quickly identifying membership of a registered astronomical society to police. Secondly, the Federal Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, has written to advise us that Australian Customs will be providing guidance to assist legitimate users in understanding the permission process for the importation of laser pointers. Members may be aware that many other organisations are now making their magazines available on the web. For example, we receive ten printed copies of BINTEL's 'Night Sky' but if you miss out you can download it from their website at https://www.bintelshop.com.au/NightSky/NightSky.pdf The committee has decided to provide dual publication of 'Prime Focus' in both printed and electronic form. Accordingly, we are asking members, where possible, to visit the website before each monthly meeting and read 'Prime Focus' online, instead of picking up the printed version at the meeting. If you are unable to do this, then the printed version will still be available as usual. Our Editor, Kate Johnston, is also collaborating with Chris Malikoff to place online a full archive of every past version of 'Prime Focus', beginning with 2008. This will be available in stages over the next few months (depending on how busy Kate gets with the Society's newest member, expected next month)! An annual index of the articles in each issue is also available, so that when you want to look (for example) for Bob Bee's article on Star-hopping to M88, you will easily find which issue to look at Volume 13, Issue 8 Ophiuchus The Snake Handler Ian Cook Flying overhead for those who can spot it this shows Asclepius bare chested, attired in a long month is the ancient snake charmer. flowing cloak, and holding a staff with a serpent coiled about it. There is disagreement about who the man and serpent or dragon represents. Among This is perhaps the forerunner of the modern suggestions there is Hercules who killed Draco, medical symbol of the caduceus. or a King of the Getae named Carnabon, who killed a famous dragon, but Eudoxus and most The constellation Ophiuchus is thus found in the authorities link the Serpent Holder to Asclepius. midst of Serpens, dividing the serpent into Head and Tail. The southern part of Ophiuchus dips Eudoxus was a prolific writer of scientific into a very dense portion of the Milky Way, subjects in the fourth century BC. Among other resulting in a great many deep sky objects. things he mapped out the constellations, which was the main star reference for hundreds of The Bayer stars of Ophiuchus are fairly bright, years. five have a magnitude brighter than 3.0. The brightest star, alpha Ophiuchi, is better known Asclepius was a son of Apollo with a nymph as Rasalhague, meaning "Head of the Snake called Coronis, and was taught medicine by Charmer". This is a close star to us, at 54 light Chiron the centaur. Asclepius became the years away, and a celestial neighbour of Ras Argonauts' surgeon, sailing with them on the Algethi (alpha Herculis), which lies to the WNW ship Argo, and he managed to bring back to life five degrees. a number of people, including the son of King Minos of Crete. Ophiuchus has a half-dozen visual doubles, and even more star clusters. In fact Ophiuchus has It was after Asclepius tried to revive Orion, more globular clusters than any other bitten by the scorpion; that Pluto began to constellation. Unfortunately many are small in complain. He argued that if Asclepius healed all size so have to be sought after carefully. the sick, he would have no souls to populate Hades. Zeus agreed; they could not permit men The region encircling Rho Ophiuchi, and to be immortal, so launching a thunderbolt quick stretching up to Antares, is also interesting. This as a flash, Zeus ended Asclepius's life. area contains several dark clouds and nebulae that show the active formation of stars. Zeus later put Asclepius in the heavens along with the Serpent, which had long been a symbol for renewed life, (shedding it’s skin).
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