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Tele Vue Published monthly since 1985 by The Binocular and Telescope Shop 55 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000 the best JULY 2004 * Volume 229 www.bintel.com.au OH,OH,OH, YES!YES!YES! OH,OH,OH, NO!NO!NO! Last month’s transit of Venus would have to be the most watched celestial event of the century so far. There are no doubt stories from here and there about what went on, what people saw and didn’t see, and how they enjoyed the rare event. One amateur astronomer won’t forget in a hurry. His car ended the day upside down on the side of Mount Canoblas near Orange NSW. He ended up in hospital for the night. ★ ★ ★ Some took it easy, like the nameless observer at King Street Wharf in K. Petersen T. Dobosz Sydney, who set up his telescope Above: The famous ‘teardrop effect’ photographed by Ken Petersen of the Above: An amateur astronomer was slightly injured when his car flipped on Mt. outside a handy outdoor restaurant Northern Sydney Astronomical Society. The effect lasted just a few seconds. Canoblas near Orange. Picture shows gear being retreived from vehicle. and scored complimentary caffe Left: The transit as seen by lattes as the transit progressed. many people through small ★ ★ ★ refractor telescopes. This Colonel Bembrick, well-known image was made with a simple digital camera country amateur astronomer noted attached to a 100mm that Darby’s Falls Observatory near refractor equipped with a Cowra had the same percentage of solar filter. local population turn up as did Right: A small section of the 450-strong crowd lucky Sydney Observatory, 0.01 percent. enough to get into the They were less crowded though; all grounds of Sydney four visitors got plenty of time at the Observatory to observe the transit. Numbers had to be telescope eyepiece! limited in order to avoid ★ ★ ★ overcrowding in the If you have a sweet tooth why not Observatory’s grounds. visit the Binocular and Telescope In December 1874 and 1882 Below: Mike Smith lines up a small refractor on the Shop in Sydney? Krispy Kreme Sun at King Street wharf near the city centre in a 29cm refractor was used at Sydney. A nearby coffee shop provided refreshments the Sydney Observatory to Doughnuts have opened a store observe transits of Venus. as passersby paused to enjoy a look at the transit. opposite. The queue starts at 8am The same telescope was in use for the June 2004 transit and continues all day. What do they along with many smaller put in their doughnuts? portable scopes set up in the G. Wyatt ★ ★ ★ Observatory grounds. Last month our regular contributor Harry Roberts referred to the Moon as “our sister planet”. This elicited a most observers happy with results letter from Rob Black in Victoria. The big question was One of those who attempted Some of the best views were Now, as we haven’t really had much whether to take a chance the dash lost control on the steep achieved with the use of Hydrogen in the way of ‘letters to the editor’ on coastal cloud or inland descent from Mt. Canoblas and up- Alpha solar prominence filters fitted we thought we’d better do something cloud in the lead-up to the ended his car. The result was an to telescopes. Several observers were about it. See Page 2 for the result. transit of Venus on June overnight stay in the local hospital able to see the planet clearly as it ★ ★ ★ 8th. With the Blue and a deep and meaningful moved slowly towards the Sun. The Oh, dear! It happens to the best of Mountains forming a discussion with the car’s insurers. outline of Venus was detectable us sometime.... a keen new amateur ridge along the East coast That mishap aside most against the background solar astronomer we’ll call ‘Joe’ headed about fifty kilometres observers along the coast were atmosphere. This allowed some off for the Blue Mountains with his inland the usual result is blessed with clear western skies for observers to mark the moment of first new ten inch Dobsonian telescope in L.Smith coastal cloud banking up the duration of the event. In Sydney contact and second contact with great the car. Who had to drive home to late in the afternoon. the event was watched at Sydney precision. Many reports indicate that pick up the telescope base he’d left With this in mind a contingent of Observatory and at varoius other observers were able to detect the in the driveway! amateur astronomers left Sydney and places around the city and suburbs. atmosphere of the planet without too ★ ★ ★ NOW OPEN installed themselves atop Mt Many people took advice to much difficulty. It’s good to see the first ‘new’ issue Canoblas near Orange, in the Central observe the transit by projecting the Observing a transit of Venus of Sky & Space on the newsagents’ www.bintelshop.com.au West of the state. As luck would have image through binoculars onto a and a transit of Mercury are not shelves. At one hundred pages it’s it the usual weather conditions were white sheet of paper, where the image vitally important for today’s quite a read. Bright and breezy, with secure on-line shopping reversed for the day. The sky was of the planet could be plainly seen astronomers. Transit observations in good depth in the articles and plenty for your astronomical needs. clear along the coast and cloudy as it inched its way across the Sun’s the eighteenth and ninteenth of colour ... we hope the crew at accessories binoculars books eyepieces filters inland! An hour before the transit was surface. centuries were of great importance Bondi Junction can keep up the finderscopes magazines to occur number of observers on Mt. Solar glasses, normally used in measuring the distances between standard. planispheres software Canoblas made a dash down the to observe solar eclipses were also the Sun, the Earth and the planets, to ★ ★ ★ spottingscopes telescopes mountain to a clear area that could pressed into service. The planet was gain an idea of the size of the Solar Before you get the tripods be seen twenty kilometres away. easily seen using these devices too. System and nearby space. wrong idea, the ‘Mike’ on the front The Moon as a planet .................2 Receive your copy page and the Letters to thr Editor .....................2 SUBSCRIBE TO THE every month for an ‘Mick’ on the back Star Map for July ........................3 page are NOT the eyeful of sky news . Mick ‘n Don .................................4 NIGHT SKY FOR $12 same person! The Binocular and Telescope Shop, 55 York Street, Sydney. Tel: 02 9262 1344 web: www.bintel.com.au July 2004 * Volume 229 * Page 2 USUS ROCKETROCKET PLANEPLANE SUCCESSFUL With 62 year-old civilian pilot Mike Melvill at the controls, SpaceShipOne reached an altitude of Write, fax or email on an 328,491 feet (approximately astronomy-related 100 km) above the Earth Scaled Comp. subject and we’ll print it here. early on the morning of June Above: Pilot Mike Melvill sits atop the spacecraft 21st. This feat made Melvill after its successful flight and landing at Mojave. the first civilian to fly a spaceship out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Dear Editor, Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and sponsor of the I read your latest issue of Night Sky and SpaceShipOne program said, “ Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled shuddered with horror when I read the Composites are ... ushering in the birth of a new industry of privately funded article “On the Moon”. In the opening manned space flight.” With no government sponsorship the private test statement made by Harry Roberts “Any and flight program shows that manned space flight does not necessarily well-made 6 inch or 8 inch ‘scope will require huge government expenditure. Burt Rutan said, “It can be done by show breathtaking detail on our ister a small company operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated planet, the Moon;” really took my breath employees.” away and I hoped that this was just a typo. Ten thousand supporters turned up at the airport in California to Since when has our Moon been classified watch the flight. Television crews beamed the mission to audiences around as a planet? To me it’s a natural satellite the world. The flight progressed smoothly but was not without its drama. of our planet! I hope there is a correction The spaceship rolled suddenly when launched and a back-up system had noted in the next issue. to control the high-speed flight when pitch control was lost. A fairing around Regards Rob Black the rocket motor deformed at high altitude causing a scare. These incidents Victoria will be examined before an attempt will be made on the back-to-back flights NASA image with two passengers to win the ten million US dollar Ansari-X prize. Dear Night Sky Editor, Nothing warms the astro-journalist’s Above: Highly detailed image of Saturn’s moon Phoebe taken by Cassini spacecraft. Stunning images of This flyby is the first Thus, the next twelve heart so much as to find people are This month marks two the ringed planet have already been of many planned, but the only one months promise to bring something actually reading what he writes. Let me important anniversaries. The first is returned, along with a recent flyby of Phoebe. Cassini is set to complete special for anyone whose first therefore say how gratified I am to Rob perhaps one of history’s most famous of the irregular-shaped moon seventy four orbits of Saturn and glimpse of a small disk with rings in Black for his comments; and I agree the events – man walking on the Moon.

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