The Journal of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada PROMOTING ASTRONOMY IN CANADA December/décembre 2016 Volume/volume 110 Le Journal de la Société royale d’astronomie du Canada Number/numéro 6 [781] Inside this issue: Percival Lowell’s Last Year Newbie No More Glorious Colours of the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex The Best of Monochrome. Drawings, images in black and white, or narrow-band photography. Ron Brecher took this image of Sh2-72, an emission nebula in Aquila from SkyShed in Guelph, Ontario, combining the red, green, and blue colour channels with data collected through a deep red H-alpha filter. Brecher used an SBIG STL-11000M camera, Baader αH , R, G, and B filters, and a10α ƒ/6.8 ASA astrograph on a Paramount MX for a total of 15 hours. December/décembre 2016 | Vol. 110, No. 6 | Whole Number 781 contents / table des matières Feature Articles / Articles de fond 257 Dish on the Cosmos: Connecting the Cycle of Star Formation 224 Percival Lowell’s Last Year by Erik Rosolowsky by William Sheehan 259 John Percy’s Universe: The Little Campus that 236 First experience at the General Assembly Grew by Stan Taylor by John R. Percy Columns / Rubriques 261 Second light: Time domain X-ray astronomy by Leslie J. Sage 237 CFHT Chronicles: Destination: Proxima Centauri, Part I: Going Interstellar: Time, Departments / Départements Distance, Velocity, & Acceleration by Mary Beth Laychak 218 President’s Corner by Craig Levine 240 Pen and Pixel: 219 News Notes / En manchettes Elephant Trunk / Dumbbell Nebula / Soul Compiled by Jay Anderson Nebula / NGC 7129 By Andre Paquette / Blair MacDonald / Dan Meek / Drew 260 Awards Deadline Patterson by James Edgar 242 Astronomical Art & Artifact: Time on Display in 262 Astrocryptic and October Answers Civic Landscapes: Quebec City by Curt Nason by Randall Rosenfeld 262 It’s Not All Sirius 247 Imager’s Corner: Resolution, Image Sharpness, by Ted Dunphy and Interpolation by Blair MacDonald 263 Index to Volume 110 252 Binary Universe: Let Them Trail by Blake Nancarrow 255 Skyward: My first mentor and a streak of light by David Levy Accomplished astrophotographer Lynn Hilborn imaged the heart of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex from his Whistlestop Observatory in Grafton, Ontario. Hilborn used a TS71 telescope at ƒ/5, Moravian G2-8300 camera, and Baader filters on a Tak NJP Temma2 mount. December / décembre 2016 JRASC | Promoting Astronomy in Canada 217 The Journal is a bi-monthly publication of The Royal President’s Corner Astronomical Society of Canada and is devoted to the advancement of astronomy and allied sciences. by Craig Levine, London Centre It contains articles on Canadian astronomers and current activities of the RASC and its ([email protected]) Centres, research and review papers by professional and amateur astronomers, and articles of a historical, biographical, or educational nature of general interest to the astronomical community. All contributions are welcome, but the editors reserve the right to edit material prior to publication. Research papers are reviewed prior to publication, and professional As the deadline for this column rapidly astronomers with institutional affiliations are asked to pay publication charges of $100 per approached and then suddenly leapt out at page. Such charges are waived for RASC members who do not have access to professional me like my smallest cat making a valiant funds as well as for solicited articles. Manuscripts and other submitted material may be in English or French, and should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief. attempt to get our eldest border collie to play with him, I began thinking about the RASC, how I perceive it, and how it Editor-in-Chief Contributing Editors is perceived by the many constituencies within our venerable Nicole Mortillaro Jay Anderson (News Notes) Email: [email protected] Ted Dunphy (It’s Not All Sirius) society and beyond. The more I thought about it, the more Web site: www.rasc.ca Mary Beth Laychak (CFHT Chronicles) it became clear how multifaceted the answer to the question Telephone: 416-924-7973 David Levy (Skyward) Fax: 416-924-2911 Blair MacDonald (Imager’s Corner) “What is the RASC?” and, depending on the facet that’s Blake Nancarrow (Binary Universe) Associate Editor, Research being examined, it can be a very good thing, or it can present Curt Nason (Astrocryptic) Douglas Hube John R. Percy (John Percy’s Universe) challenges and accompanying opportunities. Email: [email protected] Randall Rosenfeld (Art & Artifact) Associate Editor, General Eric Rosolowsky (Dish on the Cosmos) What we are can be broken down into three core functions: a Michael Attas Leslie J. Sage (Second Light) membership organization, a charitable entity, and a publishing Email: [email protected] Rick Saunders (Maker’s Minute) Assistant Editors David Turner (Reviews) concern. I want to focus on the membership organization Michael Allen Proofreaders component for this column. Martin Beech Michele Arenburg Dave Chapman Ossama El Badawy Much of our activities happen at the local level in our Centres, Ralph Chou Margaret Brons Ralph Croning Angelika Hackett and this is where the majority of our members are focused. Dave Garner Kim Leitch For them, the RASC is their club for all things astronomy, Patrick Kelly Design/Production for attending public talks, engaging in outreach if they are so Editorial Assistant Michael Gatto, Grant Tomchuk Michele Arenburg Email: [email protected], inclined, observing, and for the fellowship of a shared passion. Email: [email protected] [email protected] And rightly so. For many of our members, myself included, our Production Manager Advertising local Centres were the catalyst that ignited our life-long love James Edgar Julia Neeser Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] of astronomy and the RASC. Printing Cansel A smaller subset of our membership is involved with the www.cansel.ca RASC’s national activities on Council, committees, the Board, as writers and editors, and as speakers willing to travel to one His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., of our many Centres to share their knowledge and experi- Governor General of Canada, is the Viceregal Patron of the RASC. ences. They, and many of our members in general, feel no small The Journal of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is published at an annual measure of pride in being part of a truly national organization subscription rate of $93.45 (including tax) by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Membership, which includes the publications (for personal use), is open to anyone interested that is held in high regard for its venerable and long history, in astronomy. Applications for subscriptions to the Journal or membership in the RASC and and for the consistent quality of its publications. That our information on how to acquire back issues of the Journal can be obtained from: Observer’s Handbook can be found in a great many professional The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada observatories is testament to the dedication and passion of our 203 – 4920 Dundas St W Toronto ON M9A 1B7, Canada long line of editors and contributors. Our local, national, and Email: [email protected] international reputation’s foundation, our gravitas if you will, Web site: www.rasc.ca is built on our members who donate so freely of their time Telephone: 416-924-7973 either at their Centres and are the face of public astronomy in Fax: 416-924-2911 Canada, or who have a passion for our being part of something Canadian Publications Mail Registration No. 09818 pan-Canadian in support of our members in all regions. And Canada Post: Send address changes to 203 – 4920 Dundas St W, Toronto ON M9A 1B7 the Society as a whole. Canada Post Publication Agreement No. 40069313 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. © 2016 The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. All rights reserved. ISSN 0035-872X Cert no. SW-COC-005174 218 JRASC | Promoting Astronomy in Canada December / décembre 2016 A challenge the RASC faces in regard to growth and our from the diverse communities across our county and within demographics may lie in perception. We have the word “Royal” the regions our Centres draw their members from. This is an in our name (and I’m proud of it), and our raison d’être has opportunity for all levels of the organization to grow, spread the weight of science behind it. I’m musing here, but I think the joy of astronomy further, and to bring fresh ideas and that combination may intimidate some. I think back to the initiatives into our tent. time when I discovered the RASC, and my image of the RASC based on those two factors was vastly different from Reaching out to new members and incorporating fresh the wonderful reality that has played a large role in my adult perspectives will require new ideas and methods of outreach life. Our demographics skew disproportionately to male, from all levels of the RASC. As we craft our strategic plan Caucasian, and middle-aged and older. That tells me that to take us into the future, I’m looking forward to hearing at the national and local levels, we have to work harder and and discussing the innovative ideas our members will bring V smarter at reaching out to Canadian women, youth, and adults forward. News Notes / En Manchettes was able to send measurements and images for only 48 hours before its battery ran down. Rosetta itself operated nearly Compiled by Jay Anderson, FRASC flawlessly, observing Churyumov-Gerasimenko from beyond the orbit of Mars to past perihelion and onward. A trooper to the end, Rosetta’s last image was taken from only 20 m above Rosetta settles into retirement the comet’s surface.