the newsletter of the QUEEN ELIZABETH PLANETARIU M SEPTEMBER 1980 and the EDMONTON CENTRE, RAS C 50$ i The Bluenose Genera l Assembly NOW PLAYIN G A spectacular celestial event was witnessed by th e ancien t Sumeria n civilizatio n an d ""VEIA recorded i n thei r mysteriou s cuneifor m writing. Wha t wa s it ? Th e Vela Apparition APPARITION blends archaeolog y wit h astronom y i n a search for th e origins o f civilzation . Sept. 1 • 7 Sept. 20-Oct. 19 8 P M Tuesday thr u Frida y 3 PM and 8 PM Sat , Sun. , and Holidays COMING SOON Starts Friday , October 3' Vol 2 5 No . 1 1 SEPTEMBER 198 0 The Bluenos e Genera l Assembl y TON Y WHYT E .. 6 The R.A.S.C.'s General Assembly was held this year for the first time in Editor conjunction with the Canadian Astronomical Society. Alan Dye r Buck Mountai n - On To Phase 2 TE D CADIE N .. 10 Assistant Editor With all the work that has been done so far, it now time for us to start planning Stewart Krysk o for Phase Two of the Observing Site project. Contributing Editors Leslie Peltie r : 190 0 - 198 0 RO D McCONNEL L .. 18 Ted Cadien This was a person who obviously loved the stars and expressed his feelings in John Haul t a simple but eloquent style. Dave Holmgren Mark Leender s Andrew Low e Rod McConnell The Fron t Pag e President' s Message 2 Anthony Whyte Astronomy Basic s Th e Milky Wa y 4 Type-sotting General Meetin g Notic e 5 Lorna Mllllga n Joey Mi x At Th e Planetariu m 1 7 Graphic Arts Editor's Messag e -. 2 0 Dave Belcher What's U p ? Sge-Vul-De l ... 21 Printod by The City Of EDMONTON Parks an d COVER: Depicte d o n th e cove r o f thi s month' s issu e i s the symbo l of this Recreation year's RASC General Assembly, the Bluenos e II schooner. Tony Whyte fills us In on the activitie s at the 198 0 G.A. starting on page 6. The remainde r of the Issue Is devoted to a progress report on Buck Mountain and a proposal for the next stage o f development. DEADLINE FO R OCT./NOV . ISSUE : Monday . Sept . 8 STAHDUST, th e newsletter of th» Quwn Elizaboth Planetarium »nd theEdmonton Ctntrt, RASC, ia published 6 times a year. It is available free to all members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Edmonton Centre. Single copies are available at the Planetarium for50€. STARDUST is also available by subscription for $3.50 per year ($4.50 after Oct. 1, 1980). Please make all cheques or money orders payable to: The Queen Elizabeth Planetarium. Write to: The Editor, STARDUST, do Queen Elizabeth Planetarium, CN Tower TOthFloor, 10004-104 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta T5JOK1. Unsolicited articles on any aspect of astronomy are welcome. PRESIDENT'S MESSAG E Although w e di d no t hol d Genera l Meeting s durin g Jul y an d August, th e Centr e wa s ver y active . Ther e wer e regula r Counci l meetings, Observer's Corner meetings , weekend work parties , etc. We can feel confident that our goals for the Observing Site out at Buck Mountai n wil l b e met. Ou r plan s call for th e construction o f a the small "warm-up" buildin g during the summer of 1981. Please read the feature article abou t Buc k Mtn . for further details . The Dobsonia n telescop e projec t aros e this past summer. The front Council approve d thi s a s a Centr e project . Thi s wa s done o n th e understanding tha t al l fund s woul d com e from donations an d not from the general revenues of the Centre. The optics for the telescope page have now been ordered and this entire project should be completed and ready for a "first light " party early this coming spring . With th e recen t g o ahea d fo r th e Edmonto n Spac e Sciences Centre, we are currently exploring different ways in which the Centre can hel p th e Foundation . Ther e wil l b e more on this a t upcomin g General Meetings . Regarding the new season of General Meetings, please note that these will not always be held on the second Monday of the month. The availability of the Music Room at the Library wa s much more limite d than i t was last year, and we have had to settle for meetin g dates on days other than the customary "secon d Monda y of the month." This month's meeting , fo r example , is on the thir d Monday, Sept. 15. For dates and details of future meetings, please refer to upcoming issues of Stardust. Ou r monthl y Genera l Meeting s wil l als o be extensively publicized throug h ou r RAS C New s Releases. As yo u ca n well imagine , a lot mor e i s going on in the Centr e these day s tha n presentin g speaker s a t monthl y meeting s an d organizing observin g sessions , etc. Mos t o f the decisions for these other activitie s take place at meetings of the Centre Council. These Council meetings are open to all, and interested members are invited to attend as "observers." The meetings are presently held at my home and the nex t meeting i s scheduled fo r Sunday , Septembe r 7, at 7:00 PM. I f yo u ar e intereste d i n attending , pleas e phone , an d tim e permitting, I will attempt t o mai l out a copy o f the agenda to you. Again, i f there ar e any question s abou t th e Centre' s activities , please cal l me. Ted Cadle n me Planetarium Bookstore Hours: Mon.-Fri.: 8:30 - 4:30; 6:30 - 9:00 Durin g the Planetarium Sat., Sun. , & Holidays : 1:3 0 - 4:30; 6:3 0 - 9:00 * Sept.19hutdow, then Bookstor from s'pte 'wil8'l be open from 8:30 - 4:30, Mon. - Frf. ONLY . Currenprice t Ne w Only 2 left at C 9 0 Tetephot O ........ curren t price $323.9 5 ....... $400.0 0 C 90 Spotting Scope — onl y 3 left $3899 5 ....... $530.0 0 C 90 Telescope ....... 1 only ! . $695.0 0 ....... $7500 0 C 5 Telescope ......... lontyi. $999.9 5 ...... $1160.0 0 C 8 Telescope. 4 left at current pric e $1295.0 0 ...... $1550.0 0 C11 Telescope ................ ------ - ....... $45000 0 C 11 Tube Assembly ............ ------- - ...... $31000 0 C 14 Telescope ................ ...... $96700 0 The current prices on Celestron equipment will remain in effect for all items currently in stock. As soon as this stock is depleted a new shipment will be ordered with the new prices in effect. If you are contemplating purchasing a Celestron telescope, don't wait any longer since the current stoc k will soon b e sold out . Meade Meade has just brought out a beautiful 4" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, complete wit h eyepieces , equatoria l mount , tnpod , an d a ver y sturd y aluminum carrying cas e 4" Schmid t Telescope S77 0 00 o/tronomy bo/ic / the milk y uua y During September , th e "summer " Milk y is no t nearl y s o prominen t a s it s summe r Way through Cassiopeia , Cygnus and Aquila is counterpart. still ver y prominent an d is the highligh t o f the But why i s the Milky Way confined to onl y early autumn sky. The Milky Wa y Galaxy is only the summe r an d winte r skies ? Th e answe r one of billions of galaxies scattered throughout comes fro m a knowledg e o f th e positio n and the universe . Ou r galax y contain s abou t 20 0 orientation o f earth within ou r galaxy. billion star s i n a spiral patter n approximately Recall tha t ou r sola r syste m i s locate d 100,000 light years across. Though most people about two-thirds of the way out from the centre with a passing interest in astronomy knowwhat of th e galaxy , i n one of it s spiral arms. While it the Milky Way is, how many of our readers have might b e natura l t o assum e tha t th e orbita l stopped to consider why the Mi Iky Way appears plane o f ou r sola r syste m is line d u p parallel as it does in our sky ? with the galaxy' s equator, this i s not the case, Just the opposite i s true. The plane of the solar system i s essentiall y perpendicula r t o th e galactic equator , a s th e diagra m o n p. 5 illustrates. As the earth orbits the sun, the night side o f ou r plane t i s turne d towar d variou s sections of the sky. In summer, th e eart h i s turned so that we 30OOO UGHT TEAK S First, let's clear u p some confusion .