Volume XCVI, Number 12 Pasadena, California January, friday the 13th, 1995 • Deep S ace: Keck Observatory S s I <1& M e Gala 1 save e e I from Jay Aller • Today, January 13, is an ASCIT Special Election Day. Please Caltech astronomers have vote at one of the ballot boxes located in each house. In­ counted galaxies to a limit ofabout structions should be by each box. the ballot are three 24th magnitude, the faintest ever items: a proposed bylaw amendment, and ASCIT Opinion counted in infrared light. Observ­ Poll on the Uber proposal, and a Caltech 'Y' Referendum. ing five small patches ofsky with the The proposed amendment is listed and discussed in this is­ 10-meter telescope at the W M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, the sci­ sue of The California Tech on page 2. Voting ends at 10 P.M. tonight, so don't forget. entists found that the numbers of Also, note that nominations for ASCIT President and for galaxies continued to rise with in­ ASCIT Vice-PresidenVBOC Chairman are now open and shall creasing faintness, a result that agrees well with models in which the uni­ remain open until 5 P.M. on Tuesday, January 17. Each nomi­ nee should submit a note with his name, mailbox, phone num­ verse is "open" and will continue to ber, e-mail address, class, and office sought to ASCIT Elec­ expand forever. tion Chairman, Cedric Hobbs, at mailbox #260 or at These observations will be pre­ cedricit@ugcs. Nominees are encouraged to submit state­ sented by a consortium of Caltech ments to the Tech. The deadline for these statements is 5 astronomers on January 10, 1995, to the American Astronomical Society P.M. on Wednesday, January 18. All nominees must be cur­ rent ASCIT members. Elections for these offices will be held (AAS) meeting in Tucson, Arizona. on Monday, 1995. Any questions should be ad­ Early results appeared in the Janu­ dressed to Cedric Hobbs at the above addresses or at 568­ ary 1, 1995, issue of Astrophysical 0001. Journal Letters, and these and addi­ tional results were presented at the AAS meeting. Working on several nights spread from late April to October of • The centrtllportion 0/the deep field 0050+ 12, observed at the Keck telescope in October. s • last year, the astronomers made their This is probably the deepest infrared image o/the sky ever obtained. Almost all detected observations in the K-band, a range objects are distant galaxies, with estimated distances 0/up to several billion light years away ofwavelengths in the infrared, cen­ tered near 2.2 microns, or 2,200 na­ author of the study and an associate how dense is it, how fast is it expand­ nometers. Astronomers count gal­ professor of astronomy at Caltech. ing, and will it ultimately expand for­ by ThomasJ. Maa:arone by Ricky Carson axies in near-infrared wavelengths to Most current observations point to­ ever, or collapse upon itself? And sec­ minimize both the effects of dim­ ward an open universe, though some ond, do galaxies evolve, and ifso, in The proposal described below was Today, you will be asked to vote ming caused by dust, and the effects scientists still maintain that the uni­ what ways and how fast do they do supported bya majority (4-3-2) ofthe on a straw poll ofthe Uber proposal oflarge variations in brightness due verse has a higher density, and is ex­ so? ASCIT-IHC Committee on Student to determine whether it has popular to star formation, two problems that actly balanced at the point between The galaxy counts to be pre­ Government that met over the sum­ support. Although this proposal was are common to galaxy counts in vis­ being open and closed. sented are about five times deeper mer to examine our systems of gov­ designed to alleviate some problems ible light. Counting galaxies as a function than the deepest published K-band ernment at Caltech. Itdidnot get2/3 in the presentgovernment, there are "These preliminary results are oftheir brightness is a classic cosmo­ images to date, meaning that it re­ support and is therefore not an official concerns that it may create problems consistent with cosmological mod­ logical test developed in the 1920s by corded objects five times fainter than committee recommendation. of its own, and it is my belief that els that include a low-density, open astronomer Edwin Hubble. These the best earlier studies. The num­ There is a question on today's AS­ these should be addressed as well. universe, and little galactic evolution counts shed light on two important bers of galaxies seen imply a cumu­ CIT election ballot to determine stu­ First ofall, the Uber, being the over the past several billion years," questions. First, what is the "global" lative density over the entire "surface" dent opinion on the Uber Council triumvirate of the student govern­ explained S. George Djorgovski, co- geometry of the universe? That is, SEE KECK, PAGE II proposal for a newstudentgovernment. ment, has the authority to delegate This proposal was designed to alleviate duties to the three "branches" ofthe the problems ofthe currentsystem ofgov­ student government, rule on general It c ernment. It aims to solve problems of policy issues, and act as the liaison overburdening ofofficers, jurisdiction of between the undergraduate commu­ s the various student government organi­ nity and faculty, administration, and zations, and disputes between boards by other outside groups. Several con­ creating a new board to oversee the inter­ cerns were raised in the Committee in actions between the ASCIT BOD, the on Student Government (COSG) by Christopher Hunter Board of Control, and the IHC. This about the amount of responsibility council would be composedofthe chair­ resting on just three people. For in­ Note: Due to a delay in the ASCITbal­ men of these three organizations. The stance, should the Board ofControl lot, this article is being reprintedfrom proposal would also give separate juris­ be given legislative and executive last term in order to remind the voters dictions to the three boards, while being power, in addition to keeping edu­ ofwhy the Y is askingfor the increase. the overseeing board. While theASCIT cational and judicial supervision of All information is still current. The BOD is now in a sense the chief board the Honor System? Could the Uber ballot will be out today (Friday) dur­ among the three, the Uber Council add apolitical dimension to the ing normal ASCITvoting hours. would become the chiefbodyunder the BOC that should not be present? Decompression, the Y Hike, new proposal with the other three being Also, just because there are the Stranded Students Party, on equal footing under the Uber Coun­ fewer people making the "big deci­ Broomball, discount movie tickets, cil. Additionally, the chairs ofthe IHC sions" does not mean that there will International Day, Co-sponsorships, and the BOC would no longer be AS­ be less disagreement. The amount of discount outdoor gear rentals, and CITBOD members. All three chairmen disagreement depends (in part or more. The Caltech Y offers dozens would be allowed in closed meetings mostly) on the personality and cali­ ofservices to the students ofCaltech. of the IHC and the BOD, but there ber ofeach ofthese elected officials, We serve as a programming board would be no changes in the integrity and the Uber does not guarantee which distributes money to various or privacy ofBOC hearings. peaceful disagreement and compro­ groups on campus. Unfortunately, The Committee on Student Gov­ mise. In case ofa disagreement, the in the past few years, our income has ernment investigated alternatives to the consequences may be worse than failed to keep up with the rising costs current system ofgovernment over the disagreements arising in the BOD. of our programs, and if something summer and has seriously considered In the BOD there are nine people is not done soon, we will be forced the Uber Council proposal as an im­ and a majority vote is sufficient to to cut back. provement. It aims to solve all the major pass resolutions. Should it be the The Y is a non-profit corpora­ prc)ble:ms exposed during lasr year's series same with the Uber? Should two tion which operates independent of ofcontroversial events. TheUberCouncil be sufficient to make deci- Caltech. Currently, the Y receives $5 will issues to the sions on the issues coming per undergrad student per term, ap- SEE FOR, PAGE 3 SEE AGAINST, PAGE 3 SEE Y?, PAGE 3 2 Janua 13, 1995 The California Tech Editor's tt rs re orner I take issue with your contest, and thus not fit to use as the basis of your answer is probably the most cor­ PS. At least I didn't print anything Wei-Hwa. What is a grammatical a puzzle unless you specify them for rect, but let me check... oh, shucks! I really controversial, like ending sen­ From your Sleepy Tech guess I didn't say last week that the per­ mistake? Well, says you, a bunch of the benefit of your readers before­ tences with prepositions or that quota­ Editor words that flouts some law ofEnglish hand. son with the most correct answers was tion marklcomma order. .. construction. Where are these laws? Zackary Dov Berger the winner, did I? Gee, I guess you pps. I'm printing this exchange in How come it seems we Grammar, you see, is much like the made an unwarranted assumption... "Letters to the Editor." I think our never have the right amount of British Constitution: codified no­ -Wei-Hwa readers will enjoy it.