the newsletter of the QUEEN ELIZABET H PLANETARIUM SUMMER 198 0 and the EDMONTON CENTRE, RAS C 50$ y SPECIAL TELESCOP E ISSU E NOW PLAYIN G AT QUEEN PlANETARiUM A spectacular celestial event was witnessed by th e ancien t Sumeria n civilizatio n an d ""VELA 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 the origins o f civilzation. 3 P M and 8 P M Daily one The night sk y i s a fascinating -realm. Stars, nebulae, an d galaxie s ar e scattere d SUMMER'S throughout infinity . Join us for a tour of the sights o f th e summertim e sky . Rela x and NIGHT enjoy an evening at the Planetarium durin g One Summer's Night. 9PM Dail y A special show for special people age 3 to 7. A Fantasy O f Stars chronicle s th e FANTASY adventures o f Harol d th e Her o a s h e ventures int o th e nigh t sk y t o mee t th e constellations. A reduced admission of only o, STARS 50C for everyon e applies to thi s 3 5 minute live presentation. For more •information , „ , please phone th re Planetariu•• , , 1:3m at 0 P M Wed . and Sun . 455-0119 Vol. 2 5 No . 1 0 StOPCll SUMMER 198 0 Have Telescopes , Will Travel JOH N DOBSO N 1 0 People came from all over the city by bus, by car, by bicycle, and by foot to look through the telescope. Portable Astronom y DAV E BEAL E 1 8 Editor You cannot simply trust your telescope to track your camera across the sky by Alan Dye r itself. Assistant Editor Stewart Krysk o Riverside Roundu p A Pictoria l 2 2 800 people from across North America converged o n Camp Oakes fo r a Contributing Editors weekend of astronomy. Ted Cadien John Haul t Dave Holmgren Mark Leender s The Fron t Pag e Editor' s Message 2 Andrew Low e Rod McConnel l Astronomy Basic s Th e Perfect Telescop e 4 Anthony Whyte Discoveries 6 Typesetting Hardware Ne w Products 8 Lorna Mllllga n Joey Mi x At Th e Planetariu m W e Have Liftoff!..,. 2 4 Graphic Arts RASC New s 2 6 Dave Belche r Look Bac k Tim e 5 0 & 100 Years Ago.... 2 8 Printed by What's U p Cygnus. 2 9 The City Of EDMONTON Parks an d COVER: Thi s month's cover photo is indicative of the theme of this issue — Recreation trends i n amateu r telescopes . I n a phot o take n a t th e recen t Riverside Telescope Maker s Conference, we se e the representative from the Questa r Corporation examinin g the ne w Dobsonia n reflector from Coulte r Optical . STARDUST, the newsletter of the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium and the Edmonton Centre, RASC, is published 10 times a year. It is available free to alt members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Edmonton Centre. Single copies are available at the Planetarium for 50C, 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 10(h Floor, 10004- 104 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta T5JOK1. Unsolicited articles on any aspect of astronomy are welcome. A Special Issu e on Telescopes I hope you have enjoyed the past few issues of Stardust i n its new magazine styl e of layout . T o all those who have contributed, I owe many thanks. Keep those articles coming in! Items of any length, from short news notes and observing reports, to feature length articles are welcome. I f you hav e an ide a fo r a n article an d nee d some help in filling i t out, pleas e give me a call. I would also like to receive more in the way of photos, especially astro-photography from our readers. All the I ask is that everyone who would lik e to contribute shoul d adhere to the deadlines stated in each issue. These are firm deadlines; with the present styl e o f layou t an d printin g schedule , i t i s very difficult t o front accommodate lat e arriving material . This issu e is devoted almost entirely to one central theme — the amateur telescope. We have not bothered with covering the basics of pogc how telescopes work. I assume most of our readers are familiar with such matters. What we have endeavoured to do is present a picture of the "state-of-the-art" (an d business) of modern amateur telescopes. With items on new products, telescope manufacturing, telescope usage, the Riversid e conference, an d John Dobson' s super b article detailing hi s group's acheivements , I think yo u will be able to glean a few of the current trends in amateur astronomy . This fal l th e Quee n Elizabet h Planetariu m celebrate s it s 20t h anniversary. T o mark this auspicious occasion, the September issue will again be devoted t o a central theme— the Planetarium. We'l l take you behin d th e scene s o f sho w production , revie w th e variet y o f services the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium offers , and take a nostalgic look bac k ove r th e pas t tw o decade s of Q.E.P . history. For exciting news about Edmonton' s new Planetariu m an d Spac e Scienc e Centre, turn to page 24. If you hav e any old photos or press clippings pertain ing to Q.E.P. history that I might be able to use in the September issue, please give me a call as soon a s possible. Thank yo u an d good readin g ! — Alan Dyer the Planetarium Bookstore Hours: Mon.-Fri.: 8:30 - 4:30; 6:30 - 9:00 Sat., Sun. , & H o idays: 1:3 0 - 4:30; 6:30 - 9:00 CurrenPr|ce t Ne w C 90 Tetephoto ................. $323.9 5 ....... $400.0 0 C 90 Spotting Scope ............ $389.9 5 ....... $530.0 0 C 90 Telescope ................ $695,0 0 ....... $750.0 0 C 5 Telescope .................. $999.9 5 ...... $1160.0 0 C 8 Telescope .................. $1295.0 0 ...... $1550.0 0 C 1 1 Telescope ................ ------- - ...... $450 0 00 C 1 1 Tube Assembly ............ ------- - ...... $310 0 00 C 1 4 Telescope ................ $8800.0 0 ...... $9670.0 0 The current prices on Ceiestron equipment will remain in effectfor 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 Ceiestro n telescope, don' t wait any longer since the current stoc k will soon be sold out . Meade Meade has just brought ou* a beautiful 4" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, complete wit h eyepieces, equatoria l mount , tripod , an d a ver y sturd y aluminum carrying case. 4" Schmid t Telescope $770.0 0 o/Uonomy bo/k / the perfec t tele/cop e There i s a commo n fait h amongs t thos e owners o f short-focu s rich-fiel d scope s mus t who ar e contemplatin g th e purchas e o f a resort to Barlow lenses or eye-straining 6mm or telescope that there exists a mythical beas t -the 4mm eyepieces to d o planetary work . perfect telescope. Thi s woul d be a piec e of But fo r al l this , mos t peopl e purchasin g equipment s o well designed and manufactured their first telescope lean toward what is usually that it could be used to observe andphotograph considered t o b e a genera l purpos e f/ratio , everything i n the sky, and do i t well. something i n the order o f f/6 t o f/11. Thi s i s a Unfortunately, thi s drear n telescope does wise move, and will give the owner a telescope not exist. Let' s see why. capable o f revealin g the bes t of bot h celestial worlds, deep-sk y an d planetary . Bu t i t i s still No Genera l Purpose Objects not perfect. Ther e will always be objects at the As Davi d Lev y remarke d i n a n article i n a extreme ranges of size and brightness that will recent RASC National Newsletter, "Why (don' t not b e well observed, or no t observabl e at all . I own ) jus t on e o r tw o genera l purpos e Never fear; this is the least of your worries. instruments? Becaus e the sky ha s no general purpose objects. " Capturing I t All On Fil m This i s the start of the problem . Conside r The tas k o f findin g eve n a near-perfec t the rang e i n brightnes s o f celestia l objects , telescope i s mad e muc h mor e difficul t whe n from th e blindin g ligh t o f the sun to th e faint you wan t t o ad d photograph y t o you r glow o f distant galaxy clusters.