The Journal of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada PROMOTING ASTRONOMY IN CANADA December/décembre 2018 Volume/volume 112 Le Journal de la Société royale d’astronomie du Canada Number/numéro 6 [793] Inside this issue: WWI and the RASC Astronomical Art Images from the past The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, then and now. Photo: Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall © Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada represented by the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (2017) / © Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada représentée par le Bureau du secrétaire du gouverneur général (2017) December / décembre 2018 | Vol. 112, No. 6 | Whole Number 793 contents / table des matières Feature Articles / Articles de fond 262 Skyward: When Meteors Graze the Sky by David Levy 236 Out of This World: Art inspired by all things Astronomical 265 Dish on the Cosmos: Novae Then and Now by R.A. Rosenfeld by Erik Rosolowsky 243 Some thoughts about WWI and the RASC 268 Binary Universe: To Follow the Stars by Peter Broughton by Blake Nancarrow 246 In Photos: Celebrating the early years of the RASC Departments / Départements by R.A. Rosenfeld 230 President’s Corner 250 Pen and Pixel: Mars / Occultation of Saturn / by Dr. Chris Gainor Jupiter / Venus 231 News Notes / En manchettes by R.A. Rosenfeld / Allan Miller / Andrew Elvins / Compiled by Jay Anderson Andrew Elvins 255 Create a Logo for CASTOR and Win! Columns / Rubriques 267 Astrocryptic and October Answers by Curt Nason 252 Observing Tips—Lucky Observing (a small-scope observer conquers the RASC 267 It’s Not All Sirius Deep-Sky Challenge) by Ted Dunphy by Chris Beckett 270 Index to Volume 112 254 Imager’s Corner: More on Masks Compiled by Nicole Mortillaro by Blair MacDonald iv Great Images 256 John Percy’s Universe: Further by Eva Brook Refl ections on RASC 150 by John R. Percy 259 CFHT Chronicles: Large Surveys at CFHT by Mary Beth Laychak Top: see page 246 for caption. Bottom: celebrants at the Calgary General Assembly, 2018. December / décembre 2018 JRASC | Promoting Astronomy in Canada 229 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 by Chris Gainor, Ph.D., Victoria Centre sciences. It contains articles on Canadian astronomers and current activities of the RASC and its Centres, research and review papers by professional and amateur astronomers, ([email protected]) 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, RASC’s 150th anniversary celebrations and professional astronomers with institutional affi liations are asked to pay publication are coming to an end after a year of charges of $100 per page. Such charges are waived for RASC members who do not have access to professional funds as well as for solicited articles. Manuscripts and other memorable events. submitted material may be in English or French, and should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief. Many highlights come to mind for me. First of all, our Society Editor-in-Chief David Levy (Skyward) Nicole Mortillaro Blair MacDonald (Imager’s Corner) obtained recognition in the form of special stamps issued in Email: [email protected] Blake Nancarrow (Binary Universe) June by Canada Post and a commemorative coin created by the Web site: www.rasc.ca Curt Nason (Astrocryptic) Telephone: 416-924-7973 John R. Percy (John Percy’s Universe) Royal Canadian Mint that includes a piece of a meteorite. Fax: 416-924-2911 Randall Rosenfeld (Art & Artifact) Eric Rosolowsky (Dish on the Cosmos) Associate Editor, Research As a long-time stamp collector, I was thrilled to help unveil Leslie J. Sage (Second Light) Douglas Hube the stamps at the Calgary General Assembly along with my David Turner (Reviews) Email: [email protected] predecessor Colin Haig, our great astroimager Alan Dyer, and Proofreaders Associate Editor, General David K. Foot, an RASC member who was also on Canada Michael Attas Michael Attas Email: [email protected] Ossama El Badawy Post’s Stamp Advisory Committee. e anniversary coin sold Margaret Brons Assistant Editors Angelika Hackett out within hours of going on sale, but I was lucky to nd one Michael Allen Michelle Johns in a local post o ce for my own collection. Martin Beech Barry Jowett Dave Chapman Kim Leitch Much of the credit for this recognition goes to our Executive Ralph Chou Alida MacLeod Ralph Croning Director, Randy Attwood, who persuaded both the Mint and Dave Garner Design/Production Patrick Kelly Michael Gatto, Grant Tomchuk Canada Post to include our sesquicentennial in their 2018 Email: [email protected], programs. Production Manager [email protected] James Edgar Email: [email protected] Advertising We had two national star parties this year the rst one in Julia Neeser Email: [email protected] January carried live in a nationwide webcast. Members across Contributing Editors Jay Anderson (News Notes) Printing Canada, including myself, have contributed astrophotos, David M.F. Chapman (Observing Tips) Cansel sketches, and other artwork to our Imagining the Skies website. Ted Dunphy (It’s Not All Sirius) www.cansel.ca Mary Beth Laychak (CFHT Chronicles) Our RASC 150 logo has been popular and so has our RASC Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.Q., C.D., Mosaic, which is available for download. Governor General of Canada, is the Viceregal Patron of the RASC. The Journal of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is published at an annual My colleagues on the RASC History Committee have been subscription rate of $93.45 (including tax) by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. busy. Committee chair Randall Rosenfeld and Board Member Membership, which includes the publications (for personal use), is open to anyone Heather Laird have created a great set of podcasts on our interested in astronomy. Applications for subscriptions to the Journal or membership in the RASC and information on how to acquire back issues of the Journal can be obtained from: shared history in the RASC. Much of our GA was taken up with an excellent set of papers in a seminar called “A Shared The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Sky: e RASC 1868–2018”. ose papers will be published 203 – 4920 Dundas St W Toronto ON M9A 1B7, Canada in the near future. Email: nationaloffi [email protected] For me, this year was very special, not only because I became Web site: www.rasc.ca President of the RASC. Like many other people, I enjoyed the Telephone: 416-924-7973 Fax: 416-924-2911 great hospitality and terri c speakers at the Calgary GA. e opening ceremony involving local First Nations’ speakers and Canadian Publications Mail Registration No. 09818 Canada Post: Send address changes to 203 – 4920 Dundas St W, Toronto ON M9A 1B7 dancers was especially memorable. Canada Post Publication Agreement No. 40069313 We acknowledge the fi nancial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. © 2018 The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. All rights reserved. ISSN 0035-872X Cert no. SW-COC-005174 230 JRASC | Promoting Astronomy in Canada December / décembre 2018 I’ve been able to visit a number of Centres, including the late and got my rst ever photos of the Aurora Borealis, which Toronto Centre where our Society began in 1868. can be found on the Imagining the Skies website. I rarely get to see the Northern Lights at home on the West Coast, but A special highlight for me was enjoying the magni cent this display took me back to the time many years ago when beauty of Yukon when I spoke at the Northern Nights Dark I rst joined the RASC as an adolescent at the Edmonton Sky Festival at Kluane National Park in September. Kluane’s Centre, and where I quickly became an enthusiastic auroral incredible mountain scenery was even better than usual with observer. fall colours. I hope all of you have great memories like these of the RASC’s Around midnight, the skies lit up with a great display of 150 th anniversary, but most importantly I hope we all enjoy ✶ Northern Lights that was visible all over the north. I stayed up clear skies and impressive sights in the years to come. News Notes / En Manchette heliosphere, it will become the second human-made object, after Voyager 1, to enter interstellar space. Compiled by Jay Anderson e outer reaches of the heliosphere is a turbulent region with Voyager 2 leaving home a complex structure that is formed by the variable nature of the solar wind, the spiralling solar magnetic eld, and the gradual NASA’s Voyager 2 probe, currently in the outer reaches of the impact of the interstellar medium. In the inner parts of the Solar System, has detected an increase in cosmic rays that Solar System, the solar wind ows at supersonic speeds, but in originate outside our Solar System. Launched in 1977, Voyager the outer reaches, it must slow down to meet the interstellar 2 is a now a little less than 17.7 billion kilometres from Earth, environment. A “termination shock” forms where the solar more than 118 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. wind becomes subsonic; beyond that point, the environment has been described as “foamy,” consisting of 160-million-km- Since launch, the probe has been travelling within the wide bubbles of twisted magnetic elds and associated ionized heliosphere—the vast bubble around the Sun and the planets, particles.