from the editor chair’s report - hamilton amateur …€¦ · · 2014-11-03hamilton amateur...

Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon December 2011

A week and a half ago, the HAA’s new Council appointed theCouncillors At Large for the 2011-2012 year, in accordance with theHAA bylaws. Three are returning for new terms, Brenda Frederick,Joe McArdle and Harvey Garden. I am pleased to announce thatthree new Councillors At Large are now on board; please join me ingiving a warm welcome to Keith Mann, Doug Black and David Tym.I must thank outgoing Councillors At Large Andrew Bruce andWayne Stansfield for their exemplary service to the club. I alsothank Jackie Fulton for her previous role as Second Chair of theHAA and for all those years of hard work on the Council.

The HAA Council is open to any member of the HAA to run for everyOctober, and our monthly Council Meetings are open to any mem-ber of the HAA to sit in on as an observer. The HAA prides itself asbeing an open and transparent club. So please feel free to partici-pate! Volunteer for a club activity, or come to a Council Meetingand see what it’s all about. (Continued on page 2)

Chair’s Report by Bob ChristmasFrom The Editor

Volume 19, Number 2December 2011

The dozens of people I spoke to atour annual Telescope Clinic remind-ed me that many of us came intothis hobby with less than idealequipment. Over the years, I’ve lostcount of how many passionate ama-teur astronomers started out with a“trash scope” from a departmentstore. Although we turn our nosesup at these frustrating and poorlyconstructed telescopes, we can’tdeny that they are often the sparkthat ignites a lifelong interest inastronomy.

On Christmas morning, there will behundreds, if not thousands, of newtelescope owners across Ontario. Afew of those folks will perseverewith their new scopes and join alocal astronomy club. I hope thatthey will remember the joy thatfirst scope brought them and helpnewcomers make the most of their“trash scopes”!

Have a happy Winter Solstice!

Ann [email protected]

IN THIS ISSUE:

§November Treasurer’s Report§Through the Looking Glass§Club Asset Sale§Observing the Sun, Part One§Astronomy Crossword§November Meeting Summary§The Sky This Month

§For Sale§Cartoon Corner§Crossword Answers§Upcoming Events§Club Contact Information


Chair’s Report (continued)

Masthead Photo Credits: Image taken at our November 25th Telescope Clinic by Don Pullen. Skies were clearduring this normally indoor event, but a few participants set up their telescopes at the entranceway to the Specta-tor Building for excellent views of Jupiter. Inside, many members of the club had their telescopes, binoculars andimaging equipment set up for display and spent a busy night answering questions and offering advice.

On November 25, the HAA had its Telescope Clinicat the Spectator Auditorium, and it was a huge hit.The scope clinic is put on this time of year largelyto provide prospective buyers of telescopes some“food for thought” as to what to buy, and what notto buy, as Christmas fast approaches. Other peo-ple just want to simply find out how to use theirscopes. At its peak, there were literally dozens ofpeople at the clinic asking the HAA club memberson hand many questions about telescopes, imagingequipment, cameras, binoculars, eyepieces, equip-ment mounts, etc. Club members who participatedincluded myself, Jim Wamsley, Don Pullen, AnnTekatch, Mathew and Janice Mannering, Ed andKevin Salwach, David Tym, Keith Mann, Joe McAr-dle, Harvey Garden, Mary Arnold, among others.Members of the public came from as far away asGuelph, so I’ve heard, to partake in this year’sclinic, and I would like to thank everybody in theclub who came to help out, set up their rigs, andanswer the many questions visitors had. It was avery successful night.

Two weeks before that, our November meeting atthe same venue drew dozens of people, club mem-bers and members of the general public alike, tohear Charles Baetsen talk about his ultra-light, por-table, home-made telescope. Also, HAA ObservingDirector John Gauvreau talked about the sky forthe month of November, and Kevin Salwach gave atalk about what happened on that particular day inhistory.

The next meeting of the HAA, free and open to thepublic as usual, is on December 9, when JohnCrowdis will talk about how astronomy has affectedmany of the world’s religions. I am fascinated byhow astronomical events and discoveries in theancient past have influenced history and religionhere on Earth, and I, among others, look forward tohearing John’s talk.

December is here, and lots of astronomical eventsare happening up there. The sun is getting moreactive, with more sunspots showing up, as it ap-proaches maximum solar activity. Comet Garradd

is still out there, still shining at about 6th magni-tude, but is lower in the western evening sky inHercules. A total lunar eclipse occurs on December10, although we in Hamilton won’t see it very well;the moon will already be setting at our locationjust as the eclipse starts. People out west will geta much better view of it. Also, the Geminids mete-or shower occurs this month, as does, of course,the Winter Solstice. The weather may be turningcolder, but there’s still no shortage of stuff goingon!

Whether you are an active observer, or an armchairastronomer, or both, I hope you continue to enjoyall of the fascinating things that this wonderfulhobby of astronomy has to offer.

Clear Skies!Bob Christmas

(Unaudited)Cash opening Balance (31 Oct 2011) $5837.50Expenses $ 82.13Revenue $1094.00Closing Balance (30 Nov 2011) $6849.37

Notes:1.Report covers period since start of our financial year.2.Major revenue sources included: 50/50 ($49), Memberships ($260), Sale of ATM kits ($130), Calendar Sales (50)($655)3.Major expenses included: Cash Box ($22.59),Speaker Expenses ($59.54)

November Treasurer’s Report by Steve Germann


Through The Looking Glass by Greg Emery

I was unable to submit my November version of Through The Looking Glass. When the deadlinecame up, I was in the Santiago Airport waiting for the next in a long line of flights. On October 22,my wife, Joanna, and I started on our current adventure. I had always wanted to see the southernskies since becoming active in amateur astronomy. My wife has always had a desire to visit EasterIsland (Rapa Nui). The fates seemed to align and we scheduled a trip south. Rapa Nui is a territoryof Chile, so by going to Rapa Nui, we would invariably be going through Chile.

When we booked the flights, the total transit time to get directly to Rapa Nui of 23 hours didn’tseem too bad. After all we had stopovers in Miami and Santiago. Well we were wrong--23 hoursincluding stopovers is brutal. Furthermore, we never appreciated how remote Rapa Nui was. Thegeneral directions to get there are – fly to Santiago, Chile then get on another plane and fly 5 hourswest over the Pacific Ocean.

Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for the island. It was called Easter Island after it was “discovered”on Easter Sunday by Dutch explorers. It is a small, beautiful island that above all else has done onething right—to own a business or land on Rapa Nui you must be a native. The end result, as I saw it,is that there are no McDonalds, Wendy’s, TGIFridays, or the like – how wonderful! The island can becompletely toured and covered by car or bus in one day. The statues or heads are referred to asMoai. The Moai have great religious and spiritual significance for the Rapanui.

Our bed and breakfast was on the west end of town (Hanga Roa). A brief 15-minute walk beforesunset brought us to a park that had several shelters and altars as well as a set of Moai. This parkwas special as the Sun set directly behind the Moai, giving some spectacular pictures.

Above: Sunset at Ahu Tahai October 25, 2011. All photos courtesy of Greg Emery.(Continued on page 4)


Through The Looking Glass (continued)

The Moai are all, but in one instance, set up near the shore looking inward. This is so they canproject their spiritual powers to protect the island.

There are so many places to see there that I will give the highlights. The main quarry for thevolcanic rock used in the construction of the Moai is the National Park Rano Raraku. Here a walkingtour of the slopes show many Moai, both finished and left in an incomplete state.

Right: Joanna with one of theMoai at Rano Raraku

From an astronomical stand-point there is one set of Moaithat are different from all theothers. At Ahu Akivi, a set ofMoai are located inland andface the sea. I was told thatthe Moai face the sunsetat the equinox – but I did nothave a compass with me toconfirm this.

Below you see a picture ofme at Ahu Akivi, doing my bestnot to blend in too much withthe Moai.

The one other special place (andthere were many) was Tongariki.Here there are twelve Moai linedup.

My favourite spot, however wasthe volcano Rano Kau and the cer-emonial village Orongo. Visitorsare able to walk the rim of thevolcano, or at the ceremonial vil-lage located on the west rim, lookover the cliff to the ocean 280meters below.

(Continued on page 5)


Through The Looking Glass (continued)

From Rapa Nui we travelled to Santiago,then flew up to La Serena. From La Serenawe took a bus to Ovalle, then on to Rio Hur-tado were we had reservations at HaciendaLos Andes. This resort is located in the areawere some of the large observatories arelocated. We had one night here prior to hav-ing to start the long trip home. We haddone our homework. The moon was one dayfrom being new, the area in late Octobertypically has clear skies. The clouds packedin in the afternoon – a washout!

The good news is that I did plan, partially,for that contingency. I brought a pair of9x63 binoculars with me, and had some goodpatches of sky in Rapa Nui. The most diffi-cult part for me, other than getting clearskies, was recognizing what I already should

know. I had prepared myself, or I thought I had, for the fact that the constellations would be upsidedown and that I would be completely without my standard markers (Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Polaris). Iknew that I would see Orion doing a cart-wheel, and after a few minutes of scratchingmy head found him. What really threw mewere the skies to my west and southwest.There was a wonderful bright orange starhanging low in thewest. Using my star chart and Orion as ananchor, I found that this was Antares – it is onthe map, so it must be true! But looking atthe stars around it, something didn’t seemright. I checked with my binoculars, and be-ing the bright, knowledgeable astronomerthat I am I moved my field of view slightly tomy right. There should be a globular there(M4), which proved it. After several frustrat-ing tries at figuring this out I gave up andstarted scanning the sky. I wanted to findsomething. There was the one small wispycloud that wouldn’t move. This seemed sofamiliar to me – I had made a similar mistakemy first time to Manitoulin Island with the Scutum star cloud. The cloud that wouldn’t move was theLarge Magellanic Cloud – wow I just found the LMC. Ok, I will admit finding the LMC is only truly an ac-complishment if you are in Canada at the time, but I still found it! I had studied my star charts enoughto know, that if I was looking at the LMC then one of my goal targets was right there for me to see – 47Tuc a beautiful globular. To keep the story short, I knocked off the small list of items that I wanted tosee/find using my binoculars. The highlights of the list are 47 Tuc, Omega Centauri, Eta Carina, CoalSac, Southern Cross, Jewel Box, LMC and SMC. It was wonderful and I will return to the south in the fu-ture. This time I think I will go to the Atacama…stay tuned.

Joanna and I at Tongariki

Me on rim of volcano at Rano Kau


Club Asset Sale

TELESCOPE MIRROR SET FORSALE

17.5” f/4.5 primary mirror and match-ing secondary mirror for sale by theclub. Proceeds of this sale will be usedto assist with the loaner scope programand other club activities.

Asking $750. (Large mirror sets such asthis routinely sell for $900 and more -check out Canada Wide Buy and Sell orAstromart.)

Contact Jim Wamsley at 905-627-4323.

TRIPOD FOR SALE

This sturdy, aluminum telescope tripod was donated to theclub and is being made available for the bargain price of$60. The tripod could be used to support a binocular mountsimilar to the parallelogram mount built by Jim Wamsley.

Contact Jim Wamsley at 905-627-4323.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to support the club’sloaner scope program.


Observing the Sun, Part One by Mike Jefferson

OVERVIEW

The sun, the centre of our solar system, is one ofthe most traditionally neglected objects by ama-teur astronomers (until recent years) and is alsothe most interesting object in the sky - day ornight, bar none. Because it is a daytime object ob-viously, most of us do not regard it as part of thenecessary itinerary of sky objects to be viewedthrough an astronomical instrument. This is sillybecause it is, without any comparison, the mostdynamic and changing body in the entire universe,for us, in an ongoing way. Because it is so dynamic,its occurrences are not seen as 'discoveries' by theIAU (International Astronomical Union). So, are pro-fessional astronomers also complicit, with the ama-teur community, in relegating Sol to secondaryclassification?

The answer to that question is in the negative. Infact, the sun has been getting more astronomical'airtime' in more recent years. With our presence inspace becoming more prevalent, an understandingof the sun and its processes is more important to usnow than ever before in human history. In fact,there are more websites, both amateur and profes-sional, engaged in solar research than ever before.And, many amateurs are beginning to pick up onthe observations of a body that holds immediatepotential for the understanding of its brethren faroff in the universe.

Without getting into the research that professionalastronomers do on the sun, at multi wavelengths,there are more opportunities for the amateur com-munity than ever before. Some of this, indeedmost of it, is a direct 'lift' from what the profes-sional community has been doing for years. Today,equipment and techniques that were previouslyunavailable to the amateur faction are now pro-duced for sale at reasonable prices; or there havebeen amateur versions of the original methods andequipment developed in more recent years.

My own studies of the sun have carried me into 6different realms. I will walk you through those vari-ous categories now. After reading this essay, youcan decide which of them you would like to pursue,should you decide to take up this fascinating activi-ty of following Sol's daily progress.

WHITE LIGHT

So, what are the ways amateurs can track, studyand enjoy the mysteries of our most importantstar? The first that comes to mind, for most of us,is the white light study. This consists of using anastronomical telescope, of whatever nature, fittingit with the appropriate glass, mylar or astrosolarfilm filter and monitoring the march of the brightfaculae, or plage, and the dark sunspots across thesolar disk on its 27 day rotation. Such studies are ofinterest to the American Association of VariableStar Observers, which has carried on these studiesfor decades, in attempts to analyze the sun's vari-ability. Most white light filters can be fitted to andused with a variety of telescopes. However, it isthe user's responsibility to check with his telescopemanufacturer or a knowledgeable amateur or pro-fessional about the advisability of using his tele-scope for white light solar work.

This is the area where we, as experienced astrono-mers, express the most concern. For this is theplace where the inexperienced can get into themost trouble. White light filtration is the most eas-ily had and the most inexpensive way to get intothis activity. And, the possibility for accidents isthe greatest in this aspect of solar study. All whitelight filters can develop pinhole 'leaks' and shouldbe inspected visually before they are attached to atelescope and any solar observation is attempted.Faulty filters can lead to serious eye damage andeven blindness. Damaged filters should be repairedor replaced immediately and before any furtheruse! It is incredible, to this author, that our gov-ernments allow trash telescopes to come into Can-ada, from offshore, equipped with insufficient'eyepiece solar filters' which can overheat, crackand cause serious medical problems for an observ-er. He personally feels that any telescope, soequipped, should be given an immediate trip to thetrash-can, lock, stock and barrel - not just the fil-ter, but the whole affair! Undoubtedly, the entirething is wanting in one way or another. And whywould any serious amateur frustrateherself/himself with such junky nonsense? Betterto save his/her money and get what he/she reallydesires. (How many times have we amateurs reiter-ated this caveat??)



Observing the Sun, Part One


WEBSITESWebsites are another way to monitor Sol's activity.To begin with, they are SAFE - TOTALLY! You can-not blind yourself or do any serious eye damage byfollowing some outer space aspect of the sun on asatellite website. These sites have professional da-ta and can be used for educational, interest andresearch purposes. One of the principal sites forsolar, geophysical and meteorological activity isthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric's GOES (Geo-physical Orbiting Environmental Satellites) website.It has everything from climatology to weather ob-servations and predictions to solar x-ray, protonand electron bursts, planetary K-indices, flares andcoronal mass ejections - a lot more besides. Thereare many other sites for solar work and lots forother areas of astronomical investigation, as well.Googling around the internet will usually net youbig dividends in almost any area of sky researchyou choose. However, as with visual work and radiostudies, it will be your persistence, dedication andcontinuous efforts that will net you results and pos-sibly some discovery. Doing any area of astronomyon a 'once-in-a-while' or a 'when-I-feel-like-it' basismay be aesthetically rewarding but it will not leadto much understanding, discovery or learning aboutthe area you are engaged in. And, there can be noexcuses about cloud cover or cold temperatureswith radio or internet studies because you will bein a warm and inviting environment. Your homeoffice becomes your observatory. Comfort in 'ob-serving' does not get any better than this! You willbe free of cold weather, cloud cover, noxious in-sects and the worries and concerns about expen-sive, automated, internet-controlled observatoriesin remote locations like Atacama, Chile or Arizona.

SHORTWAVEClosely connected with astronomical internet workis that of shortwave and long wave radio studies –especially shortwave (SW). Like all long-distanceradio wave propagation, shortwave depends on theconditions of the earth's ionosphere. And, the ca-pability of that atmospheric component to propa-gate radio transmission depends very strongly onthe events that Sol visits on us at any given time.The radio spectrum consists basically of long wave(LW), amplitude modulation (AM), shortwave(SW), frequency modulation (FM), very high fre-quency (VHF), and ultra high frequency or UHF –going from the lowest to the highest frequencies.Lower frequencies are often best for long-distance

transmission by reflection or bouncing around theworld off the ionosphere. Any radiation that thesun can toss at us to enhance the electrical chargeof the ionosphere will favour the transmission oflonger wavelengths. Shorter waves tend to be in-hibited by solar flares, proton outbursts and coro-nal mass ejections. The amateur astronomer canuse all of this to his/her advantage. Shortwave hasbeen the favoured medium of communications ofradio-communication amateurs (HAMs) around theworld for decades. While not that 'short' by com-parison to aircraft frequencies, marine communica-tions, satellite and other UHF frequencies, it is stilladversely affected by solar outbursts of almost allnatures. SW does suffer from radio blackouts.Therefore, if one is monitoring a shortwave fre-quency (especially WWV out of Fort Collins, Colora-do @ 2.5, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz – the U.S. atomicclock signal) and it disappears or becomes chal-lenged, one knows that there are meteorologicaland probably solar issues at hand, at that moment.(An interesting aside says that Jean {mypartner}has a radio clock which is governed by theWWV atomic time signal. It is interesting, listeningto WWV on shortwave and watching her clockchange with the audible radio signal. When WWVgets slightly behind or ahead, this can be seen onthe clock as a slightly delayed or advanced changein the minute.) Checking the GOES, Solar Cycle 24or Space Weather websites can be used to confirmyour SW radio 'observation'.

LONGWAVEFor nearly 4 years, I ran a long wave (LW) radioapparatus that monitored the sun's x-ray outputand how it influenced the ionosphere. This pro-gramme is run by Stanford University Solar PhysicsDepartment. My principal investigator was a wom-an by the name of Deborah Scherrer. Long wavestudies of the sun have been run by the AmericanAssociation of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) formany years. However, the Stanford programme,now monitored by the Society for Amateur RadioAstronomy (SARA), will build, test and sell you theequipment. With AAVSO, you are on your own. Ifyou are not an electronics 'techie' you are at some-what of a disadvantage. After all, astronomy is notabout building equipment. It is about getting obser-vations and understanding! So the Stanfordprogramme is far more popular than the AAVSOformat. When I joined it, it had 18 stations aroundthe


world. When I left it, there were well over 100, ofwhich 50 were in mainland China!

So, why did I leave it? Several reasons. Emails werenot answered and I think the site has been fullyautomated. Has Deborah retired? I do not know.Also my little red SID (sudden ionosphericdisturbance) receiver quit. I was not about to try tofind someone locally who could fix it and I was notabout to pay SARA for a new one. The whole pro-gramme and data collection probably cost meabout $1,000.00 – although cheap by radio astrono-my standards. Frustrations with the internet, fileserverproblems, electrical disruptions and the U.S.Navy – yes, the navy! - are things of the past, forme. I collected ~20,000,000 discreet observationsof a body that is dynamic, in visible process andastronomically close-at-hand. LW mimics, veryclosely, the GOES satellite results. However, I findthat monitoring the GOES x-ray charts is not onlycollecting data about x-ray observations directly. Itis also totally reliable, maintenance-free for meand I do not have to worry about navy maintenanceshutdowns for 8 hours every Monday! GOES satel-lites only miss data for 1-2 hours occasionally,when they are eclipsed by the earth. LW SID chartstake up about 15 times the computer space ofGOES charts. When one figures in the fact that anyGOES chart displays not 1 but 3 days' worth of data,the Stanford SID charts are taking up 45 times thespace of the GOES charts. So, I can get the sameobservations in a lot less computer space.

How does LW (and SW for that matter) SID detec-tion work? The concept is really quite simple andrather ingenious, at the same time. The LW appa-ratus consists of a circle or square (with roundedcorners) of 14-24 gauge, insulated copper wire of~400-600 ft. in length, fashioned into an antenna(passive coil, perhaps??) of ~1-2 metres in diame-ter. It is attached by a radio-co-axial cable to thesmall, ~24 kHz receiver (In my case, made by Stan-ford University or SARA. You can also make yourown from plans devised by the AAVSO.) which isconnected by an analogue-to-digital converter to adedicated (slave) computer, with the appropriate,dedicated software to collect and store the read-ings.

The entire setup runs for 24 hours/day and 7days/week. Mine ran for nearly 4 years. The LWradio

signal is generated by the U.S. Navy for purposes ofsubmarine communication and navigation andthere are many of these giant stations around theworld for this purpose. I chose one suited to mygeographical location. Like all long-range radio fre-quencies, LW is affected by the state of theionosphere which is affected by the sun's x-ray out-put. The generation of the LW radio signal is totallyout of my control, as it is the property of the U.S.Military. It will have its signals up and running orshut down for maintenance at its pleasure andscheduling, and there is NOTHING the amateur so-lar observer can do about it. He is at the navy'sscheduling, which was the most frustrating aspectof the whole project! Personally, I'm glad to be outof it, for that reason alone. However, for anyonewho can shrug that aspect off, this is a great wayto make charts of solar output, flares, large promi-nences and coronal mass ejections. Your data col-lection will go on continuously and you don't evenhave to be at home. Your antenna can be in yourattic, outside or in your basement. LW is not in thereal estate business of 'location, location'. (To di-gress back to SW temporarily, it operates in a simi-lar way, except that it is very much less specific. Itis far more simple to do. All you need is a good SWreceiver and appropriate antenna(e) to monitor theSW atomic time frequencies on WWV, National In-stitute of Standards and Technology. The upside isthat THESE are scientific signals and they NEVER godown for maintenance. World time is dependent onthem. The downside is that SW only responds tosolar disruption by dropping out or fading. You canmake charts with the appropriate computer soft-ware or recording device. However, it is far moresatisfying to simply monitor it several times a dayand check the GOES charts on the internet for con-firmation. The GOES charts can be downloaded andsaved in Microsoft Word for later perusal, interest,study or research, if you are so inclined.)

Next month: Observing the Sun, Part Two: Spec-troscopy, Hydrogen-alpha and Calcium-K filters.

Observing the Sun, Part One (continued)


Astronomy Crossword by Mario Carr

Across

7. This lunar event on December 10 is best seen in western Canada.9. On December 26 there will be a double shadow transit across this planet.12. Physicist born Christmas Day 164213. December meteor shower14. On December 22 what planet is at its greatest western elongation?15. A Canadian comet for Christmas

Down1. On December 6, the moon is at . . .2. Born December 14, 15463. Moon phase on December 24. The full moon in December is called this type of moon.5. Seasonal event on December 226. In December Comet Garradd is in this constellation.8. On December 20 the waning crescent moon is below this planet in the predawn sky.10. On December 22, the moon is at . . .11. Born December 27, 1571


With the moon full, the weather chilly, and theskies filled with clouds, most astronomers wouldagree that on the evening of November 11, it wasbetter to be inside talking about our hobby thanoutside practicing it. Not surprisingly, then, theSpectator Auditorium was filled with poppy-wear-ing HAA members and guests happy to spend thelast hours of Remembrance Day in the warm com-pany of their fellows.

Promptly at 7:30, Bob Christmas took the podiumfor the first time as Chair of the club to kick offthe first meeting of our new membership year. Bobled with the formal announcement of the availabil-ity of the HAA’s 2012 Celestial Events Calendar(many of which had already been sold, judgingfrom the pre-meeting activity at the sales table).He then reminded the club of the upcoming Tele-scope Clinic, to be held on Friday, November 25that the Spectator Auditorium, and encouraged clubmembers to come out both to share their knowl-edge and expertise, and to ask questions of theirown. On a related note, Bob concluded by men-tioning that the telescope making workshops hadgotten underway the previous Monday, November7.

Our Chair then introduced the evening’s speaker,Charles Baetsen. Following on from his article inthe October edition of the Event Horizon, Charlesgave a detailed account of the history, design, andconstruction of his Ultra-Light Travel Telescope.

Considering the number of in-depth questionsCharles received, and the size and enthusiasm ofthe crowd who spent the intermission examiningCharles’ telescope, it wouldn’t be surprising to seeany number of ‘scopes based on Charles’ designemerging from our member’s workshops in thecoming months.

Following the intermission and the traditionaldrawing of the door prizes and the 50/50, KevinSalwach delivered another great installment of“Today In Astronomy.”

It was then John Gauvreau’s turn to take the stageto present “The Sky for November 2011.” Returningto the role of Observing Director after serving asChair for the past year, John described several up-coming astronomical highlights, provided us withsome great tips on observing the popular (but per-haps under-appreciated) Andromeda Galaxy (M31).John also took a cue from Kevin’s presentation andrelated his story of attending the launch of STS-1(more than thirty years ago!).

We adjourned into the cold night; many, finding itstill unsuitable for stargazing but having not hadtheir fill of astronomy, heading to Crabby Joe’s formore warmth and conversation.

November 2011 Meeting Summary by Keith Mann

22012 HAA Calendars For Sale

We still have a few 2012 calendars remaining.These beautiful calendars make great Christmasgifts!!

Price is $15 each with volume discounts avail-able to members. See Steve Germann([email protected])or Jim Wams-ley ([email protected]) to getyour copies soon.


CassiopeiaLast month we talked about the constellation ofPegasus, but at this time of yearthe well known constellation Cas-siopeia is at its highest in the sky.There is no better time to see thewonders that this constellationholds.

As one of the constellations thatpredate our earliest records, weknow her to be ancient and wellknown. Cassiopeia was Queen ofEthiopia, the mother of Androme-da and the wife of Cepheus, bothprominent constellations at thistime of year. Those three are tiedtogether with last month's Pe-gasus, Perseus and Cetus, to cre-ate one of the grandest and mostsweeping groups of constellations.They are bound together in my-thology and in the sky. More re-cently (if one can refer to the16th century as recent!), the con-stellation played host to Tycho'ssupernova, which shone as brightly

as Venus. Over a year and a half, it changedbrightness and colour, and as Tycho's "stella nova"(new star) helped demonstrate that the skies were

not immutable, but were in facthome to a dynamic and changinghost of stars. Tycho's supernovadidn't just change the way the skylooked, it changed the way welooked at it.

Cassiopeia is easily recognized byits distinctive W shape, althoughat this time of year the W appearsupside down as we face north. Intruth, Cassiopeia is almost directlyoverhead early in the evening,giving us the chance to look at itthrough very little atmosphere. Itsabundance of deep sky objectsshine most brightly in December.It also sits on the opposite side ofthe north celestial pole from theBig Dipper. Beginning observersoften use this info to find Cassio-peia, starting at the Big Dipper,following the pointer stars to Po-laris, the North Star, and thencontinuing (Continued on page 13)

The Sky This Month by John Gauvreau

Sky CalendarDecember 2 - First Quarter Moon

December 6 - Moon only 5 degrees from Jupiter

December 9 - HAA General Meeting

December 10 - Full Moon (Full Cold Moon, Oak Moon, Long Night Moon) Lunar Eclipse

December 14 - Geminid Meteor Shower

December 22 - Winter Solstice

December 22 - Mercury at greatest western elongation (morning sky)

December 23 - Comet Garradd at perihelion (closest to sun)

December 24 - New Moon

December 26 - Moon 7 degrees from Venus (low in west after sunset)

December 27 - Busy night on Jupiter - Europa transit (8:20pm - 10:45pm))

- Europa shadow transit (10:45pm - 1:15am)

- Ganymede shadow transit (8:55 - 10:55pm)

- Io disappears behind Jupiter (10:40pm)

(Image: Cassiopeia on ceiling frescofrom the Villa Farnese in Caprarola,

Italy, painted around 1573)


The Sky This Month (continued)

on to finally arrive atCassiopeia. Since atthis time of year it iseasier to find Cassthan the low-ridingDipper, we can useCass to guide us toother constellations.From the center pointin the W we can fol-low one line downand to the left topoint us at Perseusand the other linedown and to the rightto point us at An-dromeda. In fact, so conveniently placed are theseguides, that they point quite accurately at the Dou-

ble Cluster in Perseusand M31, the An-dromeda Galaxy, re-spectively. (see mapat left)

Cassiopeia is home totwo Messier objectsand both are openclusters. Eventhough Cassiopeia liesin the Milky Way, it isin the direction awayfrom the galacticcenter. When welook at Cassiopeia we

are looking along the plane of the galaxy, but outtowards the edge. As such, (Continued on page 14)


this constellation contains very little nebulosity forthe modest telescope, but many open clusters.M103 is a loose cluster with about 50 stars. It wasadded to the Messier catalogue by his colleague,Pierre Mechain, but was observed and confirmed byMessier. In fact, M103 was the last object in theoriginal Messier catalogue. M104 through M110were added in modern times. M103 is located veryclose to the second star in the W, making it easy tolocate. M103 is also located right next to NGC663,which is smaller but just as bright as M103 and gen-erally considered the nicer of the two. You caneasily observe both, but use a star chart to makesure you know which is which. NGC663 is consid-ered to have predominantly yellow stars. How dothey look to you? Can you see a colour differencebetween the stars of NGC663 and M52? M52 islarger and brighter than M103 and is also easy tolocate. go from the fourth star of the W to thefifth (last) star of the W and keep going in astraight line for the same distance. You're there!M52 is about 4,000 lightyears away but M103 ismore than twice the distance at over 9,000 lyaway. Of the clusters we've mentioned and themany more in Cassiopeia (take your binoculars andjust scan the area; it's so rich and dense with starsand clusters!) NGC457 is the favourite for manyobservers. Although at has traditionally been knowas the Owl Cluster, today's sci-fi savvy astronomersusually refer to it as the E.T. Cluster. It is easy tofind right below the W, bright and a delight to see,with its aesthetic shape and colour and recogniz-able by its two bright stars peering back at the ob-server. To complete the similarity to itsnamesake, the eyes sit atop a column of stars thatresemble a body with wings for the owl, or longarms for E.T. (all the better to phone home with).

Right next to the E.T. cluster is phi Cassiopeiae.This star is so close to the cluster that some havewondered if is is actually a member. Best esti-mates give it a distance of only a couple of thou-sand lightyears though, which is less than half ofthe cluster's distance. This makes it a foregroundobject. Even at that distance though, it still shinesat 4th magnitude, making it a supergiant star, pos-sibly up to 200,000 times the luminosity of the sun.At some point in the future, it will certainly go su-pernova, recalling the great supernova of 1572 thatwas made famous by Tycho. One day in the future,as in the past, Cassiopeia will again shine forthwith an extra star, outshining all others.

Under the StarsCassiopeia is home to many double stars andat a recent observing session at Binbrook, manyHAA members took the time to focus on two ofthem. Eta Cassiopeiae is one of the finestpairs in the sky. At 13 arcseconds separation,it's not challenging to split, but the colours makeit well worth a visit. When observing doublestars their colour can be perceived by peoplestanding right next to each other as quite differ-ent, or appear different in different telescopes.Always judge for yourself. Eta Cassiopeiae'sprimary star is usually described as yellow, butit's companion has been recorded as garnet,almond brown or yellow. I agree with the greatdouble star observer William Henry Smyth, whocalled it purple. Yes, it's subtle, but I wouldhave to say that it looks like a purple star. Justlovely.Iota Cassiopeiae is actually a triple star sys-tem, and maybe the best triple in the sky. It's avery tight group, with a separation of only 7 arc-seconds and 2.5 arcseconds (remember thereare two separation figures because there arethree stars). The colours here are very subjec-

tive and worth commenting on. Smyth says yel-low, lilac and blue, while Sky and Telescopewriter Sue French calls the primary "lemon yel-low". Everyone seems to agree that the prima-ry is yellow, but some (Continued on page 15)


Iota Cassiopeia by F. Ringwald, Fresno State's Cam-pus Observatory, 16" Meade LX200, Toucan camera)



sources say the secondary is blue and somesay also yellow. Finally, the third star, calledblue by Smyth and others, was observed to bea warm colour by those of us at Binbrook. Thebest description I heard was 'pumpkincoloured", indicating a soft, warm orange (al-though Andrew Bruce jokingly said it was moreof a 'butternut squash").In May of this year the Israeli Defence ForcesAir Control Unit scrambled planes and assaulthelicopters after reports of a suspicious forma-tion of lights in the sky by air traffic controllers atHaifa. The pilots returned to report that themysterious grouping of lights was, in fact, theconstellation Cassiopeia. It seemed that Israeliair space was safe, at least from invaders fromspace.December is the beginning of winter and wetend to shy away form cold weather observing.But who among us has not thrilled to the sight of

the winter constellations as they rise in the east-ern December sky. The giant and luminousconstellations of Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Aurigaand Canis Major are finally here, making thosecrisp winter nights all the more spectacular withtheir own natural holiday lights. The brighteststar of the sky is Sirius, or Alpha Canis Majoris.It is at its highest in the sky at midnight on NewYear's Eve. I've been out under the stars tomark the passing of the year before, and aftertalking here in the EH about what we have beenobserving, I will say that I hope to be out thereagain, under the sky, enjoying the passing ofthe earth's end point in its orbit around the sun,and of course, its starting point too. I expect itto be a lovely holiday, and I wish you the same.Let me know of any observations you would liketo share with the club, and hopefully I'll see youout [email protected]

For Sale

1. ETX – 125AT with Red Dot Viewfinder and Compass-#497 Autostar Handbox with coil cord-#505 Connector Set-#884 De Luxe Field Tripod with Carry Bag, Two attachment knobs,Spreader Tray with tension knob, leg extension lock knobs-Complete Instruction Manual-Instructional DVD and Autostar Suite Software for PC-In Addition:Kendrick Dewcap & Kendrick Solar Filter

2. Ten piece eyepiece set in aluminum carry case:-Meade Super Plossl Multi-Coated 6.4mm, 9.7mm, 12.4, 15mm,20mm, 26mm, 32mm, 40mm.-Meade Telenegative Multi-Coated 2x Barlow, Antares 3x Barlow

Prices (NO HST!!!)For Telescope and accessories $400.00For Eyepiece set - $150.00For Telescope & Eyepiece set - $525.00

Contact Keith McColl at 905-648-6830 or [email protected]


For Sale

Coronado 40mm f/10 hydrogen-alpha Personal SolarTelescope (P.S.T.) with original 20mm eyepiece,owner’s manual/instruction brochure and Coronadohard case.

With solar activity on the rise and the upcomingtransit of Venus, this hydrogen alpha solar telescopeis a must-have for every amateur astronomer.

Price: $400.

Contact Ann TekatchEmail: [email protected]: 905-575-5433


Cartoon Corner by Alexandra Tekatch

Answers to Astronomy Crossword on Page 9

How astronomers decoratetheir tree for Christmas


2011-2012 Council

Dec. 5, 12, 19, 2011 - Telescope Making group meets Mondays, 7:00-9:00 in the common roomof Centurion Apartments in Dundas. All members are welcome. Please contact Ann Tekatch([email protected] or 905-575-5433 for info.)Dec. 9, 2011 - General Meeting in the auditorium of the Hamilton Spectator Building, 7:30 p.m.John Crowdis and John Gauvreau will be our speakers.Dec. 10, 2011 - The cosmology discussion group will meet at 7:30 p.m. All members are wel-come. Contact John Gauvreau for details: [email protected].

Chair Bob Christmas

Second Chair Don Pullen

Treasurer Steve Germann

Membership Director Matthew Mannering

Observing Director John Gauvreau

Event Horizon Editor Ann Tekatch

Webmaster Don Pullen

Recorder Mike Jefferson

Secretary Jim Wamsley

Public Education Mario Carr

Councillors at Large Harvey GardenBrenda FrederickJoe McArdleDoug BlackDavid TymKeith Mann

Observing site for the HAA provided with the generoussupport of the

Binbrook Conservation AreaCome observing with the HAA and see what a great

location this is for stargazing, a family day or an out-door function.

Please consider purchasing a season’s pass for $79 tohelp support the park.

http://www.npca.ca/conservation-areas/binbrook/905-692-3228

Domain and webhosting for theHamilton Amateur Astronomers

generously supplied byLimelyte Technology Group, Inc

Business hosting, email and network [email protected]

Contact UsHamilton Amateur Astronomers

PO Box 65578Dundas, ON

L9H 6Y6www.amateurastronomy.org

General Inquiries: secretary @amateurastronomy.org

Membership:[email protected]

Meeting Inquiries:[email protected]

Public Events:[email protected]

Observing Inquiries:[email protected]

Newsletter:[email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS

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