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The
StarSeeker
Newsletter of the R.A.S.C. Calgary Centre, Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
November 2014
Inside the
StarSeeker:
 Editor’s Message, p.2
 President’s Message, p. 2
 Astro-Imaging Round-Up, p. 3
 RAO Open House, p. 3
 RASC Calgary Centre Contact, p. 4
 Observing Groups Report, p. 5
 Discover the Universe, p. 5
 Solar Eclipse Photos, p. 6-7
 Telescopes for Rent Program, p. 8
 Welcome New Members, p. 8
 Calendar, p. 9
IMAGE CREDIT: Larry McNish,
Calgary Centre of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada.
The Moon at Totality during the
Lunar Eclipse of October 8, 2014.
Also, the distant planet Uranus
(the little blue dot below, left) which
was positioned opposite the Sun
near the same spot as the eclipse
(a very rare occurrence).
Image taken at the Rothney
Astrophysical Observatory at
05:06am MDT using a Celestron
NexStar 8 inch telescope, an f/6.3
focal reducer, and a Canon 60D
DSLR at prime focus. It took 8
seconds at ISO 3200 to capture
this (unenhanced) image through a
stubborn cloudy sky (which is why
very few stars are apparent).
Volume LV Number X
Editor’s Message
President’s Message
By Carole Benoit
By Jason Nishiyama
Welcome to the November edition of the StarSeeker.
This month we are looking forward to elect a new council.
If you are interested in volunteering for a position, the
event will be held at the November 20 General Meeting,
at the Kerby Centre.
November is also the time to start thinking about the
Annual Awards Night. If you would like to participate
in the Astro-Imaging Round-Up, Jack Milliken will be
accepting your submissions. Find out more on page 3.
Some of our members were very busy during last month’s
solar eclipse and would like to share with you their
photos. The solar eclipse was captured by using different
techniques. I hope that you will enjoy their great work.
See page 6 and 7.
You will find the latest Observing Groups Report from
Jack Milliken on page 5.
The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory is having their
Open House on Saturday, November 15, from 8-11 p.m..
The topic is “Dark Night Star Light”. This is a whole
family night event.
For up-to-date information and upcoming events, visit
the calendar of activities in this newsletter (P. 9) and/or
on our web site for more details. (http://calgary.rasc.
ca/calendar.htm).
To find out about last minute astronomy evenings or
activities visit the rasccalgary Yahoo discussion group:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/rasccalgary/
Until next month!
As I write this we have just finished our annual Fish
Creek star event which was highly attended with about
400 members of the public being there to listen to talks
and look through telescopes. Coupled with a relatively
warm and clear evening it was a great outreach event.
Helping out at public events is a great way to share and
learn astronomy. You don’t need a lot of knowledge
or experience to show the public the night sky and you
can learn more about the night sky from your fellow
astronomers! If you are interested in helping out at a
public event, check out the upcoming events calendar on
our website for opportunities to volunteer.
Speaking of volunteering, our Annual General Meeting
is coming up in November. As part of this we are looking
for members to provide small 5-10 minute mini-talks on
whatever astronomical topic strikes your fancy. If you’re
interested in giving a talk, contact Steve Donaldson.
Also with our AGM are our annual elections. Serving on
council is a great way to help out and only requires an
additional night a month in terms of a time commitment.
If you’re interested in running for council, feel free to
contact me.
Finally as a reminder for our November meeting we
return to the Kerby Centre.
So until next month, clear skies!
Thanks To All Who Contributed Articles This Month
––––––––––––––––––
Don’t Forget, We Would Like To Hear From You!
All RASC members are invited to submit your ideas, new equipment reviews, current projects, photos,
etc. Let us know what you would like to read in the newsletter. Would you like to start a column? Please
send your submissions to Carole at:
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R.A.S.C. CALGARY – STARSEEKER
Annual RASC Calgary Centre
Astro-Imaging Round Up
Deadline: January 17, 2015
By Jack Milliken
Many of you have been working away through the spring
and summer, including a few star parties, and this fall has
had pretty good weather so we hope you will submit a few
of your best efforts for all of us to enjoy at the banquet.
It’s best if the images are given to me electronically via
email:
or copied onto my computer at a NOVA or OG meeting.
Sketches should be scanned using full depth colour settings
to retain as much of any subtle shading as possible. If
video files are too big for email then just burn a CD and
get them to me at WCO or general meetings.
Tycho – Terraced Walls & Floor
by Harry Roberts
Our annual awards banquet will be held in late January
next year and once again we would like to invite members
to submit their astronomy related images taken over the
last year or so. We display all the images during the
cocktail hour and everyone enjoys seeing them. Plaques
are awarded to entries deemed to be the best in each of
the following categories:
1. Sketch–a drawing made at the eyepiece
2. Tripod–an image taken just using a camera, no
telescope or mount involved
3. Piggyback–an image taken with a camera mounted on
some form of tracking platform
The Rothney
Astronomical Observatory
Open House
“Dark Night Star Light”
Saturday, November 15
8 to 11 P.M.
Preserving the wilderness of the night sky is an important
mission of astronomers. This is the easiest form of
pollution to mitigate, yet light abatement is the one of
the most misunderstood. Join us to learn more about the
dark night sky and what can be viewed with the benefit of
properly designed lighting.
5. Eyepiece Projection–an image taken through an
eyepiece in a telescope
In the sky–The eternal chase continues with Taurus
fleeing from Orion the hunter in the eastern sky, letting
us know that winter is on its way. The open house event
will also feature access to an array of telescopes operated
by University of Calgary astronomers and members of
the Royal Astronomical Society. Attendees will have
the opportunity to look through the telescopes and
Astronomers will be on hand to answer questions.
6. Light Pollution–images showing examples of good or
bad lighting practices
ENTRANCE FEE: $20 per car or $10 per person*
*all proceeds go towards our educational programming.
7. Video–time lapses or pure video showing some
astronomy related action
No need to pre-register
4. Prime Focus–an image taken using a telescope as a
lens for the camera
8. Open–this category was created for more experienced
imagers who no longer participate in the other categories
in order to encourage new people to contribute images
There is also an award for Best Overall selected from the
entries. This image is also known as the ‘Wall Hanger’,
an image that the judges would like to see hanging on
their wall.
Sky viewing is out of doors, so please dress for the
weather. You are welcome to bring a flashlight (red or
dim is preferred).
If the sky is cloudy then we will not be able to operate the
telescopes. If very poor weather conditions persist then
the observing event is canceled. Watch this website for
sky conditions and updates.
WWW.CALGARY.RASC.CA
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R.A.S.C. Calgary Centre Executive, Councillors & Other Contacts
Executive
President .............................................................. Jason Nishiyama ...................................
Past President ...................................................... Andrew Jones .......................................
First Vice President .............................................. Steve Donaldson ...................................
Second Vice President......................................... Victor Barbu ..........................................
Secretary .............................................................. Robyn Foret...........................................
Treasurer .............................................................. Greg Bridger .........................................
Councillors
Councillor ............................................................. George Cavanaugh ..............................
Councillor ............................................................. Logan Kameda ......................................
Councillor ............................................................. Heather Laird.........................................
Councillor ............................................................. Luke MacMillan .....................................
Councillor ............................................................. Larry McNish
Councillor ............................................................. Katherine Peterson ................................
Councillor ............................................................. Ed Reddy...............................................
Councillor ............................................................. Doug Thorp ..........................................
Directors & Other Contacts
Alberta Star Party ................................................. Nic David ...............................................
Donations Coordinator ........................................ Luc MacMillan .......................................
ERO Site Director ................................................. David Brown ..........................................
Financial Scrutineer ............................................. Nic David ...............................................
Financial Scrutineer ............................................. George Grant ........................................
Librarian ............................................................... Carole Benoit ........................................
National Advisory Council ................................... Heather Laird.........................................
National Advisory Council ................................... Roger Nelson ........................................
NOVA /Observer Group Chairman ...................... Jack Milliken ..........................................
StarSeeker Newsletter Editor ............................... Carole Benoit -– 403.201.0357 .............
TS Volunteer Coordinator.................................. Robyn Foret...........................................
WCO Site Director/C-14 Bookings ...................... Jason Nishiyama -– 403.289.3903 ........
Webmaster ........................................................... Larry McNish .........................................
Youth Group Director ........................................... Doug Thorp ...........................................
RASC Memberships/Address Change/National Office .......................................................
.............................................................................. 1.888.924.7272
ERO: Eccles Ranch Observing Site
WCO: Wilson Coulee Observatory
TS: TELUS Spark
4
R.A.S.C. CALGARY – STARSEEKER
Observing Groups Report
By Jack Milliken
The main focus of the OG is observing and I give a talk
that covers what is currently up in the sky which covers
planets, comets, asteroids, special events, etc. There is
also a presentation on the Constellation of the Month
that shows pictures of the major deep sky objects in that
constellation. I also hand out an observing list and a chart
that shows the location of those objects.
Anyone wanting more information about the Calgary
Centre observing groups please contact me at:
NOVA (New Observers to Visual Astronomy)
The first NOVA meeting of the season was held at the
WCO on October 4 and over 20 people attended including
several new members of the Calgary Centre. About 10
telescopes were set up and we enjoyed excellent views
of a gibbous moon and some of the brighter deep sky
objects like M13 and the Andromeda galaxy. NGC457,
the Owl Cluster, was a real hit as most attendees had not
seen it before and it is a great target for small telescopes.
Clear skies!
Discover the Universe
By Robyn Foret
The main talk was about observing the Moon and a map
showing the main features was handed out. The target
list for the fall Explore the Universe program was also
handed out.
By the time most people see this article the next NOVA
meeting will be on November 14 and the topics will
include a discussion on eyepiece field of view (FOV) and
a description of how we measure observing conditions
like transparency, seeing, etc. I will also hand out
‘Hopping around Andromeda’ which will help identify
the constellations around Andromeda.
If you are interested in attending NOVA meetings please
send an email to my address at the end of this article. I
send out an email about a week before each meeting with
the agenda and the distribution list is also used to send
out cancellation notices if bad weather makes the roads
dangerous.
Observing Group (OG):
By the time this article is published the next OG meeting
will be on November 15. Hopefully the OctoberQuest
observing event was successful in late October and I will
describe the highlights next time.
The OG meetings are open to all members and I encourage
people to come out for a meeting if you have not been
there before. The main difference from NOVA is that
the OG is not designed to be instructional but you will
always get help if needed.
Discover the Universe activities are back after the
summer break and it is now time to register. Please share
this information to anyone who might be interested,
especially teachers. And remember, all our workshops are
offered online, in English and French and are completely
free! This information can also be viewed online at:
http://www.discovertheuniverse.ca/nouvelles/schedulefall-2014-659.htm
SPECIAL WEBINAR: The TMT and the Canadian
contribution – November 26th, 2014.
The next generation of telescopes will have mirrors 30 or
40 metres across. Canada has been involved in the Thirty
Meter Telescope (TMT) project for many years and
construction is now beginning on the summit of Mauna
Kea in Hawaii. For this webinar, our guest speaker will
be Luc Simard, an astrophysicist involved with the TMT
since the beginning. He will give us an overview of the
project and the role Canadian astronomers are playing in
this international endeavour. Wednesday November 26th
at 2pm (Eastern) - 11am (Pacific)
Details:http://www.discovertheuniverse.ca/fr/
formations/webinar:-the-tmt-and-the-canadiancontribution-662.htm
WWW.CALGARY.RASC.CA
5
Full Sun
20 minutes
First contact
The big sunspot group getting crunched
at 15:49:52
10 minutes
Maximum Eclipse at 16:06:52
Photo Credit: Larry McNish from the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory (RAO).
Photo Credit: Wayne Casper – Skywatcher 80ED with a solar filter. Celestron vx mount.Canon 60Da.
6
R.A.S.C. CALGARY – STARSEEKER
1.
Photo by Brian Fenerty at Invermere, moving thick clouds
hence ragged “firey” Sun, left unprocessed, handheld smartphone
thru unshaded 42mm 2” eyepiece on 90mm refractor.
2.
Solar Eclipse
October 23, 2014
Thank you all for your
great photos!
Wayne Casper
Erich Krause
Brian Fenerty
Gary Irwin
Larry McNish
3.
Photo Credit: Gary Irwin
1. At the Glenbow Ranch with some RASC Calgary Centre Members
2. & 3. Projections of the solar eclipse
Photo Credit: Erich Krause: Sidewalk astronomy – 75-300mm zoom lens with neutral density filters
WWW.CALGARY.RASC.CA
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Telescopes For Rent Program
by Greg King
Coordinator, Telescope for Rent Program
Welcome!
NEW MEMBERS
Elizabeth Drew
Denis Ter Berg
Paul Lowther
Yichi Fu
Vivian Eddingfield
Frank Rigsby
Stephen Jeans
Claudia Abbott
Marc Abbott
Ronald Craig Kerr
Arvindh Viswanathan
Robert Paradis
The “Telescopes For Rent Program” is one of the many
benefits of Calgary RASC membership. The Calgary
Centre has a great ‘Scopes for Rent’ program and the
rental rates are extremely low: $2.00 per inch of aperture,
per month. Therefore a 6 inch Dobsonian telescope
would rent for $12.00 for a month. That’s a “steal” for an
astronomical telescope worth about $500!
Not a Member Yet? Join RASC!
More information at:
http://calgary.rasc.ca/applinfo.htm
Some membership benefits:
• National Membership in the RASC
• Membership Association with the
Calgary Centre of the RASC
• Subscription to the national publication,
the “eJournal” (the printed Journal is
optional)
• Subscription to the national publication,
the “eBulletin”
• The national annual publication, the
“Observers Handbook” (300+ pages)
• Subscription to the Calgary Centre
newsletter, the “StarSeeker”
• Members will also receive a free
subscription to “SkyNews”, the Canadian
astronomy magazine.
8
The telescopes are rented for 1 month minimum and in
increments of one month. Renters may keep the telescope
for additional month(s) until another RASC member
requests to rent it, in which case it will be recalled at
the end of its current term by the program coordinator. If
you want a particular telescope, request it up to a month
ahead of the desired rental date, and it should be available.
Interim payments may be required if telescopes are kept
for extended periods.
If you don’t already have a scope or are wanting to try
something different, the Calgary Center has a diverse
range of instruments ranging from astronomical
binoculars to an 80mm Sky-Watcher Refractor to a 13
inch Truss Dobsonian. All telescopes come with finder
scopes, eyepieces, and a moon filter. There are only
two prerequisites for renting a telescope: You must be a
member in good standing of the Calgary RASC Center,
and you must be at least 18 years of age.
For information and pictures of all the scopes we have to
rent please see calgary.rasc.ca/scopes.htm To rent one of
these scopes contact Greg King at 403-239-5685, or via
e-mail at
R.A.S.C. CALGARY – STARSEEKER
November
2014
MONDAY
SUNDAY
RASC General Meeting – Election Night
Thursday, November 20
7:30 p.m. at the Kerby Centre
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
SATURDAY
FRIDAY
1
Daylight Saving Time Ends
Sunday November 2nd
WCO Booked for
Jason’s class
Photo credit: Jerry Lodriguss, www.firstlightastro.com
2
3
4
6
7
8
13
14
15
5
FULL MOON
CBC Radio One’s
RASC Astronomy
with Don Hladiuk
6:22 A.M.
Daylight Saving
Time Ends
9
10
11
12
LAST QUARTER
RASC
COUNCIL
MEETING:
7:30 P.M.
UOF C:
SOCIAL SCIENCES
ROOM SS06
REMEMBRANCE
DAY
16
Leonid Meteor
Shower
17
18
19
Leonid Meteor
Shower
20
RASC GENERAL
MEETING/
ELECTION NIGHT
and Member
Presentations
7:30 p.m. at the
Kerby Centre
RASC NOVA
7:30 P.M. at
WCO
RASC OG
8:00 P.M. at
WCO
(RAO) Rothney
Astrophysical
Observatory
Open House
Vulcan
Star Night
7:30P.M.
22
21
NEW MOON
RASC Youth Group
7:30 p.m.at
WCO
Dec StarSeeker
Article Deadline
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
FIRST QUARTER
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Additional information on these and other public astronomy events can be found on our
website: calgary.rasc.ca/calendar.htm
WWW.CALGARY.RASC.CA
9
All-Star Telescope
Annular Solar Eclipse Tour
May 19-21, 2012
Canyon de Chinle, Arizona
www.all-startelescope.com
10
R.A.S.C. CALGARY – STARSEEKER