Astronomy Cafe – March 25, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • MMT Observatory – Kali Salmas, Queue Observer
    • Mount Hopkins, 55km south of Tucson, Arizona
    • Originally had six 1.8m mirrors, 4.5m collecting area
    • Now a single 6.5m mirror with 3 secondaries: f/5, f/9, f/15 (adaptive)
    • Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory facility on the mountain
    • Instrumentation
      • Binospec – wide-field opitcal spectrograph
      • Hectochelle/Hectospec – 300 fibre optic spectroscope, robotically reconfigured
      • MMIRS – Infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen cooled
    • Magellan and MMT share instrument designs
    • Operating Staff
      • Telescope Operator – 3
      • Queue Observer – 3
    • Data acquisition
      • Weather, tracking, seeing, turbulence, lenticular cloud formation
      • 7.5-12 hours observing time
      • Moon phase
    • Target Considerations
      • Both manual and automated queue scheduler
      • Sensor being used
      • Magnitude range: 11-26
      • Moon phase
    • Setup on Target – telescope operator and queue observer work together
    • Taking Data – calibration frames, guide stars, check data, add notes, move to next target
    • Q&A
  • Astro-tourism in Northern Arizona – Dave Payne
    • Flagstaff area
    • Barringer Crater – Largest meteorite at 150′ across
    • Lowell Observatory
      • Many domes
      • Original observatory built in 1894
      • Historic 24″ Refractor
      • Privately financed by Percival Lowell to map Mars
      • History of discoveries and innovations by other astronomers at the site
      • Clyde Tombaugh – discovered Pluto with a 12″ telescope
      • 5m Discovery telescope – currently being used, has 5 instruments
  • Recurrent T Coronae Borealis – David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
  • Chris Gainor
    • Chandra X-ray space telescope may go dark due to impending budget cuts – 25 years of work done. Save Chandra
    • David Lane, past president of RASC has died. He was the author of Earth Centred Universe planetarium software, operated a popular robotic telescope from his home in Nova Scotia, and was on staff at St. Mary’s University until his retirement.

There is no Astronomy Cafe on April 1 due to Easter holiday. The April 8 meeting will be online only, since many members will be away to observe the Total Solar Eclipse from the path of Totality.

President’s Message – March 2024

Posted by as Memories & history, President's Message

Usually Victoria Centre Presidents serve two years and then move on to something else. Right now, things are a little different. Randy Enkin has just wrapped up three years as President and shifted to other jobs in the centre, including editing SkyNews.

Chris Gainor on Observatory Hill
Chris Gainor on Observatory Hill

When I agreed to return to the Centre President’s job after having served in that position from 2002 to 2004, I reflected on what has changed and not changed since those days when we managed to get by without smartphones and social media. Many members from that time are still active, some have left us, and at least one prominent member of today wasn’t even born yet.

In 2002 I succeeded David Lee as President and two years later handed off to Scott Mair. Scott had come to Victoria in 2001 to open up the Centre of the Universe at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, which during those years operated under the wing of the National Research Council.

Two decades ago, we had our monthly meetings in the basement of the Elliott Building at UVic, but we adjourned to the lounge on the fourth floor for our library, and coffee and cookies, as we still do. Astro Cafes took place at Sandy Barta’s place on Fridays and later in Bruno Quenneville’s basement. Sid Sidhu hosted beginning observers at his home in Highlands, and Bill Almond led astro imaging meetings at his observatory in Colwood.

Our Star Parties took place at the Victoria Fish and Game Association just off the Malahat. Our annual banquets happened in November at the Gorge Vale Golf Club. Astronomy Days took place at the Royal BC Museum. Many Victoria Centre members attended the 2003 RASC General Assembly in Vancouver.

Mars made its closest passage to Earth in our lifetimes in August 2003. We drew big crowds to Cattle Point for viewing the Red Planet that week. Blaire Pellatt brought sidewalk astronomy to the streets of Victoria. We lost Ernie Pffanenschmidt and John Howell in 2003.  

Celebrating RASC Victoria Centre's 90th anniversary in 2004 - George Ball, John Climenhaga and Chris Gainor cut the cake.
Celebrating RASC Victoria Centre’s 90th anniversary in 2004 – George Ball, John Climenhaga and Chris Gainor cut the cake.

Our Centre celebrated its 90th birthday in 2004 with a cake that was cut by myself and two Honorary Presidents who have since left us, George Ball and Prof. John Climenhaga. A big centre project that year was relocating George’s telescope dome and his equipment. Our Centre website had migrated the year before to a private ISP after having been hosted on the Victoria Freenet. Joe Carr succeeded David Lee as Webmaster.

In those years, the most popular discussion topic in the Victoria Centre was our desire to build a centre observatory in a time when real estate was already pricey. Early in 2004, talk turned to action when our centre formed an Observing Site Committee chaired by Dave Bennett, along with Bruno Quenneville, David Lee, Sandy Barta, and myself as members.

Four years later, the efforts of our members, including many not on the original committee, bore fruit when the Victoria Centre Observatory opened — with a big assist from the NRC — on Little Saanich Mountain near the DAO and the Centre of the Universe.

In a future message, I will discuss my involvement in the RASC in the two decades between 2004 and this spring, our Centre’s 110th anniversary. But in the meantime, my attention is shifting to a major celestial event that will take place on April 8.

Chris Gainor, President@Victoria.RASC.ca

Astronomy Cafe – Mar 18, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Edmonton RASC’s BNLO Black Nugget Lake Observatory Unyk-Drew 32″ Telescope – Alister Ling
    • 32″ 0.8m folded f/4 128″ focal length Newtonian Alt/Az
    • Donation from Bob Drew, built by Roman Unyk, and funds from Alberta gamblers
    • East of Edmonton, fairly dark site, about 1-hour drive from the city
    • County land and camping, surrounded by farm land
    • Visual use only for public and member events
    • 3 observers at a time inside the dome
    • Observations
      • Crescent Nebula NGC 6888 – sketch by Berta Beltran
      • Einstein’s Cross – 17th Magnitude, gravitationally lensed quasar
      • Veil Nebula – amazing detail
      • M36 Pleiades cluster – FOV is too narrow to appreciate star clusters
      • Pease 1 planetary nebula in M15 globular cluster – star hopping required
      • NGC 40 – planetary nebulae are ideal for this telescope – colour apparent
      • M76 Little Dumbbell – lots of detail
      • M1 Crab Nebula – OIII filter reveals detail
      • Planets – not great targets for this telescope, but moons of Uranus: Umbriel, Titania & Ariel can be detected
      • NGC 891 – edge-on galaxy – irregular dark lane is obvious
      • Stephan’s Quintet – not an exciting object, so perhaps airglow and/or aurora degradation
      • M33 – good detail
      • NGC 206 Andromeda starcloud
      • M31 Andromeda Galaxy – core – scotopic & photopic vision – green colour visible
      • Colour of the core of the Orion Nebula – Hydrogen a, b, g, d – green colour visible
    • Comments from Bob Drew
  • Astrophotographs and Sketches
    • Observing from Victoria Centre Observatory – Randy Enkin
      • Photos of Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks using 12″ Dob and 20″ Obsession with new tracker
      • Moon sketch using 20″ Obsession
    • Mike Nash’s lunar photo compared with Randy Enkin’s sketch – both from their homes
    • Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks
      • Mar 18, 2024 APOD – red spiral core of the comet featured
      • Dan Posey’s photo of the comet and beautiful tail
  • Leap Year 2024 – Jeff Pivnick
    • Common Year, Solar Year and Sidereal Year
    • Leap Years started with Julian calendar
    • Gregorian calendar – more accurate compensation to define leap years
    • Accuracy of calendars adjusting for leap years
  • Events – David Lee, Randy Enkin, Lauri Roche
    • Makers SIG cancelled for this month
    • Next week’s Astro Cafe – presenter Kali Salmas, Operating the MMT Telescope in Arizona
    • FDAO Star Party – March 23 starting at 6:30PM

Astronomy Cafe – Mar 11, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Astrophotography – Dave Payne
    • Orion Nebula, M78 – reflection, emission and dark nebulae
    • Triangulum Galaxy M33
    • Monoceros (next to Orion) – Fox Fur Nebula
  • Barbara Lane 1955-2024
    • Memories of Barbara shared by Randy Enkin and other members
    • Hosted Astronomy Cafe along with her husband Kurt
    • Awarded a Certificate of Appreciation in 2022 for her contributions to Victoria Centre
    • Past Secretary of Victoria Centre, creating wonderful annual reports
    • Kurt and Barbara were a team, volunteering at public outreach events
  • New Crescent Moon of Ramadan 1445 – Randy Enkin
    • Muslim months start at the first glimpse of the New Crescent Moon – beginning of Ramadan
    • Observing a very new Crescent Moon is tricky!
  • They Promised Her the Moon – Dennis F
    • A local play by St. Luke’s Players
    • Originally, women were being tested for the Mercury Program
    • Chris Gainor added to the history of women in space
  • Chris Gainor
    • Canada Post 2024 Eclipse stamp – available this Thursday from your local post office
    • Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks – brightening as it falls apart. It might be visible during Totality on Total Solar Eclipse day.
  • Discord for RASC Victoria – Darren Delorme
    • Private chat room with channels and discussion threads for specific topics
    • Useful as an alternative to email
    • Post information of interest to everyone
    • Join the RASC-Victoria Discord Server!
  • UVic presentation this Wednesday at 7:30PM – Reg Dunkley
  • Volunteers needed
    • Astronomy Cafe – Randy Enkin email
    • Astronomy Day – Lauri Roche email
    • Victoria Centre’s Volunteers List – Marjie Welchframe email

Galaxies at the Dawn of Time with JWST – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira, UVic Postdoc

Posted by as UVic Meetings

Date/Time: Wednesday March 13, 2024 starting at 7:30PM

Location: University of Victoria, Bob Wright Centre, Lecture Theatre A104. Park in Lot 1 (pay parking) and cross Ring Road.

JWST First Deep Field Image: Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723
JWST First Deep Field Image: Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723

The new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) brought upon us a golden era for the study of distant galaxies. For the first time, we are capable of seeing the visible light of galaxies during the first billion years of the Universe. Understanding their shapes and forms, and how they changed since this epoch, reveals not only how they formed and evolved, but how our own Universe evolved as well.

This talk will highlight groundbreaking discoveries made with JWST and illustrate how they alter our understanding of the cosmos compared to the pre-JWST era. We will also address misconceptions that have arisen in the mainstream media regarding these new insights into cosmology and how our concept of galaxies has evolved dramatically since 1920.

Biography: Leonardo Ferreira was born in Brazil and pursued an undergraduate degree and master’s degree in physics at the Federal University of Rio Grande, where he first began his work on the morphology of galaxies. He then moved to the UK for his PhD studies in Astronomy, focusing on how galaxies evolved across cosmic time. In 2023, Leonardo joined the University of Victoria as a Postdoctoral Fellow, working within Prof. Sara Ellison’s group on the topics of galaxy evolution through merging interactions. Leonardo has led pioneering studies on the morphology of distant galaxies using JWST and remains actively involved in this research area.

Astronomy Cafe – Feb 5, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Intro – Jeff Pivnick
  • EnceladusAPOD Feb 5, 2023 – Jeff Pivnick
    • Smaller moon of Saturn discovered by William Herschel
    • The Great Forty 48″ reflector in Slough near Windsor – Herschel’s telescope
    • Cassini Mission
      • Discoveries: magnetic field disruptions, jets of water from “tiger stripe” fissures, wobbly orbital period caused by loose crust
      • 2:1 resonance with Dione results in elliptical orbit and interior heating of the ocean below the crust
      • Cassini division in Saturn’s rings – named for Gian Domenico Cassini, discoverer
      • Mimas 1:2 resonance with Cassini division
    • Diameter 504 kms, 14% liquid water
    • Discussion
  • Randy Enkin
  • Annual General Meeting – RASC Victoria Centre – Randy Enkin
    • Feb 12 7:00PM – Zoom meeting – info and special link to be sent to members
    • Victoria Centre’s Annual Report – contact Randy Enkin with your report president@victoria.rasc.ca
    • Financial Report
    • Election – Reg Dunkley
      • Chris Gainor has agreed to stand for President
      • We now have a full slate, but further nominations will be sought at the AGM
      • New Council will be seeking involvement from members for volunteering
      • We need a quorum of 25 members. If you cannot attend, contact Randy president@victoria.rasc.ca (or another member attending) to be your proxy for voting purposes.
  • Social Dinner – RASC Victoria Centre – Four Mile Pub – Feb 26th
    • Large parking lot, but please carpool if possible
    • Sound system with microphone and speaker will be used for speakers
    • Attendees please contact Marjie to RSVP by Feb 21st
  • SIGs – David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
    • Beginners SIG – tomorrow night’s presentation by Randy Enkin on observing the Moon
    • Citizen Science SIG cancelled
    • Astrophotography SIG – 4th Wednesday – hosted by Brock
  • Astronomy Books – David Lee
    • Observer’s Sky Atlas – Erich Karkoschka
    • 21st Century Atlas of the Moon – Charles Wood, Maurice Collins
  • Astronomy Cafe – March 4th
  • Scitech Daily
    • Perseverance Mars Lander – sedimentary layers discovered by ground penetrating radar and samples taken
    • Ingenuity helicopter has crashed

Next Astro Cafe – March 4th – none for the rest of February

Astronomy Cafe – Jan 22, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcipt of meeting

  • Intro – Jim Cliffe
  • Space Telescopes – Chris Gainor
    • How Long Will Hubble Last? – Sky & Telescope article
    • US Postal Service issued two stamps with images from JWST – $30.45 and $9.85 for their express service
  • David Lee
    • Inside the Star Factory – book profiling JWST by Chris Gunn (photography) & Christopher Wanjek
    • Makers SIG – meeting online this Thursday
      • Citizen Science – transitioning from analog to digital recording for occultations – IOTA
      • Imaging computing platforms – including Astroberry
    • Astrophotography SIG – meeting online this Wednesday – Dave Payne
      • Camera settings
      • Photo showcase
      • Q&A
  • Canadian stamp for the Total Solar Eclipse – Lauri Roche
    • March 14th issue day
  • Eclipse viewing glasses – Lauri Roche
  • Astrophotos
    • Dave Payneonline gallery
      • Flying Dragon Nebula – molecular cloud in Cygnus – taken last summer
      • Medusa by Garvacchio
      • Medusa Planetary Nebula in Gemini – RGB and narrowband taken earlier this month
    • Brock Johnstononline gallery
      • Christmas Tree and Fox Fur Nebula
      • Network Nebula – part of the Veil Nebula
      • Crab Nebula
    • Astrophoto Processing – discussion by Ken McGill, David Lee, Brock Johnston, Jim Cliffe
  • Astronomy Information Sources – Susan Grady posed the question to the group
  • Panic! Early results regarding the morphological and structural properties of galaxies seen with the James Webb Space Telescope – UVic, Wed, March 13 – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics & Astronomy
  • Young people’s astronomy club? – question by Garry Sedun
    • Some High schools and Middle schools offer astronomy groups
    • Discussion about how to reach out to younger people
    • Youth under 18 need family member who is also a member if VCO visit is desired – Chris Purse
    • Using smartphones on a telescope for imaging – simple mounting platforms work well
  • FDAO – Lauri Roche – roche.lauri@gmail.com
    • Games Night at this Saturday’s Star Party – 6:30-10PM – NRC, FDAO & RASC teams
    • FDAO Strategic Planning coming up
  • Victoria Centre – upcoming events– Reg Dunkley & Lauri Roche
    • AGM – Feb12 7:00PM – online zoom to all members
      • Election
      • Financial Report
      • Awards announcements
    • Social Evening – Four Mile Pub – Feb 28th – sign up with Ken Atkinson secretary@victoria.rasc.ca
      • Socialize with your fellow astronomers and friends over some good food and drink
  • Lunar and Mars Missions – group discussion

Astronomy Cafe – Jan 15, 2024

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

  • Intro – Brock Johnston
  • DAO Virtual RealityLight Wave ObserVR – Darren Delorme
    • Photogrammetric capture using Drone Deploy to create a point cloud of the outside of the observatory site
    • Modelled the telescope and mount inside using Blender from smart phone imagery and archival images
    • Working on windows, dome shutters, viewing platform, surrounding buildings and terrain
    • Unity – star catalog data – currently using 100,000 stars
    • VR headsets and hand motion tracking
    • VR tour starts at Elk Lake built on Lidar data
    • Multi-user experience/star party (up to 64 people), rooms, Meta platform launch
    • Inspired by Loki on Disney+
    • Next step is to create the stories and lessons
    • Perhaps add John Plaskett as a tour guide
    • Discussion of next steps, project milestones, first use, terms of use
  • Games night at FDAO Star Party – Jan 27th
  • The Colours of Uranus and Neptune – Randy Enkin
    • Are the two planets the same colour?
    • Uranus discovered by Herschel in 1781
    • Neptune discovered by several people in 1821, 1845 and 1846
    • Voyager 2 space probe has visited both planets in 1986 and 1989
    • Modelling the seasonal cycle of Uranus’s colour and magnitude, and comparison with Neptune – Patrick G. J. Irwin et al
    • Members relate their observations of Neptune and Uranus
    • Chris Gainor reminisced about being at JPL as a press reporter for the planetary encounters by Voyager 2. Both Hubble and JWST now observe the two planets regularly
  • David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca
    • Occultations – citizen science
      • NEO
      • Int’l Occultation Timing Assoc – occultations.org
      • New DIY kits available
    • Makers SIG – Jan 25th
      • Imaging computing platforms – convergence and DIY solutions
  • FDAO – Lauri Roche roche.lauri@gmail.com
    • Star Party on Jan 27th
    • Strategic Planning for FDAO coming up
    • Send suggestions for new activities for the FDAO
  • RASC Victoria Centre Events – Lauri Roche & Reg Dunkley
  • Herschel Museum  – Reg Dunkley
    • Near Paddington Station, London, UK
    • Treadle lathe, mirror grinding, forge for mirrors
    • Catalog of stars
    • Site of discovery of Uranus in the garden
    • Musical instruments

Revealing the Invisible Universe with Radio Telescopes – Dr. Jennifer West, NRC

Posted by as UVic Meetings

Date/Time: Wednesday January 10, 2024 starting at 7:30PM

Location: University of Victoria, Bob Wright Centre, Lecture Theatre A104. Park in Lot 1 (pay parking) and cross Ring Road.

Cylindrical reflector and antenna - CHIME, DRAO Penticton
Cylindrical reflector and antenna – CHIME, DRAO Penticton

Radio astronomy has been around for nearly a hundred years. In that time, we have only managed to see a glimpse of the Universe’s many hidden secrets that can be revealed at radio wavelengths. With recent advances in computing, we have seen an explosion of new radio telescopes, including the upcoming Square Kilometre Array for which Canada has officially announced its intention to become a full member. With these telescopes comes a wealth of new and upcoming data. I will discuss some of the things that we hope to learn, the challenges we still face, and the new technology that comes with it.

Dr. Jennifer West
Dr. Jennifer West

Jennifer West is currently a Covington Fellow at the Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre, National Research Council of Canada. She is interested in magnetic fields in supernova remnants and the Milky Way Galaxy, using data from large surveys using cutting edge radio telescopes. Previously she was at the Dunlap Institute at the University of Toronto and prior to that she completed her PhD at the University of Manitoba.

Astronomy Cafe – Dec 18, 2023

Posted by as Astro Cafe

Transcript video of meeting

  • New member intro
  • Last Astronomy Cafe for 2023 this evening – thanks to Chris Purse (meeting coordinator), Joe Carr (recordings & notes) and Kathie Koziol (coffee)
  • Leona vs Betelgeuse – Randy Enkin
    • Asteroid 319 Leona occulted Betelgeuse on Dec 12th
    • Betelgeuse’s diameter is 50 milliarcseconds
    • The asteroid’s shape and rotation was worked out from the occultation observations
    • Only clear along the path over Spain
    • IOTA – occultation observations
    • Varsavia occultation observed by David Lee and Dave Bennett on July 17, 2003
  • Events
    • Astronomy Day (May 18, 2024) – Randy Enkin
      • RBCM has invited Victoria Centre to stage the event on their site
      • Discussion about pros and cons for UVic Bob Wright vs Museum sites
      • New location: Langford or Colwood – more young families would likely attend
      • FDAO Star Party in the evening on Observatory Hill
      • Need a new organizing committee with David Lee and Lauri Roche in an advisory – to volunteer contact Randy president@victoria.rasc.ca
      • Consensus is to hold Astronomy Day at RBCM
    • Island Star Party – early August 2024 – to volunteer contact Randy president@victoria.rasc.ca
    • Victoria Centre AGM – Feb 2024
    • Cafe Scientifique – monthly public event staged by UVic Faculty of Science at Hermann’s Jazz Club – Jim Fox
    • Virtual Reality of DAO – Darren
      • Modelling of site, telescope and dome well underway
      • Need more information and feedback from RASC members
      • Darren will present his project to Astronomy Cafe early in 2024
    • Astrophotographs
      • Jellyfish Nebula – narrowband – Dave Payne
      • Horsehead and Flame Nebulae – Ron Fisher
      • Lion Nebula  – Dave’s data, Ron Fisher processed it
    • Lauri Roche
    • Frank Hobbs Elementary Solstice Party this Thursday – contact Randy to volunteer president@victoria.rasc.ca

Next Astronomy Cafe will be held on January 8, 2024