cosmology | RASC Victoria

Astronomy Cafe – Sep 18, 2023

Posted September 18, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Island Star Party report – Dave Payne
- Thanks to all the volunteers
- Need a new leader for the star party next year
- Activities and functions
  - Logistics
  - Coordinating volunteers
  - Coordinating with the Cowichan Valley Regional District & Parks
- Improvements and a new vision for next year’s event
Astronomical Photos
- New 32″ telescope at Black Nugget Lake Observatory (near Edmonton) – Dave Robinson
- Ron Fisher (online gallery)
  - M45 Pleiades Cluster
  - M31, 32, 110 Andromeda Galaxy
  - Cassiopeia’s Ghost SH2-185 – Gamma Cas star
The Hebrew Calendar – Randy Enkin
- Jewish New Year on Friday/Saturday just past – Rosh Hashanah
- Based on a Lunar Calendar
- Review of rules to determine the New Year day
- Year number is calculated to when the human world was “created” on Oct 6, 3761 BCE
- Comparing the lunar and solar calendars
- Necessary and Unnecessary Miracles
- Discussion
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Updates – Mary Beth Laychak, CFHT Communications laychak@cfht.hawaii.edu
- Land Acknowledgements for both Hawai’i and the DAO lands
- Mauna Kea is one of the darkest sites in the world
- Instruments review
- Science Highlights review
- Planning for the future
  - Maunakea Authority
  - Maunakea Spectrographic Explorer (MSE) – Pathfinder construction
  - New capabilities for CFHT
  - Internship offer for opto-mechanical design and production
- Outreach to the community
  - Maunakea Scholars
  - Summer Interns
  - School events
- CFHT Staff
- Q&A
Announcements
- Makers SIG – upcoming
- Mallory Thorpe – next week’s speaker

Astronomy Cafe – Sep 11, 2023

Posted September 11, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Transcript video

Saanich Fair – Lauri Roche
- Sep 2-4, 3 days
- Thanks to all the volunteers, but we could use more for next year
- 3,500-4,000 people visited the booth and telescopes
- Solar telescopes used to show the public the Sun
- Clear and beautiful weather except for Sunday afternoon rain
- Telescope raffle
Island Star Party – Reg Dunkley
- Very good attendance 70 + 200
- Dave Payne project lead
- Cloudy skies on Friday but some sucker holes
- Pristine skies on Saturday night
- Zero gravity chairs were popular with cheers from the crowd when the Perseid meteors streaked across the sky
- Volunteers from Cowichan Valley Starfinders did a great job
- Two interesting speakers on Friday and Saturday night
- Next year: 1st weekend of August
- Donations more than covered our expenses
- Grand prize of a telescope and mount
CU Star Parties – Lauri Roche
- Weekly events – mid-May to mid-Sep
- Good attendance every Saturday event
- Presentations every week – either in-person or virtual
- Monthly events during off-season
- Saturday FDAO Star Party (Sep 16th) – Mary Beth Laychak, CFHT Outreach will be presenting
Plaskett Observing – Sep 16th
- Contact Dan Posey email
- Starts at 11:30pm
- Must be a member and registered as an Active Observer to participate
Personal Observing Reports
- Brock Johnston – photos
  - Helix Nebula
  - Solar disk in Ha – discussion
  - Jupiter – good seeing on Saturday
  - Saturn – 3 images showing changing ring tilt
- Explore the Universe observing group – Marji & Jill
  - 110 celestial objects
  - Observe and/or draw at least 55 objects
  - There is also an Explore the Moon workbook
  - Group of 6 observing from Cattle Point
- Moon – Randy Enkin
  - Sinus Iridium & Jura Mountains – comparing Mike Nash’s image & Randy’s sketch
- Island Star Party astronomy images review
Announcements
- Teacher’s Workshop – Lauri Roche
  - Mary Beth Laychak, CFHT Outreach will be leading the workshop
  - Monday – 4:30-7:00pm for teachers
  - Monday after the teachers – present at Astro Cafe
  - 2019 AGM presenter
- Council meeting – Randy Enkin
  - Tomorrow night – all members welcome
- UVic Wednesday night monthly meetings restarting – Alex Schmid
Minima of Algol – David Lee
- Eclipsing binary
- Short cycle of 3 days
- Magnitude 3.4 to 2.1
- Dates coming up – ref S&T
Partial Solar Eclipse – Oct 14th – David Lee and Lauri Roche
- Observe from the Centre of the Universe – 8am to 10:30am
- Solar observing glasses
- Safety briefing
- Breakfast beverages and snacks
- Activities for kids and adults
- $5/person – registration through Eventbrite
- Rain or shine event
- Volunteers needed
Blake Nancarrow remembrance – Randy Enkin
- Memories from Bill Weir
  - Black was Chair of RASC Observing Committee
  - RASC Double Star program – designed for small aperture urban observing
  - David Dunlop observatory champion
- Memories from Peter Jedicke
  - Blake retired to St. Thomas, attached to RASC London Centre
  - Blake was the first Astronomer in Residence at York University’s observatory at Killarney Provincial Park
  - Blake’s obituary
- Memories from David Lee and Jill Sinkwich
  - Stellarium courses
- Double stars tribute – Randy
  - Different colours of binaries
  - Splitting the doubles, triples and quads – challenging technique
  - A Tribute to Double Star Observer and Our Friend Blake Nancarrow –The Actual Astronomer Podcast – Chris and Shane
  - Lyra – 3 doubles – Marjie Welchframe

Astronomy Cafe – May 29, 2023

Posted May 29, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Beginner Observers – report by Brenda
- Observing and sketching targets from Cattle Point
- Trying to find another observing spot to get away from the car lights
- Summer targets are next
- Four observers at Pearson College two weeks ago – liked it!
- Island View Beach may be a good observing location
- Most of the group are working on Explore the Universe observing certificate
Special Interest Groups – David Lee
Beaveree and Seniors event at the Centre of the Universe – solar observing – Lauri Roche
Plaskett Observing Session – video report by Randy Enkin
- First in-person observing session on May 19-20, 2023 since 2019
- Supernova 2023ixf photographed in M101 as our last target, unknown to us at the time
- Dan Posey notified Dave Bohlender at NRC, so the SN photometry was reported online quickly
- Subsequent processing revealed the SN is a blue star
- Koichi Itagaki, amateur Japanese discoverer of SN
- The progenitor star of the SN now has a paper published about it
Thanks to Astro Cafe volunteers – Randy Enkin
Photos of Supernova 2023ixf (Type II)
- Dave Payne
  - May 13-16 images of M101 without SN
  - May 20th image of M101 with the SN
- Brock Johnston
  - GIF flashing old versus new image of M101
  - Light curve of SN from AAVSO
  - Also imaged M51 and M13
- Sketch of SN using 6″ Dob – Bill Weir
- Photos of SN on May 20th & 24th showing the SN enlarging – Ron Fisher
Plaskett Observing Session on May 19-20 – Dan Posey
- Objects imaged before M101 are being processed
  - NGC 4565 Needle Galaxy
  - NGC 4605 Faberge Egg Galaxy
  - NGC 6914 reflection and emission nebula
National AGM – June 25th online – Chris Gainor
- Restricted to RASC members – log in to member area of rasc.ca website
- Reports, financial statement, bylaw amendments, elections
- Please attend and vote
- 2023 AGM Agenda
Island Star Party – Dave Payne
- Aug 11-13
- Still need some volunteers – sign up for email list dapayne@shaw.ca
Discussion of Supernovae (in general)
- Type I and Type II Supernovae – Dan Posey
- SN 2016aps – Lauri Roche
Star Parties on Observatory Hill – Lauri Roche
- Saturday nights all summer long
- RASC volunteers invited with telescopes or without
- Event info on the Centre of the Universe website

This is the last Astronomy Cafe until we restart after the Summer break.. Astro Café will resume on Monday. September 11, 2023.

Image of Supernova 2023ixf acquired through the Plaskett 72" telescope by RASC Victoria Centre members. — Image of Supernova 2023ixf acquired through the Plaskett 72″ telescope by RASC Victoria Centre members. This preliminary image processed by Dan Posey.

Astronomy Cafe – May 8, 2023

Posted May 8, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Intro – Marjie Welchframe
Centre of the Universe Volunteer Coordinator – Aimee Rossen (info@centreoftheuniverse.org)
- Volunteer waivers – need to have everyone sign the form after viewing the safety video
- Volunteer list – access to Observatory Hill
- Volunteers should arrive before 7pm on Saturday night to avoid congestion at the access gate
ORCASat – Prof. Justin Albert
- This microsat was built at UVic and launched six months ago to the ISS, where it was deployed – ORCASat — Launch
- ORCASat should burn up next month after six months of operation in low Earth orbit
- Background
  - Modern cosmology started in 1929 Edwin Hubble’s assertion that the Universe is expanding
  - Cepheid variable stars tell us the absolute magnitude, hence the distance away from Earth. Henrietta Swan-Leavitt’s research enabled this process.
  - Observing past 10*7 Parsecs means using Type 1A SuperNova (White Dwarf), since Cepheids are no longer bright enough to use as a standard candle.
  - Limitations of our Knowledge of Dark Energy 73% of Universe’s mass
  - Calibration of brightness measurements are needed – flux as a function of colour
  - Dark Matter 23% of Universe’s mass
  - Atoms 3% of Universe’s mass
  - The Dark Side of the Universe
  - Supernovae are one of the powerful probes for understanding the eventual fate of the Universe
- ORCASat is in an ISS-like orbit
  - Needs good coverage above ground observatories, so they can observe Orcasat
  - Photometric calibration – Orcasat’s absolute brightness is compared with standard stars
- ALTAIR – Airborne Laser for Telescopes Atmospheric Interference Reduction
  - Photometric Calibration using a high altitude balloon
- A laser photometric ratio star (LPRS) – exciting the Sodium layer
I Need More Space-Time – review of a science fair project by Nathan Hellner-Mestleman
- Predict when our Universe will end
- Used Wiseman Observatory data for Type 1 SN
  - Spectral lines: Hydrogen epsilon, Hydrogen delta
  - Examined Supernovae 30 million LY to 40 billion LY
  - Found the Hubble Constant to vary from 20 km/sec/Parsec to much bigger
- Using Slooh data didn’t work out, since Supernovae data levels are too low
- Project tried to infer how long the Universe will last from changes in brightness of Supernovae
- Consensus from WMAPS
Q&A for both Justin and Nathan
- Is the Universe finite or infinite? We don’t know, and possibly will never know.
- Hot, dense start to the Universe – ratio of Hydrogen and Helium verifies this process, as does Nucleosynthesis with Quarks and Gluons (DOE Explains…Quarks and Gluons | Department of Energy).
- LIGO and other Gravitational Wave observatories should verify how the Universe started (inflation).
Events
- RASC General Assembly – Lauri Roche
  - Friday – shared Victoria’s Observatory Hill with delegates across Canada
  - Thanks to members who attended
  - RASC GA 2023 – CONNECT with the cosmos & community
- Beaveree at Camp Barnard – May 27th (9am-2pm) – Bill Weir
  - Need volunteers for outreach – email Bill
- Island Star Party – Aug 11-13 – Dave Payne
  - Permit for park use is in place
  - More details at next week’s Astro Cafe

Astronomy Cafe – May 1, 2023

Posted May 1, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Meeting transcript video

The Dual Dipole Radio Telescope – Evan Warburton, Oak Bay High School, Grade 12
- Io generates a band of electrons around Jupiter
- Setup dipole antenna on the Lansdowne Middle School field
- 20MHz ionized radiation – copper wire cut to half the wavelength
- “Floating” coaxial shield, not grounded
- SDR Console software – gain, bandwidth, Io A, B and C phase predictions – Software Defined Radio
- Spectrograph software
- Detected a radio storm – short, random bursts
- 10-40 MHz is the observable bandwidth range
- Observing time: about 1 hour per week
- NASA’s Radio JOVE Project: Home Page– helpful forum
- Project planning and execution – discussion
- Q & A
- Evan is travelling to the Canada-wide Science Fair in Edmonton May 13, and is attending UVic Physics this Fall with a prestigious Schulich scholarship to his credit.

International Astronomy Day – April 29 & 30, 2023 – report by Lauri Roche and David Lee
- Saturday at Observatory Hill – FDAO event
  - Event recording
  - Astronomy Day | Star Party — Centre of the Universe
- Sunday at UVic Astronomy – RASC & UVic event
  - School astronomy groups – Monterey, Shawnigan Lake, Victoria High
  - About 100 public attended
  - Needed more media coverage and promotion
  - Need a discussion about next year’s effort
  - Zenfolio | RASC Victoria Centre | Astronomy Day 2023
- Discussion of both events
RASC Victoria Centre Council meeting on May 9th – Randy Enkin
- Members are welcome to attend online
Beaveree at Camp Barnard – May 27th (9am-2pm) – Bill Weir
- Need volunteers for outreach – email Bill
- Solar and possibly daytime planets
- Telescopes – both Ha and white light
RASC GA 2023 – CONNECT with the cosmos & community – May 5-7 – Lauri Roche
- Gather Town – social interaction
- Friday – Dr. Shandin Pete, Salish Sky Lore, 1 hour live from Victoria’s DAO (7-8pm) – contact Lauri to volunteer
- Saturday – combatting science misinformation, CSA Astronaut Jeremy Hansen
- Sunday – Dr. Linda Shore, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Members: $35 admission
- Zoom call is used for all sessions
Astronomy by Night – A new Canadian website for amateur astronomers. – Michael Webb
Explore the Universe – Marjie Welchframe
- Lunar crater sketches
Astronomy Cafe – next week’s speaker is Justin Albert – cube-sat ORCASat
Beginner’s SIG – tomorrow night – Jill & David

Astronomy Cafe – April 17, 2023

Posted April 17, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Regional Science Fair – report by Randy Enkin
- 3 prizes awarded
- Measured the period of the pendulum
- Supernovae red shift analysis – Nathan Mestleman-Keller
- Double Di-pole Radio Telescope – Io/Jupiter generates – Evan Warburton, Oak Bay High School, Grade 12
- Distinguished Service Award to Randy
Astronomy by Night – new astronomy website hosted by Carina Ockedahl (former editor of Skynews), Chris Vaughn, Charles Ennis, and more contributors
JUICE – Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer launch – Randy Enkin
- ESA launched this mission to Jupiter on Friday
- Lunar-Earth flyby a year from now
- Venus and Earth flyby
- Arrives at Jupiter – July 3031
- Multiple flybys of Jupiter’s icy moons
- Orbit Ganymede for 3 years
- 10 instruments onboard
SIGs – David Lee
- Makers SIG
- Astrophotography SIG
International Astronomy Day – Lauri Roche & David Lee
Neutron Stars – The Quest to Understand the Zombies – a book by Katia Moskvitch – review by Ron Fisher
- Latest research and very interesting story
- Research in Italy
- NGC 4993- emitted radio waves and captured visual light from neutron star collision
- CHIME – fast radio bursts
Astrophotos and Sketches
- Double Transit – John McDonald
  - Planets and shadows visible
  - Moon Shadows on Jupiter – video
- SkAc1 faint Planetary Nebula – Dave Payne
  - Challenge by Bill Weir
- Double Transit sketch – Bill Weir
- Orbital Motion of Venus – Marjie Welchframe
- Bode & Cigar Galaxies, Horsehead & Flame Nebulae – Ken McGill

Astronomy Cafe – Apr 3, 2023

Posted April 3, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Meeting transcript video

SIGs – David Lee
- Beginners’ SIG tomorrow night
- Electronically-assisted Astronomy & Citizen Science SIG – Thursday
Mallory Thorp – profile by Marjie Welchframe
- PhD UVic 2022
- IFS / MaNGA survey
- Working on PHANGS
- Postdoctoral researcher the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AIfA) at the University of Bonn in Germany
- May 8th Astronomy Cafe – upcoming speaker
- Spoke at the last year’s Island Star Party
- The ALMaQUEST Survey X: what powers merger induced star formation?
Island Star Party 2023 – Dave Payne
- Speakers TBA
- Telescope tours and tutorials
- Make suggestions for activities
- Tue, April 11th – kick off meeting
- Contact Dave (email) or
  Christopher Gainor, FRASC Email
  to help out with this fun event
Fast Radio Cosmos lecture by Victoria Kaspi – Reg Dunkley
- Uses the CHIME radio observatory near Penticton
- 3 additional outrigger radio telescopes: 160 kms from Penticton, Green Bank, WV, and Hat Creek, CA
- Good Q&A at the end of the lecture video
- Skynews – Feb 2017 issue highlights the CHIME instruments
- DRAO open to the public starting April 8th
- Discussion of radio interference when using radio telescopes
Astronomy Day – Lauri Roche
- FDAO Star Party – Observatory Hill – April 29th – evening hours
  - Need astronomers with telescopes to volunteer
  - Starlink speaker
- UVic – April 30th 11AM-4PM
  - Lots of volunteers have signed up, but everyone welcome to help, especially someone to lead the event promotion and communications – contact Lauri by email
  - Astronomy labs open
  - 6 speakers
  - Free parking
Virtual General Assembly 2023 – May 5-7
- Jeremy Hansen, CSA astronaut – speaker
RASC Victoria Hopes & Dreams – Randy’s list
Christopher Gainor, FRASC Email
- Open Council meetings. Now that we have a smaller Council, we should make more effort to advertise the meetings to the entire membership – and possibly lay the foundation for more recruitment to leadership.
- Closer ties to UVic. I often hear that members want to get back to meeting at the University. I also think we should offer programs that encourage undergrad students to be active in the RASC-VC.
- Closer ties with the FDAO. We have overlapping mandates and volunteer bases. Closer coordination will benefit both organizations.
- More in-person events, especially under the night sky.
- More scheduled and ad hoc evenings at the VCO
- More diversity in membership and leadership.
- A budget!
- Revised Statement of Goals of the Society.
- Calendar on the website
- Documented Council job descriptions
- October 14 Solar Eclipse event
- Display of Astrophotographs
- Support Vic High club, Oak Bay, Mount Doug
- Prizes or other activities with UVic students (Volunteerism, Outreach)
- Using the telescope collection to support School Clubs.
- Help with the telescope lending library
- Recruitment and Retention of membership.
- Sustainability of Volunteers and Council members
- Organize the Google Drive. Make more complete.
- Member survey
- Diane Bell Award for Astrosketching
- Car share to VCO
- NOVA program!
- Schools Program – with FDAO?
- Liaisons with school groups
- Mentors with school groups
- Join in school-group observing nights
- Prizes and goodies for school groups
- Support for Science Fair – volunteers for judges, prizes, handing our RASC bookmark etc.
Sky At Night Podcasts – Bill Weir & David Lee
- Lance Bass (nSync boy band) – selected to be a Russian cosmonaut! “The last Soviet citizen”
- JWST podcast series
Victoria Centre Observatory (VCO) – Reg Dunkley
- Active Observers to have access soon
- Tech committee needs to check on the health of systems up there first
- No more than 16 people at a time, with social distancing and health precautions (personal choice)
- Ad hoc observing sessions for favourable weather to start with
- Scheduled observing sessions later
- Must be an Active Observer and must adhere to safety procedures
- Gate codes for existing MICs have been refreshed for the coming year
Astrophotos during galaxy season – Dave Payne
- M94 galaxy – elliptical shape and outer ring of material
- M106 and friends – 4 arms in M106
National Council – Chris Gainor
- Complete staff turnover at the National office is ongoing
- Randy Atwood is interim Executive Director, working with the Board to recover
- Annual Report – Victoria Centre’s report still needed
- Skynews magazine is still being wound up

There will not be an Astro Café next week as it is a holiday Monday. We will be back on Monday, April 17

Astronomy Cafe – March 20, 2023

Posted March 21, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of the meeting

Vernal Equinox Today – Jeff Pivnick
- Caused by axial tilt of the Earth
- Celestial Equator intersects with the Ecliptic
- Babylonians picked 12 constellations 3,000 years ago, but Ptolemy named them later
- Declination and Right Ascension coordinates are referenced to the equinox
Astronomy Day – Lauri Roche
- Sunday, April 30th 11AM – 4PM at Bob Wright building lobby at UVic
- Free parking on outside of the Ring Road in Lot 1
- Setup is Saturday afternoon
- Leads
  - UVic Site Manager – Sam Fielder
  - Technical Support – David Lee
  - Welcome Table – Marjie Welchframe
  - Telescope Show & Tell – Bill Weir
  - Children’s Astro Crafts – Rachel & Ryan Holmes
  - Astrophotography – Brock Johnston & Dan Posey
  - Responsible Lighting – Dave Robinson
  - Planetarium – need a lead to used Starry Night on TV
  - Solar Observing outside – Alex Schmid, Sid Sidhu
  - Ask An Astronomer – need a lead and 3 or 4 astronomers (UVic students?)
  - Speakers – Lauri Roche
    - 3 speakers signed up, 3 to go
    - 20-minute talks
- FDAO, NRC, Science Venture, Camosun College, Mt. Doug High, Vic High & Oak Bay High
- Tour of the Bob Wright telescope
- Need volunteers – 2-3 shifts is ideal – contact Lauri Roche roche.lauri@gmail.com
- Saturday, April 29th 7-11PM Star Party on Observatory Hill
Open House – Centre of the Universe – March 25 – Lauri Roche
- Free tickets available
- Volunteers needed
Victoria Centre Observatory – Randy Enkin
- Will open to members once the road is open
Standing Where Ansel Adams Stood – Randy Enkin
- Moon and Half Dome – Dec 28, 1960
- When the Light, Shadow and Stars Aligned: Standing Where Ansel Adams Stood – Kim Beil, NY Times
- Ansel Adams joined Sierra Club Outings
- Kim Beil found the exact spot where Ansel Adams took his famous Moon and Half Dome photo, and determined four possible dates based on the star field and Moon
- 6:47AM on Aug 6, 1936 – date/time of famous photo
Meetings
- Social Dinner – March 27th – contact Randy to attend at Moon Under Water Pub on Bay St.
- Council Meeting – March 28th – 7:30PM
  - Open to all members
  - Budget for coming year – we have funds to spend!
Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair – Dorothy Paul
- April 16th
- 100 projects, 150 students
- Need some specialty judges from RASC – about 2 hours
Astrophotos from members
- Moonrise from Clover Point – Randy Enkin
- Jones-Emberson 1 Bubble planetary nebula – Brock Johnston
2023 RASC General Assembly – May 5th – May 7th, 2023
- No business meeting, just fun meeting and interacting with everyone – Bill Weir
- Speakers list almost complete – Lauri Roche
- $35 admission for members to participate for three days
Vic High Astronomy Deck – Clayton
- Mitigate the light pollution at the site – discussion of strategy
- New 12″ Skywatcher funded by a generous donation
- City of Victoria will install shields on the streetlights

There will not be an Astro Café next week in order for the RASC Victoria Centre Social Dinner to take place. Please RSVP to Randy president@victoria.rasc.ca by March 19 if you would like to attend.

Next Astronomy Cafe in 2 weeks – April 3

Astronomy Cafe – March 6, 2023

Posted March 6, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

Randy Enkin (video recording)
- Venus-Jupiter Conjunction
  - Some great photo taken of the conjunction both by members and others
  - Venus can be up to 47º away from the Sun
  - Venus-Jupiter Conjunctions 1990-2060
  - March 1st conjunction – Venus-Jupiter had 0.5º separation
- Victoria Centre’s Annual General Meeting – March 13th (virtual)
  - Need 25 members for a quorum
  - Links to Zoom sent to members along with supporting documents
  - Social dinner at the Moon Under Water Pub to be held on March 27th
The Hunt for the Culprit – Part 2 – Reg Dunkley
- Jan 9th – Part 1 was presented
- Iron 60 and Supernovae relationship
- Are Supernovae responsible for climate change on Earth?
- Star formation near the Sun is driven by expansion of the Local Bubble by Catherine Zucker, et. al. – Jan 2022
- Caroline and William Herschel
- GAIA – astronomical big science, inspired an astronomical gold rush
  - ESA video on GAIA
  - 3D map of the Milky Way
  - Photometric instrument
  - Measures: Brightness, positions, proper motions, radial velocities, spectra
  - 11 years of data, 150 complete surveys of the sky
  - How this data is being used – a review
- Interstellar Extinction
- H-R Diagram: Colour Index vs Magnitude
- 3D Mapping of Interstellar Dust
- The Local Bubble – dust map
- Traceback of Star Cluster
- Idealized Model for Local Bubble Evolution – Stellar and Solar Orbits animation
- Location of the Culprit
- Summary of Zucker et al findings
- A Golden Opportunity!
  - Data freely available along with analysis routines
  - Do some citizen science?
- Radcliffe Wave by Brian Ventrudo
Special Interest Groups – David Lee
- Beginners SIG – tomorrow evening
- Citizen Science SIG – Thursday evening – sign up with David Lee
Photos & Observations by members
- Venus-Jupiter conjunction from Hawai’i – photo of closest approach (0.5º) by Dave Payne
- Jones-Eberson Bubble planetary nebula – photo by Brock Johnston
  - Jones 1 in Pegasus – next object to try for – Bill Weir
- Explore the Universe observing program – Marjie Welchframe
- Moon-Jupiter-Venus conjunction on Feb 23 – iPhone photo taken from the city by Doug Hardy
- Photos – Ken McGill
  - Horsehead and Flame Nebula
  - Orion Nebula – Ken Burns effect
- Moon-Jupiter-Venus conjunction on Feb 23 – Marjie Welchframe
Reports – Lauri Roche
- Centre of the Universe Open House on March 25-26
- RASC Online General Assembly (no AGM)
  - Virtual tours of DDO and DAO (7-8pm on Fri)
  - Poster sessions – April 1st call for papers
- RASC National AGM – June 25th (virtual)

Astronomy Cafe – Feb 13, 2023

Posted February 13, 2023 by Webmaster as Astro Cafe

Video transcript of meeting

A Special General Meeting (SGM) was held before Astronomy Cafe commenced. After the SGM concluded, members heard a guest speaker and reports.

A Brief History of Galaxies: from the discovery of island universes to a clash of the Titans – Dr. Sara Ellison, UVic Astronomy professor

Our own Milky Way and other galaxies showing light and dust features
Deep field taken by JWST
- FOV: a grain of sand held at arm’s length
- thousands of galaxies in the image
History
- Charles Messier – a 17th century comet hunter who listed 110 objects that are notcomets
- Lord Ross used the 1.8m Leviathan telescope to sketch spiral galaxies
- Shapely-Curtis debate in 1920 about the nature of nebulae
- The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars: Sobel, Dava: 9780143111344: Books – Amazon.ca
- Henrietta Leavitt discovered the Type 1 Cepheid Variables, correlation between the brightness and variations in the luminosity
- Leavitt’s discovery used by Edwin Hubble, who in 1923 settled the Shapely-Curtis debate. The Hubble Law related distance to velocity (red shift), the start of cosmology as we now know it.
- Hubble Tuning Fork classifications of galaxies
- Halton Arp studied Peculiar Galaxies – guide: arpgalaxy.com
Early modelling of interacting galaxies
Video – current modelling of interacting galaxies
Toomre Sequence – showing different morphologies
Galaxies cluster in groups, which is how they grow mass
Stellar streams in the Triangulum Galaxy – research at Herzberg
Tidal streams in the Milky Way are remnants of small galaxies that have interacted in the past
How a galaxy merger transforms it – simulations predict:
- Isolated disk
- Small group
- Gas funnels to the galaxy centre
- Black hole accretion
- Decay
- Dead Elliptical
Sara’s research – Sara Ellison – University of Victoria
- Observations of irregular galaxies
- Test whether star formation is quenched as galaxies merge
- Used Canada-France Imaging Survey (CFIS UNIONS) to find merging galaxies using AI
Q&A

Announcements

Council meeting coming up – Tue 28th – AGM planning
Awards Nominations and nominees for Council – contact Reg Dunkley pastpres@victoria.rasc.ca
AGM will be held online, tentatively on March 13th
Social dinner will also be held later – awards
SIGs
- Makers SIG – David Lee
- Beginners SIG – report by Jill Sinkwich

No Astro Cafe next week. Next Astro Cafe will be held on Feb 27th