Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Saturday, June 10, 7 p.m.
Speaker: Larry Bogan
Topic: Visits to two Observing programs at New Mexico Observatories
1. APOGEE at Sloan Digital Sky Survey operations
2. Solar Patrol at Holloman Airforce Base
Summary:
Last winter, I was fortunate enough to get to know one of the
astronomers at Apache Point Observatory (a fellow soaring pilot) and
was invited to an observing session. We also went to see a world wide
solar activity monitoring program run by the US Air Force. I will
describe the visits and the background of the programs going on there.
I have recently purchased a Skywatcher Star Adventure mount and will
bring it for show and tell.
Our speaker:
Larry Bogan, together with Roy Bishop, founded Minas Astronomy Group
23 years ago this autumn. Larry holds a doctorate in physics from
Cornell University, and he has taught for many years at Acadia.
Larry’s interests include astronomy, canoeing, gliding, solar heating
design, birding, and Monarch butterflies. He is an active and long-
term member of the Blomidon Naturalists Society, Nature Nova Scotia,
and Minas Astronomy Group.
Minas Astronomy Group –– May Meeting
Saturday, May 13, 7 p.m.
Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Speaker: Randall Rosenfeld
Topic: Truth at the Eyepiece
Summary:
Truth at the Eyepiece – assimilating the past to the present, and is
there a future for astrosketching? I will examine:
i) approaches to accurate graphic representation of what is seen at
the eyepiece in different periods (including technique and intended
use), from before to after the invention of photography;
ii) how we look at what were once thought to be accurate
representations of astronomical phenomena;
iii) extrinsic factors which can colour perceptions, and account for
some of the disjunctions we experience when comparing “accurate”
representations from various epochs;
iv) and concluding with possible lessons about how we observe now.
Besides its intrinsic interest, it would allow me to refer to some of
Roy’s previous work!
Our speaker:
R.A. Rosenfeld, from Toronto, is the Archivist of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada, a position he has held since its
creation in 2008. He was trained at the University of Toronto and the
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies as a palaeographer and
codicologist, and researched and published on the tools and
technologies of communication ca. 500-1500, as well as on historical
performance practice (musicology) ca. 1100-1600.
Since 2008 he has published over fifty articles on various
astronomical artifacts (with a particular interest in the graphic
records of observations and how they were made) in a variety of
journals. He is a contributor to the second edition of Springer’s
Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (2014). In 2012, he was the
recipient of the RASC’s Simon Newcomb Award, and the RASC’s
President’s Award. He is one of the recipients of the American
Astronomical Society’s Historical Astronomy Division’s 2017 Donald E.
Osterbrock Book Prize. He was elected to the Canadian Astronomical
Society/Société Canadienne d’Astronomie (CASCA), and the
International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 283990
Randallrosenfeld (2004 SG2) in his honour. He has twice placed second
in the Annual Griffith Observer Writing Contest (2008 & 2013). He was
the 2016 Peter Sim Memorial Lecturer (Calgary Centre RASC). He is
also a member of several professional early-music ensembles.
Time: Saturday, January 14, 7 p.m.
Speaker: Blair MacDonald
Topic: An Astrophotographer’s Sky – Adventures in Summertime Astro-imaging.
Over the last few summers I’ve gotten to do some imaging from our family cottage located on the Mira River in Cape Breton. You would think that summertime imaging at the cottage would be relaxing, but you might be surprised.
Meet at: Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
NOTE: Snow conditions this Saturday might rule out parking along the side of the Bluff Road (even when there is no snow the Bluff Road is not the safest place to park). If you might be parking next door at Roy & Gertrude’s home (#465), remember to bring a flashlight to light your way along the adjoining path.
Because of the upcoming holiday weekend, our first meeting of the 2016/2017 season will be on the third Saturday.
Time: Saturday, October 15, 7 p.m.
Place: Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Speaker: Melody Hamilton
Topic: Searching the Deep Sky Gems and Challenges
Summary:
When one gazes up into a dark, moonless sky with unaided eyes, we see what ancient astronomers were familiar with….the Milky Way, fainter stars and a few “fuzzy” objects. With the use of our modern telescopes, amateur astronomers are able to distinguish one type of faint fuzzy from another. This is the challenge in the Deep Sky programs: finding, identifying, observing and recording these faint fuzzies.
The June meeting is delayed a week and will occur on Saturday on the 18th.
Meet at 7 pm in Avonport.
Speaker: Larry Bogan
Subject: The Solar Bubble and some on Recent Astronomy (more details later)
Minas Astronomy Group –– April Meeting
Spacetime coordinates:
t = This Saturday, April 9, 7 p.m.
R = Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Speaker: Roy Bishop + ?
Roy and Larry founded MAG over 21 years ago, in November 1994.
Topic: Images and Some Poetry
April’s presentation will be more informal than the one I gave last month. I shall present a selection of recent unique and beautiful astronomical images, from various sources including cameras on tripods, Earth-based telescopes, and cameras in space. Also, I hope to have one or two of our members present a few poems they have composed, suitably accompanied with images.
Saturday, May 14, 7 p.m.
Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Speaker: Laura McLarnon
Topic: Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents and the Origin of Life
Summary: The discovery of deep sea hydrothermal vents in 1977 changed the perspective of the requirements for life on Earth. No fauna was thought to exist within the dark abyss of the ocean. In the 40 years since this discovery a better understanding of the types of vents and their ecological niches have allowed scientist to propose DSHV as a possible location for the synthesis of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. I will discuss the chemical environment present at White Smokers and how those conditions mimic the primordial conditions on Earth. I will then discuss the evolution of life from primitive bacteria / archea synthesizing chemicals leaching from the Black Smokers to complex multicellular organisms. I will show parallels between the evolution of the Tree of Life and the evolution of complexity at the vents.
Saturday, March 12, 7 p.m.
Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Speaker: Roy Bishop
Roy Bishop and Larry Bogan founded MAG over 21 years ago, in November 1994. Roy has had a keen interest in astronomy since childhood, although he has never taken a course in the subject. His formal background is in physics.
Topic: A Matter of Some Gravity
One hundred years ago Albert Einstein presented his General Theory of Relativity (GTR), a description of gravitation that replaced Newton’s theory of 1687. The GTR is the foundation of modern cosmology, the study of the nature and structure of the Universe. Besides giving a revolutionary insight into the nature of gravity, and being essential for GPS navigation, the GTR predicts the existence of gravitational waves. Almost 40 years ago indirect evidence for gravitational waves was found in the orbital decay of a binary pulsar. About the same time, apparatus to possibly detect gravitational waves directly began to be built. These detectors have become increasingly more sensitive as designs and technology have advanced. Success occurred late last summer. After traveling for more than a billion years, on 2015 September 14 at 06:50:45 ADT a burst of gravitational waves passed through Earth. You did not feel them but two detectors in the USA did, opening a new branch of astronomy. That discovery was announced last month, on February 11. As the Canadian reporter Ivan Semeniuk put it: “After countless generations of living in silence on the shores of a vast and restless cosmic ocean, the human species can finally hear the surf.”
Minas Astronomy Group –– February Meeting
Saturday, February 13, 7 p.m.
475 Bluff Road in Avonport
Speaker: Paul Gray
Paul is the president of the Halifax Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and is an experienced observer. This will be the 5th time Paul has spoken to MAG.
Topic: The Great American Eclipse!
In 2017 the shadow of the Moon will cross the lower 48 of the United States of America from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The last time that happened was in 1918! This will be the first eclipse of modern times for which millions of people across both the USA and Canada can simply drive to the path of totality during the warm summer vacation period. An event that many of us have not seen, a total eclipse of the Sun is often ranked as the top astronomical event anyone can witness, ranking 10 or 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. In this talk, Paul will look at the weather prospects, logistics and risk of becoming a chaser of the Moon’s shadow on August 21st, 2017. Where will you be?
Saturday, January 9, 7 p.m.
Avonport, 475 Bluff Road
Speaker: Melody Hamilton (and as Melody told Roy a few days ago: “Remember that you are going to do part of the presentation”)
Topic: Brown Dwarfs
Brown Dwarfs are not stars, planets, asteroids, meteorites, comets, small dark nebulae, or height-challenged individuals having lots of melanin. Several are quite close to the Solar System. Melody has offered to tell us what they are.