Mississauga Centre RASC

98th Meeting

        Members’ Night

Day:                Friday, January 25, 2008

Speakers:         Colin Jackson

                         Randy Attwood

                         Jim Kendrick    

Astronomy, A Kid’s Perspective

Colin Jackson, a Grade 8 student, spoke about a youth’s perspective of astronomy.  When a young person wants to find out where he is, he first finds his house on a map, then the city, province, country and continent. Moving further out, he realizes that his planet is part of the solar system which is one galaxy of many i.e. the neighbourhood is a very big place.  How can we find out more? – through the RASC.  Colin described activities to teach children astronomy such as measuring the universe with a piece of toilet paper, and solar observing.  What he likes most about astronomy are the interesting sights, people, cool information, sharing of information.  What he doesn’t like are the huge numbers, strange names, and the fact that the best nights are in the cold of winter.   

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Randy Atwood described the upcoming total eclipse of the Moon on February 20. The event occurs at a convenient time with mid-eclipse at 10:26 p.m.   Light refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere illuminates the Moon. At some eclipses, the Moon disappears completely whereas at others, it can be quite bright.  For this eclipse, the southern part of the Moon should be brighter than the northern part.  Randy explained the Danjon scale and showed a visibility map.  In 1968, the Surveyor craft of the lunar surface saw the eclipse looking back at the Earth covering the Sun.

The eclipse can be viewed naked eye or with binoculars (best).  Photography is a challenge due to changing light levels. Digital is easier than film. 

The next lunar eclipse after this will take place on December 21, 2010 and will be visible from Ontario. 

Astrotrack and Dew Controller

Jim Kendrick described these two products which he has developed.   The controller takes 2 heaters.  With 2 ½ amps it is good for a small refractor.  The aluminum AstroTrac was difficult to design but is very simple and accurate.  Weighing  2 kg and fitting into a suitcase, it has a tangent drive and works on a wormgear. It is stable, can drive huge weights, has a periodic error corrector. It needs a stable platform such as a tripod, and requires accurate polar alignment.  Jim showed astroimages made with a DSLR at 200 to 300mm. 

The rest of the evening was taken up by the Annual Meeting of the Mississauga Centre RASC.

 Submitted by Chris Malicki, Secretary  Chris Malicki, Secretary                               back to Miss Centre. meeting reports page
Mississauga Centre RASC