Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Ma Ev rch 2002 ent Horizon Volume 9 Issue 5 Eine Kleine Nacht Musik For sheer visual power; the celestial canopy of a clear Nothing Like The Sun, a contemporary album released night is our most enduring source of inspiration. To the in 1987 by Sting. receptive viewer it can open the mind and flood the It's not unusual for certain celestial sights to trigger senses, often with varied and wondrous results. specific lyrics. A nice globular cluster, for instance, re- While astronomers and physicists may sport the minds me of "Starry, starry night." the first line of Vin- deepest moontans, as they reason to the edge of time, it cent, Don Mclean's tribute to Van Gogh - you know, the is the ethereans (artists, musicians, writers, etc.) who guy who painted that poster for telescope stores. Sirius best translate the emotional impact of a stellar sky into tends to bring on Pinks Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Di- a tangible form for the masses. amond, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran: Great Balls Of Fire, Which is why, when the moon hits the eye of your and Saturn almost demands "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" average guy, you are more likely to get "That's Amore" - see, stargazing really is a trip back through time. rather than the number of days to perigee. It's a corre- While I won't be serenading at a star party near lation, of music and event, to which astronomy is partic- you, I doubt this affliction is mine alone. If you'd like ularly well-suited, and I am especially prone. For exam- to share selections from your top ten star chart my e- ple, watching Jupiter and Capella brighten, against the mail appears below. My wife, Gail, and I are new to darkening background of dusk, I'm invariably reminded the club and would like to chat. In the meantime, I'll of the opening to Moondance by Van Morrison: let you in on my favourite combination. Whenever I point the scope at Orion, and the bril- Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance liant, veil-wrapped, Trapezium comes into focus, my With the stars up above in your eyes jukebox-for-a-brain punches in M42 and, fittingly, up When that happens, hopefully I get our 6" reflector comes that other great Van Morrison tune - Into The cooling before I recall the next line - "A fantabulous Mystic: night to make romance" - but that really is more than We were born before the wind you need to know right now. Also younger than the sun The general policy of no radios at group observing Ere the bonnie boat was won sessions is a sound one - yup, a pun - however, for inti- As we sailed into the mystic mate backyard sessions the right music can add a little ambiance. Sure, Sinatra's Come Fly With Me and Fly Hark, now hear the sailors cry Me To The Moon, may seem a bit obtuse, as do AM ra- Smell the sea and feel the sky dio hits like Dancin' In The Moonlight and The Night Let your soul and spirit fly Has A Thousand Eyes but as a place to start you've got Into the mystic to admit they fit - and everyone knows 'em. For a more classical atmosphere you could always go Glenn Muller mullers@interlynx.net with The Planets by Holst; Copeland's Theme For The After a thirty year hiatus, Glenn Muller Common Man; or sci-fi favourite, 2001 Space Odyssey is rediscovering astronomy. He and his by Sprach Zarathustra. Another possibility is Myth- wife, Gail, observe from their backyard in odea by Vangelis; a broody yet musically rich tribute Grimsby. They invite you to view their to the Mars Exploration Program. For easy listening at webpage at: the eyepiece, though, one of my top choices would be http://home.interlynx.net/~mullers/ April Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2 Saturn Occultation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 7 Ask The Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 3 Web Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7 Revisiting the Winter Star Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 8 Astronomer of the Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6 Messier Marathon Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 9 Kohoutek Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7 Page 2 Chair's Report "Objects in motion tend to re- - thanks mainly to the efforts of main in motion. Objects at rest Grant Dixon. It plays a smaller Event Horizon is a publica- tend to remain at rest." Despite the role in our activities now. In tion of the Hamilton Amateur fact that these "laws" were meant the first years of the club we also Astronomers (HAA). to describe physical objects, they had several well-attended camping The HAA is an amateur astron- apply equally well to the conduct weekends at dark sites. More re- omy club dedicated to the promo- of people and groups of people - cently we have concentrated our ac- tion and enjoyment of astronomy like the HAA! The way in which tivities around Binbrook Conserva- for people of all ages and experi- we conduct our meetings has not tion Area observing sessions. What ence levels. changed substantially in the 8+ should we do next? The cost of the subscription is in- years in which we have been in exis- Don't under-estimate the power cluded in the $25 individual or tence. That is not necessarily a bad of a single new idea - they are rare $30 family membership fee for the thing, but one should always be on gems! They can make all the dif- year. Event Horizon is published guard against only catering to the ference. If you have a thought for a minimum of 10 times a year. likes of the "survivors". Of course what you would like to see happen, we are especially fond of our most pass it along to one of the members HAA Council loyal members! Still, the questions of the Council! Hon. Chair . . . . . . . . . . Jim Winger arise: "What else can we do?", One thing I would like the HAA Chair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Doug Welch "What new can we throw into the try in the next year is to visit an- Second Chair . . . . . . . Grant Dixon mix?", "What would you like to other group's meeting. When the Secretary . . . . . . . Margaret Walton see/hear about/do that isn't being NYAA folks dropped in on us, it Treasurer . . . . . . . . . Barbara Wight done right now?" Now that spring always resulted in increased inter- Observing Dir. . . Stewart Attlesey is almost here, the urge to get est and cross-pollination of ideas. Publicity . . . . . . . . . . Sheila Overall out under the sky is extra strong. Let's make a date to go out and Editor/Web . . . . Anthony Tekatch Where should we channel the ef- hit the road! You'd be surprised Membership Dir.. . . .Ann Tekatch forts of our group and its activities? how much fun it can be to visit as Councillor. . . . . . . . .Ray Badgerow In the early days of the HAA, a group! public outreach in the form of plan- by Doug Welch Web Site: etarium shows was a key element http://amateurastronomy.org/ Doug Welch is the current chair of the HAA and also a found- Mailing Address: ing member. PO Box 65578 You can find out more about Doug at: Dundas, ON L9H 6Y6 http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/people/faculty/Welch DL h.html Speaker for April 12, 2002 WORLDS OF WONDER - What scientists wish they knew about the planets For the first time since the dawn of the space age the five brightest planets can be seen grouped together in the night the sky. In recent decades a fleet of unmanned spacecraft have revealed Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but on each of these unique worlds mysteries abound. Ivan Semeniuk, astronomy reporter for Discovery Channel, offers a guide to planet watching this spring, and examines the key questions that will determine the future of planetary exploration. Ivan Semeniuk Note: The Hamilton Spectator is booked by another group in April so we'll be using an alternate location. Please call or email for the alternate.We do have the Spectator for May and June. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 3 Ask the Experts ­ the earth slows its rotations and Andromeda are approaching each the moon moves further away from other and will eventually collide and If you have any questions about the earth. This will finally end merge. by Marcel VanDalfsen astronomy we have experts in the when our moon is in synchronous following fields that are ready orbit with the earth, and the lock- to answer your questions; galac- Q4. At last month's meeting ing period will be about forty-eight tic astronomy, astrophysics, stel- I thought I heard Doug Welch say days. On the other hand, Triton, lar physics and variables, astropho- that astronomers have recently dis- the largest of retrograde objects, is tography using emulsion/print film, covered that the expansion of the having energy taken from it by Nep- polar-aligning an equatorial mount, universe is accelerating. I was star- tune. Neptune slows down, Tri- scanning photos and image process- tled by this, did I understand this ton moves closer to the planet, and ing. correctly, and could someone elab- eventually will be ripped apart to Send in your questions to orate further on how and why this form rings or crash into the planet's anthony@unihedron.com could be happening. by Brian Chire surface. It would seem that retro- A. Oops, there is no answer for grade satellites are in a transition this one. If you think you know the The theme this month is an ex- state and will not last forever, so answer then please send it into the tension of last months theme "Grav- enjoy them while you can. Finally, editor. ity Sucks" has anyone seen Triton, other than Q1. In last month's issue, "As- that toffee-nosed Grant fellow? by Q5. I know what globular clus- tro Crackerjack" gave us a teaser­ Astro-Crackerjack ters are, and I know that they are he/she answered my question about located in the galactic halo, but retrograde objects and said that Q2. How do astronomers know what I have never heard explained "the more interesting question is­ what our Milky Way galaxy looks is why they are formed and/or lo- how did the retrograde objects come like and how did they determine cated where they are, rather than into being? and that is another where we are located in it? by Brian being located in the main plane of whole story." So tell us the story! Chire the galaxy like most of the other Also tell us what the eight retro- A. Oops, there is no answer for stars. Also, I have heard that they grade objects are. by Brian Chire this one. If you think you know the are among the oldest objects in the A. Oh goody! A two part ques- answer then please send it into the galaxy, why is this? by Brian Chire tion ­ and it seems I have shot my- editor. A. Challenging question; in a self in the foot to get this one. way, the second half question is the The second half of the question Q3. I have read that our Milky answer to the first half. One way is much too easy to answer and Way galaxy is part of a "local of thinking about it is that globu- therefore will be left as an exercise. group." Does this mean that we lars are part of the building blocks While I suspect there are more than just happen to be within a bunch of galaxies. As the galaxy begins to eight, I limited my last answer to of galaxies located close to each form, it is still large and spheroidal satellites for clarity. Ok, ok, a hint. other, or is the group formed to- in shape; that is when the globu- Simply get an ephemeras, and any gether and/or bound to one another lar clusters formed. Sometime af- orbital inclination of greater than 90 gravitationally in some way? If so, ter that, the remaining gas collapses degrees is a retrograde object. why? by Brian Chire into a bulge and a flattened disk. I am sure each retrograde ob- A. The local group is bound Most of the globulars form at that ject has its own story which is lost gravitationally together. The two beginning phase (which makes them in time, but there is a general con- main members are the Milky Way among the oldest Galactic objects), sensus that they are captured As- and Andromeda (M31), each of but some do form during the disk teroids or Kuiper belt objects. But which has several satellite galax- collapse; these globulars would be here is the interesting part ­ in a ies surrounding them. The spiral disk globulars and be much younger planet and moon system there is an galaxy M33 is also an important than the halo globulars. by Marcel exchange of energy. Take, for ex- member of the local group, but it VanDalfsen ample, the earth-moon pairing: the is smaller than the Milky Way and moon takes energy from the earth Andromeda. The Milky Way and Q6. How do satellite galax- Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 4 ies like the LMC and SMC form? galaxies (there are other galaxy for- and still come out with virtually Are they galaxies that happen to mation scenarios, but this seems to the same results and with a lot less be captured by the gravity of the be the leading view). When these work. If we consider a man walking larger galaxy, or do they form at the larger spiral galaxies merge together at brisk pace of 4 mph ­ whoops! same time as the main galaxy? I (as happens frequently at the cen- make that 6.4 km per hour ­ there have heard that new satellite galax- ters of galaxy clusters [as in Virgo is an increase of only about ten bil- ies of the Milky Way have recently and Coma]), they tend to form large lionths of his rest mass due to rel- been discovered. How many satel- elliptical galaxies, and in extreme ativity. A fighter jet traveling at lite galaxies of the Milky Way are situations, huge elliptical galaxies about 3,800 km per hour sees an there and what are they like? by like M87 (called a cD galaxy) at increase of about two millionths of Brian Chire the center of the Virgo cluster. its rest mass. These are hardly A. The way I understand it, is When we look at the galaxies when princely sums and we really don't that satellite galaxies like the LMC they were much younger (for in- have to consider them in everyday are the building blocks of galaxies stance, the Hubble Deep Field), we situations. by Astro-Crackerjack (these building blocks are related to see mostly irregular galaxies, which the same building blocks described would later merge to make the big- A. No, Newtonian physics has in Q5). Thus they formed about ger galaxies. by Marcel VanDalfsen not been abandoned. Both Newto- the same time as the galaxy; the nian and Relativistic physics have galaxy formed by many of these their time and place (pun intended). LMC objects merging together. I Q8. I am confused by the rela- We only use relativity for things think both the Milky Way and An- tionship of Newtonian physics and that are moving very fast (say at few dromeda galaxy have between 5-10 relativity. When I was in high % the speed of light) or for things known satellites around them. by school, (not so long ago!) Newto- that are very dense. Everything Marcel VanDalfsen nian physics, such as his three laws else, we still use Newtonian physics. of motion, was presented to us, as The difference is that at very fast Q7. Why are there different being valid and true. However, since speeds, Newtonian physics gives the types of galaxies­eg. spiral, ellipti- relativity, have the concepts of New- wrong answers. And at low speeds, cal and irregular? by Brian Chire tonian physics been essentially sup- relativity gives the same answers A. As mentioned in Q6, I be- planted or abandoned? by Brian that Newtonian gives (except that lieve that irregular galaxies (eg. Chire Newtonian calculations are much LMC) make up the building blocks A. Oh, heavens no! For every- easier compute). by Marcel Van- of galaxies. These building blocks day non-relativistic life situations Dalfsen merge together to make spiral type you can use Newtonian equations Revisiting the Winter Star Party What is new and different this year at the WSP? them all lined up along the northern end of the camp. First of all, there was a new food concession. The That was different. original building that housed the former caterer was One thing that was really prominent as we crossed condemned. Apparently years ago when it was con- the border entering the United States, was the high de- structed, beach sand was used to mix with the cement, gree of patriotism. There were American flags every- so now the building is slowly but surely collapsing, one where, in cars, on buses, in store windows, on T-shirts, chunk at a time. and where there were no flags, signs displaying 'God We did not get our favourite parking spot even Bless America' took up the slack. Every state we jour- though we were sixth in line at the gate. Guess who neyed through on our way to and from the WSP showed was first, again, Liz. Yep, there she was ahead of all of their colours. us. No we did not get our favourite, because this year, And now, to the main event. We left Rockwood 6 there were many more RV's than before so they had February 2002, temperature -4C, and our first layover Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 5 was at Lima, Ohio (N 40 45.344' W 084 04.888' -6 C), Hydrogen Alpha filters. Now that was awesome. Sweetwater, Tennessee (N 35 36.088' W 084 31.085' Unfortunately the prices of those filters still keep -2 C), Valdosta, Georgia (N 30 49.078' W 083 18.906' them out of reach of the average astronomer. 16 C), Moore Haven, Florida (N 26 50.094' W 081 But it is wonderful to see the solar prominences 06.365' 22 C), Summerland Key, Florida (N 24 38.988' through them. W 081 18.681' Monday 22 C, Tuesday 24 C, Wednes- During the non-viewing nights, we had opportuni- day 22 C, Thursday 20 C, Friday 20 C, Saturday 24 C, ties to visit with old friends, and make new friends. The Sunday 18 C). group from the Ohio Amateur Astronomers were there So, as you can see, the temperatures were ideal for in full force and we spent a lot of time with them. They the entire week. The weather, however, took a different design and build their own scopes, grind their own mir- slant. Monday night, our first night there, was abso- rors, and use an open truss design. The mirror boxes lutely superb. Clear skies, a perfect transparency, en- are made of wood, and a marvel of cabinetry they are, abling us to use up to 400 power for fantastic views of with inlays of different colour woods making striking the shadow of the moon Io on the planet Jupiter. There designs. The view through their scopes is breathtaking. were many oohs and aahs that night, and early on the One friend of ours from previous star parties, Char- next morning, the Southern Cross, Eta Carina and those lotte, won a Meade ETX at a star party at Cheifland goodies we cannot see at our northern latitudes dis- a month ago, so we had lots of scopes to peer through, played themselves magnificently. Those diehards who and much socializing. stayed up all night were rewarded handsomely. Tuesday night was excellent, a shade lesser than All too soon, Sunday rolled around, and by 1000 Monday night, but enjoyable none the less. hours, we were out of there and starting our way back Wednesday night was OK, but short, as clouds to Canada by the following roundabout route. Naples, moved in with the results that a few sucker holes greeted Florida (N 26 12.624' W 081 44.560 10 C), Ho- us. mosassa, Florida (N 28 48.147' W 082 34.680' 8 C), Thursday night was tsk, tsk. Friday night was no Apalachicola, Florida (N 29 42.985' W 084 59.760' viewing at all. Many people left on Saturday and as 18 C), Pensacola Beach, Florida (N 30 19.971' W 087 fate would have it, Saturday night was beautiful, so we 08.595' 14 C), Opelika, Alabama (N 32 38.555' W who stayed up ended on a really good night of spectac- 085 20.501' 2 C), Stone Mountain Park, Georgia (N ular viewing. 33 48.863' W 084 08.527' 8 C), Mount Vernon, Ken- And so, the week started and ended on excellent tucky (N 37 20.404' W 084 18.351' 2 C), Columbus, notes. Ohio (N 39 55.801' W 082 49.980' -6 C), and back to No one from the Hamilton group was lucky enough Rockwood to -8 C. to win a door prize, but the prizes as usual, were stu- We were away for three weeks and the worst part pendous, ranging from software CD-ROMs, T-shirts to of the trip was on our return. We got caught in that the grand prize, the Meade 8inch GPS model. OOOH tie-up outside Chatham, and with the 401 closed both AAAAH east and west, we spent two and a half hours detour- As usual, there was a whole list of excellent speakers: ing around the area in the worst snow storm we have Scott Ireland, Mel Bartels, Dave Sopchak, and of course encountered all winter. We ended up on highway 402, the founder of the Winter Star Party, Tippy D'Auria. finally ended just west of London, where the weather Also on the list were Steven O'Meara, Jack Newton and took a change for the better. From there to Rockwood his awesome photos, Alice Newton, Brian Lulu, Fred was clear moonlit sailing. Espenak, and Don Parker. The speakers were excellent All in all, it was indeed another great experience, and covered a large spectrum of interests for the novice and surely recommended for anyone who is able, to take as well as the advanced astronomer. There was a wide the trip to the Winter Star Party. variety of scopes, and at one spot there were four re- fractors enticing viewers with views of the sun through by Ollie and Lou Darcie (Astronomaires Extraordinaire) Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 6 Astronomer of the Month: James Alexander Winger was filled with ads for companies selling telescope parts and supplies for making optics. Jim especially remembers the large Edmund Scientific ads. There weren't many companies selling complete telescopes ­ certainly not as many as there are today. Commercially available telescopes were very ex- pensive and amateur astronomers built their own telescopes to save money. In many cases, it was also the only way to get larger aperture telescopes. With the introduction of mass produced, high quality telescopes, the need for making your own telescope faded and the ATM group eventually disbanded. In 1990, the old telescope maker's group was revived and, once again, Jim volunteered to host the meetings. About a dozen of us eager glass grinders trekked out to Jim's garage in Caledonia weekly for months to make our own optics. It was a great experience and I still can't get over how easy it is This is the first in a series of articles profiling local astron- to make your own mirror!!!! Jim's wife, Lucille, made us feel omy legends: our most celebrated, seasoned and hardworking extra welcome by supplying goodies and coffee. The energy members. from those treats helped us all participate in the annual ATM Hamilton has a very rich and diverse astronomical com- Group ritual of pushing Jim's house trailer into the backyard munity. There are two very active astronomy clubs as well for the winter. as the top notch astronomy department at McMaster Uni- Jim served as President of the RASC Hamilton Centre versity. I hope to profile folks from all three groups in the three or four times including the year that Hamiton hosted months to come. the national RASC annual meeting. He also served as Na- I decided to start my series of articles with Jim Winger tional Rep. for Hamilton Centre on at least one occasion. for the same reasons we chose him as the Hamilton Amateur When Bill McCallion was establishing the planetarium at Astronomers' Honorary Chair to recognize his lifetime's con- McMaster, Jim Winger was involved in helping to set up tribution to the local astronomy scene. When I approached first a parachute and then a cardboard dome to be used with Jim with the idea, he didn't bat an eye. He promptly sug- the Spitz projector. gested I contact his agent! One of Jim's favourite observing memories is of joining James Alexander Winger was born in Hamilton on July the group that trekked to Quebec for a solar eclipse many 6, 1922 ­ he'll be celebrating his 80th birthday this year! Jim years ago. has always been interested in science and astronomy. Af- ter coming out of the armed forces at the end of the Second Jim prefers planetary observing to deep sky observing, World War, some event in the sky (Jim doesn't recall what it but his main interest is in astronomical theories and science. was) prompted a conversation with a coworker who suggested Jim and Lucille have two daughters: Roberta and Naomi; to Jim that he check out the Royal Astronomical Society of as well as two grandkids: Natasha and Colin. Canada Hamilton Centre meeting at McMaster. Jim went to The next time you see Jim at a meeting, introduce your- the very next meeting and was immediately hooked. Not long self. But beware, he may try and redirect you to his agent. . . after that first meeting, a group of Hamilton Centre members were discussing how nice it would be to have regular amateur by Ann Tekatch telescope making meetings. No one offered to organize any- Ann Tekatch is a founding member of the HAA. thing, so Jim volunteered to have the ATM meetings at his She lives way up on top of Hamilton moun- home in Burlington. His association with telescope making tain with her astronomer husband, Bill, and began! Over the years, Jim made himself a couple of small their three year old daughter, Alexandra. She refractors as well as a 6" reflector. No one will ever know is Membership Director for the HAA. how many telescopes he's helped others build! Back when the ATM group was active, Sky & Telescope Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 7 This photo is a picture of my Uncle's farm in Antigonish, NS. If you look closely at the sign you will notice that it is astronomical in nature. It commemorates Comet Kohoutek. It was to be the comet of the century back in 1973-74. There was lots of hype in the news- papers, but in the end it was little more than a fizzle. My Uncle was looking for a name for his farm around that time, and thought it was an interesting one. by Charles Baetsen Charles Baetsen is a found- ing member of the HAA. He moved to Peterborough a few years ago with his wife and three kids. Charles is editor of the Peterborough astronomy club newsletter. Photo taken by Bill Tekatch on February 20, 2002 at about 7:20pm of Saturn about to be occulted by the moon. Picture info: Pronto 70 mm refrac- tor, about 33x magnification, Nikon Coolpix950 digital camera. The im- age is mirror-reversed because of the right angle star diagonal in the tele- scope. Web Watch links of the month This months contributions by; Raymond Badgerow, Stewart Track satellites in outer space: Attlesey, Wilf Kolodzey, Doug Welch, and Marcel http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/realtime/JTrack/ VanDalfsen. Spacecraft.html Send your interesting links into the editor. Eclipsing binary simulation: Some very thorough astronomy calendars: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/astro101/ http://www.astronomy.com/Calendar/Default.asp java/eclipse/eclipse.htm http://www.skycalendar.com Solar images: http://www.googol.com/moon http://www.bbso.njit.edu/cgi-bin/LatestImages http://home.earthlink.net/~urukhai1/welcome.html HST inspired Astro Art: http://www.finderscope.com´/news/upnow.html http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/02/ http://SkyandTelescope.com/ Marcel's research: Stewarts Astronomy tips and links: http://impatiens.physics.mcmaster.ca/vandalfs/m104. http://home.cogeco.ca/~stewart.attlesey/nightsky.html html Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers 4 11 18 25 3 10 17 24 31 2 9 16 23 30 8:16pm 9:05pm 9:54pm 1 8 15 22 29 NightNight NightNight Saturday May 2002 7 14 21 28 12:25am 1:14am 2:03am 6 13 20 27 ObservingObserving GRS ObservingObserving GRS GRS 5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 1 8 15 22 29 BUILDINGBUILDING 7 14 21 28 10:36pm MeetingMeeting 6 13 20 27 Friday NightNight NightNight SPECSPEC 5 12 19 26 5 2:44am 4:33am GeneralGeneral ATAT 5:22am GRS ObservingObserving 12 GRS ObservingObserving HAAHAA NOTNOT 19 GRS 26 March 2002 4 11 18 25 3 10 17 24 31 8:15pm Thursday 4 11 18 7:26pm 12:24am GRS 25 GRS call Walton Roy 8:57pm 10:46pm 11:35pm info, Marg Rob Attlesey Wednesday 3 1:05am 2:54am 3:43am 4:32am observing Stewart 827-9105, 627-7361, 692-3245 GRS 10 GRS 17 GRS 24 GRS For Red April 2002 used. Great night. is at time Tuesday 2 visible 5:14am 7:25pm Jupiter's Spot Eastern GRS 9 16 23 30 GRS GRS: 9:07pm 9:56pm 10:45pm 11:34pm Monday 1 7:18pm 1:15am 2:04am 2:53am 3:42am GRS 8 GRS 15 GRS 22 GRS 29 GRS Sunday begins 5:23am DST GRS Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Millennium Messier Marathon Sponsor Sheet The Messier Catalogue is a list of 110 deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, etc.) that are visible in backyard telescopes. Each year, during early spring, it is possible for an observer to see all 110 objects in a single night. This is a challenge that few have mastered! The person you are sponsoring has accepted the challenge to find as many Messier objects as they can in a single night sometime between March 10, 2002 and April 30, 2002. On the back of this sheet, they will note the objects they found, the date they attempted the marathon, and the equipment (telescope, binoculars, naked eye) they used. The Hamilton Amateur Astronomers is a registered charitable organization. The money raised by this marathon will enable us to continue our work in public awareness and astronomy education. Donations of $10 and more will receive a tax receipt. Thanks for your support! Name Address Phone No. Pledge per Flat Paid? Object Donation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Cheques should be made payable to: Hamilton Amateur Astronomers P.O. Box 65578 Dundas, ON L9H 6Y6 Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Millennium Messier Marathon Participant's Name: Location of Marathon: (show location you observed from. e.g. Binbrook Conservation Area, backyard in Hamilton, etc.) Date of Marathon: Equipment Used: Messier Objects Observed: (Listed in order of appearance from West to East. Objects visible in binoculars are marked and those visible to the naked eye are marked ) Object Seen? Object Seen? Object Seen? 1) M77 38) M109 75) M27 Dumbbell Nebula 2) M74 39) M40 76) M71 3) M33 40) M106 77) M107 4) M31 Andromeda Galaxy 41) M94 78) M12 5) M32 42) M63 79) M10 6) M110 43) M51 Whirlpool Galaxy 80) M14 7) M52 44) M101 Pinwheel Galaxy 81) M9 8) M103 45) M102 82) M4 9) M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula 46) M53 83) M80 10) M34 47) M64 Black Eye Galaxy 84) M19 11) M45 Pleiades 48) M3 85) M62 12) M79 49) M68 86) M6 Butterfly Custer 13) M42 Orion Nebula 50) M83 87) M7 14) M43 51) M98 88) M11 Wild Duck Cluster 15) M78 52) M99 89) M26 16) M1 Crab Nebula 53) M100 90) M16 Eagle Nebula 17) M35 54) M85 91) M17 Swan Nebula 18) M37 55) M84 92) M18 19) M36 56) M86 93) M24 20) M38 57) M87 94) M25* 21) M41 58) M89 95) M23 22) M93 59) M90 96) M21 23) M47 60) M88 97) M20 Trifid Nebula 24) M46 61) M91 98) M8 Lagoon Nebula 25) M50 62) M58 99) M28 26) M48 63) M59 100) M22 27) M44 Beehive Cluster 64) M60 101) M69 28) M67 65) M49 102) M70 29) M95 66) M61 103) M54 30) M96 67) M104 Sombrero Galaxy 104) M55 31) M105 68) M5 105) M75 32) M65 69) M13 Hercules Cluster 106) M15 33) M66 70) M92 107) M2 34) M81 71) M57 Ring Nebula 108) M72 35) M82 72) M56 109) M73 36) M97 Owl Nebula 73) M29 110) M30 37) M108 74) M39 Return completed form with donations to Barb Wight, Treasurer or Ann Tekatch, Messier Marathon Co-ordinator