NEWSLETTER OF THE VANCOUVER CENTRE RASC

VOLUME 2002 ISSUE 4 JULY/AUGUST 2002

Standing in Stonehenge 1

The Space Race 2

President’s Message 3

Astronomy Day Pictures 6

Upcoming Events 7

Members’ Gallery 9

Of Fires in the Near Sky 10

Looking Ahead

Remember, you are alwayswelcome to attend meetings ofCouncil, held on the first Tues-day of every month at 7:30pmin the G.S.O.

July 9: Planetarium show:Nightwatch. Please note themeeting will start at 7pm.

Aug. 13: Dr Harvey Richer ofUBC with his talk, “Dating theUniverse with Hubble observa-tions of M4.”

Next Issue DeadlineMaterial for the July Novashould submitted by Monday,Sept. 2, 2002. Please sendsubmissions to:

Gordon Farrell(gfarrell@shaw.ca)

Standing in Stonehengeby Gordon Farrell

continued on page 5

Farther back than ourcollective memory can recall, wehumans have been fascinated bythe heavens. Sometimes thisfascination has turned toobsession, driven by the sky’s

presumed ability to foretell thefuture. Sometimes this obsessionis driven by more practicalconcerns, such as keeping track ofthe passing of the seasons to betterplan the sewing and reaping ofcrops. On a recent vacation, I

visited the manifestation of one ofthese obsessions: Stonehenge.

Located about 10km north ofSalisbury, we know far more aboutStonehenge’s history than itspurpose. It began as circular

earthwork, probably used as aceremonial meeting place about5000 years ago. This evolved intoa circular ditch, with the excavatedearth piled up around its outer andinner edges and a ring of holes cutinto the chalk along its inner edge

2

The Space Raceby Marc Verschueren

Not long ago, AndrewChaikin gave us an impressiveinsight in the history of the Apolloprogram that put the first and thelast men, so far, on the moon. Wehave all seen, I think, most of thepictures, but they never made animpression on me as on thatevening. During the questionperiod, Lee Johnson made thecomment that we could not do thisanymore. This statement cannot beignored too easily. We couldindeed not do this anymore at thistime. There are several reasons forthis. Andrew Chaikin immediatelypointed to one reason by the sharpobservation that the Apolloprogram was a fluke. In today’sterms its cost would be 100 billiondollars, American. No president inthe US could go to Congress andask for such a sum of money for ascientific project. But at that timeit was not a scientific project. Itwas an effort to put the US backinto the leading position in spacetechnology. Apollo was not amilitary project but it sure hadmilitary and geopoliticalconnections. That made it soworthwhile and opened the giantflow of funds. And that is why itwas a fluke—the space people andastronomy got a free ride on thefear of Soviet domination. Duringthe early nineties, PresidentClinton turned down a request for12 billion dollars for a new particleaccelerator in the US. Thescientific depth of this project wasmuch greater than the exploration

of the moon, being related to thebasic understanding of matter andthe physics of the early universe.But it sure could not match theappeal of power in space.

And we can no longer go tothe moon, because nobody knowshow to do it anymore. All thepeople who did it have long sinceretired or are even not with us anylonger. And nobody has conservedthe necessary skills because we donot do it anymore. There are nodoubt enormous technical files andendless reports forming acollective memory of the project,but they are not actively used atthis moment. To start a project likeApollo up again would take longtraining for a large group ofpeople. We could indeed not do itanymore. Not right now

Astronomy can be expensive.It is not as expensive as otherbranches of science but it doesrequire a strong monetary input atthe higher levels. From years agoit has always be of concern to mewhy society is willing to contributeits scarce resources, likeeconomists call it, to help a studythat does not seem to have anypractical value. How far is societywilling to go? Astronomy hasalways been blessed with thesupport of wealthy citizens whoare deeply interested in theuniverse. In the more recent years,the names Hale an Keck come tomind. And astronomy has a greatadvantage in that telescopes havea long life time. The Mount Wilsoninstrument, used by Hubble, is still

operational. We astronomers donot throw things out very easily.

But there must be a limit tothe generosity of privateindividuals or of society asexpressed with government grants.It also takes more and more effortto get new results. It is a kind ofversion of the law of diminishingreturn in the business world whereone has to spend more and moreto get smaller and smallerincreases in production or profitsor other interesting things. To getthat extra billion years in thedistance we can look back into thehistory of the universe costs a lotmore now than the first billion lightyears. We have to build spacetelescopes now that will cost a fewbillion dollars to add a little bitmore distance to our knowledge.

This leads to interestingreasoning. We build bigger andbigger telescopes located furtherand further into space to seefurther and further, and spendmore and more financial resourcesdoing it. But if the expansion ofthe universe is accelerating, theedge of the universe we can seemoves faster and faster away fromus. Does that mean that the growthof the funds and of our efforts wecan use to see the edges of ouruniverse is slower than thisaccelerating expanse? Is this somekind of space race we cannot win?!

3

2002 VancouverCentre Officers

PresidentCraig Breckenridge 604-437-3103cbrecken@shaw.ca

Vice-Pres./WebmasterBill Ronald 604-733-7036ronaldb@shaw.ca

SecretaryMarcellus Redmond604-533-1830

TreasurerMarc Verschueren 604-986-1485marcver@shaw.ca

LibrarianWilliam Fearon 604-939-1895

National RepresentativesPomponia Martinez 604-215-8844pomponia@telus.netBob Parry 604-215-8844robpar@telus.net

MembershipSean Roddick 604-946-1137smrgeog@yahoo.com

Chair, CARO CommitteeEric Fuller 604-540-2373eric.fuller@ballard.com

Director of TelescopesPhil Morris 604-734-8708

Public RelationsNorman Song 604-299-7924norman_song@telus.net

SpeakersBarry Shanko 604-271-0615barry.mail@intouch.bc.ca

MerchandisingDoug Montgomery 604-596-7058moondoug@home.com

Nova EditorGordon Farrell 604-734-0326gfarrell@shaw.ca

CouncillorsDan Collier 604-732-6046Jason Rickerby 604-502-8158

TrusteesSally Baker 604-324-3309Lee Johnson 604-941-5364

About RASCThe Vancouver Centre, RASC

meets at 7:30 PM in the auditoriumof the H.R. MacMillan Space Cen-tre at 1100 Chestnut St., Vancou-ver, on the second Tuesday of everymonth. Guests are always wel-come. In addition, the Centre hasan observing site where star par-ties are regularly scheduled.

Membership is currently $51.00per year ($26.00 for persons under21 years of age) and can be ob-tained by writing to the Treasurerat the address below. Annualmembership includes the invalu-able Observer’s Handbook, six is-sues of the RASC Journal, and, ofcourse, access to all of the clubevents and projects.

For more information regardingthe Centre and its activities, pleasecontact our P.R. Director.

NOVA, the newsletter of theVancouver Centre, RASC, is pub-lished on odd numbered months.Opinions expressed herein are notnecessarily those of the VancouverCentre.

Material on any aspect of as-tronomy should be e-mailed to theeditor, mailed to the address onpage 5, or uploaded toSpaceBase™ at 604-473-9358, 59.

AdvertisingNova encourages free use of itsclassified ads for members withitems for sale or swap. Notify theeditor if you wish your ad to run inmore than one issue.

CommericalRates

1/2 Page: $25.00 per issueFull Page: $40.00 per issueRates are for camera-ready, orelectronic files. Payment, bycheque, must accompany ad ma-terial. Make cheque payable to:RASC Vancouver Centre.

President’sMessage

continued on page 7

Summer brings us thosewarm nights of amazing sightsto see: the wonders of thesummer Milky Way. There is somuch stuff to look at as wepoint our scopes toward thecentre of our galaxy that I amalways happy when summerrolls around. Of course the factthat we have some of ourfavourite annual events at thistime of year doesn’t hurt, either.

By the time you read this,we will have held the first ofour Manning Park Star Parties.The event takes place over theweekend of July 6th at theManning Park East Gate site.Conditions at this site areprimitive but we are presentedwith some of the best skies weget all year. In my opinion,Manning is the one of thedarkest sites we attend locally.

The Manning ParkOutreach appears to be injeopardy. Due to the cuts infunding, the Visitors’ Centrehas been closed permanently.At this time, Manning Park hasno scheduled interpretiveprograms in place. I willcontinue to work onresurrecting this event andhopefully by the time we haveour July meeting I will havegood news to report. We had

4

Observing Sites

Dale McNabb Observatory inAldergrove Lake Park (RASC Van-couver Centre's regular viewingsite)Contact Mike Penndelton (604-888-1505) or Howard Morgan(604-856-9186)

Site of the annual star party organ-ized by the RASC Vancouver Cen-tre

Site of the annual Mt. Kobau StarParty organized by the MountKobau Astronomical Society

Site of the regular Thursday nightstar party. On the dike at the footof 72nd St.

5

ASTROCOMPUTINGSpaceBase™ (604-473-9358,59).Affiliated since 1992 with RASCVancouver, our link to RASC Net,RASC Members only chat area.Future data distribution hub forCARO Project. Features includelatest HST images, current worldspace news and astronomy pro-grams. Provides a file uploadingfacility for submitting articles andimagery to Nova.

LIBRARYThe centre has a large library ofbooks, magazines and old Nova’sfor your enjoyment at the GSO.Please take advantage of this clubservice and visit often to check outthe new purchases. Suggestionsfor future library acquisitions areappreciated.

RASCVC on the Internethttp://members.shaw.ca/rascvan/or http://www.rasc.ca/vancouver

H.R. MACMILLANSPACE CENTRE

The Pacific Space Centre Societyis a non-profit organization whichoperates the H.R. MacMillan SpaceCentre and Gordon M. SouthamObservatory. Annual Membership($30 Individual, $65 Family) in-cludes a newsletter, Discounts onSpace Camps, special programsand lectures, Vancouver MuseumDiscounts, and free admission tothe Space Centre. Admission to theSpace Centre includes: Astronomyshows, Motion Simulator rides,multimedia shows in GroundStationCanada, and access to the CosmicCourtyard Exhibit Gallery. For Mem-bership information, call MahiJordao at 604-738-7827, local 237for information. You can also reachthem on the Internet at http://www.hrmacmillanspacecentre.com/

MEMBERSHIPHAS ITS

PRIVILEGES!New members, did you know?

The Vancouver Centre has 6 tel-escopes available for loan free ofcharge! We have telescopes rang-ing from 3" to 10" diameter. Formore information call Phil Morris,Director of Telescopes at 604-734-8708, or see him in the lobby of theGSO after the members meeting.The loaner period is for one monthonly. All telescopes are to be pickedup and returned after the membersmeeting. No telescope will be al-lowed to circulate outside of thesemeetings!

Your greatest opportunity as amember of the R.A.S.C. is to takeadvantage of the company of otherenthusiasts to increase your knowl-edge, enjoyment and skill in as-tronomy.

The best thing you can do togain the most from your member-ship is to get active! Take in theclub meetings; engage other mem-bers with questions; come out to ob-serving sessions (also known as“star parties”), and, by all means,volunteer to take part in our manypublic events.

Observing takes place at theDale McNabb Observatory in theAldergrove Lake Park, located inLangley, on 8th Avenue, just eastof 272nd Street. We are there mostclear nights. Contact MikePenndelton at 604-888-1505 orHoward Morgan at 604-856-9186.

RASC1100 Chestnut Street

Vancouver, B.C.V6J 3J9

604-738-2855

continuted from page 1

continued on page 8

(the hardpan in this region ofEngland is made of chalk). Theseholes were originally filled withwooden posts, but were later usedfor ceremonial burials.

Over the three centuriesspanning 2900 to 2600BC, thearea surrounded by this ring wasfilled with many wooden posts,both around the inner edge and atvarious locations within andoutside of the circle. What theseposts may have been used for, assupports for structures or as tribalmarkers, is still a mystery.

It was after 2600BC thatStonehenge began to take on theform we see today as the obsessionreally began to take hold. Bluestone from Wales, weighing 4tonnes apiece, were brought overwater and land from a site about385km away (the only site wherestones of this colour are found inBritain). Originally, 60 of these“bluestones,” most about 2m inheight, were placed in a doublecrescent, open to the northwest, inthe centre of the earthen ring.

Two to three hundred yearslater, these bluestones wereremoved and Stonehenge enteredits final stage of construction.Huge sarsen stones, weighingbetween 25 and 50 tonnes andreaching up to 7m in height, werebrought to the site from a quarry30km to the north over hillyterrain—a difficult task, to be sure.These stones were arranged into 5trilithons—two upright stones witha lentil across the top—arrangedin a horseshoe shape open to the

6

Astronomy Day Pictures

7

Upcoming EventsJuly5-7 – Manning Park Star Party

#1TBD – Manning Outreach –

CANCELLED

August3-11 – Mt. Kobau Star Party12 – Perseid meteor shower

peaks; observation atAldergrove Park

September6-7 – Manning Park Star Party

#228 – East Vancouver

Neighbourhood Party

October4 – Sidewalk Astronomy #2

(rain day: Oct. 5)

continuted from page 3

originally planned to hold theevent on July 20th so keep intouch with the web page oryour executive as it may comeup at short notice.

On August 3rd, JasonRickerby and I will be hostingthe successful bidders of thetwo Rotary Club auctions. Our“Night with the Stars” shouldprove to be very enjoyable forall of us involved. We plan toshow them a variety of objectsthrough our two scopes andwill supply donuts and hotchocolate as well.

Also on August 3rd theVancouver Centre will joinsome of BC’s Cubs and Scoutsas they make their annual BCHeritage Canoe trip down theFraser River. We will meet upwith the boys at Derby ReachPark near Langley and will

make a short slide presentationprior to retiring to the field andscopes. Bob Parry will bespearheading this event and Iam sure he could use a fewmore helping hands. The lasttime we did this was two yearsago and we were quite busywith five scopes set up.

August 3rd to 11th brings thenext edition of the MountKobau Star Party nearOsooyoos. This annual event iswidely attended by amateurastronomers from all overwestern Canada andWashington State. I love thisevent for the social aspect ofchumming with friends Ihaven’t seen since the lastparty. The event can run from150 to 250 people and is alwaysa great time, even when theweather isn’t so hot. For thosewho attended last year and got

a little wet, cheer up, it wasonly the second time it hasrained on me and it didn’t snowlike it did in 1990.

On August 12th we willhold our second Persied Meteorwatch at Aldergrove Lake Park.Last year we held a small eventwith the GVRD Parkinterpretive guides and aboutthirty registered guests. We hada great turnout of about a dozenscopes and everyone had agreat time. Although we missedthe peak last year, this year’speak is predicted to be around2:30 in the afternoon local time(Garry Kronk). We will befollowing the peak by only afew hours so the show shouldbe pretty good. Last year wehad quite a few that were verybright. !

November18 – Leonid meteor shower

peaks

December10 – Annual General Meeting

8

northeast. These were surroundedby a ring of thirty upright sarsenscapped with a continuous ring oflentils, each weighing about seventonnes, to form a complete circleabout 30m in diameter. Thebluestones (which really are bluishin person, contrary to mostphotographs, including mine) wererearranged in a circle within thelarger sarsen circle.There was evidentlysome indecisionabout what to do withthe bluestones, sincethey were rearrangedno fewer than threetimes over the next700 years, withevidence of anintended fourth movethat was nevercompleted.

It is theplacement of severalsarsen stones outsideof the circle that hintat Stonehenge’sa s t r o n o m i c a lpurpose. Two of these stones, nowknown as the Slaughter Stone andthe Heel Stone, when viewed fromthe tallest trilithon, are alignedwith the point on the horizonwhere the sun rises on the summersolstice. If viewed from theopposite direction, the stones arealigned with the winter solsticesunset. Other stones outside thecircle suggest other astronomicalpurposes, such as the northern andsouthern extents of the rising andsetting of the sun and moon, andeven the prediction of eclipses, but

continuted from page 5 such alignments are generallyviewed as happy coincidencerather that actual intent of thosewho built Stonehenge.

So whose obsessionculminated in the Stonehenge wesee today? Contrary to popularopinion (and Spinal Tap’s song),the Druids are not responsible. Ahistorian by the name of JohnAubrey first advanced the Druid

theory about 300 years ago, but itis most certainly wrong. TheDruids were a Roman-era people,so Stonehenge predates them by2000 years. So who, then, builtStonehenge? Though we don’tknow them by name, itsconstructors were most certainlylate stone age to early bronze agepeople. Since this time predatesthe written word, we will likelynever know their true identity.

Still, the truth never gets in theway of a good time. Had I visitedStonehenge a week later, I would

have been surrounded by throngsof self-styled neo-Druids, allcelebrating madly as the sun pokedover the horizon. If I had beenthere, it probably would have beenbest if I kept this little nugget ofinformation to myself.

But standing there, watchingthe sun try to poke through theclouds and shine upon this ancientcalendar, I couldn’t help but

wonder at the extentsto which humanswould go to mark themovements ofheavenly objects.Whether theconstruction ofmonuments like thisthroughout the worldwas originally drivenby practical orreligious concerns,the one drivecertainly must havebecome crossed withthe other in order tomarshal the resourcesneeded to completethese often massive

structures. Alas, obsession can bea fickle thing. As with most greatancient monuments, Stonehenge’sdraw eventually waned and it fellinto the ruin we see today, boththrough decay and vigorousrecycling by the locals. But we canstill marvel at the strange ways theancients manifested their oddobsession with the skies, while weput our resources to far betteruse… like building glass and steelmonuments to money (ahem). Oh,well. I guess some things neverchange. !

The view from the summer solstice sunrise, facingStonehenge. The Slaughter Stone is in the forground,and the Heel stone is behind the camera.

9

Members’ Gallery

Doug CannPartial EclipseJune 10, 2002

Doug CannPartial Eclipse

June 10, 2002

10

Of Fires in the Near Skyby Dan Collier

As Mauricio steered me upsome stone steps alongside avineyard, I noticed some wild-looking cats.

“Many cats, eh?”He snickered. “Many mouse.”Mauricio, the man whose

basement rooms we rented for twonights, asked me where I was from.I answered in general terms, andadded that I was an ingenieroelectrico who worked in themobile radio industry. It seemedwiser not to say writer or part-timeastronomer. I didn’t have any cashon hand to hold the room in casethe rent was suddenly demandedin advance.

“Ingeniero? Like Bill Gates?”he said. “Bill Gates stay here lastyear.” That made me think for amoment. Gates? Here? InRiomaggiore? Then it occurred tome that Gates rather resemblesRick Steves, whose guidebook hadbrought us here.

Behind some beads was theoaken door of the suite of roomsthat Mauricio rented out. Like somany premises managed by singlemen, this one was a combinationof marginal neglect, piecemealupgrades and ruthless capitalefficiency. I don’t think Mauriciodeclared his lodging income to therevenue branch, either. The oneamenity I couldn’t find fault withwas the view. Vineyards spilleddown terraced slopes to theMediterranean Sea. Breathtaking.

Down in Riomaggiore’s firstrestaurant we had dishes garnished

with the local specialty, a pestosauce of nose-watering strength.Afterwards, most of the dinersjoined us at the little harbour towatch the sun drop behind themountains of the Ligurian coast.The sky was clear, and though thesun had already set, its dying rayscaught the trails of eight airliners(I counted). Someone startedplaying an American folk tune onhis guitar. I had never understood,until now, why people lugged theirguitars around with them onvacation. Nothing could have beenmore appropriate for the scenethan a man strumming and singingbadly under the deepening indigosky, here in the Italian Riviera.

An hour later the sky wasblack with many stars. There, alittle higher than I was used toseeing it at home, was Virgo. Thestar that represents the ear of wheatthat she holds in one hand, brightblue Spica, glinted over thevineyard. Spica is Persephone, thepatron goddess of the farmers.Later in the year, Virgo and Spicaare in the sky only briefly beforesunrise blots them out. It is saidthat in past ages, the disappearanceof Spica in the dawn’s light stirredthe farmers to harvest.

In another of the Romanlegends Virgo was Astraea, whomwe know as Justice holding abalance. And to her left within herreach lay the Balances themselves,in the house of the Ecliptic wherethe Sun resides when the lastharvests are coming in and thenights are lengthening to balance

the days. When the gentle GoldenAge came to a close, Astraea wasthe last of the gods to withdrawfrom Earth. In the Ages thatfollowed, wealth and luxury ruled,then declined into decadence andfinally into the strife that marks theoutset of recorded history. Todaywe are a little uneasy in our currentstate of wealth, knowing that whilesocieties come and go, the starsnever change.

The chronology of the Agesis attributed to Hesiod of Boeotia,who for all we know existed notas an individual but a school ofpoets, whose works, among themost powerful in Westernliterature, are like my dreams.When the Sun rose over theMediterranean Sea and ourcivilization awakened and surged,the dreams of Hesiod and othersbecame one with the last morningmist. Only tatters survive, whichhave been nurtured through themodern ages to become the basisof sentiment. How else, after all,than by sentiment do humanbeings decide what isfundamentally important? My urgeto see Europe, I now understood,satisfied an unconscious need toread our civilization’s manuscriptof evolving values. I am also theastronomer devoting the negligibleinterval of my lifetime to readingthe stars in an effort to grasp thefar greater age of the universe.Perhaps these thoughts lay in allour minds when we teach ourchildren to look at the stars.

continued on page 11

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continuted from page 10

The faint sound of wingbeatsbetrayed a flight of bats comingout to feed. The bats made merealize how very quiet it was, andI paid a few respects to the processwhich somehow protectedRiomaggiore from the impositionof technology. The only sound nowwas the wind in the vineyards.

The next day…The town was nearly wild,

with sparrows, bumblebees,swallows, cats and lizards takingadvantage of the spring weather.Wildflowers grew among thegrapevines. We went down to thewater’s edge intending to walk thecliffside path, the Via dell’ Amore,that the Cinque Terre authoritieshave built from Riomaggiore toManarola. Unfortunately, theywere effecting repairs and it wasclosed. The next segment of thepath, that led from Manarola’strain station to Corniglia, was notblocked. It presented me withprobably the most picturesqueview of our entire journey—a gemof a Mediterranean village, withrumpled-looking houses stackedup the mountainside, a little boatbasin lay by the water, and agnarled old pine tree in theforeround to frame the view. Getout the camera! Click! Hmm—lastexposure on the roll.

My old OM-1 has made anastrophoto or two in its time.However, I think I’ve had more funwith it taking vacation pictures. Ithad never failed me, nor I it, untilnow. Like the amateur that I am, Iforgot to release the takeup

sprocket and ripped the film insidethe camera.

One piece of advice for thissituation: do not open the camera.Take it to a camera shop where anexpert can extract what is left ofthe film and salvage it. You havebrought a second camera, ofcourse, and since you have beencareful to alternate the two, littlewill have been lost by yourforgetfulness.

Near the science museum inMunich (highly recommended, bythe way!) a camera shop didindeed present itself. The manager,a Herr Honig, working in a light-tight bag, got my film out, losingonly the three last frames.

The path became treacherous,with sheer drops of fifty feet tojagged rocks in the water. Aboutfive minutes short of Corniglia wecame to a locked gate across thepath. Rather stupid, this, blockinga dangerous path at only one end.I pushed the gate experimentally,and lo, the chain came slack justenough to let us through. Justbeyond the gate was a baroverlooking the sea where wedrank espresso and iced tea. Wegot on the train to see Pisa, butfatigue and threatening skies ledto a decision to get off atRiomaggiore for an early dinnerand bedtime. By nine o’clock, aswe were getting ready for bed,thunder and lightning startedcoming in from over the sea.

Just then, all the lights wentout. If we had gone to Pisa, wewould probably have beenstranded on a powerless train.Inside a tunnel. At night.

In the remaining minutesbefore the end of twilight, Idetermined that (1) there were nocandles anywhere, (2) Mauriciohad not put any kerosene into thekitchen lantern, and (3) myflashlight, which had worked a fewdays ago, now would not. So theonly thing to do was go to bed.

Rain came down in bucketsfor a while. Unable to sleep, I gotup to see whether anyone else hadtheir electricity restored. What Isaw outside astonished me. Thefireflies had come out! Hundredsof thousands of them. Somethingabout the rain stopping and thetemperature and humidity beingjust right had stimulatedmultitudes of these bluish-greensprites to flicker among the vinesin the terraces as far as I could see.Neither of us had ever seenfireflies before. One actually flewinto our bedroom, and with eachflash everything in the room wasstarkly visible in our dark-adaptedeyes.

By eleven the power wasrestored—and that was the end ofthe light show. !

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