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Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandSouthern Stars: Abstracts Volume 43: March 2004 to December 2004. |
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Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandSouthern Stars: Abstracts Volume 43: March 2004 to December 2004. |
| No 1 March 2004 | No 2 June 2004 | No 3 September 2004 | No 4 December 2004 |
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| Southern
Stars: Vol 43 Contents. |
RASNZ Home Page |
| Southern Stars: Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. Pp 1 - 32 | |
Does a Correlation
Exist Between Dates of Known Meteor Showers and the Infall of
Micrometeorites?
Rachel Soja.
This paper examines whether a correlation exists between the
dates of known meteor showers and the rate of infall of
micrometeorites. The composition of particles is also
investigated.
Micrometeorites and 'other magnetic' particles were collected
from rainwater and examined. The numbers of each type of particle
were counted, standardised to the number expected from one litre
of water and compared with the dates of meteor showers and their
peaks. When graphed, a tentative correlation emerged. An electron
microprobe was used to determine the composition of
microspherules and other non-spherical magnetic material, in
order to establish whether it was terrestrial or extraterrestrial
in origin.
Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. Pp 3 - 9
Gerry
Gilmore
Marilyn Head
Surrounded as I was by the thud of rugby heroes falling thick and
fast in the World Cup and the glitz of the Lord of the Rings
superstars swanning through Wellington's 'Middle Earth' last
November, it was with quiet satisfaction that I went to meet my
own "superhero", astronomer Gerry Gilmore.
Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. Pp 10-12
Observing
Phenomena of Jupiter's Galilean Satellites
Brian Loader
Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. P 12
A Treasure Trove
of Star Systems in Eridanus
Euan Mason
For some time I've been awaiting an opportunity to hunt down some
star systems in Eridanus, but Christchurch's skies have rained on
my parade for the last three weeks. At last, Friday night
(February 6) fell with a crystal clear sky brightened by a full
moon. Seeing was about 6/10. These weren't ideal conditions, but
viewing was a better resort than sitting in my basement. The sky
at Canterbury Astronomical Society's West Melton observatory
would have been only marginally darker than at home, so I set up
my cute little ETX 90RA on the front lawn.
Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. P 13
50 Million Stars
Per Night
Nicholas Rattenbury
In 2002, plans were announced for the construction of a 1.5 - 2m
class telescope at the Mount John University Observatory as part
of the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) project.
The telescope is now under construction. This article presents
details of the new telescope and the impact it will have on
microlensing research
Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. Pp 17 - 27
Book
Reviews
"Visual Astronomy in the Suburbs. A Guide to Spectacular Viewing"
by Antony Cooke, reviewed by Cameron Jack.
"Telescope and Techniques. An Introduction to Practical
Astronomy, 2nd edition" by Chris Kitchin, reviewed by Cameron
Jack.
Volume 43, number 1. March 2004. Pp 17 - 18
| Southern Stars: Volume 43, number 2. June 2004. Pp 1 - 20 | |
Albert's
Graduation Ceremony
Alan Gilmore and Pam Kilmartin.
On Friday evening, May 7, about 50 friends and relatives of
Albert Jones gathered in Wellington's Michael Fowler Center to
witness the conferment of a Doctor of Science degree from
Victoria University of Wellington.
Volume 43, number 2. June 2004. Page 5
Waharau Dark Sky
Weekend
Ursula McFarlane.
The Waharau Dark Sky weekend event, organized by Keith Edwards
and Dean Jonkers of the Auckland Astronomical Society, happens at
least twice a year, and is not to be missed. The event isn't
catered, there are no speakers or lectures, it's not even
organized chaos. It is a weekend of relaxation in the company of
like-minded friends, exploring the night skies, checking out the
latest skywatching tools, and having fun.
Volume 43, number 2. June 2004. Page 6
Record Closest by
Asteroid 2004 FH
Alan Gilmore.
On Friday, March 19, 2004, at 11:08 NZDT (March 18 22:08 UT) an
approximately 30 metre wide asteroid made the closest,
non-impacting approach to Earth so far recorded. Short of hitting
us that is! 2004FH, as it was designated,was discovered on March
16.3 UT by the NASA-funded LINEAR team, using their 1.0-m f2.15
telescope in New Mexico. Follow-up astrometry by LINEAR on the
next night showed that the object was headed for a very close
pass of Earth around March 18.0
Volume 43, number 2. June 2004. Page 7
Royal Astronomical
Society of New Zealand - Annual Report of Council for
2003.
Volume 43, number 2. June 2004. Pp 9 - 18
Book
Review
"Expedition Mars" by Martin J L Turner, reviewed by Jeffrey
Simpson
Volume 43, number 2. June 2004. Page 8
| Southern Stars: Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Pp 1 - 24 | |
A Short History of
Dunedin's Observatory
Ashley Pennell.
Dunedin has a long history of astronomical observatories dating
back more than 100 years. The Beverley Begg Observatory has been
'home' to many amateur astronomers but increasing problems from
its position in the middle of a city has motivated an expansion
into the country, at Middlemarch in Central Otago.
Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Pp 9 - 11
Transit of Venus
2004: Iran
Glen Rowe.
Transits of Venus are relatively rare events, however during my
lifetime I could reasonably expect to be around for a pair of
these events. Using a global visibility map I looked for
locations to see the 2004 transit. My criteria were simple - I
wanted to see the entire transit and minimise the risk of being
clouded out. Somewhere in the Middle East looked like an ideal
area. A few years ago I had worked with an Iranian colleague who
had since returned to Teheran. The opportunity to visit him and
see the transit was irresistible.
Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Page 12
Transit of Venus
2004 from Broome
Garry Telford.
The author travelled to Broome, Western Australia to observe this
year's transit of Venus event. With perfect weather the event was
successfully observed and created considerable local public
interest.
Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Pp 13 - 14
Transit of Venus
2004 from Afghanistan.
Trent Corbett
I am presently working as a communications officer in the NZ
Army, and am deployed in Bamyan Afghanistan as part of the NZ
Provincial Reconstruction Team. This has meant that I was
fortunate to be in a position to witness the transit of Venus on
June 8, an event not visible from New Zealand, and I thought that
my account and photos may be of interest to the members of the
Society.
Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Page 15
A Transit of Venus
2004: Bondi, NSW
Harry Roberts
June the 8th 2004 and June 5th 2012 are two dates that have been
pinned beside my desk for the last four years. Apparently we
Sydney-siders will see the whole event in 2012, instead of just
the first two contacts as was the case on June 8th. But even the
first two contacts proved to be a fantastic astronomical event,
in more ways than one.
Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Pp 16 - 17
The Periodicity of
the Transits of Venus
Brian Loader
The occurrence of transits of Venus in pairs at 8 years intervals
separated by intervals in excess of a century has received
considerable attention. These form part of a longer cycle of two
8 year pairs over a 243 year span, one pair at the ascending node
and one pair at the descending node. This cycle is by no means
stable, in the past there have been extensive periods with only
single transits at each node as there will be again in the
future.
Volume 43, number 3. September 2004. Pp 18 - 22
| Southern Stars: Volume 43, number 4. December 2004. Pp 1 - 20 | |
Estimating Ages of
Open Star Clusters Using Stellar Luminosity and
Colour
Chris Williams.
This paper was designed for the 'armchair' astronomer who is
interested in 'amateur research' by utilising the vast amount of
images placed on the internet from various places.
Open star clusters are groups of stars that are physically related, bound by mutual gravitational attraction, populate a limited region of space and are all roughly at the same distance from us. We believe they originate from large cosmic gas and dust clouds within the Milky Way and the process of formation takes only a short time, so therefore the members of the cluster are of similar age. Also, as all the stars in a cluster formed from the same cloud, they are all of similar (initial) chemical composition.
This 'family' of stars may be of similar birth age but their
evolutionary ages differ due to the variation in their masses.
High mass stars evolve much quicker than low mass stars, they
consume their fuel faster, have higher luminosities and die in a
very short time (astronomically speaking) compared to a
fractional solar mass star.
Volume 43, number 4. December 2004. Pp 8 - 13
Book
Review
"The Observing Guide to the Mesier Marathon" by Don Machholz,
reviewed by Ursula McFarlane.
Volume 43, number 4. December 2004. P 16
What is Time that
We Should be Mindful of it?
Frank Andrews.
Time is something that is so much a part of our existence that it
is difficult to stand back and consider what it is that humans
have named "Time". It is sometimes said that we exist in Time and
Space but while being able to think about Time in terms of the
methods by which it is measured, we are still left with the
question of its true nature. In this paper we will seek to
understand something of the true nature of Time and look at how
this relates to space and gravity.
Volume 43, number 4. December 2004. Pp 17 - 18
Southern Stars Vol 43 Contents