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Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandSouthern Stars: Abstracts Volume 44: March 2005 to December 20057. |
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Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandSouthern Stars: Abstracts Volume 44: March 2005 to December 20057. |
| No 1 March 2005 | No 2 June 2005 | No 3 September 2005 | No 4 December 2005 |
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| Southern
Stars: Vol 44 Contents. |
RASNZ Home Page |
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Southern Stars: Volume 44, number 1.
March 2005. Pp 1 - 40. Papers from the Conference celebrating Frank Bateson's 80 Years of Astronomy. Held 2004 December 4 at Tauranga, New Zealand.
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Progress from
Pencils to PCs.
Albert Jones.
While a child, I was fascinated by the stars and wanted to know
about them but did not know anyone who could help me. The stars
were both literally and metaphorically above my head so all I
could hope to do would be to learn the names and places in the
sky of the constellations and the stars comprising them, and of
course the zodiac (ecliptic) and where to look for the planets. I
had no pretensions of making Astronomy my main interest - it
could only be just a sideline.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 3 - 4
A Brief Musing on
the Events leading up to the Digitising of the VSS Observation
Records.
Ranald McIntosh
I first met, or I should say, 'sighted' Dr Frank Bateson
somewhere around the middle of the last century when he was
sojourning at Mt John. I was returning from a 2-week skiing
holiday at Mt Cook when the bus our party was on made a detour up
Mt John as the driver thought we might be interested. In
Interested we all were, but my main memories of that visit were
the kindly gentleman with 'the fog-horn voice' and the holes
under the accommodation hut where the rabbits lived in the winter
to keep warm.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 5-6
A brief history of
Mt John and a tribute to Frank Bateson's involvement in Mt John's
development.
John Hearnshaw
In this article I will summarize the contribution that Frank
Bateson made to establishing the observatory at Mt John in the
1960s. I will go on to note the main developments at the
observatory between its foundation and the present time.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 7-11
Memories of the
Site Testing.
Alan Gilmore
Of all Frank Bateson's work and achievements, that of
establishing Mt John Observatory must be counted among the
greatest. The work of the RASNZ's Variable Star Section gave
Frank international standing that, combined with his diligence
and long experience in Business administration, made him the
obvious person to lead a site survey in New Zealand.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 12-17
The Bateson
Legacy: Variable Stars Research at the Auckland
Observatory.
Grant Christie
Frank Bateson's advice to the Auckland Astronomical Society's
members looking for projects for their new Auckland Observatory
has stood the test of time. Decades later the observation of
variable stars is still the mainstay of Auckland's research
programmes.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 17 - 23
Watching the
'Abdication Eclipse' with Frank Bateson.
Roy Willoughby.
December 1936 saw England concerned greatly with its
constitutional crisis, the chief figure in which was the yet
uncrowned King Edward VIII. The biggest concern in NZ, at least
for amateur astronomers, was "How can we watch the 14 December 14
annular eclipse without taking a sickie?"
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. P 23
Cataclysmic
Variable Stars: the Professional/Amateur
Connection.
Brian Warner.
To start, let me remind you that cataclysmic variables form one
of the types of interacting binary star (or close binary) wherein
mass is transferred from one star to another. If the accreting
component is a degenerate star then the term compact binary is
usually used - the accretor may be a white dwarf, a neutron star
or a black hole. The donor can also be almost any sort of star -
main sequence, giant, supergiant or even another white
dwarf.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 24 - 27
Long Term
Observations of Type II Cepheids.
Karen Pollard.
The variability of Type I (or Classical) Cepheids has been
extensively studied and our understanding of their pulsation
mechanism and evolutionary status is very well established. These
variables are young, massive population I stars which inhabit the
disks of spiral galaxies and are thus useful tracers of the young
stellar population in these galaxies. The Type II Cepheids appear
in a similar part of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and exhibit
similar light curve and are easy to confuse with Type I Cepheids.
However, they are smaller, fainter less massive population II
variables, and we find them in globular clusters, the halo and
the thick disk of the Galaxy. Type II Cepheids are therefore
useful tracers of this older stellar population.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 28 - 32
The International
Chart Working Group.
John Toone.
The International Chart Working Group (ICWG) was formed in 2000
with the remit to develop and promote best practice for producing
new variable star sequences and the standardization and
correction of existing discrepant sequences. The ICWG has the
official backing of the American Association of Variable Star
Observers (AAVSO) and the British Astronomical Association's
Variable Star Section (BAAVSS).
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 33 - 35
IY Carinae - a
Mira Type Variable Star.
Peter William.
Results of 18 years observation provide the previously lacking
basic catalogue data on the Mira type variable star IY Carinae. A
visual magnitude range of 10.1 to fainter then 15.0 and a mean
period of 283.90 days are found. An epoch for determining dates
of maximum brightness is JD 2447919±283.90 days.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 35 - 36
Book Review -
"The Life and Science of Leon Foucault" by William
Tobin, reviewed by Clive Rowe.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. Pp 37 - 38
CD-ROM Review -
"Venus' rendez-vous" edited by J-E Arlot, reviewed
by William Tobin.
Volume 44, number 1. March 2005. P 38
| Southern Stars: Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 1 - 28. | |
New Zealand
AstroPhoto 2005.
Rob Beck.
May 6-8 2005, Palmer Mill Road, Taupo. With thanks to a couple of
roving Queenslanders who brought fine weather with them , we had
a very successful inaugural Australasian Astrophotgraphy weekend.
Friday was a stunning day for the drive to Taupo. The autumn
colours of this country are truly spectacular.
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 3 - 4
Active Region
10720.
Harry Roberts.
Cloudy weather meant I did not see Active Region 10720 rounding
the east limb of the Sun. When I first saw the group (2005
January 14) I was struck by its likeness to Carrington's famous
spot of 1859 when white light flares were discovered. 10720 was
seemingly the 'ghost of Carrington's spot when seen in white
light.
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 5 - 6
Cruise-Ship
Astronomy Lecturing.
Garry Telford.
In December 2004 Garry Telford was invited to present a series of
lectures in Astronomy aboard 'Discovery' a cruise-ship operated
by World Discovery Cruises Ltd of London. Discovery, which is a
much smaller ship than the average in the industry, left Tahiti
on 15 February 2005 and arrived in Auckland on 2 March 2005, with
stops in Rangiroa and Raitea (French Polynesia), Vava'u (Tonga),
Suva and Dravuni Island (Fiji) and the Bay of Islands (New
Zealand).
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 7 - 8
Royal Astronomical
Society of New Zealand - Annual Report for 2004.
President's remarks, Financial report, Membership report, Council
activities, Publications, Section reports.
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 9 - 17
Astronomy at the
University of Canterbury - Annual Report for 2004.
Observatory Director: Dr M D Albrow, report complied by Dr
William Tobin.
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 18 - 23
2005: The Einstein
Anniversary.
Harry Roberts.
June 2005 was a very important centenary, particularly for
astronomers, being the hundredth anniversary of the Special
Theory of Relativity.
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 24 - 25
Book Review - "The
New Amateur Astronomer" by Martin Mobberley.
reviewed by Ursula MacFarlane.
Volume 44, number 2. June 2005. Pp 26
Trials and
Tribulations of an Amateur Astronomer.
Jennie McCormick.
This article present a description of the Farm Cove Observatory
in an eastern suburb of Auckland and a summary of the
observational work done there. The problems presented by
equipment failure, and the environment are discussed as are some
of the memorable highlights and discoveries.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 3 - 5.
Building an
Observatory with a Papier Mâché Skinned
Dome.
Phil Barker.
This article documents my recent experience building a 2.75m
papier mâché dome. The Observatory is for a 20cm x
200 GPS telescope which is now being used with a CCD
camera.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 6 - 7.
What
if?.
Albert Jones.
What if I had not made Astronomy a great interest in my
life?
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 7 - 8.
VLO - The
Amateur-Professional Connection.
W H Allen.
This paper describes the equipment at the VLO, Vintage Lane
Observatory, Marlborough, New Zealand, the UBV photometric
photometry of Eta Carina and the time series CCD photometry of
cataclysmic variables observations made for professional
astronomers, and other observations made by the author including
the drift scan method of timing asteroid occultations, CCD
photometry of minor planets to determine rotation periods, and
the serendipitous discovery of new variable stars.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 9 - 11.
Probing the Fabric
of Space: from Foucault's Gyroscope to Gravity Probe
B.
William Tobin.
Foucault's original gyroscope in 1852 and the gyroscopes in
NASA's Gravity Probe B satellite were both conceived with the
same goal of probing the nature of space in the vicinity of the
Earth.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 12 - 14.
RASNZ Dark Skies
Group.
Steve Butler.
In 2003, at the RASNZ Annual General Meeting in Christchurch, a
motion was passed to establish a Dark Skies Working Committee to
investigate ways that RASNZ could work to improve the light
pollution effects in New Zealand's night time skies.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 14 - 15.
Asteroid Research
and Amateur Input.
Colin Bembrick.
Many amateurs around the world are now making significant
contributions to asteroid research. These observers are
collaborating nationally and internationally with other amateurs
and with professional astronomers. Work is being done in the
fields of astrometry and photometry, with many amateurs
determining spin periods as well as contributing to shape
modeling studies and radar investigations. Much of this research
can be found published in the quarterly journal The Minor Planet
Bulletin, now online.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 16 - 19.
Astronomy at the
University of Canterbury Department of Physics & Astronomy
and at the Mt John University Observatory.
Report compiled by Dr William Tobin.
Report for the period 2002 January 1 to 2003 December 31.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 21 - 26.
Book Review -
"Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope" by Fred
Watson. reviewed by William Tobin.
Volume 44, number 3. September 2005. Pp 20.
| Southern Stars: Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. Pp 1 - 20. | |
Beatrice Tinsley,
New Zealand's 'Bright Star'.
Marilyn Head.
In 1955 a slender and vivacious girl answering to the name of
'Beetle' announced her determination to be an astrophysicist. It
was an extraordinary decision for anyone to make in 1955, let a
lone a girl of 14, but Beatrice Hill, late Tinsley, was no
ordinary girl. A gifted musician and linguist, she was an
outstanding 'all rounder' academically, yet she chose to work in
this abstruse and difficult field. In her short life (she died of
cancer at 40), Beatrice's brilliant work on stellar and galactic
evolution became a corner stone of modern cosmology.
Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. Pp 3 - 4.
Astrophotography
Section Competition Winner - NC 253 taken by David
Morehouse.
Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. P 5.
Unexpected
Fireworks! Active Region 808.
Harry Roberts.
The activity in 2005 September of the large sunspot group 10808
is discussed. This was the return of active region 10798 of the
previous month. That such activity on the Sun continued despite
the proximity if Solar Minimum adds to the excitement and
interest of these regions. Observations in hydrogen alpha light
enable detailed phenomenon to be followed both on and off the
Sun's disc.
Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. Pp 6 - 7.
Video Observation
of Occultations.
Brian Loader.
The advent of low price, high sensitivity video cameras, coupled
with milli-second accurate on-screen-time-displays gives the
possibility of timing occultations to accuracies of the order of
±0.01 seconds. This in its turn raises the possibility of
detecting diffraction effects as a star is occulted. How much in
the way of diffraction it is likely to be possible to detect for
lunar and for minor planets occultations will be discussed.
Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. Pp 8 - 11.
Developments of
New Zealand Radio Astronomy and Trans-Tasman Long-Baseline
Array.
Sergei Gulyaev, Tim Natusch, Brent Addis, Steven Tingay and
Adam Deller.
Recent radio operational tests and observations using
trans-Tasman Very Long Baseline Interferometry are described and
plans for further development of Radio Astronomy in New Zealand
explained.
Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. Pp 12 - 16.
Square Kilometre
Array in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Volume 44, number 4. December 2005. Pp 17.