RASC eNews

The Herdsman and the Snake

Sometimes known as the Hunter or the Ploughman, the constellations Bootes is most commonly referred as the Herdsman. Taking on the appearance of a giant celestial kite souring amongst the stars, this constellation holds one very bright star. To locate it, following the stars in the Big Dipper’s handle which arcs down to the star Arcturus. This K0 supergiant shines 113 times brighter than our Sun and emits 215 times more radiation. It measure 26 solar diameters across or one quarter the size of the orbit of Mercury. Located 37 light years from us the light of this magnitude -0.1 star was used to open the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago.

Alan Dyer, a long-time member of the Calgary Centre and noted astronomy author has been selected as the recipient of the Simon Newcomb Award in 2007. This award will be presented at the General Assembly in Calgary later in June.

Hamilton Centre's banquet is fast approaching! You can still purchase tickets or reserve seats to be paid at the door by contacting Centre President John Williamson (john DOT williamson AT sympatico DOT ca).

Bizzion Galaxies

If you are a lover of distant galaxies, you must be full of joy at this time of year. Stretching from the Bowl of Ursa Major all the down to the highly populated grouping known as the Virgo cluster, literally hundreds of galaxies are available for your choosing. Depending on the light gathering power of your telescope, some might be out of your viewing range. But do not fret; there is a nice combo of semi bright and extremely faint grey smudges to choose from.