i

Cassiopeia No. 22 Vernal Equinox Issue 1979

CANADIAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

SOCIETE CANADIENNE D'ASTRONOMIE

Editor: Doug Hube, University of Alberta.

Members of CASCA are reminded that our next annual meeting is scheduled for May 23-25 at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. If you plan to attend, and expecially if you wish to stay in a university residence, Gordon Walker should be so informed before April 20. -

May 15 is the deadline for sending in registration forms for the XVIIth General Assembly of the I.A.U., Montreal.

Ed Kennedy has begun to assemble a collection of audio tapes on astronomy at the University of Saskatchewan. A transcrip­tion of the first of these, prepared shortly before his death by Jack Heard, appears in this issue. A second one will appear in the June issue and others, I hope,in later issues. We expect these to be of value to those who teach astronomy.

The deadline for the Summer Solstice issue is June 15.

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BI NARY STARS - BY VR. J . F. H[ARV

VIt . J. F. H C'.aJr.d WCC6 {.I16 t I1 wYI (' II ta t i II gu i d,i Vlg Ca /~~A..o pCA. a tlvwug h

La fl-iA~.t notrma.-t.A.ve Ij('C(tl~ . It .(6 appJ(uj.l!(.{cL-te , thel1etloltc, tiwA the

te.xt on one un the ta6t )) '{ ('C.Co on (,(}(JIL I( CUlII)J.f cte d blj Jack befl oltc h-u.,

de.a.th -tI'l Oc toO C'11 1976 ~llOuA'd ap):le.C11t i.H tlli~ pub~A.cation.

In t iLl' FebltttMlj 1977 .(J.J6UC' 00 Til t Juul1.1({(f on tll C RouaR

A~tJtO YLOmA..cc(.f Su c,.{c..tlj on C{(llada , .the uut6t((lldillg cOVlt,'1..<blLt< CJlM uo VI1 . J . F. Hcal1 d t o a-6tll O¥IU YilU W(,J(C' ~wmnall ,i z (' d btj VIL . Ht'et' /'1 S. Hogg , 1t-0~

coU.e.ugue. OUI1 many lje.aIL~. A~ aYI Uo~cJlvati(JI'laf MtlLuvlOml'-'l , mudl 06

Jack I ~ ItC!.Mctltch had be(,YI devcJ-(c.d to ILad-ta.e vcCoc-tty de,tcILm,,{.I1(d-ton~

and to tlt e. ~tudtj 06 b-tnaILtj 6taM . H-t~ e. xpe.IL;t.i~ e. -tn ,th-t~ Me.a 06 a-6tlLonomlj madt'o h-tm a logA..ca,f dW-tce nOll til e. pILepaJr..a;tLon Otl a tape. on

th.<.-6 -i..mpolttant top-tc .

A numbe!! ofl a~ttr.onom('!!~ aCILo~~ Canada Me awMe Otl til e ~ma.U

coll.ec,uclY/ o n tap(>~ on V C( It ( O U~ ~ubject~ whA.ch hM bec H ~taltted a.t t he

Un,i.vC'll.-6 -i...tU Otl Sa~ka.tch('wcU/, Sa~ka;too vl . ThILough th-u., appILoach , ~tUdC.Vlt~

A..n the de.6C!!,Lpt.iv e. ClM6 on ,Lvzt./loductolty a~;tILoVlomy have avt oppolttuvzay

to he.aIL the v-te.W-6 ofl -6p e.CA..al.<.J.J .t.J.J -tn valL-.{uM tl.-ield-6 . Whil('. t he appILoach

doe.-6 not have. the advantage ofl an -tn-pe.!!.J.Jon plte~ en,ta.uoVl, the~e tape-6

Me. pltO vA..ng to be. a va.ttLabte -6uppleme Vitti ) th C'. ma-tC' lL-(a.e c () w!.ILed -tn

le.ctuILe.-6.

The tAaMCUp,UOVl on .th.<.J.J tape. on B-tYlaILY StM~ il.tU~;tJta.te. 6 tho~ C!.

q~e6 0 tl the. e. xce~J:.e.nt teache.Jt wh.<.ch Jack e.xh-tbae.d dUlt-tng h.<.J.J many

ye.a.lL,6 06 ~ e.ILv-tc e. -tVl the. Vepa.Ument 06 A~;tJtonom lj at the Un-tve.Malj 06 T OltO nto . M H e.le.n hM ~tatC'.d -tn helt ~but(J. , he had the. a b.<LUy to WlL-U e.

"cle.M and A..nteAe-6u.ng ace ount.J.J " wah caJr.e6u..f ~ele.ct-tO Y1 and u~ag e. 0 6 woltd~ .( VI tht-iA "P!!OpC'1t COYlYlotatA.OYI". Al~o , "ht wa~ ou.t~taV[dA..Vlg A.YI h.<.J.J

9 e.n C'.ILO.6-i...tlj 06 UmC' aVId (' YI('!!g lj -tv[ good cau-6 e.~ " . I vz !!e,tILo~ pe.ct, Jac k mMt

have. ltegaJr.ded the. appltoach 06 -6upplcm(>YltA..ng .tC'.ctuJI e.~ ovt ~ p(>c-t tl -tc. top-tc~

-tvz, a~;tJtonomy by a tape a~ a " good caU-6e ".

UMVe.May ofl Sa-6katci1('.WCLVI SMkatoon F e.bltUMIj 1979

J . E. KCllll cdlj

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i

BINARY STARS

My -6ub jed i-6 bil1CUty -6ta.M. I wafrt to till you what bil1CUty -6tCUt-6 CUte, how a!.>VwnomeM -6tudy them, and what they have teaJtned 6Jtom them. A binaJty -6tCUt -t-6 a pa-i.Jt 06 -6tCUt-6 60Jt whi~h we e.-ttheJt -6 ee d-tJte~Uy oJt in6eJt oJtbdat motion. That -t-6, the Jtevotution 06 ea~h -6tCUt about the othe.Jt, oJt to put d mOJte exa~Uy, the Jtevotution 06 ea~h -6tCUt CUtound the ~entJte 06 gJtavily between the two -6tCUt-6. BinCUty -6tCUt-6 M e ~ta!.>-6i6ied a~~oJtding to how they Me. de.te.~ted and o b-6 eJtved.

F illt, theJte Me the V-t-6 u.at binCUt-te.-6 whi~h, a!.> the name -6ugg e-6,u . CUte adu.a.Uy -6 een a!.> two -6ta.M and the oJtbdat motion a~tuatty de.te~ted by ob-6e.Jtvation . They tend to have tCUtge -6epMatiOYl-6 and theJte.60Jte tong peJt-i.od-6 . The -6 epCUtatio Yl-6 Me mea!.> Med in a-6tJto nomi~at un.{;U, that i-6 the futan~e 06 the EMth Mom the Sun, oJt 9 3 m~on mile-6, and the pe.Jt-i.od-6 CUte mea!.>Med in yeCUt-6 oJt hundJted-6 06 yeCUt-6. 16 we ~an meCL-6uJte the -6epCUtation and pe_Jt-tod 06 a binCUty, then the ma!.>-6 06 tile -6y-6te.m -t-6 immediate.ty Imown. The -6impte ~e 60JUnuta -t-6: totat maM in un.{;U 06 the -6 un ' -6 maM -t-6 equat to -6epCUtation in a!.>tJtovwmi~at un.{;U ~ubed, div-ided by peJt-i.od in yeCUt-6 -6quCUted. 16 we ~an at-60 mea-6Me the Jte.tative -6ize.-6 06 the two oJtb~, we hav e the JtaUo 06 the ma!.>-6e.-6, and -60 by ~om­bin-tng the -6um 06 the ma-6-6e.-6, and the Jtatio 06 the ma!.>-6e-6, we ~an ea!.>ily ~at~utate the individuat ma!.>-6e-6.

The -6e~ond ua-6-6i6i~ation 06 binaJty -6ta.M -t-6 -6pe~0-6~opi~ binCUt-te-6 . SuppO-6e a binCUty ex-t-6u wdh -6matt 6epCUtation, -6ay onty a m~on mile-6, and MlOJtt pwod , !.:Jay onty a weeR. T~ pa-i.Jt woutd be. too UO-6e togethe.Jt to be. ob-6e.Jtved a!.> a V-t-6uat binaJty even in a tCUtge te.te-6~ope . It (voutd -6tiU tooR tiRe one -6tCUt, but i6 we ~outd ob-6e.Jtve the !.:Jp e.~tJtum 06 the two ~omponenu we might expe~t to de.te~t by Voppte.Jt e66e~t the Jthythmi~ ~hange in the une 06 -6ight ve.towy 06 ea~h -6taJt , and M iV16eJt oJtbdat motion. By -6tu.dying the M-~atted ve.to~dy ~MVe.-6 , we ~an de.te.Jtmine Mme 06 the e.tement-6 06 the oJtbil . We ~an n-tnd the peJt-i.od 60Jt exampte, but we ~annot de.teJtmine the oJtbd ' -6 -6ize. We ~an onty -6e.t an uppeJt umd on that; -6~aJtty we ~annot de.te.Jtmine the ma!.>-6e-6 06 the !.:JtCUt-6 exa~Uy.

The th-i.Jtd ua!.>-6i6i~ation -t-6 e~up-6ing binaJt-te-6, -6y-6tem-6 who!.:Je oJtbd ptane i-6 in the une-06-!.:Jight , M that ea~h time Mound -6tCUt numbeJt one e~p-6e-6 -6tM nu.mbe.Jt two, and then numbe.Jt two e~tip-6e-6 numbeJt one, !.:JO that the ught ~Mve ~ofrtuM two dip-6 in ea~h ~y~te . 16 a binCUty -t-6 ob-6eJtved both a!.> a -6pe~tJto-6~opi~ binCUty and a!.> an e~up-6ing binCUty, we ~an obtun, in theoJty at tea!.>t , atmo-6t ~ompte.te in60Jtmation about the ~om­ponefrt -6tCUt-6 inuuding not onty the.-tJt ma-6-6e.-6 a-6 60Jt V-t-6uat binCUtie!.:J , but at-60 the-i.Jt diame.te.M.

And what have we teCUtned about -6tCUt-6 in geneJtat 6Jtom -6tudie!.:J 06 binMY -6tCUt-6? Will, 60Jt 0 ne thing theJte aJte. a -6MptU-6ing numbe.Jt 06 binCUty -6tCUt-6. Re~efrt -6tudie-6 by VJt. Man Ba:tten 06 the Vominion A-6Vl.O ­phy-6i~at Ob-6 eJtvatoJty -6how, in 6a~t, that -6tCUt-6 whi~h aJte membeM 06 binCUty oJt muttipte !.:J Y-6tem-6, CUte mOJte f1u.me.Jtou-6 than -6ingte -6tCUt-6. FOJt anothe.Jt thing, mO-6t -6tCUt-6 obey a Jte.tation Rnown a!.> the ma-6-6-tu.mino-6dy Jte.tatio n whi~h -6alj-6 that the totat tu.mino-6ily oJt eneJtgy 0 utput 06 a -6tCUt -t-6 pJtopoJttionat to the 60u.Jtth poweJt 06 ~ ma!.>-6. That i-6 to -6ay' i-6 -6ta.A A -t-6 twi~e. a!.> maMive a!.> -6tCUt B, then -6tCUt A will be about 16 ;fA-me-6 cu., tum-tnoM a!.> -6tCUt B. T~ Jtute ha!.> gJteat -6ign-tn-t~an~e when we begin to a-6i2. how a -6tM geneJtate-6 eneJtgy. But, noti~e that I -6a-i.d "mo-6t -6tCUt-6" obey the Jtute. TheJte CUte -6Mpwing and -6pe~ta~utCUt e.x~eptio Yl-6.

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Ccmo-i.dcll hull C')(a mpfl' till' ('((0C' (I~ Si f( iuo 13. S-iJUU-6, t. iL e. bfl.--<-giLt.e-6t. otafl. tYl the -6 /'2.U , .fafl.gutf Ul'C(WOl' it (0 (l lll' (lh /Yte C.eOM-6t.otaM, OVt£U rd)(I(d ,t('Vt .f ig/lf Yl'CVL-6 awau , IW6 all extJl<!Yllel'll ha-il'lt c.ompan-i.MI. I n {jac.t., tILe. c.ompan,i.OI'I , S.{JUU/.J 13, {laJ.J UII.!.'U ((Guut ()Y/l'-hOUf( thoU/.Jandth t.he. light 06 S.{JUU/.J A. Obtaining t.hc m((M 06 tl/(, tw() compOI1e.nAA aJ.J oLLt.£ined c(J./tlieJL we. Mnd the mMJ.J 06 Sifl .i.U.6 A A.'.h ((buut 2.2 J.JolalL maMe.-6, the. mM-6 06 S~U-6 B -i.h abou.t. a ha.t6 a -6UfC(tl 11/((61." o(J 60fl. one. tIling we. J.J e.e. ,t;w.;t SilLiU/.J B d-i.-6ubcyJ.J t.h(!. maM- tum-i. IIU-6(tu t((w . It i6 vC.fl.y ltl1de.IL­-fum,iY{(Ju.-6 6011 -itl:, maM. AvlO/l, ef( thing, We' eml. nt-i.mate tite o.i.z.e. on S-iIlA 1M B nfl.um it.J.J t.otaf. lwn-i ~/(}6-i t~1 and .i t6 f.,( ( fl.~Cl c. e tempefl.a.tILILe. U t.UJtIl-6 (lId to be. auou.t one. -6ixtie.tll ()~ ti,e SWI'O ((imnetell. ItJ.J m((M tuJtn-6 O[L.t .to ue -6-fj.ghaU teM thart ha..f.h ct J.JOfCVL lIIa 60 liill-icll ma/~ C'-6 .ttl:, meai'I dCIIJ.Jt.tU ctbo[L.t one. IUlI/dftC'd t.houl:,and t-<JnC'-6 tlte. ml' all dcn-6-i.tu 06 ti,e. Sun OIL 11. (!~'Leu two hLLndJte.d thoU/.Jand ume.J.J the. dcn-6-Lty 06 wate.fl. . WheY! the.M! c.af.c.LLla.t-i.olt6 we.ILe. 6illt made., t.he.y pILoved vc!'fl.y e.mbaMaMivtg to thc. aJ.Jt.Jr.onome.M who wVt.c. c.fta.f...f.e.ngc.d by the. phYJ.Jic.iJ.Ju to J.Jay what fUnd 06 matelLiaf. c.ouJ'.d h(~ vc t"~ ab-6uJtd.ey lugh deytJ.J ,ttu . The. explanauon t.hat. tlte.y 6inaf.ly CVL-Il,i v c.d a.t WM that t.he. iYLt.eJtioIL 06 S.iJU.U/.J B c.o Mil., .te.d {16 de.g e neJtate. ma.:tte.fl.; at.om-6 6!t..Om wlLic.h aU the. oLLte.1L ele.c..tILo M had be ('.11 -6tJtipped and til (' m-ix,tuJtC'. U h atomic. C.OILC'.-6 and 6ILec e . .te.c./Jto YtJ.J pac.ked muc.h mOIL e. c.loJ.J e.ty .tlwlt 1l 0ILmaf. a torllJ.J c.oLLld e.vC'Jt be. Thi6 the.ofl.Y 06 degeneILate mcttieIL and wl,at c.ame to be l2YloWVI aJ.J "wh..i. .. te. dWCVL6 J.Jt.aJt/.:, " now play-6 a taILge ILote. -i.n t he. the.olLy 06 J.JtillCVL C.VO £LL/--<-CJl1 . We. be.lic ve tlta t mO-6t J.JtaJtl:, euhe.IL hav e. bec.ome , OIL e.ventLLilly will. be.c.o me., "whue dWCVL6J.J". It i-6 ,thC' Mnal J.Jt.ag e. .Ut a tong and c.omplic.ated pllOc.eM 06 -6te.i . .tCVL e.vo.f.ut--<-on .

That WM an examp.f.e 06 how t.he J.JtLLdy 06 a ViJ.JLLaf. binaILY lead to an .i.mpolL.tant. c.onc.ept. in J.Jte.ltaIL e.volLLuon. StLLdie.J.J 06 J.Jp ec..tJtMc.opic. and e.c.lipJ.JiYlg b-i.YlalLi eJ.J have been c.qu.ally 6ILtL-UnuL AI., an cxamp.te , le.-t U/.J c.oMide.1L J.Jome. 06 tlte. c.ovtc1U/.J-i.uY!J.J aW,{.ng 6ILom t.1,e. ,{.dea 06 mai.J.J -.tILanJ.J6e.!t.. -<..n d ' .. ooe. biHCVLy J.J1jJ.J.tCYM. FOIL abo ld the paJ.Jt t.went.y ye.afl..-6, a good deal on a.-ft.e.Huon haJ.J becYI paid to .the HOtion that t.he. C.OLLMe. 06 J.J.:tldtCVL e.volLLUon u6 c.ac.h me..mbe!t.. 06 a pCVL.:t-i.c.LLlCUt....ty c.loJ.Je b,{J1CVLY J.JyJ.J.:tem c.an be. .-:~n6lLLe.nc.e.d by -6ubJ.Jtavtliaf. amOLLVLU on m(U~e..Il. 6lowing nILom .:tIle J.JuJt6ac.e. On one. -6.:tCVL and be.iVLg de.pMUe.d Oyl . .:the -6LLfl.·nac.e. 06 .:the. o.:the.IL . TheILe. i6 li,We. dOLLb.:t .:that .:tW pILOC.e.M .:take.J.J p.tac.e.; not only i6 U pILedic..ted by .:the. .:the.OILY on -6.:te..UCVL e.votLLuon, bLLt .:tYte!t..e i6 a.t-6o obJ.Je.!t..vauovlaf. e.vide.nc.e 06 ill oc.­c.LLlLenc.e. .6LLc.h aJ.J e.m,{.MioYt u ,neJ.J iVL .:the. -6pe.c.tJtum J.Jlwwing abe.Man.:t vuoc.-Lti c.J.J M t.hough -6t.fl ea mJ.J 06 hot gaJ.JMJ.J WC.ILe. 6.fow.i.ng iVI a wM!t..lpoo£ 6a-6h-i.on be.­t.wc.eVL t.he. two J.JteUt-6 . And ,i yt Il.e.c.ent ueCVLo, the. UHURU a!t..liMc.-i.af. -6atulue IVIr. i c.1t c.alLlL.i.C'.-6 X-ILaU de.:tec.t..i.oH eqU--<-pmen.:t hM pILov-ide.d J.JliU mOILe. dILama.t-i.c. dc.mOvt6.tILa,tiuH 06 mMJ.J-t.Jr.Wt-6nC'Jt. One. irM.:tanc.e ,w the X-ILay .60LLILC.e. in .:the. c.oM.:tv?i.auoH CygnLLJ.J, knowvl aJ.J CygnU/.J-Xl. The. pOJ.Jilion 06 t.hi6 J.JOLLILC.e. c.oinc.ide.J.J e.xac..:te.y wuh a ho.:t J.JtaIL HV226868 . Spec..tILoglLaphic. .6tLLdie.J.J 06 .:tW -6.:tCVL by Tom 130Uo n 06 .:the. Vavid VLLnlap ObJ.J eILvatoJty, and by o.:the..h J.J, J.J how .:th.i.J.J -6.:tCVL to be. a -6pe,c.t.Jr.oJ.Jc.opic. binaILY 06 pelLiod 5.6 dayJ.J, J.Jhowing C.le.M e.vid-e.nc.e. 06 mate.uaf. J.J.tILe.aming away pILe.J.Jumab.ty ,towafl.d an ILV/ -6e.e.n c.ompanion . I.t hM be.e.n pOMible .:to eJ.JL<-ma;(:e.. hftOm .:the c.hafl.ac.te.lliJ.J .Uc.J.J 06 .:tiLe. vi6-i.b.tc c.ompo nent. t.hat ;trw un-6 e.e.n c.ompC( n-i.o n IwJ.J a maM (J 6 abo ut 8 I., u f ((IL maM c.,~ . Th e. di6 nic.u.tty -i.h .:to LLndellJ.J.tal'.d why J.JLLc.i1 a maM ,i ve. c.ompavl tOil J.JYW LLl d no.:t pJtodac.e. UJ.J OWvt dc . .:te.c..:table. -6pect.Jr.LLm . Thc mO-6.:t 6avoLLlLed expfavta,uon at tile. pILe.J.Je.~t .:t-i.me. ,{.h .:tha.:t .:the WIJ.Je.e.n c.ompan-i,on i-6 avt e xamp.te. on a plte.nome.nol1. pILedic..:ted by .:thc.oILY and Imown aJ.J a "blac.k 11O£e". nat iJ.J ;to -6ay , a c.ol--fapM!,d obje.c..t mOILe extJte.me. thew a wh-Lte. dwaJt6, and haviVlg J.JLLc.h gILeat J.JLLIL6ac.e. gtwv,{A:.y .:tltat no.:t e.V<!.yl .tight c.an coc.ape. 6ILom i t.. He.Y/c.e , .:thC' name. "blac.k

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" ,

hole.". Ye.aM ago, il wcu, plLe.dic.te.d tha:t ,t6 ~uc.h obje.c.u We.IL e. e.ve,1L de.:te.cA.e.d and ~tudi(>d il would be. by me.an~ 06 the.,i.JL glLavilatio nM e.n 6 e.c.u on ne.Mby ~:taM. Tw plLe.dic.tion ~e.e.m~ to have. be. e. n 6lLf6ille.d ,tn the. c.cu,e. 06 the. blac.k hole. 06 CygnM-Xl. The. ga~ e.~c.ap,tng 61L0m the. v~,tble. c.ompone.nt 06 the. double. ~tM ~ plLe.~ume.d to be. p,Lf,tng up ,tnto a d~c. ~lLILILound,tng the. ~maff uMe.e.n c.ompaMon ~tM on ,tt~ way to il~ ~u.1L6ac.e. . Cott,td,tng atom~ ,tn th~ d~c. Me. plLe.~ume.d to g,tve. ~e. to the. X-lLay~, but the. lig h;t 61L0m the. ~lLIL6ac.e. we..f6 c.annot u c.ape. 61LOm the. e.x.tlLe.me glLav-i-tationM Meld, M tha:t the. c.ompaMon ~talL we.l6 ~ ,tnv~,tble. and no light c.ome.~ 61L0m il to the. EM;th to plLov,tde. u~ wilh a ~pe.c.tlLum.

So we. ~e.e. tha:t the. ~tudy 06 b,tnMtj ~taM ~ ~:till VeILtj muc.h ,tn the. 601Le.61L0n;t 06 cu,tlLonom,tc.M lLue.Mc.h. I c.an ~ugge.~t a:t le.cu,t one, mOILe. l,tne. 06 ,tnve.~tigation wh,tc.h ~ l,tkely to de.moMtlLa:te. the. lLe.le.vanc.e. 06 the. ~tudy 06 b,tnMy ~taM to the. 61L0 ntieIL~ 06 mode.lLn a~:tILo nomy. MO.6t a~tlLonomeIL~ will admil tha:t the.y be.lie.ve. tha:t the.lLe. e.~t plane.talLY ~y~te.m~ othe.1L than oulL own , and, tha:t be,Lng the. c.cu,e, the.y Me. plLe.palLe.d ~o to be.f~e.ve. ,tn e.xtJLa-te.lLlLU:tlL,tal li6e. and pO~~,tbly e.xtILa- t(>AlLe.~:tIL,tal ,tn;te.U..,tge.n;t li6e. . No;tw,LtMtand,tng tw brue.6, we have. ye.:t to d~c.oveIL anotheIL ~:tM wilh a plane.:tMy ~ y~te.m. On the. othe.1L hand, we. have. .6tudie.d ,tn de.:ta,tt mOILe. than a thoMand b,tnMY and multiple. ~y~te.m~ 06 ~taM. We. bel,te.ve. tha;t the. di66e.ILe.nc.e. ,tn the. olL,tg,tn 06 a muf;t,(.ple. .6talL ~y.6te.m and a plane.:tMY ~ y~te.m ~ mOILe. a que.~tio n 06 de.glLe.e. than 06 punc.,tple. Th e. mOlLe we c.an leMn about the one. , the. be.:ttelL we c.an e.xpe.cA. to unde.Mtand the otheIL. ThM pe.lLhap~ we. will lool2. to the. the.OflY 06 oug,tn 06 b,tnM!j ~taM 601L an undeIL~tand,tng 06 the. plLO bab.fe.' 61Le.que.nc.y and c.hMac.t~tic.~ 06 plane.:tMtj ~y.6te.m~, and the. plLobab,Lf.{;ty 06 de.te.c.ting e.xtILa-te.lLlLe.~:tIL,tM ,tntellige.nt l,t6e..

S,tx;ty ye.M~ ago, I am ~lLILe. tha:t man~f a~tlLonome.lL~ would have ~a,Ld ;tha:t 6lL1Lthe.1L ~tudy 06 b,tnMy ~:taM wa~ plLe.:tty u~ eleM . I hope I have. .6hown you tha:t il ~ ~;t)ll extJLaolLd,tnMily 6ILuilnul and w.LU plLoba bly lLe.ma,Ln ~ o 601L many yeaM to c.ome.

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The First Winter on Mont Megantic - .. ' ... --~~- ~ ---~ ..... - . --- • .!_ •..• - - -- •. -. .

For those driving to Mont Megantic, the first signs of spring have finally appeared: bumps on the road! No more speeding, but that is alright, twilight is now later. It is still too early to summarize the first year of operation of the Observatoire Astronomique du Mont Megantic, but I can write about our first winter.

The winter of 1978-79 will be remembered as a poor winter, the worst I hope. The weather condition was not particular to Mont Megantic but general on the East coast. We had unusually long cloudy periods during December and January. Most of us could barely get our observing programs started, so I prefer to keep the progress reports for the nex t equinox.

Astronomers know that clouds are not the only conditions preventing observations, especially during the first year of operation of a new observatory. Ever since we started to go to Mont Megantic, we noticed the winds on the summit. Actually very few nights were lost because of the wind (v > 50 mph), that is until a night with freezing rain and winds up to 88 mph when the anemometer tower fell down . . . since that December night the wind has not seemed too high.

The snow has not been a problem, we don't know how much snow fell during the winter, but we know that the accumulation on the ground has been the second highest in the province. (146 cm on February 1st). Driving conditions on secondary roads in winter are not ideal, and the trip to the observatory has been difficult at times. At the present time no clear night can be lost if the scheduled observer cannot reach the summit, because the one already there needs the vehicle to go back home! Snow has created spectacular sceneries on the mountain, but snow shoes are needed to walk in the woods.

We are now using on a routine basis the R-C camera with its TV guider; the spectrograph with the bonnette and its TV guider; and a simple non-automatic twin-channe l photometer. The photometer controlled by a micro processor should be operational next fall. The Fabry-Perot spectrometer and the polarimeter are near completion. The telescope and the instruments have performed very well at low temperatures (T > -37°C). (I think nobody had the courage to use the photometer on extremely cold nights). It was however nearly impossible to turn the dome on these cold nights, a few nights were lost because of this. The rotation of the dome is done by the friction of two small tires upon a circular steel beam. At very low temperature the friction tire/steel is not enough to move the dome, the main reason is due to the frost, forming on the beam. We plan to install two other wheels and increase the friction on the beam.

The 1.6 m t e lescope is currently used by about 15 astronomers and students in programs ranging from lunar occultations with milli-

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.I

second resolution to narrow band photographic photometry of galaxies requiring 5-hour exposures. The telescope and the site are admirably suited for photographic work. We get at the R-C focus 3 one degr~e field on an 8 x 10 inch plate. The s ky is very dark over Mont M~gantic ,

so long exposures are possible; the 22nd magnitude has been reached. The limiting magnitude depends of course on the seeing, but it turns out that often the seeing is very good, seeing better than 2 arcsec is not rare. We really need more months of observations before we can present an histogram of the distribution of the seeing.

Serge Demers

1 notes from universities I

UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN - SASKATOON

Th~ "PhY.6--tc..6 nOlL Fun" .6ru~.6 on l~c.tuILe/.) hM b~c.n dU--tv eJt~d dulLing the..

w--tnt~IL tefLm by m~mbenA on th~ PhY.6--tc..6 Depan;tme~t and th~ H~ILzb~ILg IVl..6;t~ut~

on A.6t!LophY.6--tc..6 who afL~ --tnvolv~d --tn the fJiud.6 on teac.h--tng and ILe.6eafLc.h --tn

Mt!Lonomy.

DIL. J.A. Koehl~1L l~d onn thi.6 .6~lLie.6 -<-n JanuafLY with a lec.tUfLe on

HOBBY COMPUTERS AND MICROPROCESSORS . Thi.6 wa.6 nollow~d by a pIL~.6~nta;tion -<-n

FebILUafLy by Alan Blac.Rwill on METEORITES. In the. twd month, DIL. Ray Sfl--tnne.IL

dU--tv~~d a tallz on MafLc.h 14th c.ov~lLing THE LIFE AND WORKS OF ALBERT EINSTEIN:

thi.6 day c.omm~molLat~d ;th~ c.~nt~nMal on th~ bifL;th on thi.6 di.6ungui.6h~d M_--t~nU.6t.

Th~ pUfLpo.6~ on the. l~c.tuIL~ .6~ILi~.6 i.6 to pIL~.6~nt --td~a.6 and d~vuopme.nt.6 --tH

phy.6--tc..6 to th~ layman. The ~xc.eile.nt a;t;tendanc.~ at th~ abov ~ lec.tuIL~.6 --tndic.ated

that the. public. i.6 anx--tou.6 to b~ fl~pt wul --tnnolLm~d about .6c.--te.nc.~ and to mafle

the mO.6t on .6uc.h OPPOfLtuMUe..6 when~ve..IL th~.6~ oc.c.ulL .

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The University of Western Ontario

A comparison of high resolution measurements of A6065 and A6253 in the spectrum of Arcturus is b e ing made by David Gray. Measurements using the Digicon on the U.W.O. coude spectrograph are being compared to Reticon measurements done at the McDonald Observatory, interferometer measurements done at the Blackett Laboratories, and photographic measurements done at Cambridge. Preliminary results show agreement in the profile shapes to -1% or better but significant differences in scattered light or zero level.

Plans for I . A.U. Colloquium 51, "Turbulence in Stellar Atmospheres" are progressing as expected. The following is a condensed outline of the program.

1. Convection and the Generation of Turbulence a) The Phenomenon of Convection b) The Generation of Non-thermal Motions

2. Observations of Stellar Turbulence a) Methods b) Examples of Non-thermal Motion Seen in the Sun c) Aspects of Stellar Turbulence

3. Stellar Turbulence and Radiation Transfer a) Mesoturbulence Models b) Obse rvational Application

4. Effects of Turbulence a) Energy Transfer b) Stellar Chromospheres c ) Stellar Winds and Coronae

5. Summary Session

The colloquium will span the four days of August 27th to 30th.

The I.A.U. Joint Discussions in Montreal will include a session on stellar rotation . The invited topics will be 1) rotation in young stars (L. Kuhi), 2) rotation in late-type stars (M. Smith), 3) rotation in binary stars (M. Plavec), and 4) rotation and stellar evolution (Kippenhahn). The organizing committe e consists of M. Hack, J. Hutchings, A. Slettebak, and D. Gray.

The attendance at Public Nights has continued to be very strong with many of our nights being attended by two groups instead of the usual one. The flurry of activity about the February 26th eclipse was amazing. We received a large number of inquiries from people in general, and the news media representatives were particularly persistent. Several "quickie" tape interviews were done for local radio stations; we helped with TV inter­views and presentations; and articles appeared not only in the campus news­papers but several were printed in The London Free Press . The weather in London was cloudy during the eclipse as might be expected for a typical February day.

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The University of Alberta

The Department of Physics has acquired a l4-inch Celestron telescope as a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Peter Pocklington of Edmonton. (Mr. Pocklington is the owner of the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA.) The telescope will be installed at the on-campus obser­vatory on the roof of the physics building, and will be made available to undergraduate students and to the general public.

COOPERATIVE ASTRONOMY EDUCATION AT VICTORIA

Jeremy B. Tatum

University of Victoria

Astronomy und e r r, raduates at the University of Victoria these days are becoming involved in the Physics Cooperative Education Programme . In this p r ogramme the best students in the Department (those with at least a B average , including at least a second class in each Physics or Astronomy c o urs e taken) opt for an e nriched educational experience in which Acad e mi c Terms on campus alternate with Wor k Terms in empl oyment in industrial or government research laboratories or observatories. From all accounts this i s provin g to be a most r ewardin g exper ienc e for students and employers .

Th e full programme is a four - year programme in action the year round . Th e Work Terms are normally in the fall and summer of a student ' s second year and the spring term of the t hird year . Th e student submits a Work Report for each Work Term , and his performance is also rated by the emp l oyer .

At the time of writing , about eight outstanding ast r onomy undergradua tes are involved in the programme . Not all have found work at observatories , but all a re ga ining valuable and vari ed scientific e xperience i n the r eal world , and they tend to g r ow in maturity and reliability in a manner less easy to ob t ain in a purely scholastic e nvironment . Two observatories that hav e employed astronomy Co - op students have been the Dominion Astrop hysica l Observatory and the Dominion Radi o Astrophysical Observatory . Both of these are nearby institutions , but other students have found employment right across the country , o r even abroad in the Un it ed Kingdom .

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At the DRAD , one stude nt was working wi t h Rob Ro g e r o rl developing computer programmes in radio astronomy . At the DAD , a student, working under the direction of Graham Hill , determined the orbital elements of the spectroscopic binary HD 190467 (period = 56.78 days) . I have seen the work report on that project and it is such a clearly written report that in my opinion it could serve as a most useful and detail ed guide for those embarking on orbit determination for the first time .

There is no question that this cooperative Pr ogr amm e is e xtr e me ly ben ef i c ial t o o u ~ able students, wh ile rep or t s fr om emp loyers - to whom we ar e grateful for their ent husi asm -suggest that the benefit to the employer is by no mea ns negligible . I need hardly add that any laboratori e s or observatories wherever they are (not necessarily in British Columbia) who might like to participate in this programme to the mutual benefit of themselves and of our students are more than welcome to get in touch with us . The address to write to is : Physics Co - op , Department of Physics , University of Victoria , Victoria, B . C ., v8w 2Y2 .

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"

Editorial

Binary Stars

Table of C6ntents

The First Winter on Mont Megantic

Notes from Universities (Sask., U.W.O., Alta.)

Cooperative Astronomy Education at Victoria

1

2

6

7

9