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E-Cass September 2003
September
Equinox 2003
equinox de
septembre
2003
ISSN 07154747
A Publication of CASCA
Une Publication de La Casca
An ALMA Update
Gemini Update
Events at NRC's
HIA (2003 July September)
VLOT Update
Anne Underhill
Remembered
CASCA 2004
Education Notes
Les planétariums
: la communauté
éducative
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NO. 118
TOC
On the
Cover
This issue's colourful cover derives from a poster
advertising the 2004 joint meeting of the Canadian
Association of Physicists, CASCA and the Biophysics
Society of Canada, June 2004 in Winnipeg. For more
details see the brief note supplied by Jayanne English.
(return to front cover)
CASCA
Soap Box
●
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From the Editor
From the President
Features
Reports
●
News
●
●
●
Events at NRC's HIA (2003 July-Sept.)
Nouvelles de l'IHA du CNRC (juli-sept. 2003) by Jacques P. Vallée
An Alma Update by Chris Wilson
News from Gemini by Harvey Richer
VLOT update by Dennis Crabtree
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TOC
Briefly
Noted
●
In the
Classroom
●
●
●
●
ANNE BARBARA UNDERHILL (1920-2003)
CASCA2004
Education Update by John Percy and Heather Scott
The Planetarium Education Connection by Nathalie Martimbeau
Les planétariums : la communauté éducative par Nathalie Martimbeau
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editor's note
Welcome to the September Equinox issue and many thanks to
the various contributors. This is the last issue in which Harvey
Richer will report on news from Gemini. HIs colourful and
informative articles have been greatly appreciated and I could
usually count on Harvey's articles to contain great candidates
for the cover shot. Thanks for the many fine contributions!
Also, a number of you have inquired about the June issue of ECass. Over the summer E-Cass was relocated from HIA to
Queen's. During this shuffle the June issue was "misplaced".
While it was always visible on the King's website many of you
were unaware of this. In the future I will be sure to notify the
readership that E-Cass is visible from either site. And, while
discussing this I would like to express my appreciation to David
Bohlender for his assistance in hosting E-Cass on the HIA
server.
Finally, it is with sadness that we note the passing of Anne
Underhill. Donald Morton has written a fine tribute to this great
Canadian astronomer.
Brian Martin ([email protected])
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president's message
Greetings! In this president's message I will briefly
address three issues: the LRP Review, the CASCA
Website, and the results of a Canadian bid to host
the IAU in 2009.
LRP Review:
At CASCA 2003 we had a brief discussion on the
current state of initiatives included in the report of the
Long Range Planning Panel and new elements which
have emerged since the report's formal release in
May 2000. Among the LRP-based initiatives were
partnership in the Atacama Large Millimetre Array
and building correlators for the Extended Very Large
Array, in which Canada is now a partner via the North
American Program for Radio Astronomy, the work to
establish Canadian partnership in a Square Kilometre
Array and a Very Large Optical Telescope, and the
importance of the Canadian Coalition for Astronomy
in lobbying the federal government on behalf of all of
us.
Through the support of the CSA, we are also partners in the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST). And new to the landscape are the CFI as a funding source and
ACURA as an organization through which university-based astronomers can become
involved in major national and international projects. A motion to establish a panel to carry
out a mid-course review was approved at the business meeting and CASCA Board has
been working to establish that panel. Partly due to typical summer delays and partly due
to my 2-course teaching load this summer, I cannot yet report to you on the panel
members. For now, I will remind you that the goal of this review is to examine where we
stand re the LRP goals and what we need to do to achieve them. The LRP is, at
minimum, a ten year plan, but the committed funds are for a maximum of five years and
funds to explore Canada's role in the SKA and VLOT will run out in ~18 months. To
secure the funds needed for the second five years, we will need to demonstrate the same
unity of purpose and level of commitment that has been shown so far. As a mid-course
review, this process will not be as extensive or elaborate as the original review, but it will
need the same commitment to integrity, openness and involvement of the community. I
have already heard from many of you and expect the panel will hear from even more.
CASCA Website:
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president's message
As of the beginning of September, the CASCA Website is now located at Queen's
University, where it is now fully managed by the CASCA office. When you log on you will
see some changes and there will be more to come as Ros Hanes works on it this fall.
CASCA Board will be meeting in Kingston in late November and so will have a chance to
see what is happening first hand and talk with Ros about plans and progress.
Canadian IAU Bid:
CASCA Board also acts as the Canadian National Committee of the IAU. Last November
Gilles Joncas approached CASCA Board with a proposal to host IAU2009 in Quebec City.
With the strong support of NRC and their International Relations Office led by Hamid
Jorjani, Phillippe Dupont of the Quebec Convention Centre, and Gilles Joncas (Laval), a
proposal was prepared for presentation to the IAU Executive at Sidney in July. As CASCA
Board members Jim Hesser and I also participated in the planning of the bid. Canada's
competitors were from Brazil and China and, despite an excellent case for both science
and venue, we were not successful. IAU2009 will be in Brazil.
Gretchen Harris
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E-Cass - 2003 Sept. - NRC HIA Happenings - Du neuf a l'IHA du CNRC
Events at NRC's HIA (2003 July-Sept.)
edited by:
Du neuf à l'IHA du CNRC (juillet-sept.
2003)
édité par:
Jacques P. Vallée
This summer, NRC and HIA issued two press releases, one on the official
opening of the new building at DRAO, and one highlighting FUSE's continued
operation thanks to new software.
Cet été, le CNRC et l'IHA ont émis 2 communiqués de presse, l'un sur
l'ouverture officielle du nouvel édifice à l'OFRA, et l'autre mettant l'emphase
sur la continuation des opérations de FUSE et un nouveau logiciel.
In July, HIA's CADC had a prototype working for a Canadian Virtual
Observatory [CVO]. It consists at its core of a new IBM parallel DB2 database
hardware, running a new CVO software. The prototype was demonstrated at the
IAU General Assembly this year in Sydney by Pat Dowler and David Schade.
En juillet, le CCDA de l'IHA a démontré un prototype pour un Observatoire
Virtuel Canadien [OVC], composé d'une base de données DB2 sur un support
parallel IBM, durant l'Assemblée Générale de l'UAI à Sydney, courtoise de Pat
Dowler et David Schade.
Early July, Eric Steinbring joined the HIA Very Large Optical Telescope
effort. Formerly at U.Vic, and recently at the Center for Adaptive Optics in
Santa Cruz, Eric brings to HIA a large understanding of how AO capabilities
link to the real world astronomy and considerable modeling skills.
Début juillet, Eric Steinbring s'est joint à l'effort de l'IHA pour un Très Grand
Télescope Optique. Anciennement d'U.Vic, et récemment au Centre d'Optique
Adaptative de Santa Cruz, Eric nous arrive avec une habileté en modelage et un
grand bagage sur la liaison entre le monde astronomique et l'optique adaptative.
In August, a candidate to become Artist in Residence, a program in its second
year by NRC and the Canada Council for the Arts to locate an artist among
scientists, visited HIA in Victoria. The goal is cross-fertilization of the creative
process for mutual benefit. In this case, NRC's Donna Viger, David Schade
and Jacques Vallée assisted with the week-long visit.
On a reçu en août un candidat pour le poste d'Artiste en résidence, un
programme dans sa 2e année entre le CNRC et le Conseil des Arts du Canada
pour mettre un artiste parmi des scientifiques. Le but en est de favoriser la
fertilisation réciproque du processus créatif pour un bénéfice conjoint. Cette
fois, Donna Viger, David Schade et Jacques Vallée ont coordonné cette
visite.
Last two weekends in August, 'Mars Madness' brough thousands of visitors
through the Centre of the Universe [CU]. Its Director, Scott Mair, resigned
after nearly 3 years at the helm. Scott has taken a position with the Land
Conservancy of BC in Victoria. Also leaving is our senior interpreter Julie
Bolduc-Duval.
Les deux dernières fins de semaine d'août, la 'Frénésie de Mars' a amené
plusieurs milliers de visiteurs au Centre de l'Univers [CU]. Scott Mair nous a
quitté après environ 3 ans à la direction. Scott travaille maintenant pour le Land
Conservancy of BC à Victoria. Notre interprète principal, Julie Bolduc-Duval,
nous quitte aussi.
In September, HIA sent along a Letter of thanks to a dozen astronomers who
have repeatedly helped the time allocation committees for overseas telescopes
over the last half-dozen years, each having provided upon request two dozen
referee reports or more. The quality and integrity of the CTAC and CTAG
process owe much to the unselfish efforts of the external referees.
En septembre, l'IHA a envoyé une Lettre de remerciement à une douzaine
d'astronomes qui ont souvent aidé les comités d'allocation de temps aux
télescopes d'outremer au cours des derniers 6 ans, chacun ayant écrit au moins
deux douzaines de rapports d'arbitres sur demande. La qualité et l'intégrité du
processus de CATC et GATC résultent en partie grâce aux efforts bénévoles
des arbitres externes.
'Vignettes', a series of short easily readable texts originally published within
NRC's IntraTech (2000-2003) and now IntraResearch (since mid-2003), and
'Skygazing', a series of articles by Ken Tapping originally published in local
newspapers for many years, have been separately collected, reformatted,
grouped, and are now available on the HIA web. They can be found on HIA's
web site under the banner: Spotlight On, courtesy of Michael Peddle and
Jacques Vallée.
'Vignettes', une série de textes bien écrits publiés dans IntraTech du CNRC
(2000-2003) et maintenant dans IntraRecherche (depuis mi-2003), et 'La tête
dans les nuages', une séries d'articles par Ken Tapping publiés dans des
journaux locaux depuis plusieurs années, ont été colligés, reformattés,
regroupés, et sont maintenant disponibles sur la toile de l'IHA. On peut les
trouver sur le site web de l'IHA sous la bannière: Plein feu sur, une courtoisie
de Michael Peddle et Jacques Vallée.
René Plume (U. Calgary) accepted the position of Chair of the Canadian Time
Allocation Group, for a year starting in September. In that capacity, René will
represent Canada on the International Time Allocation Group for the JCMT. He
replaced Ernest Seaquist (U. Toronto), Chair since January 2002.
René Plume (U. Calgary) est devenu Président du Groupe d'Allocation de
Temps Canadien, pour l'année commençant en septembre. En conséquence,
René représentera le Canada sur le Groupe International d'Allocation de Temps
au TJCM. Il remplace Ernest Seaquist (U. Toronto), qui présidait depuis
janvier 2002.
During September, the 1.8m Plaskett dome is being repainted, both the interior
and the exterior. Using scaffolding and cranes, the contractors will attempt to
do their work while minimizing disruption to the normal routines for observers
and visitors.
Au cours de septembre, on repeinturera le dôme du télescope Plaskett de 1.8m,
tant l'intérieur que l'extérieur. A l'aide d'échafaudage et de grues, les
contracteurs verront à travailler en minimisant l'inconvénience pour le travail
habituel des observateurs et des visiteurs.
Une grande synthèse (84 pages) sur les "Champs magnétiques astrals"
A massive (84-page) review on "Astral magnetic fields" (covering stars,
(couvrant les étoiles, les proto-étoiles, le système solaire) vient d'être publiée
starforming sites, solar system) appeared in the August issue of New
Astronomy Review (formerly Vistas in Astronomy), crafted by Jacques Vallée. dans l'édition d'août du journal New Astronomy Review (anciennement Vistas
in Astronomy), sous la plume de Jacques Vallée.
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E-Cass - 2003 Sept. - NRC HIA Happenings - Du neuf a l'IHA du CNRC
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ALMA Update
ALMA Update
Recent news
Within Canada, the big news is that the details of the grant from the Canadian Foundation for
Innovation to help fund our participation in ALMA have finally been settled. The CFI grant to the
University of Calgary and McMaster University consists of $4.04M US dollars for the ALMA site
access fee plus additional funding to hire people to work on the Canadian contribution to ALMA
software. This CFI grant was the last remaining piece of Canadian ALMA funding needed over
the next five years.
In Chile, many agreements regarding access to the site have been signed and actual
construction has begun! The first phase of civil works consists of roads to access the
Operations Support Facility (OSF) and the array site itself, as well as a construction camp at
the OSF. Construction on the high site itself is planned to begin early in the new year.
The ALMA Board and the Joint ALMA Office are continuing their search to fill the positions of
Project Scientist, Project Manager, and Project Engineer. The ALMA Director, Massimo
Tarenghi, hopes to have people identified to fill these positions later this year. The job
descriptions are available on the NRAO and ESO web sites; suggestions for individuals who
might be good candidates for any of these positions can be sent to him directly.
On the North American side of ALMA, the ALMA North American Science Advisory Committee
(ANASAC) held its first face-to-face meeting in Chicago on August 25, 2003. Doug Johnstone
and Chris Wilson are the two Canadian representatives on this new committee. This first
meeting was primarily to acquaint members with the ALMA project and current urgent issues,
including the ALMA operations plan and plans for a North American ALMA Science Center.
Another role of this committee is community outreach. If any of you will be at the January AAS
meeting in Atlanta, there will be an ALMA Town Hall meeting held on Thursday. Plans are also
underway for a two-day ALMA Science Workshop, which is likely to be held in mid-May 2004.
This workshop will be an excellent way for people who are interested in using ALMA to find out
about ALMA and ALMA science and I encourage you to consider attending if you can. I hope to
have more details (including actual dates) in my next report.
The Canadian ALMA Science Steering Committee held its third meeting at HIA in Victoria on
August 8-9, 2003. Current committee members are myself, James di Francesco, Doug
Johnstone, Chris Pritchet, Robin Phillips, René Plume, and Douglas Scott. The committee
heard reports on the current status of ALMA from Jim Hesser, the Canadian representative on
the ALMA Board, as well as detailed summaries of the work on ALMA receivers at HIA, on
software in Penticton, and plans for IRMA. Each of these is discussed in more detail later in this
report and so I will not discuss them here.
One recommendation from the committee was that the Canadian Project Scientist should set
up a Canadian ALMA email exploder and a non-NRC Canadian ALMA web page to improve
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ALMA Update
communications with the community. Robin Phillips has graciously agreed to help with the web
page and I hope to be able to advertize its existence (and address) in my next report. The email
exploder will be particularly useful to alert the community when opportunities to be involved in
ALMA occur that require a rapid response, such as the recent work on the Design Reference
Science Plan described briefly in the next section.
With Early Science with ALMA scheduled to begin in 2007, the committee felt that it was time to
begin some outreach efforts to the broader Canadian community. We are hoping to have
someone give an invited talk on ALMA at a future CASCA meeting and are also considering
holding a graduate student workshop or summer school on ALMA, possibly combining ALMA
and SCUBA-II, sometime in 2005. Stay tuned!
ALMA Science Advisory Committee
The ALMA Science Advisory Committee (ASAC) met September 5-6, 2003 at McMaster
University. The meeting focused on three charges to the ASAC from the ALMA Board, which
concerned the calibration specifications for ALMA, the Design Reference Science Plan, and the
potential to allow PI instruments on ALMA. The ASAC also heard reports on recent work in the
software group and had a short discussion of plans for the European Regional Support Centre.
I will report on the results of the meeting in more detail (after our report has been finalized) in
my next article.
The ASAC discussed a first draft of a Design Reference Science Plan for ALMA. The goal of
this plan is to collect a suite of "typical" proposals for things that ALMA might do in its first three
years of full operation. The information from these pseudo-proposals will be useful to guide,
i.e., operations planning and software development. Several Canadians have made
contributions to this Science Plan and I urge you to have a look at it when it is made public later
this year. If the final version lives up to the draft presented in September, it promises to be an
exciting snapshot of the potential science that ALMA will do.
ALMA Developments in Canada
Band 3 Receiver Development
The 3 millimeter receivers (Band 3) for ALMA are being designed and built by NRC-HIA
Victoria. Starting virtually from scratch eighteen months ago, the team is now entirely in place
and on track to build sixty four receivers, one for each of the ALMA antennae. Once production
is under way, a new receiver will shipped to the ALMA site each month! Additional receivers
may even be necessary if the Japanese join the ALMA consortium, building additional
antennae for the Compact Array.
The Band 3 receivers will be the workhorse instrument for ALMA, used for calibration purposes
and capable of undertaking cutting-edge science even when the weather is sub-optimal. Thus,
they are `first-light' instruments and eight prototypes are to be delivered to the ALMA site from
October 2004 through January 2006 to allow for commissioning and early science with the
partially completed array.
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ALMA Update
Over the last six months the Band 3 team has been modifying the original receiver design to
increase sensitivity and scientific value. The receiver noise temperatures have reached World
Record levels and are consistently close to the stringent ALMA specifications. Given the
excellent mixer design, the receivers will be built to perform single sideband operations,
significantly increasing spectral line sensitivity. For more information on the project or the
science that we will achieve with ALMA and Band 3, please contact the Band 3 Project
Scientist, Doug Johnstone ([email protected]).
Software
With the CFI funding for ALMA now in place, the process of hiring into two software positions at
the University of Calgary has begun. The people hired to these two positions will complement
the one position filled at NRC by Raymond Rusk to execute the Canadian contribution to the
development of ALMA software. Applications for these two positions are due in Calgary by
October 15, 2003.
Raymond Rusk attended the two week ALMA Common Software (ACS) training course at ESO
headquarters in Garching, Germany. Subsequently, he has been involved with the NRAO lead
effort to integrate AIPS++ components into the ACS framework. The immediate goal is to
develop a prototype capability for Python-based pipeline processing of ALMA data. It is
expected that the ALMA Offline Data Reduction Package and the EVLA end-to-end pipeline will
eventually incorporate this technology.
Chris Wilson has been hard at work over the summer in her role as Subsystem Scientist for the
ALMA Pipeline software. She has been working on updating and adding detail to the
requirements for the various ALMA pipelines, developing examples of Use Cases for each
pipeline, and developing a test plan for the Pipeline software. One side effect of this work is that
it has become clear that a large effort will be required to test ALMA software as it is being
developed. Some aspects of the software testing require a number of people to each put in a
small amount of time (for example, making sure the Phase I proposal tool is a usable format for
a variety of different types of science projects). Testing software is real work, but the payoff for
anyone involved in the testing is that you will gain familiarity with some of the ALMA systems in
advance of trying to observe with ALMA. I plan to use the new Canadian ALMA web page and
email exploder to alert Canadian astronomers to opportunities to contribute to software testing
(and I already have one volunteer, as a result of the CASSC meeting). If you think you will be
an ALMA user, please consider helping with software testing at some point in the next few
years.
IRMA
After a one year hiatus (caused by lack of manpower), the IRMA infrared water vapour
radiometer project at Lethbridge resumed in March with the hiring of Robin Phillips (formerly
from the JAC) as new project manager. Since then much progress has been made on
completing the design and initial construction of the first of three prototype units. We are aiming
to have all three IRMA III prototypes completed by the end of this year with the goal of testing
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ALMA Update
them on Mauna Kea in the first months of 2004. We will perform initial tests using the
JCMT/SMA seeing monitor dishes (which measure phase from a geostationary satellite) and
hope then to be able to perform more comprehensive tests on the SMA.
The general principle that observations of water vapour at 20 µm can be used to derive
atmospheric opacity at 1 mm was demonstrated by the IRMA II prototype at the JCMT in 2001.
In the much smaller IRMA III design, we still hope to obtain the same high sensitivity (1 µm at
1 mm of precipitable water vapour (pwv) in 1 second) but without all the associated mechanical
complexity and cryogenic fills that the previous design had. We will be addressing the issue of
cirrus cloud effects during the Hawaii tests as one of the major test goals, as this is the main
outstanding issue on the usefulness of the method for interferometer phase correction. (We
already know from the IRMA II results that thick cirrus clouds do affect the data but any low
level affects of thin cirrus have not been characterized.)
The IRMA III devices are small (35x22x19cm), light ( < 20kg), require low power ( < 60W
average) and once installed will require no regular maintenance. We have also developed a
solar power system and stand alone Alt-Az mounts that will enable IRMA to be used in remote
locations for site testing and other tests. Once we have demonstrated operation in Hawaii we
plan to take IRMA to the ALMA site in Chile for further testing. Further information is on the
IRMA website at http://research.uleth.ca/irma
Chris Wilson [email protected]
Canadian ALMA Project Scientist
(with contributions from Doug Johnstone, Robin Phillips, Raymond Rusk, and Russ Taylor)
File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.40.
On 20 Sep 2003, 12:46.
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Gemini Update
Gemini Update: The
Aspen Meeting
Harvey Richer (UBC) - Canadian Gemini Scientist & Dennis Crabtree (NRC/HIA) Canadian Gemini Office
Downtown Aspen - looking toward the mountains. Aspen was the location of the Gemini Meeting on
Future Instrumentation held in late June 2003 and attended by almost 100 people from the entire
Gemini partnership.
THE GEMINI ASPEN INSTRUMENTATION MEETING
The process to determine the next generation of Gemini instrumentation is well underway.
Approximately 100 participants from the Gemini partnership met in Aspen, Colorado in late June to
discuss the science problems to be attacked by Gemini in the 2007-2012 period and the resulting
instrument requirements. The Aspen meeting was the culmination of discussions and meetings in the
partner countries over the previous six months. A Canadian pre-Aspen meeting was held in Montreal in
early May and was reported on in the Summer Solstice 2003 issue of Cassiopeia.
Each of the four science themes (Planets - international leader Chris Tinney (Australia), Star Formation international leader Mike Meyer (USA), Nearby Galaxies - international leader Rosie Wyse (USA), and
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Gemini Update
Distant Galaxies - international leader Roberto Abraham (Canada)) identified a short list of the highest
priority instrument requirements. There was some overlap in desired capability. In the end a final list of 8
instrument capabilities emerged from the Aspen meeting. Rough order of magnitude costs for these
instrumental capabilities were determined by Gemini and the National Gemini Offices in the two months
following Aspen. At the same time, the science theme leaders led the production of a science case
document.
The science document as well as the rough cost estimates will be sent to the Gemini Science Committee
(GSC) well ahead of its October meeting at which time the committee will prioritize this list of draft
instruments. Finally, this prioritized list of instrument capabilities and the science document will be
considered by the Gemini Board at its in November meeting in Hilo. The Board will make the decision
on how many of the instruments to support and for which they feel they can raise the appropriate funds.
Gemini hopes to issue Announcement of Opportunities for conceptual design studies for some of the
proposed instruments in the first part of 2004.
On another matter it is a pleasure to report that the Gemini telescopes are approaching full operational
status with 80% of the time on Gemini North and 70% on Gemini South available for science in
Semester 2004A. This will convert into significantly more time available to Canadians in this semester specifically 184 hours will be scheduled for Canada on Gemini-North with 150 hours on Gemini-South.
One of the authors of this report (Harvey Richer) has completed his term as Gemini Scientist for Canada.
It has been a wonderful experience to be so closely associated with Gemini and to see its evolution into
one of the premier telescopes in the world. Doug Welch (McMaster) will be taking over this position and
we wish him all success with it.
Some of the people attending the Aspen meeting photographed just before they hiked down the
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mountain. From left to right they are Klara Richer, Hélène Allard, Harvey Richer, Wayne van Citters,
Jean-René Roy and Eileen Friel.
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VLOT Update
Very Large Optical Telescope (VLOT) Update
Dennis Crabtree (NRC-HIA)
A tremendous amount of progress has been accomplished on the VLOT project
since the last E-Cass update published in the 2003 Spring Equinox edition.
Canada, through ACURA, is officially part of the Design and Development Phase
of the TMT Project. The TMT Project merges the CELT, GSMT and VLOT
efforts on a four year effort of technology development and conceptual design
work. The project has received initial funding from the Moore Foundation and the
rest of the money required for the DDP has been applied for by the four partners.
In Canada, the CFI proposal will be reviewed this Fall. The face to dace meeting
with the CFI review panel has been scheduled for October 17th and this 90minute interview will be pivotal for the success of the Canadian involvement in
the TMT project. The Presidents of UBC and the University of Toronto will be
part of the VLOT contingent at the interview.
Canada has representatives on the Interim TMT Board, the Interim Science
Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Interim Steering Group (ISG). The ISG is
coordinating the project’s efforts until a TMT Project Manager can be hired. The
SAC has prioritized first light instrument capabilities and is preparing a draft
science requirements document.
The 2nd workshop on Extremely Large Telescopes was held at Bäckaskog Castle
in Sweden September 9-11 and attracted 135 participants. It is clear that the TMT
project is the most organized and technically advanced of the several ELT
projects formulated worldwide. There were several presentations on Canadian
work all of which were well received. It is clear that Canada is currently at the
forefront of the next generation of optical telescope.
The NRC-HIA project team has been leading an intensive effort over the summer
to produce “The VLOT Book”, which documents the science case for the
telescope and the technical work accomplished over the past two years. This work
includes significant AMEC, University de Montreal and NRC’s Institute for
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VLOT Update
Aerospace Research input, has occupied almost 20 FTEs of effort over the last
few months. The goal is to have the “Book” published in time for the CFI review.
Mise à jour sur le très grand télescope optique
(VLOT)
Dennis Crabtree (IHA-CNRC)
On a fait énormément de progrès au volet du projet du très grand télescope
optique (VLOT) depuis la dernière mise à jour d’E-Cass publiée dans le numéro
de printemps de la revue Equinox. Le Canada fait partie officiellement de la
phase de conception et de développement du projet du télescope de vingt mètres
(TMT) par l’entremise d’ACURA. Le projet du TMT rassemble les projets du
CELT, du GSMT et du VLOT en un projet de développement et de conception de
quatre ans. La Fondation Moore a fourni une partie des fonds pour ce projet et les
quatre partenaires ont fait des demandes de financement pour compléter ce projet.
Au Canada, la proposition soumise à la FCI sera étudiée cet automne. La réunion
en personne avec le comité d’examen de la FCI est prévue pour le 17 octobre.
Cette réunion de 90 minutes sera d’une importance cruciale pour la réussite de la
participation du Canada au projet du TMT. Les présidents de l’Université de la
Colombie-Britannique et de Toronto feront partie de la délégation du VLOT à
cette réunion.
Le Canada a des représentants sur le comité intérimaire du TMT, le comité
consultatif scientifique intérimaire (SAC) et le groupe directeur intérimaire (ISG).
L’ISG s’occupe de coordonner les travaux du projet jusqu’à ce qu’on puisse
embaucher un gestionnaire de projet pour le TMT. Le SAC a accordé la priorité
aux instruments de première lueur et prépare un document préliminaire sur les
exigences scientifiques.
Le deuxième atelier sur les télescopes extrêmement grands a eu lieu au Château
Bäckaskog en Suède du 9 au 11 septembre et a attiré 135 participants. Il est
évident que le projet du TMT est le mieux organisé et le plus avancé sur le plan
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VLOT Update
technique de tous les différents projets de télescopes extrêmement grands
formulés dans le monde entier. Il y a eu plusieurs présentations sur le travail
effectué au Canada et elles ont toutes été bien reçues. Il est clair que le Canada
joue maintenant un rôle de premier plan dans le domaine de la prochaine
génération de télescopes optiques.
L’équipe de projet de l’IHA-CNRC a travaillé dur au cours de l’été pour produire
le « livre du VLOT », qui documente la justification scientifique du télescope et
les travaux techniques accomplis au cours des deux dernières années. Ces travaux
comprennent une participation considérable de l’AMEC, de l’Université de
Montréal et de l’Institut de recherche aérospatiale du CNRC et ont occupé
presque 20 employés à temps plein au cours des quelques derniers mois. Le but
est de publier le « livre » avant l’examen de la FCI.
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Anne Underhill
ANNE BARBARA UNDERHILL (1920-2003)
On July 3 of this year Canada lost a distinguished astrophysicist with the passing of Dr
Anne Barbara Underhill. She is remembered for her many contributions, both theoretical
and observational, to our knowledge of hot stars, and for her spirited comments at
colloquia and symposia.
Anne was born in 1920 on June 12 in
Vancouver. There she attended UBC and
obtained an honours BA in Physics and
Chemistry in 1942 and an MA in Physics
and Mathematics in 1944. From 1946 to
1948 she was a PhD student at the Yerkes
Observatory of the University of Chicago,
working with Chandrasekhar during his
Radiative Transfer years. While there she
also learned much about stellar spectra from
Otto Struve and Jesse Greenstein.
Following a post-doctoral fellowship with
Bengt Stromgren at the Copenhagen
Observatory, Anne accepted a research
position at the Dominion Astrophysical
Observatory in Victoria in 1949. In 1962 she
moved to the Netherlands as a full professor
at the University of Utrecht, where she
guided many students into productive
careers. She became Chief of the
Laboratory of Optical Astronomy at the
NASA Goddard Space flight Center in
Maryland in 1970. There she also was
Project Scientist for the very successful
International Ultraviolet Explorer during its
development. From 1977 to1985, as a
Senior Scientist at Goddard, she continued
her research and book writing and editing.
She retired to Vancouver with an honorary
professorship at UBC and visited the DAO
for observing, often with students. York
University gave her an honorary degree in
1969 and UBC did so in 1992.
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Anne Underhill
The Royal Society of Canada elected her a fellow in 1985. The same year the Canadian
Astronomical Society gave her the C. S. Beals Award in recognition of her outstanding
achievements in research.
Anne was a pioneer as a woman astrophysicist, contributing important theoretical results
in her early work, as well as her better known observational studies. Her theoretical 1947
paper on "Absorption Lines in Formed in a Moving Atmosphere" in ApJ 106, 128 could
have been her thesis. Without the help of electronic computers, she began calculating
model atmospheres of O-type stars (1950, Publ Copenhagen Obs. #151; 1951, Publ.
DAO 8, 357). My first contact with Anne was to use her 1957 models of B1.5 and B2.5
main sequence stars (Publ. DAO 10, 57) to calibrate the HR diagram in a paper I wrote in
1958 on the carbon cycle while a graduate student in Princeton. In 1960 she programmed
the computer at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study to calculate model
atmospheres.
Our common interest in hot stars resulted in frequent correspondence and much helpful
advice from Anne. We published two joint papers on the far-uv spectra of stars. She had
a marvelous familiarity with the relevant literature. When I discovered the high-velocity farUV mass loss from the Orion supergiants in 1965, she told me about the puzzling groundbased observations of very broad emission lines in similar stars by Robert Wilson (1958,
Publ. Roy. Obs. Edinburgh 2, 61).
Anne had many interests outside of astronomy, including hiking, bird watching, singing in
church choirs, and Girl Guides. During her Victoria years she did not observe on Monday
nights because that was the night she led a Guide troop at St. John's Anglican Church,
where she also sang in the choir.
In gathering information about Anne, I discovered an interesting detail of Canadian
history. Her Uncle James T. Underhill led the survey team in 1927 that measured the
height of 13 260 ft. (4042 m) for the recently discovered Mystery Mountain - later named
Mt. Waddington. Thus this peak, only 285 km northwest of Vancouver, is higher than Mt.
Robson and the highest peak in Canada south of the arctic regions.
Nancy Roman and Dan Collier have prepared excellent reviews of Anne's life for the
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society of Canada respectively.
Donald Morton
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CASCA 2004
CASCA - June 2004
Important Announcement concerning the joint meeting between Canadian Association of
Physicists (CAP), the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA), the Canadian Organization of
Medical Physicists (COMP) and the Biophysics Society of Canada (BSC) in Winnipeg from
June 13 to 16, 2004. The CAP Divisions and partner organizations are working hard to
establish a very exciting program. This includes joint sessions in Education (on Sunday June
13), and on the topics of Imaging and Visualization. The abstract deadline will be Feb. 1, 2004.
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Education Notes
Education Notes
Current Astronomy Education News
Skyways: An Astronomy Handbook for Teachers will be
released within a month and orders for the book are already
being received. Written by Mary Lou Whitehorne and published
by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, this is a
Canadian curriculum-specific, interactive book created for
Canadian astronomy teachers and educators of grades 1
through to junior high grades. Throughout the writing process,
the book was reviewed by teachers, and received support and
materials from John Percy. Some financial support was also
provided from education grants received by the CASCA
Education and Public Outreach Initiative. Ordering is done
through the RASC.
Along with the unveiling of the Canadian Astronomy Education
Website, a new program for young astronomers is being
launched. The Canadian Junior Astronomer Program (CJAP)
presents a series of astronomical goals to students, which they
can complete in order to rise through the ranks of “Star,” “Nova”
and finally “Supernova.” Each level has a selection of observing
goals (“Find the big dipper in the sky and draw it.”) and
research goals (“How old is the Solar System? How old is the
Universe?”), which must be completed and then shown to a
teacher at the student’s school. Once a level is complete, the
student receives a certificate stating their certification as a
Junior Astronomer, and their name gets added to the
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Astronomy Education Website. This is an ideal on-going activity
for younger astronomy classes or a regularly-meeting
astronomy club. See the website (www.cascaeducation.ca) for
more details!
CASCA Education Website
Over the course of the summer, the finishing touches were put
on the Canadian Astronomy Education Website, making it
ready to be viewed and used by teachers, students
professional astronomers and the general public. Though it is
scheduled to be “officially” unveiled at a conferences across the
country this fall, the English website has already received over
500 hits and is in presently in use by teachers. The French site
is still under construction and will be ready for the fall
announcements. Visit http://www.cascaeducation.ca to see the
Canadian Astronomer of the Month, find articles on the
philosophy of teaching astronomy to all levels of students,
complete unit and lesson plans, as well as “what’s in the sky
tonight” (and what to do with it!). Feedback is always welcome
to [email protected] .
Education Articles
David Orenstein continued a series of education articles on
Mars in the June 2003 issue of the JRASC with Mars in Motion:
Keplerian Earth Centred Orbits? The article introduces Kepler’s
laws and describes how to try and verify these laws using
vector cross products. The article would make suitable study for
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Education Notes
a senior level high school algebra class, or a post-secondary
astronomy course (for science students). William Dodd also
continued his series of Web Site Reviews in the same JRASC,
looking at the International Astronomical Union website.
Workshops and Presentations
A CASCA-Westar Lectureship has been arranged by the RASC
centre in Moncton, New Brunswick for early November. John
Percy will be the traveling astronomer, and will give a public
presentation as a part of the RASC Moncton annual meeting,
another public presentation in Fredericton and most likely a
couple of school visits. If you would like to participate in the
CWL series as a visiting astronomer, or if you know of a region
which would like to host an astronomer, contact
[email protected] .
The Canadian Space Agency hosted a 3-day summer school
for Canadian teachers this past August. Highlighted with a
speech by past astronaut and current president of the CSA,
Marc Garneau, the summer school offered hands-on
workshops to over 120 teachers on topics such as “the secrets
of Mars,” “bringing space technologies down to Earth” and
“troubleshooting in a space environment.” The teachers were
also treated to a videoconference with CSA astronauts in
Houston, as well as talks by astronauts at the CSA
headquarters in Saint Hubert, Quebec.
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The Planetarium Education Connection
The Planetarium Education Connection
Nation-wide collaboration ...
by Nathalie Martimbeau
Contributors for both this season’s article write about a nationally funded project mentionned in the last
few issues. Pierre Chastenay has written a separate article in this issue of Cassiopeia about the fourinstution production of a bilingual planetarium show called : The Quest for Origins/La Quete des
Origines, to be premiered in May 2004 in Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. Calgary is
serving as production co-ordinators. Designed to highlight Canadian astronomy and Canadian
observatories, current and future paralleling CASCA's Long Range Plan, the show will explore the latest
ideas about star, planet, and galaxy formation.
Discovery Dome (Calgary)
As with most science centres and planetaria, late August was a busy time with Mars mania in full swing.
Thousands descended upon the Science Centre, both to attend nightly lectures about the red planet and to
see the real thing through a telescope as Mars made its closest approach to Earth in recorded history. The
Discovery Dome’s MarsWatch program proved to be far more popular than any previous special
astronomical event, surpassing the planet lineup of April 2002, Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997, the
Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet crash on Jupiter in 1994, and even Halley in 1986.
Earlier in the summer a new dome show debuted, Far Out Man!, a family-oriented tour of the universe
hosted by an animated character, Discovery Dome’s first venture into computer animated figures. This
autumnn, the Discovery Dome theatre plays host to a series of large-format films as part of the annual
Calgary International Film Festival.
Planétarium de Montréal
The planetarium show entitled : Portrait de l'infini : l'Univers vu par Hubble
- Images of the Infinite: the Universe as Seen by Hubble starts at the
Planétarium de Montréal on 25 September. It is a translated and adapted
show of a recent production from Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. A new
Christmas show, Saison de lumière - Season of Light, written and
produced by Richard D. Lavoie, will premiere on 20 November. Ciel de
nuit - Night Sky, seen on Friday to Sunday evenings contintues to present
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The Planetarium Education Connection
current astronomical events to an adult audience. This planetarium show
will be shown even during the holiday season.
Elsewhere:
Doran Planetarium in Sudbury, Ontario…
The Doran Planetarium is located in the Fraser Building on the Laurentian University Campus in
Sudbury, Ontario. Originally opened in 1967, this 10-m dome planetarium seats 72 people around its
Spitz AP3’ star projector, installed in 1970. Re-opened in 1995, the Doran Planetarium is now the
largest planetarium in Northern Ontario. All astronomy shows are designed to educate and entertain
groups of all ages, to learn about planets, stars, aliens, comets and the many wonders of outer space.
Shows are available upon request in English and French to students attending primary or secondary
schools, as well as other interest groups. Special theme shows featuring a topic of current interest are
presented several times during the year. These special presentations are advertised in the local media.
The planetarium’s website: http://laurentian.ca/physics/PLANETARIUM/doranenglish/index.htm has
several nice features: maps of the constellations (black and white drawings) by directions (north, south,
east, west and zenith), a list of topic for the Planetarium’s lecture series, and descriptions of the school
shows per grade as well as for general public shows.
This is another unknown planetarium worth a visit!
******************
I would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this issue's column: Alan Dyer
(Discovery Dome) and Pierre Chastenay (Planétarium de Montréal).
Nathalie is a member of the CASCA Education Committee. She is
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The Planetarium Education Connection
currently at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
formerly from the Planétarium de Montréal.
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The Planetarium Education Connection
Les planétariums : la communauté
éducative
Une collaboration au niveau national …
par Nathalie Martimbeau
Nos deux collaborateurs de la saison m’ont envoyé quelques lignes au sujet d’un project
d’envergure nationale déjà mentionné dans mes articles précédents. Pierre Chastenay décrit,
dans un article à part dans ce numéro de Cassiopeia, le projet de spectacle à quatre mains "La
quête des origines - The Quest for Origins" qui sera présenté à Montréal, Winnipeg, Calgary et
Vancouver dès le mois de mai 2004. Discovery Dome sera le site coordonateur pour la
production de ce spectacle. Ce spectacle, rappelons-le, est conçu pour souligner l’astronomie
canadienne et les observatoires canadiens, le Plan à Long Terme de la CASCA sous sa forme
actuelle et future, ainsi que pour explorer les plus récentes théories sur la formation des étoiles,
des planètes et des galaxies.
Discovery Dome (Calgary)
La fin du mois d’août fut très occupé pour la plupart des centres de science et des planétariums
avec la folie de Mars. Des milliers de personnes se sont présentées au Science Centre, autant
pour assister aux conférences ayant pour sujet la planète rouge que pour la voir au télescope.
Mars n’aura pas été si près de la Terre depuis au moins 100 000 ans… Le programme Mars
Watch du Discovery Dome s’est montré beaucoup plus populaire que lors d’événements
astronomiques spéciaux précédents, dépassant l’alignement des planètes en avril 2002, la
Comète Hale-Bopp en 1997, la collision de la Comète Shoemaker-Levy 9 sur Jupiter en 1994
et même la Comète de Halley en 1986 !
Un nouveau spectacle pour toute la famille, Far Out Man!, débuta plus tôt cet été : une visite de
l’univers accompagné d’un personnage animé. C’est une première pour le Discovery Dome
dans l’univers des personnages animés par informatique ! Cet automne, le théâtre du
Discovery Dome sera l’hôte d’une série de films à grand format qui feront parti du Calgary
International Film Festival.
Planétarium de Montréal
Le spectacle "Portrait de l'infini : l'Univers vu par Hubble - Images of the Infinite: the Universe
as Seen by Hubble" débute au Planétarium de Montréal le 25 septembre prochain. C'est un
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The Planetarium Education Connection
spectacle traduit et adapté d'une production récente du Adler Planetarium à Chicago. "Saison
de lumière - Season of Light", qui sera présenté le 20 novembre prochain, est le nouveau
spectacle de Noël écrit et réalisé par Richard D. Lavoie. Le spectacle "Ciel de nuit - Night Sky",
présenté du vendredi au dimanche en soirée, continue de présenter l'actualité astronomique à
un public adolescent et adulte. Ce spectacle restera à l'affiche même durant le temps des
Fêtes.
Ailleurs...
Doran Planetarium à Sudbury, Ontario…
Le Doran Planetarium est situé dans l'édifice des sciences (édifice Fraser) sur le campus de
l'Université Laurentienne à Sudbury, Ontario. Initiallement ouvert en 1967, ce planétarium a un
dome de 10 m, peut asseoir 72 personnes et possède un projecteur d’étoiles Sptitz AP3’ qui fut
installé en 1970. Re-ouvert en 1995, le Doran Planetarium est le plus grand planétarium dans
le nord de l’Ontario. Les spectacles sont préparés pour éduquer et amuser les gens de tous
âges sur des sujets tels que les planètes, les étoiles, et les merveillesde l'espace. Le
planétarium offre, sur demande, des spectacles pour les élèves des écoles primaires ou
secondaires et, pour les groupes intéressés, des représentations en français ou en anglais. À
plusieurs reprises pendant l'année, le planétarium offre des présentations spéciales sur un
sujet d'intérêt général (par exemple : l'étoile de Noël, le télescope Hubble, la sonde Cassini en
route vers Saturne). Ces représentations sont annoncées dans les médias locaux.
Le site web du Doran Planetarium,
(http://laurentian.ca/physics/PLANETARIUM/doranenglish/index.htm ) mets à la disposition de
l’internaute plusieurs liens intéressants : cartes des dessins des constellations selon les
directions nord, sud, est, ouest et zénith; une liste de sujets pour les présentations spéciales du
Doran Planetarium, et des descriptions des spectacles scolaires ainsi que ceux addressés au
public général.
Un autre petit bijou caché qui vaut la peine d’aller explorer !
******************
Je voudrais remercier les personnes suivantes pour leur contribution à cet article : Pierre
Chastenay (Planétarium de Montréal) et John Dickenson (MacMillan Space Science Centre).
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Nathalie est membre du Comité Éducation de la CASCA. Elle
travaille au Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics à Cambridge, Massachusetts, et fut
membre de l'équipe du Planétarium de Montréal.
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Untitled Document
September
Equinox
2003
equinox
de
septembre
2003
No. 118
In this issue...
On the
Cover
This issue's colourful cover derives
from a poster advertising the 2004
joint meeting of the Canadian
Association of Physicists, CASCA
and the Biophysics Society of
Canada, June 2004 in Winnipeg. For
more details see the brief note
supplied by Jayanne English.
(return to front cover)
CASCA
Soap Box
●
●
From the Editor
From the President
Features
Reports
●
Events at NRC's HIA (2003 July-Sept.)
Nouvelles de l'IHA du CNRC (juli-sept. 2003) by
Jacques P. Vallée
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Untitled Document
News
●
●
●
Briefly
Noted
●
In the
Classroom
●
●
●
●
An Alma Update by Chris Wilson
News from Gemini by Harvey Richer
VLOT update by Dennis Crabtree
ANNE BARBARA UNDERHILL (1920-2003)
CASCA2004
Education Update by John Percy and Heather Scott
The Planetarium Education Connection by Nathalie
Martimbeau
Les planétariums : la communauté éducative par
Nathalie Martimbeau
get PDF version of this issue
go to past issues of E-Cassiopeia...
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