Winter Solstice 2004

Transcription

Winter Solstice 2004
Solstice d'hiver 2005 Winter Solstice
NO. 127
ISSN 0715-474
A publication of CASCA
Une publication de la Casca
2005-2010: CFHT’s
Golden Age… and
beyond?
Canada-FranceHawaii Telescope:
A Progress Report
Events at NRC's
HIA (2005 Sept.Dec.) / Du neuf à
l'IHA du CNRC
(sept.-déc. 2005)
Women in
Canadian
Astronomy: The
Next Five Years
CASCA Education
and Outreach
News
Gemini News
An ALMA Update
Reports
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TOC
On the
Cover
CFHT image of Comet Tempel-1. For more on this and
other CFHT achievments follow the link to Pierre
Martin's article.
(return to front cover)
CASCA
Soap Box
●
Features
●
●
●
From the Editor
From the President
2005-2010: CFHT’s Golden Age… and beyond? by C. Veillet
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope: A Progress Report by Pierre
Martin
Reports
●
●
News
CTAC report for Gemini & CFHT for semester 2006a / Rapport du
CATC de Gémini & TCFH pour le semestre 2006a
Coalition for Canadian Astronomy - Report on Recent Activities by
Gretchen Harris
●
An Alma Update by Chris Wilson
Events at NRC's HIA (2005 Sept.-Dec.) / Du neuf à l'IHA du CNRC
(sept.-déc. 2005) by Jacques P. Vallée
●
Gemini Observatory Update by Dennis Crabtree
●
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Briefly
Noted
●
●
●
●
●
In the
Classroom
●
●
●
Women in Canadian Astronomy: The Next Five Years by Brenda
C. Matthews and Michael A. Reid
Canadian partnership in ASTROSAT by John Hutchings
Sangster Award
Quick Review of A Gentle Rain of Starlight by Brian Martin
Preservation of Canada’s historic astronomical plates by Peter
Martin
CASCA Education and Outreach News by John Percy
Education Notes by Heather R. (Scott) Theijsmeijer
Planetarium Notes
get PDF version of this issue
go to past issues of E-Cassiopeia...
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Soap Box
E-Cass Soap Box
From the editor
President's report
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editor's note
Can you feel it? Yes - the days are definitely
getting longer! Perhaps you have been too
busy reading E-Cass to notice but the Winter
Solstice has arrived. So too have many fine
contributions to the current issue. Of special
note are the two feature articles on the legacy
and future of the CFHT as well as a very brief
book review of A Gentle Rain of Starlight: The
Story of Astronomy on Mauna Kea by Michael
West. Of course, there are many other notable
articles and reports to inform and entertain.
Thanks to all who helped make this a timely
and successful issue.
Wishing you the very best in the coming year!
Brian Martin ([email protected])
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President's Report
Dear CASCA Colleagues,
Chers collègues de la
CASCA,
Your Board met in Hamilton on 25/26 November,
from which I’d like to report on some of the many
topics discussed. First, however, all us
congratulate Brian Martin, e-Cassiopeia’s wonderful
editor, for having completed his 20th issue, the
Autumnal Equinox (number 126) . We are indebted
to him for his excellent work, and to members for
their submissions (please keep them coming!).
Votre Conseil s’est réuni à Hamilton les 25 et 26
novembre derniers et j’aimerais vous présenter un
compte rendu des discussions qui ont eu lieu sur de
nombreux sujets à la réunion. Premièrement,
félicitons tous Brian Martin, le rédacteur en chef
merveilleux du bulletin e-Cassiopeia, pour avoir
complété son 20e numéro (Équinoxe Automnal,
numéro 126). Nous lui devons beaucoup pour son
excellent travail, et nous devons également beaucoup
aux membres qui ont soumis des articles (n’arrêtez
surtout pas!).
1.
Web page redesign coming!
1.
Nouvelle page Web en préparation!
With directories distributed and annual renewals
Maintenant que les annuaires des membres ont été
wrapping up, Ros Hanes will be implementing René
distribués et que nous achevons les renouvellements
Plume’s graphical concept for a redesign of our Web
annuels, Ros Hanes mettra en oeuvre le concept
pages in the coming months. Stay tuned!
graphique de René Plume pour développer nos
pages Web au cours des quelques prochains mois.
2. Major Science Investments Update
Soyez à l’écoute!
Russ Taylor, representing U. Calgary, and I,
representing CASCA, joined some 40 others to
participate in an Ottawa workshop on 3 October to
discuss the revised Major Science Investment
document prepared by Arthur Carty and his Office of
National Science Advisor staff. Together we
ensured that the broad experiences and concerns of
Canadian astronomy were part of the discussion,
including the value of community long-range plans
and the challenges arising from establishing
international partnerships for decade-long projects.
While the summary of the meeting is not yet on their
website (http://science.pco-bcp.gc.ca/), there was
general consensus that modifications made to the
original MSI document following feedback last May
represented improvements. It is a complex subject,
such that the preceding phrase about consensus is
completely inadequate to convey the many
insightful, nuanced or sometimes contradictory
observations and suggestions made. Arthur Carty’s
intention was to use the October feedback to bring
“big science” issues urgently to the attention of
decision makers this Fall, rather than revise the MSI
2. Mise à jour sur les investissements majeurs
en sciences
Russ Taylor, représentant l’Université de Calgary, et
moi, représentant la CASCA, avions participé à un
atelier à Ottawa avec 40 autres participants le 3
octobre dernier pour discuter du document sur les
investissements majeurs en sciences (IMS) préparé
par Arthur Carty et son personnel du Bureau du
Conseiller national des sciences. Ensemble, nous
avons fait en sorte que les discussions tiennent
compte de la vaste expérience et des nombreuses
inquiétudes à l’égard de l’astronomie canadienne,
incluant la valeur des plans à long terme
communautaires et les problèmes découlant de la
création de partenariats internationaux pour les
projets dont la durée est de l’ordre d’une décennie.
Malgré le fait que le résumé n’a pas encore été publié
dans son site Web (http://science.pco-bcp.gc.ca/), le
groupe est arrivé au consensus général que les
modifications apportées au document d’origine sur les
IMS après la réception des commentaires et opinions
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President's Report
document for a third time. With the election now
underway, it is unclear how those efforts will play
out. On the other hand, each CASCA member has
an opportunity during the election to sound out
and/or improve their local candidates’ understanding
of the needs of the Canadian scientific community,
including our own.
en mai dernier représentaient des améliorations.
C’est un sujet tellement complexe que la phrase
précédente sur un consensus ne décrit pas bien le
grand nombre d’observations et suggestions
perspicaces, nuancées et parfois contradictoires
faites à l’atelier. Arthur Carty avait l’intention d’utiliser
les commentaires faits à l’atelier d’octobre pour
apporter les problèmes de la « grande science » à
3. Your dues and support for the Coalition for l’attention des preneurs de décisions cet automne,
plutôt que de réviser le document sur les MSI une
Canadian Astronomy
troisième fois. Maintenant que la campagne
électorale est en cours, il est difficile de prévoir
As agreed at the Annual General Meeting in
comment se dérouleront ces efforts. Par contre,
Montreal last May, and explained in the 2005
Summer Solstice edition, CASCA dues were raised chaque membre de la CASCA aura l’occasion
pendant l’élection d’évaluer ce que ses candidats
substantially in order to restore them to the
comprennent des besoins de la communauté
approximate levels when CASCA was founded in
scientifique canadienne, y compris nos besoins, et de
1971 and to enable us to cover the operational
les renseigner à ce sujet.
expenses that have grown with our increased
activities. Consistent with one of the motivations for
3. Vos cotisations et votre soutien pour la
a dues increase, at our November Board meeting
Coalition
pour l’astronomie canadienne
we agreed to increase CASCA’s support of the
Coalition to $7,500 this year, which represents
Selon l’accord accepté à l’Assemblée générale
roughly 20% of our annual operating expenses.
annuelle à Montréal en mai dernier, et expliqué dans
le numéro du Solstice d’été de 2005, les cotisations à
4. CASCA committees: is our current
la CASCA ont augmenté considérablement afin
structure optimal?
qu’elles soient comparables à ce qu’elles étaient
Your Board continues to solicit member’s views on quand la CASCA avait été fondée en 1971, et pour
nous permettre de défrayer nos coûts d’exploitation
our current structure. While it is clear our
qui ont augmenté de pair avec nos activités. En
committees have been very effective, and that
solution of science challenges requires frequency or accord avec l’un des facteurs motivant une
augmentation des cotisations, lors de la réunion du
wavelength specific techniques, our LRP was
Conseil en novembre, nous avons accepté
successfully organized around major science
d’augmenter le niveau de soutien de la Coalition de la
questions. In anticipation of the next LRP we
CASCA à 7500 $ cette année, ce qui représente
continue to wonder if the existing structure, which
tends towards observational techniques (e.g., radio, environ 20 % de nos frais d’exploitation annuels.
optical, or ground-based distinct from space-based)
is the most appropriate. While recognizing that the
wavelength/frequency specific techniques have
undeniable roles, could there be a science theme
integration process within or between our
committees, or some other process, to ensure that
we focus on the science we want the next LRP to
address?
5. IAU Memberships & Associate CASCA
Memberships
4. Les comités de la CASCA : Notre structure
actuelle est-elle optimale?
Votre Conseil continue à solliciter les opinions des
membres concernant notre structure actuelle. Bien
qu’il soit clair que nos comités ont été très efficaces,
et que l’on doit utiliser des techniques en fréquence
ou en longueur d’onde particulières pour résoudre les
problèmes scientifiques, notre plan à long terme a été
organisé en fonction des questions scientifiques
majeures. En attendant le prochain plan à long terme,
President's Report
Your Board acts as the Canadian National
Committee for the IAU. There is an opportunity
every three years to nominate new members, and to
review our membership list. With the upcoming GA
in Prague, this is the time for Canada to do both.
Our Secretary, John Rice, has solicited nominations
and applications since last Spring. Because of new
procedures at the IAU, we anticipate being able to
nominate new Canadian members until early 2006.
If you meet the criteria and have not yet applied,
please do so immediately.
Following up on discussions in Montreal, a
committee of Board members is examining new
membership categories for engineers, software
experts, and professional astronomy educators
(teachers and science interpreters) who wish to be
associated with CASCA. Our goal is to have a
proposal to put to the membership at the AGM in
Calgary.
nous continuons à nous demander si la structure
actuelle, qui tend à favoriser les techniques
d’observation (p. ex., radio, optiques, observation
basé au sol plutôt que dans l’espace), est la plus
appropriée. Bien que nous reconnaissions que les
techniques axées sur les longueurs d’ondes et sur les
fréquences aient incontestablement des rôles
particuliers à jouer, pourrait-il exister un autre
processus d’intégration de thèmes scientifiques dans
ou parmi nos comités, ou un autre processus,
pouvant assurer que nous nous concentrons
davantage sur les questions scientifiques que nous
souhaitons seront abordées dans le prochain plan à
long terme?
5. Adhésions à l’Union astronomique
internationale et adhésions à la CASCA à titre
d’associés
Votre Conseil sert de Comité national canadien pour
l’UAI. Nous avons l’occasion de nommer de
nouveaux membres et de réviser notre liste de
6. International Year of Astronomy 2009?
membres tous les trois ans. Comme l’Assemblée
CASCA, with helpful input from Dennis Crabtree, co- générale aura lieu prochainement à Prague, c’est
maintenant le temps pour le Canada de faire les
chair of the IAU Committee on Public Outreach,
deux. John Rice, notre secrétaire, a sollicité les mises
submitted material requesting the Canadian
en candidature et les demandes au printemps. Grâce
UNESCO delegation to support the proposal to
à de nouvelles procédures à l’UAI, nous prévoyons
declare 2009 the IYA in celebration of the 400th
anniversary of Galileo’s telescope. UNESCO has pouvoir nommer de nouveaux membres canadiens
jusqu’en début de 2006. Si vous répondez aux
voted favourably, and the proposal is now on the
critères et vous n’avez pas encore soumis votre
agenda for the General Assembly’s consideration
early in 2006. Brimming with confidence that 2009 demande, veuillez le faire immédiatement.
will be designated the IYA, I recommend that
Pour faire le suivi des discussions qui ont eu lieu à
Canadian astronomers, professional as well as
amateur, commence preparation for an unparalleled Montréal, un comité composé de membres du
Conseil étudie actuellement de nouvelles catégories
opportunity to share the excitement and beauty of
our field with all Canadians. Our colleagues in the de membres pour les ingénieurs, les experts en
logiciels, et les éducateurs professionnels en
Canadian Association of Physicists have set an
example in 2005 that can serve as a reference point, astronomie (professeurs et interprètes de la science)
providing us with the opportunity to build upon their qui souhaitent s’associer à la CASCA. Notre but est
de préparer une proposition pour soumettre aux
successful experience.
membres lors de l’Assemblée générale annuelle à
7. Amateur-Professional relations & our future Calgary.
6. Année internationale de l’astronomie en
We are in conversations with the President and
2009?
other leaders of the Royal Astronomical Society of
Canada concerning how best to continue building
upon the long history of fruitful co-operation between La CASCA, avec la collaboration habile de Dennis
President's Report
our two societies, and between professional and
amateur astronomers, in general. In communities
throughout Canada, amateur astronomers are
among the most visible and proactive
communicators of the excitement of our subject.
They have developed excellent educational
materials supported by our Education and Outreach
Committee for use by teachers across Canada (see
http://www.rasc.ca/education/ ). Amateurs have
been vocal supporters of the Coalition’s efforts to
secure funding for the Long Range Plan. With the
prospect of the IYA 2009 looming, the opportunities
for expanded, mutually-beneficial co-operation seem
virtually unlimited.
Crabtree, coprésident du Comité de l’UAI sur
l’information du public, a soumis des documents pour
demander que la délégation canadienne de
l’UNESCO appuie la proposition de déclarer 2009
l’Année internationale de l’astronomie pour fêter le
400e anniversaire du télescope de Galilée.
L’UNESCO a voté en faveur de la proposition, qui fait
maintenant partie de l’ordre du jour de l’Assemblée
générale vers le début de 2006. Débordant de
confiance que l’année 2009 sera déclarée l’Année
internationale de l’astronomie, je recommande aux
astronomes amateurs et professionnels canadiens de
commencer à se préparer à cette occasion unique de
partager l’excitation et la beauté de notre discipline
avec tous les Canadiens. Nous pourrons utiliser
comme point de référence l’expérience réussie en
Your suggestions and comments on any of the
2005 par nos collègues de l’Association canadienne
above, as well as on any topic of interest to the
health of our subject in Canada, is welcome by your des physiciens et physiciennes.
Board at any time.
7. Relations amateurs-professionnels et notre
avenir
With best wishes for the upcoming holidays and for
2006,
Nous discutons actuellement avec le président et
d’autres directeurs de la Société royale d’astronomie
Jim Hesser
du Canada sur les meilleures façons de continuer la
coopération féconde de longue durée de nos deux
President
sociétés, et, de façon générale, des astronomes
amateurs et professionnels. Dans de nombreuses
communautés partout au Canada, les astronomes
amateurs sont parmi les communicateurs les plus
visibles et proactifs de la nature excitante de notre
discipline. Ils ont élaboré d’excellents documents
éducatifs pour les enseignants partout au Canada qui
est appuyé par notre Comité d’éducation et
d’information au public (voir
http://www.rasc.ca/education/). Les amateurs ont fait
comprendre leur fort appui des efforts de la Coalition
pour obtenir du financement pour le plan à long
terme. La possibilité que 2009 soit déclarée l’Année
internationale de l’astronomie offre un nombre
presque illimité d’occasions pour des projets de
coopération mutuellement avantageux.
Le Conseil sera heureux de recevoir en tout temps
vos commentaires et opinions sur les sujets
mentionnés ci-dessus, ou sur tout autre sujet ayant
des répercussions sur la vigueur de notre discipline
au Canada.
President's Report
Je vous souhaite de Joyeuses Fêtes et une Bonne
Année.
Jim Hesser
Président
Figure 1: On 19 November the President of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), Peter Jedicke,
visited HIA Victoria, where he and I discussed future
joint activities. Peter and wife Dianne were
accompanied by Victoria Centre Vice President Bruno
Quenneville during a visit to the Centre of the Universe
(CU) public outreach facility at the DAO.
Figure 1: Peter Jedicke, le président de la Société royale
d’astronomie du Canada (SRAC) a visité l’IHA-Victoria le
19 novembre dernier, où lui et moi avons discuté de nos
futures activités communes. Peter et sa femme Dianne
étaient accompagnés par le vice-président de Victoria
Centre, Bruno Quenneville, pendant une visite des
installations d’information du public au Centre de
l’univers (CU), à l’Observatoire fédéral d’astrophysique.
President's Report
Figure 2: CU Manager Jacqueline Porter and interpreter Figure 2: Jacqueline Porter, gérante du Centre de
Ian Murray during Plaskett Telescope demonstrations for l’Univers et Ian Murray, interprète, offrent un tour guidé du
the RASC visitors.
téléscope Plaskett aux visiteurs de l’SRAC.
features
Feature Articles
2005-2010: CFHT’s Golden Age… and beyond? by C. Veillet
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope: A Progress Report by Pierre Martin
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CFHT’s Golden Age…and beyond
2005-2010: CFHT’s Golden Age… and
beyond?
C. Veillet – Executive Director, CFHT
As you will discover by reading the CFHT’s Progress Report prepared by Pierre Martin, three
excellent instruments are now in operation at CFHT: MegaPrime/MegaCam, WIRCam and
ESPaDOnS. Observing time at CFHT is therefore very precious to the communities, as seen in
the graph showing the telescope oversubscription (or pressure on observing time) for Canada
and France over the past 10 semesters. As data processing is now an essential component of
these instruments and with the adoption of the Queued Service Observing (QSO) mode for both
MegaPrime and WIRCam, CFHT’s duty is not only to maintain the facility and the instruments in
pristine condition, a challenging task by itself with the increasing complexity of this new
instrumentation; its duty is also to observe over an estimated 85% to 90% of the time, to
prepare and acquire the necessary calibration, to pre-process and calibrate the images, to
assess the final quality of the data and to distribute them.
Assuming that WIRCam will be used for at least 5 years and that follow-up and complementary
observations of the CFHTLS with MegaPrime will be highly desirable, CFHT needs to operate at
its best at least until the end of 2010, with a skilled staff in an increasingly complex environment,
to be ready to meet expectations from the community that were never as high as they are now.
This is, in the current context of the large projects undertaken by the CFHT communities, a real
challenge. Receiving more funding from the current members, attracting potential partners,
retaining the dynamics of the Corporation and maintaining its staff, none of that can be achieved
without a clear plan covering the 2005-2010 period: a plan exciting enough that the staff, the
member agencies, potential other funding partners or new customers will be ready to devote
time, energy or funds to keep CFHT at the forefront of astronomy up to the early years of the
next decade.
Such a
plan, “2005-2010: CFHT’s Golden Age”, was presented to the CFHT
Board of Directors in December 2004 and endorsed as a good basis for
the development of the observatory for the coming years. Focusing on the
excellence of the services rendered to the community, on the efficiency of
the Observatory and on leading-edge technical developments, this plan
will allow the CFHT Corporation to work at its best for six years and to be
ready beyond the 2010 era. The plan foresees a major instrumental
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development that would serve three purposes: – get the best of the
creativity of the skilled staff otherwise needed to maintain and even
improve the quality and efficiency of the services provided by the
observatory – prepare the future of the Corporation for 2011 and beyond –
provide the communities with an opportunity to validate new technologies
or ideas to be potentially used for other developments on ELTs.
During 2006, CFHT will conduct a feasibility study of a new instrumental concept, VASAO,
“Visible All Sky Adaptive Optics”. Building on an extensive and successful experience in
Adaptive Optics (AO) and on recent developments made in the CFHT funding nations, VASAO
is an integrated AO system that would allow diffraction limited imaging of the whole sky in the
visible, thanks to a polychromatic mode-less laser guide star coupled to a specially designed tiptilt sensor used with Pueo-Hou, a refurbished and improved AO bonnette based on Pueo, the
current CFHT AO system. VASAO could open a new era in astronomical observations in the
visible, providing a 100% coverage of the Mauna Kea sky at a resolution better than the Hubble
Space Telescope, and similar in the visible to what larger telescopes can obtain in the nearinfrared.
The science case for VASAO will be built with the input from the CFHT communities, which will
also be asked to share ideas on instruments that could use VASAO. Watch your e-mailbox for a
mailing on VASAO (if you haven’t already received it!), and do not hesitate to share your
comments and ideas during the feasibility study phase of what could become a major and very
exciting development at CFHT. More information on VASAO is available on CFHT’s web site
(www.cfht.hawaii.edu/VASAO/ ).
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CFHT Progress
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope: A Progress
Report
by Pierre Martin
The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope remains a key facility for the Canadian astronomical community. With the recent arrival of new, unique and highly efficient instruments, the pressure
on the telescope from the main two partners is very high: above 4 for France and 3 for Canada for the 2006A semester. This report presents some scientific highlights obtained at CFHT for
the last year as well as a brief description of the three main instruments now offered to the community. Starting next semester, CFHT will be operated in a queue mode for close to 85% of
the telescope time available with data pre-processed through the Elixir pipelines; the last section includes comments on this mode of operation.
Scientific Highlights for 2005
The past year has been very rich in scientific highlights for CFHT. With several unique instruments producing large amounts of excellent quality data, CFHT continues to be a very
productive facility for all the communities it serves. Among those results:
CFHTLS
The CFHTLS is a major undertaking from Canada and France, who have joined a significant fraction (about 50%) of their dark and gray telescope time over five years, starting in 2003, for a
large survey using the 340 megapixels wide field imager MegaCam. With a PI-less structure and a data access policy granting equal and immediate access to any member of the two
communities to both processed images and catalogs, the CFHTLS is both exciting and challenging. The CFHTLS is made of 3 separate surveys (Deep, Wide Synoptic, Very Wide) and the
first scientific results have been published in 2005 . Among them:
SNLS Supernovae. A subset of the Deep survey is used by the SuperNova Legacy Survey collaboration (SNLS) to measure the distance of far supernovae to derive the equation of state of
Dark Energy. The SNLS is the largest observational project of its kind. Many of the largest telescopes worldwide are involved in this project; the imaging part of the program is carried out at
CFHT. During the first year alone, the SNLS team has measured the distance to 71 supernovae that exploded between 2 and 8 billion years ago. The team's first results is published in a
coming issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics (Astier et al. 2005). The discovery of the accelerating Universe expansion suggests the need for a cosmological constant that might, among
other models, explain the acceleration of the expansion. The first results of the SNLS indeed show that the existence of a cosmological constant is the best way to fit their observations.
Once completed, by the end of 2008, their Survey will bring even more restrictive constraints to these cosmological models.
Figure 1: Example of the science done in the SNLS.
Weak Lensing. Covering 170 square degrees in three patches of 49 to 72 square degrees through the whole filter set (u*, g', r', i', z') down to i'=24.5, the Wide Synoptic survey allows the
study of the large scale structures and matter distribution in the Universe through weak lensing and galaxy distribution, as well as the study of clusters of galaxies through morphology and
photometric properties of galaxies. Thanks to the sequencing of the r' observations in two phases, early in the survey and three years later, proper motions will be available for galactic
structure studies. The main science driver of the Wide survey is however to derive the dark matter power spectrum and cosmological parameters. The images delivered by the CFHT highresolution wide-field imaging camera allows the analysis of the light of hundred of thousands distant galaxies, looking for distortions caused by intervening dark matter. The results give
cosmologists a viewing window into the possible roles of dark matter in the evolution of the Universe. Preliminary results based on the first year of data (articles submitted to ApJ and A&A)
already give constraints on some cosmological parameters consistent with the SNLS findings. This is using just 20% of the data that will be accumulated by the end of the survey!
Kuiper Belt Objects. Covering a large fraction of the ecliptic plane inside a band of +/-2 degrees for a total area of 410 square degrees, the Very Wide survey will provide an unprecedented
sample of the solar system population beyond Neptune. This data set will undoubtedly provide discoveries that are sure to challenge the currently discussed models of the solar system
formation. One of the first results announced late in 2005 from this survey is the exciting discovery of an unusual small body orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune, in the region astronomers
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call the Kuiper belt. This new object, nicknamed "Buffy". is twice as far from the Sun as Neptune and is roughly half the size of Pluto (http://www.cfeps.astrosci.ca/4b7/index.html). The
body's highly unusual orbit is difficult to explain using previous theories of the formation of the outer Solar System. Currently 58 astronomical units from the Sun, the new object never
approaches closer than 50 AU, because its orbit is close to circular. Almost all Kuiper belt objects discovered beyond Neptune are between 30 AU and 50 AU away. Beyond 50 AU, the
main Kuiper belt appears to end, and what few objects have been discovered beyond this distance have all been on very high eccentricity (non-circular) orbits. Most of these higheccentricity orbits are the result of Neptune "flinging" the object outward by a gravitational slingshot. However, because Buffy does not approach closer than 50 AU, a different theory is
needed to explain its orbit. Complicating the problem, the object's orbit also has an extreme tilt, being inclined (tilted) at 47 degrees to the rest of the Solar System....
Figure 2: Buffy's odd-ball orbit!
Comet Tempel-1 and Deep Impact
CFHT was a key participant for the ground-based observation campaign dedicated to the Comet Tempel-1 prior, during and after the Deep Impact event. MegaCam was used to observe
the comet every minute for 3 consecutive hours during five nights centered around the impact of the probe. Dramatic changes in the comet brightness and morphology of the coma and
ejecta material was seen and used by the PIs of the project to better assess the magnitude and effects of the impact. Results were published in Science (Meech et al. 2005).
Figure 3: Comet Tempel-1 (Click on image for full-screen view)
Magnetic Field in Accretion Disk
In 2005, ESPaDOnS has been frequently used to look at stars in a search of their magnetic field. As shown with a publication in Nature (Donati et al., 2005), the first detection of the
magnetic field inside a growing star's dusty disk has been made with this new instrument which now offers a unique opportunity to study stars through the observation of their magnetic
activity.
CFHT Progress
Jean-Francois Donati, who led the construction of ESPaDOnS before its delivery to CFHT, and his colleagues used the instrument to study visible light coming from the FU Orionis system,
which contains a young star that is being fed by a surrounding disk. The magnetic field inside this disk helps to slow its rotation, causing material to fall towards the central star. Although
theoretical models predict this crucial role, the magnetic field close to the star has not hitherto been directly measured.
Light from FU Orionis is rotated, or polarized, by magnetic fields in the disk. By measuring this polarization, the astronomers found that the magnetic field slows down the disk material
much more than models predict. This may explain why the star does not spray out some of the infalling material as a jet, a feature seen in other star-disk systems.
Instrumental Suite
In 2005, CFHT enters a new era where most of the telescope time is used by three instruments: MegaCam, WIRCam, and ESPaDOnS. Instruments like MOS, GECKO and AOB are still
offered to the community and visitor instruments are welcome. However, the bulk of the observations are conducted with the instruments described below.
MegaCam
MegaPrime is a wide-field imaging facility (the official first light took place in January 2003), and represents a major upgrade of the telescope upper-end as well as the largest astronomical
CCD mosaic ever built. The wide-field imager, MegaCam (built by CEA, France), consists of 40 2048 x 4612 pixel CCDs (a total of 340 megapixels), covering a full 1 degree x 1 degree fieldof-view with a resolution of 0.187 arcsecond per pixel to properly sample the 0.7 arcsecond median seeing offered at Mauna Kea. The new prime focus upper end includes an image
stabilization unit and a guide/autofocus unit with two independent guide CCD detectors.
MegaPrime/MegaCam is an optical instrument mounted on the telescope for periods centered on the New Moon. It is using most of the telescope dark and
gray time to conduct the typical Principal Investigators scientific programs and the CFHT Legacy Survey which represents by itself a total of 450 nights
committed over five years.
Figure 4: MegaCam
MegaPrime/MegaCam is operated exclusively through the CFHT New Observing Process (NOP) (see section 4). Observations are carried out through
Queued Service Observing (QSO), the data are preprocessed (removal of the instrumental signature) and calibrated (photometry and astrometry) by Elixir,
and eventually sent to the Principal Investigators on tapes or network by the Data Archiving & Distribution System (DADS). The raw data are archived at the
Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) in Victoria, and become public after a one year proprietary period (except for the CFHTLS data). The Terapix data
processing center based in Paris, primarily focused on handling the CFHTLS data, also proposes its services to the whole CFHT community with the data
stacking, fine astrometric calibration and catalogs generation.
Very significant improvements to MegaCam have been achieved during 2005. The most important regards the image quality issue, which did not meet the original specifications during the
first few semesters of operations. A detailed investigation and reports can be found at http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/News/Projects/MPIQ/. After the unexpected flipping of the L3 lens in the
wide-field corrector at the end of 2004 and several adjustments made to the alignment and spacing of the different optical systems, the image quality for MegaCam is now very close from
being optimized. On the operational side, the guide probe motions were sped up by a large factor in May, resulting in a much improved observing efficiency. By mid-2005, an auto-focus
model based on telescope truss temperature and position has been implemented. Focus sequences are not necessary anymore, also improving significantly the observing efficiency.
ESPaDOnS
ESPaDOnS is a bench-mounted high-resolution echelle spectrograph/spectropolarimeter fiber-fed from a Cassegrain module. This module includes the calibration and guiding facilities, and
an optional polarization analyzer. The spectrograph is located in the 3rd floor Coude room, and is housed in a thermal enclosure to minimize temperature and pressure fluctuations, which
affect the spectrograph's stability (see picture).
Figure 5: ESPaDOnS
ESPaDOnS was designed to obtain a complete optical spectrum (from 370 to 1,050 nm, with 3 very small gaps: 922.4-923.4 nm, 960.8-963.6 nm, 1002.6-1007.4 nm) in a single exposure
with a resolving power of about 68,000 (in spectropolarimetric and 'object+sky' spectroscopic mode) and up to 81,000 (in 'object only' spectroscopic mode). With a 79 gr/mm grating and a
2k x 4.5k CCD detector, the full spectrum spans 40 grating orders (from order #61 in the blue to order #22 in the red). The total peak throughput is between 15% and 20% (telescope and
detector included). This high throughput was obtained using the very efficient dual pupil design of Baranne (along which many modern spectrographs such as UVES, FEROS and HARPS
were designed) as well as to the most recent advances in glass and coating technologies (allowing to produce large dioptric optics with low reflectance and absorption as well as high
efficiency optical fibers and image slicers). ESPaDOnS gives continuum subtracted linear and circular polarization spectra of the stellar light (in polarimetric mode). The use of Fresnel
rhombs instead of standard crystalline plates suppresses the usual problems of interference patterns in the collected spectra, with the additional advantage of being much more achromatic.
CFHT Progress
ESPaDOnS transitioned very smoothly to a fully operational CFHT instrument after engineering and commissioning nights in November/December 2004. After a year of operations,
ESPaDOnS has proved to be a reliable and easy-to-use instrument, with quick and easy data reduction thanks to software provided by the project PI (J.F. Donati: Libre-Esprit) and CFHT. A
complete description of the instrument can be found at http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/Instruments/Spectroscopy/Espadons/
WIRCam
WIRCam is the newest wide-field imaging facility at CFHT and represents one of the largest astronomical mosaic of infrared detectors ever built. WIRCam contains four 2048 x 2048 pixel
HAWAII2-RG detectors, and covers a 20 arcminute x 20 arcminute field-of-view with a sampling of 0.3 arcsecond per pixel (see picture). To properly sample the 0.4 arcsecond infrared
seeing often offered by the CFHT at Mauna Kea, WIRCam uses its image stabilization unit to micro-step the image with 0.15 arcsecond sampling. The image stabilization signal will be
obtained by repeatedly reading out a small region of the detectors centered on a bright star, while the exposure continues for the rest of the pixels. WIRCam is a near infrared instrument,
and is mounted at the prime focus of the telescope.
Figure 6: WIRCam
WIRCam is operated exclusively through the CFHT New Observing Process (NOP)(section 4). As with MegaCam, observations are carried out through Queued Service Observing (QSO),
the data are preprocessed (removal of the instrumental signature) and calibrated (photometry and astrometry) by Elixir, and eventually sent to the Principal Investigators on tapes or
network by the Data Archiving & Distribution System (DADS). The raw data are archived at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) in Victoria, and become public after a one year
proprietary period (except for the CFHTLS data). The Terapix data processing center also proposes its services to the whole CFHT community with the data stacking, fine astrometric
calibration and catalogs generation.
During the semester 2005B, WIRCam was commissioned and the first scientific observations were undertaken. On-chip guiding is now operational, the image quality is excellent, and microdithering and nodding modes have been successfully used. At the time of writing, efforts concentrate in diminishing the operational overheads, stabilizing the performance of the guiding,
and decreasing the actual readout time to improve observing efficiency. Information on WIRCam can be found at http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/Instruments/Imaging/WIRCam/
Operations: New Observing Process
Queued Service Observing
Since January 2001, CFHT wide-field imagers have been used exclusively in Queued Service Observing (QSO) mode. QSO is the front-end component of a broader ensemble of software,
the New Observing Process (NOP), which allow the acquisition, analysis and distribution of high quality data. Since its commissioning in 2003, all of the observations with the MegaCam
mosaic camera were performed through the NOP at a rate of about 10-15 Terabytes per year. With the improvements made on the camera and with the minimization of some of the main
operational overheads (guide probe motion, auto-focus), observing efficiency has been steadily increasing. In 2005B, overheads during good nights have been reduced to less than 10%,
contributing to very good statistics on programs, even if weather has been worse than expected. Each night, about five queues created from observing blocks extracted from several
programs, as specified by the PIs in their Phase 2, are prepared by the Queue Coordinator to cover diverse weather conditions. At night, the Service Observer selects and executes the
appropriate observations. In general, grade A programs are completed at > 90% during a given semester. The validation rate is close to 90%. Balance of the telescope time allocated to the
different Agencies, a strong constraint on scheduling, is also achieved at a very good level. Complete information on the queue mode at CFHT, including reports on previous semesters,
statistics, schedules and night reports, can be found here: http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/Instruments/Queue/
For WIRCam, a new version of the Phase 2 tool has been developed in 2005. The tool allows the user to select options like micro-dithering and nodding patterns. At the time of writing,
scientific observations have been started with WIRCam and have been very successful, although a lot of engineering remains to be accomplished.
Elixir
A major component of the NOP is Elixir, an extensive data assessment, calibration, and pre-processing system. The Elixir system provides three types of services: 1) real-time data quality
assessment, 2) end-of-run detailed calibration analysis, 3) image pre-processing and meta-data compilation for data distribution. Coupled with the data analysis pipelines are various
databases which store all of the necessary data products. Elixir was first developed for CFH12K and then adapted and developed even further for MegaCam observations since 2003.
Despite the large volume of data produced by MegaCam (~ 1 Tbytes per run), data are fully pre-processed and ready for distribution within a week after the end of an observing run. Since
the arrival of MegaCam, several modifications in the reduction "recipes" have been made to improve the end-results notably on the reduction of the fringing pattern seen in the redder filters.
When the final recipes are implemented, CFHT plans to reprocess all of the MegaCam data since first light.
CFHT will also provide pre-processed data for WIRCam. At the moment, Elixir-WIRCam is a work in progress with recipes being developed on real science images obtained at the end of
the semester 2005B. It is expected that a first version of Elixir for WIRCam will become implemented by the end of the semester 2006A.
CFHT Progress
With the arrival of WIRCam, CFHT will be operated in a NOP mode for about 85% of the time. Discussions on how to operate ESPaDOnS also in a queue mode will take place during the
next year. Those are challenging but exciting times for CFHT!
Dr. Pierre Martin
Director of Science Operations
Astronomy Group Manager
Staff Astronomer
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/~martin/martin.html
news
News
An Alma Update by Chris Wilson
Events at NRC's HIA (2005 Sept.-Dec.) / Du neuf à l'IHA du CNRC (sept.-déc. 2005) by
Jacques P. Vallée
Gemini Observatory Update by Dennis Crabtree
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ALMA Update
ALMA Update
1 Recent news
There have been a lot of major events occurring in the ALMA project in the last three months.
One major piece of good news was the signing of the European contract for their share of the
12 m antennas for ALMA. The contract with Alcatel Alenia Space, EIE, MT Aerospace
Consortium was signed on December 6, 2005 by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
The procurement contract is to supply 25 antennas, with an option to supply up to 32 antennas.
Both the European and North American contracts for the 12 m ALMA antennas have now been
signed; the first antenna should arrive in Chile in about 18 months!
The major focus of activity in the international ALMA project this year has been the rebaselining
of the project to bring it up to date since the last definition of its schedule and budget in October
2002. I'm happy to be able to report that this activity is now complete. A list of possible changes
to the baseline ALMA project was sent to the ALMA Board for consideration at their November,
2005 meeting in Santiago. Changes which would have had an impact on ALMA's scientific
capabilities were also sent to the ASAC for review and formed a major focus of the ASAC in the
preparation leading up to their October, 2005 meeting. Among the many possible changes to
the baseline project that were identified, only one change was accepted by the Board that will
have a significant scientific impact, namely a reduction in the number of 12 m antennas in the
main ALMA array from 64 to 50 antennas. While the goal is still to build 64 antennas for ALMA,
the high cost of antennas in the final bids left the Board with very few options.
A high-level international review of the scope, schedule, and budget of the proposed 50antenna ALMA was held October 13-16, 2005 in Germany. The committee chaired by Steve
Beckwith and co-chaired by Thijs de Graauw produced a thoughtful report for the ALMA Board.
Since ALMA's technical specifications established about 5 years ago were exceptionally
ambitious, it is testimony to the hard work of the international teams that the committee found
that "ALMA's technical readiness level is high. There is little risk that the project will be delayed
because of technical issues." In their generally positive report, they further concluded that the
scientific capability of ALMA remains compelling and provided constructive suggestions for
bringing ALMA's construction phase to successful conclusion within the increased budget
identified during rebaselining. The Board began implementing their recommendations during
the November meeting.
One aspect of the ALMA project that could not be considered at the cost review in October was
the impact of having two different vendors for the baseline project's 12 m antennas. As a result,
the project will hold a "delta" cost review in late January to assess the impact of two different
antenna vendors on the cost and schedule for ALMA. This review will be carried out by a
subset of the panel that participated in the October cost review. There will also be an
unassociated review of the North American project management, also in late January.
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ALMA Update
In other ALMA
news, two
major design
reviews for the
Japanese
contribution to
ALMA, of the
12 m
antennas and
the Atacama
Compact
Array System,
were held in
Japan in
November.
Preparations
are continuing
for optical
pointing tests
using the
prototype
antennas at
the ALMA
Test Facility at
the VLA site.
With Spring
weather,
construction
began at the
end of
October for
the ALMA
Operations
Site technical
building.
Trustees from
Associated
Universities,
Inc. (AUI),
which
ALMA Update
operates
NRAO for the
NSF, visited
the ALMA
high site on
October 29,
2005. Jim
Hesser and
Lewis Knee
from HIA were
part of the
group. During
their visit, the
AOS was
blessed by
local religious
leaders during
a special
ceremony
involving a
blend of
readings of
Biblical
scriptures and
ceremonies
traditional to
the native
Atacameo
peoples.
Figure 1: Jim Hesser and Lewis Knee (clutching their green oxygen cannisters)
at the ALMA high site October 29, 2005.
In science news, plans are well underway for the second world-wide meeting on "Science with
the Atacama Large Millimeter Array" to be held in Madrid, Spain, on 13-16 November, 2006.
This international ALMA conference is envisioned as a way for the astronomers interested on
ALMA, not necessarily radio astronomers, to exchange views, to plan preparatory observations
for the scientific exploitation of the interferometer, and to obtain the information needed to
orient their scientific work to the best possible use of ALMA. The conference will cover a wide
range of topics, which will include the main scientific drivers of ALMA: the formation and
evolution of galaxies, the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium, and the processes
ALMA Update
of star and planet formation. The web page for the conference is available at
http://www.oan.es/alma2006/
2 ALMA Science Advisory Committee
The ASAC met October 1-2, 2005 in Santiago, Chile. The ASAC had four charges from the
ALMA Board for this meeting: review the scientific impact of possible changes to the baseline
ALMA coming from the rebaselining exercise; review the Scientific Specifications and
Requirements document; continue their discussion from the previous two meetings on large
projects, joint projects, and legacy projects; and discuss the scope and schedule of
demonstration science with ALMA.
The rebaselining results were presented in the previous section. On the second charge, the
ASAC recommended that the Board adopt the Science Requirements document after some
clarifications, especially in the area of calibration and solar observations. The ASAC noted also
that the document may require some revisions based on the outcome of the rebaselining
process, e.g. changing the number of antennas from 64 to 50.
For the third charge, the ASAC reiterated their belief that a single international Program Review
Committee (PRC) would best serve the ALMA project as well as minimizing several possible
problems with joint programs and scientific duplication. Nevertheless, the ASAC report also
describes a possible model based on regional PRCs and an International PRC that may
minimize the adverse scientific effects of adopting a region-based review model. The ASAC
also emphasized that they believe there is no need at this time to set up special procedures for
large or legacy-type projects.
For the last charge, the ASAC proposed to split the concept of "demonstration science" into two
different concepts: Science Verification and ALMA Public Images. Science Verification would
be an end-to-end test of an ALMA mode using science projects proposed by external users.
Science Verification is expected to start before Early Science and to continue, at a reducing
pace, throughout the ALMA construction period. ALMA Public Images will be large-scale
projects selected by the ALMA project, whose primary goal will be to demonstrate to the
astronomy community and the wider public the value of ALMA. The first images are likely to be
made for a very limited number of unique southern sources (e.g. objects like Eta Carinae and
Centaurus A).
The ASAC report from the October 2005 meeting is available on the NRAO ALMA web site at
http://www.alma.nrao.edu/committees/ASAC/
The next meeting of the ASAC is scheduled for January 28-29, 2006 in Los Angeles. We have
ALMA Update
three charges for that meeting: to review the progress in the science software development for
ALMA; to review the plans and progress towards the scientific integration of the Atacama
Compact Array into the baseline ALMA project; and to review the existing analysis on the
imaging performance of the hybrid ALMA array and advise the project on whether additional
work needs to be done in this area.
3 ALMA Developments in Canada
3.1 Band 3 Receiver Development
The Band 3 cartridge #2 is now being tested. So far, all tests performed have been satisfactory.
The remaining tests are phase drift and gain saturation. The plan is to send this cartridge to
NRAO early in the New Year, as the first delivered Band 3 cartridge. Cartridge #1 is awaiting
the possibility of being upgraded with better mixers. Presently it has mixers from an early batch
and the more recent mixers are of better quality. Assembly of cartridges #3 and #4 has begun,
ensuring that there is much continuing work for the Band 3 team!
In order to demonstrate that our cartridge meets all requirements for mechanical integrity, we
are subjecting a prototype engineering cartridge to shake and vibration tests, as well as testing
all the thermal contacts.
The low-noise cryogenic IF amplifiers developed at HIA continue to attract attention from other
receiver groups and low-temperature physics instrumentation groups. A research service
agreement was put together in November between the CEA and HIA for the development of
two ultra-high stability, low-noise amplifiers. CEA is the French Atomic Energy Commission and
a world leader in atomic energy research. These amplifiers will be used by CEA physicists to
study the characteristics of shot noise in GaAs materials at 4 K temperature. Christian Glattli, a
nuclear physicist at CEA Saclay sent the following responses after the final test results of the
amplifiers were delivered to CEA Saclay: "The specifications are incredibly good ! Far better
than we expected. It is a real chance for us. 10% noise improvement means acquisition time
reduced by one half in our detection system aimed to measure the fourth moment of the
voltage fluctuations."
Finally, the Band 3 Critical Design Review is currently scheduled to take place in March 2006,
although this is still be be confirmed.
For more information on the ALMA Band 3 Receiver Project contact Keith Yeung (Project
Manager - [email protected]), Stephane Claude (Project Engineer [email protected]), or Doug Johnstone (Project Scientist - [email protected]).
3.2 Software
ALMA Update
Software work for the ALMA Offline system and the ALMA Common Software system is
continuing in Calgary and at DRAO. The ALMA Offline system (AIPS++) is currently in the
midst of a major shift from glish to python-based scripting language and this is keeping
everyone very busy. The first focus tests of the new python-based version will occur in January
or February.
Chris Wilson attended the face-to-face meeting of the Science Software Requirements
committee in Charlottesville in November. The Pipeline subsystem is gearing up for the next
user test, which is currently anticipated to start in late January and will include outside testers
from NRAO and HIA. This test will focus on flagging and calibration of single field
interferometric data.
Chris Wilson [email protected]
Canadian ALMA Project Scientist
(with input from Doug Johnstone and Jim Hesser)
File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.40.
On 20 Dec 2005, 08:15.
HIA Milestones - Du neuf à l'IHA
Milestones at NRC's HIA (2005 Sept.Dec.)
Du neuf à l'IHA du CNRC (sept. - déc.
2005)
edited by:
édité par:
Dr. Jacques P. Vallée
On Sept. 11, NSERC awarded a Special Research Opportunity Grant
for the "DRAO Planck Deep Fields", for the period Jan. 2006 to Dec.
2009, to a consortium led by the Univ. of Calgary. The observations will
be taken with the Synthesis telescope and the 26m single dish.
Le 11 septembre, le CRSNG a donné un Octroi d'opportunité spéciale
de recherche (SROG) pour le projet "Champs profonds de Planck
OFRA", pour la période janv. 2006 à déc. 2009, à un consortium dirigé
par l'Univ. de Calgary. Les observations seront prises avec le télescope
à synthèse d'ouverture et l'antenne de 26m.
On December 10, in Hawaii, the HARP-B receiver, a 16-detector array
for the JCMT working near 345 GHz, achieved 'first light'. HIA
contributed the Local Oscillator (headed by Keith Yeung & Bob Woof)
and the Control Software (written by Russell Redman).
À Hawaii au TJCM le 10 décembre, le récepteur HARP-B, un réseau
de 16 détecteurs opérant vers 345 GHz, a obtenu sa 'première lumière'.
L'IHA a contribué l'oscillateur local (dirigé par Keith Yeung & Bob
Woof) et le logiciel de contrôle (écrit par Russell Redman).
On 24 September, HIA's DRAO campus held its annual open house,
and over 1100 visitors were greeted by facility staff who explained the
latest developments in current projects.
Le 24 septembre, le campus de Penticton de l'IHA a tenu ses portes
ouvertes annuelles, et plus de 1100 visiteurs furent accueillis par le
staff qui a présenté les derniers développements des projets les plus
récents.
On 5 November, CEA Saclay (French Atomic Energy Commission)
contracted HIA to build 2 ultra-high stability, low-noise amplifiers (based
on those made for the ALMA Band 3 receivers). They were promptly
build and tested and delivered on 28 Nov. CEA researchers wrote to
manager Keith Yeung the following : "...incredibly good! Far better than
we expected. It is a real chance for us..." They are using it to study Shot
noise in GaAs material at 4 Kelvin.
Le 5 novembre, le CEA (commission à l'Energie Atomique) de Saclay a
passé un contrat avec l'IHA pour construire 2 amplificateurs ultra-stables
et à faible bruit (semblables aux récepteurs de Bande 3 pour ALMA). Ce
qui fut fait sans délai, et délivré le 28 nov. Les chercheurs du CEA ont
écrit au gestionnaire Keuth Young ceci: "... incroyablement bon! Bien
mieux que nous espérions! Une grande chance pour nous...". Ils
l'utilisent pour étudier le bruit Shot dans le matière GaAs at 4 degrés
Kelvin.
On 7 October, several HIA staff members received Awards and other
presentations in recognition of their services at HIA. HIA's Institute
Awards were handed to: Murray Fletcher for his contribution over 40
years to astronomical instrumentation, Gary Hovey for his leadership of
the ACSIS correlator, Kei Szeto for his leadership of the optomechanical group and the GMOS-S spectrograph, and Ev Sheehan for
his exemplary support to DRAO telescopes and surveys. Employees
received pins in recognition of many years of service to NRC: Dennis
Crabtree (15), Charles Cunningham (15), Tony Willis (15), and Peter
Dewdney (30).
Le 7 octobre, plusieurs membres du staff de l'IHA ont reçu des prix et
autres reconnaissances pour leurs services. Les prix de l'IHA furent
décernés à: Murray Fletcher pour des contributions sur 40 ans à
l'instrumentation astronomique, Gary Hovey pour avoir dirigé le
corrélateur ACSIS, Kei Szeto pour sa direction du groupe optomécanique et le spectrographe GMOS-S, Ev Sheehan pour son support
exemplaire aux télescopes et relevés à Penticton. Des employés ont
reçu des épinglettes pour des années de service au CNRC: Dennis
Crabtree (15), Charles Cunningham (15), Tony Willis (15), et Peter
Dewdney (30).
On 17 October, Peter Dewdney received an award from the
International Academy of Astronautics as Principal Investigator on the
VLBI Space Observatory. On 28 November, Jacques Vallée has
received a 25-year NRC pin in recognition of his long-term service,
notably as a radio astronomer, HIA Information Officer and Technical
Secretary to the Canadian Telescope Time Assignment Committees.
Other employees receiving service pins were: Séverin Gaudet (15
years) and Ken Tapping (30 years).
Le 17 octobre, Peter Dewdney reçut un prix de l'Académie
internationale d'astronautique comme Chercheur principal pour
l'Observatoire Spatial VLBI. Le 28 nov., Jacques Vallée a reçu une
épinglette pour ses 25 ans de service au CNRC, comme
radioastronome, Agent d'information et Secrétaire technique des
Comités canadiens d'allocation de temps aux télescopes. D'autres
employés ont reçu des épinglettes de service sont Séverin Gaudet (15
ans) et Ken Tapping (30 ans).
Late summer, two new companies have relocated in the IPF (Industry
Partnership Facility) at HIA's DRAO campus in Penticton. ORIC
(Okanagan Valley Research & Innovation Centre) and RFind Systems
Inc. are the new tenants, the first one being a provider of Business
Development & Technology Transfer services for DRAO, and the
second one being in the radio-frequency identification business (e.g., RF
tags).
À la fin de cet été, le Centre de partenariat avec l'industrie (IPF) a reçu
deux nouveaux locataires sur notre campus à Penticton: ORIC
(Okanagan Valley Research & Innovation Centre) qui se spécialise dans
les services de transfer de technologie et de développement d'affaires
pour l'OFRA, et RFind Systems Inc. qui vise la commercialisation
d'étiquettes d'identification par les ondes radio (RF tags).
Late September, Dr. Sherif Barakat, NRC Vice-President, visited HIA
Fin septembre, Dr. Sherif Barakat, Vice-président du CNRC, a visité
to present his Renewal Plan for the future of NRC. His well-attended talk l'IHA pour y présenter son Plan de Renouveau pour le futur du CNRC.
generated lots of questions and expectations regarding the future
Son grand auditoire lui a posé plein de questions sur nos espoirs
positioning of NRC within the Canadian Science & Technology system.
touchant le futur positionnement du CNRC, à l'intérieur du système
canadien de la Science & Technologie.
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HIA Milestones - Du neuf à l'IHA
On 15 November, a short ceremony was held at HIA's DRAO campus
to honour Grote Reber, one of the pioneers of radio astronomy. In
accordance with his wishes, his ashes were distributed to the world's
leading observatories, and DRAO was selected as well as others in
Australia, USA, UK, and Finland. Reber visited DRAO several times,
and provided $30 000 in 1983 towards the DRAO Synthesis telescope.
Le 15 novembre, une petite cérémonie fut tenue à l'IHA de Penticton
pour honorer Grote Reber, un des pionniers de la radioastronomie.
Selon ses voeux, ses cendres furent distribuées aux meilleurs
observatoires du monde, et l'OFRA fut choisie tout comme d'autres en
Australie, Etats-Unis, GB, et Finlande. Reber avait visité l'OFRA
plusieurs fois, et donné $30 000 en 1983 pour aider au télescope à
synthèse d'ouverture.
In the 2rd week of December, completion was essentially achieved for
the 3rd floor renovations in the previous library in Victoria, under the
supervision of Clyde Donnelly, David Campion, & Marilyn Bell.
Les rénovations du 3e étage où était jadis la bibliothèque à Victoria
furent essentiellement terminées durant la 2e semaine de décembre,
sous la direction de Clyde Donnelly, David Campion, & Marilyn Bell.
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Gemini Observatory Update
Dennis Crabtree (NRC-HIA)
Gemini Focus
Gemini Focus is the Observatories newly revamped newsletter which is distributed twice a year
(July and January). The current issue has articles on recent Gemini science results as well
reports on Altair upgrades, the arrival of NIFS and a detailed look at the observing efficiency at
Gemini, including queue completion rates. If you wish to be added to the Canadian distribution
list (for future issues) please send e-mail to [email protected]. Electronic
versions of Gemini Focus are available on the Gemini website.
Changes in Gemini Management
Applications to replace Matt Mountain as Gemini Director closed at the end of September. The
Gemini Board has produced a short list and further interviews will be held.
Phil Puxley will leave Gemini at the end of February 2006 to take a new position at the National
Science Foundation, Washington, D. C. in March.
Phil went to the Gemini Observatory in January 1996 and immediately demonstrated strong
leadership while helping define the operations model that is used each night at Gemini. Phil
played a crucial role in designing and implementing the systems that have allowed the current
and unique multi-instrument queue observing now in place at Gemini North and South.
Phil's departure will be a big loss for Gemini, but he is moving to new and challenging
responsibilities in the management of large astronomical projects at NSF.
Canadian Demand for Semester 2006A
There was strong demand for Canadian Gemini time in Semester 2006A. Subscription rates
were 3.1 for Gemini North and 2.1 for Gemini South resulting in an overall subscription rate of
2.65. A post-CTAC time exchange with Argentina (Canada received 10 hours of Gemini North
time in exchange for the same amount of Gemini South time) helped to address the differing
subscription rates. As usual, the most requested instruments are the two GMOS spectrographs
followed NIRI/Altair, GNIRS and straight NIRI. There was very little demand for Gemini’s mid-IR
instrumentation.
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Instrumentation Notes
Altair was designed under the assumption that the main turbulence layer was 6.5 km above
Mauna Kea. This has turned out not to the case and the result is that the Altair corrected field is
much smaller than expected. The solution settled on was to insert a field lens that reconjugates Altair’s deformable mirror to ground-level (where most of the turbulence arises.). All
of the tests thus far have resulted in Altair producing better off-axis corrected images (see
Figure 1 for an example).
Figure 1 H band mosaic images of the core of M33 with field lens out (top) and field lens in (bottom).
These images obtained on August 18, 2005 under favorable turbulence conditions within a period of 30
minutes. Field of view is 38.0 x 6.5 arcseconds at f/32 using the core of M33 (approximate R magnitude
of 14.5) as a guide source.
The Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph was delivered earlier this year and saw first light
in mid October. The on-sky commissioning progressed very well and is now completed. Gemini
issued a call for Science Verification proposals in late November and the general user
community should expect NIFS to be available in 2006B.
TEXES at Gemini (based on an article that originally appeared in the NOAO
Newsletter)
One strong recommendation coming out of Gemini’s 2003 “Aspen” future instrumentation
process was for Gemini to develop a capability for high-resolution, mid-infrared (IR)
spectroscopy. Gemini North will offer a new and unique capability, beginning in 2006B, in
response to the recommendation: R=100,000 spectroscopy at 5–25 microns. The University of
Texas group has modified TEXES, the Texas Echelon Cross-Echelle Spectrograph (Lacy et al.,
2002, PASP, 114, 153) for use at Gemini in order to make this capability available. TEXES has
been in regular use at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea since fall
2000, and will be shared between the IRTF and Gemini. The high background at mid-infrared
wavelengths means that ground-based spectrometers are still limited by background noise,
even with very large resolving powers. Greater resolving power is then an advantage when
lines are narrow, where the line-to-continuum ratio is low, or where the line shapes contain
astrophysically useful information. The Aspen Report lists some of the many areas where highresolution spectroscopy in the mid-IR can help solve important astronomical problems. The
following examples of science results from TEXES at the IRTF illustrate areas where the
community can reap substantial scientific benefit from the superior spatial and spectral
resolution of Gemini/TEXES, as well as the better sensitivity that Gemini will provide.
Protostellar Disks: The pure rotational lines of H2 , of which the S(1), S(2), and S(4) lines at
17.0, 12.3, and 8.0 microns are regularly accessible from Mauna Kea, should be good probes
of the anthropically interesting region of
protoplanetary disks at a radius of 1-10
Astronomical Units (AU). These
transitions should be thermalized,
optically thin, and adequately excited at
temperatures found at these disk radii.
Measurements of the intensities and
Doppler profiles of the three lines can
provide information about the temperature
and distribution of the emitting gas. The
superior sensitivity available at Gemini
will make several hundred Young Stellar
Objects (YSOs) available for study,
including not only the optically thick
sources like T Tau studied at the IRTF
(Figure 2), but also optically thin Class II
and even Class III YSOs. Lines of other
molecules may provide information about
disk chemistry as well.
Ultra Compact HII Regions: Radio
continuum and recombination line
observations of ultra compact HII regions
have not been able to resolve the puzzle
of why, despite their small sizes and high
internal pressures, these regions last as
long as they appear to. Using TEXES to
observe the 12.8 micron [NeII] line (Jaffe et al. 2003, Zhu et al. 2005), it has been possible to
map the kinematics of several UCHII regions and to conclude that their gas motions are
dominated by surface flows rather than expansion, at least alleviating the “lifetime problem.”
Observing Opportunities: Gemini is still forming plans for the integration of TEXES into the
observing schedule. We expect an engineering run to occur in February 2006, TEXES Arrives
at Gemini in 2006 continued followed by a science verification run in summer 2006, and a
longer science run in fall 2006. The opportunity to propose for both 2006 science runs will be
announced in the Gemini 2006B Call for Proposals and/or via a special Demonstration Science
or other call (that would be advertised on the Gemini and NGSC Web pages).Observations with
TEXES will be made in collaboration with one or more instrument team members. The TEXES
team will provide complete support for users, including assistance in proposal preparation,
operation of the instrument, pipeline data reduction, and collaboration in data interpretation. For
further information about proposing or observing with TEXES, contact John Lacy
([email protected]).
Reports
Reports
CTAC report for Gemini & CFHT for semester 2006a / Rapport du CATC de Gémini & TCFH
pour le semestre 2006a
Coalition for Canadian Astronomy - Report on Recent Activities by Gretchen Harris
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CTAC Report: Gemini+CFHT
Canadian Time Allocation Comité d'Allocation de Temps
Committee for Gemini &
Canadien des télescopes
CFH Telescopes
Gémini & CFH
- summary for semester
- sommaire du semestre
2006a
2006a
Proposal Statistics
Statistiques des demandes de temps
CFHT: For this semester, 35 Canadian proposals
were received, requesting 117 nights. In addition,
the Cdn commitment for the Legacy Survey was
27 dark nights. The allocated time for Canada
was 27 dark nights for the Legacy Survey, and 34
nights for the regular proposals. Thus the
Canadian oversubscription factor (requested time
to available time) was 2.4 overall (including the
Legacy Survey). After subtracting the LS
obligation, the general observer proposals faced
an oversubscription of 3.4.
TCFH: Pour ce semestre, 35 demandes de temps
canadiennes ont été reçues, et un total de 117 nuits fut
demandé. De plus, l'imposition canadienne pour le
Relevé du Legs [LS] fut de 27 nuits noires. Le temps
alloué pour le Canada fut de 27 nuits noires pour le LS,
et de 34 nuits pour les demandes de temps. Le facteur
de pression canadien (temps demandé/disponible) fut
de 2.4 au total (incluant le Relevé du Legs). Si on
soustrait l'obligation LS, les demandes de temps
générales font face à un taux de sursouscription de 3.4.
Gemini: For Gemini North, CTAC received 36
proposals requesting 552 hours, and for Gemini
South CTAC received 18 proposals requesting
303 hours. Given Canada's share of 179 hours
on GN and 143 hours on GS, the Canadian oversubscription was 3.1 for GN and 2.1 for GS.
Gémini: Pour le télescopes Gémini Nord, le CATC a
reçu 36 demandes pour 552 heures, et pour Gémini
Sud le CATC a reçu 18 demandes pour 303 heures.
Comme la part du Canada est de 179 heures sur GN et
de 143 heures sur GS, ceci done un facteur de pression
de 3.1 sur GN et de 2.1 sur GS.
Peer review: Two independent referee reports
were requested for each proposal. The referees'
response rate was very good with 80% for CFHT,
and 83% for Gemini. About 4 weeks were given
to CFHT referees, but only 2 weeks for Gemini
referees (see why in part 2 below).
Arbitrage: Pour chaque demande TCFH ou Gémini, on
a fait participer deux arbitres indépendants. Le taux de
réponse des arbitres a été très bon: 80% pour le TCFH,
et 83% pour Gémini. Les arbitres avaient environ 4
semaines (TCFH) et seulement 2 semaines (Gémini)
pour retourner leurs rapports (voir pourquoi à la partie 2
ci-bas).
CTAC meeting & voting members
Réunion cu CTAC et membres votants
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Current members of CFHT/Gemini CTAC are:
Les membres du CATC pour les télescopes Gémini &
TCFH sont:
Bohlender, David (NRC-HIA Victoria)
Doyon, René (Univ. de Montréal)
Ellison, Sara (Univ. Victoria), Chair/Président
English, Jayanne (U. Man. - Winnipeg)
Hoekstra, Hendrik(Univ. Victoria)
Martel, Hugo (Univ. Laval, Québec City)
Stetson, Peter (NRC-HIA Victoria)
van Kerkwijk, Marten (Univ. Toronto)
The CTAC Technical Secretary, Dr. Jacques P.
Vallée (NRC-HIA, Victoria), supervises a number
of things, including computer processing,
communication linkage, procedure and interface
with HIA.
The CTAC meeting was held on 4 & 5 Nov. 2005
at the Univ. of Toronto. As always, CTAC ranked
proposals according to their scientific merit and
technical feasibility.
Le Secrétaire Technique du CATC est le Dr. Jacques
P. Vallée (IHA, Victoria), supervisant le processus
informatique, les liaisons de communication, la
procédure et l'interface avec l'IHA.
CTAC concerns
Points d'intérêt du CATC
La réunion du CATC a eu lieu les 4 et 5 nov. 2005 à
l'Univ. de Toronto. Comme d'habitude, le CATC a
classé les demandes selon le mérite scientifique et leur
faisabilité technique.
1. CTAC wishes to thank the many referees for 1. Le CATC veut remercier les arbitres pour leur travail
their valuable scientific evaluations.
scientifique de qualité.
2. With Gemini PIT (unlike CFHT Poopsi), the 2. Avec l'outil PIT de Gémini (inférieur au Poopsi du
proposal PI cannot review the assembled
proposal and approve it before submitting it,
despite repeated requests to Gemini HQ. Figures
are submitted as attachments and the Gemini
proposal is assembled and extracted by hand in
Victoria. As a result, there were truncated or
partially illegible Figures. The recovery process
involves human errors and takes 2 extra weeks
at HIA!
3. Gemini proposers should share the total
TCFH), le demandeur principal (PI) ne peut pas voir la
demande assemblée ni l'approuver avant de la
soumettre, en dépit de multiples requêtes au QG de
Gémini. Les figures sont soumises comme attaches et
la demande Gémini est assemblée et extraite à la main
à Victoria. Comme résultat, il y a des figures tronquées
ou partiellement lisibles. Le processus de correction
prend 2 semaines extra à la main à Victoria!
3. Les demandeurs au Gémini devraient partager leur
temps d'observation requis entre les pays partenaires.
observing time requested between partner
countries.
International TACs
CAT Internationaux
At these international meetings, joint proposals
are discussed, and time assignments and
scheduling are finalised. The final observing
schedules can be seen on the CFHT and Gemini
web pages.
À ces rencontres internationales, on discute les
demandes conjointes, et on finalise les allocations de
temps et l'horaire.
Le CAT International pour le TCFH s'est réuni à Hawaii
pendant la rencontre du Comité Scientifique les 8-9 nov.
The CFHT International TAC met in Hawaii at the 2005. Le CATC était représenté par Henk Hoekstra et
SAC meeting held on 2005 Nov. 8-9, and CTAC David Bohlender.
was represented at this meeting by Henk
Hoekstra and David Bohlender.
Des membres du CAT international pour Gémini se sont
réunis à Tucson le 1-2 déc., et le CATC était aussi
Some members of the Gemini International TAC représenté par Sara Ellison.
met in Tucson on Dec. 1-2, and CTAC was
represented by Sara Ellison.
Comme d'habitude, l'IHA envoie aux chercheurs
principaux par courriel depuis Victoria les rapports des
As usual, CFHT & Gemini TAC summaries and arbitres (anonymes) et le sommaire du CATC.
copies of referee reports (names withheld) are
sent from HIA in Victoria by email to the PIs of
the proposals.
Sara
Ellison
Chair,
Canadian
Time
Allocation
Committee
(CTAC) for
Gemini
and
CFHT
Sara is a
Professor
at the
Univ. of
Victoria,
BC. Much
of her
research
involves
distant
galaxies
and
quasars.
Sara
Ellison
Président,
Comité
d'Allocation
de Temps
Canadien
(CATC)
pour Gémini
et le TCFH.
Sara est
professeure
à
l'Université
de Victoria,
CB. Sa
recherche
touche les
quasars et
galaxies
lointaines.
Ici, on voit
Sara en
Here,
Sara is
shown in
Syria in
2004.
Syrie en
2004.
Coalition for Canadian Astronomy: Report to CASCA Board Nov 2005
Coalition for Canadian Astronomy: ECass Report
Dec 2005
Since the last report to CASCA in May 2005, Coalition activity has continued at a steady
pace; an update was posted in the Autumnal Equinox issue of E-Cass. This report,
therefore, focuses mainly on Coalition activity since September.
CASCA Coalition Co-Chair:
In May 2004 CASCA Board designated Gretchen Harris as its Coalition representative to
serve for ~one year. In September 2005 Peter Martin began to assume a greater role
and, except for the Working Group activities, is now the Coalition Co-Chair for CASCA.
Gretchen Harris will continue to represent CASCA as chair of the Working Group on LRP
funding until its report is complete in early 2006.
The Political Front:
On November 1-3, the Coalition met with 18 MPs from different parties, a head of staff from the
Senate leader, and ministry officials and pmo staff. Representing the Coalition at these
meetings were Co-Chairs Peter Martin, Michael Jolliffe, and Pekka Sinervo.
Getting meetings on the Hill seems now not to be a problem. At our most recent
teleconference, Michael Jolliffe, the only Co-Chair to have served over the five year lifetime of
the Coalition, expressed his amazement at the progress that Astronomy, the LRP and the
Coalition have made. Five years ago meetings were difficult to obtain and the government
understanding and awareness of our LRP and its goals were essentially nonexistent. Today
we are on their radar and in a positive way. This is a tremendous achievement and one which
we should celebrate. But the reality which accompanies our success is that this work must
continue in order to maintain our visibility and accessibility and ultimately secure the needed
LRP funding. This means a continuing, strong commitment of CASCA resources, both human
and financial, into the foreseeable future.
Funding the LRP:
The first focus of the November lobbying campaign was to underscore the need for renewed
and sustained funding to ensure that what had been started in the LRP was brought to fruition.
The target budget was that in the MTR, for all projects, over the next seven years. The second
goal was to get this into the next federal budget. Although there seems to be all party
agreement that this is a good thing to do, getting the memorandum to cabinet through Industry
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Coalition for Canadian Astronomy: Report to CASCA Board Nov 2005
Canada is still the practical challenge; once to cabinet it probably would have a good chance of
surviving (given the current government at least).
In addition, we are still working to secure the $15M federal government and ensure our
partnership in the Detailed Design Development Phase of the TMT. This commitment was
arranged through Industry Canada. There has been considerable turnover of personnel at
Industry; the present lot appear to be understanding of the situation. More changes in
personnel in Industry have been announced...
It seems there will be an election before this government gets to have a budget anyway (all
meaning that with changing players once again, more re-education will be needed).
Working Group on Funding the LRP:
As previously reported, this group consists of Gretchen Harris (CASCA), Michael Jolliffe
(Industry), Rene Racine (ACURA), and Greg Fahlman (NRC/HIA). Invited participants are Vice
Presidents of the CFI, CSA, NSERC, and NRC or their representatives. It was formed as the
result of a meeting in November 2004 and its goal is to examine issues related to funding the
LRP. On November 22, 2005 this group met to discuss test cases and possible funding models
against which they would be evaluated. As a result of this meeting, the Working Group will
prepare a report to be ready before a January meeting at which time we hope to be able to
make final recommendations.
Funding the Coalition:
The activities of the Coalition cost money and the CASCA Board has already committed its
support at the level of $5000 per year. At its November meeting CASCA Board approved an
expenditure of $7500 for the current fiscal year.
Gretchen Harris, Peter Martin
CASCA Representatives to the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy
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Classroom
In The Classroom
CASCA Education and Outreach News by John Percy
Education Notes by Heather R. (Scott) Theijsmeijer
Planetarium Notes by Pierre Chastenay
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CASCA Education and Outreach News
Launching "Virtual Outreach for Canadian
Astronomy"
In the previous issue of ECass, I described CASCA's exciting new astronomy outeach initiative Virtual Outreach for Canadian Astronomy (VOCA), which is designed to highlight Canada's
leading role in astronomical research and discovery. We applied to NSERC's PromoScience
program to cover about a third of the cost of the project; the results of that application are still
pending.
VOCA addresses a key recommendation of the Long-Range Plan for Canadian Astronomy:
"that CASCA and NRC with participation of CSA develop a first-rank web site for astronomy that
emphasizes Canadian roles, successes, and aspirations", noting that web sites "demonstrate
the full power of astronomical images to convey, instantly and around the world, excitement
about science as well as serious information". The web site would be "of the highest quality and
with distinctive Canadian content". That being the case, we are committed to moving this project
forward. On December 15, 2005, Jayanne English and I (the VOCA co-PIs), Dennis Crabtree
and Jim Hesser met in Winnipeg for an intensive planning session to define the Vision and
Mission Statements for the project, and to map out the general nature of the VOCA web site
(now christened AstronomyCanada.ca) and of the partnerships and funding sources which will
be needed. Dennis has extensive experience with astronomy communication; Jim Hesser is
CASCA President; Jayanne has professional training and experience in art, imaging, and public
outreach in the Hubble Heritage Project. Together, the four of us brought a wide range of
experience and institutional connections to the table.
----(Draft) Vision: All Canadians have access to inspiring and informative textual and visual
material about Canadian astronomy.
(Draft) Mission Statement: AstronomyCanada.ca serves as a central resource for
communicating the achievements, activities and aspirations of Canadian astronomy to the
public and Canadian media. The regularly updated site includes clear and informative text,
striking images and graphics from Canadian astronomical research groups. This authoritative
content is produced by communication specialists working closely with Canadian astronomers.
Our partners include Canadian professional and amateur astronomers and their organizations,
industry, government agencies, and, the formal and informal education communities. The site
provides links to education and outreach programs, amateur astronomy, university,
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government, facility and project websites and to current news items about Canadian astronomy.
----We also developed a set of action items which would enable us to launch the VOCA project at
CASCA '06. Among other things, we will develop a mock-up of the VOCA web site in
consultation with our partners, and with other experts. We expect to provide you with this and
much more information at CASCA '06, and to give you lots of encouragement and opportunity
for feedback!
Scott Young, First Vice-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, was present for
part of the December 15 meeting, and we were fortunate to be able to get his input, both on the
role that amateur astronomers and the RASC could play in VOCA, and also on the general topic
of enhancing professional-amateur collaboration in astronomy in Canada. For instance, there
could be a collaborative "Canadian Astronomy Day" each year. And there is a proposal before
the United Nations to declare 2009 "The International Year of Astronomy" (the 400th
anniversary of Galileo's development of the astronomical telescope) which would be a natural
opportunity to collaborate. As a Winnipeg Planetarium staff member, Scott was also able to
provide us with advice about the very important role that the planetariums and science centres
could play in delivering VOCA to teachers, students, and the general public.
Stay tuned for more news about this exciting CASCA partnership project!
CASCA-Westar Visiting Lectures in Oshawa,
Ontario, August 16-18, 2005
At the invitation of the Oshawa Public Library, I gave three presentations at the main branch of
the library, and one at a smaller branch. CWLs are to bring astronomers to smaller
communities, without astronomical facilities. This CWL was unusual in three respects: (i)
Oshawa isn't far from the largest concentration of astronomers in the country, (ii) this is the first
CWL organized at a library, and (iii) three of the presentations were intended for children or
youth. But I was quite prepared to do a CWL in a library setting, to young people, because I and
some students had recently done a series of presentations in the Toronto Public Libraries. The
Oshawa library had contacted us through the CASCA Education Co-Ordinator, and we have
had another enquiry from a library system in Nova Scotia.
The first thing that I realized was that an hour's drive from Toronto was not trivial, so I am
prepared to accept that a community such as Oshawa should not be excluded from the CWL
program! The issue of a library as a host was more problematic. Libraries are as much a
community centre as any other host might be. The two presentations on August 17 - one to
children and one to adults - were well-attended by enthusiastic audiences. The other two
presentations (both for young people) attracted only a handful. I have mixed feelings about
CWLs for young people. On one hand, we might think that the CWL program is intended for
adults (i.e. taxpayers). On the other hand, children are an enthusiastic audience, and it's quite
possible that a CWL might motivate a young person to consider, seriously, a career in
astronomy. I've concluded, on the basis of the Oshawa and Toronto experiences, that libraries
would be good hosts for CWLs, but we need to work with them closely about publicity, and
about partnering with other institutions in the community. Libraries often do this, but I learned
that it is extremely difficult for a library (or presumably any other organization) to publicize an
event to schools, for instance. But the local astronomy club is a definite possibility.
The facilities at the main branch of the Oshawa Public Library were excellent - as good as for
most public lectures. I am grateful to my host Mike Davis for making excellent arrangements,
and for being present for all of my presentations.
John R. Percy (University of Toronto)
On 20 Dec 2005, 21:01.
Education Notes
Education Notes
Heather R. (Scott) Theijsmeijer
CASCA Education Represented at Toronto Conferences
The first week of November saw CASCA Education represented at two conferences at
Toronto’s Doubletree International Plaza Hotel. The Science and Technology Awareness
Network (STAN) held its second annual conference on November 9th, entitled Advancing a
Science and Technology Culture in Canada. Participants attended talks such as “Why Science
is Necessary for Democracy” (Dr. Lee Smolin, Perimeter Institute), “Bridging the
Communications Gap Between Scientific and Non-Scientific Worlds” (Mr. Preston Manning)
and, fitting to this being the World Year of Physics honouring Einstein’s contributions to the
field, “Einstein’s Impact on the Culture of Society” (Dr. Jeffrey Crelinsten). Concurrent sessions
also ran, with John Percy co-hosting one on “Outreach: Harnessing the Power of the PostSecondary Sector.” In the carousel sessions, Heather Theijsmeijer presented a poster updating
the recent developments of the CASCA Education Committee.
The Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario (STAO) conference was held November 10 – 12,
and was entitled Inspiring the Future Through Discovery. Both John and Heather attended the
conference on different days, and Heather again exhibited recent CASCA education
developments, as well as astronomy demonstrations and resources. At both conferences, two
new resources were also profiled. Mary Lou Whitehorne’s very successful Skyways has been
translated into French and is now available as Explorons Astronomie: Guide pédagogique.
Also, the NRC had produced an updated poster for Canadian classrooms in both French and
English: Canadian Skies.
CASCAEd Website: Updates and Accolades
As the CASCAEd website is continually being updated, there have been many pages added
recently. Any feedback you have on these new pages, or the site in general, is always
appreciated at [email protected] . In addition to current events in Ontario, there are
now current events pages for Western Canada and Eastern Canada – if you have an event you
would like publicized, please be sure to let me know. There is also a page for colloquia and
public talks where full abstracts can be posted. In addition, with many provinces introducing a
grade 12 Earth and Space Science course, we have introduced several pages catering to this
curriculum which may also be useful to Astro101 teachers. Also useful to professors is a new
listing of culminating astronomy projects for students at a large range of levels.
The image gallery is now also mostly up and running, and still looking for Canadian images to
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Education Notes
add. If you have a site of astrophotos that you would like to share, let me know, along with any
copyright information. Lastly, some of the French pages have been updated. We are still
looking for volunteer proof-readers; please email us if you see any glaring (or subtle!) errors
and they will be fixed.
Finally, HelpTV (“Everyday help for everyday living”) profiled the website on their show earlier
in the spring. A digitized clip of the promotion is available on the main page of the CASCAEd
website, in the bottom left corner (entitled: Video). Be sure to check it out! There will be a new
accolades page up soon, and at that time the clip will move there.
Clear skies!
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planetaria news
Planetarium Notes
by Pierre Chastenay
The Planétarium de Montréal has a brand-new show for four- to six-year-olds: Draco, the
Celestial Dragon. Draco is scheduled to play in French and English until at least June 2006.
The show has been running strong since it opened, and Draco’s future looks bright. The
Planétarium de Montréal special show for the winter holidays, Season of Light, also opened in
mid-November. In addition, the staff is currently adapting a show from Chicago's Adler
Planetarium, Clouds of Fire: The Origin of Stars. Louie Bernsteinis in charge of this project,
which includes translating the text from English and recording the narration in French. Clouds
of Fire will open at the end of January and will be shown Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
evenings. Contact: Pierre Chastenay at [email protected]
The Manitoba Planetarium celebrated the close approach of Mars with a series oftelescope
observing sessions, a planetarium program, and a science galleryexhibit. The planetarium
show focused on the observations of Mars through telescopes and spacecraft in the past,
present, and future, while the exhibit looked towards potential human exploration of the Red
Planet.
The Planetarium staff is also involved in producing a new program to open in February 2006
which aligns with the Grade 9/Senior 1 science curriculum. Contact: Scott Young at
[email protected]
In Calgary, the TELUS World of Science presented a series of nightly Marswatch live
lectures in the Discovery Dome theatre during the two weeks surrounding the close approach
of Mars at the end of October and early November. These nights followed a successful format
established in the past with special astronomy and space events, where a locally-produced live
presentation was coupled with either night sky viewing, or a NASA-TV feed. In this case, the
Observing Deck was opened up after the lecture for viewing of Mars though the big 8-inch
refractor and smaller telescopes. In total, about 500 people attended during the two-week
period. Through late 2005 the principle production work in Calgary was devoted to a new
federally-funded planetarium show about astrobiology, tentatively titled Is Anybody Out
There? This joint production among the planetariums in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and
Montreal is being written and coordinated by the Calgary theatre. In addition, November saw
the official ground-breaking for a new “wing” to the science centre to be called the Creative Kids
Museum. Opening in late 2006, the “CKM” will be a children’s museum with an emphasis on
artistic skills. Contact: Alan Dyer at [email protected]
For the fall of 2005 production work at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre included the creation
of a new presentation for the science demo theatre (Ground Station Canada), entitled “Space:
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/2005-ws/classroom/planetaria/planetaria.htm (1 of 2) [12/21/2005 6:41:40 PM]
planetaria news
A Dangerous Place.” As a complement to a new planetarium show “Going to Extremes,”
school groups are offered a program package consisting of a planetarium show, science demo,
and/or a related workshop. “Space: A Dangerous Place” focuses on the extreme nature of the
environment of space by examining the need and function of a space suit. Students build
marshmallow people which are subjected to a vacuum chamber. To simulate the use of a
space suit, a sealed jam jar is used to protect a marshmallow person inside the vacuum
chamber, while a second marshmallow person is left unprotected to demonstrate the need for a
space suit. Students also learn how water-cooled underwear protects astronauts from the
extreme temperatures of space. Contact Erik Koelemeyer at
[email protected]
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/2005-ws/classroom/planetaria/planetaria.htm (2 of 2) [12/21/2005 6:41:40 PM]
brief
Briefly Noted
Women in Canadian Astronomy: The Next Five Years by Brenda C. Matthews and Michael
A. Reid
Canadian partnership in ASTROSAT by John Hutchings
Sangster Award
Quick Review of A Gentle Rain of Starlight by Brian Martin
Preservation of Canada’s historic astronomical plates by Peter Martin
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/2005-ws/brief/brief.html [12/21/2005 6:40:51 PM]
Women in Canadian Astronomy: The Next Five Years
Women in Canadian Astronomy: The
Next Five Years
Brenda C. Matthews and Michael A. Reid
We are currently preparing, in co-ordination with the CASCA Board, a follow-up survey to our
"Ten-Year Survey of Women in Canadian Astronomy", executed in 2001 and covering the
period from 1991-2000. The results of the original survey were reported in the March Equinox
edition of Cassiopeia (http://www.casca.ca/ecass/issues/2004-me/content_fs.html), the biannual newsletter of the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy, STATUS, and
at the 2003 Women in Astronomy meeting in Pasadena, CA. The results of the Ten-Year
Survey showed that women are significantly underrepresented at all levels of Canadian
astronomy. While the fractional representation of women in undergraduate and graduate
programs has risen in recent years (to the lofty level of 17% for graduate students and
postdocs), the fraction of women at the faculty level is still very low. In our 1991-2000 survey,
there were NO female astronomers at the level of full professor in Canada, and between 19962000, only 6% of astronomers at any faculty level were women. Canada therefore lags
significantly behind the US levels in representation of women based on the 2003 CSWA survey
(representing over 1600 PhD astronomers), in which 15 ±3% of assistant professors, 20±3% of
associate professors and 9±1% of full professors were women
(http://www.aas.org/cswa/status/STATUS_Jun04sm.pdf).
There is urgent need for the information our latest survey will provide. Information about the
demographics of the Canadian astronomy community (including the representation of women)
and how they are affected by the LRP funding has been requested by members of government
from the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy. There are no up-to-date statistics other than the
census done in 2005 by the Graduate Student Committee of CASCA on the current makeup of
the graduate population in Canada.
Our new survey will be distributed early in 2006 and cover the years of 2001-2005. This will be
the last multi-year survey. The new survey will be done online with subsequent surveys
conducted annually for the ease of department chairs. This method will also mean statistics will
be as current as possible. There will be a few changes from the original version, particularly the
reporting of the number of students entering graduate programs as well as those who
completed degrees. Over time, this will yield information about attrition rates within graduate
programs.
We hope the results of the survey will be available for presentation at the AAS and CASCA
meetings in Calgary this coming spring.
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/2005-ws/brief/matthews/matthews.html (1 of 2) [12/21/2005 6:40:52 PM]
Women in Canadian Astronomy: The Next Five Years
On 20 Dec 2005, 20:41.
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ASTROSAT
Canadian partnership in ASTROSAT
ASTROSAT is an all-astronomy satellite that is being prepared for launch in 2008 by the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The payload will be several X-ray telescopes plus two
40cm eparture UV telescopes, all co-aligned except for an all-sky X-ray monitor. The UV
telescopes are called the UVIT, and will provide filter imaging plus grism observations of halfdegree fields, with approximately 1 to 1.5 arcsec resolution, simultaneously in FUV, NUV, and
Blue-visible bandpasses.
CSA has entered a formal collaboration with ISRO to provide the photon-counting detectors for
the UVIT telescopes. The hardware contract is now under way with Routes Astro-engineering
in Ottawa. I am the PI and work with a science team of about 12 colleagues from across
Canada. We are working closely with the other instrument teams and contractors in India and
the UK. The science team is responsible for the calibration of the detectors, and this will be
conducted at the UV vacuum lab at the University of Calgary, with participation by some of the
Indian UVIT team. We have recently been awarded an NSERC SRO grant to support the team
activities for 3 years.
While the science team will participate in early observations and team time observing with the
observatory, there will be guaranteed time for all Canadians during the 5 year (or longer)
mission, which includes data from all instruments on board. This facility may well be the only
UV instrument available at the time, so represents a significant opportunity for us in the next
few years. The resolution and field of view match well to ground-based data, and offer a high
resolution follow-up to the all-sky survey from the GALEX mission.
John Hutchings
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/2005-ws/brief/hutchings/astrosat.htm [12/21/2005 6:40:52 PM]
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Canadian National Committee for CODATA
Comité national canadien pour
CODATA
Chair/Président
Michel Sabourin
Université de Montréal
The Canadian National Committee for CODATA (CNC/CODATA) would appreciate
your assistance in bringing the following Sangster Award announcement to the
attention of potential applicants.
Members/Membres
Denise Clark
University of New Brunswick
The CNC/CODATA is accepting applications for The Sangster Award. This award
will enable a graduate student enrolled in a Canadian university, or recent graduate
(within 3 years of graduation), to attend and present his or her work at the 20th
International CODATA Conference, Scientific Data and Knowledge within the
Information Society, 23-25 October 2006, Beijing, China.
Hanna Dabkowska
McMaster University
Jean Paul Lauzon
AMEC
Tsoi Yip
Meteorological Service of Canada
Observers/Observateurs
Gisele Amow
Defense Research and
Development Canada
Details of the award and the application procedure may be obtained at:
http://www.codata.org/canada/sangster
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Michel Sabourin
Chair, CNC/CODATA
John Broome
Natural Resources Canada
Alexander Jablonski
Canadian Space Agency
Hamid Jorjani
National Research Council
Canada
John R. Manuel
Canadian Space Agency
Glen Newton
National Research Council
Canada
John Rodgers
Toth Information Systems
Executive Secretary, CNC/CODATA
[email protected]
Paul Budkewitsch
Natural Resources Canada
Roxane de la Sablonnière
Université de Montréal
Mary Zborowski
----------------------------------------------------Le Comité national canadien de CODATA (CNC/CODATA) apprécierait votre appui
en apportant à l’attention de candidats (e) potentiels (e), l’annonce du prix
Sangster suivante.
Le Comité national canadien de CODATA (CNC/CODATA) sollicite des
candidatures pour le prix Sangster. Ce prix permettra à un(e) étudiant(e)
diplômé(e) inscrit(e) dans une université canadienne, ou ayant terminé ses études
supérieures dans les trois ans précédant la date limite d’inscription, de participer et
de présenter ses travaux de recherche à la 20e Conférence internationale de
CODATA, « Données scientifiques et connaissances dans la société de
l’information », qui se tiendra du 23 au 25 octobre 2006 à Beijing (en Chine).
Pour des détails sur les modalités de présentation d’une demande et des
précisions sur le prix, reportez-vous au site :
http://www.codata.org/canada/sangster
Sincèrement,
James Sangster
Sangster Research Laboratories
Prof. Michel Sabourin
Mary Zborowski
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INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
D.R. Fraser Taylor
Carleton University
Président, CNC/CODATA
Gordon Wood
Secrétaire exécutive, CNC/CODATA
[email protected]
CNC/CODATA is sponsored by the
Canada Institute for Scientific
and Technical Information,
NRC
CNC/CODATA est parrainé par
l’Institut canadien de
l’information scientifique et
technique, CNRC
cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Executive Secretary/
Secrétaire exécutive
Mary Zborowski
Secretary/Secrétaire
M.-C. Bernier-Thériault
www.codata.org/canada ● [email protected] ● 1200 Montreal Rd. Ottawa Canada K1A 0R6 ● Tel/Tél 613.991.5475 ● Fax/Télécop
613.991.2857
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CODATA is the Committee on Data for Science and Technology
of the International Council for Science (ICSU)
technologiques
CODATA est l’acronyme du Comité pour les données scientifiques et
du Conseil international pour la science (CIUS)
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/...r%20Sent%20with%20Award%20Posters_rev%202006.htm (2 of 2) [12/21/2005 6:40:53 PM]
Gentle Rain of Starlight
A Gentle Rain of Starlight
A new book sure to be of
interest to CASCA members is
A Gentle Rain of Starlight: The
Story of Astronomy on Mauna
Kea by Michael West. The
publisher describes it as follows:
"Author Michael J. West artfully
weaves a fascinating tale of
scientific discovery through
breathtaking photographs and
captivating commentary in A
Gentle Rain of Starlight. This
insightful and uplifting book is
the story of astronomy atop
Mauna Kea and the engaging
exploration of our cosmic home"
The book is intended for general
readers, it's not technical. In
addition to the text, the 108
page book is full of color
photographs, most of which I
took myself, with others
generously provided by the
Mauna Kea observatories,
Hawaii State Archives, NASA,
and other photographers.
Publisher details are:
Title: "A Gentle Rain of Starlight:
The Story of Astronomy on Mauna
Kea"
Author: Michael J. West
Author affiliation: University of
Hawaii
Publisher: Island Heritage
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Gentle Rain of Starlight
Publishing
Publication date: October 15, 2005
Length: 108 pages, with over 100
color photographs
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Historic astronomical plates
Preservation of Canada’s historic
astronomical plates
On the initiative of the Heritage Committee, the CASCA Board has passed the following motion.
a) That any institution holding such photographic plates take reasonable measures to ensure
the long-term preservation and usefulness of these resources and their supporting
documentation and
b) As opportunities arise, to arrange to preserve the information content in digital format to high
standards.
The Board also recommends that any institution whose photographic plate resources are at risk
of being damaged or destroyed should advise the CASCA Board and CODATA Canada at the
earliest possible opportunity in order that a rescue plan may be implemented with the
assistance of interested institutions and/or individuals.
In addition, CASCA President Jim Hesser is writing to Canadian observatories to ask that they
put the forgoing on the photographic plate cabinets or storage facilities at their institution.
Peter Martin
file:///C|/kings/public_html/astro/ecass/issues/2005-ws/brief/plates/plates.htm [12/21/2005 6:40:55 PM]

Winter Solstice 2004

Transcription

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