May 2012
President's Message May 2012
By Ed HaskellSpring seems finally to have sprung, and just in time for Spring Cleaning! The area to the north and east of the observatory was cleared of many trees some months ago but there remained lots of small brush, presenting an area both cluttered and unsightly. Dave Huestis decided the clutter should recede into history, and enlisted the help of junior member Alex Bergemann's Boy Scout troop to clear the debris. More than a dozen scouts and assorted family members, as well as some Skyscrapers members, worked all morning Saturday the 14th and made the area much more presentable. It's amazing how much can be accomplished by a large group of volunteers.
Members who attended the Annual Meeting in April were treated to a fascinating survey of the state of the search for the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle thought to be responsible for generating all known particle masses and bestowing light with its fundamental properties. Professor Bandon Murakami proved once again that physicists can laugh at themselves and at nature in their quest for universal principles.
May's speaker will be Francine Jackson, Skyscrapers member and Director of Frosty Drew Observatory. Her topic will be the historical significance of the Transits of Venus.
I am sure Members share my appreciation of the dedication to the Society shown by outgoing elected officials and others. The organization cannot function without volunteers willing to devote their time and effort to making it work. A new team is forming to carry on the stewardship of the Society for the coming year. Please be mindful of the extra contribution of these members and help them to be successful however you can.
The long and tedious job of bringing our founding documents into the 21st Century was concluded at the April meeting with the approval of extensive revisions to the Constitution and By-Laws. A large number of Members contributed their time at various points in this process to the betterment of the Society. While the magnitude of the changes in practice is not large it is useful for the documents to actually reflect how we have operated for several decades and to serve as guides for the future conduct of the Society. Thanks to all who helped.
The 2012-2013 Budget was approved, as was the recommended Dues increase. It should be noted that, even with the first dues increase in over a decade, the Budget is very tight and care will have to be exercised to live within our means this year.
With little help from Skyscrapers, Venus will transit the sun on June 5th, which celestial event will be visible from Rhode Island (see it now, even the hardiest of us will not live long enough for the next time). However, help from Skyscrapers' members is needed for the public observing programs being organized by Bob Horton. Please contact Bob to see how you can help.
I am in the process of deciding committee assignments for the coming year. In addition to the regular efforts, we will be forming committees to, among other things, handle Membership (and its benefits), Activities (beyond what has been occurring), and Facilities Usage (ranging from toilets to remote access to the scopes). It is too early to predict what will result from these committees so watch this spot for announcements from time to time.
Thank you all for your support of the Observing Committee and the Public Outreach Program. Without all the volunteer time these committees could not continue to perform in the outstanding manner to which we have become accustomed.
On a closing note thank you for the trust you have placed in me and in the other new officers as we begin a new year.
A General History and Significance of the Transit of Venus
Francine JacksonBy now, you should be aware that the last Transit of Venus for over a century will be taking place next month. If you were able to observe the one in June of 2004, you know that what you're waiting for is the planet Venus passing directly across the face of the Sun.
The main question is why doesn't this happen any time Venus passes between the Sun and us? This is the same as asking why don't we have solar eclipses every New Moon? The Sun as we see it is only 1/2 degree in angular size, and Venus is only a tiny little sphere, so lining them both up for our enjoyment is much harder than you can imagine. In fact, their period is one of the stranger in all of science: Two within an eight-year period, 105 1/2 years, two within an eight-year period, 121 1/2 years, two within an eight-year period... And yes, Mercury also undergoes transits, but does so about 12 times every century. We'll be able to observe one, weather permitting, in 2016.
Venus transits were first written about by Johannes Kepler in 1627, who predicted that one would occur four years later; unfortunately, Kepler died in 1630, but all accounts say that he was very near-sighted, so he probably wouldn't have seen it, anyway. Actually, no one saw it, although Gasendi tried, but the sky was cloudy, and the Sun had set from his vantage point before the transit started, so he would have been denied the chance to see it, anyway.
Kepler missed a scheduled transit for 1639, but its occurrence was noted and observed by two people: Jeremiah Horrox, and his pen pal William Crabtree.
Edmund Halley, while still very young, observed a transit of Mercury, and realized the mathematical possibility of using transits to determine the distance between the Sun and the Earth, the astronomical unit. This standard candle was utilized to form a relationship with the Sun and all the (then) known planets - From Mercury to Saturn - but the actual length of this was unknown. Halley noted that, although a transit of Mercury could be used for this, Mercury is very small and rather far away; Venus, on the other hand, is much larger and about twice as close to Earth, so its passage across the Sun would be much easier to observe. This resulted in a large number of expeditions to the most optimal sites for the transits of 1761 and 1769. However, despite the fact that scientists did watch this from many places, the actual distance was not very accurate.
Luckily, there was another set of Venus transits coming up in order to try again to perfect the length of the astronomical unit, in 1874 and 1882. However, these also resulted in inaccurate observations, and the U.S. government didn't budget enough to allow the mathematics to be configured, but better, less rare planetary alignments had by then been developed, so we are pretty sure of the 92,900,000 figure that we use today.
Next month's transit of Venus will be nothing more than a curiosity, but one that, if you don't see it, you will have missed out on your last chance to view this very rare astronomical occurrence. Don't miss it!
How to Safely Observe and Photograph the Sun (and the Transit of Venus)
Bob Horton
"Super Moon" makes brief appearance between clouds & fog
Clear skies give way to poor conditions, obscuring all but Mars & Saturn
Mars, Saturn and spring galaxies greet the end of an 8-week cloud streak
Observing with Bob Horton's homemade 4¼-inch reflector
A General History and Significance of the Transits of Venus
: By Francine JacksonThe Full Moon in May
: By Francine Jackson
Porrima: Binary Star in Virgo
: By Glenn Chaple
