Sic Itur Ad Astra – Thus The Way To The Stars : 143 years of astronomy
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A journal of the proceedings of the Observatories.
Editors were Mr Rob Corrigan & Mr David Gittins.
First Published in 1972 this publication was produced by the efforts of those members who regularly attended the City Observatory. Its content reflected the interests of the observing sections and the special interest groups whose projects and observations were coordinated from the Observatory.
This journal was relaunched in 1994 following the opening of the Pex Hill Observatory,
coupled with the success of the summer lecture series on practical astronomy at the City
Observatory. These two factors had shown the need for presenting this subject matter to
a wider audience.
“The LAS NEWSCIRCULAR”
First published in November 1987 by Mr David Galvin and Mr Roy Billingsley.
It is published monthly, at Society meetings, and provides the membership with up-to-date astronomical news, views, observations, and discoveries, from local, national, and World sources. It is produced by the members for the members.
The present Editor is Mr Gerard Gilligan.
Published monthly for Society meetings, plus June-August.
Cost 40p Contents of new issue here
Issued monthly, this information sheet keeps members in touch with observations, public events, at the City Observatory and maintance work on going at the Pex Hill Observatory.
Editor is the Director of the Observatories
BOOKLETS – North West Astronomers Series
Title
Author
Price
Jeremiah Horrocks
W. F. Bushell
£1.50
Charles Leadbetter – Cronton’s own Astronomer
J. R. Platt
£1.50
William Lassell
G. J. Gilligan
£1.50
Isaac Roberts
F. S. Hughes
£1.50
The History Of Liverpool Astronomical Society
Complied by
G. J. Gilligan
£1.50
BOOKLETS – Getting Started in Astronomy Series
Title
Author
Price
Liverpool Monthly Sky Diary
A. Williams
£2.00
Astronomical Events for the Liverpool Area
Edited by
A. Williams
£2.00
Halo Observation (With Recording disc for P.C.)
Alastair McBeath
£1.50
Aurorae from Britain
Alastair McBeath
£1.50
Binary Stars – an Historical Perspective
F. Stephen Hughes
£1.50
The History Of Liverpool Astronomical Society
Complied by
G. J. Gilligan
£1.50
Observing Mars
Cliff Meredith
£1.50
Comets
Jonathan Shanklin
£1.50
The Observation of Solar Eclipses (A must for anyone going to observe the June 2001 eclipse)
Eric Jones
£1.50
Buying a Telescope
Tony Williams
£1.50
Using a Telescope
Tony Williams
£2.00
Step by Step Astrophotography
Rob Johnson
£1.50
Observing the Sun
Eric Strach
£1.50
Drawing the Moon and Planets
Steve Taylor
£1.50
Observing Variable Stars
Rob Corrigan
£1.50
Observing Saturn
Alan Heath
£1.50
Observing the Moon
Geoff Amery
£1.50
The Messier Objects
Dave Owen
£1.50
The Planet Jupiter
John Knott
£1.50
Mercury and Venus
J. Hedley-Robinson
£1.50
The Search for Novae
Guy Hurst
£1.50
BOOKLETS – Advanced Astronomy Techniques
Title
Author
Price
The Sun in Hydrogen-Alpha
Eric Strach
£1.50
Binary Stars – an Historical Perspective
F. Stephen Hughes
£1.50
Aids to Observing
Item
Description
Price
Stonyhurst Disks
A complete set of disks covering all inclinations of the Sun from 0 degrees to 7 degrees. Suitable for recording sunspots.
£2.00
Polar Alignment Chart (laminated)
£2.50
Saturn Blanks
A complete set of 29 blanks for drawing the planet Saturn. A Set of Jupiter Blanks is included.
£1.50
A Do-It-Yourself Planisphere
A card and plastic kit for making up a planisphere – a device which shows you you the night sky for any time of the year. Suitable for all ages.
£1.50
Astronomical Greeting Cards
(Pack of 4)
£1.00
These publications may be obtained at the Society’s monthly meetings.
They may also be bought by post from:-
Liverpool Astronomical Society
c/o Mr Tony Williams
14 Whitelodge Avenue,
Huyton, Merseyside
L36 2PU
England, U.K.
The above prices do not take into account the cost of postage which will be itemised as a separate item on the final invoice. Postage is usually 1st class unless 2nd class is specifically asked for.
Please send NO money with the order as an invoice/advice note will be sent separately with your order. Please print your name and forwarding address on all orders.
On obtaining invoice please make Cheques/Postal Orders payable to the “LIVERPOOL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY”
The Liverpool Astronomical Society is registered as an educational trust and actively promotes Astronomy throughout Merseyside and the surrounding area.
The autumn equinox occurs on the 22nd. This is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south towards the winter solstice in December. At this time, from any point on the Earth’s Surface day and night are of Equal length.
THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.
MERCURY.
Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation on the 18th. This ought to mean that it is visible in the evening sky but, as for July, the angle of its orbit with respect to the horizon is shallow and Mercury does not peek above the horizon when the sky is dark enough for it to be seen.
VENUS.
Venus slowly starts to make its inevitable descent towards the Sun, its altitude dropping as it heads South East. Moving quickly from Cancer into Leo, passing just South of the wide, open star cluster M44 on the 2nd, Venus lies 0.5° North of Leo’s bright star, Regulus at 00h on the 21st. On the 15th at 08h Venus lies 2.5° South of the Moon.
MARS.
Mars has moved from Ophiuchus into Sagittarius and on the 10th/11th lies South of the deep sky objects M8, M20 & M21.
Jupiter continues to track through Gemini passing a couple of naked-eye stars as it does so. This is generally a rich area of the sky and it is worthwhile making a couple of 5 or 10 minute exposures, one at the start of the month and one at the end when the Moon is out of the way. The comparison of positions provides a good record of how much space Jupiter can cover in one month.
Lunar Occultation of Jupiter DAYLIGHT
On the 12th at 14:14BST the warning crescent Moon’s bright limb will occult Jupiter in broad daylight. Naturally this occurs when the Sun is above the horizon so be very aware of the dangers to yourself and fellow observers and don’t point any kind of optical equipment directly at the Sun. Jupiter reappears from behind the Moon’s dark limb at 14:39 but as the limb cannot be seen it will be difficult to judge exactly where the planet will emerge.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
What was said above about photographing Jupiter can also apply to Saturn. Again a couple of shots of equal exposure will record Saturn’s motion against the stars of Taurus. Bear in mind though that neither planet is moving at its fastest right now. On the 10th at 15hrs Saturn lies a mere 32′ North of the Moon.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Uranus and Neptune, both are still favourable, lying at either end of Capricornus.See the June Sky news page for more details.
Uranus Positions for the 1st September:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
21h:39m:19s -14°:49':23" 23h:08m 5.7
Neptune Positions for the 1st September:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
20h:35m:39s -18°:30':10" 22h:05m 7.9
PLUTO.
Pluto is now not favourable for observations until next year.
METEORS.
Alpha-Aurigids on Sept 15th ( 10 per hour) Favourable. Moon 27 days old.
Piscids on Sept 9th & 21st Double radiant- (8 per hour):
9th – Unfavourable/MOON is 10 days old. (Just one of several radiants).
21st – Favourable/MOON is 5 days old. (Generally low rates).
COMETS.
Sept 1st: Comet C/2001 B2 (Neat) at Perihelion (5.3050AU).
Sept 3rd: Comet Gehrels III at Perihelion (3.6270AU).
Sept 14th: Comet Borrelly at Perihelion (1.3580AU).
Sept 24th: Comet Helin at Perihelion (2.5310AU).
Sept 26th: Comet C/2001 G1 at Perihelion (8.2850AU).
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
Venus continues its swift rise in the morning sky rising over three hours before the Sun. On the 6th Jupiter and Venus are 1° apart with venus being the brighter of the pairing. Look between the two planets using binoculars and you will find the naked-eye star mu Geminorum nesting in between. Jupiter and, further to the south, Saturn start to drift away from Venus as the latter halts its rising altitude. At 15hrs on the 16th Venus is 1.5° south of the Moon.
MARS.
Mars is still available low down in the constellation of Ophiuchus at 21h mid-month. You will be able to spot a definite drop in brightness compared with last month as Mars moves away from us. Its apparent diameter is diminishing as well.
Jupiter can be found due east in the early morning sky, rising at midnight mid-month in the constellation of Gemini. As this is quite a rich area of the sky there are conjunctions with some Gemini’s stars, the brightest and closest of which will be on the 7th when Jupiter passes 34 arcminutes north of mu Geminorum. On the 15th the Moon scoots a close 34 arcminutes south of Jupiter at 21hrs.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Further to the west in Taurus lies fainter Saturn. On the 14th at 02h Saturn is 1° north of the Moon. Both Jupiter’s and Saturn’s apparent diameters are increasing slowly, Jupiter’s bring 34 arcseconds and Saturn’s nearly 18 arcseconds.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Uranus reaches opposition on the 15th and is therefore at its best for picking up with binoculars or low power telescope. So this month make an effort to locate it amongst the wide constellation of Capricornus.
Neptune was at opposition last month and is lying at the opposite side of Capricrnus to Uranus. It is also well placed for a little bit of astronomical sleuthing but bear in mind that it is much fainter than Uranus and will not show a disk in most medium aperture telescopes. Don’t expect to see a disk though as Uranus appears only 4″ across and Neptune a paltry 2″ across. Compare these sizes with Jupiter and you will see the difficulty in observing these two planets, both of which can be found in Capricornus.
Uranus Positions for the 1st August:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
21h:44m:04s -14°:25':24" 01:15m 5.7
Neptune Positions for the 1st August:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
20h:38m:51s -18°:17':55" 00h:10m 7.9
PLUTO.
Pluto can be found in the constellation Ophiuchus, below and to the left the 4th Mag stars Zeta (mag 4) and 20 Ophiuchi (mag 4.7). The best time to look for the planet is around New Moon. The dates below will be a guide for planning observations.
Positions for August are when pluto's elongation angle is greater than 90°.
DATE R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME
Aug 9th 16h:49m:55s -11°:57':22" 20h:50m
Aug 19th 16h:49m:41s -12°:01':09" 20h:11m
Aug 29th 16h:49m:39s -12°:05':28" 19h:29m
Pluto is best seen between August 12th to August 25th
METEORS.
2nd August Alpha Capricornids 5 per hour Unfavourable. 12 day old Moon.
6th August Iota Aquarids 10 per hour Unfavourable. 16 day old Moon.
7th August Delta Aquarids 10 per hour Unfavourable. 17 day old Moon.
12/13th August Perseids 80 per hour Quite Favourable. 21 day old Moon. (Last Quarter)
28th August Alpha Aurigids 10 per hour Unfavourable. 10 day old Moon. (FIREBALLS!)
COMETS.
Comet C/2000 0F8 (Spacewatch) at Perihelion on August 5th at (2.168AU)
Comet Encke at closest approach to Earth on August 8th at (2.540AU).
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
Details From Director of Observatory
Mr Geoff Regan (Contact details removed as no longer valid).
Weekly meetings move to:
Weds 7-9pm at Pex Hill Observatory.
Mr. G. J. Gilligan, President of the Liverpool Astronomical Society during 2000-2002
FRIDAY September 21st
Monthly Meeting and Cheese & Wine Reception
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
The 120th Presidential Address
Mr Gerard Gilligan
Title Mars, Comets and Eclipses – A Summer Review.
William Lassell 1799 – 1880
FRIDAY October 19th
14th William Lassell Memorial Lecture
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Dr Allan ChapmanWadham College, Oxford University.
Rev Thomas Espin and the Amateur Tradition.
Galileo Galilei 1564-1642
SATURDAY October 20th
North West Societies Meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 10am – 5pm.
Main Speaker: Dr Allan Chapman, M.A.,F.R.A.S. Wadham College University of Oxford.
Galileo – The Martyr who Brought his Own Firewood.
FRIDAY November 16th
Monthly Meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Mr Bill Jones
The Art of Telescope Making.
FRIDAY December 14th
(THE 2ND FRIDAY)
Monthly meeting
Members Short Papers Night
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Members of Liverpool A.S.
Members Observations and Research Presentations.
2002
FRIDAY January 18th
Monthly meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Mr Micheal Frost
The Green Flash
FRIDAY February 15th
Monthly meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Mr Neil BoneMeteor Section DirectorBritish Astronomical Association.
Noctilucent Clouds
SATURDAY 16th & SUNDAY 17th FEBRUARY
WEEKEND ASTRONOMY STAR PARTYCROXTETH HALL & PARK6:30pm – 9:30pm
Monthly meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Dr Lilian Hobbs.
In House Astronomy -Robotic Telescopes.
FRIDAY April 19th
Monthly meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
Ms Pam Spence.Vice-President of The Federation of Astronomical Societies.
Recipe For a Solar System.
FRIDAY May 17th
2001 – 2002 Society Annual General Meeting
Crypt Concert Room –
The RC Metropolitan Cathedral
Car Park Entrance, Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
at 7pm – 9pm.
No formal Lecture
AGM will be followed by LAS members observational images & reports.
For more information on the Society please contact:
Liverpool A.S. Hon Secretary
(Contact details removed as no longer valid)
On the 4th the Earth is at aphelion – the furthest distance from the Sun in its orbit – at a distance of 1.016643 Astronomical Units (1AU = 149.6km).
PHASES OF THE MOON DURING JULY 2001
NEW MOON
on 20th
at 20h:45m
FIRST QUARTER
on 27th
at 11h:09m
FULL MOON
on 5th
at 16h:05m
LAST QUARTER
on 13th
at 19h:46m
THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.
MERCURY.
Mercury is at greatest Western elongation on the 9th and is therefore a morning object. However, the angle of its orbit with respect to the horizon is acute and the apparition is not a good one this month. This TABLE. however will show how you can use Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn as well as the Moon as pointers but you will need a clear, flat horizon such as the sea to have any success. This is the big challenge this month.
VENUS.
Venus is rising three before the sun, and is quite a beacon in the eastern sky and throughout this month and the next Jupiter and Saturn pay close calls, Saturn lying 43′ to the north on the 16th. The stars of Taurus and Orion are in attendance with the Pleiades star cluster lying directly above Venus on the 10th. On the 17th the Moon passes 39′ south of Venus at 09h.
MARS.
Mars is still well placed for observation after last month’s opposition. Later this month Mars halts its retrograde motion and moves est again. On the 30th at 16h the Moon and Mars passes 39′ south of Venus at 09hr.
ASTEROIDS.
Ceres at opposition on 1st in the constellation of Ophiuchus. However, it cannot be seen with the unaided eye although photographs will reveal its presence.
Jupiter is starting to recover from last month’s solar conjunction and will quickly become visible in the morning sky, heading towards Venus.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Saturn, lying to the west of Jupiter passes 43′ north of Venus on the 16th.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Uranus at Mag 5.7, having overtaken slower moving Neptune some years ago now, heads slowly towards the stars within the constellation of Capricornusas seen from Earth.
Neptune, lies in the constellation of Capricornus and is at opposition this month on the 30th at mag 7.9
Uranus Positions for the 1st July:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
21h:47m:57s -14°:04':57" 03h:21m 5.7
Neptune Positions for the 1st July:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
20h:42m:06s -18°:05':19" 02h:15m 7.9
PLUTO.
Pluto can be found in Ophiuchus, roughly between the 4th stars Zeta Ophiuchi and 20 Ophiuchi. The best time to look for the planet is around New Moon. The dates below will be a guide for planning observations.
Positions for July 2001 are when Pluto's elongation angle is greater than 90°.
DATE R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME
July 10th 16h:51m:46s -11°:49':41" 22h:50m
July 20th 16h:50m:44s -11°:51':35" 22h:10m
July 30th 16h:50m:08s -11°:54':09" 21h:30m
Pluto is best seen between July 13th – July 27th
METEORS.
Alpha-Cygnids on July 21st (5 per hour) Favourable Moon is new.
Capricornids on July 8th/15th and 26th Multiple radiant- (6 per hour):
8th – Unfavourable/MOON near Full.
15th – Quite Favourable/MOON 13 days old.
26th – Favourable/MOON 23 days old.
Delta-Aquarids on July 28th:
(20 per hour on 28th) Quite Favourable/MOON 25 days old. (From South)
COMETS.
Comet P/Kowal-Mrkos (200 ET90) at Perihelion on July 1st at (2.454 AU).
Comet Brooks II at Perihelion on July 19th at (1.835 AU)
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
Some 50 solar observers send their findings to the Solar Section of the BAA. About one third of the reports are from abroad. In 1991 I noticed that one contribution came from Jan Urban from the then Czechoslovakia. I got in touch with Bruce Hardie,the late director of the BAA Solar Section and he gave me Jan’s address. I found that Vlasim lies some 100 km SE of Prague and only a few km from a cottage owned by my cousin’s daughter who worked in Prague. I mentioned this in one of my letters to Jan and he promptly invited me to visit the Vlasim Observatory.
At our next visit to my old country in May 1991, we went to the cottage and I was taken to the Vlasim Observatory. I was given a great welcome by Jan and some 6 members of the Society. I was greatly impressed by the observatory and by the keenness of those present. I was shown the magnificent 5 m dome which contained the forkmounted 300mm f/5.3 Newtonian with a 150mm f/15 Zeiss Refractor and also the 80mm Solar Refractor fitted with a Herschel Wedge. There was a special Radio-Astronomy Section, a meteorological station. In the lecture room was an ancient Orrery. I ‘happened’ to have some slides and a video on me and I was able to give them a short talk on eclipses and solar observations in H-alpha.
The History
Inauguration of Vlasim Observatory, 13th May, 1961
I was told that the Vlasim Astronomical Society (VAS) originated from a circle of workers in the nearby armament factory in 1953. Five years later building started and in 1961 the observatory was inaugurated. Under the leadership of Jan Zajic, the veteran of the VAS, it gained recognition at home and abroad, particularly in the realm of solar physics and radio-astronomy.
I paid a second visit in 1992 and on that occasion Jan also arranged a tour of the prime professional observatory in Cecho-slovakia in Ondrejov. There we were shown round by Pavel Kotrc. I noticed that Jan was preoccupied on this occasion and only later did I get to know that he was battling with various authorities about the ownership of the observatory. Then disaster struck in 1992: The ground was leased to a private timber merchant and the observatory was closed. The ground was badly damaged and part of the buildings suffered from neglect and structural damage.
For some reason I lost contact with Jan. Later I learned that Jan had been involved in protracted negotiations but after 4 years he managed to persuade the town of Vlasim to buy the observatory and lease it to the VAS for a peppercorn rent. After the winter of 1996/97 intensive reconstruction work was started. It was done almost entirely by the members and finally the rebirth of the observatory was celebrated. Out of the blue, a letter came from Jan, full of enthusiasm about the new achievement, and explaining his 4-years’ silence.
Twinning and Planning
I gave a short report to the LAS and suggested twinning of the LAS with the VAS. This was unanimously approved and thoughts were given to a close cooperation in observing and exchange of ideas. More recently, a visit of some LAS members to Vlasim was planned but the idea faltered for various reasons. At a council meeting it was decided to invite some members of the VAS to visit us in order to keep up our friendly relations and cooperation. The date of the visit was fixed for around the time of the Presidential Address and Cheese & Wine Reception of the 15th September 2000. Jan informed us that no more than eight VAS members would visit us. Then he asked us whether he could ask Pavel Kotrc to come with them, he is a professional astronomer from Ondrejov. Of course, we approved. He sent us a list of names of the 8 participants (including Pavel’s) and indicated their knowledge of English. We offered them hospitality in our homes as they just could not afford hotels, mainly because of the most unfavourable exchange rate Those with no knowledge of English would stay with us. Other LAS members offered hospitality, notably Gerard and Carol Gilligan, Murad and Ann Ghorbal, David and Pam Forshaw and Dot Maline as well as Ron Kelly. The exact date of arrival was difficult to obtain as their travel plans changed almost from day to day; they were also occupied by arranging their annual convention of the 9th September when the VAS hosted many other Astronomical Societies. On that occasion 300 visitors came to the Vlasim observatory.
Many last minute changes occurred, two of their members had to cancel the trip due to urgent work commitments and another for health reasons. Fortunately, one member (Milan) stepped in, making the total number of visitors six. Four came by car and two by ‘bus from Prague. We guessed that they would arrive on Tuesday the 12th September.
Meantime, we, in Liverpool, made detailed plans for them, working out a programme and also arranging hospitality. In the week prior to their arrival the petrol crisis was looming and it was feared that it might spread from the continent to Britain. By the 9th September France had settled the dispute but here it became worse and I managed to e-mail them the advice to fill the tank in Calais before embarking.. I also sent them maps and precise instructions how to get to our home where we hoped to welcome the 6 visitors. But it was not to be so simple.
We were most worried about those coming by car. But then a phone call came on Tuesday afternoon – they were already in Stonehenge!. They intended to do some more sight-seeing before arriving in Liverpool on Wednesday in the late afternoon. They stayed overnight in Canterbury and on their way to Liverpool they were lucky to find a functioning filling station. They filled the tank and a reserve tank around Birmingham so they had enough petrol for the return journey to France.
Meeting Our Guests
They were in contact by mobile phones with Jan Urban and Jaromir Branis and learned that the bus from Prague has been greatly delayed as a result of the petrol dispute in Belgium. Instead of arriving in London on Wednesday at noon, they reached London at 9 p.m. and missed the connection to Liverpool. They managed to get on the night bus to Liverpool and arrived here at 6 a.m. on Thursday. In spite of it all, they were in good spirits, especially after a shower which rejuvenated them. After all, they had been on the journey for 40 hours!.
We fed them and showed them our programme and without hesitation they insisted on taking part to the full. All six met outside the Anglican Cathedral with their respective hosts (Gerard, Murad and David F.). So, at long last, all six visitors had arrived after an eventful journey. They were:-
Jan Urban
Also known as ‘Honza’, the President of the VAS. A very lively fellow, full of fun and typical Czech humour. He is deeply involved in Ecology, as well as in astronomy. He took the visit seriously, made notes for his diary and intends to write up the experience of the first visit of the VAS to Liverpool
Petr Pivonka
Petr is a bright young man, his special interest seems to be optics. He works for a well known Mobile Phone Firm whose name was widely displayed on the car with which they came.
Helena Neprasova
Helena is Petr’s partner, a medical student at Prague University. She took many photographs and spoke quite good English.
Milan Kovalsky
A tall athletic man, he is skilled in plaster work. He describes himself not so much as an Astronomer but as a Gastronomer in the VAS where he is in charge of catering! He is very much a family man, Margaret had to help him choose home-coming presents.
Jaromir Branis
Jaromir, known as ‘Mir’, is a pleasant man. He describes himself as a labourer. When once interviewed with other members by the Czech TV, he said that he digs holes. They would not believe him until he showed them that he dug out some soil for the erection of an instrument. He has two dogs, one of them is a member of the VAS!
Pavel Kotrc
Pavel is not a member of the VAS but a friend and professional astronomer from the Ondrejov observatory. An extremely pleasant and knowledgeable but modest man devoted to his solar work as well to his family.
All were very impressed by the Anglican Cathedral; one of the largest in the world. They went up the tower and the view of Liverpool was stunning; in spite of the overcast sky. When one of the attendants learned that they were Czech, he presented them with leaflets printed in Czech.
The Metropolitan Cathedral was a surprise to them due to the modern architecture and lay out. They were impressed by the serenity and dignity of the place and the colourful light shining through the windows.
We offered them lunch, consisting of Fish and Chips at Harry Ramsden’s and they seemed to have enjoyed this typically English dish.
According to the programme, we should have spent the afternoon in Jodrell Bank as arranged by Chris Banks. However, Chris got a last minute message that the visitors’ centre had to be closed: due to the petrol crisis as only three visitors came on the previous day, and the staff already had difficulty travelling.
Instead of this, the afternoon was spent at Pex Hill and after looking round we settled in the lecture room and Pavel showed us excellent photographs made by a colleague in Ondrejov.
The group photograph above shows members of Vlasim Astronomical Society and Liverpool Astronomical Society at Pex Hill.
From Left-to-Right: Jaromir Branis VAS, Milan Kovalsky VAS, Vlasim AS President Jan Urban, Murad Ghorbal LAS, Petr Pivonka VAS, Helena Neprosova VAS, Dr Pavel Kotrc – Ondrejov Observatory, David Forshaw LAS, and LAS President Gerard Gilligan.
In the evening we went to a local restaurant and had a very pleasant convivial get-together and the opportunity to get to know each other and to forge friendships.
The 2 meter Liverpool Telescope
Friday started with a visit to the Liverpool Telescope Factory, arranged by Alan Scott. We drove through the Wallasey Tunnel to the Twelve Quays and assembled outside the Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) of the John Moore University. Alan took us to the nearby Telescope Factory and introduced our guests to Chris Moss who took us round, To the astonishment of all, the great hall contained three giant robotic telescopes in various stages of construction. The mirrors are of 2m diameter, the glass coming from Russia, the figuring done by Zeiss. The Liverpool Telescope, designed and built by Telescope Technologies Ltd, has reached the finishing stage and will be the largest robotic telescope in the world. It will be operational in La Palma. The second will be placed in Hawaii and will have mainly educational functions. The third has been ordered by India. Dr Chris Moss was overwhelmed with questions by our visitors and proved to be an excellent and very knowledgeable guide.
The Indian 2 meter telescope at TTL nears completion, Friday 15th September, 2000
A further informal session was at the ARI. Short talks were given by Dr Iain Steele, Scientist of the New Generation Astronomical Telescopes Project (NGAT), by Alan Scott, (Starlink Computer Manager) and Dr Andrew Newsam (Research and Education Fellow). There followed many questions and everybody was so interested that we almost forgot that it was past lunchtime. Fortunately, Alan advised us to go across the bridge to ‘The Old Colonial’ Pub. It was quite a novel experience for our visitors but the beef stew and chips were excellent and the surroundings evocative of marine life.
In the afternoon we went to the Liverpool Conservation Centre and saw the reconstructed Lassell Telescope. This generated a great deal of interest and Gerard was able to enlarge on the History of the Telescope and on the life of Lassell. After a little shopping in town, all were taken to their respective homes in readiness for the evening session.
The Presidential Address and Cheese and Wine Reception was held in the crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral. In spite of the petrol shortage, there was a good attendance. Gerard Gilligan, our President, officially welcomed our guests and presented Jan Urban with a framed colour LAS Logo with the words:
Presented to the Vlasim Astronomical Society to commemorate the visit to Liverpool – England. September 2000.
Jan, in turn, produced a bottle of pear liqueur, all home made, even the pears had been picked by the members in Vlasim. But the main present was a hand-made plaque representing Moses carrying the Tablets of the Ten Commandments as well as the Staff which Jan described as a telescope. The inscription reads:
Observatory Vlasim 2000
I then introduced the individual Czech guests and translated Jan’s short address.
Gerard gave his presidential address, entitled the Gmunden Observatory, part of his Austrian experience during this trip to see the total Eclipse. It was illustrated with superb slides of the Alpine scene.
Click to enlarge: Dr. Pavel Kotrc, professional astronomer and friend of the Vlasim Astronomical Society, addressing LAS members on Saturday16th September, 2000
Pavel Kotrc (link removed as URL is invalid) followed on with an excellent account of the History of Astronomy in the Czech Republic, illustrated with most excellent slides. It generated great interest and many questions from the audience.
Click to enlarge: Astronomical Friendships and Co-operation – members of Vlasim Astronomical Society and Liverpool Astronomical Society, Saturday 16th September, 2000
Saturday morning was spent sight seeing. David Galvin led the visitors to the Albert Dock and the Beatles Museum, to the City centre, including Matthew Street. They had a relaxing Mersey River tour on a Ferry boat where they ate the packed lunch provided by their hosts.
Ferries on the River Mersey
In the afternoon we assembled in the lecture room at Pex Hill, more photographs were shown by Pavel who followed on with an informal lecture on his solar work, prominences and flares. We marvelled not only at his knowledge but also at his command of English.
There was a grand finale to the visit in form of a celebration dinner at Chung Ku Chinese restaurant at the riverside. The venue was excellent, as was the food, the drink and, most of all, the company. There were only a few short Good Bye speeches.
On Sunday morning the hosts brought their guests to our home, the Sun made one of its rare appearances and most proceeded to our back garden and made a fleeting solar observation before the general leave taking. Photos were taken and five of our guests crammed into Petr’s car with Helena in the driving seat.
Jan stayed behind, he had an extra day as he planned to go to Glasgow on Monday morning. He had a relaxing day in town, went to the Anglican Cathedral with his sketchpad. He spent the rest of the day with Gerard, Carol and their children. In the evening Gerard brought him to my home as Jan wanted me to translate a great many questions, mainly about the organisation of our Society, its activities, membership, etc. He jotted everything down for future reference.
The SUMMER SOLSTICE occurs on the 21st at 08hr:39m BST, the longest day of the year, and when the Sun will be at its highest point in the sky this year. The Sun lies in the constellations of Taurus/Gemini. Solstice is latin word literal meaning “Sun standstill”. From now on the hours of darkness slowly lengthen.
PHASES OF THE MOON DURING JUNE 2001
NEW MOON
on 21st
at 12h:59m
FIRST QUARTER
on 28th
at 04h:21m
FULL MOON
on 5th
at 16h:05m
LAST QUARTER
on 13th
at 19h:46m
THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.
MERCURY.
Mercury, having excelled itself last month, is now at inferior conjunction on the 16th.
VENUS.
Venus, keeps its easterly bearing and increases slightly in altitude about half an hour before Sunrise.
MARS.
Mars is at opposition on the 13th. It is quite low down as this year’s opposition occurs in Ophiuchus, close to the borders with Scorpius and Sagittarius. Even using high magnification Mars is initially a disappointing view through a telescope, the yellowish disk seemingly devoid of detail at first glance. A closer inspection will reveal a brighter polar cap or caps and the use of coloured filters can enhance the view more, bringing out subtle but real surface detail. By rare coincidence this month, the equator of Mars is pointed almost exactly toward us, so each pole is seen about equally well.One thing you cannot fail to notice though is that Mars is small. At an apparent diameter of 20″.5 right now this is as big as it’s going to get!. On the 6th Mars is 3° south of the Moon at 21hr:00. On the 22nd Mars passes just 9″ South of the faint star 36 Ophiuchi which is just visible to the unaided eye. Mars is now moving in retrograde motion.
Jupiter is at solar conjunction on the 14th and is therefore not on view this month.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Saturn is only just recovering from it solar conjunction last month, becoming a morning object later in the month..
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Both planets rise before midnight by the end of the month in the constellation of Capricornus, so those patient enough to wait up until the early hours will be amongst the first to get a glimpse of these two planets. Even if you cannot see them directly a few long exposure photographs of the region using a 135mm lens will reveal them when the photo is compared with a good star atlas which shows faint stars. Neither planet will show much of a disk-the most you can expect with a small telescope will be to distinguish any pastel colouration which may be evident under excellent seeing conditions.
Positions for the 1st June:
R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME MAG
20h:35m:31s -17°:56':55" 05h:08m 7.9
PLUTO.
Pluto at opposition on June 3rd,can be found in Ophiuchus, roughly between the 4th magnitude stars zeta and 20 Ophiuchi. The best time to look for the planet is around New Moon. The dates below will be a guide for planning observations.
Positions for June are when Pluto's elongation angle is greater than 90°.
DATE R.A. DEC TRANSIT TIME
June 10th 16h:54m:45s -11°:48':13" 00h:50m
June 20th 16h:53m:41s -11°:48':02" 00h:10m
June 30th 16h:53m:41s -11°:48':30" 23h:30m
Pluto is best seen between JUNE 14th – JUNE 28th.
METEORS.
June 10th Ophiuchids I (10 per hour) UnFavourable.
