RASC Calgary Centre Projects
Page last updated August 22, 2004From time to time the Calgary Centre and/or its members complete various observing and construction projects. This page is intended to present information about some of these. This page is in its infancy at the moment so there isn't much here and what is here will probably be reformatted as we figure out how to do things better ;-) If you are a member with a project you'd like to see added here, or have suggestions, comments, etc. send them to the
.
Photos by David Brown
The damaged plastic roofing was removed, and two 4x8 sheets are being put into place to cover most of the roof. |
A plastic skylight covers the remaining roof area to allow natural lighting where needed. Thanks to Dick and David, we now have a new ladder! |
Any colour you like as long as.....! Yup, a red roof. This makes it difficult to confuse the biffy with any other buildings on the site. |
Glen Peterman hard at work, dismantling the domes from the bottom up. |
The solarium/dining area of the main building.... |
which will probably be used as a storage area for site maintenance equipment. |
More site improvements are scheduled for later this year - stay tuned!
Photometry is the science of using a meter that can accurately describe exactly how bright a star is, or how much it may vary and to do this to standards accepted by other photometers. We have an SSP-3 Optec Diode type Photometer for our use with B ( Blue ) V ( Visual or yellow - green ) R ( Red ) and I ( Infrared ) Johnson standard filters. This unit is set up for use on the club's permanently domed C-14 telescope at the Wilson Coulee Observatory. The telescope is pointed at the target and alternately at a nearby standard star. The information received is recorded to disk and saved there. This program is open to all members and indeed is in need of many different kinds of help.
Yes, we do have room for more observers. But we need help with computer hardware set ups, with data storage and records keeping. Along with this we could use help at crunching data and producing high quality graphs and graphics. In short you certainly don't have to be a "die-hard" observers type to make a significant contribution to an RASC sanctioned science project. Further we have subject stars that require only one measurement per evening making the pace of observations and the odds of success fairly good.
For Observers, the primary skill required is the ability to find a 9-10th magnitude star and place it under high power. If you feel you can move your scope to a star usually visible in a 50mm finder, then you can likely handle this pursuit. We have the challenges and the rewards for an observer who wants a little more than simply going back to the same old objects night after night. We have the same for anyone who can help in any capacity. Of course having a key to the WCO is a great asset for observers. Please contact Tom Cameron at 254-2741 or via e-mail, or attend any meeting of the RASC's Observers Group.
Caroline Observing Site Dome Construction (1996 summer & fall)
The 10 ft. dome shown in the picture was erected during the
summer/fall of 1996 at the club's new dark sky observing facility
located in the Caroline area of Alberta on land provided to us by
members Kerby and Priscilla Eccles. The photo was provided by
Kerby.This dome was originally donated to the club by Leonard Kampel and we subsequently gave it to Kerby for his use. Kerby has since given it back to the club. Kerby paid for and built the base of this 10 ft dome. By the look of it in the photo he also came up with a great idea for the entrance.