NOVA NOTES

VOLUME 26 - NUMBER 3 - JUNE 1995

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE HALIFAX CENTRE OF THE RASC C/O 1747 SUMMER STREET, HALIFAX, N.S., CANADA B3H 3A6



NOVA NOTES, the newsletter of the Halifax Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, is published bi-monthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Halifax Centre. Material for the next issue should reach the editor by August 24, 1995. Articles on any aspect of astronomy will be considered for publication. "Letters to the Editor" or to our resident expert: GAZER are also most welcome. Contact the editor at: David Lane


ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH:

THE STRAIGHT WALL

This 2s exposure on ISO100 film was taken by Tony Jones through his new Astro-Physics 135mm f8 Starfire refractor. It is of the straight wall, as Rupes Recta called it, but it is now known as the straight fault. It is visible 1 to 1.5 days after first quarter Moon. It is a moderate slope with a gradient of 7 degrees. Its length is 110km and its apparent width is 2.5km.


INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

Editor/President's Report
Letter to the Editor
Nova East 95
Meeting Report: June 95
Tide Trek by Mary Lou Whitehorne
Notes from the Chair by Paul Gray
Constellation of the Month: Scutum by Joseph Yurchesyn
Variable Stars Anyone? by Paul Gray
Burke-Gaffney's Novateers by Paul Gray & Glen Slaunewhite
Letter to GAZER
Notice of Meetings and Other Stuff


NOTICE OF MEETINGS AND EVENTS

NOVA EAST 95

The date for Nova East is July 28 to 31. See the article in this issue of Nova Notes for more info.


PUBLIC OBSERVING SESSIONS

There will be two public observing sessions held this summer at Dollar Lake Provincial Park. The dates are: Friday, August 4th (cloud date, the 5th) and Friday, August 18th (cloud data, the 19th). Why not bring out you and/or your telescope to bring astronomy to the public. If you can help out, please give Paul Gray or Dave Lane a call. These events are advertised as part of the "Parks are for People" program run by the provincial government.


REGULAR MEETING

Date: Regular Meeting; Friday, September 15 at 8pm; 7pm for the council meeting (all are welcome)
Place: Lower Theatre, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Summer Street, Halifax. Access is from the parking lot.
Topic: Decoding Stonehenge Decoded by Patrick Kelly. There will also be reports on the summer's activities.


TELESCOPES FOR LOAN

The Halifax Center has several telescopes for loan to members. These include a Celestron C8 equipped for photography, a Questar 3.5", a 4" rich-field telescope, a 4" Maksutov-Cassegrain, and a 10" Dobsonian. Contact the Observing Chairman, Paul Gray, for further information.


PUBLIC HALIFAX PLANETARIUM SHOWS

The Halifax Planetarium, located in the Dunn Building at Dalhousie University, provides shows each week on Thursday evenings at 7pm. Contact the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History at 424-7353 for show information.


T-SHIRTS

We have a large supply of Centre T-Shirts. These T-Shirts are a 3 colour design which incorporates our new centre logo along with a smaller national logo printed onto high-quality 100% cotton shirts. These will be available at meetings. For information about mail-orders call or write Shawn Mitchell.


Go back to the Halifax Centre's
home page.
Last Updated: July 19, 1995 by David Lane, President, Halifax Centre.