Author Archives: Carol

International Dark Sky Places

Posted on by June 17, 2014

March 2014

OrionNow would it not be absolutely wonderful if Betty’s Bay could be declared an International  Dark Sky Place? It certainly has all the potential to become one and not such a difficult goal to achieve either.
First of all we would have to implement a community-wide lighting code. Now how difficult could that be?
As set in the International Dark Sky Association Guidelines, we would have to promote responsible lighting and set an example to surrounding communities, promote eco-tourism, protect human health, nocturnal habitats and public enjoyment of the night sky.
Betty’s Bay’s  lighting code would have to adhere to the following: Fully-shielded or  full cutoff  standard for all lighting fixtures over 3000  lumens  initial  lamp  output.  Is that sounding too technical? In other words we would not be allowed to project our lighting heavenwards and in all directions, onto our neighbour’s property or flood the fynbos.
Restrictions would have to be placed on the total amount of unshielded lighting for an area of certain size with the issue of over-lighting to be taken seriously.
A wide range of community organizations would have to support the initiative – even the electricity suppliers.
How amazing it would be if the BBRA would support such an initiative!
If Betty’s Bay were to become an International Dark Sky Place, it would be allowed to use logos like ” First South African IDA Dark Sky Community”
Wow!
Even if Betty’s Bay never receives this international recognition, there is no reason why we could not retain and preserve the beautiful night sky. Our skies are darker than the surrounding communities. We are an example. Educators are in abundance and I have noticed that Betty’s Bay has some of the most enthusiastic folk when it comes to protecting this area.
I had my telescope out recently and standing out in the dark, I thought of all the kids that are growing up without seeing the stars….and I wondered, how can one live without being able to see the stars?
Oh yes, I almost forgot – I love promoting public enjoyment of the night sky!

http://www.darksky.org/international-dark-sky-places/about-ids-places

Lightbox for Deep Sky Sketching

Posted on by May 16, 2015

lightbox-completeAs I developed a passion for sketching deep sky objects, it became inevitable that I would start thinking about more practical ways to do so than with a clipboard and red LEDs that were always too bright or too dim and shining all over the show except on the circle where the action was supposed to happen.

I tried a number of tricks but all were unsatisfactory. Eventually I started thinking of a hands-free, fully adjustable red LED lightbox.

My husband was ecstatic when I showed him the plan because it gave him an excuse to buy a new Weller soldering station. Our old soldering gun would have done the job just as well.

For the next few days I played the dutiful wife as I have not mastered the art of TIG welding and needed my husband to construct a lightweight A4 sized aluminum casing. I’m sure there are other ways of constructing the casing. The main thing is to keep it as light as possible.

The bottom looks like a baking tin. The inside has been sprayed white to help with reflection. The top is framed red perspex.

I have used two red wide-angle LEDs each attached to its own battery pack housing two AA batteries. The lights can be switched on individually. Using one LED at a time will give sufficient lighting most of the time, the second is mainly for backup.

The LEDS have been glued to the “baking tin” with hot glue. The LEDs need to be lifted off the bottom slightly otherwise they cause bright red spots. A thick blob of hot glue will do the trick but before fixing permanently experiment with prestik.

The lightbox is attached to a fully adjustable tripod by means of a quick release bracket which will make transporting easy.

Since designing my light box I have made a few very necessary adjustments:

  • With just the one sheet of red perspex, the LEDS were far too bright when I became dark adapted. I covered the LEDS with an extra red plastic lid with a strip of aluminum foil lining the inside rim. This helped to contain the light to almost the size of my sketching circle and toned down the brightness considerably
  • I have cut a circle (size of my sketching circle ) in a piece of cardboard (size of the lightbox frame) and put this in place before replacing the red perspex cover. I did not like the whole frame being lit up.
  • As most papers have fibres which become visible when using up-lighting, I sketch on firm tracing paper which is nice and smooth and diffuses the light as well.
  • An adapter to clamp an external red LED to the lightbox comes in handy for when I log my obs before sketching.
  • I have added a removable tray to the tripod for pencils, erasers, eyepieces and spectacles.

ConstructionLayoutTwo-red LEDSaluminum-rim

Red plastic lidcardboard layerQuick release bracketSet up with tray

Pale Blue Dot

Posted on by January 17, 2020

Pale-blue-dotI have been searching for an out of print book for years. Every secondhand bookshop in my area had my phone number. I always hoped that someday someone would part with their copy. The internet took my search to a new level. Having received a watered down version of the original, I became a little sceptical about ordering second hand books online again.This puny paperback with no images or graphics is is just sitting unread on my bookshelf.

On the other side of the world, my niece is preparing for a school trip to Equador. As part of the project she has to work or come up with ideas to finance her trip. Just receiving handouts is a no-no. I came up with an idea. I challenged her to find the original 1994 first edition hard cover of the book.

Within two days she had sourced a copy and it was delivered to her doorstep in Folkstone, Kent. It boarded SAA with her and the rest of my family and arrived at my doorstep a few weeks later.

My heart was pounding as I opened the parcel. My niece had found a book in pristine condition, seemingly untouched. At last I had my own copy of Pale Blue Dot- a vision of the human future in space – by Carl Sagan.

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.
It is said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience
To me it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known” – Carl Sagan

Here comes the Sun

Posted on by June 17, 2014

Aug 2013

NASA/SDO Image

Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams

Something big is about to happen on the Sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip.

“It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal,” says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. “This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.”

After reading this I looked through the window at a cloudy winter sky. In 3 – 4 months the smiles are supposed to be returning to our faces here in the Southern Hemisphere just like the Beatles promised. Now it seems we are in for some stormy space weather.

How much will this event effect us here on Earth this time?

Every eleven years (give or take a year or two) the Sun goes through a sunspot cycle which is linked to magnetic forces. Now what have magnetic forces got to do with pole reversals?

Reading up on the Parker Solar Dynamo Theory, only to learn that the theory was flawed, I proceeded to the Babcock-Leighton Model until I hit the sentence: Unfortunately it could not offer a prediction…..

OK so now I’ve wasted some time but not to be deterred I googled until I found written in bold: And the answer is….

ah ha!
Two separate processes seem to be going on: The Local Dynamo and the Global Dynamo. Before attaching major significance to a whole lot of really weird terms like the Tachocline and helioseismometry data from SOHO, I scrolled down to the bottom of the page just to make sure I was on the right track. “There are still many details to be worked out….”

While the physicists work on the many details, Kid’s Astronomy gives a nice explanation. Solar Magnetic Field reversals occur more or less every eleven years and at a time when solar activity is at its peak. Solar storms travel through space towards Earth. Energy and radiation from solar flares and coronal mass ejections can harm astronauts, damage electronics on satellites, cause the most beautiful auroras blackouts on Earth by surges in power grids.

There have been predictions that the upcoming solar storm will outdo the 1859 Carrington Event, a super storm so intense that the Northern Lights could be seen from Rome!

Should I book a ticket to Rome or will media headlines change from Something big is about to happen on the Sun to Something is about to happen on the big Sun.

Well seeing that the Sun’s magnetic field has flipped 5.5 times before in my lifetime, for now I might as well carry on humming: Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it’s all right, sun, sun, sun, here it comes

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/05aug_fieldflip/
http://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/