Author Archives: Carol

Dr Sian Proctor – Space to Inspire

Posted on by March 19, 2025
Just out of the blue an opportunity dropped in my lap
The chapel auditorium was packed
No fanfare on arrival
there she was, hoping her presentation could be projected
on the large ‘clever touch’ device
right before my eyes…
(Steve Sherman was setting up for
The Living Maths Space Tour)
Her hair was topped as if with snow
and every move, sparkles caught the glow
a little girl approached, poster in hand,
and out of the women’s pocket
was gifted with who knows?
maybe a patch of a rocket?
The day before 800 girls were honoured by her presence
and there have and will be many more
“You have to be a lifelong learner,
Learn something new for yourself everyday
Each one of us has their own unique space to inspire”
the women said
She had seen for herself, the Earth is round
the stars of Orion were so clear
in the blackness of space
while earthlight caressed her face
I am Dr Sian Proctor, she said.
Somerset West  South  Africa 2024.08.08

Women|Space|Slooh

Posted on by November 15, 2022
As women of the Slooh Community our mission is to inspire, encourage and nurture a love for Astronomy.
We invite women from across the world, who have an interest in the stars, to join this group.
This is our SPACE.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1187203534993170

RS Ophiuchi- a rare occasion

Posted on by September 6, 2021

Life seems to be chugging along when suddenly there’s a thermonuclear eruption somewhere far far away. By far away I mean 5000ly!
What’s happening there?

A white dwarf star and a red giant are orbiting one another and maybe too close for comfort. The white dwarf siphons off material from the red giant star and developes a dense atmosphere which consists mainly of hydrogen. The newly accreted atmosphere is thermally heated by the hot white dwarf.  With this extra mass, gravity increases and the white dwarf becomes compressed which causes it to ignite.
I’ve read that only 10 recurrent novae have been identified. So what I’m following here is quite rare
To get a visual comparison, I’ve been setting up missions to RS Ophiuchi on the same telescope at Slooh and more or less at the same time of night. Cloudy weather was persistent but just as well because the Moon might have been too bright and in close proximity on those cloudy nights.
I did not give up and last night, conditions were perfect and I got a beautiful follow-up image. There’s no doubt, RS Oph is dimming and will go into slumber mode again.

To do an accurate comparison, I have not processed or cropped these images.