THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA

                                                                    Bulletin No 2

                              LUNAR OCCULTATIONS SECTION

LUNAR OCCULTATION DISPLAY - 1967 General Assembly

If members of your Centre have been active in the lunar occultation field, please see
that material that could be used for a lunar occultation display at the General Assembly
in Montreal in May is reported to the President of your Centre. Photographs of ob-
servers and observing sites would be appropriate.

SOME TRICKS OP THE TRADE

1.  Select a magnifioaticn so that as much of the bright limb of the moon as possible
    is beyond the field of your telescope ocular. This is especially desirable if
    sky haze is present scattering the light of the moon. Too high a magnification
    makes tracking of the star and the moon more difficult.

2.  Make sure your telescope has been aflczied to reach the outside air temperature,
    otherwise heat tremors fran the instrument will provide spurious occultations
    prior to the event,

3.  Tour observing site must have an unobstructed view of the moon.

4.  In very cold weather, it is easy to fog the eyepiece or eyeglasses - hold your
    breath!

5.  Above all, do not give up. The most frustrating observational field is lunar
    occultations for, in that brief fraction of a second when the star disappears
    behind the moon' s limb, misfortunes can befafl the observer. I remember the
    morning when at the precise moment a star was to disappear, a large moving van
    passed within a block of nw observing site and produoed such vibrations at the
    telescope the occultation was missed. Cries of a disgruntled observer were
    added to the normally tranquil morning air!

HERE AND THERE IN THE FIELD

Montreal -  This active Centre has an appropriate Centennial project that of 100
            successful timings of occultations during 1967. Despite the clouds in
            January and a frozen stopwatch, the group made two successful timings.
            With better weather to come, we are certain they will reach their
            objective.

Edmonton -  Four Edmonton observers are making local citizens uneasy!  With reports
            of UFO's and all, cannon-like machines in members' backyards are most
            disturbing. The "cannons", alias telescopes, are trained at the moon
            to observe the disappearance of a star behind it.  During December, nine
            separate timings were made, including three on Christmas Eve.  This is
            devotion above and beyond the call of duty! In January the clouds took
            over.

            On February 2, the grazing occultation Of Iota Librae was on their agenda,

Lunar Occultations Section, Bulletin No.2                             -2-




scheduled to be observed at a location sane eight miles from the city.
In attempting to record the multiple occultations expected, as the star
passed behind a number of lunar peaks, the Edmonton observers took along
a portable tape recorder, shortwave radio and two telescopes. In
addition, Dr. E.G Cumming of the University of Alberta brought the
Physics Department's strip recorder to permit simultaneous recording of
time signals and occultation events. Needless to say, clear skies
lasted all evening until 5:00 a.m., just minutes prior to the graze!
A little weary - and dejected - these observers are waiting with
enthusiasm for the next graze to pass by Edmonton.
























                                           Franklin C. Loehde,
                                           National Co-ordinator,
                                           Lunar Occultations Section,
                        Standing Committee on Observational Activities,
                                           8332 Jasper Avenue,
28 February, 1967.                         Edmonton, Alta.