Latest From starman
It has been a year since I was last in Churchill. The new building is coming along nicely. One of the features of the building is an observing platform on the northeast corner of the second level. The platform is adjacent to the classroom area so that auroral observations can be made with ease even when classes are in session. The elevation will give us a good view of the night sky and also will provide protection from polar bears that may be passing by. This will be important during the winter classes but even more important during bear season (October-November) when bear watchers can come out to see aurora.
This year's classes began with quite a flash. A mass coronal ejection is scheduled on the first night of class and should persist with auroral displays over three nights. To date, there have been no days without sunspots in 2011. I think this clearly indicates the solar minimum has passed and we are getting into a time of increased sunspot activity. This bodes well for auroral observation over the next five to eight years. And in February 2012, those auroral observations will be made from the observing platform in the new Churchill Northern Studies Centre facility!
Added to the class this year is a small portable telescope, an Astroscan 2000 wide-field telescope. I have never had a telescope before now. All observations were made with someone else's telescope or with my own binoculars. I did this on purpose since people usually have binoculars but do not have telescope's. That meant that people who were in the course would bring their own binoculars, see the objects using their own equipment and take that knowledge and information home. There, they could improve their observing skills. If they became more interested in astronomical observations they would graduate to a telescope. This year, with a new baby granddaughter to think about, I decided to acquire a small telescope and bring it with me to Churchill.
All bodes well for an excellent course and some very good viewing of the night sky.
Keep looking up.
starman
Now may be the time to book courses in Northern Lights and Observational Astronomy for the winter of 2011. With the increase in sunspot activity, this is an excellent opportunity to visit starman and the old CNSC to experience the northern light. Note that the new building is up and nearly enclosed. See. http://churchillscience.ca for photos. When I left Churchill last February, we were at picture #12 with piers in place.
Success in 2010
Courses in Feb. of 2010 were a success in spite of fears of lack of sunspots. After 260 sunspotless days in 2009 (see www.spaceweather.com) and with a continuation of sunspotless days into 2010, apprehension was high. A week before the courses were to begin, 2 massive sunspots appeared. By the time the courses began, 10 spots appeared and when the courses were finished, 78 sunspots had graced the solar surface. One evening, two days after a major solar flare, the aurora was active for 2 1/2 hours producing a rather impressive display of Northern lights. It seems that the sunspot drought is over and we are now definitely in an upswing in solar activity. This bodes well for courses a year from now. Incidentally, the course dates have been set and information should soon be available on the CNSC website.