Messenger No. 46 (December 1986)

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1-2 (PDF)
ESO
The ESO VLT Project: Current Status

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46....1.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
Since the last report about the ESO Very Large Telescope in the Messenger (44, 37; June 1986), this project has passed an important milestone on its way towards realization. More than 80 scientists and engineers from the ESO member countries (and beyond) met in Venice by the end of September 1986. During one week they made a detailed assessment of this ambitious undertaking, which aims at the construction of the world's largest optical telescope. There was unanimous agreement that the present concept is near the optimal, that it is technologically feasible and can be realized within approximately 10 years after funding has been decided upon, and that it will allow European astronomers to perform new and spectacular investigations of the universe, unparalleled elsewhere. Completion is aimed at in 1998 but part of the VLT may become operational already in 1993.
2-3 (PDF)
ESO
Open House at ESO-Garching

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46....2.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
On October 25, 1986, the science institutes in Garching again jointly organized an Open-house day. Preparations were made at ESO during the weeks before, establishing a well-defined path through the ESO Headquarters with demonstrations and exhibitions along the route.
3-6 (PDF)
M. W. Pakull, K. Reinsch
New light on the binary planet Pluto-Charon.

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46....3P
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
Pakull, M. W.; Reinsch, K.
AA(Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin) AB(Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin)
Abstract:
Earthbound observers currently witness a rare celestial phenomenon that will only recur in about 120 years. Presently the plane of Charon's inclined orbit around Pluto is sweeping over the inner solar system allowing mutual occultations and transits of the planetary disks to be observable from earth (cf. Fig. 1).
References:
Baier, G., Hetterich, N. and Weigelt, G.: 1982,
The Messenger 30, 23.
Binzel, R. P., Tholen, D. J., Tedesco, E. F.,
Buratti, B. J. and Nelson, R. M.: 1985,
Seience 228, 1193.
Dunbar, R. S. and Tedesco, E. F.: 1986, Astron.
J. 92, 1201.
Klinger, J.: 1985, in J. Klinger et al. (eds.),
lees in the Solar System, p. 621.
Morrison, D., Cruikshank, D. P. and Brown,
R. H.: 1982, Nature 300, 425.
Tholen, D. J.: 1985, Astron. J., 90, 2353.
Walker, A. R.: 1980, Mon. Not. R. Astron.
Soc. 192,47 P.
Walker, M. F. and Hardie, R.: 1955, Publ.
Astron. Soc. Pe. 69,224.
7-10 (PDF)
J. Québatte, B. Dumoulin et al.
Grid processing of large photographic plates.

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46....7Q
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
Québatte, J.; Dumoulin, B.; West, R. M.
AA(ESO) AB(ESO) AC(ESO)
Abstract:
We have investigated a new method ("grid processing") for mechanical agitation during development of large, photographical plates. It appears to be superior to the classical tray-rocker, both in terms of efficiency and uniformity, and without any loss in resolution. We believe that this method may become important in astronomical photography, once it has been thoroughly tested and automated.
10-10 (PDF)
ESO
VLT Documentation

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...10.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
11-11 (PDF)
ESO
Staff Movements

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46R..11.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
Staff Movements
11-11 (PDF)
ESO
Welcome Back, MALLY!

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46Q..11.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
By late 1986, more than 3,500 minor planets, with diameters from a few hundred metres to several hundred kilometres, have been registered and given a number. Their orbits have been determined with great precision, so that their positions in the sky are weil known at all times. Most of them have also received a name by the astronomers who discovered them.
12-17 (PDF)
C. Madsen, S. Laustsen
Wide angle photography of the Milky Way.

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...12M
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
Madsen, C.; Laustsen, S.
AA(Institute of Astronomy, Aarhus) AB(Institute of Astronomy, Aarhus)
Abstract:
Since astronomers began to use photography on a scientific basis, a number of pictures of the Milky Way band, or large parts thereof, has been made. Barnard (1890, 1927) produced a series of fine Milky Way photos. Later attempts by Rodgers, Whiteoak et al. (1960), Schmidt-Kaler and Schlosser (1972), Sivan (1974) and others resulted in impressive pictures, either in the form of panoramas or extreme wide-field views, mostly in weil defined (narrow) spectral bands. The most famous depietion of the Milky Way, however, is not a photograph but a drawing made by hand. This was made by M. and T. Keskula at Lund Observatory, and it has become the standard representation of the Milky Way band in textbooks.
12-12 (PDF)
ESO
ESO Press Release

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46S..12.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
ESO Press Releases
12-12 (PDF)
ESO
ESO Pictorial Atlas is Underway

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46R..12.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
12-12 (PDF)
ESO
The Swiss Ambassador and Consul General Visit ESO

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46Q..12.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
The Swiss Ambassador and Consul General Visit ESO
17-17 (PDF)
ESO
Picture from the forthcoming ESO book 'Exploring the Southern Sky'. Cometary glbules in the Gum Nebula

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...17.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
18-19 (PDF)
P. François
Ten times more halo dwarfs now within the reach of the CAT.

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...18F
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
François, P.
AA(Paris-Meudon Observatory)
Abstract:
The determination of detailed eIemental abundances in the atmosphere of stars is interesting for many branches of Astrophysics. The huge amount of information obtained with high resolution spectroscopy is useful, for example, to test the model of nucleosynthesis in the stars during their life as weil as the final stages of nucleosynthesis of the elements in stars. This last case does not seem to be directly linked with abundance determination in stars. Still, at the end of their life, the massive stars expelled processed material into the interstellar medium. Then, the atmosphere of stars which will be formed from the interstellar matter will contain the signature of the matter expelled by the stars. The analysis of stars of different age will give some hints for the understanding of these last stages and for the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The differential study of dwarf stars relative to the sun gives very accurate results. Moreover, the study of halo dwarfs can give clues on the early evolution of the Galaxy. However, halo dwarfs are faint and the limiting magnitude of the instrument is crucial for such studies. At ESO, high resolution spectroscopy was possible only with the 1.4 m CAT + CES. The detector was a RETICON array of 1,870 photodiodes (15 um x 700 um). The limiting visual magnitude was about 7. It was, in principle, possible to obtain fainter stars by long exposures but the so-called "cosmic rays" made the choice hazardous. Multiple exposures of the same object could also be done but the time needed to obtain good spectra for a large sampie of stars was quite long and prohibitive. Thus, this instrumentation was typically used for disk dwarfs. The resolving power was of the order of 100,000. Only the brightest halo dwarfs were then observable.
References:
Cayrel R.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. (in press).
Dekker, H., Delabre, B., D'Odorico, S., Lindgren,
H., Maaswinkel, F., Reiss, R.: 1986,
The Messenger No. 43, p. 27.
Francois, P.: 1986a, Astron. Astrophys., 160,
264.
Francois, P.: 1986b, Astron. Astrophys., 165,
183.
Matteucci, F., Greggio, L.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys.,
154, 279.
Perrin, M.-N.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 159,
239.
19-19 (PDF)
ESO
Announcement of an 'ESO Workshop' on 'Stellar Evolution and Dynamics in the Outer Halo of the Galaxy'

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46S..19.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
Announcement of an 'ESO Workshop' on 'Stellar Evolution and Dynamics in the Outer Halo of the Galaxy'
19-19 (PDF)
ESO
List of ESO Preprints (September-November 1986)

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46R..19.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
465. F. Murtagh and A. Heck: An Annotated Bibliographical Catalogue of Multivariate Statistical Methods and of their Astronomical Applications (Magnetic Tape). Astronomy and Astrophysics Suppl. September 1986.
19-19 (PDF)
ESO
Bierce and Astronomy

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46Q..19.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
Ambrose Bierce, the famous American satirist, was born in 1842 and is believed to have died in 1913, during the revolution in Mexico. A man of many trades, he spent part of his life in San Francisco as a journalist. He apparently made the first entries to "The Oevil's Oictionary" around 1876, but it was only after 1881 that regular instalments began to appear in the "Wasp" under Bierce's chief editorship.
20-20 (PDF)
ESO
New Minor Planet: (3496) ARIESO

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46S..20.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
New Minor Planet: (3496) ARIESO
20-20 (PDF)
ESO
Who Has Photographs from Early ESO Days

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46R..20.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
20-20 (PDF)
ESO
Messier 22: 73 Years Ago

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46Q..20.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
This picture shows the globular cluster Messier 22 = NGC 6656, photographed (Plate no. 390; exposure 90 min) on August 26, 1913 with the f/17 40 cm astrograph at the Zo-Se station of the Shanghai observatory (P. R. China). The station is situated just south of Shanghai at a geographic latitude of +31°. Since this globular cluster lies in the southern Milky Way at R. A. = 18h 33m; Oecl. = -23° 58', the telescope was pointed close to the southern horizon. Messier 22 is the third nearest globular cluster at a distance of about 3 kpc.
21-22 (PDF)
H. Dekker, S. D'Odorico
CCD field polarimetry with EFOSC.

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...21D
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
Dekker, H.; D'Odorico, S.
AA(ESO) AB(ESO)
Abstract:
This is areport on the installation of a Wollaston prism in EFOSC, the ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (1,2). By inserting the prism in the parallel beam space of the instrument it is now possible to obtain for each object in the CCO field of view (3.'5 x 5.'6) two images characterized by perpendicular linear polarizations. The amount p and the position angle phi; of the polarization can be derived fram a cosine fitting to the relative intensity differences of the two images as measured at different orientations of the Wollaston. The change in the position angle of the polarization vector is achieved by the rotation of the adaptor flange on which EFOSC is mounted.
References:
1. Dekker, H. and D'Odorico, S., 1985, ESO
Operating Manual No. 4.
2. D'Odorico, S. and Dekker, H., 1986, Proceedings
of the Workshop on the Optimization
of the use of the CCD detectors in
Astronomy, J. Baluteau and S. D'Odorico
eds, published by ESO.
3. Röser, H.J., 1981, Astron. Astrophys.,
103,374.
4. Röser, H.J., Meisenheimer, K., 1987, Ap.
J., in press.
5. Meisenheimer, K., and Röser, H.J., 1986,
Proceedings of the Workshop on the Optimization
of the use of CCD detectors in
Astronomy, J. Baluteau and S. D'Odorico,
eds., published by ESO.
22-23 (PDF)
ESO
ESO Processing Group: MIDAS Memo

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...22.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
Several upgrades of commands have been made and will be released in the next MIDAS release 87 JAN 15. Major improvements were made on the Multivariate Analysis package which now includes many new methods and commands. In particular, it is now possible to do discriminant and correspondence analysis on tables. A new module was written in the Data Analysis part of MIDAS. It implements three methods to analyse Time Series Analysis with unequally spread data.
23-27 (PDF)
O. Stahl, B. Buzzoni et al.
First results with PISCO.

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...23S
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
Stahl, O.; Buzzoni, B.; Kraus, G.; Schwarz, H.; Metz, K.; Roth, M.
AA(ESO) AB(ESO) AC(ESO) AD(ESO) AE(Universitätssternwarte München) AF(Universitätssternwarte München)
Abstract:
PISCO is the acronym for the new ESO polarimeter and stands for Polarimeter with Instrumental and Sky COmpensation. The design of the instrument has been developed by K. Metz and the main principles have been published in two articles in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Metz, 1984, 1986). The instrument has been built at the Universitätssternwarte München with the technical and financial support of ESO and is now offered to visiting astronomers at the 2.2 m telescope at La Silla. This article briefly describes the instrument and first results obtained during a test run in September 1986.
References:
Bailey, J., Hough, J. H., Axon, 0.1., Gatley, 1.,
Lee, T. J., Szkody, P., Stokes, G., Berriman,
G.: 1982, Mon. Not. R. Astr. SOG.
199,801.
Cropper, M.: 1985, Mon. Not. R. Astr. SOG.
212, 709.
Griffiths, R. E., Tapia, S., Briel, U., Chaisson,
L.: 1979, Astrophys. J. 234, 810.
Luna, H.G.: 1986, Astrophys. Leiters 25,13.
Metz, K.: 1984, Astron. Astrophys. 136, 175.
Melz, K.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 159, 333.
Serkowski, K.: 1974, in Planets, Stars and
Nebulae Studied with Photopolarimetry,
ed. T. Gehreis, University of Arizona Press,
Tueson, p. 135.
Wall, J. V., Danziger, I.J., Pettini, M., Warwiek,
R.S., Wamsteker, W.: 1986, in
Quasars, eds. G. Swarup and V. K. Kapahi,
IAU Symp. No.119, Reidel, Oordrecht,
p.59.
23-23 (PDF)
M. Cullum
a 'mama' for ESO

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46...23C
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
Cullum, M.
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
a 'mama' for ESO
27-28 (PDF)
ESO
Algunos Resumenes

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46S..27.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
EI proyecto dei VLT: estado actual
27-27 (PDF)
ESO
Comet Wilson (1986 I)

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46R..27.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)
Abstract:
This picture of Comet Wilson was obtained with the ESO 1 m Schmidt telescope on November 6, 1986. The exposure lasted 15 minutes on red-sensitive 098-04 emulsion behind a RG630 filter. On this date, the magnitude of this new comet was around 11. A short, stubby tail extends towards northwest.
27-27 (PDF)
ESO
New ESO Conference and Workshop Proceedings

ADS BibCode:
1986Msngr..46Q..27.
Author(s)/Affiliation(s):
ESO
AA(ESO)