Stargazing in February One year ago this month a Canadian astronomer, Ian Shelton, was the first _ Observer of the brightest supernova since ‘he -invention of the telescope. Like all super- ly spectacular proportions; a typical super- nova will brighten as much as ten million times in a few days and a single supernova may rival the total brightness of all the other stars in the galaxy in which it is located. Then in the next few weeks and months the supernova’s brilliance diminishes until little or nothing can be seen. . by Allen Wootton In order to understand supernovae it is necessary to understand what itis that makes a star. The French philosopher Auguste Comte stated, in 1835, that this knowledge was an example of that which - would be forever unattainable by scientists. Considering that the nearest star (our Sun) is 150,000,000 km. away from us (and the next one after that is about 40,000,000,000,000,000 km. further) his pessimism was understandable, though even at the time that he ut- tered his pronouncement he was mistaken. Already in 1814 Joseph von Fraunhoffer had observed dark lines in the solar spectrum — light from the Sun that is spread into the colors of a rainbow by passing i: through a prism. These lines were the key to learning the composition of the Sun and other stars, but this was not realized un- til about 1860 when G.R. Kirchoff used the new instrument, the spectroscope, (developed by Kirchoff and R. Bunsen — of Bunsen burner fame) to identify the element sodium in the atmosphere of the Sun. He and others went on to identify other elements in the Sun and in other stars as well. Thus it is from their light that we now know the composition of stars,and we also know quite a lot about the method by which they produce energy. , Most stars are composed primarily of the elements hydrogen and helium. At a temperature of a few million degrees hydrogen joins with hydrogen in a nuclear reaction (a hydrogen fusion reaction) to produce helium and lots of energy. You may be interested to know that the energy is produced because there is.a slightly smaller mass of helium after the reaction than there was of hydrogen beforehand. Einstein’s equation E = mc? even tells how much energy will be produced (m is the mass change and c is the speed of light — 300,000,000 meters per second). Since tremendously energetic nuclear reactions are going on in stars, something has to hold them together. That something is the force of gravity. All the material of a star is pulled inward by this force. In fact, it is the initial drawing together by gravity of hydrogen gas in instellar space that warms the gas sufficiently so nuclear reactions can begin — thus a star is born. At some point a balance is reached between the inward force of gravity and the out- ward force of these nuclear reactions. A stable star like our Sun is the result. , All is fine until the hydrogen fuel starts running low. Then gravitational attraction draws the star together more tightly and the star gets hotter. New nuclear reactions begin; these involve helium fusion to make carbon, then: fusion of carbon, and then other elements produced in the nuclear furnace combine. In the process new elements are made, vast amounts of energy are produced, and the star is in a very unstable stage where it collapses or expands, depending on whether or not gravity or nuclear reactions are pro- viding the most force. It is also at this stage that outer layers of a star are blown off into space — there can be a very hot central core separated from a relatively diffuse outer section. Stars at this stage are called red giants. Eventually gravity may become the predominant force, in which case the material of the star collapses on itself, If the star is no more than 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, the collapse continues until the atoms themselves can collapse no further. These collapsed stars glow white hot and then gradually cool as they radiate energy into space. In contrast, more massive stars end in supernova explosions, Since nova means new, you can see that the term really is incorrect; a star that explodes in this spectacular fashion really is at the end of its life. The remnants of supernovae collapse into neutron stars, and perhaps, into black holes —- objects so dense that even light cannot escape from them. =~ Shelton’s observations of the supernova of February 1987 were made from the University of Toronto observatory on Las Cam- panas Mountain in Chile. Unfortunately, this supernova was not visible to observers from latitudes as far north as Terrace, or anywhere else in Canada. Fortunately, however, February 1988 is a good time to look for some of the things I've mentioned in this arti- cle. You can find them in the beautiful constellation Orion and its near neighbors. You can’t miss Orion in the southern sky in the evening, and on this month’s sky map I have included some of the special objects to look at in this area of the sky. Two planets will be easily visible in the evening sky this month. Venus is very bright and can be found to the west of Jupiter which is high in the sky at sunset, Mars and Saturn will both be visible in the morning sky — they will rise in the east about three hours before the Sun. Of these two, Saturn is the brighter while Mars is redder. If it ‘5 clear on the morning of Saturday, February 13, you will see the waning crescent moon near both Mars and Jupiter in the eastern sky. There have been a few good Tuesday observing nights from near the Terrace Public Library. Any of you who would like a look through a telescope are welcome to do so from the library grounds on clear Tuesdays after 8 p.m. : So - ——a———— ——_ °° | , novae, this one was a stellar explosion of tru- — | - Lecation of the Crab Nebula, the - femains of a supernova that oc- curred in 1034 AD. A neutron star is found at Its centre, Dim patch in telescope. : - t --BETELGEUSE Red giant, a star near't its lite. PR eo ° sirius - The brightest star In the sky. It has a companion white dwarf that cannot be seen without a very large telescope. ©” ~~ @ | RIGEL One of the most luminous stars in the galaxy. Far in the future it’. may form a supernova. ORION NEBULA Look at this with binoculars. New stars are forming here. ee TAR CLUSTER | ne HYADES 7 STAR CLUSTER A proposed program designed to provide incentives for provin- cial employees to invest in provincially-owned businesses was unveiled recently in Victoria Development McCarthy. Ac- “Sharing in the Future’’ is a provincial Vege ae ‘Employee participation has been shown to exert a positive influence on corporate perfor- mance,”’ said McCarthy. ‘‘Our government wants to do all it can to encourage this type of participation and, as a result, enhance the economic climate of our province. | “The proposed Employee Share Ownership Program is another example of the govern- ment’s support of private sector initiatives.” The proposed program an- nounced by McCarthy would allow a 20 percent incentive pay- ment from the government to be made to eligible employees, bas- ed on their investment, with a maximum payment of $2,000 financial” per year. Also, assistance of up to $5,000 would be available to employee groups for 50 percent of their legal, ac- counting, investment counsell- ing and related costs. McCarthy said there are few companies in B.C, that offer employees an opportunity to participate. in ownership. The object of the. plan is to encourage employees to invest in their employer for the purpose of job protection, job creation and participation in corporate ownership. She added that any B.C. com- pany would be eligible. Current examples of employee participa- tion that had proven to be a viable method of creating new . jobs as well as preserve existing ones are Lamford Forest Pro- ducts, Point Hope Shipyards and Victoria Plywood. According to McCarthy, regional workshops are being. planned so employees and employers can gain a full understanding of the concept and how they can best apply it to their individual circumstances. the Employee Share Ownership Program is not proposed to be operational until this spring, details are being made available 4 x ARIES Mar. 21-Apr, 19 Adjustmen TAURUS Apr. 20-Niay 29 GEMINI May 21-June 20 CANCER — dune 2h-July 22 oo ; itstoll. LEQ - July 23-Aug, 22 . happening. VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept.12 ts are necessary in bringing about change. Strike a balance between the old and the new elements. _ , Conditions call for cooperation and trust with - friends or partners in business dealings. Good judgmentis essential. . _ ‘The changing patlernin business affairs calls for a new approach. Analyze conditions and study newtrends, : a. - Steer clear of responsibilities a co-worker Iries Lo foist off on you. The stress and strain-will take Employee investment incentives proposed __ to interested parties now in’. order to allow time for comment and discussion prior to introduc- tion of the necessary legislation. . In court ., “MeCarthy said’ that although” In Terrace provincial court on Friday, January 8 Marilyn Peats .. was fined $500 for impaired . driving. ~ a m Message yfrom the | Stars Your Week Ahead Horoscope. Forecast Perlod: 2/7-2/13/88 Tread lightly in your romantic affairs, Startling things are spoken of before you realize what's One dear to you adds a bit of excitement to the. domesticscene. Quieter timesare just ahead. LIBRA Aposltive mental approach brings ina winner in ll ‘Sept. 23-Oct, 22 SCORPIO Oct.23-Nov,21 — alrevenue. legal dealings. Travel could be a health hazard, Buying and selling coutd bring in some addition: ( Weed out items no longer useful and send themonto newhomes, , > SAGITTEARIUS ‘Novy. 22-Dec. 21 CAPRICORN Dec, 22-Jan. 19 AQUARIUS Jan, 20-Feb. 18 PISCES Feb, 19-Mar.20 Look for a suitable outlet lo release the restless energy you are generating. (White you still have: friends.) Do what you can to ease the path of ane who Is confined, Respect another'sright to privacy. A surprise announcement sheds new light on organizational activities, Others turn lo you for helpand guidance. . You may find yourself involved ina profession- al power siruggle. The right approach brings important advances. BERT’S DELICATESSEN WE HAVE... .a latge variety‘ot meats, cheeses, European noveltias, super We cater for large and small partles and picnics. 635-5440 sandwiches, fresh salads. .