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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-11-09, Page 7Star Column: Winter stars are rising John Hlynialuk Bluewater Astronomical Society The first sign that winter is fast approaching is usually a snow fall that stays on the ground for a day or so, and on Oct. 26 we had that. But then a few days later, the temperature shot backup to over 15 Celsius! It's a good thing celestial "weather" is not as fickle, we can always count on the stellar seasons pro- gressing as steadily as clock- work. The summer and fall constellations always give way to the winter star patterns and there is never any back -tracking. By 11 p.m. in early Novem- ber, the lowermost star of the Summer Triangle, Altair, is touching the western horizon. By Christmas, the other bright lights of the tri- angle, Vega and Deneb will also be completely below the horizon by midnight. By December, we say "so long" to the Summer Triangle. At the same time as the Swan, Eagle and Lyre are dis- appearing in the west, our fall and winter constellations are starting to appear in the east. And what sparklers we have coming into view! In the Summer Triangle only Vega is in the top twenty brightest stars in the night sky. It ranks no. 5 and Altair and Deneb are a poor 15 and 19, respectively. In the col- lection of winter stars above the eastern horizon by mid- night, seven are in the top 20 and five of those are among the top ten brightest stars visible. One of those, Sirius, is the brightest star in the night sky, period. So while the summer Milky Way attracts viewers with clusters of stars, nebu- las and sweeping spatters of naked -eye star clouds, the winter sky has the largest concentration of bright stars in a comparable area. The bright "diamonds" of winter always impress me more than the swaths of faint "dia- mond dust" of the summer Milky Way. Even in the gen- erally over -lit cities where most of us live, the stars of winter, like the Moon and planets, shine brightly. Furthermore, there are simply more dark hours now to enjoy the stars, and winter air is dry and free of haze, so stars appear sharp and actually twinkle less than in summer. So, the stars are bright and clear and there are more of them. It is no surprise that the winter sky dazzles both experienced and novice viewers. If your canine duties take you out nightly with your pet, take a glance up from the dog at the end of the leash to the Large Dog in the eastern sky, and at Orion and Taurus too, -all are rising this month. Rest assured that no sudden celestial heat wave will bring the Summer Triangle back into centre stage. The Winter Stars are coming, inexorably, so get out your winter gear and get ready to enjoy them. Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, Sirius and several other win- ter stars have been spotted Wednesday, November 9, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 7 t erN loc4;Ing East 12 m1dn4t Imo. O. nip Diagram c/o Starry Night Education Winter constellations are starting to appear in the east by midnight in November. from the Fox Observatory already. Join us at our next public viewing on Nov. 26, before the blustery weather makes star -gazing a bit more difficult (not impossible, only a bit more challenging). Check www.bluewateras- tronomy.com for more information. Huron -Bruce federal Liberals hold electoral reform session in Goderich Protect our rural voice when it comes time to change the way we vote in Canada. That sentiment was the overwhelming consensus at a Huron -Bruce Liberal town hall on electoral reform held in Goderich on Oct. 26, 2016. "One of the overriding issues is we're not being heard because we're in a rural com- munity," one participant said in a wrap-up session at the end of the evening. "A rural community voice needs to be heard regardless," said another participant. The event organized by the Huron -Bruce Federal Liberals attracted a capacity crowd in a gym at Goderich District Collegiate Institute. Allan Thompson, the com- munications chair for the federal Liberal riding associ- ation, opened the evening and stressed that the event was intended as a non-parti- san opportunity for mem- bers of the public to get some straight information on electoral reform and then have their voices heard. Prof. Laura Stephenson, a political scientist from West- ern University, was the guest speaker for the evening and provided a comprehensive, hour-long presentation about some of the various electoral reform options on the table before participants were divided up into discus- sion groups. Stephenson explained the First -Past -The -Post system cur- rently in use at the federal level in Canada as well as other such "majoritarian" options as Alter- native Vote (sometimes called ranked ballot) and two -round votes that would require awin- ner to reach 50 per cent support before being declared the victor. She also outlined various pro- portional representation options, such as List Propor- tional Representation, Single Transferable Vote, Mixed Mem- ber Proportional, Rural -Urban Proportional and other hybrid systems. The discussion groups were asked to deal with the following questions, with a note -taker at each table writing down the responses for the final report: •As someone who lives in a rural community, what is your primary concern when it comes to changing our voting system: •What do you think about the current system for electing Members of Parliament (ben- efits/flaws)? Do you feel that votes are fairly translated? •Do you have a preferred alternative to the current sys- tem? What specific features are important to you in an electoral system (for example local rep- resentation, proportionality, simplicity, legitimacy etc.)? •Do you feel that it should it be mandatory to cast a ballot? (yes or no is fine for this one) •Should Canadians be able to vote online? Or would you prefer to maintain current vot- ing practices? Participants were also asked to discuss which mat- tered most to them: •Stable government vs. Better representation of small parties in Parliament. •A Parliament where all viewpoints are represented vs. A system that makes it easy to get rid of a government that is not doing a good job •Strong and cohesive par- ties vs. Local MPs who defend the interest of their local communities •Providing voters with a wide variety of options vs. A voting system that is simple and easy to understand The evening ended with a wrap-up discussion from each of the 10 discussion tables during which the note -takers shared the highlights from their group's debate. Some said theywere still a bit confused about the options, or needed much more detailed information about what was being proposed before making a decision. One participant com- plained about what he called "dictatorship by one party for four years followed by dictatorship by another for four years." At another table, the pri- mary concern was how vot- ers would maintain a close bond with their MP. "There's a rural desire for a relation- ship with our MP," the note - taker at that table said. Another participant noted that there were few if any What if one company could solve all your business needs? • `a� a• POSTMEDIA Vie aces mewaes Man ever before. young people at the event and said that was a shame since they would be the ones to live with any change to the voting system in Canada. At the beginning of the event, one man asked point- edly whether the whole exer- cise was worthwhile after recent comments from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a media inter- view that suggested electoral reform may not be a priority any more. Thompson stressed that while he did not speak for the government, it was worth noting that in another recent interview, with Maclean's magazine, Trudeau said he was keenly interested in the electoral reform process. Another participant said she wanted to know how the meeting came about and what would happen with the information gathered. As the host, Thompson explained that the town hall was spon- sored by the Liberal riding association and was not for- mally part of any govern- ment consultation. Shared photo The Huron -Bruce federal Liberal association saw a capacity crowd during its Goderich Electoral Reform meeting on Oct. 26, 2016. Pictured: Huron -Bruce Liberal communications chair Allan Thompson speaks to the crowd. But he said that all of the information gathered from the meeting would be sub- mitted to the parliamentary LET'S ALL DO OUR PART! PLEASE RECYCLE SA 'TY and REGiONA1,. 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