These notices are out of date, but remain here for reference.
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This month, we're privileged to host James Ashley of Minor Planet Research, Inc., Arizona.
Venue Change: Our meeting this month will be held at the Carter Observatory. Note that this is not the same as our regular venue.
In this presentation Minor Planet Research Inc. Director, James Ashley, will try to answer questions in a practical way; one that calls our attention to a fascinating albeit potentially life-threatening natural hazard, but which does not exaggerate the risk.
Unlike other kinds of natural disasters, the impact hazard is one that can be addressed in advance and potentially sidestepped. The systematic cataloguing of asteroidal and cometary bodies in space prior to impact, followed by risk mitigation through orbit adjustment, is within the scope of technologies currently available. In addition to the biosphere-saving benefits of this enterprise, the process of searching the skies for unknown objects on potential collision paths provides an unprecedented opportunity for students and public to become involved in science and discovery through participation in MPR's educational outreach programme.
The hour-long presentation will be followed by a question and answer session that may take weeks to complete, so be sure to bring an extra spot of tea if you plan to stay.
The meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. Please remember that this meeting is at the Carter Observatory, and not at our regular venue.
Enjoy.
This month, Ian Cooper of Palmerston North will speak about what to do when your automated observatory fails.
"With the advent of Go-To telescope control systems that range from basic encoders up to robotic telescopes, the thought must always be in the back of one's mind: What happens when the power fails? This talk copes with how to cover redundancy in your star finding system–not if, but when the power fails."
The meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Enjoy.
This month, local member Paul Moss will speak to us about the taking of, sharing and propagation of astronomical images.
"There are really only two important considerations when taking an image of a space or sky event. The most important is composition, which part of the sky is going to be useful to convey the feeling of the display, and what other visual components are handy to include, broadening the accessibility of the image, to draw a greater audience into being interested. The other is the technical need of the camera. In real estate they say location, location, location, and I could say YES, and include timing, timing, and timing. You could say luck plays its part but in sky and space it's more vigilance and extreme patience and extended states of readiness that are the key.
"Collaboration is also a big factor and that's my core driver to enable as many people to experience sky and space phenomena for themselves. I'm sure everyone here understands that whether you record the image mechanically or not, your personal experience can be summed up as a result of something called passion.
"I am very happy to share with you some of the images I have captured over the years and the technical requirements of obtaining them, along with the process of sharing that to the planet for all to see and use.
"From an early age, I was fortunate to be exposed to a family space that valued sharing experience highly. From our first 50 mm telescope in the 50's, I witnessed the moons of Jupiter and rings of Saturn. With my large family I witnessed the first man-made aurora nearly 50 years ago. Along the way I have been captivated with capturing the elusive images that make up the most special experiences of my life, from the box Brownie to the SLR, from crude home video to the latest digital. I have inevitably pointed my lenses skyward to try and bring what I perceive up there to my family, friends and the planet.
"My motivation is two-fold; the thrill of the hunt and conquest, and the warm fuzziness of sharing. I imagine that is at the heart of many of us, as we continue to look skyward in so many different ways. I have chosen a comet NEAT image with the microwave tower at Wright Hill for my emblem; it epitomizes those two urges within me, an image that requires a bit of commitment to get, and communicating with other humans at local and global levels.
"The comet symbolizes my first astro-photo, Comet Halley, and my dad's stories about that lump of ice and the visual impact it made on British society for years after it passed early last century. The tower also symbolizes the realization of a boyhood dream; to become a Radio Technician and work inside one of those places! My wildest dreams came true. Those towers are now an integral part of the global network that we all use to share our images using email and websites."
The meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Enjoy.
This month, we host a panel discussion by Craig Tice, Brenda Johnston and Vicki Irons, debating the question of life in the Universe.
For many years, scientists were convinced that extraterrestrial civilisations just had to exist, given the size and age of the Universe. Carl Sagan and Frank Drake later announced the Drake Equation, proposing that the galaxy was infested with advanced civilisations. This prompted acceleration in searches for extraterrestrial life.
Our speakers have spent some time researching the different angles, and will be presenting an informed debate. Please come along either to listen, or to participate.
The meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Enjoy.
John Dobson and his good friend, Graeme Loftus, will be visiting Wellington between April 24th and April 26th on a tour around New Zealand and Australia, sponsored in part by the Wellington Astronomical Society.
John Dobson is recognised around the world for having invented the Dobsonian Mounted Telescope -- a very easy-to-build design that is popular all around the world. He is also a founding member of Sidewalk Astronomers, renowned around the world for taking astronomy to the general public. More recently, John has become very interested in cosmology, with some of his ideas being quite controversial.
Graeme Loftus is a veteran of telescope building, having built more than 20 telescopes with an aperture of 20" or more in his career.
If you have any interest in promotion of astronomy, cosmology, or in building telescopes, we urge you to come and meet John and Graeme on one or more of the opportunities listed below:
Sunday 24th April: There will be a barbeque at the Mangaroa Vintage Machinery Club Rooms, 155A Mangaroa Hill Road, beginning at 5pm. For more information contact Craig Tice or Brenda Johnston.
Monday 25th April: John Dobson will give a public talk at the Carter Observatory at 7.30pm.
Tuesday 26th April: John Dobson will also be giving a talk to a special meeting of the Wellington Astronomical Society at Science House, beginning at 7.30pm.
Please note that entry to these events will be by a gold coin donation, in order to cover part of the costs of bringing them here.
April 16th is International Astronomy Day in 2005. To celebrate, we'll be at Wellington Zoo during the day, weather permitting. If you're in the area, please come along to say hello, and to speak to us about astronomy.
We'll be spending the day doing some solar observing if the sky is clear. Otherwise, you'll still have an opportunity to look through some great telescopes at the pine needles on the far hills.
Later in the evening, we hope to have the Gifford Observatory, behind Wellington College near the Basin Reserve, open for public viewing of the night sky. Both the planet Jupiter and a First Quarter Moon will be prominently in the sky at that time, as well as all the stars, nebulae, galaxies and star clusters that fill the night sky.
Due to the nature of astronomy, these events are somewhat dependent on the weather. Please contact Mike McGavin for more information about the event or directions to any of the places involved.
Bob Mitchell, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA, will soon be touring the North Island of New Zealand as 2005's Carter Memorial Lecturer. Bob is very experienced and accomplished, having been the Project Manager for both the Galileo expedition to Jupiter and the Cassini expidition to Saturn, the latter of which is still in progress.
The main Carter Observatory Memorial lecture will be held in Te Papa's Soundings Theatre on April 19th, with a technical seminar at Victoria University earlier in the day. He will remain in Wellington for several days, after which he will be touring several other parts of the North Island.
For a complete schedule and further details about Bob Mitchell, please see the publicity page for the event on the Carter Observatory's website.
Roger Feasey will be speaking at our March meeting, specifically about standard candles, and the massive size of the Universe.
Mankind has only begun to understand the full size of the overwhelming scale of the Universe, by measuring the true distances to astronomical objects from the mid 19th century onwards. We now routinely accept pronouncements concerning extremely distant objects as being at so many billion light-years. While the distances to the nearest stars can be measured geometrically, mesuring more distant objects in the galaxy, and other galaxies, require the use of standard candles.
The concept of a standard candle in astronomy is simple: the distance of a light source with known luminosity can be deduced from its measured brightness. The standard candles used in astronomy, however, are not truly standard. There are many uncertainties. Resolving these has done much for our knowledge of astrophysics, and much to increase the reliability of distance (and age) estimates.
Luckily there are many types of astrophysical standard candle, and each can be used to calibrate its neighbours. What has developed is a 'ladder' of overlapping techniques being used to measure the distance, first of nearby stars, then distant stars in our galaxy, nearby galaxies, then galaxies a large fraction of the Universe away. Then there are distance measurement techniques that do not rely on the normal distance ladder, producing results that challenge the conventional measurements, and the conclusions drawn from them, creating new problems to be resolved. My talk wil touch on all of these aspects of our attempts to measure the Universe.
The meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Enjoy.
As happens every year, we have a break about now, at least in newsletter publications and society meetings. If you're a member, you can expect your next newsletter towards the end of January. The first meeting of 2005 will be held on Wednesday, 2nd of February. We also plan to produce the annual society handbook within the coming weeks. For information about society and astronomy-related events that are approaching, please see the calendar page.
Following the AGM that was held in November, the society now has a largely new council, including our new president, Craig Tice. The new council, as individuals and as an entity, have some great ideas for continuing to evolve and develop the astronomical society over the coming years. We're in a good position to carry this out, largely thanks to the outgoing council who have left the society in excellent condition and helped to make the transfer of responsibilties as easy as possible.
As is always the case, we'd like to hear ideas from both members, and anyone else who has a stake in the society. If you have anything you'd like to suggest or comment on, please contact us.
As usual, our December meeting (the last of the year) is quite an informal event. On this occasion, Dr Ed Budding, society member and recently returned from Turkey, will be speaking:
According to Aristotle, nature (physika) can be understood in terms of underlying principles (archai). Such principles seem to be subject to logical analysis, and thus characterizable by mathematical forms. The history of this approach, however, shows a process of continual revision and redevelopment. Can we then be confident that Aristotle's approach does indeed lead to understanding of nature, or are apparent underlying systemizations illusory? Recalling Aristotle's distinction between the principles of mathematics and those of physics, the arguments are illustrated by particular examples: the theory of evolution and the theory of gravity.
Aristotle considered the role of 'spontaneity' (chaos) in biological evolution, but argued against a regime that was completely chaotic. This relates to the important problem of the purpose of science.
In relation to gravity, Aristotle recognized the fundamental connection between inertia and gravity, which has still not been fully unified into a physical scheme. However, it is possible to explore a Le Sage-like model from such a viewpoint, and reconcile this with the inverse-square law and the expansion of the universe.
The meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Enjoy.
On Thursday December 2nd, Brian Warner will be giving a talk at the Carter Observatory. (That's the evening after our regular society meeting.)
The talk, titled The History of the Cape Observatory, will largely concentrate on the 19th century, but will include something on the 20th, and the move to Sutherland, where the 10 metre telescope is nearing completion.
Brian Warner is Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Cape Town and has been head of the Department of Astronomy there since 1972. He is best known for his research on cataclysmic variable stars, and is the author or co-author of over 350 research papers and 10 books on this subject.
This Wednesday, we'll be screening an entertainment-related video at our meeting.
Along with the video, we'll be holding the Annual General Meeting for 2004. This will involve electing a new council, for which we already have nominations for most positions. If you're a member, please come along to support your society.
As usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Presented by John Drummond, of Possum Observatory, Gisborne.
Ever since he was twelve John Drummond from Gisborne has loved astronomy and photography. Slowly, over the years, he realised that he could combine both passions in astrophotography. Now, a few years and many telescopes later, John has a 41cm (16") Newtonian reflector in an observatory where the whole building rotates.
John's presentation looks at how he made Possum Observatory, what telescopes he uses, and what work he is doing with them. Some aspects of the talk will look at his use of a Canon EOS 10D digital SLR camera for prime focus astrophotography and the close apparitions of Comets 2001 Q4 (NEAT) and 2002 T7 (LINEAR) in April/May of this year. Come to an astrophoto feast!
As usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Presented by Duncan Hall, of the Wellington Astronomical Society.
What's all this VLBI stuff, anyhow?
Very Long Baseline Interferometry, VLBI, involves using a number of antennas linked together to create the equivalent of a giant antenna which can resolve small radio objects in the sky. Future proposals for VLBI centre on using very high data rate telecommunications networks for data transportation and large distributed arrays of computing resources for data processing to correlate and produce images in "near real time."
New Zealand's location in the southern Pacific Ocean, coupled with its quiet radio environment, are good reasons to consider including New Zealand-based antennas in planned internationally financed and operated multi-billion dollar next generation VLBI global and regional VLBI arrays.
As usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Presented by John Field, of the Wellington Astronomical Society and the Carter Observatory.
The Cassini spacecraft has, after a seven your journey, arrived at Saturn. This bus sized science laboratory is the heaviest non-manned spacecraft ever launched. With twelve science cameras and a planetery probe/lander, this mission will explore the Saturnian system of planet rings and moons. The presentation will look at the spacecraft, the mission, past and future, and will include the latest images and data.
As usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
Presented by Graham Blow, RASNZ Occultation Section
An occultation occurs when one celestial object passes in front of another. For example, the moon in front of background stars, or the occultation of a star by an asteroid (minor planet). Only simple optical equipment is need to see many occultations, yet these observations can yield important astrophysical results. The role of the amateur astronomer in this field is a crucial one.
In this interactive talk Graham Blow, from the Occultation Section of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, will describe the different types of occultations. He will explain how to observe them, and the increasingly important uses to which occultation data is put. Particular emphasis will be placed on minor planet occultations which can yield some truly spectacular results.
As usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 7th July. Tea and biscuits will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up later. A map to Science House is here.
There are few astronomical events more steeped in history than the rare transits of Venus across the solar disk. In the 18th and 19th centuries they seemed to offer the most direct method of measuring the distance of the Earth from the Sun. Today we take such knowledge for granted but the determination of the true scale of the Earth's orbit was arguably the most important scientific problem of the day.
Beyond the pure science goals, the transit observations by Captain Cook from Tahiti in 1769 are directly linked to the European exploration of New Zealand. Ultimately, they had a profound influence on our history. New Zealand played an important role as an observing site for the 1874 and 1882 transits.
This richly illustrated talk will trace the history of expeditions to observe the transits of Venus and will describe the colourful characters involved. It will explain the motivations, the methods, the problems and the results.
As per usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 2nd June. Tea and bickies will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up afterwards. A map to Science House is here.
At the May meeting, Gordon Hudson will speak about the Kotipu Place Observatory.
This talk shows the operation of the Kotipu Place Observatory, the optical configuation of the telescope and why I choose this system. The instruments that are attached are also shown, as well as what the telescope is being used for.
This system is fully automated and I will show the equipment required to fully automate the whole observatory.
As per usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 5th May. Tea and bickies will be available afterwards, as long as everyone's happy to help clean up afterwards. A map to Science House is here.
For the April meeting, society member Howard Page will speak about The Collimation of Newtonian Telescopes.
How can it be that the images in a Newtonian are sharper and easier to focus when the mirrors dont look centered? In this presentation, Howard will explain collimation for Newtonian Telescopes using nice big diagrams and a small amount of maths.
As per usual, the meeting officially begins at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 7th April. A map to Science House is here.
Click here for a report by Mel Kohler, describing the recent society meeting of February 2004. The highlight of this meeting was Ian Cooper's presentation about famous historical and interesting upcoming comets.
As explained here, the next society meeting is scheduled for March 3rd, 2004. Newcomers are welcome.
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