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Astronomical Society of South Australia

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25.01.2022 Book Theatre Ticket (Free): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/assa-general-meeting-march- Summary: In this free Public Lecture, Prof. Lisa Kewley, Director of ASTRO 3D, will describe recent discoveries about the evolution of galaxies made in ASTRO 3D, as well as providing an update on ambitious equity and diversity programs, and nationwide education and public outreach programs. ASTRO 3D: The ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) is a $40...m Centre of Excellence, which is producing a comprehensive picture of the build up of mass, angular momentum, and the chemical elements from the first stars, to (and including) the Milky Way. Our surveys include the measurement of the power spectrum at the Epoch of Reionization with the Murchison Widefield Array, large atomic hydrogen surveys with the Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the ongoing Australian optical integral field surveys of 10^5 galaxies, a large galaxy evolution program combining HST, Keck, and ESO spectroscopy of galaxies from z=6 to z=0.5, and a major Australian Galactic Archaeology program to track the chemical history and accretion history of our Milky Way through the GAIA satellite and the HERMES instrument on the Anglo Australian Telescope. More Info: https://www.assa.org.au//meeti/general-meeting-march-2021/

25.01.2022 Our first Online Star Party is now live!

23.01.2022 ASSA members are reminded that ASSA@Home this week is with Robert Bronca and he will be presenting A Taste of Astro-imaging. the log in details are in the ASSA broadcast or on ASSA chat email. So please join us and see something of how one of our members gathers data for his images.

23.01.2022 Our Galaxy, the Milky Way, is a benchmark for understanding disk galaxies. It is the only galaxy whose formation history can be studied using the full distribution of stars, from white dwarfs to supergiants. The oldest components provide unique insight into how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years. This is a veritable golden age for galactic archaeology with many large surveys now under way to map both chemistry and motions for stars in the Galaxy. Detailed 6D "pha...se space" information combined with chemistry for millions of stars heralds a new era in how we slice up the Galactic disc. This has already enabled the most remarkable discovery to emerge from ESA's Gaia satellite the phase spiral. This phenomenon, which was not foreseen, is direct evidence of giant waves crossing the disc. We discuss how these Galactic tsunami are generated and what they tell us about our history. We review the main science goals of galactic archaeology, and look to what the future may hold. These studies will continue to play a fundamental role far into the future because there are measurements that can only be made in the near field and much of contemporary astrophysics depends on such observations. Bio: Joss is one of Australia's leading astronomers with the rare distinction of having made important contributions to both astrophysics and technology. He was born in Kent, educated at an Oxford boarding school before going to university in Birmingham (BSc) and Sussex (PhD). In the period 1985-1993, Joss was an astrophysicist at the Institute for Astronomy in Hawaii and a Professor of Physics at Rice University Texas. In 1993, he moved to the Anglo-Australian Observatory, Sydney, eventually to become Head of the research and development team. Today, he is the Laureate Fellow Professor of The University of Sydney’s School of Physics, and Director of the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, co-Director of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science, and Principal Investigator for the Sydney Astrophotonic Instrumentation Labs. Note: ASSA will commence its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the conclusion of the Public Lecture.

20.01.2022 Learn about visible features of the sun and see live footage of the sun with ASV member Russell Cockman

19.01.2022 This is a reminder that members of the Society can view ASSA@Home this coming Friday at 7:30 via zoom. This month Jarrod Koh and Paul Haese will talk about the construction of an Allsky Camera. It will be interesting and could introduce you to the world of watching meteors falling to Earth or even The ISS traveling across your sky. Zoom connection details are available in the email sent out to members on October 28th. BIO: Jarrod Koh is a time poor Emergency Physician who enjoys leaving work very late and staring at the night sky. I love tinkering with anything electronic and taking pretty pictures.

19.01.2022 This talk is a lap around a live imaging system from my backyard, including taking images if weather permits. Equipment / programs being used, mount setup, polar aligning, image taking, guiding and automation will all be covered at an introductory / demonstration level. Bio: Robert Bronca is a systems architect at a major global IT outsourcing company. His initial foray into Astronomy was purchasing a 114mm Newtonian with a manual equatorial mount -- a huge mistake as it ende...d up killing his enthusiasm. Years later, his interest was rekindled after attending a Stockport public night with his family. Robert has been an ASSA member since then and served as Assistant Secretary, Councillor, as well as the Public Viewing Night coordinator at The Heights. Robert enjoys both visual and imaging Astronomy, including the various forms and challenges they take. See more

18.01.2022 Learn astrophotography processing techniques with ASV member Andrew Campbell

17.01.2022 Test the brains trusts of ASV and ASSA with your astronomy questions.

14.01.2022 Learn features of tonight's sky Joe from ASSA, followed by a live session of astronomy with members of ASSA and ASV.

14.01.2022 Learn features of tonight's sky with Perry from ASV, followed by a session of live astronomy with members of ASSA and ASV.

11.01.2022 Enjoy a quiz hosted by ASSA member Fraser Farrell

09.01.2022 Our October General Meeting will host Jake Clark who will be talking about "Probing Alien Worlds from Down Under". Jake is the 2020 Fulbright Future Scholar and working at University of Queensland. He will join us live via video stream to provide us with this interesting presentation. It will be streamed on our YouTube site or you can view it right here on Facebook.

08.01.2022 Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. In this episode we condense the entire field of Astronomy into one lecture. This takes us on a journey from the searing heart of the Sun through the solar system and into deep space to explore nebulae, clusters, galaxies and more. Bio: Colin is a Life Member of ASSA and is currently the Society's Beginners' Councillor. He owns his own observatory in Gawler and his main interest is Astrophotography. He is also participating in an international search for habitable exoplanets.

07.01.2022 As a naturally curious and adventurous species, humans have scaled mountains, crossed deserts and oceans, trying to answer a very fundamental question: Are we alone? Now that we’ve explored the niches of our own planet, it’s now up to astronomers like myself to cross the vast cosmic ocean to find life elsewhere within our Milky Way galaxy. But how do we find planets dancing around other stars? What makes another world habitable for life as we know it? And how are doing all of... this within our own backyard? Well, you'll just have to come to this talk to find out! Bio: I'm Jake Clark, born and bred within Adelaide's northern suburbs and currently a PhD Candidate and Fulbright Future Scholar based at the University of Southern Queensland's Toowoomba campus. My definition of a 'day job' is discovering alien worlds that no human has laid eyes upon before pretty rad, right!? My research involves looking at the physical and chemical characteristics of stars to try and forward predict what types of planets they'll likely host, in particular stars that are currently being observed by NASA's new planet-finding mission, TESS. Other research interests involve directly hunting for exoplanets using Queensland's very own planet-finding telescope array MinERVA-Australis, re-calibrating the orbital parameters of known planetary systems and determining the chemical and geological composition of large rocky and small gassy worlds known as super-Earths.

06.01.2022 This is a reminder of this weeks general meeting presentation by Jake Clarke who will be asking: Are we alone? How do we find planets dancing around other stars? What makes another world habitable for life as we know it? And how are doing all of this within our own backyard? Well, you'll just have to come to this talk to find out! The presentation will be presented online here on Facebook or on the Astronomical Society of South Australia's YouTube site.

05.01.2022 For members of the Society, the forthcoming ASSA@Home programs will be Casual Friday on the 9th of October starting at 7:30 pm and the second ASSA@Home will be a discussion of viewing and imaging Mars which will be held on the 16th of October. Details of the events will be distributed on the Broadcast this week. Both events are for members and we encourage members to participate.

04.01.2022 Learn planetary image processing techniques with ASSA member Paul Haese

02.01.2022 This is a reminder to members and the public that this months general meeting has Professor David Jamieson talking about Observing with Galileo. It is bound to be quite interesting. His talk will commence near 8pm and ASSA content will be presented after his talk. See link below for ASSA YouTube or you can view it here on Facebook. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Fz3wvMf7g

01.01.2022 As a conclusion to the series on Stellar Evolution we will take a look at Variable Stars. This will include exploring such objects as Cepheid variables, long period variables like Mira, eclipsing binaries and cataclysmic variables like Eta Carina. Bio: Colin is a Life Member of ASSA and is currently the Society's Beginners' Councillor. He owns his own observatory in Gawler and his main interest is Astrophotography. He is also participating in an international search for habitable exoplanets.

01.01.2022 Hi Members, don’t forget to tune in this Friday for casual Friday. It’s your chance to ask a question you might have on your mind about equipment, science or observing. There is bound to be someone there who will be able to answer your questions. You could also start a conversation with a topic suggestion. Zoom detail will be announced on the general broadcast.

01.01.2022 Presenter: Professor David N. Jamieson, Professor of Physics, The University of Melbourne Abstract: From 1609 to 1613 Galileo used his own astronomical telescope of unprecedented precision and power to make an avalanche of astounding new discoveries. This triggered a revolution in the way humanity sees its place in the cosmos. Some of these discoveries are well known like the discovery of the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and the lunar landscape. But there is a surpri...se drawn from the pages of Galileo’s logbooks. He notes the position of a "fixed star" that does not exist in any star chart. This is because it is really the planet Neptune which Galileo observed 234 years before its official discovery. Remarkably, the notes from Galileo's observations reveal he observed Neptune move on two successive nights of January 1613. Did he know this "fixed star" was a planet? If so, this would be the first discovery of a new planet by humanity since deep antiquity. As I will discuss, evidence that Galileo realised he had seen a new planet could still be hidden deep in his notebooks. In this talk, Professor Jamieson will report on his examination of Galileo's notebooks and tell us what he found and what still might be undiscovered. Bio: David is a Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne where he was Head of the School 2008-13. He has a PhD from Melbourne and held postdoctoral fellowships at Caltech (USA) and the University of Oxford (UK). He was President of the Australian Institute of Physics from 2005-6. His research expertise in the field of ion beam physics applied to test some of the key functions of a revolutionary quantum computer constructed in silicon in the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology. In 2013 he received an outstanding service to physics award from the AIP. He is also actively involved in physics outreach activities, regularly giving public lectures on fundamental issues in physics.

01.01.2022 This December meeting is our Annual General Meeting. You can watch online via Facebook and YouTube. Our Galaxy, the Milky Way, is a benchmark for understanding disc galaxies. It is the only galaxy whose formation history can be studied using the full distribution of stars, from white dwarfs to supergiants. The oldest components provide unique insight into how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years. This is a veritable golden age for galactic archaeology with many lar...ge surveys now under way to map both chemistry and motions for stars in the Galaxy. Detailed 6D "phase space" information combined with chemistry for millions of stars heralds a new era in how we slice up the Galactic disc. This has already enabled the most remarkable discovery to emerge from ESA's Gaia satellite the phase spiral. This phenomenon, which was not foreseen, is direct evidence of giant waves crossing the disc. We discuss how these Galactic tsunami are generated and what they tell us about our history. We review the main science goals of galactic archaeology, and look to what the future may hold. These studies will continue to play a fundamental role far into the future because there are measurements that can only be made in the near field and much of contemporary astrophysics depends on such observations. BIO: Joss Hawthorn is one of Australia's leading astronomers with the rare distinction of having made important contributions to both astrophysics and technology. He was born in Kent, educated at an Oxford boarding school before going to university in Birmingham (BSc) and Sussex (PhD). In the period 1985-1993, Joss was an astrophysicist at the Institute for Astronomy in Hawaii and a Professor of Physics at Rice University Texas. In 1993, he moved to the Anglo-Australian Observatory, Sydney, eventually to become Head of the research and development team. Today, he is the Laureate Fellow Professor of The University of Sydney’s School of Physics, and Director of the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, co-Director of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science, and Principal Investigator for the Sydney Astrophotonic Instrumentation Labs.