Brisbane Astronomical Society Inc in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | Community organisation

Brisbane Astronomical Society Inc

Locality: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Address: Coorparoo School of Arts Memorial Hall 4051 Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.bas.asn.au/

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25.01.2022 Looks like astrophotography is going to suffer another form of unbeatable light pollution - the SpaceX satellite constellation, and multiple other constellations planned for launch. https://www.sciencemag.org//report-suggests-ways-avoid-sat

24.01.2022 Members' Night at Harding's Paddock 11th July has been cancelled due to cloud forecast.

23.01.2022 Is a global Internet service worth damaging the global night sky. Astronomers say "No". https://www.examiner.com.au//is-global-high-speed-interne/

23.01.2022 BAS Club night at Maleny Sep 19 2020 cancelled due weather.

22.01.2022 Harding's Paddock Members' Night is definitely ON tonight, 7th Nov. Forecast is iffy, but we should get some viewing in. Whatever, it's a chance to talk to real people, solve gear problems, discuss US politics (strike that last one)! Mail me at [email protected] If you plan to come. Mention any guests you are bringing, and whether you plan to camp overnight.... I (John) will be there from 5pm. See more

22.01.2022 Another successful night for BAS members at Calvert last night. Below - a little time invested counting Saturn's Moons.

22.01.2022 Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation in Brisbane, our monthly meeting set for Friday, August 7th, has been cancelled.

21.01.2022 In case you also missed our other excellent talk at last night's online BAS monthly meeting - here is a link to Ken Wishaw's slide deck on starscape photography. https://www.bas.asn.au//u/Starscape-photography-edited.pdf

20.01.2022 Jupiter and Saturn will be The most closely aligned in 300 years on Monday night. But given the weather forecast tonight might be the best chance to see them together. Low in the west between 7 and 7:30. Just need binoculars.

19.01.2022 Openstax.org is an initiative of Rice University that provides free educational materials to students world-wide. In January 2020 Openstax published a web version of their textbook - Astronomy. This text provides an excellent introduction to many aspects of astronomy, from the fundamental science to galaxies, quasar, black holes and beyond. This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more about astronomy. Get web access to the book here: https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-introduction

19.01.2022 Looking for a dark place with lots of family nature activities? Just back from 3 days in the Bunya mountains, 3 hours west of Brisbane. It is the highest spot ...between Brisbane and South Africa and the darkest place I have recorded in Australia. Donna Glass who runs a local astrophotography business was a great host and knows all the good sights. Also found a great Air Bnb chalet called Pademelon Lodge with 360 degree horizon at the front door. Be prepared to share your telescope with the wallabies! P.S. No conflict of interest here. Just a great place to visit! https://www.facebook.com//Donna-Glass-Bunya-Mountains-Ast/ https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/29900513

18.01.2022 Due to this most recent COVID-19 outbreak in Brisbane, the BAS Management Committee have decided to conduct our Friday September 4th Annual General Meeting as a virtual meeting on the Zoom platform. An email regarding the change will shortly be sent to all current BAS members. We hope to see lots of our members on-line for the meeting and get our Association formalities addressed and all set for a much much better 2021. It's not all bad news though. The stars are still shining.

17.01.2022 Public observing night at Maleny Golf Club July 25, 2020 is cancelled. Given the non essential nature of the activity and the success we have had in Queensland ...staying "ahead of the curve " with COVID 19, we have decided to postpone our public activities till the present resurgence of the pandemic is under control. We have consulted the stars who assure us they will still be there when we come back. Regards Ken

16.01.2022 BAS telescope observing nights are back!!! So good to have our members under the stars again last night at Maleny Golf Club and Harding's Paddock, Ipswich. Fantastic clear skies and lots of keen telescope owners and some really cool gear. Great night. We'll do it all again soon.

16.01.2022 Brisbane South Observing Night at Harding's Paddock, Saturday 22nd August. After the past few weeks of cloudy weather the forecast is looking great! This is a members-only night. Due to COVID-19 procedures you need to book ahead, so email [email protected] if you're coming.

15.01.2022 Brisbane Astronomical Society will be holding its November 6th monthly meeting via Zoom from 7:30pm. You are welcome to join us online. The meeting will start at 7:30pm, Friday November 6th and run for about 90 minutes. Our main speaker this month will be a BAS member who will explain how he has monitored the transit of an exoplanet across the face of a star 510 light years away. Amazing stuff that was not so long ago only possible for professional astronomers with professional equipment. Please click the Zoom link at around 7:30pm this Friday and join us: https://zoom.us/j/97620983708

10.01.2022 It's New Moon and the sky is looking clear. Lots of amateur astronomers will turn their telescopes to M42, The Great Orion Nebula, tonight. But spare a few telescope minutes for adjacent M43 - the overlooked nebula in Orion. Here is a great video about M43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL6wfe-_3KI

10.01.2022 Maleny Club night tonight July 11 2020 is on.

10.01.2022 Just a reminder to BAS members. We will conduct our Friday October 2nd monthly meeting online via Zoom. Please check your email from last week for the invitation from BAS and Zoom login details. See you all on Zoom from 7:30pm, this Friday. Our main speaker will be explaining what to expect from the 2020 Mars opposition. This will be followed by an introductory talk on wide field astrophotography.

09.01.2022 The Great Conjunction 2020 Jupiter and Saturn are along the same line of view (though in reality they are a long way apart) at present with the closest alignmen...t on December 21. As of today Dec 13 they are well within the field of view of your average binoculars. (diagram 1) On the 21st they will only be 6 arc minutes apart (the closest alignment since 1683). Through binoculars it will look like this. (Diagram 2) Through low power telescope eyepieces, Saturn will be no further away than Jupiter’s moons. Unfortunately, Jupiter and Saturn are on the opposite side of the solar System so they are now only visible low in the Western sky shortly after sunset.(Diagram 3). By the new year they will be too close to the Sun’s direction to see. So, to have any chance of seeing this, you need a low western horizon and clear skies. The South East Queensland Forecast is not looking good for that. Trivia Conjunctions happen every 19.86 years, but as Saturn and Jupiter are not in exactly the same plane the angle of separation varies. When the conjunction occurs with Jupiter and Saturn on the same side of the solar system as the Earth, (Jupiter and Saturn at or near opposition) it is known as a triple conjunction. As Jupiter and Saturn are in retrograde motion during a triple conjunction, (due to us overtaking them in our orbit), they appear to get close and then separate apart three times. Johannes Kepler who discovered the mathematical laws of planetary motion between 1605 and 1615-, calculated such an event occurred around 7 BC. (Another one happened in 1583 and 1980 and nothing miraculous happened). Can’t think of anything special that happened to us in 2020 .

08.01.2022 Mars is at its most glorious right now. If you have a telescope, get it out on driveway tonight and take a look. The red planet is now getting further away from earth every night so take a look tonight. Be amazed by Mars.

06.01.2022 We are now heading into Orion Nebula "season", when this fabulous object is visible in the evening sky. But what looks like a beautifully arranged array of stars and nebula is no more than a chance alignment if disparate parts. Learn more about those parts here: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200919.html

05.01.2022 We keep having our meetings and observing evenings interrupted by forces of nature - and human behaviour. So we turn our attention to astro-gear and apps. This a recommendation for an excellent app to use at the scope - Observer Pro. It costs US$13.99, but it is an excellent tool for selecting the next object to slew the scope to. For example, you can filter for just Globular Clusters, have them sorted by constellation - saves a lot of wasted slewing time. Even better, the app shows whether an object is visible through the night and gives a thumbnail image to help you select objects that look interesting. This is a fantastic tool for getting the most out of an observing session. Observer.Pro, but only on iOS: https://www.observer.pro/

05.01.2022 Get up a little earlier tomorrow - around 5:00am - and spot five planets scattered from east to west - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. And if you are really good with a telescope, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (Yes! I say it is a planet.) are observable too. However, Brisbane's shocking light pollution (BCC & Energex, hang your heads in shame.) will make the later list a challenge. BAS wishes you, clear skies and planets.

04.01.2022 In case you missed BAS member, Doug Edwards', excellent talk on the current opposition of Mars - here is a link to his slides. https://drive.google.com//1dkoRqxXITM3p-v5u3Fkd_f23us/view Get your telescopes out and spend some time on Mars. October is THE month of Mars. Our next monthly meeting, via Zoom, will be on Friday November 6th from 7:30pm.

03.01.2022 Here is an opportunity for part-time employment using your astro-knowledge at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium https://stargayzers.us11.list-manage.com/track/click

02.01.2022 Catch a quick glimpse of Comet NEOWISE this Sunday, July 26th, from around 5:30pm to a little after 6:00pm. Find a location with a clear view of the NW horizon, and away from city light pollution too, if you can. The comet is fading, so it won't be as impressive as the photos you've probably seen. But still worth observing, and perhaps imaging too. BAS wishes you clear skies.

01.01.2022 Club night August 22, 2020. This is going ahead and the weather forecast is clear. COVID 19 has prevented us from making this a public night. Sorry. If you are ...a Brisbane Astronomical Society club member, let me know you are coming at [email protected] If you want to join BAS then go to https://www.bas.asn.au/ 2020 BAS members will be offered at $10 2021 membership in light of our lower activity.