Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society in Mount Martha, Victoria, Australia | technology & engineering

Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society

Locality: Mount Martha, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 419 253 252

Address: The Briars 3934 Mount Martha, VIC, Australia

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

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25.01.2022 EDIT: launch scrubbed today due to weather. Will try again Sunday approx 5:20 AEST For the early risers tomorrow at 6:30am AEST - watch the SpaceX rocket launch live! https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive NASA and SpaceX will launch the first astronauts to the International Space Station from the U.S since 2011. Launch time is Thursday 28th May at 6:33 AEST. This is also the first time a commercial company, in partnership with NASA, is providing human transportation services to the space station. It reinforces the massive and exciting transformation underway in the space industry https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

25.01.2022 Will you be getting up really early in the morning to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon DM-2 Splashdown? NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are set to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow on August 3 at 4:48am AEST if weather conditions are favourable. Watch it LIVE here ~ https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

25.01.2022 LIFT OFF! Approx 19 hours until they dock with the ISS. NASA TV streaming platforms can be found here https://go.nasa.gov/3gtln9k

24.01.2022 MPAS Update for COVID-19 Pandemic Due to the rapidly escalating measures being mandated by governments to try to slow the COVID-19 virus spread, all public stargazing nights are suspended until further notice. We will review the situation monthly in light of subsequent government announcements.... We trust you understand that this is extraordinary action for unprecedented extraordinary times. Everyone's safety remains our prime focus. Sincerely, Peter Skilton, President

23.01.2022 LIVE NOW ON NASA TV! NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken are scheduled to depart the International Space Stations Quest airlock for a spacewalk to replace batteries to upgrade the power supply capability. Their spacewalk may last as long as seven hours. https://youtu.be/21X5lGlDOfg

23.01.2022 What's happening "up there" in April 2020? Our monthly magazine column will keep you up to date! https://issuu.com/mornpenmagptyltd/docs/webpagesapril2020/26 (please note, if viewing link from a phone just scroll down below the cover page image to see the linked page)

23.01.2022 What's happening "up there" in June 2020? Our monthly magazine column will keep you up to date! https://issuu.com/mornpenmagptyltd/docs/webpagesjune2020/30 (please note, if viewing link from a phone just scroll down below the cover page image to see the linked page)

22.01.2022 Whilst we can't see the annular solar eclipse today from Melbourne, there will be a live stream from 3pm Sunday 21st here: https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2020-june-21 And also here: https://youtu.be/du1JNrFD0M0 This coincidence of an annular solar eclipse on the same day as the June solstice will only happen once again this century on June 21, 2039.

22.01.2022 Anticipated view at 7:30am on Wednesday 21st October 2020. NASA will be streaming the touch down and bounce off live on NASA TV at the following link: https://youtu.be/mbolop1o6O4

21.01.2022 For anyone looking to keep the kids, or themselves, occupied with some astronomy activities from their backyard during lockdown, and with no telescope necessary, you might be interested in our 4 (FREE) DIY Science astronomy sheets that have been published on the National Science Week website: www.scienceweek.net.au/diy-science/ So go ahead and download the pdf files, with science week now only a week away.

18.01.2022 ' " " ? ! NGC 6744 (aka Caldwell 101) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Pavo. It is considered a Milky Way mimic, displaying flocculent (fluffy) arms and an elongated core. It also has at least one distorted companion galaxy NGC 6744A superficially similar to one of the Magellanic Clouds. . http://www.morningtonpeninsulamagazine.com.au//get-your-he

18.01.2022 Earth Hour 2020 is tonight! So if you want to join in, turn off your lights, go outside, look up and enjoy the night sky!

18.01.2022 It's a great week to go outside and look up if you want to see some planets or the ISS pass over

17.01.2022 Due to the virus restrictions in place and those likely to come, local government has decided that the entire Briars Historic Park property (so not just MPAS facilities) is now off-limits to everyone until further notice. All gates in/out of the property will be closed and locked today. Like you we look forward to clearer skies ahead. As the New Zealand Prime Minister wisely says: Be strong. Be kind.... Peter Skilton, MPAS President

17.01.2022 What's happening "up there" in May 2020? Our monthly magazine column will keep you up to date! https://issuu.com/mornpenmagptyltd/docs/webfilesmay2020/30 (please note, if viewing link from a phone just scroll down below the cover page image to see the linked page)

16.01.2022 What's happening "up there" in August 2020? Our monthly magazine column will keep you up to date! https://issuu.com/mornpenmagptyltd/docs/webfilesaug2020/26 (please note, if viewing link from a phone just scroll down below the cover page image to see the linked page)

16.01.2022 Looking for something fun to do? OzGrav have released an interactive app available on Android or Apple smartphones, and it's a fun way to pass space-time. Check out the new how-to videos on YouTube to start exploring the Universe in virtual reality. https://bit.ly/2Xdzoku

16.01.2022 This has put on a good show for the Northern hemisphere observers - another week and it will be our turn. We just need the weather to play nice for a while.

16.01.2022 Happy winter solstice to all in the Southern hemisphere! The winter solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun, and is the day that has the least daylight hours of any in the year. This timelapse from a NASA satellite shows how the seasons change with respect to the Earth's tilt. Today on June 21, the Earth is tilted so it receives the most amount of daylight of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the least amount in the Southern Hemisphere.

16.01.2022 Want to feel like you're leaving the house? Visit the NASA Live: ISS HD Earth Viewing Experiment (HDEV) and travel around the globe with the International Space Station. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/iss-hdev-payload Also track the ISS to see what country/ ocean/ timezone it's currently passing over. https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/tracking_map.cfm

15.01.2022 ' " " ? ! The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina and is located in the Carina-Sagittarius Arm, which is generally thought to be a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way. The nebula is about 8500 light-years from Earth. Photo by MPAS member Nick Axaris. http://www.morningtonpeninsulamagazine.com.au//opposition-

14.01.2022 Our galaxy is a whole lot bigger than it looks. New work finds that the Milky Way stretches nearly 2 million light-years across, more than 15 times wider than its luminous spiral disk

14.01.2022 Watch the SpaceX undocking LIVE SpaceX Crew Dragon DM-2 is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station on August 2 at 9:34am AEST Sunday morning (7:34pm EDT) as its test flight enters its final stage. The spacecraft is expected to return to Earth with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board. The pair of veteran astronauts are set to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, one of seven options available, on August ...3 at 4:42am AEST (2:42pm EDT) if weather conditions are favourable. https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive/ See more

13.01.2022 () - , Steve took this image with a Planewave CDK 12.5 telescope at f/8 on an AP900GTO mount. Camera used was a STXL-11002 + AOX with Camera Sensitivity: Ha, RGB all BIN 1x1. Exposure Details: Ha 120sec x 20 [0.6hrs], Ha 1200sec x 31 [10hrs], RGB 600sec x 8 each [3.9hrs].... Viewing Location was in Central Victoria inside a ScopeDome 3m observatory. This item is one of the stranger-looking deep space objects, having both emission nebula (the pink regions), and reflection nebula (the blue glowing regions with stars shining light off dust in the foreground). The dark, blackish regions are mountain-loads of dust and dirt, just floating like clouds in the sky. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'.

13.01.2022 On a lazy Sunday afternoon, learn all about Saturn's largest moon, Titan! Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the second largest in the solar system (after Ganymede of Jupiter). It is the only moon in the solar system with clouds and a dense, planet-like atmosphere

13.01.2022 , & - , This scene features a trio of interacting galaxies found in the constellation of Virgo, being some 70-90 million light years away from Earth. The largest galaxy in the group is NGC 5566, which is a barred spiral galaxy stretching nearly 150,000 light years in diameter. Having widely sweeping spiral arms, with dark dusty lanes, these arms are speckled with ne...w star forming regions throughout. The elongated galaxy to the left of NGC 5566 is the heavily distorted NGC5560. You can just see faint dusty interconnections between NGC 5560 and NGC 5566, providing us some clues that these are in fact interacting. The lower blueish galaxy NGC5569 does not appear to be disturbed, and maybe placed slightly in the foreground. In the darkness of the surrounding space, the speckled background indicates a sea of background objects, all being in the significant distance. This image represents only 34% of the cameras full frame, composed of luminance, red, green, blue, and hydrogen alpha filtered colour channels. : Instrument: Planewave CDK 12.5 | Focal Ratio: F8 Camera: STXL-11000 + AOX | Mount: AP900GTO Camera Sensitivity: Lum & Ha: BIN 1x1, RGB: BIN 2x2 Exposure Details: Total: 22.75 hours | Lum: 47 x 900 sec [11.75hr], Ha: 15 x 1200 sec [5.0hr], RGB 16 x 450sec each [6.0hrs] Viewing Location: Central Victoria, Australia. Observatory: ScopeDome 3m Software Enhancements: CCDStack2, CCDBand-Aid, PS, Pixinsight

12.01.2022 Wishing everybody a happy and safe Easter!

11.01.2022 The space race is still on.

11.01.2022 This image of M104, also known as the Sombrero Galaxy, was taken by MPAS Member Steve Wilkins, using I-Telescopes T32, Planewave CDK 431mm, FLI imager, with 20 mins LRGB data, processed in APP with background and star colour calibration. The Sombrero Galaxy is a famous unbarred spiral galaxy located in the southern skies. The galaxy lies at a distance of 29.3 million light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Virgo. Its designation in the New General Cat...alogue is NGC 4594. It is known for its appearance, similar to that of a Mexican hat, with a bright white core surrounded by thick lanes of dust and a halo of globular clusters and stars. The galaxy appears almost exactly edge-on when observed from Earth. We view it from just six degrees north of its equatorial plane. With an apparent visual magnitude of 8.98, the Sombrero Galaxy cant be seen without binoculars, but it can be found in smaller telescopes. It can be seen in 735 binoculars or a 4-inch telescope. The galaxys central bulge can be made out in a medium-sized telescope, and the dust lane is visible in larger telescopes, starting from 10-inch and 12-inch telescopes. To distinguish the galaxys bulge from the disk, one needs at least an 8-inch telescope.

10.01.2022 Whats the best way to make a really powerful telescope? Build a big mirror! The James Webb Space Telescope has the largest mirror of its kind that NASA has ever built. So big that it cant fit inside a rocket without folding up. In early March, testing teams deployed Webbs 21 feet 4-inch (6.5 meter) primary mirror into the same configuration it will have when in space. This folding procedure was recently tested successfully, read more here: https://www.nasa.gov//nasa-s-james-webb-space-telescope-f/

10.01.2022 Bob and Doug have arrived to the ISS! The SpaceX Crew Dragon makes 5 spaceships parked at the station. This is the current International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are attached to the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the HTV-9 resupply ship from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Russia's Progress 74 and 75 resupply ships and Soyuz MS-16 crew ship. If you missed docking and the hatch opening, its all here ~ https://youtu.be/CATOMgU22Nk

10.01.2022 MPAS Update for COVID-19 Pandemic Due to government measures in place to try to stop the COVID-19 virus spread, all of our public stargazing nights remain suspended until further notice. Indeed, the entire Briars park in which the observatory sits is closed during stage 3 or higher restrictions.... We periodically review the situation in light of subsequent official restrictions. We hope to be back and sharing the wonders of the Universe with everyone as soon as safely possible for all. Sincerely, Peter Skilton, President

07.01.2022 What did Hubble see on your birthday? Hubble explores the universe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means it has observed some fascinating cosmic wonder every day of the year, including on your birthday. NASA is celebrating the Hubble Space Telescope's 30th year in orbit, and as part of the celebrations, NASA launched a place for you to see a picture of the cosmos on your birthday https://www.nasa.gov//goddard/what-did-hubble-see-on-your-

07.01.2022 Spectacular time lapse footage of C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) taken from the International Space Station. Wait for it... By the time this comet rounds the Sun and we get to see it, it may not be naked eye brightness. Its either already passed the peak or is about to be. It will start to be visible to us about 6:00pm from 24th July in the northwest. But only is above the horizon briefly each evening before setting. It gets higher as the days progress. Fingers crossed it stays bright because comets are quite unpredictable with outbursts.

07.01.2022 The fires in the US are very close to Mt Wilson now.

07.01.2022 , Looking into our Milky Way galaxy, amongst a sea of stars, lies the dark nebula known as Barnard 312. Occupying the centre of this image, Barnard 312 is located in the constellation of Scutum, and lies about 2.5 degrees east of the more famous M16: Eagle Nebula and M17: the Swan or Omega Nebula. Sections of this dark nebula is so dense, it totally blocks out the light of b...ackground stars. : Instrument: Planewave CDK 12.5 | Focal Ratio: F8 Camera: STXL-11000 + AOX | Mount: AP900GTO Camera Sensitivity: Lum & Ha: BIN 1x1, RGB: BIN 2x2 Exposure Details: Total: 10.9 hours | Lum: 24 x 900 sec [6.0hr], Ha: 8 x 1200sec [2.67hr], RGB 450sec x 6 each [2.25hrs] Viewing Location: Central Victoria, Australia. Observatory: ScopeDome 3m Software Enhancements: CCDStack2, CCDBand-Aid, PS, Pixinsight

06.01.2022 What's happening "up there" in July 2020? Our monthly magazine column will keep you up to date! https://issuu.com/mornpenmagptyltd/docs/webfilesjuly2020/22 (please note, if viewing link from a phone just scroll down below the cover page image to see the linked page)

06.01.2022 After a very early morning watching the launch, will you also be staying up very late to watch the docking and the hatch opening aboard the ISS? https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive The SpaceX Crew Dragon is scheduled for docking at 12:29am AEST on Monday 1st June, with the hatch opening at 2:45am AEST. Other NASA TV streaming platforms can be found here https://go.nasa.gov/3gtln9k

05.01.2022 Caused by the dust left over from Halleys Comet entering our atmosphere and vaporising, the Eta Aquariid shower peaks every year around May 5-6. You can expect to see roughly 30 meteors an hour if youre very lucky. The meteors appear to be coming from a point near the star Eta Aquarii in Aquarius, and tend to be quite fast-moving

05.01.2022 Ready for take two? Set your alarm for even earlier than last time, with lift-off currently scheduled for tomorrow morning Sunday 31st May at 5:22AM ( EST). (NASA TV launch coverage begins at 1:00am AEST). https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive A new era of human space flight is set to begin, with NASA and SpaceX launching the first astronauts to the International Space Station from the U.S. since 2011.... Other NASA TV streaming platforms can be found here https://go.nasa.gov/3gtln9k See more

04.01.2022 Get your Christmas Gifts here at MPAS! >>>>>> https://www.trybooking.com/SHLS <<<<<< Get your copy of Astronomy 2021 Edition - From Quasar publishing, by Ken Wallace and Glenn Dawes. These have been a staple for the Aussie Astronomer for many years. One of the few Southern Hemisphere observing guides, it has been published each year since 1991.... Designed for the Australian observer to assist with what's in the sky, from Beginner; Naked eye observing, through to the advanced astronomer; with a high end telescope, this book has been a staple at MPAS for many years. Get yours in time for Christmas - Postage included in the pricing. Secondly - we have the Astronomy Calendar 2021 - Featuring images from the prestigious David Malin awards, as well as pre marked Australian Public Holidays, Moon Phases, and Astronomical events. Even a short 'what's up' guide for each month. Great for planning that Astronomical Holiday! Postage included. Get both together and share the postage. These make great stocking stuffers for your Astronomical minded friends, family and partners - grab yours now to avoid disappointment!. >>>>>> https://www.trybooking.com/SHLS <<<<<< PS - there is also a discount if you're joined up as a financial MPAS members - if not - now is your chance! >>>>>> Join Here https://www.trybooking.com/IIBE <<<<<<<

02.01.2022 - , NGC 2070 is a large open cluster and candidate super star cluster located on the south-east corner of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is located at the centre of the Tarantula Nebula and produces most of the energy that makes it visible. Its central condensation has the star cluster R136, one of the most energetic star clusters known. It holds many massive stars, including the most massive star known, R136a1.

02.01.2022 Mount Stromlo Observatory in conjunction with the Canberra Astronomical Society invite you to (virtually) attend their public observing nights of 2020. See the craters of the moon, planets, and beautiful star clusters and nebulae. On the night attendees will be taken on a tour of the universe with talks by astronomers from Mt. Stromlo Observatory and telescope observations

02.01.2022 Star trails looking south over the Mt. Martha Observatory at the Briars (pre-Covid19) taken by MPAS Member, Greg Walton. This image shows how stars in the southern sky move clockwise as the Earth rotates. Greg used a Pentax K-x DSLR with Sigma 20mm lens on a tripod, and many successive images were taken over a 3-hour time lapse, then combined to make this single image.

01.01.2022 ' " " ? ! The Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) is a large open cluster located in the southeast corner of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It includes the most massive star known, R136a1. http://www.morningtonpeninsulamagazine.com.au//clouds-and-

01.01.2022 This image of NGC 6188, also known as the Fighting Dragons of Ara, was taken by MPAS Member Nik Axaris. Nik captured this image with HA and OIII filters, processed in bicolour using Astropixel processor, using 58 x 120 second images. The capture scope was a Sky-Watcher ED72, and equipment was ZWO ASIAIR with the ASI294mc camera. All images were unguided. NGC 6188 is an emission nebula of roughly 600 light-years across that lies some 4,000 light-years away, in the sou...thern constellation of Ara. It is receding from us at approximately 23 kilometres per second. The bright open cluster NGC 6193, visible to the naked eye, is responsible for a region of reflection nebulosity within NGC 6188. NGC 6188 is also a star forming nebula, and is sculpted by the massive, young stars that have recently formed there some are only a few million years old. This spark of formation was probably caused when the last batch of stars went supernova.

01.01.2022 () - , The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or M8, NGC 6523, Sharpless 25, RCW 146, and Gum 72) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region. The Lagoon Nebula was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloud-like patch with a definite core. Within the nebula is the open cluster NGC 6530.

01.01.2022 We're back! - book now to avoid disappointment - numbers strictly limited. This is the first of our Summer Stargazing events for 2021. Covid Safe and ready to wow you with the wonders of the universe!

01.01.2022 What's happening "up there" in September 2020? Our monthly magazine column will keep you up to date! http://www.morningtonpeninsulamagazine.com.au//the-eagle-h