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Dear Macquarie University Foundation for Astronomy members,
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Let me introduce myself. My name is Orsola De Marco.
As some of you may already know, I have joined the faculty of the department of Physics and Astronomy in March 2009.
Among other things, I have stepped in the shoes of Alan Vaughan, and I am now running the Association and its activities.
With this e-mail, I would like to thank you for your continuous support and start a new tradition for our Association.
In what follows you will find a short Newsletter designed by Carlos Bacigalupo, one of our Astronomy students.
We will be sending our Association members a similar newsletter at the beginning of each month.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy this new initiative. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to reply to this e-mail.
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Best Regards,
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Orsola De Marco
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Nov 1st, 6:30pm
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Planetary nebulae by Professor Orsola De Marco
Might planetary nebulae be the result of binary interactions instead of the death throws produced by withering middle weight stars? Their shapes do suggest so. Come and learn more about this alternative evolutionary scenario for some of the most popular objects in the sky!
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Nov 9th, 7:30pm
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The Future of Space Tourism
Maxeine McKeon and John Halkett, who recently visited Virgin Galactic's facilities at Spaceport America and also at the White Sands Missile Range, discuss Virgin Galactic's progress in preparing its spacecraft for flight and also explore the requirements needed for anybody thinking of booking a seat.
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Nov 10th, 5:45pm
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Nov 25th, 6:30pm
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Australian sky guide 21st birthday celebration by Dr. Nick Lomb
Celebrate the release of the 21st edition of Sydney Observatory’s 'Australian sky guide' book. Author Dr Nick Lomb will recap the major astronomical highlights of the past 21 years which have fascinated stargazers, followed by a talk from special guest Dr Paul Bowers, Project Director of the new Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London.
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Every Friday, 8:30pm
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Macquarie University Observatory - Public Observing Program
On clear nights, we offer a "starfinder" (planisphere) session to demonstrate how to identify bright stars, constellations and planets. This is followed by observing with the telescopes. Even with the light pollution of the city, we can easily see double and multiple stars, open and globular star clusters, and the brighter nebulae. The Moon and planets, when in suitable positions, are easily viewed with any of our instruments. On dark, moonless nights with good seeing, we may also observe the brightest galaxies.
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Venus' South Polar Vortex |
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Hubble's Lagoon |
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Globular Star Cluster NGC 6934 |
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Io in True Color |
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Sunset views of the Moon and Mercury on the early days of the month. Jupiter and Uranus stay close to each other at maximum altitude right after sunset. Mars meets its eternal rival Antares. Hubble Space Telescope on a bright flyby on the first day of the month and the International Space Station offers a blinding sight for those who are willing to start the day early. NASA's EPOXI mission will be visiting Comet Hartley after a 5 year waiting period. The Loenid meteor shower appears shy radiating from the lower northern skies. More...
1st |
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2nd |
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4th |
- Saturn 8° north of the Moon
- Moon at perigee (closest to Earth at 364,191 km)
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5th |
- 01:02 NASA's EPOXI spacecraft will pass the nucleus of Comet Hartley at a distance of 700 kilometers. Expect the images to be shown on NASA TV.
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6th |
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8th |
- Mars 1.6° north of the Moon
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13th |
- Mercury 0.3° S of the Moon
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14th |
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15th |
- Mercury 2° N of Antares
- 22:00 Moon at apogee (furthest from Earth at 404,631km).
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16th |
- Gibbous Moon located below Jupiter in the early evening sky.
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17th |
- Jupiter 7° S of the Moon
- Mercury, Mars and Antares are briefly aligned in a reasonably straight line low above the Western horizon during evening twilight.
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18th |
- 08:15 Leonid meteor shower peaks. Try looking above the Northern horizon in the two hours before the start of twilight. The International Meteor Organisation, is only forecasting a maximum of 20 meteors per hour.
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22nd |
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29th |
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Macquarie University Website - Department of Physics and Astronomy
© November, 2010 - Image Credit: NASA
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