March is a very busy month at Macquarie because of teaching, of course, and because of the deadline to submit Australian Research Council Discovery Project research grant proposals. So we are all a little stressed and on edge. In addition, in two days I leave to go observing at the 2.1 m telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona, which adds to the stress! On the other hand, once I am on the mountain the world becomes immediately simple and all that counts is the sky above (hopefully not the clouds above!). Observing is truly a magnificent activity! With this I leave you till next month.

nterest in Antarctic astronomy has blossomed over the past few years, particularly with the opening of Concordia Station in 2005 by France and Italy, the construction of Kunlun Station by China, and the decision by Japan to re-open Dome Fuji. These new stations, all on the high Antarctic plateau, join the US Amundsen-Scott station as potentially outstanding sites for astronomical research.

Amanda Bauer, AAO, speaks on how galaxies found in the distant, early universe look and behave differently from those in our local universe. She also describes how our understanding of these differences has evolved over time.

For many years the Hubble Constant was one of the less well known parameters of astrophysics and cosmology. What changed this situation was the order of magnitude increase in resolution of galaxies provided by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. In a key project for HST our team was able to discover hundreds of Cepheids in some 25 nearby galaxies and measure their distances. We were then able to calibrate scaling relations for galaxies, such as the Tully Fisher relation, the fundamental plane, the supernova Ia standard candle, and surface brightness fluctuations. These relations converged on a value of H₀ of 71.6 km/sec/Mpc and an age of a flat Universe of 13.1 billion years.

Celebrate one hour of darkness by exploring the night sky through telescopes (weather permitting) at Sydney Observatory. The evening starts at 7:30pm with a talk about the latest research into the effects of light pollution, the lights will go out at 8:30pm until 9:30pm during which time there will be telescope viewing of the planet Saturn and Orion and other constellations (weather permitting).

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. More...

Sydney Observatory is open every night (session times vary) and day (10am to 5pm) except Christmas Day and Good Friday. The links at left have all the information you need to plan your visit. Charges apply to night and day telescope viewing sessions which include visits to the telescope domes, telescope viewing* and 3D space theatre experience – guided and explained by one of the Observatory's astronomy educators. More...