Dear Macquarie University Association for Astronomy members,

This month the AfA has been running business as usual. Last week the Astronomical Society of Australia had its annual meeting here in Sydney, at the University of New South Wales. Many of our members were there presenting talks and posters and generally mingling with colleagues from all over the country. Another piece of news, if we can call it that, is that I will be leaving Sydney for six months to undertake a period of research at the University of Bologna, in Italy. The AfA will be lead by Mike Ireland in my absence. Open Night will be directed by Dan Zucker. Mike and Dan are two of the six Astronomy faculty in our department.

Finally, and much more importantly, Carlos Bacigalupo, the honours student responsible for this newsletter, just brought a new astro-baby into the world (or, rather, his wife did, but you know what I mean!). Next time I write to you will be from Bologna, the city known for its three "Ts"...

Best Regards,

July 18^th, 7:00 pm

Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt: The Accelerating Universe - Wesley Conference Centre

Australia's 2011 Nobel Laureate, Professor Brian Schmidt, will describe the discovery that won him the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1998 two teams of astronomers were tracing how the universe had expanded during its history. They expected to find that the expansion was slowing down. But instead, they found it was speeding up. This shocking discovery overturned astronomers' ideas about the history and fate of the universe. More...

Every Friday, 7:00 pm

Astronomical Observatory - Macquarie University Observatory

The Association for Astronomy and the Department of Physics & Astronomy invite you to observe the cosmos with your own eyes at the Macquarie University Astronomical Observatory. You will be guided through the night sky by our professional astronomy staff, who will show you planets, binary stars, nebulae, star clusters, and even bright galaxies through our 16" and 12" professional in-dome telescopes. All are welcome! More...

Every day, 6:00 pm

Public Observing Program - Sydney Observatory

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...

This month the constellations of Scorpius (the Scorpion) and Crux (the Southern Cross) are high in the sky. The Southern Cross is easily located using the two nearby Pointer stars. The brighter of the Pointers, Alpha Centauri, is the nearest star system to the Sun. Near the end of the Scorpion's tail is the unofficial constellation of the Tea Pot. On the 5th, the Earth is at its greatest distance from the Sun, a mere 152,091,221 km. Mars and Saturn are visible towards the north in the constellation Virgo. The best time to view the Moon with a small telescope or binoculars is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 26th.