|
Dear Macquarie University Association for Astronomy members,
|
Yet another month oversees for me. As I have been away from Macquarie and the Association for so long I have asked Tiffany Day to give you a small report of the Association's activities for the last month and an outlook for the month ahead.
We are now in our final operating month for 2012. We have two more public observing sessions left for this year - Friday 23rd November and Friday 30th November. Don't miss out, get yourself a ticket here!
Our last public planetarium session for the year was held in early November to a good-sized crowd. We also recently ran free planetarium sessions all day at the university's Family Fun Day, a special event for university staff and their families. The planetarium was very well received, and we have definitely made our presence felt around the university! We look forward to being involved in future Family Fun Days, as well the planetarium's annual presence at the Astronomy Open Night and the university's Open Day.
As we wind down for summer, our public observing and planetarium sessions will start back up again next year in March 2013. We will also start the new year with a call for new staff - if you know anyone who is an astronomy undergraduate or has a background in astronomy, who may be interested in astronomy outreach and volunteering at the observatory and planetarium, please ask them to send an email to starinfo@mq.edu.au for 2013 recruitment!
|
|
Best Regards, |
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 9th, 2:00 pm |
Apollo 17: The Grand Finale - Powerhouse Museum
In December 1972, Apollo 17 became the last Apollo Moon mission. The only Apollo flight to include a scientist-astronaut as a crewmember, geologist Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 proved a fitting grand finale to the first era of human lunar exploration: the crew stayed longer on the lunar surface, travelled further and collected more Moon rocks than any previous mission. On their way to the Moon, the Apollo 17 crew took the famous 'blue marble' photo of the 'full Earth' and their fascinating discoveries in the lunar highlands included orange-coloured soil, possibly volcanic on origin. More...
|
Nov 26th, 7:30 pm |
Apollo 17: The Last Moon Landing - Sydney Observatory
Bruce Thompson reviews the achievements of the last Apollo Lunar Mission, Apollo 17. Early December Marks the 40th Anniversary of this historic flight. More...
|
Every day, 8:00 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...
|
|
|
|
Mars remains visible in the early evening toward the west. On the 16th, Mars and the crescent Moon are next to
each other. The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the
first quarter Moon on the 21st. Crux (the Southern Cross) is located to the south, near the horizon, making it
difficult to see.
|
Information provided by the Sydney Observatory. Find the full information and podcast here.
|
|
|
Macquarie University Website - Department of Physics and Astronomy
© November, 2012
Image Credit: Don Goldman, ALMA Observatory (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Jim Lafferty, NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth,
D. Magee, and P. Oesch (UCSC), R. Bouwens (Leiden Obs.), and the XDF Team, Rogelio Bernal Andreo,
Hubble Legacy Archive, Robert Gendler, Martin Pugh, Juan Carlos Casado, NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS |