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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,
 
Upcoming Events
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...

Astronomy News

What Did Curiosity Find on Mars? Wait and See - Slate Blogs

Stunning Solar Eclipse Picture and Videos - Slate Blogs

Astronomers Take a Picture of a Planet Orbiting Another Star - Slate Blogs

Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan! - Slate Blogs

Huge Saturn Storm Keeps Surprising Scientists - Space.com

China Eyes New Rockets for Space Station, Moon Missions - Space.com

Earth's Magnetic Field Made Quick Flip-Flop - Space.com

Mars Methane Mystery: Curiosity Rover May Find New Clues - Space.com

Valles Marineris: The Grandest Canyon of All - Universe Today

Jupiter Photos Reveal Big Changes on Giant Planet - Space.com

Hubble Studies Dark Matter Filament in 3-D - Universe Today

Timeline: 15 Years of Cassini - Universe Today

Extreme Solar Systems: Why Aren't We Finding Other Planetary Systems Like Our Own? - Universe Today

Tiniest Alien Solar System Discovered: 5 Packed Planets - Space.com

Amateur Team Finds 'Tatooine' Planet with 2 Suns in 4-Star System - Space.com

Astronauts Hail Skydiver Felix Baumgartner's Record-Breaking Supersonic Jump - Space.com

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics, Explained - Universe Today

Voyager 1 May Have Left the Solar System - Universe Today

36-Dish Australian Telescope Array Opens for Business - Universe Today

Year-Long Missions Could Be Added to Space Station Manifest - Universe Today

 

Getting the Picture
A Halo for NGC 6164
A Spiral Nebula Surrounding Star R Sculptoris
Black Sun and Inverted Starfield
The Hubble Extreme Deep Field
Simeis 147: Supernova Remnant
At the Heart of Orion
NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
Goat Aurora Over Greenland
An Ancient Stream Bank on Mars
The Sky in November

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.

07th
  • Last Quarter
14th
  • New Moon
21st
  • First Quarter
29th
  • Full Moon

 

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