2026 Annual Burbidge Dinner
This is the Annual Burbidge Dinner held in honour of the principle founder of the Auckland Astronomical Society, Professor Percy Burbidge. Prior to the start of dinner we will be presenting the awards for the winners of the 2026 New Zealand Astrophotography Competition. The Dinner will be followed by the Burbidge Lecture, which will be delivered by Dr Culan Howlett from the University of Queensland.
Dr Howlett is a Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics in the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Queensland, and recipient of the 2026 Pawsey Medal from the Australian Academy of Science. His research focuses on mapping the positions and motions of millions of galaxies to understand how our Universe has evolved since the Big Bang — and to shed light on the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that make up 95% of everything in it.
Dr Howlett works on some of the largest galaxy surveys ever undertaken including:
DESI (the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) — a project mapping tens of millions of galaxies across the Universe.
4HS (the 4M OST Hemisphere Survey) — a new southern-sky survey that began observations in 2026, in which he leads the cosmology team.
Ticket Information
The price includes attendance and a buffet dinner. There will be a cash bar available. The final booking date is 8th November 2026.
Earlybird price for members and their guests $65 pp until 31st October 2026. After 31st October until 8th November, the price for members and their guests is $75 pp.
Members may book tickets by logging in to the Hello Club Auckland Astronomical Society membership portal and select 2026 Burbidge Dinner from the Upcoming Events:
https://members.astronomy.org.nz/
Earlybird price for non members is $75 pp until 31st October 2026. After 31st October until 8th November, the price for non members is $85 pp. Note that non members are required to pay the ticket fee at time of booking. Non members can purchase tickets by emailing treasurer @ astronomy dot org dot nz