Auckland Astronomical Society Inc

Practical Astronomy April - Variable Stars
2026-04-20 20:00 - 21:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Observation of variable stars has a long history with amateur astronomy. We will discuss the types of variable stars and how to observe them to obtain scientifically useful data. This is still a valuable activity even with the large survey telescopes, as amateurs can obtain data for stars that are too bright for the large telescopes, or for certain types of variable stars where changes are happening rapidly, the survey scopes cannot be dedicated for short cadence observing of a single star.

Practical Astronomy - The study of Occultations
2026-05-11 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
In this meeting Michael Camilleri will give a presentation on Occultations and what can be learned from them.
An occultation in astronomy is an event where one astronomical object, such as the Moon or a planet, passes in front of another object, like a star, blocking it from view. Measuring precise timing from multiple locations of these events can reveal much information about the occulting object

Monthly Meeting May - Rocks from Space
2026-05-18 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Rocks from Space
with Professor Jonti Horner
Jonti first became interested in astronomy at the age of five, after seeing the BBC TV programme ‘The Sky
at Night’, and soon became an enthusiastic amateur astronomer. He joined his local astronomical society
in the UK, WYAS (the West Yorkshire Astronomical Society) at the age of eight, and is currently honoured
to serve as the society’s honorary president. To pursue his dream of turning his hobby into a career, Jonti
studied a Masters’ degree in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Durham, before moving to the
University of Oxford to undertake his doctoral studies. Once his PhD was complete, Jonti worked as a
postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Bern and the UK’s Open University before moving to
Australia in 2010 to work at UNSW. In 2014, he moved to Toowoomba, to join the University of Southern
Queensland, where he is now Professor of Astrophysics. His research ranges from the study of our own
Solar system to the search for planets orbiting other stars, as well as trying to understand the different
factors that could come together to make one planet more or less suitable as a target in the search for life
beyond Earth.

Film Night May - Cosmos - 45 years Later - The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean
2026-05-25 20:00 - 21:00
The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean
Subject: Introduction to the scale of the Cosmos using the “Ship of the Imagination”; cosmic calendar; Eratosthenes and the Library of Alexandria; humanity’s place in the universe. 45 Years Later:

Hubble Space Telescope (1990–) and JWST (2022–) have mapped billions of galaxies and precise cosmic distances; universe age refined to 13.8 billion years.
Discovery of cosmic microwave background anisotropies (COBE/WMAP/Planck) and accelerating expansion (dark energy, 1998).
Exoplanets: from zero in 1980 to >6,100 confirmed; billions likely in the Milky Way alone.

Monthly Meeting June - The NASA Psyche mission: First Journey to an Unknown World
2026-06-08 20:00 - 21:00
The NASA Psyche mission is on its way to orbit a small but immensely ancient world in our asteroid belt: A metallic object, the first humans will ever have visited. When our solar system was in its infancy, thousands of planetesimals (tiny planet-like objects) formed in less than a million years. Many planetesimals later melted, allowing metal cores to form inside rocky mantles. One of these metal cores may be revealed in the asteroid (16) Psyche. Dr. Elkins-Tanton, the Mission Lead, takes us behind the scenes in planning and carrying out this remarkable mission of exploration, which launched in 2023, and updates us of where we are over two years post-launch.
This is a rebroadcast of a Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture.

Practical Astronomy June - The Winter Night Sky
2026-06-15 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345

Film Night June - The Cosmos - 45 years later.
2026-06-22 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue
Subject: Evolution by natural selection; Heike crab story; origin of life; DNA and the unity of life. 45 Years Later:

Genomic sequencing revolution (Human Genome Project 2003; thousands of species sequenced); horizontal gene transfer and RNA world hypothesis strengthened.
Laboratory synthesis of self-replicating RNA and protocells; complex organics detected on comets (Rosetta) and asteroids (Ryugu samples).
JWST detecting prebiotic molecules in protoplanetary disks.

Monthly Meeting July - Pluto Isn’t a Planet
2026-07-13 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union adopted a definition of a planet that demoted Pluto to just one of what is likely hundreds of dwarf planets in our Solar System. Exploring the remote Kuiper Belt, this lecture challenges us to think about what kinds of scientific questions are worth our attention, what it means to name something – and why Pluto is worth caring about anyway.
This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on the 3rd of June 2026
Professor Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.
Having been educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and University College London, his research now ranges from understanding how galaxies form and evolve, to using machine learning to find the most unusual things in the Universe, to predicting the properties of visiting interstellar asteroids. He was the founder of the Zooniverse citizen science platform, which provides opportunities for more than two million online volunteers to contribute to scientific research, and which was the topic of his first book, ‘The Crowd and the Cosmos’. His latest book is ‘Our Accidental Universe’.
Professor Lintott is best known for presenting the BBC’s long-running Sky at Night program, and as an accomplished lecturer. Away from work, he cooks, suffers through being a fan of Torquay United and Somerset cricket, and spends time with a rescued lurcher, Mr Max. He can often be found at the helm of Oxford’s science comedy night, ‘Huh, That’s Funny’.

Practical Astronomy July - Equatorial Mounts: Why We Use Them and How They Work
2026-07-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Why does a telescope need an equatorial mount, and what makes it different from simpler fixed or altitude–azimuth designs? This beginner-friendly talk starts with the basic problem of following objects across the night sky, then uses practical examples and simulations to explain tracking, field rotation and the deceptively simple idea behind an equatorial mount.
Curator of Instruments, Steve Hennerley, follows the development of telescope mounts from early transit instruments and seventeenth-century helioscopes through to modern computer-controlled equipment. He then moves into the practicalities of setting up an equatorial mount in the Southern Hemisphere, including finding true south, levelling the mount, polar scopes, drift alignment and electronic polar-alignment tools.
No previous knowledge is assumed, making this an accessible introduction for visual observers and anyone beginning to explore astrophotography.

Film Night July - Harmony of the Worlds
2026-07-27 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We continue our revisiting of The Cosmos Series.

Episode 3:
Subject: History of astronomy from astrology to Kepler’s laws; Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe, Galileo; scientific method triumph. 45 Years Later:
Kepler Space Telescope (2009–2018) discovered thousands of exoplanets using transit method, validating Kepler’s laws on a galactic scale.
Gaia mission (2013–) mapped precise positions and motions of >1 billion stars, refining galactic structure.
General relativity tests passed with ever-higher precision (e.g., gravitational waves, LIGO 2015).

Monthly Meeting August - Shining a Light on Dark Matter
2026-08-10 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Carnegie Science Observatories postdoc Andrew Robertson focuses on one of the key mysteries in contemporary astronomy: the nature of dark matter. We know that this mysterious form of matter makes up about 85 percent of the mass in the universe, but astronomers still don’t know exactly what it is. Drawing on his experience as a former postdoc at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Robertson will explain how astronomers came to believe that dark matter exists, and how some gargantuan collisions of galaxy clusters—particularly the famous “Bullet Cluster”—provide some of the strongest supporting evidence for its existence. He’ll demonstrate how these extreme cosmic collisions can be used to probe the fundamental properties of dark matter itself. Dr. Andrew Robertson – Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Science Observatories.
This is a rebroadcast of a Carnegie Science Lecture

Practical Astronomy August - An overview of Astronomy software for Amateurs.
2026-08-17 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This month will be an overview of Astronomy software for amateurs, particularly Sky Charting software for desktop and mobile. We will also cover some available options for telescope mount control, image capture and processing.

Film Night August - The Cosmos revisited 45 Years later - Heaven and Hell
2026-08-24 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Episode 4: Heaven and Hell
Subject: Comets, asteroids, and impacts (Tunguska, Venus greenhouse); planetary evolution and catastrophes. 45 Years Later:

Chicxulub crater confirmed as dinosaur extinction cause (1980s–1990s); multiple impact threats mapped (NEOWISE, etc.).
Venus: confirmed runaway greenhouse; no life but extreme lessons for Earth climate.
Jupiter’s Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact (1994) observed live; DART mission (2022) demonstrated asteroid deflection technology.

Practical Astronomy September - The Spring Night Sky
2026-09-21 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This will be one of our seasonal Planetarium sessions. We will use the Planetarium to explore the Spring Night Sky. This is a great way to improve your knowledge of the Spring constellations and learn about some of the deep sky objects to be found in them.

Practical Astronomy September - The Spring Night Sky
2026-09-21 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This will be one of our quarterly Planetarium sessions, where we will review the Spring Night Sky. We will go over the main constellations of the Spring Night Sky and some of the deep sky objects to be found in them

Film Night September - The Cosmos 45 Years Later - Blues for a Red Planet
2026-09-28 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Episode 5: Blues for a Red Planet
Subject: Mars exploration history; Percival Lowell’s canals; Viking missions (1976) and search for life. 45 Years Later:

Rovers (Sojourner 1997 → Perseverance 2021): ancient river/lake beds, organic molecules, “leopard spot” biosignature candidate (2024).
Perseverance caching samples for return (2030s); evidence of past habitability strengthened dramatically.
Methane detections and subsurface ice; potential for past microbial life now a major focus.
