March Film Night - Solar Superstorms
2021-03-22 20:00 - 21:30 (Pacific/Auckland) | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This documentary is about the turbulent nature of solar activity, how superstorms (coronal mass ejection) that occur on the sun have impacted Earth in the past, and what threat they may pose to us in the future.
The main film is 50 minutes long and will be followed by the September 2020 Sky at Night Show about new discoveries in the atmosphere of Venus (30 minutes long).

Introduction to Astronomy April 2021
2021-04-05 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
What is Dark Matter?
The Evidence, the Candidates & the Search
If you are interested in how the Universe appears and behaves on large scales, you will enjoy this essential talk. Attendees will also receive a ten-page handout on dark matter covering the discussion and expanding on selected points.
85% of the matter in the Universe is elusive dark matter that we cannot directly observe, but presence is seen through its effects on the surrounding environment. Tonight, Chris Benton discusses compelling evidence for dark matter and its importance in the structure and evolution of the Universe. Following this, an outline of dark matter’s apparent properties leads into identifying the candidate particles and the experiments designed to detect them.
We look forward to seeing you all there.

Monthly Meeting April
2021-04-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
With Rolf Wahl Olsen.
My talk will be about latest images and achievements in the last two years, including the first amateur image of light echoes of Supernova 1987A and a new collaboration with NASA on a multi-wavelength image of Centaurus A.
I have been interested in astronomy for as long as I can remember and have observed the night sky visually for decades with both binoculars and telescopes. In 1990 I got my first telescope, a 60mm alt-az refractor. A couple of years later I upgraded to a 100mm refractor on an equatorial mount and in 1995 I got a 10 inch f/5 Newtonian reflector. This telescope was used extensively for both planetary and deep sky observing and in 2003 I ventured into the world of astrophotography and began taking images with a long-exposure modified webcam. In 2011 I built a Serrurier truss 12.5 inch f/4 Newtonian and then upgraded the webcam to a highly sensitive QSI683wsg CCD camera which I now use to take all my images.
The modified webcam was a great opportunity to learn as it required me to really work on developing processing skills in order to achieve good results. It also forced me to think carefully about my choice of subjects, given the webcam’s limited resolution and low sensitivity. My later images taken with the CCD camera greatly benefited from these early lessons.
I enjoy photographing all astronomical subjects but perhaps my favourites are galaxies, especially peculiarly shaped ones or distant galaxy clusters, or those engaged in dramatic mergers such as the famous pair of Antennae galaxies. I enjoy taking images that are unusual, either being of a rarely imaged object, or perhaps a familiar object presented in a new way. Among my images you will find exotic objects like the circumstellar disc of Beta Pictoris, gravitational lenses, quasars, distant galaxy clusters and extragalactic globulars. I find that these obscure targets often have a very interesting story to tell.

Astrophotography Group
2021-04-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Joe Nidd from Dunedin will be with us via teams. He will discuss his astro-photographjy setup, a bit of the background that got him to identifying the need for what he has built. He will then go through the build and use in a bit of detail and show us some of his resulting images.

Shaun

Practical Astronomy April
2021-04-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Telescopes and Accessories.
Along with a short introduction on how telescopes work, this meeting will discuss some of the common types of telescopes used by amateur astronomers. We will then look at accessories combined with telescopes for visual observing.

Monthly Meeting May - Ngā Whetū O Matariki
2021-05-10 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This will be a special Planetarium Presentation for the AAS by the Auckland Stardome.
Ngā Whetū O Matariki

Join us at the Stardome for a presenter-led, Matariki kōrero under the planetarium stars. You’ll hear about ngā whetū (the stars), ngā aorangi (the planets), Maramataka (lunar cycle) and the many stories written in our night skies passed down from generation to generation.

Presenter: Olive Karena-Lockyer, Stardome Planetarium Presenter

Practical Astronomy May - Preparing for the Lunar Eclipse with Otto Gruebl
2021-05-17 20:00 - 20:30 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The Lunar Eclipse and its Imaging in prospect of a Total Lunar Eclipse at 26.5.2021 for 15 minutes.

Guest Speaker – Otto Gruebl.

I am interested in Astronomy since I was young.
I got really active when I moved to Gisborne in 2008 and joined the Gisborne Astronomical Society GAS I had the honour having been their President in 2013. I am member of RASNZ and enjoy since 2017 to be a member of AAS.

I do Solar Imaging in Ha and CaK since 2014 and I am an Eclipse Chaser what includes Lunar Eclipses.In the last years I started Whitefield Nightscapes.In 2020 I started Planetary Imaging and Lunar Imaging as well.
I am living in Whangarei Heads with view of Mt.Manaia and Marsden Point and can see the Milky Way.
I work as Consultant Psychiatrist for Maor Mental Health and Addiction Services at Northland.
DHB.
My home country is Austria.

Kind regards
Nga Mihi
Otto

Film Night MAY - SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLES.
2021-05-24 20:00 - 21:00
MAY Film Night: Super Massive Black Holes
At May Film night Ken Hulls uses two films to look in detail at Super Massive Black Holes.
After an introduction, the first looks in detail at the prediction and subsequent discovery of the super massive 4.5 million solar mass black hole at the middle of the Milky Way, explaining the science and techniques involved. The second looks in detail at the making of the photograph of the 6.5 Billion solar mass black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy, published in late 2019 with update March 2021. The film looks at how the photograph of this object, which is 55 million light years away was made, and what it tells us.

Introduction to Astronomy June 2021
2021-06-07 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The Sun – Our Nearest Star
What’s going on and why?
Our nearest star, the Sun, is vital to life on Earth; but what do we know about it? Tonight, we discuss various intriguing facts and figures, including where it resides and how it moves within our galaxy, the Milky Way. Following illustrations of how the Sun was born and how it will evolve, making Earth uninhabitable, and then eventually die as a white dwarf, diagrams will show you the internal structures of the Sun and how we know. Also, learn the processes behind and the differences between Sunspots, solar flares, solar prominences and coronal mass ejections, plus how they affect us on Earth.
Attendees will enjoy our large screen while viewing two High-Definition NASA Videos of the Sun’s activity captured by solar observatories, plus receive a comprehensive five-page handout of the material covered.
We look forward to seeing you all there to chat about the big round bright ball in our daytime sky!

Monthly Meeting June - Imaging magnetic fields using polarization
2021-06-14 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Imaging magnetic fields using polarization with Prof Willem Van Straten.

Abstract: The polarization state of electromagnetic radiation from the Universe around us is rich with additional information about the physics of the emitting sources, their environments, and any intervening media through which signals propagate on their way to Earth. In this talk, I’ll introduce the basics of polarization (what it is, how it is produced, and how it is measured), and then review some of the ways in which it is applied in the field of astrophysics (e.g. Zeeman splitting, Faraday rotation, Thomson scattering, curvature radiation, synchrotron radiation, etc.). Topics covered will range from the large scale structure of magnetic fields in the cosmic web between galaxy clusters, to the magnetic fields that power jets of relativistic plasma near the event horizons of supermassive black holes, to the compact fields of neutron stars known as magnetars, where the energy density in the magnetic field is sufficient to create a virtual plasma of matter and antimatter.

Willem van Straten is an Associate Professor in the Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research at Auckland University of Technology. As an undergraduate in Canada, he was preparing for a job in the space industry when he learned about radio astronomy and became obsessed with pulsars. Willem then completed his PhD on high-precision pulsar timing in Australia before undertaking post-doctoral and academic staff appointments at the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy (ASTRON), The Centre for Gravitational Wave Astronomy (The University of Texas), and the Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing (Swinburne University of Technology). He works closely with international teams on large, long-term projects, he led the development of three scientific data analysis software packages that are used by the international community of pulsar astronomers, and he successfully led the design of the pulsar timing instrumentation for the Square Kilometre Array.

Practical Astronomy June - The Winter Night Sky
2021-06-21 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This will be one of our quarterly Nights Sky reviews in the Planetarium. We will review the Winter Constellations and some of the deep sky objects to be found in them.
If the weather is clear, we will continue after the Planetarium session with telescope viewing.

Monthly Meeting July - "The Possum comes out at night": The latest happenings at Possum Observatory, near Gisborne.
2021-07-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Guest Speaker: John Drummod.
John owns and operates the Possum Observatory complex at Patutahi, 12km west of Gisborne. He owns a 50cm diameter, two 41cm, a 35cm and smaller telescopes. He also runs Gisborne Astro Tours (www.gisborneastrotours.com). In this talk, John will be sharing what he is doing with these telescopes and how they are contributing to science. He will also speak about how the astro tourism business is going and what his latest academic studies in astronomy are.
John Drummond has been fascinated with astronomy ever since his mother pointed the ‘Pot’ in Orion out to him when he was ten. John soon developed an interest in photography and it wasn’t long before the two passions were combined into astrophotography. He has been involved in astrophotography for many years and has had photos published in books and magazines around the world – and even on some New Zealand stamps.
He has used his telescopes at Possum Observatory, near Gisborne, to image targets for Ohio State University in order to co-discover exoplanets via the microlensing method. John also does astrometry of newly discovered comets and asteroids – as well as those of more well-known orbits.
John completed his MSc (Astronomy) in 2016 with Swinburne University of Technology. Currently he is doing his PhD with the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) Centre for Astrophysics. His work is on New Zealand’s historical role in the observation and study of comets. He is also heavily involved with the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand and was made a Fellow in 2018. He teaches science at high school and loves surfing Gizzy’s great waves!

Astrophotography Group July
2021-07-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
WinJUPOS with Stephen Dean
Stephen Dean has generously agreed to present to the group at our July meeting.
He will be giving an overview on WinJUPOS and a quick tutorial on how to use it for de-rotation of planetary images.
It should be really interesting and I look forward to seeing his process and results!

Practical Astronomy July
2021-07-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Astronomy Software
This month we will be looking at how desktop and mobile applications can help with planning your observing sessions and learning the night sky.

Monthly Meeting August - The Most Luminous Supernovae: It Takes Two To Tango
2021-08-09 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Guest Speaker :
Dr. Heloise F. Stevance, MPhys, AFHEA, PhD

Research Fellow in Astrophysics

When massive stars reach the end of their lives they undergo a supernovae explosion powered by the collapse of their core. In the past decade and a half, a small subset of these events have been found to be brighter and more powerful: They are called super luminous supernovae. Work is ongoing to understand the power source of these extreme transients and in particular here I focus on SN 2017gci which showed evidence for a central magnetar and potential shells of hydrogen around the progenitor system. State of the art binary models were used to search for star systems that could evolve to re-create this explosion.
Dr. Heloise F. Stevance
Originally born and raised in France, I moved to the UK to study Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield. After working as a support astronomer at the Isaac Newton Group in La Palma for a year, I obtained my Masters of Physics in 2015. I subsequently started a PhD studying the 3D shape of Core Collapse Supernovae, and earned my title in Spring 2019. In July of that year, I joined the University of Auckland as a Research Fellow to research the evolution of massive stars to better understand how they die and produce Supernovae and Kilonovae.
I also started my public outreach work during my doctorate studies, in early 2016, and I have not stopped since.

Astrophotography Group August - Fast and Furious – Trials and Tribulations of Fast Refractor Imaging with Simon Lewis
2021-08-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
CAD optical design combined with modern optical manufacturing techniques is creating an all new generation of fast refractors for the amateur market. These new scopes vastly reduce the imaging time required to capture high quality images but they can be difficult to tame. Simon Lewis outlines his experiences after venturing into this world and offers some advice and guidance on how to get the very best from your fast refractor system.

Practical Astronomy August - Telescope Clinic
2021-08-16 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month we will be running a Telescope clinic, demonstrating care and maintenance of various telescope types, including collimation and cleaning. Bring along your questions.

Film Night August - Cosmic Rays
2021-08-23 20:00 - 21:30 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Film Night postponed due to lockdown.

An Introduction and four short films looking at Cosmic Rays: what they are, how they are detected and what do they tell us.
August Film Night hosted by Ken Hulls

Variable Stars
2021-08-30 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This meeting will be online via the Society youtube channel. The topic will be variable stars, including recurrent Novae, Cephied variables and others. This extra talk is being held on the fifth Monday as we were unable to hold film night due to the lock down.

Practical Astronomy - The Spring Night Sky
2021-09-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This will be one of our seasonal Night Sky reviews. This will be held online via the Auckland Astronomical Society youtube channel.

Monthly Meeting October - Outdoor Lighting - sky glow, human health and ecosystems with Steve Butler
2021-10-11 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This talk will cover the change in outdoor lighting over the past decade with reference to the “new” technology of LED light sources. Included will be the implications of light colour on sky glow, human health and ecosystems. The monitoring of these new sources will be touched on as well as recent developments in New Zealand.

Steve is a long time advocate for reducing light pollution including as the leader of the RASNZ Dark Skies Group since 2004. I am the current RASNZ President and am Chair of the Board for the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

Practical Astronomy October - Telescope Mounts
2021-10-18 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This month we will be discussing the telescope mounts commonly used by amateur astronomers. This will include the pros and cons of the various types and how to set them up. The talk will be streamed live on the AAS youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Astrophotography Group October
2021-10-25 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
Easy targets for beginners in the Southern Spring/Summer sky.
We are also launching a summer competition to win a planetary camera.

Introduction to Astronomy November 2021
2021-11-01 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
Stardome’s Research Programme
what we do and why
Presenter – Grant Christie

This talk will provide an elementary overview of Stardome’s research programme.
Since 2004, Stardome has contributed to the discovery of many planets orbiting very distant stars, advancing the understanding of how planetary systems are formed.
We have also been studying what may be the most massive binary star system in the galaxy – WR20a.
Grant will briefly introduce the telescope, the CCD camera (with 8 filters) and how we make precision measurements of the brightness of stars.

2021 Burbidge Lecture and New Zealand Astrophotography Competition Results
2021-11-08 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
Burbidge Lecture: Diving through exoplanet atmospheres 8:00pm The study of exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the Sun, is fascinating new field of research. The question “how do stars and planetary systems form and evolve?”” is one of the biggest in Astronomy, and is at the root of one of the most important questions in science today: “How did we get here?”. I will take us on a journey to explore how we measure and understand the nature these strange new worlds beyond our Solar System. We will dive into the atmospheres of alien planets to discover the truly wild nature of planets in the universe from chains of rocky worlds around ultra-cool stars, to exotic clouds of molten rock in the atmosphere of ultra-hot gas giants.
Hannah Wakeford is a lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Bristol, UK where she leads a group researching the atmospheres of exoplanets using observations from space telescopes. Hannah’s work focuses on the exotic clouds of giant hot Jupiters, down to chains of small rocky worlds around ultra-cool stars. She studied for a Masters in Planetary and Space Physics at Aberystwyth University with field studies in Svalbard to measure the aurora, and completed her PhD thesis on exoplanets at the University of Exeter before heading to the USA to work at NASA and STScI. Alongside her research she runs the monthly podcast Exocast all about exoplanet science and hosts the #ExoCup twitter competition for the public to crown the champion exoplanet of the year. New Zealand Astrophotography Competition Results We will be announcing the winners of the individual categories and well as the overall winner who receives the Harry Williams Trophy
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Practical Astronomy November - Visual Observing
2021-11-15 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This month we will be discussing visual observing, including the way the human eye works, optics and eyepieces, sky conditions, ambient light and observing targets, from the Sun to galaxies.

Astrophotography Group November
2021-11-29 20:00 - 21:00
Astrophotography Group
Monday 29th November at 8:00pm, Online
DC Power for Astrophotography – the observatory and the field
(everything I wish I knew at the start)
Speaker/Host: Tony Cooper
Topics
DC calculations – energy, power, voltage drop
DC voltages and converters (19V, 12V, 7.2V, 5V)
DC connectors – cigarette, Anderson, DC plugs, Waygo
Batteries – types and advantages
Battery charging (excluding solar)
Measuring and monitoring current
Undervolt protection – battery and camera
Laptop settings to conserve energy
Mistakes I made
The talk will be streamed live on the AAS youtube channel at 8pm Monday 29th November
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Introduction to Astronomy December - Copernican Astronomy
2021-12-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This month we will be discussing how the modern scientific view of Astronomy came about. We will delve in to the cosmological views of past Neolithic cultures and follow the broad sweep of progress from bronze age Sumer to the 21st century.

Monthly Meeting December - Backyard Observing with Jennie McCormick
2021-12-13 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
How does observing from your garden turn into serious astronomical research?
We all know that astronomy is a diverse and exciting science, that is probably what got us into it in the first place. However, it also offers numerous opportunities for amateur astronomers to be part of important research discoveries and at times, can produce some unexpected surprises.
This presentation is a pictorial look at how backyard observing turned into serious research observing from a suburban backyard in Farm Cove, Auckland.

Jennie is an amateur astronomer who conducts astronomical research from her observatory in Farm Cove, Auckland. She has been involved in the collaborative discovery of more than 20 distant planets, including a new solar system and Binary Star Solar System.She takes regular data on Cataclysmic Variable stars for the Center for Backyard Astrophysics and measures the positions of comets and asteroids for the Minor Planet Center.
In September 2009, Jennie discovered her first asteroid and officially named it, New Zealand!
In the late 1980’s she joined the Auckland Astronomical Society and for 15 years, worked as an educator at Auckland Observatory.Jennie is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) and sits on the RASNZ Council as the Fellows Representative.
In 2008/2009 she coordinated the International Year of Astronomy 2009’s, 100 Hours of Astronomy event. This became the largest global science outreach event held to date and gave millions of people the chance to look through a telescope for the very first time while highlighting the wonders of astronomy to an extensive global audience.
When not observing, Jennie manages a community House in East Auckland, can be found growing vegetables, caring for native birds, photographing sunrise and sunsets from her Farm Cove garden and spending as much time as possible with her three young grandchildren.

Practical Astronomy December - End of Year Quiz and the Summer Night Sky
2021-12-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Online
This is the final meeting for 2021. We resume meetings on the first Monday of February and hope to be back at our normal venue, the Auckland Stardome Observatory and Planetarium. We will also be hosting a lecture from the postponed Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture Series. This will be held on the evening of Monday 28th February, we will publish further details in the February journal.
The meeting will be in two parts. AAS council member Carolle Varughese will start the meeting with the end of year quiz. A fun quiz to test your astronomical knowledge. This will be followed by a review of the Summer Night Sky presented by AAS member and Stardome presenter Melanie Bruges.
This will be lived streamed on the AAS Youtube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety
