Auckland Astronomical Society Inc

2024 Beactrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture Series - Searching for Alien Earths
2024-04-04 18:00 - 19:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | University of Auckland – Physics Lecture Theatre 1, PLT1/303-G20, Science Centre, 38 Princes St, Auckland, New Zealand
The AAS and University of Auckland are co-hosting one of this year’s Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture Series.
The BHT Lecturer for 2024 is Lisa Kaltenegger.

Lisa Kaltenegger is the Director of the Carl Sagan Institute for the Search for Life in the Cosmos at Cornell and Associate Professor in Astronomy. She is a pioneer and world-leading expert in modeling potential habitable worlds and their detectable spectral fingerprint. Her research focuses on how to find life on exoplanets circling other stars. Lisa Kaltenegger served among others on the National Science Foundation’s Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee that advises the US Congress, and on NASA’s senior review of operating missions. She is a Science Team Member of NASA’s planet hunting mission, TESS, as well as the NIRISS instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope.
Lisa Kaltenegger was named one of America’s Young Innovators by Smithsonian Magazine, an Innovator to Watch by TIME Magazine, and was selected as one of the European Commission’s Role Models for Women in Science and Research. Among her international awards are the Lise Meitner Lecture of the German and Austrian Physics Society, the Invited Discourse lecture at the IAU General Assembly in Hawaii, the Heinz Meier Leibnitz Prize for Physics of Germany, the Doppler Prize for Innovation in Science of Austria, and the Barry-Jones Inauguration Award of the Royal Astrobiology Society and Open University in Britain. Her review 2017 on How to Characterize Habitable Worlds and Signs of Life was selected by Annual Reviews as part a collection celebrating pioneering women scientists.
She is part of the IMAX 3D movie “The Search for Life in Space” and gives public lectures e.g. at Aspen Ideas Festival, TED Youth, World Science Festival and the Kavli Foundation lecture at the Adler Planetarium, which was live-streamed to 6 continents. Her book “Alien Earths” will be published on April 16 2024 by MacMillan Press. Asteroid Kaltenegger7734 is named after her.
Lisa will be presenting her work in a lecture titled Searching for Alien Earths.
The RASNZ Lecture Trust are delighted and excited to have Lisa as this year’s BHT lecturer, she will no doubt be entertaining and educational to all ages and backgrounds.
Attendance is free but you need to book via the link below
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/searching-for-alien-earths-tickets-810645491487
Venue:
University of Auckland,
Physics Lecture Theatre 1 – PLT1/303-G20,
Science Centre,
38 Princes Street, Auckland

Introduction to Astronomy April 2024
2024-04-01 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Physics and History: The Earth and Solar System
We are taught about ancient ways of looking at the universe from a modern perspective. We tend to regard past ideas about the universe as being wrong simply because we think we know better, while ignoring the fact that in past times the whole basis of reasoning was very different from today. This talk explores past worldviews; it also describes several pioneers who changed the worldview, both through observation and by developing new ideas and concepts.
This interesting topic is not to be missed, and we look forward to seeing you there!
This meeting will also be live-streamed on the AAS YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Film Night February
2024-03-25 20:00 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We are running two films tonight
We look forwards to seeing you there.
The Far Side of the Moon Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

Allow me to ask you a question: “If you could visit anywhere on the Moon, where would you go? There are mountains and craters here, scientific marvels, and mysteries cloaked in pitch-black shadows. Join us to view the Moon as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Deepest We Have Ever Seen Into the Sun

How viewing the Sun in ultraviolet can uncover its secrets, and much more. This short film has stunning images.

Practical Astronomy March - The Autumn Night Sky
2024-03-18 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month will be a planetarium session where we will review the constellations and deep sky objects of the Autumn Night Sky.

Astrophotography Group March - What we do in the Shadows
2024-03-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Tony Copper will present tonight’s astrophotography talk
How astrophotography differs from daytime photography
What makes a good astro photo
How photons behave in your lens and camera
What is noise and what is the biggest source of it
What is dynamic range and why is it important
Myths and facts – what things people get wrong
What ISO and exposures to use
What about f-ratio

Monthly Meeting March - Island Universes: Discovering Galaxies Beyond the Milky Way
2024-03-11 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Continuing with this months theme of the scale of the Universe, Professor Chris Lintott presents a Greshan College video lecture.
Island Universes: Discovering Galaxies Beyond the Milky Way
The discovery that we live in an ordinary galaxy, one of several hundred billion in the observable Universe, instigated a profound change in thinking about our place in the Universe.
This lecture covers the Great Debate of the early twentieth century as new telescopes and new ways of observing the cosmos put our Milky Way in its place; and looks at how subsequent observations helped us understand how galaxies like our own formed and evolved.
This lecture was recorded by Professor Chris Lintott on 13 September 2023 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London. Chris is Gresham Professor of Astronomy. He is also a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.
The meeting will be followed by supper.

Young Astronomers March - Solving the Mysteries of Galaxies
2024-03-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month’s meeting will be solving mysteries of galaxies!
Some questions are, what are galaxies? Why are some of them S shaped and why do some of them look like eggs in space? What is this fuss about the Milky way’s collision with the Andromeda Galaxy? And joining us will debunk these questions! A cool activity of this meeting will be looking at live viewing of galaxies on the projector taken by online telescopes controlled by me and if we are lucky, we might be able to also see some live views of nebulas! Note: It is possible that telescopes are offline due to bad weather in Chile.
Hope to see you there.
Alex

Introduction to Astronomy March 2023
2024-03-04 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Understanding the Observable Universe
Guest Speaker: Jonathan Park
Join us as we explore space and time to gain an understanding of the concept of the “observable universe”. It may seem paradoxical at first: the universe is only 13.8 billion years old, yet the “observable” universe is a region of space 93 billion light-years across, with us in the centre. Even stranger, the oldest light we can see (13.8 billion years old) started only 42 million light-years away from our location. How can this be? What are we really seeing out in the universe? Tonight, Jonathan will explain, and hope that you find this as fascinating as we all do!

The meeting will also be live-streamed on the AAS YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Film Night February
2024-02-26 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We are running two films tonight
We look forwards to seeing you there.
Space Race to the Moon

The US space agency has announced the Artemis III mission to land four astronauts September 2026. What was involved in the first moon landing. We are playing part one of a two part documentary on the Moon-landing project conducted by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 1960s and ’70s

The Deepest We Have Ever Seen Into the Sun

How viewing the Sun in ultraviolet can uncover its secrets, and much more. This short film has stunning images.

Practical Astronomy February - Telescopes and Mounts
2024-02-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
To start the year for Practical Astronomy, we will be discussing the basics of telescopes and mounts. We will cover the common types of telescopes encountered by amateur astronomers and how they work. We will also discuss the basics of mounting systems for telescopes.

Astrophotography Group - Restart
2024-02-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
The Initial theme for 2024 will be Astrophotography without tracking.

Guided vs Unguided astrophotography
The modern CMOS Sensor – Hubble in your hand
What you will need – a Smartphone, and a mount of some sort

Settings – ISO and Exposure
Mounting in terms of tripod
Practicing in daylight

Youtube video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mdwldZNexc
The DSLR in 2024

Mount & Tripod
DSLR
Technique

Youtube video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtPNyk76Stg
Summary

Monthly Meeting February - 'Oumuamua: Our first interstellar visitor
2024-02-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This month we will be screening a Gresham College video lecture presented by AAS Honorary Member Professor Chris Lintott.
In 2017, the Solar System was visited by an object named ‘Oumuamua, which came from another star system. The unusual properties of this first interstellar visitor led some to suggest it may be an alien spacecraft – but the truth is that its oddness is already teaching us lessons about how solar systems form. This lecture also considers the prospects of discovering more unusual objects in the Solar System and what we might do about asteroids that threaten the Earth. This lecture was recorded by Professor Chris Lintott on 24th January 2024 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London. Chris is Gresham Professor of Astronomy. He is also a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a Research Fellow at New College. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/o…
The video lecture will be followed by supper.

Young Astronomers February
2024-02-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This month’s meeting is about FAQs in astronomy. It will cover all sizzling astronomy questions in a fun way. You will also have the opportunity to ask Alex questions and he will answer them in great detail.

At the very end of the lesson, Alex will ask you for your favourite word in astronomy and that will determine the theme of the year.

Introduction to Astronomy February 2024
2024-02-05 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We start the new year off reflecting on the topics covered over 2023 and do some revision in the form of a fun-filled quiz. Most importantly, there are loads of yummy chocolates to win!
The quiz is designed for those who attended all, some or none of the talks during the year, so there’s no excuse to miss out! Come along and have loads of fun reviewing the main points of our monthly sessions.
Eight multiple-choice questions, each designed to lead into a brief teaching discussion, will include the topics: Infant Stars, The Solar System, Our Place in the Universe and The Miky Way Galaxy.
We look forward to seeing you all there, ready for chocolate!
This meeting will also be live-streamed on the AAS YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety
Best regards, the AAS Team

Practical Astronomy December -The Summer Night Sky
2023-12-18 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month will be a planetarium session where we will review the constellations and deep sky objects of the Summer Night Sky.
This meeting will be the final AAS meeting of 2023. We will resume with Introduction to Astronomy on the first Monday of February 2024

Monthly Meeting December - The Peril and Profit of Near-Earth Objects
2023-12-11 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This Month we will be screening a recent Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture
Dr. Robert Jedicke (U of Hawaii)
Near-Earth objects present both an existential threat to human civilization and an extraordinary opportunity to help our exploration and expansion across the solar system. Dr. Jedicke explains that the risk of a sudden, civilization-altering collision with an asteroid or comet has markedly diminished in recent decades — due to diligent astronomical surveys — but a significant level of danger persists. At the same time, remarkable strides have been made in advancing technologies that pave the way for a new vision of space exploration – one that involves missions and outposts within the inner solar system fueled by resources extracted from near-Earth asteroids. These objects contain exploitable extraterrestrial resources delivered free to the inner solar system, and they have been naturally preprocessed into objects the ideal size for industrial operations.
Robert Jedicke obtained his Ph.D. in experimental particle physics from the University of Toronto and held post-doctoral positions at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and at the University of Arizona’s Lunar & Planetary Laboratory. At the University of Hawai`i’s Institute for Astronomy for the last 20 years, he managed the development of the Moving Object Processing System for the Pan-STARRS telescope on Maui.

The AAS has resumed holding supper after the monthly Society Meeting! Join us for snacks and beverages in the Stardome exhibit room following the lecture. It’s a great opportunity to connect with other Society members.

Young Astronomers Group December
2023-12-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month’s meeting will be very collaborative and fun! We will do a quiz covering this year’s topic. So form up a team and be the best team of the year! The best team gets to discuss with the fellow teammates and come up with one object which I will use a very powerful online telescope! The image will blow your mind!
Regards
Alex

Introduction to Astronomy December 2023
2023-12-04 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Black Holes and Dark Energy

If you’re interested in black holes and dark energy, then this talk is definitely for you!
A recent paper gained widespread attention, suggesting that black holes are the source of dark energy. They also presented observational evidence to support their proposal. In this talk, our guest speaker, Sohan Ghodla, summarises work at Auckland University, examining the additional observational consequences that would arise if this claim were true.
Come along and see how the claim results in significant inconsistency with pre-existing astrophysical observations.
Best regards,
The AAS Team.

Film Night November
2023-11-27 08:00 - 17:00
We are running two films tonight
We look forwards to seeing you there.

NASA’s Stunning Discoveries on Jupiter’s Largest Moons Our Solar System’s Moons
A deep dive into the four Galilean moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto

Voyager 1 Has Made “Impossible” Discovery after 45 Years in Space
Even after 45 years, this remarkable spacecraft along with Voyager 2, continues to provide scientists with updated insights about space.

Practical Astronomy November - Getting Started with Astrophotography
2023-11-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month will be a basic introduction of the various types of astrophotography, the equipment used and associated issues. We will be discussing, telescopes, lenses, mounts, cameras and a brief introduction to some of the software used for acquiring and processing images.

Monthly Meeting November - Dark Skies Down Under – Australian astronomy in the 2020s
2023-11-13 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Dark Skies Down Under – Australian astronomy in the 2020s

Australia’s vantage point on the Universe gives its astronomers several advantages in the pursuit of their science. One of the most radio-quiet locations on the planet is within our shores, and optical (visible light) astronomers currently have access to world-leading facilities both at home and overseas. But a new generation of telescopes is now being built, and this fully illustrated talk explains Australia’s involvement in these exciting projects, and the kinds of discoveries that might follow.
Professor Fred Watson AM has been the Australian Government’s Astronomer-at-Large since 2018. He is a graduate of the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and worked at both of Britain’s Royal Observatories before joining the Australian Astronomical Observatory as Astronomer-in-Charge in 1995. Recognised internationally for pioneering the use of fibre optics in astronomy during the 1980s, Fred is best known today for his radio and TV broadcasts, books, music, dark-sky advocacy and co-hosting the Space Nuts podcast. A unique claim to fame is that he is the only Australian astronomer to have received an APRA classical music award. Fred is an adjunct professor in several Australian universities, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 for service to astronomy. He has been a Questacon Mind-in-Residence since 2020, and, in 2022, received an honorary D.Sc. from Macquarie University. He also has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won’t be his fault.
The meeting will be followed with supper.

Young Astronomers November - Planetary Moons
2023-11-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month’s meeting will be based on planetary moons. This will involve learning some really famous moons and their prominent features such as the methane oceans of Titan and the active surface of Io. Also the session will be followed up by colliding and smashing planets using the universe sandbox.

2023 Burbidge Dinner
2023-11-10 18:30 - 22:00 | Sorrento In the Park, Cornwall Park, Auckland, New Zealand
This year’s Burbidge Dinner will be held on Friday 10 November at The Sorrento in Cornwall Park, just up the hill from Stardome. This year’s guest speaker is Professor Fred Watson and he will be talking about the James Webb Space Telescope.
Fred is Australia’s first Astronomer-at-Large in the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, having worked at both of Britain’s Royal Observatories before joining the Australian Astronomical Observatory as Astronomer-in-Charge in 1995.
Recognised internationally for helping to pioneer the use of fibre optics in astronomy during the 1980s, Fred is best known today for his award-winning radio and TV broadcasts, books, music, dark-sky advocacy and co-hosting the Space Nuts podcast.
Fred has adjunct professorships at Macquarie University and the Universities of New South Wales, Sydney, Western Sydney, Southern Queensland and Wollongong. In 2003,he received the David Allen Prize for communicating astronomy to the public, and in 2006 was the winner of the Australian Government Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science. In January 2010, Fred was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to astronomy, particularly the promotion and popularisation of space science through public outreach.
Fred’s books include “Stargazer – the Life and Times of the Telescope”, “Why is Uranus Upside Down? – and Other Questions About the Universe” (which won the 2008 Queensland Premier’s Literary Prize for Science Writing) and “Star-Craving Mad – Tales from a Travelling Astronomer”, featuring highlights from his science tours around the world. His most recent books are “Cosmic Chronicles – a user’s guide to the Universe”, and “Spacewarp – Doomsday Comets and other Cosmic Catastrophes”, aimed at the 10+ age group.
Fred has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won’t be his fault.
JAMES WEBB
Webb’s new window on the Universe
After decades of planning and construction, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now fully operational. Its first science images made global headlines with their breathtaking clarity and depth when they were released last year. They show cosmic detail that was only hinted at by the Webb’s smaller cousin, the ageing Hubble Space Telescope, and foretell a game-changing career of discovery for the new instrument. In this entertaining and copiously illustrated talk, Australia’s Astronomer-at-Large describes the Webb, its images, its mission and some of its discoveries.
In addition to Fred’s presentation, the Burbidge Dinner will host the awards for the 2023 New Zealand Astrophotography Competition.
Tickets can be ordered by sending an email to Niven Brown at events@astronomy.org.nz
Earlybird Members Price: $65.00 for payments received prior to 27 October 2023.
Earlybird Non-members Price: $70:00 for payments received prior to 27 October 2023.
Prices after 27 October are $70.00 and $75.00 for Members and Non-members, respectively.

Introduction to Astronomy November 2023
2023-11-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
What is the Universe made of?
Guest Speaker: Jonathan Park
The main components of our Universe have been identified as ordinary matter, radiation, dark matter, and dark energy. Matter is the atoms of which everything we see is made, while radiation includes starlight and the cosmic microwave background in the universe. Dark matter is an invisible matter identified from many observations, including the speed at which stars orbit in spiral galaxies. Dark energy is the best explanation for why the expansion of the universe is speeding up rather than slowing down. In this talk, we learn about each of these. We will look at the evidence for dark matter and dark energy, what they might be, and how they affect the geometry and expansion of the universe.
This is an introduction to the topic, so it should be suitable for everyone, but we can go into more detail during the questions and answers after the talk for anyone who wants to know a little bit more.

Film Night October
2023-10-23 20:00 - 21:30 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We are running two films tonight
The first film is the second part of a 2 part film that we ran in August.
The second film is TBC
We look forwards to seeing you there.

Mysteries of the Universe | Space Documentary
In the vast expanse of the cosmos, where stars shimmer and galaxies collide, lies a tapestry of mysteries waiting to be unraveled. Get ready to be captivated by the wonders and the biggest mysteries that lie beyond our reach, awaiting discovery in the depths of the universe in this 4K space documentary.
Topics covered in Part 2
3. Vanishing of Planet Dagon (Fomalhaut b)
4. Pioneer Anomaly

Topics covered previously in Part 1
1. Olber’s Paradox (Why is space black?)
2. First Contact

Practical Astronomy October - Astronomical Nomenclature
2023-10-16 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
We will be discussing the various Astronomical Catalogues commonly encountered by amateur astronomers and the IAU naming schemes for Astronomical Objects. Wel will start the talk with a short review of the sky this month.

Monthly Meeting October - The Birth and Death of Worlds.
2023-10-09 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
We now know that our solar system is but one of countless others. Where did all these planets come from? What are their fates, and ours? Dr. Chiang describes the life cycle of planets, how they are born and die, and how they are born again. The story combines the latest observations from a wide range of telescopes with our evolving theoretical understanding of the role planets play in the development of the cosmos.
with Dr. Eugene Chiang (University of California, Berkeley)
This is a rebroadcast of a recent lecture from the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series.

Young Astronomers Group October
2023-10-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The Young Astronomers Group discuss current topics in Space and Astronomy. This month we will be investigating Dwarf Planets.

Introduction to Astronomy October 2023
2023-10-02 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The Milky Way
Our Home Galaxy
by Chris Benton
The Milky Way, our cosmic home, is an immense spiral galaxy containing billions of stars, planets and celestial wonders. Discover the overall structure and dimensions of the Milky Way, including its central supermassive black hole and extensive dark matter halo in which the galaxy is embedded. Join us and prepare for a journey through our galactic neighbourhood while exploring the birthplaces of new stars.

Film Night September
2023-09-25 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We have one film running tonight. The film will run for the full hour. We look forwards to seeing you there.

Everything NASA Discovered from James Webb’s First Year in Space | Space Documentary
It’s already been one year of JWST operations. In this episode all the major science results are accumulated, all the amazing images and graphs, all the important discoveries and controversies. Enjoy the ULTIMATE GUIDE to the first year of James Webb.
