Young Astronomers Group November
2022-11-14 19:00 - 20:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Young astronomers will identify the challenges of landing a lunar lander on the surface of a body without an atmosphere. In teams, they will design, build, and improve a lunar lander model that can slow its descent using the downward thrust of a balloon. The teams can then take the designs home to improve them and share their modifications with the group for our final session in December! Bring your friends and family along.

Nāku iti noa, nā

Carolle Varughese

Monthly Meeting November - The Fast Radio Sky: A New Window on the Violent Universe
2022-11-14 20:00 - 21:30 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month we will be screening a recent Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture with Dr. Victoria Kaspi (McGill University)
The Fast Radio Sky: A New Window on the Violent Universe
In this illustrated introduction, Dr. Kaspi introduces us to a brand-new mystery in the skies — superfast bursts of radio waves whose source is still unknown. These energetic bursts come from all over the sky (and all over the universe,) pack a huge amount of energy, and typically last a few thousandths of a second. Like a detective in the middle of a case, Dr. Kaspi fills us in on the story of how new observations (especially with the CHIME telescope project which she heads) have been revealing tantalizing new aspects of these bursts, without yet giving us a solution to their ultimate cause. She shares both the thrills and frustrations of a new phenomenon in science, still in the process of being explored.
Victoria Kaspi is the inaugural director of the McGill Space Institute and holds the Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology at McGill University. She is the winner of the 2021 Shaw Prize in astronomy and the 2022 Albert Einstein World Award in Science.

Astrophotography Group November
2022-11-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Tonight we have an introduction to DeepSkyStacker by Eric Chiu. DeepSkyStacker is a freeware for astrophotographers that simplifies all the pre-processing steps of deep sky pictures.
This will be followed by a light discussion of the group meetings going forwards:

Subjects that we would like to cover off over the next 12 months. Subjects such as

Practical sessions
Theory sessions
Introductions to other software

If anyone is interested in covering a subject please let the group know
Do we want to form a small committee to coordinate the sessions.

Practical Astronomy November - variable stars
2022-11-21 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Variable Stars.
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.

Film Night November
2022-11-28 20:00 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We have two exciting films tonight

Life of a Universe – Part 2

In this second part of a two-part special, Professor Brian Cox tackles the biggest story of them all – How did the Universe come into being?

The Sky at Night 2022 Photographing The Universe HD

The Sky at Night turns its focus to the wonderful world of astrophotography, including a look at the new technology being built for the Very Large Telescope.

Introduction to Astronomy December 2022
2022-12-05 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Regions of Star Formation
Part 1 – Home to Massive Stars
Massive stars are considered those that ultimately end their lives as supernova explosions to become neutron stars or black holes. Well-known examples are Betelguese and Rigel in Orion and Antares in Scorpius. This evening Chris Benton will discuss the properties and types of massive stars, explaining the principles behind our observations, including why they are extremely bright and rare objects with a wide range of temperatures, plus why they are predominantly located in regions of star formation within the Galaxy. We will then discuss the differences between open star clusters and stellar associations in the context of massive stars.

Young Astronomers December
2022-12-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
In the final Young Astronomers meeting for 2022, the Young Astronomers will demonstrate their solutions to the lunar landing problem.

Monthly Meeting December - Big Science From a Little Country
2022-12-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Speaker: Professor Richard Easther

Doing astronomy is as easy as stepping out and looking up. However, ever since Stonehenge astronomy has been at the forefront of what is now called “big science” — branches of knowledge whose development relies on large, shared research facilities rather than individual laboratories. Two examples of this are the European Space Agency’s LISA mission which is slated for launch in the early 2030s, and the Legacy Survey of Space and Time – or LSST – which is currently getting underway at the new Vera Rubin Observatory. New Zealand scientists (including me and my group) are contributing to LISA and the LSST and I will explain what we hope that this will tell us about the universe. And I’ll talk about how little countries like New Zealand can contribute to big projects, how we can get involved, and what we get out of it.

Astrophotography Group December - Optimising PHD2 Guiding - 65 Tips and Tricks to get better Guiding with PHD2.
2022-12-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
It will be of special interest to Kumeu users of PHD2 because some of those tips and tricks were derived from Kumeu experience.

Tony Cooper

Practical Astronomy December - The Summer Night Sky
2022-12-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This will be one of our quarterly reviews of the seasonal Night Sky. This will be held in the Planetarium at the Stardome Observatory. If the weather is clear we will follow with Telescope viewing.

Introduction to Astronomy February 2023
2023-02-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
Auckland Astronomical Society Annual Fun Quiz Night!
It’s time we reflect on the topics covered over the previous year and do some revision in the form of a fun-filled quiz. Most importantly, there are loads of 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 each monthly session.
Eight multiple-choice questions, each designed to lead into a brief teaching discussion, will include the topics: Measuring Distances In Space Parts I & II, The James Webb Space Telescope, The Hazards of Human Spaceflight to Mars, Hunting Massive Stars, The Expanding Universe and Life In The Solar System Parts I & II.
We look forward to seeing you all there ready for chocolate!
Please note while the Stardome is undergoing renovations, our venue will be
The Lynfield Room at the Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, 1042
This meeting will also be live-streamed on the AAS YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Monthly Meeting February - Auckland Astronomical Society, The First 100 Years.
2023-02-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
In this meeting, Society Vice President Dr Grant Christie will do a presentation on the significant events of the first 100 years of the Auckland Astronomical Society.
Venue Address
As the Stardome Observatory is closed for renovations, the meeting will be held at the Fickling Convention Centre.
546 Mt Albert Road,
Three Kings,
Auckland 1042

Film Night February
2023-02-27 20:00 - 21:15 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
We have two exciting films tonight:
Can Nuclear Propulsion Take Us to Mars?
There are different propulsion systems available for space flight however each has advantages and limitations. This film will help us understand the differences.
The Cosmic Clock
The cosmic clock effects everything, from the far reaches of the universe to right here on Earth, from the beginning of our universe to now. Witness the steady ticking of the universe’s clock through the eyes of creatures on Earth. Narrated by Morgan Freeman.

New Zealand Rocket Association National Launch Day
2023-03-05 10:30 - 16:00
The AAS intend to have volunteers at this event for public outreach.

Location and further information here:

https://www.nzrocketry.org.nz/events/national-launch-day

If you would like to volunteer and help with the solar viewing using the Society’s solar telescope and 8″ Dobsonian fitted with a solar filter, or if you have your own solar viewing equipment, please let me know by Friday February 24th so that we can notify the organisers of the names of volunteers. Otherwise you’ll have to pay the standard entry charge!!!

Niven – events@astronomy.org.nz

Introduction to Astronomy
2023-03-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
Revealing the Youngest Stars in the Galaxy
Using recent images from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes, we will examine previously unseen features in various regions of star formation to identify different types of infant stars and their associated structures. You will learn the difference between protostars, pre-main sequence stars and Herbig-Haro objects, plus how our Sun formed and matured into its current main sequence stage, along with eight planets forming the Solar System. Attendees will receive a four-page handout and, importantly, chocolate.
We look forward to seeing you all there for this informative and engaging evening of discovery.

Monthly Meeting March - Breakthrough-Listen Search for Intelligent Life
2023-03-13 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
For centuries, humans have gazed at the night sky and wondered if any intelligent life forms like us might be out there. In 2015, the Breakthrough Foundation gave a $100 million grant to the University of California at Berkeley to undertake the most comprehensive search for signals from an extra-terrestrial civilization. Dr. Croft describes the project, introduces the many radio telescopes around the world it is using in the search, and explains how modern technology, including AI, is being used to include more stars, more frequencies (channels) and more ways a signal might be sent.
This is a rebroadcast of a recent Silicon Valley Lecture Series Lecture presented by Dr. Steve Croft (University of California, Berkeley).

Practical Astronomy - The Autumn Night Sky
2023-03-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
This meeting will be one of our seasonal Night Sky reviews. As the planetarium is unavailable until the Stardome reopens, we will review the Autumn Night Sky using desktop open source planetarium software. We will also investigate some of the features of the software that you can use for your own observation planning and learning the Night Sky.

Northern Star Party - March 2023
2023-03-24 17:00 - 2023-03-26 10:30 | Waharau Regional Park, 1748 East Coast Rd, Orere Point, Whakatiwai, 2473
This event is definitely back on
We are excited to announce the dates for the Northern Star Party, 2023 held at Waharau Regional Park and hosted by the Auckland Astronomical Society. We are holding the event over Friday 24th and Saturday 25th of March. Packing up on the morning of the 26th.
It will be a weekend of practical astronomy and dark sky observing. It is great opportunity to spend a weekend viewing the sky from a dark site, on Moonless nights, though a range of different telescopes. Bring your telescope or binoculars, but if you don’t have any there will be plenty there for you to look through. Also the society has telescopes available for hire though the hire will have to be set up external to the camp. Refer to the club for further details.

During the day on Saturday, there will be a full program of practical astronomy – how to use equipment and various types of telescopes, new equipment demonstrations and an astrophotography workshop.
Films will be shown in the early evening on Friday and if appropriate on Saturday.
The full information pack and agenda will be released shortly. We just wanted to get the dates out so that you can lock them in now!

Prices
Members
Non-members

Early Bird paid by 18th March
$20
$40

Standard
$30
$50

No one night price.
To book, please log into Hello Club at https://members.astronomy.org.nz/public/event/62d8d08ceb3d823b0200accc/2022-northern-star-party-confirmed-for-march-2023
Program:
Friday: Viewing, movie (TBC)
Saturday:
Workshops: Midday to 4:30 pm.

Time
Activity
Details

12:00 – 14:00
Astronomy Equipment
Familiarisation, maintenance, collimation, etc

14:30 – 16:00
Astronomy Processing
Basic introduction into processing using PixInsight

16:30 – 18:00
Telescope trail
Telescope trail

Viewing from 19:00, movie (TBC)
Food: BYO – walk-in fridge and kitchen available. Tea, coffee, milo (morning/afternoon tea) supplied.

Film Night
2023-03-27 20:00 - 21:30 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
We have two great films running tonight. We look forwards to seeing you there.
How Earth Moves
This is a well worth watching documentary, explaining the movement of the Earth in an easy to understand format.
It gives an easy to understand explanation on the Solstice also clarifying Sidereal time, Julian time and why we use Gregorian time. All relative to “How Earth Moves”

Eight Wonders Of Our Solar System | The Planets | BBC Earth Lab
Discover the most memorable events in the history of our solar system. Travel to the surface of these dynamic worlds to witness the moments of high drama that uniquely shaped each one

2023 Annual General Meeting of the Auckland Astronomical Society
2023-04-03 20:00 - 21:30 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
Venue:
Waikowhai Room *
Fickling Convention Centre
546 Mt Albert Rd
Three Kings, Auckland
* Note that the Waikowhai Room is next door to the Lynfield Room, where previous AAS meetings have been held at this venue.
Members are encouraged to attend the meeting.
We will be presenting:

Society Reports, Stardome Report, Astronz Ltd report to the Society.
Election of Officers
Election of AOPTB Appointments Committee representative.
Election of AOPTB representative Trustee.

Young Astronomers
2023-04-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
The theme for the remainder of the year, is the Solar System.
For this month, I will bring some air dried clay for the people to model a base on Europa. The reason I chose the object is because the project we did last month was chosen to be the moon Europa.
Hope to see you there.
Alex

Introduction to Astronomy April 2023
2023-04-10 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
A Modern Perspective of the Solar System
What’s there and why
The Solar System comprises a central star, eight planets of varying sizes and composition, and three regions of small bodies. Chris Benton will outline a modern perspective of the Solar System structure, then discuss how and why it formed and evolved as it did, explaining what we see today.
Come along and learn why we see four small rocky inner planets, four giant gaseous outer planets, plus collections of asteroids and comets. Furthermore, discover why astronomers demoted Pluto from its status as a planet.
All attendees will receive a comprehensive handout on the topic, changing your view on the Solar System. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Practical Astronomy April - Getting Started with Astrophotography
2023-04-17 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
In this meeting, Eric Chiu will explain how to get started with Astrophotography.

Film Night April
2023-04-24 20:00 - 21:30 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
We have two great films running tonight, we look forwards to seeing you there.

Are We Alone in the Universe | By Professor Charlie Lineweaver
Charley will present the results of a worldwide survey asking people “Are We Alone?”. He will try to figure out if this question makes any sense…and discuss what the words “we” and “alone” mean.
Charley is one of the guest speakers at this years RSANZ Conference, hosted by the AAS at Waipuna Lodge Conference Centre.

The Search for Alien Life | BBC The Sky at Night 2023
The Sky at Night team investigate the latest science in the hunt for extraterrestrial life.
Presented by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Professor Chris Lintott.
Professor Chris Lintott is also a guest speaker at this years RSANZ Conference.
Please visit https://www.astronomy.org.nz/2023-rasnz-conference for further information about the conference. Note that as a Society member, you are entitled to a discount off the full price of the event.

Introduction to Astronomy May 2023
2023-05-01 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
The Building Blocks of the Universe
(and how they relate to astronomy)
Guest speaker – Jonathan Park MSc (Astronomy)
This is a fun, basic introduction to how the universe works at the smallest scales. In this talk, we start by describing the structure and size of the atom for anyone new to the topic. You will then be equipped to join the journey down the rabbit hole to the smallest, weirdest particles. After hearing about these intriguing objects, we learn how the building blocks of the universe apply in astronomy. What are cosmic rays? How does the Sun really turn hydrogen into helium to provide sunlight? There are trillions of (harmless) particles from space travelling through you right now – what are they? Whether your knowledge of this topic is limited or if you know all about the tiny particles of the universe, you will be fascinated by this talk.

Young Astronomers May 2023
2023-05-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
In this event, Alex will demonstrate how a black hole works and many other fun things that people can work out! There will also be a quiz with a prize.

Monthly Meeting May - Join the Universe: We want YOU to become a Citizen Scientist
2023-05-08 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
Join the Universe: We want YOU to become a Citizen Scientist

I’ll share my journey from a very amateur astronomer to a Citizen Scientist active in the various Unistellar/eVscope network Citizen Science programmes, and to my own asteroid occultation observations. Citizen Science is real science, and my observations have ended up in scientific databases and been included in papers in Nature, the Minor Planet Bulletin and others. Along the way I’ll share some observation highlights from the year, including the DART mission, and I will introduce some of the many facets of Citizen Science astronomy.
There is a whole Universe waiting to be discovered from your sofa or back yard – anyone, with or without equipment, can be a Citizen Scientist.

Michael Camilleri has had a long a varied career in Science and Technology and Data and Analytics. Originally studying Astrophysics (MSc) he switched to Atmospheric Physics (PhD) and built a research career in Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, before leaving the scientific work for the business world of Data and Analytics. After a lifelong casual interest in Astronomy that went no further than binoculars (Astrophysics didn’t require a telescope), I started observing with a small visual telescope during Covid, moved into Electronically Assisted Astronomy (EEA) and ended up with an eVscope which opened up the Citizen Science Universe to me.



Practical Astronomy May - Variable Stars
2023-05-15 20:00 - 21:00 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
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.

Film Night May
2023-05-22 20:00 - 21:15 | Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland, 1042
We have two great films running tonight, we look forwards to seeing you there.

Inside Gods Observatory Special | BBC The Sky at Night
The team have been granted rare access to the Vatican and its observatory, the Specola Vaticana, where they explore its rich history and contemporary cutting-edge science.
Presented by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Professor Chris Lintott.
Professor Chris Lintott is also a guest speaker at this years RSANZ Conference.
Please visit https://www.astronomy.org.nz/2023-rasnz-conference for further information about the conference. Note that as a Society member, you are entitled to a discount off the full price of the event.

Why Is Everything Made Of Atoms? | History of the Universe
Building on recent topics covered at our meetings, we are running this easy to follow, and highly entertaining, documentary on atoms.

RASNZ Conference 2023
2023-06-02 17:00 - 2023-06-04 14:00
The Auckland Astronomical Society are hosting the 2023 RASNZ Conference over Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
Conference Information can be found at the RASNZ website:
https://www.rasnzconference.org.nz/
