Auckland Astronomical Society Inc

Young Astronomers September
2022-09-12 19:00 - 20:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
“Living on the moon”. On Monday, YA will be exploring how and why scientists choose certain landing sites on the moon. They’ll be given information about various landing sites on the South Pole of the moon, and they’ll be working in teams to come up with a group decision.

Monthly Meeting September - Dark Star: The Invisible Universe of Brown Dwarfs
2022-09-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month will be a screening of one of this years Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures.
Presented by Dr. Adam Burgasser (University of California, San Diego)
In this illustrated talk, Dr. Burgasser explains what happens when a newly forming star doesn’t have “what it takes” to produce energy in its core in an ongoing way. This results in “failed stars” or brown dwarfs — objects that were predicted in theory, but only discovered in the 1990’s. Today, many thousands of these brown dwarfs are known, spanning a wide range of temperatures and masses, and occupying a unique niche at the intersection of stars and planets. Dr. Burgasser discusses how such faint objects are discovered, highlights their exceptional properties, and describes what this (mostly) invisible population can tell us about the formation and history of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Astrophotography Group September
2022-09-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This class we will be running through a basic introduction to Pixinsight.

We will cover off the following items:

Why PixInsight?
Best raw image selection
Basic Stacking
Basic stretching and de-noising.

From this you should receive a understanding that basic processing in Pixinsight is easier than some suggest.

Practical Astronomy September - The Spring Night Sky
2022-09-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This will be one of our seasonal Night Sky reviews. We will use the Digistar Planetarium to explore the constellations and deep sky objects of the Spring Night Sky. Weather permitting we will follow up with Telescope viewing using the EWB Zeiss telescope.

Film Night September 26th
2022-09-26 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We have two exciting short films tonight:
Artemis I – Path to the Pad: The Rocket

Have you ever wondered what it takes to assemble the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built? This is the lead up to Nasa’s test flight in anticipation of the next Manned space flight to the moon.

BBC The Sky at Night 2022 – The James Webb Road Trip
The Sky at Night team meets the scientists in the UK researching the astonishing new data returned by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Introduction to Astronomy October 2022
2022-10-03 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Relativity – The Layman’s Guide
Part 2: General Relativity & Gravity
Guest Speaker: Nick Odom
Relativity and Newton’s law of gravity are mathematically incompatible. Einstein realized that the local effects of gravity and acceleration are equivalent, and that gravity is a distortion of spacetime. An analysis of the effect of gravity on light reveals that time runs slower in gravitational fields and that light bends. The bending is increased by the curvature of space. We briefly examine black holes and end with the observational consequences of the theory.
This is a fascinating topic and not to be missed. We look forward to seeing you all there.
This meeting will also be live streamed to the AAS YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Young Astronomers Group October
2022-10-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Young Astronomers are continuing to explore living on the moon! Last month we looked at picking an appropriate moon landing site, and this month we’ll be looking at establishing moon bases. This will involve some crafting work so bring all your creative ideas about the ideal moon base.

YA team

Practical Astronomy October - Astronomical Object names and Catalogues.
2022-10-17 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month, we will be exploring astronomical naming conventions and object catalogues commonly encountered by amateur astronomers.

Film Night October 24th
2022-10-24 20:00 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We have two exciting films tonight

Life of a Universe – Part 1

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

BBC The Sky at Night – The Sky at Day

The Sky at Night team reveals how stargazers can overcome cloudy weather by pointing their telescopes at the sky when it’s still light.

2022 Burbidge Dinner
2022-10-29 18:30 - 22:00 | Ellerslie Events Center
The annual dinner for the Auckland Astronomical Society that includes the prizegiving for the New Zealand Astrophotography Competition and the Beaumont Prize for written contributions to the AAS Journal.
This year’s Burbidge Lecturer is Dr Charley Lineweaver.
Astrobiologist, Charles H. Lineweaver is an honorary associate professor at the Australian National University’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Research School of Earth Science ( www.mso.anu.edu.au/~charley ). His research areas include exoplanetology (the statistical analysis of exoplanets and their habitability), cosmobiology (using our new knowledge of cosmology to constrain life in the Universe) and cancer (a new atavistic model). He recently completed an online video MOOC at: arewealone.us. Dr. Lineweaver earned a BA in history from the State University of New York at Binghamton, an MA in English from Brown University, a BS is physics from Ludwig Maximillian’s University in Munich, and a PhD in physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1994. He is the son of a high school biology teacher and has lived in or traveled through 85 countries, has spoken 4 languages semi-fluently at one time or another, and was a semi-professional soccer player in New England and Germany.
Burbidge after dinner lecture
What can life on Earth (and in particular in New Zealand) tell us about life elsewhere in the universe?
The ubiquity of planets around other stars has made the question “Are we alone?” more compelling. Earth-like planets seem to be common. If there is life elsewhere, what is it like and how can we find it? To quote Jared Diamond: “New Zealand is as close as we will get to the opportunity to study life on another planet”. The isolated and independent evolution of life on New Zealand plays an important role in our attempts to estimate what biological evolution elsewhere may be capable of. For more detail see arewealone.us (in particular video 7.1.3).
Early-bird prices are available until Friday 07 October 2022:
Members $60 per head (including partners)
Non-Members $70 per head (including partners)
Full price:
Members $65 per head (including partners)
Non-Members $75 per head (including partners)
Purchase Burbidge Dinner Tickets.

Monthly Meeting October - The Habitability of Planets, Galaxies and Universes
2022-10-31 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Finding other Earths and potentially other life forms is a major, increasingly reasonable scientific goal. Our search for habitable planets and inhabited planets is now in high gear. But what is life? And what is the best way to look for it. Are there specific places and times in our galaxy where life is more probable? I will review the general idea of habitability as it applies to planets, galaxies and universes in the multiverse scenario.
Dr Charley Lineweaver is an honorary associate professor at the Australian National University’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Research School of Earth Science and this year’s Burbidge Din-
ner speaker.

Introduction to Astronomy November 2022
2022-11-07 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Hazards of Human Spaceflight to Mars
Things You Need To Know
NASA and Elon Musk’s Space X recently announced their intention to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s. Why go to Mars, and what are the challenges to the human body with this pioneering journey? Dr. Chris Benton will discuss these questions and outline the physical hazards of human long-duration spaceflight, proposed countermeasures and current research in this field, answering the question as to whether it will be safe.
It could be your close relatives or friends travelling on these pioneer missions. Come along and discover what you need to know for spaceflight to our neighbouring planet and possibly humanity’s second home.

Young Astronomers Group November
2022-11-14 19:00 - 20:00 | 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.
