Monthly Meeting September
2024-09-09 20:00 - 21:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
District Court Judge Alan Goodwin, the Author of the novel Greene Lyon, will discuss his book on Sir Isaac Newton.
The novel tells the ‘true’ story of Isaac Newton and the falling apple, one of the great historical myths. The book combines real aspects of Newton’s life with entirely fictionalised parts and explores the murky divisions between magic beliefs and early scientific discovery. The story centres around Newton’s obsessions and secretive nature. He wants to understand the universe, which he believes is the manifestation of God’s power, but is haunted by darker impulses and a passion for Alice Cutler, a girl from his youth, who bears the mark of a witch. When Alice’s life is threatened by a witch finder, Isaac’s life unravels, driving him to scientific creation and a choice to banish Alice with fatal consequences.
Born in England in 1963, Alan Goodwin was educated at Friends’ School, a Quaker school, in Saffron Walden, Essex, before taking a degree in Social Science. When qualified as a solicitor, he practised Criminal and Family law in West London. In 1994 Alan emigrated to New Zealand and worked for many years at Corban Revell Lawyers in West Auckland where he became a managing partner of the firm. From 2011 to 2016 he worked as a barrister specialising in Family law, acting for parties and working as a Lawyer for Child. Over the years he presented at legal seminars and conferences. In 2016 Alan was appointed as a District Court Judge, sitting in the Family and Criminal courts in Manukau, Auckland. Writing has been Alan’s passion since he was a teenager; he is also an avid reader with an enduring love of both fiction and non-fiction, especially history and biography. He has a particular interest in science, its history and impact on the way we live. When not reading and writing, or enjoying family time, Alan is a keen follower of sports, especially football (he is a lifelong supporter of Tottenham Hotspur) and has also coached over the years. Greene Lyon is Alan’s second novel. His previous publications are Gravity’s Chain, HarperCollins, 2006, and Working with Psychologists, co-authored with Llewelyn Richards-Ward, New Zealand Law Society, 2002.
The book can be purchased at https://quentinwilsonpublishing.com/product/greene-lyon-a-novel-by-alan-goodwin/

Astrophotography Group September
2024-09-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Astrophotopgraphy Show-and-Tell
Please do feel free to bring all your favourite and best astrophotos on USB drive, to share with the attendees.
The provided system has industrial-grade antivirus software, to protect data integrity.
Please also do feel free to provide all the details of location, camera, processing, and your experience.

Unguided Dobsonian-mount Newtonian Digital Astrophotography
– How to take an off-the-cuff snapshot with your smartphone, with and without a smartphone mount
– F/ratio considerations
– Digital guidance for faint stuff – the freeware Astrohopper
– The optimum eyepiece focal length for planets
– The optimum eyepiece focal length for bright deep-sky objects
– Inexpensive CMOS cameras for instruments of 4″ – 8″ aperture
– Getting serious – CMOS cameras for instruments of 8″ aperture and up
– The limit of the state of the art

Martin La Grange

Practtical Astronomy September
2024-09-16 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The Spring Night Sky
This will be one of our quarterly planetarium sessions where we will review the Spring Night Sky. The the weather is suitable we will follow the meeting with telescope observing.

Film Night September
2024-09-23 20:00 - 21:30 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We are running two films tonight. We look forwards to seeing you there.

Are We Alone | Astronomical Space Documentary Episode 3

Damon Scotting spent six years making this very engaging documentary. We are viewing episode 3 of 6

Back to the Moon – Part 1 ｜ VOANews

After the Apollo program ended, the US took a long hiatus from lunar exploration. What happened during this time, and what has NASA been doing? This documentary explores the multiple attempts to return to the Moon. This is Part 1 of 2

Northern Star Party – October 4th to 6th
2024-10-04 17:00 - 2024-10-06 11:00 | Waharau Regional Park, 1748 East Coast Rd, Orere Point, Whakatiwai, 2473
Dark Sky Weekend
We are excited to announce the dates for the second Northern Star Party for 2024 to held at Waharau Regional Park and hosted by the Auckland Astronomical Society. We are holding the event over the nights of Friday 4th and Saturday 5th of October. Packing up on the morning of the 6th.
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 prior 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 1st October
$20
$40

Late bookings
$30
$50

No one night price.
To book, please log into Hello Club……….Click here for link.
From the Hello Club page, you will need to log in.
Program:
Friday: Viewing, movie (TBC)
Saturday:
Workshops: Midday to 4:30 pm.
Solar Viewing during the day on Saturday.

Time
Activity
Details

13:00 – 14:00
TBC
TBC

14:30 – 15:00
Practical Astronomy
TBC

16:30 – 18:00
Telescope trail
Telescope trail

For the full information pack, click here.

Introduction to Astronomy October 2024
2024-10-07 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Solar System Surprises
by guest speaker Jonathan Park
We know a great deal about our Solar System – there are eight planets, several dwarf planets, over 300 moons, countless asteroids (some with moons!) and other small objects… the list goes on. Of course, there is sure to be more to discover and many mysteries still to be solved. But in the vast amount of current Solar System knowledge, there are some facts that will surprise you! For example, you will learn what plutinos, twotinos and cubewanos (“Q-B-waanos”) are. This talk includes something for all age groups and all levels of astronomy knowledge, so come along to hear about a selection of these “Solar System Surprises”!
This meeting will also be live-streamed on the AAS YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AucklandAstronomicalSociety

Young Astronomers Group October - Let's answer some more what if questions.
2024-10-14 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Ever wondered what would happen if the Sun exploded today? Or what if someone fell into a black hole? And what’s that new comet coming towards us? No! Not just C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), a brand new and brighter one! (C/2024 S1) 🤯 In this exciting session, we’ll dive into all your wild and crazy “what if” questions and explore the incredible possibilities of the universe! 🚀 This is your chance to ask those mind-boggling space questions and discuss them with other young, curious minds just like you! We’ll end with a super fun kahoot quiz or a special blooket activity to test your space smarts, so don’t forget to bring your devices! 📱 If you love space and want to explore the craziest “what if” scenarios, this lesson is for you! Let’s go beyond the stars together. ✨

Monthly Meeting October - Black Holes and the Technology to Find Them
2024-10-14 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The population of black holes, objects left over from dead stars, is almost entirely unexplored. Only about two dozen black holes are confidently known in our Galaxy. As a result, some of the most basic properties of black holes remain unknown, including the true number of black holes in the Galaxy, their masses and sizes, and how the black holes were formed. Dr. Lu discusses how she and other astronomers are using “gravitational lensing” — something predicted by Einstein’s work — to open a new window onto black holes, and how the first free-floating black holes are now being discovered. She explains, in everyday language, why astronomers expect that the number of known black holes will increase by a factor of 100 over the next decade.
Talk by Dr. Jessica Lu (University of California, Berkeley)
This is a rebroadcast of one of the SVA Lecture Series.
The meeting will be followed by supper.

Practical Astronomy October - Telescope Mounts
2024-10-21 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This month’s talk will be about the various types of telescope mounting systems and how they are used.

Film Night October
2024-10-28 20:00 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We are running one full length film tonight. We look forwards to seeing you there.

The film we are playing tonight covers many different subjects. It looks at SpaceX Projects, Space Communications, how partnerships with private companies like Boeing and SpaceX are reshaping space travel and much more. This is a well put together, very interesting film.

Introduction to Astronomy November 2024
2024-11-04 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
What Meteorites Tell Us About The Early Solar System
by guest speaker Joel Schiff
Meteorites are Solar System material that has landed on Earth. Most of it comes from the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, although some specimens are from the Moon and Mars. How this material lands on Earth and why it is scientifically important for studying the origins of the Solar System will be the subject of the talk. Numerous samples belonging to the author will be available for perusal.
This is a fascinating and important topic of astronomy. We look forward to seeing you all there!

2024 Burbidge Dinner
2024-11-09 18:30 - 22:00 | Waipuna Events Center, 58 Waipuna Road, Auckland, 1060, New Zealand
The Burbidge Dinner is held annually in honour of the main founder of the Auckland Astronomical Society, Professor Percy Burbidge. Proceedings will commence with a welcome followed by the announcement of the winners of the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotography Competition. One of this year’s judges, Dylan O’Donnell will be present to award the prizes. The prize giving will be followed by a buffet dinner and an after dinner lecture by Dylan O’Donnell.
Not just Pretty Pictures – The intersection between Science and Astrophotography.
Astrophotography is regarded as one of the most difficult forms of photography. The skills required for many branches of specialized astrophotography overlap with the skills required for professional astronomy. Most of the time there is a clear distinction between these two groups but in many cases collaboration between them yields scientific results that could not have been achieved otherwise.
Dylan O’Donnell is an Australian award winning astrophotographer with a popular YouTube channel and social media following. He is a brand ambassador for Celestron telescopes and the founder & host of the Star Stuff astronomy event in Australia. He holds a masters degree in computer science and a bachelor degree in Astronomy and hosts a weekly space segment on ABC radio. Dylan also releases his astrophotography from the Byron Bay Observatory freely to the public domain.

Tickets for the 2024 Burbidge are now available.
Member Ticket prices – Early Bird price until 12th October $70. Ticket price after 12th October $75
Non member ticket prices – Early Bird price until 12th October $75. Ticket price after 12th October $80
To order tickets please email events@astronomy.org.nz
Doors Open 6:30pm
Welcome to members and guests 7pm
A cash bar will be available.
Event Venue
Waipuna Hotel and Conference Center
58 Waipuna Road
Mt Wellington
Auckland
The Cosmic Bat LDN 43 (Captured and processed by Dylan O’Donnell)

Monthly Meeting November -Dot to Dot in the Sky – The Nature of Night
2024-11-11 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Early cultures sought connections between what happened on Earth and what occurred overhead. They told stories to explain the stars, auroras, and other night sky phenomena. Discover legends of the night sky, as well as the relationship between art, science, and nature in our Earth-sky environment.
Joan Marie Galat is an award-winning author in Canada who shares her love of the night sky in books that include the Dot to Dot in the Sky series, Dark Matters—Nature’s Reaction to Light Pollution, and the National Geographic Kids title: Absolute Expert: Space. Joan’s 2024 release—Make Your Mark, Make a Difference—includes issues relating to outer space and the night sky. Visit www.joangalat.com for additional information.

Astrophotography Group November
2024-11-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Comet stacking and other features of Deep Sky Stacker with Eric Chiu.

Practical Astronomy November - Variable Stars
2024-11-18 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
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
2024-11-25 20:00 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
We are running two films tonight regarding our Moon
We look forwards to seeing you there.
One Big Step for Mankind | Astronomical Space Documentary Episode 12

This is the Moment that Changed Everything

Back to the Moon – Part 2 ｜ VOANews

After the Apollo program ended, the US took a long hiatus from lunar exploration. What happened during this time, and what has NASA been doing? This documentary explores the multiple attempts to return to the Moon. This is Part 2 of 2

Introduction to Astronomy December 2024
2024-12-02 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Annual Fun Quiz Night
As we approach the end of the year, it’s time for our annual quiz. We’ll have fun reflecting on ideas covered over 2024 and discussing new interesting topics such as Brown Dwarfs and Milankovitch Climate Cycles. All attendees will receive a comprehensive handout on the latter two subjects and enjoy a liberal supply of chocolates.
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 fun reviewing the main points from our regular sessions, learning some new things, and munching on end-of-year treats.
We look forward to seeing you all there!

Young Astronomers Group - The Astro Game Show and Meteorites
2024-12-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
In this session, I will bring some rocks from space (meteorites) to the session, where you get to hold a fragment from space in your hands. And I will show you the billion year long stories of them.
But that’s just the beginning! In the second half, gear up for The Astro Game Show, a highly engaging quiz featuring all the hottest space topics we’ve explored this year. Compete with your peers, test your knowledge, and prove you’re the ultimate space ace. The winner will receive an exclusive opportunity to control a powerful online telescope and capture an image of any celestial object of their choice! Here’s something I took with the telescope network (below)
Don’t miss out! This is your chance to learn, compete, and make your mark in the cosmos.

Monthly Meeting December - Exploring the Gravitational Wave Universe
2024-12-09 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Measuring gravitational waves is a revolutionary new way to do astronomy. They were predicted by Einstein, but it was not until 2015, that LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) first detected one of these waves. They were tiny ripples in space itself, generated by the collision of two black holes. Since then, LIGO and its international partners have measured nearly 100 signals. Dr. Lantz explains what we can learn from these bursts of energy and just how it is possible to measure a wave which stretches our detector 1000 times less than the diameter of a proton. And he discusses what’s coming next in our search for these tell-tale ripples in space?
Dr. Lantz is the scientific leader for the Advanced LIGO seismic isolation system.
This will be a rebroadcast of one of the Silicaon Valley Lecture Series.

Special General Meeting
2024-12-16 20:00 - 20:15 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
At the 2024 AGM in April, draft accounts for the 2023 year were presented. It was resolved to hold a Special General Meeting to approve the final prepared accounts, which are now available. The Special General
Meeting motion will be as follows.
That the Auckland Astronomical Society prepared accounts for 2023 be approved.
No other business or general business will be transacted at this meeting.

Practical Astronomy - The Summer Night Sky
2024-12-16 20:15 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
This will be one of our quarterly planetarium sessions where we will review the Summer Night Sky using the Planetarium.

Special General Meeting
2025-02-03 19:45 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
A Special General Meeting called to approve the 2023 Accounts

Introduction to Astronomy February 2025
2025-02-03 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
The Moons of Jupiter
By Jonathan Park
Jupiter has 95 officially recognised moons, which our guest speaker, Jonathan Park, will discuss. Learn about where they all came from, including working out which are parts of larger objects that were shattered in the past. We’ll also discuss the four large Galilean moons, three with subsurface saltwater oceans and one with active volcanoes and several lava lakes. It’s going to be an informative and fun way to start the year. We hope to see you all there for this stimulating talk with Jonathan!

Young Astronomers
2025-02-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
What would happen if you got too close to a black hole? Would you be stretched like spaghetti? Would you ever escape? Are black holes gateways straight to hell? This month, we’re diving into the most mysterious objects in the universe: Black holes! From stellar-mass monsters just a few kilometers across to supermassive giants that could swallow entire star systems, each black hole is a universe of its own. Get ready to unravel their secrets, from insane amounts of gravity to the point of no return!
Just to note: If Earth were compressed into a black hole, it would be the size of a marble, and do you know black holes bigger than the solar system exist?

Monthly Meeting February - Touching the Sun
2025-02-10 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Despite its familiarity, the Sun is a very different presence from the friendly yellow circle in children’s paintings. Our star is a broiling mass of plasma, with its powerful magnetic fields, twisted by its rotation, capable of producing dramatic events of spectacular beauty and power. Using results from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe – the fastest moving human-made object ever – and ESA’s Solar Orbiter, this spectacular lecture takes a new look at the mysteries of the Sun, and its effects on the Earth.
This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 15th January 2024 at Conway 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.

Practical Astronomy
2025-02-17 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Telescopes and Accessories
This month we will be talking about the various types of telescopes and commonly used accessories.

Film Night February
2025-02-24 20:00 - 21:15 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This is the first film night for 2025 and we have a great line up.
We look forwards to seeing you there.

The 7 Wonders of Our Solar System

The 8 Wonders of Our Universe | Astronomical Space Documentary Episodes 5 & 6

Damon Scotting presents two stunning short documentaries
Ancestral Skies | BBC The Sky at Night

The BBC Sky at Night team are back with this informative documentary, even discussing our very own back yard

Introduction to Astronomy March 2025
2025-03-03 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission to Jupiter
Late last year, NASA launched a mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, in search of its potential to host life. Tonight, Chris Benton will discuss why NASA chose Europa and what special features attract astronomers and astrobiologists to such a mission. Come along and also learn about the spacecraft, how it will use gravitational assist manoeuvres to reach its destination, its various instruments and the science to be performed.

Young Astronomers Group March - Measuring Distances in Space
2025-03-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Measuring distances in space
Do we have to run the distance of a galaxy🏃, throw a spacecraft to travel for hundreds of billions of kilometers🛰️ or use a light-year long ruler to measure the distances in space📏?
What if I told you that scientists are able to measure the distances without the need of going to space?
And young scientists like you can do it too? Right here in our home on planet Earth?
Find out how we measure distances in space and how you can do it too in young astronomers group!

Monthly Meeting March - Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars
2025-03-10 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Dr. Dan Coe (Space Telescope Science Institute)
Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars
The Webb Telescope was designed to look back in time, to study the first generation of stars, and reveal our cosmic origins. Now in its second year of operation, JWST has already brought us tantalizingly close to our dream of seeing those first stars. Dr. Coe takes us on a profusely illustrated tour of some of the best images and latest results from the telescope, and tells us about his and others’ observations of the most distant stars and galaxies astronomers have ever seen, providing a view of the universe as it was 13 billion years ago.
This is a rebroadcast of one of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series.
