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Welcome to the AASFounded in 1923 and now with over 600 members, the Auckland Astronomical Society is one of New Zealand's largest We are based at the Auckland Observatory and provide for all levels of interest and expertise in astronomy. We are committed to educating our members in the science of astronomy and to keeping them up-to-date with current astronomical developments and discoveries. The Society members provide voluntary support for the Stardome Observatory public programs. The New Zealand Astrophotography Competition2018 NZ Astrophotography Competition Entry Form2018 NZ Astrophotography Competition Conditions of EntryCalling all Astrophotographers! The 2018 New Zealand Astrophotography competition is now underway, this year we have changed things up a bit, the first thing you will notice is the new name of the competition, this is to reflect that the competition has now been officially recognized and endorsed by the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, of course contestants will still compete for the highly coveted Harry Williams Trophy which goes to the overall winner of the competition.This year we are honoured to have Michael A Covington as our judge, Michael is a pioneer of DSLR Astrophotography and is also the author of the text book "Digital SLR Astrophotography" which for a lot of people was the first text book that helped get them started in DSLR Astrophotography, the book was released in 2007 by the Cambridge University Press and the 2nd edition of this book is slated for a 2018 release in November which will contain many updates and revisions, for more information please check out Michael's website here ... http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/dslr/index.htmlThis year there has been some rule changes so please read over the competition rules carefully.For this years competition, we are happy to have Optolong Astronomical Filters sponsor the overall winner again with one of their wonderful filters offered as a prize ( filter type yet to be determined ), we are also happy to announce that Astronz will also be sponsoring the competition again with a $300 Astronz gift voucher offered for the winner of the Solar System category, Australian Sky & Telescope have also generously offered to sponsor the competition again with two one year subscriptions to their prestigious magazine for both the Deep Sky and Artistc / Nightscape categories, the Auckland Astronomical Society is also giving each category winner a $200 cash prize, with hopefully more sponsors and prizes to be announced later on, so keep an eye out for updates.The competition cutoff date is the 25th of August, 2018 and the competition awards will be announced at the annual Burbidge dinner which is the Auckland Astronomical Society's premier annual event, keep an eye out on the society website for details on the forthcoming Burbidge dinner. Looking forward to seeing all your images and wishing you all clear skies.
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Upcoming Events
Monthly Meeting July - The birth, life and death of massive stars – and why we care about them at all
Monday 30 Jul, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
Speaker/Host:
Dr Anna McLeod
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The Monthly Meeting normally features a talk by a guest speaker. This month is
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Monthly Meeting July - The birth, life and death of massive stars – and why we care about them at all
Monday 30 Jul, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
The Monthly Meeting normally features a talk by a guest speaker. This month is
The birth, life and death of massive stars – and why we care about them at all
Abstract: Throughout their entire life, massive stars deeply affect their surroundings: via outflows when they first form, via strong stellar winds and powerful ionising radiation later on, and via energetic supernovae explosions when their life ends; ultimately, massive stars contribute determining the evolution of entire galaxies. However, the formation of massive stars remains a mystery, which we are only now starting to unravel. I will discuss the main difficulties of massive star formation theory, and relate these to the most recent observational discoveries in the field.
Dr Anna McLeod, Lecturer University of Canterbury.
With large data sets from the largest telescopes in the world, such as the Very Large Telescope in Chile, I study the effect that the most massive stars we know of have on their environment. These stars, which have masses 8 times and above that of our Sun, shape the material within the regions they form in, they contribute to the formation of new generations of stars, and they regulate the evolution of entire galaxies. By comparing a large number of observations of "feedback in action" to each other and to simulations, it is possible to determine how feedback from massive stars depends on a range of characteristics, such as the location of the stars within the galaxy, the number of massive stars driving the feedback, or even the chemical composition of the star-forming regions.
Note change of date.
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Young Astronomers - Aug
Friday 03 Aug, 2018
at 19:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory - Matariki Room
Speaker/Host:
Margaret Arthur
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Young Astronomers is our group aimed for 7-13 year olds.
The session covers a range of current astronomy topics with plenty of Q&A and includes some telescope viewing (weather permitting).
...more
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Young Astronomers - Aug
Friday 03 Aug, 2018
at 19:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory - Matariki Room
Young Astronomers is our group aimed for 7-13 year olds.
The session covers a range of current astronomy topics with plenty of Q&A and includes some telescope viewing (weather permitting).
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Intro to Astronomy - Aug
Monday 06 Aug, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
Speaker/Host:
Chris Benton
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A tutorial series covering many aspects of astronomy. This months topic is:
...more
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Intro to Astronomy - Aug
Monday 06 Aug, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
A tutorial series covering many aspects of astronomy. This months topic is:
The Role of Liquid Water on Climate and Change on Mars Currently, being at its largest and brightest in the sky since 2003, Mars is very topical. Moreover, NASAs recent announcement of the discovery of organic molecules and cyclical fluctuations of methane levels on the planet has created further interest. The May Introduction to Astronomy talk was on the hazards of long-duration human spaceflight, so it is timely that we now discuss Mars, in particular one very controversial aspect of this intriguing world. Despite current cold and dry conditions, incompatible with supporting surface liquid water, did water once flow on Mars in the past? The answer to this question is of importance for future inhabitants and astrobiologist. In tonights discussion I will examine the evidence for previous surface liquid water on Mars and argue for suitable climate conditions in the past; followed by how, when and why the climate changed; and what happened to the water and atmosphere. Best regards Chris Benton. PS: For a PDF copy of the full article and reference list please email me at cbenton@xtra.co.nz
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Monthly Meeting Aug -
Monday 13 Aug, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
Speaker/Host:
- TBA
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The Monthly Meeting normally features a talk by a guest speaker. This month is:
tba
details tba
...more
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Monthly Meeting Aug -
Monday 13 Aug, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
The Monthly Meeting normally features a talk by a guest speaker. This month is:
tba
details tba
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Practical Astronomy Aug -
Monday 20 Aug, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
Speaker/Host:
Carolle Varughese
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The Practical Astronomy sessions focus on learning the night sky and using telescopes. This months topic is:
tba
details tba. <
...more
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Practical Astronomy Aug -
Monday 20 Aug, 2018
at 20:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
The Practical Astronomy sessions focus on learning the night sky and using telescopes. This months topic is:
tba
details tba.
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Astrophotography Group Aug -
Monday 20 Aug, 2018
at 19:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
Speaker/Host:
Shaun Fletcher
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The Astrophotography sessions focus on equipment, techniques and processing for imaging the night sky.
TBA
...more
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Astrophotography Group Aug -
Monday 20 Aug, 2018
at 19:00Hrs
Venue: Stardome Observatory
The Astrophotography sessions focus on equipment, techniques and processing for imaging the night sky.
TBA
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View Our Other Upcoming Events
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Astronz M-TRI
Astronz Professional Tripod
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Astronz P-DOB08
Explore the sky telescope package
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Astronz B-2080P
20x80mm Premium Binoculars
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Astronz T-DOB08
GSO 8" Dobsonian Telescope
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