In this edition:
• Club Activities
• A Visitor from Another Solar System
• July–August Events
• Astronomy Tongue Twisters
• Busy BAS in June
• Scenic Rim Star Party
• The Sky in July
• Equipment for Sale
• BAS Information
• Hypothetical
In this edition:
• Club Activities
• June–July Events
• Twenty-five Years of the World Wide Web
• Busy May for BAS
• The Sky in June
• The Richest Map of Our Galaxy Yet
• Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
• Nowhere Near Here
• Equipment for Sale
• BAS Information
• Our Sputtering Sun
In this edition:
• Club Activities
• April–May Events
• Stephen Hawking (1942–2018)
• A Galaxy with Little or No Dark Matter!
• Some March Events
• Looks Can Be Deceiving
• Can You See Quasar 3C 273?
• The Sky in April
• Satellite Saturnalia
• Equipment for Sale
• BAS Information
• Spectacular Image of Isolated Neutron Star
In this edition:
• Club Activities
• Maleny – January & February Observing Evenings
• March–April Events
• Fabulous Image of Omega Centauri
• Teach Yourself Astronomy
• Did Life Begin in Space
• The Sky in March
• Space Rocks Unique
• Equipment for Sale
• BAS Information
• Astrophotography Workshop
In this edition:
• Club Activities
• Student Helps Discover New Planet
• Eighth Planet Discovered in Kepler-90 Star System
• December–January Events
• SkyMapper Creates Best Map Yet of the Southern Sky
• The Sky in December
• A Catastrophic Senryũ
• Equipment for Sale
• Bas Information
• Four Spacecraft Parked at the Space Station
A Farewell . . . and a Welcome
Club Activities
February–March Events
The Sky in February
The Moon from Geostationary Orbit
A Four-planet System in Orbit: Directly Imaged!
Equipment for Sale
Brisbane LED Street Lighting Trials
Discovery of Water on 51 Peg b
BAS Information
Spectacular Close-up of Saturn’s Rings
Astronomy in Antarctica. It seems a strange place to locate a telescope. Most of us find a SE Queensland winter a sufficient challenge to operate a telescope. However, BAS member, Mike Zupanc, who has actually lived and worked in Antarctica, explained to us just why the frozen continent is one of the best places on Earth for a few specific forms of astronomy. For one, the atmospheric turbulence we experience in temperate and tropical zones from jet streams and moving high and low-pressure systems and pestering clouds, are not an issue on the high dome regions of central Antarctica. Moisture is also never a problem as it instantly freezes to ice on the ice pack. So, telescopes are free of dust and condensation and can even track circumpolar objects continuously at certain times of the year. We even learned that the University of NSW has an entirely autonomous telescope operating in Antarctica. That is an impressive feat. Most of us have enough trouble keeping our telescopes operating for a few hours within arm’s reach.
Thank you Mike for a really informative talk.
After a 2018-19 summer that delivered little rain, but clouds just about every New Moon period, we finally had a win. BAS held its second 2019 Dark Sky Weekend at the Warwick Gliding Club (WGC) on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of May. It looked doubtful leaving Brisbane in a drenching storm on Saturday afternoon, but the forecasts proved correct and the skies cleared for two fantastic nights under the stars and rising Milky Way. The WGC facilities were excellent and club members extremely welcoming. The only disappointment was the dismal show by the Eta Aquarid meteors. Let’s hope we now get a good run of cloud-free New Moons for the remainder of the year.
Maintenance of dark adaptation is critical for visual astronomers. Where artificial lighting has been necessary, astronomers have traditionally used red lighting. However there are sound reasons to suggest that this may not be the optimal colour. This study revealed that orange is the most appropriate colour for lighting for most astronomers, but there was considerable variation.
Learn much more about this issue in, BAS member, Dr Ken Wishaw’s research paper – available here
