BAS Observer December 2017

DECEMBER 2017 5 General Meetings ( Newmarket Bowls Club, 212 Ashgrove Avenue, Ashgrove ) • Friday, 1st December • Please note that there will be no general meeting in January. Brisbane North Star-BQs ( Forgan Park, Forgan Road, Lake Samsonvale, Joyner ) • Saturday, 16th December, 5.00 p.m.–11.30 p.m. ( for BAS members and their guests only ) December–January Events Astronomers at ANU have created a comprehensive map of the southern sky that can be viewed online by anyone around the world. The map includes about 70 000 individual images, capturing nearly 300 million stars and galaxies. Lead researcher Dr Christian Wolf from ANU said the map was created using SkyMapper, a 1.3-metre telescope at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory that is creating a full record of the southern sky for astronomers internationally: ‘The map of the southern sky we’ve released to the world today is the best ever created, but this is only the beginning of a five- year program to capture it in all its splendour. The final map will show stars and galaxies that are up to 50 times fainter than the limits of this map.’ The map is available through an online portal . The search bar can help viewers find well-known objects in the southern sky with astronomical coordinates or common names, such as Eta Carinae or NGC 253 (also known as the Sculptor Galaxy). SkyMapper creates best map yet of the southern sky The Management Committee of the Brisbane Astronomical Society Inc. wishes All Members and Their Families a Merry Christmas and Clear Skies in the New Year.