The Volume 126 No. 8 August 2017 Bullen Monthly newsleer of the Astronomical Society of South Australia Inc In this issue: ♦ ASSA 125th Anniversary Dinner a great success ♦ Discoveries during ASSA’s 5th decade ♦ Mary’s first trip to the Alpana AstroCamp ♦ A dark night out with the serpent VicSouth bookings now open. www.vicsouth.info/ 2017.htm Registered by Australia Post Visit us on the web: Bullen of the ASSA Inc 1 August 2017 Print Post Approved PP 100000605 www.assa.org.au In this issue: ASSA Acvies 3-4 Details of general meengs, viewing nights etc History 5-7 ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY of Astronomical discoveries during ASSA 5th decade SOUTH AUSTRALIA Inc Alpana Astrocamp 8-9 GPO Box 199, Adelaide SA 5001 Mary Marnias tells of her first Alpana AstroCamp The Society (ASSA) can be contacted by post to the Astro News 10 address above, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Latest astronomical discoveries and reports Membership of the Society is open to all, with the only prerequisite being an interest in Astronomy. The Sky this month 11-14 Solar System, Comets, Variable Stars, Deep Sky Membership fees are: Full Member $75 ASSA Contact Informaon 15 Concessional Member $60 Subscribe e-Bullen only; discount $20 Members’ Image Gallery 16 Concession informaon and membership brochures can A gallery of members’ astrophotos be obtained from the ASSA web site at: hp://www.assa.org.au or by contacng The Secretary (see contacts page). Member Submissions Sister Society relaonships with: Submissions for inclusion in The Bullen are welcome Orange County Astronomers from all members; submissions may be held over for later edions. www.ocastronomers.org Colorado Springs Astronomical Society Wherever possible, text submissions should be sent via e- www.csastro.org mail or posted on CD-ROM in almost any word processing Central Arkansas Astronomical Society format and may sll be submied handwrien or typed. www.caasastro.org Your name may be withheld only if requested at the me Arkansas-Oklohoma Astronomical Society of subming. Images should be high resoluon and www.aoas.org uncompressed, e.g. TIFF file formats, although high Gruppo Astrofili di Piacenza (Italy) resoluon JPEGs are acceptable. Your full name and www.astrofilipc.it object designaon must be provided with each image and will be published. Equipment/exposure etc details are welcome but oponal. HAVE YOU GOT YOUR COPY YET? Adversing & Classifieds Available at the Small adverts and classifieds are free for members (space General Meengs, or by perming). Commercial adversing is available at a cost mail order of $50.00 per quarter page per issue. All enquiries and submissions should be addressed to The $25 + $4 p&h Editor and preferably sent by e-mail to: [email protected] Email: [email protected] For large files (e.g. on CD) or hardcopy items, post to: Joe Grida Editor, The Bullen PO Box 682, Cover photo: A 3 panel vercal panorama of the Milky Way Mylor SA 5153 taken by Trevor Green at Armagh, South Australia @10 p.m. on 05/08/2016. Canon 6d DSLR with a Tamron 15-30 mm f2.8 Contribuons should reach the Editor no later than lens @f2.8 and 20 mm on a Ioptron Star Tracker. ISO 800 x 60 the 7th of each month, for publicaon in the following sec exposure. month’s issue of The Bullen Bullen of the ASSA Inc 2 August 2017 Acvies August 2017 - the month at a glance Happy Birthday, ASSA Celebrang 125 years in 2017! General Meeng Stellar Evoluon Wednesday, 2 August, 2017 Stars live an incredibly long me. Some will live longer than the current @ 8:00pm age of the universe but all will eventually run out of fuel and die. Tonight Kerr Grant Lecture Theatre we will explore the life cycles of the stars. How they are born from vast 2nd Floor, Physics Blg clouds of dust and gas and evolve throughout their long lives as their University of Adelaide fuel is consumed. The life cycles of stars are directly linked to their mass. North Terrace, Adelaide Massive stars live fast and die young exploding as supernovae and seeding the universe with heavy elements. Less massive stars like the Sun will end their lives as beauful planetary nebulae. Guest Speaker: Colin Hill Beginners’ Councillor ASSA Planning on going August 2017 Calendar observing? Day Time Acvity Wed 2 7:00pm Beginners’ Meeng, Adelaide Save yourself unnecessary travel and me. If Wed 2 8:00pm General Meeng, Adelaide the weather looks doubul where you are, Thu 3 7:30pm Whyalla Members’ Meeng check with the following people to see if the Fri 18 8:00pm Public & Members’ Viewing, NYP event is sll on (or see www.assa.org.au aer Sat 19 8:00pm Members’ Viewing Night, Stockport 5pm). Sat 19 8:00pm Members’ Viewing Night, Tooperang Stockport Observatory (DO 3-13) Fri 25 7:30pm Astro-imaging Group, Modbury Fri 25 8:00pm Public Viewing Night, The Heights Observatory 8528 2284 Sat 26 8:00pm Winter Star Party, Stockport Tue 29 7:30pm ASSA Council Meeng Lyn Grida 8391 5377 Tony Beresford 8338 1231 Note: Times shown above and throughout this document are: 2 Oct 2016 to 1 Apr 2017 : South Australia Summer Time (UTC+10:30) Heights Observatory (DO 3-34) 2 Apr 2017 to 1 Oct 2017 : South Australia Standard Time (UTC+ 9:30) Robert Bronca 8266 7504 Whyalla Astronomy Educaon Peter Mayfield 0405 410 895 Wednesday, 2 August 2017 @ 7:00pm Tooperang Kerr Grant Lecture Theatre Jeff Lowrey 0429 690 610 Digital Astrophotography Northern Yorke Peninsula The ability to take stunning digital photographs of Tony “Hendy” Henderson 0429 352 382 the heavens has revoluonised amateur Riverland astrophotography. Tim Vivian 0407 800 225 How do digital cameras work and how are those wonderful images created and processed? Bullen of the ASSA Inc 3 August 2017 Reports and Noces Reports on recent ASSA acvies, and noces of upcoming events Guest Speaker Biography Astro-Imaging Group Meeng Friday 25 August 2017 @ 7:30PM Colin Hill University Of The Third Age, Beginners’ Councillor, ASSA 22 Golden Grove Rd, Modbury North Colin is a biomedical technician Enter via Gold Court to access Car Park 1 working at St. Andrew’s Hospital with past experience in defence Astro-Imaging Internet Resources electronics. He has been a member of ASSA since 1997 and has been on The Internet has become one of the most popular ASSA Council for most of that me and has held the posion mediums for special interest groups to share informaon of Beginner’s Councillor for the past 7 years. and experiences in their field of interest. This months meeng will be a discussion on what Forums, News Groups He has conducted the ever popular Beginners’ Educaon and Video Channels that members have found useful for courses prior to the General Meeng for the last 7 years. informaon on Astro-Imaging, so bring along a list of your favourite imaging Websites to share with the members. He also presents talks to school and special interest groups, and was a guest panellist discussing Black Holes at Science in A 4G WiFi Internet connecon and PC will be provided to the Pub. He also delivers astronomy presentaons at the display the Websites. Please bring any recent images that Stockport Star Pares. you would like to share with the group on a USB memory sck. He has a keen interest in astro-imaging, and operates Iris Observatory in his backyard at Gawler. Any quesons, contact the Group Co-ordinator, Jeff Lusher: [email protected] ASSA 125th Anniversary dinner a great success! Held on a wet and cold Saturday night, July 8 at the Belair Country Club, the party atmosphere inside was full of fun. More than 100 members, family and friends packed the venue. Our special guest, Dr David Malin, seen cung the 125th birthday cake at right, was also inducted into the ASSA Hall of Fame. Service Awards were also presented to Robert Bronca, Peter McKeough and Alan Brinkworth for their devoted service to the ASSA over many years. Joe Grida also presented a short history of the Adamson Orrery, made in 1870, which is in the care of the ASSA. Thanks to Lyn Grida for the overall organisaon of the night, Cate Parkinson for the invitaons and door prizes, Jan Doherty for the wonderful astro- themed tea towels and hand towels, and to John Hisco for the slide show. Bullen of the ASSA Inc 4 August 2017 History Andrew Collings reviews some of the astronomical discoveries since ASSA was formed 1932-1941: In this decade, more members are added to the sub atomic family tree, the periodic table grows a bit and Einstein and Bohr take the occasional pot-shot at each other. For the most part though, physics takes a backseat to the mathemacians and engineers who are busy craing the foundaons of the computer age. Helicopters, radar and jet engines for aircra make a showing in me for World War 2. 1932: properes of the universe are the same for all Invesgang sources of stac that might interfere with Bell observers.” Sixty years later philosopher of science Karl Telephone Laboratories radio transmissions Karl Guthe Popper has this to say, “And the ‘cosmological principles’ Jansky discovers the first radio signal from space. The faint were, I fear, dogmas that should not have been proposed.” steady hiss most intense in the direcon of the centre of the And his reason, “Because I dislike making of our lack of Milky Way. knowledge a principle of knowing something.” The Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge has a remarkable The Brish Interplanetary Society is year.