There are a number of IIS members that have 'scopes etc. that make my gear look a little pedestrian.....begging the queston: your point is?
All things aside....Bravo Auntie ABC!! ...I am totally over the cooking/weight/date drivel that the commercials have been shoveling up.
Sure it's not Sagan's Cosmos, but it is a breath of fresh air.
+1. Our TV is off 90% of the day. The rest of the time it is on ABC and SBS. Can't remember the last time it was on a commercial station.
I just simply cannot understand the whining and bloated cheeks here on IIS about it - it was very rapidly apparent the depth of the program. Don't like it, do something else.
Setting up the 18" (along with another dozen scopes) at Mount Stromlo Observatory this evening to provide some observing opportunities to those lucky people who managed to score tickets to the presentations/slide shows etc....
CFN has reasonable clear forecast....
Excellent Matt. Just hold that ladder!
Might image for the first time in over a year tonight
There are a number of IIS members that have 'scopes etc. that make my gear look a little pedestrian.....begging the queston: your point is?
All things aside....Bravo Auntie ABC!! ...I am totally over the cooking/weight/date drivel that the commercials have been shoveling up.
Sure it's not Sagan's Cosmos, but it is a breath of fresh air.
No big point. David Malin was doing the right thing, encouraging people to get involved by pointing out how easy and cheap it is to take nice nightscapes. It wasn't the time to point out that taking some of the best images going around will take decades of experience and $10,000s of gear. I just chuckled because I know the difference.
There was a similar situation last night when Kostas (?? - the hairy gardener) was introduced to a $600 8" dobs. That's the sort of outlay that beginners will feel is reasonable and affordable. It would have been inappropriate to show off a nice Tak/RCOS/Astrophysics rig and create the impression that that is what it takes to get into astronomy.
Anyway, we agree on 'Bravo to the ABC'. Let's hope that astro clubs see an upturn in interest and sales of telescopes increase.
?.... It would have been inappropriate to show off a nice Tak/RCOS/Astrophysics rig and create the impression that that is what it takes to get into astronomy.
Inappropriate? I disagree. Why not showcase a Lamborghini or Ferrari rather than suggest if you learn how to drive, then a Kia is as good as it gets.
I'm here at Federation Square are in Melbs with my family & about 10,000 other folks. Great atmosphere, lots of entertainment for the kids, food trucks, the ASV guys with their big dobs & it's cool listening to Dr. Karl answeringthe kids questions
We're all waiting to see Brian Cox on the big screen here!
EDIT: Woohoo - My Lobster nebula Pic made it on to the show
About 1800 'ticket' holders attended at Mount Stromlo Observatory last night.
We had about 15 telescopes set up on the usual suspects... (Moon, Jupiter, NGC5139, NGC2070, NGC4755, NGC104, M42, NGC3372 etc)
My 'clicker' count was 429 at the 18" Dob.... There are only so many ways and times you can discuss Omega Cent......
Photos at Federation Square -Star gazing Live in Melbourne
Hi All,
Such wonderful event to host in Melbourne city on Thursday night for Star Gazing Live by, eg, Dr Karl and Grace Koh of the ABC, Astronomical Society of Vic with its many telescopes for the public to view the Moon, CAASTRO - Arc Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics, Swinburne University and other science and space marquees for the children.
This is what makes Melbourne a most heartwarming and livable city for the family!
Some photos I took of the wonderful and memorable night. Enjoy!
Thanks Bill, I was wondering whether it was possible to view it through a telescope, knowing its magnitude would be good. However I cannot find it in Stellarium or other apps.
Mal, keep googling, we may nail this star's magnitude as more news filters thru.
As an example, Kepler 22 star, with planet Keppler 22-b, is a yellow dwarf star with magnitude 11.5, and this star is also 600 light years away like star EE-1!
Dunk, sorry you couldn't be with us. It was a truly wonderful experience to see families come together at Fed square for such a family oriented astronomical event, that astronomy and space can spread so much further than us who share a passion of the night sky here and the amateurs with their space shots up the big screen featured on the show.
We really need to step back and appreciate this star gazing TV event from this perspective and angle to appreciate what Brian Cox is hoping to achieve here. And Fed Square event in Melbourne making this possible as a live event (and not a TV box) with Dr Karl and Grace Koh of the ABC, scientists, astrophysicists at CAASTRO and others with their marquees aimed for the children, all their efforts on Thursdays nights should be applauded for such a free fantastic event for the family.
Everyone of us there contributed to make it possible. The weather in Melbourne finally made it perfect that night, with the gibbous Moon up in the Melbourne CBD for the telescopes to convey her beauty to the children.
I've uploaded a small sample of the photos before, will upload more as I go, here are some more for the memories.
The Penrith Observatory has a twice-a-month Family Viewing Night, the most recent one being Saturday evening (last night). WSAAG support the effort with members bringing their own telescopes and showing visitors to the observatory more objects than what the regular staff could manage.
The visitors last night were quite aware of the Stargazing Live program - much more than I would have expected - and many discussed items of interest with WSAAG members and observatory staff.
My thinking is that - based on this (small, probably biased) sample), the Stargazing Live project was a good success, even if the metric is simply number of persons watching. I think it also raised the profile of astronomy and (possibly more importantly) gave the regular man-in-the-street some inkling that Real Science is not impossible for real people, especially where astronomy is concerned. There are projects for (almost) everyone.
Not bad, the after show was enjoyable sorry can't help it
more Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith
Dr Harvey Smith is brilliant in front of the camera. Dare I say, for the second series (fingers cross) the ABC can save on Dr Cox's airfare and employ more of Dr Harvey Smith's time.
Dr Harvey Smith is brilliant in front of the camera. Dare I say, for the second series (fingers cross) the ABC can save on Dr Cox's airfare and employ more of Dr Harvey Smith's time.
David
...And scrap Julia. As a long time watcher I was disappointed that the ABC had to switch to the local people when they could have used the Brits with their established interactions, talk about lack of multiculturalism. Having Aussies on the show and the pre-recorded pieces was great but like with Top Gear Australia we took a good formula and ruined it with people who have no clue, at least Dara has a science degree and a long time interest so his jokes work better than Julias condescending HHMMmms. She's just as poor at IT events I've attended.