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Report on NACAA 2018
Report on NACAA 2018.
NACAA is the National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers and it is held every 2 years. For 2018 the convention was held in Ballarat over the easter break. The venue was the Mercure Hotel resort near the Ballarat Observatory. This venue was a very attractive and relaxing place to stay (set around a lake with bushland and gardens).
NACAA was hosted by the Ballarat Astronomical Society in collaboration with the Ballarat Municipal Observatory and Museum. The Ballarat Observatory is the oldest operating regional public observatory in Australia, marking its 132nd anniversary in 2018.
There were a variety of sessions at the conference – and more than enough to satisfy everyone. The keynote address was given by Professor Virginia Kilborn of Swinburne University on the topic of “A golden age for astronomy in Australia”. She spoke about research areas in the coming decades with emphasis on how planets, stars, and galaxies form and evolve, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
The after dinner speaker was A/Prof Emma Ryan-Weber (Swinburne) on Big Bang Cosmology and our Milky Way Galaxy.
Most of the Saturday sessions were run by amateurs and each lasted 30 minutes. Some topics I found interesting were:
Astrophysics with small telescopes.
CMOS cameras for Astronomy education and research.
A visit to the very large telescope in Chile.
Infrared studies of the outer planets.
I presented two papers – one on Solar Astronomy and the other on the results of the Cassini mission.
About 80 participants really enjoyed the long weekend of activities. On the Monday there were some specialist symposiums – one on Occulations and the other on Dark Sky observing.
Thank you to the Ballarat club for organizing the weekend of activities. It takes a lot of work organizing a national conference and the club is to be congratulated for their excellent effort.
The next NACAA will be held in 2020 in Parkes NSW.
Last edited by John W; 23-04-2018 at 06:56 PM.
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