National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomer

[glenc]

Attached is my poster at the National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomer at Parkes, NSW during Easter.

JAMES DUNLOP – AUSTRALIA'S FORGOTTEN ASTRONOMER

[Satchmo]

Thanks Glen , looks great .

[Mark_Heli]

Hi Glen,

Great write-up and nice to get some insights into Aussie pioneers.

I really enjoyed reading through the poster.

Cheers,
Mark

[LonelySpoon]

Hi Genn,
I saw this up there and thought "Wow, somebody else who knows about Dunlop"!

I referred to him in my presentation but only briefly.

Do any southern amateurs try to do a Dunlop Marathon like northerners try to do a Messier marathon, I wonder?

I've got about 12 so far.

Cheers,

Neville
LSO

[Startrek]

Hi Glen,
A fitting tribute to one of our greatest yet least known astronomers ( even though he was a Scotsman )
Well done indeed !!
I knew about James Dunlop well before I got into the hobby back in 2016
My son lived in Dunlop st North Parramatta for a number of years and my wife and I would often take the grandkids for a walk through Parramatta Park.
It’s a real shame Dunlop is virtually unknown outside the amateur astronomy community.

Cheers
Martin
PS: I should take a drive to Kincumber on the Central Coast to visit his gravesite ( probably overgrown with weeds )

[glenc]

Thanks for all your comments.
Dunlop's grave at Kincumber

[glenc]

Do any southern amateurs try to do a Dunlop Marathon like northerners try to do a Messier marathon, I wonder?
Cheers, Neville

Neville, here is a suggested Dunlop marathon
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=203327&highlight=marathon

[EpickCrom]

Hi Glen, thanks for spotlighting our own James Dunlop, a pioneering observer of the southern skies!

He discovered some real beauts up there :thumbsup:

[glend]

Martin, I am very familiar with James Dunlop's contribution. His discoveries feature throughout the Southern Gems (Deep Sky Companions) by S O'Meara; which was my observation bible for a decade. I was recently in Parramatta to attend an NRL game with my son in law, after having left Sydney 13 years ago, and never expected to encounter the massive high rise development that taken place there. Dark sky has long ago been driven out of all of Parramatta. It was the toll that so called progress takes on our historical landmarks (and skymarks).

I just checked on Bintel and it seems O'Meara's Southern Gems book is not available through them any longer, but looking wider it is still available through Amazon.
Glen

[Startrek]

Glen,
Yes Parramatta has been classified as a “City” quite a while ago , not too many semi dark sites left in Sydney now ( only a few in the far outer areas)
Just to clarify, I did mean to say if your not a professional or amateur astronomer and have no connection with then Parramatta area, then the name James Dunlop ( the astronomer) doesn’t really mean anything, most folk would say “ Oh yes that Tyre and textiles bloke “
That’s what I was inferring to
Cheers
Martin

[LonelySpoon]

""Dunlop Rubber Could Have Prevented This Accident"

Neville
LSO