50 Years of National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers (NACAA)

[DaveO (David)]

Posted on behalf of NACAA 2016 Convenor, Sandy Galos:

As the convener of our historic 50th year of NACAA in Australia, I would like to invite fellow astronomers and friends to our great Convention. I feel we share the wonders of our great southern sky and mutual interests in many great activities that unite amateur astronomers the world over.

The Convention is held biennially and attracts a unique mixture of amateur and professional interest, and we believe could greatly benefit from the mutual sharing with others that also observe our beautiful southern skies. This can happen through attendance at pre and post Convention workshops as well as the plenary and non-plenary sessions. Combine this with friendly get together at the welcome function and gala dinner, where renowned astronomer and author Professor Fred Watson will be our special guest and speaker.

For details on our Programme just visit our website at http://nacaa.org.au/2016/programme

The Sutherland Astronomical Society Inc (SASI) will host the 27th NACAA in Sydney over the Easter 2016 weekend, March 25-28.

Also it is easy to share details of this event with your members and friends by sharing the materials on our website at "Help spread the word" (http://nacaa.org.au/2016/spreadtheword). On that page are a number of documents that can be downloaded and shared with fellow astronomers. Perhaps you could organise a delegation to attend!

It is also a great time in Sydney with Easter being early this year from 25th to 28th March. Sydney has a lot to offer family and friends while members attend the Convention (see Attractions in Sydney, Things to Do in Sydney), not the least of which is the Royal Easter Show (check out the website http://www.eastershow.com.au/ ): a unique event where where country meets the city.

NACAA is a not-for-profit volunteer organisation. We are very grateful for the support that we receive from our sponsors such as Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), AS&T and BinTel.

Once again it would be a unique opportunity for amateur astronomers to meet and share experiences.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Kind Regards
Sandy Galos
Convener NACAA 2016
VP Sutherland Astronomical Society

[DaveO (David)]

Hi all

Registrations for NACAA 2016 close on 18th March. Register at http://www.nacaa.org.au/2016/register.

[tonybarry (Tony)]

It's Saturday. 2nd day of NACAA.

No posts on Ice-In-Space so far, describing the sessions, impressions, and confessions ...

I guess the implication is - if you're not there, you aren't interested ??
Or - if you're not there you didn't pay and you don't get to know ??

I am going for TTSO, and hope to post a riveting, blow by blow account of the proceedings in all their exquisite detail.

*** Occultation timing for the masses and the boutique observer.
*** What to do when you see a star just ... disappear.
*** How to contribute to science rather than art.
*** You don't need to be in a spaceship to see Pluto's atmosphere.

And more !!

Heh.

// for the ferals among us, the above is not meant to be taken seriously.
// Humour in all things.

Regards,
Tony Barry
WSAAG

[DaveO (David)]

LOL. I've been busy tweeting and posting to Facebook!!!

[tonybarry (Tony)]

Hi David,

I went to IIS FB page, and found just one post from March 20th. Any thoughts on where your FB posts went ?

Regards,
Tony Barry
WSAAG

[DaveO (David)]

Hi Tony. Search for #nacaasyd16.

[DaveO (David)]

Or use this http://www.facebook.com/david.j.odriscoll

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

What about the guys/gals who don't use Facebook or Twitter????

[DaveO (David)]

Only so much time to spend on updates. :-)

But my posts are public so you don't need to be a FB member to read them.

[DaveO (David)]

And lots of talk about spectroscopy Ken!!!

[pfitzgerald (Paul)]

Hi Folks
As a first timer to NACCA I'm having a great time and am really impressed with how well run the event is. The sessions today have been excellent and provided much food for thought wrt my own desire to get stuck into some real science, and ideas for how I can get my astronomy club girls similarly involved. I have also made a number of new friends and am most grateful for their advice (Bernard, Mark, Tom and Peter).

The VSS sessions yesterday and the keynote session on the physics of Sgr A this morning have been my particular highlights so far. The conference dinner is close at hand, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's sessions before having to fly back home tomorrow night. A huge thank you to David and the team for organising it all.

I'll be making sure I keep the Easter weekend free in 2018 when the next NACCA will be in Ballarat. For those of you who have never been to one, put the date into your diary, you won't be disappointed - and there's so much to learn!

Paul

[DaveO (David)]

Roy Axelsen from the AAQ announced as the 2016 winner of the Berenice and Arthur Page Medal. Go Roy!