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Old 17-03-2020, 11:10 AM
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RB (Andrew)
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Exclamation Post your Astro Club/Society announcements Re: COVID-19 here:

As the title says, please post your Astro Club/Society announcements Re: COVID-19 here:

Strictly moderated and discussions not allowed.
Please direct any questions and/or comments via Private Message (PM) to the member posting the announcement.

RB
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Old 17-03-2020, 11:24 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Hello,

The Blue Mountains Astronomical Club, Inc. has decided to suspend all group activities following the current Covid-19 crisis.

This includes dark site, outreach and classes.

This suspension does not have a termination date so far as the crisis is just too uncertain right now.

Please take care, love your families and be kind to one another.

Alex Massey,
President of the Blue Mountains Astronomical Club, In.
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Old 17-03-2020, 01:44 PM
ausastronomer (John Bambury)
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Shoalhaven Astronomers have cancelled all meetings and activities until further Notice

John B
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Old 17-03-2020, 03:17 PM
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Central West Astronomical Society has cancelled the upcoming working bee, dark sky night and monthly meeting.
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Old 17-03-2020, 03:22 PM
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John Sarkissian emailed me today to advise that The Visitor Centre at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory will be closed from today onwards until notified otherwise. The Dish cafe at the observatory will be only open between 10am and 2pm.
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Old 17-03-2020, 03:36 PM
noswonky (Peter)
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Western Sydney Amateur Astronomy Group (WSAAG) has cancelled all club activites until further notice. The committee will review the situation in April.

See our web site for up-to-date information:
https://wsaag.org

Peter Nosworthy
(Secretary)
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Old 18-03-2020, 08:40 AM
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AstralTraveller (David)
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As I said previously, NACAA 2020 is cancelled. [Sorry for the repeat but I think having all announcements in one thread is a good idea.]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/f...splay.php?f=16
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  #8  
Old 18-03-2020, 06:51 PM
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NewBee101 (Robert)
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Svaa coronavirus (covid-19) notification

For health and safety reasons the SVAA club site and observatory is now closed to all visitors until further notice.Members may still come and use their own equipment but not share eyepieces with other members, or to allow other members view through their equipment.
SNAKE VALLEY ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION
Thank You
Ken
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Old 18-03-2020, 07:01 PM
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Astronomical Society of South Australia

The Astronomical Society of South Australia, wishes to inform the general public that we will not be holding any public viewing nights at any of our venues for the next 2-3 months. Similarly the beginner meetings and general meetings held at the Kerr Grant theater will not be held for the same period. We regret to have to take this action but the ASSA Council believes it is safest option for our members and the public at large. We will advise when we will be commencing with these activities again. We hope that you understand and please stay safe.
Regards
Paul Haese
President, ASSA Inc.


Edit: all member nights and astro camps of the of the ASSA are now cancelled until further notice.

Last edited by Paul Haese; 26-03-2020 at 06:03 PM.
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Old 21-03-2020, 05:06 AM
jamespierce (James)
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Astro Society Vic (ASV) is in the same boat...


"Due to the current health situation the ASV executive has decided to suspend all ASV activities for one month from midnight 16 March 2020. Therefore all section meetings, AFTP and monthly meetings, are suspended.
As a result the LMDSS is effected and will be closed."
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Old 23-03-2020, 11:25 AM
starrylady (Lesa)
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SPSP and ASNSW meetings cancelled

Hi folks,
Had to happen. Due to COVID-19, the 28th Annual South Pacific Star Party, set down for 21-24 May 2020, has been cancelled. No, we are not going to try for a spring star party. We are skipping a year. The ever-popular T-shirts never got as far as production, so there are no collectors' items for "the star party that never happened". People who'd registered have been given an opportunity to donate all or part of their registrations fees to the 1st Kandos Scouts (who normally cater the star party and will suffer from the loss of revenue) and the Two-Mile Fire Brigade. So far, donations have reached $2626 for the Scouts and $1560 for the Firies.
The ASNSW has also cancelled all its meetings at Epping (ordinary meetings and astroimaging meetings) until further notice.
Crago Observatory, at Bowen Mountain, is closed for the foreseeable future.
Wiruna is also closed.
ASNSW members have been advised of these details by email and announcements in the society's journal, "Universe".
Thanks everyone for your understanding. Stay safe and well!
Cheers
Lesa Moore (Treasurer, ASNSW, treasurer@asnsw.com)

Last edited by starrylady; 03-04-2020 at 09:56 AM.
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  #12  
Old 24-03-2020, 06:32 PM
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Wollongong Amateur Astronomy Club

THE WAAC club has suspended all monthly meetings at the Unanderra Community Hall on the first thursday of each month.

No public or club viewing nights will be held until further notice.
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  #13  
Old 26-03-2020, 10:06 PM
tim.anderson (Tim Anderson)
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Colleagues

Owing to the social distancing rules put in place by the NSW Government, and also because CSIRO has closed its Visitors’ Centre at the Dish, the Central West Astronomical Society cannot hold its regular face-to-face monthly meetings.

CWAS wants to ensure that our members and supporters are not exposed to any additional risk of infection, so we fully support these measures.

As you may know, CWAS has a talk about some aspect of astronomy at each of our monthly meetings. Because we want to continue to support your interest in amateur astronomy, we are going to continue our regular monthly talks – but online. We are going to use the Zoom tele-conferencing service to publish our meetings.

We want the internet version of our meetings to be interactive. We want you to be able to watch the talks, and then be able to make comments and ask questions that everyone involved in the transmission can hear, see and respond to your contributions.

If you are interested in receiving the broadcast of the talks, please contact us at secretary@cwas.org.au (or send a private message to me on this site with your email address included) and you will receive an email invitation to participate in these online meetings. You will receive an email message that gives you a link to the online CWAS monthly meeting. The next monthly talk will be by John Sarkissian about what happened when the Apollo 13 mission went wrong.

Zoom works best if you install the Zoom application on your device. The software is available at:

https://zoom.us/download

If you don’t already have Zoom installed on your device, just download and install the version of the Zoom client software that is appropriate for the device that you want to use – Apple IOS, Apple Mac, Android and PC are all available.

Even if you don’t or can’t install the Zoom application, you can use an internet browser to connect to the broadcast, but with less functionality – the browser link will be in the email invitation.

So, if you want to join with the Central West Astronomical Society in keeping our hobby alive, please connect to our online meetings. And of course, we would love you to join our Society if you are not already a member.

Regards

From all of your friends at the Central West Astronomical Society
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  #14  
Old 07-04-2020, 05:24 PM
axle01 (Alan)
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The Townsville Astronomy Group has also decided to cancel our monthly viewing nights at Oak Valley also the Tuesday Strand viewing nights will be suspended till further notice.

Al
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  #15  
Old 12-06-2020, 06:57 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Activity resumption for the Blue Mountains Astronomical Club, Inc.

We have put a lot of thought into when we should resume Club activities of the Blue Mountains Astronomical Club. The discussions have also included members who are involved in Health. While restrictions are easing, we have had to consider the average age of our membership AND the health of some of our members who we know is compromised, PLUS the risk of a second wave - it is this second wave that has those working in health (like myself) most worried.

So, we have taken the decision to start activities from the 18th of July.

This will allow for enough time for any likely threat of a second wave to become visible. With our membership coming from all across Sydney, not just the Blue Mountains, we will not jump the gun here. However, we certainly are aware that we have lost a lot of observing nights, due to this current Covid-19 situation and the run of poor weather (you would have be living under a rock not to know this) that we are also looking at organising catch-up sessions.

As it is the Committee that is responsible for the Club and its members, we will always put the health and safety of members first and not rush unthinkingly into a situation that could jeopardise our membership. We have seen how so many people have not been following social distancing despite the advice of Government and Health authorities - it is also a legal requirement that can result in fines. This is the stance we as the Blue Mountains Astronomical Club are taking.
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Old 27-06-2020, 12:57 PM
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2020 Queensland Astrofest Cancelled

The Queensland Astrofest Committee met this week to make a final call on whether Queensland Astrofest would be held in 2020. Despite long held hopes that the COVID-19 situation would have improved sufficiently to allow the event to be held in August, it was felt that in the best interests of all they cancel this year’s event.

Considerations included:
  • The social distancing requirements of 1 person per 4m2; numbers would be severely constrained in the dormitories and kitchen areas, leading to total numbers allowed on site to be halved.
  • The amount of additional daily cleaning, required to comply with regulations, would be a significant burden on the small Committee.
  • Professional cleaning would be financially prohibitive, yet necessary, as the committee numbers and subsequent available volunteers would be limited.
  • The limit of registrants on site and required cleaning frequency would likely make the event unviable financially.
  • The potential legal liability of the Committee and Clubs was considered as a significant issue. This unique situation would not be covered by the existing policy.

With all this in mind, it is with regret that the Committee has advised Duckadang that the 2020 event is cancelled, and they will focus their efforts on planning for the 2021 event.

We hope that regular attendees will understand and look forward to seeing you again next year.
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Old 24-07-2020, 07:18 PM
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Hello All,

Townsville Astronomy Group have resumed all activities at Oak Valley
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Old 04-01-2021, 09:02 AM
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alan meehan (Alan)
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Newcastle Astronomical Society
well we are in another new year 2021 still not much has changed we are in a second wave of covid and the Society is too continue as last year with zoom meetings and no public viewing nights ,the University of Newcastle has not allowed us to return for meetings at this stage .Please take care and remember the night sky is still above the clouds
Thankyou
Alan Meehan
President Newcastle Astronomical Society
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Old 07-01-2021, 10:20 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Hi all,

Just prior to this latest outbreak here in Sydney, BMAstro was considering relaxing its Covid restrictions in line with the relaxing of measures by the NSW Government.

However, this new outbreak has had us rethink our entire Covid-19 policy, namely that chopping and changing rules only leads to more confusion and uncertainty.

So we have decided to work on a simple premise: either have one set of rules, or no restrictions at all.

The following is the set of rules we have adopted by our Club. These have been developed in consultation with many of our members who bring with them their many professional fields of experience.

~x.X.x~

COVID-19 Response & Rules - Blue Mountains Astronomical Club, Inc.

The following COVID-19 rules have been developed over the last few months, and it has been decided that it is in the best interest of all members that we work with just one set of rules, and that these rules now strike the best balance for participation and member safety. There will not be further relaxation to these rules as this most recent COVID-19 outbreak and its spread has demonstrated the need to protect all of our members; not just those members who are most at risk, but the families of all members even if their families do not attend the Airfield.

Apart from the weather being the dictator of whether an individual session takes place, we are also monitoring government notifications and how they will be changing restrictions in the New Year, and we will also be using their statistics on infection rates as to whether we proceed with our sessions or need to cancel them. We may cancel session dates independent of Government restrictions.

With the ever changing situation of infections in NSW, in order to streamline our operations, minimise risk and reduce confusion, we will operate under the simple premise: either under one set of restrictions; or, none at all.

1. NO outreach events will be conducted for the time being.

2. Sessions at Katoomba Airfield are now MEMBERS ONLY. NO guests will be allowed unless it is the immediate family of a member. It will be each member’s responsibility to keep tight control on the movement of their family attendees so they do not mingle with other members or their respective families. Family groups MUST be totally contained to themselves.

3. At least 1.5m Social Distancing is mandatory. Members who refuse to follow this may be asked to leave.

4. ALL telescopes need to be set up NO LESS than 3m from each other – this is because as one moves around one’s scope at night, this movement can see you come within 1.5m of a fellow BMAstro member if telescopes are set up at 1.5m apart.

5. NO SHARING OF TELESCOPES OR ACCESSORIES with the ONLY EXCEPTION being if it is within a family group. You will only be permitted to use your own telescope and equipment. This is because eyepieces and telescope surfaces cannot be adequately disinfected to meet required health guidelines. A wipe with a “disinfecting wipe” IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH, and many chemicals suitable for appropriate disinfection cannot be used on optical equipment, such as rubber eyecups.

6. If you hope to use the equipment of other members, please consider not attending. Unless you have some way of keeping yourself occupied with a telescope, binoculars or photo equipment, there will be no equipment made available for you, not even the Club telescopes we have for loan.

7. Everyone will need to be signed in for the purposes of facilitating contact tracing.

8. We may cancel session dates independent of Government restrictions at the time if we feel the situation is just too unstable.

9. Use of masks is encouraged when you are away from your telescope.

We are taking the necessary precautions against COVID-19 very seriously. There are serious insurance consequences if we as a group do not observe and respect these precautions. Everyone is responsible for keeping everyone safe.

- BMAstro.
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Old 21-02-2022, 01:38 PM
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alan meehan (Alan)
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Newcastle Astronomical Society is back onboard with face to face meetings at the University of Newcastle ,Also viewing evenings at our new permanent viewing site the digital cube at Speers Point Park,also organising a 3day weekend at Lostock Scout camp for some dark sky viewing ,you would remember this site from our ICEINSPACE astro camps
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