Webmaster’s Focus
Monthly Editorial Column
✨ 👀 October 2024 Messiers Wrapped Up
Messiers Wrapped Up
Remember the times when every astronomer was a visual observer and Messier objects were the most popular targets?
The Messier List, created by comet hunter Charles Messier 250 years ago, was intended to record deep sky objects which could be confused with a comet. It was top heavy with globular clusters but became a very popular catalogue of bright objects.
Our Society once handed out certificates for observers who ticked off 30, 60, 90 and 100 Messiers by star-hopping. Sometimes, Messier nights were held and it was a race to see who bagged the most in one session.
I was slow. It took me two years to log 100 Messier eye-piece sightings. Then, after I ceased observational astronomy and became an astro-photographer, I reset the count to zero. It’s taken me ten years to image 57 Messiers.
I doubt if I will go much further. There are too many other attractive targets that are not Messiers. That’s because astro-photographers can see deeper than Messier did, by exposing for hours.
Shapley, Sharpless, Gum, IC, NGC, Abell, Lynd, RCW, Arp, Caldwell….the available lists are seemingly endless.
But spare a thought for the demise of the once all-important Messier List.
Roger Powell
Webmaster
www.macastro.org.au
Members Event Diary
| DATE | EVENT | DETAILS | PUBLIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26th Oct | Stargard At The Oaks | SS 7.18 pm, Moon rise 3.27 pm | No |
| Sat 2nd Nov | Wooglemai At Oakdale | Members Observing night Sunset 19.24 pm | No |
| Sat 2nd Nov | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing evening Sunset 19.24 pm | No |
| Mon 18th Nov | Macarthur Astronomy Forum at WSU. Map. | Guest Speaker: Dr Tayyaba Zafar (Macq Uni) 7.15 pm for a 7.30 pm start | YES |
| Sat 23rd Nov | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing evening Sunset 7.44 pm | No |
| Fri 29th Nov | The Forest At Belanglo | New Moon Weekend – Night 1 Sunset 7.50 pm | No |
| Sat 30th Nov | The Forest At Belanglo | New Moon Weekend – Night 2 Sunset 7.50 pm | No |
| Sat 30th Nov | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing evening Sunset 7.50 pm | No |
| Mon 2nd Dec | Macarthur Astronomy Forum at WSU. Map. | Guest Speaker: Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) 7.15 pm for a 7.30 pm start | YES |
| Sat 21st Dec | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing evening Sunset 8.06 pm | No |
| Sat 28th Dec | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing evening Sunset 8.09 pm | No |
Macarthur Astronomy Forum
Dr Tayyaba Zafar (Macq Uni)
Guest speaker: Dr Tayyaba Zafar (Macquarie University)
Monday 18th November
Topic: to be confirmed
Macarthur Astronomy Forum is not just open to MAS members.
We want to share our passion with WSU staff & students and the general public.
There is no admission fee (maybe if you come more than a couple of times you might like to think about becoming an MAS member). Gold coin donations are appreciated.
The Forums are held in lecture theatre 30 in the School of Medicine (Building 30), Goldsmith Avenue, WSU Campbelltown Campus. You can find a location map and details by following this link.
We recommend attending in person, which gives you the opportunity to interact with other members (and the guest speaker) before and after the meeting. However, MAS members who are unable to get to WSU can still participate remotely using Zoom.
Our Observing Sites
Members Only
The Forest Cabin in Belanglo Forest has been an MAS dark sky weekender for a quarter of a century. We are now returning after a period of non-availability. See the Forest page for site details. The first weekend at The Forest will be held on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th November.
Wooglemai is a prime dark sky observing site, conveniently located near Oakdale. With clubhouse amenities, sleeping accommodation and unlimited overnight viewing hours, the experience is excellent value for money. See our Wooglemai page for site details.
Stargard is our main general purpose observing field at The Oaks. Whilst it cannot boast the facilities that the Forest Cabin and Wooglemai do, it provides convenient evening sessions much closer to home, free of charge to members. See our Stargard page for site details.
Coming? We need to know who is planning to attend our observing sessions. Members are requested to contact John Rombi at: president@macastro.org.au to reserve a place before travelling to an observing session. For essential information about our observing session protocols, please read our Field Night page.
🌦️ Weather Check
Article: Weather Forecasting for Amateur Astronomers
The Oaks Weather-cam: South facing
The Oaks Weather-cam: North facing
General Notices
Beginners
We understand the needs of beginners and are anxious to help you get started. We run workshops for beginners two or three times a year, depending on demand.
Sometimes we will dedicate a Macarthur Astronomy Forum to basic amateur astronomy topics. (We scheduled two of these in 2024).
Questions can be asked of other members through the MAS Facebook page, the MAS Private Messaging System or by e-mail to contact@macastro.org.au.
Beginners can attend our field nights and ask questions directly to other members.
YouTube is a very useful learning tool. Whichever part of astronomy you wish to learn, someone has made a YouTube video about it!
Committee Members 2024-25
President: John Rombi
Vice President: Noel Sharpe
Secretary: Roger Powell
Treasurer: Suzanne Adijans
Membership Officer: Frank Alvaro
Committee Member: Greg Bradford
Committee Member: Phil Kidd
Observing
Members intending to attend our observing nights must read our Field Night page and Stargard , Forest or Wooglemai pages.
Sessions are normally scheduled for Saturdays, because we recognise the needs of members who may have weekday jobs to go to. In the event of a doubtful weather forecast, members should check both here and our social media pages.
Laser Pointers
It is a legal requirement here in NSW to register laser pointer ownership with the Police Firearms Registry. However, as MAS members, you are exempted from this obligation if the laser pointer is only used for astronomy.
The Society keeps a register of members who are laser pointer owners and requires you to formally notify the Membership Officer if you have purchased a laser pointer.
MAS Private Messages
Due to privacy laws, MAS is prohibited from releasing members e-mail addresses. The intention of the PM system is to permit an individual member to contact another without initially knowing their e-mail address. You can find the PM System in the Users menu above, after you have logged on.
Membership
Please contact Frank Alvaro (Membership Officer) for all new membership enquiries: membership@macastro.org.au or go to our new membership page.
E-mail is our primary means of direct communication with all our members, so don’t forget to tell us if your e-mail address changes: membership@macastro.org.au.
Member’s Postal Address.
Membership cards are posted annually to the last postal address which you have provided to us, so please contact us with your new details at membership@macastro.org.au.
MAS Postal Address
We no longer maintain a PO Box address. After many years the cost and time did not justify a service that was so rarely used.
If you or a family member are showing any symptoms of covid, influenza or the common cold etc. please do not attend any of our events.