14 October 2009:

How many members were logged on to the NASA TV website hoping to catch a view of the plume from the impact of the Lunar Crater Sensing and Observing Satellite (LCROSS) on the Moon? I certainly attempted to follow the event, but as we now know, there was literally nothing visual to be seen. I'm sure Terry Cuttle (Technical Secretary) will provide a more complete summary of this and other related topics during his report at the OGM.

October OGM

The October OGM starts at 3pm at the STBP; I am looking forward to the Main Item presentation titled Chasing Dark Energy by Dr Tamara Davis (postdoctoral fellow at the University of Queensland, Astrophysics). Many people are aware that Tamara is an active and entertaining promoter of astronomy through her public lectures. Below is the abstract of her talk:

Cosmology has undergone a revolution in the last decade. The discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating shook the foundations of our standard physics. We've discovered a situation in which gravity appears to push, not pull. Have we discovered anti-gravity? Or does Einstein's theory of gravity require some revisions?

Dark energy is the name we give whatever is causing the acceleration. This talk will tell you about the discovery of dark energy and the ongoing research to try to figure out what it is. The answer could be a new theory of fundamental physics.

Because of the public viewing planned for 7pm outside the STBP, the OGM will aim to finish well before 5:30pm to allow time to set up telescopes and interact with other society members (see following paragraph).

Joint Societies Public Viewing Night, 24^th October

The AAQ BFN observing session will follow the October OGM, however we shall form part of a STBP public field night, together with our friends from other societies. If the weather is favourable, there will be a large crowd of people keen to look through a telescope. Bring your telescopes to the OGM and join in the event. After the viewing is finished, the STBP will provide supper at 9:30pm for all who helped on the night. The main targets are the Moon and Jupiter; as usual, Tony Dutton will highlight the viewing targets during the OGM. The curator, Mark Rigby, will make a decision whether to proceed with observing or not, should the weather turn nasty.

October DSO at OATS Harrisville

The DSO will be held on the 16^th October at the Harrisville OATS site from 4-11pm. At this time of year, storms can disrupt observing plans so always check the website before driving out there, or call the contact person, usually Brent Joyce, Jonathan Bradshaw or Allan Cooney. You can find out about AAQ field nights by navigating from the ‘Activities' tab on the website, http://www.aaq.org.au

Membership

Welcome to our newest members, John and Helen Williamson (family concession), Tony Dique, and Bev Ranson. Matt Biggs applied for associate membership within his family concession; this means that under the new arrangements we have both Geoff and Matt listed as members on a family concession.