DATE: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:38:34 +1000 SUBJECT: Astronomy in August: theatre, film, star hunt and more Hello, Welcome to my August bulletin for the International Year of Astronomy in Australia. There is a plethora of events running around Australia in the next month. I’ve listed them below (State by State), and more details are online at www.astronomy2009.org.au. Highlights this month include: The Big Aussie Star hunt Kicking off in Science Week, The Big Aussie Star Hunt will run until Sunday 30 August. Here you can learn how to find your way around the night sky, find south using the stars, contribute to a light pollution map of Australia, and learn about Indigenous stories associated with the night sky. www.starhunt.net.au Scinema Australia’s national science film festival has taken astronomy and space as a theme this year. Events run at venues around the country: see www.scinema.com.au for events near you. Exhibitions: August and onwards Exhibitions of astronomy-related artworks are and will be running at several venues around the country. Some of them are: The David Malin Awards – an annual exhibition of works by amateur astrophotographers, showing in Sydney and Coonabarabran NSW this month (and at other venues later); The World At Night – international photographs of landscapes and historic locations against the beautiful background of the night sky, also in Sydney; From Earth to the Universe – an international exhibition created for IYA, opening at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum on 11 September; Starlight – Celestial Visions on Second Life – an exhibition running both in the Physics building of the University of Western Australia and in the online world of Second Life; Celestia Photographica at the Western Australian Museum in Geraldton Light Years: Photographs And Space at the National Gallery Victoria International in Melbourne Astronomy in a nutshell exhibition Monash Science Centre, Clayton, Victoria. Online, do have a look at the Ilgarijiri project (http://ilgarijiri.wordpress.com/ ), a collaboration of the Yamaji Arts indigenous arts cooperative in Geraldton, WA, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth. Galileo and Copernicus at the theatre Bertolt Brecht’s play, The Life of Galileo, is getting at least two airings this month. In Western Australia, Geraldton’s Theatre Eight is performing the work on 20-22 August. In NSW, it’s running at the Zenith Theatre in Chatswood, Sydney, from 29 August to 12 September. Coming up is Transit Theatre’s production of Copernicus, a new work about the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus that incorporates mime and animation. This will run 16 September to 4 October at the Melbourne Planetarium as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. And looking ahead to October … Internationally for IYA, 23 and 24 October have been designated as the “Galilean Nights” – an occasion, like the 100 Hours of Astronomy in April, for everyone to get out to see the stars and planets. And on 26 October, the University of NSW is going to run Galileo’s trial all over again. Perhaps this time the result will be different! This is a one-night-only performance, so grab a ticket if you can. Read more about all these activities below. · National · ACT · New South Wales · Queensland · Victoria · Tasmania · South Australia · Western Australia · Northern Territory My thanks to the Commonwealth Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research for their support of the Year and of these bulletins. Please feel free to forward this bulletin to others with an interest in astronomy and to cut and paste from it for your own publications. If you have any queries, please contact me on iya@aao.gov.au or (02) 9372 4251. If you have suggestions for future bulletins, or want to subscribe or unsubscribe to this bulletin, please send your request to astronomy@scienceinpublic.com : we’re using this email address just for the bulletins. Regards, Helen Sim Single Point of Contact (SPOC) in Australia for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy iya@aao.gov.au (sent by Science in Public on Helen’s behalf) 1. Events to mid September Events coming up include the following. More information at http://www.astronomy2009.org.au/ . National The Big Aussie Star Hunt – www.starhunt.net.au . Until 30 August. National - Galactic Television Streamcast – Friday 14 August 2009 (8:00PM) and then every day until 31 December 2009 Scinema 09 – At venues around the country from Saturday 15 August 2009. www.scinema.com.au Astronomy Webcast from Charles Sturt University –Tuesday 25 August 2009 (7:00PM) ACT Bootleg postcards: the unofficial biography of space exploration – a public talk by Glen Nagle. CSIRO Discovery, Clunies Ross St, Acton, Friday 21 August (4:00 PM) The role of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex – at CSIRO Discovery, Clunies Ross St, Acton, Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August (10:00 AM to 4:00 PM) Unsolved mysteries of the Universe – a public talk by Paul Francis – Questacon, Canberra, Saturday 22 August (12:00 noon and 2:00 pm) The Physics of Star Trek – a public talk by physicist Lawrence Krauss. CSIRO Discovery, Clunies Ross St, Acton, Saturday 22 August. Free, but bookings essential. (6:00 PM) Space films at Scinema – Synergy Café and Optus Theatre, CSIRO Discovery, Clunies Ross St, Acton, Sunday 23 August. The works include documentaries made for the International Year of Astronomy. (10:00 am) New South Wales The David Malin Awards exhibition – the annual photographic competition for amateur astrophotographers. At Sydney Observatory 15 August-18 October AND at Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran from Monday 24 August to Sunday 13 September (Mon-Sun. 9:20 AM to 4:00 PM) The World at Night exhibition opening talk by astrophotographer David Malin – The Muse Gallery, UTS Sydney, Saturday 22 August (2:00 PM). Bookings required. “Observation”, “Revolution” and “A Leap of Faith” – videos of three lively short plays featuring Galileo, Charles Darwin, Caroline Herschel and Isaac Newton. At Sydney Observatory, Saturday 22 August (6:15 PM) - bookings required. ALSO at the ABC Ultimo Centre, Sydney, Saturday 29 August (11:00 am) Mars Hoax Night – Have you seen an email saying Mars will look the size of the full Moon in August? Sorry folks, it ain’t so. But at Sydney Observatory you can see Mars in the 3-D theatre and Jupiter (and maybe Neptune) through a telescope. Thursday 27 August (8:15 PM) Discovery Night – public astronomy viewing night hosted by the University of Wollongong’s Science Centre. Friday 28 August (6:30 PM) History Week at Sydney Observatory – Convicts, soldiers, signallers and the children in the windmill. For ages 7-12 and adults. Saturday 5 September (5:30 PM). Bookings required. Harmonious Revolutions: Galileo and the Music of the Spheres – early- music multimedia show about Galileo. Mittagong, Saturday 5 September (5:00 PM) Information session: tour to Easter Island for the 2010 solar eclipse. Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Saturday 5 September (2:00 pm). Bookings required. The sky’s the limit: astronomy in antiquity is an exhibition at the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney, exploring the astronomical understanding of ancient cultures - from Sunday 3 May to Sunday 13 December Macquarie University Observatory - Friday Night Observing offers a weekly “starfinder” session and telescope observation - every Friday until 27 November Queensland Night Sky Tour (Ballandean, Queensland) at the Twinstar Guesthouse – Wednesday 16 September 2009 (7:30PM) Galileo’s invention of the telescope – a talk by David Jamieson – Friday 21 August, University of Queensland (4:00 PM) Stars In The Park Friday, Brisbane – Friday 28 August, 2009 (5:30PM) The Cosmic Distance Ladder – public lecture by Terence Tao – Tuesday 8 September, Gardens theatre QUT (6:00 PM) Bookings required. Victoria Light Years: Photographs And Space exhibition at the National Gallery Victoria International, St Kilda Rd, brings together photographs of real and imagined space travel - until Sunday 27 September Astronomy in a nutshell exhibition at Monash Science Centre, Clayton Discover The Night Sky Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks – Thursday 27 August 2009 (7:00PM) Lawrence Krauss, Life, The Universe, And Nothing, RMIT Capitol Theatre Melbourne Writer’s Festival www.mwf.com.au - Sunday 23 August 2009 (8:00PM) http://tickets.mwf.com.au/session.asp?s=2343 Heavens Above! Briars Historic Park Observatory, (east side of Nepean Highway) Mount Martha – Friday 4 September 2009 (8:00PM) Particle Astronomy - The Second Window, Hercus Theatre, University of Melbourne – Thursday 17 September 2009 (6:30PM) Tasmania St Helens Public Astronomy Viewing – Saturday 22 August 2009 (3:00PM) South Australia The Physics of Star Trek – a talk by Lawrence Krauss. University of Adelaide, Friday 21 August (7:00 PM) Ancient Skies: how different cultures have viewed the sky. South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide – Sunday 23 August 2009 (2:00PM) Galileo: night of the stars – a discussion of Galileo’s Europe, from art to telescopes, hosted by the Royal Institution of Australia. The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, Hindmarsh, Adelaide, Wednesday 26 August (7:00 PM for a 7:30 PM start) Stockport Observatory Public Star Party – at Stockport, 80km north of Adelaide. Sunday 29 August (8:00 pm) Western Australia Space Trail, WA, various locations - Friday 21 August to Sunday 23 August 2009 (8:00AM) Western Australia - The Night Sky In The Pilbara, Karratha – Friday 21 August 2009 (7:00PM) Zadko Telescope And Gamma Ray Burst Science, Gingin Observatory Saturday 22 August 2009 (7:00PM) The Cosmic Distance Ladder – public lecture by Terence Tao – Thursday 3 September at UWA, Perth (6:00 PM) The Astronomy Of Aboriginal Australians, public lecture, Scitech, Perth – Wednesday 9 September 2009 (6:00PM) Northern Territory The First Astronomers? – a discussion of the relationship between modern astronomical observation and Aboriginal lore. Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Saturday 22 August (7:30 pm) 2. Previously… Some items we’ve mentioned in recent bulletins which still may be of interest. Answer engine can help to plan IYA2009 events A new computational answer-engine called Wolfram|Alpha has been released. Unlike conventional search engines, facts are given directly based on questions provided by users. This has particular relevance to astronomers, as the dedicated astronomy section shows. Sky charts can be quickly produced for any date and location, calculations of astronomical properties can be performed, and astrophysical calculations are simplified. This could be useful for planning IYA2009 events such as star parties and lectures. Read all about it here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/291/. IYA banners for events We have eight freestanding banners, each about 2 m tall, bearing the IYA logo. They are suitable for indoor use only. If you’d like one to use at your IYA event, please contact me at iya@aao.gov.au to see if one is available. For more information about these events visit www.astronomy2009.org.au If your event isn’t included in this listing please register it at www.astronomy2009.org.au . ---------------------------------- Helen Sim Single Point of Contact (SPOC) in Australia for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy iya@aao.gov.au Tel: +61-2-9372-4251 Mob: +61-419-635-905 (This email is sent by Science in Public on behalf of Helen Sim. Full contact details at www.scienceinpublic.com) If you want to stop receiving this newsletter just let us know at astronomy@scienceinpublic.com.au