Thursday 14 January

Tents and caravans may be set up any time Thursday.

Afternoon

5:30 pm Sausage Sizzle 

(outside Main Hall)

Evening

10:00 pm Telescope Viewing

11:00  Light Night Movie

Friday 15 January

5:30 pm Sausage Sizzle 

(outside Main Hall)

Evening

7:30 pm  Introduction   Antony Gomez (Wellington)

 

7:40  Lunar Grazing Occultation in the Scorpion - Murray Forbes (Wellington)
A grazing lunar occultation of the bright star sigma Scorpii was visible from a narrow track running North-East through the Wairarapa on 31 July 2009. A large group of Wellington astronomers travelled to Martinborough and successfully observed this despite the gale force winds and 90% cloud cover. This talk will be an updated version of the one given at the Winter AstroCamp in Carterton, now including the results from all the observers (including the South Island and Australia), the improved lunar profiles that are recently became available from the Kaguya Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft, and show how these in combination may be used to accurately measure the relative positions on the individual stars making up the 'star' sigma Scorpii. 

 

8:30 Supper

9:00 Danger, Danger, Asteroid Apophis Might Hit Earth in 2036! – John Drummond (Gisborne)    

9:30  RASNZAPS Monthly Astrophotography Competition Winners During 2009 

Audio visual presentation by John Drummond (Gisborne) 
An overview of photos taken by members of the RASNZ Astrophotography Section during 2009 - that is the first and second place photos in each scope section during the months (Jan - Dec).

10:00  Telescope Viewing

11:00  Light Night Movie

Saturday 16 January

Morning

10:00 am Telescope Trail

11:00 Kids Astronomy: The Solar System - George Moutzouris (Wellington) 

 An interactive presentation for the younger ones looking at the planets and our solar system.

Afternoon

1:30 pm Starting out in DSLR Astrophotography – Cameron Jack (Wellington)
Over the last year Cameron has been getting into the tricky but exciting game of digital astrophotography courtesy of a second-hand Canon camera bought from the very expert John Burt of Gisborne. Over the year Cameron’s dealt with a multitude of frustrations, an excess of cloudy night and a few moments of true elation. If you haven’t yet tried your hand at taking photos of our beautiful night sky then come along and be guided through the pitfalls Cameron’s already overcome that will let you get started with a minimum of trouble. Cameron will discuss the equipment, setup and processing of images.

2:30 Is Film Really Dead? – Ian Cooper (Palmerston North)
A look at the way film can still be a leading medium in modern astrophotography. Film is a cheap way for beginners to get on board and learn a lot about the sky and photography before spending larger sums on the digital side of astrophotography.

3:00  Afternoon Tea

3:30  Spacecraft Update 2009 – Edwin Rodley (Wellington)

 2009 has seen a number of missions continue with a range of science results being released along with stunning images. A number of deep space missions are underway across the solar system and here at home, they have returned new photos and provided us with new puzzles to solve. In this talk we will take a look at the images and science results from a number of missions that have been operating this year. We will also have a look at the highlights of the year and things to watch for in the future.

 

4:00 International Space Camp 2009 – Gary Sparks (Napier)
Gary spent a week in Huntsville, Alabama with teachers from 20 other countries and the 50 state teachers of the year from the US. The NASA education team took them through a variety of activities including two simulated shuttle missions to the ISS. Gary will share some of his experiences from this fantastic trip.

 

5:30  Stardate Dinner

(outside Main Hall)

 

Evening

7:00 pm Observing Up North - Dee Friesen (Albuquerque Astronomical Society, New Mexico)
An update of “Observing Up North” Dee will include some details of the International Year of Astronomy activities (including Galileo meeting the Mayor of Albuquerque) followed by a discussion of the educational outreach programs. The web site for The Albuquerque Astronomical Society is www.TAAS.org.

 

8:00  Journey to the Centre of the Almanac - Cameron Jack (Wellington)
Each spectacular colour image in the Phoenix Astronomical Society’s New Zealand Almanac 2010 tells a unique story. Join us as we tour the alien solar systems, glowing star factories and majestic galaxies that populate the pages of next years’ best astronomical calendar.

 

8:30  Supper

 

9:00(i) The Dragon That Ate the Sun – John Drummond and John Burt (Gisborne)
A presentation about our China solar eclipse trip. Photos and videos of the journey that 4 Gisborne astronomers made on their journey to see the Total Solar Eclipse of 22 July 2009 over China. This eclipse was 5minutes and 56 seconds long and part of the same saros cycle as the eclipse that was used to find evidence to prove Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

 

9:00(ii) Kids Astronomy: Observing - George Moutzouris (Wellington)
An outside session for the children following up on the morning’s presentation showcasing the night sky.

 

9:45 Summer Night Sky - Richard Hall (Carterton)

 Audio visual presentation.

 

10:00  Telescope Viewing

11:00  Light Night Movie

 

Sunday 17 January

Morning

10:00 am All Star Football Match

 Organiser: Antony Gomez

 

11:00 Kids Astronomy: The Universe – George Moutzouris (Wellington)
This interactive presentation follows on from the solar system looking out towards the stars and the rest of the Universe.

 

Afternoon

1:30 pm  The Building of Tui Observatory – John Drummond (Gisborne)
A slide show of the building of John’s most recent observatory - Tui Observatory. It will also show the Paramount ME mount and 14" Meade SCT OTA that was installed.

 

1:45 Building a "GSO" (Garden Shed Observatory) - John Burt (Gisborne)
John constructed a backyard observatory out of a kitset garden shed. Excluding the pier this reasonably compact observatory can be built for under $1000. This is John’s own design and experiences. Feel free to learn from his mistakes!

 

2:15 Matariki - the Seven Sisters Who Have Had Many an Astronomer Drooling – John Drummond (Gisborne) 

 

3:00  Afternoon Tea

 

3:30 Gardening by the Moon - Night light and its influences. – Vicki Irons (Wellington)
This talk embraces science basics showing how beliefs and traditions arise from needs and that regardless of what they are called - the influences of the Moon (or planets)- the purpose of record keeping , accurate time measurement and traditions are re-enforced when they succeed. Present day light pollution and its significant impact on plant growth is also looked at.

 

4:00 Prehistorical Astronomy in Chaco Canyon – Dee Friesen (New Mexico)
This is a site (900 - 1300 AD), that was home to the Anasazi Indians long before the arrival of the Europeans to the North American continent. Dee will include a discussion of the "Sun Dagger." This was used to mark the arrival of the solstices and equinoxes. The society has a public star party each May in the canyon. This gives us the opportunity to observe the night sky and the ancient sites during the day light.

 

5:30 Sausage Sizzle 

(outside Main Hall)

 

Evening

7:00 pm  Space-time: A Hitchhikers Guide to Reality - Richard Hall (Carterton)

 

8:00  Supper

 

8:30 Rob McNaught, the Most Prolific Comet Discoverer on Earth – John Drummond (Gisborne)

 

9:00 2012 – The End of the World? – Kay Leather (Carterton)
An exploration of the reasons for the fall of the great Mayan Empire and the truth behind the 2012 prophesy.

 

10:00  Telescope Viewing

 

11:00  Light Night Movie

 

Monday 18 January

Monday is a free day for discussion groups, additional presentations or just relaxing. We will organise a barbecue, movies and of course telescope viewing in the evening