Astronomical Society of Coonabarabran Inc.

16/05/2024

It is with great regret that I have to inform everyone that our club has folded a few months ago.

17/12/2020

Do you want a 2021 Astronomy Almanac from Wuaser Publishing? I have them for sale for $25 to Society members - at Chalkies tomorrow or just let me know you want one and we can sort it out - also Astronomy Calendars of the Mailm Award winners for $19.95

Donna Marie Burton

01/08/2020

Maria Mitchell was the third of 10 children born in Nantucket Massachusetts just 48 kms from Cape Cod on August 1, 1818. She was the daughter of a librarian and a teacher with surprisingly modern i…

01/08/2020

Enter your amazing photos for the chance to win some really great prizes!

https://cosmos.myphotoclub.com.au/

05/05/2020

May 5th was a great night to watch the sky.
Rob McNaught has put some information together for a very special night with meteors, satellites, a comet, and a Theory of Everything.
Thanks to Steve Lee for sharing his beautiful image of Comet Swan © taken night before last.
Predictions are for Coonabarabran.

Hi Homies,

Tonight will be the last slot of dark sky before full moon. With moonset around 4:45am, and astronomical twilight at 5:15am, here are some things to look for... should you be an early riser.

Eta Aquarids

Firstly, the eta Aquarid meteor shower is around maximum. There will be perhaps three times the number of meteors you would see on an average morning - enough to keep your interest. Eta Aquarids are debris from comet Halley and are often bright with enduring trains.
Starlink 6 objects

This morning I saw a long train of >40 (lost count) satellites from the 22 April (Starlink 6) launch. In the SE sky, they were typically mag +3 and perhaps 5 deg apart. They will cross the SE sky again this morning from 5:20am to 5:36am. A representative object is given on the attached map. They will pop out of the Earth's shadow ~30deg up in the SSW. Although predicted at mag +3.1 for tomorrow morning's excellent pass, I found them somewhat brighter than predicted this morning, so expect perhaps mag +2.

C/2020 F8

Tomorrow morning will perhaps also be the last chance to see comet C/2020 F8 (Swan) with the naked eye. It is around mag +5.7, but being low in the east and in the zodiacal light, I wasn't able to see it with the naked eye last night. Good candidate to photograph with a long (several degrees), but very faint, blue ion tail. In opera glasses, the comet is obvious as a slightly fuzzy star. Here is an ephemeris (note that it is 1.5 to 2 mags brighter than the predicted m1). Also note that times are in UT, so May 05, 18UT = May 06, 04am AEST
Perturbed ephemeris below is based on elements from MPEC 2020-HN5.

CK20F080
Date UT R.A. (J2000) Decl. Delta r El. Ph. m1 Sky Motion Object Sun Moon
h m s "/min P.A. Azi. Alt. Alt. Phase Dist. Alt... Suppressed ...
2020 05 05 180000 00 25 12.2 -05 58 42 0.629 0.693 42.6 99.4 7.4 8.20 030.6 272 +09 -34 0.96 162 +09
2020 05 05 190000 00 25 29.0 -05 51 39 0.628 0.692 42.6 99.5 7.4 8.21 030.6 264 +22 -21 0.96 161 -03
2020 05 05 200000 00 25 45.8 -05 44 34 0.628 0.691 42.5 99.7 7.4 8.23 030.5 254 +34 -08 0.96 161 -15.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 06 180000 00 32 10.6 -03 03 18 0.611 0.675 40.6 103.3 7.2 8.80 030.8 269 +07 -34 0.99 150 +23
2020 05 06 190000 00 32 28.6 -02 55 44 0.610 0.674 40.5 103.5 7.2 8.82 030.7 261 +19 -21 0.99 149 +11
2020 05 06 200000 00 32 46.6 -02 48 08 0.609 0.673 40.4 103.7 7.2 8.83 030.7 252 +32 -08 0.99 149 -01.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 07 180000 00 39 40.1 +00 03 58 0.594 0.657 38.4 107.4 7.0 9.39 031.1 267 +04 -34 1.00 138 +37
2020 05 07 190000 00 39 59.5 +00 12 01 0.594 0.656 38.3 107.6 7.0 9.41 031.0 259 +17 -21 1.00 137 +25
2020 05 07 200000 00 40 18.9 +00 20 06 0.593 0.655 38.2 107.8 7.0 9.42 031.0 250 +29 -09 1.00 137 +13.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 08 180000 00 47 43.2 +03 22 21 0.580 0.639 36.1 111.6 6.9 9.95 031.5 265 +02 -34 0.98 126 +51
2020 05 08 190000 00 48 04.1 +03 30 50 0.580 0.639 36.0 111.8 6.9 9.97 031.5 257 +14 -21 0.97 126 +38
2020 05 08 200000 00 48 24.9 +03 39 21 0.579 0.638 35.9 112.0 6.9 9.98 031.4 247 +26 -09 0.97 125 +26.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 09 190000 00 56 44.6 +06 59 18 0.569 0.621 33.6 116.0 6.7 10.46 032.1 254 +11 -21 0.92 115 +52
2020 05 09 200000 00 57 07.0 +07 08 11 0.568 0.621 33.5 116.2 6.7 10.48 032.1 245 +23 -09 0.92 114 +39.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 10 190000 01 06 03.2 +10 35 16 0.561 0.604 31.2 120.1 6.6 10.87 032.9 252 +08 -21 0.85 104 +64
2020 05 10 200000 01 06 27.2 +10 44 24 0.561 0.604 31.1 120.3 6.6 10.88 032.9 243 +20 -09 0.85 104 +52.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 11 190000 01 16 01.3 +14 15 52 0.557 0.588 28.9 123.9 6.4 11.15 033.9 250 +05 -22 0.77 095 +75
2020 05 11 200000 01 16 27.0 +14 25 07 0.557 0.587 28.8 124.1 6.4 11.15 033.9 241 +17 -09 0.77 094 +63.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 12 190000 01 26 39.8 +17 57 35 0.556 0.572 26.7 127.3 6.3 11.29 035.2 248 +02 -22 0.68 086 +81
2020 05 12 200000 01 27 07.2 +18 06 49 0.556 0.571 26.6 127.5 6.3 11.29 035.2 239 +13 -09 0.67 085 +73.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 13 200000 01 38 27.6 +21 45 32 0.559 0.555 24.8 130.2 6.2 11.26 036.8 237 +09 -09 0.57 077 +78.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 14 200000 01 50 26.7 +25 17 11 0.566 0.540 23.3 132.2 6.1 11.07 038.7 236 +06 -09 0.48 069 +74.. Suppressed ...
2020 05 15 200000 02 03 01.5 +28 37 53 0.576 0.525 22.3 133.1 6.0 10.73 040.9 234 +02 -09 0.38 062 +65.. Suppressed ...
Physics and a Theory of Everything
Heard this excellent podcast yesterday by Prof Jim Al-Khalili titled Physics and a Theory of Everything. Very clearly described and quite fascinating.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/physics-and-a-theory-of-everything/12169150

18/02/2020

Did Australian Bush Fire Smoke Reach the Stratosphere?
All throughout the recent bush fire period, Rob McNaught never noticed the purple colour of this January 29th evening sky, but if indeed bushfire smoke has reached the stratosphere, Rob guessed it could be the cause. There were not any big fires at that moment though and Rob had only seen this colour before from volcanic aerosols.

Rob McNaught will present images from his network of wide field astronomical cameras and discuss his investigation of the origins of these purple twilights.

The Astronomical Society of Coonabarabran will be holding a meeting this Wednesday night February 19th at 7:30PM Coonabarabran High School Science Lab.

There will be an update on the network of Night Sky Brightness monitors and the involvement of the Astronomical Society of Coonabarabran in a project to measure the brightness of the night sky. We acknowledge the support of ARTC Inland Rail for supporting the community to help monitor and protect our dark skies.

Rob McNaught will also speak about:

Observing the recent GOSAT satellite flares.
Identifying a potential Near Earth Object?

We might also take the opportunity to discuss the impacts of the Starlink and the myriad other projects to launch large constellations of satellites to provide internet access.

Society members get together at the Coonabarabran Bowling Club for a meal at around 6:00PM prior to moving to the High School where we meet near the Reception/Office area. It might be best to meet us in the Bowling Club Dining room at around 7:10PM if you haven't attended a meeting before.

All welcome.
Hope to see you there.

14/09/2019

Take a photo of the experiment or the work behind it or a creative snapshot of those involved in the experiment, submit it to the Eratosthenes Photo Competition and win a scholarship to attend the Inspiring European Science Education summer Academy 2019. .

29/07/2019

Got a cool astro pic from last 2 years? Why not enter our comp and be in the running for great prizes as well as the title of inaugural winner! And your work professionally printed and displayed throughout the region!

Entries close this week - August 1 - Don’t miss out - 3 categories plus a youth section - great prizes - check out the website and enter now - https://cosmos.myphotoclub.com.au/

18/06/2019

It is hard to believe that it is now almost 50 years since Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on an extraterrestrial location. …