Archive for category: Special Events

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One off events for both members and the public

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Outreach Team Finishes a Huge August Program

The Outreach team had a massive month of events in August 2019. Nearly half the month had something on! We did:

7 scout groups

2 interest groups (adults)

1 private booking

1 Public Viewing night

1 Fashion shoot

1 Film shoot for Prof. Alan Duffy

2 off-site events – one at McCleland Sculpture Park and one at Coolart Homestead as part of Science in the Park on August 11th.

Thank you all those Outreach members who turned up and made an effort. Some of us also had Young Observers, two committee meetings, Science Week, the Pro-Am workshop, the work bee and Friday night members nights! Whew! If some of us are looking a little tired at the moment, now you know why.

Telescopes offsite at McCleland Sculpture Park

At Coolart Homestead for Science in the Park

Our activity sheets all ready for Science in the Park

Part of our Moon exhibition at Coolart Homestead.

The fashion shoot!

Neil Creek does a quick lesson on image processing for a photography group.

Looking at Jupiter through thin cloud with the 18″ telescope.

Peter shows some scouts how a Dobsonian works.

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MBO Visits the Avalon Air Show

Two days, thousands of people, lots of very loud planes… and MBO! Our team of Jacquie, Peter, Romy and Tony did a wonderful job over the two days. MBO was invited by the State Government to join their pavilion and what an opportunity to showcase what we do best!

James

 

 

 

7pm Tuesday 14th August: National Science Week Talk at Emerald Secondary College: Exoplanets!

As part of the celebrations of this years National Science Week at 7pm Tuesday 14th August at Emerald Second College we have Dr Laurent Pueyo from the Space Telescope Science Institute comig to talk about exoplanets!

Laurent Pueyo is an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned his doctorate from Princeton University in 2008 and conducted his post-doctoral work as a NASA Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and as a Sagan Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University.

His research focuses on imaging faint planets around nearby stars. He has pioneered advanced data analysis methods that are now standard tools used to study extrasolar planets, and invented an optical technique that is now baselined for future NASA missions. At STScI his duties include optimizing the extrasolar-planet imaging capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scheduled to launch in late 2019.

Laurent is also a member of the Science and Technology Definition Team for the Large Ultraviolet Optical and Infrared telescope, a future observatory that will identify Earth-sized planets and assess their habitability.

PLEASE NOTE: This event is at Emerald Secondary College, not MBO, and the talk starts at 7pm!

6:30pm Thursday 16th August 2018 – National Science Week “Science in VR” Regional Viewing Party

NOTE: THIS EVENT IS AT EMERALD SECONDARY COLLEGE NOT MBO!

On Thursday 16 August 2018 as part of National Science Week at 6:30pm Emerald Secondary College and Mount Burnett Observatory are hosting a regional viewing party for the Science in VR event. Take a guided tour of the universe with Professor Alan Duffy and Dr Rebecca Allan hosting via live stream from Mountain Goat Brewery. Virtual Reality headsets will be provided on a per family basis for registered guests (bring your own smart phone). 

Location:  Emerald Secondary College, 425 Belgrave Gembrook Road, Emerald, Victoria 3782

BOOKING REQUIRED: https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=410362&bof=1

SciVR website:  https://www.scivr.com.au

Science in VR headsets

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 – World Record Stargazing at Emerald Secondary College

In August 2015 MBO participated in the successful World Record Stargazing event held at Emerald Secondary College, and just under 3 years later we’re doing it again!

Join Mount Burnett Observatory at the Emerald Secondary College for an evening of fun and excitement as we try to break a Guinness World Record! This free community event will include a live screening of Stargazing Live with Brian Cox. A gold coin donation will be requested on entry to help the local community groups putting on this event.

You can find all the information about the event and register to attend at Eventbrite.

Hope to see you there!

Friday 24th November 2017 – New Dome Opening, AGM & Neil Creek on “Astrophotography Through a Telescope”

Dear Member of Mount Burnett Observatory,

This is to provide notice of the society’s Annual General Meeting to be held on:

Friday the 24th of November at 7pm

at:

Mount Burnett Observatory
420 Paternoster Road Mount Burnett

The AGM will be the centrepiece of a fun evening. Events begin with a barbecue at 6pm. Following the meeting, Jason Wood, MP, member for La Trobe will officially open the new dome. At 8:30 our own guest speaker, Neil Creek, will be speaking on “Astrophotography Through a Telescope”. Finally there will be tours of the new dome and viewing through our telescopes (weather permitting).

  • 6:00PM BBQ
  • 7:00PM Annual General Meeting
  • 8:00PM Official Opening of new dome/telescope
  • 8:30PM Guest speaker, Neil Creek – Astrophotography Through a Telescope
  • 9:30PM Telescope viewing (weather permitting)

In accordance with rule 30 of our association rules the AGM must be held to:

  1. Confirm the minutes of the previous AGM.
  2. Receive the Committee’s report on the previous year’s activities.
  3. Vote to accept the association financial statement for the club’s previous financial year (which ended June 30th 2017).
  4. Elect a new committee.
  5. Confirm or vary the membership fee.

Committee reports will be made available to all members via email at least 48 hours before the meeting.
All members of the association are entitled to attend the meeting.

Members are eligible to vote if they are over the age of 15 and have been a member for more than 10 days by the time of the meeting.

Members eligible to vote that cannot attend but wish to participate may appoint another MBO member to act as their proxy and vote on their behalf. Proxies must be appointed in writing (a proxy form is attached) and the form must be signed by the member appointing the proxy. Proxy forms can either be handed in to the secretary or emailed to secretary@mtburnettobservatory.org no later than 7pm Tuesday the 22nd of November.

Members eligible to vote and who are aged 18 or above are entitled to nominate for a position on the 2017 committee. Verbal nominations for committee positions will be accepted during the AGM or nominations may be submitted in writing in advance using the attached nomination form.

Committee positions to be filled at the AGM  are:

  • President.
  • Vice-President.
  • Secretary.
  • Treasurer.
  • A number of Ordinary Committee Members (as determined at the AGM)

For any further information regarding the AGM members are encouraged to email info@mtburnettobservatory.org or phone James Murray on 0409703929.

Kind Regards

Anthony (secretary)
James Murray (president)
on behalf of the 2017 MBO committee

Friday 27th October 2017 – Prof. Jeff Cooke – Gravitational Waves, Cosmic Cataclysm and an Astronomical Gold Rush

Friday 27th October at Emerald Secondary College we are incredibly lucky to have Professor Jeff Cooke from Swinburne University of Technology and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) coming to do a free public talk for us at Emerald Secondary College about the recent groundbreaking discovery of both gravitational waves and electromagnetic counterpart from a single event, the merging of two neutron stars.

Scientists have detected a cataclysimic star collision using both gravitational waves and light.  The discovery is being hailed as a new dawn for astronomy.  Thousands of astronomers were involved, using more than 70 telescopes around (and above) the world.  The discovery confirms theories about the speed of light, how gold is created and the origins of gamma ray bursts.

IMPORTANT: The event is at Emerald Secondary College, 425 Belgrave-Gembrook Rd, Emerald VIC 3782 and we will be meeting at 7:30pm for an 8pm start!

Jeff Cooke flyer

Friday 18th August 2017 – “Astronomy in the Classic Maya Period: Copan Ruinas, Honduras” – Dr Javier Mejuto

At 7pm Friday 18th August MBO in conjunction with Emerald Secondary College presents a free National Science Week event with guest speaker Dr Javier Mejuto, Professor of Cultural Astronomy at the National Autonomous University in Honduras, on “Astronomy in the Classic Maya Period: Copan Ruinas, Honduras“.

Dr Javier Mejuto photo portraitThe Mayan Classic period (250 CE- 900CE) is recognized the height of the arts, architecture and urbanism for the Maya, particularly in terms of astronomical knowledge. Observations of the celestial landscape arise in sculptures, buildings, calendars, numbering, writings and all Mayan cultural expressions. This talk will explore the site known as Copan Ruinas – a crucible of outstanding architecture and symbolic language that shows the role of time and cosmos in the religion, rituals, and social ends of the Maya people.

Come and join us on Friday August 18th from 6.30pm at EPAC, Emerald Secondary College, as Culture, Astronomy, History, Maths and Archaeology combine for this fascinating FREE talk. Doors open at 6:30pm and the talk begins at 7.30pm sharp.  Emerald Secondary College are planning a BBQ to raise funds for their astronomy club beforehand and (weather permitting) MBO will have telescopes on hand for night sky viewing afterwards.

PLEASE DO NOTE THAT THIS TALK IS NOT AT MBO ITSELF BUT IS AT EMERALD SECONDARY COLLEGE (425 Belgrave – Gembrook Road, Emerald, VIC 3782)! :-)

Friday 25th November 2016 – Annual General Meeting and Guest Speaker Neil Creek

Dear member of Mount Burnett Observatory,

this is to provide notice of the society’s Annual General Meeting to be held on:

Friday the 25th of November at 7pm

at:

Mount Burnett Observatory
420 Paternoster Road Mount Burnett

Following the meeting our special guest speaker will be our very own Neil Creek speaking on “My Astrophotography Journey“.

Astronomy has been a lifelong passion of mine, and photography for the last 15 years. With the digital revolution, bringing the two together was finally an easy matter. My talk will cover the many small steps and occasional giant leaps in my astrophotography journey, sharing wisdom and advice I have picked up along the way. Getting into astrophotography is easier than it has ever been, and you probably already own the gear to get started. I’ll talk about giving it a try yourself and answer questions to help more stargazers get into this rewarding pursuit.

In accordance with rule 30 of our association rules the AGM must be held to

  1. Confirm the minutes of the previous AGM
  2. Receive the Committee’s report on the previous year’s activities
  3. Vote to accept the association financial statement for the club’s previous financial year (which ended June 30th 2016)
  4. Elect a new committee
  5. Confirm or vary the membership fee.

Committee reports will be made available to all members via email at least 48 hours before the meeting.

All members of the association are entitled to attend the meeting.

Members are eligible to vote if they are over the age of 15 and have been a member for more than 10 days by the time of the meeting.

Members eligible to vote that cannot attend but wish to participate may appoint another MBO member to act as their proxy and vote on their behalf. Proxies must be appointed in writing (a proxy form is attached) and the form must be signed by the member appointing the proxy. Proxy forms can either be handed in on the night to the secretary or emailed no later than 7pm Thursday the 26th of November.

Members eligible to vote and who are aged 18 or above are entitled to nominate for a position on the 2016 committee. Verbal nominations for committee positions will be accepted during the AGM or nominations may be submitted in writing in advance using the attached nomination form.

Committee positions to be filled at the AGM  are:

  • President
  • Vice-President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • A number of Ordinary Committee Members (as determined at the AGM)

For any further information regarding the AGM members are encouraged to email info@mtburnettobservatory.org or phone James Murray on 0409703929.

Saturday 10th September 2016 – Astronomy & Light at ScienceWorks!

MBO's Braeden at AstroFest 2015

Looking for something to do on a Saturday night? Come and join us from 6pm to 10pm on September the 10th at Scienceworks when we take Melbourne by storm in the Astronomy and Light Festival, brought to you in partnership by Scienceworks, Telescopes in Schools and good old Mount Burnett Observatory (amongst others!).

There will be a field full of telescopes, a laser maze, talks by astronomy experts from all walks of likes, activities for the children and much much more, read the Astronomy & Light Festival blog for details.

Tickets are available at: https://museumvictoria.com.au/scienceworks/whats-on/astrolight-festival/

MBO members should read their weekly emails for instructions on how to get discounted tickets.

If you would like to volunteer with the super MBO crew email us at info@mtburnettobservatory.org

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