Perth Observatory Newsletter Winter 2018

PERTH OBSERVATORY NEWSLETTER WINTER EQUINOX 2018

LIFE HAPPENS...

OR DOES IT? TRACKING OUR ORIGINS AMONGST THE UNIVERSE

WORDS FROM OUTER SPACE THE MEANING BEHIND POPULAR ASTRONOMY NAMES AND TERMS

SPEAKING BETTER OUR VOLLIES LEARN SOME NEW SKILLS

WORLD RECORD

40,000 PAIRS OF EYES WATCHING THE NIGHT SKY ACROSS AUSTRALIA Space Travel gets real • Beyond the dark matter • Breakthroughs in flight • Meet the science skeptics A new look on Solar panel technology • Dr. Nicholas Ulrich on the Theory of Relativity

OUR WINTER NIGHT TOURS HAVE BEGUN.

CONTACT US PERTH OBSERVATORY P.O. Box 212, 5729 Wesley Rd. London +20 (36) 123 50 60 hello@talkoftown.com www.talkoftown.com

Astronomers say the best time for viewing our southern skies is during Winter.

Well, this year our passionate volunteers at the Perth Observatory are offering to brave the cooler weather to show you planets, and the galactic centre passing overhead revealing many deep sky treasures that you can't see in Summer.

EDITORIAL MICHELLE ASHLEYEMILE Editor-In-Chief

JOHN FORD Operations Editor

MINDY GO We will run Winter Night Tours from June

Technical Editor

through to August. If there are clouds or even rain on the night we'll then provide you with an amazing guided tour of the Observatory.

Either way we give out hot chocolate at the end of the night so why not put on your warmest coat, beanie and boots on and join us on the hilltop for a very

CONTRIBUTORS Michelle Ashley-Emile, John Ford, Matthew Woods, Julie Mathews, Brendan Hill.Â

different experience.

Adult: $30.00 Concession: $25.00 Child: $20.00 Tours Start: 7:30pm

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE www.talkoftown.com/ subscribe

MOORG REGOR :EGAMI

BOOK YOUR TOUR

SUBSCRIPTIONS

IT'S HARD NOT TO BE EXCITED WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO LAND ON THE MOON. Alan Shepard talking about his time on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission in February 1971.

CONTENT 01 A View Through the Eyepiece 03 Upcoming Events

04 What Happens on a Cloudy Night?

05 For Sam

01

05

12

07 Record Breaking Night

09 Words from Outer Space 12 A Visit from Gerry Griffin

13 Intelligent Life On Earth

13

21

21 Presentation Training for Our Volunteers 23 Zal Kanga-Parabia West Australian of the Year Finalist

25 The Gros Horloge, Rouen 27 Supanova 2018

23

25 FIND US HERE

CONTENT 27

30

12

29 Astroshop 30 Movie Review

31 1000 Days to First Light

14

33 Whats Up in the Sky? 50 The Funny Space

31

33

51 Recipe - Galaxy Donuts

52 An Image From Hubble

50

51 The Perth Observatory 337 Walnut Road Bickley Western Australia PO Box 179 Kalamunda WA 6926 Phone: (08) 9293 8255 Fax: (08) 9293 8138 info@perthobservatory.com.au www.perthobservatory.com.au Office Times: 10am to 4:30pm Mon - Fri (exclude public holidays), and open for scheduled tours

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A VIEW THROUGH THE EYEPIECE WORDS BY

Diana Rosman

This Winter Solstice edition of the Perth Observatory Newsletter comes just as we begin a new episode for the Perth Observatory. After three years of volunteer management, we are now confident enough to embark on some ambitious developments.

We have discovered that not only do our visitors delight in viewing clusters and nebula through simple optical telescopes, but they also enjoy learning about the history of astronomy and the increasing role of technology in new discoveries about the universe.

There are many beautiful stellar objects in our southern skies, and we have more clear viewing nights than cloudy ones. We are lucky, too to be able to build on 120 years of history and offer local, interstate and international visitors a memorable astronomical experience, clear skies or not.

The recent ABC Stargazing Live Guinness world record for the most star gazers viewing simultaneously across multiple sites was a powerful demonstration of the level of public interest in astronomy. More than 40,000 participants at 285 “stargazing parties” across Australia viewed the Moon through binoculars and telescopes of many dimensions for 10 minutes at the same time. We were honoured to host 302 of these viewers at our star party on the hilltop at Bickley, and be on show in ABC’s live crossover to WA. Many participants stayed on afterwards to look through our telescopes, chat with volunteers and shop for eclectic items at the Astroshop.

This year, offsite viewing events at far flung country areas of WA have been great fun for the volunteers involved as well as their audiences. Further afield, new and rekindled collaborations with other observatories may allow us to offer remote astrophotography and real-time remote viewing of the southern skies to an even wider audience.

Back on the hilltop, the summer viewing period merged seamlessly into winter with some gorgeous weather during May –before, during and after the super Stargazing Live event. Then on 11th June we celebrated the completion of the refurbishment of the Obsession 30”, to be trialled on cool, clear nights over winter, then incorporated into mainstream and special viewing events from September. The refurbishment and upgrades to the dome and telescope have presented many challenges, overcome only by the skill and determination of our facilities and maintenance teams. Already there is excitement about the possibilities and to quote an experienced event host last weekend: “No twinkling stars tonight just crystal clear heavens and sharp as a tack viewing through the Meades and, a first for the paying punters, the magnificent Obsession 30".

So after working through all the possibilities and priorities, the POVG Fundraising subcommittee is developing a Roadmap to chart the details of our heritage preservation, cultural history and science outreach programs. Already, we have had amazing encouragement and support from local community groups and businesses across many areas - whether it’s to repair a dome, pave a driveway, or improve the internet speed. These are acknowledged in our newly established Sponsors webpage: (www.perthobservatory.com.au/sponsors-and-partners).

We are now working with local Noongar Elders, Artists, Story Tellers and community groups, with particular thanks to Rotary Kalamunda, to incorporate 60,000 years of Aboriginal sky stories and astronomical lore into our outreach programs. We recently submitted a funding proposal to Lotterywest which if successful, would see a wide range of development programs including repair of our historical clocks, redevelopment of the museum, installation of outdoor signage, creation of an outdoor BBQ area and improvements for disability access amongst others. Exciting times ahead, so please stay tuned.

Diana Rosman (POVG Chairperson)

FRONT COVER IMAGE BY ZAL KANGA-PARABIA

CONTRIBUTORS

CONTACT US

EDITORIAL

PERTH OBSERVATORY 337 Walnut Road 6076 Bickley, WA

MICHELLE ASHLEY- Michelle Ashley-Emile, EMILE John Ford, Matthew Editor-In-Chief

JOHN FORD Operations Editor

(08) 9293 8255 newsletter@povg.org www.perthobservatory.com.au

Woods, Trevor Bulley Julie Mathews, Brendan Hill, Arthur Harvey, Rob Hunt, Ronny Kaplanian, Geoff Scott, Roger Groom, Zal KangaParabia

SUBSCRIPTIONS Click Below to subscribe to our newsletter

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THE PERTH OBSERVATORY

UPCOMING EVENTS ADVENTURE

NEW MOON STARGAZING NIGHT HIKE

EDUCATION

PERTH SCIENCE FESTIVAL Perth Science Festival is the largest celebration on the WA National Science Week calendar, with a packed stage show schedule and more than 50 free hands-on activities, science meets arts exhibitions and stores for buying science products. The Festival features exhibitors from across WA exploring a variety of areas, from astronomy to marine biology, coding and robotics to forensics!

GET YOUR TICKETS

Join a Stargazing Night Hike under a new moon when the stars are at their brightest, a

Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th August 2018. 10am - 5pm each day

wonderful opportunity to experience the

Claremont Showgrounds Robinson Pavilion

beauty of the Milky Way in a starry night sky.

General Admission | $10 Child under 4 | Free, but must still have a registered ticket

There is something magical about hiking at night, using the stars as a light source.

Without the heavy traffic we often find on our trails during the day, we get to experience nature in stillness and in peace.

Our senses become heightened, our eyes

ADVENTURE

ABSEILING AT PERTH OBSERVATORY

are forced to adjust to the lower light, and Need a bit of thrill in your life? our ears search out sounds in the silence. As Perth Observatory is teaming up with we walk through the night and are met with Spacechameleon Adventure Co to organise a night unfamiliar noises, our imaginations go a where people can abseil our Lowell Telescope little wild, often drawing out our fears, but if Dome. Each participant will get 3 abseils and we’ll we allow ourselves to be present in those also have some of our telescope domes open so moment and witness the marvel of the

TTOCS FFOEG :EGAMI

you can gaze at the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and nocturnal world we often miss at night, we Saturn. truly see that in darkness there is also Both abseiling and climbing challenge your primal beauty. fears, with falling being the most primal of all.

You’ll learn how to apply the rational mind Tour leaves from South Ledge Mundaring to understand irrational fears, leads to a greater 11 August at 17:30–20:00 level of control in many other aspects of day-to8 September at 17:30–20:00 day life.

Book your ticket with Down Under Spacechameleon Adventure Co caters for

$60 per adults for 3 abseils

beginners as well as adrenaline junkies

$50 per concessions for 3 abseils

The event will go ahead rain or shine and we do

$40 per child for 3 abseils

Discoveries

BOOK YOUR TOUR

require a minimum number of 18 people to do this Location: Perth Observatory event. If we don’t reach the minimum number of

Date: Sat, 25th Aug 2018

people 48 hours before the tour we will contact

Time: 17:30 pm to 22:00 pm

you and we’ll issue you a full refund.

(Gates open at: 17:00 pm)

BOOK Y

OUR TO

UR

BY MATT

WOODS

Perth Observatory tours are designed to operate in clear, cloudy and wet conditions. Our tours contain a rich combination of star viewing, equipment tours, astrophotography, history and education delivered by a trained, enthusiastic group of staff and volunteers. The exact content of a tour will vary based on the weather conditions at the time to optimise the participant experience. Tickets booked for a tour will not be refunded when cloudy conditions are forecast in the lead up to a tour. It is extremely common that forecasted cloudy conditions will not eventuate to the extent that viewing is not possible.

Exceptions:

If a ticket holder previously attended a tour and that last attended tour was deemed by the observatory to be a cloudy tour, that ticket may be transferred to an alternate date.

If the Bureau of Meteorology have in place a Severe Weather Warning for the Perth Metropolitan region, including Perth Hills/Bickley area, for the time of the tour, or within 6 hours of the tour start time (12 hour window around the tour), tours during the hours defined by the Severe Weather Warning will be cancelled.

In the event of a severe weather warning, the decision to cancel the tour will be made on the day of the tour and all ticket holders will be contacted using details provided during the booking process.

You will then be given the option to receive a refund or transfer the booking to an alternative tour date/time. (Please ensure that these contact details are correct).

If, at the conclusion of a tour, Perth Observatory deems that the tour was considered cloudy, ticket holders of that tour will be provided a 50% discount code for a future tour. When attending that future tour the ticket holder may postpone to an alternative date if cloudy conditions are forecast. Perth Observatory will deem a night as being “cloudy” when:

No more than three astronomical objects are able to be viewed by participants through telescopes, or At the discretion of Perth Observatory.

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WHAT HAPPENS ON A CLOUDY NIGHT?

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ECITSLOS RETNIW • 6 EGAP

SUPANOVA

THIS ONE IS FOR YOU SAM, LOVE YOU ENDLESSLY AND MISS YOU

RONNY

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IMEHSAH NIESOH :EGAMI

A RECORD BREAKING NIGHT WRITTEN MICHELLE ASHLEY-EMILE

handing out telescopes and making sure they were set up correctly and pointing at the correct target, The Moon. Being the largest star party in the West, had its perks with ABC’s news reporters and photographers snapping up media pics and interviews with our stargazers. The icing on the cake was The Perth Observatory being part of the live feed, boasting our beautiful observatory, our clear night sky and our excited guests to the rest of the country.

As the time approached our stargazers settled into their sections ready for the start time. With

On the 23rd May over 40,000 people across

Brian Cox and Julie Zemiro projected onto the

Australian pointed their telescopes to the

astrograph wall our 350 strong audience pointed

heavens and together shared in a world record

their scopes onto the moon for 10 minutes of

experience. Organised by The Australian

dedicated star gazing. Whilst all eyes were on

National University and ABC's Stargazing Live,

the moon, a team of Volunteers counted the

presented by Professor Brian Cox and Julia

scopes and encouraged the audience to stay on

Zemiro, Perth Observatory hosted the largest

target by reminding everyone of the time left and

star party in Western Australia with over 350

filling the crowd’s heads with interesting facts

people in attendance.

about our moon. As the 10 minutes came to a

While our stargazers settled into their assigned

finish there was excitement and smiles all

coloured sections, feasting on gourmet food

around, wondering if a new world record had

truck delicacies and rugging up for the big

been created.

night, our volunteers had started the process of directing traffic, counting people in,

ECITSLOS RETNIW • 8 EGAP

As the crowd started packing away their telescopes, the volunteers at the observatory started shifting their scopes away from the moon and onto some familiar objects for our guests to look at. The crowd was treated to a mini night sky tour viewing Jupiter, and Saturn through our larger telescopes. The rest of our volunteers were busy tallying up numbers and finalising film footage to send to the Guinness World Record committee, hoping that our contribution was enough to break the record.

The original record “Most People Stargazing -Multiple Venues” was set by the ANU (Australian National University) on August 21st, 2015 with 8000 stargazers. On the 23rd of May 2018 that record was broken with 46,345 stargazers all looking at the Moon through a telescope for 10 minutes.

Not only did we beat the record we absolute obliterated it. Well done to all of our participants and volunteers for an amazing night and we are looking forward to smashing that number in a few years time.

AIBARAP-AGNAK LAZ :EGAMI

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Like every other area of knowledge, astronomy has its own collection of specialised words. We use many of these words knowing what they represent, but often without knowing where they came from (i.e. their etymology).

The English language as we mostly speak today is a mix of older languages spoken by the various groups that settled in England after the Romans left in 410AD: Angles (hence Angle-land), Saxons and Vikings merged together to make Old English, before the Normans overlaid it with their older French language when they invaded in 1066 AD. At the same time, the Roman Church brought in Latin and Greek when Augustine arrived in 596 AD. Also, at the height of the Muslim conquests and scientific endeavour, many Arabic terms came via Muslim Spain.

As the Church was heavily involved in scholarship, scholars naturally had to learn both Greek and Latin, and wrote many of their works in Latin (e.g. Newton’s Principia). The use of these languages in scholarship meant many scientific terms were derived from these languages.

WORDS FROM OUTER SPACE WRITTEN BY JOHN FORD

Latin and Greek are highly inflected languages; that is, the endings of nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. change to reflect person, tense, subject, direct/indirect object, ownership and so on. This gives rise to the suffixes we often see on these words.

Let’s have a look at some common astronomical terms and see how their names came about:

Asteroid A relatively small and rocky body orbiting the Sun. The first part of this word comes from aster, the Ancient Greek word for star. The -oid suffix comes from the Ancient Greek eidos, which means form, likeness or essence. Many words we use have this -oid suffix to indicate a likeness e.g. humanoid, planetoid, spheroid. Hence, we get the English version “star-like”

Astronomy The science that studies celestial objects and phenomena.

Again we start with aster, which is then combined with the word nomos, meaning “law”, to make astronomia, or “law of the stars”. aster becomes astron to indicate ownership (the equivalent of 's or s' in English).

Azimuth The angle between the north and the perpendicular projection of the star down onto the horizon.

This came via Muslim Spain from the Arabic alsum

ūt,

meaning “the directions”.

Comet A celestial body moving about the sun, usually in a highly eccentric orbit, consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and gas that may form a tail that streams away from the sun.

The base of this word comes from the Ancient Greek kome, which means “long or uncut hair”.

When used to describe a comet’s appearance, it becomes part of the expression aster kometes, or long-haired star.

Crater Bowl-shaped depression produced by the impact of a meteorite, volcanic activity, or an explosion.

This comes from the Ancient Greek word krater, which was a large vase which was used to mix wine and water in Ancient Greece.

Galaxy A gravitationally bound system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust and dark matter.

Part of this word comes from the Ancient Greek gala, which means milk. To describe the band of light across the sky (formed by stars that the naked eye can’t resolve), it becomes part of the expression galaxias kyklos, or “milky circle”.

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Gibbous Having the illuminated part greater than a semicircle and less than a circle.

This comes from the Latin gibba, meaning “a hump”. Turning it into an adjective gives us gibb

ōsus

meaning “humped”.

Planet An astronomical object orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, but is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion.

The Ancient Greeks noticed that some stars appeared to move their position in the sky from year to year (for example, as of June 2018, Jupiter is in the constellation Libra, but at the same time next year it will be in Scorpio). That is, they appeared to “wander” about the sky.

The Ancient Greek for wanderer is planitis, which is then used to describe the planets as plan

ētes

asteres, “wandering stars”.

Waxing The increasing of the illuminated portion of the moon before the full moon.

This comes from the Old English word weaxan – grow, increase. In fact, in modern German the verb wachsen means to grow.

Zodiac The area of the sky that surrounds the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year.

The term has its origin from the constellations that lie along the ecliptic. It comes from the Ancient Greek z

ōion,

which

means animal (whence we also get “zoo”).

The Greeks changed the ending to a diminutive which conveys small size or endearment, giving z

ōidion,

or “little

animal”. So, to describe the constellations that the sun passes through, the Ancient Greeks used the term z

ōidiakòs

kýklos,

which means “circle of little animals”.

GERRY GRIFFIN

BY JOHN FORD

In May, Perth Observatory was again honoured to have another distinguished guest make the trek up the hill to visit. Gerry Griffin, who served as a Flight Director during the Apollo Program, was in Perth with Moonwalker Astronaut Charlie Duke as part of their “MISSION CONTROL” show. The night after the show, Gerry accepted our invitation to visit us. After informal chats with the POVG volunteers, Gerry was shown around the Main Building and taken for tour to the telescopes for some viewing of the night sky. Gerry graciously answered many questions about the Apollo Program from the many spaceflight enthusiasts among the volunteers, and told some wonderful stories about the astronauts from the Apollo Program.

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A VISIT FROM

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INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH IS THERE BUGGER ALL DOWN HERE?

BY TREVOR BULLEY

An interesting and familiar science project is SETI – our search for extra-terrestrial intelligent life. But what of life on earth, how it arose, what defines it as intelligent, and what lessons can we take from our own intelligence into the SETI? Monty Python suggests, “pray that there is intelligent life somewhere up in space because there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” This article does not detail SETI but uses it as context and reviews some of the thinking about intelligent, or not, life on earth and what this could mean if we find intelligent life somewhere in our prayers.

There is no agreed definition of what life is or a proven mechanism that brought it about. The evidence suggests that life first appeared over 4bya in the young oceans just 300my after the earth was formed.

For a vast period of over 3.5 billion years, life forms were simple, mostly single-celled or colonies and relatively homogenous until 550mya that changed with the Cambrian Explosion. This event saw a rapid increase in the complexity and diversity of all life forms and produced most of the major phyla present today. The causes are still speculative, possibly several small changes acting in concert could have created a biological big bang. An increase in oxygen levels, in turn initiating aggressive evolutionary arms races, seems most likely, however, an effective ozone barrier against solar radiation allowing for

The Cambrian Explosion set the scene that ultimately led to humans – fortuitous for us but probably not inevitable. The view in the rear mirror shows that while life began relatively quickly on the earth, and by implication on other worlds, complex life took far longer and therefore might not be inevitable on other planets with simple life forms.

REISE | PAGE 3

land animal development and the evolution of eyes might also have played parts.

SETI and the associated discipline of Astrobiology have a few key assumptions and elements.

Through a process of logical deduction, Drake’s Equation examines a hierarchy of probabilities from the number of stars (those with planets) all the way through to the odds where the life is intelligent enough to broadcast radio signals. While Drakes principles are not controversial, the estimates of variables differ widely given how little we know at each stage in Drakes hierarchy. Drakes equation is also only applied to the Milky Way galaxy because although the principles apply to other galaxies, radio signals from other galaxies would be to faint for us to detect. Associated with this is the Fermi paradox that questions why we there is no compelling evidence of life elsewhere given the impressive numbers coming out of Drakes equation.

The furry tail idea that porridge can be too hot, too cold or just right is the Goldilocks principle and analogous to an orbital zone around a star that is conducive to the evolution of life – that is, having a surface temperature ‘just right’ for liquid water.

The Goldilocks principle also applies at a galactic level.

Certain parts of our galaxy (and other galaxies) will not be conducive to life because of factors like radiation or gravitational disruptions causing excessive impacts on the planet – once again, zones are required that are ‘just right’ for the development of life as we know it. The constraints imposed by a Goldilocks zone are given some added perspective by the Anthropic Principle, a convoluted tautology summed up by Stephen Hawking as, “the intelligent beings in these regions should therefore not be surprised if they observe that their locality in the universe satisfies the conditions that are necessary for their existence.” We are also now discovering organisms on earth living in very extreme environments, thereby effectively stretching earlier perceptions of the Goldilocks zone. We are also constrained by our own experience of “life as we know it” and tend to view SETI through this lens.

Our awareness of our place in the immediate and distance cosmic neighborhood has only occurred in the past few hundred years with any valid observation and experience. Our first detection of external radio waves was less than a hundred years ago, and we intentionally transmitted our first radio signal less than 50 years ago.

Voyager 1 left our solar system in 2012 and has another 40,000 years before its flyby with another star, so the chances of Voyager encountering alien travelers is remote.

As for intelligent human life on earth, humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor somewhere between 6-8mya, and over the past 2my, there have been at least seven human species their time – how many did not prevail?

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Our rise to shape and dominate certain aspects of the planet and most other species is only several 10’s of thousands of years and this is put down to the following probably familiar mechanisms: (Only most other species because something like hardy Tardigrades thrive in most extreme environments on earth, has done so for 500 million years and will

TARDIGRADE FUTURISM.COM

Fire:

The use of fire for cooking and

eating meat provided us with the necessary level of nutrition to feed a large brain. Cooking allows us to pre-process food making it easier and faster to absorb nutrients.

Verbal ability:

An apparent mutation in

our vocal chords allowed us to develop advanced speech giving us communication and co-operation that leapfrogged our social order. With the addition of recording technology, from papyrus to digital, set in motion mechanisms and technologies with exponential consequences.

Grasping hands:

Having grasping hands

with opposable thumbs allows the use of tools. If speculation is correct that climate change that turned forests to grassland forced bipedalism on early humanoids, the hands should intuitively turn to more productive pursuits like tool use. Hooves, wings, fins, and paws don’t seem likely to lead to productive keyboard use.

Possibly less familiar perspectives and ideas are those proposed by Edward O Wilson in his book, ‘The Social Conquest of Earth’.

probably outlive us all.)

Fire is a key catalyst for our

transformation to uber apes and this means living on the land and not in the ocean. Regardless of how intelligent dolphins and octopus are, they will never harness fire and as dexterous as tentacles are, grasping hands with opposable thumbs still manipulate tools better.

Be largish and terrestrial:

Big brains need large

bodies to support them. Despite Douglas Adams’ pan-dimensional creations in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mice are unlikely to be resolving superstring theory any time soon, at best they will make nests or get elected onto the front bench.

Communication and Co-operation :

These two

fundamental ideas are implicit in our verbal ability.

In 1976 Richard Dawkins wrote a mind-bending book called, ‘The Selfish Gene.’ It proposed that the gene and not the individual is the unit of evolution by natural selection. While there were detractors, with this perspective Dawkins explained how altruism arose in populations, something Charles Darwin could not, with his original and highly controversial theory nearly 100 years earlier. What is less well known is the chapter on communication in the ‘The Selfish Gene’. Here Dawkins notes that his own professor, Niko Tinbergen, proposed that communication is about the transfer of information.

Dawkins turned this around, instead of saying that communication is about manipulation and not information transfer – the argument to support this being that natural selection favors individuals who successfully manipulate other individuals, regardless of whether this is to the advantage of the manipulated individuals.

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Be terrestrial.

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Co-operation is another aspect defining human behavior and accounts for much that humans are responsible for. Wiki optimistically tells us that we co-operate for mutual benefit – yet experience shows us, from the press-ganging sailors into merchant and military navies to business dealings and even in families, that cooperation has an unwilling and dark side. The enlistment of young men into the great wars of the 20th century through draft laws and social doctrines of patriotism and heroism, all indicate an unknowing and possibly unwilling collective following the dictates of social institutions like religion, fashion, business and even science. It could be reduced to the collective social will achieving a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is not the same as saying that the entire group was co-operating, all the while singing, ‘jolly hockey sticks’.

What is less clear is the mechanism behind the collective will of a society. Let us suppose that humans have achieved such dramatic and organised outcomes because we are a cooperative species.

Despite this, brilliant and mutated minds like Newton arise and create a new path, and always facing massive opposition from the ruling paradigm. History reads like a stuck record to see that its virtually guaranteed that outliers will be socially punished. Galileo, Einstein (see ‘100 scientists against Einstein’), and Darwin are just a few of the outliers we now revere because they prevailed against the great unwashed of their time – how many did not prevail?

Between 2500-2300 BC the Mediterranean civilisation of Ionia stands as an unfulfilled scientific revolution. Isolated from other intellectual centres of the time, a collection of islands and city states prevented a single concentration of power creating an intellectual melting pot of diversity and free inquiry. Around 540 BC a dictator – Polycrates – came to power, oppressing his people and waging war with his neighbours. Whilst achieving significant engineering feats, his regime is understood to have crushed the scientific enlightenment in the region.

Compared to other notable past civilisations, Ionia, unfortunately, left very few substantial traces. It appears they applied the beginnings of the scientific method and were on the brink of Darwinian, atomic and heliocentric discovery over 2000 years before it came to be re-discovered. Carl Sagan speculates, ‘If the Ionian philosophy had prevailed, we might have been traveling in the stars.’

The Ionians were somehow less constrained by a flat earth mentality due in part to the political structures arising from island geography. Is it possible that other innovative civilisations arose and collapsed with no trace whatever? Could the conditions of Ionia be consciously replicated in some way on earth? Are they happening in extra-terrestrial Ionias that we might one day contact?

A mantra of science states that it is an inevitable selfcorrecting process that leads to improved versions of the truth. Yet it seems that human society has a stronger imperative than truth-seeking, that of seeking power, and the truth is the first casualty. While we search for ETI we should also vigilantly search for and foster intelligence on earth. Accepting that the Homo Sapiens capacity for blind conformance is necessary to ensure cohesion, minds like Einstein and their like are required to break the blind conformance and free science to advance independently of conventional thought. The irony and paradox of this are that it was the products of Newton's mind that initiated the social momentum that effectively blocked alternatives for 250 years.

HUMANS HAVE BEEN SOCIAL FAR LONGER THAN WE HAVE BEEN HUMAN, AND EVERY GROUP NEEDS TO PROTECT ITS INTEGRITY FROM FRACTURES CAUSED BY OUTLIERS.

have been human, and every group needs to protect its integrity from fractures caused by outliers. Does intelligent life require both the outliers acting as mental mutations and the blind momentum of the great unwashed or is this dysfunctional leapfrogging between innovative thought and blind compliance? Are these just inevitable facets of the human condition that achieve random and not necessarily progressive outcomes? Are we able to consciously harness this process, or are we and any intelligence everywhere resigned to serendipity?

If life is inevitably social wherever it arises, will it be subject to the same constraints that we have in every social species? The blind instincts of ants and bees that follow a proximal genetic program or the blind conformance of humans that follow an ultimate genetic program with a bolt on for learning.

References

• Edward O Wilson – The Social Conquest of Earth.

• Richard Dawkins - The Selfish Gene.

• ‘100 scientists against Einstein’ • Carl Sagan - Cosmos: A Personal Voyage The Ionians and the Birth of Science

ECITSLOS RETNIW •02 EGAP

Humans have been social far longer than we

ECITSLOS RETNIW • 12 EGAP

PRESENTATION TRAINING FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS WRITTEN BY JULIE MATTHEWS The Training Committee is excited to share that volunteer

Keith has been a Chartered Accountant in London,

Telescope Operator, Keith Mellis, has taken on the

Johannesburg, and Sydney, with the last 20 years of his

coordination of our special Presentation Training. This

career as a corporate executive and then as a

training is for all our night and day Presenters and is designed

management consultant in Sydney. Customer service is his

to help us maximise our customer’s experience and help us be

key focus. He has completed a course in Assessment &

the absolute best presenters that we can be.

Workplace Training in WA and even though he does have a strong English

proud Australian citizen. Keith worked closely with Diana Rosman, Geoff Scott, Paul Fisher and Steve Ewing to pinpoint the areas to be covered and in early June we enjoyed our first Presentation Course facilitated by Mary

ECITSLOS RETNIW • 22 EGAP

accent has lived in Australia for almost 45 years and is a

Papachristos. Mary currently works with the GHD group and has over 20 years of designing and delivering focused workshops around Australia.

There were a ton of laughs and stories as the course focused on what makes a good and a not-so-good presentation, covering both content and delivery. We discussed the most

effective way to respond to questions from the floor; learned tips on preparation and focused on how to get the right

balance between entertainment and technical details to have our customers leave with a warm fuzzy feeling

We all left the training with big smiles on our faces and our minds bursting with fantastic ideas thanks to Keith and Mary’s amazing program. Now that the first session has been such a great success, the sessions will be continuing in the future. Thanks to Keith and Mary these sessions will improve everyone’s confidence and make tours more fun for us and our guests.

ECITSLOS R

ECITSLOS RETNIW •32 EGAP

ZAL

KANGA-PARABIA We are very proud to recognise one of our

Zal was awarded runner-up for Best New

volunteers, Zal Kanga-Parabia as being a

WA work – Martin Sims Award in Fringe

finalist for Western Australian of the Year

World Festival 2017 for his intimate sold-out

in the category for Youth. Zal has been

performance at the State Theatre of

volunteering at the Perth Observatory since

Western Australia in which he performed and

2016 and has contributed over 300 hours to

mentored 20 young people. He was selected

outreach, guiding tours and creating

from hundreds of entries to be involved in

media content to share awareness and

the Perth International Arts Festival –

inspire the young people of WA to

PIAFLab 2017 and created a work with

understand their Australian identity

international artist Inua Ellams: The Midnight

through astronomy. This feeds further into

Run – 40 Audience Flute Ensemble with 16

his interest in crossovers in science, art

Tone Piano and Spectrograph score – A story

and culture and the sharing of knowledge.

of communal music sharing. Zal recently

Zal’s efforts in his work as a youth,

completed his Bachelor of Arts in photo

community artist has been commended

media and physics. His key focus is diversity

through the ECU Vice-Chancellor’s award,

through art and he created a 90-page

the Cultural Endeavours Award and Runner

astronomical photo book which looks at

Up WA’s Young Person of The Year award

subjectivity in science receiving best

(YACWA 2015), for his charity work

monograph at the 2017 Graduate Exhibition,

including guiding youth who have

Edith Cowan University.

WRITTEN BY MATT WOODS

experienced homelessness to tell their stories through photography, as part of Home Is Where My Heart Is (2012 – 2016).

Above Zal Kanga-Parabia.

Currently, he is directing the Youth

Zal acquired the Lesley Couzens Arts

Week WA KickstART Festival,

Fellowship grant to travel to London and

programming and organizing over 70

present workshops on return. He has

events. The festival is set to impact

volunteered over 300 hours at the Perth

over 7000 young people in Western

Observatory and hundreds of hours for Youth

Australia. He single-handedly founded

Affairs Council WA, Propel Youth Arts, the

and produced the Youth Music

KickstART, Fairbridge, Stretch and Crab

Program at the Mandurah Performing

Festivals and Make Place Mandurah,

Arts Centre where, from December

supporting young people, especially those at

2014, he’s provided opportunities and

risk to find alternatives and positive ways to

one-on-one mentor ships to local

express themselves and make use of their time

young musicians, filmmakers, stage

through creativity.

production teams and artists to work

The award winners were announced at the

together and create large-scale

West Australian of the year awards dinner on

productions, recreating a long-lost

the first on June and although it was close, the

community of rural arts that spreads

winner in the youth category was Greg Hire.

the message of togetherness and

Nonetheless we congratulate all finalists, and

diversity; this is his foremost passion.

could not be prouder to have Zal as part of

ECITSLOS RETNIW • 42 EGAP

Zal has been volunteering at the Perth Observatory since 2016 and has contributed over 300 hours to outreach, guiding tours and creating media content to share awareness and inspire the young people of WA to understand their Australian identity through astronomy.

our Perth Observatory team. Congratulations Zal,

Above 47 Tucanae by Zal Kanga-Parabia.

THE

GROS HORLOGE ROUEN

By Arthur Harvey

As a member of POVG one

The days of the week [below]

cannot help being impressed by

and the moon phases [above]

the Observatory’s collection of

are also shown. The dial has only

clocks. The Cooke

one hand.

Heliochronometer, the Kulbergs,

Although it was replaced by an

the Shortts, the marine

electric clock in 1928 the

chronometer, even our external

mechanism is still operable! The

sundials (yes, we have 2). All of

clock is powered by falling

these are relatively modern so the

weights attached to drums;

opportunity to see a truly ancient

these drive gears and pinions

clock was not to be missed.

which are regulated by a verge

Accordingly, as we were planning

& foliot escapement. [see photo

to visit Rouen ([where Joan of Arc

and insert diagram below] Gear

was burned at the stake], a visit

trains then drive the hours and

to the Gros Horloge was added to

quarter hours. The forged iron

the itinerary. This clock is said to

gear wheels and constructed

be the model for the clock at the

pinions can be seen in the close-

Hay St end of London Court

up photo.

although as you can see, they are

To see an animation of a verge

only vaguely similar.

& foliot escapement click here

The clock is located in the Rue du

https://www.youtube.com/watc

Gros Horloge in a very well

h?v=UhFPb-ZZTyI

decorated Renaissance Arch and Belfry. The movement was constructed in 1389 making it one of the oldest in France.

Images: Top to Bottom

The London Court clock in Perth.

The Gros Horloge, Rouen.

The Gros Horloge, the makers name & date.

Images: Top to Bottom

Gros Horloge showing the verge & foliot escapement.

St Vivien clock 1591 Gros Horloge 1389

Also located in the belfry is the mechanism from the clock in the church of Saint Vivien. The mechanisms are very similar however a closer look at the last two photos will show how the manufacturing techniques had improved. The teeth on the gear wheels are much more finely shaped and the pinions are correspondingly more accurately made.

This brief report barely does justice to a visit to the Gros Horloge & the Belfry. The decoration of the arch and the clock face are worthy of greater study; the view from the top is certainly worth the climb and gives you a good view of the cathedral towers. A must-do when you visit Rouen.

ECITSLOS RETNIW •72 EGAP

Supanova 2018

OUR FAVOURITE ASTRONAUT BUZZ WAS VERY POPULAR AT THE 2018 PERTH SUPANOVA Click onto our Instagram to see more wonderful costumes

ECITSLOS RETNIW 82 EGAP

SUPANOVA 2018 MICHELLE HILL Supanova

2018

entertaining astronaut Perth our

was

day

taking

engage

with

Assasins word

got

and

showing

off

the

for

was,

those

We up

can’t at

stars may

the

wait

fans.

a

up

observatory

available be

with

see

bit

for

out

of

the days

to

tours of a

the

and

our

Astro

very experience

some

of

the

with

best-selling

to

two

spreading

entertaining

and

at

Princesses,

night

brushing

celebrities

place

change

always,

involved

and

our

Over

wonders

as

and

volunteers

the

Pokemon, winter

enjoyable

of

stall.

Wookies,

our

It

Buzz,

pride

on

shop.

colourful

with

Observatory

volunteers

a

our

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new

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viewing,

friends

plenty but

reach…sorry

of

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SWEHTAM EILUJ :SEGAMI

ASTRO SHOP IS OPEN

10AM TO 4:30PM MON - FRI * & ON SCHEDULED TOURS & EVENTS * not including public holidays

VISIT US AT

337 Walnut Rd Bickley WA 6076 (08) 9293 8255 INFO@PERTHOBSERVATORY.COM.AU

PASSENGERS

ECITSLOS RETNIW 03 EGAP

BRENDAN HILL'S MOVIE REVIEW

So you decide to leave Earth and start a new life in

The movie has a not-too-subtle touch of Kubrik about it,

the “Homestead Colony” halfway across the Galaxy.

especially regarding the visuals of the ship and the bar,

You get your affairs in order, pay your money and

yet this movie never really creates that sense of dread

prepare yourself for the longest nap of your life. As

that “2001” and “The Shining” are famous for. The actions

you drift off, you wonder what this new world will offer

taken by the ever-increasingly desperate Jim are not

and what kind of life you will be able to make for

really explored to a satisfying level either, leaving just a

yourself. Then you wake up to find that instead of the

taste of what might have been.

expected 120 years elapsing, only 30 years have gone by since you left Earth and the ship still has 90 years

As the other characters are introduced, the story

of travel left to go. On top of this, you were the only

develops into a rather predictable love story and a less

person woken up, there is no way to be put back to

predictable but equally cliche action story at the end.

sleep and any message back to Earth will take

These provide some more interest and the second half of

decades to arrive. To top it all off, you were only able

the movie certainly moves at a quicker pace than the first

to afford the economy fare so are only able to access

half, but you still end up feeling that this movie could

the economy food. This is the scenario Jim Preston

have been so much more if approached differently. This

(Chris Pratt) faces in the 2016 movie “Passengers’.

is not a disaster of a film, there are some quite enjoyable passages, the visuals can be quite stunning at times and I

It is a scenario which has a great deal of promise, which unfortunately the movie that follows never quite lives up to. The long desolate visuals of the first half of the movie are intended I am sure to impart the feelings of loneliness and despair that Jim must be feeling, but instead just manage to be a little boring.

like the fact that they didn’t need to resort to using “space aliens” as a method of explaining the issues away. But likewise, this is not an instant classic by any stretch of the imagination. This film is best described as forgettable. It is pleasant to watch as long as you don’t look too closely into the maths/physics on display, but it will not leave any lasting impressions.

3 out of 5 stars.

ECITSLOS RETNIW 13 EGAP

1000 DAYS TO FIRST LIGHT – PART 3 THE PERTH - LOWELL TELESCOPE DOME 1969-1971.

by Rob Hunt

In the 2017 edition, I furthered the history of how Perth architect Tad Andrzejaczekand the PO’s ‘John’ Harris were angling to get a large research telescope delivered from the USA and housed on site for the 1971 opposition of Mars. This was essentially so that NASA could gather planetary climate observations ahead of launching the Viking mission.The last paragraph of that article reads:It was more than 12 months of to-and-from communications mainly between Harris and theLO, and between Harris and Treasury, before in September 1969, the business manager of the LO suggested the loan of a B&C telescope for use in the IPPN, and that it may be retained for subsequent use. The official offer was to come later on 5 December 1969 and included funds for two local operators, equipment, supplies and petty cash. The telescope would be fabricated in five months for a June 1970 delivery (PO Archive; Millis, 2017). But the PO was responsible for building the housing for the telescope…..Those were heady days. Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders were preparing to blast off to the Moon, Harris was in his new office, successfully enticing international astronomy programs to the PO, and Andrzejczak was a highly regarded local architect with experience in designing telescope facilities. The clock was ticking for the PO.There are four basic parts to a telescope installation. A solid stand (or pillar) on which sits the particular telescope mount, attached to which is the telescope optical Tube Assembly (OTA). All of this is housed in an appropriate structure, the design of which varies hugely but addresses such factors as the desired science, budget, protection from weather, optimizing functionality and, perhaps, aesthetics.But in 1968, who in the world knew the logistics of such an undertaking? And how would a scientist in far-off Perth, WA, find the latest and best? Of course, the USDepartment of Defence was only now conceiving of the Advanced Research ProjectsAgency Network (ARPANET) that would inspire the global internet of today - this was an era of paperbased mail, airplane trips, and conferences, especially so for scientists like Harris who suffered the tyranny of distance.In a September 1969 letter from

to design the housing. He asked for specific housing requirements of the telescope, dimensions including pillar height, axis location, OTA length and minimum internal radius of the dome. In this no-nonsense letter, he warns the LO that ground-level seeing conditions would seriously impair results, so

04this is the first suggestion that he wanted to have as tall a structure as possible.

TTOCS FFOEG :EGAMI

Harris to the Lowell Observatory (LO), he asks for some details to allow him

He went onto suggest an octagonal dome with

.In this letter, Harris planted a confusing seed

hinged flap shutters to keep costs down but also

for the potential of increasing the height

to reduce wind loads, and he was very

saying that on economic grounds, the ideal

straightforward with his pessimistic views on the

height of the telescope axis has been reduced

bureaucratic and slow-moving workforce in

from 12.2 m to 9.4 m. No documentation was

Perth’s Public Works Department (PWD).That

found to explain the increase from 7.3 m to

same day, Harris wrote to his Treasury

12.2 m, then back to 9.4 m. The building would

Department outlining the specifications of the

now have two stories of 3.6 m, plus 2.1 m for

telescope, and two weeks later he was writing

OTA and mount. Critically for the design

his acceptance letter back to

outcome, Harris advises that his sketches are

the LO. His discussions with Treasury were far

for a rectangular building “…on the assumption

from over, but in the letter to the LO, Harris

that the added cost of corner bricks is less

expressed gratitude for the generous offer and

than that of skilled labor for the curved end-

advised of his subsequent plans. He was already

walls of existing telescope buildings.” Curved

preparing sketches and would forward them to

walls are not mentioned again.

the PWD as soon as possible for them to do their

Harris made another big concession to the

own drawings and costings. He again warned

budget in this initial proposal. His obvious

that the PWD plans may take 12 months just to

preference for a hemispherical dome that

get approval and that their workers were very

would minimize wind resistance was mentioned

slow. He made it clear that he was still engaged

but his octagonal design was offered as a

in bureaucratic discussions with Treasury and

concession to the budget. He also explains his

that parliament would have to approve the

first approximation for design of service rooms

expenses.Harris subsequently learned that NASA

and utilities and, ever the pragmatist, he

’s telescope supplier would be Boller &Chivens

describes two more detailed aspects of the

(B&C) in conjunction with the LO, and the OTA

building: a 1.5 square hatch in the top level

required 3.5 m radial clearance inside the

floor that will accommodate raising/lowering

dome. He set about designing a housing facility.

telescope parts and other equipment via a

His original first sketch of the Perth-Lowell tower

block and tackle hoist mounted inside the

is a simple pencil drawing on notepad paper. The

dome,and the arrangement of internal doors

design is reminiscent of the building in which he

with respect to bearing the load of the dome

had spent much of the previous few years - the

down through the structure to the ground.

Government Astronomer’s observatory/residence

Harris was clearly more than an academic.He

onsite at the old facility near the city. He drew a

was also a good construction project

rectangular building 8.5 m x 7.0 m with a second

manager.This letter was likely dated late 1969

storey floor7.3 m above the ground. The

because Harris then wrote to Baum on 23

access stairwell was offset to one side within the

January 1970 outlining exactly the same details,

building. The ‘dome’ is an octagonal structure

as well as advising that he had met with

with 2.6 m OTA clearance and has aspects in

Andrzejaczek just after Christmas 1969, and

common with the old PO’s 4-sided lookout tower

was awaiting a quote from the PWD.

cupola.In an undated letter of around this time,

Presumably, that recent meeting with

Harris lays out the requirements for the

Andrzejczak was the crucial point when both

installation. The letter is likely intended for the

men had an agreed understanding about the

PWD because it was apparently accompanied by

best height for the facility……First drawings of

his sketches and a promotional brochure from

the Lowell housing structure by Harris

B&C. In it, he makes a few stipulations and a few concessions. The structure was to be built on the

04

“…central ridge of the Bickley site…” some 91 m north of an existing astrographic telescope dome

ECITSLOS RETNIW Â 33 EGAP

WHATS UP IN THEÂ SKY WITH MATT WOODS

JULY Planets Mercury hangs around with Venus in the early evening sky in July and sets at the beginning of the month at 19:09 pm on the 15th of July. Mercury will move from the Constellation of Cancer (The Crab) and into the Constellation of Leo (The Lion) with Venus in the middle of the month. Mercury's greatest elongation in the West on the 12th of July at 13:00 pm (05:00 am UTC) and it will set at the end of the month at 18:50 pm. Venus starts of the month in the Constellation of Leo (The Lion) and will be in the Constellation of Virgo (The Virgin) by the end of the month.

Venus will set at 19:42 pm at the start of the month and it'll set at 20:31 pm by the end of the month.

Jupiter is still in the Constellation of Libra (The Scales) and will be in the sky already as nightfall begins. It'll set at 03:07 am at the start of the month and by the end of July it'll set at 01:12 am. Saturn is still in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and is viewable after sunset. It'll viewable all night at the start of the month but by the end of July it'll set at 05:00 am. Mars will rise at 19:25 pm is in the Constellation of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) at the start of the month and by the end of July it'll be viewable after sunset in between the Constellations of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) and Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow). On the 27th Mars will be at opposition and it'll be at it's brightest since 2003 and there be a brighter opposition until the 11th of September 2035.

Neptune is in the Constellation of Aquarius (The Water Bearer) and will rise at 22:31 pm at the start of the month and by the end of July it'll rise at 20:30 pm. Uranus is currently in between Constellation of Aries (The Ram), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish) and will rise at 02:07 am at the start of the month and by the end of July it'll rise at 00:11 am and it'll still be in between Constellation of Aries (The Ram), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish).

Astronomical Events This Month: Partial Solar Eclipse On the 13th of July there will be a partial solar eclipse that is visible from very few locations on land. People in some parts of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the tip of New Zealand will see a very small fraction of the eclipse. A majority of this partial eclipse of the Sun will take place over the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The eclipse can also be seen from a very small part of northern Antarctica.

The Delta Aquarids The Delta Aquarid meteors are due to peak on the night of the 27th/30th of July and they’ll favour southern hemisphere observers, which includes observers in Perth. The shower is active from the 12th of July to 23rd of August and they can vary in their hourly rate each year between 15 - 30 meteors per hour. In 2018, the Delta Aquariids are expected to have an very low hourly rate of (meteors per hour) due to the Full Moon in the sky.

The Delta Aquarids is located in the constellation of Aquarius and it can be viewable from 8 pm on the 29th, but it’ll be best to wait until around 3 am on the 30th. The source of the Delta Aquariids is believed to be 96P/Machholz 1 comet which was part of the unnamed ancient stream of Kreutz sungrazing comets.

Total Lunar Eclipse: On the early morning of Saturday, the 28th of July The Moon passes within Earth’s umbra or shadow in what’s called a Total Lunar Eclipse. At the start of the eclipse the Earth’s shadow first darkens the Moon slightly and then the shadow begins to cover part of the Moon, turning it an orange colour. The orange appearance of the Moon is due to Rayleigh scattering where the blue part of the light hitting the Earth’s atmosphere is scattered by the nitrogen molecules and the red and yellow part of the light continues through the atmosphere and goes on to hit the Moon.

This is the second Total Lunar Eclipse for 2018. This month’s eclipse will begin with the Penumbral Eclipse starting at 1:14 am, with the Partial Eclipse starting at 2:24 am and the Total Eclipse starting at 3:30 am. The Total Eclipse will be at its max at 4:21 am and it’ll finish by 5:13 am, with the Partial Eclipse finishing by 6:19 am.

The Moon sets at 7:17 am so we'll miss the last 11 minutes of the Penumbral Eclipse as the Moon completely leaves the Earth's shadow at 7:28pm

Things to Look at This Month: Omega Nebula: The Omega Nebula is located in the Sagittarius constellation. This emission nebula is regarded as one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of the Milky Way. Within the nebula, the radiation from an open cluster of ~35 hot, young stars heat the surrounding gas to incandescence.

There could be as many as 800 stars in the associated cluster.

The nebula was first discovered in 1745 and recorded by Charles Messier in 1764, and it’s so named because it appears like the Greek letter Omega. Alternatively, it may be seen as a horseshoe with a "tail" to one side giving it, perhaps, a swan’s neck appearance. It is also referred to as the Swan, Checkmark, Lobster and Horseshoe Nebula.

Centaurus A: Centaurus A or NGC 5128 is an elliptical galaxy that we see edge-on. The galaxy is the fifth brightest galaxy in the sky and one of the closest radio galaxies to earth.

It's between 10 to 16 million light years away from us and It can be found in the Centaurus constellation. The galaxy itself has a diameter of 60,000 light years making it 40% smaller than our galaxy and at its centre, it has a supermassive black hole with a mass of ~55 million suns. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from Parramatta, in New South Wales.

It's a starburst galaxy meaning that it is undergoing a period of intense star formation compared to an average galaxy. Studies have confirmed that this high rate of star birth is caused by a collision between itself and a smaller spiral galaxy. The bright central bulge and the dark dust lane can be easily viewed using an amateur telescope however a larger telescope is required to view greater detail and contrast. Centaurus A is an extremely bright radio object, X-Rays in particular. The central supermassive black hole is the source of this with two long radio jets extending well beyond the visual bounds of the galaxy.

The Jewel Box: An open cluster which can be found very close in the Crux (Southern Cross) Constellation, the Jewel Box is located some 6,440 light years away from Earth and is 14 light-years across. The cluster contains just over 100 stars, and with an estimated age of its stars being just 14 million years, this star cluster is one of the youngest clusters that we’ve found. The Jewel Box cluster also has some of the brightest stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

These stars are supergiants and the red, white and blue stars in the centre of the cluster look very much like the lights of a traffic light.

Eta Carinae and the Carina Nebula: Variable in brightness and colour, Eta Carinae is one of the most remarkable stars in the heavens. When we say "Eta Carinae" we refer to the star itself which for Perth is a circumpolar star (We see the star all year round) and not the nebula.

Eta Carinae is 100 times the Sun’s mass and 4 million times brighter, those this brightness has been unstable with the star being recorded over the past 300 years between magnitude -0.8 which is as bright as Canopus and +7.9.

It’s a star that's sometimes in the news as it’s expected to become a supernova within the next 1 million years and will be a spectacular sight when it occurs, being visible by day and possibly bright enough to read by at night.

Eta Carinae is very likely a binary star with the smaller partner orbiting in a highly elliptical orbit of 5.5 years. The Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372), which surrounds Eta Carinae, is a large, bright star-formation region which has produced a number of very massive stars including Eta Carinae. At around 260 light years the Carina Nebula is around 7 times the size of the Great Orion Nebula, but due to its greater distance, it only spans twice the width. There are many O-type stars, young (~2 million years), hot and bright that energise the entire Eta Carinae nebulae.

Omega Centauri: Omega Centauri or NGC 5139 is the largest and brightest globular cluster of 180 in Milky Way and is the second largest known, with only Mayall II in the Andromeda Galaxy being larger coming ins about twice its mass. The Globular cluster is located in Centaurus Constellation and it's a naked eye 'star' and clearly visible in binoculars as a 'fuzzy blob'. Omega Centauri contains at least 10 million stars and the cluster has a diameter of roughly 150 light-years and the stars are roughly 12 billion years old. The average distance between the stars at the centre are around 10% of a light year or more than 100 times the diameter of our solar system. It may be a dwarf galaxy that has been captured and disrupted by the Milky Way galaxy and measurements of its star movement by Hubble has indicated that a black hole may be located at the core of the cluster.

AUGUST Planets Mercury is very low in the Western horizon during the evening at the start of the month and will be lost in the Sun's glare by the end of the first week. It'll reappear in the Eastern horizon in the morning two weeks later where it can be found in the Constellation of Cancer (The Crab). Mercury will then reach its greatest elongation in the East on the 26th of August at 4:00 am AWST (20:00 pm UTC) and then will start to head back towards the sun. Venus is still in the early evening sky in August and can be found in the Constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). It sets at the beginning of the month at 19:09 pm and at the end of the month it'll set at 21:33 pm by the end of the month. Venus will also reach its greatest elongation in the West on the 17th of August at 00:00am (16:00 pm UTC) and then will start to head back towards the

Jupiter sun.

can still be found in the Constellation of Libra (The Scales) and will be in the sky already as nightfall

begins. It'll set at 01:04 am at the start of the month and by the end of August it'll set at 23:21 pm. Saturn is also still in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and is viewable after sunset. It'll set at 04:56 am at the start of the month but by the end of August it'll set at 02:54 am. Mars is now in the sky by the time of nightfall in between the Constellations of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) and Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow). It'll be viewable all night at the start of August but by the end of the month Mars will set at 05:02 am and will be in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow).

Neptune i s

in the Constellation of Aquarius (The Water Bearer) and is viewable after sunset for the whole night.

Uranus is currently in between Constellation of Aries (The Ram), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish) and will rise at 22:02 pm at the start of the month and by the end of August it'll rise at 22:05 pm and it'll still be in between Constellation of Aries (The Ram), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish).

Jupiter

can still be found in the Constellation of Libra (The Scales) and will be in the sky already as nightfall

begins. It'll set at 01:04 am at the start of the month and by the end of August it'll set at 23:21 pm. Saturn is also still in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and is viewable after sunset. It'll set at 04:56 am at the start of the month but by the end of August it'll set at 02:54 am. Mars is now in the sky by the time of nightfall in between the Constellations of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) and Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow). It'll be viewable all night at the start of August but by the end of the month Mars will set at 05:02 am and will be in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow).

Astronomical Events This Month:

Partial Solar Eclipse On the 13th of August there will be a partial solar eclipse that is visible from northern and eastern Europe, northern parts of North America, and some northern and western locations in Asia, making it the most watched solar eclipse of 2018.

The Perseids The Perseids meteor shower is once nearly upon us. With the peak night occurring on the night of the 12th/13th, this meteor shower has been observed for at least 2,000 years now and is connected with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 133 years. Every August, The Earth passes through the debris field left by the comet’s tail, which consists of ice and dust that can be over 1,000 years old.

This debris field will enter The Earth’s atmosphere and burns up to create one of the best meteor showers of the year.

The Perseids can be seen all over the sky in the Northern Hemisphere. People with sharp eyes will be able to see that the meteors appear to come from the constellation Perseus and that’s where they get their name from. The field will start to hit The Earth from about mid-august, with it finishing up towards the end of August. At its peaks which occur around the 12th and 13th of August, The Earth can expect to be hit with rates often exceed 100 meteors per hour.

Unfortunately for us in Australia and especially for Perth, the Perseids meteor shower is very very low on the horizon in the North around 6 am and if we’re lucky we’ll be able to see at best 5 – 10 meteors per hour due to the fact we are so low in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a real shame as in the Northern Hemisphere, they usually will see anywhere from 115 to 170 meteors per hour, especially this year with there being no Moon this year. For Perth shooting star lovers, it’s best to go out and look north at 6 am.

Things to Look at This Month: Ptolemy’s Cluster: Ptolemy’s Cluster or M7 is a large open cluster near the sting of the tail in Constellation Scorpius. It’s large enough to be seen with the unaided eye in a dark sky and is a nice sight in binoculars. It contains around 100 stars in total, with the colour of the stars in this cluster is predominately yellow, indicating this is an older cluster, with an estimated age of 260 million years. In comparison, clusters with many hot blue stars, like the Pleiades, are considerably younger.

It was described by the Greek-Roman astronomer Ptolemy in 130 AD from which it gets its common name of Ptolemy's cluster. Open clusters are the end result of an emission nebula, such as the Orion Nebula (M42) or the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070).

Over time the biggest stars in the cluster blow away the surrounding dust and gas that the cluster was born from, leaving a cluster of several hundred to several thousand stars that travel together within the galaxy. Older clusters are gradually scattered after several rotations of the galaxy, so they only last a billion years or so as a recognisable entity, whereas a globular cluster is usually the same age as the parent galaxy – in our case around 13 billion years old.

The Jewel Box: The Jewel Box is an open cluster which can be found very close in the Crux (Southern Cross) Constellation, the Jewel Box is located some 6,440 light years away from Earth and is 14 light-years across. The cluster contains just over 100 stars, and with an estimated age of its stars being just 14 million years, this star cluster is one of the youngest clusters that we've found. The Jewel Box cluster also has some of the brightest stars in the Milky Way galaxy. These stars are supergiants and the red, white and blue stars in the centre of the cluster look very much like the lights of a traffic light.

Omega Nebula: The Omega Nebula is located in the Sagittarius constellation. This emission nebula is regarded as one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of the Milky Way. Within the nebula, the radiation from an open cluster of ~35 hot, young stars heats the surrounding gas to incandescence. There could be as many as 800 stars in the associated cluster.

The nebula was first discovered in 1745 and recorded by Charles Messier in 1764, and it’s so named because it appears like the Greek letter Omega. Alternatively, it may be seen as a horseshoe with a "tail" to one side giving it, perhaps, a swan's neck appearance. It is also referred to as the Swan, Checkmark, Lobster and Horseshoe Nebula.

47 Tucanae: 47 Tucanae or NGC 104 is the second largest and second brightest globular cluster in Milky Way. The Globular cluster is 16,000 light years away from us and is located in Constellation Tucana (Named after the Tucan bird) and it's a naked eye 'star' and clearly visible in binoculars as a 'fuzzy blob'. Omega Centauri contains at least 1 - 2 million stars and the cluster has a diameter of roughly 120 light-years and the stars are roughly 10 billion years old. The average distance between the stars at the centre is around 10% of a light year or more than 100 times the diameter of our solar system. In February 2018, indirect evidence for a likely intermediate-mass black hole in 47 Tucanae was announced.

Albireo: Albireo is a double star that is 390 light years away from us located in the constellation Cygnus.

Albireo is the ‘beak star' in Cygnus the Swan. The origin of the name is through several mistranslations between Greek, Arabic, and Latin.

It is a good wide double star with a strong colour contrast, possibly the best available to modest telescopes. It’s low in the North and only available for a few months of the year during the late winter and spring. The primary star is yellow/amber in colour whilst its companion is blue/green.

The primary star is, in fact, a close binary also, however, it is too close and faint to detect without very large telescopes and excellent observing conditions. The stars revolve around one another in about ~100 000 years. The primary star is ~5 times the mass and ~1 200 times brighter than the sun but with a cooler surface temperature of ~4 100 K. The secondary star is ~3.2 times the mass and ~230 times the brightness of the sun with a surface temperature of ~12 000 K.

SEPTEMBER Planets Unfortunately, Mercury will spend the whole month of September in the Sun's glare. Venus is still in the early evening sky in September, it can be found in the Constellation of Virgo (The Virgin) at the beginning of the month where it'll set at 21:32 pm. By the end of the month, it'll set at 21:03 pm and be in between the Constellations of Virgo (The Virgin) and Libra (The Scales). Jupiter can still be found in the Constellation of Libra (The Scales) and will be in the sky already as nightfall begins. It'll set at 23:18 pm at the start of the month and by the end of September, it'll set at 21:47 pm.

Saturn is also still in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and is viewable at nightfall. It'll set at 02:50 am at the start of the month but by the end of September it'll set at 00:58 am. Mars is in the sky at nightfall and is the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow). Mars set at 04:58 am at the start of September and by the end of the month it'll be in the Constellation of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) and sets at 03:21 am.

Neptune is in the Constellation of Aquarius (The Water Bearer) and is viewable after sunset and sets at 05:05 am. Uranus is currently in between Constellation of Aries (The Ram), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish) and will rise at 22:01 pm at the start of the month and by the end of September it'll rise at 20:03 pm and it'll still be in between Constellation of Aries (The Ram), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish).

Astronomical Events This Month: Zodiacal Light Season Begins The Zodiacal Light. Image Credit & Copyright: Alan DyerThe Zodiacal light season begins on the 1st of September. As the Sun approaches the September Equinox on the 22nd of September causes the backscattering of light off of dust particles spread out along the ecliptic plane (The apparent path of the Sun’s motion on the celestial sphere as seen from Earth).

Spring and Autumn are the best times to see this pearly glow in the dawn or dusk. This is due to the steep angle of the ecliptic relative to our horizon. The September Equinox season favours dusk for the Southern Hemisphere, and dawn for the Northern Hemisphere; and the reverse is true near the March equinox.

To see the zodiacal light, go out around an hour after sunset or an hour before dawn, and look from as darker a site as possible. Any light pollution or faint glow from distant cities on the horizon will destroy the ethereal glow. The zodiacal light will appear as a slender pyramid-shaped glow, tracing the length of the ecliptic plane.

The September Equinox Equinoxes and Solstices. Image Copyright: timeanddate.comOn Friday the 22nd of September, The Southward Equinox occurs at 22:21 pm (AWST), marking the beginning of astronomical Fall for the northern hemisphere, and the start of Spring for the Southern. This is an exact moment when the Sun’s declination equals 0 as seen from the Earth. The two points where the ecliptic or the imaginary path the Sun seem to trace out along the celestial sphere meets the celestial equator are known as the equinoctial points.

In the 21st century, the September Equinox last fell on September 22nd on 2016 and will fall on the 22nd or the 23rd until 2092, when it will begin falling on September 21st every fourth year.

The Equinox (literally meaning ’equal nights’ in Latin) means that night and day are nearly equal worldwide, and that the Sun rises due east of an observer on the equinox and sets due west. The Full Moon nearest to the September Equinox is known as the Harvest Moon, a time when farmers use the extra illumination at dusk to bring in crops. In 2018, the Harvest Moon actually falls on October 5th.

The term Equilux is sometimes used to discern the difference between the true Equinox and the point when sunlight length actually equals the length of the night. Several factors play a role in this, including the time it takes the physical diameter of the Sun to clear the horizon, atmospheric refraction, and the observer’s true position in their respective time zone. The Equilux occurs within a few days of either Equinox.

Things to Look at This Month: Omega Nebula: The Omega Nebula is located in the Sagittarius constellation. This emission nebula is regarded as one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of the Milky Way. Within the nebula, the radiation from an open cluster of ~35 hot, young stars heats the surrounding gas to incandescence. There could be as many as 800 stars in the associated cluster.

Ptolemy’s Cluster or M7 is a large open cluster near the sting of the tail in Constellation Scorpius. It is large enough to be seen with the unaided eye in a dark sky and is a nice sight in binoculars. It contains around 100 stars in total, with the colour of the stars in this cluster is predominately yellow, indicating this is an older cluster, with an estimated age of 260 million years. In comparison, clusters with many hot blue stars, like the Pleiades, are considerably younger.

Albireo: Albireo is a double star that is 390 light years away from us located in the constellation Cygnus. Albireo is the "beak star" in Cygnus the Swan. The origin of the name is through several mistranslations between Greek, Arabic and Latin. It is a good wide double star with a strong colour contrast, possibly the best available to modest telescopes. It is low in the North and only available for a few months of the year during the late winter and spring. The primary star is yellow/amber in colour whilst its companion is blue/green.

The Sculptor Galaxy: The Sculptor or the Silver Coin Galaxy (NGC253) is a barred galaxy in the Sculptor constellation roughly 67,000 light years in width. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, whilst carrying out a comet search. It is one of the Sculptor group of galaxies, which is grouped around the south galactic pole (These galaxies are sometimes named "The South Polar Group"). The Sculptor group may be the next closest group of galaxies beyond our Local Group, located about 11.5 million light-years from Earth.

Often called a Starburst galaxy because it has a large number of stellar nurseries in which many hot young blue stars are being formed.

This is due as a result of a collision with a dwarf galaxy approximately 200 million years ago. The process of star formation and subsequent explosion as supernovae occurs at an unusually high rate of star birth.

These young stars emit radiation that causes the hydrogen gas to glow brightly in pink.

NGC253 has many Wolf Rayet stars (WR stars start off as hot massive stars, around x20 solar masses, that rapidly lose mass by blowing their hydrogen envelope away in the form of highvelocity stellar winds.) The Silver Coin Galaxy also has a large proportion of dust, although not in clearly defined lanes, such as those found in the Milky Way Galaxy.

With an apparent magnitude of 7.2, it’s the second easiest galaxy to see after Andromeda and not including the Milky Way's two satellite galaxies (The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds). With good viewing conditions, it can be seen with binoculars with a long axis ~2/3 of the full moon.

47 Tucanae: 47 Tucanae or NGC 104 is the second largest and second brightest globular cluster in Milky Way. The Globular cluster is 16,000 light years away from us and is located in Constellation Tucana (Named after the Tucan bird) and it's a naked eye "star" and clearly visible in binoculars as a "fuzzy blob". Omega Centauri contains at least 1 - 2 million stars and the cluster has a diameter of roughly 120 lightyears and the stars are roughly 10 billion years old. The average distance between the stars at the centre is around 10% of a light year or more than 100 times the diameter of our solar system.

In February 2018, indirect evidence for a likely intermediate-mass black hole in 47 Tucanae was announced.

PAGE 33 WINTER SOLSTIC

SWEHTAM EILUJ :SEGAM

Galaxy Donuts FROM TASTEMADE.COM INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon milk

Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill

1 teaspoon white vinegar

- this makes homemade buttermilk!

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 cup all-purpose flour

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a

1 teaspoon baking powder

large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, honey, egg and vanilla extract. Add the

1/4 teaspoon salt

buttermilk and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined

1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons honey

- make sure not to overmix.

1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe into a greased

3 tablespoons whipping cream

doughnut pan. Bake at 200C for 7 minutes. Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then flip the

(plus a little extra, if needed)

pan over to remove the doughnuts and cool completely on a wire rack.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup confectioner's sugar

Make the glaze: Whisk together 1 tablespoon half and half cream and the vanilla

Pink, purple and blue food coloring

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Edible glitter

thick, add a dash more whipping cream. Divide the glaze into 4 bowls. Leave one bowl white and dye the remaining deep shades of pink, blue and purple. Dollop the 4 colors into a bowl, swirling them together to create a swirly pattern.

Dunk the doughnuts into the glaze and return to the wire rack. Sprinkle some edible glitter on top. Allow the glaze to dry for 20 minutes, and enjoy!

From The Hubble Telescope

THE BUBBLE NEBULA

MOORG REGOR :EGAMI

The Perth Observatory 337 Walnut Road Bickley Western Australia PO Box 179 Kalamunda WA 6926 Phone: (08) 9293 8255 Fax: (08) 9293 8138 info@perthobservatory.com.au www.perthobservatory.com.au Office Times: 10am to 4:30pm Mon - Fri (exclude public holidays), and open for scheduled tours