All Systems Go for the James Webb Space Telescope NASA’s next generation space telescope successfully launches and unflurls
Navigation using the night sky Learn how to navigate using the constellations and stars for times when you don’t have GPS
I never thought I’d say this but Don’t Look Up We review this new cult movie on Netflix
The Latest News From The Observatory Find out what’s happening up at the Observatory and the night sky between April and June
MARCH 2022
NEWSLETTER
The Perth Observatory has organised a 5-week introductory course so you can learn about our amazing universe. Each week we’ll cover a different topic. We’ll have a Q/A session with tea and coffee before we head up to the telescopes for some hands-on practical experience. The course includes handouts of the relevant data, diagrams and references.
Arthur Harvey, our presenter for this course has been part of the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group since 2008 and has run Night and Day Tours. Upon completion of the 5-week course, each participant will receive a special Perth Observatory certificate.
ASTRONOMY 101 COURSE
Do you have a passion for space and astronomy but never had the time to study it?
Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.
- Socrates, Philosopher
Contents
05
A View Through The Eyepiece
07
Upcoming Events
08
Star Adoption Tours
10
All Systems Go For The James Webb
14
Navigation Using The Night Sky
18
Sunday Day Tours
20
Keeping Up With The Volunteers
21
Don’t Look Up Movie Review
Find Us Here
23
Ceres
25
How Fast Can a Porsche Go?
31
School Day Tours
33
What’s In April’s Skies
38
What’s In May’s Skies
42
What’s In June’s Skies
45
A Quick Look In The Shop
49
Galaxy Cocktails
Editorial
Contributors
Subscriptions
Front Cover Image By
Zoé Fraussen Editor
Michelle Ashley-Emile, Jodie Sims, Matt Woods, Ronny Kaplanian, Roger Groom, Ed Jones, Trevor Hill, Paul Wadham, Julie Matthews, Zoé Fraussen and Beryl Keaughran
Click Below to subscribe to our newsletter
Roger Groom
Matt Woods Designer
Back Cover Image By Roger Groom
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A View Through The Eyepiece Welcome to the Autumn Equinox. Kaya, and welcome. Perth Observatory Volunteer Group acknowledges we operate on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk-Noongar people. We are heading out of the season Bunuru and heading into Djeran in this newsletter, and, if you are like me, hoping desperately for some cooler weather. These cooler nights should make for some great star viewing up on the Hill. Get ready to start bringing jumpers with you if you attend a tour, it gets cold up here fast! As always, as the seasons change so too do the stars, read all about what you can expect to see during this time in our ‘What’s On in the Night Sky’ section. Each visit to the Observatory can present to you so many different objects to view in our sky. This is not only limited to the Night Sky Tours as our Sunday Day Tours have a new Solar program where you can see close-up images of our Sun and learn about solar activity. Make sure you come to visit on a Sunday, bring a picnic as it’s not so hot, and join us in learning more about astronomy. If you’ve been paying attention to astronomical news, you may have heard the names, James Webb, a lot recently. Read Part One of our discussion all about the origins and launch of the James Webb Space Telescope and get ready to learn more, and hopefully see some pictures taken by the telescope, in Part Two in our June newsletter. Just before the release of this newsletter we had our annual Summer Lecture event. This year featuring a talk by Phil Bland on Binar-1 and WA’s first space launch. These annual talks are a well-loved tradition at the Observatory, and we love sharing these talks by some amazing guests with you all. Keep an eye on our socials to see how to talk went and make sure you remember to come along next year too! We are currently going through training our newest intake of volunteers, I look forward to getting to know all our new volunteers. Make sure you don’t miss out on joining this incredible group of space enthusiasts by applying at https:// perthobservatory.com.au/get-involved/become-a-volunteer. I hope you all have a great Autumn season and I’ll see you next issue. POVG pay our respects to Noongar Elders past, present, and emerging.
Zoé Fraussen Editor
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The Helix Nebula
NGC 7293
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Date: 5th of April Time: 7:30 to 9 pm Price: $55 per adult, $40 per concession and $30 per child Grab your phaser and set course to the Perth Observatory to celebrate the first contact day with an amazing night tour.
Star Wars Night Tour th Date: 4 of May Time: 7:30 to 9 pm Price: $55 per adult, $40 per concession and $30 per child
Put your Jedi robes on, clip on your lightsaber on and celebrate May the 4th Day with us. We’ll have Star Wars Characters on site.
Spring Into Milky Way Photography Date: 23rd and 24th of May Time: 7 pm to 9:30 pm Price: $210 per person for both nights Take advantage of the Autumn Milky Way season and learn how to get the best out of your Milky Way photos
Towel Day Night Tour Image Credit: Matt Woods
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Upcoming Events
Star Trek Night Tour
Date: 25th of May Time: 7:30 to 9 pm Price: $55 per adult, $40 per concession and $30 per child Bring your towel and come experience our night sky as we celebrate Douglas Adams
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Star Adoption Tours Our star adoption program provides a unique gift and is a way to recognise a family member or friend through the adoption of a star. All available stars in the program are between the magnitudes -1 and 4.9 (visible to the naked eye) or 5.0 and 7.9 (visible in binoculars), all in the Southern Hemisphere. The individual star adoption package includes: A certificate (suitable for framing) with star name and coordinates, and the duration and purpose of the adoption. Private star viewing night for the recipient and 3 guests within 12 months that include several other seasonal objects and will be scheduled when your chosen star is available at a suitable time for viewing A planisphere (a device to show what constellations and stars are in the sky at any time) Star charts and coordinates showing where the star is located in the night sky, as well as being shown how to use these at the star viewing night Please note: Perth Observatory’s Star Adoption program doesn’t offer international naming rights to the star as there are no internationally recognised naming rights to the stars. The program is run by the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group Inc, and the income goes towards the Observatory’s not for profit, public outreach program.
Image Credit: Matt Woods
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All Systems
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James Webb Sp
By Jodi
Christmas Day 2021, the global astronomy, engineering, and greater science community all collectively held their breath as the much-anticipated James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) took its place on the launch pad ready to blast off from the Kourou space port in French Guiana folded up like an intricate piece of origami and sat inside the payload bay of an Ariane 5 rocket. A monumental collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), this would be the culmination of 24 years of dedication and hard work, with some 1200 skilled scientists, engineers, and technicians from 14 countries contributing to the design and build of this modern-day photon collecting masterpiece. A smooth launch was not only crucial for the future operational success of the JWST, but it also held an emotional significance for all those that had spent decades and whole careers working to reach this point. Any catastrophic event during launch would be devastating. The long pathway to the launch pad started in 1989 at a workshop held at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. A year before the launch of Hubble Space Telescope. The workshop group proposed the build of a telescope that could see in the near-to mid-infrared red wavelengths of the spectrum, most of which Hubble was unable to see. This would give the advantage of viewing objects further and fainter than ever seen before. The project finally gained the go ahead in 1996. Initially named the ‘Next Generation Space Telescope’ it wasn’t until 2002 that it received its official name fittingly as a tribute to James Edwin Webb. Webb was the 2nd Administrator of NASA and oversaw the most seminal first crewed missions of the Mercury and Gemini programs and held the position up to the beginning of the Apollo era. Image Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez
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s Go for the
ie Sims
With its original launch date set for 2007, the JWST has been plagued with its fair share of delays. The original budget was set at $500million USD however with all the delays, by the time of the launch, this had blown out to $10billion USD. Delays took many forms ranging from funding to technical issues. Starting with the threat of project cancellation in 2011. Then design challenges with the propulsion system and a discovery that the sunshield may snag on other components in 2018. The COVID pandemic added further delays in 2020 followed by issues with the readiness of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and site in 2021. During the final phase of preparation, a clamp unexpectedly released during attachment to the rocket causing potentially damaging vibrations. This was followed by the discovery of an electrical fault in early December 2021. Finally, unfavourable weather predictions pushed back the launch to no earlier than 12:20 UCT on the 25th December. Finally, years of research, designing and testing culminated in the successful launch on Christmas Day 2021. 31 minutes into the mission the solar array was deployed allowing the JWST to power up ready for instrument operation and communication. This was the first crucial step in the 50 major deployments required to fully unfurl into an operational observatory. 10 days after launch on the 4th January 2022 another of JWST’s innovative critical features completed deployment. A tennis court sized sunshield unfurled successfully. This process employed 139 of Webb’s 178 release mechanisms, 70 hinge assemblies, eight deployment motors, 400 pulleys, and 90 individual cables totaling roughly one quarter of a mile (0.4km) in length. Made up of 5 layers each as thin as a human hair this sunshield is designed to protect the scientific instruments on board from heat that would disrupt its ability to view and collect clear low noise images and data.
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pace Telescope
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Each layer is made of aluminium coated Kapton, a special highly durable polyimide flexible film developed by DuPont. This material remains stable at temperatures as low as -269 C and up to 260 C. The 2 layers closest to the sunward side are also coated in treated silicon to help reflect the suns heat back into space. This design will allow the instruments on board to operate at a chilly -223 C. Measuring at a total of 20.197 m x 14.162 m, once fully unfurled this celestial trail blazer is also comprised of a 6.5m diameter primary mirror made out of 18 x 1.32 m individual hexagonal mirrors weighing 20 kg each. These mirrors can be angled and focused independently of each other by actuators to give a final combined image. Made from gold coated beryllium this design is both lightweight, strong and perfect for viewing the infrared part of the spectrum.
Image Credit: ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE
With gold having high reflectivity of infrared light and also having low reactivity to changes in temperature it was the perfect choice of mirror material. Comparatively the JWST mirror is six times larger than Hubble’s and 100 times more powerful. The light gathered by the primary mirror will be concentrated by a secondary mirror held out by a supporting tripod. This concentrated light will then pass through an opening in the main mirror to a third mirror, which will reflect the light to the sensors of the telescope’s various instruments. Positioning for this telescope is everything. On the 24th January 2022 delivery of the JWST to Lagrange Point 2 was complete. Along with the sunshield and onboard cooling system this position in space would aid in shading JWST’s instruments from as much heat as possible. The L2 Earth -Sun Lagrange Point 1.5 million kilometres from Earth was perfectly chosen as the final operational destination. This point allows earth to shield the telescope from the sun’s rays as they move in tandem around the sun with the telescope always keeping it’s back sunward looking out into the depths of space whilst staying cool. This tailored configuration will allow the JWST to easily see unhindered the stretched redder wavelengths of light emanating from faraway galaxies as they move further away due to the expansion of the universe. Using a suite of four instruments, NIRSpec (Near Infrared Spectrograph), MIRI (Mid - Infrared Instrument), NIRCam (Near- Infrared Camera and FGS/NIRISS (Fine Guidance System / Near- Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph) the capabilities of this telescope will allow astronomers to probe back to approximately 400,000 years after the Big
Image Credit: NASA/STScI/J. DePasquale
James Webb flying over Perth . Image Credit: Roger Groom
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Excitingly, on the 11th February 2022 NASA rereleased the first images. A mosaic of 18 images of the same star. Verifying that that all 18 mirrors had survived the journey and were working. Over the next few months these mirrors will be optimally calibrated ready to start gathering data. In order to maintain the observatories orbit and altitude JWST is powered by a hydrazine fuel with dinitrogen tetroxide oxidiser propulsion system. Enough fuel is on-board to keep the observatory running for approximately 10 years. This is predicted to be an exhilarating 10 years of ground-breaking discoveries that will accelerate our understanding of how the cosmos works.
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Bang. Enabling scientists to examine some of the earliest formed stars to illuminate the universe. Using the on-board instruments this telescope has the ability to analyse the spectra within atmospheres of exoplanets in the search for signatures of biological life. Once the 5-month calibration period is completed this orbiting infrared observatory will start collecting data that will expand and help verify our current knowledge about the origins to the universe, the birth of galaxies and galactic evolution.
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By Ed Jones
Ever wondered how people found their way at night before GPS? Before we had satellites and google maps to guide our way, humans had to rely on more natural sources for directions, namely, the stars. Using the night sky for navigation is a very handy tool to have. Here are several ways to find directions using the night sky.
Finding South If you visit the Perth Observatory, we will show you how to find South using the southern cross, there are two basic methods: 1. Imagine a line joining the two stars at the “head” and “foot” of the cross. Extend the line out another 4 lengths from the foot of the cross and this will be the position of the South Celestial Pole (SCP). Look straight down from the SCP to the horizon, you’ve found south!! 2. Another slightly trickier, but more accurate way to find south is to use the Southern Cross and the two pointer stars from the nearby constellation of Centaurus. Draw a line through the two stars at the head and foot of the cross in the same way as described above (1). Then join the two pointers with a line (2) and draw a perpendicular line (3) towards line 1 and where they intersect is the SCP. Look straight down from the SCP to the horizon, you’ve found south
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Navigation Using The Night Sky
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Finding North 1. With the moon – quick fix
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Imagine a line that connects the horns of a crescent moon and extend this line down to the horizon. In southern latitudes, this will give an approximation of North and works best when the moon is not near the horizon. 2. With the moon – quick fix Imagine a line that connects the horns of a crescent moon and extend this line down to the horizon. In southern latitudes, this will give an approximation of North and works best when the moon is not near the horizon. With the moon, slower but more accurate method. All celestial objects stars, planets, sun and moon, arc across the northern sky when viewed from southern latitudes. They all reach their highest point in the sky when they are directly north of you. Provided the object is bright enough to cast a shadow (does not have to be a full moon), place a stake in the ground and mark where the end shadow cast by the tip of the stake is for a period of line. The points will make a curved line and when the shadow is shortest this will be when the object is perfectly due north of you. 3. Using the Constellation of Orion. Identify Orion’s “belt” and then Orion’s “sword”. (Remember in the Southern Hemisphere the swords “hangs” upwards) Imagine the sword is the shaft of an arrow. Imagine the “head” of the arrow is the belt and some of the fainter stars. Extend a line from the “arrow” to the horizon and this will be North. As Orion moves across the night shy the “arrow” will continue to point North.
Finding East or West Orion rises in the East and Sets in the West. Orion’s belt has three stars that form an almost straight line in the night sky. These stars rise very close to due East and set very close to due West. But – if you want to be really accurate, then the first star to rise (and the last to set) is called Mintaka and will always rise and set within one degree of true east and west wherever you are in the world.
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How To Find Direction Using Any Star Make a fist out of your hand, hold your arm outstretched towards the horizon. Select a bright star at least one fist above the horizon and take two stakes and drive them into the ground about 1 metre apart, lined up on your selected star.
2.
Create an imaginary line that connects the stakes’ tops and your star.
3.
Check on your target after a while, the target will have apparently moved (due to the Earth’s rotation), note the direction of movement.
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1.
If the star descended, you are looking West. If the star ascended, you are looking East. If the star moved to the right, you are looking south. If the star moved to the left, you are looking north. Try these out next time you are somewhere where there is a dark sky.
Image Credits: Matt Woods
The big advantages of using the sky over GPS – no batteries to go flat and it works even when you can’t get a signal!!!
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Sunday Day Tours Sundays are perfect to take family and friends sightseeing on a beautiful drive through the Bickley Valley for a special Guided Day Tour of the Perth Observatory. Come up and see a jewel in the state’s history. See why the Observatory was so important to help the growth of WA and maybe see some Kangaroos as well. We’ll be doing guided site tours of the Observatory and solar experience tours at 1:30 pm, 2 pm, 2:30 pm and 3 pm. Guided Site Tour Learn more about Perth Observatory with stories from Mt Eliza (1896 to 1965), our move to Bickley in 1966 and what we’ve done since then. Step back in time in our museum and tour the Meridian, Astrograph & Calver Telescopes. Be enchanted with Worl Wangkiny and discover what we are doing now with the Lowell, RCOP and Obsession Telescopes. Solar Experience Tour See our Collins Sundial and learn how it works and what an analemma is. View the Sun safely through our Coronado Solar Telescope (If the weather permits) and be amazed at how sunspots and coronal mass ejections are created and how they cause the auroras here on Earth. Also, find out cool facts about the Sun and the space probes that are helping us learn more about it
Learn about the timekeeping the Perth Observatory did and why it was so important. Discover how photos were taken of the night sky and how they are taken today. Touch the Mundrabilla Meteorite and find out what meteors are.
Image Credits: Matt Woods
Museum Tour
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Have You Got Your Super-high Tech Zero-g Indicator? Aka (Celestial Buddies’ “Earth”) as seen on SpaceX’s first commercial spaceship - Crew Dragon.
Just $42.95 for Earth and $49.95 for the larger Our Precious Planet (Earth) There’s limited stock left on Earth!
Available in the Astroshop
Night Sky Tour Training - Covid Style On the 15th of March we welcomed our newest bunch of trainees for Night Sky Tours. Our 14 masked new recruits began their four-week Introductory Training Sessions learning about our history, OHSE and the Basics of Telescopes. After a quick cuppa and a biccie, they then jumped into the practical half of the session and began training on the Meade Telescopes and Presentation Skills. Our training is very practical so over the rest of the course they will also be given information on General Astronomy, Communications, Timekeeping, Signing up for events, Green Laser Pointers, How to Graduate and more. Our trainees then learn at their own pace through mentoring during the tours and at special training sessions ran during the week, both online and onsite. Even though it can be challenging at first, learning to become an Amateur Astronomer at Perth Observatory is very rewarding. Each graduate has great presentation skills and are able to entertain our visitors. They have a wealth of astronomical knowledge and of course can use the telescopes! And best of all they are Volunteers and give their time for free just so they can share their love of the night skies.
Image Credit: Julie Matthews
Our next intake for Night Sky Tours will be in September. Register your interest below and whilst you’re there, check out the other volunteer areas that we need help with.
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By Julie Matthews
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Keeping Up With The Volunteers
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DON’T LOOK UP
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Movie Review By Zoé Fraussen
Having people know that I am interested in space has led to some interesting consequences that I did not expect. I get flooded with the same message and article links every time a space story is in the news, I’m banned from talking about Black Holes at parties, I get asked about conspiracy theories a lot but mainly, I get a heap of people telling me to watch and wanting my opinion on any movie that has to do with space. When the messages about Don’t Look Up started inundating my phone I was sceptical. End of the world movies, especially ones with asteroids, rarely get any science right and I was worried this would be more of the same. But I am capable of turning my pedantic science brain off and enjoying media, so I gave it a try. And yeah, it’s a good film. Don’t Look Up is a satirical black comedy
movie about a “planet killer” asteroid and the difficulties scientists have in making the general public (and politicians) care. Initially, it was just meant to be an analogy for climate change, but a strange new thing called Covid came along and what do you know, it also seemed to fit. So, as a film about the disasters our planet is facing and the inability of people to listen to scientists, I think Don’t Look Up hit the nail on the head. The movie has had some contentious reviews, people found it too real to life and found the satire didn’t land. Some found that the star-studded cast was misused, a cast including Leonardo DiCaprio as the astronomy professor who lets fame go to his head, Jennifer Lawrence as a PhD candidate turned meme, Meryl Streep as the President of the United States with a very familiar attitude and her son played by Jonah Hill.
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However, I found the film presented some pretty good science, got me invested in the characters, and made me laugh, all signs of a good movie in my book. I particularly love the musical cameo by Ariana Grande and would have made her song my new ringtone if my phone hadn’t been on silent since 1981. If you are the type of person who can laugh about our planet’s misfortunes and not just get frustrated by people not listening to science, then I say this film is for you. The science behind the movie only had me tutting a few times before I was silenced by my watching partners and for a film primarily based on astronomy, that’s pretty rare. Director: Adam McKay Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep Available On: On Netflix now
Zoé’s Rating
Image Credits: Netflix
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Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA/Justin Cowart
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The Astriods Belts Only Dwarf Planet
Namely one asteroid called Ceres, the largest Asteroid in the Belt making up a total of 1/3 the mass of the belt. It is classed as a dwarf planet, the only one in the Main belt and the only dwarf planet continuously inside of Neptune’s orbit.
Whatever impacted Ceres some 20 million years ago had hit so hard that it cracked the surface floor of the crater. Through these cracks, bubbling to the surface was brine coming from a huge intensive reservoir of saltwater from inside the asteroid, when the water evaporates it leaves the salt crystals.
Ceres was discovered in 1801 at the Palermo Astronomical Observatory in Sicily by Giuseppe Piazzi but the existence of a planet between Mars and Jupiter was hypothesized as far back as 1506 by Johannes Kepler. It was only classed as an asteroid when first discovered but there has always been some discussion around the classification of small planets or large asteroids.
The reservoir is thought to be 100 kms long and wide. Ceres is now called an Ocean World. Although it is unlikely that life has ever or would ever be possible on Ceres it is always nice to know that our closest Dwarf Planet is not just an odd-shaped rock but has a bit more of an interesting story.
When Pluto was demoted in 2005 the debate over Ceres started again and in 2006 it was brought into the category of Dwarf Planet. Cere’s radius of 296 miles and the diameter of 588 miles were not the dimensions that were recognized as a planet, so it stuck in the category of Dwarf Planet.
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As most people know the largest Asteroid Belt in our solar system orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter, it is sometimes called the Main Belt. Most think it’s just full of odd-shaped rocks swirling around that were created in the forming of our solar system. And they are right. But there are some interesting rocks inside the Belt.
Until 2018 Ceres had a secret. Astronomers had seen bright white spots on the floor of the largest crater called Occator which they thought was ice. NASA sent an unmanned spacecraft, called Dawn, to orbit the Asteroid travelling just 130 kms above the surface to collect and send back data. What they discovered was amazing. The white spots were not ice but salt crystals.
Ceres
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By Beryl Keaughran
Ceres is something we call a protoplanet, the only one remaining in the inner solar system. It wanted to become a planet but Jupiter’s very strong influence, which sometimes causes meteors from the Belt to leave and hurtle out into space, stopped this from happening. It likely started its formation between Jupiter and Saturn and was then flung into the Main Belt where it now stays.
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How Fast Can a Porsche Go? By Trevor Hill
If you ever get the opportunity to participate in an Offsite event, I can thoroughly recommend you jump at the chance. I was fortunate to be asked by the “One Who Never Sleeps” (ie. Matt), to help at an OFF event in October last year. The OFF was appropriately called “To the Milky Way & Back” by the Porsche Owners Club of WA.
The next day, “Astronomy-101 Obi-Wan Kenobi” joined me, and we set off for a trip to the monastery in the historic settlement known as New Norcia. Now if you have never been to New Norcia, I strongly suggest you take the 1.5-hour drive and check it out. There are great buildings with heaps of historical significance and superb dark skies.
According to Matt, this event was supposed to be for a smallish group of Porsche owners and was to consist of a presentation night in New Norcia, then off to Paynes Find for the following evening and a viewing night under the stars. Well, that sounded quite a reasonable event, but it seemed that Porsche drivers like looking at the night sky, (and driving in the country), and the number of attendees tripled just before the event. So, what to do?
The road to New Norcia is now so safe and easy to drive on, to say that time really flew by is probably an understatement, especially with someone as knowledgeable as Arthur as your co-pilot. We discussed all sorts of subjects along the way and found out that we had many other common interests, over and above our love of astronomy.
Matt, along with the Porsche Club, decided a Star Fleet convoy was the answer, and the “To the Milky Way & Back” event grew to two groups with over 12 Porsches or 24 club members that would take place over 3 days. Group 1 had Friday night at New Norcia and Saturday night at Paynes Find. Group 2 had Saturday night at New Norcia and Sunday night at Paynes Find. I was assigned to the first fleet along with “Astronomy-101 Obi-Wan Kenobi” (aka Arthur Harvey). Over the weekend, Arthur became known as Astronomer 1, and I as Astronomer 2. For us, the whole event commenced on a Thursday evening when we picked up the “Mothership” from Budget Hire in Welshpool & proceeded to the Perth Observatory and loaded up the astronomical equipment required for the trip. Taking control of the mothership, I drove it to its’ overnight docking station at my place.
On arrival, we found that several of the flying Porsches had already landed at the main hall where the evenings presentations were to be held. We contacted the local managers of the monastery and were able to pick out a suitable place to set up our equipment for the Astro-based presentation. We were then guided to where our private accommodation for the night would be, which was in the Nun’s quarters… Now I’m not superstitious or religious, but there is something kind of different about sleeping in a convent, but later that night, it did not seem to bother me, as I had a great night’s sleep. Having settled in, we walked back to the main hall, which was previously the Old New Norcia Hotel, where we were made very welcome by the Milky Way Porsche owners, who would be the members of our first mission. Our presentations went off without a hitch, as Arthur and I took our new travel friends on a journey to the edge of the universe and back, along with some anecdotes, facts and some show and tell stories as well.
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Image Credit: Matt Woods
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Image Credit: Trevor Hill
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Arthur and I had already decided that there was no way we were going to beat the Porsches to Paynes Find, so we cruised along and noted how the countryside changed from farming land to open scrubland, then to the red dirt and sparser bushland of station country and mining leases. Paynes Find is just what you may expect: a roadhouse, which masquerades as a café, bar, and restaurant. The accommodation was unsurprisingly, dongas, but they were clean and comfortable.
After breakfast on Sunday, Porsche Club, Star Fleet - Group 1, began leaving for the drive back to Perth and as we waited for Group 2 to arrive, we were able to carry out some operational adjustments to the CPC 1100, in readiness for another evening under the stars. We also looked forward to meeting the new Star Fleet members and getting the gossip about how their evening at New Norcia went with Matt.
That afternoon, many of the Porsche Clubbers went to see the historic gold battery and then a visit to PilRoc Retreat, the local wildlife hospital/sanctuary. Arthur & I stayed behind and set up one of our telescopes for solar viewing & a sneak peek at Venus in daylight! That night’s viewing was to be held on the local airstrip, so we decided to do a drive to the site to check out a good viewing location. Well, what we did not realise, is that there are two airstrips in Paynes Find. The official airstrip, and a private strip belonging to PilRoc. After driving up and down the official airstrip in the Mothership, we returned to camp and were informed that the viewing would be on the private airstrip, which was definitely the safer option. Following a hearty meal at the Paynes Find “Restaurant” we set up both of our scopes at the end of Runway 2. As dusk descended the club members, drove their various Porsches
Dave Roche from the PilRoc Retreat had set up the bush venue for the night events, campfire, chairs, cold drinks, light refreshments, and solar lighting of the pathways, just like a scene out of “Survivor”. Unknown to us, this scene was to become extremely important on the following evening. Late that night, we finally made it back to our dongas for a good catchup sleep.
As Porsches left and Porsches arrived, it seemed like Paynes Find was really WA’s Porsche Space Port for the weekend, I’m sure the locals and passing travellers must have wondered if they had stumbled into a vehicular time-warp. With all Astronomy events, the weather is a big factor, and the light dusting of clouds in the afternoon sky soon became more like Fairy Floss with tantalising breaks between the floss, just to keep you interested. It became apparent that we would need a “Plan B”, but how do you do this in the bush, no power, no theatre, no nothing. Not to be defeated, we took our dilemma to Dave of PilRoc. Dave rigged up a projector screen (an old roller blind) tied between two trees, the Commander of the Porsche Club, just happened to have a portable generator in his Porsche, (well I guess you just never know with a Porsche!).
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onto the airstrip and set themselves up around a campfire, just off the runway in a clearing in the bush. It was a clear night, and we were able to show off the wonders of Jupiter, Saturn, and features of our galaxy.
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To say that the Porsche Club knows how to organise events, is a bit of an understatement, as the next morning’s trip to Paynes Fin, consisted of a drive to Dalwallinu, and a longer scenic route for the Porsche Star Fleet. Even travelling at the legal speed limit our Starfleet Mothership, now under the command of Arthur, only just beat the Porsche drivers to Dalwallinu, where we all met up at The Old Convent Guest House for morning tea and a historical talk about the convent. We learned how the convent has been turned into a first-class guest house. After being supplied with our pre-arranged lunch boxes, we launched off for Paynes Find.
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The evening was so successful, and we had much positive feedback on how the whole day went. On reflection, I think Group 2 outperformed Group 1 in the refreshment consumption stakes. Sadly, there is always an end to great weekends, and this one was no different, we packed up on Monday, said our goodbyes to the Porsche Star Fleet, and made the trip back to the Observatory, driving into Perth’s grey skies and rain. Astro-tourism is just starting to become a buzzword and if we take up the challenge, the POVG could be leaders in this field. So, if you ever get the chance to volunteer or attend any external event (OFF), put your name down and be part of a whole new experience of sharing the wonders of the night sky with anyone and everyone.
Image Credit: Matt Woods
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So, in the middle of the bush, Arthur was able to wow everyone with stories of stars, motorbikes and trips around Europe, whilst I was able to provide some viewing opportunities when breaks in the clouds permitted.
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Image Credit: Playmobil
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Your Earth Defender Can Help Save The Earth With Playmobil
Available in the Astroshop
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Join our School Day Tours Team Do you Have free time during the day? Enjoy talking with primary school aged children? Enjoy learning about Space and our Solar System and sharing what you learn? Then we need YOU in our School Day Tours Team! All training is provided! You just need enthusiasm, be able to communicate with children and be available during school hours.
Find out more by clicking below
Image Credits: Matt Woods
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NGC 2467
Taken via my Hyperstar lens over 2 nights, total of 7 hours of data and 210 exposures.
Image Credit: Ronny Kaplanian
A very strange yet distinctive pattern of a Skull face with Crossbones, hence the name Skull & Crossbones Nebula (NGC 2467) is 4200 light years away. It’s another star forming region isolated in the outer edges of our galaxy, yet this isn’t just one nebula, rather 3 different structures quite far from each other but when we look, we see one along the same approximate line of site. Mostly made of Hydrogen elements embedded in a pool of millions of stars, to think we are just one of these makes anyone wonder how we can possibly be alone where in reality we are far from it.
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Skull & Crossbones Nebula
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What’s In April’s Skies By Matt Woods
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Planets: Mercury reappears halfway through April and will be very low in the Western sky in the constellation of Taurus (The Bull), it’s the only planet in the early evening. It will reach its greatest th elongation in the West on Friday the 29 of April in the evening, and it’ll begin to make its way back towards the Sun before disappearing again in the Sun’s glare at the end of the month. Venus can be found at the start of April in a conjunction with Mars and Saturn. You’ll be able to find Venus in the constellation of Aquarius (The Water-Bearer) late at night but as we move through April, Venus will move away from Mars and it’ll move into the constellation of Pisces (The Fish) with Jupiter, ending the month in a conjunction with Jupiter. Mars can be found just above Saturn in conjunction, and both planets with Venus at the start of April. It’ll start the month, you’ll find Mars in the constellation of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) but by the end of April, you’ll find it in the constellation of Aquarius in the middle between Saturn and Venus/ Jupiter. Jupiter can be seen in the constellation of Pisces throughout April. It spends April mostly on its own until Venus joins it at the end of April. Saturn can be found in the constellation of Capricornus throughout April. It’ll be between Mars and Venus at the start of April, but by the end of the month, it’ll be on its own. Neptune will be in the early morning sky in the constellation of Pisces just below Jupiter at the start of April. By the end of April, Neptune will be just above Venus and Jupiter.
The planets in alignment on the 15/04/22 at 5 am (AWST)
Mercury’s greatest elongation in the west on the evening of the 29/04/2022
Venus, Mars and Saturn on the 01/04/22 at 5 am (AWST)
Mars and Saturn on the 05/04/22 at 5 am (AWST)
The Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn on the 24/04/22 at 5 am (AWST)
The Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn on the 28/04/22 at 5 am (AWST)
Astronomical Events: The Lyrids Meteor Shower: In the early morning of the night of the 22nd/23rd of April, while most of us were asleep the Lyrids Meteor Shower will hit the Earth’s atmosphere at its peak. have been observed for at least 2,600 years which makes them the longest observed meteor shower. The oldest descriptions come from China where sources described on the night the 16th of March 687 BC that “stars fell like rain”. The records show that this shower has been more active in the past but has The Lyrids on the 22/04/22 at 4 am (AWST) since turned into a minor shower with the occasional surprise which keeps the Lyrids always a bit interesting.
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Conjunctions involve object(s) in the Solar System and/or more distant objects, such as a star. It’s an apparent phenomenon in which multiple objects which aren’t close together appear close in the sky and it’s caused by the observer’s perspective. An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.
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Alignments, Conjunctions, And Occultations:
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The cause of the Lyrids is the long-period comet with a very boring name of Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). The comet has a rough orbit of about 415 years and was discovered by A. E. Thatcher on the 5th of April 1861 as it was making its last pass around The Sun. The Lyrids are active between the 16th and 25th of April and will appear to come from the constellation of Lyra. Lyra will appear in the sky over the Perth hills around midnight so you should go out around 03:00 am when the has setting and the Lyra constellation is at its zenith (highest point in the sky) and look towards the bright star (Vega) low in the North. Give your eyes 15 minutes to fully adjust to the lighting conditions and while it’s always best to go to a dark sky area outside of Perth, you can find a nice park or a large open space in Perth’s outskirts to get an okay view. This year, the Last Quarter Moon will be in the sky during the meteor shower, so we’ll have to deal with some light pollution from it. In dark sky areas, you should see up to 18 meteors per hour, while in the cities and towns we may only see a few. Partial Solar Eclipse: On Saturday the 30th of April, the Moon will partially pass between the Earth and Sun and cause a Partial Solar Eclipse. During a partial solar eclipse, the Moon, the Sun and Earth don’t align in a perfectly straight line, and the Moon casts only the outer part of its shadow, the penumbra, on Earth. From our perspective, this looks like the Moon has taken a bite out of the Sun. Sometimes, the Moon covers only a tiny part of the Sun’s disk. Other times a partial eclipse looks almost like a total eclipse. The size of the eclipsed area is referred to as eclipse magnitude. This is the first of two Partial Solar Eclipses for 2022 and unfortunately, we won’t see either. This eclipse will only be visible from southern South America, parts of Antarctica, and over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Leo’s Triplet:
Messier 65 (NGC 3623) is an intermediate spiral The Leo Triplet on the 15/04/22 at 9 pm (AWST) galaxy that is slightly smaller than our galaxy at 90,000 light-years in diameter and is 35 million light-years away from us. It’s low in dust and gas, and there is little star formation in the galaxy, although there has been recent star formation in the spiral arms of the galaxy. The ratio of old stars to new stars is correspondingly quite high as well. Messier 66 (NGC 3627), is another intermediate spiral galaxy in the group. M65 and M66 make a popular pair for observers as they’re separated by only 2 degrees. M66 spiral shape has a weak bar feature in the centre and loosely wound arms. It lies closer to us than M65 at 31 million lightyears away and it appears to be slightly larger than M65 at 95,000 light-years in diameter. We are seeing it at an angle, and it has striking dust lanes and bright star clusters along sweeping spiral arms. The Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628) also known as Sarah’s Galaxy is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away and it has an approximately 300,000 light-years long tidal tail. Its most striking feature is the broad and obscuring band of dust located along the outer edge of its spiral arms, effectively transecting the galaxy to the view from Earth.
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The Leo Triplet (M66 Group), located in the constellation Leo is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away. This galaxy group consists of three spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628. To see the best out of this galaxy cluster, it’s best to get out to the country with a telescope. To plan an astronomy trip to the country it’s best to check out Astrotourism WA Map.
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Things To Look At This Month:
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Image Credit: REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/
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Messier 66
Leo’s Triplet
By Matt Woods
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Planets: Mercury is still the only planet in the early evening, and it can be found very low in the West at the start of this month. it’s located in the constellation of Taurus (The Bull) but it disappears halfway through May. Venus can by observed in the constellation of Pisces (The Fish) for almost the entirety of May, before it moves into the constellation of Cetus (The Sea-Monster) at the very end of May. Mars appears at the start of the month in the The planets on the 15/05/21 at 5 am (AWST) constellation of Aquarius (The Water-Bearer), and halfway through May it’ll move into the constellation of Pisces where it will end the month in a conjunction with Jupiter. Jupiter can be in the constellation of Pisces throughout May between Mars and Venus, but Mars will move closer and closer to the point where Mars and Jupiter should be viewable together in a th telescope eyepiece on Thursday the 30 of May. Saturn leads the alignment of the planets and can be found in the constellation of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) throughout May. Uranus has returned out of the Sun’s glare in the early morning halfway through May. You’ll be able to find it in the constellation of Aries (The Ram). Neptune can be located above Mars and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces for all of May.
Alignments, Conjunctions, And Occultations: Conjunctions involve object(s) in the Solar System and/or more distant objects, such as a star. It’s an apparent phenomenon in which multiple objects which aren’t close together appear close in the sky and it’s caused by the observer’s perspective. An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.
Venus and Jupiter on the 01/05/22 at 5 am (AWST)
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What’s In May’s Skies
The Moon, Mars and Jupiter on the 25/05/22 at 5 am (AWST)
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The Moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter on the 27/05/22 at 5 am (AWST)
Mars and Jupiter on the 29/05/22 at 5 am (AWST)
Astronomical Events: The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower: On the night of the 6th/7th of May, the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower will be at its peak. The shower is active from the 19th of April through to the 28th of May and it’s caused by the famous Comet Halley. The Eta Aquarids are one of two meteor showers caused by Comet Halley, with the other shower being October’s Orionids. Halley’s orbit around the Sun takes 75 years with the next entering the inner system again in 2061. The meteors will seem to appear from the The Eta Aquarids on the 06/05/22 at 5 am (AWST) Aquarius constellation which gives the meteor shower its name. Aquarius will appear in the sky over the Perth hills around 11:30 pm so you should go out around 04:00 am and give your eyes 15 minutes to fully adjust to the lighting conditions and look between North and North East. While it’s always best to find a nice park or a large open space for the best viewing of a meteor shower, you can go out to our front or back yard and still get a good view. This year, the Moon will have set by the time the Aquarius constellation starts to rise so we won’t have to deal with any light pollution from it. In dark sky area, you should see up to 50 meteors per hour, while in the cities and town, we may only see 5 to 15 meteors. Total Lunar Eclipse: th On Monday the 16 of May, the Moon passes within Earth’s inner shadow called the Umbra (Latin for shadow) in what’s called a Total Lunar Eclipse. At the start of the eclipse, the Earth’s shadow first darkens the Moon slightly as it moves through the Earth’s outer shadow called the Penumbra (from the Latin paene “almost, nearly”). Then the Umbra begins to slowly cover the Moon before 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
Things To Look At This Month: Sombrero Galaxy: Sombrero Galaxy (M 104 & NGC 4594) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation borders of the constellations Virgo (The Virgin), and Corvus (The Crow) that we see almost edge on. While the galaxy is slightly smaller than ours at a diameter of 85,000 light-years, it does contain an estimated 400 billion stars which is about 4 times more than our galaxy. The galaxy is 32 million light-years away from us and it’s the dominating member of a small group Sombrero Galaxy on the 15/05/22 at 9 pm (AWST) of galaxies called the M104 group. It’s estimated to be 13 billion-years old and its supermassive black hole which is located at the centre of the galaxy is hundreds of times the mass of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. The Sombrero Galaxy was first discovered in 1767 by French astronomer Pierre Méchain. The Sombrero Galaxy contains both features normally found in spiral and elliptical galaxies. Like many spiral galaxies, it has a strong disk shape, spiral arms, no central bar and strong, prominent dust lanes. It also contains a huge central bulge that extends 10,000LY beyond the extent of its spiral structure which is far larger than normal spiral galaxies. The Sombrero Galaxy’s dust ring is symmetrical and encircles the bulge of the galaxy and it’s the primary site of star formation. The dust ring contains more than a thousand globular clusters.
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This is the first of two Total Lunar Eclipses for 2022 and unfortunately, it will only be visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. We’ll be able to see it here through the internet. Our friends at Timeanddate.com will be live streaming the eclipse and you can view it here.
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by the nitrogen molecules and the red and yellow part of the light continues through the atmosphere and goes on to hit the Moon.
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Image Credit: ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler and J.-E. Ovaldsen
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Messier 104
The Sombrero Galaxy
By Matt Woods
All the planets are in the night sky this month if you go outside and look to the east at 6 am. Mercury can be found very low in the morning sky throughout June in the constellation of Taurus (The Bull). It will reach its greatest elongation in the East on Thursday the 16th of June, and it’ll begin to make its way back towards the Sun before disappearing into the Sun’s glare at the end of the month. Venus is up from Mercury in the early morning sky through June. Venus will start June in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea-Monster), before moving into the constellation of Taurus by the end of the month. Mars is located in June in the constellation of Pisces (The Fish) in the morning sky between Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter can be in the constellation of Pisces throughout June above Mars, and Saturn leads the alignment of the planets and can be found in the constellation of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) throughout June. Uranus can still be found in the early morning in the constellation of Aries (The Ram) above Venus. Neptune is located in the constellation of Pisces, just up from Jupiter.
The planets in alignment on the 15/06/22 at 06:00 am (AWST)
Mercury’s greatest elongation in the East on the evening of the 16/06/2022
Alignments, Conjunctions, And Occultations: Conjunctions involve object(s) in the Solar System and/or more distant objects, such as a star. It’s an apparent phenomenon in which multiple objects which aren’t close together appear close in the sky and it’s caused by the observer’s perspective. An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.
The Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn on the 20/06/22 at 6 am (AWST)
The Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn on the 24/06/22 at 6 am (AWST)
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Planets:
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What’s In June’s Skies
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Astronomical Events: The June Solstice:
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The June Solstice occurs on the 21st of June at 5:14 pm (AWST), marking the beginning of astronomical winter for the southern hemisphere, and the start of summer for the northern hemisphere. This is an exact moment when the Sun’s declination equals 23.5 degrees south as seen from the Earth. The line of latitude where the Sun passes directly overhead during the June solstice is known as the Tropic of Cancer, although in modern times, the Sun is in the astronomical constellation of Gemini in mid-June, thanks to precession. The June solstice means the southern rotational pole of the Earth is tipped away from the Sun and will now begin its long apparent journey northward again until December. The wobble of Earth’s axis known as the Precession of the Equinoxes takes about 26,000 years to complete one ‘wobble’.
Things To Look At This Month: Pavo Globular Cluster: The Pavo Globular Cluster (NGC 6752) also known as the Starfish Globular Cluster, Peacock Cluster and Windmill Cluster, is a globular star cluster location in the southern constellation Pavo (The Peacock). It’s over 13,000 light-years away from Earth and over 10 billion years old. It holds over 100 thousand stars in a sphere about 100 light-years in diameter. The Pavo Globular Cluster third brightest globular in the night sky after clusters Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae. It was first catalogued by Scottish Astronomer James Dunlop at the Parramatta Observatory in New South Wales in 1827. There are blue straggle stars as well, these are stars which appear to be too young and massive to exist in a cluster whose stars are all expected to be at least twice as old as the Sun. The blue stragglers are thought to be formed by star mergers and collisions in the dense core of the cluster. The bright star in the photo is a foreground star called SAO 254482. The Pavo Globular Cluster on the 15/06/22 at 9 pm
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NGC 6752
Image Credit: ESO
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The Pavo Globular Cluster
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A Quick Look In The Astroshop!
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SUPPORT PERTH OBSERVATORY
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CONTAINERS FOR CHANGE Help Perth Observatory through the Containers for Change scheme. Please take glass, plastic, aluminium, steel and paper-based cartons between 150mL and 3L to your local refund depot, and use the Perth Observatory (Scheme ID: C10424615). POVG will receive 10 cents for each container. Save the ID on your phone for every time you recycle your containers. Find your local refund depot and get more info on what containers are eligible for refunds here:
containersforchange.com.au/wa
Can’t get to a refund centre? We have a dedicated and labelled bin on-site for you to add your clean container donations when you next visit the observatory. Our maintenance and accounts volunteer, Des, collects donated containers and takes them to the refund centre. Thank you for helping the POVG promote sustainable and environmentally conscious practices and diversifying ways for us to raise much-needed funds. Your help supports the continuing upkeep and running of Western Australia’s oldest observatory!
Image Credit: Matt Woods
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at the Observatory
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The ISS Fly Overs A Bonfire
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Galaxy Cocktails: Kiwi Lime Julep What We Need:
Steps:
30 ml kiwi juice not pulp
Add the kiwi juice, mint leaves, kiwi, lime quarter, and sugar syrup in a julep cup.
1 slice of kiwi 1/4 of lime 10 mint leaves Squeeze of lime juice 15ml agave or simple syrup 15ml creme de menthe 45ml butterfly pea infused vodka Crushed ice and crushed magic ice
Muddle until the mint leaves are crushed. Add creme de menthe and crushed ice to fill the glass. Pour the lime juice over the ice, followed by the butterfly pea infused vodka. Top with crushed color changing magic ice and serve. Let your guests stir the drink to see the color change.
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The Funny Side
Contact Us Perth Observatory 337 Walnut Road 6076 Bickley, WA (08) 9293 8255 newsletter@povg.org.au perthobservatory.com.au
