Perth Observatory Winter 2019 Newsletter

PERTH OBSERVATORY NEWSLETTER WINTER - 2019

JULY 21TH, 2019 WHY THIS DATE SHOULD BE MARKED ON YOUR CALENDAR!

WE WANT YOU!

CLOCKS AT THE

BECOME A VOLUNTEER.

OBSEVATORY!

INTAKE IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST!

TRY OUR NEW CROSSWORD SECTION!

AN EVENTFUL MONTH! - ANNUAL FUNDRAISER - ABSEILING

- BOOK REVIEW THIS BOOK WILL LITERALLY BLOW YOUR MIND!

- MOON LANDING

WINTER NIGHT TOURS ARE HERE Experience our amazing night sky through our wide range of telescopes at our sky viewing nights. Our Volunteers will take you on a grand tour of the Southern Hemisphere’s sky with a wide range of targets including Nebulas, planets, dying stars, and enormous star clusters.

You will also be able to browse our museum and see historical instruments, our meteorite exhibit, astrophotographs & artwork, and admire the beauty of the Atlas Coelestis, the first Star Atlas ever printed in 1729 from the work of John Flamsteed, the First Astronomer Royal at the Greenwich Observatory in Great Britain.

Adult: $35.00 Concession: $25.00 Child: $20.00 Tours Start:

7:30pm JUNE - SEPT

AIBARAP-AGNAK LAZ :EGAMI

BOOK YOUR TOUR

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

JULY 21ST, 1969 02:56:15 UTC

A VIEW THROUGH THE EYEPIECE WORDS BY Diana Rosman

As everyone knows, the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Landing in the “Sea of Tranquility” on 21st July 1969 is imminent and Perth Observatory will be marking the occasion with a special event - complete with 60's inspired canapes and music, a telescope viewing of the moon, and a viewing of the original NASA footage of the landing -”…. a small step for mankind….”- on the back lawn” ,and lots of memorabilia.

There will also be a special fundraising themed dinner at the Lesmurdie Club on July 26th, complete with prizes, a raffle and some informative talks by our very knowledgeable volunteers.

Despite the seasonal wind and rain, our winter program of tours and events is busier than ever. The Bickley site is being transformed. The ten development projects funded by Lotterywest are being implemented on schedule. The centrepiece is the Worl Wangkiny (Sky Stories) Aboriginal Astronomy Centre to be opened in late September.

We have a new golf cart to transport visitors around the site, the museum is poised for renovation, the historic collection of photographic glass plates is being digitised and paper records carefully filed and safely stored. Our iconic Grubb Astrographic telescope is receiving a makeover thanks to a very willing band of capable volunteers.

Recently we have been reminded, too, that ideas, enthusiasm, strategic thinking and hard work do not always attract the level of financial support expected. Sadly, so far, we have not been successful in attracting additional funding to support the team of operational, administrative and support paid staff needed to help us manage the site. On 30th June, sadly we had to say farewell to our Operations Manager, Francesca Flynn and Office Administrator, Julie Matthews. For now, a small dedicated team of volunteers is working alongside the three remaining part-time tour and maintenance staff to manage day-to-day operations, tours and events. The task of consolidating our resources, re-balancing and finding a suitable funding partner is our top priority in 2019.

Since our last Newsletter issue in January, we were closed for repairs in March, welcomed a new band of “vollies” into the Training program in April, and held a “Thank you” social event funded

by Volunteering WA in May. A short beginners course in Astronomy (Astronomy 101) is also underway.

In this issue, we highlight the story of the Nannup Clocks and the historic clocks at our Observatory, as well as a book review, cartoons, and astronomy news.

I’d like to thank the Newsletter team and those who have contributed and assembled these stories and reviews for your enjoyment. Special thanks to our new Editor Myra Peggy Rose Glanford, a recent recruit to POVG who has jumped in to help the Newsletter team.

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support.

Diana Rosman (POVG Chairperson)

CONTRIBUTORS

SUBSCRIPTIONS

CONTACT US

EDITORIAL

PERTH OBSERVATORY 337 Walnut Road 6076 Bickley, WA

MYRA PEGGY ROSE Myra Peggy Rose Click Below to subscribe GLANFORD Glanford, Arthur Harvey, to our newsletter Editor in Chief

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

Zal Kanga-Parabia, Julie Matthews Michelle Ashley-Emile, Jay Chester. Geoff Scott,

MONDAY JULY 21ST, 1969 Humans worldwide crowded around TV sets and huddled over radios; school classes stopped and workplaces fell in silence.

Everyone held their breath as Commander Neil Armstrong and Pilot Buzz Aldrin, of the Apollo 11 spacecraft crew, landed on the lunar surface of our beautiful moon. After the spacecraft had successfully landed,

and

the

-"Engine

arm

is

off"-

Armstrong

said

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Six hours and thirty-nine minutes after they landed, Armstrong was the first man to place a footstep on the moon; Aldrin followed 19 minutes later. The men spent two hours and forty-five minutes on the moons surface, and collected 21.5kg of samples.

Two and a half hours after landing, Pilot Buzz Aldrin radioed to Earth:

"This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way."

Come see an original copy of THE WEST AUSTRALIAN from Tuesday July 22nd, 1969 inside the Observatory Museum

Myra Peggy Rose

THE PERTH OBSERVATORY

UPCOMING EVENTS FUN

ADVENTURE

ABSEILING AT THE PERTH OBSERVATORY

ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

Things are heating up this July at the observatory – with our annual fundraiser on July 26.

Booking is essential for this not-to-be-missed night! Included in the ticket are a two course, sit down dinner, live music, and talks on astronomy. What’s

Need a bit of thrill in your life?

more there will be door prizes, raffles and a silent auction.

Perth Observatory is teaming up

with Spacechameleon Adventure

All proceeds from the night will be donated to the Perth Observatory

Co to organise a family

Volunteer Group, who are responsible for keeping the observatory open and

friendly event where you can abseil our Lowell Telescope Dome. Each participant will get 3 abseils through the dome's trap door and

tours running.

Tickets are $55 and are available via the ticket button below or from the Lesmurdie Club.

descend the full 20m in a controlled free fall to the ground.

You can also abseil upside down just like Tom Cruise if you choose to

Help us to continue to provide the Observatory with a bright future, and a place to inspire the public and young minds.

do so ;).

Both abseiling and climbing challenge your primal fears, with

Adult: $55.00

falling being the most primal of all.

Start Time: 6:30 pm

You'll learn how to apply the

Date: Friday 26th July, 2019

rational mind to understand irrational fears, leads to a greater level of control in many other aspects of day-to-day life. Space chameleon Adventure Co caters for beginners as well as adrenaline junkies and the event will go ahead rain or shine.

$35 per adult for 3 abseils $30 per concession for 3 abseils $25 per child for 3 abseils

Date: Sunday 4th August 2019 Time: 11:30am to 14:00 pm

14:30 pm to 17:00 pm

GET YOUR TICKETS

GET YOUR TICKETS

JULY

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY Planets:

Both Mercury will Mars in the early July evening sky. Both will be found in the Constellation of Cancer (The Crab) before both will move into the Sun’s glare in the first weeks of July.

Jupiter, the king of the planets can be still be found in the Ophiuchus (The Serpent-bearer) Constellation this month.

It’ll be viewable at the start of the night throughout the month, at the beginning of July, Jupiter will set at 05:47 am and by the end of the month it’ll at 03:38 am. Saturn is still below Jupiter in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and it’ll be viewable at the start of the night throughout the month. By the end of the month, Saturn will start setting before sunrise at 05:52 am (AWST).

Uranus can be found in the Constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster) in the early evening this month. It’ll rise at 02:26 am (AWST) at the start of July and by the end of the month it’ll rise at 00:32 am (AWST). Neptune, the last planet in our Solar System can be found in the early morning sky in between the Constellations of Aquarius (The Water Bearer), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish) the whole of July. The planet will rise at 10:41 pm (AWST) at the beginning of July and by the end of the month at 08:42 pm (AWST)

JULY Astronomical Events this Month: Total Solar Eclipse:

On Wednesday the 2nd of July the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun and will totally eclipse the Sun for a small region on the Earth between 0:55 am (AWST) and 05:50 am (AWST). Unfortunately, Perth will miss out on this total solar eclipse the path of totality will start in the South Pacific Ocean and move through Chile and Argentina.

The rest of South America will see either a Partial or Annular Solar Eclipse.

Partial Lunar Eclipse:

On the early morning of Wednesday, the 17th of July the Moon will move behind the Earth and partially into the Earth’s umbra (Inner shadow). The duration of this partial eclipse will be 2 hours, 58 minutes. We’ll see the Moon partially in shadow. The rest of the Moon is covered by the outer part of the Earth’s penumbra (Outer shadow).

This month’s eclipse Partial Eclipse will begin at 04:02 am, with the Moon covered the most at 05:30 am. The Partial Eclipse will finish by 07:00 am.

JULY The Delta Aquarids

The Delta Aquariid meteors are due to peak on the night of the 28th/29th 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 10 to 20 meteors per hour. In 2019, the Delta Aquariids are expected to have a good hourly rate of (meteors per hour) due to there being a lovely waning crescent moon in the Just before sunrise.

The Delta Aquarids is located in the constellation of Aquarius and it can be viewable from 08:00 pm on the 28th, but it’ll be best to wait until around 03:00 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.

Stellar Object to Look at this Month:

Trifid and Lagoon Nebulas:

The Trifid Nebula (M20 & NGC 6514) and Lagoon Nebula (M8 & NGC 6523) can be found close to in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The Trifid Nebula is an emission (pink) and reflection (blue) nebula, with open star cluster, found in Sagittarius. The Trifid (Meaning “divided into three lobes”) comes from the three-pronged dark lanes (dark nebulae) through the nebula that blocks off the light behind. The nebula is 2,660 light-years away and is 15 light-years across. Infrared telescopes have shown there 30 embryonic and 120 newborn stars not yet bright enough to emit light in the visible light part of the light spectrum. The new stars are very young at 400,000 years old with the central star in the nebula actually a cluster of four-star systems, two of which are close binaries, making six stars in all.

The Lagoon Nebula is a very young nebula, perhaps less than 10,000 years. The nebula is further away than the Trifid Nebula at 4,100 light-years away and it’s a lot bigger with the nebula being 100 light-years across and 50 light-years high. It is one of the finest and brightest star-forming regions in the sky and contains many “Bok globules”, which contain dense cosmic dust and gas from which star formation may take place.

JULY

A U G UST

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY Planets:

Both Mercury will reappear in the early August morning sky around 06:00 am (AWST) for the first part of August. It’ll also reach its greatest elongation in the East on the 10th of August at 07:00 am (AWST) and then will start to head back towards the sun

Jupiter, the king of the planets can be still be found in the Ophiuchus (The Serpent-bearer) Constellation this month. It’ll be viewable at the start of the night throughout the month, at the beginning of August, Jupiter will set at 03:35 am (AWST) and by the end of the month it’ll at 01:39 am (AWST). Saturn is still below Jupiter in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and it’ll be viewable at the start of the night throughout the month. At the beginning of August, Saturn will set at 05:48 am (AWST) and by the end of the month it’ll at 03:45 am (AWST).

Uranus can be found in the Constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster) in the early evening this month. It’ll rise at 00:28 am (AWST) at the start of August and by the end of the month it’ll rise at 10:25 pm (AWST). Neptune, the last planet in our Solar System can be found in the early morning sky in between the Constellations of Aquarius (The Water Bearer), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish) the whole of August. The planet will rise at 08:38 pm (AWST) at the beginning of August and by the end of the month at 07:17 pm (AWST)

A U G UST Astronomical Events this Month:

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.

A U G UST

Stellar Object 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.

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.

AUGUST

S E P TEM B E R

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY

Planets:

Both Mercury will reappear and join Venus in the early September evening sky around 6 to 7 pm from the middle of September in the Virgo (The Virgin) Constellation. Venus will reappear earlier at the end of the first week of September in the Leo (The Lion) Constellation before joining Mercury in the Virgo (The Virgin) Constellation.

Jupiter, the king of the planets can be still be found in the Ophiuchus (The Serpent-bearer) Constellation this month. It’ll be viewable at the start of the night throughout the month, at the beginning of September, Jupiter will set at 01:35 am (AWST) and by the end of the month it’ll at 11:51 pm (AWST). Saturn is still below Jupiter in the Constellation of Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) and it’ll be viewable at the start of the night throughout the month. At the beginning of September, Saturn will set at 03:41 am (AWST) and by the end of the month it’ll at 01:46 am (AWST). On the 8th of September, we’ll see from Perth, the Moon occult (pass over) Saturn from 10:00 pm (AWST) to 11:03 pm (AWST).

Uranus can be found in the Constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster) in the early evening this month. It’ll rise at 10:21 am (AWST) at the start of September and by the end of the month it’ll rise at 07:43 pm (AWST). Neptune, the last planet in our Solar System can be found in the early morning sky in between the Constellations of Aquarius (The Water Bearer), Cetus (The Sea Monster) and Pisces (The Fish) the whole of September. The planet will rise at 06:32 pm (AWST) at the beginning of September and will be viewable at the start of the night at the end of the month.

S E P TEM B E R Astronomical Events this Month:

Zodiacal Light Season Begins

The 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

On Monday the 23nd of September, The Southward Equinox occurs at 03:50 pm (AWST), marking the beginning of astronomical Fall for the Northern Hemisphere, and the start of Spring for the Southern Hemisphere. 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.

S E P TEM B E R

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 2019, the Harvest Moon actually falls on September 22nd.

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.

Stellar Object to Look at this Month:

47 Tucanae:

47 Tucanae (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.

S E P TEM B E R

STAR ADOPTION TOUR 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.

BOOK YOUR TOUR AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

AIBARAP-AGNAK LAZ :EGAMI

BOOK REVIEW

THIS BOOK WILL BLOW YOUR MIND JOURNEYS AT THE EXTREMES OF SCIENCE

If you are like me,you always start epic novels or long texts but never have time to finish chapters let alone a whole book. If you are also like me and have no scientific background but like to pull out fun and interesting science related ‘party starters’then ‘This Book Will Blow Your Mind, Journeys at the Extremes of Science”might be the perfect text for you.

The book consists of 59 short non-fiction articles written by various journalist sand scientists,compiled by New Scientist Magazine. Each article breaks down complex scientific research and delivers it in an easy, ‘pick up anywhere’ style.The book addresses confronting questions and explores our curiosities, introducing amazing breakthroughs in science and technology, as well as outrageous ideas that excite fantasy. It is truly mind blowing.

Some notable writings include Does Consciousness Create Reality? A Quantum Leak could be Flooding the Universe with Dark Energy,and The Atoms atInfinity Degrees Celsius and Beyond. Every text is backed by current and ongoing research into mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology,geography, and psychology, with a short paragraph about each contributor and a chapter dedicated to further reading.

This book did, in fact Blow my mind. I was so amazed about how blurred the lines are between reality and fantasy that I was reading whole chapters to my husband and friends which inturnincited interesting discussions and debates, testing where we stand morally and how comfortable we are with the extents of current scientific research. This book would be perfect for a local book club, high school reading or something for your sci-fi interested teenage MICHELLE ASHLEY-EMILE

WE WANT YOU! VOLUNTEER INTAKE AUGUST 2019

Join us and become a star by volunteering!

You will be trained by very experienced people who will teach you all about the beautiful things we can see in our Southern sky, how to use our brilliant telescopes, and how to give tours.

You will have such an excellent time using the telescopes to see star constellations, detail marks on the moon, the red spot on Jupiter and the rings on Saturn; then teaching others about it.

Click on the link below to be taken to the volunteer page, and we look forward to working with you soon!

Myra Peggy Rose

FIND OUT MORE

VOLUNTEER NEWS We are so thankful for our wonderful volunteers at the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group. Our latest intake joined us in April and are enthusiastically training for Night Sky Tours,School Day Tours,Heritage and Office Duties.Early in June, a group of our busiest bees began work on preparing the ground for our new Volunteer Barbecue area. This is one of the projects funded by Lottery West to reward our volunteers for all the time they give.A big thank you to all the volunteers who braved the rain, it was a fun day with a lot of laughs.

June also saw the arrival of our Perth Observatory Golf Cart. This cart, funded by Lottery West, will take our less mobile visitors around the domes for their Day and Night tours. We’re still trying to come up with a name for it, so send us ideas.

Volunteers have been working on restoring our beautiful historic Astrographic Telescope. The Grubb Telescope is over 120 years old and has been used to produce thousands of photographs of our Southern Skies on glass slides. It’s also the only Grubb telescope to still have its original optical tubes, mount and dome.

It’s taken hundreds of hours so far for a small group of dedicated(and exhausted) volunteers to very carefully remove the old chipped paint and rust.We are all very excited that they have now begun applying the base coat.There are still many hours of work left ahead and funds are needed to buy more paint, brushes and equipment. If you can help with a donation of any size please go to our website for more details.

DONATE NOW All donations are tax deductible and a receipt will be issued. In the next issue, we’ll bring you an update on these works in progress and lots more.

Julie Matthews

THE NANNUP CLOCK Perth Observatory is home to some of Western Australia’s most historical clocks.

Perhaps most famously the heliochronometer designed by the first Government Astronomer of WA, W E Cooke.

We have two Victor Kulberg astronomical regulators and two Synchronome clocks, designed by W H Shortt, one of which we hope to have operating soon.

Now in Nannup, master clockmaker Kevin Bird has realised over a decade’s work by commissioning the world’s largest wooden pendulum clock.

Above: The clock mechanism with the falling weight on the right and the 4m pendulum.

This clock combines the beauty of local timbers - the sheoak selected for its stability - with a traditional design incorporating falling weights driving a gear train with a deadbeat escapement.

The time is displayed on a 2m dial on the building’s façade.

Christiaan Huygens, inspired by Galileo, invented the pendulum clock in 1656. Of course astronomers know Huygens well; among his discoveries is Saturn’s moon Titan. The space probe which landed on Titan in 2005 is named after him.

At over 6m tall with a 4m pendulum, this is a very impressive clock by any standard.

With such large gears it might seem too big to be able to keep time accurately. Not so; this clock, with its involute shaped gears, is accurate to 1 minute per week!The clock incorporates particular features such as the clever re-wind mechanism and the means of transmitting the impulse from the escapement to the pendulum; these elegant solutions attest to the designer’s deep understanding of the clockmakers’ art as well as his woodworking skill.

I have had the good fortune to see the Astronomical Clock in Cremona, the Gros Horloge in Rouen, the Beauvais cathedral clock with its 59 dials and Cooke’s heliochronometer (a name a few) but none were more special than the Nannup clock with the added bonus of being able to talk with the master clockmaker, Kevin Bird himself.

Unfortunately if you haven’t already visited this clock, the opportunity to do so may be lost as I understand it has been removed from its location in Nannup. Perhaps it will be re-installed elsewhere; certainly this modern wonder deserves to be on display.

ARTHUR HARVEY

Top: The escapement showing the gears laminated for stability.

Below : Close-up of the gear train.

Across 1 It adores confusing a heavenly body (8) 5 Spoils the planet (4) 9 Celebrity reactor (4) 10 Crash-landing date before 18 (7,3) 11 Addled teetotal bonsai plant specialist (8) 12 Point to the east (6) 14 Exit and feel the opener (4,6) (10) 17 Iraqi perhaps unlikely to be found in a rabbinical environment (4) 18 Fast time inclined to be heard (4) 19 Where the children of our home will fall? (10) 21 High and dry after your passage (6) 23 Flyer bogs around river fans (8) 25 She imposes order on form one fire mess (10) 27 Wherewithal for Ko Samui bread (4) 28 Crave the ever green (4) 29 Endless rotation on a large type of weather (8) Down

1 Messier room astern? More than one (11) 2 The land sounds scary (5) 3 Pacify again replacing one for a clone (9) 4 Lit dieting arrangement (7) 6 States "things destroy race mania" (9) 7 At first sporting kit aided wave discovery kit (3) 8 Half a laugh thus making an aura (4) 13 Oafish ancient bloke (11) 15 Warfarin grass toxin (3,6) 16 Passing like a cosmic transient (9) 20 I'm in American property; it's the way things are (7) 22 Alter the weight loss program (4) 24 Bird or beak rising (5) 26 Course upset mate (3)

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