Perth Observatory Newsletter | March 2020

PERTH OBSERVATORY NEWSLETTER MARCH

A NEW ROVER FOR MARS 28,000 SUGGESTIONS COME DOWN TO JUST ONE NAME

WELCOME DR COLIN ARMSTRONG NEW CHAIR OF PERTH OBSERVATORY VOLUNTEER GROUP

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY DON'T MISS THE LYRIDS METEOR SHOWER

WORL WANGKINY OVER 60,000 YEARS OF ABORIGINAL ASTRONOMY

EQUINOX

A VIEW THROUGH THE EYEPIECE POVG CHAIR, DR COLIN ARMSTRONG In November, at the end of Diana Rosman’s maximum four-year term, I was elected as Chair of the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group. On behalf of us all, I extend our gratitude and appreciation to Diana for her stewardship. Diana now takes on other roles promoting the observatory, continuing her valuable contributions to POVG.

After a week of fierce storms, the skies cleared in time for Astrofest 2020 in February, one of our biggest events of the year with more than 4,000 attendees crowding onto Curtin Uni oval.

48 POVG volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure the event was a success, and the POVG Shop at Astrofest sold more than $3,000 of our wares.

A few days later, we hosted the first of three amazing events: Tim Finn’s Star Navigator opera. 22 POVG and eight West Australian Opera volunteers cared for 150 people who sat entranced during the Captain Cook aria and applauded enthusiastically as the nighttime silence descended at its conclusion.

This fantastic event raised $7,355 in much-appreciated funds for the observatory.

Dr Katarina Miljkovic and Dr Colin Armstrong Photo credit: Roger Groom Due to the continued spread of COVID-19,

The next night, Curtin Uni’s planetary scientist Dr Katarina Miljkovic

and the risk of infection through the

delivered our Summer Lecture, presenting her fascinating work with

community WA, we are cancelling tours for

NASA’s Mars InSight Mission. 23 volunteers looked after 131 visitors and

March 20 - 22 and will be making a

raised $3,526 to help keep the observatory running.

decision on upcoming events and tours after this weekend.

Our final event was the opening of Worl Wangkiny, our fabulous new indigenous astronomy centre. 16 volunteers hosted 160 visitors,

Matt Woods is also busy putting his expert

including Nyoongar Elders with family and friends.

skills and knowledge to work to plan and host virtual star parties live on YouTube.

The opening was generously supported by many dignitaries including the Governor of WA, Federal Minister for Defence, Federal Minister for

I hope to see you all at the Observatory

Indigenous Australians, WA Minister for Science, Local Member of

soon -- volunteers and visitors alike -- when

Parliament, the Mayor of Kalamunda, Director General, and staff from

restrictions on gatherings are lifted. Please

the Dept of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

check the website and follow us on social media for updates on tours or events.

A representative of Worl Wangkiny's project funders, Lotterywest, was also on hand to see the fruits of their investment.

Whether it's a sunny, school day tour or wrapped up warm for a night tour, we'll be

Time stands still for no-one. As summer begrudgingly wanes we start our Winter Night Tours. Coming up, we've some special events, including Star Wars Day, and our abseiling events are now even better -- they also include stargazing, or guided observatory tours on cloudy nights.

glad to see you and we are grateful for your support.

Dr Colin Armstrong POVG Chair March 2020

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2020 EQUAL FOR EQUAL

Words and images: Michelle Ashley-Emilie

EDITOR'S

NOTE

Happy Solstice! Today we mark the start of cooler weather that comes from

Astrofest 2020

the beginning of astronomical winter, and the Noongar season of Djeran.

5 Perth Observatory acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we are based on, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation.

We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and recognises the unique contribution the Whadjuk people have made, and continue to make, to our culture and

Star Wars Day

11

community.

This month Perth Observatory is both excited and proud to officially open the

Wangkiny Aboriginal

Worl

Astronomy Centre.

A Lotterywest community project grant is

Photo credit: Geoff Scott

helping us celebrate over 60,000 years of

26

Astrograph update

Noongar celestial storytelling through public art with the Worl Wangkiny Aboriginal Astronomy Centre. Stay tuned for news of guided tours with our partners Koya Aboriginal Corporation through ANTZ Aboriginal Nature TrekZ.

Also in this newsletter, we reveal the name of NASA's new Mars rover, sit Dr Colin Armstrong down in his chair and find out what makes him tick, recount recent events,

look what's up in the sky and Matt Woods turns his expert eye to

Thank you so much for all the

Betelgeuse.

support you have shown the Once again, there are many people who deserve my unfiltered thanks this

Observatory and the

month, without whom this newsletter couldn't happen. So thanks go to Colin

newsletter.

Armstrong, Michelle Ashley-Emile, Eta Carina, Roger Groom, Julie Matthews, Diana Rosman, Geoff Scott, Ken Stranger, and Matt Woods. Please accept my

We need the support of the

sincere apologies if I've forgotten anyone.

public to keep everything going, and your help is

- Jay, editor, contributor & volunteer

always appreciated.

CONTACT US

EDITORIAL

CONTRIBUTORS

PERTH OBSERVATORY

JAMES CHESTERS

Colin Armstrong Michelle Ashley-Emile

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

Editor-in-Chief

SUBSCRIBE Click Below to subscribe to our newsletter

Eta Carina Jay Chesters Roger Groom Julie Matthews Diana Rosman Geoff Scott Ken Stranger Matt Woods

March Equinox 2020

ALL THE FUN OF THE 'FEST MATT WOODS RECOUNTS ALL THE FUN OF ASTROFEST 2020

Another successful Astrofest is behind us with 4,000 people attending the event at Curtin University on February 29.

Clouds threatened throughout the day and while we were setting up, but gave up their attempts to ruin the night.

Clouds parted, revealing the night sky, just as the sun was setting, allowing all the 40+ telescope operators to start showing their chosen objects of the night.

On the night, I presented my "Space is Objects shown through the telescopes at Astrofest included the Sun, the Moon, Betelgeuse, the Orion Nebula (M42), Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), Southern Beehive Cluster (NGC 2516), Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532), Jewel Box Cluster (NGC 4755) and 47 Tucanae (NGC 104).

This year, Perth Observatory had 48 volunteers at the event with some running telescopes and our store in the Curtin Stadium, while others regaled the public with fascinating facts about the objects they were going to look through the telescopes and about what we do at the observatory.

Big" talk on the main stage, as well as live-streaming the Moon to YouTube so people in the Stadium, and around the world, could see an up-close view of the Moon.

Fellow volunteer and astrophotographer Roger Groom this year took on the mantle of the Astrofest Astrophotography Exhibition Curator and did a fantastic job.

It's incredible to see all of the excellent photography coming from WA astrophotographers. It is also great to see that the judges of the exhibition decided our fellow volunteer Martin Williams should win the award for Best New Talent and Best Astro Photo with his photo of the Horse Head Nebula (NGC 2023).

Newly created this year were five award categories, sponsored by Perth Observatory. These awards were for the Best Deep Sky Photo, Best Lunar Photo, Best Solar Photo, Best Planetary Photo, Best Nightscape Photo, and Best Time-lapse Video.

You can see the winning and the catalogue with all the photos selected for the exhibition here:

http://www.astronomywa.net.au/2020astrophotography-exhibition.html A big thank you goes out to all the WA Astronomy Groups who helped organise the night, Curtin University food vendors, the WA public and Kirsten Gottschalk from ICRAR, who managed to keep alive her streak of clear nights at Astrofest.

Words by Matt Woods. Photos credit Geoff Scott

THE

PERTH

OBSERVATORY

STAR TREK FIRST CONTACT NIGHT TOUR

UPCOMING

This

April 5,

EVENTS

it's time to boldly go to Perth Observatory!

Put on your Star Fleet uniform, grab your Tricorder, set phasers to stun -- and and chart a course for the hills to celebrate first contact with the Vulcans on Star Trek Day!

Our crew of telescope operators will show you many stunning objects that are in Federation space, and a massive nebula in the Orion Syndicate’s territory. In the event you discover an alien civilisation, please remember the Prime Directive.

With prizes on the or the best adult and child costumes, come along to the Perth Observatory in your finest star fleet uniforms.

There

could

even

be

some

of

your

favourite

characters on site!

Price Adult: $50.00 Concession: $35.00 Child (Ages 5 to 17): $25.00

Location: Perth Observatory Date: Â Monday, April 5

Due to the spread of COVID-19 events may be subject to change.

Check website for details.

Time:

7:30pm (Gates open 7:00 pm)

BOOK NOW

APRIL

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY Mercury is

seen in the morning sky in the constellation of Aquarius (The Water Bearer) with Neptune at the beginning

of April. The planet rises at 04:22 (AWST) at the start of the month, moving through the constellation of Pisces (The Fish), before being lost to the Sun's glare at the very end of the month.

Venus will

be in Taurus (The Bull) this month and set at 20:16 (AWST) at the beginning of April. By the end of the

month, Venus will set at 07:38 pm (AWST).

Throughout April,

Mars is

in the constellation of Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) and appears as an

orange

dot. The

planet rises very close to Saturn at the beginning of the month at 00:51 (AWST). By April's end, it rises at 00:33 (AWST) and is over 17 degrees away from Saturn.

Jupiter,

king of the planets, is still in Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) this month. At the beginning of April, it

rises at 00:22 (AWST), and by the end, it rises at 22:40 (AWST).

Saturn is

in Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) during April rising at the beginning of the month at 00:54 am (AWST), and

rises at 23:04 (AWST) by the end of the month.

Neptune,

the last planet in our Solar System, is in the early morning sky between the constellations of Aquarius (The

Water Bearer) and Pisces (The Fish) for all of April. The planet rises at 04:43 (AWST) at the beginning of the month, and by 02:53 (AWST) at the end of April.

CONJUNCTIONS

&

ALIGNMENTS

14/04/20 – Alignment of the Moon, Mars, Jupiter

16/04/20 – Alignment of the Moon, Mars, Jupiter

17/04/20– Alignment of the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and

and Saturn

and Saturn

Saturn

Mercury and Neptune on 15/04/20 at 05:30

Venus on 15/04/20 at 19:00.

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: Stellarium

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn on 15/04/20 at 04:00 Image Credit: Stellarium

Words and images: Matt Woods

APRIL

LEO TRIPLET

OBJECT

OF

THE

MONTH

The Leo Triplet (M66 Group), located in the constellation of Leo, is a small group of galaxies about 35 million lightyears away.

This group consists of three spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628. To see the best of this galaxy cluster, get out to the country with a telescope. When planning at stargazing trip to the country, it’s best to check out Astrotourism WA Map.

Messier 65 (NGC 3623) is an intermediate spiral galaxy, slightly smaller than our galaxy at 90,000 light-years in diameter, and 35 million light-years away. Low in dust and gas, there is little star formation in it, although there has The Leo Triplet on 15/04/20 at 21:00 Image Credit: Stellarium

been some relatively recently in the arms. The ratio of old stars to new stars is correspondingly quite high.

Messier 66 (NGC 3627), is another intermediate spiral galaxy in the group. M65 and M66 make a stylish pair for observers, separated by only 20 degrees. M66’s spiral shape has a weak bar feature in the centre and loosely-wound arms. It is closer to us than M65, at 31 million light-years away, and appears to be slightly larger than M65, at 95,000 light-years in diameter.

We see the galaxy at an angle, with striking dust lanes and bright star clusters along sweeping spiral arms. Between 1973 and 2016, we have detected five supernovae in this galaxy (SN 2016cok,[12] 2009hd, 1997bs, 1989B, and 1973R).

SN 2016cok, a Type IIa supernova, was identified in 2016 by the All-Sky Survey Automated Survey for Supernovae.

The Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628), also known as Sarah’s Galaxy, is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away, with an approximately 300,000 light-years long tidal tail.

The most striking feature of the Hamburger Galaxy 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.

An x-shaped bulge, visible in multiple wavelengths, gives rise to an argument that the galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy with the bar seen end-on. Simulations have shown that bars often form in disk galaxies during interactions and mergers, and this could be the case for here, as it’s interacting with its two giant neighbours, Messier 65 and Messier 66.

Words and images: Matt Woods

The Leo Triplet Galaxies from VST Image Credit: ESO, INAF-VST, OmegaCAM

APRIL

LYRIDS METEOR SHOWER

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY Starting early on April 23 while most of us are asleep, the Lyrids meteor shower hits Earth’s atmosphere. Observed for at least 2,600 years, he Lyrids are the longest observed meteor shower.

The oldest description of the the Lyrids comes from the Chinese Zuo Tradition that described on the night of the March 16, 687 BCE that “at midnight, stars fell like rain.” Records show this shower has been more active in the past and has become a minor shower with the occasional surprise, keeping the Lyrids interesting.

The shower is also mentioned in the strong astronomical traditions of the Boorong people from the region around Lake Tyrell, in north-west Victoria.

For the Boorong clan of north-Western Victoria, the constellation of Lyra was was the ancestral Malleefowl, Neilloan, and she taught people when to to look for Malleefowl eggs.

The Lyrids meteor shower coincides with the time the Mallee fowl start to build their elaborate nests, with the streaks of the meteor shower itself resembling a bird kicking up sand as she builds a nest.

The cause of the Lyrids is the long-period comet Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher) which has an irregular orbit of about 415 years.

The comet is named after the amateur astronomer A. E. Thatcher who recorded it on April 5, 1861, as it was making its

Image credit: John Morieson, The Case Study of the Boorong

last pass around the Sun.

While it’s always best to find a park or a large open space for best This year the Lyrids will peak on the night of the April 22-23, and will appear to come from the constellation of Lyra.

viewing of a meteor shower, you can still go out to your front or back yard and get a good view. This year, the Moon is a new moon phase so there’ll be no light pollution -- so get away from Perth’s light pollution, and you’ll easily see some fainter meteors.

The Lyrids on 22/04/20 at 04:00

Meteors from the Lyrids

A comet

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: NASA

Image Credit: Universe Today

Words and images: Matt Woods

WHAT MAKES MARS TICK? DR KATARINA MILJKOVIC'S MARS INSIGHTS This year, Perth Observatory had the pleasure of welcoming Curtin University's planetary scientist Dr Katarina Miljkovic as the speaker for our Summer Lecture.

Dr Miljkovic is the only Australian involved with NASA's Mars InSight Mission (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport). This Discovery Class mission, designed and developed on the 2008 Phoenix Mars platform, landed on Mars late 2018 at Elysium Planitia.

Since then, the mission has been working hard at revealing what lies under the red planet's surface and is helping us understand the evolution of Mars and other rocky planets in our inner solar system.

The night was terrific, with people arriving early for picnics, food from George's Kebabs, and coffee from Matobo Coffee, all enjoyed on our back lawn in its lovely bush setting, and everyone was keen to hear from Dr Miljkovic about the InSight mission.

Dr Miljkovic was fantastic, talking engagingly about how Mars is not quiet, like the Moon. InSight's seismometer is sensitive enough to detect vibrations smaller than an atom; Dr Miljkovic explained it has recorded over 450 quakes -proving beyond doubt that the red planet is seismically active. Some of the strongest marsquakes have a magnitude of three to four, and appear to come from Cerberus Fossae, a region of faults and lava flows, 1,600km east of the lander.

We also got to hear about how InSight listens to meteors striking Mars, and Dr Miljkovic's role in understanding how small meteoroid bombardment occurs on Mars, and the seismic effects this has on the Martian crust.

We also got to hear about the annoying problem of the heat probe getting stuck, and the Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats that piggybacked with the InSight mission to test CubeSat navigation and endurance in deep space, helping to relay real-time communications during the lander's descent and landing.

We'd like to again thank Dr Katarina Miljkovic and her family for taking time out of their busy lives to come up to the Observatory and Dr Katarina Miljkovic for presenting your talk; we had a great time listening about your work and the Mars InSight lander.

Words by Matt Woods. Photos credit Geoff Scott

THE

PERTH

OBSERVATORY

EXCLUSIVE STAR WARS NIGHT TOUR

UPCOMING

This

May 4,

EVENTS

it's time dust off your Jedi robes, clip on your lightsaber, and make the jump into hyperspace to Perth

Observatory to celebrate

Star Wars Day.

We've got a good feeling about this.

All the usual telescope domes will be open for business, and our Jedi council of telescope operators will show you amazing sights, whether it's a planet the Death Star could destroy, a binary star system, or a galaxy far, far away.

The night will include prizes for the best adult and child costumes, so come along to the Perth Observatory in your favourite rebel scum outfits. There could even be some of your favourite characters on site!

May the Fourth be with you.

Price Adult: $50.00

Due to the spread of COVID-19 events may be subject to change.

Check website for details.

Concession: $35.00 Child (Ages 5 to 17): $25.00

BOOK NOW

Date: Monday, Time:

May 4

7:30pm (Gates open 7:00 pm)

MAY

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY Mercury reappears

from the Sun’s glare in May’s evening sky in the constellation of Taurus (The Bull) in the middle of

the second full week of May and moves into Gemini (The Twins) by the end of the month. Mercury sets at 18:02 (AWST) on Friday, May 15, and by the month’s end, it sets at 18:47 (AWST).

Venus is

in the Taurus (The Bull) constellation in May, and at the start of the month, sets at 19:36 (AWST). We lose

Mercury to the Sun’s glare by the end of May.

Mars starts

May in Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) as an

orange

dot and moves into Aquarius (The Water Bearer) in the

second week of the month. Rising at 00:32 (AWST) at the beginning of the month. By the end of the month, Mars rises at 00:11 (AWST).

Jupiter,

king of the planets, can be still be found in Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) this month. At the beginning

of May, Jupiter rises at 22:33 (AWST), and rises at 20:34 (AWST) by the end of the month.

Saturn stays

in Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) during May, rising at 22:57 (AWST) the beginning of the month, and by

the end of the month, it’ll rise at 08:57 pm (AWST).

Uranus reappears

in the morning sky at the end of the first full week of May in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea

Dragon) and rises at 05:59 (AWST) on Saturday, May 9. By the end of the month, Uranus rises at 04:38 (AWST).

Neptune,

the last planet in our Solar System, is in the early morning sky between the Aquarius (The Water Bearer) and

Pisces (The Fish) for the whole of May. The planet rises at 02:49 (AWST) at the beginning of May and at 00:54 (AWST) by the end of the month.

CONJUNCTIONS

&

ALIGNMENTS

Mercury and Venus on 15/05/20 at 18:00

Mars and Neptune on 15/05/20 at 04:00

Jupiter and Saturn on 15/05/20 02:00

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: Stellarium

Uranus on 15/05/20 at 06:00

Venus on 15/04/20 at 19:00.

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn on 15/04/20 at 04:00

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: Stellarium

Words and images: Matt Woods

MAY

EIGHT-BURST NEBULA

OBJECT

OF

THE

MONTH

The Eight-Burst Planetary Nebula (NGC 3132) is also known as the Southern Ring Nebula.

A bright planetary nebula in the constellation Vela, it is two thousand light-years away from us, and 0.4 light-years across.

The name “planetary nebula� refers to the round shape and, in reality, has nothing to do with planets. It just looks like one. .

The Eight-Burst Nebula. Image Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA/ESA)

The round shape is instead vast shells of gas ejected from a star as it nears the end of its life, the gas is expanding away from the central star at a speed of nine miles per second

Images of the nebula show two stars close together within the nebulosity, with the white dwarf that created the nebula as the fainter of the two stars. The white dwarf has a temperature of 100,000 K and has blown off its layers.

The intense ultraviolet radiation comes off the white dwarf, making the nebula fluoresce brightly.

The Eight-Burst Nebula on 15/05/20 at 21:00 Image Credit: Stellarium

Words and images: Matt Woods

MAY

ETA AQUARIIDS METEOR SHOWER

WHAT'S

UP

IN

THE

SKY

The Eta Aquariids meteor shower is one of the best meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere, peaking on the morning of the May 6.

Active from April 19 through to May 28, Eta Aquarids' meteor per hour rate can vary between 10 – 20 meteors per hour for Perth.

This year, the nearly-full moon will cause some light pollution and drown out the fainter meteors.

The cause of the Eta Aquarids is the famous Comet Halley, named after Astronomer Edmund Halley, who first determined in 1705 that the comet was periodic.

Meteors from the Eta Aquariids

The Eta Aquarids are one of two meteor showers caused by the comet, the other shower being October’s Orionids.

Halley’s orbit around the Sun takes 75 years, next entering the inner system again in 2061.

The Eta Aquarids meteors seem to appear from the constellation Aquarius -- giving the meteor shower its name, with a radiant close to one of the constellation’s brightest stars, Eta Aquarii.

Aquarius will appear in the sky over the Perth hills around 23:30 so you should go out around 04:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to fully adjust to the lighting conditions, and look between North and North East.

As always, while it’s always best to find a park or a large open space for best viewing of a meteor shower, you can still go out to your front or back yard and get a good view. it’s always best to find a nice park or a large open space for best viewing of a meteor shower, you can go out to our front or back yard and still get a good view.

The Eta Aquarids on 06/05/20 at 05:00 Image Credit: Stellarium

Words and images: Matt Woods

JOIN US UNDER A STARRY SOUTHERN SKY

WINTER NIGHT TOURS Want to experience our amazing night sky through a wide range of telescopes? Join us at Perth Observatory on one of our many Night Sky Tour viewing nights.

Our Volunteers will take you on a grand tour of the Southern Hemisphere’s sky, taking in a wide range of sight including breathtaking nebulas, iconic planets, dying stars, and enormous star clusters. Distant planets will become near, hot, dense clusters of stars will shine, and you will take home with you a new-found sense of wonder.

That's not all, you will also have the chance to browse our museum and see our meteorite exhibit, historical instruments, and admire our amazing astrophotographs and artwork.

Before you leave, take a moment to enjoy 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.

Come along and see the stars for yourself!

Price: Adult: $45.00 Concession: $30.00 Child: $20.00 Tours Start: 7:30pm

Due to the spread of COVID-19 events may be subject to change.

Check website for details.

BOOK AN EXCLUSIVE & PRIVATE

BOOK NOW

CHOOSE YOUR NIGHT FOR A

NIGHT TOUR FOR YOUR GROUP

VIEWING TOUR

OR CLUB Book a Night Tour and the evening schedule can be tailored to your needs, with a BBQ cook top also available on request.

Dark Sky Nights Dark sky nights are when there’s no Moon. The fainter objects such as globular clusters and nebulae show up well against the darker background of a moonless sky.

Perth Observatory 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, complete with a tour of the

Moonlit Nights Moonlit nights are when the Moon is one of the observing targets. The best detail on the lunar surface is seen around half moon phase. Star clusters and

museum.

bright nebulae will also be visible.

Full Moon Nights CLICK HERE FOR INFO

Image credit: Matt Woods

Full moon nights are when a Full Moon occurs on a weekend or during a school holiday period.

JUNE

JUNE SOLSTICE

WHAT'S

UP

IN

THE

SKY

The June Solstice occurs on the June 21 at 05:44 (AWST), marking the beginning of astronomical winter for the southern hemisphere, and the start of summer for the northern hemisphere.

The solstice is the 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.

However, 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 begins its long apparent journey northward until December. The wobble of Earth’s axis, known as the Precession of the Equinoxes, takes about 26,000 years to complete one ‘wobble.’

During an average 72-year life span, the equinoctial points will have moved one degree (about twice the diameter of a Full Moon).

ANNULAR

SOLAR

ECLIPSE

On Thursday, June 21, the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun and will almost completely eclipse the Sun for a small region on the Earth, causing an Annular Eclipse between 11:46 (AWST) and 17:34 (AWST).

An Annular Solar Eclipse is when the Moon covers the Sun’s centre, leaving the Sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire”, or annulus, around the Moon.

Unfortunately, Perth, we’ll miss out on this Annular Solar Eclipse as the path starts in Gabon, Africa, moves northeast through the Arabia Peninsula, up to the top of India, before moving through China, and finishing over the Pacific Ocean.

It won’t be all bad for us in Australia. If you’re in the top of the Northern Territory and the Cape of York, you’ll be able to see some form of Partial Solar Eclipse.

June's Annular Solar Eclipse viewing map

Image Credit: timeanddate.com

Words and images: Matt Woods

Image Credit: timeanddate.com

JUNE

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY Mercury starts

June in the early evening in the Gemini (The Twins) where it sets at 18:49 (AWST). Mercury will have its

greatest elongation in the West on June 4, and begins to make its way back towards the Sun from then, being lost to the Sun's glare by the start of the final week of June.

Venus,

Earth's twisted sister, reappears in the morning sky towards the end of the second full week of June. On

Friday, June 12, Venus rises at 06:11 (AWST), and by the end of the month, it is rising at 04:41 (AWST).

Mars starts

June in Aquarius (The Water Bearer) as an orange dot and moves into the constellation of Cetus (The Sea

Dragon) in the last week of the month. Rising at 00:09 (AWST) at the beginning of the month,

by the end of the

month, Mars is rising at 11:41 (AWST).

Jupiter is

still in Sagittarius (The Centaur with a Bow) this month. At the beginning of the month, it rises at 20:30

(AWST), and by the end of June, it is rising at 18:23 (AWST).

Saturn starts

June in Capricornus (The Sea-Goat) and during the month moves in between Capricornus (The Sea-

Goat) and Sagittarius. Rising at 20:53 (AWST) at the beginning of the month, by the end of the month, Saturn is rising at 18:52 (AWST).

Uranus

continues to be in the Cetus (The Sea Dragon) Constellation, and rises at 05:59 (AWST) at the beginning of

June. By the end of the month, Uranus will be moving into the Aries (The Ram) constellation, rising at 02:46 (AWST).

Neptune is

in the early morning sky between the constellations of Aquarius and Pisces for the whole of June. Rising at

00:50 (AWST) at the beginning of the month, Neptune will rise at 22:53 (AWST) by the end of June.

CONJUNCTIONS

&

ALIGNMENTS

Mercury's greatest elongation in the West, evening of 04/06/2020.

Mercury on 15/06/20 at 18:00.

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn &Neptune on 15/06/20 at

Image Credit: Stellarium

Image Credit: Stellarium

02:00. Image Credit: Stellarium

Venus and Uranus on 15/06/20 at 06:00.

Image Credit: Stellarium

Words and images: Matt Woods

09/06/20 - Alignment of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn

19/06/20 – Alignment of the Moon, Venus and Aldebaran

JUNE

OMEGA CENTAURI

OBJECT

OF

THE

MONTH

Omega Centauri.

IImage Credit: Perth Observatory Volunteer Andrew Lockwood

Omega Centauri, or NGC 5139, is the largest and brightest globular cluster of 180 in Milky Way. It is also the secondlargest known, with only Mayall II in the Andromeda Galaxy being larger -- weighing in at about twice its mass.

The globular cluster is in the Centaurus constellation, and it is what's known as a naked-eye star. That means it's one of the few globular clusters visible to the naked eye, and it is visible in binoculars as a fuzzy blob.

Omega Centauri contains at least 3 million stars and the cluster has a diameter of roughly 150 light-years, and the stars are approximately 12 billion years old.

The average distance between the stars at the centre is around 10% of a light-year, that's more than 100 times the diameter of our solar system.

Some people speculate that Omega Centauri could be a dwarf galaxy that has been captured and disrupted by the Milky Way galaxy. The measurements of the cluster's star movement by Hubble has indicated that a black hole may be lurking at the core of the cluster.

Omega Centauri on 15/06/20 at 21:00 Image Credit: Stellarium

Words and images: Matt Woods

EYES

ON

THE

MOON

ECLIPSE ACTIVITY IN JUNE On Saturday, June 6, there will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, visible from Perth.

A Penumbral Lunar Eclipse is where the Sun, Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned, and the Moon passes within Earth’s outer shadow (the Penumbra).

Most Penumbral Lunar Eclipses can’t be distinguished PenumbralcLunar Eclipse viewing map

easily from a Full Moon, but at the maximum phase of the

Image Credit: timeanddate.com

eclipse, the Moon turns a shade darker.

This eclipse is the second of four Penumbral Lunar Eclipses for 2020, and Perth will see it. The best place to see this eclipse is in Africa, the Middle East, Central and South-East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Australia.

The eclipse starts in Perth at 01:46 (AWST), reaching its maximum phase at 03:25 (AWST), and finishing at 05:04 (AWST).

Words and images: Matt Woods

2020

PHASES

OF

THE

MOON

June's Annular Solar Eclipse viewing map Image Credit: timeanddate.com

A NAME FOR A ROVER

NASA'S NEWEST MARTIAN EXPLORER IS...

After months of breathless waiting, NASA's Mars 2020 Rover has a name. And their name is Perseverance.

NASA's "Name the Rover" essay contest received more than 28,000 essay submissions from students ranging in age from kindergarten to year 12.

Year 7 student Alexander Mather, of Lake Braddock Secondary School in Virginia, submitted the winning entry.

In early 4,700 eligible judge volunteers were selected from a diverse pool of educators, professionals, and space enthusiasts.

In the end it came down to just nine finalists.

Tens of thousands of members of the spaceloving public voted online for their favourite name and Thomas Zurbuchen, associate

administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, made the final selection.

Among Perth Observatory volunteers, Endeavour was by far the most popular name (despite Ernest Shackleton's illfated expedition of the same name) outpacing votes for Courage, Vision, Promise, and even the winning choice of Perseverance.

Other names, including Tenacity, Ingenuity, Clarity and Fortitude received no love -- and no votes -- from POVG members.

In his winning essay, Alexander said "if rovers are to be the qualities of us, as a race, we missed the most important thing: perseverance. Humans have evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We are a species of explorers and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere... the human race will always persevere into the future."

The Perseverance rover has a new, more capable wheel design, among other improvements.

For the first time, the rover carries a drill for coring samples from Martian rocks and soil.

Perseverance is undergoing final assembly at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The rover is targeted to land at Mars' Jezero Crater a little after 15.40 EST on Feb. 18, 2021.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Words by Jay Chesters

WORL

WANGKINY

ABORIGINAL ASTRONOMY

On a moonlit March night, we were privileged to witness the triumph of creativity, ingenuity and persistence to create a venue for the Western Australian Aboriginal community to celebrate and share their stories of the night sky.

The ceremonial opening of Worl Wangkiny at Perth Observatory had all the right ingredients. Beside a campfire, under a full moon, with didgeridoo playing, elders, artists, advisors and volunteers welcomed guests from the community, cultural, heritage, science, tourism organisations - all in awe of the transformation that had occurred.

Our partially-completed concrete telescope dome was now a lovely green beacon of light shining from within. A symbolic paved pathway from the 120-year-old Astrograph dome leads to Worl Wangkiny, where stories told and retold for tens of thousands of years will continue to live.

Among the 150 guests at the opening were: WA Governor, Kim Beazley, Federal Ministers, Ken Wyatt and Linda Reynolds, and WA Minister for Science, Dave Kelly.

Local representatives included WA Member for Kalamunda,

Matthew Hughes and City of Kalamunda Mayor, Margaret Thomas.

Elders Vivienne and Morton Hansen gave the Welcome to Country, with opening remarks by Minister Kelly. Ken Wyatt, the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians who has supported the project from the outset, delivered a moving Opening Address.

Minister Wyatt spoke of the scientific history of astronomy captured on the Observatory’s 30,000 photographic plates, now preserved in digital format, alongside the parallel story of the cultural knowledge of Aboriginal people, captured in the artwork on the dome walls, to be proudly retold to a new generation of Aboriginal youth.

Following his address, the audience watched the premiere of the short documentary film about the creation of Worl Wangkiny, combining music, drone footage, interviews and time-lapse astrophotography of the night sky.

As part of the experience of Worl Wangkiny, guests enjoyed a special menu created by Bindi Bindi Dreaming and original music, didgeridoo and chants by Phil Walleystack.

The City of Kalamunda and the Perth Airport Corporation supported the ceremonial opening.

The Worl Wangkiny project would not have been possible without the funding support of Lotterywest and Rotary Kalamunda, the enthusiasm of the elders, artists and advisors, the donation of services by local businesses and the long hours and hard work of Perth Observatory volunteers and staff.

Stay tuned for details of guided tours with our partners Koya Aboriginal Corporation through ANTZ Aboriginal Nature TrekZ.

Photo by Geoff Scott. Words by Diana Rosman

THE

PERTH

OBSERVATORY

UPCOMING EVENTS ABSEILING

TOWEL

DAY

“Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still know where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.”

Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Every planet, that we know of, with advanced, intelligent lifeforms will be celebrating Towel Day on

May 25,

in honour of author

Douglas Adams.

Need some excitement in your life? Join Perth Observatory and Spacechameleon Adventure Co to abseil our historic

We never miss the chance

Lowell Telescope Dome.

for a celebration -- so grab your towel for a Night Sky

A family-friendly event, each participant gets three

Tour celebrating The

abseils through the dome's trap door, descending the full

Hitchhiker's Guide to the

12m in a controlled free-fall to the ground.

Galaxy.

You can also pretend to be Tom Cruise and abseil upside

We can't take you to the

down if you choose.

cold moons of Jaglan Beta,

Spacechameleon caters for beginners as well as adrenaline junkies. The event will go ahead rain or shine.

or the red stars of the desert world of Kakrafoon, but we can show you the wonders of the universe -- all without leaving Perth's hills.

On the night, we’ll also be able to show you the Moon, nebulas and star clusters.

You'll see distant suns and far-off planets, observe

If it’s cloudy we’ll provide you with an unforgettable

enormous nebula and colossal clusters of hot, bright stars,

guided tour of the Observatory and an astronomical

as well as witnessing the majestic Milky Way stretching

presentation.

across the sky above your heads.

Prices

Just be a hoopy frood and don't forget your towel, there

Adult: $60 for 3 abseils Concession: $50 for 3 abseils

will be prizes for the best adult and child costumes on the

Child (Ages 5 to 17): $40 for 3 abseils

night.

Date: Sunday, Times

April 4

4:00 pm to 7:30 pm 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm (Doors open at 3:30 pm)

BOOK NOW

Due to the spread of COVID-19 events may be subject to change.

Check website for details.

Prices Adult: $50.00 Concession: $35.00 Child (Ages 5 to 17): $25.00

Date: Monday, May 25 Time: 7:30pm (Gates open

Due to the spread of COVID-19 events may be subject to change.

Check website for details.

BOOK NOW

7:00 pm)

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ORION?

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BETELGEUSE

Betelgeuse with an overlaid annotation shows how large the star is compared to our solar system. Image Credit: ALMA

If you've looked at the Orion Constellation in the last six months, you might have noticed something strange.

What's happening is Betelgeuse (roughly translated from Arabic meaning "The armpit of Orion") began to dim noticeably. By January, Betelgeuse's brightness had dropped dramatically, by a factor of approximately 2.5. Going from magnitude 0.5 to 1.5, it became dimmer than the star Aldebaran in the nearby Taurus Constellation.

This dimming led to massive news coverage as Betelgeuse is a Red Supergiant star, in the final stage of its life -- and it will soon die (astronomically speaking, "soon" is "next 100,000 years.")

A supernova would be significant because we haven't seen one in the Milky Way for over 400 years, but studies suggest that Spiral galaxies (such as the Milky Way) should generate roughly three supernovae per century.

Betelgeuse is a mere 700 light-years away from Earth; that means its supernova will also be super bright, visible day and night, and lasting for months.

However. Betelgeuse is also well-known for being a semiregular variable star, and its varying brightness has been tracked for years by astronomers working with the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).

In the last few years, various academic papers have supported claims that Aboriginal Australians, including the Pitjantjatjara people of the lands around Ooldea, South Australia, included the discovery and variability of Betelgeuse in oral traditions passed down for generations for tens of thousands of years.

Thanks to the hard work of generations of astronomers, we know there are multiple cycles for Betelgeuse's rising and falling in brightness so when the star reaches the dimmest point of all these cycles, it could look as exceptionally faint as it has recently.

This famous variability is most likely the case now. We've recently seen Betelgeuse beginning to slowly brighten, dashing the hopes of many hoping for a massive explosion.

Comparison of SPHERE images of Betelgeuse taken in Jan 2019 and Dec 2019, showing changes in brightness and shape. Image Credit: Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (VLT-

Words by Matt Woods

SPHERE

Betelgeuse is an entirely different star from our Sun, with different fusion processes occurring.

Stars shine for so long due to a delicate balance between gravity and nuclear fusion in the star's core like our Sun. The star's gravity wants to crush the star into oblivion; without the nuclear fusion in the core where hydrogen turns into helium, gravity would crush a star into a white dwarf, neutron star, or a black hole, depending on the size of the star.

But this crushing pressure of gravity is also needed for nuclear fusion. The process is known as the proton-proton chain (ppchain) and combines four hydrogen nuclei into one helium nucleus. About 3% of the original mass gets converted to energy in the form of gamma rays. This conversion heats the core even further, pushing back against gravity.

What Orion might look like with supernova. Image Credit: Celestia

Another fusion process occurs in stars more massive thathe Sun, and it's known as the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) cycle. It's called this because the process fuses helium into those three elements, and this process is why those three elements are the most abundant in the universe, after hydrogen and helium.

Both fusion processes can occur at the same time within a star, and over time the CNO cycle increases as the star's hydrogen is used to create helium, which becomes more abundant. Because of this, the CNO cycle releases more energy at a faster rate than the pp-chain, which causes the star's temperature to rise. By the time the CNO cycle dominates, the star's core is so hot that the outer layers of a star swell and expand.

For millions of years, Betelgeuse was a main-sequence star about 20 times the size of the Sun. But it's reached this stage; it's frantically fusing helium, has ballooned into a red supergiant, and is running out of fuel. In the end, gravity always wins.

Betelgeuse still has enough helium to stay in the Red Supergiant stage for about 100,000 years. When it does run out of helium, it will then move onto fusing carbon into heavier elements for around 1,00 years, but after this stage, this is where things speed up.

When Betelgeuse runs out of carbon, it will over the next year fuse heavier and heavier elements until it tries to fuse Iron. Still, Iron cannot fuse into anything heavier because of the colossal amounts of energy and force required. Finally, at that point, Betelgeuse will become a supernova.

The dimming and brightening we are currently seeing suggests to Astronomers that Betelgeuse won't be exploding in our lifetimes as it indicates that the core of Betelgeuse is still ticking along at a steady pace. The star's changing brightness is due to the process of convection.

Let me explain. The upper layers of the star get heated by the core,

generating a flow of hotter and colder regions in the star.

The material in the interior is heated and rises to the surface. That materials then cools and sinks into the star, and the cycle continues. Convection happens in the outer regions of most stars, including our Sun.

On the surface of our Sun, these convection regions are called granules, and they're about the size of Texas. This comparison might sound huge, and it is on the human scale, but for our Sun, it's smaller than most sunspots we've seen. So even though the Sun has bright hot regions and dimmer cool regions, it doesn't affect the overall brightness of the Sun.

With Betelgeuse, its outer layers are much less dense than our Sun's. The layers are so thin that its outer layers are even less dense than Earth's atmosphere, akin to a thin soup of glowing gas. This enables the convection regions on Betelgeuse to be huge. A single region can cover a large fragment of the star, and when one of those regions rises to the top, Betelgeuse gets brighter, and when it cools the star dims. Betelgeuse is starting to brighten because hot material from the near the core is rising to its surface.

While it's sad Betelgeuse won't blow up in our lifetime, it's great to see the publicity, and this is an astronomical event that you don't need a telescope or binoculars to see. My love of astronomy started when my Dad took me outside our house in 1995 when I was 9 to watch Space Shuttle Columbia fly over Northam; I also hope the kids seeing these events are inspired to learn about astronomy.

Words by Matt Woods. Background image: Betelgeuse. Composite Image by ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Image Credit: Davide De Martin

Q&A

WITH DR COLIN ARMSTRONG Jay: For our readers that don’t know you, would you mind telling us about yourself?

Colin: Some might say I’m an opsimath, a bit of a late developer. I'm the son of a Wheatbelt

farmer, with a varied

career culminating in academia after entering tertiary studies a few years before turning 50.

J:. What can you tell us about your first few visits to Perth Observatory? What were your first impressions?

C: As an outsider, I’ve enjoyed a long association with Perth Observatory. As a child, I was a nuisance, running around the grounds at Kings Park after watching Sputnik orbiting above our farm. In 1981, I was visiting Bickley when the Premier, Carmen Lawrence, officially opened the Lowell telescope, and later visiting to purchase Annual Almanacs and attend Summer Lectures. In 1996, Clifton Smith (the Curtin astrophysicist) and I were joking how, when we retired, we'd resume Mike Candy’s near asteroid research at the observatory. I've recently retired, and I set out to join the observatory as a volunteer and fulfil that desire.

J: Tell me about the roles or responsibilities you’ve had here at the observatory?

C: I’m a new boy in town here, only becoming a volunteer in April 2019. I’m deeply passionate

about this place,

speaking out, and subsequently getting elected Chairman in November. This decision was as much of a surprise to me as it was to everyone else. Since that AGM, it's been a steep learning curve as I try to understand how we might best realise the observatory's extraordinary potential.

J: In what ways have you seen the observatory change?

C: I can only talk of months, rather than the years or decades

that many volunteers have seen. It is, however, clear

that in the few short years POVG has been responsible for managing the observatory the organisation has grown and developed into something we should all be very proud of.

J: Since you stepped into the Chairman role earlier this year, what are your ambitions and aspirations?

C: I'd be foolish to deny my grand aspirations for the observatory. POVG has completed much of the hard work

of

building solid foundations. Now our five-year strategic plan is nearly finished, and it allows us to write our business plan for achieving our ambitions and aspirations. We're about to launch some exciting and rewarding ventures.

J: What can you tell me about some of the challenges the observatory currently faces?

C: I suspect the first challenge we face is overcoming being the “Best Secret in Town”. Many visitors,

even Perth

Hills residents, are amazed at what we have and do here, and a common comment is they had no idea we existed.

As we launch new ventures, we risk becoming too successful, needing to increase our resources to cope: volunteers and facilities increasing to match demand.

J: What are you most proud of the POVG doing or achieving?

C: We should be proud that Perth Observatory has returned to active

participation in astronomical research. Since

January, we've performed scientific observations and we're working collaboratively with international researchers.

This collaboration makes me personally enormously proud to be a volunteer.

J :What do you think are some of the most exciting things happening in astronomy at the moment?

C: My suspicion is that while attention has focused on certain aspects of astronomy, including radio astronomy,

a

time will come soon when we'll offer those listening to the universe the capacity to see what they hear. While that is happening, POVG continues to excite the interest of the broader public with School Day and Night Tours.

J. Aside from Perth Observatory, tell me about something else are passionate about?

C: I want to know. Everything. Then I want to understand. And then, as opportunities arise, I

enjoy sharing

information that helps us achieve a better understanding of the World and Universe we share.

Words by Jay Chesters and Colin Armstrong

ALL

THE

NEWS

LOTTERYWEST PROJECT UPDATE ASTROGRAPH

RESTORATION We have great news on the Astrographic Telescope Restoration. After many months of toil (and trouble) the Tube is finally done!

Our very weary Project Manager, Paul Wadham, has let me know that they are now up to putting the final coat of paint on the mount. Paul says that soon the public will again be able to view the Astrograph as a static display.

After that he says “ the brass bits and tubes still need to go back on, then the telescope needs re-balancing to make it usable again�.

This restoration has been a massive effort from our volunteers, and we are all excitedly waiting to pull on its string to simulate taking astrophotographs again.

BBQ

PICNIC

AREA

February saw the completion of the main works for the Volunteer Barbecue area.

Thank you to Rob Kennedy, Des Criddle, Ken Day, Ned Kelly, Ken Stranger and the many other volunteers that have slaved over getting this area ready. We are just waiting for the weather to cool down so that we can put in the new surrounding garden.

PHOTOGRAPHIC

PRESERVATION

GLASS

PLATE

PROJECT

Work is continuing on this marvellous project to scan and catalogue around 23 000 photographic plates dating from 1901 to 1999. Our Honorary Historian, Craig Bowers, heads a dedicated team of 7 volunteers who valiantly slog away at this very precise job each weekday in their tiny scanning room.

They have passed the half-way mark and are going strong. Craig is careful to make sure his crew gets lots of breaks in a bid to avert cabin fever and we all enjoy seeing each weeks edition to their door by an anonymous scanner (who looks suspiciously like Paul Wadham).

Words by Julie Matthews. Photos by Geoff Scott.s

THE PERTH OBSERVATORY

STAR NAVIGATOR On March 4, West Australian Opera and Perth Observatory partnered to organise a special public talk by POVG volunteer Arthur Harvey on the back lawn of the Observatory.

A day before the event when there was much dragging out our awesome sound system, setting it up with the new and equally awesome projector and portable fold up screen, and testing our newly-acquired wireless microphone to be sure everything worked. The event went beautifully.

The preview opening from the WA Opera with a Baritone singing and the Musical Director playing an Electronic keyboard was mind-blowing to hear on a balmy night under the stars the observatory back lawn.

Then there was Arthur Harvey, who delivered a magnificent talk on the early use of the stars for navigation by Captain James Cook, his encounter with Polynesian Navigator Tupaia, who helped Cook navigate the Pacific Ocean to record the transit of Venus -- and why the transit was important.

Arthur also enthralled the audience with his talkabout how HMS Endeavour was sailed, and Cook's uncanny accuracy mapping of coastlines.

The success of all events we put on, from Night Sky Tours, School Day Tours, or events like this, are always attributable to many smaller components overall. Conception, planning, preparation, execution, and clean up. My thanks go to: Rob Kennedy – who works tirelessly to put the infrastructure and facilities together for these events.

Julie Matthews and Paul Wadham: what a team they are, dealing with the shop and general admin. Jan Baldwin handles the Membership and helps with Volunteering and Training, and is always willing to help with anything where she can.

Des and Ken Day are Rob’s “workhorses”. They are responsible for general tidiness of the observatory grounds, digging holes, filling them in, trenching pipes into the ground, moving stuff around the building and up the back, terrorising the Kangaroos in the Kubota, and anything asked of them.

Jo and Sue deal with the landscaping and major gardening tasks, and have Rob under control, knocking down trees and clearing vegetation that is unnecessary.

Matt Woods – so much of his work and effort is unseen and is just “there”. But the marketing and advertising required to keep things moving and be a viable operation are huge.

Words by Ken Stranger. Photo credit Geoff Scott

SCIENTIST, SCIENTIST, WHO DO YOU SEE? BOOK REVIEW I remember watching live the announcement of the discovery of the Higgs Boson. Seeing the achievements of separate scientific studies, confirming the lifetime work of a sweet old scientist was inspiring.

So inspired, and so in love with physics, I picked up my old ‘Physics in Context’ textbook. I opened page one, and calculated. I proudly checked my answers, and my results… were, less than stellar. I failed Year 11 physics. Again!

The point I'm alluding to is that Chris Ferrie’s University for Babies books aren't just for babies. Sometimes these concepts need to be reduced for those of us who love, but don’t quite understand, physics.

In the interests of fairness, I tested these books out on a 10-month-old baby, a five-year-old child, and myself, a 30-something-year-old parent, to weigh the results across Ferrie’s many target audiences.

Firstly, there are HEAPS of Ferrie’s children’s books, 45 to date, and they cover subjects in the STEM from General Relativity to Oceanography. Ferrie breaks down complex topics to the purest form, for babies and adults. Our household owns 4 of Ferrie’s books, The ABCs of Physics, Newtonian Physics for Babies, General Relativity for Babies and the Parody book Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See?

My 10-month-old grasps at images that contrast with the white background. There's nothing complex about the illustrations, which helps grabs his attention. The content, however, is slightly beyond him. He practices the laws of Newtonian physics because he can’t balance well enough to stand on his own, but I’m unconvinced he understands the concept. As his mother, I live in hope that his subconscious is absorbing the info, and he may still become that star engineer-astronaut-neurosurgeon-billionaire that he is one day destined to be.

My five-year-old, who communicates better, tells me in a pre-programmed robotic voice she likes these books because "they help you learn.” She's displeased that Elsa or Ariel don't make an appearance. However, she can tell me the basics, balls have mass, and gravity is a force. That's more than some adults. The ABC of Physics is a bit more her style, with colours and more sophisticated graphics.

Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? throws her. She knows the rhyming pattern of the original Brown Bear book, but Ferrie’s parody stretchwa to make words rhyme, and the metering is a tad off.

These books are wonderful. When you first see them for sale, you assume it will be a laugh to get them for your babies, or friends' babies, as they’ll never understand Quantum Entanglement or Bayesian Probability.

You open them and realise this isn't satire or comedy, Ferrie engages his audience with serious and complex science stripped down to it bare basics for everyone. It’s also helpful to have an easy, no-nonsense pick-up-and-read nonfiction book for kids.

The books are available through the observatory shop. Check them out next visit, and if the title you want is not in stock, we will gladly order it for you.

Words and photos by Michelle Ashley-Emile

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW VOLLIES "VOLUNTEERS DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE THE TIME; THEY JUST HAVE THE HEART" ELIZABETH ANDRE

Image Credit: Matt Woods

We are very proud to welcome our latest group of Telescope Operator Trainees from our February intake. 14 big hearted people are about to complete their four week Introductory Training and are already booking themselves into tours to learn the ropes.

We have also welcomed trainees for School Day Tours, Heritage and Maintenance but need more. We are a happy, supportive bunch and provide training for all roles.

If you would like to become a volunteer at the Perth

Observatory, please click on the person to and add your details to our volunteer application form.

Our next intake will be in Spring 2020, so don't miss out!

WHAT'S NEW IN THE ASTROSHOP? Make sure you check out our AstroShop during your next visit. We are expanding our range of Perth Observatory merchandise, with bookmarks and cards featuring images from our very own volunteer Astrophotographers.

We also stock some amazing Wendy Binks products featuring some of our regular visitors: kangaroos and emus. Coming soon to the AstroShop: Perth Observatory Vintage look windcheaters to snuggle into whilst gazing at the stars.

Books for adults and children, Celestial Buddies, extra special lollipops, games, toys and more are always in stock.

All proceeds from the shop go towards supporting the operation of the Perth Observatory.

Words by Julie Matthews. Picture courtesy of Wendy Binks

OBSERVATORY

CROSSWORD

#3

BY ETA CARINA

CLICK HERE Printer Friendly

Across 1 Implied in Jakarta city centre (5) 4 Group I call endlessly from ancient Greece (9) 9 Record a beat heard for an arithmetical shortcut (9) 10

This writer shook us mad with his stories about gunmen

(5) 11 Operations centre to dominate the earth? (6-7) 14 Parched leaders of a rural indigenous district (4) 15 Lamented disk comedian arrangement (10) 18 Auspicious meteorites perhaps (6-4) 19 A single mother officiating beneath a 25 usually (4) 21 Maybe cancer in latest colon disturbance (13) 24 Defence for me after jumping bail (5) 25 Vegetable coffee shop roof (5,4) 27 Say bread - you dope. For a snack perhaps. (6,3) 28 Creature having a sore throat we hear (5)

Down 1 Sends TV diagrams (10) 2 Minor player in transmission (3) 3 Seat in the closet audibly propelled (6) 4 Cate, CEO, mishandled us like Moby Dick (9) 5 A married chap? Capital! (5) 6 Stellar edge - genuine (8) 7 Rainmakers, sometimes arising from conflagrations (11) 8 Miss a headless tumbler (4) 12 Girlie chaos, very disorganised types of government (11) 13 First couple to make a barrier with a bird (4,3,3) 16 Board table group member (9) 17 Vent upwards below stingy interval (8) 20 Initiate a vessel (6) 22 Prickle 3 endlessly in a mess (5) 23 Powder in metal case 4) 26 Hear the unrefined rock not often used in a 20 (3)

Image credit: xkcd.com https://xkcd.com/2258/

SOLUTION OBSERVATORY CROSSWORD #2

Perth Observatory @perthobservatory

@perthobs

Perth Observatory

Perth Observatory

337 Walnut Rd Bickley WA 6076 PO Box 179 Kalamunda WA 6926 Phone: (08) 9293 8255 Fax: (08) 9293 8138 Email: info@perthobservatory.com.au Visit: www.perthobservatory.com.au

Opening Times: 10am to 4:30pm Monday - Friday (excluding public holidays) Open for scheduled tours.