Astronomy News

Stardust NExT Mission
The stardust-NExT Mission will fly by comet Temple 1 on Valentines' day, Feb 14th 2011. It will attempt to image the crater which was formed when a copper impactor from the Deep Impact spacecraft collided with its surface. To find out more about the mission go to http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov

Study of Volcanoes in the Outer Solar System Produces Unexpected Bonus for Nanotechnology
Mysterious expanding ice crystals in the moons of Saturn and Neptune may be of interest to future developers of microelectronics. Neutron scattering has discovered that methanol crystals that may be found in outer solar system 'ice lavas' have unusual expansion properties. Find out more at Science Daily.

Northern Mars Landscape Actively Changing
Sand dunes in a vast area of northern Mars long thought to be frozen in time are changing with both sudden and gradual motions, according to research using images from a NASA orbiter. Read more at Science Daily.

Stripes Are Back in Season - on Jupiter
New NASA images support findings that one of Jupiter's stripes that "disappeared" last spring is now showing signs of a comeback. These new observations will help scientists better understand the interaction between Jupiter's winds and cloud chemistry.
Find out more at Science Daily.

Tool Makes Search for Martian Life Easier: Red Planet a Good Fit for Laser-Ion Funnel Mass Spectrometry
Finding life on Mars could get easier with a creative adaption to a common analytical tool that can be installed directly on the robotic arm of a space rover. Read more at Science Daily and at JPL

Mars Rover Mission Update

Jean-Pierre gave an over view of the current status of the two rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

No communication has been received from the Spirit rover since March 22 2010. It has two wheels which have stopped working and it still remains trapped at Troy in very fine grain soil. Communication with the rovers is currently unavailable because of the solar conjunction, where the Sun is between Earth and Mars. It has covered a total distance of 7730.50 meters.

The rover Opportunity is still operational and is collecting multi-hour spectra. It has covered an amazing distance of 26.66 Km.

You can find out more at http://marsrover.nasa.gov

2012 Queensland Astronomy Education Conference
"Connecting Classroom and Cosmos"

This event is run by the Brisbane Astronomical Society. The seventh QAEC will be held on Saturday 25 February 2012. This conference is for teachers who want to expand their knowledge of the ‘Space Sciences’ section of the 'Earth and Space Sciences' component of the new Australian Science Curriculum. The conference will have a hands on focus, with participants leaving with a range of teaching activities they can immediately use in the classroom. There will also be the option of attending sessions which cover the content of the new Australian Curriculum document in the ‘Space Sciences’ section.

Tony Surma-Hawes has asked for interested teachers, community members and representatives of commercial organisations to nominate themselves to present a one hour session at the 2012 QAEC. Presentations may be in a lecture style or workshop format. Alternatively, you may wish to demonstrate a relevant astronomical product or service. Presentation nominations will be considered on an ongoing basis. Note that a draft program will be placed on this website on 1 November 2011.

Find out more information at http://www.qaec.info

Upcoming events in 2011

The BAS calender now also lists interesting events which are held outside the regular club schedule.

Saturday May 7th - ISAN - International Sidewalk Astronomy Night
Members are encouraged to form small groups and select locations around Brisbane. These locations will then be posted on our website. Just remember this also coincides with our Hazeldean dark sky weekend.

Friday 8th - Sunday 10th July - Australian Astro Imaging Conference
For those interested in astro imaging, this is a great opportunity to gain information from local and international presenters. It will be held at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Surfers Paradise, Qld. You will be able to register online from mid march here. Just be mindful that we have a club meeting on the night of the 8th.

Friday 22nd - Sunday 31st July - Queensland Astrofest
This is an event where members of all ages, from all over Queensland, and some from other states in Australia, join in a week long star party. Even if you're new to astronomy, you'll find it interesting to wonder around and look through other peoples scopes, they are usually happy to show off their equipment. Just remember, we also have a dark sky weekend at Hazeldean from 29th - 31st.

Saturday 8th October - InOMN International Observe the Moon Night
This global event unites amateur and professional astronomers from all over the world. Members are encouraged to form small groups and select locations around Brisbane. These locations will then be posted on our website. Just remember this also coincides with a Mout Coot-tha observing night.

New DVDs in the Members Resources Library

The Universe Season 2
Alien Planets
Cosmic Holes
Mysteries of the Moon
The Milky Way
Alien Moons
Dark Matter
Astrobiology
Space Travel
Supernovas
Constellations - You can watch this entire episode on YouYube - Click here
Unexplained Mysteries
Cosmic Collisions
Colonizing Space
Nebulas - You can watch this entire episode on YouTube - Click here
Wildest Weather in the Cosmos
Biggest Things in Space
Gravity
Cosmic Apocalypse

The Universe Season 3
Deep Space Disasters
Parallel Universes
Light Speed
Sex in Space
Alien Faces
Deadly Comets and Meteors
Living in Space
Stopping Armageddon
Another Earth
Strangest Things
Edge of Space
Cosmic Phenomena

Available for Purchase at the ABC shop for $39.95 per season.