From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Wed Jul 2 15:23:25 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 15:23:25 +1000 Subject: [ASA] CAASTRO Uluru Astronomy Weekend 22-24 August 2014 Message-ID: Please circulate this information to all your networks as we are keen to get amateur astronomers along. You are welcome to attend as well of course. Thanks, Kate Gunn Designed for astronomy enthusiasts of all ages, Ayers Rock Resort, in partnership with the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), plays host to the Uluru Astronomy Weekend 22-24 August 2014. Lead by popular scientific personality and celebrated author Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, along with some of the world's leading experts, this enlightening weekend will include engaging discussions on astro-statistics and the structure of the cosmos, fun family activities and demonstrations, an exciting Galaxy Star Ball and more. Entry: majority of the Uluru Astronomy Weekend event sessions are FREE Signature Events & Outback Sky Jouneys are paid for events "The Australian Outback is a haven for stargazers and perhaps one of the best places in the world to explore the galaxies in the night sky. Join me for a spectacular stargazing weekend, listen as we decode the night sky and enjoy the full astrological experience at one of our signature events. If you're familiar with the night sky, you'll have a fantastic opportunity to gain new insights, and if you?re new to studying the cosmos, be inspired with an exciting introduction to the wonders of the universe." ~ Dr Karl Kruszelnicki SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION PACKAGE Take advantage of the special 2 Night Package at Ayers Rock Resort from $272* per person twin share. Your stay includes; two nights' accommodation based on a Standard Room at Outback Pioneer Hotel, return Ayers Rock Airport transfers to your hotel, free access to Uluru Astronomy Weekend Events (excludes Signature Events and Outback Sky Journeys), an Indigenous activities program including cultural dance performance, guided garden walk, spear & boomerang throwing and Indigenous story telling experience, free use of Ayers Rock Resort shuttle bus service to get around the Resort and children 15 years and under stay FREE using existing bedding including breakfast^. Or stay three nights and save further on your accommodation, PLUS receive free buffet breakfast daily. For package details & conditions - click here SIGNATURE EVENTS To make your Uluru Astronomy Weekend truly memorable make sure to take part in the three unique Signature Events. Stellar Sounds of Silence As the sun sets over Uluru, enjoy canapes and chilled sparkling wine and, as darkness falls, join your table of fellow travellers for an unforgettable dining experience under the outback sky. Enjoy a bush tucker inspired buffet, then settle back and listen to Dr Karl and guest astronomers as they decode the southern night sky. After an unforgettable stargazing experience, your evening will end with an aperitif under the stunning Milky Way. Panel Predictions with Buffet Lunch While you sit back and enjoy a delicious buffet lunch, be enthralled with a panel discussion by MC Dr Karl and our guest astronomers, focusing on those burning astronomical questions: What will be the next big thing in astronomy? What is the next astronomical mystery to be solved? Galaxy Star Ball The weekend culminates with the spectacular Galaxy Star Ball. After welcome drinks with canapes and a mouth-watering dinner you?re led for one final time on a scientific journey with the infectiously enthusiastic Dr. Karl. The evening then takes off with space themed entertainment as a DJ and vocalist rendition songs from ?Stars on 45? and a spectacular dance version of ?Dark Side of the Moon.? Dress up in your best space disco outfits for a night to remember. Book all three Signature Events for $320 per person - normally $365 per person - save $45. Bookings are essential. Discover the full schedule of events - click here ULURU ASTRONOMY WEEKEND EVENTS Dr Karl will be your host for the weekend and along with some of the world's leading experts, he will take you on a guided journey through our magnificant cosmos. Trace the history of the universe and attempt to find an answer to burning questions such as 'Is there life somewhere else in the universe?' with Prof Rachel Webster. Discover the vast array of the MWA Telescope with Prof. Steven Tingay. While Prof. Bryan Gaensler will take you on a tour into the extremes of our amazing Universe. Take part in as many of the events as you can fit into your weekend. All events are free of charge (excluding Signature Events & Outback Sky Journeys). Discover the full schedule of events - click here AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR HOST AND ASTRONOMERS FOR THE WEEKEND Dr Karl made his TV debut in 1985 as the presenter of the first series of Quantum, while today Karl popularises science on ABC radio stations across Australia. His presentations Great Moments in Science celebrate all sides of science; from sublime moments of deep thought to the most arcane and bizarre research imaginable. Prof. Bryan Gaensler is an astronomer at The University of Sydney and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO). His main research interests are cosmic magnetism, wide-field astronomy, polarimetry, time-domain astrophysics, interstellar turbulence, neutron stars and the Square Kilometre Array. Prof. Ray Norris, former Deputy Director of the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility, uses large radio surveys to understand the origin and evolution of galaxies. He is also well known for his work on Aboriginal Astronomy.His work has featured in many radio and TV programs, including ABC TV's "Message Stick" and ABC Radio National's "The First Astronomers" Prof. Steven Tingay seeks out experiments that are difficult and risky, but potentially have high rewards. Today, he's the Director of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) project, a lowfrequency radio telescope worth $50-million. He was recently awarded the inaugural Science Ambassador of the Year at the 2012 WA Science Awards. Prof. Rachel Webster has been influential in astronomy for more than two decades as Head of the Astrophysics group at the University of Melbourne. Her team have recently been awarded telescope time on the Hubble Space Telescope, the Gemini Telescopes in Hawaii and Chile and the MWA in WA For more information and Uluru Astronomy Weekend Event bookings please contact the Voyages Travel Centre. Our travel specialists will be able to assist you with all your travel arrangements including flights, touring, accommodation and car hire. Phone: 1300 134 044 or +61 2 8296 8010 Website: www.ayersrockresort.com.au/astronomy-weekend Online Booking: Online Accommodation Booking Email: travel at voyages.com.au The Uluru Astronomy Weekend at Ayers Rock Resort works in partnership with CAASTRO, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, a collaborative research centre comprising staff and students from the University of Sydney, Australian National University, University of Western Australia, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, and Curtin University of Technology and international and national partners. Visit www.caastro.org We hope you have enjoyed receiving this special promotion from CAASTRO in partnership with Voyages Ayers Rock Resort. If you do not wish to receive further correspondence from us, please UNSUBSCRIBE This email was sent to k.williams at physics.usyd.edu.au why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences CAASTRO ? The University of Sydney ? Sydney, NSW 2000 ? Australia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 166 bytes Desc: not available URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Wed Jul 2 15:39:37 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 15:39:37 +1000 Subject: [ASA] 2014 OAD Call for Proposals Released References: Message-ID: Dear Colleagues The IAU's Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) has released a call for proposals for funding. Grants are available for projects in three areas; public outreach, astronomy for children and schools, and for universities and research. Details and the link for more information are provided in the message from Kevin Govender, Director of the OAD, below. Regards Rob Hollow Robert Hollow Chair, Steering Committee of the Education and Public Outreach Chapter, Astronomical Society of Australia http://asa.astronomy.org.au/ E robert.hollow at csiro.au T +61 2 9372 4247 M 0412 890 472 CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 Australia PLEASE NOTE The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged. Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of errors, virus, interception or interference. Please consider the environment before printing this email. Begin forwarded message: > From: Kevin Govender > Subject: [IAU OAD] 2014 OAD Call for Proposals Released > Date: 30 June 2014 10:28:07 pm AEST > To: OAD Mailing List > > Greetings all > > The 2014 OAD Call for Proposals is now live: > > Webpage: http://www.astro4dev.org/aboutiauoad/cfp/ > Deadline for proposals: Midnight UTC on 31 August 2014 > > In brief: > 30 June 2013: Today sees the launch of the third annual call for proposals from the International Astronomical Union?s Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). The call seeks innovative projects from around the world which aims to use astronomy to stimulate education and development in three target areas: universities and research, children and schools, and public outreach. > > The OAD launched its first open call for proposals in 2012. The response was overwhelming with 191 applications received that year. In 2013 the demand increased by 20% with 230 applications received. Although the funds provided by the IAU are modest (about 10% of the demand), projects that are evaluated to meet a certain standard of quality are placed on a ?recommended list? for which the OAD continues to seek support. > > This year the OAD Call for Proposals does not seek to increase the number, but rather the quality, of the proposals received. Innovation will be an important criterion for success. > > Please spread the word! > > Regards > Kevin, on behalf of the OAD team > > -- > Kevin Govender > IAU Office of Astronomy for Development > www.astro4dev.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.tingay at curtin.edu.au Wed Jul 2 15:55:01 2014 From: s.tingay at curtin.edu.au (Steven Tingay) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 13:55:01 +0800 Subject: [ASA] Extended capabilities for the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) Workshop 15th-16th October 2014 Message-ID: Extended capabilities for the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) *A Community workshop, co-sponsored by Astronomy Australia Limited, Curtin University and CAASTRO* 15th - 16th October 2014, CAASTRO Headquarters, 44-70 Rosehill Street Redfern *Registration is now open* Registration for the meeting is free, supported by the sponsors, and includes morning and afternoon teas, lunch and a workshop dinner on the evening of Wednesday 15th October. The dinner will be held at Rubyos, King Street Newtown. Please register for catering purposes. The registration deadline is *Wednesday October 1st*. The registration form includes the ability to propose to make a presentation at the workshop. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a new low frequency interferometric radio telescope located at CSIRO's superb radio quiet Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The MWA is the only low frequency Precursor for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and is the first of the three SKA Precursors to be fully operational for science. The MWA has been operational since July 2013. A consortium of 13 partner institutions from four countries (Australia, USA, India, and New Zealand) has financed the development, construction, commissioning, and operations of the facility. The MWA consortium members, and a range of other groups, are now exploiting the instrument for early science, under the MWA Open Skies time allocation policy. Key science for the MWA ranges from the search for redshifted HI signals from the Epoch of Reionisation, to wide-field searches for transient and variable objects (including pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts), to wide-field Galactic and extra-galactic surveys, to solar and heliospheric science. As a next-generation radio telescope, the MWA is training a new generation of radio astronomers, conversant in the Big Data aspects of research that will be fundamental in the era of the SKA. High volume data streams from the MWA terminate at the new $80m Pawsey supercomputing centre in Perth, where MWA users have access to the data in the form of a 9 PB archive. Moreover, the MWA is playing a central role in the international SKA pre-construction program, hosting low frequency verification systems for the SKA. Overall, the MWA has been one of the significant recent successes of Australian astronomy, flagged in the last Decadal Plan and delivered within that decade. The purpose of this workshop is to discuss the possibilities for future expansion or upgrade of the MWA in order to leverage the built value of the instrument and the investment to date to support enhanced scientific productivity. A number of upgrade and extension options are available at relatively modest cost. These options will be outlined at the workshop, along with scientific motivations for the extensions/upgrades. The workshop will provide an opportunity for interested researchers to present their own ideas regarding MWA upgrades/extensions and for the community to discuss possible priorities. The outcomes of the workshop will be used to inform a detailed project plan that sets out an extension/upgrade path that could be realised within a two year timeframe. A second similar workshop will be held in December 2014 in Tempe, Arizona, to collect input from the non-Australian MWA partners (although the October workshop is open to anyone prepared to travel). Remote access to the workshop in the form of videoconferencing or teleconferencing will be investigated, depending on the demand. Further background information regarding the MWA can be found in the MWA system description paper (Tingay et al. 2013, PASA, 30,7) and the MWA science program description paper (Bowman et al. 2013, PASA, 30, 31), as well as on the MWA web pages: http://www.mwatelescope.org Accommodation in Redfern: Some local hotels include: - UniLodge, Broadway - Mecure Sydney, near central station - Sydney Central YHA - Rydges Sydney Central - Adnia Apartments, Chippendale Any questions regarding the workshop can be directed to the MWA Director, Prof. Steven Tingay (s.tingay at curtin.edu.au) -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Professor Steven Tingay Premier's Fellow Deputy Director ICRAR Deputy Director Western Australian Radio Astronomy Centre of Excellence Director, Science and Operations Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy Department of Imaging and Applied Physics Curtin University of Technology Bentley, Western Australia Australia Street address: Brodie Hall building 1 Turner Ave Technology Park Bentley 6102 Western Australia Email: s.tingay at ivec.org OR s.tingay at curtin.edu.au WWW: http://astronomy.curtin.edu.au Phone: +61 (0)8 9266 3516 Mobile: +61 (0)425 771 856 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.akhter at unsw.edu.au Wed Jul 2 12:55:00 2014 From: s.akhter at unsw.edu.au (Shaila Akhter) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 02:55:00 +0000 Subject: [ASA] FW: Fwd: [APRIM 2014] 12th Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting - 5th Newsletter In-Reply-To: <53565984.6050308@aao.gov.au> References: , <53565984.6050308@aao.gov.au> Message-ID: <90FA39E8995387479A2E10FB9FBB22700D7062CA@INFPWXM006.ad.unsw.edu.au> Dear All, Would you please let me know if any of you are going to attend this Meeting or not? Recently, I have been awarded for travel grant from them, which includes the air fare partially. I am keen on attending this meeting and for this I need to arrange my accommodation there. The accommodations listed in their website are all twin or double. It would be great to know if some one wants to share the accommodation or can give me some suggestions on cheap accommodation. I need to provide a quote to my School for the amount I would need to attend this meeting. Many Thanks and Regards, Shaila Akhter PhD Candidate Astrophysics and Optics School of Physics University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia ________________________________ From: asa-bounces at physics.usyd.edu.au [asa-bounces at physics.usyd.edu.au] on behalf of Andrew Hopkins [andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au] Sent: Tuesday, 22 April 2014 9:59 PM To: asa at physics.usyd.edu.au Subject: [ASA] Fwd: [APRIM 2014] 12th Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting - 5th Newsletter -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [APRIM 2014] 12th Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting - 5th Newsletter Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:09:47 +0900 From: APRIM 2014 Reply-To: APRIM 2014 To: APRIM 2014 5th Nesletter: http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/news5.htm [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/top.jpg] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/txt1.jpg] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/txt2.jpg] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/txt3.gif] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/txt4.gif] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/txt5.gif] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/sp.gif] [http://www.aprim2014.org/newsletter/images/5/footer.gif] -- A.Prof. Andrew Hopkins, Head of AAT Science Australian Astronomical Observatory P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia ph: +61 2 9372 4849 fax: +61 2 9372 4880 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: ATT00001.txt URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Jul 3 09:24:57 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2014 09:24:57 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Closing registrations for Harley Wood Winter School Message-ID: Hi everyone Registrations for the Harley Wood Winter School (http://hwws.asnevents.com.au) this year will be closing at 5:00 pm this Friday 4 July. The school will be held at Collaroy on Sydney's northern beaches from 17th to 21st July. We MAY be able to take registrations after that date depending on the availability of accommodation etc. but can?t promise anything. If you find yourself in that position please contact Kristie McHutchison at ASNEvents directly:kristie at asnevents.net.au If you are interested in attending, or if you know students that are interested but have have not yet registered, please let them know. cheers Colin Colin Navin Chair Local Organising Committee Harley Wood Winter School Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty of Science Building E6B, Level 2, Room 2.201 Macquarie University, NSW 2109 Australia t: +61 (0)2 98504887 f: +61 (0)2 98508115 e: colin.navin at mq.edu.au Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Jul 3 11:32:59 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2014 11:32:59 +1000 Subject: [ASA] ASA Annual Scientific Meeting - Fifth Announcement Message-ID: <230D5CCF-F93C-413F-BFD9-CB6AB4A465C6@sydney.edu.au> Fifth Announcement: 2014 Astronomical Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting THE FINAL ASA MEETING PROGRAM IS NOW AVAILABLE! The program committee are delighted to announce that the final program of talks and events is now available. Please visit the conference website to view the program and also to download a pdf copy. The final program will also be available in the meeting booklet in the welcome pack on registration. For further information on both the HWWS and the ASA annual meeting as well as links to the registration details, social program and other ASA activities, visit the dual-meeting website at: http://www.asa2014.mq.edu.au/ Also, although the HWWS is now effectively at capacity (85) we can still take a few more registrations for this. Late registrations are also still being accepted for the main meeting as the lecture theatres can hold over 400 (almost 300 people have already registered). We also still have some funding available to assist HDR students in attending either the HWWS or the ASA ? please contact Quentin Parker urgently if you are interested (new registrations only). We look forward to welcoming you to Macquarie University for what promises to be a very interesting and diverse meeting in this decadal planning year. KEY DATES ? MARK YOUR DIARY! ASA Annual Scientific Meeting - July 20th ? July 25th 2014: Harley Wood Winter School - July 17th ? July 20th 2014 Quentin Parker on behalf of the 2014 ASA ASM local organising committee Email contact: Quentin.parker at mq.edu.au, Amanda.manypeney at mq.edu.au Follow the link below to download the ASM and HWWS flyer for circulation: http://www.asa2014.mq.edu.au/assets/ASA2014/ASA2014-Flyer.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: