From ly.duong at anu.edu.au Mon Sep 1 16:50:33 2014 From: ly.duong at anu.edu.au (Ly Duong) Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2014 16:50:33 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Mt Stromlo Student Christmas Seminar - announcement Message-ID: <54041739.5070206@anu.edu.au> Announcement about Student Seminar at Mt Stromlo Please circulate to all honours, PhD students and interested undergraduates. ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- *First Announcement:* *Mount Stromlo Observatory Xmas Student Seminar 2014* The annual Xmas Student Seminar at Mount Stromlo Observatory is back in it's 12th incarnation, this year on the 13th and 14th of November. The seminar is a fantastic opportunity for PhD students at all stages, from all over the country to showcase their research and network with their fellow students. The seminar has been very successful in previous years, and we hope to welcome (and welcome back) many students this year. On the first day of the Seminar we have an exciting line-up of invited speakers, industry talks and public speaking workshops outlined below. The second day will be dedicated to student talks - and everyone is encouraged to register a short (12 minutes) talk about their exciting research. *Invite**d Speakers* * Ron Ekers, ATNF/CSIRO CASS: SKA and the future of radio astronomy. * Amanda Karakas, RSAA, ANU: Pathway to a successful career in astronomy. *Industry Partner*** * Giant Magellan Telescope: progress updates and instrumentation tour. *Public speaking **worksho**p* * Peter Copeman, U. Canberra: How to pitch your talks to the general audience using acting skills. The registration deadline is:***31st Octo**ber*** For more details and to register please visit the Seminar website: _http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/xmas14/_ Regards, The organising committe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: xmas_poster.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 1728922 bytes Desc: not available URL: From carterb at usq.edu.au Mon Sep 1 17:11:48 2014 From: carterb at usq.edu.au (Brad Carter) Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2014 17:11:48 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Fourth Australian Exoplanet Workshop - Registrations Now Open Message-ID: 4th Australian Exoplanet Workshop - Registrations Now Open 25-26 November 2014 - University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD Registrations are now open for the 4th Australian Exoplanet Workshop will be held at the University of Southern Queensland's Toowoomba campus 25-26 November 2014. Hosted by the USQ Astrophysics Group at the Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre, this is the 4th meeting that aims to bring together Australian researchers working on exoplanets, from both observational and theoretical perspectives. The workshop will cover exoplanet surveys, characterisation and theoretical modelling of planet formation and evolution - anything related to the science of planets orbiting other stars. Participants are encouraged to give a short presentation on a specific research issue, or to brief the workshop on the current research capabilities in exoplanetary science in their departments. There will also be an opportunity to discuss important questions, and strategies for increasing linkages and collaborations as a means to expanding this critical research area in the future. There is no registration fee to attend the workshop. However, please indicate your attendance via the registration page, which includes the option to submit a title and abstract of the talk. Registration deadline is 7 November 2014. To get venue and accommodation details and register please visit the workshop website at: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/planets/FourthWorkshop2014 *** Please note: * Given that USQ Toowoomba is a few hours by road west of Brisbane interstate travellers are recommended to arrive on Monday 24 November, the day before the commencement of the Workshop on Tuesday morning, and to spend a few days in town. An informal welcome in the form of drinks at the Uni bar will be held on the Monday evening, a public lecture will be given by Dr Jonti Horner on the evening of Wed 26th November, and a free tour to Mt Kent Observatory will be provided on Thu 27th Nov, the day after the Workshop. * The typical and generally recommended way for interstate travellers to get to USQ Toowoomba is to fly to Brisbane Airport and use the door-to-door Airport Flyer minibus service from Brisbane Airport to Toowoomba (~$160 return). The service time can vary so allow between 2 and 3 hours for the minibus journey. * For those who may wish to combine their Workshop travel with some sightseeing or other independent journeys, Brisbane Airport has the usual set of car rental companies (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Redspot and Thrifty). Note that the main highway between Brisbane and Toowoomba has some roadworks that are expected to continue until November and may cause generally short delays. * For those preferring air travel only there are very limited but direct Skytrans Airlines flights from Sydney (~$340 return) and Brisbane (~$280 return) to the Toowoomba Aerodrome located 4km from the CBD and serviced by taxis. * About the cheapest option to get from Brisbane Airport to Toowoomba is to take the Greyhound Bus Service (~$80 to $100 return, depending on the time) and allow up to 3 hours travel time. However while the Greyhound bus terminal in Toowoomba is centrally located it is too far to walk with luggage to most motels or USQ, and although taxis are handy, the local bus service is infrequent. There is also an Airtrain rail service from Brisbane Airport to Roma Street station in central Brisbane (~$28 return) where it is possible to catch the Greyhound bus service to Toowoomba. * There is no regular passenger rail service to Toowoomba (just a tourist train operating during the local Carnival of Flowers in September). * It is appreciated that students are looking for low-cost ways to attended the Workshop. For budget travellers it is noted that Toowoomba is serviced by long-haul bus routes, and motels such as Jeffrey's motel offer budget rooms with twin-stay options. While there are no funds available to offer a general student subsidy, students facing exceptional financial hardship can contact the organisers in case a modest subsidy can be provided. *** SOC: Brad Carter (USQ) (Chair), Jonti Horner (USQ), Sarah Maddison (Swinburne), Daniel Bayliss (ANU), Charley Lineweaver (ANU) & Rob Wittenmyer (UNSW) LOC: Brad Carter, Jonti Horner, Stephen Marsden, Carolyn Brown, Belinda Nicholson, Matthew Mengel From amanda.bauer at aao.gov.au Tue Sep 2 09:28:41 2014 From: amanda.bauer at aao.gov.au (Amanda Bauer) Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 09:28:41 +1000 Subject: [ASA] The AAO Observer - Keeping astronomers in the dark - August 2014 Message-ID: <54050129.7000004@aao.gov.au> Hello everyone, The biannual newsletter of the Australian Astronomical Observatory, the AAO Observer, is now available! The August 2014 issue highlights the launch of HERMES by Department of Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane, exciting new SAMI science, first light for AAO's micro-robot Starbugs, instrumentation updates, and news about the night sky around Siding Spring Observatory: Keeping astronomers in the dark. The AAO Observer can be found here: http://www.aao.gov.au/about-us/observer Science Highlights - GALAH Takes Flight - First Light for AAO?s Starbugs! - The Taipan galaxy survey - SAMI finds a Burst of Star Formation inside a GAMA Dwarf Galaxy - Nuclear Storm launches gas outward, detected by the SAMI Galaxy Survey - AAOmega Spectrograph News - KOALA commissioning results - Astronomers perfecting their trade at the 2014 AusGO/AAO Observational Techniques Workshop - Keeping astronomers in the dark Observatory News - Official HERMES Launch by Minister Ian Macfarlane - Introducing AAO?s ?Surprise! Stargazing? Events: A Partial Solar Eclipse over Sydney Harbour - Science Meets Parliament - AusGO Corner - News from North Ryde - Letter From Coona Thank you for your support, amanda -- Dr Amanda Bauer Astronomer and Outreach Officer Australian Astronomical Observatory PO Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia phone: +61 2 9372 4852 @astropixie ASA EPOC Steering Committee Member From andrew.green at aao.gov.au Tue Sep 2 10:00:21 2014 From: andrew.green at aao.gov.au (Andy Green) Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2014 10:00:21 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Sydney ECR Writing Session Message-ID: <74D2DCB7-93EB-4F9F-BE3F-6A6A5ACB3F79@aao.gov.au> Calling all Sydney ECRs (and any visitors), The AAO is hosting a "Writing Session" next Wednesday and Thursday (10 and 11 September). The two goals of the workshop are to give ECRs a chance for some distraction free writing or other research with an opportunity for friendly peer feedback, and to help get to know one another. Most of the time will be quiet and informal, with it left to the participants as how to best spend their time. Some breakout rooms will be available for discussion. There will also be a group dinner on Thursday evening open to all ECRs and their plus ones (no need to have come to the writing workshop to come to the dinner). Program: Wednesday, 10 September 9 am: Ice-breaker and introductions 9:30 am: Research Time 10 am: Morning Tea break 12:30 pm: Lunch Break 3:00 pm: Tea Break 4:30 pm: Speed meet a collaborator Thursday, 11 September 9 am: Optional Friendly Writing Review/Critique 10 am: Tea break 10:30 am: Research Time 11:00 am: Optional talk by AAO Summer students 12:00 pm: Lunch Break 2:00 pm: Extended Afternoon Tea Break 4:00 pm: Discussion of Issues facing ECRs 5:00 pm: Travel into the city by train for a group dinner Registration (required): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12VjV8DPPSznf3fTJEm0ggHZ4eX9FrKXLn7T3C2hgric/viewform?usp=send_form Registrations will close at noon on Tuesday, 9 September Cost: none, but catering is not provided. Bring your own lunch or money to purchase from one of the many local restaurants, and also money for the dinner on Thursday if you will be attending. Where: The AAO's North Ryde offices: https://www.aao.gov.au/science/observing/travel/getting-to-sydney Parking: There is some limited visitor parking available, but please consider the environment and take the train, bus, or carpool. Other notes: Internet access will be available via wireless only. Hope to see you there, Andy Green Australian Astronomical Observatory -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vanstraten.willem at gmail.com Wed Sep 3 20:50:39 2014 From: vanstraten.willem at gmail.com (Willem van Straten) Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 20:50:39 +1000 Subject: [ASA] SKA position at Swinburne Message-ID: Hi everyone, Swinburne University of Technology is seeking a systems engineer to collaborate on the design of the pulsar timing processor for the Square Kilometre Array. A description of the position and instructions for applying can be found at https://swinjobs.nga.net.au/cp/index.cfm?event=jobs.viewJobDetailsNewApplication&JobID=af348ff0-0667-49df-8154-a38d00c4a578 The deadline for applications is 11 October 2014. Please spread the word! Cheers, Willem -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ausgo at aao.gov.au Thu Sep 4 14:30:48 2014 From: ausgo at aao.gov.au (Australian Gemini Office) Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 14:30:48 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Call for Gemini and Subaru exchange proposals in Semester 2015A Message-ID: <5407EAF8.5080806@aao.gov.au> 2015A Call for Gemini and Subaru exchange proposals Proposals for Australian access to the Gemini and Subaru telescopes for Semester 2015A (1 Feb - 31 Jul 2015) are due by *5:00pm AEST, Tuesday 30 September 2014*. A separate call for Magellan proposals in Semester 2015A (with a 7 October 2014 deadline) will be issued shortly. What's new for Semester 2015A? ------------------------------ * Astronomy Australia Ltd and the International Telescopes Support Office (ITSO) have secured funding from the Australian government's NCRIS-2013 program to assist student Principal Investigators enrolled at an Australian institution who are awarded queue or classical time on Gemini by ATAC in Semester 2015A to travel to the telescope. Travel subsidies will be made available so that students can spend a week at whichever Gemini telescope their program is scheduled on, during which time they will work alongside the queue observer to learn how the queue process and various instruments work, and may get to execute sequences from their own program. Student PIs who would be interested in taking up this opportunity should indicate this in the Technical Description section of their proposal, and successful PIs will be contacted after the Gemini allocations are announced with details on how to arrange a visit and claim the subsidy. Independently of this scheme, the Gemini Observatory is also offering travel grants for students and early-career researchers when accompanying their supervisor or an experienced observer to a Gemini telescope. * Pending final commissioning in Semester 2014B the Gemini Planet Imager is offered for community use in all modes in Semester 2015A. * New Hamamatsu CCDs have been commissioned with GMOS-South , offering improved and extended sensitivity out to 1 micron. Two new filters (Z and Y) for imaging and band limited spectroscopy in the far red are also now available. Applicants for 2015A should select "CCD Type = Hamamatsu array" in the GMOS-South Integration Time Calculator in planning their proposals. * The DSSI speckle imaging camera is being offered as a visitor instrument on Gemini North in July 2015. * It is anticipated that at least 3 nights on the Subaru telescope will be available to the Gemini community, including shared risks use of the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) very wide field optical to far-red imager, and 4 visitor instruments (HiCIAO , Kyoto3DII , Raven , and SCExAO ) by arrangement with the instrument PI. * Proposals for new Large & long-term Programs (LPs) are not being accepted at this time. The next announcement for LP proposals will be made in early December for observations beginning with the 2015B semester. * Pending final approval from the Gemini Board, a trial of the Fast-Turnaround Program will begin in 2015A on Gemini North. This will provide monthly opportunities to submit proposals, with successful programs scheduled starting one month after each proposal deadline. A separate announcement with full details will be released in December 2014. How to apply ------------ Gemini applications must be submitted using the 2015A release of the Phase I Tool (PIT) software. Subaru applications are also submitted using the PIT. For full details on instrument availability and application procedures, please see: http://ausgo.aao.gov.au/cfp.html as well as the official Gemini Observatory Call for Proposals: http://www.gemini.edu/node/12248?q=node/12242 Need help? ---------- For general enquiries about Australian usage of Gemini or Subaru, please contact the International Telescopes Support Office (ausgo at aao.gov.au) at the AAO. For technical queries about a Gemini Phase I proposal, please use the Gemini Helpdesk: http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/helpdesk/ Stuart Ryder Head of International Telescopes Support ausgo at aao.gov.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Lisa.Harvey-Smith at csiro.au Fri Sep 5 11:40:19 2014 From: Lisa.Harvey-Smith at csiro.au (Lisa.Harvey-Smith at csiro.au) Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2014 01:40:19 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Call for Applications: The Pleiades Awards Message-ID: Dear ASA Members The ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy is proud to announce the Pleiades Awards; a gender equity initiative for Australian astronomy. The Pleiades Awards recognise organisations in Australian astronomy that: 1. Take active steps to advance the careers of women through focused programs and 2. Strive for sustained improvement in providing opportunities for women to achieve positions of seniority, influence and recognition. The Awards are bestowed by the ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy to organisations that demonstrate a strong commitment to the aims of the Chapter. Applications are welcome from eligible organisations before the deadline of 14 November 2014 at 5pm (Australian Western Standard Time). Full details and eligibility guidelines are available here: http://asawomeninastronomy.org/the-pleiades-awards/ Lisa Harvey-Smith Chair, ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy on behalf of the Steering Committee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: